A glossy file lays on the table, a "Confidential" label scrawled over the front. Eager to gain an insight into the character of a woman in her forties, you cautiously open the file. The subject's description follows -

Name: Shira Kaganov

"Shira" is a Jewish name from Hebrew, translating to 'song' or 'poem', while "Kaganov" is a Jewish surname of Russian/Ukrainian origin, meaning ruler.

Age: 40 years

Gender: Female

Ancestry/Ethnicity: Shira is a native Jewish woman, having been born and raised in Tel Aviv, Israel. Her mother is predominantly of native Israeli descent, while her father migrated from Samara, Russia, to Tel Aviv when he was a child.

The surname "Kaganov" is derived from Shira's paternal side, indicating traces of Russian genes within her. Her paternal grandfather held considerable power within their large community in Samara (hence the surname "Khagan" or ruler), and her family continues to have relations (albeit very distant) with descendants of the Russian royal court.

This Russian connection has not been largely acknowledged by Shira, owing to her limited exposure to the side of the family and considering her Israeli citizenship primarily.

Physical Appearance and Attributes:
Shira stands at a height of 5 feet and 5 inches, although she enhances it by wearing heels (platforms or boots) that add two inches to her natural height.

Shira's raven black hair is usually worn long, or styled in a ponytail, especially during work hours or combat training in the Israel Defence Forces. Her grey eyes are of unknown origin, as neither her father nor mother possess this physical attribute.

Clothing style/Accessories:
Shira's clothing preference is highly influenced by her working lifestyle. Outfits that allow mobility (pants and trousers, shirts, comfortable footwear with an aversion for stilleto heels) comprise a large part of the woman's wardrobe.

Personal history:

Born in Tel Aviv, Israel, Shira Kaganov lived an average life as a student and had a close relationship with her older brother. Her top subjects at school were history and psychology, and her participation in Mock UN Conferences in high school laid the foundation for her aptitude in negotiation and public speaking.

Interestingly enough, Shira never intended for Psychology to be her major in college. What influenced her decision to study the subject was a psychology professor's remark in high school.

"Miss Kaganov, I strongly believe that your methodical and steady manner of negotiation in MUN conferences would be enhanced by a knowledge of the human psyche."

A knowledge of the human personality and pattern of thinking strongly appealed to the young girl, who decided to pursue a specialisation in psychology as a future career.

At the age of eighteen years, immediately after graduation, she joined her classmates in a mandatory conscription into the Israel Defence Forces (IDF), where she acquired basic training in handling weapons, as well as unarmed combat. After serving the compulsory two-year conscription for women (three years for men), Shira pursued a higher education in the field of psychology, fulfilling her high school aspiration.

Education and Career:

Having earned a PhD in military psychology from the University of Tel Aviv at the age of thirty, Kaganov rejoined the IDF in her capacity as a psychologist -
Employed in the Malat, an IDF Operations Directorate unit specialising in psychological warfare.

Under Dr Kaganov's guidance as millitary psychologist and a Captain, the IDF was able to win key battles against neighbouring countries, owing to her psychological tactics of gaining public support and shaping their opinion through media. The Malat also profited from Shira's manipulation of foreign Prisoners of War, who yielded and turned as informants to the IDF.

While continuing to assist the Malat, Dr Kaganov was also employed to provide psychological and counselling assistance to soldiers suffering from PTSD. Although there is a lack of evidence to support it, Shira is said to have employed hypnosis and unconscious suggestions to influence her clients' decisions and actions.

Despite having only minor traces of Russian genes, the Kaganov family was kept under close watch by the Russian administration, unbeknownst to them. Having acquired national prominence as a military psychologist, Shira was sought after by multiple countries to train their psychological divisions of the armed forces.

Rumours of Dr Kaganov succumbing to a large bribe from the Russians surfaced when the IDF lost ground in a crucial territorial conflict. The defeat was facilitated by the disastrous decision of a General, who was earlier counseled by the psychologist, who may have employed hypnosis to make the General feel that the decision was ultimately his own.

Fearing a public scandal amid the rumours of Dr Kaganov turning a mercenary, the IDF discharged her from the armed forces, although evidence needed to convict her was inadequate. Dr Kaganov severed all connections with the Israeli military, and migrated to Russia on a self-imposed exile, forfeiting her family, fiance, and a previously offered promotion as Major in the Malat.

Shira Kaganov currently resides in Saint Petersburg, Russia, where she is a top consultant to a major Escape Room designing company, which relies on her knowledge of human psyche to build new challenges.

Personality and Quirks:

Shira is an extroverted individual, albeit picky about the company she keeps. Her house is the centre of weekly academic debate sessions and conventions of psychology enthusiasts.

Her fascination with human personality leads her to view every person she interacts with as a subject, although the one person who does not succumb to her psychoanalysis is her neighbour and psychiatrist, Dr Lavrov.

Shira also indulges in a game of chess with herself every evening, as a cognitive activity, and has the eccentricity of always playing as black when competing with other opponents.

Skills and Interests:

She is an ornithophile and considers the Eurasian Sparrowhawk nesting in her garden as something of a pet.

Shira is a keen observer of human behaviour, and can spend hours watching people at cafes or in the neighbourhood park, attempting to predict their next move.

Owing to a phase in her life where certain individuals wished for her disappearance (after moving out of Israel), Shira also developed a mastery for disguise and blending in inconspicuously with the crowd.

Vanilla tea, a concoction she trusts only herself to brew, is her go-to drink for every occasion, especially while browsing through a history encyclopedia from her bookshelf.

She is also in touch with the combat training she received in her former years at the IDF, and revives her practice of Krav Maga once in a while.

Linguistic abilities:

Shira is fluent in English, Hebrew and Russian, along with International Sign (which she occasionally uses to communicate with deaf clients).

Likes and Dislikes:

Dr Kaganov dislikes loud people, as well as their unruly children, in public places.

She has an aversion to dust settling on objects, and this diligently eliminates dirt from her tabletops and shelves every day.

Shira adores watches and clocks of all kinds, having an appreciable collection of the items in her home library, which also houses dozens of editions of classic literature she flips through on weekends.

Strengths:

• A knack of predicting people's behaviour after brief periods of observing them in their natural habitat.

• Patience when dealing with people, enabling her to effectively listen and manipulate (not always negatively) their decisions.

Weaknesses:

• Speed, which she does not possess in physical activities, especially running.

• Criticism, which Shira cannot take in good spirit. She cannot stand being told she is wrong (even if she is), giving her a slight egotistical edge.

"I criticise myself so that you don't have to."

Fears:

• Acrophobia (fear of heights), which impedes her ability to travel by air.

• Nyctophobia (fear of darkness), which may have developed after Shira witnessed a cave-in in the mountains as part of an IDF training operation.

Special abilities:

Dr Kaganov possesses an eidetic memory, enabling her to recall objects and people for a brief period after they are no longer present.

Through experiments in self-hypnosis, she is able to commit these items perceived into her long term memory, evident from her inability to forget a client's face, or certain conversations with past colleagues.

Additional information:

Although Shira was required to give up all relationships and connections with her home in Israel after moving to Russia, her brother is the sole person she is still in touch with.

Working as a Mossad agent, he occasionally has pieces of sophisticated military equipment and technology covertly supplied to his sister, if the situation justifies it (as in the case of life threatening events, such as when she initially migrated to Russia and was tailed by suspected IDF agents).