The Henchman

"The Henchman: I want out. I'm getting too old for this. I'm feeling too... soft. The Son: Too soft? Too soft for what? The Henchman: Shooting people. Putting my ass on the line. I've had a feeling I'm not gonna last much longer for a while now."

- The Henchman tells the Son he wants to quit the Russian Mafia.

The Henchman is one of the playable protagonists in the indie top-down shooter video game Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number. He is a prominent enforcer for the Russian crime syndicate based in Miami, where he served as the former right-hand man of his boss and friend, the Son. However, the Henchman sought to leave the Russian mafia once the Son instigates a gang war with the Colombians, further fueled by nightmares he has been having.

Personality
The Henchman, in general, is a stark contrast to many of the typical Russian mobsters seen in the series, having been given a unique appearance and story. Although his backstory isn't fully explored, it is evident that he has a strong friendship with the Son and has loyally served him for some time, continuing to speak to him with a respectful and polite manner even when the Son doesn't necessarily want him, and even re-pledges loyalty and goes along with his orders after voicing his objections towards going to war with the Colombians.

However, the Henchman is shown to be concerned and uncertain about where his criminal life might lead him in the future, with potentially not lasting much longer being one of his primary reasons for retiring from the Mafia. His eagerness to escape from his criminal lifestyle also seems to be fueled by greed, which is seen when he takes the duffel bag of money originally owed to the Son for himself and even dreams of driving a fancy red sports car on a highway instead of his mundane Fiat. Taking the money for himself immediately backfired on him though, as Mary decided to steal his car and took off with it for herself upon discovering it, which lead to his downfall.

Appearance
As with the rest of the members from the Russian Mafia, the Henchman wears a full white suit with a cyan shirt underneath his jacket. He appears to be a bald, dark-skinned middle-aged man with blue eyes and a clean shaven face, who also seems to lack eyebrows.

November 11th
Chronologically, the Henchman makes his first appearance on November 11th 1991 as a cameo in Hank's bar alongside many other playable characters. He can be seen having a drink with the Son, where he is regularly refilling the Son's shot glass.

November 18th
On November 18th 1991, the Son arranges a meeting with the Henchman regarding the Colombians. The Son informs him that the Colombians have just opened up a strip club and invited the Son to their party. Seizing the opportunity, he orders the Henchman to gather their weapons to take the Colombians by surprise. Knowing full well that the Son wants to start a gang war with the Colombians and hesitant about the idea, the Henchman immediately voices his reservations, reminding the Son that the Colombians are far more powerful than their organization due to their numbers. However, the Son says that the Colombians stole their territory the moment the Russian Mafia fell apart and eagerly wants to get back at them. Although the Henchman is worried that this might not be the convenient time to start a war, the Son tells him this their best opportunity, otherwise the Colombians will keep growing stronger. Once the Son questions his loyalty and who is in charge, the Henchman decides to comply with the Son's orders, who then leaves the Mafia's headquarters to head to the strip club.

After a hugely successful assault on the strip club, which resulted in the deaths of every Colombian there, the Son brings back several strippers to his headquarters and indulges in drugs, victoriously telling the Henchman that they should call for a celebration. The Henchman doesn't feel as excited though and isn't interested in partying with the strippers, telling his boss that he is heading back home to his girlfriend, Mary, after an exhausting day. Knowing the Henchman has gotten attached to Mary, the Son advises that he doesn't need to rely on women in his life and that getting too attached will be the end for him and warns him that his girlfriend might not share the same attachment towards the Henchman. Regardless, the Son tells him to go about his business anyhow and leaves him money on his desk by the elevator and mentions that he should consider using it to buy Mary something nice. The Henchman collects his paycheck and leaves the building, heading back home.

November 21st
On November 21st 1991, the Henchman is still left worried about the ongoing gang war between the Russian Mafia and the Colombians and decides that it might be time for him to retire from the crime syndicate. At the Russian Mafia's HQ, the Son notices the Henchman's discomfort and asks him what might be the matter. Before announcing that he wants to quit, the Henchman reassuringly tells the Son that they have both known each other for a long time and knows how much the Son has done for him. The Son asks him to spit it out instead of being polite about it, to which the Henchman tells him he wants to leave the business. He explains that he has become too old and soft to risk his life by killing people and is concerned that his time might run out eventually, further noting that he has been having dreams. The Son agrees to let the Henchman leave the Mafia on the condition that he does one final job for him: he asks the Henchman to perform a hit on a chop shop held by hoodlums on NW 32nd Avenue, since the hoodlums working their have withdrew their cut owed to the Mafia and are now backing the Colombians. The Henchman agrees to these terms, with the Son assuring him that he can rejoin the Mafia whenever he feels like it and offers him a sample of the Mafia's new drugs as a parting gift. The Henchman takes a few of the Son's pills before heading out.

Armed with a suppressed pistol, the Henchman arrives at the chop shop, which is heavily armed by petty thugs. He brutally and efficiently makes his way through the chop shop, killing every hoodlum there with little effort. His assault on the chop shop concludes when he kills a gang member packing a large amount of money from a vault into a duffel bag. Although the money was presumably owed to the Son before the chop shop became affiliated with the Colombians, the Henchman decides to take the money for himself and makes his way out of the chop shop. Once he leaves the building, he comes across one last worker at the chop shop, Andy. Taken by surprise, Andy asks who the Henchman, with the Henchman assuming that Andy tried to get away. With Andy left terrified and unarmed, the Henchman decides to spare him, telling him that the money he is holding just saved his life. Andy quickly flees the scene as the Henchman gets in his car and drives off.

The Henchman heads back to his house and greets Mary, who is watching TV. He informs her that he has quit the Russian Mafia, much to Mary's surprise. Although he doesn't explain the details to her, he tells Mary that he has a surprise for her that he will show her next morning before heading up to his bedroom. He reads a newspaper detailing news about the latest anti-Russian hate crimes, in which a family of five had been killed due to arson. He kicks the duffel bag underneath his bed before going to sleep. That night, the Henchman has a dream where he speeds down a highway in a red semi-convertible and carelessly lets money fall out of a bag in the backseat. He listens to the radio, which initially reports sunny weather and new hit music until it suddenly cuts to an emergency weather report regarding a storm heading towards Miami before cutting out entirely. At that moment, the highway becomes dark and littered with skeletons. Richard, a man in a Russian mobster's uniform wearing a rooster mask, suddenly appears in the backseat and compliments the Henchman's brand new car before asking where they are heading. The Henchman tells him he is driving far away and doesn't care where the road leads him. Richard is convinced that the Henchman has no idea where he is heading, stating that people who don't have any clear directions end up going in circles and notes that the road the Henchman is driving along does not look promising. Although the Henchman brushes off what he says, Richard asks him of the possibility that the road leads to a dead end and warns him that he might be closing in on it fast, further stating that deep down, the Henchman can feel it too. The Henchman doesn't understand, but Richard assures him that he will soon. Richard then smugly asks him one final questions: "Did you forget to bring your girlfriend?"

When the Henchman wakes up the following morning, he searches under his bed to find the duffel bag gone and Mary nowhere to be found. He calls for her, but does not get any reply. The Henchman then finds a note from Mary left in the kitchen telling him that she is sorry about doing this, and tells him that he would have done the same thing. The Henchman then heads outside to find his car gone. Knowing that Mary has taken the money and left him behind, he bows and shakes his head in sorrow before the screen fades to black.

Execution
Feeling overcome with misery, the Henchman enters a drug den by himself and decides to indulge in the Son's pills, rendering him heavily intoxicated on a couch. He attempts to use his cell phone, but accidentally dials the wrong number, prompting him to throw the phone across the room out of frustration. Suddenly, the Fans arrive at the drug den in their van and assault the building, killing every single hoodlum inside.

The Fans then confront the intoxicated Henchman, who simply points out things he is seeing in his intense hallucinations and notices their animal masks, asking if they are in the jungle. He further rambles in his drugged state that he is finished with the Russian Mafia. Ash grabs the Henchman by his legs and pulls him onto the table in front of him and Corey bashes the Henchman's eye in, rendering it damages and bloody. The Henchman seems to barely feel it in his intoxicated state, simply asking the Fans if he needs to go to the hospital after noticing that he is bleeding. He asks them to call Mary and says that he just wants to go home. The Fans ignore him and proceed to brutally beat him to death: Mark crushes the Henchman's hand under his boot, while Alex violently stomps on his crotch. Corey then delivers the final blows by repeatedly smashing the Henchman's head into a bloody pulp until there is nothing recognizable left of him. Ash then steals the Henchman's cell phone and flees the scene with the rest of the Fans.

The Table Sequence
The Table Sequence plays out each time the player starts a new game after already completing Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number. The Henchman is seen among the rest of the playable protagonists in the game, meeting with Richard in a dark room, who knows of each character's fates. He is sat next to the Son and remains quiet for the whole sequence. Richard says states that he has taken all of the playable characters here to this room to tell them all that it is all pointless and that they are all going to die regardless due to their wrong choices. The Son scoffs at this, telling him that he isn't afraid of dying. A sudden flash of light reveals the Henchman to be lying dead on the table with his head busted open, with Richard remarking that the Son doesn't seem to care about what happens to his friends either.

Trivia

 * Out of all of the playable characters in the game, the Henchman arguably gets the least amount of play time, as he is only playable during one level of the game.
 * The Henchman seems to share the same skin tone with the Russian soldiers from the Hawaiian Conflict in 1985, perhaps shedding some light on his background and where his experience came from.
 * As the Russian Mafia's HQ is, level-wise, first featured in the Henchman's only level, his choice of vehicle could be seen as a fake-out for people during their first time playing the game due to the Son's flashy Pontiac Firebird being the closest to the exit of the building, while the Henchman's actual vehicle is a standard looking Fiat further away from it.
 * "Execution", the level which depicts the Henchman's death, is one of the first levels of Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number to be shown prior to the game's release.