Crystal Squirrel

Crystal Squirrel was a male British former high-ranking official in and co-founder of the South African Private Force Contract Forces of Africa (CFA).

Pre-Phantom Pain
Largely because of the CFA's ties to South Africa, and by extension to the British, the man who would become Crystal Squirrel was among the high-ranking officials who were of British origin. Eventually, one of his fellow British members and co-founders of the CFA, the Viscount, illicitly managed to find a deed to oil fields (which were actually MPLA-owned). Although he was suspicious of the apparent source of the Viscount's oilfield deed due to it being unknown, he nonetheless thought nothing else of it, thinking it would be a good way to earn a lot of money, and because the Viscount ordered them to keep quiet.Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, Kojima Productions (2015). Afrikaner interrogator: ''All right, now you can both talk to me. Where did you get the information on the MPLA's oilfield rights?'' // Afrikaner interpreter: Now you will both talk. Where did you get the information on the MPLA's oilfield rights? // Male POW: We don't know anything, I swear! // Afrikaner interpreter: He says he swears they don't know anything. // Female POW: Believe us... // Afrikaner interrogator: You expect me to believe you attempted to contact the MPLA based on information from an unknown source? // Afrikaner interpreter: You mean you attempted to contact the MPLA based on information from an unknown source? // Male POW: We thought it was suspicious, sure. But we stood to make a lot of money out of it. // Afrikaner interpreter: It was suspicious, but they wanted to make a profit. // Male POW: We're businessmen... // Afrikaner interpreter: We're businessmen. // Afrikaner interrogator: ''Businessmen - what a joke! Failed mercenaries trying to skin this country.'' // Afrikaner interpreter: You're a joke, not businessmen. Failed mercenaries trying to skin this country. // Female POW: We didn't... we didn't try to hide anything... The viscount said to keep quiet for now, that's all... // Afrikaner interpreter: She says they didn't mean to hide anything, but the viscount made them keep quiet. // Afrikaner interrogatorr: ''Hah! So it's all the "viscount's" fault. Fine, the viscount can tell us the rest.'' // Afrikaner interpreter: Then the viscount can tell us the rest. // Male POW: W-wait! She had nothing to do with this! // Afrikaner interrogator: (swats the POW with the butt of his rifle) ''Don't worry. Hell has room for both of you.''

Eventually, the CFA, or more accurately, the Afrikaner portion of the CFA, uncovered evidence to what the Viscount did. He then was proverbally thrown under the bus by the Viscount to save his own skin by making it seem as though she and the other British officials had plotted the entire thing, exploiting the known feud between the British and Afrikaner members stemming from the Boer War, although this backfired and resulted in Viscount's own capture. He was then imprisoned at Kiziba Camp, with him and the others undergoing brutal interrogation due to the extreme circumstances Eventually, he was transferred over to the cage area of the camp at the orders of the camp's head interrogator, who also required an interpreter to act as a relay between him and the other prisoners, as he wanted to ensure he interrogated both him and the female prisoner. After the interrogator got what he needed, he ordered for both of them to be killed, despite the male prisoner's protests that the female prisoner had very little to do with the oilfield plot. Ultimately, Diamond Dogs, who were in the area to rescue the Viscount, proceeded to rescue him and the female prisoner despite being ordered not to by their client (who had secretly been the Viscount via a cutout). Upon being rescued, he as well as the female POW interrogated alongside him informed the deputy commander of Diamond Dogs, Benedict Miller, that the target, the Viscount, would be interrogated at night, and also the field of movement for the Viscount's prisoner interrogation transfer path, and presumably revealed enough details about what had occurred to have Miller and the other Diamond Dogs members deduce what had actually happened.

Behind the scenes
Crystal Squirrel is a character in Mission 14: Lingua Franca. He is first found right near the entrance of the camp closest to the landing area, although he is later found near the cages portion of Camp Kiziba alongside another prisoner, with it being explained in-game that he was in-transit to that area to ensure both are interrogated at the same time. He is the subject of two mission tasks: One involves rescuing him and the other POWs in addition to the Viscount, and the other involves listening in to their interrogations, including that of the Viscount. He technically has two interrogation sequences, once right at the beginning where the interrogator orders his men to move him to the cages next to the woman, and the other during the actual interrogation sequence proper. Rescuing him and/or any other POWs will result in the debriefing being extended to mention the Viscount's role in the incident. This article assumes Venom Snake rescued all the POWs. Crystal Squirrel is not named in the mission itself, but it is the name given to him when she is extracted and recruited into the Mother Base staff.

Even though the mission briefing explicitly mentioned him and the other POWs as being of British origin, Crystal Squirrel is shown speaking in a more American accent.