The Inner Circle (Max Payne)
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In the computer game Max Payne, The Inner Circle refers to a group of mysterious men and women that pulls strings and manipulates politics from the shadows. Allegedly, the group dates back to masonic cults, and its power goes up to presidential level. The Inner Circle operates out of the Asgard Building in New York. There is an unnamed apartment complex where many circle members live.
Alfred Woden is an important member of The Inner Circle, possibly even the head of the organization. His last name is a reference to Woden, one of several references to the Germanic paganism in the games. He is their contact with Max Payne, and is one of the last members to be killed by Vladimir Lem, Woden's ex-student. Woden seems to take a keen interest in the budding relationship between Max and Mona Sax, despite the fact he has ordered Mona to kill Max. Around his manor are various pieces of artwork that are dedicated to love. Among these are a statue of Cupid, a statue of embracing lovers, and various paintings of Adam and Eve in the main hall of the manor. Above the entrance to Woden's panic room is a Latin phrase that translates to 'Love Conquers All'. Woden ages quite a bit between the two games, although Max Payne and Max Payne 2 take places only a few years apart. In the first game he appears middle aged, possibly 40-50 years old. In the second game, he has contracted cancer, and is reduced to a wheelchair. He appears 60+ years old. In both games, he is missing his right eye, and wears glasses with the right lens blacked out. How he lost the eye is not known.
Nicole Horne is also a member of The Inner Circle. She is the villain in the first Max Payne, being the head of Project Valhalla and the source of Valkyr, the drug that has ruined Max's life. Horne is the head of the Aesir Corporation, and owns more then half the city. She also has a hand in the mob, being somehow connected to Angelo Punchinello. Horne is killed when a radio tower at the top of Aesir Plaza breaks free of its guidewires and falls on her helicopter. Although The Inner Circle wants to stop Horne, she has blackmailed them with videotapes of Woden with a prostitute (Candy Dawn, killed by Max Payne as she was with Rico Muerte). Horne was a government employee working on Project Valhalla, until funding was ultimately cut in the 90's. She then continued the project secretly, using the vast profits made by Aesir to continue the research. Because Horne orders the destruction of the underground military facility where the drug is being tested, it is obvious her results are unsatisfactory.
Vladimir Lem is a member of the organization who breaks away into his own faction. Although this is never mentioned in the first game, Vlad is a former pupil of Woden. He uses the cleaners to kill most of the society members before gunning down Woden at his manor. Vlad is killed when Max shoots him through a skylight on the roof of Woden's manor, prompting a three-story fall, only to be consumed by fire. Vlad is a Russian mob boss and has a rivalry with the Punchinello Family, and later with Vinnie Gognitti's mob.
Other members include Senator Sebastian Gate, Mr. Corcorran (first name not mentioned), and an unnamed young, thin man. There are also many members in the first game that are seen very briefly before they are killed. The Inner Circle is allegedly killed entirely in the first game, but since the organization still remains in the sequel, this is obviously false. While it is not known if she is an official member, Mona Sax is a hitwoman that works for The Circle.
