Levi Stratov

Type	CHARACTER
Levi Stratov
Biographical information
Full name	Levi Stratov
Also known as	Latvian Cowboy
Nationality	Latvian
Status	Player's Choice
Date of birth	December 15, 1964
Family	Viktor Skobel (boss) Alexei Nadya Prushnatova Yuri Gorsoy
Main affiliation	The Thieves in Law
Physical description
Gender	Male
Height	6' (1.83 m)
Game information
Appearance(s)	The Getaway: Black Monday
Voiced by	Paul Kaye

"You've ruined my jacket. This is designer jacket. And you ruined my haircut, this £60 haircut. You don't understand because your mother, she cuts your hair."

―Levi Stratov

Levi Stratov is a character in The Getaway series who acts as the quaternary antagonist in The Getaway: Black Monday.

Originally from Latvia, Levi is given the nickname of Latvian Cowboy. He worked for Viktor Skobel and is a member of his gang, the Thieves in Law. Levi is an aggressive thug who thinks very highly of himself and is extremely arrogant. He and his men steal expensive cars, re-spray and private plate them, then ship them out to Eastern Europe for cash. This is all done at his scrapyard, Stratov Metal Company, which is located in Lambeth.

Early Life

Born in Latvia in 1964, Levi is an arrogant, obnoxious thug who thinks very highly of himself. After committing a number of petty crimes, Levi was recruited into the Thieves in Law by Viktor Skobel and became associated with the gang. He befriended Alexei and answered to Viktor personally. Levi set up a business with help from the gang and began stealing cars across London. After stealing them, he would take them to his scrapyard where they would respray and re-plate them and then ship them out to Eastern Europe. Levi was unaware, however, that his activities were being monitored by the police.

2004

Munroe had been watching Levi for some time since he first arrived in London in early 2004. After learning of his illegal activity, Munroe decided it was time for him to be brought in. Munroe sends Ben Mitchell to arrest him at Levi's scrapyard after the massacre in the Shoreditch gym. Mitch arrives with Stoppard and gets involved in a heavy shootout with Levi's men. Eventually Levi is captured and taken back to the police station, where he is interrogated by Mitch and Munroe.

Munroe shows him a newspaper which mentions about the disappearance of journalist Jackie Philips. Munroe asks if the name rings any bells to him, but Levi insults him and refuses to give them anything. After an argument, Levi is granted a phone call and he phones Alexei, Viktor's second in command. Levi, speaking in Russian, panics and begs for help. Alexei tells him to calm down and phones Viktor, who arranges for his immediate release. Munroe learns of Levi's release and immediately tells Mitch and Harvey to follow him.

Levi leads them to a construction site which is owned by the Thieves in Law. They speak with another police officer called Finch outside, who has been keeping an eye on the building. They conclude that Jackie is being held hostage inside by Levi and Nadya Prushnatova, another member of the gang. Mitch then enters the building with backup SO19 officers. They shoot their way in and find Jackie on the third floor who is then escorted out of the building by Mitch.

On their way out however, Mitch and Jackie run into Levi on the second floor after taking the lift. Increasingly eager to kill Mitch, and taking the chance to quote Harry Callahan from Dirty Harry, Levi continues to insult him and flees to the first floor. Levi makes it to the entrance, but by this time, more SO19 officers are moving in, preventing anyone from escaping. With that, Levi pulls out dual Glock 17s in a final attempt to kill Mitch.

Fate

"Go on, pig, make my day! This is .44 Magnum! Do you feel lucky, punk? Huh?! (Laughs)"

―Levi taunting Mitch before confronting him

It is up to the player what happens to Levi at this point. Mitch can either kill him and will then say "It's about time you died", or Mitch can arrest him. The option Mitch picks will not effect the game in any way. If Levi is arrested, then it is likely he will be in prison for a long time. Usually Levi will be killed due to the fact that he only surrenders and drops his guns when he is very low on health, although Mitch can arrest him at any time at the risk of taking damage. With Mitch being an aggressive and angry character, he will therefore most likely kill him.

Personality

Levi is new in London and claims to be trying to live a normal life by making an honest living. This is of course not true, as he steals cars and then illegally exports them to Eastern Europe. When Mitch goes to arrest him, a big shootout takes place at the scrapyard between the police and Levi's men, indicating that Levi was a fairly high ranked member of the Thieves in Law. Levi is very full of himself, and seems to hate cops especially, calling every cop he meets "pigs", inclduing Munroe and Mitch. He is however very loyal to Viktor, seen as he doesn't tell the police anything about the gang. However, this is most likely due to fear of being killed by Viktor. He is an important enough character for Viktor to arrange to be released from custody, further indicating his importance within the gang.

Mission Appearances

• The Latvian Cowboy
• Finding Miss Philips (can be killed)

Quotes

• "Ah man, shit! These jeans, they were dry-cleaned last week! This will cost you three weeks' wages, you pig! At least I know my rights, I will sue you!"
• "Are you going to kiss me or arrest me? Shit!"
• "But I don't want any dead tramp lost property, stink of piss!"
• "I want to smoke. Hey pig, give me cigarette!"
• "I'm sorry, but I do not read English."
• "Yes. The big one on the end of my fucking dick!"
• "It's Le-vi."
• "I don't remember being asked any fucking questions."
• "That your big moment, huh? You tough guy, huh? You fucking pig!"
• "I want my lawyer. [...] I want my lawyer, and I want my phone call."
• "Why don't you just suck my fat big one, you cheap English poo?! [...] Biggest one in Latvia, baby!!!"

Trivia

• Levi's name is pronounced "lee-viii", not "le-veee", as Inspector Munroe calls him. Levi takes offence to this and dislikes anyone calling him by the incorrect pronounciation.
• Levi's quoting of Harry Callahan during his confrontation with Mitch appears to be out of place in relation to his weapon of choice: the Glock 17 cannot chamber a .44 Magnum bullet and the closest possible caliber/calibre fit for this description is .40 S&W. This is probably a developer oversight.
• Levi is one of the few characters in Black Monday who is not British or Russian.
• He drives a blue Brabus CLK Convertible.