A Mastermind is the chief operative in any of the Criminal Organizations in Covert Action. The Mastermind is your most lucrative target, and all 26 of them (from the 26 different Organizations) must be captured to complete the game. They do not fulfill any major role in plots, and are extremely hard to track, but capturing one can be a major help to uncovering an entire plot.
Definition[]
Masterminds are unique amongst all Plot Participants.
There are exactly 26 Masterminds in Covert Action, each belonging to one of the 26 Organizations in the game. Unlike other enemy agents, each Mastermind's name, face, affiliation and location remain constant throughout the entire game.
On starting the second mission in a set of missions, you will receive an extra bit of information about the Mastermind (assuming you did not gather all of it already in the first mission), which may help you track him down. Mission sets will continue until such time that you can arrest the mastermind, and more and more bits of data will be added with each subsequent mission until you have gathered all possible data about the Mastermind (or arrested him).
The game keeps track of all Masterminds arrested, and will show you a list of their faces and affiliation at the end of each mission.
Appearance in Plots[]
In each set of missions, one Mastermind will exist somewhere on the map, chosen randomly from any of the Masterminds that have not been captured.
Masterminds generally take very little or no part in the plot. At most, they might receive a message at the end of the plot from one of the top participants (usually the Major Agent). This usually requires the plot to succeed, which means a score penalty for you.
Due to their virtually-nil participation, it can be exceedingly difficult to locate a Mastermind unless you're already carrying some information about them from previous missions and/or tips from the CIA Chief. On higher difficulties, they do not appear on Participant Lists acquired from enemy hideouts.
Rank and Scoring[]
The Mastermind's rank is, appropriately, "Mastermind". They are the only participants to ever have this rank. Arresting a Mastermind is always worth 200 points to your score - the most lucrative target. Also, due to the large amount of information they will give you on their arrest (see below), they can potentially increase your score much more than that.
Arresting a Mastermind[]
Naturally, if the opportunity arises to arrest a Mastermind, it would be extremely prudent to do so. Unfortunately, suspects with the Mastermind role don't seem to ever exit the building. Rather than a no-risk relatively easy driving arrest you'll have to break in to arrest him.
Buildings housing a Mastermind have a higher than normal alert level to begin with. Sometimes you're stuck with an ugly situation where there are always ten guards in the next room which is the only way in. In this situation you have little to no chance of a successful arrest and are only bound to get caught and either waste a couple days or have a couple more double agents released. Your best bet is to concentrate on foiling the mission and hope that next time the building isn't so well protected. Gas grenades might also work if you bring a mask. It's possible to throw grenades of all kinds through doors, so you can open the door leading to the Mastermind's room, hurl a few grenades through it and wait.
However, after a while, the guards eventually disperse. There will still be two or three in the Mastermind's room, though, so you should proceed with caution.
Upon arrest, the Mastermind will reveal the identity, location, affiliation and role of each and every participant in the plot. This is extremely valuable information obviously, as it allows you to know where each participant is, what they're planning to do, and gives you enough information to successfully arrest them should you choose to do so. In addition, since the Mastermind rarely has any part in the plot, and if he does, only at the very end of the plot, it is almost always safe to arrest the Mastermind without disrupting the plot's natural progress.
Note however that in some cases, the Mastermind is expecting news about the Primary Crime. If this is the case, breaking down the plot will cause the Mastermind to go into hiding. If this is not the case, the Mastermind will usually stick around until all other participants are in hiding, though sometimes he may go into hiding very early, having "completed his mission".