The Official Announcement (Episode 13)

From: Abram Haberman, Chair

Sent: Saturday, September 12, 2014 10:00 a.m.

To: dl Wyrd Council Executive, dl Wyrd SitCon, dl Wyrd FieldOps General, dl Wyrd Agents General

Subject: Council Reorganization Announcement

Good afternoon all;

It is with a heavy heart that I must announce the termination of Wyrd’s relationship with Director-At-Large Owen Ishmael Chase, effective immediately.

Due to the sensitivity of the situation, we had decided to deem the specific details of this termination as Confidential and would not be shared with any member outside the executive board.

However, we recognize that our agents are among the world’s finest investigators in their respective fields, be it in surveillance, forensic accounting, technology, or otherwise, and that speculation and idle curiosity have already generated unauthorized inquiries into restricted Wyrd documents. We shall now address these rumours, while reminding each of you of that you have signed and sworn to uphold our Wyrd General Confidentiality and Ethics Policies, and in so doing, you have agreed to accept the consequences of any breech thereof.

Some of you believe that this is in response to Mr. Chase’s actions in 2007 in Moldova, wherein he and Mr. Brandywine were tasked with putting an immediate and aggressive end to an outbreak in Eastern Europe. Contrary to popular rumour, both Mr. Chase and Mr. Brandywine acted in accordance with orders from the Board with extreme speed, effectiveness, and discretion. For this, both men have been commended.

Others believe that there is a political motivation behind his termination, that I have somehow been intimidated by Mr. Chase's financial acumen and leadership style, and that I feel my own position as Chairman is somehow at risk unless he is removed from Wyrd. I can assure you this is nothing more than a malicious rumour. Until now, Mr. Chase has demonstrated nothing but obedience to this board and to Wyrd at large, even when issued orders are in direct conflict with his personal values, as in the case of the 2007 Eastern European operation. Had it not been for his recent actions, and had it been the will of the Inner Council, I would have ceded the Chairman's seat to Mr. Chase without complaint or sense of rivalry.

Yet others believe that this termination is motivated by a Wyrd Council desire for “lycanthropic ethnic cleansing”. As is well known among Wyrd Agents, Mr. Chase is unique among our kind, being so unlike other lycanthropes in his particularly feline alter-ego. He has long been thought of as the only, or last, of his kind.

I cannot state firmly enough that all lycanthropic kind is welcome at Wyrd, whether they be wolf-like, cat-like, or something else. To say otherwise is to call into question everything you have sworn in your oath to Wyrd.

Still others claim that it is a purely racial motivation, as Mr. Chase is the only non-Caucasian on the board of directors. This is also false, as Wyrd does not tolerate prejudice among its members, be they lycanthropic or human. Should we, who know “difference” better than any racial or ethnic group, be intolerant of a human-aspect with darker hair or skin tone? Should we, a multinational organization, accept all lycanthropics from all nations except for one or two on the basis of their pigmentation? This charge of racism is both laughable and aggravating, and should not be tolerated by any member of Wyrd.

Should you hear any of these rumours among your peers, it falls to you to put them to rest. Wyrd has a long and proud history of overcoming superstition with logic and science, and it is no place for idle gossip based on speculation or spite.

The actual reasons for Mr. Chase’s termination are three-fold.

1) A recent audit has shown that Mr. Chase has falsified travel and expense records, thereby embezzling a large sum of money over the last seven years and transferring it to an account or accounts as yet unknown.

2) Furthermore, as learned during our audit, he has undocumented sources of income which he has withheld from Wyrd’s knowledge, in direct violation of our Lycanthropic-Member Policies (see attached). As a result, he has cost Wyrd several million dollars of lost revenue, which has yet to be recovered.

3) In direct violation of our Lycanthropic-Member Policies, and in violation of all that Wyrd holds sacrosanct, Mr. Chase has deliberately infected no less than eight unwilling female victims. In light of our recent outbreaks in Canada and abroad, this behaviour cannot be tolerated, and those inviolable laws that this Council holds dear must also be upheld by its leading members.

It has been ruled by this Council that even its own directors must suffer the same consequences as any other member, if not more so. For his crime of forced infection of these eight innocent women, it was originally ruled that Mr. Chase should be summarily executed by drowning, as per precedents set in 1846 and confirmed again in 1912.

However, in light of his invaluable and incalculable contributions prior to and while he was a Director-At-Large, we have agreed that mitigating factors should lighten his sentence. Mr. Chase has, after all, contributed nearly one quarter of Wyrd’s revenue each year since 1994, owing to his multiple, sensible investments in technology and pharmaceutical research. And, as mentioned earlier, he has been commended on several occasions for his swift and extremely thorough work abroad in containing outbreaks and panic. Many of you have also learned your field ops craft from him, for which Wyrd is exceptionally grateful.

These commendations, however, do not excuse his behaviour nor do they render him immune to Wyrd justice. We have taken measures to freeze his assets, find and relocate his victims, and we have moved him to an undisclosed location for incarceration.

As a result of his termination, there will be some obvious impacts to our income. We ask for your patience at this time as we reorganize our board and our assets. Until then, all non-essential travel and other expenses have been suspended until further notice.

For any clarification of any Wyrd policy or the consequences of violation of these policies, we ask that you speak with your direct support person at your earliest convenience.

Sincerely,

Abram Haberman, Chair, on behalf the Wyrd Executive Council