Haymarket Hector

Hector Grinslathe, better known as Haymarket Hector, is the Underlord of Scion Citadel of London syndicate. His territory is the Devil's Acre in I-1 Cohort. His gang is known as the Underbodies. Hector is a macharomancer, a type of soothsayer that uses knives.

History
Little is known of Hector's history. It is suggested that he might have killed the last Underlord, Jed Bickford, but Jaxon Hall disagrees with this idea. After Bickford and his mollisher were murdered, Hector won the third scrimmage and became Underlord himself. He has been Underlord for about a decade.

After winning the scrimmage, Hector takes up residence in the Devil's Acre, the traditional home of the Underlord, where he gathers a large collection of spirits, including The London Monster. His reign is corrupt, full of beatings and murders, and he ignores the many problems facing the syndicate, including the arrival of Senshield. Due to his laziness and cruelty Nick Nygård calls him "the worst Underlord the citadel has ever seen." Hector is widely despised. Those who obey him do so out of fear, or because he pays them well. At some point he takes Chelsea Neves as his mollisher. Although she thinks the best of him and is completely loyal, he mutilates her face with one of his knives, leaving her with a distinctive scar and the nickname "Cutmouth."

The Pale Dreamer
As Nick and Paige Mahoney arrive at Farringdon station looking for the poltergeists Sarah Metyard and Anne Naylor, they are confronted by Hector and his gang. Hector wants to "welcome" Paige to the syndicate by beating her up. As the two sides begin fighting, they disturb Anne. Her sudden appearance allows Nick and Paige the chance to escape.

The Bone Season
Coming soon...

The Mime Order
After Paige leaves the black market, Hector and his gang arrive incredibly drunk. He starts asking Nadine Arnett and Zeke Sáenz questions about the paintings they are selling. They argued with four different traders about whether the paintings were fakes. To please the traders, Hector confiscates the Champaign painting so it can be examined. He also takes the rest of their wares. Nadine and Zeke try to stop them, but it is nine against two and they end up getting beaten up.

Hector is murdered in September 2059. When Paige arrives at his townhouse, she discovers his body and the bodies of the other Underbodies, minus Cutmouth. He has been beheaded. His bodyguard, the Underhand, is dead beside him. The rest of his gang has been arranged in pairs. Hector is buried by I-2 footpads beneath the ruins of St. Dunstan-in-the-East. It is where all syndicate leaders are interred.

Later, Paige discovers Hector's role in the Grey Market, which sold clairvoyants to Scion. She reveals his role after she wins the scrimmage to determine the next ruler of the syndicate.

The Song Rising
While imprisoned in the Archon, Paige learns from Jaxon that Hector was the one that ordered her sold to Scion. He also informs her that the Rag and Bone Man killed Hector on Jaxon's orders.

Physical Description
Hector has dark, greasy, chin-length hair that hangs like strings from beneath a bowler hat. His "small, round, black eyes, like a shark's, sit in his gaunt face. Even his mouth has a whiff of shark about it. His teeth are lucent and uneven, like chips of blackened seashell." He has a scabrous nose and his eyes are threaded with blood vessels. He smells of sweat and rotting breath. He wears a gold pocket watch. He has an unctuous, oily voice. He always carries a golden pocket watch and wears multiple rings. Hector's in his forties.

Personality
Hector is very violent and corrupt. He lives by one rule: follow the money. He particularly enjoys cutting throats. The syndicate has been getting increasingly corrupt since he became Underlord. He has no concept of empathy. He might be lazy, but he is also smart. Hector is a symptom of the diseases in the syndicate: greed, violence, and apathy.

Etymology
Hector is the Latinized form of the Greek Hektor which was derived from ‘εκτωρ (hektor) "holding fast," from εχω (echo) meaning "to hold, to possess."

Trivia

 * Despite being Underlord, Hector has never called a meeting of the Unnatural Assembly.

Appearances

 * The Pale Dreamer
 * The Bone Season
 * The Mime Order
 * The Song Rising (mentioned only)
 * The Dawn Chorus (mentioned only)