Case File 008; Text; Mirrornet

[takethestairs]

Greetings, imPorts. I decided to do some digging into the friends we made this Sunday, and I found some interesting facts.

*Thanks to employment records and government biometrics, all the gun wielders that have been taken into custody were revealed to be members of various PMCs (private military contractors). Eventually they retired from their positions, giving no reason for their departure save a mention of "other opportunities." Afterward they fell off the official radar completely.

*Furthermore, these gun wielders had prior experience in the military, police, or militia groups. They all had a rather shaky relationship with ethics before their departure, and more than a few of them crossed the line into outright criminal behavior; a likely explanation for their change in careers.

*Just because they fell off the radar, that does not mean they remained idle. Interrogations revealed that they were all connected to Ibex International Security Solutions, a PMC based in Amistad, Texas. These men left their positions for Ibex starting in 2008 and continuing until 2015, and considering these mercenaries' previous history, it seems that recruits were valued both for their skill and their lack of inconvenient morals. This also implies a longterm recruitment campaign; whatever they have planned, they have planned it for a very long time.

*Their connections to Ibex, however, remain unofficial. So far we have yet to find any kind of paper trail connecting their activities to the company. If this changes, I will report it as soon as possible.

*While the majority of recruits were U.S. citizens, there was also a significant amount of gunmen from other nations, including: Brazil, France, South Korea, and the United Kingdom. While I cannot say for certain, I think we can safely rule out Soviet involvement in *this* debacle.

*Something interesting popped when investigating the prisoners' records: each and every one of them has made arrangements to be cryogenically preserved upon their death, regardless of how they die. This may have some connection to their longterm goals, though what it is, I cannot say.

This is all I could find so far. If anyone has any additional information on this group or anything related to their attack on Heropa, it would be most appreciated.

Comments

[text]

[timecapture]

I spoke to a bunch of witnesses, including Walt Taylor, one of the postal workers here. He saw someone who was dressed in dark clothing and wearing a skull mask jumping across the rooftop of the pet store, shortly before it was set on fire.

I've also been digging up info online. It's been pretty hard, though; a lot of groups use skulls. I'll have to keep looking.

[takethestairs]

Fortunately for us, someone else was able to narrow down the source of the skull symbol. Here's what he was able to find.

[Doot. Have a link to Barnaby's findings, Max!]

As for your witness... how did he describe it, exactly? I want to make sure that I'm not imagining something more fantastical than what actually occurred.

[timecapture]

Thanks. I'm doing more research now.

He described it as a figure in a mask, running across the rooftop. He just assumed it was one of us, since so many of us do the whole "superhero" thing and wear masks. It only occurred to him later that it wasn't. He also described whoever it was as being dressed like a ninja.

[takethestairs]

That certainly explains how they were able to set the fires. I'll see if forensics are able to confirm anything else. However, if he and other witnesses mistook them for imPorts, we may want to keep a better eye on activities within our community, so this kind of mistake doesn't happen again.

[timecapture]

Okay. I also did some digging online and found some info.

There was this newsletter in 2011. About half the info was corrupted, but it was about urban legends. There were rumors of a "Cain Cabal", an anti-ImPort group who had to hold off whatever they were doing after the first generation of heroes left after what happened on Death Island. They went into hiding until it was predicted ImPorts would come back, which was when they started scheming again. And their design? It's the skull.

I couldn't really find anything else, but the newsletter has been out of print since around that time. Its writer's name was Norton Ewell, and he's an accountant in San Francisco. Do you think he got scared, or just bored?

[takethestairs]

That's remarkably close to the background of another group. Someone else found information on an ex-KGB unit called the Storm Cadre, an organization of men and women trained to fight imPorts specifically. The last group of imPorts disappeared before they could be put into action, though, and they were disbanded afterward. They were eventually absorbed into the Cain Cabal; if you were unfortunate enough to go head to head with them in close combat, then you saw their work firsthand.

As for why Ewell stopped, I'm not so sure. Under different circumstances, I'd say that his old newsletter was an eccentric, embarrassing hobby he'd rather forget about. However, if he was that close to the truth, then it's possible he could have been scared, or potentially bribed. It might be worthwhile to look into the accounting firm he works for and see if it has any connections to Ibex.

[timecapture]

So it all adds up... interesting.

I'll see if I can dig up anything, but information seems scarce. So far, all I've got are dead ends.

[takethestairs]

I'm not surprised. A group like this has every reason to cover their tracks, and they have the resources to do it, too. Which begs the question of how Ewell found his information...

I wish you the best of luck on your research, though. If I'm able to find anything on my end, I'll let you know.

[timecapture]

I'll see what I can do. I don't ever want anything like this to ever happen again.