National Guard & the Feds
It’s a possibility that Gabriel’s understanding with the Corigan is preventing the Governor from sending the National Guard in. Given VAMCorp’s megacorp status, I don’t think that’s entirely out of left field. They’re rich, they’re influential, and they have a significant presence in Chicago, regardless of whether they have actual dirt on the Governor.
There’s also a possibility that the FBI are trying to deal with it themselves in an attempt to prevent themselves from looking too stupid, but I imagine they’d (especially the leadership, not so sure about Reville) be in favour of bringing in the National Guard. But I would find it odd if the National Guard didn’t make an appearance in one form or another. I also don’t know much about Illinois Law Enforcement, but would the State Police also get involved too? I guess if they would have, the Governor could also be stalling their intervention as well.
The other option is that the Outfit/Cartels have endemically infiltrated the Illinois State Police, National Guard and State Government and that’s causing the lack of intervention. Which isn’t impossible either, given prior statements that the Cartel has moles in the FBI, but moles are different from agents who are willing to cause massive disruption.
Either way, even if the National Guard isn’t coming in, private companies in the city are going to bring in security companies to try and protect their stuff. The FBI route so far seems to show the Federals reinforcing their ranks with ATF and DEA, so I wouldn’t be surprised if they called in more FBI assets from afar. There’ll probably be more US Marshals around too, not least because the Federal courthouses are probably going to get hit.
Gabriel and Collateral Damage
I think Gabriel had to know that the plan would result in a pile of civilian bodies. How could it not? Even if there were zero direct collateral casualties, there were bound to be indirect casualties. And how could he not know, given his position and attributes? He possesses a great deal of culpability in bringing all the Archangels together in Chicago. While it was the Cartel which fired off the first shot of this current business (and are far more blasé about collateral than the Archangels were), it was also escalation. An escalation which may have been necessary for the Archangels to maintain their presence in Chicago, but an escalation nonetheless.
Disruptions to water, electrical, medical & rescue services, which will result in deaths. That stunt the Archangels did in the hospital has probably resulted in a mountain of law enforcement outside every medical facility in the area, which is going to cause delays, and thus deaths, not to mention the capacity taken up by law enforcement casualties. Even in the last game, the FBI PC sees the piles of wounded in the hospital. In addition, every law enforcement officer and security guard is going to be twitchy as hell.
On a similar note, I liked the short snippet in the FBI route of the demo, where the Cartel tries a hit on you. The mother with her child being caught in the crossfire. I think that, seeing the direct consequences of the fighting, was far more impactful than any amount of prose.
And that’s going on across the city. And while the Outfit and Cartel’s trying hits on Archangels, the FBI, the CPD and everyone they have beef with, they’ll also be shooting up innocents who have “wronged” them somehow or who have unfortunately drawn suspicion to themselves. The Archangels’ ability to hit them where it hurts again and again will mean rampant paranoia in their leadership, not only in their upper ranks but the lower ranks too.
I think it makes sense, though, Gabriel’s prior stance on civilian casualties and the inevitable fallout of the war with the Outfit/Cartel. Given the angel stuff, I’ve seen him as trying to play up this “angel of retribution” ideal. A zealotry that will not tolerate that which is anathema to him, and will show no mercy to them. But it’s a zealotry that allows no room for equivocation, and in his crusade, will willingly turn a blind eye to the suffering of innocents at one moment while accusing those who casually perpetrate it at another. And there’s little which can dissuade him, given his martyrdom complex.
Granted, all of that is speculation and I’m a strident anti-trioist.
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