TB: Character: Rick Hunter

Half of the Thomas Book stories involve friends that he's either made along the way or will make through the course of the journal. These friends are often larger than life and sort of like Thomas' own Seven Samurai if he ever had to pull in help. One of these friends is a character by the name of "Eric (Rick) J. Hunter".

Rick Hunter, one of Thomas' best friends and guides in the Amazon

I'm not sure how they met, but I'm guessing it involved some kind of adventure in a forgotten Mayan temple. Maybe Rick helped Thomas get out or Thomas used his contacts to bail Rick out of a Columbian jail. Anything's possible but I like the 'bailing him out of jail' idea. Rick strikes me as the kind of guy who would get ankle deep into trouble before he got his boots laced up in the morning and would end up waist-deep in trouble before lunch if there was a friend involved.

Rick and Thomas have the kind of relationship where half of their conversations involve "Remember that time when..."

It would be very bad if any of Thomas friends back in New York were to ever get Rick drunk enough to start telling stories about their trips together. While in NY, Thomas tries to keep an image of respectability and professionalism, but a few bottles of some scotch (Rick's favorite drink) and he'd be more than just a little embarrassed.