April 8, 1996

The Omega Team returns home to Hudson City.  After their experiences with the Susan Gael, Andrew is much more willing to take a jet back home from Glasgow.  They return home on a Virgin Atlantic 747.  They arrive at mid-morning at James Aberdeen International Airport and head directly to their own homes to recuperate from the jet lag.

By late that evening they become aware of the single most disturbing bit of news that occurred during their absence.  Arthur Connally (a.k.a. Ashtray Art) had escaped from the Toddberry Asylum.

April 9

That evening Dr. Thomas James is able to contact Bob Goldfield[1] and inquire about the escape of Ashtray Art.  D.A. Goldfield is unable to give much information other than that they believe that Ashtray Art was assisted in his escape.  The police are investigating but have little to go on.

This evening Dr. James has a dream that, with the help of his friends and Zhu Hsaio, he is eventually able to interpret.  He believes that something terrible is going to happen at Harpcor Towers, perhaps an armed take-over of the facility.

April 10

During the day the team hits the streets and starts to nose around about any unusual activity on the streets.  Since part of the dream featured a playing card, Andrew Hobbs and Eden Blake go looking for information on what Card Shark has been up to lately.  Their results do not seem to indicate any Card Shark activity of an unusual nature.

At one of the bars they visit Andrew notices a card tacked to a bulletin board that has a large W symbol on it.  He examines the card and finds that it has a telephone number written on the back of it.  No other writing or clues are available.

Specter and Dancer leave the bar and pick up Nightstick and Hippocrates[2].  Specter explains the situation about the card and they drive around town while Specter calls the phone number on his cellular phone.  The mysterious voice on the other end of the line says that certain things should not be discussed in the clear and asks them to check back on the card they saw in the bar, then severs the connection.

By evening Andrew and Eden are disguised and revisit the bar.  Nightstick remains in the vicinity of the bar In case they need aid.  By the time they get back to the bar the card has been replaced with an identical one.  This card has a post office box key attached to the backside.  They collect the key and prepare to leave when Eden spots something.  One of the thumbtacks in the bulletin board is odd looking.  When Andrew examines it he comes to believe that it is a micro-camera of some sort.  He drops the item to the floor and crushes it before they leave.

At the post office box they find a package.  It is in a plain brown wrapper with no return address.  Knowing that the Unabomber is believed to be captured they take the package with them.  Within the package is a cellular phone with a security feature[3].  It is a normal phone but has no marking on it to betray where it came from, or even what its own number is.  An hour after they pick it up it starts to ring.  Again the mysterious voice is on the other end.  The man on the other end states that he represents a company that would like to talk about obtaining the Omega Teams services.  He desires to meet with them face to face and even allows the Omega Team to pick the time and place.  Andrew chooses LeMastre Park, at the fountain, midnight tomorrow evening.

April 11

The morning paper has a noteworthy item in the headlines.  Late last evening agents of Card Shark hit the Thorson Museum of Archaeology in a daring raid.  Several guards were seriously injured but none were killed.  The agents took a pair of jade jaguar statuettes from the Mesoamerican exhibit.  The two jaguars are quite valuable, on the order of half a million for the pair, but none of the other museum treasures were even touched.

The rest of the day passes without incidents worthy of note.

Late that night the Omega Team makes its rendezvous a LeMastre Park.  There they meet a company man[4] by the name of Jason Calvin.  They begin a discussion as to why the CIA wants to talk the Omega Team.  Calvin and Hobbs[5] do all the talking.

Calvin explains that the CIA is not legally allowed to operate within the USA.  That is where the Omega Team comes in.  Certain things have come to the agencys attention that they believe the Omega Team would be interested in.  The Omega Team has pulled off some feats that have even impressed the company.

The terrorist organization known as the Legion of Death[6] may be planning a strike in the United States.  For years the terrorist/mercenary organization got most of its most lucrative work in the Middle East in the covert employ of groups like the PLO.  With the relaxing of tensions in that region the Legion of Death has operated for a few years in the former Yugoslavia.  But now even that source of employment has dried up.  The Legion of Death has started to feel the financial pinch.  Unlike most true terrorist organizations the Legion is more a mercenary group that specializes in terrorism.  They will bring the worlds attention to your groups plight in some horrible way, for the right price.  The CIA has sources that have indicated the group may try to pull off something big in the United States.  If they can succeed they will become the most publicized terrorists in the world, with every little faction in the world vying for their services.

Calvin goes on to explain that they have no idea when and where the Legion might strike and the FBI cannot possibly cover the entire country.  Calvin asks only that the team be alert to the possibility of terrorist activity.  If the terrorists strike in Hudson City and the Omega Team can do something about it, the CIA would owe the Team one.

The Omega Team says that they will do what they can in such an eventuality.  No one in the Omega Team drops any hints of their suspicions of coming events at Harpcor Towers.  Agent Calvin tells Hobbs to keep the cellular phone and gives them a phone number to call if they need to talk.

April 12

Andrew Hobbs and Eden Blake disguise themselves and attempt to gain information about the business at Harpcor Towers by socializing with some of the employees of the various firms there.  They are not very successful.  That evening the team enters the building, using Dr. James pass key[7], they get into some of the personal offices of executives of Harpcor Technologies and discover that several of the high ranking executives and stockholders are supposed to hold a private meeting on Monday, April 15^th at 10 p.m.

April 13

Eden Blake goes out and picks up one of the executives of Callahan Gem Importers.  She spends the day seducing him to find out what valuables the Importers will have in the building on Monday.  She discovers that the company will be storing one of its largest shipments ever, in their vault on the night of Monday April 15^th.

April 14

On the evening of the 13^th a murder is committed in the citys Gadsden district.  Since the counties chief medical examiner is on vacation and out of the state, Dr. Thomas James is called in to consult on the autopsy.  Data as follows;

Name: Kimberly Ann Brickford; Hair: Blonde, long; Eyes: Blue; Height: 57; Weight: 126 lb.  Race: White; Age: 27; Job: Secretary, Allied Mutual Insurance Company.

Wounds:  Bruises and signs of beating on the face and head; deep stab wound in right side; two-inch deep cut across stomach; throat slit (cause of death).  Time of death about 11:00 p.m. last night.

Scene of the Crime: The body was found twenty feet inside an alley next to a sewer grating.  The victim was shoved into the alleyway and thrown to the ground.  There were only a few blood splatters, but there was a large pool of blood indicating that the victim bled to death from a slit throat; she was blood type O+.  There was also a square shaped bloody smear (type O+) on the side of the alley away from where the victim was found; nobody knows what caused it.

Police Reconstruction based on Evidence Recovered: The police believe that Miss Brickford was walking home from a date with Greg Hassel, her current boyfriend, when she was attacked from behind (she was walking by herself because they had a fight that evening).  The attacker stabbed her in the side with a knife with a wide, slightly rounded blade, then shoved into the alleyway and threw her to the ground.  Then he hit her several times in the head, perhaps to keep her quiet.  The attacker then slit her throat and, as she bled to death, made the cut across her abdomen for unknown reasons.

Saliva and hair samples from the attacker were obtained.  The attacker is not a secretor, so his blood type cannot be ascertained from his saliva, although it would prove useful for DNA typing if and when he is captured.  The only fingerprints that were found were too smeared to be identifiable.

Dr. James manages to call Andrew Hobbs who goes out to look over the crime scene.  He is unable to find any additional evidence that the police may, or may not, have missed.  A seemingly innocent inquiry made by Dr. James to one of the police detectives reveals that Greg Hassel has an alibi of some sort.  The Omega Team does not pursue this matter any farther at this point.

April 15

The Omega Team all arrives at Harpcor Towers in the evening before 10 oclock.  Nightstick conceals himself in the basement of the building.  He finds a place that gives him a good view of much of the underground parking area and the majority of the stairway and elevator entrances.  Hippocrates swipes maintenance uniform and stashes a set of cling-grips and a force pistol inside the elevator shaft on the twelfth floor, near his rented office space.  He then retreats to his rented office[8] and waits.  Dancer and Specter, in disguise, go to late dinner at the Spinning Diamond restaurant[9] and keep an eye on the helipad on the adjacent Tower, and the guest who are eating here.

April 15, 10:15 p.m.

A helicopter approaches and lands on the helipad, at the same time Nightstick witnesses the arrival of a large catering truck in the parking garage below.  Armed men stream out of the catering truck and swarm up the south stairway.  Nightstick calls a warning over his radio to his teammates and begins to stealthily approach the two guards left at the truck.  The assault has begun.

The tense struggle that follows lasts for about a half-hour.  Of the 42 Terrorists that are involved in the take over attempt, 38 are killed or wounded.  Only five terrorists, led by Martyr, manage to escape.  Colonel Wolf if killed in the final fighting inside the building.

Of the Omega team, only Dancer is uninjured.  Specter takes a serious wound to his left arm at the hands of Colonel Wolf.  Hippocrates has several, very minor, wounds.  It is Nightstick who pays the highest price.  At one point in the battle Hippocrates had been captured by a group of terrorists.  Nightstick attacked to aid his comrade but was critically injured in the effort[10].  His attack succeeded in stunning two of the three terrorists and allowed Hippocrates to surprise the remaining guard.  Hippocrates soon dispatched the three terrorists.

The goal of the terrorists was apparently robbery.  They were trying to cut open the vault inside the offices of Callahan Gem Importers.  The CIA contact made good on his promise and the Omega Team was quietly evacuated from the building, and Nightstick rushed to Hudson City University Medical Center, with the cover story that he was a hostage shot by the terrorists.  Of 84 hostages, 79 were rescued without injury.  5 Hostages were killed along with 3 unfortunate firefighters[11].

Joe Dishwasher underwent surgery that evening.  Dr. Thomas James displayed nearly unbelievable skill.  After the procedure Trauma Surgeon Dr. Richard Wexley stated, Rarely is one lucky enough to witness so gifted a surgeon at work[12].

April 16

During the afternoon Zhu Hsaio and Eden Blake pay a visit to Joe Dishwasher at the Hudson City University Medical Center.  Zhu Hsaio waits until Joe is asleep and then requests that Eden leave him alone with his impetuous student.  Eden Blake waits down the hall for nearly a half-hour before she ventures back to Joe Dishwashers room.  Inside she finds that Zhu Hsaio is asleep in a chair and that he looks more pale and gaunt than usual.  Joe Dishwasher, however, seems to have regained his color and look much improved.  She awakens Zhu Hsaio when she checks to see if the old man has passed away.

Zhu Hsaio voice is weak but he insists that he will be fine.  He admonishes Eden to allow Joe to sleep.  No child, let him sleep he needs his rest.  Now you will take me back to my home so I may rest as well.

Early in the evening Dr. Wexley and Dr. James are astonished to find Joe Diswasher sitting up and reading in bed.  Their examination determines that Joe has seemingly healed at an unnaturally rapid pace.  Normally a patient with his injuries would take two weeks to heal as much as he has in a single day.

Local television and newspapers are highlighting the action of a new vigilante group that call themselves the Pack.  Three gang-bangers were shot to death by the vigilantes while setting in their car at a red light.  The police found 3 kilos of cocaine in the trunk of the car.  The vigilantes sprayed the car with automatic weapons fire while other motorists looked on.

April 17-18

Joe Dishwasher continues to recuperate at Hudson City University Medical Center.  He now seems to be healing at a more normal rate.  Due to the enormous strides in his recovery on the 16^th, Dr. Wexley has decided that he can be released tomorrow afternoon.

Authorities locate the helicopter used by the survivors of the Legion of Death terrorists. It has been abandoned at a small airstrip in a neighboring county.  No trace of Martyr or the other terrorists is found.

April 19

Joe Dishwasher is released from the hospital this afternoon.  Dr. Wexley requests that he comes by for a check up on Monday, April 22^nd.

Just after noon Card Shark agents raid a old movie memorabilia show that is in progress at the Hudson City Convention Center.  Two armed guards are gunned down when they attempt to intervene[13].  Stray bullets slightly injure two patrons of the show.  The Card Shark agents seize two pair of Ruby Slippers that were used in the original production of the Wizard of Oz. The Ruby Slippers are, of course, merely sequence but are worth an estimated $50,000 a pair to collectors.  Other more valuable items, such as guitar actually used by Elvis Presley in Viva Las Vegas, are untouched.

Sunday, April 20

About a week ago a pair of new vigilantes moved into Hudson City.  Predator[14] (a.k.a. Dutch Watkins) and Snapshot[15] (a.k.a. Daniel Sanders) are their names.  The two are long term associates who have just made the move from the Houston area.

Dutch and Daniel have been reading about the now, somewhat famous, vigilante group known as the Omega Team.  Since Dutch and Daniel are both former military men the idea of finding a team in which to work appeals to them.

Since the Omega team has proven hard to uncover through conventional means, Predator hatches a plot to make contact with them.  That evening, after consulting with Snapshot, he heads to the Strip to search for a few criminals and make his presence known.

He soon finds a couple of drug dealers and watches them from a nearby alley.  As he contemplates his available courses of action a car containing three Hispanics carry out a drive by on the two, Afro-American, drug dealers.  The shooting takes place regardless of the proximity of several bystanders (fortunately none are hit).  Predator takes out the cars engine with a well placed toss of his fisbee and then takes out the trigger man as the trio flee from their unseen attacker.  As the unconscious gunman lies bleeding to death, Predator carves a large W symbol in his chest.  Predator then departs.

The presence of the symbol carved in the chest of the deceased pusher obviously points to the Omega Team.  This is a little out of character for the normal behavior of the Omega Team and several of the detectives are worried.  This could indicate that the Omega Team is become jealous of all the media attention the Pack is getting, and that the violence will escalate.  The police are mystified about what sort of weapon was used to disable the car (it sliced through the fender, gashed the engine block, and then exited the grill of the car without leaving any residue except what seems to be an unknown lubricant).  The few witnesses in the area reported seeing a metallic streak that seemed twist and swerve sharply as well as appearing and disappearing out of thin air.

Records from early 1991 indicate a brief rash of similar incidents that resulted in the deaths of over a dozen known violent criminals and three police officers.  The FBIs MIB (Mysterious Incidents Branch) took over that investigation and has never shared their final conclusions with the Hudson City Police Department.

Monday, April 21

The morning papers are dominated by two stories.  The Pack has hit another drug house.  In the raid 3 people in the house were slain as well as two users who were just outside the house.  Unconfirmed reports state that a beastman[16] was working with the Pack.  The other story is about the rather blatant, for the Omega Team, killing of the drug dealer on the Strip.

Andrew Hobbs[17] is very upset when he reads the story in the morning paper and quickly contacts the other Omega Team members to discuss just what happened on the Strip last night.  It quickly becomes evident that none of the four Omega Team members[18] was responsible so they decide to investigate who is using their symbol and to what end.

By 10:00AM Dr. Thomas James has used his connections with Dr. Ernest Steiner (Chief Medical Examiner of Hudson City) to examine the body of the dead drug dealer.  With information obtained from the corners report and through their other connections they, they determine that something really unknown and weird was going on here.  They also recall and research the previous incidents from 1991.  Once they determine that the Feds took over and blacked out the previous incident, Andrew Hobbs contacts CIA agent Jason Calvin for further information.

By calling in the favor they were owed by the CIA they determine that the most directly involved person in the previous incident was HCPD Lt. Detective Dutch Watkins.  Mr. Watkins was a former US Army airborne ranger who was involved in a possible alien encounter in Central America in 1988.  After being the sole survivor of the encounter, he retired from the military and became an HCPD detective.  Three years later in early 1991 he again had the unfortunate coincidence to become involved with a second alien encounter in Hudson City.  Late in 1993 he was, involuntarily, recalled to active duty to investigate an alien crash in Siberia.  After that incident he returned to the US and became a private investigator in Houston, Texas.  Over the last year-and-a-half the Invisible Vigilante has been operating in the Houston area.  The CIA suspects that Mr. Watkins is the Invisible Vigilante and may be using some alien equipment that he retained.  Just last week Mr. Watkins moved back to Hudson City.  The CIA has not intervened against Mr. Watkins since he is considered a valuable asset whom they do not wish to further alienate.  Before Agent Calvin finishes his discussion with Mr. Hobbs he admonishes him not to harm or compromise Mr. Watkins in any way, and also not to reveal where they have gotten this information.

Around noon the Omega Team scouts the home of Mr. Watkins and quickly discovers he is not at home.  Savant hacks into the telephone company records to determine 6 new businesses have had telephone service installed over the last week.  Only one of these is a PI firm but the phone bill is in the name of one Daniel Sanders.  Joe Dishwasher recalls that there had been a minor hubbub in Chinatown about world renown (at least as far as avid Go players are concerned) Go player in town this weekend by that name.

By one oclock they have a plan and go to see Mr. Dutch Watkins, private investigator.  Andrew Hobbs (disguised to look a bit older) tells Mr. Watkins that he believes that his wife (played by Eden Blake) has been cheating him.  He pays Mr. Watkins $500 up front, plus expenses to place her under surveillance, starting immediately.  He explains that her car is now parked at the Basset Arms motel about 5 blocks away, he followed her there himself and suspects that she may be meeting with her lover.  Andrew leaves and Dutch proceeds directly to the motel to begin his surveillance.

Soon after Mr. Watkins arrives at the motel he observes the subject (Dancer) leaving the motel in her car, he follows her.  He soon finds himself in the suburb of Maple Valley.  He follows her through a railroad underpass and suddenly suffers a quadruple blowout[19].  Being mildly paranoid, Dutch floors it and in a shower of sparks begins to accelerate.  In his rear view mirror he spots a mobile automobile repair van[20] and also barely catches sight of a ninja looking character hopping in the back of if.  Predator veers off the road into some tall grass, quickly rips off his outer garments and activates the inviso-shield[21].  Predator soon finds three Omega Team members fanning out around his disabled car (Hippocrates, Savant & Nightstick).  Recognizing who they are he deactivates the inviso-shield and makes contact.

By four that afternoon they are back at the motel room the Omega Team had rented.  They discuss the incident of the 20^th and learn of Predators partner, Snapshot.  Dutch soon calls Daniel Sanders and he arrives at the motel where they continue their discussions.  The Omega Team gives Predator one of their cellular phones so they can keep in touch, and work together on a trial basis, then every body goes home.

The police have a couple of witnesses who report the incident of the car running a short distance on the rims and the mysteriously dressed people who were seen in the vicinity.  Since no shots were fired and no serious damage was caused to the street the police are not seriously interested in the incident.  A patrol officer looks at Dutch Watkins disabled car but Mr. Watkins soon makes arrangements to have his disabled vehicle picked up.  The private eye tells the police that he wishes to press no charges against any one and that client confidentiality in his current divorce case prevents him from discussing the matter further.  The police do not consider the incident worthy of investigation.

April 22

Andrew Hobbs begins to make some serious inquires into the escape of Ashtray Art.  Extensive investigations and inquires finally lead him to believe that a night orderly who has now vanished assisted in the escape of the psychopathic arsonist.  The orderly in question, Jerry Hodges (whose real name was Rod Hopkins), started work at the Todberry Asylum just after Ashtray Arts incarceration, and quit his job (and vanished) about a week after his escape.  Rod Hopkins had a record of several drug related offenses and was believed to be involved in the occult subculture.  The Omega Team becomes concerned that the Cabal might be involved in some way.

About 4 oclock in the afternoon police scanners alert the Omega Team (as well as Predator), of a violent home invasion in Irishtown district near Hudson City University.  Apparently Dr. Malcome McNeely, his wife, daughter and all 4 members of the household staff were murdered.  The invaders took only 4 small statuettes.  The statuettes are known as Tellas, they are of Hawaiian origin and are supposed to represent fire spirits that serve the great goddess Pel.

April 23

The Omega Team steps up their investigations about the activities of the Cabal.  Andrew Hobbs finds out that Lt. Theron Long[22] is currently in Todberry Asylum and is still in a catatonic state.  Through the use of Savants computer hacking, Dancers forgery and acting skills, and Hippocrates medical connections they arrange to have Lt. Long remanded to their custody so he can be subjected to a, safe, experimental treatment in an attempt to revive him.  That evening they charter a private jet and fly Lt. Long to New Orleans.

April 24

They take Lt. Long into the bayou near Galliano and leave him in the care of Mama Regina[23].  Mama Regina believes she can break the spell he is under but it will probably take a week or so.  She should know by the next full moon[24].

That evening they return to Hudson City sans Lt. Long.

April 25

Early in the morning the corpse of a woman is found in Bankhurst Park.  The media reports claim that police believe this to be the work of a serial killer, possibly the same killer responsible for the April 13^th murder.

The characters continue investigations into the doings of the Cabal, but are making no appreciable headway.

April 26

Dr. Thomas James is able to get into the MEs office and make inquires about the murder victim found on the 25^th.  Data is as follows:

Name: Monica Beverly Garrison; Hair Blond, short; Eyes Green; Height 59; Weight 130 lb.; Race White; Age 32; Job Advertising accounts manager, The Boyles Agency.

Wounds: Multiple stab wounds in the breasts, chest and stomach (cause of death), left arm hacked off halfway up the humerus (upper arm bone); she was blood type O+.  Carved on the rear of the lower right thigh is the word Bogeyman.  Time of death approximately 10:45PM April 24^th.

Scene of the Crime: The body was found inside a thicket in Bankhurst Park; a passerby saw a piece of red clothing and found the body when he investigated.  A sock (not one of the victims) was stuffed in her mouth.  Prints from sneakers and gloves are visible in the moist earth.  About thirty feet away are signs of a scuffle, indicating where she was probably tackled.

Police Reconstruction Based on Evidence Recovered: The victim was assaulted last night while she was jogging.  According to her fianc, Ted Parker, the two of them normally went jogging in the Park every evening at about 10:00PM, but he was sick that night so she went by herself.  The murderer tackled here while she was jogging, stunned her, and then dragged her into the thicket.  After stuffing a sock in her mouth to silence her, he stabbed her repeatedly (using the knife he used on the last victim, plus a second one, which is longer and narrower).  Then he used a butchers knife or an axe to chop off one of her arms; after that he used the long, narrow-bladed knife to carve the word Bogeyman into her right rear thigh, apparently to give himself a name; the letters were carved neatly, without any tearing or jagged edges.  The arm has not been located; either the killer kept it or a dog took it.

The sock had no fingerprints on it.  It is a standard style of sock, available in hundreds of stores.  The only evidence here besides the stab wound data are the shoe and glove prints left at the scene.  The gloves are unremarkable.  The shoes are Nikes, and there is a distinctive slash on the bottom of the left shoe, which will aid in identification if the shoes are ever found.

Andrew Hobbs tries to formulate a profile of the killer after reviewing the data obtained about the two murders; he consults with Jun Sun (his contact at the FBIs Behavioral Science Unit).  He believes the killer is white (serial killers tend to stick to their own racial group).  The killer is probably right-handed (the first victim was clearly stabbed from behind on the right side).  The Bogeyman is going to continue to kill, and thinks that he is unstoppablehe was brazen enough to give himself a name.  He may try other publicity stunts (such as letters to newspapers) in the future.  The letters were so well carved that he is probably used to handling a knife.  He is strong enough and/or stealthy enough to tackle a young, physically fit woman and drag her into a thicket without causing a disturbance.

Early in the evening the Pack hits another crack house, 6 are killed.  It is now believed that there are at least four of them and reports of a beastman persist.

April 27

At 5 oclock that evening Card Shark agents kidnap the Caldwell Triplets[25].  The kidnappings occurred simultaneously while the Triplets were apart.  One triplet was at a piano recital, another was at the ballet, and the third was at the Bayshore Yacht Club.

April 28-29

Days of relative calm, minor inquires are made about the Cabal and some contemplation is given to the activities of Chard Shark.  Efforts to determine any commonalties between the two victims of the Bogeyman prove fruitless.

April 30

The Caldwell kidnapping is resolved.  The parents of the girls pay an estimated $1 million in ransom and the girls are released unharmed, though somewhat traumatized by their ordeal.  That evening the girls identify the bodies of four of the kidnappers.  They were found in an alley near the Gadsden precinct house.  Each of the dead had been shot once between the eyes.  In the breast pocket of each was black card with a blue crescent moon on it, the calling card of the Harbinger of Justice.

Wednesday, May 1, 1996

A local branch of Nations Bank is robbed around noon.  The robbers are seven men all dressed identically and armed with AK-47 Assault Rifles.  The group escapes in a van, which is later found abandoned.  The hold-up nets around $50,000.

May 2

The characters spend most of the day covering for their secret identities and also continue keeping an ear to the ground for any further Cabal activity.  During the groups spare time they assume a rapid response mode in case they become aware of any Cabal presence.

May 3

The Omega Team and their new allies[26] spend continue the activities of the previous day.  That night their vigilance is rewarded.

Just after midnight they are in the Omega Truck driving around town.  As they enter the Pier-Point district they hear an explosion several blocks away which is soon followed by automatic weapons fire and other sound of battle.  As the team speeds toward the sound of the guns they witness a ball of fire rise in the area of the disturbance; the ball of fire then arcs back toward the ground about half a mile away.

Within a minute the team arrives at a warehouse that is dreadfully familiar to some of them.  It is the Cabal warehouse at which Hawk was killed last August[27].  The doors of the warehouse are all blasted down and several bodies litter the surrounding area.  The Omega Team has a short but frightening battle with Cabal members who are armed with bio-technical and mystical weaponry.  In the ensuing battle the Omega Team kills 9 of the 10 agents they encounter.  All of the slain agents rapidly decay to dust and blow away.  They are able to get one unconscious agent out of his robes and take him alive.  The bodies around the warehouse appear to be street thugs who were armed with gang-style firearms.  All of the thugs bodies bear a pentagram tattoo on their right forearm, as does the agent they have captured.  During the battle both right side tires of the Omega Truck are shot off and fire from a lightning gun penetrates the trucks armor and causes some minor chassis damage[28].  Inside the warehouse they find several more thug bodies wearing ceremonial robes, a stone alter and the four missing Tellas[29] (one of which is shattered and ruined).  It is obvious to the team that they have arrived just after someone else has hit this warehouse.  A spent recoilless rifle casing is near one corner of the building along with tire marks that indicate that a large van or truck has left the area in a hurry.  The Omega Team hurriedly replaces the ruined tires on the Omega Truck and flees just before the police arrive[30].

The police find eight bodies at the scene.  All of the dead have a background of gang involvement, mostly voodoo posies.  The Pentagram tattoos also point to occult involvement.  This is not especially alarming since this type of occult nonsense is common among voodoo posies.  They determine that all of the door of the warehouse were blasted down by explosive ordinance of some sort and they also recover a spend recoilless rifle casing (the lot numbers have been filed off)[31].  The police recover the fragments of one of the missing Tellas (the Omega Team took the rest).  Fingerprint dusting finds only the prints of the dead.  In addition to slugs and casings from the slains weapons, the police recover several 7.62mm NATO slugs from at least two different guns and a single .48 caliber slug from a unique weapon known to be used by Mongrel.  A couple of belt linkages from a 7.62mm machinegun are found.  Remains of two solid rubber truck tires are collected (all identifying markings have been, purposefully, eliminated).  Burn marks from, what are believed to be some type of laser weapon is evident.  Two of the dead appear to have been mauled by a large wolf or bear.  One man has a broken back and numerous shattered ribs caused by constriction of his mid-section.  The body of one of the dead bears the distinctive slashes, which the medical examiner believes to have been, caused by some sort of steel claw, perhaps a martial arts weapon of some sort[32].

The police believe this to be the work of the Pack.  This is the first time that the Pack is known to have used two large vehicles, which leads some to fear the Pack is growing in numbers.

The Omega Team retires to Beta Base.  Dancer and Hippocrates (at the urging of Savant) begin an immediate interrogation of the captured Cabal agent.  They are able to determine that the Pack raided the warehouse and left just seconds before the Omega Team arrived.  The Pack included a werewolf who was wearing a University of Alabama football jersey.  The Cabal members at the warehouse were attempting to release the spirit of a Tella (a fire spirit) to possess the suitable subject that they had.  That subject was Ashtray Art.  The Ceremony was a success but before the circle could bind the spirit they had released the Pack attacked and broke the circle when the explosions that destroyed the doors killed several members of the circle.  Ashtray Art is now fused with/possessed with the fire demon and is free, but since the demon is a servitor by nature it will seek a master to serve.

Before any further information can be obtained the agent screams in pain and blood flows from his ears as he dies.[33]  Dr. James is able to determine that the subject has expired due to a massive cerebral hemorrhage, cause unknown.

The three Tellas are locked away in the Beta bases vault.

May 4

Since the some members of the team were up late, no activity gets started until afternoon.  Dancer takes delivery of the new Omega Truck just after one oclock.  The new Truck is identical the original except that it sports a more powerful engine and better suspension[34].  The original vehicle will be down for repairs for two days, at which time it will receive the new upgrades.  The new engine will allow the Omega Truck to reach a top speed of 136 mph, very impressive for a 2-ton truck.  The new suspension system will allow a considerable improvement in handling as well.

The team is very worried about the developments with Ashtray Art, the Cabal and the Pack.  They become more apprehensive as the day wears on.  By late afternoon the group has hit the streets looking for any information about the Pack or the whereabouts of the fire creature that they fear Ashtray Art has become.  The team also is starting to look for patterns in the strikes carried out by the Pack.

Savant heads to the Barton Street Mission to ply the homeless and street junkies for the word on the streets.  By talking with an addict he finds at the Mission and by following up at the small church of Reverend M, Savant is able to glean the following: The street addicts are more paranoid than ever.  The supply of drugs has not dwindled but the prices have increased dramatically.  Some of the junkies are cleaning up their act, getting off the stuff, with the help of Reverend M.  Other addicts are turning to petty theft and muggings to raise the extra money they need to support their habit, street crime has increased.  One addict witnessed a hit carried out by the pack and described a short, extremely stocky, individual who crushed a dealer to death with a bear hug.  He said the other Pack members called the man Rottweiler[35].

Hippocrates has Dancer disguise him as a rich street punk.  He heads down to the strip in search of dealers to talk with.  He finds one and with the help of a generous bribe gets one to talk to him.  The dealer is reluctant to talk since the fear on the street is that anybody could be an informant for Mongrel (leader of the Pack).  Among the dealers other observations are the following: Were still getting stuff, just from different sources.  The flow hasnt slowed down at all, its just a matter of finding out who has what. I absorb more territory all the time.  Theres no fighting, there are just fewer dealers every day.  If space is available, you absorb it.  No one fights over it, theres plenty to go around.

Before Hippocrates can question the dealer any further two other dealers confront the pair.  It quickly becomes evident that they do not trust the newcomer (Hippocrates) and fear that the dealer is informing on them to someone who might be in the pay of the Pack.  Words quickly escalate to threats, the threats to a scuffle and the scuffle into a battle of knives and guns.  The talkative dealer runs and Hippocrates is forced to use his knife against the two troublemakers as the situation deteriorates.  He leaves one dead and one seriously wounded.  Hippocrates flees the area before any police are drawn to the sight of the altercation.

The police find the two dealers, one is dead and the other is seriously wounded.  An Omega card is also left at the scene.  Witnesses state that the injured dealer was knifed, along with his partner, after a close melee that lasted several seconds.  The police are hopeful that the wounded dealer will be able to give them an improved description of the vigilante that he fought with.  Bloody footprints lead a short distance from the sight of the melee so the police now know the shoe size of the assailant as well as the type of shoes he was wearing.  Police also have reports that a fourth person (a known drug dealer) was scene talking to the vigilante prior to the melee, they are actively seeking this individual as a material witness.

Snapshot and Nightstick patrol the Chinatown area and are soon rewarded when Nightstick spots fresh graffiti on the wall of a restaurant, the graffiti is written in Mandarin Chinese.  The message reads To the Demon Dog, the wisdom you seek can be found at the corner of Dragon and Canton Street, tonight at 11 oclock.  The corner of Canton and Dragon Street is the heart of Chinatown.  On weekends the intersection and the streets for a block are sealed off from automobiles and the area becomes a pedestrian bazaar/open-air market.  On Saturday nights the area is packed with Orientals and occidental tourists.

The whole team stakes out the Chinese market.  The entire incident turns out to be an attempt by the Qi On Triad to eliminate their enemy Nightstick[36].  In the ensuing battle Lang Wong, DNPC of Snapshot happens to get caught up in the situation, but he, fortunately, escapes unharmed[37].  All but one of the fifteen-man Triad hit team is eliminated, the survivor escapes leaving his right hand behind[38].  Dancer suffers a serious injury to her left, lower, leg when she is hit with a darn-do[39].  Snapshot suffers two, non-impairing, wounds as he is shot in the left arm and shoulder.  Savant is hit with a hail of 9mm bullets after he knocks several civilians to the ground for their own safety.   Of the five bullets that hit him, none strike his unprotected head.  Savant is stunned pretty good and suffers a minor wound to his right foot.  The stray fire of the Triad hit-team hits three bystanders.  Two are seriously injured and the third is critical, once again the extra-ordinary medical skills of Dr. Thomas James prevents any deaths[40].

Numerous 9mm casings and slugs are recovered in the area.  A single 12-guage shotgun casing for a fireball slug is recovered but is has no traceable markings.  Two casings from a .300 Winchester Magnum rifle are recovered from the top of a roof as well as several 7.62mm NATO casings.  None of the .300 Win Mag slugs are recovered in good enough shape to be usable for ballistics tests.  A pair of fairly clean 7.62mm slugs are recovered for ballistics.  Witnesses tell of a fight between the Omega team and the, now mostly dead, Chinese gangsters.  Several witnesses report that the Omega team took chances to reduce the threat to bystanders.  There is no known cause for the ruckus but it is rumored by residents of Chinatown that the Triads of the Far East have a grudge against Nightstick, a known member of the Omega team.  Due the nature of the injuries of some of the dead and witness reports of a wispy, barely glimpsed figure, police now believe that the Invisible Vigilante, once of Houston, Texas, has joined the Omega Team.  They are also able to piece together enough information from the fragmentary reports of the witnesses to lead them to believe that there might be another new member as well.  This would bring the Omega Team up to six members, more powerful than it has ever been.  Blood samples are recovered from the street where witnesses say the female member of the Omega Team was injured.  The sample should be enough to form a reliable DNA sample.  After the battle one of the Omega team members took time to render, very professional, first aid to the three wounded bystanders.  The quality of the treatment has now convinced HCPD detectives that at least one member of the Omega is, at the very least, an excellently trained paramedic.

Summary of Police knowledge of the Omega Team.  There are at least four members of the team and possibly as many as six.

Nightstick (a.k.a. Demon Dog) is one member.  He is Chinese and speaks English with an accent.  He is obviously a gifted martial artist but it is unlikely he partakes in competition.  He is known to favor a Three-section-staff in melee and uses tsubute as missile weapons.  On July 26^th, 1995 the police recovered a large shuriken that is believed to have been thrown by Nightstick, from it they have obtained two partial fingerprints.

Another member of the team is female.  Witness descriptions claim that she has a very shapely figure and moves with uncommon grace, the newspapers have dubbed her Dancer.  It has been reported that she has red hair.  She is known to favor a H&K MP5 Submachinegun and has also been known to use shuriken on occasion.  Since the events of this night the police have a good blood sample and are confident that a DNA test can be used to positively identify her when she is apprehended.  A footprint left in her own blood when she was helped from the scene has given police her shoe size.

The papers have also named one the team members Hippocrates; this is in light of continuing evidence that one of the members of the team is skilled in emergency medicine.  Hippocrates is known to be a male who often uses an Ingram M-10 or M-11 submachinegun.  This night he also, apparently used a shotgun.

The fourth member of the team is less well known and is not believed to be one of the original members as the previous three are.  He is believed to be less than 30 years old

The possible fifth member is the Invisible Vigilante, lately of Houston, Texas.  It is not known why he has moved to Hudson City or how he got involved with the Omega Team.  Little is known of him other than witness reports that state he is nearly invisible.  He uses a missile weapon of unknown origin that seems able to cut through metal and leaves only traces of a lubricant that defies analysis.

The possible sixth member is almost totally a mystery.  He is believed to have acted as a sniper is this most recent encounter and also may use a 7.62mm weapon of some sort.

All members of the Omega Team are believed to have some level of martial arts training.  They are known to use some type of souped-up, easily disguiseable, truck.  They are all considered to be armed and extremely dangerous.  Their reputation is not as bad as many vigilantes since they seem to go out of their way to avoid harming bystanders when possible.

May 5, Sunday

The day passes uneventfully and the characters sleep late before going on to cover their secret identities.

That evening Andrew Hobbs (Savant) disguises himself and, unbeknownst to the rest of the Omega Team, makes a secret rendezvous with Frank Fedora Keaton[41].  The next day an exclusive interview with Savant appears in the Hudson City New.

The headline causes several members of the Omega Team to become woozy, but none faint.  The story is generally fair but gives little detail about who or what the Omega Team is.  It is generally a philosophical account of why one man has become a vigilante.  The interview also denounces the activities of the Pack and, to a lesser extent, Crusade[42].

May 6

The Bogeyman has claimed his third victim.  The victim is discovered this morning by late that afternoon Dr. James has managed to get involved in the autopsy.  Several calls to well placed contacts allow the team to get the full police report of the crime (following).

Name: Karen Wilson McGregor; Hair Redhead, long; Eyes Green; Height 56; Weight 125 lb.; Race White; Age 29; Job Accountant, self-employed.

Wounds: Bruise on left side of face, both arms broken, long bone-deep cut in both thighs made while victim was still alive, 56 stab wounds all over the body (one wound in the heart region from the back was the cause of death); her blood type was B+.  Time of death approximately 9:45 PM, May 5th.

Scene of the Crime: The victim was killed in her first-floor apartment.  All windows were locked, but the door was open.  A few end tables and lamps were knocked over, indicating that there was a struggle of some sort.  Blood splatters and smears were found in the kitchen, den hallway, and bedroom and bed.

Police Reconstruction Based on Evidence Recovered: The victim came home and accidentally left her door open.  The Bogeyman must have been in the neighborhood looking for a victim and came inside to try doors.  He found that this one was open and went inside.  He surprised Miss McGregor in her den area.  She screamed; a neighbor reported hearing a scream at about 9:20 PM, but though that it was just someones television.  After a brief chase or struggle, the Bogeyman trapped her in the kitchen and began to stab her.  Defensive wounds on the victims arms and hands indicate that she tried to fend off the blows, with no success.  Bloody sneaker prints matching the ones found in Bankhurst Park were found in the apartment.

After the first stabbings, the killer dragged Miss McGregor to the bedroom, leaving bloody smears on the carpet from the kitchen to the bedroom.  In the bedroom, she tried to fight back (she knew karate), and so in a fit of rage he broke both of her arms.  Then he used his longer, narrower knife to cut both of her thighs from the hip joint to one inch above the knee.  The cuts run to the bone; she was still alive when he made them.  After making these cuts, he stabbed her some more, finally killing her.

The killers knife left some tiny chips of metal in the victims thighbones.  The knife is made of stainless steel.  Additionally during the fight she managed to claw at him with her fingernails, where traces of his blood and skin were found.  He is blood type AB+, a relatively rare blood type.

An alternate police theory is that the Bogeyman is someone who knew McGregor.  This would allow him to gain access to her apartment without her becoming suspicioushence, the unlocked door.  McGregor had a large circle of friends, and it will take the police four days to investigate them all.

That evening Savant, Hippocrates and Predator sneak into the crime scene and discover some evidence that the police and FBI[43] have missed.  A few small scratches on the windowsill indicate where the window was pried open with a knife.  Examining the ground outside the window a small, torn, piece of red flannel cloth is discovered.  The Omega Team is able to surmise the following:

The police reconstruction of this crime is correct only from the point where the victim sees the Bogeyman in her apartment and screams.  The Bogeyman crept up to her window and watched her until her back was turned.  The window was unlocked so he climbed in, when he shut the window she looked up and screamed.  When he left he locked the window and unlocked the door.

Andrew Hobbs is able to make the following conjectures based on this new evidence.

(1)     The Bogeyman is very strong: he broke both of his victims arms and then dragged her across the apartment (and according to the theories, she would have still been struggling against him).  Furthermore, the Bogeyman can either take a lot of punishment, or is a very good fighter, since he broke both of the victims arms even though she knew karate.

(2)     Based on the handholds outside, the Bogeyman is between 510 and 63 tall.

May 7

Investigation of the activities of the victims of the Bogeyman has finally yielded one commonality.  All of them have visited the Hudson City University Medical center within the last few months.  This first victims father died two weeks before her murder.  He had been hospitalized at HCUMC for several weeks before his death.  The second victims fiance was a radiologist at HCUMC and she occasionally met him at work for lunch.  One of the most recent victims former boyfriends was a doctor at HCUMC.

Dr. Thomas James talks Eden Blake[44] into coming up to the hospital while he is there to see if they can bait the killer into the open.  Eden has long red hair and another commonality is that all the victims have had either red or blonde hair.

Late that afternoon Andrew Hobbs goes to pick up the first Omega Truck from the Hudson City shipyards where it has been undergoing repairs and upgrades.

The Cardshark hits the Klienmann Center.  Five painting, all by different artists, are stolen.  Two security guards are injured.  All the painting range in value between $125,000 and $250,000.  Two of the paintings were not on display, but in storage.  Five cards of the same suit but not in order constitutes a Flush.  The Omega team surmises that the Straight, as the next highest poker hand will be next.  Five cards of the same suit but not in sequence.

Also this day, Dr. Thomas James has an awkward moment when Debbie Taylor encounters him as he shows Eden Blake[45] around the hospital.

May 8

Just afternoon Andrew Hobbs is able to persuade his criminology professor to get them supervised access to the scene of the third Bogeyman murder.  During this field trip Andrew points out the scratch marks on the windowsill and discovers a tiny piece of red flannel[46].  Thusly Andrew manages to get a good grade in his criminology classes and also furthers the police/FBI investigation into the murders.

Dr. James has another encounter with Debbie Taylor today.  Once again he is displaying Eden Blake around the hospital.  Once again Dr. James and Ms. Blake talk their way out of the situation.  They decide to call off the baiting idea since Ms. Taylor seems to be getting suspicious.

That evening, due to several unfortunate circumstances, Dr. James has a very bad experience.  While wandering around the hospital, looking for anyone who seems suspicious, he encounters a medical student in the hospital morgue.  The student is up late dissecting the hip of a female cadaver[47].  Since it is very late for a student to be in the morgue and because of coincident of his study subject, Dr. James becomes suspicious and engages the student in a conversation.  The student becomes nervous when Dr. James begins talking about the recent Bogeyman murders.  Dr. James notices that the student seems to perfectly fit the description they have of the probable killer[48] and is also wearing shoes of the proper type[49].  The student gets more nervous when Dr. James begins to press him further.  The student begins to secretly fear that Dr. James is a wacko, or possibly even the Bogeyman.  Dr. James psychology skills indicate to him that the students nervousness is a fear of being caught and not a fear of Dr. James[50].  The student quickly puts his biological samples away and starts to leave.  When the student attempts to leave Dr. James blocks the door and the student panics and grabs a large knife.  Dr. James quickly pummels the student into unconsciousness, breaking his nose and knocking out several teeth in the process.

Once Dr. James is able to examine the student more closely he realizes his mistake.  He quickly calls Andrew Hobbs who rushes to the hospital.  They put the unconscious student on a gurney and cover him with a sheet.  They then proceed to take the student to the cadaver storage facility in the neighboring medical school building so that Dr. James can treat the students injuries without fear of detection.  Soon they here a police car arrive.  Dr. James goes out to investigate as Andrew Hobbs avoids contact to prevent his being implicated in this disaster.  Apparently a fatality accident had necessitated a delivery to the morgue where upon the orderlies had discovered the signs of a struggle (blood, a couple of teeth, student books on the floor).  Realizing that he has blood on his shirt from the brief melee, Dr. James admits what has happened to the police.  He leads them to the unconscious student and surrenders to police custody.  Andrew Hobbs trips the fire alarm in the medical building and then swipes a fire fighters coat and helmet.  When he gets the chance he goes to the security desk and manages to run a powerful magnet over the videotape that is currently running in the security recorder[51].

Dr. Thomas James is quickly bailed out of jail.  Over the next couple of days he has his lawyers offer a generous out of court settlement to the student he pummeled.  The students medical expenses are fully paid and a six-figure sum is paid to the student as well.  In return the student agrees to drop all charges and further agrees to not discuss the incident or the settlement with anyone[52].

May 9

Late in the afternoon Dutch Watkins has a meeting with a fence who is known to traffic in stolen works of art.  Lenny, the Stain, tells him that Cardshark is way too cautious to use a local fence to sell the paintings stolen from the Kleinmann Center.  He says that the word on the streets is that Cardshark is holding a competition between teams of his agents and that the recent thefts are probably part of that contest.

Late that night a group of Chinese gang members[53] carry out a bloody hit at the Jade Lion restaurant.  Twelve people are slain including Kwan Meizhu, the English Secretary of the Sing Chun Tong, and a Hong Kong national.  Apparently the two were conducting a large Heroin deal.  The gunmen take the money and the heroin.  It seems a civil war has broken out within the Sing Chun Tong.

May 10

About noon a robbery occurs an Elm View Boatmans bank branch.  Once again seven identically dressed bandits with AK-47 are involved.  The MO matches the robbery of May 1^st.  Just under $60,000 is stolen.  The light grey suits and identical featureless masks have some people referring to the bandits as the Idea Men[54].  The overpowered guard remarked on the professionalism of the robbers.

That evening Zhu Hasio arranges a meeting between Nightstick and Kun Feng the Dragon Head[55] of the Sing Chun Tong.  Nightstick pleads/warns Kun Feng to avoid harming innocents in his reprisals against the rebellious Scarlet Dragons.  Kun Feng states that they will solve the problem in traditional Tong fashion and that no innocents will become involved.  Nightstick gathers that professionals from a Hong Kong Triad will deal with the traders.

When Nightstick relates the substance of his meeting to the other Omega Team members they are skeptical that innocents will be spared and resolve to stop the civil war themselves.

May 11

Most of the Omega Team spends the day determining where the Scarlet Dragons are holding up.

Dr. Thomas James and Debbie Taylor start to drive to Atlantic City for a day or two of R&R.  As they head out of town to the south Dr. James spots a couple smoking a joint on a bench in a local park.  As Dr. James watches he sees Mongrel approach from behind the couple and shoot both of them in the head.  Dr. James exits the highway as soon as possible and races to the park.  He also uses his cell phone to summon other Omega Team members to the area.  In the one or two minute time period that it takes Dr. James to get back to the park the Pack has gotten away.  It takes about fifteen minutes for the rest of the Omega Team to arrive and their search is fruitless.  Debbie Taylor remains strangely quiet throughout all of this.  Dr. James calls off Debbie and his trip to Atlantic City.

There are no witnesses to the shootings.  Police inquires indicate that a park service truck[56], a moving company truck[57] and metallic green Lexus[58] were seen in the area around the time of the shooting.

Late that night the Omega Team ends the Sing Chun civil war.  They locate the hide out of the Scarlet Dragons leadership and kill all of them in a raid.  The fight is a massacre, Nightstick quietly eliminates the only sentry and the rest of the Dragons are all caught in a large storage room.  Four NICO grenades stun the Dragons who are cut down before they can put up a fight.

The police recover a lot of brass of various calibers and several dozen slugs that are in good enough condition for ballistics.  The police do not learn much and have come to realize that the Omega Team seems to frequently switch guns so that ballistics tests are of limited usefulness.

May 12

The Omega team picks up (abducts) a runner that delivers drug supplies to a crack house that they have located and staked out.  Interrogation of the subject indicates that the various Colombian cartels are beginning to have a hard time getting drugs into Hudson City.  The Colombians believe that one, or more, of the local Mafia families are behind the disruption.  The Omega Team currently believes that the Pack is really behind it.  The runner (Hector Lopez) is placed in one of the cells of the Alpha Base[59].

The local newspapers tell that the North American Go Championships will be held in Hudson Citys Chinatown this year.  The Tournament will start Wednesday, May 22^nd, with finals being held on Saturday, May 25^th.  Daniel Sanders is considered a local favorite.  Mr. Sanders recently moved to Hudson City.  Other headlines tell of 10,000 layoffs in the past year in Hudson City.  Unions complain that companies are laying off local labor in favor of cheaper labor in foreign (mostly Asian) countries.  The stories state that the state legislature is considering a spate of possible laws aimed and curbing the practice.

May 13, Monday

The Omega Team members spend most of the day covering their secret identities.  Just after 10:00 AM police scanners reveal that the Idea Men have hit another bank, Stewart Federal, in Pierpoint near the river.  It is later revealed that the robbers made off with just over $40,000.  Nobody was injured during the robbery.

At about 2:00 PM Snapshot visits the Alpha Base while George Bell is at the Beta Base to carry out some routine maintenance.  Snapshot grabs about a half dozen sleep gas pellets and uses them to render Hector Lopez[60] unconscious.  Snapshot then dumps him into the incinerator.  Before he leaves, Snapshot erases the security tape and cleans up all evidence of his presence.

About 4:45 PM Hippocrates arrives at the base and discovers that their prisoner is missing.  When Andrew Hobbs arrives they discover the residue of the sleeping gas in the cell, the erased security tape, and the still cooling incinerator.  Andrew and Thomas pool their psychological knowledge and soon realize who the most likely suspect is.  Later, when Daniel Sanders arrives, he reluctantly admits what he has done.  Dr. James and Mr. Hobbs realize that their new teammate is mentally close to the edge.  He is given a brief talking to and the matter is forgotten, for now.  Andrew Hobbs makes a mental note to have some deep conversations[61] with his new teammate as soon as possible.

Also, at about 4:45 PM, Dutch Watkins and Eden Blake are in route to the Alpha Base for the teams planed 5 oclock meeting.  Dutch is giving Eden a ride since her leg is still impaired due to injuries sustained on the 4^th of May.  As they approach the Centre Street Bridge in Bankhurst a disturbance catches their eyes.  Three men are forcing four women into an alleyway.  The women are in obvious distress and appear to be hookers.  This scene is very out of place in this neighborhood.  Dutch pulls the car around the corner and has Dancer get into the drivers seat.  Dutch puts on his Predator gear and heads back to the scene of the disturbance.  He manages to approach close enough to the seven to listen to their conversation.  He soon gathers that the four girls have been holding out on their pimp and were attempting to flee the city to start over.  Unfortunately their pimp has caught them here and, along with his two muscle men, intends to teach them a lesson they will never forget.  Fearing for the womens lives the Predator attacks.  The pimp and his two goons never stand a chance and quickly begin to assume room temperature.  The four hookers flee in panic from the unseen vigilante.  During the fight Predators Frisbee slices the pimps cellular phone in half.  At the exact instant the phone is destroyed a man across the street grabs his head in pain, lets out a groan of pain, and collapses to the sidewalk.  Rightly thinking that this is very odd Predator grabs the destroyed phone as Dancer arrives in the car and they rush off to the base.

Police tend to think that the death of J.P. Kendrick was a coincidence.  The few, fragmentary, witness accounts that they have of the incident indicate that this is the work of the Invisible Vigilante.  The three slain men are a local pimp known as Sugarheart and a couple of goons that he has used for muscle in the past.  None of the men have ever been associated with anything other than petty crimes.  Police look upon this as a triple homicide.  They are becoming troubled about the increasing bloodshed the Omega Team and their associates are leaving in their wake.

Upon arriving at the base Dutch and Eden explain what happened to them on the way to the base.  Dutch gives the parts of the cellular phone to Andrew and asks that he examine it closely.  Andrew agrees that he will as soon as their meeting is concluded.

During the teams meeting they agree that they must prioritize their investigations.  They resolve to try and stop the Bogeyman as soon as possible since he will probably continue to kill and innocent woman every ten days, or so, until he is stopped.

After the meeting breaks up Hobbs examines the broken cellular phone and determines that it was broken in such a manner that it burned out the sending unit.  It is possible that it emitted a powerful, random, burst of radio waves as it burned out.

May 14

Andrew Hobbs informs the other team members of his findings regarding the cellular phone.  He also hacks into the employment records of Hudson City University Medical Center, the student records, the teaching staff records and the records of all other employers and agencies that have people regularly at HCUMC.  The Team divides the records thus obtained and begins to narrow the list to all white males between 510 and 63 in height that have AB+ blood.  By that evening they have narrowed their list to only 4 men.

Dr. Thomas James calls his friend Dr. Ernest Steiner[62] and inquires about the death of John P. Kendrick.  Dr. Steiner says, Oh yea, they brought him in last night.  Strange case, supposedly healthy as a horse.  He just dropped dead.  There was some sort of vigilante attack across the street but the witnesses swear he wasnt involved or even threatened.  Why are you interested?  Dr. James makes up an excuse about a friend of a friend and how the peculiarity of the case drew his attention.  Since Dr. James is known to be a skilled Pathologist, Dr. Steiner agrees to let him participate in the autopsy.  He further agrees to move the autopsy to noon instead of this evening as originally scheduled.

At about 11:00 AM Debbie Taylor calls Dr. James.  Debbie seems rather distraught and insists that she and Dr. James have to talk, she proposes that they have lunch.  Dr. James manages to make and excuse and agrees to come over to her place at 2:00 PM instead.

At noon, as the rest of the Omega Team works on narrowing the Bogeyman suspect list, Dr. James arrives at the corners office.  Dr. Steiner mentions that Allison Kendrick, wife of the deceased, has just called him seeking information on what caused her husbands death.  At about 12:30 PM the two doctors begin the autopsy.  Paying particular attention the subjects brain it becomes apparent that he suffers a massive cranial aneurysm.  The cause is revealed when Dr. James discovers the remains of a miniature radio receiver at the spot of the aneurysm, the device is partly shattered.  The subject also bears the signs of previous surgery near the spot the device was found.  Dr. James asks Dr. Steiner to let him borrow the recovered device for a couple of hours.  He claims to know a man who is very knowledgeable about this sort of microelectronics.  Dr. Steiner who is totally baffled by this device reluctantly agrees.

Thomas then proceeds to Debbie Taylors house and drops the device off at Alpha base.  He informs him of the previous surgical scar on the subject and asks Andrew to dig up J.P. Kendricks past medical history as well as examining the device.

When Dr. James arrives at her house Debbie informs him that she has contacted the police in reference to the shooting the two of them witnessed on Saturday[63].  After reading the newpapers she realized that whoever Thomas talked to on his cellular phone, it wasnt the police.  She is very upset by the way Dr. James has been acting lately and is concerned that he is keeping secrets from her.  They are to go to the Hudson City Police Departments main precinct tomorrow at 9:00 AM to talk with a detective.  Though Dr. James becomes very distressed over this turn of events he manages to maintain his composure and stay calm.  He asks her name of the detective that they are to talk with and nearly faints with relief when she says, Lt. Theron Long.[64]

In the meantime Andrew Hobbs studies the implant that Dr. James has passed to him.  Apparently it is a miniature radio receiver that was attached to a micro-explosive.  He theorizes that the cellular phone accidentally triggered the device when it was destroyed.  Little can be determined about the make up of the device other than it appears the device is constructed from Japanese or Asian circuitry.  All of this brings up the question of who was John P. Kendrick and who would want to implant a cortex bomb in him?  Andrew decides to hack into all the information he can about Mr. Kendrick.

Andrew quickly records all the data he can about his examination of the device and makes a full photographic record as well.  He then returns the device to the corners office.

Just as Andrew starts to leave the coroners office he spots well-dressed Japanese man arriving.  Andrew acts as if he has forgotten something and heads back into the office just ahead of the man.  He watches the man head into the chief corners office and then eavesdrops on the conversation.  The Japanese man speaks with flawless English and introduces himself to the coroner as Robert Wang.  He claims to represent the Hudson City Health & Medical group (an HMO) that is making an inquiry about the death of J.P. Kendrick.  Andrew quickly calls up the number of HCH&M on his pocket computer and calls the HMO to inquire if Mr. Wang is in.  The HCH&M operator says they have no employees by that name.  Mr. Hobbs continues to listen in on the conversation, which is muffled, and hard to hear but he soon gathers that the Japanese gentleman is getting rather pointed in his inquires.  Andrew quickly calls Dr. James and informs him of what is transpiring.  Dr. James then interrupts the Japanese man and the corner by calling Dr. Steiner.  He tells the corner that he thinks it would be best to claim that the autopsy results showed death by natural causes.  Dr. Steiner agrees, for now.

After a few minutes the man leaves the corners office.  Andrew Hobbs accidentally bumps into him and is startled by the lightning reaction of the stranger in catching him before he falls.  Andrew quickly begins picking up his books and inadvertently triggers his flash camera.  Later he finds that the man managed to interpose his hand between the camera and his face.  Andrew and the Japanese man then depart the office and go their separate ways.

That evening Dr. James and Andrew Hobbs relate their experiences to the rest of the Omega Team.

May 15

By this morning the team has reduced their list of Bogeyman suspects to only 4 men.  Soon their investigations of the likely suspects points to one man as the most suspicious.  The suspect is a man named Guy Wilson who works as a librarian at HCUMC.  At 11:30 Nightstick and Predator are in position to carryout a reconnaissance of the suspects residence, a duplex southeast of the campus.  Dr. James visits the University Library and confirms the suspect is at work.  After getting the all clear call, Nightstick and Predator perform a slightly comical investigation of the residence.  Their findings confirm that they have the right man.

At 2:30 PM the Bogeyman returns to his home and is ambushed by the Omega Team.  The man proves incredibly tough and gives Dr. James a serious would to his left leg before the team is able the beat him into unconsciousness.  They leave the Bogeyman near a police station and anonymously phone in his location.  They leave the serial killer with a severed right leg (below the knee), a broken left leg, ten broken fingers and multiple stab wounds to the chest and legs.

Police quickly pick up the Bogeyman and hustle him away.  DNA testing will positively link him to the last murder and evidence in his duplex will prove his guilt in another.  An Omega Team card is found on the Bogeyman confirming who is responsible for and end to the Bogeymans reign of terror.  The suspect is put in the maximum-security prison ward of Hudson City University Medical Center.

By 4:00 PM the team is has finished up at the Alpha base from their encounter with the Bogeyman.  Dr. James, with the help of his teammates, has properly treated and stitched up his wounded leg, which should heal quickly.  He still decides it would be best not to stress his leg for 24 hours.  Dancer should be back in action by Sunday or Monday, four or five days hence.

As the team departs the Alpha base Andrew Hobbs spots a suspicious van.  He notices that the driver and front seat passenger are both wearing masks and grey suits.  He realizes that this must be the Idea Men and alerts the rest of the team.  The Omega team starts a four-vehicle shadow of the Idea Men and are able to successfully intervene when the gang attempts to rob the Chase-Hudson bank[65].  After the Idea Men are all down, but before the team can leave, Snapshot machineguns three of their unconscious forms.

There is no question that the Omega Team is responsible for thwarting this attempted robbery.  No civilians are seriously hurt.  It is made clear that the Invisible Vigilante has teamed up with the Omega Team.  The most memorable thing to the numerous witnesses was the unidentified vigilante (Snapshot) with the assault rifle.  After the battle was over witnesses recall how he, without hesitation, machine-gunned three of the unconscious bank robbers where they lay.  From the numerous witnesses the police are able to obtain fairly accurate height and weight descriptions.  They also recover several slugs and casings from the mysterious new vigilantes weapon.

At the same time that this robbery was taking place two other large banks in Hudson City were hit; Citicorp and Flag National.  In these two robberies the gunman escaped with an estimated $3.5 million combined.  This makes the total take of the Idea Men near $4.5 million.

By the next day police have learned the following from the two surviving robbers.

1.       The men all had matching tattoos on their right shoulder, a cross separated into vertical strips of red, white and green.

2.       The men claimed no involvement whatsoever with the other two robberies today, and also claim to have on knowledge of the previous three robberies.

3.       There weapons are immaculate and in perfect working order.

4.       Some of the men have prior records, but all charges were petty theft or minor drug-possession/dealing charges, nothing like armed robbery or grand larceny.

5.       The seem to be beyond police interrogation techniques.  The men are saying nothing, except to their court appointed lawyers.

6.       None of the men have ever been in the military.

The police are mystified by the recent behavior of the Omega Team.  In two recent incidents they have murdered a group of petty street criminals and a slew of bank robbers who have only one incident of shooting in their record.  At the same time the Omega Team has spared the life of a notorious serial killer.  Police psychologists claim that this is simply proof that the Omega Team, like most vigilantes, are deranged and cannot be trusted.  The commissioner is looking into the founding of a VAIS unit (Vigilante Activities Investigations Squad).

 May 16, Thursday

About noon the group gathers at the Alpha base to discuss the events of yesterday and the negative press they have been getting.  Andrew Hobbs and Dr. Thomas James announce that Daniel Sanders (Snapshot) will be taking a week or two off from the vigilante business.  During this time Mr. Hobbs and Dr. James will use their psychology skills to provide him with some much-needed psychotherapy.  This morning Dr. James has written a prescription for Prozac, which Mr. Sanders is now taking.

To help counter the negative press, and the lower public opinion that it fosters, Savant has contacted Father Flanagan[66] of the Barton Street Mission.  Father Flanagan will see to it that cash and other charity is directed to crime victims in the area.  The Omega Team is providing this aid[67] and Father Flanagan will make sure that the recipients of the aid know that it is coming from them.

In the papers, this morning, it is mentioned that Mrs. Kendrick is launching a lawsuit against HCH&M[68] in the case of her husbands death.  The team worries that the mysterious Japanese man from the coroners office may be planing to pay her a visit.  They decide to hire a PI to keep an eye on her.  Dutch Watkins recalls a private detective that has a reputation for this sort of thing.  Just after 1 oclock, Dutch and Andrew, visit and hire the detective whose name is Shamus[69].  They pay the PI $5,000 up front to keep Mrs. Kendrick under surveillance.  If he spots an oriental man contacting her he is to call and inform them immediately.

The team has little time to get anything else accomplished since Shamus calls them at 3:47 that afternoon, less than two hours after the team hired him.  Shamus informs them that he is parked down the block from Mrs. Kendricks house and that a Japanese gentleman has just arrived to visit Mrs. Kendrick.  The Omega team drops everything and rushes to Mrs. Kendricks house (20 minutes away in the suburb of Maple Valley).  In route Eden Blake disguises Andrew Hobbs so that he can pass as an insurance investigator.

The team arrives about the same time that a plumbing truck arrives at the Kendrick household.  Fortunately the plumbers turn out to be legitimate and the team realizes it and does not panic.  The Japanese man leaves just as Mr. Hobbs walks up to her house.  Mr. Hobbs and the Japanese man exchange glances at a distance of about 20 yards and the Japanese man does not seem to recognize Mr. Hobbs.  Andrew is able to talk his way into Mrs. Kendricks house and, while she is in the kitchen with the plumbers, he is able to observe papers that make it apparent that Mrs. Kendricks lawsuit has been bought off.

As soon as Andrew gets out of the house and back to the rest of the team they start to follow the heat trail left by the Japanese mans car[70].  They follow the Japanese man to the Carleton Executive Suites[71] and locate his car in the parking garage.  They follow the thermal footprints from the car to an elevator and by timing them and through careful observation narrow the Japanese mans destination to only five or six floors.  As they leave the building they catch site of a helicopter leaving the roofs heliopad.  They make a note of the registration numbers by using binoculars to read them.  Several hours later they revisit the parking garage to see if the parking spaces are numbered.  They are and the car is parked in a spot reserved for the Hubbs & Assoc. Corporate Law Firm, which occupies the 29^th and 30^th floors of the building.  Checking public records reveal that the helicopter they sighted belongs to Aerocorp, an executive transport company.

Arriving back at the base they place a few calls to various contacts to find any background they can on Hubbs & Assoc.

May 17

The team is confident that the Cardshark will hit the Five Who Shine awards at the Hudson City Convention Center this evening and start making plans.

The information they get back about Hubbs & Assoc. is that the law firm represents several large corporations, one in particular catches their eye.  The Shonto Conglomerate is one of their primary clients.  Shonto is a Japanese owned international corporation with a reputation for shady dealings.  Shonto has never been legally linked to wrongdoing but it is widely believed, in the Pacific Rim, that the company is not above using hired assassins and extortion to further their business dealings.

That evenings Five Who Shine awards turn out to be a bust.  While the Omega Team stakes out the awards the Cardsharks people steal four of the five experimental, prototype, laser weapons that various firms have been working on for next months competition for a PRIMUS contract.  The fifth laser weapon is only saved thanks to the intervention of the Harbinger of Justice.

The team becomes more fearful of what Cardshark is up to and begins to wonder what the Full House crime will be.

May 18

The morning newspapers tell of the theft of the laser weapons and the foiling of one of the robberies by the Harbinger of Justice.  Also announced is the visit to the city, next month, of the King Thutmose exhibit.  The exhibit will open on June 1^st, at the Hudson City Museum of Anthropology and Natural History (across N. Adams Street from Gadsden Park), the scene of Urieals death.

At 9:00 am several of the team members, in their normal identities, head to LeMastre Park to participate in the citywide graffiti clean up.

About noon Mongrel and the Pack kill two drug dealers on the Stewart County courthouse steps.  They then commandeer a TV news crew and make a statement.  The Omega Team members are mostly involved in the community cleanup effort and do not see the footage until the 3:00 p.m. news break.

At around 5 oclock that afternoon the Pack hits the estate of Don Ballado, a notorious Colombian drug lord.  Thirteen people (Don Ballado and his guards) are slain.  Don Ballados wife and children escape unharmed by hiding in the living room[72].  Since there is so much carnage and evidence scattered (and the power lines are cut) the police seal off the estate just after dark and plan to resume their investigation at day break tomorrow.

Through their numerous contacts the Omega Team soon finds out how the police investigation is being handled.

May 19

At about 2:00 AM the Omega Team easily sneaks past the two police guards and into the Don Ballado estate.  They are able to look over the scene pretty well and discover that a 3.5 disc is still jammed in the shattered PC of Don Ballado.  Knowing that Don Ballado was know as the Silicon Don due to his practice of using computers to run his empire, The Omega Team breaks open the drive to recover the disc.

Back at the base the disc is revealed to be full of brief notes.  The notes mostly give places and times.  The team realizes that these are probably records of various drug shipments that Don Ballado is involved with.  The next date listed is tomorrow evening at 10:00 PM.  The place is the Brandwier Shipyards.  The team makes plans to be there.

The team members sleep late and no real activity gets underway until after 2 oclock that afternoon.  Daniel Sanders is scheduled to participate in the North American Go Championships this Wednesday through Saturday.  The local Go club and the Arts n Crescent crowd are interested in holding a reception/party next Saturday evening[73] to celebrate the winner.  Daniel manages to talk Dr. Thomas James to hold the party at his mansion in Irishtown.

May 20

The team spends most of this Monday covering their secret identities and nothing noteworthy happens until that night.

That evening, the Omega Team stakes out the Brandwier Shipyards and encounters the Pack.  In the foggy shipyards a vicious battle ensues.  Predator (Dutch Watkins) is seriously wounded by machinegun fire from Mongrel.  Moondog (the werewolf) is killed by Nightstick with silver headed arrow.  Rottweiler is gunned down by Hippocrates but regenerates enough to put up a fight against Nightstick who finally slays him.  Doberman and Savant fight a cat and mouse battle onboard the ship the drugs are supposed to be on.  Against the odds Savant fells Doberman with laser fire while swinging away on a linegun.

Moondog's body (now in human form) is recovered by the police.  The Omega Team takes Rottwielers body for analysis.  Dobermans body is not recovered since limpet mines previously planted by the Pack sink the ship he was on.  If Doberman is not dead, he must be critically injured.  Mongrel and the demon-possessed Hellhound[74] make a clean escape.  Though Mongrel and Hellhound had ample opportunity to finish-off the wounded Predator they let him live, apparently unaware of what the Omega Team was doing to their teammates.

A responding police car engages the Omega Truck in a short chase through the water front area but the Omega Team makes good their escape and retires to the beta base with their wounded comrade.

The police are left with some pretty unbelievable carnage.  Four ships at the shipyard are sunk at their moorings by limpet mines.  Sixteen bodies are recovered most are the crew of the Colombian freighter Amigo.  The crew of the Amigo, except the captain, first officer and chief engineer, were slain while in their bunkroom[75].  The officers in the pilothouse of the ship saw Doberman and a man who bore an Omega Symbol on his gear emerge from below decks.   They saw the Omega Team member shoot Doberman with a laser weapon as he fled the sinking ship.  Dobermans body, however, was not recovered.  The Police recover the body of a man wearing a University of Alabama football jersey from among the shipping crates.  The man was slain with a silver-headed arrow that is similar to some that have been used by Nightstick in the past.  No usable blood sample can be recovered from Predator since the light rain in the area washed any such samples away.

From witness reports (mostly the officers of the Amigo) the police believe that the Omega Team and the Pack fought some sort of battle against each other here.  It sounds as if the Omega Team won and may have ambushed the Pack.  It looks as if the two vigilante teams are degenerating to the level of warring street gangs.  Tomorrow afternoon an emergency session of the city council is expected to grant funding for the formation of a VAIS[76] unit for the Hudson City Police Department.

NOTE:  Thus far no evidence of any drug shipment has been found by the HCPD.  Since any such shipment may be in the wreckage of one of the sunken vessels it could be weeks before it is found, if ever.