Editing Joey Hunt (section)

==== Joining the military and building a life ====
At 18, after graduating from high school, his father encouraged him to join the street-selling business. Patrick refused. Instead, he enlisted in the United States Navy, seeking independence, stability, and opportunity. Military life sharpened him further. Through Navy education programs, he studied economics while serving and earned his college degree.

After completing his studies, Patrick volunteered for the grueling selection process to become a Navy SEAL. He passed.

It was years earlier, during his time training in a rundown boxing gym, that Patrick had met the man who would become his closest friend. [[MJ|Marcus Joe]]—known simply as "MJ"—was from Davis, a rough neighborhood in Los Santos. Raised around the Families, he deliberately walked away from gang life in pursuit of something more American, more structured, and more civilized. Like Patrick, he was disciplined, introspective, and driven by the need to become better than where he came from. Their bond, forged through sweat, violence, and mutual respect, would follow Patrick through his military career and long after.

He served as a SEAL for six years, operating in high-risk covert missions across the globe. One of the most notable was his involvement in the operation that led to the assassination of Osama Bin Laden. During that same period, tragedy struck at home—his younger sister was killed in a car crash. The loss reached him while he was deployed. It was devastating, yet unresolved, grief buried beneath duty and silence.

Patrick left the military changed but still outwardly functional. Drawn back to numbers and structure, he returned to school around age 27 and pursued a university degree in Business Analytics. By age 30, he graduated with distinction.

After completing his degree, Patrick relocated to Liberty City and accepted a position at the Liberty City Bank as a senior client risk and security advisor—a role that blended his military background with his analytical education. Officially, he oversaw high-value client onboarding, fraud mitigation, and personal security assessments. Unofficially, he was the man brought in when situations felt off. The job paid well, kept him sharp, and still placed him face-to-face with customers.

It was there that he met his future wife, Eleanor Wright, a new client opening a long-term investment account. Their first meetings were professional, then personal. Conversations lingered longer than necessary. On one late evening, alone in the manager’s office, restraint gave way to impulse. They were never caught. What began as secrecy quickly turned into something real.

Within a year, they married. Not long after, they welcomed a daughter called Jane and settled into family life. For a time, everything felt earned and complete. Life was stable. Patrick was attentive, affectionate, and present—a devoted husband and father. For the first time, he believed the past was behind him.