Editing Valdez (section)

==Character==

Marshal Valdez is an experienced, ruthless and intimidating officer of the Guardia. He is tasked with interrogating Meg and discovering the origin of the portal, and he approaches this duty with the confidence of a man accustomed to using fear and violence to obtain obedience. He sees prisoners primarily as sources of information and has little concern for their dignity or emotional wellbeing.

Valdez is methodical rather than impulsive. His interrogation of Meg is carefully structured: he begins with questions, examines her clothing and possessions, tests her explanations, and then escalates to physical punishment when she refuses to co-operate. He understands that Meg is hiding information, and his persistence makes him dangerous even when he does not immediately resort to violence.

He is also sexually predatory. His interest in Meg’s unusual appearance quickly becomes entangled with his desire to possess her, and he treats her vulnerability as an opportunity. He views Bestia as property and appears to believe that official authority entitles him to control both their bodies and their futures. His treatment of Vila shows the same possessive attitude: he objects to her damaging what he considers his property, but his concern is ownership rather than compassion.

Despite his brutality, Valdez is not entirely uncontrolled. He follows orders from Jesenia, recognises the limits placed upon him by her authority, and can behave with calculated restraint when necessary. He is capable of gentleness when it serves his purposes, as when he questions Meg after her beating, but that gentleness never removes the underlying threat. His apparent calm is part of his power.