Steven Heck

Intel:

Hong Shi was born in Hong Kong and spent much of his early life as a soldier in the Sun Yee On Triad. By the time of Shen Bai’s rebellion, he had reached the level of “Vanguard,” a senior operations lieutenant in the organization. Shi sided with Bai’s forces, and when Shen Bai offered him a position as Deputy Mountain Master (essentially his second in command), Hong Shi pulled up his roots and left Hong Kong for Taipei. Hong Shi remained Deputy Mountain Master for thirty years, essentially running the day to day operations of the White Oak Mountain as it grew into a massive criminal empire. When Shen Bai died 15 years ago, Hong Shi assumed the title of Mountain Master himself. His harsh, autocratic leadership style, while effective, has nonetheless led to growing discontent among his subordinates, and over the past decade and a half, he has had to deal with several uprisings and attempted breakaways. In every case, the leaders of the rebellion were dealt with brutally and publicly.

At present, three of Hong Shi’s “Red Poles” (lieutenants) have attempted to set up a breakaway faction. This schism comes at a bad time for Hong Shi, as the three lieutenants are popular with the rank and file, and their success could fracture the White Oak Mountain Triad and destroy its hegemony over the Taipei underworld. The defection followed shortly after Hong Shi made a business arrangement to supply arms and materiel to Al Samad.

Secret Fact: Hong Shi’s lieutenants did not defect over a dispute regarding profits, as the Mountain Master claims. They left the organization after Hong Shi murdered one of their number for suggesting that a business relationship with Sheikh Ali Shaheed was a bad idea. The membership of the White Oak Mountain does not know about this, and if it came out the information would likely assure Hong Shi’s downfall.

Intel Locations (2+1):

• Taipei (Contact Hong Shi) – Gained when you speak to Hong Shi.
• Taipei (Assault Triad Headquarters in Slums) – Gained from Hong Shi after blackmailing him.
• Taipei (Safehouse) – Purchased from the clearinghouse.

• Taipei (Safehouse) – Gained during your initial conversation with Mina.
• Taipei (Safehouse) – Purchased from the clearinghouse.
• Taipei (Retrieve NSB Data from Grand Hotel) – Gained from deleting Steven Heck’s dossier from NSB computer.