Commentary by James Fullerton: Not supernatural, not karma enhanced or ridiculously trained, just an Operative with a new perspective on life. I liked this one because the method of killing is not something I've seen before and the reasoning behind the killings seemed to be well justified (if you're a mad-man of course.

(name invented by news personnel don't let it put you off!)

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Transcript Taken from Maxy-pup's news.... All the events of Mort brought to your screen in a child friendly way.
Recording session 14:35-14-05-901

Presenters:

Cathy: a human adult presenting a friendly mother figure for the viewers

Maxy-pup: A large animatronic pup which presents the news to Cathy.

"Take 1:"

Cathy: "Maxy-pup, can you tell us what has been happening in the news today?"
Maxy-pup: "Well Cathy the Wax Whisper has struck again."
Cathy: "Ohh Maxy-pup He's very naughty isn't he?"
Maxy-pup: "Very naughty Cathy. He's a very naughty boy indeed. He finds people and he gives them this very naughty drug that stops them being able to move. "
Cathy: "And then what does he do Maxy-pup?"
Maxy-pup: "Well he fills there eyes and nose and mouth with wax. And...." Maxy-pup leans over and whispers the Cathy.
Cathy: "Down there as well?" She looks 'fake-shocked'.
Maxy-pup: "Yes Cathy. He is a very naughty man."
Cathy:"But he doesn't block up their ears. Does he Maxy-pup"
Maxy-pup:[Voice takes on a less condescending tone] "Oh no. Just Imagine that Cath, lying there paralysed listening to that mad man whilst you slowly suffocate, feeling the heat of his candle next to your head and knowing that it will be the last thing you will experience. Knowing that he will be waiting there watching you die until the candle burns to the floor."
Cathy: [Genuine shudder] "Still he is a long way away isn't he Maxi-pup"
Maxy-pup: "Oh no Cathy.. Last night victim was only 3 streets away from your house."
Cathy: "You sick bastard!" [hits the snout of the Maxi put figure] "This is just because I wouldn't have dinner with you isn't it?!" [turns to Camera] "I am not working with him any more Gregory!"

Off screen "Cut. Cut... People can you leave your problems outside the studio please... This has to go to air at 3! Cathy, clean yourself up love... Roger. The script as it is written please, no ad-libs.... Places people.... Take 2."

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The Wax Whisper as he has been dubbed by the media has been active in Mort for about 6 months, In this time he has claimed 9 victims. His MO is well established, even from the first kill and very distinctive.

The victim is paralysed using a relatively widely available street narcotic. The drug knocks out all motor neurones whilst leaving the sensory system in tact so the victim is perfectly aware of what is happening to them, but is unable to do anything about it. It is applied using a Boopa pistol injector, usually to the arms of the victim. It is assumed that the Whisper then takes the helpless body to some location. He lays then out on a large flat surface, usually a table or bed, although if nothing like that is available he will use the floor. The nose, eyes, mouth, urethra, anus, and, in the case of female victims, Vagina are then sealed shut using hot wax from a large plain candle (Think of a church candle). The still burning candle is then left next to the head of the victim. The victim then suffocates.

The victims are always found in a place familiar to them. At no seen has there ever been the sigh of any struggle, which is why it is assumed that the victims are brought here from where ever they are drugged. 7 have been at home, 1 was in his office and the last was a priest and was found in his church. [Change this if religion has no place in your World of Progress]

Interviews with friends of the victims reveal that the location is the victim's favourite place. Also all the victims were people well liked in their local community, friendly happy and helpful people and all will be genuinely missed by those around them. The 4th victim was a 14 year old girl who had quit school to look after an elderly neighbour who she had befriended. Her death caught the attention of the Media as a "human interest" story, and they have been following his murders ever since.

Despite the obvious evidence at the scene there is very little to go on. Other than the victim, the clothes the victim was wearing and the candle there is precious little available for forensic analysis. The drug, candles and injection system are all readily commercially available. The scene is clean of prints and there is no evidence of flux use.

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So what is going on...

12 months ago Pestro Trist was a successfully I&I operative working his way up the ranks. He had successfully completed a number of Grey BPNs and had proved himself proficient at under cover work.
Then he made one simple mistake and he was shot.
Thanks to the miracle that is LAD this was not the end.
Pestro Trist came back...
But he is not happy about it.

In that brief period of 'non-life' Trist found peace. A calm serenity he had never known in life. He has returned to the world with new eyes and what he sees is not nice. He has realised how evil Mort is. This is hell, this is a world no innocent soul should have to suffer. At first this was not too much of a problem. All the people he encountered were just as evil and wicked as the world, so he figured they deserved their hell. And then travelling through the underground a chance encounter made him rethink that. He met a woman, Cassandra, a calm and placid soul in the chaos around. She was delivering food and blankets to help the homeless and dispossessed so they could make it through another heartless night. Pestro started talking to her. Then he started helping her. She agreed with him about the wicked world, and she explained that in her own small way she was trying to make things a little better. She explained to him her beliefs in karma and the soul. How when people die their souls come back.

Trist got hold of the wrong stick, let alone the end.

This how he sees it..

There are good people out there. People who do not deserve to have to live in this hell. He knows from his own experience that death is better. So when he finds people who he thing deserves the release he can offer he gives it to them. In his mind, the ritual sealing of the orifices with wax is to prevent their soul from leaving the body and being reincarnated back into this 'hell'. Thus they will remain in dark calm serenity for ever. Cassandra was his first victim.

He is careful to make sure he leave no trace at the scene that could be connected to him. Thanks to his I&I training he knows all to well what to be careful about. However as he is sure his victims are not going to be coming back he does not use a mask or anything. He believes that such behaviour would only lead to suspicion. When he encounters some one he feels may be deserving of his 'gift' he gets to know them. Befriends them and finds out what they are like. If he decides that are one who wishes to be free of this evil world he will call on them unexpectedly, gain entrance to where ever they are and drug them. As he knows them well by this stage he will take them to a place they feel comfortable before stripping them and performing the gift.

He does not like the attention of the Media. He feels that in many ways they are responsible for the evils he is saving his victims from, however there is nothing he can do to stop them reporting the deaths. He does however find the name he has been given highly ironic because it shows how little they understand him. They assume he does not seal the ears so he can talk to his victims. This is not the case. The ears have the ear drum in the way and thus are not an orifice the soul can escape from. Therefore they do not need to be sealed up. In fact he usually says very little to his victim during this stage as he assumes they are well on their way to the peace waiting for them and he does not want to do anything that would call them back. Once the orifices are sealed up it does not take the victim long to die and he knows that the longer he stays the more chance he will be disturbed. By the time the candle is gutted he is long gone.

The media have built up a physical description for the WW but it is completely wrong. It involves a long dark cape and a full black face mask. In fact there have been no real witnesses. Trist is a good under cover SLA Op, He is perfectly capable of appearing as a different person and uses this ability whenever checking up on his potential victims. Any one seeing him leaving the area have not realises the significance of the person they have seen, so there is very little to go on. However careful interviewing of the nearest and dearest of the victims will reveal that each gained a new friend a month before their deaths who has not been seen since, but other than being human and male their is little to connect these people. Also the friendly and helpful nature of the victims means they often befriended people they were helping. There is a photo of one of these 'people'. It shows a 5'6" man with brown eyes and long dark hair. Trist in his normal every day appearance is 5'5" with short buzz cut blond hair and blue eyes. However the face shape is the same. It is the last photo the mother of the 7th victim has of her son. She will be unwilling to part with it and has no idea it shows his killer.

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Silver BPN

Third Eye (Or some other company if the squad already have media connections) have been offered a tape. The person trying to sell said tape claims it has the Wax Whisper's voice on it and was recorded at the scene of the last death. The person making the call was obviously very scared and hung up before the deal could be completed. The BPN is to find the person, determine if the tape is genuine and if it is obtain it on behalf of the TV station.

Trouble is Trist has heard about the tape. He makes a point of carefully listening in to any 'gossip' about WW. He can not be sure that the tape is a fake, but if it is real then it has his voice on it and that is a major clue. He has to get to the tape before the squad does. He has a couple of options. If the tape is fake then it is nothing to worry about. It is just one more red herring to pull the scent of him. If it is real he can either vanish with it, which would seem suspicious. Or he has a plan to exchange the tape for a fake he has made up himself and which panders to the Media's view of the WW. He is hoping to do this if situation and time allows. But first he has to find the tape on the person offering it for sale.

The person offering the tape is Leon Rider. He is only 16 and has been living rough for just over 3 months. WW's last victim was Cat Dancer an athletic negro woman. She had been helping out Leon and he actually found her body and called the shivers. He also found the tape. He believes it is genuine. He found it clearing up her flat, a last thank you to her for every thing she had done, (he claims; in fact he was looking for stuff he could sell. ) The tape appears to be Cat's diary, which she seems to have been recording when WW arrived. There is the sound of a strugle on the tape and a woman's scream which is suddenly cut short with a gargling noise. It sounds as if a she is being strangled. In fact there is no evidence on the body to support the sound on the tape. There was no sign of a a struggle in the apartment because Trist used his usual technique. After the attack there is the feint sound of a male voice whispering. The tape will require enhancement to make out the words.

The tape is a fake.
It was planted there by Walter Berkley, a SLA Op assigned to find the W.W. He is getting desperate with the lack evidence which is making him suspicious that the killer may be an Op. He is hoping news of the tape will drag the killer into the open and force him into making a mistake. He is working totally on his own back on this one, no one else knows the tape is his invention. The sounds are actually from a film that was shown on the late night horror channel 2 days after the murder. (It is possible that squad may recognise the film if they are into such things) He mentioned to to Leon that if he found any evidence later that it might be worth something. Which was enough to get the boy looking.

Leon has been on the street long enough to have made a few contacts. However most of them are through Cat. Careful enquiries amongst Cat's friends may lead to squad to him. The street people will be unusually help full if they think the squad are looking for her killer.. she was well liked. However if they claim to be looking for Leon, or who ever 'stole the tape from the apartment then they will be more closed mouth. My advice is to role play this one. Make the players talk the street people round.

Trist is making similar enquires, if the squad are being particularly slow and crap, he could have got there first. If they are being untypical nice, the street people might enlighten them of this fact. Also watching is Berkley, he has been tailing Leon in the hope of spotting the killer also following him. In fact it was berkley that spooked the kid during the phone call. Berkley knows the squad the BPN has been assigned to (he pulled their records) And will follow them if they get the tape.

Ok if they are really on the ball, they get to Leon first they can negotiate for the tape. BPN complete.

If they are really slow then Leon will be dead, and the tape is in his pocket... Some one may think this is strange.:) But there is bugger all evidence to go on and the ww has got away. But they have the tape BPN complete.

If they are not that bad then Leon is still dead, but warm. The tape is gone Cause of death in both cases is a 603 to the back of the head. BPN failed unless they are willing to do still more leg work.

Couple of extra possibilities here on the more leg work/ extra brownie points front.

The squad could find Berkley standing over said body... And we can fairly safely assume that they will jump to all the wrong conclusions Alternativly if Trist was disturbed (no tape option) they will be able to find forensic evidence which will connect Trist to the death of Leon, but not to the WW murders. Trist may be able to come up with some excuse for taking out the homeless man.
He is a sla op and careful and so unlikely to give the squad a reason to shoot him.
They will find the tape with Trist, but it is a fake any way and so actually disproves he is the ww unless Berkley admits he made it. [But if Berkely has been offed by the trigger happy squad he can't do that :)]
The squad may not care. They have their tape... BPN complete. However a good search will also find another tape in Trists possession...
The fake that he set up himself in case the tape proves to be genuine.. This tape may well be his down fall It is the only possible connection between him and the WW.
The squad may want to be overly efficient and solve the WW case as well.

If Berkely is dead then the grey "find the WW" BPN is up for grabs, as is any extra silver cover they can negotiate as a follow up to the tape BPN. If they act quick then they may be able to follow Trist and find the place he stores the candles make up and similar for his ww persona. He will check this location shortly after the Squad close in him about the tape, to make sure that none of the evidence from here is missing. However if they miss this window. they are going to be back in the same position as Berkley.

Also Trist is going to be very careful for the next few months. Once bitten....

And the Wax Whisper is going to be even harder to catch from now on.

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