Mission 2:
Tarsus Apartments
In one of the Tarsus-owned apartment complexes in Chicago, Alex Denton is roused from his sleep by the intercomm. He activates it and is greeted by Nassif, who asks him how he's feeling. Alex remarks that he's still unsure about what happened the morning before, and she tells him that he was evacuated along with a fellow agent named Billie Adams.
Nassif asks him to get a map of the building, and he hears strange noises in the background. When he recovers the map and goes to find Billie, the building is rocked by an explosion which kills one of the janitors. Alex continues on his way and eventually finds Billie, who tells him that she's not sure what's going on either.
She gives him the code to a nearby elevator and says that they'll have to watch each other's back. Billie also mentions that she went looking for files in Nassif's office and found a lot of information about test subjects and experiments.
Alex accesses the elevator and makes his way to the recreation level, where Nassif attempts to reassure him that everything is fine. A guard radios in and reports that they have a Code Yellow situation, and Nassif tells Alex to go and meet the other recruits. He eventually finds trainees Klara Sparks, who is also being kept in the dark about what's happening, and Leo Jankowski, an arrogant recruit who believes that the uncertainty is part of a test.
Suddenly, Nassif radios the recruits and tells them that the facility is under attack, and it's not a drill. Even though the other recruits think otherwise, Alex retrieves some multitools from a nearby locker and Nassif tells him that a fanatical religious group called the Order is attacking the building.
She orders all of the recruits to evacuate, and Alex knocks out an Order soldier before heading to her office. When he's nearly there, Billie runs inside and locks the door behind her. She tells him to go get his biomod package installed, then reveals that she had been contacted by the Order in Chicago and learned that Tarsus was using both of them as test subjects. Alex asks how a church like the Order could be acting so fanatical, and she explains that it wants to restore a natural balance to the world before leaving.
Alex gets back to his apartment and Billie tells him to look up. She disables the lighting in the room, which reveals that the ceiling is a hologram and two Tarsus scientists are up above watching him. They panic when they realize he's watching them and wonder what he'll do when he comes up. Alex goes through a broken wall in the back of his apartment and finds the entrance to the hidden biomod laboratory.
Inside, Nassif radios and tells him that there's no point hiding it anymore, and that he'll need to augment himself before leaving. She also says that the Order is not a terrorist threat, but Alex isn't so certain. She tells him that she'll give a full debrief once he's cleared the building.
Alex picks up the biomods and meets a scientist who elects to stay behind and wait for backup while he leaves. Nassif also radios and says that he was only being monitored so any potential abnormalities could be assessed. Alex disables a turret and continues on his way, protecting a pair of scientists who tell him that Tarsus is doing research all around the world before he leaves.
When he nears the building's exit, he is contacted by a woman named Lin-May Chen, who reveals herself to be an emissary of the Order and asks Alex to visit them at their church to learn more. She tells him that he's free to leave, but the Order won't be able to protect him in Upper Seattle. Alex presses for more information, and Chen reveals that the Order troopers were sent to rescue him. He says he finds that hard to believe, even when Chen claims that Nassif could have had him killed if he tried to leave the recruitment program.
Alex finally makes his way out of the building into Upper Seattle...
Tropes:
- After the End: Several books found throughout the apartment building mention "The Collapse", which caused the world to suffer a near-total societal and economic breakdown.
- Air-Vent Passageway: Used to move between apartments during the Order attack.
- Developer's Foresight: Played with. It's possible to kill Billie just before she runs into Nassif's office during the Order attack (or utilize a bug to kill her during your very first meeting with her, via pushing her towards the shower and letting the water damage her), and the game compensates by not having her show up in any gameplay afterwards, in an inversion of Story-Driven Invulnerability. However, there are dialogue sections and cutscenes in later areas where things she says can still be read on-screen, and she will appear several times on holovideo to speak to Alex, despite being dead.
- Dull Surprise:
- Klara responds to Alex's remark that his (foster) parents are dead with a half-hearted, "Oh, that's terrible!" before dropping the conversation.
- Alex barely musters enough strength to comment that a Tarsus security guard was killed around other characters, clearly not bothering with any urgency despite the ongoing explosions.
- Foreshadowing: The first enemy the player encounters in the Tarsus apartments mentions "Her Holiness" when attacking Alex.
- He Knows About Timed Hits: A brief example, as Nassif asks Alex to bring up an "inventory screen" to check on their available items.
- Hostile Takeover: The Order attacks and takes over the building as Alex and Billie escape.
- Idiot Ball: At the end of the level, Chen reveals that she was attempting to rescue Alex... by sending a group of glorified religious zealots that attempted to kill him instead. When Alex calls her out on this, she blurts out that she didn't know it would go down that way.
- Just Following Orders: The SSC soldier stationed by the elevator near Alex's apartment initially won't let them pass, even when Alex points out that he has more training and could help them in a fight. The soldier justifies his stance by stating this trope.
- Kleptomaniac Hero:
- Once the Order attack begins and you're on your way to the laboratory above the apartments, there's nothing stopping the player from looting Leo and Klara's apartments, which are both unlocked.
- Lampshaded - if you pilfer the goods out of Billie's refrigerator, she calls you out on it.
- Laser-Guided Karma: The Jerkass security guard who initially refused to tell Alex what's going on is the first casualty when the Order attacks the apartment complex.
- Laser Hallway: One is present in the Tarsus biomod laboratory.
- Layered Metropolis: According to one of the books you find in the Tarsus Apartments, Seattle was constructed in this way (with an "Upper" and "Lower" half) after the Collapse.
- Only in It for the Money: When Leo and Alex are discussing why the latter signed up.Jankowski: What kind of assignment do you expect to get with that attitude?Alex: A risky one. With a big salary.
- Opposite-Sex Clone: The female version of Alex Denton, if so chosen.
- Poor Communication Kills: Nassif's refusal to reveal that anything's wrong results in at least one janitor and one soldier being killed during the Order attack, and potentially more unless the player intervenes to help.
- Punch-Clock Hero: One of the SSC soldiers you meet in the apartment complex mentions how the recruits are the real heroes, and he's just trying to earn a living. Note that this potentially comes after a moment where he takes down a Seeker on his own.
- The Reveal: When Alex goes into his apartment after the Order attacks, Billie disables the lighting, which causes the ceiling to be revealed as a hologram and a pair of Tarsus scientists standing above, who realize that Alex is watching them.
- Shout-Out:
- One of the first things you can find in your apartment is a basketball, which was used to access Easter Eggs in the first game.
- As per the Running Gag in franchises built by Looking Glass Games, the apartment Billie lives in is labeled "451", a reference to the first door code in the previous game (Liberty Island's maintenance shack) and Fahrenheit 451.
- Skippable Boss: It is possible to utilize bugs (or shoot and kill, during a very brief window) Billie Adams during the opening stage, thus averting the fights with the character later in the game.
- Story-Driven Invulnerability: Averted in the case of Billie Adams — despite playing a major role in the plot, the character in question can be damaged and killed by weapons or environmental hazards, and doing so avoids most of the interactions with said character through the rest of the game.
- Suicidal Overconfidence: Some of the Tarsus scientists refuse to follow Alex, stating that they'd rather wait for backup instead and are happy to hang back and wait. They predictably die a couple minutes later when Order soldiers infiltrate the biolab and massacre them.
- Tomboyish Name: Billie Adams.
- Video Game Caring Potential: It's possible to save the SSC soldier who attempts a Heroic Sacrifice to allow you to slip by the Order Seeker by directly fighting him yourself, which earns the soldier's gratitude afterwards.
- Wide-Eyed Idealist: Both Klara and Leo both believe that they're in the middle of a Tarsus test, even while the building is being attacked and people are dying. Leo in particular is arrogant and naive about the work he's doing, looking forward to the glory more than the dangers involved.
- With This Herring: Averted; once the danger posed by the Order becomes clear, the scientists in the Tarsus biomod laboratory (and Nassif) more-or-less order you to take the three Biomods out of a nearby case (as well as the Black Market Biomod, provided you have a multitool), which will give the player a decent starting package with which to repel the Seekers.
- You Do Not Want To Know: When Alex asks about the safety of his friends in Chicago, Nassif responds that "you don't want to know all the details in one shot".
