Rachel Leeds

            Somebody up there (and by "up there," I mean Personnel,) must be a REAL fan of irony. You couldn't find a more diametric opposite to Max Steel than Rachel Leeds, not even if you TRIED. Calm and collected, Rachel seems to live her life by the concept of control. Usually it's self-control-- I've heard an agent or two wonder if perhaps she bathed in starch. However, her desire for control does extend itself to her surroundings. I'm not saying she's inflexible, of course; she'd never have survived as a field agent if that were the case. She's very skilled at improvising when necessary. But the "fly by the seat of your pants" approach has never won much favor with her.

            Her need for control stems back to her upbringing. The Leeds family is actually quite well-known in London, since Jameson Leeds, Rachel's father, controls a fairly large shipping company. As a result, Rachel was raised to be a debutante and a hostess, in short, a pretty face and a warm smile. Emotional outbursts were not something to be tolerated. Unfortunately for Mr. and Mrs. Leeds, Rachel inherited her father's iron backbone, and wound up choosing her own path in life.

            Despite leaving her parents' household, Rachel hasn't been able to completely shake the teachings of her early years. For her, control is everything and its loss is a failure. Even her relationship with Jake was a carefully measured, planned, emotionally controlled affair. As you can imagine, falling in love with Max Steel turned her world upside down.

            Max is like a force of nature-- very attractive, but very frightening to someone who has never allowed her emotions free reign. In some of our sessions, Rachel has compared the attraction to a moth and a flame. This simultaneous fear and attraction contributed to her decision to take the promotion to Director of Operations when Jeff offered it. I still think it was a mistake, but that's a personal opinion, not professional.