One of Yours?

[Grace]

I'm learning that all sorts of people come visit and use this site.

Take my last mark for example.

You see, I was hired again, by the contact that got me involved in all of this supernatural stuff in the first place. The very same one that first directed me to this site. He (I really shouldn't say 'he', I have no idea what gender this joker is) contacted me through the usual channels. I looked into the mark and was going to reject the contract on the basis that the target was human.

But I was gently encouraged ($$$) to investigate the matter further.

This guy started out as a paranormal researcher in college. Other than his field of study, he was an average guy in every respect. Well liked, played sports but always on the 'B' teams, got decent grades but had to pay his own way through college. Probably would have married right out of college and had the typical 2.5 kids.

Then things got a little too real for him, I guess. I don't know what it was exactly, but he got too close to something. Whatever it was, killed the future Mrs. Joe Average. It was glossed over in the media and covered up by the local police. One officer retired with a fat medical pension and was quite telling by what he wouldn't say.

So this trigger event changed him from researcher to hunter.

I'm sure up to this point, this story seems very "Joe Average" to all of you and the various ways that you and your colleagues have become 'enlightened'.

Unfortunately for Joe Average Ghost hunter, he lost a little more of his sanity with every encounter with the supernatural. At first he would only hunt things that went bump in the night. One source informed me that he would even spare 'good' or 'well meaning' ghoulies and the like. Then finally he was duped by one of these so called do-gooder creatures and a little girl lost her life.

After that, if it wasn't human, it was fair game.

Still sounding familar?

But wait, there's more.

Eventually he became increasingly paranoid, seeing government conspiracies everywhere. I know this because he kept very detailed, and very meticulous journals and log books. The part of him that was a researcher never really died, I guess. At some point, this paranoia justified in his mind that government employees were all either active participants in these back door shenigans or else blind dupes. Either way, they were acceptable losses in the war against the unholy.

I think that some of you, if you aren't here yet, are within sight of it.

From here, things deterioated predictably. He no longer avoided collateral damage, allowing civilians to come to harm and in a couple of cases, even death. Those deaths almost served to turn him around, based on what I read in his journals. It really tore him up inside. But, he 'got over it' and carried on with his crusade against the unnatural. The last time he went hunting, he was using orphans as bait for something called a 'Boogie Man'.

That was when I decided to take the contract, I think. Sure I sort of decided not to do humans anymore, but that 20mm I'm saving for won't buy itself.

After Mr. Average died, I went into his apartment and grabbed his books, papers and computer. The computer showed that he visited this site daily. He didn't have a log in, but he went over every post without fail. Many he copied and pasted and then organized into files complete with cross-referencing. He was making observations about all the active (and some inactive) personalities found here. Including myself-somewhat ironically he had been considering hiring me.

Now, some of you must be assuming by now if, based on the title of this thread, that I think he might be more closely connected to this site and the people found here. Not at all.

You see, I did take the contract and he did die. But not by my hand.

Someone else took him out, quietly and cleanly. Who ever it was, I only beat him to the marks apartment by minutes and I had to flee through a second story window to elude my competitor. An informant at the police station told me that someone had been by to see if a computer or any data storage devices had been siezed.

A tech colleague of mine has informed me that the computer I grabbed had been hacked, so that any activity from the computer to this site would be logged and forwarded.

So, this competitor... is he one of yours?

[Ron Caliburn]

We've had watchers for a while and we probably will never be rid of them.

Asking us if the person who took this guy out is one of us isn't goign to be very productive considering all of us would have to answer in the negative for you to know for sure he wasn't affiliated some how.

All I can say for sure is he wasn't specifically tied to me.

Incidently, do you have the information that was collected? I'm always curious as to who knows what about me.

[Lord Shakar]

Interesting tale there Nemesis.

[Grace]

Sorry for the long delay in replying, Mr. Caliburn. I had to ditch someone.

Since I owe you a favor, I'll provide the information you requested. Do you want it in a PM or out in the open here?

[Willie Long]

Out in the open would be swell. I'd hate for mentally unstable lurkers with malevolent designs to have to work so hard in the future.

[Ron Caliburn]

Anything on me and my family I'd prefer sent privately - no point broadcasting anything more than necissary.