Officer Parmenter was a warder at the Jacinto Maximum Security Prison who was in charge of the prison's dog pack.
Biography
Guarding the Slab
Arrival of Marcus Fenix
- "Way to go, Campie. Fuck our lives up some more, why don't you?"
- —Parmenter to Campbell after he found out he hit Marcus in the face in front of the other prisoners and the Gear remained standing
Ten years after Emergence Day, Parmenter helped secure the prison floor of D Wing, the last occupied cell block of The Slab, for the arrival of Marcus Fenix. He signaled the lockdown, giving the prisoners twenty seconds to run to their cells before they locked and the dog pack was released to secure the floor. However, one of the inmates urinated on Jerry, Parmenters favorite dog, from his jail cell. Parmenter charged down onto the floor to threaten the inmate, but was mocked by the nearby inmates, saying he engaged in sexual intercourse with Jerry. Parmenter silenced the mocking by reminding the inmates he controlled the gates that separated them from the dogs, and that he just might let them loose next time they were out on the floor. He snapped a leash on Jerry and led the pack out of the floor in order to allow Will Chalcross and Bradeley Campbell to lead Marcus out onto the floor and escort him to his cell. After Marcus was settled into his cell, Parmenter walked up to the staff room with Jerry, and heard Chalcross, Campbell, and senior warder Nikolai Jarvi discussing someone who had connections. Chalcross shot him a look regarding Jerry, whom the others hated having the staff lounge, so Parmenter took him back out the door and tied his leash to the railing. He reentered the room and asked them who had connections, and Niko told him that Marcus did, with the Chairman's office issuing orders to keep him healthy and treated well. He also informed him that Campbell had just hit Marcus in the face since his son was a Gear and he considered Marcus to be a traitor, but the disgraced Gear had barely reacted to the punch. Parmenter grew angry at Campbell for giving the other inmates a hero to rally around, and after finding some bacon to give Jerry, he guessed that Richard Prescott and Marcus' father must have belonged to the same country club for Marcus' sentence to have been commuted from death to prison.[1]
Fight Between Marcus and Merino
- "You hear me, Fenix? If it was up to me, I'd just let the damn dogs have you. But I've got orders not to do that, so I'm going to think up some other ways to make your stay her memorable."
- —Parmenter threatening Marcus Fenix
In Gale of the next year, Marcus got into a fight with Daniel Merino, the most powerful and influential inmate in The Slab, after defending another inmate named Chunky form Merino's bullying. Parmenter broke up the fight by bring Jerry out onto the floor of D Wing, and ordered everyone back to their cells, and for Marcus to get on his hands behind his head and face the wall. He let Merino go, and informed Marcus he was going to take him to solitary. Parmenter told him that if it was up to him, he would feed Marcus to his dogs, but that they had orders to treat him well. Parmenter decided that just meant he had to find other ways to make his stay at The Slab terrible, and shoved him towards the solitary cells.[2]
Prescott's Visit
- "Sorry, sir, come in. We weren't expecting you, or else we'd have had someone here to meet you."
- —Parmenter, nervously greeting Prescott when he arrived at The Slab
The next month, Parmenter went to the gate of The Slab to greet a Gear officer who was coming to inspect how Marcus was being treated. He was surprised to find the officer, Cpt.Paul Dury, was accompanying Prescott. Dury told him that they were in a hurry and to get a move on, and Parmenter quickly began leading them through the prison and contacted Niko to tell him that Prescott was here, but that he did not know why. As they walked, Prescott asked him what was out in the yards, and Parmenter told him that was where they grew food, which they needed to be self- sufficient due to the rarity of supply drops. They then arrived at D Wing, and a lockdown was begun. Parmenter explained to Prescott and Dury that it was to get the prisoners back in their cells, and that Niko would be arriving soon, since he was the head warder and they did not have a governor. Prescott asked how they ran the place with only twelve guards, and Parmenter informed him that they were locked off from the inmates, and that they used secure separation zones to interact with them and the dogs to keep them scared. He then led them to an office where they met with Niko and Marcus. After the meeting was done, Parmenter was gathered with Niko, Campbell, and Lasky, and the four of them were warned that if there were any more incidents like the one in which Campbell and Lasky had assaulted Marcus, they would be punished by being recruited as Gears and sent to serve alongside Marcus' old unit, who would be told exactly what they had done.[3]
Changing Times
A few months later, Parmenter was watching over D Wing with Jack Gallego from the gantry, while also walking Jerry. When Jerry suddenly stood still and perked his ears up, and quickly began looking around. The other dogs started barking, and Parmenter held Jerry's leash steady and tried to figure out what was going on when Jerry started whining. Marcus came out onto the floor and explained to everyone that the Locust were excavating something big a few klicks away, and that the dogs were just picking it up.[4] Several minutes later, Campbell attempted to kill Marcus by releasing two dogs on him, due to his son's recent death, which he unfairly blamed on Fenix. Another inmate, Millton Reeve, was caught alongside Marcus in the trap. Both of them were badly wounded by the two dogs, which Marcus managed to kill.[5] Parmenter was outraged at the loss of his dogs and he worried that Marcus would try to take out the other dogs as well, so he began releasing the entire pack during lockdowns to keep them safe. In Gale of the next year, six of the eleven other guards were conscripted, and Parmenter and the others were forced to transfer the insane inmates from the psych wing to D Wing in order to be able to guard them. Parmenter released the entire dog pack for the lockdown, and informed Niko when it was clear to proceed with the transfers.[6]
Power Outage
- "No fuel. We've got sweet FA, buddy. Get used to it. We're the lowest priority in the COG."
- —Parmenter to Merino, after he asked why the backup generator was not working
In Frost of the next year, The Slab suffered a power outage when the Locust raided a power station on Ginnet Drive. Parmenter took Jerry out onto the gantry to try and calm down the prisoners, but Seffert and other inmates began yelling at him to hurry up and get the power back on before they died. One of them threw something at him, but it hit Jerry instead. Parmenter yelled back at them that he and the other guards were stuck in the same situation as them, and they had no phones to call for help. Merino arrived and asked what happened to the backup generator, and Parmenter informed him they had no fuel to run it since they were the lowest priority in the COG. He ordered them to keep an eye on the inmates from the psychiatric ward and headed back into the warder offices.[7] A few minutes later, Parmenter heard screaming coming from the floor of D Wing, and saw that Rushkin, one of the crazed inmates, had killed Seffert with a rusty pipe, and the other general population prisoners were executing the psychotic inmates to see it did not happen again. He hurried to Niko's office to inform him of the situation, and also told him that he had no way to get the dogs out to get the inmates under. Niko told him to find Campbell and Artur Ospen have them help him find a way to get the dog gates open manually while he grabbed a rifle and tried to convince the inmates to stop. However, they were unable to find a way to stop the inmates, and all of the former psych ward prisoners were executed. When power was restored, Parmenter found that the cell locks, heating, and dog gates did not work, but that access to D Wing and hot water was restored. He informed Niko of the situation, and remarked that the prison had old wiring and was a death trap. Niko agreed, and sent him to find out what was happening on the floor of D Wing while he contacted the Justice Department.[8]
Return to the Prison
In the middle of the next year, The Slab was cut off from COG territory by a Locust push while Parmenter was off duty. He was unable to return to duty until the COG restored access to the prison. When he arrived back there, Parmenter was horrified to discover that Niko had shot Jerry and the other dogs for food, since The Slab had been unable to receive any supplies. He developed a hatred for Niko for doing that, and stopped speaking with him. While cleaning up a hallway filled with leaves that had been blown in through a damaged window in Brume, he called Niko an asshole as he walked by. Niko asked him how long he was going to keep his grudge against him going, and pointed out that the had to work together, but Parmenter did not respond to him.[9]
Siege of The Slab
Locust Incursion
- "We could make a run for it now. Just open the gates and go."
- —Parmenter, suggesting that he, Campbell, and Niko flee the prison and leave the inmates behind
In Gale of the next year, baby Corpsers began coming up through the pipes in D Wing. Parmenter, Campbell, and Niko armed themselves, while the inmates gathered whatever improvised weapons they could to defend themselves. As Niko called into the Coalition High Command about the situation, Parmenter joined Campbell in patrolling the gantry to keep a watch for more Locust activity. When Niko came back out, he informed everyone that the COG was coming under heavy assault and that they would not be getting any reinforcements. He then ordered Parmenter to give his rifle to Marcus, and Parmenter incredulously asked if he was joking. Niko told him he was not, and insisted he do it. Parmenter angrily threw his ammo box to the disgraced Gear, and lowered his rifle down to him while Niko gave former contract killer Millton Reeve his Snub Pistol. Parmenter then joined Campbell and Niko in moving down the passageway to the lower level, checking his own sidearm over as he did so. Parmenter told Niko he was crazy to give inmates weapons, but Niko shoved him and pointed out that they were low on ammo, and that it made sense to give the weapons to guys who actually knew how to use them. Niko also noted the inmates could have killed them and broken out at any time but had not, but Parmenter retorted that all it would take was one round from either of them to kill them now. Niko shot back that he had to be a moron not to realize that this was what they needed to do. As they began to go down to the floor of D Wing to join the inmates, Parmenter suggested they just leave and abandon the inmates to their fate. Niko angrily informed him that he must have been more cruel than he thought, and that there was no way they were leaving fellow humans to be butchered by the Locust.[10]
Defending the Slab
- "The old A Wing. No plumbing. Doors on manual locks."
- —Parmenter, suggesting a safe place in The Slab to defend against the Locust from
As more powerful Locust creatures assaulted the prison, Parmenter joined Niko and Campbell in working with the inmates to defend the prison. When Wretches began to breach the prison, Parmenter worked to hold them off with Niko and Campbell. After cutting down a wave of them, they rejoined the prisoners in D Wing, who had dealt with their own wave of attackers. Marcus told them they did not have enough ammo to continue fighting the Wretches, and they either needed to find a way to stop them from entering or locate a place to hide. Parmenter suggested they go to A Wing, which had no plumbing and manual locks on the door. Marcus decided that they would go there to hole up until the COG sent reinforcements or gave them permission to evacuate, while he went down to the basement and tried to find where the Locust were entering.[11] They were rescued by a Gear platoon about an hour later, and Parmenter, Niko, Campbell, and the remaining prisoners were loaded onto Armadillos and given a ride back to COG territory in Jacinto City.[12]
Personality and Traits
- "I'm going to let him chew on your sick fuckers next time. Just remember who operates the gates."
- —Parmenter, threatening the inmates with his dog pack after they mocked him
Unlike the other warders at the Jacinto Maximum Security Prison, Parmenter never had much interaction with the inmates, and thus never developed the skills to deal with their verbal abuse. However, he was able to effectively use the threat of his dog pack to keep them threatened.[13] Parmenter held a grudge against Nikolai Jarvi after he was forced to kill the dog pack for food when The Slab was cut off from COG territory. He considered him to be no better than a murderer for the act.[9]
References
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