This work is a work of fiction – other than for the parts that are not. It is not just the story of one man, but of his genealogy stretching back to the 8th century AD. It is the story of Bill Douglas and continues to the present day.
It is a story of a recurring trait, skill or curse (depending on your point of view),which presents itself in certain individuals of a Scottish lineage – the Douglas clan – to be able to infiltrate adverse situations at will, assassinate with precision and without remorse, extract with residual deadly force, and remain totally anonymous.
It is said that the Douglas Clan can be traced back to the 4th Century, and in those early years the works of its forefathers caused them to travel to all corners of the world at that time – Most notably, The United Kingdom, France, Italy Malta, and the Middle East.
They were leaders, soldiers, statesmen, politicians, adventurers and high ranking officers in the Knights Templar.
The gene which triggered the above abilities was not totally consistent in its selection of the offspring it affected. Some descendents were positively pacifist or when forced into battle, were less than effective at the task.
This often led to internal squabbling and unpredictable outcomes. It makes their history unquestionably interesting.
The songwriter Buffet St Marie could not have summed them up more succinctly than in her song “Universal Soldier” –
“He's five foot-two, and he's six feet-four,
He fights with missiles and with spears.
He's all of thirty-one, and he's only seventeen,
Been a soldier for a thousand years.
He'a a Catholic, a Hindu, an Atheist, a Jain,
A Buddhist and a Baptist and a Jew.
And he knows he shouldn't kill,
And he knows he always will,
Kill you for me my friend and me for you”.
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