Don Archibald Yates is one of the four secondary antagonists of HITMAN™ III, and is a lawyer, Providence Herald, and the legal counsel for the Partners. Yates appears as one of Agent 47's targets in the HITMAN™ III mission The Farewell.
Background[]
The son of New York real estate mogul Archibald Yates and business executive Helena Yates, née Castro of the famed wine-making Castro family in Argentina. Don Yates and his younger brother Zachary grew up privileged on the Upper East Side of Manhattan.
Casting his political aspirations aside with trademark lack of sentimentality, Yates founded a law firm with two of his closest friends, the dapper Ken Morgan, and the shy, analytical Theodore Kohn. Yates and Morgan would be the outward faces of the company, representing their clients in court, while the reclusive Kohn would specialize in tax law and handle the financial services side of their operation.
Morgan, Yates & Kohn quickly amassed an impressive client roster--their breath-taking unscrupulousness making them the go-to law firm in the "greed is good" downtown era of the 1980s. Yates and Morgan, in particular, rose to fame and notoriety when they successfully acquitted investment bank Milton-Fitzpatrick of illicit trade charges by extorting key witnesses. This audacious feat brought the firm to the attention of Providence which, unknown to Don Yates, already controlled his father's real estate trust.
By the 90s, Morgan, Yates & Kohn had become the most powerful law firm on the East Coast. Vilified by progressives as an instrument of pure corporate evil, these power lawyers would defend their wealthy clients by any means necessary, including intimidation, bribery, false evidence, entrapment, character assassinations, and flat-out murder. Their accolades include Ken Morgan's now legendary "affluenza" defense of murderous socialite Chelsea Whitmore, their masterful team defense of Kronstadt Industries after the Tungan Valley incident and Yates' shock acquittal of the Van Orten Tobacco Company following their indictment for spiking the ground water in sub-Saharan Africa with nicotine to boost their dwindling customer base.
Early in the 2000s, Yates fell in love with Argentinian top diplomat, Valentina Morales. Brilliant and equally ruthless in her pursuits, she and Yates have since enjoyed a long romantic and intellectual partnership. However, in 2016, Valentina was caught up in a political scandal which put an abrupt end to her career. She reluctantly moved home to Argentina to manage her ancestral vineyard, which the Yateses had long been running on the side, and Yates, now well into his 60s, began considering his own retirement from the firm. But history had different plans.
First came the unexpected death of Ken Morgan in Bangkok and the subsequent "months of terror" at the hands of Lucas Grey and his militia. Then, in the wake of his kidnapping at the Isle of Sgàil, Arthur Edwards approached Don Yates, indicating that a "change in management" may be imminent. Once the Providence partners were dead, Edwards would assume control of all Providence assets and he offered Yates the position of Constant--in exchange for setting up Edwards' new supra-national corporate entity.
Yates, whose ambition never softened with age, jumped at the opportunity. He announced his retirement from Morgan, Yates & Kohn and began prepping for his new position as the third Constant of Providence.
Don "Cojones" Yates is a shark of a man; elegant, charismatic, and deadly, his billion-dollar smile hides rows of jagged teeth. Although he is a man of words, he commands a powerful and intimidating presence. He is a man of refined tastes, an oratorical genius and master schemer, and he will stop at nothing to achieve his goal.
And momentarily, the only person who stands in his way is Diana Burnwood.Description and Behavior[]
Yates is initially found in the backyard of his villa with his wife Valentina. Yates expresses his concerns about Edwards making Burnwood the next Constant, with Valentina offering him advice in turning the other Heralds against her. He will then head to the villa's balcony, reading over a letter from Edwards regarding Burnwood. He will occasionally make phone calls in his bedroom or practice a speech in front of a mirror. When Aron Ford Jr. arrives, Yates will occasionally check in with him regarding his research. If the asado pit is lit, Yates will give a speech before greeting guests at the party. If the winery pump is sabotaged, Yates will rush to the winery and chew out the workers.
Yates has arranged a wine tour for Burnwood, Tamara Vidal and Corvo Black. After the wine tour is finished, Yates will greet them and ask for the 1945 Grand Paladin to be delivered to the basement.
During the Herald meeting, he disparages Burnwood as a traitor responsible for the deaths of several Providence operatives. He gets the Heralds' approval to kill Burnwood, and will have Vidal executed for opposing him. If 47 intervenes, Diana manages to stab him with a Letter Opener. 47 has the option to finish Yates off or to leave, causing him to bleed out.
Personality[]
Don Archibald Yates is ruthless and persuasive. He has proven in the past that he is willing to destroy anybody, even the career of his own wife, in order to win. He intends to murder Diana, against the wishes of Arthur Edwards, and will persuade the other Heralds to go along with this scheme.
If he is held at gunpoint, he will either attempt to convince 47 that he is a harmless retiree looking to spend his final years with his wife, or concede having been outmaneuvered by Diana Burnwood, remarking that "I'd be embarrassed if I wasn't about to die".
Despite also sabotaging his wife Valentina's career and being unapologetic when confronted, Don still appears to love her. After being stabbed by Diana, he will beg them not to let Valentina see him. He will also get upset if the wine pump is sabotaged and accuses the workers of "pissing on her ancestral vineyard".
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- A picture depicting an earlier design of Yates can be found on the conspiracy board in Freedom Fighters. It shows a vastly different design, with Yates being a bald black man wearing a gray suit. While Yates is never referred to by name in the mission, the picture is named internally as "don_yates_picture".
- Some players have drawn comparisons between Yates and former US President Donald Trump, both men being New Yorkers with political ambitions, the name Don and a wife of foreign descent. Ironically, Yates shares a surname with former US Attorney General Sally Yates, who Trump fired over conflicts over a travel ban. Yates also bears a faint resemblance to Trump's father, real estate mogul Fred Trump.
- In the "Closing Statement" mission story, if ignored by 47, Yates will eventually bleed to death after being stabbed by Diana. This would make him the first murder Diana personally committed.
- If all NPCs have been killed in the entire mission, he would go to his shrine and he would eventually kneel and pray in there.
- During Death in the Family, Alexa Christine Carlisle will call Yates to complain that sending their junior partner to sort out the legal mess in Edwards' wake instead of himself is grossly negligent of his duties as the primary attorney to the Partners.
- During Situs Inversus, Dr. Nicholas Laurent will call Don if he discovers Erich Soders killed his father but is not under the influence of medicine. Laurent will talk about how Don's clients, which are Providence, want Soders to stay alive.
- Don is the only target in Mendoza that appears in both Elusive Target missions as a non-target NPC. In Mendoza Elusive Target missions, Diana Burnwood and Tamara Vidal both don't make their appearances.
- One of his unique kills. pushing a pen into his eyes, is the same as that of Marco Abiatti, Craig Black, Mark Faba, Galen Vholes, and Max Valliant.