False claims

Take a hike, buddy... It's your word against the word of a Freedom member - good luck with that.
― Flint telling the player off.

False claims is a side mission available in S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Pripyat.

Summary[]

A mission that involves the exposure of the thieving stalker, Magpie (Flint, his name as a Freedom member).

Starting the quest[]

After starting the mission In Search of Magpie, upon the player's very first visit to Yanov station, they will meet a Freedom stalker known as Flint. Flint can be first heard telling fellow Freedom stalkers about how he killed a controller.

Subsequently, upon each return to Yanov station, the player can hear Flint boasting about more of his so-called "achievements". However, it becomes clear that he's actually taking credits for what the player did. Flint's stories depend on how many side missions the player has completed beforehand:

Area Maps: Flint can be heard telling everyone about how he discovered the shortcut between Zaton and Jupiter through trial and error.
Oasis: Flint can be heard telling everyone about him discovering the Oasis.
Bloodsucker Lair: Flint can be heard telling everyone how he singlehandedly killed every bloodsucker in the lair until they were all wiped out.
Anomaly research: Flint can be heard telling how he helped the Ecologists setting up detectors in several anomalous zones.

Anytime Flint is done telling his stories, the player can approach him and accuse him of lying, which results in Flint telling the player off. The mission starts when the player accuses him for the first time. Eventually, after accusing him three times of lying, he will start telling a story about how he was hired by a group of stalkers in Zaton to hunt down a chimera, claiming that the rookie they brought alongside them to watch the entrance ran away, forcing him to fight off and kill the mutant alone. This reveals Flint's identity as Magpie, and updates the mission In Search of Magpie.

Once Flint's true identity is established, the player has three choices:

Turn in Flint to Lt. Col. Shulga, which contributes towards getting the A Friend of Duty achievement.
Turn in Flint to Loki, which contributes towards getting the A Friend of Freedom achievement.
Report back to Gonta, which contributes towards getting the A Friend of Stalkers achievement (and also results in completing the In Search of Magpie mission).

Even if the player turned in Flint to either Duty or Freedom, In Search of Magpie can still be completed by telling Gonta about it (which also unlocks the mission Hunting the Chimera). Regardless of how the mission is completed, the achievement Courier of Justice is unlocked upon completion.

Alternate ending[]

There is a quicker, alternate way of completing the mission. Anytime after the mission is started, go to the center of the Quarry in Jupiter. The player will find there a dying stalker by the name of Sliver. A dying Sliver tells the player that he and a Freedom member went to the Quarry for artifacts, but he stepped in an anomaly and was severely wounded; instead of helping him out, the Freedom stalker took the artifact and left him to die, claiming that he'd be back with help. This starts the mission Retribution.

Coincidentally, when the player returns to Yanov Station, Flint can be heard telling a story about how he went to the Quarry and found a large number of artifacts, leaving nothing behind him. The player can talk to him and tell him about Sliver, and accuse him of leaving him to die. Once again, Flint will tell the player off, and then instantly proceed to tell the story of his chimera hunt, which exposes him as Magpie as well. There is no alternate reward for completing the mission this way, and the only thing that changes is the dialogue with Shulga or Loki.

Reward[]

There is no immediate reward for this mission, although various rewards can be obtained from the In Search of Magpie mission (depending whether the player turned in Flint to Gonta or not).

Trivia[]

The description of the achievement Courier of Justice (obtained by completing this mission) claims that Magpie's stolen loot was deposited in the player's locker for exposing him, although no actual reward is associated to this mission (directly).
There is a rare bug that can occur, when informing Loki about Flint, that turns every NPC in the game hostile.