Jefferson Smith

          There are days when I love this job. I mean, how many people get to psychoanalyze their bosses? Then again, how many people have bosses carrying around as much emotional baggage as Jefferson Smith?
          Sometimes I'm surprised he's even in this line of work. A good ninety percent of N-Tek's "private side" personnel are adrenaline junkies in one form or another, even in the upper levels of administration. After all, unless you're tech sector or med staff, you have to start out as a field agent. Jeff likes the job, don't get me wrong, and he's still an excellent field operative, though he hasn't actually been an official field agent in over twenty years. But that romance with the adrenaline just isn't there.
          Being the head shrink here, of course, _I_ know why Jeff got started here. It was never about the adrenaline, or even the idealistic nature of N-Tek's goals. It was for Jim McGrath, pure and simple. It's obvious that these two men weren't just friends-- they were brothers in all but blood.
          The N-Tek explosion hit Jeff hard on a number of levels, and you can still see the shockwaves. First of all, he lost Marco Nathanson, the man who had acted as a mentor to him for several years. Beyond simply losing a friend and mentor, however, losing Nathanson basically dropped all of N-Tek in Jeff's lab. It was a huge responsibility, and Jeff has always taken his responsibilities seriously. To some extent, he has sublimated his entire life into trying to take care of and fulfill Nathanson's legacy.
          Beyond that, however, Jeff lost Jim, his best friend, and wound up with custody of Josh. Another responsibility, to both the child and his best friend. Between being a father to Josh and being the head of N-Tek, Jeff has almost no personal life at all.
          As to Josh, I think that boy has become the center of Jeff's world. At first, it was because Josh was Jim's son, all Jeff had left of his friend. As time went on, Jeff came to love Josh as his own, and very fiercely, considering that Josh may well be the only immediate family Jeff ever has. God help anyone who ever hurts that young man-- I know Jeff has a Psycho dartboard in his office.
          Considering Jeff's protective instincts and the fact that both of them are strong, independent men, conflict was, I suppose, inevitable. I still remember the day Josh announced that he was joining N-Tek as Max Steel, though I didn't know that's what was happening at the time. All _I_ knew was that I could hear Smith arguing with someone through three floors and a blast door. They still fight like that, but most of N-Tek is used to it now.