Crane is hired by the GRE to hunt down Kadir Suleiman and retrieve a file stolen from the agency. During the main story quest Awakening, he parachutes into the city but experiences a rough landing and is promptly ambushed by Tahir and a pair of bandits. Crane fires a handgun off, killing one of the bandits but unknowingly attracting virals to his location. Kyle is bitten but thankfully rescued by Jade Aldemir and Amir Ghoreyshi, who seek refuge within Mikla's Bikes. Amir is killed attempting to hold off the horde while Jade and Kyle make their escape, and Jade takes Kyle to the Tower for him to recuperate
When Crane awakens, he meets with Rahim Aldemir, younger brother of Jade, who sends him down to the thirteenth floor to locate Mark, an injured survivor under attack by his infected brother. After proving himself, Rahim takes Kyle to their training course within the neighboring apartment building, still under construction when the outbreak occurred
Crane next meets with Dr. Imran Zere, who provides him with a shot of Antizin and explains that he is researching a potential cure from his mobile laboratory. The leader of Zere's guards, Spike, is responsible for establishing a number of traps throughout the district and asks Kyle to set a number of traps in preparation for a supply run led by Harris Brecken, initiating the First Assignment quest. While setting UV light traps, Crane short-circuits the power supply to the neighborhood, and Spike directs him to a nearby power substation so he can reboot the system. However, night falls and Spike warns Crane to return to safety as quick as possible. Just as he was about to go to sleep, he spots a Bolter, which runs away at the mere sight of him. Upon returning to Spike, he rewards Crane with a remote to activate the traps as well as the UV Flashlight