Union Hotel

Union Hotel
kana	ホテル“ユニオン”
romaji	Hoteru "Union"
Purpose	Hotel
Location	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Mission	"Target05: Smile"
First appearance	killer7 (2005)

The Union Hotel, also known as the Hotel Union, is a location in killer7. The Union is a small but sophisticated hotel located in Philadelphia, PA and is run by Edo Macalister. Although only visited in the penultimate scenario, Target05: Smile, it is hugely important to the backstory of the Smith Syndicate, and especially Garcian Smith.

Smile

Following the death of Hiro Kasai in Washington, D.C. and the reemergence of Kenjiro Matsuoka, Garcian is ordered by Christopher Mills to travel to the Union to track down Matsuken, who is supposedly having a secret meeting with the United Nations at the hotel (whether this is the actual United Nations or the United Nations Party is unclear). Mills is assassinated shortly after by Linda Vermilion, although Garcian honours his assignment and travels to Pennsylvania. At the hotel he is greeted by Edo, who surprises Garcian by apparently recognising him, even down to his suitcase, a fact which momentarily throws Garcian.

During the killer7's initial visit they come across bloodstains in various places, one on every floor, each with a corresponding Soul Shell found in that location. As they make their way up they are forced to contend not only with the Heaven Smiles swarming the building (including a particularly large variant of Duplicator Smile), but also with the growing realisation that the Union hides a secret of monumental importance to the Syndicate.

Sure enough, the killer7 learn from Travis Bell and various other Remnant Psyches that 6 people were murdered in the hotel a spree killing incident some years previously, with Travis especially hinting at a deeper connection to the killer7. Upon reaching the 7th floor Garcian finds a 7th Soul Shell and meets soon after with two shadowy figures, later revealed to be Harman Smith and Dimitri Nightmare, who tell him Matsuoka is not present at the hotel.

When Garcian returns to the Hotel after the 'deaths' of the killer7, he is forced to witness flashbacks at each of the bloodstains on each floor - flashbacks to the original deaths of the other 6 members of the Smith Syndicate. As he progresses up the hotel he gradually realises that he was the killer, but it is only at the top when he encounters Harman and Dimitri again that he discovers his true identity is really Emir Parkreiner.

It is revealed that Emir, aka 'The Bloody Heartland', had been ordered, presumably by his political mentors within the Japanese government, to take out the Smith Syndicate several decades previously. The corpse of Harman Smith, who was the principal of Coburn Elementary School in Seattle, was found soon after stuffed in his safe. The incident was hushed up by the US government in order to protect national security interests, and the investigating team dubbed the incident 'The KILLER7'.

After briefly encountering the old Harman Smith and Kun Lan in the rooftop suite (the interior of which is completely different to every other room in the building, both in style and layout), Garcian travels to the very top of the hotel and is forced to relive the memory of Emir's suicide, breaking down in the process. Opening his suitcase he realises he has been carrying round the weapons of the other 6 members all the time.

Layout

The Union has 8 floors, counting the small rooftop suite area. The ground floor is entirely comprised of the Lobby, where Edo Macalister can be found working busily. The next five floors above this have an identical layout, consisting of a large open space near the elevators and six rooms located around the corridors. The 7th floor is much smaller than the others, consisting of a small room by the elevator (which, surreally enough, is initially covered in flowers) and a large, multi-room suite where the young Harman Smith and Dimitri Nightmare are found. The roof actually includes a small corridor leading to the 'Forbidden Room', which is revealed to be a hotel suite decorated in a rather antiquated style, and is where the old Harman Smith and Kun Lan play their game of chess. The Forbidden Room is also accessible through Garcian's Trailerhouse, and Kun Lan comments that "time here is warped" during a chess game. A small flight of stairs leads up to the actual rooftop.

During Emir's massacre one member of the Smith Syndicate was killed every floor, usually in their own rooms (Kevin is the only exception to this). The following is a list of where the Smiths were killed and where their appropriate Soul Shells were found.

• Kevin Smith - Lobby - Kevin is killed whilst disguised as a bellhop behind the front desk in the lobby. His room is unknown.
• Con Smith - Room #203 - Con is simply standing at the window listening to music on his headphones when Emir takes him by surprise, killing him instantly.
• MASK de Smith - Room #306 - MASK is taking a shower when Emir discovers him, and, like Con, is entirely defenceless when Emir finds him and takes him by surprise.
• KAEDE Smith - Room #404 - KAEDE initially runs away from Emir, who calmly pursues her into her room. She attempts to hide in the large wardrobe by the side of her bed, but Emir shoots her through the wardrobe, killing her.
• Coyote Smith - Room #502 - Coyote, realising a gunman is inside the hotel, tries to ambush Emir when he enters the room; however, Emir spots Coyote in the window's reflection and instead enters the neighbouring room, climbs out onto the window ledge and shoots Coyote through the window.
• Dan Smith - Room #601 - Dan is the only member of the killer7 to actively confront Emir; the two exchange a few words in Dan's bedroom before drawing their weapons on each other - although only Emir follows through.
• Emir Parkreiner - Rooftop - Although not strictly one of the original killer7, Emir kills himself on the rooftop after realizing the enormity of what he has just done; the 7th Soul Shell, however, is found on the 7th floor just outside the suite where Harman and Dimitri reside - whether its location here is meant to represent the death of Harman, who was not murdered at the Union but at Coburn Elementary School instead, Emir, who kills himself before his spirit is taken in by the immortal Harman, or Garcian, who by confronting his past and realizing that he is Emir Parkreiner, effectively 'dies' as Garcian before reawakening as Emir once again, is left up to the player to decide.

Ownership

Through Johnny Gagnon's notes, it is revealed that Yoon-Hyun was the previous proprietor of the Union, some time around the death of the original killer7. As both an informant (and one who will only impart his knowledge if he is 'bought off' with thick blood in his True Mask form) and the owner of the Hotel, it has been theorized that Yoon-Hyun sold out the killer7's location to Emir, explaining how he was able to track them down to a seemingly innocuous hotel. Interestingly, Yoon-Hyun's name sounds similar to Union, implying his name may simply be a pseudonym.

By the events of 2011, the hotel is run by Edo Macalister, formerly of the Flower, Sun and Rain Hotel on Lospass Island. His dialogue with Garcian implies that he recognizes him from somewhere, although whether this has any significant bearing on the plot or is simply meant to be a reference to Flower, Sun, and Rain is left ambiguous; the Japanese version of killer7 briefly mentions ELBOW in Holbert's tapes, which may explain the connection. Both times after greeting Garcian he mysteriously disappears shortly afterwards.

Trivia

• Another Union Hotel appears in Kurayami Dance. As Yoon-Hyun is said to be the owner of the "Union Hotel Group", it is possible that the Union is a chain.
  

Names in other languages
Language	Name	Translation
English	Union Hotel, Hotel Union
Japanese	ホテル“ユニオン”	Hotel "Union"
Romaji	Union Hotel	Union hotel
French	Hôtel Union	Union hotel
German	Union Hotel	Union hotel