Raid in Denver

A Raid at Denver was conducted by resigned Maverick agent Raiden against World Marshal HQ after the discovery that Desperado and World Marshal abducted children and placed their brains into cyborgs with the intention of mass-producing Jack the Ripper.

Prelude
A Maverick investigation in Mexico uncovered a gruesome discovery; Desperado had abducted street kids to harvest their brains. These brains would then be encased and take part in the Sears Program to replicate Solidus Snake's training program in during Liberian civil war. The brains would then be shipped to World Marshal's HQ in Denver, Colorado to complete their VR training, so that upon completion the children would become cybernetic soldiers for the upcoming "war on terror". Because World Marshal had a huge influence over the United States military, economy and media, Maverick could not take legal or direct action against them. Knowing this, Raiden abruptly resigned from Maverick and traveled to Denver to rescue the brains inside World Marshal.

Defeating the police
Raiden and Bladewolf entered Denver by car. Receiving a call from George, Raiden was glad to see that the boy was well but cannot take him on his raid on World Marshal. As Raiden thought about his momentary lapse into his split persona in Mexico, he was suddenly pursued by the Denver police. Eventually the car was destroyed by an RPG fired by one of the cyborg police, flipping the car along with the occupants over a police barricade. While Bladewolf scouted ahead, Raiden eliminated the cyborg police officers, including their commander, Zachary. Afterwards, Bladewolf heeded Raiden to follow him through to a building, though not before Raiden had to defeat two Grad UGs and more officers by the entrance.

When Raiden entered the building, Boris contacted him by Codec asking if he really had to do this. Raiden responded that PMCs should bend the law to save innocent lives instead of when it suits business, and that he does not want World Marshal to train the kids to become child soldiers or "Jack the Rippers." Boris decided to unofficially support Raiden but increased their Codec encryption so as to not allow other parties to learn of Maverick's involvement. After defeating more cyborgs and UGs, Bladewolf advised Raiden to head to the rooftops to avoid minimal fighting.

Skirmishes above and below
While in an elevator, Doktor contacted Raiden telling that the brains from Mexico are safe in his care and that he hired contractors to help transport the brains out of World Marshal HQ. Doktor would also help out Raiden in his helicopter to monitor World Marshal's (very poor) security procedures as well as Raiden's personal safety. After fighting more cyborgs and saving a cvilian from being executed, Raiden came towards the elevator with Bladewolf informing him that he was unable to proceed further via the rooftops. Raiden took the fast route down via the elevator to an abandoned underground railway. After sneaking through the rail tunnels past the Mastiff UGs patrolling the tunnels, Raiden returned to the surface and followed Bladewolf's markers to World Marshal. Taking a shortcut via the stairs to the PMC HQ and fighting his way through, he is confronted by holographic images of Jetstream Sam.

Raiden unsettled
Sam asked if Raiden's way of fighting Desperado was the right thing to do to. Raiden responded that he protects the weak from people like Desperado. His rival points out while the enemy cyborgs knew what they signed up for, they did so of their own free will so as to provide for their family. To psychologically weaken Raiden, Sam turned off the emotion-suppressed nanomachines for Raiden to hear the inner thoughts of despairing cyborgs as two cyborg police officers arrived to kill Raiden. Raiden went on the defensive, unable to counter as he listened until they managed to hit him. Raiden fought back to end their thoughts and ultimately killed them. Seeing him unsettled, Bladewolf met up with him and revealed his affliation with Sam. Wolf advised Raiden to avoid combat while he went ahead to scout World Marshal HQ. Avoiding the cyborgs, Raiden approached the vicinity of World Marshal HQ. At the main entrance he tried to fend off three Desperado cyborgs as he listened to their inner thoughts. Sam later arrived in person, reiterating that Raiden's cause is not so black-and-white as it initially seemed.

'The Stains of Time': Monsoon vs Jack the Ripper
As Raiden collapsed from mental exhaustion, another voice joins the conversation, revealed to be Monsoon - another member of the Winds of Destruction. Monsoon explained his philosophy of "kill or be killed" from his days in the Khmer Rogue regime in Cambodia, to justify his methods of setting up the cyborgs as human shields, with war as a cruel parent. Monsoon also explained war as a meme, also using Raiden's belief that his sword was a tool as another example of an "exquisite" meme.

Up to this point Raiden had this belief to keep his split persona "in check" but knowing that he was just born to kill, he pronounced that "Jack is back". Monsoon initally thought he lost his mind and ordered the three cyborgs to kill Raiden. Ordering Doktor to turn off his pain inhibitors, Raiden unleashed his 'Ripper' mode and easily sliced the three cyborgs in half. Raiden immediately asked who would be next - Monsoon or Sam. Sam opted to fight but Monsoon ordered him to report to "the chief". Sam left, leaving Monsoon and Jack the Ripper to get acquainted.

Monsoon's ability to split his body and ninjustu techniques for confusion did cause some trouble for Raiden. At times Monsoon used his sai weapons to magnetically lift armored vehicles into the air and hurl them at Raiden, forcing him to use Blade Mode to cut down the heavy objects. Monsoon even spun a large group of vehicles and UGs to crush Raiden. Eventually Monsoon levitated World Marshal's obelisk statue in an attempt to put Raiden under. Instead, Raiden jumped onto the obelisk, ran its length and jumped up once more to kick Monsoon halfway through into the building. With Monsoon trapped, Raiden cut him down and sliced his head off Monsoon's destroyed body. Monsoon later called Raiden to relay his last words, passing a meme on to the latter. Raiden regained control of himself, reassuring a cautious and somewhat scared Kevin that he did not want this to happen again. Raiden then proceeded to rescue the brains inside World Marshal.

Fight in the lobby
When Raiden entered the lobby of World Marshal HQ, he was greeted by the voice of Sundowner, who was impressed that he killed Monsoon. He also revealed that the brains were in the server room and told Raiden to come up and "go nuts". Afterwards Raiden fought with some of World Marshal's cyborgs and two Fenrir UGs. He later found the elevators, which Doktor revealed that they were offline as it should have been expected. Bladewolf offered to hack into the building's data access terminal for Doktor to hack an elevator to work. However Raiden was forced to fend off the cyborgs, Sliders and Mastiffs storming into the lobby with the weapons in the lobby. After some time past, Doktor managed to hack into an elevator and Raiden hurried inside it before more cyborgs arrived.

Moving upwards
Doktor told Raiden that the elevator could only go as far up to the 20th floor, as all the other floors above it could not be accessed for security purposes. The only way up was to pass through a high security door which even cyborgs with security clearances could not pass through. Instead of finding another left hand, Raiden had to find and destroy three electrical panels scattered around the offices on the 20th floor. As he did so he also had to eliminate the patrolling cyborgs and Raptor reinforcements. After eliminating the last electrical panel and a hammer-wielding cyborg at the high-security door, Raiden entered a new area.

Raiden was immediately greeted with a large number of cyborgs in the room as well as Sliders attacking through the windows. At Boris's suggestion, Raiden instead evaded and ran past the opposition through the hallways, jumping or sliding over falling debris and even climbed a couple of floors. Eventually his way through was blocked by a Grad UG and fought with it. After destroying it, Raiden utilised the sliders outside and jumped as well as destroyed each one, before gaining a foothold on the side of the building and ran upwards of the HQ, dodging missiles and falling debris. Eventually he leapt into a hole before it was closed off by the debris, now higher up than Bladewolf in a short space of time.

Although getting closer to the server room, Raiden still had some ways to go. After passing through a Japanese-style garden inside the building and evading the patrolling cyborgs, Bladewolf called to reconfirm Raiden's motives for saving the brains. Despite Raiden's split persona and his actions, Bladewolf continued to help him in his endeavor. Doktor also told him the only way to the server room is to take a freight platform. After eliminating the guards, Raiden proceeded upwards on the platform. However more cyborgs and UGs accosted him. At some point another freight platform was going up but at a slower speed. Two cyborgs destroyed the fuel tank with RPGs, meaning the platformr Raiden was on would soon crumble. Raiden eliminated the RPG cyborgs as well as the Dwarf Gekko that were attempting to slow down the crumbling platform. He managed to get onto the second platform before the crumbling one gave way.

After defeating the last of the cyborg and Mastiff guards at the top floor, Raiden proceeded to the server room. However there was one more room before it. Raiden entered the room before encountering, to his initial shock, what appeared to be a very much alive Mistral. However it turned out to be a body double who fought using Mistral's tactics but was AI controlled, meaning that Raiden would have an easier time to destroy it. He also defeated a body double of Monsoon after Mistral's doppelganger was destroyed.

'Red Sun': showdown with Sundowner
Raiden finally entered the server room, and was immediately confronted by Sundowner. He explained how the Sears Program was being transferred straight to the childrens' brains through VR, instead of the on-field training they would otherwise had to undergo, and how kids can be molded to fight wars as soldiers. Sundowner also viewed that the Patriots only managed the war economy instead of inventing it but none of this would matter in three hours where an event would occur that would rival the September 11 attacks. Rather than fight right there and "damaging the merchandise", Sundowner led Raiden to World Marshal's heliport on the roof and proceeded to start their fight.

In addition to his Bloodlust weapon, he also had a set of six shields which would explode upon impact with Raiden's sword and cause injury to Raiden. Nevertheless Raiden managed to disarm Sundowner from his shields via parrying and Blade Mode. Sundowner resorted to take the offensive which included "acquiring" a heavy light pole to swing with and calling a Hammerhead to fire pot shots at Raiden. Eventually Raiden bested Sundowner, but instead of falling off the heliport, the latter hung on to another Hammerhead just below and fired missiles at Raiden, forcing him off the roof and falling back down to the city. However Raiden spotted a Slider and took control of it. Steering it back inside the HQ building Raiden flew upwards back towards the roof and avoided the oncoming debris and obstacles. After slicing through the ceiling, he burst through the roof and headed towards Sundowner. He fired three more missiles at Raiden but the latter dodges them at the last second. Unexpectedly he also flung the Slider at the Hammerhead, forcing Sundowner to jump out of the way and into Raiden's blade. With Sundower finished and in pieces, Raiden captured World Marshal HQ.

Sundowner congratulated Raiden for killing him via Codec and that in three hours, Senator Armstrong would launch Operation Tecumseh. Sundowner also contacted Sam telling him that he will "get (his) wish". After Raiden told Doktor that World Marshal HQ was secure to pick up the brains, he discussed with Boris and Kevin where Tecumseh would take place since even at Mach 2 speeds Raiden would not prevent it in time. Deducing that it would not be happening on US soil, Raiden realised that it will happen in Pakistan, where US President Hamilton was due to land for talks with Pakistani leader Farooq Salaam. Assassinating Hamilton in an unstable region like Pakistan would trigger a second war on terror and reignite the war economy. Courtney later suggested an RLV craft, one that could reach Mach 23 speeds if it was travelling in one atmosphere and would make to Pakistan in under half an hour. Decided, Raiden got Boris to contact Solis while he retrieved the brains from the server room.

Escape from Denver
With Monsoon and Sundowner dead, and World Marshal open for Doktor to collect the brains and get them to safety, Raiden's mission in Denver was done. However he needed to escape and get to Solis. When Doktor picked up Raiden via helicopter they are then pursued by two unmanned aircraft sent from Peterson Air Force Base. Raiden and Doktor worked together to destroy them but when Raiden attempted to get back to the helicopter, he fell back down to Denver. Doktor was forced to flee from World Marshal cyborgs firing anti-air missiles and assumed Raiden had died.

Raiden had in fact survived and Boris contacted him and told him to escape Denver. At that moment World Marshal cyborgs come to try and kill Raiden but Raiden defeated them with little effort. Doktor then contacted Raiden with the latter informing him he will find transport to get to Solis. After steathily avoiding three Gekko UGs he was ambushed by more World Marshal cyborgs with Raiden killing them all. After avoiding a Dwarf Gekko patrol and destroying two Raptors, Raiden continued his escape.

Boris then contacted Raiden and told him of a light security route and added it to Raiden's Soliton Radar he can use to escape. After killing three cyborgs and destroying a Grad (saving an ungrateful civilian in the process), Raiden was then contacted by Bladewolf, who was with Doktor on the helicopter and said that it will join withand meet Raiden at Solis on the way.

After killing a Mastiff and World Marshal cyborgs Raiden noticed an enemy cyborg on his Soliton Radar coming out of a building. After killing the cyborg, Raiden investigated further to only be ambushed by three Mastiffs. Although startled by the ambush Raiden manages to destroy them before escaping.

Once Raiden has got past the barrier Boris contacted Raiden and asked him if he has escaped the enemy cyborgs, with Raiden confirming he had. At that moment Raiden saw a motorbike which he commandeered but not before carving a message on the pavement: "I need your bike. Thank you for your cooperation".

Duel at the Badlands: The Only thing I know for Real
Two hours later, Raiden makes his way to Solis. He is informed by Doktor that he has managed to escape from Colorado airspace and he has escaped World Marshal cyborgs. Raiden stops when he sees Sam and Bladewolf in the middle of the road, when Bladewolf returns to Raiden he tells him he has analysised his words and action to find out his motivation to no avail.

Raiden "thanks" Sam for not murdering everyone at Solis and taunts him that for a hired killer he is not very good at his job.Sam replies saying that the results of the war is the payoff with Raiden assuming money is his goal. Sam retorts that ideals is his goal but talks no more on the subject knowing that they have both heard enough about causes and decides to let history decide who is right.

Raiden, knowing he means the victor of the duel, motions his head to the side of the road. As they walk Raiden says that he does not care who thinks he is right and that he has got a cause enough to kill Sam. Sam only responded with saying that is good while laughing in satisfaction. Bladewolf ask them if they must fight to which they both tell him not to interfere with the duel and so the duel begins.

After a short but intense duel Raiden manages to leave Sam open to an attack and runs him through the stomach, Sam then falls to his knees and gives a small chuckle and winks at Bladewolf just before he succumbs to his injury. Raiden notices that Sam barely had cyborg enchancements with Bladewolf wondering if Sam's death was necessary but could not find a logical answer as he was not programmed with these guidelines with Raiden telling him to figure it out for himself. Sam's high frequency blade was ID locked so Raiden gave it to Bladewolf to retain in Sam's memory. Boris then reminded Raiden that they only have less than one hour, so Raiden and Bladewolf made their way to Solis.