The Sad Tale of Morgan and Her Brother Art

[E-mail transcript follows]:

To: morgan.campos@[REDACTED]
From: art_campos86@[REDACTED]
Subject: You Never Call

Hey Sis,

It's been a few months since you called. Not even an e-mail. The last we heard, you were transferred to Phoenix after an IA review. You even missed calling on little Artie's birthday. We did get your card, but it was a week late.

Seriously, what happened? In 20 years IA never reviewed you. Did a guy finally melt the ice queen's heart? Did you get caught with your pants down? Seriously, was it Bill? Were you two playing hanky-panky when he got hit? You shouldn't blame yourself. I know you wouldn't get caught embezzling. Pretty sure you wouldn't get caught with drugs. If it had been some kind of use of force problem, pretty sure I would have seen a cell phone video of it on the Internet! LOL.

We all miss you. Artie wants to hear from his favorite aunt. Why don't you give a call on Thanksgiving?

Your brother,

Art

To: art_campos86@[REDACTED]
From: morgan.campos@[REDACTED]
Subject: Re: You Never Call

Art,

Bill was my partner for years. You didn't see the look on his kid's face when they put him in the ground. He was my friend, Art. So don't you dare say anything like that about him. You got it, little brother?

Sorry about the card being late. Between the move and everything else, it got lost in the shuffle. I'm glad it got there okay. Hopefully Artie liked it. I know how much he likes dinosaurs.I still have that picture you and Regina took of him as a T-Rex on Halloween. He's a good kid.

I'll try my best to call, but no promises. Work's been insane lately; the brass have me babysitting some pilot. Can't really go into more detail than that. You know how it is; gotta keep the witness's identity protected, even from family and friends. If I can't call, tell Artie that Auntie Morgan hopes he eats a slice of pie for her, too.

And Art... if you get the chance, call Dad. It can't be easy for him to be away from us at this time of year. God knows it's been hard on me, too.

Thinking of you,

Morgan

(Thanks to Kyla Cox for writing half this post!)

What is a lipovore?

[Begin e-mail transcript]

Vogel: So the lipvore is active again?

Mr. White: Don't be naive, Vogel. The team that took one out in the '95 put one-hundred seventy-two fifty cal rounds in the first one, then set it on fire. And that was before tying the husk of the remains to an iron ball and dumping it into the Pacific.

Vogel: You're saying this is a different one?

Mr. White: The odds are good. (Audible sigh). At least tell me we have access to a copy of the book it was carrying.

Vogel: There is an incomplete copy at Miskatonic. The Armitage people are putting up some resistance, but Dr. Schell explained the situation in a series of e-mails.

Mr. White: Good. Those colossal pricks annoy me. (Pause) So what do you think of Mr. Sanchez and Agent Campos.

Vogel: I think they're sitting on too much information. And I am a bit disturbed that their first impulse with the lipovore was to go in guns blazing.

Mr. White: Quite courageous in my opinion. They'll just need bigger guns.

Vogel: Quite so. But Sanchez seems to know something about those artifact prospectors the lipovore was working for.

Mr. White: Campos has been funneling an awful lot of cash through civil asset forfeiture. We know Sanchez's history. It seems to reason the artifact dealing was part of money laundering.

Vogel: But what did the lipovore want with it?

Mr. White: That's the real question. And what exactly do you mean by too much information?

Vogel: We know Campos destroyed most of Baughman's...souvenirs. I've gone through a list of Agent...Sackhoff's, I guess--there's too many aliases to dig through--ops lists and property he reported as lost, stolen, or destroyed. Agent Eli has been monitoring them, and there's no evidence that they've destroyed any of what they'd have access to.

Mr. White: Let them look. In all the after action reports I've read, it's rarely too much information that does agents in.

Vogel: Just so.

Mr. White: Have you been looking at the books, Vogel? I think it's time for a visit to the Dutchman. And a team with a hotshot pilot is just the thing.

Vogel: I'll put in the requests through official channels now, sir. Are you sure it's safe?

Mr. White: I know it's not. Why do you think I make grenades and a flamethrower part of the kit?