¤¤¤¤¤¤ ¤¤¤¤¤¤ ¤ ¤¤¤¤¤¤ ¤¤¤¤¤¤ ¤ ¤ ¤¤¤¤ ¤¤¤¤ ¤ ¤ M ¤¤¤¤ E ¤ ¤ ¤¤ M ¤ ¤ A ¤¤ A ¤ ¤ ¤¤ G ¤ ¤ X ¤¤ ¤ ¤ ¤¤ T ¤ ¤ P ¤¤ P ¤ ¤ A ¤¤ I ¤ ¤ Y ¤¤ R ¤ ¤ N ¤¤ C ¤ ¤ E ¤¤ S ¤ ¤¤¤¤¤¤ ¤¤ ¤¤¤¤¤¤ ¤¤¤¤¤¤ ¤¤ ¤¤¤¤¤¤ ¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤ By Cybiolink8000 Cybiolink8000@hotmail.com GIVE CREDIT WHERE CREDIT IS DUE Disclaimer ---------- Please don't upload this Script to a website or publish it anywhere without my permission unless I send it in to you or certain sites. Questions and/or Comments ------------------------- If you have any questions or comments regarding this Script, you can e-mail me for further clarification or Permission to use it. ***SPOILERS NOTICE*** Seeing how this is a script of the whole game, there will OBVIOUSLY be massive amounts of spoilers, so THIS is your warning. Do NOT read on and ruin something for yourself then blame me or my Script. Thank You. ********************* ================================= T A B L E O F C O N T E N T S ================================= 1) Introduction 2) Character Profiles 3) Game Script Part I: The American Dream Prologue - The Murder Chapter One: Roscoe Street Station Chapter Two: Live From The Crime Scene Chapter Three: Playing It Bogart Chapter Four: The Blood Veins Of New York Chapter Five: Let The Gun Do The Talking Chapter Six: Fear That Gives Men Wings Chapter Seven: Police Brutality Chapter Eight: Ragna Rock Chapter Nine: An Empire Of Evil Part II: A Cold Day In Hell Prologue - The Dream Chapter One: The Baseball Bat Chapter Two: An Offer You Can't Refuse Chapter Three: With Rats And Oily Water Chapter Four: Put Out My Flames With Gasoline Chapter Five: Angel Of Death Part III: A Bit Closer To Heaven Prologue - Valkyr O.D. Chapter One: Take Me To Cold Steel Chapter Two: Hidden Truths Chapter Three: The Deep Six Chapter Four: Backstabbing Bastard Chapter Five: In The Land Of The Blind Chapter Six: Byzantine Power Game Chapter Seven: Nothing To Lose Chapter Eight: Pain And Suffering 4) Specifics 5) Credits ================================= ************************** 1) I N T R O D U C T I O N ************************** In the backseat of a moving car, I am cut loose from the city. It watches me pass with sharp neon eyes. The night has gilded the skyscrapers in silver. Every brick wall is covered with graffiti. The image of a green "V" with a syringe in the middle, repeated over and over. V for Valkyr. The Drug. The red and blue of the police car's lights flash on the white snow. Something goes clank in the night, and the sound is close enough to a gunshot to take me back to the beginning. My last meeting with Alex before I went undercover. Sitting in a crummy diner opposite me, he had grinned, a friendly bear, but I had seen it in his eyes. We hadn't been on the side of the winners in a long time. He was playing it safe, talking shop: "To get to the source, we need to get to Jack Lupino. For that, you need the trust of the small-timers in the Punchinello family. Joey and Virgilio Finito. Lupino's number one man, Vinnie Cognitti. All the wiseguys." It must have been there. The sign of things to come. Clear in the fear in Alex's eyes, in the darkness of the coffee I was drinking, in the way my Beretta dug painfully into my side. But we were blind to it then, closing our eyes to it. Refusing to see it. Later that night, Max Payne as a DEA special agent was erased from the vast network of databases, and replaced with a new version of me: Max Payne, the career criminal with a mile-long rap sheet. A couple of days ago it had all come crashing down. The bad things came, like a winter storm. Pushed over the edge, I found myself in the cold no-man's land between right and wrong. No road-signs. On a crash-course with the Mafia. With nothing to lose. The NYPD was trailing me by the dotted line of empty shell casings that I left behind. I was trying to look for the answers, but every gunshot, instead of closure, was just a hole with more questions leaking out. A spreading labyrinth of questions, like a pool of blood spreading on the snow. The car stops in the traffic lights. Outside, the light paints snow red, like the whole city was in flames. But inside, in the shadows of the car, it's all done in blues. I know I'm lying to myself. No amount of painkillers can keep this ache away. No lie can hide it. I'm not really in the back seat of this car. It didn't start in the diner with Alex. It started three years ago in my bedroom. And I haven't left that room since. The killer dead at my feet on the floor. Michelle lying on the bed. Bullet holes like rubies on her chest. Our baby's cry cut short, the absence of it heavy in the air. That gunshot, like an exclamation mark to end it all, the answer to all my questions, had already rung out a long time ago, even its echoes gone. The gun was fused to my hand from that moment on. That room inside me everywhere I go. Especially now as the city presses close to the windows of the car, its monstous heartbeat under the tires. My squinted eyes in the rearview mirror. My hands numb and held awkwardly behind my back. Everything that came after that room is a hopelessmess, a chaotic swirl, rising nausea that tastes like rust in my mouth. ************************************** 2) C H A R A C T E R P R O F I L E S ************************************** Max Payne - The game's Hero. Max will go through anything to find the hidden truths that need to be uncovered in the Valkyr case. Michelle Payne and the Baby - Max's family, they are murdered by Valkyr test subjects that were sent to Max's house. Alex Balder - A DEA Special Agent. Also a good friend of Max's. He is murdered at the Roscoe Street Subway and Max is framed. B.B. - At one time, he was a friend of Max's. B.B. is a bent cop who Max kills later in the game. Angello Punchinello - The Don. The head of the Punchinello Family. He has a large house and a deadly personal security team. Lisa Punchinello - Angello's Wife. She has a twin sister named Mona. Mona Sax - She's a nice girl who is the "evil" twin of Lisa's. Max has an interest in her, but she appears to have been killed by one of Nicole Horne's killer suits later in the game. Joey Finito - With his brother, Virgilio, they are murderous gangsters who work for Jack Lupino. Virgilio Finito - His brother, Joey, and him work for Jack Lupino. Candy Dawn - A hooker who made tapes of her clients then sold them to the highest bidder. Rico Muerte used her for himself. Rico Muerte - A big-time hustler and a story teller, he comes to town to return a favor to the Don. Frankie "The Bat" Niagara - All talk and little action, Frankie likes cartoons and likes to leave comic strips near his baseball bat-beaten victims. Jack Lupino - He dopes up on Valkyr and turns into a "mad dog". He becomes irrational and Gognitti becomes afraid of him. He even killed one of his own men for a stupid reason when he is on Valkyr. The only time he isn't on the drug, is after he's dead. Dino - Never seen, only one story is heard about him. He was killed by Lupino because he wanted to see what Dino's brains looked like splattered on the wall. Vinnie Gognitti - A highstrung whiner on the verge of breaking apart like an overamped Energizer bunny. He has brains, but not balls. Vladimir - The head of the local Russian Mob. He's an old-fashioned mobster with a certain way of operating. Boris Dime - A traitor to the Russian mob, he used to pull jobs for Vladamir. Now Vladamir wants him dead. Vince Mugnaio - 1 of the 3 members in Punchinello's Trio. Not as deadly as one might think. Pilate Providence AKA "The Big Brother" - 1 of the 3 members in Punchinello's Trio. Not as deadly as one might think. Joe "Deadpan" Salem - 1 of the 3 members in Punchinello's Trio. Not as deadly as one might think. Alfred Woden - The main member of the "Inner Circle". He claims he can help Max get out of all the trouble he is in, IF Max does what he wants. Nicole Horne - The head behind Valkyr and President of Aesir Corporation. Jim Bravura - The deputy Chief of the NYPD. He is dedicated to capturing Max Payne. Kyra Silver - The News Reporter on TV and Radio. The Mayor - Nicole Horne put a hit on the Mayor, but Rico Muerte never got to carry out his job. --------- Locations --------- Max Payne's House Subway Station Lupino's Hotel The Bronx Ragna Rock Boatyard Punchinello's Manor Dream World Cold Steel Aesir Plaza ************************ 3) G A M E S C R I P T ************************ Part I: The American Dream -------------------------- Prologue - The Murder [Police Radio] Dispatcher: Stand by, 10-10, investigate a reported disturbance at Aesir Plaza. Cop #1: 10-4 dispatcher, verify address... Dispatcher: That's Aesir Plaza, repeat, Aesir Plaza. NEW YORK CITY. PRESENT DAY. TWO HOURS AGO. Cop #2: Shots fired on the rooftop. An assault in progress at Aesir Plaza. Repeat, an assault in progress. Cop #3: It's a warzone down here. 10-85 dispatcher, need additional units, additional units now! Officer in danger, officer in danger. Dispatcher: 10-5, please repeat. 10-5, all units, all units, emergency, officer in danger, Aesir Plaza, repeat, Aesir plaza, all units... [Fades Out] Max Payne: They were all dead. The final gunshot was an exclamation mark to everything that had led to this point. I released my finger from the trigger, and then it was over. To make any kind of sense of it, I need to go back three years. Back to the night the pain started. I was still in the force back then. NYPD, Manhattan, Midtown North Precinct. Hell's kitchen. Alex: So, when are you coming to work for me, Detective Payne? Max: You'd make me work undercover in some hellhole. Sorry Alex, Michelle and the baby come first. See? My last smoke. It's bad for the baby. Alex: That's you, Max, a regular boy scout. Max: See you, Alex. Alex: Still on for Poker thursday, right? Max: Like taking candy from a baby. Max Payne: Life was good. The sun setting on a sweet summer's day, the smell of freshly mowed lawns, the sounds of children playing... A house across the river, on the Jersey-side. A beautiful wife and a baby girl. The American dream come true. Max: Honey, I'm home! Max Payne: But dreams have a nasty habit of going bad when you're not looking. The sun went down with practiced bravado, twilight crawled across the sky, laden with foreboding. NEW JERSEY. THREE YEARS AGO. Max: Michelle, honey, anybody home? Max Payne: I didn't like the way the show started. But they had given me the best seat in the house. Front row center. [When you approach the graffiti on the wall] Max: What the hell?! [Press Action] Max Payne: Something ugly had been tattooed on the wall, a map of things to come. It was a poison syringe, a magic tag full of diabolical meanings. [The phone rings] [Press Action] Max: Listen! Someone's broken into my house, call 911. The Other Voice: Is this the Payne residence? Max: Yes, someone's broken into my house, they're still here, you have to- The Other Voice: Good. I am afraid I cannot help you. Max: Who is this? [The other person hangs up] KLIK! Max: Hello? [When you walk up the stairs something upstairs falls over] [You hear arguing and a baby crying] Max: Michelle! [3 gun shots go off] Michelle: No! No! No, Max! [When you try to open the bathroom door] Michelle: Auhh! Max: Michelle! Michelle: Please!... [3 more gun shots go off] Punk: I'm gonna hurt you! I'm gonna hurt ya! It's coming. Death is coming. You're gonna die! [Guy comes through door] Max: Freeze! NYPD! [Max sees the baby cradle knocked over and blood everywhere] Max: No! No, no, please God, no.... Next Punk: The flesh of fallen angels! [Max sees Michelle dead] Max: No, no, no God, no. Please, Michelle, oh baby... Noooooooooo!!! Max Payne: That was three years ago. Everything ripped apart in a New York minute. The killer junkies had been high on a previously unknown designer drug. Valkyr. V. After the funeral, I told Alex I would be transferring to the DEA. It took us three long years to get a break in the Valkyr case. Then, finally, two months ago, a dime-dropper tipped us off that Jack Lupino, a mob boss in the Punchinello crime family, was trafficking. I went undercover, infiltrated the worst Mafia family in New York. Chapter One: Roscoe Street Station Max Payne: I came in from the cold and the dark. Outside, the city was a cruel monster. I'd been slowly working my way from small-time to the big fish, trying to get to the source of the drug. Alex and B.B. were my only contacts in the DEA... The only ones in this decrepit city who knew I was down here. [B.B. calls Max on the phone] B.B.: B.B. here... Something urgent has come up with Jack Lupino. You need to meet with Alex, immediatley... at the Roscoe Street Station. Max Payne: I hadn't had a face to face with Alex since I'd gone undercover. Outside, the mercury was falling fast. It was colder than the Devil's heart, raining ice pitchforks as if the Heavens were ready to fall. Everyone was running for shelter like there was no tomorrow. It didn't get any better when I got to the subway. The feeling hit me like a point-blank shot straight in the face... Something was not right about this. My Beretta stirred nervously under my coat... but the train doors had already shut behind me, and I was in for the ride... Next stop: Roscoe Street Station, and Alex. Max Payne: The Station was dreanched in gloom. Alex was a ghost nowhere to be seen. I'd have to look for him. [When you find the dead Transit Cop] Max Payne: Death was in the air at Roscoe Street. I would have to find Alex fast. [When you find the Painkillers] Max Payne: The pills would hold the pain back for a while. OR Max Payne: The pills would ease the pain. Thug 1: [Sighs] Wasn't Jake supossed to take care of this? Thug 2: He an' Mickey are havin' too much fun takin' care of the cop up there. Thug 1: W-w-what's the plan? Thug 2: Simple, gun down every mother-loving bastard that gets off the train. Thug 1: Sweet... Didn't the train go already? Thug 2: No idea, let's just wait and see. [5 shots go off] Thug 1: Yeah, he's dead alright. Thug 2: Hey, that's me your talkin' to. Thug: Yo, guys... Yo, guys... Hey! Quit kidding around, you hear me? What is this, a joke? Hey! Anybody!... Answer me!... [When you try the security panel] Max Payne: The security panel let out a mocking kackel. I would need the right code. Thug 1: Who was that? Thug 2: It's nothin', relax. OR Thug 1: You're askin' for it. Thug 2: Take it easy. OR Thug 1: That's bad, that's bad. Thug 2: Ya think? Thug 1: Yeah. Max Payne: For Alex, I had ended up in the middle of a big-time crime operation. Thug: Kiss it goodbye! Transit Cop: No, don't! Thug: Go to Hell! [When you kill the Thug] Transit Cop: You saved me, man! Max: What's going on here? Transit Cop: A massacre... These armed thugs just appeared out of nowhere, we need to get help. I can make the call from the control room, one floor up. Can you take me there? Max: Sure... Sounds good, follow me. [If you don't go fast] Transit Cop: Frankly, I'm too scared to go to the Control Room alone without you and your gun. OR We gotta get moving, please! OR We need to go and call help. [When you try to open the train door] Max Payne: The power to the rail had been cut. I would have to get the power back on to get the train moving. [The Transit Cop enters the code and the door opens] Transit Cop: Home free, this way... [Two Thugs are inside the room and turn to the opening door] Thug: Yo! Lookout! [He blasts the Transit Cop and the door shuts] Transit Cop: Ahhhhh!! [He dies] [When you turn the power back on and press action on the security monitor] Max Payne: The train lit up like a Christmas tree, the power was back on. [When the train crashes through a blockade] Max Payne: So much for being subtle. Chapter Two: Live From The Crime Scene Max Payne: The rusty door led to an abandoned part of the station, closed off since the early 40's. Something big was going down at Roscoe Street. Maybe that's why Alex had wanted to meet me here. Maybe not... One way or another, I was going to find out. [Thugs make random comments] Thug 1: Did you hear something? Thug 2: Nah, take it easy. OR Thug 1: No way. Thug 2: Comon'... Thug 1: Fine, okay. Thug 1: Lapino... now that's spooky. Thug 2: Jack Lupino, yeah, spooky. But also, it's like the failure count is rising. Thug 3: Ah, I wouldn't joke about it if I was you. [The third Thug's phone rings] Yeah?........... [The person on the other end speaks then the call is over] [The third thug tells the other thugs what the person on the phone said] The station's not secured. Someone decided to play hero upstairs. Thug 2: That's all we need. [The thugs engage in small talk] Thug 1: Right? Thug 2: Right. OR Thug 1: Eh? Thug 2: Nothin'. Thug 1: Eh? Thug 2: Forget it. OR Thug 1: Sure. Thug 2: Yeah, really. Thug 1: Sure. [The subway shakes as if an explosive went off] Max: What the Hell was that?! Thug 1: All done here... gimme the detonator. Thug 2: What are you talking about?! Thug 1: The detonator. Thug 2: I thought you'd bring it! Thug 1: You was supposed to bring it. Thug 2: Yeah, right. [The first thug blows away the second thug with a sawed-off shotgun] [If you press the action button on the door] Max Payne: The door had been welded shut ages ago, and the bomb was missing a detonator. [A thug is talking to a group of other thugs] Thug: Okay, Fellas. The police are on their way... New York's finest are gonna be here soon. Just stick to the plan. We've got our own private exit route. In and out, do your thing. Wham, bam, thank you ma'am. Thug 1: True... true.... Thug 2: You said it. [Thug hums as he comes through the door] [If you press the action button on the phone] Max: We come to you now live from the crime scene. Voice: Who is this? Max: Right back at you. Voice: This is Deputy Chief Jim Bravura from the NYPD. You are to cease your criminal activities and surrender immediatley. Max: Sure thing, Jim. Me and the boys been talking, and everyone's real sorry. They'll never do it again. Voice: Who the Hell is this? KLIK! [Max hangs up the phone] Max Payne: Being placed at the scene of a bank robbery wouldn't have tipped the odds in my favor. [In Vault A] Max Payne: The bank robbers had left their tools on the table. [When you press the action button on it] Max Payne: Judging by the detonators, the crooks had brought enough explosives to send Lady Liberty into orbit. [In Vault C] Max Payne: The bank robber's score lay on the table. [When you press the action button on it] Max Payne: The bank robbers had been after Aesir corporation bonds. The Aesir success story had recently been on every channel, and on the cover of every magazine. [When you press action on the door with the explosives on it, it explodes, sending the door flying into the next room] [Alex, who is on the other side of the door, hears the explosion and comes running but can't get past a locked gate] Alex: Hold it! Max! Jesus, you almost gave me a heart attack! I nearly shot you. [Max walks up to the gate] Max: Alex... am I glad to see you. Alex: What the Hell's going on here? There are more corpses here than at the City Morgue! Max: It's an armed robbery. A tunnel job straight through the Roscoe Bank Vault through the old station wall. Is this why-- Alex: This is Lupino's gig? This is Lupino's doing? Lupino's men? Really? Max: You sure know how to pick a place. Can you get through? Alex: No, it's locked. We gotta get outta here. [A Thug shoots Alex from behind but Max can't see who it was] Max: Alex? Alex!! Max Payne: There was nothing I could do. He was dead. I could tell by the empty accusing stare of his eyes. [Police sirens start] Thug 1: Let's get the Hell outta here! Thug 2: We'll be fine, just take it easy. Thug 1: I'm allergic to sirens, we gotta get moving! Thug 2: Shutup, okay? [The sirens stop] [When you go out the Exit] Max Payne: Alex had kept me relatively sane for the past three years. Now I didn't know how I felt. Somehow he had stumbled upon something big... and ended up stepping on Jack Lupino's toes. Chapter Three: Playing It Bogart Max Payne: Lupino ran his racket of sex, drugs and contract killings from a sleazy motel and a slum block of tenements. The NYPD was closing in. I could hear the sirens. Their wail was a crescendo. Lupino thought he could get us by taking Alex out, and leaving me to take the fall for it. All he had gotten was my attention. I went for the hotel first. It was a sad old thing, with flickering lamps and faded colors, cheap mobster punks and tired-eyed prostitutes. I walked straight in, playing it bogart, like I'd done a hundred times before. The place was run by a couple of murdering mobsters, with shark smiles... The Finito Brothers. Finito 1: Ladies an' Gentlemen, it's the pain in the butt. Finito 2: Pain to the Max! Max: You're killing me. Did you make that up yourselves or did you get some wino downstairs to come up with it? Don't answer that. A rhetorical question. I've got something for the boss. Lupino around? Finito 1: That kinda depends on who's askin'. A friend... or a junk squad plant! But don't answer... It's one of 'em., how'd ya put it... rhetorical questions. Lupino ain't here, but he says "bye". Max Payne: Lupino wasn't in his cheap hotel. Instead, I ran into the Finito brothers. My cover had been blown. The doors slammed shut behind me. And then I was dodging bullets like raindrops. Finito 1: Pain in the butt... haha... Pain to the max. Junk squad pig, gotta ticket to marble city for ya. Finito 2: Eat first, and lyin' down! [When they're dead Max sees a letter on the desk] Max Payne: A letter on the desk caught my eye. [When you press the action button on it] Max Payne: I had met Lupino only once. The gangster ran all his rackets through his righthand man, Vinnie Gognitti. Gognitti was a highstrung whiner on the verge of breaking apart like an overamped Energizer bunny. He had the brains to run the business but he lacked the balls, always falling short, taking his frustration out on under-aged addicts and call girls. Vinnie's Voice: "The V-deal goes down at yer hotel. Jack's exact words, quote: 'Vinnie, you're in charge of this one' unquote. Rico Muerte's coming to see it through. Anything goes wrong, an' everybody's gonna get dead. Goes double for you. Treat this guy real good. Anything he wants, ya give him. Don't screw this up or yer finito, Finitos." Max Payne: A V-deal meant added security, locked doors, and lots of nervous thugs with itchy trigger-fingers. I had seen nothing coming in, but that didn't mean it hadn't been there. Rico Muerte was a regular Keyster Soze, a spook story told to keep the apes in line. "313", the Finitos had scribbled Muerte's room number on the note's margin. Thug 1: Bosses? [He knocks on the door] Thug 1: Everything alright? [He knocks again] Thug 1: Bosses? Joey? Virgilio? You alright in there? They're not answering, call the others. Tell 'em to come quick. Thug 2: Okay, but we can't wait for them. We gotta go in now. Thug 1: Bosses, we're coming in! [They open the door] [When you go near the elevator] Max Payne: Getting out was not going to be easy. The staircase was locked and the elevator had been busted for a decade or more. [When you press action on the radio] Broadcaster: ...In his press conference today, the Mayor stated that Valkyr represents a clear danger to New York, and called for drastic actions to eliminate the problem. On today's top story, the Valkyr crisis worsens with the murder of DEA Special Agent Alex Balder. Special Agent Balder had shot repeatedly from a point blank range. The gunman has been identified as Max Payne. The noose is sure to tighten around this fugitive criminal, as more NYPD units join the search to apprehend him. Max Payne: I had just gotten my 15 minutes of fame. Thug 1: Yeah, somethings wrong with the bosses. Payne's there, and they're not answering. Thug 2: Let's go already. Thug 3: Payne's gonna pay... in spades. [A lone thug is sitting on a couch watching tv] Narrator: Previously, on "Lords and Ladies"... Laurence: Lady Amelia, Arkey Valentine asks for an audience. Lady: Thank you, Laurence. Lord: My Lady... Lady: My Lord? Narrator: And now, an all new episode of "Lords and Ladies", brought to you in part by Aesir Corporation. [Music plays] Lord: My Lady... Lady: My Lord? Lord: My Lady, there is a matter of great importance I must bring to your attention. Lady: My Lord, there is? Lord: Indeed, my Lady, there is indeed. From the very first moment we met, upon that distant forest path, there's been sunlight in the autumn leaves, blazing like the colors of your hair. Lady: Oh my Lord, you should not speak so. Lord: But my Lady, I must, I must. Lady: My Lord, no, I forbid you. This cannot be, this must not be. Lord: But why, my love, why? Lady: My Lord, it is too dreadful. Do not force me to speak the words. Lord: My Lady, I beg of you, I must know. I would rather die than not know. Lady: Yes, my Lord, we should both be dead, for the shame is too great for the living. My Lord... I am-..... My Lord, I am your long-lost sister. [Music plays] [Now the guy that was watching the tv comments] Thug: Oh, Lady Amellia. So tragic. Will they ever get together? [He sounds sad and is crying a bit] [When you see a V-junkie in the washroom] Max Payne: V had junkies that could go off without a warning. I had to be careful. [The junkies always just say random things when you see them. These are most, if not all of them:] Junkies: Oh, oh no, oh no. I think I died. Think I'm dead. I'm gonna die. I'm gonna hurt ya. I'm gonna hurt ya. I'm gonna die. It- It's coming... It's coming. The flesh. The flesh is coming. It's coming. You're gonna die. Shutup! Shutup! All messy inside. The end... The end... [A thug is having a hard time getting a pop from a vending machine] Thug 1: Piece a crap! [He kicks the vending machine] Thug 2: Haha, ou, careful, it might kick back [He starts singing to himself] Killer vending machine. Thug 1: You talkin' to me? Thug 2: [Laughs] Tough guy, scary. [They walk away] [If you press the action button on the tv] News Reporter: Tongiht, the City's fight against the nightmare drug, Valkyr, took a turn for the worst, as DEA Special Agent Alex Balder was found brutally slain at the Roscoe Street Subway Station. A suspect was seen leaving the site only moments after the shots had been fired, and the NYPD is currently in pursuit of Max Payne, a repeated felon, believed to be armed and extremely dangerous. And now the weather. The worst winter storm in recorded history continues to pound the city. [The voice fades away] [If you turn off the vibrating bed] Max Payne: This party had been dead for a while. I couldn't say I was sorry I'd missed the show. [When you find room number 313] Max Payne: I had found Muerte's room. [When you go in the room behind the shotgun on the chair] Max Payne: Muerte had recieved a letter. [If you press the action button on it] Max Payne: Our investigation had turned up nothing to link Angelo Punchinello, the head of the Punchinello family, to Valkyr. All tracks had ended with Jack Lupino. The letter in Muerte's room was signed by the Don himself. It was the first hint that the kingpin knew what was brewing inside his syndicate. The Don's voice: "...The trouble you got into after the the Chicago screw-up, the Punchinello family bailed you out. You have been waiting for a chance to pay us back. One of our trusted boys has a monkey the size of King Kong on his back. We need your special skills for backup on a major deal..." [Max crumples up the letter into a ball and tosses it] Max Payne: Collecting evidence had gotten old a few hundred bullets back. I was already so far past the point-of-no-return I couldn't remember what it had looked like when I had passed it. [When you see the dead guy with a steak in his back] Max Payne: I didn't want to know what had happened here. Thug 1: Right? Thug 2: Right. OR Thug 1: Sure Thug 2: Yeah, really. Thug 1: Sure Thug: Yo! [When you shot the furnace, the 3 guys downstairs talk about it after they see it fall] Thug 1: What the? Thug 2: Told ya... Thug 3: God damn. I thought it was a bomb for sure. Thug 2: Nah, the Russian wouldn't dare. This has been waitin' to happen. Thug 3: Heh heh heh, I thought it was a bomb. [They walk away] [When you enter room 216] Max Payne: The hooker had left her diary on the table. [When you press the action button on it] Max Payne: The diary belonged to a hooker named Candy Dawn. The read would have made a vice cop blush. Candy's voice: "...Had talks with the mystery hag over the phone again. Sent her the latest 'One-eyed Alfred' tape. As long as the hag keeps paying for the tapes, the old man could come every day for all I care..." Max Payne: She had a nice sideline. Making x-rated flicks of her clients and selling them to the highest bidder. It would get her killed, if her v-fix for the day didn't do it first. Chapter Four: The Blood Veins Of New York Max Payne: The old service elevator rumbled down to the bowels of Jack Lupino's hotel. [A couple of Thugs are talking at a table] Thug 1: It was freakin' crazy. The cops were doin' a full-scale siege next door. More traffic than rush hour. I mean bleeding bastards running back and forth, Ronnie and Jimbo the throw... And in the middle of all this, here we were. I didn't give a damn. Just goin' with the flow. Thug 2: So what happened? Thug 1: Nothin' happened. We got the explosives, dumped the cargo, we were home free. Thug 2: Jes-us... [When you press the action button on the tv] News Reporter: A winter storm warning is in effect in the whole tri-state area as both freezing rain and heavy snow continue. Many roadways are already closed, and people are advised to stay indoors. The severe blizzard has ravaged New York for three days now with no end in sight. Max Payne: We had been snowed from the start in the Valkyr case, and the forecast said there was plenty more where that had come from. But the snowbound City was on my side. Less chance of innocent bystanders getting caught in the crossfire. [When you see the dead guy] Max Payne: Exhibit number one: a newspaper. [When you press the action button on the newspaper] Max Payne: A dead man tied to a chair lay on the boiler room floor. [The comic in the newspaper is read] Captain Baseball bat-boy: "Captain Baseball bat-boy has an unbeatable track record in superhero deathmathces. *Gulp* But a six-pack of Root Beer gets me every time." Max Payne: The murder weapon was a baseball bat, now lying in a pool of drying blood, next to a newspaper folded open on a 'Captain Baseball bat-boy' comic strip. Thug 1: Take Vampire movies. Why are they always set in L.A. or Mexico? They can't even get a tan. If I was a bloodsucker, I'd move to the North Pole. Winter's one long night. Thug 2: Yeah, what would ya eat? Suck blood from Pengiuns? Thug 1: Nah... Eskimos, man, Eskimos. Thug 1: Share with the guns. Trust me, you don't want to piss Muerte off. Thug 2: Gentlemen, let's do business. Thug 3: Green for green. Thug 2: Tears of green-eyed angels. Thug 4: Amen. [After you kill the thugs] Max Payne: A lifetime ago this would have gone down as a narcotics arrest. [When you open the briefcase containing cash] Max Payne: It was dirt money. [When you open the briefcase containing Valkyr] Max Payne: The transparent cylinders glowed green, full of Valkyr. [When you spot the key] Max Payne: There was a key on the table. [When you get to the bar, Rico Muerte and candy dawn are there] Muerte: Two mad dog killers, ready to murder each other. They step into the next room, an' I'm thinkin', now they gonna do it. Candy: Mmpphh... Muerte: But no! They sit down in front of a tv an' solve their differences with a Kung-Fu fightin' videogame. I tell you, Candy, I was so depressed, I strangled them both with the videogame cables. Candy: Oh, Rico, you're so bad. Muerte: I am, ain't I? Candy: Mmm-mmmm... Max: Rico Muerte, big-time hustler. Muerte: Who the hell?!! Candy: It's that cop! Max Payne: Muerte went for his gun. Max Payne: The Antique switchboard was still in use. [When you press the action button on it] Max Payne: There was an old telephone switchboard in the back room of the reception area. The kind that made phone tapping child's play. It wasn't hard to picture a fat pimp sweating with headphones on, listening to his hookers talk dirty and fake orgasms over the web of party lines; the blood veins of New York. Right now, there was a different set of moans and groans going on... Thug:...Boss...Cognitti...It's Max Payne... he came an' started cappin' us... He killed....uhhhhh... Cognitti: Are ya freakin' kiddin' me?!! He's just one lousy cop! Ya better be freakin' kiddin' me! Whack 'em! What's the freakin' problem? Hello? Answer me! Hello? Max Payne: The word was out. A deadly virus released into the City's corrupt circulatory system. Something wicked this way comes. Max Payne at large. [A thug is playing slots] [The thug either coughs or hums] [3 dings] Thug: You think you could take my money? Ya know who you're dealing with? Huh? Do ya? Do ya?!! [He shoots 2 Desert Eagle shots into the Slot Machine] Chapter Five: Let The Gun Do The Talking Max Payne: Turn around, walk away, blow town. That would have been the smart thing to do. Guess I wasn't that smart. Lupino's tenement buildings were a seedy hangout for all kinds of sleaze. A liquor store, a pawn shop, a laundromat full of mobster bookies and loan sharks. The list went on. The how and why of it was a mystery to me, but they knew I was a cop. They knew I was coming, and they were going to get real trigger-happy about it. I got to see Lupino's hangout all lit up. A bomb went off, turning snow into liquid gold. A pillar of fire lifted the remains of a car straight up into the air. The flames were highlighted on the hood of a black Mercedes-Benz, as it coasted down the street, real slow, as if the driver didn't have a worry in the world. I got a good look of the man riding shotgun... It was Vladimir, the head of the local Russian Mob, the fly in Don Punchinello's soup. The ringing in my ears was the sound of a mob war being waged. Another bomb exploded inside the closest slum building. It was a lucky break. The goons inside were spooked, but luck always came with a price tag. More bombs could still be ticking inside, and the cops would already be on their way. Jack Lupino's suite was on the top floor... At least it used to be, before the explosive makeover. --------------------------------------------------------------------- [When you get to the pawn shop] Thug 1: I don't know man. I-I-I don't know about this. Thug 2: Quit worrying, ah, think of it as Christmas. In Russia once, I was Santa. [When you see a news board] Max Payne: The headlines were a depressing read. [When you press the action button on it] Max Payne: The headlines were screaming bloody murder. The storm was a screaming duet with the approaching prowl car sirens. It was all a scream when you were down for the count and wanted for murder. [An explosion goes off] Max Payne: The whole building was rigged with explosives. [A phone rings] [When you press the action button on it] Max Payne: A beaten up phone in the entrance hall was ringing. It could have been just a junkie in need of a fix, but it turned out to be something more sinister than that. Voice: Am I speaking with Mr. Payne? Max: Who wants to know? Voice: My name is Alfred Woden. You must hurry, the Police are on their way. Max: Tell me something I don't know. Alfred: They know you're there. Max: How? And what's it to you? Alfred: I will contact you again. KLIK! Max Payne: The cops arrrived, sirens singing in the off-key harmony of a manic-depressive choir. I had a few minutes while the SWAT team would go through their usual routine. By the time they had busted in, I needed to be long gone. Loudspeaker: Max Payne, this is Deputy Chief Jim Bravura from the NYPD. Drop your weapons and come out with your hands above your head. [When you get to the locked door] Max Payne: A locked door barred my way. I needed a key. Max Payne: Someone had left a letter on the counter. [When you press the action button on it] Max Payne: Suddenly it all made sense. the bombs, the russian Mob Boss making an appearance in person. Cognitti was his usual self, all talk and no walk. Cognitti's Voice: "...After our hit the Russian has only a couple of guns left, an' they can be bought. There's no freakin' way he has the guts to try anythin' after that..." Max Payne: As it turned out, the Russian had plenty of guts. One thing you could count on, you push a man too far, and sooner or later he'd start pushing back. [When you see the key] Max Payne: There was a key on the shelf. Chapter Six: Fear That Gives Men Wings Max Payne: The bombs had destroyed all the stairs up to Lapino's office. The alternate route led there by way of adjoining rooftops. [Two V-junkies are talking by a burning barrel] V-junkie 1: It's never been this cold. Never ever. It's like the sky's falling. V-junkie 2: [Cold] Yes, sir. It's the end of the world as we know it. V-junkie 1: And I don't feel fine. I don't feel anything, not anything. V-junkie 2: I'm freezing my butt off. [When you approach the Laundry door] Max Payne: To get to the roof, I'd need to get to the elevator through the locked door up ahead. Max: Pizza delivery. [A thug opens a small hatch to see who it is] Thug: Never seen YOU before. Buzz off, joker. [When you enter the room with an unarmed guy] Guy: No, don't shoot, I ain't-- Max: Do you know the clowns at the Laundry? Guy: Me? No... [Innocently] Max: You're no good to me then. [Max raises his gun at the guy] Guy: What? No, no, no, the Laundry, yeah, I know 'em, yeah. Max: Get me in there. Guy: Ok, ok, ok. [If you don't go right away] Guy: Just say when, and I'm there. OR Guy: Hey, you got the gun, you make the rules. OR Guy: W-ok, ok. I'm with ya, eh? You just lead the way. OR Guy: No problem, man. I'll come to the laundromat with ya, I'll get ya in. [If you kill the guy] Max Payne: The stress was getting to me. I'd made a mistake I'd never be able to fix. [When you go back to the Laundry] Guy: It's me, open up. Lemme in quick. Thug: Not so fast. The password... John who? Guy: Comon... alright... John Woo [The door opens] Thug: Alright, come right in. [The guy runs in screaming] Guy: It's a trap! It's Payne! [A Thug is whistling in the washroom] [If you try to open the door] Thug: Comon, I'll be out soon... [If you press the action button on the tv] News Reporter: New York City is in crisis tonight, with reports of Valkyr-related gang war in the streets of the Bronx. Apparently, Max Payne, wanted for questioning in connection with the slaying of a DEA Special Agent earlier tonight, is waging a one man war against his former partners in crime. Among the listed casualties so far, are notorious Mafia members, Joey and Virgillio Finito, as well as Rico Muerte, himself a fugitive from the law and a suspect for several murders in the Chicago area. The NYPD has been placed on full alert. A citywide APB has been put out on Max Payne. Deputy Chief Jim Bravura has promised to take whatever steps neccessary to bring him to justice. What those steps may be remains to be seen. For NYCNN TV News, this is Kyra Silver. [A TV is on in the next building] Narrator: This week on "Address Unknown"... Man: I don't want to go there. It's the last place I'd want to end up. But that's where I always end up anyway. Only, it's not me talking to the pink Flamingo, but someone who looks the part down to the finest detail, except that he's evil. I'm hiding in the shadows, watching it all unfold. [Breathing starts in the background] Man: The Flamingo speaks, it can speak here. It says: Flamingo: Nirs ah mo ten tan television. [Robot-type voice] Man: That's "Mirrors are more fun than television." Somehow I know this, just don't ask me how. [An evil laugh starts in the background] Man: And I, not me, but my double, nods and smirks at this like it was their funniest thing in the world. [A painful-sounding scream starts in the background] Man: And then something goes wrong. And suddenly they know I'm there, hiding behind them and they both turn to look at me with cold eyes. And the Flamingo speaks again: Flamingo: The Flesh of Fallen Angels. [Robot-type voice] Man: I have no idea what that means. [A long scream starts in the background] Man: And, that's when I always wake up to my own scream, in that bright-lillied white hospital room, strapped to my bed. [Two thugs are arguing over which wire to cut on a bomb] [If you don't kill them before they kill themselves] Thug 1: Red, blue or green? Thug 2: It's always red or blue in the movies. Thug 1: So, green? Thug 2: No, not the green. [The first Thug cuts the green wire and they both blow up] Cognitti: What the hell you standin' around here for? They're bombin' us. What are you doin'? You're doin' nothin'! What are ya doin'? This is war, freakin' war! [Max kicks open the door] Max: Vinnie Cognitti, just the man I've been killing to see. Cognitti: Payne? Freakin' Fed! I knew from day one there was somethin' screwy 'bout you! Waddya think yer doin'? Yer a freakin' cop. Ya ain't got squat on us. Ya can't just come in here wavin' yer piece like it meant somethin'-- [Max shoots cognitti once] Cognitti: Ahh! Oh my God, oh God, ya shot me, ahhhh.. Yer dead Payne! What the hell are ya waitin' for, ya apes? Kill 'em! Kill 'em! Thug: With pleasure, boss. Max Payne: Cognitti bailed. I made like Chow Yun Fat. Max Payne: A crumpled letter lay on Cognitti's desk. [When you press the action button on it] Max Payne: The letter was addressed to Don Punchinello, but Vinnie had never had the nerve to finish it. Vinnie's voice: "...Jack's gone voodoo. Just the other night he shot Dino 'coz he wanted to see what his brains looked like splattered on the wall. He's a freakin' mad dog. We're runnin' out of men an' business fast..." Max Payne: Cognitti had been living in mortal fear of his boss. Jack Lupino was a psycho. Max Payne: Vinnie Cognitti was running scared. He could run, but with a bullet in his stomach like a broken bottle of Tobasco, he was quickly running out of time. He knew where his boss was, and I wanted to square things up with Jack Lupino. Cognitti would be moving fast. I don't know about angels, but it's fear that gives men wings. Max Payne: Cognitti hitched a ride. To catch him I'd have to follow his lead. Chapter Seven: Police Brutality Max Payne: This was my second train ride of the night. The way it started didn't promise anything better than the last one. Freezing wind tearing at my face like sandpaper and razors. Icehard and slick under my hands and feet... And somewhere in the background the wail of sirens, the city howling after me. New York sped by on fast forward, dark rooftop water towers and a dead forest of antennas and chimneys, all a blur. When the train he was riding slowed down, Cognitti made his move. Jim Bravura[From Helicoptor]: NYPD, you on the roof, drop your weapon and lie down. I repeat, drop your weapon and lie face down. Cognitti: It's Payne! He's coming down the stairs, shoot the bastard! Thug 1: Okay, boss, you got it. Thug 2: No problem. Thug 3: Alright. Thug 1: We're gonna be rich... Thug 2: Freakin' rich! Thug 1: Even richer than that, wiseguy. Thug 2: Freakin', freakin' rich! [If you press the action button on the tv] Jim Bravura: Max Payne has nowhere left to go. We are very close to capturing him. You'll get a full statement then. Right now I've got better things to do, Ma'am. Kyra Silver: That was Deputy Chief Jim Bravura from the NYPD with no further comment at this time... Max Payne: Apart from his suspicious food habits, I figured Bravura to be one of the good guys. Fate had just dropped us on different sides in this. But when it came to capturing me, he was way out of his league. I had already ditched the cops a couple of rooftops back... for now. Thug: He's comin'! I-I can hear him. Ready? Keep the gun, point it at the door. Okay, this is it. Any moment now, Payne's gonna bust through that door with murder in his eyes. It's either HIM, or US. I for one, am gonna pump the SOB so full of lead, they'll need a forklift to carry the coffin to the grave. Cognitti: Open, God dammit! Payne! I'll kill ya, you lousy freakin' cop! [When you badly wound Cognitti] Max Payne: Cognitti ran out of steam in a dead end alley with steam boiling out of the sewer grates like all the fires of Hell were burning high beneath us. It was shakedown time. Max: Where's Lupino? Cognitti: Screw you! Max: Bad Start Vinnie [Max grasps the front of Cognitti's shirt] Cognitti: Aargh!... Police brutality! Max: I rate pretty high on that. Cognitti: Ya-ya-ya-ya can't just hurt me in cold blood. Max: Uh huh. Just keep telling yourself that. Listen good, candy man. I'm not going to be anybody's fall gay. I want to know where your boss is hiding. [Max has his gun pointed at Cognitti's head] Max Payne: There was no glory in this. I hadn't asked for this crap. Trouble had come to me in big dark swarms. The good and the just were like gold dust in the city. I had no illusions, I was not one of them... I was no hero. Just me and the gun, and the crook. My options had decreased to a singular course. [Max pulls the trigger but there's no bullets left] KLIK! Cognitti: I'll tell ya, I'll tell ya, just don't hurt me no more! Lupino's at Ragna Rock, the nightclub! Book me, take me in, haul me to the freakin' jail, just don't hurt me... Max: Your rights will be read at your funeral. [Max throws handcuffs at Cognitti then walks away] Chapter Eight: Ragna Rock Max Payne: Ragna Rock was Lupino's private nightclub. A den of drugs built into an old theatre. I knew what waited inside: V-head junkies ready to explode in random acts of senseless violence... And Lupino's goon squad, the worst stone-cold killers this side of Hell. Ragna Rock was as inviting as a headache, flickering and flashing to a machine gun beat. The belly of the nightclub was a gothic theme park that began with bondage games and led to the nasty stuff from there... As subtle with it's dark message as a cop killer bullet through the heart. Like father, like son. Just like Jack Lupino. [When you see a book on a table] Max Payne: The book, had never been a best-seller. [When you press the action button on it] Max Payne: Given the setting, I was suprised to find that somebody had been passing time reading. The paperback was entitled "The Age of Murder and Storm". The blurb on the back mentioned Norse Mythus and Ragnarok, the end of the Viking world with a terrible winter that covered the earth in ice. When vile crimes were rampant and all humanity lost. I could see how somebody impressionable might get it into their head that we were at the end of time. I was also beginning to see what the nightclub and it's owner were all about. [When you see more books on a table] Max Payne: Books on the Occult had been piled on the table. [When you press the action button on it] Max Payne: The room was stacked with light reading such as "Necronomicon", "Witchcraft", and "Paradise Lost". Old exotic titles like "Malleus Maleficarum" and "Deumbrarum Regninoyem Portis"... Books with pentagrams on their covers. All dealing with the Occult and the infernal lying between stacks of horror videos and a couple of Ouija boards. The only thing I could take seriously was the thought of Jack Lupino taking it seriously. He had been spending a lot of time getting intimate with the guy downsatirs. Thug 1: Well with Dino and all... I wouldn't say anything to his face. He might not... Who knows what he'd do. Thug 2: Yeah, but somebody's gotta go in there, it's too freaky. All the screamin', it's been three days now. Thgu 3: Look at me... Hell no, I ain't got no deathwish. Thug 2: Nah, I'm just sayin', it gives me the creeps, especially now. It's gone all quiet in there. Chapter Nine: An Empire Of Evil Max Payne: The backstage area led to Lapino's inner sanctum. The hot air inside was like an invisible wall, thick with incense and something else. A sickly-sweet smell that made you gag. This was the rotten core of the Big Apple. Lupino lurked somewhere ahead, like a spider at the center of his web, waiting. The vapors in the air started to make my head swim. [When you see the torn letter] Max Payne: Torn pieces of a letter lay scattered on the sofa. [When you press the action button on it] Max Payne: Punchinello had threatened Lupino in writing. The note had been torn to pieces, bloody fingerprints all over them. The Don's voice: "...Don't want to think that one of my boys is not playing with a full deck. Shape up, Jack. We are running a business here. I'd hate to have to send The Trio to strong-arm you..." Max Payne: The Trio were the Don's notorious henchmen. It was obvious that Lupino hadn't been intimidated by the threat. [As you ascend the stairs you can hear Jack Lupino] Lupino: The Flesh of Fallen Angels! Come to me all! Asteroth, Beelzebub, Asmodeus, Bapholada, Lucifer, Loki, Satan, Cthulhu, Lilith, Della! Blood, to you all! Shh... Secrets... living under the skin of reality. I've seen it, the corruption of flesh. [He howls] I'm the wolf, yeah! I am the wolf! It's close, it's coming. You have come. The witness to the end, of time. It's now! I will rise to her side! [He laughs crazily] I don't need the words! I'm beyond the words! Max Payne: I had known there'd have to be a catch in it somewhere, and this one was the Empire State Building of catches. Lupino was pumped up and dying to go 15 rounds with a mutant alligator. And then he started this spooky monkey talk, straight from a bad dream... mine. Lupino: I have tasted the flesh of fallen angels... I've tasted the Devil's green blood. It runs in my veins. I have seen beyond the world of skin, the architecture of blood and bone marrow... Death is coming... She is coming, and Hell follows with her. this is the twighlight winter. I am ready to be her son! Her time is now, and all who stand in her way must die! [He laughs] Die! You'll die, you'll die, now, all die. [He howls again] [When you kill Lupino] Blam! Blam! Blam! Blam! Blam! Blam! Blam! Blam! Max Payne: When Lupino finally went down, I wanted to make real sure he'd stay that way. V was a bad monster, turned them into freaking zombie demons from outer space. Woman: I think he's dead already. Max: Huh? [He turns around] Max Payne: And that's when it happened... Woman: But dead or not, you've got the wrong guy. Max Payne: In stepped this knockout Femme Fatale, holding a gun to my face. I returned the favor. Part II: A Cold Day In Hell --------------------------- Prologue - The Dream Max: Lisa Punchinello...? Max Payne: Lisa Punchinello was the Don's wife. Woman: Mona Sax, Lisa's evil twin. Max: Your safety's off, evil twin. You might hurt someone with that gun of yours. Mona: Lisa's the damsel in distress, I'm the professional. I'd blow you away without batting an eye. Max: Sure, and you can check my credentials splattered all over this joint. Mona: Jack couldn't have framed you, not the state he was in. We're after the slimebag. Angelo Punchinello's the one who murdered your friend and framed you with it. Max: You know this for a fact? Mona: I've got my sources. Max: I don't have a clue these days. I just shoot them as they come. Who put a contract on the archfiend? Mona: This one's mine. I hate the guts of that sadistic wife-beater. Why not pool our bullets for this one? Max: I thought you'd never ask. My finger was starting to twitch. Mona: How do you like your Whiskey? Max: I'm easy, as long as you don't try to slip me a mickey. Mona: You're a real angel, Max. Max Payne: It was good stuff, tasted sweet as honey going down. Mona: Nothing personal. Can't risk you going berserk and getting Lisa killed. Max: Uhhhh... [In pain] Max Payne: The nightmare was always the same. Violent shapes moving in darkness, old and ugly. The killer's mad laughter was a riddle filled with wicked innuendo. Somewhere the baby was crying. Michelle: Max, no, please Max. Why? I didn't mean to... I'm sorry! Max! Voice: We should've known when we found you snoring next to Lapino's corpse. A comedian, huh? [When you see pictures on a table] Max Payne: The pictures were filled with good old times. [When you press the action button on them] Max Payne: Alex and I had a few moments of glory between us. Crime-fighting comrades, the best in NYPD-DEA collaborative team... Good-hearted macho bullshit like that. I would have given anything to have him here as my backup. No such luck. No luck at all. Voice: I love to watch cartoons. Captain Baseballbat was my favorite. [Fades out] [When you enter the baby's room] Max: No, no, please God, no... Voice: - Shoot 'em full of holes, blow 'em to bits, vaporize 'em, discinegrate 'em, no matter whatchu do, they'll still be back, good as new. [When you see Michelle's diary on the table] Max Payne: Michelle's diary lay on the table. [When you press the action button on it] Max Payne: Michelle was working part-time in the District Attorney's Office. Her diary was open on today's entry, her handwriting all pretty curves. "...An army dossier found it's way to my desk yesterday. Valhalla? Isn't that a Norse Myth? Something about Vikings? I tried to tell Max about it but he was busy. That cute frown on his brow. Guess it's nothing, just a mix-up at the courier service..." Max Payne: From now on I would always find time for her. It was a hollow promise. Too little, too late. Michelle: Max, no, please Max... Why? I didn't mean to, I'm sorry! [Max shoots 3 bullets] Max: Murderer! you killed her! Voice: Nothin' like that ever happens in the real world. Chapter One: The Baseball Bat Max Payne: I woke up in a bad dream. My head felt two sizes too small for my brain. Man: Max Payne, I envy your name. Max Payne: And the killer was smiling. Man: Pleased to meet you. I'm Frankie "The Bat" Niagara. Max: Niagara, as in you cry a lot? Max Payne: He had a baseball bat, and I was tied to a chair. Pissing him off was the smart thing to do. [Frankie smacks Max 3 times with the baseball bat] Krakk! Max: Auhh! Krunch! Max: Auhh! Krakk! M: Auhh! Frankie: Nothin' wrong with a little laugh now and then. Take me for example. I love to watch cartoons. Cartoon violence's a fascinatin' thing. Let's take a break. I need to take a leak and maybe grab a cold one at the bar. Don't worry, I'll be back to finish you off... An' then it's checkout time. Max: You play, you pay, you bastard. [Quietly] Max Payne: He swaggered out, and the door clanged shut behind him, locks clicking into place. Everyone makes mistakes. Mine hadn't been to crack jokes about the goon with the bat, he'd have cracked my skull regardless. It hadn't even been to trust a girl with a gun. I had blindly gone after the first bad guy on my hit list when I should have been aiming further up the ladder, at the head of the Punchinello family. I couldn't bring myself to be pissed at Mona. Guess I had a soft spot for a pretty face... [Max busts the chair apart and falls to the floor] Max Payne: But when somebody decides to play baseball with your head, you tend to get sore. they had dragged me back to the basement of Lupino's hotel. I was beaten, bruised, and blue. I felt like the chair I had broken to get free. All I had was Niagara's bat, sticky with my own blood. Max Payne: Without a gun, I'd be no match for Frankie's men. I'd have to play hide and seek with them. Thug 1: It's Frankie's turf, he'll take care of it... Thug 2: Yeah, I know, I know. I just, i wouldn't mind having a go at him myself. Thug 1: It's Frankie's turf. Thug 2: Yeah, I know, I know that... [When you see a newspaper on the ground next to a sewer opening] Max Payne: Another newspaper caption for a murder scene. [When you press the action button on it] Max Payne: Frankie had left his calling card, a "Captain Baseballbat-boy" strip, next to a sewer passage filled with bodies. [Max reads the comic] Captain Baseballbat-boy: You'd better not mess with Captain Baseballbat-boy. Even my arch enemy, Bicyclehelmet-girl, swoons at the sight of me. Bicyclehelmet-girl: Ahha! [Captain Baseballbat-boy runs away scared] Max Payne: There were enough corpses to put a mass murderer to shame. [A Police Radio can be heard] Dispatcher: 10-3, unit 294, call Dispatcher. Unit 294, come in. Have you arrived at the scene? Unit 294, unit 294. Come in, unit 294. [When you see the open Hotel Doosr] Max Payne: Things were fast going from bad to worse. [When you go in the Hotel] Max Payne: The men in blue had come and gone. They had decorated the place with chalk outlines and tied it together with yellow tape. The cops who had stayed behind were dead. Frankie, his boys, and I had the place all for ourselves. [A Thug is on the phone in the next room] Thug: Just forget about it. [He laughs] Just forget about it, hey, just forget about it. That crazy witch, you shoulda heard her. She was a real scream when the boys caught her tryin' to cap the Don. Other person on the line: ------ [Can't make it out] Thug: Oh, that's friggin' bad. Other person on the line: ------ [Can't make it out] Thug: To the Trio? Other person on the line: ------ [Can't make it out] Thug: That's even worse than what Frankie's doin' to that poor bastard downstairs. She's gonna take a long time to die. Max Payne: The mobster muscle on the phone was talking about Mona. Punchinello's Trio were nothing but bad news. [When you see a radio and a letter on a table] Max Payne: More evidence that Punchinello didn't like me much... [When you press the action button on it] Broadcaster: The fact remains that all the victims so far identified in the Ragna Rock shooting have been known criminals, many of whom had large doses of V in their blood. Reliable sources say that Max Payne was also among those killed, although no body has been recovered at this time. Max Payne: "Reliable sources". That meant somebody thought the Mafia had me, and didn't want the cops snooping around anymore. the body would be delivered to them barely recognizable, case closed. Don Punchinello had the power to be that reliable source, which was no news. But his news was old news. Framing me hadn;t been enough. Don Punchinello had put a hit on me. He wanted me dead, and it had been important enough for him to give written instructions to Frankie about it. The Don's voice: "...Max Payne should die like a dog for the trouble he's caused. frankie, i know I can trust you to give this matter the dedication it needs..." [When you reach the bar] Max Payne: The Hotel Bar was fast developing quite a history. True to his words, Frankie was there, having a beer. Frankie: Jesus Christ! How the Hell did you get loose? Max: Got bored waiting. Though - What the Hell, we could just as well finish this here. [After you kill Frankie, a Captain Baseballbat-boy comic starts] Bicyclehelmet-girl: Thank you, thank you. You've been a lovely audience. [Captain Baseballbat-boy is panting] Bicyclehelmet-girl: Had enough? Captain Baseballbat-boy: I don't play with girls anyway. Bicyclehelmet-girl: Unfair!! [Max is now in his car] Max Payne: I spotted the tail as soon as I left the Hotel. A big black Mercedes. Vvrroooommm!!! Scrreeeech! [Both cars are now stopped] Max Payne: I had seen the car before. that time that it had heralded impressive explosions. Vladimir was back. [Vladamir gets out of his Mercedes] Vladamir: Bang! You're dead, Max Payne. Max Payne: I might have laughed, if I had remembered how. Max: What's this supposed to be? Cops and Robbers? Look, you want something with me, get in line. Vladamir: Peace, man. Relax, you know you are a real news item? "Armed and dangerous". I'm going to make you an offer you can't refuse. [He laughs] I've always wanted to say that. Max: It's a bum rap, I've been framed. Vladamir: That's a moot point. Whateevr you did or did not do, I'm sure you had a good reason for doing it. Want to hear me out? Max: I'm listening. Chapter Two: An Offer You Can't Refuse Vladamir: Punchinello messing with V is bad for business all around. But that's not all. There is this guy, Borris dime, used to pull jobs for me. He's the captain of the Cargo Ship "Charon". Now the bastard turncoat has gone over to the other side. Punchinello's. The ship's loaded with hi-res hardware, guns, my business. If Punchinello gets hold of that cargo, he's won and I have lost, and you'll have your work cut out for you. If you want to get to Punchinello, you will need heavy-duty persuaders... I'm just he man to get them for you. Change the ship back under my flag, maybe pop two in the traitor Dime's head while you are at it. You'll get enough guns to start the apocalypse. You in or out? Max: Let's get this show on the road. Max Payne: Vladamir was one of those old-time bad guys with honor and morals, which made him almost one of the good guys. None of us was a Saint. The Brooklyn riverfront was a maze of rusty containers, sharp-boned cranes looming up from the snow storm. On a night like this you couldn't help but to think of the dark army of dead men sleeping with the fishes, cement shoes in line. No minotaur lurked in this labyrinth. but somewhere out there, on the clanking deck of his Cargo Freighter, the Skipper of the Charon was waiting, like the ferryman of the river Styx. Thug 1: Both of 'em beaten to a pulp. Eyes swollen, they couldn't see in the end. swaying on their feet, slipping on the blood. Thug 2: Haha, Muddysworth. Brough tears to my eyes, transcendental. [When you near the small Bridge] Thug: Raise the Bridge! Thug: [From inside a container] Hello? Rico Muerte? This way, in here. [When he sees you] Max Payne? [When you see a letter in the same container] Max Payne: I doubted the letter was a receipt. [When you press the action button on it] Max Payne: Rico Muerte had come to town to do more than just sort out family troubles. Exhibits #1, 2 and 3: A briefcase of money, a Sniper Rifle, and an envelope with one word neatly printed on a folded piece of expensive paper. Woman's voice: "Mayor" Max Payne: It didn't sound like a Mafia contract at all. It was too cold and too to the point. Chapter Three: With Rats And Oily Water [When you spot Boris Dime's ship.] Max Payne: I had found Boris Dime's ship. [When you go outside] Max Payne: Rust had crept over the sides of the cargo steamer a long time ago. Boris Dime would be on board. I'd have to smoke half of his crew to even get near the gang plank. The guns were probably being kept in the hold, buried amidst the rats and oily water. [When a Thug sees you] Thug: Dime! Dime! Ahh, Dime! [A phone rings] Voice: Dime? Angelo Punchinello here. Max: Angie! Tell me, how much did Dime cost you? I bet it was more than his name. Angelo: Max Payne!? Max: Right the first time. Angelo: You're dead, punk! Max: You sure you're not confusing me with Boris here? But you are right of course. Pretty soon, we should get together and have a talk. Angelo: You son of a -- [Max hangs up the phone] Max Payne: Pissing Punchinello off was a dangerous game, but when people get mad, they make mistakes. I should know. That's where I wanted Punchinello, mad enough to trip over his own feet, preferably into a grave. [When you enter the room that Dime is in] Dime: Tell the gentleman Dime sent you. [He sends a Thug to try and kill you] [After you kill Dime and find the weapons room] Vladamir: [Over the loudspeaker] You know how to handle yourself. Anybody who says different is caling me a liar. Vladamir here. Collect all the guns and ammo you want, meet me on the bridge afterwards. [When you go back up to the deck] Vladamir: Did you get everything you need? Max: Check. Vladamir: I owe you one. Anything you need... Max: This is my solo. When I'm through, Punchinello won't be anybody's problem anymore. Vladamir: Clear as Vodka, but anytime you get between a rock and a hard place, just whistle. This could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship. Max: You really get a bang out of this big time gangster act, don't you? Chapter Four: Put Out My Flames With Gasoline Max Payne: Even with all this firepower, I figured I couldn't get to Punchinello at his Manor. I could only hope he wouldn't pass a chance to hear me beg, to see he's won. [Max calls Punchinello] Max: This is Max Payne. I want to cut a deal. Punchinello: Payne! You're a dead man! Max: That's what everybody keeps telling me. I've got your ship and her cargo. I want to meet. No Payne, no gain, capice? Punchinello: You know my restaurant? Max: Yeah, I know it. Punchinello: One hour. [They hang up] Max Payne: Punchinello's restaurant had seen better days. Snow was falling like ashes from post-apocalyptic skies, but that was outside. Things would soon get hot in the Don's restaurant. I knew it was a long shot, Angelo Punchinello actually showing up, but there was no crime in hoping. Max Payne: Punchinello was burning to get me. The feeling was mutual. He was trying to put out my flames with gasoline. Max Payne: The mobsters had been guarding a real treasure, the way out of this disco inferno. Max Payne: Vlad had seen my smoke signals. The Mercedes was revving to go, almost drowning out the banshee wail of the sirens. Vladamir: You coming? We'll drop you off at the Punchinello Manor. Max: Sounds good to me. Vladamir: When this is over, look me up. I could use a professional like you. Max: I'll keep that in mind. Chapter Five: Angel Of Death Max Payne: The night groaned with cold, the garden lights flickering nervously. In their light the falling snow was dead white before the darkness ate it up. I had heard the stories. The Trio were mad dogs. They'd have hung the heads of their enemies over the Manor gates if the Capo had only let them. Punchinello wanted Payne, he'd see the pain. The trick in my situation was that there was no trick, no matter what the movies tell you. No rules, no secret Mantra, no road map. It wasn't about how smart or how good you were. It was chaos and luck, and anyone who thought different was a fool. All you could do was hang on madly, as long and hard as you could. Someone had graciously left the backdoor open for me and killed the guards... My money was on Mona. I knew that the Trio would be standing between me and Punchinello. I had read their rap sheets, thick as phonebooks.[He locks the door] No one would be walking out of here alive. Max Payne: The numbing cold of the broken night had followed me in. Upstairs The Trio tangoed down the Manor halls to the silent rhythm of their muderous hearts, the blood of their victims rust on their lips. Vince Mugnaio, Pilate Providence AKA "The Big Brother", and Joe "Deadpan" Salem. The pistol was a frozen lump in my hand, piercing the skin, gnawing me to the bone. [When you see the dead guy with a steak through him] Max Payne: In death, the Thug had been promoted to messenger. [When you press the action button on him] Max Payne: Someone hadn't enjoyed the Don's hospitality... Someone with a flair for the dramatic. Someone who had let herself out of a locked cell and past a couple of armed guards. My thoughts were on Mona gain. I could only hope she was a good enough gambler to walk away while she was still winning... Before she'd run into The Trio. Max Payne: It didn't take long to run into The Trio. [When you see Tarot cards in the kitchen] Max Payne: The word on Lisa Punchinello was that she was a bit of a witch... The Tarot cards on the kitchen table fit the picture. They weren't my kind of cards, but I was willing to take a crack at the hand Mrs. Punchinello had dealt. The first card was the Tower. Maybe that was supposed to be the Manor. It got easy after that. The Devil was the master of the house, and death was me, coming for him. [After you kill one of The Trio members] Max Payne: One down, two to go. [After you kill two of The Trio members] Max Payne: Two down, one to go. Thug 1: Max Payne? [He runs into a room] Thug 1: No stoppin' him. Thug 2: This will. This will stop anything. Take cover. [He shoots a Grenade from a Grenade Launcher at the door] [When you see the dead girl on the bed] Max Payne: It was too late for her. [When you press the action button on her] Mona's voice: "You're a real angel, Max." Max Payne: I couldn't tell whether it was Mona or her sister, the body was a mess. The sick bastard had really gotten a kick out of it. Seeing her lying there got me thinking about another woman's body on another bed. Got me thinking about a fallen cradle. [A phone rings and Max picks it up] Voice: Max Payne? Max: Talk to me. Voice: Alfred Woden. You've got compnay. An armed helicoptor just landed on the Manor grounds. You must hurry. Max: The more the merrier. [They hang up] [When you enter the room with the last Trio member in it] Max Payne: Vince Mugnaio. [After all 3 Trio members are dead] Max Payne: Punchinello's Trio was done for. Punchinello: ...Outside my door... Hhurry... He's coming for me... You've gotta hurry... Please... Max Payne: I could hear Punchinello on the phone, begging for help. [Max kicks open the door] Max Payne: He should have been saying his goodbyes. Punchinello was a pushover. The moment I stepped into the room, he folded like a Deuce before a Royal Flush. Punchinello: No, wait! I was just doin' what I was told, couldn't refuse... She's someone high up, Government maybe, I don't know... Max Payne: He was trying to buy more sand for his hourglass. I wasn't selling any. [Punchinello tries to run away] Punchinello: No, I told 'em, not the-- [3 guys come running into the room with Colt commandos and blow Punchinello away then they try to murder you too] [A whole bunch of armed guards are waiting outside a door for you] Guard: Drop it, don't move... Woman: Game over, Max Payne. Max Payne: I could tell when I was outgunned. It was time to take another beating. The mystery witch was a real barricuda, trouble on dagger-heels, a smoking Assault Rifle in her hand, and an army of killer suits behind her. Woman: How sweet. I get to kill two birds with one stone. Max Payne: Sooner or later it was going to catch up with you. [The woman pulls out a needle] Woman: Mr. Payne, it's time to show you the benifits of my brew. Be a good boy now. [She sticks the needle into Max] Max Payne: You'd find that Lady Luck was really a Hooker, and you were fresh out of cash. Part III: A Bit Closer To Heaven -------------------------------- Prologue - Valkyr O.D. Woman: [To her Guards] Gentlemen, we are done here. Take me to Cold Steel. Max Payne: She had just given me an O.D. of Valkyr. I could feel green fire eating my brains. They turned to steam. They did a fade on me. I had never had a chance. The witch had got me just as sure as if she'd put a gun to my head and pulled the trigger. The shadows rushed me, bruised mug-shot faces hungry for revenge. They knew my weak spots and closed in for the kill. The floor turned into a vortex of green blood. Voice: The Flesh of Fallen Angels... Max Payne: I fell. Michelle's voice: Who's there? Max? Max, is that you? Michelle's voice: Max?! Where are you, Max? Please! [Crying starts in the background] Michelle's voice: No, please, Max, no. I'm sorry. Please don't, Max, no! [When you see the fallen cradle] Max: No, no, please God, no! [Baby crying in the background] Michelle's voice: Max? Where are you, Max? Please... [When you see the letter on the desk] Max Payne: The letter was staring at me. [When you press the action button on it] Max Payne: There was something disturbingly familiar about the letter before me. The handwriting was all pretty curves. Michelle's voice: You are in a graphic novel. Max Payne: The truth split my skull open, a glaring green light washing the lies away. All of my past was just fragmented still shots, words hanging in the air like balloons. I was in a graphic novel. Funny as Hell, it was the most horrible thing I could think of. [A phone rings and Max picks it up] Max's voice: Bartender shiny stuff in dreams are made of stooped necromancers. He sings like a banana wrist, having strayed too close to the constellation on their shaved skulls. The rain of frogs ended-- Max Payne: It was a bad line and a prank call, someone spouting insane babble. I couldn't make sense of it. Max's voice: and the rain of blood comes down.-- Max Payne: But I had an overwhelmeing sense of deja vu, and the caller's voice sounded oddly familiar. Max's voice: The whole city was an amick image, rang the bar.-- [Max hangs up] [When you see the letter on the desk] Max Payne: The weird piece of paper looked dangerous. [When you press the action button on it] Max Payne: There was something disturbingly familiar about the letter before me. The handwriting was all pretty curves. Michelle's voice: You are in a computer game, Max. Max Payne: The truth was a burning green crack through my brain. Weapon statistics hanging in the air, glimpsed out of the corner of my eye. Endless repetition of the act of shooting, time slowing down to show off my moves, the paranoid feel of someone controlling my every step. I was in a computer game. Funny as Hell, it was the the most horrible thing I could think of. [A phone rings again and Max picks it up] Voice: ...Don't lose it! It's Valkyr, the drug! Snap out of it! Try to remember... Max Payne: It was a bad line and a prank call, someone spouting insane babble. I couldn't make sense of it. But I had an overwhelmeing sense of deja vu, and the caller's voice sounded oddly familiar. Michelle's voice: Max! No, Max! [3 gunshots go off] Other Max: Murderer! You killed her! [He tries to kill you] [After you kill the other Max] Michelle: Max, something happened at the office today... A strange memo, something about Vikings... Max: Honey, I've got to run. You can tell me all about it this evening. Michelle: Have a nice day, darling. [They kiss goodbye] Max Payne: The bullet holes were rubies on her chest, blood glowing on her ivory skin. She was so beautiful. The killer was smiling. Killer: The Flesh of Fallen Angels. Chapter One: Take Me To Cold Steel Max Payne: Slowly, the green nightmare faded, leaving dark stains on my soul that would never come off. I felt like flatlining. I was all shook up. I woke up in a cold sweat, sick and tired to the bone, lying in a puddle of my own puke. [He throws up] The hag had said "Take me to Cold Steel" before it had all gone crazy. It was a clue, the only one I had. [He coughs in the background] It took me forever to crawl back to my feet and hit the road, but when I did, I drove straight to Cold steel Foundry outside the city. There was a whole lot of action around the place for a freezing winter night. Trucks coming and going, men running. I had the drop on the mystery witch, she thought I was dead. I was on her blindside. [Max chambers a round into his Beretta] Max Payne: I was going in. The bad trip had put me in a crazy mood, adrenaline pumping through my aching veins. Staggering on the Mill roof in ice and snow and wild wind, I was a Ninja. My Kung Fu was strong. I wasn't kidding anybody. At best I was Superman on Kryptonite about to fall through a skylight, down to where it was all going down. A half-abandoned industrial area in the middle of nowhere... The factory was a perfect front for any illegal activites. A Guard's radio: Casualty status? Another voice: ---- Max Payne: In the belly of the plant, molten metal boiled and bubbled, like a witch's brew. [If you press the action button on the radio] [It's staticy] Broadcaster: ...Life threatening weather conditions... a record-breaking killer storm... in the city's history... vehicles stuck in snow... heavy snowfall... forecast shows... severe weather is expected to continue... Max Payne: Out in the night, snow fell like confetti over the Devil's parade. The storm was anything but over. [Random] Voice on radio: Shoot to kill. OR Voice on radio: Engaging hostile. OR Voice on radio: Intruder alert OR Voice on radio: Go, go, go! OR Voiceo n radio: Hostile contact. Guard 1: Can you believe it? I bet they sleep with their rifles. I bet they've given them names. Guard 2: I guess. So, y-you don't have a name for your gun? Guard 1: Heh, hello! Hell no, you do? Guard 2: Well, yeah, kind of. Guard 1: Hey, let's hear it. Guard 2: Well, I call it, "Dick Justice". Guard 1: I rest my case. [When you press the action button on the radio] Voice on radio: ... Perimeter breached. The facility has been compromised, repeat, the Deep Six has been compromised... Initiate "Operation Dead Eyes". Max Payne: The walky-talky military lingo could mean only one thing... They were getting ready to destroy the evidence and vanish into the night. I was so close... The hidden truths were just around the next corner. Chapter Two: Hidden Truths [When you see the folder on the table] Max Payne: The folder on the table told a grim tale. [When you press the action button on it] Max Payne: The mercenaries were running a tight operation, paperwork and all. Guard's voice: "...Merchandise missing again. A chemist had tried to smuggle it out for his own private party. Locked him up in cell B7 in D-6's old test facility to wait for proper processing..." Max Payne: I was close enough to hear the secrets just beyond the next doorway. Voice on radio: Obstacle in place, repeat, obstacle in place. [The bridge below explodes] Guard: Val, we're ready to go. Booby-trap in place, repeat, booby-trap in place. [When you see some monitors] Max Payne: The monitor showed me the way. [When you press the action button on it] Max Payne: Processing filled the control room screens, all but one. An elevator titled D-6 on one of the screens. Somewhere onwards, past rows of ovens, in the core of the plant. Voice on radio : Move, move, move! Voice on radio: Acknowledged. Target controls destroyed, repeat, oven controls have been destroyed. Obstacle in place. Chapter Three: The Deep Six Max Payne: I had taken on the role of the Mythic Detective, Bogart as Marlowe, or as Sam Spade going after the Maltese Falcon... to unravel all the mysteries. Following a path of clues to that Final Revelation, even if it would take me down to the cold, cavernous depths of a grave. [3 men are talking] Man: Well you can't do this, my men are still inside. Guard 1: Do you have any idea why this is called "Operation Dead Eyes"? [The two guards pull out Berettas and shoot at least 15 bullets into the Man then one of the guards reloads and shoots him once more] Guard 2: I think he's dead already Guard 1: Let's do it. [They set the self-destruct timer and an alarm goes off] Alarm: Attention, the self-destruct sequence has been initiated. Evacuate the complex immediatley, repeat, the self-destruct sequence has been initiated. Proceed to the nearest exit immediatley. [The two guards see you] Guard 1: We've got company! [They start shooting at you] [When you stand on the large logo on the floor] Max Payne: I had seen the logo on the floor before. [When you press the action button on it.] Max Payne: There was an old army bunker under the Steel Mill. I knew the military plaque on the floor. I had seen a thousand variations of the insignia on crumbling brick walls everywhere in the city, the sword replaced by a syringe. Project Valhalla. V for Valkyr, V for Valhalla. All of a sudden it read like a crackpot conspiracy theory. Guard 1: Abort, abort! The self-destruct sequence has been initiated! Guard 2: Get the Hell out of here! The place is gonna blow! Move, move, move! Run God dammit, run! Faster! [When you try to open a certain door] Max Payne: Like everything else in the Valkyr case, the door code was a mystery to me. [When you press the action button on the computer] Max Payne: The chemist had been using the workstation when he died. The half-life of the lab rat had ended online, his password blinking on the screen. "665", the neighbour of the beast. [You come across the locked up chemist in cell B7] Chemist: Hey! In here! Hey! Get me outta here, I'm innocent. Let me out. [When you open the door] Chemist: Thanks, I thought I was gonna die in there for sure. Max: I need you to get me through the de-contamination chamber air lock. Chemist: You're crazy! No way, the place is blowing up for Christ sakes! Max: Either that, or back to the cell, your choice. Chemist: Okay, okay. I'll do it, I'll do it. [If you take too long to go] Chemist: Are you mad? Move it, I don't want to die here! OR Chemist: Hurry up for Christ sakes, it's gonna blow! OR Chemist: What's the hold up? Can't you see the place is gonna blow up? OR Chemist: Please, we gotta go now, there's no time! Chemist: We're dead, we're dead. [2 Guards come] Chemist: Get in, I'll punch you through. Max: After this, you can go. You're a free man. Computer: De-contamination in progress... Chemist: You did a bad thing, bad. Computer: De-contamination com-- Chemist: Auhhh!! [He runs] [Bullet holes appear in the glass suggesting he was shot] [When you see more laser traps] Max Payne: I was caught in the middle of the deadly web that was the Valkyr case. [When you see the monitor with the project logo on it] Max Payne: One of the lab terminals had the project logo on the screen. [When you press the action button on it] Voice: "Top Secret. Project Valhalla, U.S. Army: Yggdrasil Network" Valhalla: The otherwordly place in Norse Mythology where the bravest heros spent their afterlife feasting and fighting forever, their wounds miraculously healed night after night. Valkyr: The maidens who chose the most courageous Viking warriors and carried them to Valhalla. 1991: The research objective is to create a chemical substance to enhance the stamina and morale of infantry troops. 1995: Results unsatisfactory, project cancelled. Max Payne: Someone had decided to continue the sick experiment unauthorized. Voice: "...Project compromised, data leak. Fix the damage by any means necessary. Security clearence red, authorized by the project lead. Field-test, double the dosage for all the remaining test-subjects. Observe and record the subjects behavior in an urban setting." Max Payne: The drop-off point was my old address in New Jersey. The file dated three years ago. Just when you though you had reached the deepest depths of horror, it suddenly got worse. How to turn off that small voice inside your head that started to whipser that you should be glad... that now, if not before, your revenge was justifiable on any conceivable moral scale. That small voice proved, beyond any doubt, that I was damned. The dager-healed woman had come and gone a long time ago. There was nothing more for me here. The bunker's name was acting as a self-fulfiling prophecy. [When you step into the de-contamination chamber] Computer: De-contamination-- [The computer explodes] [When you get to the elevator] Alarm: Self-destruction immenent... 30, 29, 28, 27, 26, 25, 24, 23, 22, 21, 20, 19, 18, 17, 16, 15, 14, 13, 12 ,11, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5 ,4 ,3 ,2 ,1, commence... [The building explodes] Max Payne: You piece together a jigsaw and the final picture is you finishing that same puzzle. A mad, green-eyed killer standing behind you. An urban legend come true. The project Valhalla test-subjects had been the mad junkies who had murdered my loved ones. The rest was simple bodycount math, it all pointed to her... Ms. Valkyr. The factory went up in a firey inferno behind me. All my leads were dead, turned to smoke and dust. I had lost my way. I hadn't slept in a million years. Chapter Four: Backstabbing Bastard Max Payne: I felt thin as death. I'd been living on an endless supply of week-old doughnuts. They were fuel for this crazy furnace inside my head. I couldn't remember when I had last seen the sun. I was on a permanent graveyard shift. When the darkness fell, New York City became something else. Any old Sinatra song notwithstanding. Bad things happened in the night, on the streets of that other city, Noir York City. I was in an all-night diner downing cup after cup of coffee that tasted like engine oil, when a new message from B.B. got me back on the killer track. B.B.'s voice: What the Hell happened at Roscoe Street? Maxey, I'm going out on a limb here. We need to talk this through. Come up with a plan, 2:30AM. The Choir Communications garage. Max Payne: The more I thought about Alex's murder and the frame-up, the more it felt like an inside job. I should have seen it coming. B.B. had sold me out, and now he wanted to finish what he'd started. The garage was dead. B.B. showed up in his tailor-made suit, gold watch and cufflinks to match. All way beyond a cop's pay. B.B.: Maxey. Max Payne: Oozing suave charm, he was guilty as Hell. Max: What the Hell does B.B. stand for anyway? Backstabbing Bastard. B.B.: Come on, don't be like that. Have a cigar. Max: I don't smoke. B.B.: Maxey, you have no idea how big this is. It's huge. You have no idea. Max: I think I do. You're a bribe-taking bent cop who sold out his partner. Those mobsters in the subway were a dead giveaway, hard to miss. Bet it was exactly like this with Alex, up close and personal. B.B.: You can't win this one, Max. Max: No, but I can make damn sure none of you do either. Max Payne: B.B. turned out to be another cardboard cut out badguy... [A car comes at them and Max dives out of the way.] [B.B. gets in the car] B.B.: Go, go, go! Max Payne: A bad cop on the take. A cowardly right-hand man fleeing from the scene, leaving his paid Thugs to do his dirty work. [When you press the action button on the radio] Broadcaster: ...Reports of a fire at the Punchinello Manor in Westchester. The Manor is the home of Angelo Punchinello, the alleged head of the Punchinello crime family. The police are now saying, contrary to their earlier statements, that Max Payne is still alive and at large. He continues his vendetta against the Mafia, of which this last act of arson is attributed to... Max Payne: I had no recollection of setting any fires, but I did remember the flames. B.B.: Maxey, Maxey, Maxey... Come out, come out wherever you are. You know, I really hate people who refuse to see the innevitable, refuse to do the smart thing. I blame you, for a smart guy, you really can be stupid at times. [After you kill him] [The phone nearby rings] Max Payne: The payphone started to ring. [Max picks it up] Max: Yeah? Voice: Max Payne? Max: Whatever does it for you. Voice: This is Alfred Woden. I can give you the name of your enemy. Come to the Asgard Building presently. We are expecting you. KLIK! [Alfred hangs up then Max hangs up] Chapter Five: In The Land Of The Blind Max Payne: Woden was waiting for me on the steps of the old building. Alfred: Mr. Payne, let's go inside. The others are anxious to begin. Max: The others? [They go inside] Alfred: Despite the general misconception, this building actually predates the City Hall by two years, thus being the oldest Municipal Building still in use here at the Brooklyn Bridge. Max: No kidding. Max Payne: The old man played tour guide as he led me through a dark, domed hall. The answers I was after loomed large ahead. Alfred: Mr. Payne, I would like to introduce you to my colleagues in what we call, "The Inner Circle". Max: You've been watching too much X-Files. Alfred: You have seen the files on Project Valhalla. We can fill the gaps, provide you with the information missing from those files. We were all involved with the early stages of the project during hte Gulf War. Max: What's the catch? Alfred: We would very much like to blow this thing wide open. But our hands are tied. Her name is Nicole Horne. She was the key figure in project Valhalla. When the funding was discontinued, she simply refused to quit. She knew exactly what she had in her hands. Nicole Horne is the President of Aesir Corporation. She has more than half the city in her pocket. This must be kept under wraps. If you try to go public with this, we will deny any knowledge. We need you to take her out. Afterwards we can protect you, make all the charges go away. Max Payne: That was the cue for the killer suits to kick in the doors and swarm inside. It was an impressive floor show, but I decided to leave early anyway. [Guards burst into the room and shoot the Inner Circle members than try to shoot Max but he dives out a window into a courtyard] Max Payne: It was only a one story fall - lucky me. Voice on radio: Acknowledged. Target esccaped. Last confirmed location: The Inner courtyard. Search and destroy. [When you see some security monitors] Max Payne: One of the monitors showed what was left of the Inner Circle. [When you press the action button on them] Max Payne: On screen, the so-called corpse of Alfred Woden stood up, miraculously waking from his dirt nap, looking smug among his dead pals. In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king. I didn't know how he'd pulled it off, but it was a pretty slick way to get out of all his promises. Most of what he had said fit too well to be a load of crap. Guard: Cover me. I'm going in. [He opens the door] Voice on radio: Possible infiltration in progress. [When you press the action button on the radio] Broadcaster: ...And what is your answer to those saying that he is actually providing a service long overdue to the city? Bravura: This crusade nonsense has gone too far. He is out of control. It must stop. He will be stoped. Broadcaster: That was Deputy Chief Jim Bravura from the New York City Police Department... [When you see the videotape on the desk] Max Payne: A videotape lay on the desk. [When you press the action button on it] Max Payne: Nicole Horne had blackmailed the Inner Circle into silence. The tape came with a curt extortion note on a piece of expensive paper. I remembered Candy Dawn, taping her clients in action on the side, selling the tapes to the highest bidder. I was sure that kinky sex was nowhere near Alfred Woden's worst sin... But I had a feeling that, when this was all over, any collateral would come in handy. [When you see the blueprints on the desk] Max Payne: Woden had left me a present. [When you press the action button on it] Max Payne: Woden had taken care of my mission preps with military precision. The critical areas in the Aesir Corporation HQ Blueprints were circled in red. The President's office was at the top of the building, right below her Penthouse suite. The elevators were controlled by a security computer, part of the main frame located underground below the building. The high-rise was sealed as tight as a sci-fi fortress. Guard 1: The best movie ending ever? Heh, gotta be "Butch Cassidy and the Sun Dance Kid". A hero's end, goin' out with guns blazing. Guard 2: Never heard of it. Guard 1: No? Okay, newer stuff then. "The Usual Suspects" where Spacey walks out of the Police Station and suddenly looses his limb. Guard 3: Oh hey, "Se7en", where Brad Pitt gets to that head-sized blood-saoked cardboard box. Guard 2: Now I know. "Freakin' Zombie Demons from Outer Space". Drowning in blood was cool. Guard 1: Oh, why do I even bother? Sometimes honestly, I don't know. [As he walks away] Chapter Six: Byzantine Power Game Max Payne: I had dreamed of revenge. Those dreams were always nightmares, of coming close and then failing. Now I was close. I had a name to guide me. Nicole Horne. I had nothing to lose. Guard 1: CIA, FBI, you've seen one, you've seen 'em all. Guard 2: Sure. OR Guard 2: Sure, good. Guard 1: Good for a practice run. But this... workin' for her. Oh, this is the real thing. The money's astronomical. And best of all, you get to kill any scumbag who gets in your way. License to kill, like James Bond. Guard: Take him down. Shoot to kill. Let's finsih this. Chapter Seven: Nothing To Lose Max Payne: Mine wasn't the most original approach to the problem. It wasn't as if it hadn't been all done before. An eye for an eye, the first principal of revenge. Old as dirt, still going strong. The cardinal rule in going after someone with an intention to kill was not to make it personal... Which it almost always ended up being anyway. It did with me. I took my time, cruising around the city in the snow. There was no hurry, I knew what I had to do now. I took my time, thinking about it, building up the rage. When I was ready, I parked the stolen wheels at the front entrance of the Aesir Corporation HQ, got out, got in, got cracking. I had a bullet with Nicole Horne's name on it. I had ten thousand bullets with the hag's name on them. She had ultra-high-tech security systems, enough mercenaries and weaponry to start World War III. There was no fear. New York disappeared behind a veil of snow. I had crossed the threshold. this was her domain. Sleek and sexy and souless, all glass and steel. A place of color-coded security keycards, metal detectors and surveillance systems. Colder than a walk-in fridge... Cold as a gun. [The elevator comes down] PING! [It opens and Mona is inside] Max: Mona, looking good. Mona: Max, we gotta stop meeting like this. [Nicole Horne speaks over the intercom] Horne: It will be a cold day in Hell before I let a narc cop stop me. Ms, Sax, do your job. Mona: Relax, Max. You're a nice guy. I don't kill nice guys. Max: You're not bad yourself. Mona: It was different when Horne wanted Punchinello dead, to cut her ties to the Mafia. He deserved to die. Max: The same goes with her. She's the bad guy here. Max Payne: Her sister was whispering to her in my favor. I knew the appetites of ghosts intimately. They hungered for revenge. [Some guards run up behind Max] Mona: Max! Blam! Blam! [They hit Mona] Max: No! Max Payne: A gunshot boomed and she fell down in slow-motion. She was a nice girl, not really a stone-cold killer, and now she was stone-cold dead. Like religious fanatics or loyal Samurai, Horne's private army was coming after me. Max Payne: When the elevator came back down, Mona was gone. There was a lot of blood, but no body. Something clicked for the final time. My mind had never been so clar, as if somewhere high above the storm clouds were already gone, cold stars blazing from the black skies. Guard 1: You know what I'm talking about. In all the cool action movies, and I'm talking about the coolest of the cool, it always seems like time slows down in the middle of the action. You know, you can see the bullets flying through the air, the hero dodging in slow-motion. Oh man, it would be so cool to be able to do that. Guard 2: Bullet-time, that's what they call it. Guard 1: Bullet-time, yeah heh, would be so cool. Max Payne: I had elevator access to the main frame. From there, I'd be able to over-ride the security locks and get to her office. Max Payne: The un-marked chopper was Horne's pet guardian. Inhuman and flawless, it was stalking me. Guard 1: I hate to be sterotyped. I'm not a cold-blooded killer, I'm a nice guy. I love my wife, I have two boys I'm very proud of. You just have to make the ends meet, and if that means I have to shoot someone now and then, hey, it's just my job from 9-5. Guard 2: Well, not quite from 9-5, but I hear ya. [After you destroy the mainframes] Max Payne: All Horne's locks were now off-line. All bets were off. The elevator would take me all the way up. [When you're going up the elevator] Max Payne: Seen from this height, the night seemed to stretch on to eternity. A hint of desperation had crept into the snow storm, as if it was trying to get it all out before the end. [When you see Horne's personal computer] Max Payne: Horne's personal computer was on. [When you press the action button on it] Max Payne: Next to the printer was a neat stack of expensive paper. Hacking through Horne's computer would have unearthed files of criminal plans, strategies for world domination, spy helicoptor reports, illegal wire tap recordings, Internet porno, all of the above. Take your pick, I really didn't care anymore. I had seen too much of it already. BLAM! [Max shoots the computer monitor] Chapter Eight: Pain And Suffering Max Payne: Valkyr had been meant to be a white-winged maiden that would lift you to a warrior's heaven. But it had turned out to be a one-way demon ride to Hell. The Devil was in the drug. I knew, I had met him... And now I was going to kill her.... [Max chambers a round into his Colt Commando as the lift goes up] Max Payne: The Queen of the underworld who had tried to lift herself a bit closer to heaven with her drug money. No begging, no bribes, she knew better honor among killers, "We who are about to die". Both of us knew how this would end, in pain and suffering. Horne: All this, because your wife stuck her nose into things that were none of her business. Max Payne: The cops were coming to take me away. The sirens were like a bad conscience I couldn't shake. Horne: It's ridiculous you have made it this far. You won't be alive when they get here. Stop him! [She runs away] Voice behind door: The elevator lobby, we need backup now OR Voice behind door: The elevator lobby, get us backup now. Horne: [Over intercom] Max Payne, this is futile, a waste of time. The deaths of your wife and daughter were neccessary, inevitable. It is done. You cannot bring them back. Horne: [Over intercom] Max Payne, you are fighting a losing battle. You cannot survive this, you will die. Stop fighting, make it easy for yourself. Accept your fate, you will die, here. Horne: [Over intercom] Max Payne, face it, you're up against an unbeatable force. You have already lost. You have lost. Only death will set you free from your pain. Accept it. Surrender, give up. Voice behind door: We have him in the North Lounge, send us assistance. Voice behind door: Max Payne is in the Central Lounge, the skylight lounge, get in here. Horne: [Over intercom] What do you mean he's unstoppable? You are superior to him in every way that counts. You are better trained, better equipped, you outnumber him at least 20 to 1. Do... your... job! Horne: Not a step further. [To her guards] End it here. Any means neccessary. [She runs away again] Horne: That's for you. [She throws a grenade down the stairs] Helicoptor Pilot: Roger that, attempting to land now. It's gonna be tricky. Helicoptor Pilot: She's on board, we're out of here as soon as the wind dies down. Don't like the look of that mast. Helicoptor Pilot: Liftoff in one minute. Helicoptor Pilot: Liftoff in forty-five seconds. Helicoptor Pilot: Thirty seconds to liftoff. Helicoptor Pilot: Fifteen seconds to liftoff. Helicoptor Pilot: Okay, ready to liftoff in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1... [When the broadcasting antenna falls on the Helicoptor] Max Payne: They were all dead. The final gunshot was an exclamation mark to everything that had led up to this point. I released my finger from the trigger. And then it was all over. The storm seemed to lose it's frenzy. The ragged clouds gave way to the stars above. [From Helicoptor loudspeaker] Bravura: Max Payne, this is Deputy Chief Jim Bravura from the NYPD. We've got the building surrounded. Throw down your weapons and lie down with your hands behind your head. Max Payne: A bit closer to Heaven. The cops' voices were distant and muted. Cop 1: Freeze! Cop 2: NYPD! Cop 3: Hold it right there! Max Payne: My ghosts released me from their haunting. Down below, New York City glittered like diamonds on black velvet. [They handcuff Max] [Now they're down on the street] Bravura: You gave us one Hell of a ride... take him down to Central booking. Cop: You heard the man. [He puts Max in the back of a cop car] [Max spots Alfred Woden standing within a crowd of people] Max Payne: Woden was there... in the crowd, standing by the sidelines. It wouldn't be over till the man with the patch would say so. He'd say the right words. I knew he would. He'd better. Woden grinned smugly. It was the grin of a winner. That made two of us. MISSION COMPLETE! ******************** 4) S P E C I F I C S ******************** -------------------------------------------------------------------- For this game script, Max Payne speaks in two forms. Direct dialogue and in-his-head speech. In other word, Max Payne narrates and speaks, both of which are seperated in this Script. "Max" refers to Max Payne talking aloud to someone else, while "Max Payne" refers to Max Payne making a comment to himself or recalling events. Basically, whenever Max ISN'T talking to someone else, then it's "Max Payne" who's talking, and "Max" basically means Max is talking to someone else. Three spaces between text denotes that time passes and that the evens between the 3 spaces are not related(not in the same video/dialogue) I believe all the devil's names are now correct. Thank you to all who contributed to my request. Thanks! **************** 5) C R E D I T S **************** -http://www.islandnet.com/~luree/devils.html for the correct spelling of "Asmodeus" and "Beelzebub" -StalkeratPeace for the correct spelling of "Asteroth", "Loki", and "Cthulhu" -Harbinger for the correct spelling of most of the devil's names. -------------------------------------- Max Payne Game Script by Cybiolink8000 Cybiolink8000@hotmail.com GIVE CREDIT WHERE CREDIT IS DUE