The Ties That Bind

[Holister]

I got a call this morning. From all the people in the world, my younger brother Tom. Yes, even I have family. I even have a lil' sister and folks that live in Boca, Fla. I know that I don't normally talk bout my family much, specially my brother Tom.

Me an' Tom never got along. I was the oldest and he was the middle kid. I was on the football team, he was a towel boy, I joined the force like pop, he's a security gaurd for a warehouse in Portland. Needless to say, he's the last person in the world who would just call me out of the blue like that.

That's all sides the point I reckon, casue when Tom called me in the middle of the night, his voice shakin' like a leaf and actually asked for my help. I couldn't say no. Not to family, not ever.

I suppose I should let ya'll in on the conversation.

Tom pulls down a graveyard shift for a bunch of warehouses down in Portland (the real one here in Maine, not that other one on the OC). Its the only job he could get after flunkin' out of the academy and gettin' into trouble with a bookie. Anyway, he calls and says he needs my help. Turns out ol' Tommy Boy has been tryin' to turn his life round and has even been takin' courses at a community college to better himself. Electrician or somethin' like that.

Anyway, he says that he has also been seein' this girl who works at a local soup kitchen in town round the corner from where he works. She tells him that alot of the locals, ya' know, regulars, streetfolks, have been disappearin' over the past couple of weeks.

Tom of course says he'll look into it for her (he always was a sucker for a pretty red head with a good rack). So he does as he says and decides to check out the local spots in the area; alleys, tunnels, some old buildings. After a few nights he was about to give he tells me, until last night when he found somethin'. He says he saw a monster carryin' away some bum.

Why would he call me then? Cypress Cove has always been known as a strange place where stange things, and he got word from the folks that I was sheriff here. That and he found my name of this dam website. Yeah; he checked out this site of all places to try and find answers when he saw my name.

Now I am headin' down to Portland tomorrow and try to find out what is snatchin' up homeless folks and help my brother. I know that this is probably nothing, a boogeyman at worst, he never really said. So I think I can handle this, but I'll be bringing Carter along for the ride just in case.

I may be offline for awhile, so if someone could keeps tabs on the ol' place an' my family every once in awhile I'ld appreciate it.

Thanks a bunch

[Grace]

Good luck.

It's important to take care of family.

[Hannah]

. . . (he always was a sucker for a pretty red head with a good rack) . . .

So you're saying we should keep him away from Darcy?

Let us know what happens and remember, you're cooking at the BBQ on Memorial Day.

[Grace]

. . . (he always was a sucker for a pretty red head with a good rack) . . .

So you're saying we should keep him away from Darcy?

Somehow I missed this.

Anyway, if he's a sucker with lots of money and not a lot of brains...

[Holister]

Fortunately he has neither so stay the Hell away from my family; heck stay the Hell out of my town. Ya' know what, just stay out of my state period!

[Grace]

I wonder if the mayor knows it's your town or the governor that it's your state? Or the many other people who live there?

No matter, I couldn't really be less interested in getting involved with your kin.

Somethings just aren't worth any amount of money.

[skeptic]

Just stop.

[Grace]

Just stop.

Stop what, Mr. Cranky Pants?

[skeptic]

Bickering.

[Grace]

Whatever you say, Mr. Cranky Pants.

[skeptic]

I wish.

[Grace]

What do you wish? That your pants were cranky?

[Holister]

Ok, I have a heads up since yesterday. Apparently Tom isn't so dim. Last nite two more fellas got snatched & grabbed. I've been checkin' round locally to try and get a better idea of what I'm dealin' with.

Of course Tom who doesn't know squat from a cowpatty keeps sayin' " Is it a vampire, right, itsa vampire? Maybe its a werewolf. I hear they eat people?"

Oh lord help me on this one.

I'll tell ya' what. After spending a few days here in Portland I have a better respect for Ronny. How he's able to handle that Blight of his day after day is beyond me.

Well I gotta go, Tom just got back with breakfast.

[Holister]

Ok, I reached a new level on the strangeness meter. I've been talkin' with the local PD about the disappearances.


As if they gave a rats ass. All I got from them was a few less bums to chase off.

One fella who was a desk sgt. gave me the time of day and some professional curtesy. We chatted it up over some coffee at the local diner. Told me that folks and animals had been goin' missin' around this part of town for a few weeks now. Mainly just street folk, gang bangers, druggies, and the like.

Turns out some business guy also went missin' earlier this week after leavin' work. No one's seen or heard from him since.

In regards for animals, usually alot of stray cats and dogs. Those have become rare over the past few weeks too. The rats too he pointed out have become scarce.

Come to think of it, I did notice an absence of vermin both human and animal in my patrols over the past two nights.

Anyhows, the desk sgt. pointed toward a local minister who might be able to help me out. In the meanwhile I have Tommy just runnin' errands and keepin' his butt out of trouble.

I still don't know what I may be dealin' with so if anyone hear familiar with urban critters mind givin' me some feedback, it'ld be much obliged.

[Shang Li]

Kyuuketsuki do not kill the local animals, although perhaps whatever they would have guard their sleep would.

The Lycanthrops I have known would seek the quietest area nearby their hunting grounds for their lairs, ask Kelly what a large truck going by sounds like to her ears.

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Your family here is doing well, Molly and I have started an "erosion controll" project for her militant group, the ones with the brown uniforms - although why they use selling cookies to teach organization is beyond me, although it appears to do wonders for the recruitment among younger girls. Anyway, the saplings should be arriving in 2-3 days. Molly had to bribe the mayor to get us permission to start planting - although I have no idea why such a man would insist on a bribe of 1 box of cookies for such a permission, it was a price we were happy to pay.


Amaterasu walk with you and light your path my friend.

[Holister]

They're not a militant group...that would be her Girl Scout troop Master Li. But you are correct, I myself have been bribed many a time with a box of Thin Mints.

Anyway, I want to know if anyone knows anything about large spiders with a death's head markin' on is @$$ end. That is what has been snatchin' up folks and critters round here.

Tom damn near shat himself when he saw the thing. I was for lack of a better word, surprised, when I saw it make off with a mugger last night. Fast SOB too. That poor bastard never saw it comin'.

I followed it for as long as I could, but lost it when it went up a wall. Seein' that Peter Parker I ain't it kinda got away from me. So I will be needin' help on this one afterall.

Any takers? Just drop me a line here. Not you though Master Li, I would prefer if you stayed close by my family in case unwanted visitors come a' callin'.

Give Kell, Moll, and Sammy my best.

[Shang Li]

It is not there for food, it is there for magic. Be cautious, for although physicly powerfull enough to make a daunting challenge to any hero, that is not where their strength lies. They are un-ageing, and spend their time seeking new magics to learn or steal and new knowledge.

Be cautious of the spider's webs and traps, and not just the physical ones. It is nearly impossible to overstate how cunning and utter malevolent these things are.

[Hannah]

Anyway, I want to know if anyone knows anything about large spiders with a death's head markin' on is @$$ end. That is what has been snatchin' up folks and critters round here.

That sounds like the spider thing that my dad found under that asylumn a couple years back.

[Logan]

I'll look you up while I am in town, sheriff. If you've got a solid lead, I'll put together a TacResp unit. If not I'll start leaning on the shelters and soup kitchens, local tells me you've already chatted with them.

And sheriff, make your brother zip it already - locals already wondering if they should put him in psych for "evaluation", and we both know how big city DA's become big city judges. I did get you a copy of the 1313, if you want it, damn thing's worthless though - just a local beat walker who noticed and reported the lower population in the area along with his reccomendation for an investigation his brass has no stomach for. You can have your buddies at the annex fax it to you. Get a motel with a fax at the front desk nextime, would ya?

[Holister]

Who the heck are you again? After the night I had I don't reckon I care at this point just as long as you ain't some reanimated corpse tryin' to kill me or some swarm of spiders. Im goin' to bed.

[Logan]

I am not surprised you don't remember me, sheriff, as we haven't met in person.

As for a re-animated corpse, well I ain't one of those yet, I don't think, and I doubt the nearrby exterminators have the right equipment for a spider infestation of that type.

Got a team stitched together, mostly local swat, but two of em are gents I've worked with before on similar events, and one is former delta.

By the way, you haven't seen any dead members of the Kennedy family walkin around have ya? State attourney general's kid swears that he's being blackmailed by Robert and John Kennedy, and daddy insists on full federal investigation before shipping the brat off to rehab or the psych ward over the hallucinations.

Like I said, I'm in town, and I have a feeling your investigation will turn out to be more fruitfull than keeping some politico from having to admit his kid's on drugs and mentally unstable.

[Professor Ali]

Hello friends,

I have been away from the action for a little time. It would seem that my herbal remedies were dulling my sensitivities. I probably shouldn't have spent so much time in rasta music clubs following the Bermuda Triangle investigation.

As luck would have it, I am coming into Portland today. I will be helping to translate some archeological texts. My nights should be free if you would like the help.

My area od expertise is Middle Eastern history and mythology. I am afraid that I know nothing about spiders. Might it have been a different arachnid, perhaps a scorpion? The old myths involve a lot of scorpions.

[Holister]

Any help would be appreciated. But it is a spider, something called a Death Weaver or Demon Spider. Great. Do they have to make demon everything....seriously. Isn't a regular overgrown spider the size of a buick bad enough, but one that uses magic too.

Again with the reanimeted corpses of dead things. Heck I had undead dogs come at me last night. FRICKIN' HALF EATEN DOGS!

Then with the spiders, always with the spiders. I never knew Maine had large hairy spiders. This is nuts! I really have to thank Tom for draggin' me into this mess, but heck, he's family and this is what I do.

I do beleive however we found its lair. Apparently since this thing is smart, I decided to profile it like ya' would a serial killer. Turns out its " huntin' zone " is a web like pattern. Care to guess where its home is....the dang warehouses that Tom gaurds.

So somewhere amonsgt those run down old factories and warehouses is a giant. spell castin' spider with undead and spiders protectin' it. Sounds like fun to me.

I need to retire.

[Professor Ali]

The British author Douglas Adams once observed that no known language has ever produced the phrase which translates to "pretty as a an airport." It is true that air travel in the United States as always been frustarting for me, but this week was worse. An attempted bombing in Times Square has this effect. Still, I suppose that a few extra minutes spent in security isn't too bad for a man like me. All and all, I expected worse.

If these security guards knew of the things I did during the Soviet occupation, there would be no question of my status as a terrorist.

The strongest reaction, surprisingly, was from Mister Thomas Hollister. I met him at Ben's hotel room last night. He was fine at first if somewhat nervous around me. As we discussed the case, he began questioning whether or not I was needed. It was a valid question, I suppose, but neither Ben nor I thought that my expertise was the source of his objections. Ben and Tom began arguing about it. Then, Tom said that he couldn't trust me. Ben responded with words I can repeat here. I decided to leave them to work it out themselves. I checked into my own hotel room and got what rest I could. I dreamt that I was a mouse in a maze, a brown mouse of course.

This morning, I arose early for dawn prayer. Dawn comes too early this time of year. I chose a jogging route which went past the warehouse which Ben mentioned. I did not feel the usual bad feelings I get when monsters are nearby. Ben,I do not doubt your abilities as a crime investigator, but I remain unconvenced that a magic spider is at that location. Could it have relocated since you gathered your data points?

I did not look inside. Instead, I went to the college and made myself busy translating. It's fascinating work. The college really has found something special, but that is a topic for another thread. I am taking a lunch break now. I will probably put in another hour here, and then I will quit early to get some rest. This particular project is very draining, so I will be useless to Ben unless I rest for a few hours.

[Holister]

I have to appologize for Tom there Ali. Ever since 9/11 he's been a bit of a racist. He won't get in a' face like that again I promise ya' that.

[Logan]

Actually, Ali, don't forget that during the Sov. occupation you weren't a terrorist, you were a group of "freedom fighters" with this nation's approval, both governmental and public.

I'll send you a bottle of what you drink, and I'm supposed to say "it's from Charlie Wilson's boys."

[Shang Li]

Things are going well here, although I think you may need to talk to Molly's seargent in the girl scouts, I think she believes I am a young leacher, even though this body hasn't begun to respond in those ways.

The pallet of sakura from the temple at Ise has arrived, and is almost done with the planting.

Kelly only growls at Okkikan when she needs a laugh now, first a growl, then a good laugh at Okkikan's panic, then she looks incredibly sheepish for a few minutes when molly puts her hands on her hips and glares at her. (Yes that glare, and she mimics it almost perfectly.)

Oh the Mayor came by, he was mad as the dickens about some softball game you were supposed to be an official for. He did go pale when I asked which is more important, smacking a ball with a stick and running, or saving lives. I believe he regretted bothering Molly and Kelly about it in public. Ms. Kelly said it was a very mean thing to ask.

Come home safe, my friend - you have much to come home to.

[Professor Ali]

Would you like to know what life is like in Portland? It is like this.

[Holister]

Well another evil SupNat threat has been adverted, of course I do all the hard work with the help of Prof Ali, and Tom gets the girl. Go figure? But who said life was fair.

Anyway, thanks alot for the help on that last case Ali, it was great working with you. Ill get a War Stories post going most likely by tomorrow.

As for you Logan. Your just a creepy guy with a twisted sense of humor. We got the package at the Annex. Cute. Stay the hell out of my town please.

[Logan]

I go where the job takes me, sheriff.

I hope my services are never needed in your little town, it has enough "oddities" about it that my presense in a working capacity would be unfortunate.

Turns out the politician's brat was halucinating, but wasn't making it up. His blackmailer was hitting him with an aerosol of LSD 15 minutes before arranging the meetings, and had a decent costume. Fortunately that mean's it's the FBI's case now, not mine.

Almost forgot, I was the second person to run your and your brother's credit cards. I don't know who else thinks your an article of intrest, but I wasn't the only one bothering to run leg-work on you.