[Icelander]

Originally Posted by Apollonian

One thing he might have which you haven't mentioned are field observation teams. Even with Kessler's vast resources, he probably can't be everywhere. So I suspect he'd keep a set of small (1-3 people) teams that are familiar with certain areas and are set up to keep an ear to the ground. In MH terms, they'd be Sidekicks, maybe. They'd be more than informants, but definitely not equipped to take on a Vile Vortex by themselves. Very likely, they have day jobs that help them stay in touch with the region they monitor - cop, journalist, PI, religious leader, etc. - but their first loyalty is to Kessler's monster hunting teams. They'd have handlers among Kessler's analysts who interpret the data they send back and who tell them what else to look for. And very often, the disappearance of such a team is going to be the signal that something is seriously wrong in an area. Thus, they might informally call themselves the Tripwires... These folks should definitely be aware of the nature of the supernatural threat but be unable to fight it directly.

Yes, this would describe a lot of his consultants and contractor personnel. Granted, some of his information-gathering employees would make use of agents of their own, who wouldn't even know by whom they were ultimately paid, but many of the academics, in particular, are long-time recipients of grants and scholarships Kessler uses to encourage research in appropriate fields. And as the academics cannot do their jobs without information, they'll know about the supernatural.

And yes, Kessler tries to have local 'factors' in every likely hot spot, often arranging for them to have a decent day job there if they aren't already employed in some useful post. Texas sheriffs, St. Lucia police chiefs, Jamaican military officers, Port-au-Prince crime bosses, Cayman bankers, etc.

For that matter, Kessler owns, through intermediaries, at least two PSCs, Sentinel Risk Managment Inc. (registered in Texas) and ISHIM Ltd. (registered in St. Lucia). Both companies employ numerous personnel who work full-time for Kessler, but are simply fairly competent former police or military, not former SEALs or the like.

He also owns IYR Inc., which employs yacht crew, hospitality professionals, cleaning crews, mechanics, helicopter pilots, engineers and all sorts of other personnel that provide logistics and support. There are also many other, as yet unnamed, businesses which Kessler owns in part or whole and can provide support, even if the employees do not know why they are moving crates, ships or people from A to B.

The full-time Monster Hunters are mostly paid through a complex structure of interlacing empoyment contracts, where they are formally employed part-time by IYR Inc. as well as one or more PSC. They might also receive consulting fees from other Kessler companies and a variety of incentives, stock options and other renumeration other than monthly salary. There is defininately an option to structure this compensation in a way that minimises tax burdens, for example by paying the vast majority of it through offshore companies.

Those who qualify as Reserve Deputy Sheriffs in Jefferson County are also paid a comparatively miniscule rate for the roughly 25-30 days a year they spend working as law enforcement officers, but it's not like they are doing that for money, it is obviously done for the benefits of having badge and official status. Kessler suggests that anyone who has the appropriate background do this, but doesn't insist on it. Those who agree to be Reserve Deputies do not suffer for it financially, however, as they are clearly more useful employees within the US.

The two PCs who formally belong to the Monster Hunting team on Penemue both chose to pay the lowest taxes they could. As a result, they now have dual citizenship (well, Edward Alvin Smith now has triple citizenship, having previously been a citizen of France), being citizens in good standing of the small Caribbean nation of St. Lucia, where both of them now own real estate. This allows them to pay tax in the US of what salaries they declare there, but not declare the vast majority of their assets and income in the US, instead paying the lower St. Lucian tax rates. This is legal by St. Lucian and international law, illegal by US law, but practically unenforcable if they have good lawyers, accountants and bankers. As as result of their Patron, they have the best.

Lucien Lacoste is a fairly recent recruit and only rates Wealthy. Edwin Alvin Smith started working for Kessler in 1986, but disappeared in 1995. He only returned a short while ago, some six months. He had not been declared dead and Kessler had kept up ptoperty taxes on his bungalow as well as paying his salary into his mutual funds. A lot of his assets were in long term investments, however. This is modeled with Very Wealthy and a note that the player plans to upgrade to Filthy Rich in play, in narrative terms, when the legal tangles and accounting stuff has been taken care of.

As for the status of the 'Monster Hunters' as a close-knit group separate from other employees, that's absolutely the case. Belonging to the eight man team aboard Penemue removes you from the chain-of-command of the on board security team and affords you privileges like living in a stateroom (shared, but still), as opposed to crew quarters. It also means at least double the salary and, for valuable veterans, remuneration that can make them really rich, as in clearing north of $300,000 per year after all taxes and receiving stock options and all sorts of bonuses as well, which translate into an ever growing fund.

The Monster Hunters are, in terms of social status and salary, closer to officers on board the yacht than they are crew. They're paid somewhere in the neighborhood of what the doctor on board or the First Mate are receiving and the long-service Monster Hunters might approach the Chief Engineer. Granted, the Captain is without a doubt the most respected and highest paid man on board, but Captain Gus Starr is effectively the CO of the Monster Hunters as well as the officer commanding the Penemue.