[The mission starts as Aiden Pearce gets into the bunker. He sits on the chair and starts to take in the files he took from Defalt. As he watches the download, T-Bone comes with a pistol in his hand.]
Raymond Kenney: I hope you don't mind… I’m grabbing some of your stock. I figure that makes us even.
Aiden Pearce: Yeah. Sure. Of course. Take what you want.
Raymond Kenney: Fixers will be breathing down my neck soon. I didn’t even know Rose was dead. She should’ve just walked away.
Aiden Pearce: There’s no evidence that Blume arranged her death.
Raymond Kenney: Hell, Aiden, you don’t know that they didn’t. You know, I’ve seen a lot of thing that don’t add up. Bent city deals, voter rigging. All it takes is one good PR team to sweep that all away. After Rose died... they created...
[T-Bone shows Aiden the monitors.]
Raymond Kenney: ... “that”. Now I don’t know hows or whys of it...but that code is dangerous. Something about… I couldn’t make much sense of it, but it was something about Bell-something.
Aiden Pearce: Bellwether.
Raymond Kenney: Umm…
Aiden Pearce: That’s what he wanted.
[T-Bone stands up and takes the gun case.]
Raymond Kenney: You gotta burn that code, man. The rest of it… I don’t care what you do with it.
[T-Bone sighs, and heads to the stairs but he stops for a moment.]
Raymond Kenney: You know Aiden, I’m… I’m sorry about Clara.
Aiden Pearce: So am I.
Raymond Kenney: This whole thing’s shit. No matter how you cut it.
[T-Bone turns back and heads for the stairs, but he stops halfway and looks back at Aiden.]
Raymond Kenney: Careful, Aiden. When the lights go out, bad things tend to happen.
[T-Bone leaves. The screen in front of Aiden says “Are you sure you want to upload the files?” Aiden stands up, hesitates a bit, and then presses Enter. The screen shows the files uploading to WKZ TV as Aiden walks toward the stairs. At the same time, multiple reporters start to talk about the files as the view fades out, and a 3D aerial view of the Chicago network with WKZ-TV News Feed network appears. Also, a news feed appears on the screen. The reporter tells about the footage of Donovan Rushmore killing Rose Washington].
News Reporter: Shocking footage has surfaced implicating Mayor Rushmore in the murder of a woman, Rose Washington. The woman was a former CTOS employee reported missing over a year ago. Mayer Rushmore has refused to comment. But a statement released by City Hall claims the footage is a fake, made by the hacker group, DedSec, in order to discredit the mayor.
[Aiden steals a car and as he's driving, Damien calls, furious.]
Damien Brenks: After everything we’ve suffered, you just give it all away?! What have you done? Are you mad?
Aiden Pearce: I don’t know anymore. But I do know Nicky’s safe. And I know you’ll pay for Clara.
Damien Brenks: You think you’re the hero in all this? Read your own press. You’re a terror to this city. You and your vainglorious bullshit. Come on then. Come and get me. Let’s finish this. Oh...but there’s one thing I forgot to mention. You’ll like this. I’ve unlocked CTOS. Completely. I am inside the system. And you’re in for a show.
[Damien hangs up. Immediately, T-Bone calls.]
Raymond Kenney: So there I am waiting for my train, when the lights go out.
Aiden Pearce: I guarantee that’s just the start of it. Damien has full access.
Raymond Kenney: Over my dead body. Not gonna let my CTOS baby get gummed up by that whackadoodle. There’s a weak point he won’t know about. Get over there and shut it down. That’ll end his joyride quick and pronto.
Aiden Pearce: I’ll call you once I’m in. Nice to have you back.
Raymond Kenney: I do like being useful.
[Aiden heads to the Triomphe Tower where the central CTOS building is. On the way, Damien calls again.]
Damien Brenks: CTOS...it really is a wonder of human ingenuity. A model system making a model city for model citizens. I wonder what Blume said about potential hacks to the system. sound debate, I’m sure. “Hackers? Oh relax. Our CTOS is the most advanced blabbidy blah blah blah.” Hubris, Aiden. It’ll get you every time. But the you know that very well, don’t you?
[Damien picks up. As Aiden is driving through the city, Damien is hacking objects such as steam pipes and blockers to try and stop Aiden. When Aiden arrives, he hacks the CTOS terminal in the building, but the firewall is too thick. Aiden calls T-Bone for help.]
Aiden Pearce: He’s blocked us out. I need him disconnected fast.
Raymond Kenney: Well shit...I got one idea but...last time I did it...people died.
Aiden Pearce: If we don’t do it, people will die. What do you got?
Raymond Kenney: The whole network’s tied to a satellite. Runs as a kind of safety valve to CTOS. I got a homemade virus… a real mean motherfucker. You gotta install it from three separate points.
Aiden Pearce: What does it do?
Raymond Kenney: It’ll shut down your man, that’s for damn sure.
Aiden Pearce: This could get ugly.
Raymond Kenney: You don’t know the half of it, amigo. Call me when they’re installed. We’ll get it done right.
[T-Bone hangs up. Aiden starts to head to one of the install points. Damien calls.]
Damien Brenks: Did you really think you could stop me so easily? I’m disappointed. I took you for someone more clever, but I’m forced to see you’re like everyone else.
[Aiden doesn't answer.]
Damien Brenks: Ahh, the silent treatment. You’ll leave me and emotional wreck. And who knows what I’ll do in a such state. Come on, Aiden. IMPRESS ME! What will you do now? Throw me off my game...come on! You can do better.
[Damien hangs up, but he also hacks the map, causing several fake upload points to appear. He also grants Aiden a heat level. Aiden must head to one of three real upload points, and hacks it.]
Damien Brenks: Looks like you didn’t need your hacker chick after all.
[Damien hangs up. Aiden loads the first virus under heavy police heat. Damien calls when he uploads the first one.]
Damien Brenks: All right. Call me impressed. What was that? A virus of some kind. You’ve taken quite the shine to all this hacker business. Noodle away, Aiden. You don’t really understand what I’m doing.
Aiden Pearce: You’re trying to destroy the city.
Damien Brenks: Ah, it lives. No, not destroy. Cripple. So every one of them can know what it feels like to have their future taken from them. And I’m saving the best for you, partner.
[Damien hangs up but he immediately calls again.]
Damien Brenks: Who wouldn’t want a smart city?
[Damien hangs up again. He calls again when Aiden is next to the second real upload point.]
Damien Brenks: This is fun. I’ve booked a trip to wreck London, England next. Want to come along?
[Aiden makes it to the second upload point. Damien calls again.]
Damien Brenks: The best offense is a genius defense.
[Damien hangs up. He calls again when Aiden successfully uploads the second virus.]
Damien Brenks: I see what you’re doing. Upload your little virus, it sniffs around and finds me. Then you come beat up the cripple. That about right? I’d’ve guessed hacker chick invented this little gambit but then she’s dead, isn’t she? Well have at it, Aiden! Give me your best and I’ll give you mine. And you can brag all about it in the afterlife.
[Damien hangs up as Aiden heads to the last real upload point. He then calls Aiden again.]
Damien Brenks: See how smart this network is? It anticipates a problem: YOU. And fixes it.
[And again.]
Damien Brenks: Look how efficiently our digital city hunts you down. It saves energy consumption!
[When Aiden arrives at the last upload point, Damien calls AGAIN.]
Damien Brenks: Did you know that opinion polls show that most people find the CTOS to be safe? That’s PR for you. Wonder how they’ll swing this one.\
[And again.]
Damien Brenks: That’s the great thing about viruses, they can just spread out of control.
[When Aiden uploads the last virus and loses the police, he calls T-Bone.]
Aiden Pearce: It’s done. Your viruses are in.
Raymond Kenney: All right, we’re in it now. Head back to that weak point...right where we started. Now it’ll open up for you like a lady’s...uh, nevermind. You’ll have a clear line to the satellite, and that’s what’s important.
Aiden Pearce: Okay, clear line to the satellite. You say that’s the safety valve?
Raymond Kenney: And a little more. Once you’re inside, you’ll pull the trigger...
[T-Bone snaps his fingers.]
Raymond Kenney: ...Lights out, Aiden. And if we’re luck and I’m as clever as my CV says, you’ll get a lock on Damien’s location.
Aiden Pearce: That’s all I want.
[Aiden heads back to the Triomphe Tower, where he started. When he arrives, DedSec calls him via nearby TV screens.]
DedSec: Aiden Pearce, wait. We are DedSec. We’ve been watching. We know what you’re doing. You’re killing the lines to CTOS.
Aiden Pearce: Enjoy the show.
DedSec: Give us 30 seconds.
Aiden Pearce: For what?
DedSec: 30 seconds inside CTOS. We drop in our code. Then when the system reboots, DedSec will control the machine from inside. We will correct what Blume has broken. 30 seconds is all we need.
Aiden Pearce: 30 seconds, no one knows. Our little secret?
DedSec Speaker: We will be the watchdogs.
Aiden Pearce: No. I’m tired of all the noise.
DedSec: We will not forget this.
[Aiden hacks into the main router. He accesses the CTOS satellite.]
Aiden Pearce: I’ve linked to a satellite. From here T-Bone’s virus will reboot the entire system. It’ll stop Damien. I’m gonna find him. YEY
[Aiden hacks the main server and shuts down CTOS.]
Aiden Pearce: My God...
[The power slowly fades away as steam pipes blow and cash flows into Aiden’s account. Then, the city is completely dark for a few seconds, and then power returns slightly. Damien calls.]
Damien Brenks: Why are you so damn stubborn? Quinn’s dead. You got your sister back. And Clara ... she stabbed you in the back. She helped kill your precious Lena. You know it’s true.
Aiden Pearce: And what about you? Some might blame you for Lena’s death.
Damien Brenks: I wonder who would think that, hmm? But why stop there? Perhaps we should blame you. As I recall, the Merlaut Job was your plan.
Aiden Pearce: I blame myself every day. For the plan. For meeting you. For not stopping you when I had the chance. I don’t make that mistake anymore. I see a problem, I step in.
Damien Brenks: Oh yes, the vigilante. I’ve read your headlines.
Aiden Pearce: You’re the only problem I see now. And I am coming for you.
[Aiden hangs up. Then, he sees that the lighthouse still has power.]
Aiden Pearce: That’s the lighthouse. The power’s still running out there. That’s Damien.
[Aiden arrives at the lighthouse. When he arrives, Damien starts to talk on the speakers as Aiden climbs up the stairs.]
Damien Brenks: Remember when you and I first decided to pool our talents? The schemes we were planning...
[Damien laughs.]
Damien Brenks: We had so much drive, but never like this. Look outside! We’ve taken down a goddamned CITY. Now I’m spending my final hours standing on the widow’s walk. That’s what they call the lighthouse lookout, The Widow’s Walk. Did you know that? I didn’t. Seems fitting. Everything reeks of conclusion.
[Aiden climbs up the last ladder, but Damien is waiting for him up there. Aiden aims a pistol at him.]
Damien Brenks: Come on … Surprise, surprise.
Aiden Pearce: You got a speech, Damien? Anything you want to say?
Damien Brenks: They know who I am now.
Aiden Pearce: That’s it? That all you got?
Damien Brenks: Hey. Fuck you. Look at you. You plowed over people to get to a mob boss. You think you’re absolved because your cause is - what? - noble?
Aiden Pearce: You played me. That’s what this is about.
Damien Brenks: I played you? Clara is as much your fault. So is your niece. That’s why you sent your family away. Right? They know what you are. You play a beautiful game but sometimes you still lose.
[All of a sudden, Jordi appears and starts to talk. Aiden immediately points his gun at him, and Jordi points his gun at Damien.]
Jordi Chin: Blah. Blah. Blah… Jesus you guys talk a lot!
Aiden Pearce: What are you doing here?
[Suddenly Jordi points his gun at Aiden.]
Jordi Chin: Sorry, pal, new contract, kick it over.
Aiden Pearce: What?
Jordi Chin: C’mon, kick it over.
[A brief silence occurs and Aiden drops his gun. He kicks it to Jordi and Jordi takes it.]
Jordi Chin: Oh, you’re hilarious. You know, you guys take thing far too personally. That’s your problem. That’s why this went wrong. There’s lessons to be learned here fellas.
[As Jordi is talking, Aiden takes out his phone, but Jordi notices it].
Jordi Chin: Ah! Ah! Ah! Phone, too. Give it to me. Come on, hand it over.
[The screen goes into Focus mode and Aiden hacks the lighthouse’s bulb. As it explodes, Aiden – still in focus – punches Jordi, causing him to over the railing and he falls below, but survives. Then he quickly turns to Damien who is on the ground after the explosion and shoots him in the head, before Damien can shoot him back.]
Aiden (Inner Monologue): I don’t know what Damien wanted in those final moments. Death, I suppose.
[Aiden looks down over the railing, but notices Jordi is nowhere to be found.]
Aiden (Inner Monologue): I though I could fix a little girl’s death, but instead it led to all of this.
[Aiden looks toward the city as the power starts to be restored.]
Aiden (Inner Monologue): Exposed lies, corrupted kings, a broken city. And me, a changed man. I don’t look back anymore. I don’t regret. I look forward. Everything is connected, and I’ll use that to expose, to protect, and if necessary -- to punish.
[The Nexus logo appears on the screen as the city scenery blacks out. The game's campaign is officially over.]
Credits[]
[As the credits roll, a WKZ-TV report appears.]
News Reporter: Once again, Mayor Rushmore is dead. Police are not revealing any information. The leaked documents found extensive corruption and deep ties between the mayor and the Chicago South Club leader, Lucky Quinn. Did the Mayor kill himself over this exposure, or was he executed?
[The news feed disappears and another news feed appears, again from WKZ-TV. This one is about Charlotte Gardner’s statement.]
News Reporter: Blume Director of Public Relations, Charlotte Gardner has issued a statement regarding the recent CTOS troubles.
Charlotte Gardner: We knew all along that our CTOS network would be a target for hackers of all strengths and skills. It’s been an excellent proving ground to demonstrate how robust our system really is. We are so pleased with the results. Our firewall security withheld the worst of the attacks and in some cases trip switches closed the systems off before and access could be gained. Your personal information remains secure. Our CTOS network is restored to full operations.
[This news feed disappears too and a CTOS 2.0 commercial plays.]
Commercial: In a world where we want to spend more time with loved ones, be active in our communities, have safer, healthier homes and cities. Blume industries listen to you and your needs. We are embarking on a global journey. We want the world to be a community. CTOS 2.0, focusing on you putting you on the global stage. CTOS 2.0, making smart cities, even smarter.
[The commercial disappears. Another WKZ-TV news feed plays.]
News Reporter 1: Up next, an interview with a woman who claims to know the vigilante, Aiden Pearce.
News Reporter 2: Renowned child psychologist, Yolanda Mendez is with us. Doctor Mendez, your story is extraordinary. You actually know Aiden Pearce, the man we know as the vigilante. Tell us how that came about?
Yolanda Mendez: I met Mr. Pearce through the family, his sister.
News Reporter 2: This was a surprise to us. We couldn’t find any information about him at all. It’s great that you’ve come forward. You were treating her son for trauma?
Yolanda Mendez: Yes. Well, naturally, I can’t discuss any of that. Not even their names.
News Reporter 2: No, no, no, no. We won’t ask you to. But that’s how you met Aiden Pearce. What’s he like?
Yolanda Mendez: It’s impossible to say for certain what he’s really like. He masks his personality. And he’s very good at it.
News Reporter 2: Is he?
Yolanda Mendez: It isn’t like someone playing poker. This is a very smart man who is looking to gain the upper hand in every situation.
News Reporter 2: And you’re writing a book.
Yolanda Mendez: Yes I am. It’s a book about the whole experience. A study on Mr. Pearce. I really wanted to explore this complex man’s mind.
News Reporter 2: I’m sure it will be a fascinating read. Doctor Mendez, thank you.
[The news feed disappears and a DedSec ad appears.]
DedSec: DedSec has had enough Our warnings have fallen on deaf ears. Our reputation has been attacked by weaklings such as Defalt. Heed out our final warning...There will be a reckoning. We are vigilant against the watchers. We are capable. We are unstoppable…. We are at war.
[The DedSec ad disappears and yet another WKZ-TV feed appears.]
News Reporter: While a statement from the Commissioner’s office acknowledges the recent decline in criminal activity, the vigilante known as the Fox is only given the slightest praise for his crimefighting efforts. An anonymous source told our reporters that members of the police department are more enthusiastic about the vigilante than they are allowed to publicly disclose.
[The news feed disappears, and another one appears].
News Reporter: With Chicago still reeling from the shocking relevations of Rose Washington’s murder, and Mayor Rushmore’s subsequent death, there has been little appetite for politics or elections. One name that’s been floated about is VP of Communications, Charlotte Gardner. Her supporters insist Ms. Gardner will restore integrity and trust to a city that sorely needs it.
[The news feed disappears, and another one appears].
News Reporter: City officials are picking up the pieces from the shocking chaos brought on by a massive ctOS malfunction. The city experienced power outages, bridge disruptions and thousands of dollars in damages. While ctOS is back online, many are raising questions about the safety features needed to run a complex system in a major city.
[The news feed disappears, and the credits continue to roll until the end. Then, the half-mission Guys Like Us starts.]