And the prize goes
... to boctok@lj, who gave the first correct answer.
The evil Client = Tsar of Russia
the Contractor = Theodor the Hunter
something unheard of before = The Thing That May Not Be
A member of the Contractor team = Marusya
offshore team = Frol Kuz'mich and Tit Fomich

Olya, choose your own prize :)