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| “ | We Never Sleep. | „ |
| ~ Pinkerton slogan |
The Pinkerton National Detective Agency, or simply the Pinkertons, are the main antagonists of the 2018 action-adventure video game Red Dead Redemption II, and the overarching antagonists of its 2010 sequel Red Dead Redemption.
Much like in real life, the Pinkertons are a private security guard and detective agency that formed in the 1850s. They could be hired to provide security for railroads, as well as hunt down outlaws, which is the most prominent and relentless action the Agency takes in the game.
Biography[]
It is known that the Pinkertons were present during the Blackwater massacre, where the Van der Linde gang tried to rob a ferry in that city, without success. The Pinkertons managed to assassinate three members of the gang: Jenny Kirk and the Callander brothers, Mac and Davey.
The Pinkertons are hired by magnate Leviticus Cornwall, who, enraged that the Van der Linde gang robbed one of their trains, orders the detective agency to catch Dutch van der Linde and his entire gang.
Their first physical appearance would be in Chapter 2 of the game. Arthur Morgan, an important member of the gang, is fishing together with four-year-old Jack Marston. When everything seemed to be going normal, Andrew Milton and his right-hand man, Edgar Ross, appear, confronting the outlaw. Milton offers Arthur a deal: If he reveals Dutch's location, he and his men will set him free. Arthur lies about it, saying that he doesn't know Dutch's location, to which Milton decides to tell Arthur that he was the one who killed Mac Callander, much to Arthur's anger. The two eventually leave, though Ross gets to tell Jack to enjoy fishing while he still can.
In Chapter 3 of the game, Milton and Ross would reappear, but this time confronting the entire gang, after the gang raided the Braithwaite Manor, leading to the suicide of Catherine Braithwaite. Milton proposes another deal again: If Dutch surrenders himself to them, he will spare the lives of the rest of the gang. Dutch pretends that he is going to go with them, only to then the gang pull out their weapons and signal them to stand down. Milton tells them that they are making a serious mistake and that the next time he returns, he will bring his men to kill them all, before leaving the place.
In Chapter 4, while the gang raided the Saint Denis bank, Dutch was confident that the Pinkertons did not show up. But due to Dutch killing the richest man in town, Angelo Bronte, the Pinkertons braced themselves for this moment. Milton appears, holding Hosea Matthews, Dutch's right-hand man, and orders them to leave the scene. Dutch tries to convince Milton to let Hosea go, but is useless, and Milton kills him with a gunshot to the chest. This sparks a shootout between the Pinkertons and the gang, where the gang can barely escape, with Lenny Summers also dying in the process.
After returning from Guarma in Chapter 5, the Pinkertons somehow find the gang's hideout, and Milton orders his men to shoot the cabin where the gang was located. The gang kills all the Pinkertons, but Milton manages to escape.
In Chapter 6, Dutch, increasingly mad because his plans begin to fail, decides to assassinate Leviticus Cornwall, because Leviticus was the one who financed the Pinkertons to catch the gang and that, with him dead, the Pinkertons would no longer have to chase them. But he was wrong. After robbing a train with a lot of money, Tilly Jackson appears and tells the gang that the Pinkertons have kidnapped Abigail Marston. Micah Bell convinces Dutch to abandon Abigail, as they have enough money to escape the country, much to Arthur's chagrin. Arthur and Sadie Adler decide to go to Van Horn to rescue Abigail, initiating a shootout against the agents. However, later on, Sadie would be tied up and Arthur would be held by Milton at gunpoint, weakened by his tuberculosis. At this, Milton decides to tell the truth to Arthur: Micah had been revealing information to the Pinkertons since the gang had returned from Guarma. At this, Arthur lunges at Milton, who is about to kill him, but Abigail, who somehow broke free, shoots Milton in the head, killing him instantly. Later, Arthur, Abigail and Sadie escape the city, assassinating several Pinkerton agents who were pursuing them.
Arthur would return to the gang's camp to confront Micah about his betrayal, but suddenly, the Pinkertons, now led by Ross, appear and, on Ross's orders, attempt to kill the entire gang on the spot. The gang managed to escape, but later it would disband and Arthur would either die from his tuberculosis or get killed by Micah, who also killed Susan Grimshaw for siding with Arthur.
Legacy[]
Edgar Ross, the right hand of the late Milton, would later be appointed the director of the Bureau of Investigation (BOI), founded to replace private detectives such as the Pinkerton and to end crime in the country.
Later, Ross and Archer Fordam would discover the whereabouts of John Marston, an important member of the gang, after deducing his role in killing Micah Bell. Ross would kidnap John's family, extorting him into capturing his former gang mates, Bill Williamson, Javier Escuella, and Dutch, thus beginning the events of the first game. John would dispatch them all, but Ross decides to later assassinate Marston himself to make sure he takes out all of Dutch's gang members.
Relationships[]
Allies[]
- U.S. Government
- U.S. Military
- Leviticus Cornwall
- Angelo Bronte
- O'Driscoll Boys (briefly)
- Micah Bell (formerly)
Enemies[]
- Van der Linde gang (arch-nemesis gang, disbanded)
- O'Driscoll Boys
- Native Americans
- Del Lobo Gang
- Murfree Brood
Trivia[]
- In January 2019, Rockstar Games' parent company, Take-Two Interactive, received a cease and desist letter from Securitas AB, parent company for Pinkerton, claiming that the use of the agency's name and badge imagery was a violation of their trademark; they additionally demanded royalties for each copy of Red Dead Redemption II sold under the threat of legal action. Take-Two responded by filing a complaint against Securitas AB, asserting that their usage of the Pinkerton name and imagery did not infringe upon the formers trademark because of the agency's strong association with the Wild West, and sought a summary judgment that the usage of Pinkerton in the game was a case of fair use. In April of the same year, Securitas AB and Take-Two withdrew their claims, and the use of Pinkerton imagery remains in the Red Dead Redemption II.
