Neal Henderson

Neal Henderson is a massively-built Putrescible Waste Collector. He is in a relationship with Alison Dalton, and always carries a shovel with him. He calls the shovel Betsey and uses it as both a weapon and for defense. He is voiced by Sebastian H. Orr.

Appearance
The Narrator describes his shoulders as "broad and strong". Dora remarks on his muscles when telling Neal how she tailored a raccoon skin to fit him. When entering Al's Bar, he's described to be "half a head taller than anyone else", and later as six foot tall.

Due to his job as a PWC he usually smells very unpleasantly.

Season One
Neal first appears forcing his way out of a PeopleMover. He walks to the place Alison works as a Relations Technician and informs her that he will be quitting his job as a PWC, because he has found a beeping tube in the waste fields which he believes to be valuable to HartLife. He plans to sell it, and then he and Alison can use the money to build a life for themselves separate from HartLife. After starting an argument with Nathan Rourke on the PeopleMover, Neal teams up with the shady young man. Neal goes to the Science Faire in the hopes that they can tell him what the tube is. He learns there that he has found a class 5 containment tube: dangerous and valuable. Afterwards he throws Andrew off the train, as he overheard the entire conversation. But Neal fails to be very discreet about his movements and ends up getting tagged as a person of interest. This prevents him from getting erased from the system, which means that he can't disappear with Alison. When he and Nathan find Alison missing and her apartment ransacked, he is determined to find her and rescue her from "They Who Do Things." In the StreetSafe office, he uses Betsey to block Chamberlain's bullets. When Chamberlain grabs Betsey and throws her out the window of the tower, Neal jumps out after her.

Season Three
Neal is out on the tundra, making his way back to the tower. He kills a raccoon and shortly afterwards gets tranquilized by Dora, who mistook him for the raccoon she had set out bait for. While unconscious he has a confusing dream. He wakes up 3 days later in Dora's home. Neal thanks Dora for her hospitality, but says he has to go as he has to save Alison from "them". As they walk to the Tower, Neal explains how he got here: he fell from the tower, fell through a sinkhole where he spent a few days with an AntPerson, and then killed the raccoon. When they arrive at the Tower, Neal gives Dora a clover he got from the ant, as a thank you. When he opens the door, Loamy runs into him, fleeing from the Woken. Before Neal can attack them, they all explode. Loamy offers her help when Neal mentions he's looking for someone.

With Loamy's help he retrieves a key to a box where Alison kept a stash of money, hidden behind the brothel Alison used to work at. Candice, an elderly Relations Technician, informs them that the money was already gone. After being threatened by Loamy, Candice tells them she heard about Alison going to Al's Bar. Neal wonders, why Alison would just take the money from the box and leave behind their love notes. He and Loamy then head to Al's Bar.

In Al's Bar he and Loamy try to intimidate information about Alison out of the present Lightning Riggers. The bartender implies knowing something, but before they can get any information, Neal's card gets declined and alerts StreetSafe to his location. During Neal and Loamy's escape he loses Betsey. They hide in an access tunnel but get found shortly afterwards by a Lightning Rigger. He returns Betsey to Neal, "compliments of Lucky Strike". Neal and Loamy then head to Simon, who Loamy mentioned knowing.

From Simon he learns that he hasn't seen Alison's body, but also that he wouldn't have seen it if she died on a Lightning Rig. While they're talking, Simon notices that his tea has been laced with arsenic, which Neal tries as well and confirms. They vomit the tea all over Andrew, who arrives just then. Neal thinks he recognizes Andrew and apologizes if he ever threw him off a train. He then announces he'll head to the Lightning Rigs and leaves.

When Neal arrives at the Lightning Rig, he gets urine dumped over him by Jack. Neal knocks him out as Jack in on his way down, and takes the walkie-talkie and the keys he's carrying. He then makes it up to the day cage where he meets Benny, who recognizes him as the person who hit him with a shovel the other day at Al's Bar. Neal explains that he's still looking for Alison and strikes a deal with Benny: if Neal gives him the walkie-talkie, the keys, and puts in a good word with Cumulus Jane for Benny, Benny will tell him who to ask for information. When a lightning bolt strikes the Rig, Neal squeezes into the cage with Benny. Before he can lock the door, the Rig tilts sideways, causing them to lose the walkie-talkie. Because he wants to get rid of him, Benny tells Neal to ask the First Mate next.

When Neal makes it to the Captain's Pod, he knocks out the First Mate for insulting him, not realizing who he is. After some back and forth with the Captain, who accuses Neal of being a spy, the Captain finally agrees to helping Neal. She sends for one of Lucky Strike's people, who is the actual boss of the Rig and would know best what is going on.

Cumulus Jane leads Neal to Lucky Strike. Lucky explains, that Alison came to him, asking to be put somewhere, where no one would find her. She has since broken his trust by selling information to HartLife, and Lucky wants her gone from his Rig—whether that be by her leaving with Neal or her having an accident. He tries to warn Neal, that Alison is not who Neal thinks she is, that she's untrustworthy and cold-blooded. Neal doesn't believe him. Lucky then tasks Cumulus Jane with taking Neal to Alison, warning him that her Rig is difficult to get to.

Neal and Cumulus Jane take a cable car to get to the Ghost Rig. The driver of the car, Meatsey, tries to threaten or kill them, as he believes they mean harm to "Captain Alison", but Neal grabs him by the throat and chokes him, until Cumulus Jane tells him to stop. Neal tells him to get them across, so he can take Alison home.

Trivia

 * His parents were algae farmers.
 * He says he's known Alison since they were kids.
 * His D&D alignment and class would be (Lawful) Neutral Good Paladin or Hexblade Warlock (with Betsey as the Hexblade) according to Jim McDoniel.