22:45:27, Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, as soon as he learns about Laswell's discovery from Captain Price via email, Soap makes it a priority to search for El Sin Nombre himself/herself. Luckily, Alejandro knows where to start.

Soap: La casa de Sin Nombre?

Alejandro: No. One of his Lugartenientes.

Soap: A cartel Leftenant.

Alejandro: (Spanish) Nice, brother. You're learning.

Roach: Thank your melting pot of STDs (sexually transmitted diseases) you call a bar for that. *chuckles*

[Graves and Erikson chuckle]

Erikson: Fucking tell me about it.

Alejandro: My sources tell me all the VIPs (very important person/s) in Los Zetas will be there tonight. Some are invited, others are um...

Graves: Volun-told?

Alejandro: Yes.

Roach: Hmm, reminds me of how I got into the S.A.S.

Graves: Really?

Roach: Yeah, I was happy in the Special Boat Service until my government volun-told me to transfer. "Your King and Country need you to join the Special Air Service", they said. Fuckin' arseholes. But if I don't, they'll force one of my friends instead. So...

[Graves pats Roach's back]

Erikson: Sorry it didn't work out for you, man.

Roach: Cheers, mate.

Ghost: What's the meeting about?

Alejandro: (Spanish) Us. (English) Los Zetas is burning, and they want to know who lit the fire.

Ghost: Sin Nombre will be there, yeah?

Alejandro: No guarantees, but this is our best shot.

Halsey-Brixton: Then we take it. Graves and I have enough highly trained killers here to lock down all of Mexico.

Alejandro: I'd prefer if you didn't.

Graves: We're just sayin'. One house shouldn't be a problem.

Ghost: We need Sin Nombre alive.

Graves: Well... then we need to meet him or her.

Soap: How?

Graves: Give 'em what they want. Intel. They wanna know who's here. Let's tell 'em.

Alejandro: In person?

Graves: Correcto. Get one of us inside, find the boss, roll him or her up.

Soap: I'll do it.

Alejandro: You go in there and they'll kill you, hermano.

Roach: The Narcos and the locals will probably recognise the both of you. How about me? They haven't seen my face yet. Just gotta change into something more civilian.

Ghost: And who made you in charge again, Staff Sergeant? Shepherd?

Roach: God dammit, we came here to stop Aegis's Topol-Ms from killing innocent people. Let's stop it. I'll offer info for a meeting with El Sin Nombre. And if he or she is there, we move in with the bag. Unless you want to take that mask off and do it yourself, Ghost.

Ghost: Roach volunteers.

Roach: That's what I thought.

Alejandro: (Spanish) For a kid who's green as baby shit, he's got balls.

Soap: (Spanish) Barely.

Roach: (Spanish) You know I can understand you two, right? (English) Are you coming along or not?

Alejandro: Okay, Sanderson, back to business. If you make it in, you'll need eyes and ears. I'll go too.

Soap: I'll take overwatch. Aegis and Shadow circle the target in helos.

Halsey-Brixton: Roger that.

Graves: They are going to want proof. Show 'em this. *gives Shadow Company Patch to Roach*

Halsey-Brixton: This one too. *gives Aegis Defence Services Patch to Roach*

[Roach and Graves fist-bump]

Graves: Call me when you need me.

Halsey-Brixton: Alright, let's gear up and get after 'em.

After some prep work and infiltration, the intel exchange can begin.

--

El Sin Nombre

1st November, 2022 - 23:00:45

SSgt. Gary 'Roach' Sanderson

Joint Task Force 141/Los Vaqueros

Nuevo Laredo, Mexico

--

Graves: Shadows on station.

Halsey-Brixton: Aegis on standby.

Soap: Copy. All set here.

Ghost: Seeing room to set down on the roof.

Soap: Check. Eyes on two armed at the front door.

Halsey-Brixton: Victor 1, how are you?

Alejandro: Un Vaquero inside.

Halsey-Brixton: Holy shit. How'd you do that?

Alejandro: Violently.

[Uzi fire]

Soap: Visual on Roach.

Graves: Moment o' truth.

Alejandro: They see him?

Soap: They do now. They're taking him in.

Halsey-Brixton: Kid's got a bag over his head.

Alejandro: I hope he makes it.

Thanks to a made-up story about him getting left behind by MI6 and being stranded for nearly a year, Roach is on his way to the Cartel Leftenant Hacienda's basement. Where he meets Victor 1, who is wearing a Los Zetas guard's uniform, and the owner of the mansion: Diego Salgado (Ramon Fernandez).

Alejandro: (quietly) Sanderson.

Roach: Ah, there you are.

Alejandro: (quietly) Listen, give them good intel in there. Don't lie. Tell them everything they want to know, or you'll die here.

Roach: Yep. I got you, hermano.

[doors open]

Diego: (Spanish) Is this him?

Alejandro: (Spanish) Yes, sir.

Diego: You got a name, gringo?

Roach: Staff Sergeant Gary Sanderson. I'm a Royal Marine. Well, former Royal Marine.

Diego: Until your government betrayed you and left you for dead. From one Marine to another, I can relate.

Roach: You were a Mexican Marine?

Diego: Yes. Let's go. It's nice to have another Marine with me in Los Zetas.

Roach: Whatever gets me home, mate.

Diego: Ah, yes. Home. Vengeance. You really do strike me as a man who's not to be fucked with. Well, you came to the right place at the right time. But before that, you have to know my house rules first.

Roach: Which are?

Diego: (English) You don't meet the boss of Los Zetas until I say so. You don't speak unless spoken to. (Spanish) And most importantly, (English) tell the fucking truth. 'Cause if you lie, I'll feed you to my dogs.

[Roach nods]

Diego: (Spanish) What the fuck are you doing?

Los Zetas Narco 3: (Spanish) I-I've been up for days.

Diego: (Spanish) The boss said no drugs.

Los Zetas Narco 3: (Spanish) Diego, I'm just trying to stay sharp. Y'know?

[Roach shakes his head]

Diego: *punches* (Spanish) FOLLOW... *punches* FUCKING... *kicks* ORDERS! *kicks* *stomps* The pain will keep you sharp. Now, back to work! (English) Los Zetas is at war. You want to win? Don't disobey. That is how the organization survives, and that is why the boss is here tonight. But try not to get any funny ideas. Sin Nombre may not be down here, but his personal sicaria is. *opens door* (Spanish) Valeria, there's one more. A gringo.

[Roach nods]

Valeria: *nods back* (English) Sit down. (Spanish) Who is this?

Diego: (Spanish) Staff Sergeant Gary Sanderson. A British Royal Marine. He came to us.

Valeria: (Spanish) A Marine? I never knew you had a Western brother.

Hotel 8 then discovers an interrogation room and meets El Sin Nombre's personal hitman named Valeria Garza (Maria Elisa Camargo), a Mexican Army soldier named Colonel Jose Núñez (just "Corporal Núñez" in the original), and two dead officers who served under his command. After Diego convinces Valeria that their newest guest can be helpful to the Los Zetas cartel, the latter gets to work.

And this time, the entire questioning segment will play out like a first-person cutscene with the choices gone because all they do is kill the player and nothing else.

Valeria: (Spanish) Children. (English) This is simple. I ask questions. You answer truthfully. Do NOT lie to me. Recently, we were protecting a friend in Loma Las Piedras. Someone attacked us there. Who?

Núñez: (Spanish) It-It was chaos. I didn't se-see—

Valeria: (Spanish) In English for the white boy.

Núñez: I-I think it was one of your competitors.

Valeria: Hmm. Your turn, blanquito. Who attacked us?

Roach: Thank God I'm a scout. It wasn't any of your competition. It was Mexican Spec— Mexican Special Forces.

Valeria: We found the bodies. *smiles* Fuerzas Especiales. Now, how would an outsider know they were Mexican Special Forces and not you?

Núñez: M-Maybe he was there.

Diego: (Spanish) You were there too, asshole.

Valeria: There were outsiders helping the Mexican Special Forces. Who were they?

Núñez: W-We heard them yelling. Some in English. They were with the gringos like him!

Roach: Yeah, I figured those foreigners would be interesting. Private military contractors from the U.S. and the U.K. The American group is called Shadow Company, while the British one is named Aegis Defence Services.

Valeria: (Spanish) Los Vaqueros is working with mercenaries.

Diego: (Spanish) Those fucking snakes.

Núñez: (Spanish) You see?! I was right! It was the gringos!

Valeria: Can you prove this "Shadow Company" and this "Aegis Defence Services" even exist, imbecile?

Núñez: How can I prove this?

Valeria: *scoffs* What about you? What proof do you have?

Roach: (Spanish) Check my shirt's pocket.

[Valeria grabs the Shadow Company Patch and the Aegis Defence Services Patch]

Núñez: (Spanish) What is that?

Roach: (Spanish) On the left is Shadow Company's insignia. On the right is Aegis's.

Valeria: Who leads Shadow Company and Aegis Defence Services? Give me names.

Roach: For Shadow Company, it's Phillip Graves. For Aegis, it's Claire Halsey-Brixton.

Diego: *chuckles* (English) Fill graves. (Spanish) Fill graves. I like that. For Halsey-Brixton, I believe she's sexy. Married women usually are.

Valeria: These people, Graves and Halsey-Brixton, what do they want?

Roach: According to the patches' previous owners, Graves and Halsey-Brixton are after three things. This Afghan-Russian named Junior Lieutenant Hadir Karim, Aegis Defence Services' missing RT-2PM2 Topol-M mobile intercontinental ballistic missiles, and the boss of the Los Zetas cartel, El Sin Nombre.

Diego: (Spanish) Whoa. Who did he talk to?

Núñez: (Spanish) You can't trust him. You can't! I'm telling you!

Valeria: (Spanish) You've told us nothing, you idiot!

Diego: (Spanish) We pay you well, and this stranded tourist knows more than you?!

Núñez: No, no, no, no, no, no, no.

Valeria: (Spanish) Time to kill this useless motherfucker.

Diego: (Spanish) With pleasure, Valeria.

Núñez: (Spanish) Don't do this! Please! Please! I don't want to die—

[Desert Eagle Mark XIX fire]

Valeria: (Spanish) How nice. You did good here. (English) Well done. *cuts Roach's zip tie*

Roach: Thank you.

Valeria: (Spanish) Let's get to work.

Diego: We're going upstairs.

Roach: I'm right behind you.

Giving the Sicaria and the Former Mexican Marine what they want may have gotten Colonel Jose Núñez killed, but it did tell Roach that El Sin Nombre is in the building. The third floor of Diego's Hacienda, to be specific.

He and Valeria then drop Hotel 8 off on the first level to wait for his turn to meet the boss of the Los Zetas cartel. That is where he sees Alejandro again with his Fairbairn-Sykes Commando Dagger, a White Radio Surveillance Earpiece, and a White Two-hole Balaclava.

Diego: (English) This is where you wait, Gary. (Spanish) I'll be in the ofrenda. No interruptions.

Los Zetas Narco 4: (Spanish) Yes, boss.

Alejandro: (Spanish) I got him, man. They need you outside.

Los Zetas Narco 4: (Spanish) Okay. Give him a mask and watch him.

Alejandro: (quietly) You're alive.

Roach: (quietly) Glad you're still here, too. El Sin Nombre is on the third floor. It's a penthouse.

Alejandro: (quietly) We'll need a keycard.

Roach: (quietly) The man who met me down there has one. He's on the second floor.

Alejandro: (quietly) Diego Salgado. Bastard. Take this. *gives Roach's Commando Dagger back*

Roach: (quietly) Ole reliable.

Alejandro: (quietly) And this. *gives Roach his Two-hole Balaclava and Radio Surveillance Earpiece*

Roach: (quietly) Didn't know these are standard procedure here.

Alejandro: (quietly) (off comms) Some people here can't be seen with the cartel. Comms are hooked in. (on comms) Radio check.

Roach: Loud and clear. Me?

Graves: We have you, brother.

Roach: Perfect. Be ready to receive the SITREP.

After giving the much-needed SITREP (situation report), Roach chooses the path of least resistance by not killing anyone in his way to the Penthouse. Even though he can sneak into the Ofrenda and ice the Former Mexican Marine with ease.

Instead, he chooses the second option of going to the roof, entering the elevator shaft, and accessing the lift's external control panel, no keycard required. But before that, he steals a pimped-out P226 MK25 from a cabinet and an MK20 SSR from Diego's bedroom in case some murdering will be needed.

Roach: (quietly) (off comms) Found the elevator shaft. *presses down button* Going down. *presses stop button* Stopping. Alright. *equips Commando Dagger* *pries doors open* (on comms) Hotel 8 to all stations, Victor 1 and I are in. Moving to ID, over.

Graves: Outstanding, Hotel 8. We're almost there, over.

Alejandro: (quietly) Security checkpoint's ahead.

Roach: (quietly) Know how to pop it open?

Alejandro: (quietly) Yes. Trust me. *knocks on door*

Los Zetas Narco 5: (Spanish) Identification.

Alejandro: (Spanish) C-4. I have the next visitor for the boss.

[door opens]

[Glock 17 Gen 5 hit]

[Alejandro deploys the Snake Camera]

Valeria: The shipment from Spain arrived on schedule. I— *sighs* I can assure you my men will conclude the arrangement and the packages will be in place.

Diego: Sin Nombre, are you ready for another visitor?

Valeria: (Russian) Take care of yourself, Makarov. *hangs up* (Spanish) Very good. Let's begin.

[Roach signals Alejandro to fall back with him to the hallway]

Alejandro: (quietly) What is it?

Roach: (quietly) There was a sicaria who interrogated me downstairs named Valeria. She's in there now, and SHE is El Sin Nombre.

Alejandro: (quietly) Valeria? Are you sure, Sanderson.

Roach: (quietly) Yes.

Alejandro: (quietly) (off comms) We have to move. (on comms) Graves, Halsey-Brixton, El Sin Nombre is posing as a female hitman. We're moving in. You set?

Graves and Halsey-Brixton: Check.

Alejandro: Soap?

Soap: Ready.

Alejandro: Take her alive. *kicks doors open*

[MK20 SSR fire]

[Glock 17 Gen 5 fire]

With El Sin Nombre now positively identified as Valeria Garza herself, Hotel 8 and Victor 1 breach the Penthouse and kill Diego Salgado and the Los Zetas Cartel Boss's personal security team. The rest of the plan then goes along smoothly as Ghost, Graves, Erikson and Halsey-Brixton hover next to the roof and move in for the capture.

[MH-60Ls fly by]

Halsey-Brixton: DOWN! GET DOWN, NOW!

Valeria: (Spanish) I KNEEL FOR NO ONE, WHITE BITCH!

Graves: (Spanish) A bullet will make you kneel!

[Valeria kneels]

Graves: Attagirl.

Ghost: *pushes Roach aside* El Sin Nombre. *zip-ties Valeria's hands*

Valeria: (Spanish) My name is Valeria Garza.

Roach: (Spanish) Also known as El Sin Nombre hiding in plain sight.

Valeria: (English) Hiding? (Spanish) I'm everywhere, soldier.

Halsey-Brixton: That's good. So are we. Graves, Erikson, chop-chop.

After seeing Alejandro and Valeria give each other intense stares, Roach asks what is going on.

Roach: (Spanish) Vargas, what's up?

Alejandro: Valeria. I know her.

Roach: How well are we talking about?

Alejandro: Wait until we get back. Every one of you needs to know this.