Brain Over Brawn
Detective: superior (rank 2)
"The first guy on the list, Larry Lynch. Did you know him E.B?" Wilbur had made me pluck an apple for him too and now had bits of it flying out of his mouth as he spoke. "Yeah, Lynch and I worked on that Serpent case when we were both rookies. Tough mofo, even tougher when he had his shotgun and his pitbull with him. You couldn't beat him unless you outsmarted him."
Wilbur bit a tiny bit of the apple and swallowed it without chewing. "Well, he was outsmarted big time. He was ready to spring one of his famous ambushes on Dr Voodoo and bring him in alive. The poor sod was even bragging about it to me on the phone, minutes before he went out of contact. The follow-up hunter who investigated the case was convinced that not only did Voodoo know Lynch was following him, he knew exactly what he had to do to take him out. He had been attacked while walking through an alley where his shotgun was useless and his dog's death was due to 'reasons unknown'."
I let Wilbur finish and looked at the list again.
"I see Octagon was the follow-up hunter after Lynch died. But he wasn't murdered, he commited suicide in a public square, in plain sight." Wilbur took another file from inside his coat and passed it to me. "Octagon was blackmailed into commiting suicide, the details are in here. It's the same with all the guys we sent after this guy E.B. He seldom takes anybody on in a head-on collision. Every expert we've brought in to analyse these murders draw the same conclusion - he knew exactly where and how to strike. It hasn't mattered who we sent after him, he always finds a way to negate every one of their 'gifts'. Brain over brawn, every single time."
"Dangerously Smart"
Tactician: superior (rank 2)
"Why do they call him Dr. Voodoo? It sounds a little cartoonish." Wilbur shrugged again. "You'll have to ask him that when you track him down. Our theory is that he is called Voodoo because of how he takes people out by manipulating them to do what he wants. The "Dr" must have been added on by someone who was in awe of how dangerously smart he was. He first appeared under that alias as a theorist for The Syndicate, which was when he came under our radar.
After a disagreement with them over financial matters, he engineered a coup in an East African country, took the bounty and dissapeared. From our reports, he seems to have been the architect of atleast seven successful military campaigns in three continents. Why a person with such a formidable reputation would live in the shadows like a petty thug is beyond me, but we won't have any answers until you bring him in."
I took the photo of the man out of my pocket and stared at it again. "These military campaigns this fellow has been part of all over the world, were they all under the Dr. Voodoo identity?"
Wilbur nodded.
"Yeah. Like I said, we know very little about who he was or what he did before he became Voodoo. Larry Lynch was sent to capture him and bring him in for us to get some answers. Then Lynch was dead and when we sent Octagon, so was he. It's been like a domino since then. Every follow-up officer we send to the previous murder meets the same fate."
Not a Slouch
Martial Arts: standard (rank 1)
"He was a combat instructor like you and a pretty formidable one at that. We interviewed some mercenaries who had worked with him on a mission in Peru and they all testify that he is no slouch. They even said his childhood dream was to win a gold medal in the Olympics as a wrestler, but I dont think someone so secretive would have shared something like that with routine fighters. The only thing we know for certain is that he was, and probably still is, a pretty tough customer even without his freaky brain." We came to a turning at the park that only top-level employees usually took walks in. It was deserted.
"So that is why we've summoned you E.B. The bosses want you on this guy's tail. Of course, your reward would be very generous when this mess is done with." Wilbur continued to work down the empty pathway in the park. I took out a poisoned dart from my coat.
"How is Shelly?" Wilbur asked when he turned around and saw that I was a couple of paces behind him. His face went pale when he realised I had taken a dart out. "Shelly has been missing since last night, Wilbur. I got a note before I flew in here telling me to do the right thing if I wanted to see her alive again." Wilbur was shaking his head, muttering "No, no, no, no...", I didn't let him finish whatever it was he was trying to finish.
"I didn't know what the note meant then but I do now. This Dr. Voodoo guy is obviously a step ahead of you. I'm sorry I have to do this, but I want Shelly back." Wilbur turned around and tried to run screaming. He was put out of his misery before a single note escaped his throat. It only took a flick of my fingers to send the dart that drilled into his skull. "Whoever you are Dr. Voodoo, you're pretty good."
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