Ben Saxon

Ben Saxon is one of the two protagonists of the book Deus Ex: Icarus Effect.

Early life
Former member of the United Kingdom's Special Air Service, retired from the military and working for Belltower Associates Incorporated, a private military contractor corporation. In 2027 Saxon is team leader for Strike Team Six, an elite commando force within Belltower. Strike Six is taking part in "Operation Rainbird", supposedly a quick strike against rival forces in Australia's civil war. Even though Belltower has assured them that the mission will be entirely safe, the transport plane is suddenly attacked by a drone aircraft. Saxon's team is wiped out in the crash, save for Duarte, whom is killed by the drone as it doubles back over the site. Saxon manages to down the craft with a G-87 shortly before stumbling off a cliff into a shallow river. With massive burns and limb damage Ben is recovered by Jaron Namir and taken to an SAF hospital.

While Ben Saxon is recovering from his injuries he is approached by Namir to join the Tyrants, an independent special operations team that supplies its members with the best weapons and augmentations, and gives its members much more freedom than more official groups like the military. After Namir promises to help find the people responsible for Team Six's deaths, Saxon agrees to join.

Saxon works for the Tyrants for a few months, getting to know each member: Jaron Namir, Lawrence Barrett, Yelena Fedorova, new recruit Gunther Hermann, and Scott Hardesty (who believes that the new members are both too inexperienced to be trusted). In his first operation he, Hermann and Hardesty are sent in the Hotel Novoe Rostov in Moscow to kill Mikhail Kontarsky, an administrator of the Russian committee on Human Augmentation. Namir tells Saxon that Kontarsky associates with the Juggernaut Collective, a cyberterrorism cell, and also has done business with the people responsible for Operation Rainbird's failure. After fighting through several guards, the team finally find Kontarsky in a secret room, speaking to a mysterious figure, "Janus" through audio/video communication. Janus mentions something of a "Killing Floor", then asks Saxon if he is sure who he is working for or of his loyalty, but before he can interrogate either of them, Hardesty kills Kontarsky from a sniper perch across the street. Ben becomes increasingly skeptic about the Tyrants, and on board their private plane, Hermann and Saxon are both tazed and knocked out.

Betrayal
He wakes up on the ground of a cramped room with the other tyrants watching, Jaron explains that one of the new recruits, Ben or Gunther, is not loyal to the group and the two must fight to the death to determine which. He throws a handgun with a single round and the two fight over it. Ben eventually gets the pistol, but he refuses to kill Gunther, howewer the round was a blank and Jaron explain that the fight was just a test. They exit the small room into Jaron's home, and he learns that Jaron leads a double life, both as a ruthless killer abroad and a family man at home. Ben grows increasingly unhappy with the Tyrants. Later he is in his home, a luxurious resort in London, when an automated advertisement blimb begins showing messages on its screens from Janus, asking him again if he is sure where his loyalties are. Federova enters his apartment, and the two have sex.

The Tyrants return to their base of operations, at the Romeo Airport in Michigan, where they are planning an attack on the Sarif Industries Headquarters in Detroit, to stop them from developing the Typhoon Explosive System, an experimental augmentation, and kill the leader of the project before, before they can meet with the National Science Board. They express slight worry about a security expert guarding the facility, Adam Jensen. Although he wishes to participate, Saxon is informed at the last moment that he, Hardesty, and Hermann have been given a different assignment; they will be flown to Virginia for an, as of yet, unknown job. As they arrive, Hardesty explains that they have been sent to kill Scott Temple and anyone currently in his house but at the beginning of the operation Hardesty makes Saxon stay behind, as he thinks Saxon is too weak. The mission is a success when, in the Helicopter, Saxon notices a woman running for the fence. Seeing this as his only shot at redemption, he aims at her, only to let her go, as he still lacks the ability to shoot helpless civilians. Hardesty and Hermann return from Ron Temple's House, and Hardesty chides Saxon for letting the woman get away. Nevertheless, he says that the media will spin the events to their benefit, and the group return to Romeo Airport. At the base, Ben meets up with Barrett and Namir, who strangely seems uneasy about the events at Sarif and Namir says that they are planning another major operation in Europe, and that Yelena is currently handing a job of her own.

Revelation
Ben is resting near the Tyrant Jet when he overhears Hardesty and Namir speaking, Hardesty warns that Ben is a liability, too sympathetic to be useful in their operations but Namir reminds him that Saxon is experienced enough to be useful regardless, and that everyone on the team is expendable if necessary. With his doubts confirmed, Ben finally calls Janus, who explains that Jaron keeps a private terminal (and access point to the Killing Floor) aboard the Tyrant Jet, and that Jaron's deceased sister is his most likely password. The Tyrants, sans Yelena, leave for their Target in Europe and aboard the plane, Ben waits for the others to go to sleep before leaving for Namir's terminal. After logging on, he learns that the Tyrants superiors kill close contacts before recruiting new members, mostly to prevent distraction, and usually stage it as an accident. While Ben is reading the Killing Floor, Jaron enters the office and admits that he was responsible for Strike Team Six's failure. Saxon, armed only with a stun gun, shoots the terminal, causing a power failure and starting several fire alarms. He manages to escape, and heads to the weapons storage area, where he finds Gunther Hermann and the two fight briefly, but Saxon manages to break several of Gunthers ribs and sternum, then shoots him in the eye with his stun gun. The German appears dead, and Saxon heads for the cockpit, where he finds Hardesty, armed with a Widowmaker TX shotgun loaded with nonlethal "Crowd buster" rounds. He blinds the man with a fire extinguisher and heads to the cargo bay, where a VTOL is located. In the bay, he is attacked by Barrett, who nearly kills Saxon, although he manages to detonate a belt of concussion grenades around his belt, scarring him badly. With no other choice, Ben opens the cargo bay doors and jumps out into the sky above the Atlantic Ocean. At the last moment he triggers his Icarus Landing System, and manages to land in the water and only fracture his augmented legs but some form of machine emerges from the depths and consumes him.

Ben Saxon emerges from the trawler in front of the Juggernaut HQ, an electromagnetically shielded hangar in a port and after meeting Powell and Kelso, he gives D-Bar the password for the Killing Floor. When they access the Killing Floor, they learn that the Tyrants are heading for Geneva, Switzerland, the same week that Bill Taggart of Humanity Front is in town. The Tyrants plan to assassinate him on the steps of the Palais de Nations, making him a martyr for the anti-aug cause and push for a vote on UN regulation.

To stop them Ben, Powell, Kelso, D-Bar and a 4-man NSF platoon head for Geneva by VTOL. Over the Atlantic coast, they drop onto a mostly autonomous cargo blimp and set off. When they arrive, the group split into two forces. Saxon and Powell will lead the NSF troops to the Tyrant plane, in case any Tyrants are using it as a control center; Anna, D-Bar, and Croix, another Juggernaut initiate, will pursue a car bomb that is heading for Taggart's hotel. While searching the plane, Saxon's team finds nothing of interest, or anyone inside. He does find a terminal, and notices that there is a third point for the Tyrants, a location dubbed "Icarus". Powell finds material for an improvised explosive, but is confused because the Tyrants have access to Military grade explosives. At the last minute Saxon notices that the Tyrants knew they were planning to attack the plane, and runs. The plane explodes, killing Powell and his people. Ben Saxon talk to the radio, warning that the plane was trapped, and Jaron responds that Anna is in his custody and that he will kill her if Ben does not kill Taggart himself in plain public view. Knowing he cannot let an innocent person die, he begins walking to the Palais de Nations.

Last operation
A small van approaches, driven by Scott Hardesty, who gives Ben a Diamond Back .357 with one bullet in the cylinder, and reminds him that Barret will broadcast himself torturing Kelso to his Mastoid Comm if he fails. Saxon approaches Taggart and his secretary, fighting through several Belltower private guards, and points the gun at Taggart but at the last second, he chooses not to kill him, and pulls Taggart out of the open. Hardesty, perched at the nearby library, shoots with a Longsword Whisperhead rifle and misses, killing the secretary accidentally. Taggart asks Saxon if "They" sent him, implying that he knows about the Illuminati, before Ben runs toward the Library to kill Hardesty. At the inside, he uses his only bullet to sever a chandelier which leads to it crashing on Hardesty, incapacitating him. Ben climbs up and fights with him, who manages to stab him in the gut with his augmented arm. Ben finally kills him by shoving his own arm blade through his jaw and skull. Being chased by the Geneva police, suffering from a knife wound, having no contacts, he calls Janus and asks for help. Janus tells him that the Icarus is actually a private yacht on the Rhône river where they are holding Anna.

Later, he kills a Tyrant VTOL pilot and on the Icarus, after revealing himself, he decides to challenge Jaron to a one-on-one fight, to settle his desire for revenge once and for all. With his advanced augmentations, Jaron easily defeats Saxon, though at the last moment Saxon pulls out a Zenith 10mm pistol (snagged from the Pilot) and shoots Namir in the chest 3 times, which manage to subdue him even with his dermal augs. Ben trains the gun on Namir's head, but Barrett threatens to kill Anna if he kills the leader. Saxon lets them go again, and him and Anna jump into the burning wreckage of the Icarus to avoid gunfire. With the police coming, the Tyrants leave by VTOL, leaving the two to die aboard the yacht; however Anna is able to breath underwater due to her rebreather aug, and the two manage to escape through a breach in the boats hull.

Later, Ben and Anna are recovering from their injuries at the Duarte Household in Costa Rica, and Anna plans to stay there, where the Illuminati have minimal influence. Ben plans to leave for an unknown location, but Anna urges him to stay, stressing that she remembers something from Janus' vision, that a serious change is coming soon, and that none of them can change it.

Behind the scenes

 * According to the author James Swallow, Ben Saxon was based on actor Gerard Butler.
 * He probably had a sentimental affair with teammate Yelena Fedorova.
 * His augmentations are made by Tai Yong Medical.