Part 9: Swinging through the Dialog Trees

– Swinging through the Dialog Trees

Welcome back after the interrogation intermission. We’re ready to follow the main plot again.

There are a few issues on our plate. We need to meet with Birdsong to get more information about the potential hit on the President. Harmonica and PROCAT fit into this somewhere, but it isn’t clear exactly where. Also, we have a mole on the loose that needs to be hunted down.

Our first piece of news comes from DCI Sterling.





It’s time to check in with Foster.



Gene Warhurst told me you’re poking into the Russian Mafia. You’ll want to talk to Yuri Gromchevsky. He’s with the SVR.



Who’s Yuri Gromchevsky?

Yuri works with the SVR’s Mafia Crimes Unit. He’ll help your investigation of the Russia Mafia’s involvement in the PEG theft. I sent him a copy of the image you grabbed of the assassin. He’s looking into it.



How do I contact Yuri?

I’ll shoot Yuri’s number to your PDA. You can call him from your office.



What’s the SVR again?

Служба Внешней Разведки. It’s the new name for Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service.



So. Who is this Birdsong?

We’ve had Birdsong investigating the Russian Mafia because we want to keep an eye on their efforts to recruit Russian scientists. They’re starting to deal in technical secrets, and we’d like to keep track of what they’re selling, and to whom. The problem is he’s a scientist, not a spy. And they’re on to him. They want him to prove his loyalty.



Kill a man. Local mafia thug. They’ve even tried to give him a gun.



So. You’ve got Birdsong ready to talk…

I’ve set a meeting. It’s not standard operating procedure but we don’t have a choice. He reluctantly agreed to meet in his apartment, the only place he feels safe these days.



He says he can get more information about the President’s hit.



It’s not my call. It’s yours. Your mission is Priority One. But if you want my opinion, we shouldn’t do it.



Where is everyone?

Everybody’s in the field. I’m all that’s left to mind the store since the budget cuts. It’s not usually this deserted.



We asked for a new security system two years ago, but we’re still stuck with 1970s technology. One-Minute-Max we call it. No reference to me. It covers the room in a minute flat.



As good as her word, Foster sends the contact information for Yuri.





Time to head to Pearson’s old office to settle in.







This is the former occupant.



A photo in the file drawer?









This is apparently Kneecaps.



While we’re poking around, we get an invitation to visit with Holt. It might be a good chance to clear up his involvement with PROCAT.





Can I help you with something?



Man, that part of my life is over. Way over.



Tell me about Operation Paw Print.

The Agency sent me to bring in Melnachov. MI6 sent John Blake to take him out. Too bad nobody clued me in. I tracked down Melnachov and then Blake killed him.



What did you do after Paw Print?

After Paw Print I moved from Operations to Intelligence. Sure, the work is boring, but here back-stabbing is only figurative. Now I still get to play in the game but I no longer have to blindly follow the rules.



You kidding? Without Melnachov calling the shots PROCAT wouldn’t even exist. Of course, you could ask Blake what he thinks, but be warned: he’s a freak. Some upper-class hipster doing wet work for MI6. In the end, he wasn’t cut out for this kind of work. I’m told he still sees Melnachov’s ghost. It scares the pants off him, and it serves him right.

Interesting, but nothing conclusive. Time to see Birdsong.





I wish you didn’t come here. They’ll find out.



I cannot. Do you know what I must do to get that information? They question my loyalty? They want me to kill a young Mafioso to prove my loyalty. I cannot do this.



But President Brooks is in danger.

How can you balance one man’s life against another’s?



Just try to set a meeting with your contact. Please.

I will consider this. Now, please forgive me if I don’t show you out.

We could try to play Dark Side here, but unfortunately it makes little difference. Birdsong sets a meeting with his contact regardless, and the only thing that changes are a phone message and a line in one of the videos. The player isn’t presented with the actual choice to try to force Birdsong to kill the Mafioso. Probably a lost opportunity to add moral ambiguity.

As we leave Birdsong’s apartment, we receive a message from Jaimie.





The test sounds like a 2600 baud modem trying to log onto AOL. Not pleasant. Take my word for it.





While we’re waiting for Birdsong to set up a meeting, we’ll contact Yuri.





Gromchevsky here.



Hello, Thorn. I am expecting your call.



Yes, I have received photo from Foster.



You have called the right man. Come over any time. My office is in Yasenevo.

And off we go.



Hello. You must be Thorn of the CIA. It is my pleasure to meet you.

My general has had talks with your Mr. Sterling about the Dubansky incident. He is satisfied that it was, as you say, a former agent acting alone. I am a good soldier so I must also be satisfied. How can I be of assistance?



Yes, he is Mafia. Perhaps they are Chechen or Ingusheti but I am not sure. But I know who can tell. *speaks Russian into phone*

My Russian is rusty, but he basically calls in Oleg Kalugin.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oleg_Kalugin

Oleg Kalugin, this is Thorn of the CIA.

Very nice to meet you, Thorn.

Oleg, do you happen to know the two men in the background of this photograph?

Well this picture was obviously taken when Fyodor Dubansky was assassinated. The one on the left is called Ilya. He used to be called The Hammer.

Oh yes, he was the one who was shot in the head by one of his henchman over a pair of blue jeans.

That’s right, over a pair of blue jeans. Can you imagine?

Well, the other one is Uzbek. I do not know him by name. Sorry.

Thank you.

More Russian chatter here. Yuri thanks Oleg and they make plans to hang out on Saturday.



How was the Russian Mafia become so powerful?

It has grown fat on the milk of two cows. Drugs and corruption. Last year, Soviet republics shipped drugs worth 11.5 billion US dollars, virtually all of which were shipped to Western Europe and your States. Most of all the drugs were shipped through Russia and her own web of organized crime clients.



I thought the Government had the Mafia under control.

I wish it were. The drug trade has fueled extraordinary growth in organized crime. There are now 5000 gangs operating across the country, controlling 40,000 private enterprises including 8 out of 10 shops, depots and hotels in Moscow. This corruption has crept even into our Government, and that is why I am here. To find a new way to combat them.



That is an understatement. The Mafia is everywhere these days. They are even behind one of the Presidential candidates, Arkady Churbanov.



I have proof. In my heart, I have proof. I know Churbanov has his hands in their pockets. I will get the proof.



You have come to the right man. I will set up meeting, you will see for yourself. I will call you when it is time. It has been good to meet you Thorn.



So both Birdsong and Yuri are setting up more meetings for us. Time to head back to the office.



A strange-looking envelope has been left on the desk.



Well that’s not good.







I’m looking at the photo of Parker. He’s not the only one out of commission; Lange is MIA. Had to cut his PDA out of the loop in case he’s been captured. Hate to say it, Thorn, but it’s down to you and Asai.







Newslink video - http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xo...news_videogames

We also have a message from Foster.





Let’s head back and check our messages.







Thorn, it is Birdsong. I am in danger. They have discovered my affiliation with you. I have been compromised. Do not attempt to contact me. Never again!

So much for that meeting.

Another message from Holt.



Hold on to your breakfast. German TV is running a promo for a news story about a stolen nuclear weapon. I did some poking around in German intelligence and they say it isn’t as bad as it looks. The weapon’s not actually functional; someone removed the pit.

The Germans like to think that the sellers had enough conscience to hang on to the really dangerous stuff. I think I know better. They’re selling it separately.

Great video here showing German news segment, including this gem:



http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xo...tung_videogames

The State Department is trying to get as much information out of the Germans as they can, but they’re being pretty tight-lipped. Back in Russia, this is a serious blow to Polyakov. Political is predicting a major shift in the polls. Churbanov should pass him within a few days.

Finally, we’ll check in on the case logs.

Parker is dead.



Lange is missing, either dead or turned.



Fortunately, Asai is still around.



I’m on the Skodi trail. All I found is a confirmed kill at a coroner’s office in Minsk. A Mafia informant bragged to local police about a secret weapon Ying made off with in Bensonhurst. I’m still digging. Incidentally, the M.O. in the Skodi killing matched that used in the Parker and Jeffries murders. It was Harmonica. Guess he doesn’t like competition. Hope the same hasn’t happened to Lange. Asai out.

Time to sum up. Birdsong apparently tried to get more information, but the Mafia is onto him. Dead end there. Yuri is setting up a meeting with Churbanov, so we have that to look forward to. Harmonica keeps killing our people, but no real leads there. We can also try tracking down John Blake to get more information on PROCAT and Operation Paw Print. And there’s no telling where that stolen nuke will turn up.