Jason Hudson

"The numbers, Mason! What do they mean?"

- Hudson while interrogating Alex Mason. "Do not fuck with me, Mason. I know when you're lying!"

- Hudson while interrogating Mason. "Reznov's dead, Mason! Do you hear me!? HE'S DEAD!"

- Hudson while interrogating Mason. "The Russians fucked you up. I know you, you're not a traitor."

- Jason Hudson "Hudson was a fuckin' ice cube, but that's why I liked the bastard."

- Alex Mason "Jason Hudson was the most connected agent at Langley, could get anyone to say anything. The man had a way with words."

- Ryan Jackson

Special Agent Jason Hudson was a C.I.A. agent responsible for handling Alex Mason, mainly during 1968. He was the deuteragonist of Call of Duty: Black Ops, and a supporting character in the 1980s missions of Call of Duty: Black Ops II.

Early History
Jason Hudson was born in Washington D.C. on March 26, 1932. He was a member of the U.S. Army's 101st Airborne Division and served in Korea during the Korean War. He was honorably discharged in 1955. After he left the military, he enrolled at Georgetown University and double majored in psychology and political science.

Government Service
He was recruited right out of Georgetown University on recommendations from his academic adviser and former O.S.S. field operative Marshall Bryant (a recipient of the Intelligence Star, 1950).

Hudson is an excellent tactician and mission coordinator, bringing the full brunt of his genius level I.Q. to the field. As such, he has earned great trust within the halls of Langley and will undoubtedly go far considering his ability to command a room and crisis management skills. As one associate said, "Jason has a way with words; when he speaks, you can't help but listen."

Though much of his work keeps him away from the front lines, Hudson is a very capable soldier, particularly when the mission calls for an element of subtlety and finesse.

Hudson flew with Alex Mason to the Pentagon, where they met United States Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara, and then escorted Mason to meet U.S. President John F. Kennedy. Hudson did not participate in the meeting however, as he did not have the security clearance.



Vietnam
"Jason Hudson, CIA. We're here to talk about your encounter with Russians in Laos. We got word a defector might be in play."

- Hudson to Woods and Bowman.

By 1968, the Studies and Observations Group was established in Vietnam to investigate the Soviets' presence in and around the area. Hudson worked together with Mason and Frank Woods defending Khe Sanh.

Clarke Interrogation and the Hunt for Steiner
"Or you can give us what we want, and we guarantee your safety."

- Hudson after torturing Clarke.

Later, Hudson and Weaver tortured Doctor Daniel Clarke, an engineer who stabilized Nova-6 in Kowloon, Hong Kong. Clarke identifies Nazi scientist Doctor Friedrich Steiner as part of the project, and reveals the location of a hidden facility in Mount Yamantau, before being killed during an attempt to escape Soviet Spetsnaz. Hudson and Weaver head to Mount Yamantau to destroy the facility and apprehend Steiner. Steiner, however, is not there, so they head to Rebirth Island, where they had to race against Mason and Viktor Reznov before they could kill Steiner. At Rebirth Island, Weaver and Hudson command Alpha Squad, a team established to extract Steiner. However, Mason got to Steiner first, and they watch as he executes him.

Interrogation of Alex Mason and the Assault of the Rusalka
"Damn it! Why can't you remember!?"

- Hudson interrogating Mason

Following the death of Steiner, Hudson and Weaver interrogate Mason continuously. Hudson realizes that Nikita Dragovich brainwashed Mason to understand the numbers broadcasts, effectively becoming a Soviet sleeper agent. The duo repeatedly play the numbers sequence to Mason, but to no avail. Out of options, Hudson deliberately sets Mason free in order to follow him. Mason then punched him in the face and knocked him out. It is revealed that Reznov died during the Vorkuta breakout, and Mason's visions of Reznov are a result of a personality disorder caused by the brainwashing program. Reznov had, in fact, reprogrammed him to assassinate Dragovich, Lev Kravchenko, and Friedrich Steiner instead of President Kennedy, Richard Nixon, and Robert McNamara, prior to the breakout. After subduing Mason, Hudson plays the numbers recording for Mason a final time, prompting him to remember the location of the numbers station, the Rusalka, a ship off the coast of Cuba.

By dawn, the team launches an assault on the Rusalka, with Mason and Hudson infiltrating an underwater broadcast station protected by the ship, a Soviet submarine station intended to be used as a staging point for a US invasion after the planned Nova-6 attack. Confirming that the Rusalka is the numbers station, Hudson calls in the U.S. Navy to destroy the ship and its underwater base. Mason and Hudson finally found Dragovich in the lower levels of the facility and manage to kill him before the destruction of the base, swimming for the surface during the destruction of the targets, though Sergeants Maestas, Drew, and Aziz are killed in the process. Weaver declares victory, but Mason is unsure.

Operation Charybdis
According to unlocked intel, Mason never fully recovered from the brainwashing, making the C.I.A. suspicious of his future actions. Weaver and Hudson became targets of suspicion as well for their association with Mason and their supposed complicity in gathering top secret information for Mason. Sometime in 1978, Mason's decision to chase an as of yet unknown lead led the C.I.A. to deem him "burnt" and a threat to national security, along with Hudson and Weaver who had escaped to South Africa with him. As of October 28, 1978, the C.I.A. was making plans to form a joint task force with British MI6 in order to find and eliminate Mason, Hudson, and Weaver in what they dubbed as Operation Charybdis.

C.I.A. Duty
In Call of Duty: Black Ops: Declassified, Hudson continued to operate in the C.I.A., providing communication support throughout several missions from 1975 to 1979, which were carried out by Alex Mason and Frank Woods, the latter of whom was discovered to be alive and rescued from Da Nang in 1972. In May 21, 1982, Hudson guided a C.I.A. team into Nicaragua to assassinate the leader of the Menendez Cartel, Jose Luiz Menendez. The mission was a success; however Jose's son, Raul, escaped.

Saving Sgt. Frank Woods
By 1986, Hudson was still a C.I.A. operative. When Woods went missing in Angola, Hudson and Lieutenant Colonel North went to Alaska to get the now retired Alex Mason to go to Angola to save Woods. Mason begrudgingly accepted the mission. Hudson said that David, Mason's seven-year-old son, could stay with Jenny, his wife.

When in Angola, Mason and Jonas Savimbi, the leader of the UNITA forces, fought on the ground, leading a counter-attack on the now advancing MPLA, while Hudson flew a helicopter, taking down Soviet tanks used by the MPLA. The two had cut a deal with Savimbi, help defeat the MPLA, in exchange for Woods' location. At the end of the battle, Hudson and Mason flew to a barge on a river. After defeating several soldiers, Hudson and Mason found Woods, locked in a cargo crate full of badly decomposed bodies of Woods' unit. Almost as soon as Woods got out of the crate, a Hind converged on the barge. Mason managed to destroy the chopper (with the boat running aground just before the chopper crashed), but Woods fell into the river. Mason saved him, and the three then managed to find an enemy radio tower. Hudson stayed behind to protect Woods while Mason went to call Savimbi for extraction. Things went badly, as Mason was compromised, but not before shooting Raul Menendez's eye out. Hudson then grabbed Woods and then started to run to a boat on the river. When they finally got to the river while under heavy fire, a Hind then flew overhead. Hudson cursed, thinking defeat, but then it opened fire on the enemy soldiers. It turns out that Savimbi had captured the chopper for their extraction. Just as Hudson declared victory, putting on his sunglasses, he was shot in the shoulder by an enemy soldier, but Woods reacted quickly, shooting him in the head with a Browning HP, exclaiming "You can't kill me." Savimbi then flew the trio away.

Afghanistan
By 1986, the Menendez Drug Cartel was flourishing. The C.I.A. then got wind that Menendez was running arms deals with the Soviets in Afghanistan. Hudson, Woods, and Mason were sent to get intelligence from the Mujahadeen resistance. In exchange for weapons and repelling the Russian invasion, the resistance were to provide their intelligence to the C.I.A. Hudson was staying in a cave with the Afghan resistance leader, planning out their moves. The Russians threw all of their strength at one final assault, with tanks, MI-8 Hips, MI 24 Hind D's and many soldiers. In the end Woods and Mason discovered Colonel Kravchenko, Woods' old nemesis, was leading the charge. Hudson wanted to be the one to interrogate him for info on Menendez, but Woods told him to "Stay the fuck out of my way. I've got unfinished business with this bastard." Depending on the player's actions, Kravchenko either is interrogated, and says that Menendez has spies in the C.I.A., or he is shot in the head before telling. Either way, the Afghans betray all of their help, and then throw Mason, Woods, Hudson, and Zhao into the desert. It is unknown who rescued them, but Mason claims that a 73-year-old Viktor Reznov saved them.

Nicaragua
Having received intel from Kravchenko, the C.I.A. set out to capture Menendez at his home in Nicaragua. They cut a deal with then-dictator of Panama, Manuel Noriega, and used his help in taking down the Menendez Cartel. But in truth, Noriega secretly freed Menendez after his men captured him, though Menendez almost tried to kill Noriega before heading for his sister, Josefina. Midway through clearing Menendez' home, Hudson realized that Menendez escaped and Noriega broke his promise. He tried to stop an enraged Woods from going after Menendez himself, telling him to stick to the mission as planned. After clearing the final wave of enemy, Hudson sent Mason and Woods down the basement to retrieve any valuable intel. He also warned Mason to keep Woods in check. A few moments later, Hudson found Menendez running toward Josefina's room and caught up to him. As he tried to subdue him, Woods and Mason also arrived at the scene. Woods tried to shoot Menendez, but Mason held him back. Woods then threw a grenade at Menendez, which bounced into Josefina's room, killing her. Menendez was reported to have been killed as well. Hudson, however, was disappointed in Woods' action, and told him and Mason to go on as if the events of that day never occurred.

Panama & Death
"Fuck! Okay...Me! Do it... DO IT!!!"

- Hudson's final words

After finding out about Menendez's survival thanks to Noriega, the U.S. government decided to carry out an invasion of Panama on December 20, 1989, also known as Operation False Profit. Hudson, however, did not participate as a combatant, but only provided support on communications. Some time before the operation started, Menendez managed to capture 10-year-old David Mason and used him against Hudson. Hudson was forced to relay false information to Mason and Woods, who only had just managed to capture Noriega, also known as Objective False Profit, saying that he had intel on a Nexus target. After Mason and Woods escorted Noriega throughout the town to the checkpoint, they split ways. Woods went with Noriega to the top of a building, where he was then given instructions by Hudson to kill the Nexus target, Raul Menendez. Only after taking the shot did Woods find out that the man he shot was actually Mason. Woods tried to kill Noriega in retaliation, but was then shot in both legs by the real Menendez.

Both Woods and Mason were taken to Hudson, who was tied up to a chair. Menendez informed them that one more must die: Hudson, Woods or David. At first, Hudson was a bit hesitant, even mentioning to Woods that he had two children at home. But in the end, he decided to sacrifice himself so that Woods and David could live. Menendez then used a SPAS-12 to shoot Hudson's kneecaps and then slash his throat with his pendant, killing him. Hudson's body was then tossed aside and Menendez stated to Woods that Hudson and Mason's deaths would be the first of absolute loss in his life.

Trivia

 * Hudson is referred to as 'Rock' by his squad mates according to his profile. This is a nod to the 1996 film The Rock in which Ed Harris starred in.
 * Hudson is referred as "Ice Cube" by Alex Mason, likely because of his calm, stern and straight-to-the-point personality.
 * Coincidentally, "Ice Cube" is the nickname of the voice actor for CIA operative Joseph Bowman.
 * The informant, known only as "X", warned Hudson in 1978 that his supervisor D. King cannot be trusted, as he reported to Richard Kain, who was keeping watch on Hudson.
 * The player can get a Jason Hudson gamer picture by hacking his account on the terminal (Xbox 360 only).
 * On the Computer on the menu screen, the player can log into Hudson's profile with the username "jhudson" and the password "BRYANT1950".
 * An e-mail that Hudson sent to Mason says to mix his password with someone's name (Bryant) and the year the person won an award (1950).
 * In Hudson's computer account accessible from the game's main menu, there is a breakup letter to him from his girlfriend (who is known only by her first initial, the letter A). In the letter she explains that the reason she is breaking up with him is because she feels that he cares more about his country and the CIA than her.
 * In Hudson's computer mailbox, there are four messages from John Trent. John Trent was the man who sent the threatening message to John F. Kennedy the day before his assassination.
 * Jason Hudson was number five on Game Informer's list of Top 10 video game Heroes of 2010.
 * Hudson's dossier reveals his birth date is March 26, 1932, but in "WMD" his date of birth is listed as March 17, 1932.
 * When Hudson punches Mason in "Revelations", he can be seen very briefly with an AK-47.
 * During the Avenged Sevenfold concert, Hudson can briefly be seen next to a rail dressed in the same outfit from the mission, "Old Wounds".
 * He was named after the Hudson River; a river in the New York state
 * In Treyarch's Black Ops Timeline, he's mistakenly referred to as David Hudson when it talks about S.O.G..

Jason Hudson