Martin Zaun

"I want the US to renounce First Strike, even Russia did that!"

Martin Zaun is a terrorist, mass abductor, and attempted murderer responsible for the hostage situation in Crisis in Profiler.

Background
"Albert! I wish you and I were never born!"

Martin Zhan was born in Illinois during one of its worst storms. His religious father prayed over him that the devil wasn't in their son, and his parents raised him both with high expectations and paranoia all his childhood. He eventually went into nuclear sciences with his brother, Albert, even designing bombs himself that proved to be destructive yet successful, as is expected with nuclear weapons. Hes a widower surviving a wife who wasn't named in the show, but he had a daughter with her, whom they named Lori. But he saw his life change when Lori was diagnosed with leukemia, which she eventually died from at the age of 8. He suddenly revered the value of life and he hoped to make the best of his greater conscience, so he went to Albert in hopes of reversing the efforts of nuclear technology in America to save more lives and make amends for the damage nuclear weapons have done, telling him "you can only play the game and lose it once". Albert laughed in his face and told him he lost his mind, which wasn't the only thing that shocked Martin. Martin also found out that Albert was selling the nuclear weapons he made with a company he worked for, FissionDyne, even after he quit, leaving the company's founder with millions even after the whistle was blown the weapons were sold to warring countries, no exception being ones rivaling the USA. His brother reported him, and he was pressured to officially recant his statements. With this shocking revelation and threat to a greater safety Martin felt obligated to save as part of his repentance, and to fight the oppression he faced from his colleagues and his own flesh and blood, he snapped and decided on a radical, highly dangerous way to send a message. He recruited a private black ops mercenary named Bryce Radford to form a team of who's assumed as his colleagues and ex-colleagues for a high-profile hostage situation and a public statement, as well as an intention of a few lives lost in the process by the particular deaths of the people involved in the conspiracy he was challenging. He included his bother, who was in hiding thanks to the Pentagon because he had a hit put out on him by forces in Libya due to his forsaken ethics. When Martin was going to receive a reward for his work from Patriots of Peace, an American weapons-funding political coalition, he saw an opportunity in the public speech he was asked to give in his own honor.

Crisis
The team's first scene breaking in, readying their weapons, and cuffing and gagging the kitchen staff. Disguised as waiters, thy do the same to security, and just when Zhan's done being introduced, the mercenaries fire in the air until everyone ducks for cover. Zaun then takes the stage saying they'll all be released when he demands are met, and while the mercenaries get into position, he speaks to the camera saying "i simply want sanity", then specifies saying the renouncement of First Strike by America, the release of all nuclear initiatives documents to 10 major newspapers, which he says he'll watch to make sure it's done truthfully. Coffin Woodrick, the head negotiator from DC FBI, tries to speak to Zaun, but he gets rifle-whipped to the ground. Chase Donner, CEO of FissionDyne, calls Zaun out only to be sat down. General Quentin Metzinger, a Gulf War veteran repeatedly told to not siege Baghdad, just stares back at Zaun amidst all the high-tension. Zaun then says his final demand for his allies in his cause is full amnesty, threatening with escalation. He then threatens to kill hostages if his demands aren't met in four hours before the cameras are cut. Bailey Malone trained Woodrick and is the backup negotiator, thus the VCTF takes stations with John Grant at home base and Malone and Samantha Waters meeting Nick Cooper at DC, where he heads the response team ordered to infiltrate on his orders. Malone calls into the tapped line, with Zaun replying he knows who he is in detail. Malone tries to bluff Zaun with saying negotiations are underway with the president, but Radford's men at the radio comm systems signal Zaun about the lie, to which Zaun calls Malone out and tells him to stop wasting time. Waters then calls to go off the negotiation playbook and says she wants to be a messenger in the middle to ensure the hostage's safe release. She appeals further by saying her expertise as a forensic psychologist can help affirm communications. Zaun takes it a step further and says she can come in personally to exchange messages. After hesitation and deliberation, the team agrees to a 10-minute window, with a "medic" coming in to check the wounded hostages, who's really Coop in uniform reconnoitering the scene and speaking into mics they each have on their person. Coop is shocked to see they have state of the art equipment that'll jam their mics at whatever time they choose once they both get inside. Once the two are frisked, Coop gets to the wounded hostages and relays the scene over the mic while Waters addresses Zaun. After restating her position, Zaun says he doesn't need therapy, that they know what he needs. He then asks what audio system they're using, to which Waters answers both microwave and structural. He then demands their code red phrase, and instead of answering honestly "we need more time", she sidesteps saying he's passionate about his beliefs. He assume she sees him as crazy, to which she says passion doesn't mean he would, for example, kill the hostages. He vehemently retorts with how many lives he's taken with his development of nuclear technology. When she offers her sympathy, he says he doesn't want her understanding and reiterates a First Strike renouncement, saying even Russia did so. He then asks if she has kids. When she mentions her daughter Chloe Waters, he says more money goes to nuclear weapons than what should be spend on civilians, from schools to homeless to hungry to sick. She says his dream of bettering it all is beautiful, to which he cuts her off and says instead it's his mission. Coop then comes over and says the wounded need to be released. Zaun orders even better and tells Radford to release the five wounded hostages and forty others, keeping ten behind, including key players like Woodrick, Donner, and Metzinger. Waters praises him for his cooperation, to which he impersonally replies he needs less people to feed and guard, and that her team better understand it doesn't mean he's faltering and he means to kill the remaining hostages with a reminder that time's running out. He supervises the escort out of the released hostages and Coop, but he halts Waters and says he likes her assistance to him and has her stay to communicate his demands. Coop objects and insists she come along, but Radford merely rifle-whips him unconscious and throws him out to. As Waters tells the hostages Zahn won't listen to a payoff, Zahn goes to the cameras again and says he's received nothing for his actions during the crisis, reminding of his schedule and death threats, but emphasizing at the end he'll start the killing with Waters. Waters tries to use her code phrase, but the mics are jammed, so all she gets is Zahn rebuffing her. He then orders the separation of the hostages, forcing Waters in front of the camera despite her protests, saying death is inevitable with a comparison to thermodynamics, that alternatives are the point to the crisis cause he's done the worst he can. he then threatens Waters on live camera at gunpoint and grandly calls America's government out on the danger of nuclear weapons she's embodying in the moment. This finally provokes the team to breach the building, with smoke and gunfire, they arrest or kill most of the mercenaries, but Waters and the key players are taken to their escape van. Coop and Malone keep a safe distance when they and Waters are repeatedly threatened, nor do they reach the van in time when they cant break through a barred door. The snipers watch them all get loaded in but don't have a clear shot. They struggle with tracking the car, but they quickly identify the captors and hostages are all headed to McKenna airfield. When Radford secures the shelter, Waters is helped out of the car while the rest are forced to stay in the van. Zhan finds the phone Malone patches into, letting him hear Waters is alive and refusing his offer to negotiate and saying he wants his demands in one hour or Waters will die for certain. Zhan asks if the FBI are willing to endanger her over the consequences of unleashing the country's nuclear power, to which Waters asks in reply isn't the point of his statement to not take lives to save them. He says she answers in questions like a shrink and sarcastically adds next she wants to know about his parents. She then asks if he knows his own thinking as well as hers, to which he commends her on her question. He then elaborates on how he misses his parents and how he hasn't seen his brother in months, and the story of his birth and how he was raised. He then says like his parents expected he "had the devil in" him, and he "breathed hellfire" into the world with his work, which he feels obligated to undo. Waters believes there's more and asks what more he wants. She agrees with his affirmation that she wants to get out, but she offers her help as well as from her colleagues if he believes she's telling the truth. he them concedes and says he'll surrender, but only to his brother "and only if he'll forgive [Martin]". Hours later, they successfully fly Albert to the airfield, but Waters keep talking with Martin and asks what forgiveness he wants, which Martin says is for ruining his brother's world. He then goes into his brother's work, the birth of his own conscience after his daughter's death, his brother's and Donner's corrupt weapons sales and profit, and how Albert degraded him when Martin finally had profound compassion for the world. Waters then says the code phrase one last time, cause Martin to get in position with the hostages as human shields with his gun up. When he hears Albert calling to him in what's revealed as artificial rain, Martin has the doors opened. When a silhouette steps down from the Hummer and approaches Martin with his hands up, Martin exclaims "i wish we'd never been born", revealing his true intentions: the hostage crisis was to kill Albert, Metzinger, Donner, and himself all along, playing out the crisis as a distraction. But just as he fires, hoses come in and spray him and the remaining mercenaries. They're all arrested, with "Albert" on the ground revealed to be Malone, revealing Waters knew Martin's plan all along. Martin says he was never gonna kill Waters before he's walked off in cuffs.

Trivia

 * Zahn's regret over his work in nuclear weapons substantially emulates the regret of Dr. J. Robert Oppenheimer for inventing the atom bomb which was dropped in two models on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan. The episode, albeit dramatized, is likely evoke Oppenheimer's very regret.