Editing Hans Naumann (section)

==== Return of the Smuggler ====
In early 2025, Hans returned to Los Santos after a lucrative opportunity from a mysterious organisation. Hans arrived at Sandy Shores Airfield on March 2 and two days later bought McKenzie Hangar for $1.500.000 in Blaine County where he started arms trafficking with a partner from the [[Sánchez Cartel]] and resuming his smuggling operation in Los Santos. Hans set his sights on a newly developed weaponized cargo aircraft from Eberhard Munitions, Hans orchestrated a complex theft in cooperation with the Sánchez Cartel, successfully stealing the precious weaponized cargo and claiming it for himself. With Hans renewed smuggling operations in full effect, drug prices across Los Santos began to drop steadily, destabilizing the underground market.

Hans return to San Andreas was not opportunistic, but deliberate. Hans had been contracted by an individual operating under the alias “The Phantom,” who tasked him with systematically disrupting the syndicates’ operations in Los Santos. Central to this objective was [[Marty Marcano]], whose position made him a strategic pressure point. Acting under instruction, Hans sought to gain Marty’s trust before removing him from play. To achieve this, Hans employed Marty and later his associate [[Morgan]] into H.K.R.N Shipping, presenting himself as a mentor rather than an adversary. By offering legitimate work, continued flight training, and access to aviation assets, Hans cultivated Marty’s confidence while simultaneously integrating him into McKenzie Hangar operations. Once trust was established, Hans facilitated Marty’s exposure to smuggling logistics under the guise of professional development. This allowed Hans to both exploit Marty’s skills and isolate him from syndicate oversight in order to eventually kidnap him.
  
The abduction of Marty Marcano was executed as a planned extraction. Acting on direct instruction from [[The Phantom|the Phantom,]] Hans contracted several members of the Sánchez Cartel to handle the physical operation, deliberately keeping his own presence indirect. The cartel operatives were positioned outside Marty’s garment factory in La Mesa, monitoring his movements for several days until a predictable exit pattern was established.
When Marty left the factory late one evening, the cartel members moved immediately. He was ambushed by masked men, forced to the ground, and a bag was pulled over his head. One of the attackers kicked Marty in the stomach, knocking the air out of him and rendering him unable to resist. Once immobilized, Marty was aggressively forced into a parked taco van, a deliberate choice made by Hans to ensure the abduction blended into the surrounding environment. 

Following the abduction, the cartel transported Marty to an offshore location, pre-arranged by the Phantom and outside the syndicates’ immediate reach. Hans did not remain on site long. Upon arrival, he personally documented the successful extraction by taking a humiliating photograph of Marty, restrained and disoriented, intended as proof of completion for his employer rather than for ransom or leverage. With the task completed, Hans departed shortly afterward, returning to McKenzie Field Hangar to continue his smuggling operations and market disruption campaign, leaving Marty in the custody of the Phantom’s infrastructure. Later, Hans was informed by the Phantom that Alexa was aware of Marty’s kidnapping. Hans smirked, knowing that the first part of the contract was successful. 

As drug sales continued to worsen citywide, the syndicates began searching for the cause. Acting on intelligence from Alexa pointing toward Grapeseed and McKenzie Airfield, Jim and Edward initially suspected the Alamo Hellraisers. Upon surveilling the airfield using Jim’s Terrorbyte drone, Hans Naumann was spotted working on his Duster 300H. Hans was caught off guard, however thanks to his quick instincts, he escaped without a scratch. 
With the syndicates aware of Hans’ presence, the next stage of Hans’ plan went into action. Hans ordered his men to take air superiority with Hans personally commanding the operation from his B-11 Strikeforce. Without much resistance, H.K.R.N destroyed cargo shipments from the syndicates, angering his opponents further.

Five days later, Hans completed the largest smuggling deal in San Andreas history, earning millions and causing narcotics prices to crash to an all-time low. It was later revealed that this operation was conducted in secret cooperation with Edward, who required funds and weaponry for his second “revolution.” On 30 March 2025, Hans and Edward met covertly at Thomson Scrapyard in the Grand Senora Desert, where Edward agreed to ensure Hans’ survival in exchange for weapons and supplies.

Hours later, Alexa tracked Hans to the Galileo Observatory and alerted Jim, who arrived with Edward to confront him. At 16:00, Hans, who anticipated their arrival. Jim aimed his pistol at Hans, who revealed his “ace in the hole”—Marty, still alive but held by Hans’ employer. As Jim prepared to fire, Edward intervened, revealing the secret weapons pact. Hans, smirking, mocked Jim by pointing out that even close allies could not be trusted, before escaping the Observatory on a waiting motorcycle.

With the second part of the contract completed, the Phantom gave his personal congratulations to Hans for succeeding his mission. The reward for the contract was between was a staggering $75 million. With the syndicates on high alert, Hans and his henchmen disbanded their operation in San Andreas and departed for the East Coast.

Three months after the conclusion of the ''Return of the Smuggler'' arc and his withdrawal from San Andreas, Hans was approached by the [[Alamo Hellraisers]] with a request to export their weapons abroad. Hans accepted the contract under a specific condition: he would deliver a man from Ghana to the Alamo Hellraisers as part of the exchange.

To avoid renewed scrutiny from syndicate observers, Hans deliberately altered his flight path and transponder data, ultimately landing a large cargo aircraft at Sandy Shores Airport with both the shipment and the individual in question. The man, known as [[Ted]], was presented as a hostage, though he was neither restrained nor coerced. Ted identified himself as a religious priest and self-described shaman, openly preaching about what he called a “Puppetmaster who controls the state.” According to Ted, San Andreas was not governed by chance or leadership, but by unseen hands pulling strings behind the scenes.

During transport, Hans found Ted to be highly intelligent, articulate, and philosophically sharp. The two engaged in lengthy discussions about power, governance, faith, and human agency. Hans reportedly enjoyed these conversations greatly, later describing Ted’s voice as hypnotising and his beliefs as delivered with unsettling conviction. Hans recognised that Ted’s inclusion in the contract was intentional, that he was meant to be more than simple leverage.

As part of the same arrangement, Hans imposed an additional, non-negotiable condition. He would take custody of a man named [[Victor Donovan]]. Victor was not a member of the Alamo Hellraisers, nor was he affiliated with any other active motorcycle club at the time. He had been loyal to [[Claymore MC]] until its disbandment and refused to renounce that loyalty after the club collapsed. That refusal led directly to his capture and continued detention by the Hellraisers during the period of biker fragmentation that followed.

Hans did not view Victor as a burden. He saw him as an opportunity. Victor’s endurance, discipline, and unwillingness to abandon a dead banner marked him as someone with usable principles rather than flexible loyalties. Securing Victor’s release was built into the transaction itself, effectively turning the exchange into Victor’s way out of captivity. Hans’s interest in Victor was not paternal but strategic. To Hans, Victor represented insulation, future leverage, and a long-term asset, someone who could be shaped, tested, and potentially developed into a reliable partner over time.

When Hans completed the exchange, the Alamo Hellraisers initially believed they had secured a favourable bargain. This perception quickly deteriorated. Ted proved deeply irritating within the biker environment, persistently preaching about control, destiny, and inevitable collapse. His fixation on the “Puppetmaster,” coupled with his refusal to moderate his rhetoric, rapidly wore thin.

Within days, Hans learned that the Hellraisers had isolated Ted, locking him away before ultimately releasing him entirely. Ted later contacted Hans directly, informing him that before his release he had delivered what he called “the final warning” to the Hellraisers’ de facto leader, [[Aiden Reed]], stating simply that “very bad things were coming their way.”