First Impressions

Story arc

The Brotherhood

Cutscenes

"Blind Date"
"Welcome to the Brotherhood"

Homies

Carlos Template:Br Maero

Marked Enemies

?

Min. Kills

?

Previous	Next
Three Kings	Reunion Tour

Objectives

Escape with Maero and Carlos
Take the staircase up to exit at street level, or take the steps down to exit via the water
Take Maero back to his hideout

Rewards

$1,000
Southern Cross neighborhood, Barrio District

"First Impressions" is the first mission of the The Brotherhood story arc in Saints Row 2.

Cops botch gang take-down

— Stilwater Gazette newspaper headline

Overview

The leader of The Brotherhood, Maero, meets with The Protagonist and Carlos in the Stilwater Caverns. Maero recognizes The Protagonist and states that they don't need to fight, but before he can continue they are interrupted by the Stilwater Police Department, who have organized a raid on the two gang leaders.^[1]

After escaping the caverns and making their way back to Maero's hideout (whereupon The Protagonist briefly meets Donnie once again), The Protagonist is given an offer by Maero to split up Stilwater between the two gangs. However, the deal would leave the 3rd Street Saints with only 20% of the city, so The Protagonist rejects Maero's offer and leaves, parting on bad terms.^[2]

Story

Upon completion of the Mission, this description is available at Newspaper Clipboards.

Stilwater's finest did nothing to silence their critics during a recent shootout in the Caverns. The police raided the caverns after receiving a tip that the leader of the Saints would be meeting with Maero, the patriarch of the Brotherhood. The ensuing battle left numerous police and tourists dead, as both leaders eluded capture and escaped to the Brotherhood's stronghold.

Gameplay

First Impressions - Maero and Carlos fighting police — Gameplay from the mission.

Immediately after "Three Kings", Carlos phones The Protagonist saying that Maero wants to sit down and chat, although the mission marker is already present before the call.

Escape with Maero and Carlos

To begin with, exit the Stilwater Caverns while dealing with the Stilwater Police Department. The police are easily killed and don't constitute much of a threat, and, while the caverns may seem initially daunting due to their size, the markers and the Map make navigation easy - just be sure to turn left before crossing the bridge. Along the way, there are some Tagging locations.

Take the staircase up to exit at street level, or take the steps down to exit via the water

Alright: we go up we'll hit the street. We go down, we're takin' a boat outta here.

— Carlos, upon nearing the exit

When nearing the exit, there is a prompt to either exit the shop upstairs and steal a Five-O, or continue onwards to commandeer a Miami boat.

Take Maero back to his hideout

Regardless of which path is taken, proceed to Maero's hideout to complete the mission.

Rewards

Cash: $1,000
Respect: None
Neighborhood: Southern Cross
Mission: Reunion Tour

Trivia

Newspaper bh01 First Impressions — The Stilwater Gazette newspaper clipping from the completion screen and Newspaper Clipboard.

Maero is the second gang leader who acts as a Homie alongside The Protagonist in a mission; in Saints Row, Benjamin King was a Homie in the final three Vice Kings missions.^[3]^[4]^[5]
The player may come across several Tagging locations in the Stilwater Caverns if they had not tagged them previously.
It is never revealed who tipped off the police about the meeting.
This is Donnie's first appearance in Saints Row 2, having not been seen since the ending of Saints Row.^[6]
No Brotherhood members appear during the entire mission, thus it is not possible to gain any gang Notoriety by killing gang members. However, it is possible to start Tagging in Brotherhood turf and wait until the player gets two units of Notoriety or use cheats, but the mission fails. This is most likely prevented because Maero would fight alongside the 3rd Street Saints against The Brotherhood members.
All Civilians scream in panic and run away during the mission, no matter where the player is.
The Miami used to escape the Caverns cannot be destroyed before it is entered.
This is the only mission of three gang story arcs which doesn't unlock the Stronghold; instead, it is unlocked after the next mission.^[7]

Transcript

Prologue

Carlos: "Sup holmes, it's Carlos...I was diggin' 'round like you asked and I found out the guy runnin' the Brotherhood is some bad muthafucka named Maero. Anyway, Maero found out I was lookin' int-"
The Protagonist: "He what?"
Carlos: "Hey, hey...be cool it's not so bad. Maero asked to sit down and have a chat with you...he wants to work something out before things get out of control."
The Protagonist: "Where's he wanna meet?"
Carlos: "The underground caverns."
The Protagonist: "Yeah, that's not a trap...set up the meet."

— Pre-mission phone call

"Blind Date" cutscene

The Protagonist: "You Maero?"
Maero: "That's right."
The Protagonist: "Where's your crew then?"
Maero: "I don't need one."
The Protagonist: "You sure 'bout that?"
The Protagonist: "I could kill you right now..."
Maero: "No...you couldn't."
The Protagonist: "Whaddya want?"
Maero: "Listen, I'm not stupid, I know who you are. Now there's no reason for us to tear each other apart."
The Protagonist: "I'm listening."
Maero: "Here's what I'm thinking...we divide Stil-"
White Male Cop: "I hear voices this way!"
Carlos: "Shit!"

— "Blind Date" cutscene

Gameplay

Maero: "We need to get outta here!"
Carlos: "Yeah, but which way?"

Alright: we go up we'll hit the street. We go down, we're takin' a boat outta here.

— Carlos, upon nearing the exit

"Welcome to the Brotherhood" cutscene

Maero: "So here we are..."
Carlos: "Jesus, it's like a coked-up sideshow..."
Maero: "Pretty impressive, huh?"
The Protagonist: "Aren't you worried about being in the open?"
Maero: "People know to stay away..."
Maero: "How's my truck coming?"
Donnie: "It'll be ready for the competition."
Maero: "Thanks Donnie."
Carlos: "You know that guy?"
The Protagonist: "Later."
Jessica: "You're back!"
Maero: "Come on, you expected anything less?"
Maero: "Jess! You're embarassing me, we got company."
Jessica: "Hi, I'm Jessica."
The Protagonist: "Nice to meet you."
Carlos: "Hey. I'm Carlos."
Jessica: "I'm still Jessica...ya know, you remind me of my old house cleaner..."
Jessica: "I'm kidding. I was kidding..."
Maero: "Babe you wanna count the cash?"
Jessica: "Sure."
Maero: "Yo, Matt you ready to work?"
Matt: "Always"
Carlos: "Hey, aren't you the guitarist for The Feed Dogs?"
Jessica: "Don't encourage him."
Matt: "Listen lady, you guys met at one of my concerts so I don't wanna hear it..."
Maero: "Matt's a fucking Rembrandt with that needle."
Matt: "You're makin' me blush, bro..."
Carlos: "Don't you think you have enough tattoos?"
Maero: "Brother, I got a lotta canvas left."
Maero: "So let's get back to business... The Brotherhood is about to come into something big and I think the Saints are gonna want to get in on the ground floor."
The Protagonist: "So what's the offer?"
Maero: "20-80."
The Protagonist: "I'm assuming I get the 80."
Maero: "Yeah, sure you do."
The Protagonist: "You really expect me to take 20 and say thanks."
Maero: "On your hands and fucking knees."
The Protagonist: "Is this a joke? I used to own Stil-"

The Protagonist: "Is this a joke? I used to own Stilwater..."
The Protagonist (Male 2): "Is this a joke? I used to own-"

Maero: "Used to is right... time's passed you by. Now you're a has-been with some burn scars."

The Protagonist: "I suggest you shut the fuck up before-"
The Protagonist (Male 2): "I suggest you shut the fuck up bef-"

Maero: "You're kidding me right?"
Matt: "Hey man, be cool."
Maero: "You really think that a couple washed up bangers like you and Gat have a chance against the Brotherhood?"
The Protagonist: "We'll see...let's go Carlos..."
Jessica: "Honey, you want me to have someone take care of them?"
Maero: "No...they'll be dead soon enough."

— "Welcome to the Brotherhood" cutscene