The Lone Gunmen (New Earth-Forty Two)

The Magic Bullet Newsletter - 1988-1989
The Lone Gunmen periodical was started by the three conspiracy journalists known as Melvin Frohike, John F. Byer, and Richard Langly, who wanted to spread the "truth" to the people. They did this by publishing The Magic Bullet Newsletter, which was a collection of conspiracy theories, claimed close encounters, monster sightings, and any other strange occurrence.

The early days of the newsletter was okay, with it having few active subscribers with its existence being spread by word of mouth. The newsletter would not get any real pull until it hits its first big story in 1989.

The Jenkins Story -1989
In 1989, Melvin Frohike was approached by a very elderly man named Giles Jenkins, who told Frohike he was getting really old and wanted to pass on a secret before he died. Said secret he wanted to pass on was about a government cover up that he took part in and wanted Frohike to write up so the world would know. Frohike would agree to listen to the story and would decide if he would print it once it was over, which Jenkins agreed with.

The cover up as described by Jenkins during the interview was a top secret research project that had occurred in Baltimore in 1962-1963 that involved a "fish-man". Jenkins would tell Frohike that it was called Project: Asset and was overseen by a Colonel Richard Strickland and controlled by disgraced General Frank Hoyt. He would details his involvement with a mute woman named Elisa Esposito, who cleaned at the lab that the creature was held at and how she fell in love with it. Jenkins would go on to describe his part in freeing the creature before it was terminated and living along side of it for a short period. He would acknowledge how similar the creature was to man and its own strange beauty.

His story reach the climax of his story with the two attempting to set the creature free through the canal, but were stopped just before by Colonel Strickland gunning down the creature and Elisa. Jenkins would reveal that Strickland failed to kill the creature and had his throat slashed by it and died from his injuries shortly after. He would then reveal the creature jumped into the canal with Elisa's body just as Baltimore police arrived at the scene and saw the creature.

He would end his story with the investigation into Hoyt's involvement, a the revelations regarding a Soviet spy among the scientists, who also helped set the creature free, and secret organization they all worked for known as Monarch. Jenkins would reveal that he was granted his freedom in exchange for silence on the events and has lived his days since in silence. Frohike would ask him why he chose to stop being silent, which Jenkins responded to by saying that it wasn't right to not tell Elisa and the creature's story. That he cared about both of them to much to let them be forgotten. Jenkins would ask Frohike if he would publish it, which Frohike responded by saying that he was going to publish it regardless, but he believes this story will be big. Happy with Frohike's optimism, Jenkins would go to his car and pull out illustrations of what he claimed was the creature, which he told Frohike he could have as thanks.

Frohike would do some research after speaking to Jenkins regarding the events to add any information to prove the story true. To his delight he did find out that General Hoyt was discharged from his position at the same time that Jenkins claimed. The biggest piece of evidence that supported the story was the old coroner's report that Frohike acquired from his friend in the Baltimore Police Department. Said report documented the autopsy of Colonel Strickland, who had died from slashes to the throat and who's fingers had been severely affected by the late stages of gangrene. Frohike also managed to find a record of Elisa Esposito, as being an mute orphan and her death certificate being made for the exact day that Jenkins sighted, but no details on what became of the body.

Frohike would publish the article shortly after finishing his additional research and as he assumed it was a big success. The article would increase the readership of The Magic Bullet newsletter and the demand for more content.