Jewelry Store

The Payday gang have hit this one a number of times. Washington is full of stores like this. They can be easily entered at the front and back, and are small enough that a well-rehearsed crew can quickly nullify any resistance.

Notes: Security in these places is laughable, but when they’re operating so close to the profit margin, what can you expect? An increase in local patrols might give us a faster heads up if the Payday gang pay a visit.

Harvest and Trustee Bank

Harvest and Trustee Bank has branches all over Washington. They are generally single-storey constructions, with heavy rear doors, roof access and cameras that are controlled from a locked security room. Most branches will employ three or four security personnel, and teller staff are trained to lower shutters in the event of a robbery.

Notes: Forget H&T doing much to put their house in order. I recommend the construction of new training facilities for our teams, model them on these banks. Harvest and Trustee don't seem likely to change their security, as all their losses are covered by the federal government anyway.

Shadow Raid

It appears that there was a burglary on a warehouse registered to Murkywater. However, there has been no official word on this, and our only lead on it comes from overheard conversations with Murkywater personnel we occasionally employ. Of note, however, is that the market was flooded with foreign banknotes and ancient artifacts shortly after.

Notes: The Murkies aren’t saying anything about what went down that night. Can’t blame ‘em. If they’re moving as much illegal contraband as we suspect, they wouldn’t want us sniffing around.

GO Bank

Roberts Bank has branches across Washington, mostly on the outskirts. They’re generally small buildings, serving the local community. The vaults in these branches are the smaller variety, and most often protected with a time-lock.

Notes: The gang may think these places are going to be easy to knock over, due to being on the edge of town. I’m impressed with the response times shown by our teams getting out there, but we need to improve. This kind of bank job is the bread and butter of the Payday gang, and we can expect to see more hits.

Diamond Store

Despite the great wealth on display, the ‘Gioielli di Famiglia’ protected its expensive store with only a modest amount of security. The building had several ways in and out, cameras controlled by a well-equipped security room and several guards.

Notes: Perhaps they thought that bringing their Milan chic to the heart of downtown would keep them safe from the Payday crew. If anything, this proves that Bain and his boys are willing to hit absolutely anywhere. This wealth of easily fenced stones made it a natural target for the Payday gang.

Armored Transports

Crime.net has coordinated multiple hits against GenSec's armored trucks all across the city. The jobs are well-planned. Hits have included the use of cranes, truck cabs and planting explosives to blow up downtown skywalks.

Notes: Based on the fact that Bain is planning against moving convoys, there is almost certainly a leak in the GenSec operation. This indicates that Bain may have operatives within that organization. I recommend assisting GenSec in any way we can to help plug that leak.

Train Heist

Civilian trains are often authorized to carry sensitive military equipment, providing they can provide the appropriate security. This train was stopped by hacked signal boxes. It was shipping a prototype RC1 automated turret.

Notes: If the army brass doesn’t want to lose more of its experimental ordnance, it needs to stop handing it over to these civilian outfits. Who the hell knows what else Bain might be picking up?

Mallcrasher

Based on the security footage, this appears to be an act of focused vandalism. The stores in the mall were specifically focused for damage, rather than theft.

Notes: Not the typical job for Bains’ crew. Got to be another motive behind this. Look into who stands to lose, and who stands to gain, from the damage here.

Four Stores

There have been several hits on these four stores in an otherwise-quiet downtown neighborhood. The MO of the perpetrators has been to execute a rapid hit-and-run, aimed at emptying cash registers and getting out fast.

Notes: Hard to see what Bain stands to gain from this, so I suspect it is as much a favor to keep a contact sweet. This area has deep connections with the Russian community, so it is possible that these four stores are caught between two squabbling Russian mob-bosses.

White Xmas

Late on 12/24/2014 a small civilian aircraft suddenly radioed a mayday. As there was no flight path submitted, and it must have been flying very low to have not registered on ATC radar, SWAT teams were dispatched to investigate. What they found was the Payday team attempting to extricate a disoriented pilot from the scene. Later it was revealed that the plane was rented by a fake company, and that the black box recorded a collision with an unknown flying object

Notes: If the Payday gang were there, there must have been something in with that cargo. Based on the low-level flight, my guess is that it was a smuggling run - cocaine, perhaps guns. Security at these small local airfields needs tightening.

Ukrainian Job

This appears to have been a jewelry store job, similar to many others committed, though the goal was very specific - a diamond tiara secured in a safe. This tiara was being held for Dmitri Volkov, and was apparently intended to be worn by his wife at their wedding.

Notes: If it wasn’t for the people who might get caught in the crossfire, I’d be happy to let these mobsters take shots at each other over their petty squabbles.

Meltdown

The warehouse beside the docks is registered to the Murkywater Private Security company. We were alerted to an incident there by a phone call from a private citizen. It is unknown what the Payday gang were able to remove from the premises.

Notes: It’s telling that it took a guy nearby, hearing gunfire, to make the call and not the Murkies themselves. That means they don’t want us to know what was taken, and that scares me. I recommend applying more political pressure on those mercenaries. It could be something important.

Aftershock

Shortly after the recent quake that devastated much of southern California, two shipping trucks, left stranded on the freeway, were robbed. The trucks belonged to a Seattle-San Francisco-Los Angeles shipping company called Kowalski & Hutch. They claimed their client was a Russian businessman, but before investigators could get more details the offices were burned down and all records destroyed.

Notes: Of all places to appear, we could never have predicted the appearance of the Payday gang in LA, but there those bastards were. Seems to be a straightforward hit on a couple of trucks, though what could be so precious that it would get Bain’s crew all the way out to the West Coast.

Nightclub

The Tasteful Club is a routine stop for our patrols on Saturday nights. The calls are mostly related to drunk-and-disorderlies. Owned and managed by Dmitri Volkov - a known snitch who handed Vlad Kozak to the authorities - we also suspect that it hosts illegal gambling. It appears that the Payday gang stole a large sum of money from the safe in the managers office.

Notes: Normally, I wouldn’t give two hoots for gangsters shooting each other up, but the Tasteful is a public place, which means civilians might get caught. And why are they targeting this particular Russian - maybe a connection with a rival?

Stealing Xmas

It started with an unknown person behaving suspiciously in the street and being challenged by patrolling police officers. The suspect fled and disappeared near the Midtown Mall. Shortly after, what appeared to be the same person was apprehended inside the mall itself, incompetently disguised as Santa Claus and extremely inebriated. As officers were trying to question him, the Payday Gang suddenly appeared at the mall, freeing the prisoner, shooting the mall to pieces, killing police officers and stealing various seemingly random items from the shops. They finished off by blowing the roof open with explosives and airlifting themselves and the prisoner out along with the Mall’s enormous Christmas tree.

Notes: This is a puzzling one. There are so many questions here: Who was the mysterious man in the Santa costume? What is his relation to the clowns? Why did they risk extended confrontation with the police in order steal minor items from the shops in the mall? And the tree?

Watchdogs

This operation was conducted in cooperation with Hector Morales. The Payday gang were originally contracted to provide escort for a batch of Morales’ coke. The real purpose, however, was for them to be in a place and time of our choosing. Unfortunately, the Bureau underestimated the gang, who fought their way out of the ambush. However, it does not appear that the gang suspected the involvement of the Bureau. Morales directed them to a rendezvous at the nearby docks, where a second attempt to apprehend them was made.

Notes: If there was ever a perfect opportunity to nail the Payday gang, this was it. Packed into a van, surrounded, we should have ended this there.

Firestarter

This appears to be aimed squarely at the interests of the Mendoza cartel. A private airfield that was owned by a holding company, a raid on our own regional offices and the destruction of a large cache of currency at a Harvest and Trustee Bank.

Notes: Bain and Crime.net are all over this but I suspect it is a contract job. The Sinaloan cartel have been warring with the Mendozas for years. Are the Sinaloans linked with Bain?

Rats

A number of high-ranking Mendoza cartel members were assassinated while being escorted out of the country under armed guard. These South Americans had cooperated with our field agents, and a deal had been worked out that would see their safe passage in exchange for information on the Sinaloan cartel. It is possible that this assassination was also linked to two other incidents - a meth-operation in a forest shack, and a shoot-out in a neighborhood ruled by The Cobras gang.

Notes: Another war between the cartels. These things get bloody, fast, and, even though they’re shooting at each other, we have to practice zero tolerance. The Mendoza’s were almost in bed with the Bureau too. The failure to protect them not only means we lost a valuable contact, we’re also going to find it harder to convince any other rats in the future.

Big Oil

Professor Rossy suffered a serious burglary at his secluded laboratory. He is a highly respected physicist, who has spent years trying to convince the scientific world of the viability of cold fusion - the cheap generation of enormous amounts of power without radiation. The mansion that houses his laboratory is in a remote area, and not easy to reach.

Notes: I smell the spoor of the Hill on this one. From what we can gather, Prof. Rossy was on the verge of something truly remarkable. If he has finally made a breakthrough, it would be worth a lot to the right - or wrong - people. This one might lead me to a tasty catch, possibly proving Crime.net’s political connections.

Framing Frame

The Capitol Art Gallery reported the burglary of several paintings from an exhibition of new Singaporean artists. Questioning the usual fencers dealing in such art drew a blank, but these paintings were later found in the apartment of a well-respected Senator.

Notes: This has dirty political fingerprints all over it, and shows just how connected Bain and Crime.net has become. Hard to say who benefited the most from this. The fallout saw a shake-up that had Capitol Hill playing musical chairs. I’m sure one of those senators, congressmen, governors made good on this. I suspect this was the work of the Payday gang, which shows they have the brains to hatch a political scandal unseen since Watergate.

Election Day

There were sightings of the Payday crew at the docks where the voting machines for the Mayoral elections were being stored, as well as at the warehouse where they were transported.

Notes: Suspicious activity around the ballot machines potentially points to some crooked political crime, though perhaps this was Bains’ intention. In this town, any kind of suspicion could discredit a nominee.

The Big Bank

We have a room full of files detailing attempted robberies on this place, going back decades. However, not one has been successfully completed. The Benevolent take their security extremely seriously, and their preparations are some of the best we at the Bureau have seen.

Notes: Without giving them too much praise, Bains’ crew executed a text-book heist here. From the planning to the execution, it was a thorough job. This one should be getting taught at the Academy. The Benevolent is uncomfortably close to the White House, so I recommend tightening patrols around here.

Hotline Miami

An assassination attempt on Grigori Beria. A Russian mob boss known by the alias “The Commissar". His record shows that he has been involved in a range of criminal activity, including prostitution, drug manufacture and distribution, murder, and guns. The assassination involved two locations. Firstly, a motel on the outskirts of town, which was well-known to us as a hang-out for The Commissar’s men, and, secondly, a high-rise apartment block.

Notes: We can’t be seen to take sides. We gotta be merciless. Much as I’d like to let these two go at it, wipe each out, we have to go in. Maybe tactics aimed at mitigating casualties, because Bain’s crew left these places looking like warzones.

Hoxton Breakout

Security was very high as the prisoner - James Hoxworth - was being transferred from Hazelton Prison to his parole hearing. The Payday gang intercepted this transfer through the use of C4 explosives. They then escorted him through the streets. Soon after escaping from the reacting forces, they headed to the FBI headquarters at the Hoover building, where they stole a server.

Notes: The gang obviously wanted this guy back, and he obviously wanted something from us. If there’s one thing to learn from this, it is "never underestimate the Payday gang".

Hoxton Revenge

This incident regrettably occurred at one of the Bureau’s most secluded safe houses. Despite the level of security, the Payday gang was able to get through to the secured asset - a South American drug baron turned informant called Hector Morales - and eliminate him.

Notes: A real black mark on the history of the Bureau. The best security we could provide, and the clowns went right through it. And the dead rat? Well, he was one of the few that might have delivered Bain to us. We lost a shot at a clean prosecution, but no-one will cry over the corpse of Hector Morales.

The Diamond

The McKendrick Museum of Ancient Arts sits beside the Mall, and its exhibitions draw huge numbers of tourists to the city. The display of The Diamond was its biggest draw. The Museum is a solid building, with only a limited number of options for breaking in. In addition to the theft of the Diamond, several artifacts from other exhibitions were taken.

Notes: Never saw the appeal in a shiny rock, but I understand the appeal of its value to Crime.net. We need to brief institutions on proper security. A handful of underpaid mall cops aren’t going to cut it. Further, need to look into who could fence a stone with this kind of value. Would require someone with very special connections.

Golden Grin Casino

The Golden Grin is one of the premier casinos on the Las Vegas strip. From the report submitted by the LVPD, it appears that the Payday gang came very prepared for this one - zeppelins, inside men, limos and a custom-built drill so big it needed heavy power and coolant. But, given all of this, the owners are being very cagey about what they Payday gang took. “They ripped the heart outta this place," an employee was quoted as saying, though, as yet, no insurance claim has been filed.

Notes: It’s way out of where they usually operate, so I’ve instructed my team to offer any assistance required by the Nevada police. All the evidence we can pull on the Payday gang will be valuable. But this job worries me. Not only was it one of the best planned and executed heists they’ve pulled, it means they’re looking beyond the capital.

The Bomb: Dockyard

A Croatian ship, the Moretta, commonly hauls a cargo back and forth from Split, Croatia. Background checks into the registry checked out, and it was authorized to transport military materiel. When this incident occurred, it was carrying a shipment of thermobaric explosives.

Notes: The Docks have always been a hotspot for crime. The amounts of drugs, guns and money that have illegally passed through those waters is incalculable. Given the origin of this cargo and the foreign crew, there is a chance that this heist originated overseas, most likely from Croatia. This could indicate that a foreign contact - possibly Horvat - is now working with Crime.net.

The Bomb: Forest

Trains ferry a huge amount of cargo from the docks to destinations inland. The train tracks are often vulnerable to sabotage, especially around the single-track bridges.

Notes: The wreckage at the site was enormous. I’m impressed with how fast our units got out there to engage them. Almost as fast as the ambulances that came back. The Payday gang are increasingly operating outside the city limits - this could be a worrying trend.

Art Gallery

The Capitol Art Gallery is one of DC’s leading galleries, hosting exhibitions ranging from 17th Century Swedish masterpieces to modern Singaporean pop-art. This burglary saw the disappearance of several modern masterpieces. Art crime has always been very lucrative. Theft, smuggling, and forgery have driven an insatiable black-market.

Notes: The gallery is a compact and highly porous facility, with multiple ways in and out. The skylights seem to be particularly vulnerable. Seems like the notoriety brings visitors, so maybe the gallery isn’t interested in boosting security.

Scarface Mansion

A Miami Beach mansion rumored to belong to the Sosa Cartel was hit in the early hours of the morning. One of the bodies identified on the scene bore a strong similarity to photos of Ernesto Sosa, believed to be the Cartel’s top man in Miami. Confiscated security footage identified the attackers as the Payday Gang.

Notes: What was the Payday Gang doing in Miami hitting the Sosas? We’ll have to partner with local law enforcement and investigate what the connection is.

The Alesso Heist

The GenSec Arena was supposed to be GenSec’s flagship - it’s where they were showing off their new Investment Safe. The incident occurred on the same night that Swedish DJ, Alesso, was giving a concert.

Notes: This shows that the clowns like to be cocky. While they earned a huge fortune, GenSec was losing theirs. Looks like they had help from an inside source too. We can’t have GenSec getting suckered like that - recommend that they do a full sweep of all personnel with backstage access that night.

Counterfeit

After arresting Mr. Summers and Mr. Jones, it was discovered they had been running a money printing operation for years in Pensacola, Florida. Embarrassingly enough, the Police Department down there had no idea this was going on and some of them even said they would never have been caught if it wasn't for the PAYDAY gang. Thankfully, that shit-fest is out of our jurisdiction, so we can't get any blame for what went down.

Notes: Mitchell Summers and Wilson Jones. These cunning assholes had been running a rather impressive counterfeit operation from a basement in the Pensacola suburbs, for god knows how long. It's not the PAYDAY gang's usual MO to work outside of Washington, which tells me they knew the trip South would be worth it. Not much I can do with this information, except assume that there isn't really any kind of crime they wouldn't do.

Cook Off

This unoccupied shack in the forest was supposedly condemned. City records indicate it was structurally unsound and due for demolition. Its remoteness made it perfect as a place for criminal activity. Investigation showed that it was used as a makeshift meth lab. The compact structure with many windows provided a great many options for providing well-covered fire into the approaches.

Notes: This job shows exactly how tough this gang is. Despite throwing wave after wave of SWAT teams at them, they managed to hold that shack like a bunker, and produce enough meth to flood the streets with ice.

First World Bank

Conducted early in the morning, this bank job carries all the hallmarks of a classic job by the Payday gang. Forcing their way through to the rear area, the gang used thermite to melt their way down to the vault interior. As police forces gathered outside the front, the gang used C4 explosives to blast through to the neighboring office and made their escape before local commanders knew the heist was over. Inside help is suspected and we are currently investigating the backgrounds of the staff for likely collaborators.

Notes: Why the hell weren’t we watching this one? Jesus Christ, one of the biggest banks in the DC area - of course they were going to hit it. And that escape…just shows how rigid the thinking of our commanders is. Might be time to clear the decks there. Bain really caught us with our pants down and gave us a spanking we deserved for it.

Murky Station

A lot is still unknown to our police department when it comes to Murkywater, but we do know that they are very serious about the business they are conducting. Having a hidden train yard where they can operate freely is no simple task, but the mercenaries still manage to do it, and every time we catch up to them they have moved their operations before we can make any arrests.

Notes: We are well aware that Murkywater have operations all over the world, including these hidden train yards right here in the US where they can transport their goods in secrecy. This is not the first time the PAYDAY gang has meddled in the affairs of the mercenary organization, and it sure as hell won't be the last.

Boiling Point

The Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation is completely blocking us out from conducting our investigation on exactly what happened by the lumberyard, but we do have an informant telling us about a hidden laboratory and inhumane experiments taking place.

Notes: This is messy. Way too messy. Whatever took place in Russia we know that the PAYDAY gang were involved, but to what extent is still unknown and all our attempts to find the truth is getting shut down immediately. I have contacted McKendrick to see if he can pull any strings to further our investigation, but I'm not holding my breath.

Goat Simulator

Our officers arriving at the scene were shocked by the chaos that met them. The Payday gang was in a full-blown shootout with the Honduran cartel, with several goats running amok all over the neighborhood. Upon examining one of those goats retrieved from the scene, we found a package of cocaine inserted rectally in the animal.

Notes: These damned criminals are willing to do anything nowadays - smuggling coke using Goats? Anyhow, this is not like the Clowns. It was sloppy and poorly executed. Even though they got away with a big fortune, it doesn't fit their usual MO. Someone else was behind this. Someone with power and influence. The Russian guy we found hiding in a dumpster still hasn't given anything up yet, but we'll break him sooner or later.

Santa's Workshop

The industrial areas have long been havens for criminal activity, and the greater the decay in the buildings, it seems, the greater the crimes. We knew that there was a new supply of cocaine in the city, and were following various leads to its origin. From what we can gather from the remaining evidence this warehouse was being used to cut and package the product, before being distributed across the city.

Notes: These old industrial wastelands are breeding grounds for this kinda crap. And these bastards had their cutters dressed up as elves. What kind of sick mind dreams that up? Regardless, this amount of coke means that there is a new supply into the city. The clowns didn't leave much for us to go on, but perhaps we can find something to trace it back.

Car Shop

The Teuer dealership had recently received a shipment of the latest model, the Falcogini. The dealership building is a very open construction with many ways in and out. The robbery of the Falcoginis took place early in the evening, while the dealership was still open. Further, it appears that an explosion near the dealership allowed the thieves to avoid the busy rush-hour roads and into deserted tunnels.

Notes: The Payday gang are almost as dangerous behind the wheel of a car as they are behind the barrel of a gun. We’re going to need to invest a lot more in pursuit and interception if we intend to deal with the Payday gang on the road.

Biker Heist

Lion´s Den

The OVERKILL MC have been operating out of Washington D.C. for years, and like the typical biker MO, they proudly display their criminal lifestyle. We’ve had some extra eyes on their clubhouse on-and-off for the last two years, ever since we learned about their supposed affiliation with the man called the Elephant.

Notes: This is what we know: Tom "Rust" Bishop seems to have betrayed his former biker buddies for a chance to join the Clowns, pissing the OVERKILL MC off, making them retaliate by taking an individual by the name of Mike hostage, hoping that would make Rust come to them. Well, their plan succeeded and failed simultaneously. Rust did show up, but with his new allies by his side. An all-out war took place between the two factions, and our own men weren’t enough to stop them. In the end, the PAYDAY gang managed to free Mike the mechanic and escape.

Interception

Freight railroads are vital to the U.S. economy, and are often used to transport coal and oil across the country. The freight trains mostly have problems with the Freight Train Riders of America, a gang of homeless people who move about by freight hopping in railroad cars. But as far as we can tell, it is not like the OVERKILL MC has used freight trains to transport stolen goods previously. However, this incident will make us investigate the matter further.

Notes: Scott Sagano (the biker we arrested after the carnage at the OVERKILL MC clubhouse) provided us with information regarding an advanced type of weaponry being transported on the freight train. We knew the Clowns would show up, so I had all our men ready on standby to intercept the biker operation. Unfortunately, the combined firepower from the Clowns and the Bikers pushed us back, and we were unable to retrieve the weapon. We could only watch as the masked freaks escaped by helicopter.

Panic Room

A building in the projects was the scene of a major gunfight. As local police arrived they found the Payday Gang on the scene, and all hell broke loose. As our investigators analyzed the scene in the aftermath, it seemed the whole building had been torn apart using explosives. Someone was clearly looking for something big there.

Notes: These clowns are the worst. No telling what they were after here, but the damage to the building was very severe. Which just proves that they must be stopped, and soon - we can’t allow these marauders to wreak such havoc in our city any longer.

Brooklyn 10-10

A back street in Brooklyn, New York, was the scene of a major firefight between criminal elements. Local law enforcement were powerless to stop it. Nothing like it has been seen in the city for years.

Notes: Witnesses reported heavily armed individuals in clown masks on the scene. It sounds very much like the Payday Gang. It’s still unclear what they were doing there, since there was no robbery committed.

Yacht Heist

Attendees at a fundraiser party for Washington mayor McKendrick aboard a yacht in New York Harbor reported a suspicious-looking smaller boat approaching the yacht for a few moments and then leaving.

Notes: Probably nothing. But keeping an eye on this one given the Washington connection and the Payday Gang’s recent antics in New York.

Undercover

We were just about to arrest the crooked taxman, Adrian Sturr, when the PAYDAY gang intervened, opening fire at our officers on the scene. Our men could do nothing but watch as the vehicle Mr. Sturr was hiding in was lifted up in the air by usage of a crane, and dropped on an abandoned building across the street. SWAT was called in to storm the building, but the PAYDAY gang managed to hold them off long enough to get what they wanted. When our men finally managed to secure the building, Mr. Sturr was found barely breathing. The server was gone, and the monitor in the room showed that a large transaction of 25 million had been transferred to an untraceable account.

Notes: How the hell could the PAYDAY gang know this deal was going down? What kind of sources do they actually have? I shouldn't be surprised by the beating they gave Mr. Sturr, but that was brutal even for them. I need to find out how corrupt this city really is, because I can't get shit done working under these circumstances.

Slaughterhouse

A traffic incident on the southbound I-45 resulted in a convoy belonging to the independent military contractors, Murkywater, being diverted from its path. Shortly after, it appears to have been attacked, and the main truck was forced off the road and into the meat-packing district. From there, the Payday gang managed to extract several articles from the truck - though Murkywater will not reveal what was stolen.

Notes: Things are getting very heated between these two groups. Murkywater has operations all over the world, but they can’t fail to respond to these actions by Bain and his guys. Doubtless the Murkies will retaliate in some fashion. Perhaps we could coordinate with them?

Beneath the Mountain

Occasional government contractor Murkywater has recently bought up several old military properties, in the US and abroad. One of those is known as the Black Ridge facility. Formerly an Air Force bunker, Black Ridge now operates as a command center for Murkywater. It is well defended by their own special operatives and several of their operations are coordinated from there. The facility also provides training, intelligence and human resources.

Notes: We highly suspect this incident involved an inside man. Black Ridge is off the grid, much like Groom Lake, and highly classified. There is no way it would fall on the radar of a simple gang of clown-masked robbers. We do, however, have certain intel that suggests Murkywater has taken some interest in Bain and his crew. This report has been corrected for clarification, and to rectify several clerical errors.

Birth of Sky

Murkywater is an army, and an army demands logistics. The supply chain for Murkywater is very impressive. Ships and trucks keep the ammo flowing out (and, if rumors are believed, the contraband flowing back), but the real workhouse of their supply chain is the Z-170 "Zeus" cargo plane. Capable of carrying everything from tanks to infantry, when it is packed with ill-gotten loot it is a tempting target.

Notes: The clowns are bold, I'll grant them that. The clowns were obviously aboard from the beginning. This points to someone within Murkywater helping them out. Not that those mercenary bastards are ever likely to tell us. They close ranks fast. I'm sure if they ever find who is betraying them, wel... we'll probably never hear what happens.

Heat Street

The Payday Gang was sighted in a violent running gun battle through the streets of New York. It seems they were chasing someone up several streets and then escaped via helicopter.

Notes: The Payday Gang in New York again? It seems they were looking for someone special here. And were ready to fight an open street battle in Manhattan to get at that someone. Could this have a connection to the firefight in Brooklyn earlier this year?

Green Bridge

The Green Bridge blown to bits and several prison transports sawed open. It seems to have been the Payday Gang again. There were a number of prisoners missing, but it's hard to say who they were after - none of the missing had any obvious connection to the gang or any of their known associates.

Notes: Blowing up a major bridge just to break someone out. These guys are going far beyond anything ever heard of in US crime history. We must stop them, and soon!

Alaskan Deal

Something odd went down on a snowy evening at a deserted dockyard near Anchorage, Alaska. Observations by local authorities flagged an appearance in the area by known mercenary Vernon Locke, though the exact nature of his potential involvement remain unclear. Law enforcement survivors on the ground report possible Payday operatives leaving the area on a cargo ship that proved to be untraceable. The incident file remains open, pending further information.

Notes: Something is coming to a head, but I don’t yet know what. I can’t see how all the threads connect yet, but I know they are all laid out. After the Alaska event, rumors abound in the underworld of betrayal, but I haven’t been able to confirm anything. It’s damned frustrating.

Diamond Heist

The Garnet Building is one of the most prominent business centers in the DC area and the crown jewel in CEO Mr. Nathan Garnet’s business empire. Long rumored among high society (and criminals) in Washington to house Garnet’s personal fortune reserve of diamonds, the building has been a viable target for gangs like Payday to hit, and as recent events have shown, those suspicions were founded on very solid ground. Since it was hit, Garnet stock has plummeted, and speculations have arisen as to whether the Garnet Group can survive without reconstruction. At the time of writing this entry, the secretive Mr. Garnet has not made any personal (or public) announcements regarding the incident.

Notes: This goes to prove that the Payday gang is still, for all intents and purposes, a bunch of simple thieves, motivated by a bottomless greed. For all their notoriety, craftiness and skill, they’re just two-bit criminals at heart and that will be their downfall. The fact that they took the bait on this is perfectly in line with how we will eventually to stop them. The timing of this hit is a bit odd, though. There’s something “off" about the Garnet Group in all of this, but I just can’t put my finger on it yet.

Reservoir Dogs

There are many crime families in the United States and the Cabots are among the more notable, having been active for several decades. In order to obfuscate their activities and members, they adopt the practice of using color-coded monikers and a standard “uniform" consisting of a black suit and tie which, while it does make them stand out in a crowd, also makes it more difficult to gauge how many there are and single out specific individuals during a chaotic situation. They have nevertheless been adept at keeping a closed lid on their organization save for a few rare occasions. One of their specialties is known to be the theft and distribution of gemstones, which evidently made the Payday gang an ideal partner during a December 14, 2017 heist on a jewelry merchant in Los Angeles. The incident is still, at the time of this writing, being investigated by the local branch, which was in some fashion made aware of the heist beforehand, and thus could ensure that it did not unfold according to plan. (The L.A. office was not however, able to prevent the blood-bath that ensued.) Reportedly, an unknown number of surviving criminals (several of which bore Payday gang masks) evaded capture in vehicles and on foot with an undetermined number of gems. Also, as has recently been established, the heist coincided with an assault at a location in Washington D.C. that is suspected to have been important to the Payday gang.

Notes: L.A. office slow in responding to queries. Have yet to adequately explain how they knew precise details of the attack before it happened. Can find no official record of a tip- anonymous or otherwise. “Exhaustive" investigations undertaken by L.A. office have yielded little tangible. Not one single arrest.

Brooklyn Bank

In what appears to be a growing pattern of non-standard operational behaviors, the Payday gang unexpectedly hit the Brooklyn branch of the Harvest-Trustee bank on December 21, 2017. The specifics of this robbery are puzzling, as the Payday gang did not abscond with the bulk of the money in the bank, instead breaking open the floor of the vault to, it is suspected, recover some other item of unknown nature and value. The fact that the heist was carried out so close to the incident in Los Angeles may be coincidental, but the Payday gang is not known for spreading itself thinly across the country. Coordination with the Los Angeles branch on the matter has so far yielded very little.

Notes: Bank foundation poured early 20th c. Object must have been there a long time. No records of item in vault floor or other anomalies in building plans. Why change in focus? Possible connection to assault in D.C.?

Breakin' Feds

There has been a growing concern as to the security surrounding the Payday Task Force, and this incident is proof. Someone has managed to infiltrate our office and break into the evidence storage areas, taking with them some of the items seized in the raid on Congressman Simmons’ offices. While it is highly suspect that the connection is not mere coincidence, there has not yet been established a provable connection that would implicate the direct involvement of Mr. Simmons, who has since been released without prosecution pending. The involvement of the Payday gang has not been reliably established, but is highly suspect. Past links to the gang and Mr. Simmons have been investigated, but without firm results. In addition, our security experts have detected hacking attempts in our computer system from another, as yet unidentified, source. It is possible that the evidence we received regarding Mr. Simmons came from a corrupt party, with the intent of disrupting our operations, or to create a distraction to benefit the Payday gang in light of the disappearance of their leader, Bain.

Notes: N/A

Henry's Rock

We have been asked to investigate an incident involving government contractor Murkywater. Their facility at Henry’s Rock, where several top secret projects are being undertaken on behalf of the United States military, is suspected of being unexpectedly hit by the Payday gang. It is believed at this time that they were after technology from a past project, as the warehouse database systems were infiltrated during the heist. FBI Special Agent Brian Painter was dispatched to the facility in order to interview their Facility Chief. According to Murkywater, their internal operatives were successful in stopping the Payday gang from achieving their goal. The Facility Chief of Operations has also assured us that security will be improved to prevent any future incidents of this nature.

Notes: This report has been corrected from an earlier copy that contained several clerical errors due to miscommunication between departments.

Shacklethorne Auction

The Boston PD has sent us a report about an incident apparently involving the Payday crew during an unlisted auction of recently discovered antiques from the Shacklethorne Expedition shipwreck. It is not clear how this event is connected to the other incidents surrounding the Clowns at this time.

Notes: Even if they were of substantial value, the monetary gain in comparison to the difficulty of fencing the objects would not make sense. If they needed money, they would be looking for a juicier target.

Hell's Island

We have received a report by locals of suspected gunfire in an old abandoned prison owned by Murkywater on the west coast. Eyewitness reports report several helicopters in the area. However, none of this has been confirmed by local authorities, which makes further investigation difficult.

Notes: Not sure what to make of this. Murkywater has a lot of facilities they don’t openly admit to owning. Did this involve Bain somehow?

The White House

The Payday gang attempted to use the world crisis as an opportunity to enter and steal something from the White House. The audacity of their actions is remarkable, even for the Payday gang. It was also to be their downfall. Working with well-coordinated surveillance and tactics teams, the Clowns were intercepted and successfully stopped. In the brief firefight that ensued, all present members of the gang were killed. Payday mastermind “Bain", in a break from his usual M.O., is confirmed to have taken part in the operation and his body has been identified as one of those dead. Subsequent arrests were made to bring in the rest of the gang, effectively ending their reign of crime.

Notes: Those damn Murkies almost ruined this one with their clumsiness. Maybe it’s time to retire.