Valerie Peterson

Valerie Peterson was the childhood friend of Nathan Johnson. When he went on the run from the mob in 2010, he briefly stayed with Valerie and her family until it was safe for him to come home. Several months later the pair of them met for dinner in City 14. Valerie faced traumas later in life, such as being nearly murdered by a serial killer known as the Mad Axeman, and later being captured and experimented on by the secret society Clandestine Company. Despite trying to move on and live a normal life, her life was claimed by Tony Bateman.

Background
Valerie grew up in the same neighbourhood as Nathan Johnson and they were childhood friends until she moved away with her family. Her exact activities during the Combine occupation are unknown, but after the Combine were defeated she resided in City 16 and had a family of her own, which included a husband and two sons.

Looking out for Nathan
In June 2010 Valerie was visiting relatives in City 14 when she bumped into Nathan. They caught up after not seeing each other for nearly 30 years.

A few weeks later Valerie agreed to give Nathan a place of residence after he found himself on the run after killing mob boss Tony Angelo. She got acquainted with her husband and children and seemed to get on fine, but he chose to move out as he didn't want them caught up in any reprisals. Nathan was spared from execution by the mob, he had planned to kill Tony regardless of whether or not Nathan carried out the deed.

Valerie and her husband and children had dinner with Nathan in the New Year 2011. They then returned to City 16.

Hunted by a Killer
In February 2013 Valerie and her husband and sons moved to City 14. But around this time a serial killer known as the Axeman was operating in the city and killing families. Whilst her husband was away, Valerie and her boys were held hostage at their home by the killer, who turned out to be a cousin of hers. Before the Axeman could execute them her husband returned and fought the murderer, only to be hacked to death. The police arrived and rescued the killer, but a devastated Valerie was left widowed and her children fatherless. They moved away a few weeks after the incident and returned to City 16.

Planned revenge and Capture
Over three years after her husband's murder Valerie returned to the area to find answers to his death. She uncovered that the killer worked for a cult simply named the Order, who in turn were a cover for a secret society known as the Clandestine Company. Stopping off at the White Forest Inn she tried to get answers, but the landlord refused out of fear. When two agents Dan Mason and Simon Simms turned up to investigate the Company, they began questioning Valerie to her connection after finding out she was asking similar questions. When she gave him the details, the sympathetic agents told her to return home and forget about it, as her sons need her. Valerie agreed and decided at that point to stop looking for revenge.

But things weren't so simple as Valerie arrived at her uncle's house to collect her youngest son Felix, only to find her uncle hacked to death and Felix gone. She is attacked by a mysterious figure and kidnapped. Valerie is taken to the White Forest Silo Base where she is experimented on. Dan and Simon retrieve her and when the place is set for destruction they attempt to escape. But as the three of them reach the exit, Valerie hears the cries of what seems to be Felix and runs back into the building. Dan and Simon find themselves forced to leave the facility, where it is then destroyed along with the evidence of the Company. Valerie's body cannot be found, but she is declared deceased.

Unknown to anyone, Valerie had been retrieved and taken to another secret facility, where her son was also being held along with other experiments.

Aftermath
Somehow Valerie escaped along with Felix and resumed to normal life following the downfall of the Clandestine Company. She moved on from her husband's death and remarried a few years later. She kept in contact with Nathan, and later revealed that she divorced from her husband, due to him not being who she thought he was. She later visited City 17 with Felix and Nathan went to have lunch with her.

Murder
In April 2021, Valerie stopped by Shell Town on the way to a family reunion, and booked into the Terminal Hotel, owned by Tony Bateman. Despite his meek and affable nature, Tony was a deranged serial killer driven by paranoia and severe delusions. During a black out he murdered Valerie and hid her body away, as he believed she was sent to take him down. This came eight years following her survival at the hands of the Axe Murderer. It was believed the Axeman had finally wiped her out and an investigation was launched, but the police were unable to find her body.

List of appearances

 * City 17 Street
 * Mafia Era