United Liberty Paper contact

For the IAA front company, see United Liberty Paper.

“The FIB? Do I look homosexual? Do you think I care about the size of your Johnson? Now... you can't always tell who the good guys are. I'm not a good guy. But I'm fighting with them, and guess what? So are you.”

—The U.L. Paper Contact to Niko Bellic in Wrong is Right.

The United Liberty Paper contact (real name Bernard), mostly referred to as Agent ULP, is a main character in Grand Theft Auto IV, a minor character in Grand Theft Auto V, and a main character in Grand Theft Auto Online.

He was originally voiced by the late Milton James in GTA IV and GTA V, and later Jeff Steitzer in GTA Online.

Background

The United Liberty Paper Contact, is a senior agent working for the International Affairs Agency (IAA), joining them at some point prior to 2008, under the front of the United Liberty Paper. He mentions a past military career in the U.S. Army. He has a history of working with drug dealers on the West Coast of America and has historical ties to Russians going back to the late 1980s and early 1990s when they started emigrating to America on Israeli passports. By his own admission he was "the first in (to Russia) in '91 and the first out in '11". He also possibly has a history of working operations during the Yugoslav wars as he speaks a sentence in Serbian to Niko.

Plot

Grand Theft Auto IV

“So, Mr. Bellic... quite a file, quite a story.”

—The U.L. Paper contact greeting Niko Bellic in Wrong is Right.

The Contact blackmails Niko to work with the U.L. Paper after Niko finds out that his girlfriend, Michelle, was an agent assigned to monitor him. The Contact then gives Niko several tasks that usually include killing people that are "supposedly" linked to a powerful terrorist group. He also has him cover up some of U.L. Paper's activities, such as by killing a man who knew of the Organization, killing another man who funded terrorist plots and stealing a helicopter from the terrorist group to kill yet another man who funded the group's activities.

During the course of the mission line for The Contact, he tells Niko that, in repayment for his cooperation, he will find the man that Niko came to America to find. He ends up keeping that promise towards the end of the game when he has Darko Brevic delivered to Francis International Airport for Niko to deal with him. After this, he informs Niko that he's on his own and wishes him the best. If Niko kills Darko, The Contact sends Niko an email stating that he hopes he got what he wanted in the end and informs Niko that he has let go of all the negativity and what happened with Darko, try new things and move on.

If Niko spares Darko, The Contact sends Niko an email congratulating him on doing the right thing, telling him to move on with his life and for him to take care of himself, bidding him farewell.

If Niko responds positively to either email, he'll thank The Contact for his help and wishes him luck on running the world and concludes by saying it doesn't seem to be going good.

Grand Theft Auto V

“Put the weapons down, boys. Fun time is over. We've got you. Anti-American activity.”

—The U.L. Paper contact during the standoff at the Kortz Center.

The contact (credited as United Paper Man) makes his first appearance in Grand Theft Auto V at the end of the mission Monkey Business, where he, along with two soldiers, discovers FIB agent Steve Haines, who shot himself in the leg so that Michael De Santa and Dave Norton could get away with the chemical agent they had stolen.

He appears again later in the mission The Wrap Up. Here, he shows up to the stand off between De Santa, Norton, Haines, and Agent Sanchez, alongside several IAA agents. Then, corrupt FIB agents show up, compromising the situation even further, and then Merryweather Security shows up as well. After the opening cutscene is over, a three way shootout commences on the roof. During the fire fight, the contact will arm himself with an unmodified Pistol, and can be shot, either by Michael, FIB agents or Merryweather operatives. Ultimately, however, the contact canonically survives the incident.

Grand Theft Auto Online

The Doomsday Heist

“Whoever's running this show has got a lot to answer for. It might have looked like I was caught over there, but that was smoke. It was a play to make them think I'd go double. I've been working the Russians ever since they started coming in on Israeli passports... I was the first in in '91 and the first out in '11. Yeah, I know their moves. I know their counter moves. And all this smells off. Something's happening here, we don't know what it is, how deep it goes. I was this close to unlocking it. The Russian agents, the data thefts, the leaks... All this nonsense. Bogdan is on his way. To Talk. But then you come along, and now you've probably, for all I know, started World War III! Goddammit!”

—Agent ULP to the Online Protagonist, about why he was captured.

In 2017, the contact makes an appearance in Act 2 of The Doomsday Heist, in which he was kidnapped by the Russians and is being held captive at a foundry in East Los Santos. The player and their crew members are required to extract him from the foundry and bring him to a secure location, where he will be looked after by Avon Hertz's security team.

Later in Act 3, the player and their crew have to help Agent ULP return to the IAA. The players need to escort him in his Havok from Procopio Beach to the IAA hideout, using Ramp Buggies and a Chernobog to fight off Cliffford Mercenaries in Valkyries and Dubsta 6x6s. Upon completion, Phoenicia Rackman expresses her relief on the job well done, and identifies Agent ULP by the name "Bernard", telling him to stay safe after the event, to which Lester reacts with a question, "Bernard?".

The Criminal Enterprises

“I can't tell you much as long as you're still just a civilian, but I can tell you this. It's hot as hell outside, and gas prices are through the roof. We can't change the weather, but maybe we can do something about the price at the pump. You think you know what's behind it? Well the correct answer is "no". You don't. Forget everything you've heard in the news, and forget all the braindead conspiracy theorists on Lifeinvader. You want to know the truth? Well, we're gonna need to bring you in. We're prepared to swear you in as a special field operative. You'll be one of us. Working under our umbrella. Only you'll be significantly better paid.”

—Agent ULP inviting the Online Protagonist to work for the IAA.

In the summer of 2022, half a decade after the events of The Doomsday Heist, Agent ULP hires the GTA Online Protagonist as a sworn-in IAA special agent for Operation Paper Trail to investigate the local petrochemical magnates, the Duggan Crime Family, who he suspects are behind the sudden increase of gasoline prices in San Andreas. Eventually, his suspicions are confirmed to be true by the IAA investigation, and in addition, they find out that remains of Cliffford's code were acquired by the Duggan Family, who used the AI to manipulate the gas prices for their personal profit.

After recovering Cliffford's hardware from the Duggans, Agent ULP sends the protagonist to the Mile High Club, where Mason Duggan has set up a deal with corrupt FIB agents to purchase more drives containing Cliffford's code from their collection of seized assets. The protagonist busts the deal, chases and kills Mason, and secures the drives, delivering them to the IAA.

In their final assignment as a special agent, the GTA Online Protagonist is granted access to a top-secret agency-controlled site, the abandoned silo on Mount Chiliad formerly owned by the late Avon Hertz, where they are tasked with obliterating any remaining traces of Cliffford's code in the servers. After the protagonist completes this task, Agent ULP contacts them one final time to tell them that they are being put on "indefinite hold"; in other words, the protagonist's career as an IAA agent is terminated due to them having outlived their usefulness. He also reveals that the agency intends to keep the gas prices as they are for now, and officially cuts ties with the protagonist after paying them for their work.

Description

Personality

Quite sardonic and not without his patriotism, the ULP contact justifies his and the organization's actions by saying that foreign terrorist groups and governments that conflict with America are ready to commit even more heinous actions that could bring harm to the American population (which Niko finds to be true while working against said terrorist groups). However, he doesn't deny that a lot of his actions are not for procuring public safety but rather to satisfy the government's sometimes greedy requests. In the opening cutscene of his first mission, it is revealed that he speaks some Serbian, the language of Niko's home country, as he says, "Just like the old country.", to which Niko replies, "Just like it".

As of 2017, he has a habit of saying "Goddammit" repetitively.

Optional Murders Committed

Merryweather Security operatives - Can be killed in The Wrap Up
FIB agents - Can be killed in The Wrap Up

Prominent Appearances in Gameplay

Grand Theft Auto IV

Wrong is Right (Boss)
Portrait of a Killer (Boss)
Dust Off (Boss)
Paper Trail (Phone call/Boss)
Weekend at Florian's (Post-mission phone call)
Payback (Post-mission phone call)
Liquidize the Assets
That Special Someone (Phone call/Boss)

Grand Theft Auto V

Monkey Business
The Wrap Up (Can be killed) (non-canon death)

Grand Theft Auto Online

The Doomsday Heist

The Criminal Enterprises

Operation Paper Trail
- ULP - Intelligence (Boss)
- ULP - Counterintelligence (Voice/Boss)
- ULP - Extraction (Voice/Boss)
- ULP - Asset Seizure (Voice/Boss)
- ULP - Operation Paper Trail (Voice/Boss)
- ULP - Cleanup (Voice/Boss)

Gallery

Images

Grand Theft Auto IV

Niko Bellic meets the **contact** for the first time in Wrong is Right.

The **contact** gives Niko his business card.

The **contact** blackmails Niko in Portrait of a Killer.

The **contact** complains about Niko's criminal tendencies in Dust Off.

The **contact** meeting with Jon Gravelli in Liquidize the Assets.

Grand Theft Auto V

The **contact** captures Steve Haines in Monkey Business.

The **contact** and his IAA colleagues ambush the meeting in The Wrap Up.

Grand Theft Auto Online

Artwork

Trivia

General

The Contact is similar to Mike Toreno, as they are both connected with the government, and both make the protagonist work for them (Carl Johnson, in Toreno's case; Niko Bellic in The Contact's case). As a repayment for his cooperation, they later reward the protagonist with their desired objectives (Sweet's release from prison in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, and the locating and kidnapping of Darko Brevic in Grand Theft Auto IV).
He is also similar to "the Professor", played by Leo G. Carroll in Alfred Hitchcock's 1959 film North by Northwest, as both are senior agents for the government, and both have a visual resemblance to each other, as well as not having their actual name revealed. When Niko meets the Contact for the first time, he asks him if he works for the FIB, similarly to how the film's main character Roger Thornhill asks the Professor if he works for the police or the FBI.
His original voice actor, Milton James, died on January 1, 2018.
His codename "United Liberty Paper/ULP" refers to the IAA's front company in Liberty City, the United Liberty Paper Merchants. The agent never reveals his name to his hired operatives, although he is still referred by his real name "Bernard" by some of his fellow IAA agents.

Grand Theft Auto IV

A diploma hanging on The Contact's office wall has the name "Edward T. Fortune". However, since the same diploma can be seen hanging on the wall of Vic Manzano's office in The Ballad of Gay Tony, it is likely that this diploma is just a generic prop. The diploma also has a seal with a very similar design to that of the CIA.
- Furthermore, in Grand Theft Auto Online, the U.L. Paper Contact's real name is revealed to be "Bernard" by Phoenicia Rackman during The Doomsday Scenario.
His cutscene character model is named "cs_cia", indirectly revealing which agency he is from prior to Grand Theft Auto V's release.
When Niko meets the Contact for the first time, he asks the Contact if he works for the FIB, to which the Contact sardonically asks Niko if he looks homosexual. This is a reference to J. Edgar Hoover, the first Director of the FBI, who was rumored to be homosexual.
The Contact believes that Niko and Bernie Crane are in a relationship, and implies he has also had relationships with men while serving in the Army, stating he "knows what it's like to feel close to a man", claiming that his time in the military was "lonely". When he tells that to Niko, Niko jokingly replies by saying "I'm sure you do".
While working for him, sometimes after evading a five- or six-star wanted level outside of missions, the Contact will call Niko, expressing his displeasure as Niko cannot control himself, to which Niko would respond by telling the Contact that he just can't help himself sometimes.
The Contact is known to be using the Badger Crappy phone.^[2]

Grand Theft Auto V

As seen in the Bradygames Guide, the Contact originally didn't wear glasses during Monkey Business.

Grand Theft Auto Online

ULP's appearance in The Doomsday Heist confirmed that he canonically survives the events of The Wrap Up.
- However, his voice actor was changed, with Jeff Steitzer voicing him for this time around due to the aforementioned death of Milton James in 2018.
The license plate on Agent ULP's Greenwood reads "29ULP408", a reference to Grand Theft Auto IV's release date: April 29th, 2008.
When ULP first greets Niko in Wrong is Right, he comments "quite a file, quite a story." When first calling a GTA Online Protagonist he's never met in 2022, he also uses these words in his greeting.

References

↑
Screenshot
↑
Screenshot

Navigation

[email-1] 
Screenshot

[poorIAA-2] 
Screenshot

[1]

United Liberty Paper contact

Contents

Background

Plot

Grand Theft Auto IV

Grand Theft Auto V

Grand Theft Auto Online

The Doomsday Heist

The Criminal Enterprises

Description

Personality

Optional Murders Committed

Prominent Appearances in Gameplay

Grand Theft Auto IV

Grand Theft Auto V

Grand Theft Auto Online

The Doomsday Heist

The Criminal Enterprises

Gallery

Images

Artwork

Trivia

General

Grand Theft Auto IV

Grand Theft Auto V

Grand Theft Auto Online

References

Navigation

Navigation menu