The White House

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v·d·e The White House
FBI Files Loading Screen
Heist Info
Contractor	Locke
Contract Days	1
Loud / Stealth	✔ / ✔
Stealth bonus	10%
Loot	N/A
Base experience (XP)	Both: 2,000 (heli used for escape arrives) +1,000 (entered white house) +2,000 (entered west wing) +8,000 (opened safe) +4,000 (entered PEOC) +8,000 (hacked mainframe) +2,000 (stole pardons) +2,000 (exited PEOC) Stealth: +2,000 (cut wireboxes) Loud: +4,000 (hacked wireboxes) +2,000 (found thermite) +1,000 (used thermite) +4,000 (disabled AA)
Extra Statistics JC Level 30 Minimum Experience 17,000 (premature Secret ending) 31,000 (standard playthrough) Maximum Experience (Normal) 40,000 Contract Cost 120,000 (Normal) 240,000 (Hard) 600,000 (Very Hard) 1,200,000 (Overkill) 1,500,000 (Mayhem) 1,500,000 (Death Wish) 1,500,000 (Death Sentence) Contract Payout 250,000 (Normal) 500,000 (Hard) 1,250,000 (Very Hard) 2,500,000 (Overkill) 2,750,000 (Mayhem) 3,250,000 (Death Wish) 3,500,000 (Death Sentence) Bag Limit 20 Package locations 44
Other
Internal name	vit
Achievement(s)
v·d·e

"Okay, guys. This is it. The greatest heist... Of all. What you've been waiting for. The fucking White House."

—Bain

The White House is a heist available in PAYDAY 2 released on November 1, 2018 on the final day of the Breaking News community event of CrimeFest 2018, as well as the final heist story-wise. The Payday gang is tasked with stealing presidential pardons from the titular building, allowing them to get off scot-free and retire.

Overview

After being rescued from Hell's Island, Bain's condition has slowly gotten worse as the Murkywater virus starts killing him. In his last contract for the crew, he instructs them to break into the White House in order to steal the unsigned presidential pardons which reside in the Presidential Emergency Operations Center (PEOC). Doing so will allow the entire crew to be excused of all illegal activities, and they will be able to retire as criminals.

There are two outcomes of the heist, depending if you decide to go straightforward for the pardons, or obtained the prerequisites to tackle the other route.

If you decide to go straight for the pardons and escape, you unlock the first ending. After the gang successfully infiltrates the White House and steals the pardons, they escape by getting into Locke's chopper and flying away. Bain congratulates the crew over the radio, but presumably dies while speaking to them. The heisters meet in Mexico, where a grave for Bain has been dug up and his funeral is being held. Everyone throws in their masks (with Jacket throwing in his tape recorder), giving up their criminal lives. It remains unknown whether Dallas does this as well, or if he's going to continue on with heisting. This is a bad ending to the heist, and is not considered canon to the plot in any way.

The second ending is obtained after gaining access to the secret vault hidden behind the Mesoamerican painting in the PEOC, where you face off against The Dentist. After killing him and completing the heist, the true ending to PAYDAY 2 unlocks, describing what happens to the crew after the break-in. The offshore PAYDAY was used to get everyone out of D.C., just like Bain said it would. They celebrate on a beach, being that their criminal lives are now over. This ending may set up for the sequel to have an entirely new crew pick up where the PAYDAY gang left off, expanding on the lore in the third entry.

Objectives

1. Enter the White House
2. Go to the West Wing
   1. (Stealth) Locate and cut the correct wires
   2. (Loud) Hack the wire boxes (2)
3. Proceed to the West Wing
4. Find the Oval Office
   1. (Loud) Use the thermite to get in
5. Find the hidden safe
   1. (Stealth) Search for clues
   2. (Stealth) Locate the USB drive
   3. (Stealth) Extract the code
6. Open the safe
7. Take the keycard
8. Go to the library
9. Access the P.E.O.C
10. Investigate the vault
    1. (Secret) Open the secret vault
    2. (Secret) Kill the Dentist
    3. (Secret) Haul the gold to the center
    4. (Secret) Activate the device
11. Hack the mainframe (3 times)
12. Steal the pardons
13. Leave the P.E.O.C
    1. (Loud) Disable the anti-air
    2. (Loud) Wait for the helicopter
14. Escape

Assets

Purchasable

Body Bags
Price:	$7,000 (Normal) $10,500 (Hard) $14,000 (Very Hard) $21,000 (Overkill) $35,000 (Mayhem) $49,000 (Death Wish) $63,000 (Death Sentence)
Requires the Aced Sixth Sense skill to unlock

Grenade Case
Price:	$3,000 (Normal) $4,500 (Hard) $6,000 (Very Hard) $9,000 (Overkill) $15,000 (Mayhem) $21,000 (Death Wish) $27,000 (Death Sentence)
Requires Gage Weapon Pack #01 DLC

Ammo Bag
Price:	$4,000 (Normal) $6,000 (Hard) $8,000 (Very Hard) $12,000 (Overkill) $20,000 (Mayhem) $28,000 (Death Wish) $36,000 (Death Sentence)

Doctor Bag
Price:	$6,000 (Normal) $9,000 (Hard) $12,000 (Very Hard) $18,000 (Overkill) $30,000 (Mayhem) $42,000 (Death Wish) $54,000 (Death Sentence)

Intel

Risk Level

Gage Courier Packages

Walkthrough

The heist begins with Locke dropping the crew (in disguise) onto the front lawn of the White house in view of a contingent of Murkywater troops. Make way up the staircases to the front entrance of the building where one of two scenarios can ensue.

Stealth

Assuming the party wants to do things quietly, they will need to avoid the scrutiny of guards and cameras all the way. As Locke explains, getting too close to the outside Murkywater guards, the interior security guards, and any security camera will still bring suspicion despite wearing Murkywater disguises.

Make way through the lobby down stairs and take a right towards the West Wing entrance. There is an RFID scanner next to the doors that must be interacted with, revealing a combination of colored wires that must be cut to gain access. There are four colored wires secured inside the cable boxes found throughout the floors: red, blue, yellow and green, and the RFID scanner will require a random combination of two to be cut to disable. Cutting the wrong wire(s) will raise the alarm.

After cutting the correct wires, interact with the RFID scanner to gain access to West Wing, and carefully make way through the cubicles and press stage towards the Oval Office. Several secret service members will stand guard throughout the area, and a security office may be found here as well. Once inside the Oval Office, Locke will suggest the crew to remove some paintings around the room to find a safe containing the PEOC keycard. The safe must be unlocked using a random combination stored on a USB key, the location of which is found on one of the staff laptops found throughout the halls. Once the right laptop is located, it will give a clue leading to the general area of the USB key, which can either be in one of the nearby drawers, or in a fireplace. Plug the USB key into a laptop once found to copy out the code, which must then be punched in at the safe to gain access to the PEOC pass card.

With the PEOC keycard on hand, backtrack to the hallway where the RFID scanner is, and head in the opposite direction to find the Library on the left near the East Wing entrance. The PEOC entrance is located here, but must be opened by pressing a hidden button. Interact with the bookcases and tables to find it and unlock the PEOC airlock to progress. Once inside the PEOC, head down the staircase and use the keycard on the reader to gain access. Around three security guards will be patrolling the floors here, and the vault door cannot be drilled open, so Locke will advise the crew to find a marked computer for him to hack the controls, which should be nearby. Hacking takes some time to finish, and there are three stages that must be manually started. After killing a guard, another guard will spawn to replace him, so don't bother saving 3 pagers to dominate the PEOC.

Occasionally, someone will ring the PEOC. Locke will inform you of this and you will need to find a phone and relay Locke to them. Failure to do so will result in the heist going loud once the vault is open.

Sometimes the computer will have to install a firmware update, which will need to be manually updated. If you don't update in time, the computer will restart and you will need to start the hacking from the beginning.

Once the vault is open, head inside and press the button there to gain access to the presidential pardons. Grab these, and make way back to the airlock. From here on out, the players simply need to return to the front lawn to extract, though this can be challenging to do since casing mode is forced and there is a strict time limit to escape, as fighter jets are entering D.C. airspace and may shoot down Locke's chopper.

Once all players have reached the chopper, the mission ends.

Loud

Assuming the party triggers an alarm before reaching the RFID scanner, cutting the corresponding wires will no longer work due to a security lockdown. Instead, the players must hack the same wire boxes to open the door.

Once completed, the crew must head to the West Wing to find the Oval Office blocked off by a security gate that must be destroyed by thermite paste, which can be found in the rooms nearby. The room containing the thermite will need to be picklocked to gain access.

After gaining access to the Oval Office and finding the safe carrying the keycard, it will need to be drilled open. As usual, enemies may cut the power to the drill, requiring the power to be turned back on and the drill restarted.

Throughout the heist, Murkywater will attempt to deploy tear gas around objectives (this will be indicated by Locke). Similar to Bank Heist, players standing in the gas will take damage.

While the mainframe is being hacked, two ceiling-mounted turrets may be deployed.

Secret Route

Finishing the mission this way requires the completion of several additional tasks beforehand. The details of which can be found here.

Once the prerequisites have been met, the heist must be played loud on OVERKILL difficulty or harder. Simply progress through the heist as one normally would until the part where one breaches the PEOC, where a Mesoamerican painting in the conference room can be interacted with, which reveals a destructible wall leading to an underground vault with a puzzle that has to be solved in order to obtain the secret. Supernatural Cloakers will appear to thwart the players' attempt. Once the puzzle is solved, the crew has to shoot the Dentist before he kills Bain and Locke (while making sure to not get too close), otherwise the heist will end in failure. Once the Dentist is dead, grab the Mayan Gold and put it in the center, then place the gold bars in the sockets in order to activate the Ark of the Watcher, which will end the mission and unlock the true ending.

Variations

• Regardless of going stealth or loud, once entering the Oval Office, the safe containing the keycard will vary. Note that most of the paintings on the wall have an outlet.

• The security room can be in 3 locations and varies.
  • Next to a meeting room and the Oval Office.
  • A door behind some computer desks in a small office.
  • A corridor by a meeting room next to the Oval Office that also has a No-Entry area.
• The Murkywater enemies from the start may spawn in different locations, some may be guarding the front door or none at all.

Mayhem+ Changes

• All cameras are Titan cameras

The FBI Files

The Payday gang attempted to use the world crisis as an opportunity to enter and steal something from the White House. The audacity of their actions is remarkable, even for the Payday gang. It was also to be their downfall. Working with well-coordinated surveillance and tactics teams, the Clowns were intercepted and successfully stopped. In the brief firefight that ensued, all present members of the gang were killed. Payday mastermind “Bain”, in a break from his usual M.O., is confirmed to have taken part in the operation and his body has been identified as one of those dead. Subsequent arrests were made to bring in the rest of the gang, effectively ending their reign of crime.

Notes: Those damn Murkies almost ruined this one with their clumsiness. Maybe it’s time to retire.

Bugs

• Despite being stealthable this heist has no stealth bonus attached to it. This also makes the ghost not appear, and not making it appear in the proper stealth sections of the Contract Broker.
• Despite Murkywater being the primary enemies of this heist, FBI snipers appear instead of the Murkywater ones (which exist, being used on Hell's Island).
• Upon landing from Locke's helicopter, as seen from heists such as Beneath The Mountain, there is a glitch that forces players other than the host to simply fall out and die out of the helicopter, or begin to fly into the air out of the map boundaries. This also causes random detections from the Murkywater enemies at the start, regardless of detection rate, compromising stealth and making it go loud.

Achievements

• Permanent Achievements
• Teaser
• Trivia

Strolling through the Rose Garden Complete the White House job on the Normal difficulty or above.

Just Like John Adams Complete the White House job on the Hard difficulty or above.

Don't Forget to Vote Complete the White House job on the Very Hard difficulty or above.

Setting Your Sights On 1600 Penn Complete the White House job on the OVERKILL difficulty or above.

A Hearing in Congress Complete the White House job on the Mayhem difficulty or above.

A Night at the Theater Complete the White House job on the Death Wish difficulty or above.

Party Like it's 1812 Complete the White House job on the Death Sentence difficulty.

Taking the Oval Office in Style Complete the White House job on the Death Sentence difficulty with the One Down mechanic activated.

A Heist to Remember Find a fitting souvenir from the White House and take it with you. Pick up the toast in the P.E.O.C

Big Brother Complete the White House job in stealth and without destroying a single camera on the OVERKILL difficulty or above.

President For a Day Complete the White House job while wearing any presidential mask on the OVERKILL difficulty or above. Also allows use of the "The First American" mask.

The End Complete the PAYDAY 2 Secret. Replaces the Secret Achievement.

• Big Brother is the synonym for abuse of government power, particularly in respect to civil liberties, often specifically related to mass surveillance.
  • The term itself originated from George Orwell's 1949 novel Nineteen Eighty-Four, where Big Brother is the supreme figurehead of Oceania, a totalitarian state wherein the ruling party Ingsoc wields total power "for its own sake" over the inhabitants, giving rise to the phrase "Big Brother is watching you". Generally, the idea conveys a line of propaganda, meaning citizens have to follow what a dictatorial government wants them to do, and if they do not, Big Brother will know, as it spies on them all the time.

Trivia

• Despite the emphasis on the stealing of the presidential pardon letters, these wouldn't work the way Bain had intended them to in reality.
  • The delivery of a pardon had to have been officiated by a trusted party if it were to be considered valid, which is obviously not the case here, since the documents were neither issued "constitutionally" by the president himself, or even an acting president, and therefore could be instantly overturned by the Supreme Court were they to be presented.
  • Even then, a presidential pardon would only forgive the recipient of their federal crimes, while those committed within respective states will still be under said states' jurisdiction.
  • Being issued a pardon does not absolve one of their criminal misdeeds, and their records will remain unchanged, making the act of obtaining the pardons rather pointless.
  • It's funny to note that considering all these facts, Bain still called it the "greatest heist of all". Added with the fact that there is no obtainable loot, it makes the entire heist futile.
  • However, the device in the secret section of the heist might have served as some sort of reincarnation engine, with the true ending's heavy implications of Bain reincarnating as the missing POTUS, who had signed the pardons for the crew himself, which can make the pardons make more sense than the normal ending, and putting a new light upon the meaning of it being the "greatest heist of all".
    • The 46th also ends his speech with the very familiar line, "Let's do this". In the credits, these were Bain's supposed final words before his demise at the hands of the virus, further supporting the possibility of a reincarnation engine.
• Assuming the events of the PAYDAY universe line up with those of the real world, the current sitting president of the United States is noted to be the 46th, implying that the 45th president was somehow impeached, forced into resignation before the end of his term, or otherwise removed from power in some manner.
  • The 46th President can be seen in the secret ending video on the television, giving a medal of valor to Police Commissioner Solomon Garrett and giving a speech to the public, where he is played by veteran actor John de Lancie.
• The White House is the only heist with multiple possible endings, and the first to require the completion of a secret to properly complete. On top of this, it is so far the only heist to unlock cutscenes upon completion.
  • It is also the only heist that has a contractor supposedly die off screen. 
  • This is the second heist after Hoxton Revenge where the crew must kill off a previous contractor as a mission objective, though this can be averted by playing through it normally instead of pursuing the secret ending.
  • In the FBI Files, it is said that all members present during the heist were killed, and the heist was unsuccessful. It is possible that this was a lie, as all heisters are referenced in the true ending.
• The White House heist is one of the only fewer heists in the game that trigger the "Point of No Return" near the end when completing in stealth. Though, this is due to the Murkywater enemies arousing suspicion of Locke's helicopter.
• There is some speculation about what happens in the final movie in the main menu, titled "The End." It supposedly ends PAYDAY 2's storyline, but leaves a lot of loose ends. Dallas is seen with his mask still in his possession, though he may have thrown it out after. Many believe he may continue his criminal career, as a member of another (new) crew or as a contractor.
  • Having no coffin in the hole the gang drops their masks into also raises the question of whether Bain died or not as he is not seen or heard of past his "dying" message when the heist has been completed. However, it could simply be a symbolic gesture from the gang and his body is elsewhere or even may had been cremated. This does, however, support the theory that Bain is reincarnated as the president, by showing the "death" of the Payday Gang when Bain also "died." 
  • Later on, this ending was retconned by the true ending, found by accessing a secret vault and killing The Dentist. 
• A heist taking place in the White House was alluded to on Day 3 of Framing Frame ("1600 Penn... maybe we go there for our next big score..."), a good five years before the conception of this mission.
• The true, secret ending shows the PAYDAY gang successfully getting away from the criminal world and celebrating on an unknown beach, possibly the same one Bain suggested Hoxton buying. Locke, The Butcher, and Vlad are all present. The Butcher makes her last deal with the crew (and afterwards, proceeds to whack Locke in the face with a suitcase full of gold for what he did back in Alaskan Deal), and Vlad is going to retire.
  • As seen the PAYDAY gang have all moved on from their past, and after the true ending, text scrolls down the screen, describing where they have all gone and what most of them did with their money.
    • Dallas bought a yacht and appropriately named it "Medic Bag", joined by his fellow PAYDAY members at times. 
    • Chains moved to Los Angeles and became an arms-master and stuntman. He revitalized the stunt industry and practical effects thanks to his fortune, with Gage eventually joining up with him and regaining the use of his legs. 
    • Wolf joined with Dallas on his yacht but got bored and went back to Sweden to live underground. It is said he was never heard from or seen again. 
    • Hoxton spends most of his time relaxing on the beach and throwing parties, but also visits Las Vegas many times a year, having bought the Golden Grin Casino. He plays poker and does not care if he wins or loses. 
    • Houston stayed in Mexico and now runs a bar as a neutral ground to broker shadowy agreements between criminals and government officials like, serving as the mediator. 
    • Bodhi ended up in a coma for a brief period of time, after going into extreme sports and injuring himself while smashing the record for the highest skydive. He eventually recovered and with his fortune, he builds a car which he plans to break the world land-speed record. 
    • Bonnie returned to Glasgow and bought an empty lot near Riverview Gardens to build a distillery, named "Bonnie's Single Malt". It then became a cherished brand of whiskey all over the world and replaced Champagne as the victory drink of choice in the underworld. 
    • Clover returned to Ireland, buying a castle that was once a House of the Last Kings of Ireland. She spends her days breeding and training prize show horses. Aldstone joined with her to teach her how to exploit high society due to him disliking beaches and casinos, and said his farewells to Hoxton. 
    • Dragan went back to Croatia with The Butcher as her business partner. Growing bored with crime however, he started a world-class gym in Zagreb, where he teaches boxing and extreme contact disciplines. Several of his protégés have gone on to become multiple world champions. 
    • Ethan and Hila decided the life of crime was not suited for them and returned to online broadcasting, where they continue to enjoy fame and success. 
    • Jacket threw away his tape recorder and embraced an all-digital setup, making it easier to understand him. He proceeded to start a new gang in Miami and established a famed reputation for employing thugs of the highest quality. 
    • Jimmy discovered a unique combination of rare drugs with brain-enhancing properties. He was then contracted by a private space agency for a top-secret experiment that remains hidden to the public.
    • Jiro went back to Japan and confronted his old Yakuza brothers. He settled the score with them and avenged his wife and son. He left Japan afterwards to never return. Legends tell that he now walks the earth in search of Enlightenment. 
    • Sangres joined with Jiro and assisted him in avenging his family. Thanks to his ruthless nature, he became one of the very few outsiders to ever hold the position of Yakuza boss. His influence spread over Tokyo, and he was given the name (Zannnin na Oyabun) by rival clans. 
    • John Wick went back to focus on the one thing he does best - being one of the most notorious hitmen in history. He eventually retired, got married, and even adopted a dog. However, the Life eventually came back to haunt him, but his enemies would soon learn that you don't fuck with a master hitman's dog and live to tell the tale. 
    • Joy opened a trendy arcade hall in Seattle, where no arcade games newer than 1999 were allowed, with the exception of the ones she made herself of course. She now runs the biggest retro-games company in the world, with several award-winning titles. 
    • Rust rebuilt his motorcycle from scratch, taking parts from the engines of former-rival gang members' bikes. After packing a large leather bag full of cash from his time with the Payday gang, he rode out into the wasteland seeking adventure, never to be seen again.
    • Scarface went to South America to capture crocodiles and wasn't heard from again. Some say he died while others say he formed a new drug empire under the name "The Colonel."  
    • Sokol took his winnings and moved to Cyprus with all his friends and family. In the following years, his new organization attained major influence at the highest levels of the country. 
    • Sydney left her life of crime behind completely and moved to Switzerland, where she competed in the individual medley at the Olympics, winning the gold medal. Using her fame and fortune, she now supports the fight against child cancer and travels the world, volunteering at various wildlife rescue centers. 
    • Duke bought a museum in New York and has acquired one of the largest collections of rare and historical artifacts in the world. His museum now houses the infamous "Chinese Blue" diamond and many other ancient objects of historical origin. 
    • Locke moved to Silicon Valley, earning the nickname "The Guardian of Silicon Valley" after having set up a world-renowned cybersecurity company. He is also pursuing a career as a pro golfer, causing an uproar by always competing in combat fatigues. And to this date "he has never actually hit a boat." 
    • And finally, Bain achieved his goal of pulling off the greatest heist of all, just before his body succumbed to the virus that plagued him. His final words will echo forever in the criminal underworld and circles of power: "Let's do this!" 
• Even though this heist was requested, and likely set up, by Bain, it is Locke who is the contractor presumably due to Bain's withering condition at the hands of the virus.
• The Mayan Gold used in the secret ending of this heist are heavily implied to be the same bars taken from First World Bank via OVERDRILL. There are also more gold than the number of slots on the floor to put them in.
• The fate of Baldwin is revealed after discovering the secret underneath the White House.
• Due to the nature of the secret, The White House is the only heist to punish players in a sense for completing it stealthily.
• Despite the Payday gang being notoriously wanted in the D.C. area, complete with facial sketches and image records, nobody seems to bat an eye when the heisters trot around the White House doing their thing, even before they put on their masks. This is made even more egregious when the occupying forces are those of Murkywater, who should have instantly recognized something's off about these four supposed new transfers.
  • Even though the crew is wearing Murkywater disguises, the guards and the security cameras can still see through them if the crew gets too close. As such, this would make wearing said disguises (and stealing them in the first place) rather pointless.

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