Page 108 - Hunter the Vigil - Mortal Remains

HAbIbTI MA

“How long has he been missing? And you say that he’s been seen around the market
twice looking like a ghost of himself? No. It isn’t too late. We can help, but it will look
like cruelty at first, so I need you to be strong with me. Shall we pray?”
In 1998, Eme Amun Hassan lost her husband and two grown sons to
a suicide cult. Her extended family was destroyed and Hassan was left alone
in the world. The damage the cult caused was extensive both to her heart
and to the hearts of dozens of other families in the region of Luxor where
she lived.
After a series of lawsuits against the cult leader, the local politicians,
and the police that failed to stop the mass suicide from happening, Hassan
found herself with a small fortune at her disposal. The money did little to
ease this woman’s pain. Still grief-stricken, Hassan prayed and wept, and
meditated and prayed for an end to her heartache. Then, one day while she
visited her mother-in-law’s home, she regained a little bit of hope after spotting
an old statue.
“That’s Ma’at,” her mother-in-law said. “She was Justice in this land once,
many years before the Prophet came to Egypt. Some still pray to her when they
ache like you do. For answers.”
In that moment, Hassan understood what she wanted to do with her
money. She spent decades after that visit retaining the brightest psychologists,
attorneys, and private security professionals she could find for a singular pur-
pose: to disband cults and return their members, safe and sound, to their wor-
ried families.
In the name of heartache, Habibti Ma steals back those unfortunate souls
who were stolen by cults and deprograms them, helping them return to their
former life. Sometimes, Habibti Ma works within the confines of the law as an
anonymous party; other times, the group kidnaps and wages what seems like psy-
chological warfare to correct the damage done to those lost to cult behavior. It is
the cruelest kindness.
Recently the Habibta Ma, which is still led by the widow Hassan, has noticed a
decided uptick in cult-like behavior. What’s more, members are finding their depro-
gramming practices are considerably more effective than those of other similar agen-
cies. Though survivors swear by their efficacy, the Habibti Ma is still new enough — it
has yet to have an office or a website — that many hunters are curious to know more
about Eme Amun Hassan and the powerful group she’s put together.
The Enemy

Charming zealots and con artists in the guise of gurus plague communities hit
with hard times. Egypt’s current economic troubles mean that desperation is common
as the country hinges on the brink of financial disaster. Habibti Ma has seen all of this
before over the years, and understand trouble tends to come and go in cycles. Only
recently, though, have they begun to compare notes with other hunters to discover that
there may be more to the uptick in cult activity than slimy manipulators and starving
peasants.

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