Kaufman

"They mentioned a name, 'Kaufman'."

―Max Payne to Jim Bravura.

Template:CharacterInfobox

Kaufman (unknown - 2003) is the feared leader of Vladimir Lem's Squeaky Cleaning Company hitmen and commandos.

In 2003, he gets some assassination jobs from from Lem, including assassination of Annie Finn, spying on and killing Max Payne, and assassination of Corcoran and other members of the Inner Circle.

Kaufman and his men succeed in killing Finn, but they are attacked at Finn's warehouse by Max Payne. Kaufman manages to escape him, driving away in a black van and attempting to run him over.

Around a day later, Kaufman sends his men to assault Payne's apartment building, after spying on him for a few weeks. With the help of some neighbors, Max guns down the cleaners.

His third job is to assassinate Inner Circle member Senator Corcoran at the latter's skycrapper, a job in which he succeed.

Following the arrival of Payne and Mona Sax to the skycrapper, in attempt to save the now deceased Senator, Kaufman decides to finish off Payne himself. Coming out of an elevator, Kaufman and his cleaners engage in a gunfight with Max, only to be killed afterwards.

Even with his death, the Cleaner Company does not disband, and the cleaners continue to work as hitmen, possibly getting direct orders from Lem himself.

Biography

Background

Kaoufman's life prior to the events of the cleaner case is unknown. Sometime, between 2001 and 2003, after Vladimir Lem founded the Squeaky Cleaning Company as a front for hitmen and hired guns, Kaufman joined him, eventually becoming the field leader of the Cleaners.

Many of the cleaners developed a healthy respect for Kaufman and one cleaner even warned another that he is "a bad motherfucker" in order to persuade him to follow Kaufman's orders.

Leading the cleaners

"Get in! Go! Go!"

―Kaufman as he escapes the warehouse.

By 2003, Kaufman is still the leader of the Cleaners, and sends them to to take care of Lem's enemies and targets.

a draft on Cleaner Case. Kaufman's name is written in the bottum.

Kaufman orders attack on Lem's warehouse, and the murder of Annie Finn. At the time his men assault the warehouse, Max Payne, an NYPD detective arrives to scene and fights Kaufman's men, but fails to save Annie. Kaufman and his men later escape in a black van, and attempting to run over the detective, who is saved by his partner. At that time, Max didn't see Kaufman, only hearing his name.

Kaufman later orders his men to attack Max Payne's apartment building, and tells them that he want Max dead. The cleaners attack Max's building, but with the help of some neighbors, he manages to kill all of Kaufman's men and escape. After killing the last cleaner, Max sees the same black van drive away, presumably driven by Kaufman.

By the time of these events, Max already began a case based on the cleaners attacks, putting Kaufman as a main suspect along with the Italian mobster Vincent Gognitti, believing the two to be working together. However, except Kaufman's name, Max had no clue about his identity.

Death

"Find him. Take care of him."

―Kaufman to his men as they come out an elevator.

Kaufman and his men come out an elevator.

Under Lem's orders, Kaufman and his men launched an attack on the skyscraper where Corcoran, a member of the Inner Circle and an associate of Lem's rival Alfred Woden, was located, and killed him. Mona Sax and Max attempt to save Corcoran, only to find him dead in a pool of blood, behind his desk.

As Max fights the cleaners, Kaufman decides to take care of buisness personally. After Max killed two cleaners who took position next to an elevator, Kaufamn and his men walk out, and Kaufman orders his men to finish off Payne. Moments later, a large shootout begins, resulting Kaufman's death by Max.

Even with his death, the cleaners continue their job as hitmen, now getting direct orders from Valdimir Lem himself.

Personality and traits

Kaufman.

Much of Kaufman's personality wasn't revealed. It is known that, compared to other cleaners who act a bit more comical, Kaufman seems to be more of a cold and serious person. He is both respected and feared among the cleaners, and was called a "bad motherfucker" by one of them. They follow his orders with no hesitation.

It is mostly unknown about Kaufman's skills in the battlefied, however, he is very capable with his dual Ingrams, as seen during his first and only battle with Max Payne. He also can leap in order to escape gunfire. It also seems that he has some sort of leadership abilities, given the idea that he is the leader of the cleaners, group of deadly hired guns.

Appearance

Kaufman is a tall man in his 30s with short black hair, and grey-brown eyes. He wears a blueish green hat on his head, a grey thick jacket on a turquoise shirt with purple collar. He wears a pair of blue jeans and black shoes.

Equipment

• Ingram - small machine pistol with a high rate of fire. A common weapon used by the cleaners. Kaufman owns a dual Ingram and uses it during his fight with Max Payne.

One of Kaufman's Ingrams

Vehicle

• Black Cleaner Company van - a black van that used as the main transportation method of the Squeaky Cleaning Company. All the cleaners use this van as their main vehicle. Kaufman is seen driving it when he and is men escape from Lem's warehouse, and then again from Max Payne's apartment building.

Quotes

"Shoot!"

―To his men.

"Cover me!"

―To his men.

Behind the scenes

• A cleaner with Kaufman's model appears in Blowing Up. This cleaner, however, is not voiced by the same actor as Kaufman's.
• Kaufman's full/real name was never revealed, and as it more likely that Kaufman is not a first name, it is unknown whenever Kaufman is a surename, a nickname, or a codename.

Portrayal

Greg Sims voiced Kaufman and some background characters in Max Payne 2.

In the 2003 Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne, Kaufman was voiced and motion-captured by actor Gregory Sims, best known for his roles in the film Real Still and the TV series FilmFakers. Other than this works, Sims also voiced a few characters in other Rockstar Games projects, such as the "Innocentz" gang in the 2003 Manhunt, and Cam Jones in the 2002 Grand Theft Auto: Vice City.

Other than Kaufman, Sims also voiced other chracters in the game Max Payne 2; John Mirra from Address Unknown, policemen and cleaners. In the credits, Sims was credited as Greg Sims.

Fight strategy

Kaufman's "boss fight" happens during the level "The Million Dollar Question".

"Cover me!"

―Kaufman during the fight boss.

Being the leader of the Cleaners, Kaufman is a few levels stronger than his subsequents. After killing two cleaners next an elevator, near the end of the level, Kaufman and a few cleaners come out the elevator, along with a few more cleaners who arrived from other location in the building.

It is recommend to take out Kaufman's men first, as they often serve as a decoy for Kaufman's attacks, as well serve as a "human shield" for Kaufman. These cleaners have no unique traits, and have the same health and weapons (mostly Kalashnikov, 9mm pistol and Ingrams) as regular cleaners.

Kaufman himself has more health and an improved AI than his men. He also wields dual Ingrams, making him a dangerous enemy in close range, along with his "Shootdodge leaps". However, Kaufman's health is still not very high, and a large amount of bullets from assault rifles will finish him off. When fighting against, it is recommend to keep distance, as he and his men can easily kill the player in short-range.

Gallery

Kaufman introduced.

Appearances

• Max Payne 2
  • Elevator Doors (Mentioned only) Template:Ho
  • No 'Us' in This (Mentioned only)
  • The Million Dollar Question
  • Prologue (A Binary Choice) _{(name seen on a board)}

References

Max Payne 2 characters