Arthur Herk is Anna's husband and Jenny's stepfather. He is a terrible man, often abusing Anna, and he is responsible for the bomb falling into the hands of Snake. He works for Penultimate Incorporated as a middleman for the bribes and weapons sales the corporation conducts in the area, but has been stealing from them in the recent months. In response to this, Penultimate has sent Henry and Leonard to kill him, and when Arthur discovers this, he decides to try to buy a missile in order to expose the weapons dealers and Penultimate in order to save himself, although he isn't clear on the details past that point.
Arthur is the villain of the novel in many ways, and although he doesn't place anyone in direct danger, he is portrayed as only slightly more intelligent than Snake, and his actions often serve to make life difficult for the other characters. He shows no interest in protecting either Anna or Jenny from the shooters at the beginning of the novel or Snake and Eddie the next day, and Anna holds a serious grudge against him as a result of his inaction. He is handcuffed to an entertainment center and poisoned by the giant frog in his backyard, and suffers from hallucinations afterwards and is committed to a psychiatric institute. After his release, he is divorced from Anna and dies mysteriously on a fishing trip, even though he has never been fishing before.
