Character Relationship Map: End Game

Characters

• Agent Alex Thomas (played by Cuba Gooding Jr.) — protagonist

  Main Secret Service agent who survives a bullet graze protecting the president. He investigates the assassination, uncovers his boss's betrayal, and ultimately decides to protect the late president's...

• Kate Crawford (played by Angie Harmon) — protagonist

  Investigative journalist probing the presidential murder. She survives multiple assassination attempts, collaborates with Thomas to track the hitmen, and learns the truth but is told by Thomas that th...

• Agent Vaughn Stevens (played by James Woods) — supporting

  Thomas's superior in the Secret Service. He secretly provided the assassin with a weapon during the attack and is found dead at his residence by Thomas before he can be properly interrogated.

• Philip Keifer aka Jack Baldwin (played by Peter Greene) — supporting

  The alleged mastermind behind the assassination. Thomas captures him after an initial raid, but he escapes. He later attacks Crawford at Thomas's house but is killed by Thomas.

• The President (played by Jack Scalia) — supporting

  The sitting president who is assassinated during a motorcade stop. His extramarital affair is revealed to be the primary motive for the conspiracy orchestrated by his wife.

Canonical Relationships

Family, romantic, and professional connections based on plot evidence.

• Agent Alex Thomas → The President (Professional Protective Agent) — Thomas is assigned to protect the president during the motorcade appearance, but the president dies after being shot.

  Thomas is identified as the president's main Secret Service agent and is grazed by the bullet that hits the president.

Story Dynamics

Alliances, conflicts, and narrative interactions that evolve throughout the story.

• Agent Vaughn Stevens → Philip Keifer aka Jack Baldwin (Conflict Conspiratorial Links) — Stevens's prior links to Baldwin connect Thomas's superior to the suspected assassination network.

  Thomas and Crawford become suspicious of Stevens after a meeting with General Montgomery, and the plot states Stevens had previous links to Baldwin.

• Kate Crawford → Philip Keifer aka Jack Baldwin (Conflict Target And Attacker) — Crawford's investigation puts her in danger from Baldwin, who attacks her before Thomas intervenes.

  Baldwin attacks Crawford at Thomas's house, and Thomas arrives and kills Baldwin.

• Agent Alex Thomas → Philip Keifer aka Jack Baldwin (Conflict Adversaries) — Thomas pursues Baldwin as a suspected assassination conspirator, captures him after a raid, and ultimately kills him when Baldwin attacks Crawford.

  Thomas and other Secret Service members attack Baldwin's location. Thomas later catches him, and after Baldwin escapes and attacks Crawford, Thomas ar...

• Agent Alex Thomas → Agent Vaughn Stevens (Conflict Betraying Superior) — Thomas's investigation turns against his superior when evidence reveals Stevens's role in arming the assassin, but Stevens is dead before Thomas can question him.

  Stevens is Thomas's boss. Reviewing assassination footage, Thomas discovers Stevens handed the assassin a gun during the president's entrance, and lat...

• Agent Alex Thomas → Kate Crawford (Alliance Investigative Allies) — The journalist and Secret Service agent join forces to investigate the killing and survive repeated attacks; in the final conversation, Thomas withholds the truth about the president's widow.

  Crawford goes to Thomas's house to tell him what is happening. They survive the attack at his boat, link the hitmen to Baldwin, and investigate the as...

Story Analysis

A Secret Service agent and an investigative journalist pursue the truth behind a presidential assassination, then confront the cost of exposing it.

Plot Progression

1. A Shot in the Motorcade — The president is shot during a walk after leaving the motorcade, and Thomas is grazed while protecting him. The president dies at the hospital, prompting Crawford to investigate the assassination.
2. The Inquiry Turns Deadly — Crawford's questions are followed by the deaths of those she questions. She warns Thomas, and a bomb and armed hitmen threaten them at his boat.
3. Baldwin and the Evidence — Thomas and Crawford connect the hitmen to Baldwin, and a raid leads to his capture after he first escapes. Their suspicion shifts toward Stevens, while footage shows Stevens handing the assassin a gun...
4. The Conspiracy's Cost — Thomas finds Stevens dead and learns Baldwin has escaped. Baldwin attacks Crawford, but Thomas kills him and then discovers the First Lady's motive for wanting her husband dead.
5. A Reputation Protected — Weeks later, Thomas and Crawford have dinner. Thomas decides not to implicate the president's widow, choosing to protect the dead president's reputation.