He now hires himself out as an urban vigilante and advertises in the local newspaper with an ad that reads "Got a problem? Odds against you? Call the Equalizer 212-555-4200." Robert travels about in a 1985 black XJ6 Jaguar sedan [license plate: 5809-AUG]

McCall screens his answering machine for possible clients and generally doesn’t charge them for his help. Robert conducts his operation using money he earned through wise investments and large fees earned on assignments over the years. In the end, McCall hopes that his generosity, though belated, will somehow repay a debt he feels he owes humanity.

When the job called for additional help, McCall recruited former spy associates Mickey Kostmayer, Jimmy, Sterno, Dana and Control, his ex- supervisor at the “Company” to provide surveillance or protection for his clients. They helped Robert perhaps to protect a man marked for death because he witnessed a murder; to deter the activities of a child pornographer; to help a .high school principal combat the gang responsible for the rape of a girl in the school gymnasium; or to seek out and stop a series of robberies directed against the deaf community.

While on a case, McCall's methods of persuasion varied. At first, he simply informed an offending person, in a fair but firm manner, to please stop their wrong-doing. When that failed, some threats, blackmail, or intimidation followed. And finally, when the initial methods failed (and the target was really, really crummy) Robert might pull out a gun and execute the person. But Robert didn't take a life on a whim. He genuinely tried to resolve his problems without the use of force, but when it came down to the safety of his clients, McCall's sharply-honed skills as a spy could quickly kick in for the kill.

McCall's clients problems varied as well. One day, McCall might protect a woman being stalked by a psychopath. Another day, Robert might offer his services to save a women from her abusive husband or a blind music critic who swears she just heard the voice of the man who raped her years earlier.

In between, his day-to-day affairs as a vigilante, McCall might also be called upon to assist people he had known in the past as a spy. On one occasion, Robert became the defense counsel for Control when a "Company" tribunal charged him with treason. While another time, McCall jumped into extricate Mickey Kostmayer from a hostage situation after a rapist held him and others as collateral to save himself from a mob assassin.

McCall's N.Y.P.D. police contacts included Inspector Isadore Smalls (74th Precinct) and Lt. Jefferson Burnett (83rd Precinct). When Robert was not in his luxurious apartment, he frequented O'Phelan's, a local restaurant owned (Robert was a silent partner) by Pete O'Phelan, a widowed friend from Robert's "Company" days (she joined the "Company" in 1972). McCall had earlier used an eatery called The New York Cafe across from the United Nations to meet with his clients.

Robert‘s family included his ex-wife, Kay who left Robert because of his dedication to his career; son Scott, an aspiring musician whom Robert is just now getting to know; daughter Kathy [deceased]; and another grown daughter, Yvette Marcel whom McCall fathered with an agent named Manon Brevard and only recently discovered was his child.

Continued next page > 

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