"Little Grey Cells" is the fifteenth mission of Season 9.
You have your mission, but the Head of Security wants to to debrief you personally. What could possibly go wrong?
Cast[]
Crew[]
- Writer: Elliott Gresswell
- Director: Matt Wieteska
- Sound Designer: Mark Pittam
- Series Created By: Naomi Alderman
Plot[]
Your Target[]
Janine has briefed Peter and Maryam on what happened. Peter struggles to believe that Van Ark isn't behind it after everything that's happened. Janine says that for now their priority is getting out with the information. You meet Guillemette, the Head of Security. She says that her guards will take Sam to receive his payment in new guns, and Janine sends Peter with him. As for the rest of you, she will show you the last known steps of Henderson, your target.
Unsolved Case[]
Guillemette seems sure that Henderson is still alive. He has advanced survival training, making staying alive in the desert possible. She shows you to a warehouse he accessed before leaving, containing powered exoskeletons. One suit is missing and she believes that Henderson took it. A valuable resource to lose. This is the second security breach in a year and she wants it solved.
Van Ark[]
Guillemette admits that she wants to get the measure of you, and while Bakari insists that the Triple-Five business is unconnected, she is not so sure. She points out a ventilation shaft that was found open, however Henderson would not have fitted easily, and how did he get past the guards and security cameras? She also says that her patrols discovered a disassembled vehicle in the desert – your escape vehicle! She's increased patrols in the mountains, and she wants you to meet the last person who saw Henderson: Van Ark!
Red Clearance[]
Janine explains to Bakari and Maryam that Van Ark will recognise them and they need to get out now. Bakari says that he will convince Guillemette that Van Ark is useless. However when you are introduced, Van Ark doesn't recognise you and seems younger. Guillemette is suspicious that you've heard of him, but Janine says you heard the name on a dangerous job in the UK. Van Ark asks if he can explain, but you'll have to hurry, because the desert gets more dangerous after dark.
Your Hunt Can Begin[]
Van Ark asks about England. and says he'd always wanted to visit. He'd been in love with someone named Sigrid. He also says that after Van Ark was blown up, some of his cells were sold on the black market and Red Scorpion base kickstarted the cellular regeneration process, which grew into him! Guillemette says that genetic material from Van Ark was used to treat an injury Henderson suffered, which has given him extreme endurance but left him unstable, similar to the team member that Sam is posing as. You head towards the inner gates where you can meet up with the rest of your team.
Imposters[]
You reunite with Sam and Peter and the gates begin to open slowly. Guillemette receives an urgent communication from her superiors. Suddenly she halts the raising of the gates. You've been exposed as impostors!
Transcript[]
PETER LYNNE: Okay, so let me get this straight. We sneak all the way into a secret base - in Tunisia! - posing as a heartless death squad, only for General Bakari to reveal the red fungus here is long dead!
MARYAM ABANI: But instead, he offered the potential for a cure to everything, half of which is injected into Five. A panacea? Can it possibly be real?
PETER LYNNE: Oh, and then he shows you Van Ark being experimented on?
JANINE DE LUCA: General Bakari has been told little about Van Ark, but he claims Van Ark is just a harmless prisoner here.
PETER LYNNE: I don’t believe that for a second! If Van Ark’s alive, he’s dangerous.
JANINE DE LUCA: For now, we must prioritize getting General Bakari’s data off the base. We can return later for Van Ark, in force. Bakari has planned our escape. There is a vehicle buried in nearby mountains. He framed his dead aide Henderson as a fugitive we are being hired to pursue. When we are let out, we find the vehicle and flee to a port.
SAM YAO: What if they don’t let us out? This place is… look, they have Van Ark prisoner here. If they decide to keep us here, no one would know! And no one would be able to protect us.
JANINE DE LUCA: We’ve passed the test so far. We’re only in this holding room until we meet their head of security. If we keep up our pretense for only a little longer, we will leave this place safely.
[door rattles opens]
GENERAL BAKARI: Everybody, this is Staff Sergeant Guillemette Felis, head of security. She wants to brief you before you move out.
GUILLEMETTE FELIS: Telling is not showing, General. Welcome, Death’s Hand. I have heard you demand every last scrap of information on your prey. I am much the same. I have researched you meticulously. Sven Mountback, responsible for the massacre in Berlin. I respect your skill, if not your methods. You always choose a new gun as payment. These soldiers will escort you to our armory to make your selection.
SAM YAO: Hmm, yes? Oh. [clears throat] Yes, that sounds like me.
JANINE DE LUCA: My second, Visage, will accompany Mr… Mr. Mountback, to protect others from his temper.
PETER LYNNE: Oh, will do, boss. And don’t you worry, I’ll keep an eye on him.
GUILLEMETTE FELIS: The rest will follow me. We will retrace the last known steps of your target, Henderson. I must admit, it was not an easy choice to hire you, but Bakari insists on your reliability, and we are in need. We shall not waste a moment. This way, after me.
~
GUILLEMETTE FELIS: Red Scorpion Base looks smaller on the outside, does it not? A few bunkers enclosed by fencing, though the solar panel field glitters beautifully and our observatory casts quite the shadow.
MARYAM ABANI: Even compared to New Agadir, the landscape’s so stark. Just miles of desert past the fencing.
GUILLEMETTE FELIS: I find I enjoy the desolation, the quiet. It is deadly, of course. The heat, the sands, the zombies. No one can hope to escape on foot.
JANINE DE LUCA: Yet you seem very sure Henderson is alive.
GUILLEMETTE FELIS: Henderson was one of our top security officers. Expert soldier, highly resourceful, and we believe he had… other factors aiding his escape.
GENERAL BAKARI: I spotted him myself in the mountains when we sent out search parties. Alas, he slipped away. I mentored him through advanced survival training. One of my best, not to be underestimated.
JANINE DE LUCA: Desert survival is always possible with the right knowledge and training.
GUILLEMETTE FELIS: Of course. I forget that you were trained by Mossad yourself, Steel Fist.
JANINE DE LUCA: Not Mossad. The Indian RAW, operations in the Thar Desert.
GUILLEMETTE FELIS: My mistake. Here we are, exterior storage bunker. [door creaks open] Our records show Henderson accessed the storehouse around the time he vanished.
MARYAM ABANI: Are those powered exoskeletons? Oh, look at all that armor plating.
GUILLEMETTE FELIS: The suits are modular, Doctor Death. I imagine they remind you of your work in Venezuela.
MARYAM ABANI: I… I never talk about Venezuela.
GUILLEMETTE FELIS: I understand. You made powerful enemies there. Yes, these exoskeletons can move at 40 miles per hour. One set of legs is missing. We believe Henderson used them to reach the mountains. The suits are very energy inefficient, emergency use only. A damned valuable resource to lose!
This is our second security breach in a year. The first was one of my most trusted, foolish 555. This is why I’ve called you in. Something is… happening on this base. I can smell a connection, but I cannot tease it out. I need outside experts. To have such an unsolved case on my record is maddening. Come along, let me show you how Henderson made his escape undetected. Back into the central compound, on the double.
~
GUILLEMETTE FELIS: We head to the stairwell down the corridor.
JANINE DE LUCA: This tour, Sergeant. It is not simply to brief us, is it?
GUILLEMETTE FELIS: I admit I want to take the measure of your group before I send you out. I must know I can trust you. There have been too many security breaches on this base.
GENERAL BAKARI: Sergeant, that 555 business, we agreed it was unconnected.
GUILLEMETTE FELIS: That was only your instinct, General. My nose is still twitching. Here we are. Look up. The stairwell runs by a ventilation duct.
MARYAM ABANI: It’s tiny. You think he squeezed through there?
GUILLEMETTE FELIS: I believe Vampire Squid, you made a similar escape from prison in Moscow. The duct grill was found open after Henderson’s escape. A person could follow the ventilation system out to the courtyard, emerge near the storage bunker… the fencing there was cut.
JANINE DE LUCA: You don’t sound convinced.
GUILLEMETTE FELIS: Henderson would not have fitted through this duct easily. And how did he get past the security cameras and guards? No one’s escaped this base in more than a decade.
JANINE DE LUCA: Nowhere is entirely secure.
GUILLEMETTE FELIS: Many have tried, Steel Fist, and many have failed. We always find them. Sometimes alive. But there was more to Henderson’s plan. My patrols uncovered a buried vehicle in the mountains, disassembled. No doubt planted by Henderson, but when did he do it?
GENERAL BAKARI: Why was I not told that this vehicle was found?
GUILLEMETTE FELIS: Careful, Bakari. As a consultant, your rank is honorary. It does not supersede mine. The discovery was made only this morning. I have increased patrols in the mountains to stop our quarry getting far. Checkpoints on old roads, [?] mines to cut off mountain passes.
MARYAM ABANI: That sounds… comprehensive.
GUILLEMETTE FELIS: My father hunted wolves in Alaska. I like to think I inherited an instinct for traps. Don’t worry, your trackers work at range. We’ll be able to guide you around hazards. Now follow me, quickly. I want you to meet the last person to see Henderson. He thinks he can help you. He may be right. Van Ark often is.
~
JANINE DE LUCA: General, we must get out of here now.
GENERAL BAKARI: Don’t worry about Guillemette or this 555 business. That’s just a colleague who helped send you my message. I can keep you safe.
JANINE DE LUCA: Van Ark is down this corridor. He will recognize us. We must leave now.
MARYAM ABANI: He knows you?
JANINE DE LUCA: Both me and Five. We tangled long ago. He will recognize us, expose us all as having nothing to do with Death’s Hand, and then we will be held here forever in this steel fortress in the middle of an impregnable desert!
MARYAM ABANI: How did he even get here from England?
JANINE DE LUCA: That is just one of many questions we will never learn the answer to if we are exposed.
GENERAL BAKARI: If you try to run for it now, Felis will have you gunned down. Van Ark’s a maniac, she must know that. I’ll convince her to ignore anything he says.
GUILLEMETTE FELIS: Come along, there’s a cargo loading area through the door. Van Ark has a good organizational mind, likes to help sort crates. [gate rattles open] Allow me to introduce -
ERNEST VAN ARK: Hello there. Hello! So thrilled to meet you. Do shake my hand. I’m Ernest, by name and by nature. [chuckles] Sorry, my little joke. Ernie Van Ark at your service… is nobody going to shake?
JANINE DE LUCA: You look… young.
ERNEST VAN ARK: Do you know me? How wonderful!
MARYAM ABANI: She means younger than most scientists.
GUILLEMETTE FELIS: He’s middle-aged, and I never told you he was a scientist. You recognize him, don’t you?
JANINE DE LUCA: You called him Van Ark, Sergeant. We heard that name on a job in the UK. A dangerous scientist. I heard he was dead.
ERNEST VAN ARK: Ah. Oh, I thought we might have known each other. Yes, well, I’m sure you did hear I’m dead, but he wasn’t me, you see, or I’m not him any longer. Is it okay to explain, Sergeant? They look so confused. It is all relevant, isn’t it?
GUILLEMETTE FELIS: Nothing above red clearance, Ernie, as we discussed.
ERNEST VAN ARK: Oh, excellent! Come on, you lot. There’s a lab nearby. The sergeant here knows when to bend the rules, unless the boss is watching, of course. He’s all shoot on sight. [chuckles] I know you’re in a hurry. It’s getting late and the desert gets more dangerous after dark. Past the forklifts, run!
~
ERNEST VAN ARK: In here, everyone. Oh dear, this lab’s a bit of a mess. Mind the coffee cups. So you’ve been to England, yes? What’s it like? Green hills, white cliffs?
JANINE DE LUCA: You have never been? What is this, Sergeant Felis, some kind of trap? Don’t think I haven’t noticed you’re testing us.
ERNEST VAN ARK: No no, nothing like that. I always wanted to visit England. I don’t suppose you met a politician named Sigrid? I’m told we were in love. It sounds terribly romantic.
GENERAL BAKARI: I am beginning to see why they never let me talk to you before.
ERNEST VAN ARK: As for Henderson, I saw him last. We queued for a coffee machine.
MARYAM ABANI: So if you’re not the scientist that I, as a member of Death’s Hand, have heard of, who are you?
GUILLEMETTE FELIS: Understand, everything he’s about to say is highly classified.
ERNEST VAN ARK: The research here is… well, it’s very difficult and very important. The top brass had Van Ark pegged as a possible consultant. After Z-Day, when they caught wind of his immortality… well, I’m told he had a mishap with a rocket launcher. A few scrapings from him ended up on the black market, a little pink and gray matter.
Red Scorpion Base purchased them, knew they’d be useful. The cells were inert. The base kickstarted the regeneration process, got them to sort of regrow into me. Took some work, but here I am, all his intellect, none of his memories. It’s my regeneration they want to study, of course.
GENERAL BAKARI: Sergeant, this information…
GUILLEMETTE FELIS: You recommended Death’s Hand, Bakari! The science will stay secret, but Ernie believes ignorance will cripple their hands, and I agree. Genetic material from Ernie was used to treat a life-threatening injury Henderson suffered some months ago. The results were… dramatic.
Your quarry is no ordinary soldier. His endurance is enormous, but his personality, unstable. You will know what I refer to. I believe your own Sven “Psycho” Mountback was treated with a similar but less advanced treatment in Poland several years ago, leading to his current… psychological situation.
JANINE DE LUCA: Oh. Yes, indeed.
GUILLEMETTE FELIS: As I say, I investigated you very thoroughly. I hope that Mountback might be able to find Henderson while all others would fail. Well, that is all you need. Your hunt can begin. Mountback and Visage are meeting us at the inner gates. Let’s not keep them waiting. Go!
~
SAM YAO: Oh, thank God. There you guys are. We’ve been waiting forever.
PETER LYNNE: A lot of big guns they’ve got here. Sven picked a pistol. But these inner gates really loom, don’t they? 30 meters of solid steel, apparently, and that’s just to get out of this bunker.
AUTOMATED VOICE: Warning, gates opening. Stand clear. Warning, gates opening. Stand clear.
[alarm blares, gates rattle open]
SAM YAO: They are so weird here, Five. Someone literally threw a tennis ball at my head as we were leaving and then went, “Huh, I thought you’d be faster.”
JANINE DE LUCA: They are testing you. They’ve been testing all of us. We seem to have done enough. Only a few more moments.
GUILLEMETTE FELIS: We will be monitoring you closely. When you find your quarry, we will send troops. [a messenger approaches, announces a letter from the base leader] Excuse me, I must read this urgent communique from my superior officer. Then I will give you final instructions.
SAM YAO: Oh, these gates take their time, don’t they, Five?
JANINE DE LUCA: Be ready, everyone. Once we’re out of the bunker, it’s a short run to the outer fence.
GUILLEMETTE FELIS: Hold the gates!
MARYAM ABANI: Oh, that can’t be good.
GENERAL BAKARI: Sergeant, what are you doing?
GUILLEMETTE FELIS: The boss has been watching on CCTV. He confirms my suspicions. [shouts] All soldiers, weapons ready! These people are not Death’s Hands, they are imposters!
Codex[]
Letter[]
Five,
Don't know how much time we have, or if I'll even be able to get this note to you, but I wanted to tell you [Scribbled out text: that I want you to know] that there's nobody in the world I would rather be with when facing down the hordes of the undead, or the business end of a service rifle, or a clone of the mad scientist who destroyed the world.
Please promise me you'll keep yourself safe. I've already lost enough too many friends - too many Runner Fives. I'm determined to make sure you're the last Runner Five we ever have.
Sam
Supplies[]
The following supplies can be found in this mission.
(List may be incomplete.)
Anti-depressants
Axe
Bandages
Baseball Bat
Batteries
Bedroll
Board game
Book
Bottled Water
Box of Lightbulbs
Car Battery
Cricket bat
Cutlery
Flashlight
Football
Fuel Can
Laptop
Lock pick
Mobile Phone
Network Cable
Notebook
Pistol
Radio
Rope
Shirt
Shorts
Sports Bra
Teddy bear
Tinned Food
Toy car
Trousers
Underwear
USB Key
Base Unlocks[]
The following objects unlock for your Base upon completing this mission.
Haunted House
- Description: Despite Janine's insistence that there's 'no such thing as ghosts' and that the old, rambling house on the outskirts of town is 'simply dilapidated', Abel's spookier residents have designated the building 'absolutely 100% haunted'.
People have reported hearing strange noises coming from the house late at night, and seeing lights in the windows despite the grounds being completely cut off from Abel's electrical grid. On a rare night, you might even be able to see an odd silhouette in the attic window... - Cost: 20 supplies, 3 materials
- Effect: Increases morale.
Shoe Cobbler
- Description: Other than a stalwart and adorable communications operator, there's very little as important to Abel Township's runners as having a good, durable pair of running shoes. Unfortunately, even the most well-made pair of trainers eventually falls apart when you're running as often as Abel's runners do - but luckily that's where Abel Township's shoe cobbler comes in! The waitlist to have your shoes repaired might be a little on the longer side given the cobbler's popularity with Abel's runners, but having your favourite pair of trainers resoled by an expert is generally considered to be well worth the wait.
- Cost: 60 supplies, 2 materials (level 1); 150 supplies, 3 materials (level 2); 300 supplies, 4 materials (level 3)
- Effect: Increases defence (level 1); increases defence and population by 15 (level 2).
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