Phase 1: Milaslava Bortnik explains her intentions

Milaslava offered you another cigar again, which you politely refused, while the two of you waited for your agents to arrive. Soon enough, there was a loud knock on the door, followed by the arm of Despedida's newly hacked robot friend, a giant spectacle of space-age, hidden Russian technology that she'd hacked as though it were child's play. The girl herself entered from behind it, looking the same as when you'd left her, except that her pants were off and held over one arm. "Don't stare too hard, Ciao! You gotta stare just enough and then break line of sight, he he." The female hacker wore a teasing smile as she stepped inside and took a standing position next to you. Unfortunately, the tails of the shirt obscured a look at her panties. {if Tschau at CEDIT Russia = 1}It seemed that Despedida had run into the same kind of trouble Tschau had, being **** into a strip search before breaking free of her captors. You wondered if she'd left her set of antagonists alive...{endif}

Next, Tschau arrived, though not from the doorway; she fell from the ceiling, knocking out one of the armed bodyguards with an axe-handled kick that caused her to fall to the floor in a split with a metallic thunk. The other shrugged his shoulder out from his gun's band desperately, then set it onto the desk and raised his hands, trying to avoid the unnecessary fate of the other one. "Hmph... Don't try to get out of your punishment now." You urged her to try to keep a hold of herself and hear Milaslava out... You felt there was more to the situation than meets the eye. Still, you noted again that her shirt and jacket had been pulled off, along with her belt, leaving her just a black sports bra, black finger-gloves, her hood, and slacks. {if Despedida at CEDIT Russia = 1}It seemed that Tschau had run into the same kind of trouble Despedida had, being **** into a strip search before breaking free of her captors. You wondered if she'd left her set of antagonists alive...{endif}

When Tschau's pink eyes finally rested upon the woman at the desk, they narrowed with obvious, seething anger. "You...!" Her hand reached into the side of her slacks, probably for some sort of ninja tool. To your surprise, Milaslava released her hand on a long, extending prong, something like an extendo-grabbers, and held the girl's wrist. You saw the ninja wince in pain at the grip.

"Calm down, Tschau... Our reunion has taken so long. At least hear me out!" The woman's words were teasing, infuriating Tschau all the more.

Pitching in to deescalate the situation, you also ordered Tschau to stand down. You needed to avoid turning this visit into an international incident, any more than it already had been. The D in CEDIT stands for "de-escalation" after all... It felt like you were the only one still trying to do that.

Hesitantly, the girl brought her hand up empty, at which point Milaslava released the wrist. The Russian retracted the robotic arm, then snickered as she pinched her cigar in its fingertips once again. "Good man, Washington. You're not useless, as far as handlers go. Now, let us dispense with pleasantries and greetings for old friends and discuss business. You three are here for my brother. I want him back as well... But he is the strongest scientific genius in all of Russia. No, all of the world. The man has modified his body to transcend humanity and science... He is the perfect 'machine man' we at CEDIT Russia were chasing all along. I had to know that you were ready before you started this mission. Seeing your hacker's skill and your stealth assassin's, I think I'm convinced. Well, I already knew Tschau's credentials, hm hm..."

Tschau watched the lady puff rings of smoke with utter disdain evident in what little was exposed of her face. "Why did the reassembled CEDIT Russia continue to work with you and Ivan? The two of you belong rotting in a grave somewhere. I'll bury the two of you together." From her harsh words, it sounded like she was reconsidering the order to stand down even now.

"Ha! Why does CEDIT of Washington continue to work with you Goodbye Girls, who have redacted your entire files, ignored orders, ignored the **** of several handlers, and established dominance over your whole base? The answer? CEDIT loses its eyes for ethics when a juicier prize is dangled before it. Their scientific advancements and their progress do not come from staying in one place, little 'Tschau,' if that is what I must call you." The lady looked as though she was enjoying tormenting her old "friend." "My brother and I continued our cybernetic enhancement experiments and you continued your missions. The world has benefitted from both."

"You evil-!" Tschau growled, her eyes darting between you and the Russian general with intense anger. It was all she could do to stop herself from attacking.

"Only, eeeh... Now I think my brother's strayed from the path of public good. Don't ask me how he fell in with the Deliverers, but he has definitely fallen in with them. I think both of us want to know why. If I'd managed to detain your girls, honestly, I was going to take their resources and add to our own stockpile. Now I see that the agents themselves are the most valuable assets. While I'd love to add them to CEDIT Russia, until we get our own Goodbye Girls, I think I'll be unable to detain them as I wish. You may keep command, for now. We'll keep that attempted coup between ourselves, yes? There is no reason to start an international incident, after all. Like I said... I serve the public good." The woman laughed around her cigar, then removed the stub from between her lips and snubbed it out on her white ashtray. "I'll tell you something useful to make it up to you. He wants Tschau more than anything... There is something about her. Provided you don't lose her for real, that deluded little toy of yours will make the perfect bait for him. Ah, the doting creator... He wants her back more than anything. Even more than I want her."

"Geez. I'm feeling like the chalice carrier in Crystal Chronicles over here. Next mission, we're doing something involving my mysterious past so I can get in on the banter!" Despedida had attempted to break up the tense standoff with a joke. That said, you hoped that you would get to learn about that mysterious past some time in the near future.

With Milaslava's questionable advice imparted, she finally granted your small group the use of the Russian Gambit that had been promised originally, along with a few soldiers to man it. As a show of faith, they carried no weapons, to ensure you that their time trying to forcibly subdue your Goodbye Girls was at its end. Still, the ride over was more than a little uncomfortable, with the presence of those grim Russian agents watching your every move. Despedida had been **** to leave her robot, which she'd affectionately named "Robocop," back at the airport base.

The girls had redressed into combat gear, although Despedida had been **** to wear a CEDIT wetwork suit for once. Its snug fit wasn't a bad look on her at all. Amusingly, the conversation soon fell on Despedida's bragging about how she managed to hack the Russian robot and use it to threaten her captors. Tschau did her best to look disinterested, before she went off on her own story about how it was even more impressive that she'd fought back waves of soldiers with nothing but a few ninja tools. The two ended up in high spirits as they compared their exploits. You thought you saw one of the soldiers push the brim of his pillbox hat down to cover his eyes, perhaps feeling embarrassed that the Russian arm of CEDIT was being insulted right in front of his face and there was nothing he could do about it.

You felt for the guy, just a bit. Everyone ended up emasculated next to these freakish agents of yours.

Finally, the Gambit, with stealth-mode engaged, touched down near Ivan Bortnik's facility was hidden. From the outside, you didn't see anything advertising the presence of Deliverer agents, but intel had told you they'd be lurking somewhere inside. After hearing the guy's sister go on and on about his advanced technology, you couldn't help but think that it was unlikely you'd made your approach fully undetected.

You reminded your allies of the targets: Promethia, the Deliverer spokesperson, and Ivan Bortnik, the rogue scientist. Both were to be detained alive if at all possible; if they died, you'd be no closer to understanding why these two forces had gotten into bed together. Tschau seemed like she was having a hard time committing not to kill anyone, but Despedida was ready with a lackadaisical salute. "Got it, boss! Tranqs and CQC only, huh? That's really more Tschau's thing than mine! It's not really fair; she gets to be Snake and Raiden! Who the heck does that make me, Otacon? Or is that you, Ciao?"

Tschau lowered her eyebrows. "I'm no snake. I'm not with Adder, dumbass."

That just made Despedida giggle harder. Finally, she settled herself back to being useful; the cold of the blizzard, which you couldn't help but feel even inside the ship, made her eager to hurry. "We've gotta approach on our Stables and everybody's gotta make it; don't be like that poor guy at the start of Megaman X. When we get in from there, we'll let Tschau do her stealth thing while Ciao and I make a distraction up-top. Remember, everyone in there is complicit with a Deliverer plot. Don't consider anybody non-hostile, but that doesn't mean you gotta pull an Au Revoir and shoot up the whole place either," she warned both of you.

You only had a service pistol and a few gadgets. If you managed to shoot up a facility full of advanced robots, bodyguards, and Deliverers with just that, it would be quite a feat indeed. {if Weakness for Gambling = 1}It was these moments where you felt like your job was a bit like one long series of bets. Maybe it was your gambling addiction that kept you going through these life-threatening missions...{endif}

The first challenge in front of you this time was the upper floor of Bortnik's Siberian compound. Intel told you that this layer of the facility would be full of the rogue scientist's bodyguards, but it was quite possible you'd run into a significant Deliverer presence as well. You didn't expect to encounter a lot of advanced robotics up here, as Bortnik's above-military-grade mechanics were surely hidden in the lower part of the facility, seeing to the security of his private cybernetic experiments. The guy trusted machines more than he trusted real people... that was why he was using the others as human shields.

Your small group approached on the nearly noiseless snow-speeders that CEDIT called "Stables." You didn't really know why the Gambit was called a Gambit or why these were called Stables, but anyway, you appreciated the chance to take one for a spin; you didn't get into a lot of cold-weather scenarios like this. The built-in life support would keep your temperatures stable as you moved from your drop-off point to the facility. Maybe that's where the name came from? The Stable kicked up snow on both sides, but the engine was totally silent, as you approached the white, futuristic walls of this super-scientist's complex and took up position against a high wall. Through a circular window on one door, you could see the inside of the building, where red-robed Deliverers stood armed with pistols and white-suited men carried heavier rifles. It seemed Bortnik was smart enough not to let the Deliverers continue relying on flamethrowers against an enemy who may steal their flame-retardant cloaks.

A voice inside your helmet indicated one of your teammates speaking over the comms. "I'm going to find a terminal so I can hack in and map out the lower floor. Doom-Guy calls those Automaps, ha ha..." You quickly recognized Despedida from her joke.

"Fine. Ciao and I will handle clearing you a route on the upper floor. Don't fall behind, Ciao..." That sour one was Tschau. She could probably handle any number of enemy personnel on the top floor ordinarily, but you wondered if she was really up to it, after the work-out she'd received back at the airport... You were tempted to find your own way through.