A Force to Recon With

A Force to Recon With is the third Darknet File in the Breach game mode of Deus Ex: Mankind Divided. This investigation concerns uncovering details of a Tarvos escort mission in Mexico.

This file is available after completion of A Life's Work. Completing this file permits access to the next file, New World Problems.

Plot
Las Aguilas, a human rights group, has learned that Tarvos has been hired by the La Garra cartel to provide an armed escort in Mexico for a shipment, which they believe to contain augmentations bound for a La Garra drug mill. According to Las Aguilas, La Garra forces their plantation workers into receiving augmentations for increased productivity. Las Aguilas plans to ambush the convoy, and has hired rippers to find details of Tarvos' escort protocol.

After locating a Tarvos billing record, the Ripper learns that Tarvos' current mission in Mexico, named "Operation Condor," actually concerns the Uribe-Velasco Charity rather than the La Garra Cartel. Fairbanks confirms that Uribe-Velasco is a legitimate charity. To learn more, the Ripper proceeds to uncover a tactical map of the convoy. Watchstan68, after analyzing the map and its cargo codes, informs the Ripper that Operation Condor is a humanitarian mission to bring supplies to a region of Mexico that was recently hit hard by a hurricane, and that it has nothing to do with La Garra or augmentations. According to Watchstan68, La Garra has been pressuring the Mexican government to prevent Tarvos from operating in Mexico, and it does not make sense for them to be working with La Garra.

Upon learning this new information, the Ripper attempts to talk Las Aguilas out off the ambush. However, Las Aguilas states that they received new information, from a certain other ripper—the same one that informed Las Aguilas about the convey in the first place, indicating that a La Garra hitman is being smuggled within the shipment. Therefore, Las Aguilas states that they are proceeding with the ambush.

After searching Tarvos' servers, the Ripper discovers suspicious encrypted information. ShadowChild believes that the information was corrupted by the Ripper mentioned by Las Aguilas, and that this other ripper is working for La Garra. With this new revelation, the Ripper confronts the other ripper, named Buddakan11, and destroys Buddakan11's avatar in the server.

Meanwhile, Las Aguilas carries out their ambush on the Tarvos convoy. Las Aguilas are outgunned by Tarvos and surrender upon seeing that the cargo only contained humanitarian supplies. However, Tarvos drones emerge and open fire on both Las Aguilas and the Tarvos personnel. Fortunately, the Ripper's victory over Buddakan11 allowed the Ripper to cause the drones to return to their storage bays. Las Aguilas thanks the Ripper for saving the lives of many people. Las Aguilas notes that had they destroyed the convoy, they would not have survived the public backlash that would have followed.

New report
''Turning now to Mexico, where a tense stand-off between a confused activist group and Tarvos Security Services has been narrowly averted. The conflict began when members of Las Aguilas – the activist group – accused the La Garra Cartel of hiring Tarvos to protect a shipment of black-market augmentations. They then moved to pull the trigger on Cartel plans literally, by engaging Tarvos in battle. Unfortunately, the confused militants were acting on false information: the shipment in question contained only humanitarian supplies destined for Mexico's hurricane victims. The situation could have become just another senseless massacre in the deserts of Mexico, but the quick thinking of Tarvos security officers saved the day. ''

''Now, Las Aguilas is struggling to maintain their image as the "only protector of the Mexican people," even as the Mexican government considers letting Tarvos establish permanent roots in their capital. ''

This is Eliza Cassan, reporting to you live -- from Picus.

Epilogue
The Ripper later receives a message from Buddakan11, who vows to make the Ripper pay for ruining Buddakan11's reputation. Buddakan11 also tells the Ripper that the Ripper's location would have been found and revealed to La Garra already, if not for the fact that the Ripper is being protected by ShadowChild.