Philip McKraken

Background Information

Philip's main influences in life have been his father, Uncle James, `Uncle Conrad`, Jack Daniels and his nightmares.

His early years were troubled by bedwetting, arson and torturing small animals, accompanied by a series of terrible and horrific nightmares. His father Donald, a police narcotics agent, blamed his uncle James. A longstanding grudge existed between the two of them and violence was not always prevented by his mother Catherine. He called James a desk jockey, who knew nothing about the real world and the evil in it. James's safe government job wouldn't be safe if men like his father didn't risk his ass everyday to protect it from the filth and scum who walked the streets.

His dad was a very angry man who blamed James for holding back his career and resented Philip's relationship with him. It was James who Philip ran to on the few occasions he could not take it any more. Mostly he stayed around, often provoking his father when he came home angry or drunk, in order to stop him from beating up his mother or younger sisters.

Philip's Uncle James did indeed influence him, and many of his nightmares did relate to bed time stories he had been told when he was a kid. Indeed some of the stories accompanied by pictures from Uncle James' big old books resulted in nightmares well into his late teens. Mostly his nightmares related to his father and the sobs he heard from his sisters' rooms. As James said, monsters come in all shapes.

Aged 12, a defining moment for Philip came when his father was killed by a knife wielding pusher on a routine stop and search. Although relieved in many ways, Philip never got the closure he wanted or the opportunity to kill his father himself.

Philip began drinking aged 14; his juvenile record detailed shop-lifting, petty theft, assault and battery, vandalism, arson and cruelty to animals. His mother despaired as his behaviour grew to increasingly resemble his fathers. Aged 16 his record was not wiped but made permanent as he was picked up for street robbery. At this point his mother threw him out of the house and once again he returned to his Uncle James.

Uncle James and `Uncle Conrad` helped him through his troublesome teens, and he lived with James for just over a year before moving back home. James and Conrad convinced Phil to "sort his act out", which included a day trip to an adult state penitentiary a graphic explanations of what he could expect if sent there. More impressively, Phil learned that his permanent record had been wiped clean. James confirmed this was the case but would never say that either he or Conrad had arranged for this.

Phil wanted to change, didn't want to be a `punk-ass bitch` in an 8 by 6, and wanted to serve a higher calling. The church was not for him and the police seemed repellent. He controlled his drinking over time, not yet having reached the stages of raging alcoholic, and sought fulfilment. His uncle advised him to join a government posting, NSA, CIA or such. Phil finally settled on the FBI, James and Conrad helped him arrange everything and recommended he apply for Cold Case duties. Phil was surprised by this as he had heard other agents talk about it in a less positive manner. James and Conrad assured him it would be worthwhile.

His first response to his initial assignment was anger and a sense of betrayal towards his Uncles. He was met by a woman with a walking stick and two other new agents, one of whom was clearly a social reject, and told they would be going to an award ceremony. No sign of fighting crime at all. The one perk to the day was meeting a wonderful lady whom he escorted to her house, only to find she was married to the head of the FBI armed response unit and having an affair with his superior. Before he could screw up his burgeoning career he withdrew and drove back to the hotel where everything got really odd. The retiring Joshua Blackthorne was turned to stone by the lovely witch and the whole thing was immediately covered up. Phil got drunk again.

Monsters come in many shapes. Phil's comes in bottle form.

Family Tree

Recent Events

The following events have been highlighted as having special significance for Philip since joining the mid-west evidence response team. Please see the Timeline to place these incidents in context.

12 December 2000

Assigned to the midwest evidence response team and sent to Dallas, Texas to be broken in by Senior Special Agent Joshua Blackthorne. He witnessed Blackthorne's public petrification (Case DL1034), Jane's reaction and helped to cover up these supernatural events. After these events, Philip is later sent to New York for psyche evaluation with Doctor Royston Devries of the east coast team.

13 December 2000

Assigned to case 0021-GCF with the rest of the east coast team.

14 December 2000

Foolishly puts on Mao Sei Ben's pendant of Talent and attacks Jane. He is sent back to the east coast.

16 December 2000

Returns to the Los Angeles assignment with Special Agent Wainwright.

17 December 2000

Encounters the Joker who demands to know what Lillian Winter is up to. McKraken hasn't got a clue but agrees to find out for the Joker. The Joker will listen to McKraken the next time he bleeds.

19 December 2000

In the battle between evidence response and Mao Sei Ben, McKraken is wounded and the Joker comes calling. McKraken tells the Joker everything he wants to know and, although the Joker obviously wanted to kill him, spares Philip's life because his death would not be within "the rules". Philip tricks the Joker into attacking Mao Sei Ben. Whether the hellish entity realised the deception is yet to be seen. McKraken is hospitalised, but in the later reshuffle he is assigned to the west coast team.

24-25 December 2000

McKraken attends the evidence response Christmas party at the west coast HQ.

See Also:

• Philip McKraken entry in Who's Who section.