Loose Ends

"Do you have the DSM?" "We got it, sir!" "Good. That's one less loose end."

- General Shepherd and Ghost

This is a level of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. The player takes control of Gary "Roach" Sanderson. The objective is to find Makarov at a safehouse. The first challenge is to make it past the mine field (quickly duck after the first one appears or it kills you) and the ambushing troops advancing through the smokescreen, while being fired on by mortars. Upon reaching the safehouse, two bullet-proof Jeeps come out and drive away, then they are taken out by Javelins. According to Archer, they were just decoys. At the safehouse, there are multiple breaching points; start with the basement as there is lighter resistance there (and Ghost will take care of the larger ground floor for you). Lastly, breach the top floor, but beware of troops hiding to your right on the balcony. After fighting resistance and not finding Makarov, they find a computer which regards on his intel. The player is then ordered to download all the information. The player must then defend the computer as its files get downloaded. If it gets shot, its download speed slows. As the files download at varying speeds, it is difficult to accurately gauge how quickly the process takes (it should take a few minutes). Once the countdown begins, the player has a limited amount of time to stock up and prepare defenses; the basement has a weapons room, ammo cache, and Claymores, the last of which are very useful for slowing down the enemy. After completing the download, only Roach and Ghost are left. The player must then make a run to the helicopter while being assaulted by mortars. At one point, Roach gets shot by one and finds himself being carried by Ghost. They successfully make it to the LZ, where General Shepherd takes the files and makes a remark about covering one of the loose ends. He then betrays them and shoots Roach and Ghost. Shadow Company troops promptly burn your corpses (ignited dramatically by Shepherd's cigar). During the burning, Price over the radio had some intel regarding Shepherd's true intentions, and saying not to trust him. He is, sadly, too late to warn Roach and Ghost.

Intel Items
Docking house to the far southwest of the main villa.

Upstairs in the main house, in breached room, on a desk behind boxes.

Inside the armory in the basement.

Trivia

 * This level takes a few cues from Call of Duty 4's Heat, in that the player must hold back waves of enemies from a safehouse and then make a final push downhill straight through advancing enemy forces to an awaiting extraction team of Americans.
 * When starting to download the files, Shepherd informs you that his ETA is 5 minutes. He doesn't arrive until you finish downloading all the files AND getting to the extraction point, which takes more than 5 minutes
 * Rarely, on Veteran difficulty, Ghost can be seen using an AK-47 while defending the DSM. It's possible this is the same one that Roach uses at the end of the level.
 * There are two inflatable rubber sex dolls spread around the level, one underneath the staircase in the main room where you place the DSM, and another in a compromising position in a bathtub upstairs.
 * Shepherd's Shadow Company soldiers can be heard shouting "Go, go, go" and "Coming in hot." The audio is the same as that used in Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare ' s "Charlie Don't Surf".
 * The mines used at the beginning of the level are bounding land mines designed to jump 3-4 feet in the air so as to increase anti-personnel lethality.
 * There is almost no way to keep Task Force 141 troops alive, as most are scripted to die when the land mines detonate. The only troops that are not scripted to die are Archer and Toad. Scarecrow and Ozone may die, depending on your playthrough.
 * On Recruit, it is possible to save one or two Task Force 141 troops, but it is extremely difficult.
 * This level appears to have the most flashbangs thrown at you from enemy forces as they try to breach the house while you and Ghost defend it.
 * It is unknown what happens to Archer and Toad (snipers) at the end of the level. It is possible they were extracted or they were hunted down by Shadow Company after Ghost and Roach were killed.
 * When Shepherd shoots Roach, the .44 Magnum makes the gunshot similar to the sound of the Desert Eagle, but makes the sound of the Intervention shot when he shoots Ghost.
 * Shepherd had two Magnums, because when he shoots Roach and Ghost, you can clearly see that he also has one in his holster. This might mean that he had one hidden or just a mistake on the developers' part.
 * On one of the lower shelves in the kitchen there are two packages labeled "Real Cherrie Pie". These are likely stale given that they make metal clangs when shot.
 * In one of the upstairs rooms of the house is a poster of a Russian woman wielding a Thompson submachinegun. This is the same poster found in "All Ghillied Up" and the multiplayer maps: Derail and Vacant. It is also out of the map in "Hidden."
 * The basement weapon rack has 3 throwing knives in it forming a triangle.
 * Throughout the level the player will see numerous M5 Sentry Guns lying around. However, none of them can be used against the Ultranationalist counterstrike.
 * There is a scale in the upstairs bathroom that reads 1 pound.
 * When Scarecrow says "Frag out" when you are clearing the basement,he actually throws a flashbang.
 * Upstairs in the bathroom to the right, there is a Teddy Bear stuck to the wall with a throwing knife stuck in its head.
 * The plans for the airport attack in No Russian can be found in the living room, including a blueprint of the airport and a readable newspaper report on the massacre.
 * When Shepherd's Pave Low flies overhead with him waving at it, you can see that the back hatch is open and the side turret moves, but there's no gunner in it.
 * When the Shadow Company soldier dumps the gasoline on Roach you can hear Captain Price shouting through your comms system: "Roach! Ghost! Come in, this is Price! We're under attack by Shepherd's men at the boneyard! Soap! Hold the left flank! Do not trust Shepherd! I say again, do not trust Shepherd! Soap, get down!--".
 * Many newspaper clippings can be seen around the main floor, revealing that Makarov was responsible for a bombing attack on London's Piccadilly Circus, as well as the GUM supermarket in Red Square, Moscow. It also confirms that Russia's Ultranationalist party leader became the president and that Makarov held up photos of Bravo Six (Gaz, Griggs, Price and Soap) and declared they were responsible for the death of Imran Zakhaev.
 * In the safehouse living room, there is a table in the back left corner with newspapers titled "The Infinity Ward Times."
 * Because Ghost and Roach discovered the intel inside of Makarov's safe house that implicated Shepherd and Makarov, it makes them the "loose ends" to which the mission title refers. This is why Shepherd eliminates them. Though it is strange that Shepherd didn't inquire about whether they had actually looked at the intel, for if they hadn't he could have just kept them in the dark and spared them. Perhaps he was afraid that Soap and Price whom had also found similar intel, and had been ambushed by Shadow Company, would contact them sooner or later (ironically, just as Roach and Ghost are being executed Price contacts them) and wanted to preemptively remove any possible threats.
 * It is possible to kill Archer and Toad (snipers) using your claymores. If you plant one next to Archer and shoot it they will both die. Later on in the level, you hear Archer talking to Ghost about not seeing Makarov. If you run back to Archer and Toad's position they are still dead.
 * There are several AK-74U magazines on the tables in the safehouse, meaning that it was probably intended to be in the game, but was taken out before the final version. It is also possible Makarov took one for his own protection and left a few magazines behind.
 * There are several UAV/Air Support laptops throughout the safehouse, the keyboards of which are written in Russian.
 * While waiting for the files to download, the estimated time displayed on screen is often grossly inaccurate compared to the actual time it takes for the file transfer to complete; this may be a reference to the process of transferring files between locations on PCs.
 * You can crawl into the fireplace behind the table where you download the files.
 * The multiplayer map Estate and Special Ops mission Estate Takedown are based on this level.
 * Also, in one picture you can see a small teddy bear.
 * The ACR the player starts out with has Digital Camouflage.
 * It is unknown why the TF 141 troops walked out in the field in front of you without setting off the mines; it is possible this was scripted for you to follow their lead as sometimes one or two members will duck before the mine blows up, or that the mines were tweaked by Makarov's men to be remotely triggered. The latter has a high possibility, because, after the detonation, Makarov's men immediately ambush TF 141.
 * If you manage to save either Ozone or Scarecrow they will follow you and Ghost toward the extraction point. However, after some point they will slow down, and if you watch them as you leave, they will be overwhelmed by the enemy and get killed.
 * This is only one of two levels in the single-player campaign (the other one being Of Their Own Accord) where the Barrett M82 can be found and used. It is found in one of the rooms of the basement. However, since most of the level takes place at close quarters inside the safehouse, its use would be extremely limited.
 * You can shoot at the Task Force 141 soldiers, although you'll get a friendly-fire warning. You cannot shoot a British SAS character.
 * Strangely, Shepherd shoots Roach first, although he is unarmed and badly injured, whereas Ghost is still armed and capable of fighting. This may be so you can properly see Ghost get killed. Another possible intention is that Shepherd didn't want Roach to somehow destroy the DSM, as he is the one holding it.
 * When you are hit by the explosion near the end and when Ghost is dragging you to the Pave Low, you will wake up with an AK-47 Grenadier fully loaded, along with ten rounds of grenades. This is unusual as how Roach could have acquired an AK-47 with multiple spare clips when the enemies were catching up to him. The fact that he has 10 GP25 Grenades raises even further questions.
 * Using a PC cheat, you can see Ghost carrying Roach's headless body when he is about the board the chopper.
 * There are more mines than just the ones used in the ambush; some are along the driveway of the house and detonate if the player attempts to exit the level through the driveway gate.
 * Some of the Little Bird helicopters that drop troops can be destroyed, while others can't.
 * Also, during the level, you can hear Shepherd ask one of the troops to give him a cigar, ironically the one he burns Roach and Ghost with.
 * It is odd why Ghost's goggles were still attached when thrown to the ditch.
 * Inside the armory there is a poster for cigarettes with a picture of Stalin on the box.
 * It's possible Shepherd tipped Makarov off about the Estate attack, as they are quickly ambushed although they approached silently.
 * At the corner of the house, left of the main entrance, there's evidence of what appears to be two executions; there are two bullet holes in the wall with blood stains and a trail of blood leading to and over the patio fence. There is also a pool of blood on the ground floor where the trail leads to.
 * If the player shoots while in "shell-shocked" status due to the landmines, the weapon's fire rate seems to double. This is easily seen if using the ACR.
 * If the player looks at the blue refrigerator in the kitchen, they can see multiple frying pans floating in mid air on top of it.