Johann Skovgaard

Johann Skovgaard (alias: The Architect), a character in The Phantom Agent book, is a hacker and terrorist and the main antagonist of the book.

Appearance
Johann has light skin, short blond hair, and blue eyes. He wears glasses, a red scarf with a brown jacket and a black top underneath, black gloves to cover his fingerprints, and brown pants.

Personality
Johann is a cold and calculating individual who isn't above murder and terrorism to achieve his goals. In Chapter 7, he states that everyone is just a pawn to him, showing his general disregard for others. According to Haruto Tanaka, his agency doesn't believe him to be a sociopath, but rather he believes what he's doing is for the greater good. According to Rowan, he's a modern-day Robin Hood who takes power from those who don't deserve it, and fights for those who have been abused like he has.

Agent Gray and Vivian describe him as a "malicious Supervillain" due to turning his suffering into tragedy for others.

If you read his journal in Chapter 15, you discover that a part of him believes his wife wouldn't approve of the man he's become, but feels he's gone too far to give up on his plans.

Background
In Chapter 1, the GAIA Director reveals that he has done a number of ransomware attacks. He started with small manufacturing companies, and afterwards detonated a rig of Brisco Oil when Brisco Oil refused to pay. In Chapter 3, Vivian tells you that she stumbled upon The Architect while surfing the dark web, and she didn’t like what she saw. She downloaded all the intel she could find.

In Chapter 13, his whole backstory is revealed. Johann Skovgaard worked for Sanctuary Pharmaceuticals as an engineer in their largest European manufacturing plant for several years prior to the events of the story. A massive chemical spill grew off the coast, which Johann reported was growing larger, but Sanctuary swept it under the rug. At least a dozen people were killed from drinking contaminated water, including Johann's pregnant wife, resulting in both her and their unborn daughter dying. Sanctuary framed Johann, claiming that he was negligent and responsible for the spill, resulting in him losing his job and reputation as a brilliant engineer. After this, he snapped, breaking out of prison, wiped all records of himself he could find, and became "The Architect".

The Phantom Agent

 * Chapter 1: The Art of Chase (Mentioned)
 * Chapter 2: No Risk, No Reward (Mentioned)
 * Chapter 3: Under Fire (Mentioned)
 * Chapter 4: The Doctor is In
 * Chapter 5: Sun, Sand, and Seduction (Mentioned)
 * Chapter 6: Island of Secrets (Mentioned)
 * Chapter 7: The Man in the Shadows
 * Chapter 8: Tricks of the Trade
 * Chapter 9: Faster
 * Chapter 10: Forbidden Fruit (Mentioned)
 * Chapter 11: Laser Focus (Mentioned)
 * Chapter 12: Reunion (Mentioned)
 * Chapter 13: Rogue Agent (Mentioned)
 * Chapter 14: Kill Switch (Mentioned; Physical Appearance Determinant)
 * Chapter 15: Loyalty
 * Chapter 16: Last Gasp
 * Chapter 17: Retribution (Mentioned; Physical Appearance Determinant)

Your Character
You see his shadow for the first time in Chapter 4 through the computers when he hacks the hospital, but you don't interact with him until you stumble onto him in the Reids' mansion. Despite you and Agent Gray's efforts to take him down, he manages to escape by having The Contractor and his guards attack you.

Rowan Salazar
Rowan Salazar (Who is revealed to be The Contractor) works for Johann, and handles all his dirty work.

Malcolm Reid
Malcolm used to be the Johann's supplier. He provided him everything the Architect needed, and in return, Malcolm knew everything he was planning. Malcolm was soon cut off and Johann took all the money, so he went to Chester, the Sanctuary's CEO, to get his true identity. After the Architect kills Alexis, Malcolm threatens to expose the Architect's true identity, and is killed as well.

Known Victims

 * 7 unnamed victims (Died during the explosion of a Brisco oil rig)
 * Alexis Reid (Shot by Johann because he/she knew nothing)
 * Malcolm Reid (Shot by Johann to prevent him from exposing his identity)
 * Chester Stromberg (Shot by Johann after serving his purpose)
 * Rowan Salazar (Shot by Johann after he/she betrayed him)

Miscellaneous

 * -|Promo=

Trivia

 * He is shown on the cover of The Phantom Agent.
 * His crimes include hacking, ransomware, terrorism, murder, and mass murder.
 * In Chapter 13, his real name is revealed to be Johann Skovgaard.
 * In Chapter 16, you can decide his fate by either handing him over to GAIA, or killing him yourself.