We have two considerations at work here – one moral and one practical – and they're somewhat connected:
Moral: West is obsessed with "getting" the Russians at any cost. The PCs don't know why; clearly, it's personal. Maybe the mob wasted his partner or a family member, or he was in love with a Russian hooker who got killed. This profile is why the Company identified West as a 'promising' contact, when contacting a security service is otherwise ill-advised for independent operators. The upshot is that he's taken his team off the reservation here. They have illegally borrowed firearms and copied evidence from MI5, and are making clandestine contact with the PCs under the assumption that the Agents are FSB officers. So while West can call for backup, he has nobody on standby; it would be a cold call.
Practical: Time elapsed between Wen's warning and the group dispersing to prepare for the enemy is about 30-60 seconds, and the enemy will be in shooting range 30-60 seconds after that. The Agents chose the meeting location because it was far from any significant police presence. A cold call to any police force would bring backup in 5 minutes at best, up to 15 minutes at worst . . . if West manages to make his skill roll and convince the backup that the situation is for real! The shootout would be over by then, so all backup would do is show up in time to arrest West for screwing up. Whereas if his side wins the battle, he can pull strings to have it written off as "gang-related," given the neighborhood (the PCs choose this spot for exactly that reason).
no subject
Moral: West is obsessed with "getting" the Russians at any cost. The PCs don't know why; clearly, it's personal. Maybe the mob wasted his partner or a family member, or he was in love with a Russian hooker who got killed. This profile is why the Company identified West as a 'promising' contact, when contacting a security service is otherwise ill-advised for independent operators. The upshot is that he's taken his team off the reservation here. They have illegally borrowed firearms and copied evidence from MI5, and are making clandestine contact with the PCs under the assumption that the Agents are FSB officers. So while West can call for backup, he has nobody on standby; it would be a cold call.
Practical: Time elapsed between Wen's warning and the group dispersing to prepare for the enemy is about 30-60 seconds, and the enemy will be in shooting range 30-60 seconds after that. The Agents chose the meeting location because it was far from any significant police presence. A cold call to any police force would bring backup in 5 minutes at best, up to 15 minutes at worst . . . if West manages to make his skill roll and convince the backup that the situation is for real! The shootout would be over by then, so all backup would do is show up in time to arrest West for screwing up. Whereas if his side wins the battle, he can pull strings to have it written off as "gang-related," given the neighborhood (the PCs choose this spot for exactly that reason).