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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