Down Under With The FMS Gang

[Spav]

After the body of mckissock was discovered in a men’s toilet at Aussie Stadium the police quickly rounded up the remaining seven members of ‘The FMS Gang’ who were also at the game. It was quickly established that all eight members had been drinking together until the end of the match at 4.50pm, whereupon they had all split up to perform their various tasks. mckissock had been observed loading the pre-match warm-up equipment onto the Melbourne Victory team bus at 5.00pm, but he had not completed his task. rukus had been requested to complete the job and then “find out where mckissock, that lazy sod isâ€. rukus had done as he was asked, but he was unable to locate his wayward comrade. Noticing that the time was now 5.30pm he had quickly made his way to the bar to see if mckissock showed up there and that was when the gruesome discovery was made. During that forty minute window the remaining seven men had been involved in various tasks at different parts of the stadium and their movements could not be corroborated for the entire period.

It was late that evening before the remaining seven FMSers were released by the police after they could not find any proof that any of them had been directly involved in the death of mckissock. As members of ‘The FMS Gang’ rehabilitation plan, they were still closely monitored by being required to report to police each day, so their conditions were not amended by this new development. Faramir, Dixie Flatline and rukus had been sent straight back to Melbourne, but Spav, uskopite, Gricehead and Maollelujah all met up at uskopite’s bed-sit in the suburb of Darlington where they all lived.

“I’ll have to tell you – I’m scared shîtlessâ€, said uskopite. “I was prepared to believe that what happened to pickles was just bad luck, but two of us dead in a matter of ten days is too much of a coincidenceâ€. He had just echoed the thoughts of the other men sitting around him. “How do we know it’s not you mate?†said Spav. “Ha-ha, very funny. I mean, writing a cheesy story about being a Liverpool junior and being transported for it is one thing – killing two men in cold blood is an entirely different matterâ€, replied uskopite with barely restrained anger. “Settle down mate, I was just trying to lighten the mood with a bit of a jokeâ€, said Spav. “I don’t think this is a joking matterâ€, responded Gricehead. “Anyway I don’t think that it is an FMSer who is the murderer. That fact that the first death was in Brisbane and the second death was in Sydney seems to indicate that it couldn’t be one of us. Agreedâ€, said Maollelujah, “it has to be someone who can travel around without suspicion, so that pretty much rules us outâ€. Spav tapped the table with his index finger and said “So like I pointed out at the start of the day – who has been in Brisbane and Sydney on the day of both murders? Genevieve Waldorf, that’s who. Well I’m going to make sure that the police know thatâ€, said uskopite. “They need to keep an eye on that woman, that’s for sureâ€.

Meanwhile in economy class on the last Qantas flight of the night from Sydney to Melbourne Faramir, Dixie Flatline and rukus were having a similar conversation. Theirs was more tinged with sadness though as they had lost a new friend with whom they had spent the past four weeks. All of them swore that they had nothing to do with mckissock’s death and they were thinking along the same lines as their Sydney counterparts – that someone who had free rein on their travel was the most likely perpetrator. “I hate to say itâ€, said Faramir, “but I think PM7 may well be correct. Someone like flipsix3 could well have slipped into Australia and is bumping us off one by oneâ€. Dixie Flatline nodded in agreement. “Aye mate, it looks that wayâ€, he said. “Is there anyone else that you can think of that would have a reason to want to see us all dead?†Faramir and rukus couldn’t think of anyone else either. “I don’t know about you two, but I’m thinking of asking to be put back in prison rather than staying out on the street with this nutter going aroundâ€, said rukus. It was a sobering comment that jail was a preferable alternative to freedom and it left all three men deep in thought as the plane made its way to Melbourne.

[Tyrone the Magazine]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by OMDave:

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Newcastle Jets were given a footballing lesson at their EnergyAustralia Stadium when they were beaten 3-0 by the visiting Adelaide United </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Eat that, Magazine Man

Who's mckissock? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Perennial slow starters thats all I can say

[uskopite]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Spav:

I mean, writing a cheesy story about being a Liverpool junior . . . </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Cheesy CHEESY I'll show you Cheesy you motherfffff . . . .!

cue: Cheese on Toast

[Spav]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by uskopite:

Cheesy CHEESY I'll show you Cheesy you motherfffff . . . .!

</div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Houston, we have lift-off!!

[Lord Crumb]

I think everyone else has been killed and no one has told me about it!

[Spav]

This story will continue and there will be more deaths, I'm sure of that.

I'm working away from home at the moment and I don't have access to my FM2005 disk. There will probably no action until mid-December atm.

[supa_smiffy]

Finally caught up.

"KUTGW", Spav.

[uskopite]

Gratuitous bump just to remind the crew that Spav will be back sometime

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Spav:

Sydney FC played host to Melbourne Victory at Aussie Stadium and they came away with a 2-1 win after goals by glamour signing Dwight Yorke and his strike-partner Saso Petrovski in the second half cancelled out the visitor’s first half opener from Archie Thompson. All in all, it was a high quality match.

</div></BLOCKQUOTE>

OH YEAH. uh huh, uh huh, uh huh uh huh uh huh -- \o/ -- I have no idea what I do here, but it's obviously having a huge affect on the pitch.

[Spav]

Thanks for that, usky.

It was a bit of bad planning on my part to leave home without my FM2005 disk, but with my saved game on my laptop. In the end I have just gone out and bought a new copy as it was on sale dirt cheap due to it being last year's edition now.

There will be some more updates now, but they will be a bit irregular due to my work schedule.

Cheers, Spav.

[Spav]

Over in New Zealand Terk had decided to do a bit of sleuthing. Something very strange was happening over in Australia to his FMS colleagues – they were being bumped off one by one. pickles was dead in Brisbane and mckissock of Melbourne had been murdered whilst visiting Sydney. Terk was of the opinion that it was an ‘inside job’ and that the murders had been committed by the same person. Someone who knew all of the guys was behind this. As far as he was concerned it was either one of those who had been transported along with him, one of the people from the Corrective Services Department or someone who had escaped their earlier arrest like flipsix3 had. Terk had put together a list of possible suspects and it was surprisingly larger than he would have initially thought it might have been.

Terk had invited his fellow FMSers in New Zealand over to his apartment in the Auckland suburb of Parnaby where they were all based. Daz the Imp and Stuart Johnston had arrived early in the evening at the request of their friend. “Fellas, I’m sure you’re just as worried about these murders as I amâ€, Terk said. “Just because we are here in New Zealand doesn’t give us immunity. After all, we are sort of expected to travel with the Knights to their games and that means that we’ll be in Australia even second week. That makes us just as easy a target as those guys based over there as far as I am concernedâ€. Daz the Imp nodded his head in agreement. “That’s true, mateâ€, he replied. “I certainly don’t fancy getting knocked off by some mad bästard over in Australiaâ€. Stuart Johnston chimed in. “Terk, you’ve got a few ideas about this, haven’t you?†he asked. “That’s why you invited us over, yeah?â€

“Yep, that’s right, Stuâ€, replied Terk. “I’ve been speaking to the guys in Oz via the forum and as a result I’ve set up a little list that shows who has no clear alibi for the two days on which both murders were committed. Now I know Australia is a big country, but it is possible to travel from one side to the other and back again in the same day, so even the guys in Perth on the west coast could commit a crime on the east coast and make it back in the same dayâ€. Terk laid a couple of sheets of paper on the kitchen table and Daz and Stuart huddled over them to get a look at what Terk had figured out.

“Right thenâ€, began Terk, “pickles was murdered in Brisbane on a Tuesday evening and mckissock was killed in Sydney on the following Sunday afternoon. The killing in Brisbane could really have been done by anyone who was able to travel to Brisbane and get back home the same evening. All the FMS boys checked in with their relevant police stations on the Tuesday morning and then the Wednesday morning the day after, so that doesn’t really rule anyone out. However if you crosscheck this with those people who could have been in Sydney on the Sunday, then you significantly reduce the possibilities,†Terk pointed out. “So here’s the list of the guys who could have been in Sydney last Sunday afternoonâ€.

Spav, uskopite, Gricehead, Maollelujah [sydney-based]

Faramir, Dixie Flatline, rukus [visiting Sydney from Melbourne]

BobBev [did not travel to Adelaide from Brisbane]

Peacemaker7 [did not attend home game in Perth]

Lord Crumb [did not travel to Perth from Central Coast]

Justified [did not attend home game in Newcastle]

“Rightâ€, said Daz the Imp, “that gives us eleven possible suspects if we consider that one of ‘The FMS Gang’ is the killer. But surely you can’t count those guys who weren’t in Sydney on the day? Why not?†replied Terk. “It’s certainly within the realms of possibility for Peacemaker7, BobBev, Lord Crumb or Justified to have checked in with their local police in the morning and still have travelled to Sydney and back in the same day. Plus I believe that all four of them have no real alibi for what they were doing as their fellow FMSers were all at their relevant club’s matches and can’t vouch for them. On top of this list we have Genevieve Waldorf in Brisbane and Sydney on both days as well as the likelihood that it is someone from our past like flipsix3 who could just be travelling around totally uncheckedâ€.

Terk sat back in his chair and looked at Daz the Imp and Stuart Johnston. “Right fellas, we need to use our brains whilst we’re here in NZ in relative safety. If we’re smart about this, then we might just catch ourselves a killerâ€.

[Spav]

The weekend of the second round of the Australian A-League found all of the FMSers attending their team’s matches. No-one wanted to stay at home on the match day and risk being accused of being a killer, but at the same time everyone was looking over their shoulders in case it was one of their colleagues who was the murderer. Either that or someone they knew who had not been identified yet – perhaps someone like flipsix3.

Melbourne Victory hosted Perth Glory at Olympic Park in front of an enthusiastic crowd and the home team picked up their first points of the season when Archie Thompson scored with header early in the second half to give his side a 1-0 victory. Perth’s Stephen McMahon was sent off late in the match for two bookable offences.

In the Hunter derby Central Coast Mariners played their first game in their new home of Central Coast Stadium in Gosford as they faced their local rivals Newcastle Jets. The Mariners raced to a two goal lead as John Hutchinson and Noel Spencer scored inside the first 20 minutes. However in the second half the Jets fought back and veteran striker Ante Milicic struck twice with trademark headers to force a 2-2 draw in the contest.

New Zealand Knights played their first home game of the new season at the North Harbour Stadium in Auckland. Sydney FC were the visitors and David Carney gave them a first half lead following a flowing move. The Knights scored their first goal of the season through Noah Hickey after 78 minutes and they looked to have taken a share of the spoils until Saso Petrovski popped up in injury-time to glance home a near post header and give Sydney a 2-1 win.

The first round’s big winners met at the Hindmarsh Stadium in Adelaide as Adelaide United entertained Queensland Roar. Adelaide showed that they will be a force in the A-League this season as they outplayed the Roar to record a fine 2-0 victory. Skipper Ross Aloisi fired them into the lead on the half-hour with a scorching 25 yard effort and Fernando Rech made sure of the win with a second goal with 10 minutes remaining.

In Auckland Terk continued his work as an amateur private eye as he managed to conduct veiled ‘interviews’ with each of the visiting gang members from Sydney. He somehow managed to get a few minutes alone with each of Spav, uskopite, Gricehead and Maollelujah to question them on their views about what had happened at Aussie Stadium the previous weekend. He was also wary enough to ensure that none of the Sydney boys had a chance to attack him as he kept his avenue of escape open wherever he was. Terk noted that all of their accounts of the events surrounding mckissock’s death seemed to line up with each other. Spav in particular wanted to bang on about his suspicions regarding Genevieve Waldorf whilst the other three seemed to favour the ‘outsider’ theory when it came to the killer’s identity.

Meanwhile in Melbourne it was the boys from Perth who were paying a visit. Faramir, Dixie Flatline and rukus had all gone back to work in the Victorian capital, but the death of mckissock the previous weekend still hung over them like a dark shadow. Peacemaker7, Bagpuss, HD and binny had all flown in from Perth and they were particularly keen to find out more about what had happened in Sydney. Peacemaker7 felt most comfortable talking to Faramir and he wanted to get his American friend to one side for a decent chat about the situation.

PM7 was about to ask his first question when Faramir held up his hand to stop him. “Pal, I need to ask you something firstâ€, said Faramir. “Why weren’t you at the Perth game last Sunday? You must admit that it has made a few people suspicious about youâ€. Peacemaker7 looked Faramir straight in the eyes and replied “What is it with everyone? I’m the last person anyone should be suspecting. This whole transportation thing has personally harmed me more than just about anyone elseâ€. Faramir shook his head. “I just want to hear it from your own mouth. What were you doing last Sunday?†Peacemaker7 gestured with his hands, palms down as he spoke. “As I told the police, I was suffering from some sort of stomach bug. I reported to the local police station that morning as required and then I went home and slept for most of the day. Later that night I was feeling dehydrated, so I went to the local 7-Eleven for a bottle of Lucozade. The clerk on duty has already confirmed my appearance in his store. Besides, do you really think I could have got over to Brisbane on the Tuesday and Sydney on the Sunday without someone from the airlines identifying me? It’s just impossible to think that I am in any way involved in thisâ€, PM7 concluded. “Yep, I know it isâ€, replied Faramir. “I just wanted to see how vehement you were about denying it and I reckon you’ve answered my questionâ€.

“Right then Faramir, maybe you can tell me what you think is happening, particularly as you were at the game in Sydney when mckissock was killedâ€, said PM7. “Look, I really don’t know, to be honestâ€, replied Faramir. “It certainly wasn’t me who killed mckissock and I just can’t see that it was any of the six guys who were there at the same time. I mean, just look at this situation. We’re all guys who wrote stories on an internet messageboard, so where would a cold-blooded killer suddenly spring from? I just get the feeling that it is an outsider that is targeting us for some reason, but what that reason may be, I have no ideaâ€. PM7 nodded in agreement. “Aye mate, I agree. It looks like we are all just going to have to be as alert as possible until this killer makes a mistake and the police can catch him. I just hope that it bloody sooner rather than later or there’ll be none of us left aliveâ€.

And so the second round of the A-League had been completed and every one of ‘The FMS Gang’ returned home with the colleagues and their football teams. Thankfully this weekend no-one had been murdered.

[OMDave]

The plot thickens

Glad to see this back

[Spav]

In Brisbane on Monday BobBev was monitoring the forum that had set up for gang members to use on ‘TheWorldGame.com’ when he came across a new user. The username meant nothing as the FMSers all had aliases and other unknowing users often posted in the forum. What this new user had done was post a response to an ongoing thread that Peacemaker7’s alias had started about their impressions of their new lives in Australia. The response seemed like an innocent reply from a fellow traveller, but several key words in one particular sentence had been italicised. It read “I wasn’t sure where to head to next, but on the flip of a coin I took the Princes Highway for six hours and arrived in Coffs Harbour at 3 o’clock that afternoonâ€. The user finished up by asking if any fellow Brits would like to meet up with him when he was in Sydney and named a pub in the inner city area. It was too much of a coincidence to be anything else – flipsix3 was in Australia and he was announcing his presence to his former friends.

BobBev called Raptor over when there was a quiet moment in the office and no-one else was around. “Take a look at thisâ€, said BobBev. He pointed out the particular post to Raptor who quickly read it and immediately came to the same conclusion. “That’s flippers for sureâ€, said Raptor. “The cheeky sod is here in Australia and he’s trying to get our attention. What do you think we should do?†asked BobBev. “Well, if it was up to me I’d arrange a meeting for sureâ€, replied Raptor. “We’ve got to find out what he is doing and what his story isâ€. BobBev reread the post and said “It looks like he’s heading south away from us. Should we get him to turn around and come to Brisbane instead of Sydney?†Raptor thought for a moment then replied “No, I’ll go down to Sydney and meet him. I think I’ve got just enough money for an air fare and I’ll get the Sydney boys to back me up so that I’m not alone when I meet himâ€. BobBev nodded in agreement at Raptor’s idea. “Alright, I’ll tell the Sydney guys that you’re coming down to see them, but I won’t mention about flipsix3. You can do that when you’re thereâ€.

Raptor and BobBev agreed on a day and BobBev prepared a response to post on the forum to line up a meeting with the person that they assumed was flipsix3. A couple of hours later there was an answer. The suggested date was okay with ‘flipsix3’ so Raptor went ahead and booked his flight to Sydney. BobBev sent another set of private messages to Gricehead, Spav, uskopite and Maollelujah in Sydney telling them to meet up with Raptor an hour before the scheduled meeting with ‘flipsix3’. The day for the meeting would be this coming Thursday. After all the arrangements had been made, BobBev had an afterthought. “Do you think we should let Peacemaker7 know about this meeting?†he asked Raptor. “After all, you know how vehement he had been in accusing flippers of these crimes. I’m sure he’d like to be there to discuss what has been going onâ€. Raptor considered the question for a moment. “No, let’s leave PM7 in Perth for the moment. It’s a long way over from Western Australia and what with an evening meeting he’ll have trouble getting home in time to meet his police check-in conditions the next morning. Word will get around quickly enough anyway and I’ll brief everyone with a group message after our get-together. Fair enough, let’s do it that wayâ€, confirmed BobBev.

Over in Perth Peacemaker7 was at his local internet café in Northbridge scanning the forum that the FMSers used. He had picked up on the same highlighted words in his thread and had reached the same conclusion as BobBev and Raptor. He had also read the ensuing dialogue between the stranger and BobBev’s alias in which a meeting was arranged in Sydney for next Thursday. Peacemaker7 made up his mind – he was going over to Sydney on Thursday to face flipsix3 for himself. There was no way that he was going to leave it to Raptor and the Sydney guys to interrogate flippers. No, this was something that he was going to do himself.

[Spav]

When Thursday evening came around Raptor found himself in the Sydney suburb of Kings Cross searching for the Darlinghurst Hotel where he had planned to meet the Sydney-based FMSers and then confront flipsix3 an hour later. Kings Cross was the red-light district of Sydney and even though it was only 5.45pm there streets were already crowding with the typical low-lifes that feed on the strip shows, massage parlours and the illicit drug trade. Raptor still had 15 minutes to find the pub and he had a fair idea where it was, so he was in no rush.

As he waved off another spruiker who was suggesting he visit the ‘floor-show’ of the club that he was passing, he thought he saw a familiar face up ahead. The person was just exiting the “Kings Cross Adult Book Shop†and he was carrying a brown paper bag in his right hand. Raptor chuckled to himself – he recognised The FMS Gang’s resident party animal uskopite as the person who had just left the X-rated book shop. Raptor increased his walking speed and caught up with uskopite in front of him. “Usky, how are you going mate?†he said as he got level with the American. uskopite turned sharply at the mention of his name and took a moment to take in who was talking to him. “Hey, Raptor old buddyâ€, he replied when he realised who it was, “I’m good, how are you? Pretty goodâ€, replied Raptor. “You gave me a bit of a scare just thenâ€, said uskopite. “You know, what with this murderer running around the place intent on bumping us all off. Yeah, I knowâ€, replied Raptor. “In fact, that’s why I’m here in Sydney to see you fellas. But we won’t talk about that just yet – I’ll wait until we get to the pub. No problemsâ€, said uskopite, “the Darlinghurst Hotel in just on the next block ahead. We’ll be there in a couple of minutesâ€, he said as the pair walked on through busy streets.

From the opposite side of the road an interested observer watched from a doorway as Raptor and uskopite made their way down the street. The meeting was definitely going ahead as planned by the look of it. The observer watched on as Raptor and uskopite crossed at the next set of pedestrian lights and made their way from the street into the public bar of the Darlinghurst Hotel. From the observer’s vantage point inside the door way the person continued to watch as Gricehead and Maollelujah made their way into the hotel only a couple of minutes later. The observer knew that Spav was the only one who was yet to arrive, but they also knew that there was a very good reason for that. Instead the observer ran their hand down the front of their shirt to make sure that the microphone that was taped to their chest was not too obvious. “Alright, I hope you guys are picking this up loud and clearâ€, said the observer. “I’m going to give the group about five minutes to get settled and then I’m going in. And for God’s sake, if something kicks off in there, then I hope you coppers are in there bloody quick-smart with guns drawn or you’ll find me running down the street because I’ll tell you now, I have no intention of being a dead hero!!â€

[uskopite]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Spav:

The person was just exiting the “Kings Cross Adult Book Shop†and he was carrying a brown paper bag in his right hand. Raptor chuckled to himself – he recognised The FMS Gang’s resident party animal uskopite as the person who had just left the X-rated book shop. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Oh gawd! -- caught wet handed.

Honest guys - I read 'Big uns' for the articles

[Bagpuss]

Still as good as ever

[Poyplemonkeys]

Just caught up with the whole story and its great Keep it going spav

[bartley_m]

Spav, don't leave us hangin for too long \o/

[Spav]

In the back bar of the Darlinghurst Hotel the small gathering of men was gradually growing larger. Gricehead and Maollelujah had entered a few minutes earlier and had met up with Raptor and uskopite who had arrived just before them. The Sydney-based guys were just catching up on the general news from the Brisbane-based Raptor when Spav joined them. He greeted Raptor, apologised to everyone for being late and offered to make amends by getting the first round in. Spav was just paying for the five drinks when another person entered the room. “Hey Spav, I’ll have a schooner of VB while you’re up thereâ€. Everyone turned in unison at the sound of the familiar voice. “Peacemaker7, what are you doing here?†said Spav. “You didn’t think I’d miss a reunion like this, did you?†replied Peacemaker7. “Especially when our old friend flipsix3 is expectedâ€. There was a hiatus while everyone looked at each other in surprise at PM7’s answer. Finally it was Raptor who spoke. “Yeah, PM7 is correct. The purpose of this get-together is for all of us to meet flipsix3. He contacted us via the forum the other day and requested that we meet him. He’s supposed to be here in about 45 minutes time.â€

“Well, thanks for letting us in on the secret, Raptorâ€, said Gricehead sarcastically. “Just hang onâ€, replied Raptor, “that’s the point of us meeting before flippers arrives. I didn’t want to broadcast it to everyone on the forum and we all have a chance to discuss what we’re going to do before he arrives. Yeah, but you told PM7 and he’s come all the way from Perth to be hereâ€, chipped in Maollelujah. “No, Mao, I didn’t tell him. He’s obviously worked it out for himselfâ€, replied Raptor. Peacemaker7 laughed softly. “Yes, Raptor, we must have words about you not letting me in on this gathering. You know how keen I am to speak to flippers about what has been going on. Well, we all know about flippers impending arrival nowâ€, said Spav from up at the bar. “So how about we get a couple of beers in and let’s discuss it all over a few cold alesâ€.

There was a general murmur of assent from everyone gathered, so Spav bought an extra beer for PM7 and they all pulled up chairs around a large wooden table. Spav bought the drinks over on a tray and each of the guys took their specific drink. “Now this is my idea of a good timeâ€, said uskopite. “A cold beer and a few buddies to pass the time with – cheers everyoneâ€. There was a clinking of glasses as everyone toasted each other and silence for a moment as everyone took their first sip. It was in that moment of quiet that a new voice spoke from the entrance to the room. “I hope you’re not drinking to absent friends because I’m not absent anymoreâ€. Everyone turned and looked in the direction of the doorway. Standing there with a smile on his face was flipsix3.

[rukus]

Schooners of VB in a Sydney pub. What is the world coming too.

Keep it up Spav.

[Spav]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by rukus:

Schooners of VB in a Sydney pub. What is the world coming too. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Yeah, it's what I drink up here, being an ex-Melbournian and all.

[bartley_m]

Spav you legend.

[rukus]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Spav:

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by rukus:

Schooners of VB in a Sydney pub. What is the world coming too. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Yeah, it's what I drink up here, being an ex-Melbournian and all. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

You can take the boy out of Melbourne but....

[rukus]

Woo hoo, page 5ive.

[JKilgannon]

This is just madness, all these good stories page by page, its not like you go into WH Smith every week and pick a book up chapter by chapter! A good story should be read all at once! KUTGW and quickly

[Lord Crumb]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by JKilgannon:

This is just madness, all these good stories page by page, its not like you go into WH Smith every week and pick a book up chapter by chapter! A good story should be read all at once! KUTGW and quickly </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Not unusual for there to be months between updates on this forum!

[Spav]

In the Darlinghurst Hotel in Sydney’s Kings Cross, the six transported members of ‘The FMS Gang’ had been surprised by the early arrival of their at-large colleague flipsix3. They had yet to discuss the implications of his impending arrival or the actions that they intended to take.

“Before anyone says anything, I know all about the murders of pickles and mckissock and I guarantee you that I had nothing to do with themâ€, said flipsix3. “Oh, I’m knew that you’d say thatâ€, said Peacemaker7, “but I think I’d need a bit more evidence than your word before I’d accept that statement as being the truth. Ah, it’s nice to see you too, PM7â€, replied flippers sarcastically as he nodded in the direction of his Scottish colleague. PM7 just glowered back in silence. “Look, I’m the one who instigated this meetingâ€, said flippers. “I’m not planning on going anywhere in a hurry, so why don’t I buy everyone a beer and let’s sit down like civilised people and have an open discussion about what has been going on. After all, it’s bloody hot and dry in this country and I’ve got a raging thirstâ€. There were murmurs of assent and Gricehead said “Fair enough, we owe it to flippers to listen to his story before we decide whether to hand him over to the police or notâ€.

After they had all taken a seat it was PM7 who started the conversation. “So when did you arrive in Australia then, flippers?†he asked. “Just last week, after the second murder I might addâ€, replied flippers. “But let’s hang on a moment and just let me explain what has been happening in my life. When I heard about everyone’s arrest a few months ago I was as surprised as the next man. I expected the police to come knocking on my door at anytime to arrest me and cart me off to jail with the rest of the guys. Then when the trial came up and I still hadn’t been arrested I figured that I was safe. It was just blind luck that I happened to have stopped posting when I did. Of course, I was seeing a girl at the time and that had plenty to do with my departure as well. Anyway, I followed the proceedings of the trial closely and I was as gobsmacked as anyone when they found you all guilty and transported you lot over here for twenty-five yearsâ€.

flipsix3 momentarily halted his tale and took a sip of his beer, so Spav took the chance to slip in a question. “So why are you here now, mate?†he asked. flippers put down his beer. “Because of the murders of pickles and mckissockâ€, he replied. “Let me explain. I’ve had this really bad feeling of guilt that I didn’t do anything to help you guys at the time of the trial. I feel like I should have come forward and made myself available as a witness for the defence. I should have tried to explain how we were all just a bunch of fellas who wrote stories for fun and not the perverts that they made us out to be. But I suppose it was more a case of self-preservation that made me stay at home instead of speaking out. Anyway, I let the guilt eat away at me and my new relationship suffered as a result. I just couldn’t explain to her properly why I felt so bad about not helping a bunch of guys that I talked with on the internet and met a couple of times a year in various pubs around Britain and the continent. Then on the day that I read about pickles death, myself and the girlfriend broke up. It had been coming for a few weeks at that stage, but the murder of pickles just bought the whole guilt problem to the surface and she couldn’t take it anymore. Of course I then read about the killing of mckissock a few days later and that was it – I just had to come out here to Australia and try and help out in any way that I could. You guys might be here because I didn’t do anything to try and save you. The least I can do now that someone is trying to kill you all is see if I can track down who this person is and stop themâ€.

[Spav]

“Mmm, that’s all very touching, flippersâ€, said Peacemaker7, “but you haven’t shown me any proof that what you say is trueâ€. flipsix3 pulled his passport out of his back pocket and tossed it on the table. “Take a look at the entry stamp on my Australian visa and you’ll see that it is dated eight days ago. mckissock was killed eleven days ago, so I obviously arrived after his deathâ€, said flipsix3. PM7 picked up the passport and checked it for the pertinent visa, then satisfied that it was correct he confirmed it to the others. “So what have you been doing this past week?†asked Raptor. “Well, I didn’t know where everyone was, so I have been trying to track you down. The first place I arrived in was Brisbane as that was the destination of the cheapest flight I could get. I figured that you guys would go on-line, so I did a search of the local football websites and that’s where I found you all on ‘The WorldGame.com’. It was actually quite easy when you know what you are looking for. After that I advertised my presence on the forum and organised to come down to Sydney because I figured that would be the most likely place to make contact with someoneâ€.

PM7 leant forward and spoke. “What you say about arriving here after the last murder looks all above board to me, flippers, but I’m not sure about your story as to why you weren’t caught up in the operation that nabbed us all back in Britain in the first place. Anyway, that doesn’t bear much relevance to the killer who is going around knocking us off one by one now and getting that sorted must take priorityâ€. PM7 held out his hand to flippers and said, “No hard feelings about suspecting you, but you must realise how suspicious it all seemed to meâ€. Flippers took PM7’s hand and shook it firmly. “No problemsâ€, he replied, “you’ve got to suspect everyone until they can be ruled out. Now the big question is, what can I do to help solve these murders?â€

It was uskopite who spoke up next. “Terk has been doing quite a bit sleuthing from his base over in Auckland and I’m sure he’d like to talk to you about what he’s discovered. He’s over here in Australia this weekend with the New Zealand Knights because they are playing the Central Coast Mariners in Gosford just up the coast a bit. You should see if you can catch up with himâ€. flipsix3 looked around at everyone to see if they thought that uskopite’s idea was a good one. Everyone seemed to nod in agreement. “Alright then, I’ll do thatâ€, said flippers. “In the meantime, I’d suggest that you don’t tell anyone outside ‘The FMS Gang’ that I am here. It will be a good chance for me to move around unobserved and see what I can find out in Sydney and Brisbane about the two murders. Anyway, let’s change the subject to something a bit more upbeat. Let’s hear about what you guys have been up to since you’ve been here in Australia, you bloody pack of criminals.

So for the next two hours the seven men forgot their troubles and talked away like the good friends that they always had been. Eventually though, the evening had to come to an end. Peacemaker7 had to catch his flight back to Perth and Raptor had to return to Brisbane so that they could both make their check-ins with the authorities the next morning. As the men went their separate ways, one of them walked back to the doorway of the building where he had observed the early arrivals to the meeting just over two hours ago. This time though he went inside. A police listening-post had been set up in the room. The observer unbuttoned his shirt and removed the microphone that had been taped to his chest. “I hope that gave you plenty to go on withâ€, he said to the senior policeman in the room. “Oh yes, we got some good stuff thereâ€, he replied. “Your work as a mole has been just as useful today as it has been ever since we first picked these FMS guys up back in Belfast. Keep up the good work. No problemâ€, replied the observer, “you just ensure that the cheques keep appearing in my bank account and I’ll keep you fully up to dateâ€.

*** *** *** *** *** *** ***

Whilst that intriguing meeting had been taking place in Sydney, things of a similarly momentous bearing had occurred in Newcastle earlier in the day. Wary of unexplained absences by their FMS colleagues, Tyrone the Magazine and displaced_seagull had been frantically trying to find out why Justified hadn’t returned to work at the EnergyAustralia Stadium in Newcastle after his lunch break. It was displaced_seagull who had raised the alarm after Justified had failed to show up for the afternoon shift on the painting job that the pair of them had been doing in the club’s dressing rooms. He found Tyrone the Magazine in the kit-room where he was sorting out the team’s outfit for the weekend’s upcoming home match. “Have you seen Justified?†asked displaced_seagull. “No, I haven’t, mate. Wasn’t he painting with you?†replied Tyrone the Magazine. “Yeah, he was, but he went off to get a burger for lunch and I haven’t seen him sinceâ€, said seagull. “He didn’t just nip out the back to have a kip, did he? He looked a bit tired this morning after the three of us had been out in the booze last nightâ€, suggested Tyrone. “Well, if he did, I haven’t managed to find him so farâ€, replied seagull.

Having found no sign of him in the buildings of the EnergyAustralia Stadium, displaced_seagull and Tyrone the Magazine followed the route that Justified would have taken to the nearest café where he would have bought his lunch time burger. There was a short walk through a park before reaching the main road on the other side where the café was located. As the pair walked through the park it was Tyrone who noticed a baseball cap similar to Justified’s lying off to the side of the path near a clump of bushes. He went over to investigate and that is where he made an even more gruesome discovery. Lying in the bushes was the body of Justified. His head was bloodied and showed signs of several massive blows. A two foot length of lead pipe was lying next to his body. Tyrone and seagull looked on in horror at the body of their colleague.

A third member of ‘The FMS Gang’ had been murdered!!

[flipsix3]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">so why don’t I buy everyone a beer </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">I’ve had this really bad feeling of guilt that I didn’t do anything to help you guys at the time of the trial. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Jeez, clearly this guy has no idea about me

[rukus]

The saga continues.

[bartley_m]

Top stuff Spav

[haze.13]

Nice work spav, keep it up mate! Btw you've got to let go of that terrible VB and get on to the Coopers

[Spav]

The death of Justified bought an instantaneous response on Friday from the New South Wales police and their counterparts in the other states. All of ‘The FMS Gang’ members were bought in for questioning in their respective locations and they were grilled intensively on their whereabouts on Thursday. Many of the FMSers could not provide full alibis for their activities on Thursday as it was only the word of a fellow FMSer that backed up their statements, at least for part of the day. For Raptor and Peacemaker7 there was no hiding the fact that they had travelled from Brisbane and Perth respectively on the same day that one of their colleagues had been murdered.

All six of the FMSers that had met at the Darlinghurst Hotel admitted that they had met up to discuss the killings, but all of them held to their earlier agreement not to mention that flipsix3 had been there with them. That story held water for several hours until police enquiries at the Darlinghurst Hotel uncovered the barman who had worked in the back bar during the afternoon and evening of the previous day. The barman clearly recalled the group of men who had spent a couple of hours talking together as they had been his main customers for much of his shift. “Yep, there were definitely seven of themâ€, he told police. “I remember that because each time one of them came up to order a round he would ask for seven beersâ€. Photographs of the six FMSers who had been transported – Peacemaker7, Raptor, uskopite, Spav, Maollelujah and Gricehead – were shown to the barman and he confirmed that they had been in the hotel. The mysterious seventh man was another matter. Mugshots of the other transported gang members were shown to the barman, but he couldn’t confirm that any of them had been the seventh customer.

Detective Inspector Mark Abercrombie was the policeman in charge of the murder investigation for the mckissock killing and now he was extremely annoyed that the murder of Justified had been added to his workload. Like many members of the police and judicial systems he was keen to lock away ‘The FMS Gang’ for as long as possible or even have them executed if he could have the death penalty reinstated. The fact that they may have been killing off each other was momentarily enjoyable for DI Abercrombie to consider, but what was upsetting to him was having two unsolved murders on his books. When word came through from one of his juniors that the barman strenuously confirmed that there were seven men at the Darlinghurst Hotel meeting, he decided to not hold back in his questioning of the four men that were in his custody. Before he went to the interrogation room, he phoned his compatriots in Brisbane and Perth and told them to hammer Raptor and Peacemaker7 on who the seventh man was.

DI Abercrombie loosened his tie and rolled up his sleeves as he entered Interrogation Room #1. Inside sat Maollelujah as he waited to be questioned further or set free. Twenty fruitless minutes later Abercrombie moved on to Interrogation Room #2 after Mao had refused to budge from his story that there were only six of them at the meeting. Spav refused to change his story either and at times seemed amused at Abercrombie’s efforts. A slap across Spav’s face by the policeman failed to bring the required response either. In Interrogation Room #3 Gricehead held firm as well under Abercrombie’s intense questioning. The frustrated policeman briefly stopped his efforts for a calming cigarette and cup of coffee before he went to Interrogation Room #4 to have his chat with uskopite.

The American waited nervously as Abercrombie walked around the room several times without speaking. Suddenly the policeman lunged at him and pushed him from his chair and onto the floor. Abercrombie leapt on top of him and clasped his left hand around his throat whilst pulling a thin knife from his back pocket with his right hand and pointing it at uskopite’s left eye. “Listen, you septic slime-ball, tell me who that seventh person was or you’ll never see out of this eye againâ€, he threatened. “There was only six of usâ€, spluttered uskopite. “I know there were seven of you, so tell me who he wasâ€, hissed Abercrombie. “No, please don’t hurt meâ€, wailed uskopite. “I swear there were only six of usâ€. Abercrombie lowered the blade closer to uskopite’s eye. “Not good enough, you Yankee mongrelâ€, he replied. uskopite closed his eyelid as the blade advanced to within a fraction of an inch of making contact. “Alright, I’ll tell you, just put that knife away pleaseâ€, he cried. Abercrombie pulled the knife away from uskopite’s face, but kept his hand around his throat, albeit a little more loosely. “Alright then, spill you gutsâ€, he ordered.

Just as uskopite went to speak, the door to the interrogation room suddenly opened. “DI Abercrombie, perhaps you could cease your questioning of the suspect for a momentâ€, said Assistant Commissioner Dave Collins as he surveyed the scene in front of him. Abercrombie cursed to himself – his boss had interrupted him at the vital moment. Well, it was no big problem. The American was scared to death of him now and would tell him what he wanted to know after the Assistant Commissioner had departed. Abercrombie got to his feet. “Yes, sir?†he asked questioningly. Collins gestured him out of the room and into the hallway. “Mark, we’ve just had a call from the CIB (Criminal Investigation Branch). They’ve got a man inside this group and he was there at the hotel last night. Further questioning along this line may jeopardise his cover. They’ve asked that you keep your investigation of the latest murder strictly to the scene at Newcastle and the people who had a chance to actually be there and commit the crimeâ€. Abercrombie shook his head angrily. “These bãstards are hiding something and that bloke was just about to tell meâ€, he replied angrily. “Mark, can it! These are the orders from above. Now just let these guys go home. They won’t be going anywhere in a hurry and we can always bring them in againâ€, said Collins. With that, Collins turned on his heel and walked down the hallway. Abercrombie watched him leave. “You FMS scum will pay for thisâ€, he muttered quietly to himself.

[bartley_m]

Just caught up Spav, good stuff

[Spav]

The death of Justified hit hard at all the members of ‘The FMS Gang’. The first two murders may have been coincidental, but there was now no doubting that someone was out to kill them off one by one. However there was no way that the authorities were going to put armed security on a bunch of transportees, so the men had to get back to work as normal. It was now the weekend of the third round of the Australian A-League and the gang members went about their work with the clubs that they had been assigned to.

Newcastle Jets played host to Sydney FC at the EnergyAustralia Stadium and the teams played out an exciting 1-1 draw which had more goalmouth action than the final score-line indicated. Franco Parisi gave the Jets are 33rd minute lead, but they failed to double that when Ante Milicic missed a penalty after 41 minutes. In the second half Dwight Yorke tapped home the rebound from David Carney’s blocked shot after 62 minutes to bring Sydney level at 1-1, but then they also spurned the chance with a penalty when Steve Corica blasted his spot-kick wide after 77 minutes.

New Zealand Knights are still waiting for their first point after their third consecutive defeat, this time at the hands of Central Coast Mariners at the Central Coast Stadium in Gosford. The Mariners scored after just 4 minutes through a Nick Mrdja volley from just inside the penalty area and they made that into a 2-0 lead when substitute Adam Kwasnik scored with his first touch in the 66th minute. The Knights did not look like breaking their losing streak at any stage.

Perth Glory, the final champions of the former NSL competition, finally picked up their first win in the A-League when the defeated Queensland Roar 2-1 at the Members Equity Stadium in Perth. Damian Mori, the top scorer in Australian national league history, opened the scoring for Perth with a tap-in after 19 minutes. Queensland drew things level with Royce Brownlie’s header in the 56th minute, but Perth went on to win 2-1 as Stuart Young nodded in from a corner after 79 minutes.

Only one team has a 100% record after three rounds and that is Adelaide United. United continued their winning ways at the Hindmarsh Stadium when they defeated Melbourne Victory 2-0 in a match played in heavy rain. Two goals in five minutes decided the match in Adelaide’s favour after Carl Veart volleyed home in the 60th minute and Travis Dodd sent a skidding low shot through a crowd of players after 65 minutes.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">Pos Team Play Win Draw Loss For Agst G-D Pts

===================================================================

1. Adelaide United 3 3 0 0 7 0 +7 9

2. Sydney FC 3 2 1 0 5 3 +2 7

3. Central Coast Mariners 3 1 2 0 5 3 +2 5

4. Perth Glory 3 1 1 1 3 3 0 4

-------------------------------------------------------------------

5. Queensland Roar 3 1 0 2 5 4 +1 3

6. Melbourne Victory 3 1 0 2 4 2 -2 3

7. Newcastle Jets 3 0 2 1 3 6 -3 2

8. New Zealand Knights 3 0 0 3 1 8 -7 0

</pre>

With New Zealand Knights visiting the Central Coast Mariners in Gosford, Terk used the chance of being in Australia to follow up on his investigations with the locally-based Lord Crumb, bartley_m and Dire Wrangle. Whilst the game was being played out in the Central Coast Stadium in Gosford the FMSers got together in an empty office at the back of the main grandstand to talk about the latest goings-on. Terk took out his ‘suspect matrix’ that he had put together after the second murder and ran his eye over the list.

Spav, uskopite, Gricehead, Maollelujah [sydney-based]

Faramir, Dixie Flatline, rukus [visiting Sydney from Melbourne]

BobBev [did not travel to Adelaide from Brisbane]

Peacemaker7 [did not attend home game in Perth]

Lord Crumb [did not travel to Perth from Central Coast]

Justified [did not attend home game in Newcastle]

First up Terk wanted to see who he could eliminate from his ‘suspect matrix’. “Right fellas, what do we know about the Melbourne-based guys and their movements on Thursday when Justified was killed?†asked Terk. It was bartley_m who spoke up first. “From what I’ve read on the forum and from what the rather talkative young policeman said to me on Friday, it appears that all the Melbourne guys have watertight alibis for Thursday. There doesn’t appear to be any way that they could have been in Newcastle and knocked off Justifiedâ€. That was what Terk had heard as well. He put a line through the names of Faramir, Dixie Flatline and rukus on his list. Lord Crumb hadn’t shown a lot of interest so far, but he leant over and looked at Terk’s list. “BobBev was definitely at home in Brisbane because he was covering for Raptor’s absence, so you can count him out. Oh, and Justified is dead, so unless you think he killed the others and then bludgeoned himself to death with a lead pipe, you’d better rule him out as wellâ€. Lord Crumb watched on as Terk put a line through their two names as well.

“I see you’re still on the list, LCâ€, said Dire Wrangle with a chuckle. Terk had wanted to question Lord Crumb for a while about his movements over the key days on which the three murders occurred and now was his chance. “So LC, what about you last Thursday?†said Terk. “What about me?†said Lord Crumb, rather taken aback that he should be considered a suspect. “I’ve already had bartley and Dire questioning me constantly about what I’ve been up toâ€. Dire Wrangle produced another chuckle and said “LC likes to keep to himself where possible. We’re never too sure whereabouts he is in Gosford when he’s not working at the stadiumâ€. Lord Crumb let out a snort. “You know perfectly well that I visit the library and use the chance to improve myself with some serious reading. It makes a change from the beer-drinking and games of pool down at the local pub that some people indulge inâ€. Terk wasn’t impressed though. “Just for the record LC, please tell me what you were doing last Thursday afternoon?†he asked. “Alright, I had the afternoon off and I took a good book, a wedge of Stilton and a bottle of port down to the park near the beach and relaxed. So no-one can vouch for you all afternoon then?†said Terk. “No-one that I know ofâ€, replied Lord Crumb, “but it is preposterous to think that I would want to go around killing off the other members of The FMS Gang. For heaven’s sake, I’m a pacifistâ€.

Terk wasn’t impressed however. He made a couple of adjustments to his list and looked it over now that he had obtained some further information.

Spav, uskopite, Gricehead, Maollelujah [no alibi for Brisbane murder, all at scene of Sydney murder, only have each other as alibis for Newcastle killing]

Peacemaker7 [no alibi for Brisbane & Sydney murders and had opportunity for Newcastle killing]

Lord Crumb [no alibi for Brisbane & Sydney murders and had opportunity for Newcastle killing]

“The possibilities get smallerâ€, said Terk to himself as he mused over his new list.

[Lord Crumb]

I am innocent. Just in case you don't believe me, I'm willing to make a 'donation'

[Spav]

A 'donation'? Que?

[chesterfan2]

To my mind Lord Crumb is acting in rather a guilty manner. PM7 also has no alibi for any of the crimes. Spav, uskopite, Gricehead, Maollelujah could all be the crim.

so in true CSI style the only person the murderer could be is Terk. Am I right ?

Seriously Spav, a cracking good read.

KUTGW (do I get deported for that ?)

[Lord Crumb]

Who is to say there is just te one murderer?

[chesterfan2]

oOh, even more CSI. Or perhaps Midsommer Murders, but that wouldn't be as good.

[Guest]

Iv just read the whole thing and it is great, cant wait for the next bit!

[Spav]

Thanks for all the positive feedback from everyone.

I am trying to advance the plot here and get this along the way to a concluson before all of the characters die of old age in real life.

Stick with me now as I have a few regular updates in the pipeline now that I have a quieter time with regard to my work commitments at the moment.

Cheers, Spav.

[Spav]

Genevieve Waldorf sat in her office in central Sydney on Wednesday morning and looked through her notes regarding her next patient. The clinical psychologist with the New South Wales Corrective Services Department had a real job on her hands now that someone was murdering the group of patients that she was attempting to rehabilitate. Not only was she trying to help the members of ‘The FMS Gang’ overcome the deep-seated issues that made them the internet fantasists that they were, she now also had to act like a protective mother and reassure some of her ‘little ones’ that the bogeyman wasn’t about to get them. Her next patient was one who particularly seemed in need of security and reassurance. Genevieve pressed the button on her intercom and spoke to her personal assistant. “Lucy, send in uskopite pleaseâ€, she said.

uskopite entered the room and smiled at Genevieve. “Howdy, Miss Waldorfâ€, he said with a grin on his face. “Here I am for my monthly brainwashing session, right on time too. Hello, uskopiteâ€, she replied. “I’m glad to see you’re taking these sessions in a positive mannerâ€. Genevieve had uskopite take a seat on a comfy leather sofa whilst she moved from behind her desk to a similarly comfy leather armchair. She began her discussion with uskopite about the past few weeks, any issues that he had and asked him how he felt he was progressing. The conversation went along fine until the subject of the police interrogations in the light of the murder of Justified came up. Genevieve immediately sensed a note of fear creep into uskopite’s voice.

“You know that the police are only trying to helpâ€, said Genevieve. “If you’ve got nothing to hide, then there should be nothing to fear. Yeah, rightâ€, replied uskopite. “You tell that to that vicious DI Abercrombie. The son of a bitch pulled a knife on me in the interrogation roomâ€. Genevieve looked genuinely shocked. “Mark Abercrombie pulled a knife on you? I know he is a very driven officer, but I wouldn’t have thought that he would do something like that. Oh, he did alright and all because I wouldn’t tell him about flippersâ€, blurted out uskopite. “Flippers?†asked Genevieve. uskopite knew that he had made a mistake, but he tried to cover his tracks. “Yeah, it’s some sort of bar that he reckons that us FMS guys frequent, but I’ve never heard of itâ€. Genevieve knew that he was lying though. “Flippersâ€, she said to herself as fished for a name in her memory. “You don’t mean flipsix3, do you? He was one of your FMS colleagues that I have seen mentioned quite a bit in everyone’s filesâ€. uskopite decided to continue with his earlier story. “flipsix3, nah, it’s nothing to do with him. I told you, it’s some sort of gay-boy bar called flippers that Abercrombie is interested inâ€.

Years of training had taught Genevieve to be able to tell when someone was lying to her – particularly someone who was doing it as poorly as uskopite was at the moment. “uskopite, if DI Abercrombie is interested in flipsix3, then it must be for some important reason. He may be the person behind the murder of three of your FMS comrades. You must tell me what relevance flipsix3 has in regard to the current position that you are inâ€. uskopite was sorely tempted to unload the whole story of the meeting with between himself, the other FMSers and flipsix3 at the Darlinghurst Hotel the previous week. Genevieve had such a persuasive tone and he’d always had a predilection for redheads as well. He agonised with himself over what he should do. If he told Genevieve about flippers being in Australia, then he was sure that the others FMSers would be angry with him. It would also mean that the police would end up catching up with flippers at some stage if they knew he was here. If flippers was going to carry on his investigations unhindered, then it was vital that the authorities didn’t know that he was here. uskopite made up his mind. “flipsix3 has no relevance to anything to do with meâ€, said uskopite. “I just get a bit worried when coppers start waving knives in my face, that’s allâ€.

[rukus]

keep your mouth shut uskopite, let flipsix3 get to the bottom of this....

[Spav]

After her Wednesday morning appointment with uskopite Genevieve Waldorf had some free time according to her diary. She decided to take herself down to the police headquarters in central Sydney’s Goulbourn Street after lunch and see if she could find out some more about uskopite’s interrogation by DI Mark Abercrombie. Genevieve went straight up to the offices of Homicide on the 6th floor and walked in to the common area. A few heads went up (as they often did when Genevieve walked into a room) and one of the detectives called out to her. “Genevieve, have you come to pick me up for that dinner date that I keep asking you to have with me?†She smiled at the officer and replied “Thommo, how’s your wife and kids? Still putting up with meâ€, said Detective Sergeant Geoff Thompson “but I’d leave them in an instance for you, you know. Just wait a little while longer before you do thatâ€, Genevieve replied with a smile. “Anyway, is Mark Abercrombie around?†Thompson pointed his index finger down the hallway. “You’re lucky; he’s in his office at the moment. Thanks, Thommoâ€, Genevieve said as she wandered off in the direction that had been indicated.

Mark Abercrombie looked up as Genevieve stood in the doorway of his office. “Genevieve, it’s been a while. Come on in and take a seat. Thanks Mark, it’s good to catch up with you tooâ€. Genevieve walked over and sat herself down on a rather shabby chair. “As much as I’d like this to be a personal visit, I know you’re as much of a workaholic as I amâ€, said Abercrombie, “so what can I do for you?†Genevieve adjusted herself on the chair and crossed her long slender legs. “You’re right of course, Mark. Let me brief you on what I’ve been working on recently. Genevieve proceeded to tell Abercrombie about her work with ‘The FMS Gang’ and her role in their rehabilitation now that they had been transported. She told him about her appointment with uskopite this morning, but she didn’t mention his dropping of the name ‘flippers’. Abercrombie listened to her talk and his mood slowly changed from pleasure to anger as she came to the end of her account.

“So what’s this about?†asked Abercrombie, “the fact that some lowlife internet scumbag alleges that I pulled a knife on him?†Genevieve shook her head. “No, it’s not, Mark. I certainly hope for your sake that you didn’t do that, but I’m more interested in the fact that something you’ve done has got one of my patients in an extremely agitated stateâ€. Abercrombie realised that they was an angle that he may be able to exploit. “Do you thing you could find out a few things from this uskopite bloke that might help us with our enquiries into the three FMS murders?†Genevieve also realised that she had a chance to extract some information out of Abercrombie. “What were you trying to find out from uskopite exactly?†she asked. Abercrombie told her about the meeting at the Darlinghurst Hotel the previous Thursday. “There were definitely seven people at this meeting, but all of the FMSers swear that there was only six. I need to know the identity of the seventh person. Do you have any suspicions about who it might be?†she asked. “I reckon it’s someone that all those FMS scum know – perhaps a former member or something like that. Whoever it is, they will only be here to cause us more trouble. For all I know, this person could even be the murdererâ€.

Genevieve took it all in and then made her reply. “I could find out a few thingsâ€, she said. “Is there anything else I should know that might help with your enquiries?†Abercrombie thought hard about a certain issue and then decided to share it with Genevieve. “I’m taking a risk telling you this, but it’s a roadblock that is holding up my investigation. You must keep it to yourselfâ€. Genevieve leant in closer like a she was sharing a dirty little secret that Abercrombie didn’t want the world to know. “CIB have a mole planted in ‘The FMS Gang’ – and he was one of the seven people at this meeting at the Darlinghurst Hotel last Thursday. He may be one of the six that we know of, or he may be the mysterious seventh man. If you can surreptitiously question these guys about the mole and/or the seventh man, then we may get a big breakthrough in this entire murder investigationâ€. Abercrombie sat back into his chair and Genevieve did likewise into her own. “Okay Mark, leave it with me. I’ll make some circumspect enquiries straight away and I’ll get back to you as soon as possibleâ€. Genevieve stood up to leave and Abercrombie rose from his chair also. “Thanks Genevieve, your help could be vital. I’ll be waiting to hear from youâ€. They made their farewells and Genevieve left the Homicide office.

In the foyer of the police headquarters Genevieve stood to one corner and made a call on her mobile phone. The call was to an old friend who worked reasonably high up in the Department of Immigration. After a few pleasantries, she asked her friend for the favour which had been the real reason for the call. â€I need to know if a British citizen named flipsix3 has entered Australia in the past two monthsâ€, she asked. Her friend promised to check and get back to her shortly. Genevieve Waldorf had always harboured a desire to be a private investigator and here was a chance for her to work on a real-life murder case. “flipsix3, I think you’re here somewhere and you might be the key to this whole terrible episodeâ€, she said quietly to herself.

[flipsix3]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">“flipsix3, I think you’re here somewhere and you might be the key to this whole terrible episode†</div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Nah I'm not love, nothing to worry about here. I'll buy you a beer if you like, and you can...... cross examnie me

[Spav]

There’s more of this coming up soon. In case you’re wondering about the timing of events as I haven’t been putting dates in the story, this is a timeline to refresh your memory on the major events in Australia so far.

Tues 06/09/2005 – Pickles murdered in Brisbane

Wed 07/09/2005 – body of Pickles discovered in Brisbane

Sun 11/09/2005 – first round of A-League

Sun 11/09/2005 – mckissock murdered in Sydney

Wed 14/09/2005 – flipsix3 arrives in Australia (if you believe his passport!!)

Sun 18/09/2005 – second round of A-League

Thur 22/09/2005 – Justified murdered in Newcastle

Thur 22/09/2005 – the meeting at Darlinghurst Hotel

Sun 25/09/2005 – third round of A-League

Wed 28/09/2005 – Genevieve Waldorf meets with DI Abercrombie

Cheers, Spav,

[OMDave]

Blatant gratuitous uppage

And this from a multiple award-winner, too

On a serious note, looking forward to finding out how the mystery unravels. And congratulations again

[Spav]

Cheers, Dave.

I think this next post so soon afterwards rules out the "blatant gratuitous uppage" accusation.

[Spav]

Now things are really starting to happen...

Late on Wednesday afternoon in Sydney the mobile phone of Genevieve Waldorf rang. She answered it and it was her old friend from the Department of Immigration whom she phoned earlier in the afternoon. The response from the caller was brief. “Right, so flipsix3 entered Australia on Wednesday 14th September 2005 which was two weeks ago todayâ€, replied Genevieve. A further response and “Mmm, okay, thanks for that, we must have that drink together some timeâ€. A salutation from the caller and from Genevieve “Bye, see you soonâ€. Genevieve sat at her desk and contemplated her next move. She was surprised that the police weren’t aware that flipsix3 was in the country. Then again, Mark Abercrombie seemed more interested in finding out who that seventh person was at that meeting in the Darlinghurst Hotel. If she believed what uskopite had blurted out, then the seventh person was most likely flipsix3. It seemed unlikely to Genevieve that flipsix3 could be the killer as he’d only arrived after the second murder. However he was obviously here for a reason and she wondered what that was. The fact the he was ‘undercover’, so to speak, and had arranged a meeting with several of his former FMS compatriots led Genevieve to believe that he was trying to track down the killer. Now if she could just catch up with flipsix3 and use her skills as a psychologist, then together they might be able to crack this case wide open.

Late on the same afternoon in Brisbane Raptor sat in the Criterion Hotel in Fortitude Valley with BobBev and haze.13. “It looks like all of us that were in Sydney last Thursday have managed to convince the police that there were only six of us at the Darlinghurst Hotel and not sevenâ€, said Raptor to the other two. “They questioned me for hours and insisted that they knew there were seven of us, but then they just appeared to give up. Obviously our united front convinced themâ€. BobBev spoke next. “Yes, from what I’ve been reading on the forum from the lads, it’s the same story from all the others. As a result I think that flippers is still unknown to the police at this momentâ€. haze.13 took a sip of his beer, put it down and spoke. “So have you heard anything from flippers, Bob?†he asked. “Yes, there was a reply from his alias in the travel thread just this morning saying that he was ‘enjoying his travels’ and that he was ‘making progress towards his ultimate destination’ here in Australiaâ€. Raptor laughed out loud. “Bloody flippers, treating this like something from Mission Impossible!! Well, I hope he finds out something soon before another one of us is knocked offâ€.

Also on the same afternoon on the west coast of Australia, Peacemaker7 and Bagpuss strolled through the fringes of the city centre of Perth on their way home from work at the Members Equity Stadium to their respective units in Northbridge. “I still don’t fully trust flipsix3â€, said Peacemaker7. “He may well have not been here when the first two murders took place, but I don’t buy his ‘I felt so guilty that I didn’t help you the first time’ story. He’s up to something, but then again he may be the only person who can find out somethingâ€. Bagpuss nodded in agreement and replied, “That’s true, mate. With the police keeping an eye on us like hawks, we’re not going to be able to jet around the place during the week without it being known. Fair enough, we can still travel with our teams on match-days and keep in touch that way, but having flippers out there may be the best chance we have of finding the person behind all of thisâ€.

Finally, on the same afternoon and in an unnamed location, a man sat in a park overlooking a beach and took out a small note book. He flicked through the pages that were packed with neat meticulous writing until he came to the first fresh page. Taking out his pen, he wrote several lines of text on the page. When he completed writing out what he was thinking, he sat back and contemplated the list that he had compiled.

<STRIKE>Pickles</STRIKE>

<STRIKE>mckissock</STRIKE>

<STRIKE>Justified</STRIKE>

Peacemaker7

Nodding his head a couple of times, he said to himself, “I think it’s time that PM7 learnt who is really important when it comes to matters regarding the FMS Gangâ€.