A Mini Sorta Guide for Overwatch

A Wrong Number

It all started with a posting to Youtube about a wrong number on an answering machine. Jeff Pike moved into his new apartment three months ago, and ever since has been getting all sorts of wrong messages for the previous tenant. Jeff seems to think that it was a newspaper reporter of some sort, since he is always getting calls from newspapers wanting to talk to this guy.

Odd. I could understand him getting all sorts of mail for the previous tenant if there wasn't a change of address filed - but phone calls? I take it the previous tenant didn't shut off his phone and instead transferred it to Jeff which is a little strange. Even stranger is the fact that Jeff talks like he never even met the guy. He certainly doesn't know anything him about him in any case - so why would he take a transferred number rather than opening up a new account. At first I thought maybe the calls were from a recycled number, but Jeff then talks about getting information about the reporter from the neighbor (Curt). Like I said, odd.

Anyway, back to the 'wrong' number. It's from a guy who works at the Office of Internal Security. He has found some information on a project called Osprey. A project that is 'about to step way over the line' according to him. I guess he's calling The Reporter in the hopes that The Reporter can get the information out to the public. Sadly for OIS Guy, he hears people coming for him and hangs up the phone quickly. Wonder how we're gonna get the whole Osprey story now. §

Tradecraft Journal

So, since OIS Guy gave us a name of a website, let's go check that out. Tradecraft Journal is the name of the now defunct project. And sadly, the website is now defunct.

I cannot tell you how annoyed I get when 'games' decide to completely nuke their trailhead site. How on earth are you supposed to get new people involved if they can't find the stupid site? I understand why this happened (I'll get to that a little further down) and I understand that technically there is a backup trailhead - but it's certainly not explicit and as of the time of this writing has not even been found after 24 hours. Great idea for a trailhead. Why not, instead of nuking the sites because of player involvement, set up a system where the players can't inadvertently crash the whole thing -OR- make it so the alternate trailhead is just as easily available as the first. The current situation is ridiculous.

Luckily, Google has a cache of the website that I was able to snag. Actually, Google had two caches, the second one I don't recall seeing, but I could just have a bad memory. Although, considering it doesn't have the Google Analytics loaded on it (like every other page), there's a good possibility it was only up for a short time.

So, pretending that my first version is the real one, what can we discover from the page? First off, the title is interesting: tc_home(cancelled per OIS-SCI/TECH ord.79624) I guess OIS Guy was right about it being a defunct project since it seems to have been cancelled by Order 79624. Kinda hard to tell what it was going to be about though.

If you dig a little deeper by looking at the source code, you'll see there are some interesting meta keywords for the site: <meta name="keywords" content="[tcj.com/c/a/kalasaaksi]"> TCJ.com is obviously our website - could it be pointing to an addresses within the site? If we went to tradecraftjournal.com/c/a/kalasaaksi we were taken to a Page Not Found - but this one had suggestions for some mispellings of what we were looking for. If we went to the third link, we found what we were looking for: c/2/kalasaaksi that gave us a direct link to the site with the confidential files.

Before we jump into Overwatch, we really should check out the WHOIS info for this site. § It's owned by one John Green. He has a phone number, but just a standard greeting where you can leave a message (or send him a fax). Nothing exciting. He does have an email address if you're the type who likes emailing characters. I don't, but I know the children in the thread do - maybe a little too much. More on that later.

Overwatch

So, Overwatch. This is where all the info that OIS Guy has smuggled out is being posted. It also just so happens to be the META site for the entire Overwatch production. You can sign up on the RSS feed and can even get a behind the scenes view from their Production Journal which I find pretty facinating. But then, I always listen to commentaries on DVD and TV shows. If you're really interested, you can check out their other projects at Visual Fiction. Autumn Country is a chaotic fiction story that would be a good read for anyone who likes pieceing together small bits of a larger story.

But enough about the META. Let's get into what we're here for. The juicy bits of gossip that OIS Guy grabbed.

Collateral_File_1 : Image_1 - A small note written on a hotel notepad. §
16 Sept

- Memo to William
to move forward
with Osprey
Collateral_File_2 : Image_2 - Confirmation Memo on Project Osprey §
RESTRICTED
Office Of Internal Security
Director Of Operations
7950 Westpark Dr
Mclean Va 22101-4206

September 18, 2005

MEMORANDUM OF CONFIRMATION

SUBJECT: O S P R E Y

Reference:

          a. Memorandum, OIS(OPS), July 24, 2005, Subject: Initial Findings of the Explortory Committee - Project OSPREY (Enclosure 1).

          b. Memorandum, OIS(OPS), August 2, 2005, Subject: Candidate Selection Criteria for Project OSPREY (Enclosure 2).

          The conclusion of reference a. above (lines 322-368) is here-by approved for immediate implementation by DDOPS-SE under previously established project name of OSPREY.

          Funding for project OSPREY is approved by DOPS through the office of the Under Secretary of Science and Technology via PRC-5498A3.

          1. First tier approval for all project-related funding and procurement activity is DDOPS-SE.

          2. Second tier approval for project-related funding and procurement activity is DOPS.

The final slate of four (4) candidates is to be submitted to DOPS NLT COB October 12, 2005. Candidate selection is subject to the criteria documented in reference b. above. The candidate pool is limiated to active duty personnel of OIS(OPS), DoD, and DHS.

Classified by: ADDOPS

RESTRICTED
Collateral_File_3 : Audio_Intercept_1 - Audio file of Julian Thalburg at Heathrow Airport §
*beep*

Hello, Elina. This is Julian. I'm sorry for the very late notice, but I'm not going to able to keep our date tonight. I just found out I've got to head back to the States and I have to leave right away. If you hear this within the next two hours or so... umm, it's ten o'clock now... give me a call on my cell phone. I would like to apologize more or less in person. If it's beyond that though, I will be on the plane and I won't be able to take your call. I'm not sure how long I'll be over there, but I'll call you when I get back. Hopefully we can grab a coffee then. Thanks a lot. Again, very sorry. See you when I return. Bye.

echelon-intercept_200805_10:02:42GMT_osprey17c
j.thalberg;terminal_three;heathrow;hounslow;TW6_1QG
Collateral_File_4 : Image_3 - Memo on candidate selection §
RESTRICTED
Office Of Internal Security
Director Of Operations
7950 Westpark Dr
Mclean Va 22101-4206

October 12, 2005

MEMORANDUM FOR RESTRICTED DISTIBUTION

SUBJECT: O S P R E Y CANDIDATE SLATE

Reference:

          a. Memorandum, OIS(OPS), August 2, 2005, Subject: Candiate Selection Criteria for Project OSPREY (Enclosure 1).

          b. Memorandum, OIS(OPS), September 18, 2005, Subject: Confirmation OSPREY (Enclosure 2).

          Pursuant to reference b. above.

          Selection, inital screening, supplemental screening, and final vetting of the OSPREY recruits is complete. The final slate for the project consists of two (2) candidates.

          Candidate A. DAVID WATERS (265779892); OIS (OPS); GS-11 (active); TS/R; PHY(+); PSY(+); PERSFIL attached.

          Candidate B. JULIAN THALBERG (525879921); DoJ(ARMY); O-4 (active); TS/R; PHY(+); PSY(+); PERSFIL attached.

          Please see the attached (Enclosures 3-16) for each candidate's complete assessment RE: screening for OSPREY, personnel files, fitness reports and selection recommendation.

Classified by: DDOPS-SE

RESTRICTED
Collateral_File_5 : Image_4 - Letter from Claudia Reece to William §
Office of Internal Security

Claudia Reece

Assistant Deputy Director of Operations
- Special Projects -

8 Dec 05 - 06:35

William,

Here's the entire package for Julian. Most important are the separation paperwork, the documentation for the dishonorable, and the requisition forms for the seed money. As we discussed, its not much cash; just what you'd expect from a cashout of accrused vacation and such. Need your signature on these this morning. The rest are not as critical, but I'd still appreciate getting the whole thing processed NLT the 10th since I want him back in London by the 12th.

Thanks for your help with SCI/TECH. Even with all the extra heat, I'm afraid they won't be ready for field testing by '07.

Claudia

7950 Westpark Dr
Mclean VA 22101-4206
703.844.1684
Collateral_File_6 : Static_Audio_Capture_1 - Phone message from Elina. §
*general sounds of someone entering an apartment*
*music starts playing*

Answering Machine: You have one new message. Message received on December 11 at 2:12 pm.

*beep*

Elina (speaking a foreign language): Hi, Julian. It was really nice to hear that you are coming back to London. I was really looking forward to finally going for the coffee (with you).

*tape stopped*
*tape started*

Answering Machine: You have one new message. Message received on December 11 at 2:12 pm.

*beep*

Elina (speaking a foreign language): Hi, Julian. It was really nice to hear that you are coming back to London. I was really looking forward to finally going for the coffee (with you). Unfortunately though, right after I got your message I received a call from the university letting me know that my researchp [sic] project has finally been approved! So now I have to go back and start interviewing the staff right away. Yeah, good timing, eh... I'm pretty sure I'll be gone by the time you arrive in London, so I just...wanted to say goodbye. Once I get settled in I'll send you an e-mail. Bye.

*beep*

Julian: Well, that sucks.

stat-mic-c_121205_19:42GMT_osprey102d
e.saarinen,j.thalberg;[51,30,44.42(n)-00,12,16.28(e)]
Collateral_File_7 : Internal_Voicemail_1 - Phone message from Claudia §
Claudia: William? Claudia. You want to check expatica.com from yesterday. E-X-P-A-T-I-C-A. It's an English language site for ex-pats living in Europe. Click on the Belguim section and do a search on 'castle' and 'theft' with yesterday's date. It looks like he's not wasting any time. He was principle on this, and the team was contract, so he'll keep most of the take. That'll set him up for at least the rest of the London phase, so you can stop worrying about the budget.

On a separate topic, we found a gallery for his legit work. We're just gonna buy it outright, and it'll be easier all around. The current owner's pretty desperate, so the deal will be closed within two weeks. We'll throw a big new mangement event in March - feature some of his collages. Plus we've still got that critic from The Telegraph on the books, so between him and a couple of high profile purchases I'm setting up, he should be doing pretty well by summer. You'll have the paperwork for the gallery by midday tomorrow. Talk to you in the staff meeting.

audio_int_vmx_100206_06:22EST_osprey377s
c.reece;[38,53,23.82(n)-77,04,57.85(w)]

So that's the first bit of information we've received. From what I can gather, Project Osprey went into effect in September 2005. Julian Thalberg was selected to be one of two candidates. From Claudia's memo to William, it appears whatever Osprey is, it's not something they want appearing to have official ties to government operations. Julian is given a dishonorable discharge from the Army along with a minor amount of cash that would not raise suspicions of anyone looking at his financial statements. He's then sent back to London, where he finds out his girlfriend has conveniently left to accept a University job out of the country.

The last message from Claudia is the most interesting. She tells William to go to expatica.com, click on Belgium, and then do a search on 'castle' and 'theft'. That brings us to this article describing an art theft at a Belgium castle. §

Just what kind of operation are they running if it's okay for their operatives to steal art in order to raise capital? Sometimes I don't think knowing what my government is doing is a good thing. At least the thieving should stop as they are setting up a 'legitimate' business for him. But the question is Why? Why does he need such a convincing back story? What is he doing for Osprey?

John Green

So here is where things get annoying. It all started with that WHOIS information with John Greene. Since he had email address listed, people naturally started emailing him. The only problem with that was John Greene claimed he had no knowledge of Osprey and started being rather defensive of the questions being asked of him. §

Dear James,

I'm afraid you have me at a loss.

Since you capitalized Osprey, I assume that is meant to be a proper name and is not referring to the bird of prey. Unfortunately, that's the only osprey I know of. Regarding someone named Julian Thalberg, I'm afraid I am equally in the dark. I know no one by that name.

I notice that this e-mail got to me as a forward from a project I was involved with quite some time ago, namely Tradecraft Journal. Just curious, but how did you come by that address? It was my understanding that Tradecraft Journal was shut down completely at the time that I left the project.

I see that you are affiliated with the law firm of (name withheld); is your firm perhaps doing work for the OIS? If so, I wonder if you might let me know who your vendor contact is.

Good luck in your search for Ms. Thalberg, I wish I could be of more help.

Regards,

John Green
Strategic Planning Services, LLP

Dear Stephanie,

I must admit that I am somewhat confused by your voicemail message. I'm afraid that part of it may have been cut off, because there was no introductory information nor any preamble; just a question related to Tradecraft Journal.

Since it is not classified, I can tell you that the Tradecraft Journal project was shut down for lack of funding. The parties within the OIS who were originally behind the project came to the conclusion that the money earmarked for TCJ would be better spent on something else.

What I find interesting is that this is the second inquiry regarding TCJ that I have received in the past 2 days. Are you perhaps working with someone named Jamie Frye? If you have a moment, would you mind letting me know your interest in this project; either via phone message or e-mail? I may be at liberty to discuss Tradecraft Journal at more length, but in light of the nature of the project, and the agency behind it, I have to be sure that your research is part of a legitimate internal effort. I'm sure you understand.

By the way, I see that you are from the area of [location withheld]. I wonder if you have ever run into a former colleague of mine; a Ms. Kathleen Pillon. We worked together on several projects in the early 80's. I heard she ended up back out there.

I look forward to hearing back from you.

Regards,

John Green
Strategic Planning Services, LLP

Dear Mr. Hanssen (He listed here all my other identities here),

Your letter, although well-thought-out in its own right, would have been slightly more believable if it had not arrived in my inbox along with 5 others - all asking more or less the same questions under various guises - within the span of 1 hour. I was prepared to believe that there was a possibility, however remote, that the two people I have previously corresponded with (Stephanie and Jamie) might have been with some far-flung agency that had stumbled upon the defunct TCJ. Even these days with everyone reporting up to OIS there is still no effective communication.

But the events of the past hour or so have put all that to rest. I can't say that I fully understand what you and the rest of your friends are up to, but after about two minutes of googling you and some of the keywords that have been flying around from all you 'government agents' it appears that you are all under the impression that it is some sort of game. I can assure you it is not.

I have a feeling that someone may have inadvertently used privileged information to construct a fictional framework for a game or story and, as sometimes happens, that fiction hit a little too close to certain truths. You, it seems, have taken this accidental truth and somehow followed it to me.

As far as I'm concerned, no harm no foul. If you and your friends desist from any further inquiries into TCJ I'm sure there will be no problems. As I had already indended after my second interaction with Stephanie, I will let the OIS know about the issue and they can take it up with whoever started this charade - and you and I both know the OIS will have no difficulty getting to the root cause.

I am replying only to you. I trust you will relay the response to the rest of your group.

John Green
Strategic Planning Services, LLP

There was quite a bit of concern that John Greene was getting his information about us thinking this to be a game straight from UF, but the META site later updated to say that they respected UF and were not taking their information from there. However, in a bit of revisionist history like the whole TCJ fiasco, they have since removed that post (along with several others). Luckily, thanks to the magic of cached files, it's not completely lost. §

But if the whole 'Are they spying on UF or not?' wasn't bad enough, after getting deluged with a ton of emails from over anxious players, John Green decides to pull the entire Tradecraft Journal site. Oops! Now we have no trailhead and I have to write bitchy commentary about why this is a 'Bad Idea'. So now we have to sit back and wait until someone decides to open up another avenue of communication.

Second Youtube Video

Luckily, we didn't have to wait too long for mysterious OIS Guy to call Jeff back (although we now know the previous tenant's, aka The Repoter, name was Alan). OIS Guy has left clues for us on how to reach his new website where we can find the newest piece of information he has smuggled out. §

He gives us quite a bit of information, but it is rather cryptic/badly designed and it took us over a day to come up with the correct url with quite a number of people working on it. First off, we know we need to be looking at something in Miami, FL near Gerry Curtis Park. With the mention of Google, it was determined that this part of Miami had been mapped with Google Street view and we could actually look at what OIS Guy was describing: the yellow awning of KMQ Vision. So we know that the new url has to be something regarding KMQ/Handbag/Bolsas/Sunglasses/Lentes, but nothing comes up in any combination with a .com, .net, or .org suffix. Eventually we latched onto his mention of a webjournal and started checking out all the different blog sites and Mapmaker came up with http://kmqsunglasses.blogspot.com (after only about 15 pages of random speculation that ranged from

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