Slow As Sunday: Modern Warfare 2 retold (part three)

Spoiler alert! The following feature contains story elements from the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. This is not a review but an analysis of the story told in Infinity Ward’s Modern Warfare series. For those of you that will never play the game, skipped the “No Russian” mission, or missed the subtleties I encourage you to read on.

part one can be found here.
part two can be read here.

Taskforce 141 returns from their mission, having successfully retrieved the ACS module, only to find that the CIA’s undercover operation has gone awry. Now the whole of Russia is crying for retribution and General Sheperd is ordering 141 to find the information that connects the bullet that killed Pvt. Allen to Makarov and the wholesale slaughter at Zakaev International Airport. The good news is that General Sheperd knows where Makarov’s favorite gun dealer is, the bad news is that so does Makarov. Just as the 141 catches up with Alejandro Rojas in Rio de Janeiro a conflict breaks out. Suddenly 141 is chasing Rojas while fending off armed militia in a chase that leads to a favela, a.k.a. a slum, just outside the city. Captain McTavish finally apprehends Rojas, but the information gained through his interrogation reveals little of the physical connections between Makarov and the Zakaev incident. What the team does discover is the location of and serial number for a prisoner in Russian custody that Makarov has expressed hatred toward.

Before the taskforce can be extracted and use this new intel, the Russian military invades United States soil. A carefully coordinated attack by air by-passes early warning systems. 141 was too late in retrieving the ACS module and now the Russians have used the encryption module to slip in undetected. Sergeant Foley and his Army Rangers, who have recently returned from Afghanistan, engage this new threat and defend civilians as they are evacuated. During there efforts, Foley is contacted by Gen. Sheperd and ordered to escort a person of importance to safety. Fighting heavy resistance, the Rangers mange to push through but find the MVP dead and an open briefcase besides his corpse. The contents are picked up by Private James Ramirez and remain and mystery for the rest of the story.