9: Balls & Beans

Chapter 9: Balls & Beans - A Final Resolution for Luca

We awaken to a ringing phone -- when we answer it we learn that something has gone very wrong and our assistance is required -- our armed assistance! 

Get dressed and grab a good car, then head over to the restaurant.  You should have already replaced your personal arsenal and have plenty of ammunition so really all we should need to do is show up! 

As we head down the stairs we hear the police trying to force their way into an apartment on the floor below -- better them than us, right?

He said to grab a good car -- I took that to mean a fast modern car that can seat four and has a trunk, which I do not happen to have in my garage because I have not been "car shopping" since I got out of prison! 

I decided that I would shop for a car on the street, and saw one of a type I do not recall seeing before -- but it looked fast so what the hell?  I picked the locks and jumped in to learn I had found a Houston Wasp (the game version of a Hudson Hornet)! 

As I got in I heard that nice TINK! and saw that I had finally unlocked the Achievement / Trophy "Petrol Head" for driving 30 different models of cars -- and it is worth a sweet 30g!  This is looking up!

On my way to the restaurant I stopped off at a Gas Station to fill up the tank under the logical assumption that running out of gas would suck, then I stopped at the Body Shop -- also on the way -- where I had the mechanic get me a new set of plates, paint the car, max its tuning options, and put a new set of racing tyres on it. 

The Houston is actually a good modern car, fast and easy to handle, so I think that was a good choice. 

When we get to the restaurant we are introduced to Mr. Falcon.  Don Falcon. 

He asked you how you feel about the associates who got you in the jam that landed you in prison, and you tell him the honest truth.  You learn that some of your gang's guys have been snatched, and you need to help them figure out what has happened, who is involved, and whether or not operational security has been compromised. 

You have your orders -- you know what to do, sort of, but before we get doing it take a closer look at the bar here, near the beer taps...  See that?  Well what do you know?!  It is a magazine!  Pick up the Playboy Magazine (Issue 1 of 4 for the chapter and Playboy 25 of 50)  -- that means we are halfway through this collection!

In the short-term since we do not really have the big picture yet, we should head back to the car and drive over to Freddy's where we can stake it out and wait for Luca to emerge. 

When we arrive we get a CS in which we spot Luca's car, and then Luca -- you need to tail him, but you do not want to get too close or he could spot you.  You also do not want to let him get too far ahead or you could lose him -- if a red timer appears in the upper right corner you have let him get too far ahead, and you need to tighten up the gap before that timer runs out!

You follow him quite a ways, but eventually he leads you to the Slaughterhouse near the Junk Yard.  Luca drives in through the main gate, but you cannot do that.  You have to find a way in, but you have to do it all stealthy because you cannot be discovered!

Note: the first time that I followed him a car hit me from the side at an intersection, causing me to drive into a light-pole and die.  Restarted at the restaurant.  The second time as Luca was entering the highway he hit a cop car, the cop pulled him over, he tried to resist and the cop KILLED him, and the mission reset to the restaurant. 

Now the first reset I get, that was my fault for not paying attention -- but the second one is just freaking crazy!

-- Tom Clancy, Pay Attention Here --

Park on the grass beside the road and look at the metal fence behind you -- see the broken section?  Go through that and then head down the hill beyond and you will come upon a sewer entrance. 

Actually I fell into it because I did not see that it was there in time, which was a minor ouchie, but you should try walking in without getting hurt, right?  

Pry open the grate and head inside, following the path to the right and eventually raw sewage will fall down above and land on you, covering you in the muck!

Look to your left after the sewage spills on you and you will see a short side-pipe with something familiar on the ground at the end.  Head in and pick up the Playboy Magazine (Issue 2 of 4 for the chapter and Playboy 26 of 50), then return to the main pipe and keep following it. 

At the end of the tunnel is a ladder, and when you reach it you have the option to climb the ladder -- do that. 

When you emerge from the sewer a guard dog starts to bark and paw at the fence -- you need to immediately take cover behind the dumpster, as a guard will come to the fence in response to the barking. 

He does not come over the fence or into your area, he just looks through the fence and then yells at the dog.  These guys have great security, eh?

Once the guard returns to his post you will see, through the fence, the prisoners being moved to a nearby building!  Wait until everyone has entered the building -- prisoners and guards -- then head to the rear of the alley you are in, where you will find some debris that you can climb on to reach a pipe, and using that, a grate walkway above. 

The walkway leads to an open door that lets you in to the building, but when you jump down immediately go into stealth mode!  There is a guard in this room sleeping in a nearby chair!

This is a checkpoint event, so if you screw up here, you will not have to replay the entire mission to this point (thank God). 

Being certain that you are in stealth-mode, emerge from behind this low garbage dumpster and work your way around to the other side of the two dumpsters, and you will see a magazine on the floor here - yes it is a Playboy Magazine (Issue 3 of 4 for the chapter and Playboy 27 of 50 overall) which you should grab.  You know a lot of these pictures are sort of generic, but some are nice -- this one is posed nice.

Now work your way past the sleeping guard and into the hall, then move to the corner where you can take cover and look down the hall.  You trigger a mini-CS in which you see the location of the prisoners at the end of the hall and hear a comment by one of the enemy gangsters, so far so good.

Work your way from cover-to-cover until you reach the door on the right --  when you reach the pillar on the left one of the butchers exits the door on the right, telling the guards further down the hall that he is going out for a smoke. 

Enter the door he just came from on the right, then work you way through this room to the door, being careful not to let the butcher who is leaving ahead of you see you.

At the door head right and into the large processing room, where several butchers are working at their stations -- as long as you are in stealth-mode they will not spot you as long as they are not looking directly in your direction -- if you actually look closely at the radar map you can see the white arrows that represent the butchers, with the tip of the arrow indicating the direction that they are looking in, so use that as your guide as to when it is safe to move! 

Hug the wall on the right and work your way around the room to the left, pausing in the rear corner to pick up the Playboy Magazine (Issue 4 of 4 for the chapter and Playboy 28 of 50 overall), which is the last magazine we need to find in this Chapter. 

Continue along the back wall to the other corner,   Carefully move to the next corner to trigger a CS in which one of the guards comes in to tell the butchers that their shift is over and they need to leave. Watch your radar map, and when the coast is clear, head through that door and work your way in stealth-mode to the next door.

Ahead of you is a set of metal doors that you could open if you wanted to, and it looks like they head in the right direction, but that is not the way that you want to go. 

Instead head through the door and to the right through another door, then take cover as wait for the guard in the hall to enter the door on the right.  That metal door he just went into is our destination -- so stealth along the hall, and when you reach it, you will trigger a CS and checkpoint that will reveal that Luca is in there with his thugs and the prisoners!

You sneak up -- or try to -- but the sewage you are soaked in tips them off that you are here, and you are discovered!  Luca gives a long address, with you providing some answers (why is it that every time there is a confrontation like this, both sides give away information that is better not shared?!) then a very large butcher blind-sides you.  You now have to fight him!

-- Butcher Battle --

First, this guy hits HARD.  Second, he is pretty slow -- the blokes you fought while you were in prison were much more dangerous, and you managed them easily, so this guy will be cake as long as you use a conservative approach. 

Block his punches and do a lot of return shots, and light fast combinations to weaken him. 

Once you have him tired out, finish him off with a combination of round-house blows and stagger hits.  Remember, there is no such thing as a fair fight, especially when losing means dying!  The start of this fight is a checkpoint so if you die, quickly hold the A-button to block as the fight begins the reload.

After you kill him Luca takes off during the CS, and you are left to deal with his thugs.   Just shoot them -- they already know you are here so it is not like the gunshots will make a difference, right? 

After you take out the pair of thugs one of your guys helps beans down, then you are going to face waves of enemies.  Mind the door on the right -- that is where some will appear -- and be sure to kill them quickly!

Follow your buddy through the door and down the hall, where he starts banging on the door to break it down.  As he is doing this some cars arrive outside, filled with thugs.  The important thing is that you not allow any to get into the door by the loading area -- so pull out your Tommy Gun and start slicing them up. 

Blowing up their car is an option, as is spraying through it to hit them on the other side.  Just be sure that none of them get into the building and you will be fine.

Your bud tries chopping down the door but that does not work -- you get a CS in which you use the cart to break in the door, Luca has barricaded it and your smashing into it causes him to get stuck in the remnant of that barricade.  

Your buddy wants to play with Luca before he puts him into a meat grinder, but you do not want to participate -- your buddy promises to take care of Luca, and it turns out that Beans is willing to help him!

-- After the Battle --

After the CS ends you find yourself outside on the loading dock. 

Find a car that is not shot up -- I personally decided to take Luca's Frigate, which is probably the fastest car I have owned so far in the game!  The car you arrived in is no longer there, so that is not an option anyway, and who knows how hard these Frigates will be to find later, so you may as well take it too!

Now before we head to the destination marker there are a few things that we should probably do -- first take this car to hour house and stick it in the garage so that when we end the Chapter it gets saved! 

Our next destination is a Clothing Store -- remember we are currently wearing clothes covered in sewage!  Pick a nice tailored suit or at least a casual one -- after all we need to dress the part for the meeting we are about to attend -- hint hint.

Finally we need to stop by Harry's Army/Navy Store and resupply ammo for our special weapons.  Once we have done that, hit a regular Gun Shop to restock regular ammunition *if you need to* and then head to the destination marked on the map!

After the ceremony you get a longish CS that shows time passing -- and your activities over that time -- and the Achievement / Trophy "Man of Honor" unlocks, signifying the end of Chapter 9!