Zoe Washington (also known as "the Socialite") is a target in The Ark Society mission in HITMAN™ 2.
Background[]
The Washington twins are wealthy socialites and heirs to a vast 3rd generation fortune. Their grandfather, reverend Wendell Washington, established a mega church empire and their father, Byron Washington III, is President of the Pax Mundus Foundation: a hugely influential conservative think tank - widely regarded as the cradle of climate change denial.
In college, Zoe came under suspicion of running a coke ring at Princeton, and her reputation was almost ruined, but the late superstar lawyer Ken Morgan got her off the hook with his now legendary "affluenza defense." In the wake of the scandal, the twins disappeared for a while to travel the world, seeking thrills and adventure. And after a chance encounter with world-famous treasure hunter Blake Nathaniel in the Congo, the twins developed a taste for fortune hunting.
Soon after, Zoe and Sophia hired a band of trigger-happy ex-CICADA mercenaries and began to prowl the world's most remote regions in search for ancient relics, with little regard for the indigenous populations. Several human rights organizations suspect the twins of annihilating an entire indigenous Amazon tribe, while searching for the lost city of Z, but the evidence was inconclusive.
Recently, the twins have focused much of their energy on leading the Ark Society, while they were entrusted after Janus' forced retirement. Intel recovered when Mr. Grey raided the Providence archive in New York indicates that the twins are not only ruthless but endlessly entitled - fully expecting to one day make Partners.
Curiously, they seem to have been appointed directly by the Providence Partners without Janus' or the current Constant's consent.Personality[]
Like her sister, Zoe is arrogant, spoiled and class-focused, often sneering at those who come from middle or working class backgrounds, even founding Ark members such as Janus himself.
Zoe appears to be the more cautious and level-headed of the twins, as seen not only when she observes the Aztec Necklace, worrying about Sophia making an attempt to steal it, but also if 47 sabotages Sophia's plan to discredit the Constant. If Zoe is still alive, she will talk Sophia out of triggering the kill-switch.
She is on bad terms with Blake Nathaniel, and dialogue between the two reveals he betrayed Sophia during a recent adventure, presumably their search for the Cloud Serpent. According to Zoe, the experience led to Sophia "losing her taste for adventure", with the sisters having spent the last three months dealing with the Ark Society. As a result, Zoe has become increasingly restless, seeking new methods for excitement, such as the electric shock device introduced when interviewing new members, as well as reworking the Phoenix ceremony, with her stepping into the burning effigy. If she survives, she will call Sophia and plead for her to leave the scheming and "corporate power bullshit" behind, instead wanting to return to adventuring and treasure hunting.
She is accompanied by an Elite Guard as she walks the grounds of the castle.
Trivia[]
- Originally, the Washington twins' family background had 6 generations of wealth (their father Byron also had a "III" suffix at the end of his name), which might have been plausible if they were descended from such early African-American millionaires as Madam C.J. Walker, O.W. Gurley, Annie Malone, Robert Reed Church, William Leidesdorff or Mary Ellen Pleasant. However, within two months of Hitman 2's release, their backstory was amended to have them born into only 3 generations.
- Zoe seems to have a more amicable relationship to the Constant than her sister has, with Edwards not only showing approval of her making initiations more "eventful" by incorporating an ECT device, but also offering to add some questions to the interview, as a way to find replacements for the operatives killed by Lucas Grey.
- Zoe is shown to hold a deep grudge towards Janus for opposing her and her sisters appointments as chairwoman, as revealed during In-game dialogue between her and an Ark Member referred only as "Raoul". It's revealed Zoe has decided to have Janus' body to undergo a special preservative treatment in order to be displayed as part of the Ark Legacy, which Rauol considers undignified, She assures him this is in accordance with Janus' wishes, but after leaving the conversation, she will mock him under her breath, suggesting the decision was made out of spite.
- in addition, if 47 impersonates Janus during his wake, Zoe will privately gloat while pretending to pay her respects, mocking him over the partners ignoring his opposition to the Washington twins on account of him being "rank and file" and "pedestrian middle class blah".
- Zoe was born around eight minutes older than Sophia, according to the castle staff talking near the catacombs.
- If held at gunpoint, Zoe will use largely the same dialogue as Sophia. She might suggest working together, or mock 47, claiming he isn't the first to think he had the better of her.
- There will be 3 outcomes when Zoe interrogates 47 disguised as an Ark Initiate; if 47 answers all four questions correctly, she will promote 47 as an Ark Member, making him wear the disguise without raising suspicion, and if he answers all four questions incorrectly, she will die being electrocuted with the ECT polygraph machine device, however if 47 gets a mix of right and wrong answers, then she wouldn't qualify him to be one member.
- At Princeton, she bullied a rival named Deirdre Fitzgerald to the brink of suicide.
- She is one of the three targets who can be killed with an Antique Cannon, the others being Silvio Caruso and Francesca De Santis.
- Throughout her routes inside the castle, there are a lot of window opportunities that she could be killed with suspended objects such as chandeliers and cages.
- When she talks to Blake Nathaniel, he jokes to Zoe that her eyebrows grew back after she singed them while stealing the Aztec Necklace.
- She will be an enforcer of the Butler disguise, together with Sophia Washington and the Constant himself.
- Zoe and her sister, as high class socialites with an interest in treasure hunting and exploration, may be a nod to Lara Croft from the Tomb Raider game series.
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