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Joe Tweak was born in a small Colorado
mountain town where his parents owned and operated a
small coffee shop. His childhood was fairly
normal, if one views it through a caffeine fog. A
school yard fight between him and another boy landed Joe
in the hospital for a short stay, but also introduced
him to the manly sport of boxing. He continued
boxing through his teens and college years, finally to
become division champion on the police force. He
moved away from home after high-school and attended the
University of Chattanooga where his life calmed down
considerably when he kicked the coffee habit. He
subsidized his college years on a financial plan from
his childhood. When asked, he would just smile
enigmatically and say he figured out step two.
He attended the
police academy and graduated high in his class.
Rising fast in the force he gained the rank of Detective
at a young age. At this time in his life he met Lorraine Curtain in
the dispatch office. A whirlwind romance ensued
and they seemed to be headed towards wedding bells at
breakneck speed. Returning to Campaign City early from
an out of state police conference, he decided to visit
Lorraine and pop the question that evening.
Arriving with ring in one hand and flowers in the other,
the door to her apartment was answered not by Lorraine,
but by his Lieutenant who was wearing only a
towel. Both men just stared at each other, neither
able to speak. Lorraine appeared from the bedroom
to see what was going on, wearing only a light nightgown
and a thin sheen of sweat. It was easy to deduce
what they had been doing. Dropping the flowers to
the ground along with his heart, he spun and exited the
building.
Walking briskly
he tried to convince himself that the tears running down
his cheeks were due to the icy wind blowing down the
cold city streets. Turning a corner he thought he
heard a faint cry for help coming from an alley.
Investigating with his gun drawn, he scared off a band
of youths, the Petshop
Boys gang beating an old man. He helped
the man up and tried to get him to go for medical
attention and file a police report. Refusing both,
the old man asked Joe if there was anything he could do
for him. Sighing deeply, Joe replied that he could
use a good cup of coffee about now. "Done!" cackled the
old man as he turned and disappeared down the dead end
alley. Search as he could, Joe never found the old
man or where he had escaped to, so Joe sat down and
drank his first cup of coffee since leaving his
childhood home.
Since
then, Joe has reacquired his caffeine habit, having many
cups per day. Somehow, that terribly mysterious
old man had given Joe a gift that kept on giving.
Every cup of coffee he had, in fact everything he went
to drink, turned into the best coffee Joe or anyone
could imagine. This strange gift led to his new
nickname, Java Joe
and eventually some resourceful uses for coffee in
combat.
Quitting the force was easy, setting up his own private
investigations office was less so. Slow to build,
he soon had a comfortable income from his
investigations. His years as a beat cop have
served him well, getting to know the city and some of
it's inhabitants. Known for his trustworthiness,
he was once hired by the current Mayor of Campaign City
for a very private personal assignment. This was
early in the future Mayor's political career and earned
Joe the respect of the soon-to-be-Mayor, if not his
complete trust. In the wrong hands that
information could be politically damaging so the Mayor
keeps a somewhat watchful eye on Joe's doings, Joe is
aware of it and isn't overly concerned by the scrutiny.
The
Mayor has been know to call on Joe for a "streets eye"
view of certain situations, and the Mayor has been know
to give Joe access to private files or open a door or
two to help Joe in his investigations. Joe still
boxes and volunteers as a boxing instructor at a local
gym to help underprivileged youths.
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