<strong>Malcolm Wade -- From Bad to Worse and Back Again</strong><br/><br/>Mal tried not to, but he usually zoned out when clients started going on about how tough / wise / enlightened / open-minded / whatever they were, and this time was no exception. It was true he'd only been working as an investigator and ghost buster for three years, but in that time he'd learned quite a few lessons that had stuck with him. And one of the most important rules was that when dealing with the paranormal, one could almost always disregard prior experience with the living. The same rules and protocols simply did not apply, and it was always hard for someone to come to grips with that for the first time.<br/><br/>The victim files, on the other hand, definitely made Mal sit up and take notice. Some of them were downright stomach-turning. The girl sitting nearby scanned through some of the photos with nary a change in her expression, which was to Mal a bad sign. Either she had yet to come to grips with her own mortality, one of the many symptoms of youthful arrogance -- which could easily prove lethal in this line of work -- or she was some kind of sociopath, or else just plain dumb, both of which could also prove fatal but with the added downside of potentially taking others down with her.<br/><br/>She didn't seem to know as much as she thought she did, either; Malcolm had run across plenty of rageful poltergeists and avenging revenants that had worked physical violence on their victims comparable to those in the photographs, and he was quite certain McDermott had seen his share as well. But there was a difference there: in cases like that, the violence was almost always targeted at specific individuals, and usually once he dug deep enough there was an obvious (though sometimes convoluted) motive involved. These poor souls seemed to have nothing in common with either each other or Harrowgate Manor itself, aside from simply being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Still, she wasn't wrong about one thing.<br/><br/>"The kid's right, Hatcher. There's no way this is the work of ordinary spooks. There's almost certainly a demon pulling the strings, perhaps even more than one. It's possible the demon, or demons, are either feeding on the spirits for their strength, or enslaving them to their will." He stopped for a moment as a particularly horrible thought sprouted up, and he shared a rather queasy look with the priest. "Hell, they might even be serving an Outsider, from Beneath the Deeps."<br/><br/>Malcolm shook his head and leaned on the table. "If we go in there, the four of us might be able to lay down the ghosts and drive out the demons. But if there's an Outsider...I think the smartest thing you could do, Mr. Hatcher, is just burn the whole place down. Salt the earth, lay cement over every square inch, and put up a high-voltage electric fence. And maybe bury some nuclear waste to make sure no one has any reason to go there, ever again."<br/><br/><em>'soafterCarlahadjustfoundoutthathertwinstepsister<br/>RamonahadstolenheridentityinordertobecomeDaniel<br/>andMariassurrogatebecauseshewasplanningtosteal<br/>thebabyandholditforransombutwaitaminutewhatare<br/>youtalkingaboutOutsidersohcomeonMalcolm<br/>Outsidersarentthatbadtheyrenothingmorethanelder<br/>demonswhodescendedbelowtheDarkUnknownandfed<br/>oneachothertogrowtheirpowerduringthetimebefore<br/>theFirstAgeandbesidesitsnotlikenooneseverfought<br/>thembackbeforetherehavebeenplentyofpsychicsand<br/>holywarriorswhovepushedOutsidersbackBeneaththe<br/>DeepsandwedontevenknowifthereisanOutsider<br/>involvedyetthisseemsmoreliketheworkofGoethic<br/>demonslikethatonewefoughtinMissouriohheywhy<br/>dontwegobacktoMissourisometimetheyhadthatreally<br/>greatcheeseburgerrememberyouloveditsomuchandI<br/>gottowatchyoueatfourofthemareyouhungrynowdidnt<br/>MrHatchersayhewasgoingtobuyyoudinnerwhatareyou<br/>goingtohaveIthinkIminthemoodtowatchyoueatsteak<br/>doyouthinkyoumightlike-'</em><br/><br/>Malcolm's eyes glazed over and he lost his train of thought as Cathy's chatter burst in on his conversation. As she talked, Mal forgot himself for a moment and reached out with his thumb and first two fingers and made a severe pinching-shut motion over her spectral lips. This act had exactly zero effect on Cathy, but probably served to cement the others' opinion that he was a lunatic just waiting for a full moon. While she droned on, he took another drink and looked squarely at Hatcher.<br/><br/>"Then again, maybe it's not so bad. I admit, I might be getting a little ahead of myself here. There is every possibility that this is just an average demonic infestation, and we won't actually know for sure until we go and scope out the site. Right?" Mal said, giving both the girl and the priest a look in turn. Yep, positive attitude, that was Malcolm Wade.