Timeline

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	This article is about the lore development in the PAYDAY Series. For the Crime.net chronologically arranged heists in PAYDAY 2, see Story Line.

This is the timeline of events in the PAYDAY franchise.

PAYDAY: The Heist has no official order of which the heists take place in-universe, or canonically.

PAYDAY 2 used to have no official timeline until the release of the FBI Files, which contains an official timeline in the "Heist Database" but remains questionable as to whether it is the actual timeline or just a possible order. In this timeline presented however, it is based on content release order (including media outside of the game itself) but takes into account if things are specifically stated to be at a certain times or are canon.

PAYDAY 3 is the most story-driven entry and has a clear order in which the heists take place in the story.

Pre-PAYDAY Era (?-2011)

After ten years on the run as a result of his illegal past, Nathan Steele/Dallas goes through the criminal equivalent of a midlife crisis and decides he wants to operate with a crew of criminals. Bain, a mysterious man with a lot of connections who no one has ever seen the face of, reaches out and grants him his wish. Bain and Dallas proceed to contact and recruit three other members to the new gang they were forming: James Hoxworth/Hoxton, a British career criminal who once worked with his own gang in London; Wolf, a violent and unhinged man who suffered a psychotic break when his video game company went bankrupt, leaving him and his family on the streets; and Nicklas/Chains, a former military veteran-turned-mercenary with extensive field experience. Together, they formed what would soon become the infamous PAYDAY Gang, a crew of dangerous criminals with intimidating clown masks concealing their identities. With Bain orchestrating everything behind the scenes with CRIME.Net, the newly-formed PAYDAY Gang wanted to wage a war against the U.S. Government and make a mockery of them through the crimes they would soon commit.

PAYDAY: The Heist (2011-2012)

First World Bank

The PAYDAY Gang introduced themselves to the public by infiltrating and clearing out the vault inside of the First World Bank in New York. Bain had an inside man plant a drill and two cans of thermite inside the copy machine in the bank's server room for the gang to use to break into the vault. Using the keycard they obtained from the bank manager after killing him, the gang got into the server room, obtained the drill and thermite, and used the former to drill open the security gate leading to the vault. As they waited for the drill to finish its job, they went ahead and erased the bank's security footage as a SWAT team arrived to apprehend the heisters. Once it was finished, they made their way towards the back and ignited the two cans of thermite in a room directly above the vault. The thermite effectively burned through the floor and the gang proceeded to clear the vault of all its money. Once all the loot was bagged, the gang fought their way through the SWAT team in the lobby and used C4 to blow a hole in the wall next to the server room on the second floor. The gang ran through the building, down the stairs, and escaped via a garbage truck Bain had waiting as their getaway.

The Heist Continues

The PAYDAY gang had made a name for themselves thanks to the success of their first heist. What followed was a series of jobs in which the gang went on to cause havoc throughout New York and get rich while doing so.

The Heat Street job in particular put the gang on the map since it took place in broad daylight in the middle of the city. The gang snuck into a Manhattan Embassy and obtained a plate-filled briefcase. As they were about to escape undetected, their escape driver, Matt Roscoe, double crossed the gang by shooting the crew member holding the briefcase, taking it for himself, and driving off. The PAYDAY gang pursues his van on foot through the streets of New York to get the briefcase back. Unfortunately, Matt's gunshots alerted the civilians nearby, as well as the NYPD, so the PAYDAY gang had no choice but to fight through a police blockade on the way. Bain attempted to send a second getaway driver to help the gang catch up with Roscoe, but failed because not only did the cops have roadblocks everywhere, but they managed to shoot him and crash his van as well. Matt got into an accident and the gang reached his location. To convince Matt to get out of his car, the gang poured cans of gasoline around it and lit them on fire, forcing him out of the car to avoid suffocating to death. They found that Matt had handcuffed the case to his arm, so the gang took him hostage and escorted him to their escape chopper. After removing the case off of Matt, they let him get arrested by the police.

Another time, the crew went to an apartment building in the NY projects run by a gang of drug dealers, led by Chavez. The crew posed as customers in a phony drug deal with the intent of gaining access to a Panic Room full of cash. The PAYDAY gang is invited in and places the money on the table in front of a drug dealer, who heads off to find Chavez so he can get them their shipment of meth. They then put their masks on and wiped out the entire gang. One crew member cable ties Chavez and swipes his keys, allowing the rest of them to open the red door leading to the panic room. The crew then placed four saws - two on the sides of the panic room and two on the floor below - with the goal of taking the entire room with them using a magnet attached to Alex's helicopter. Once the saws finished detaching the panic room, Alex delivered a bag of C4 to the PAYDAY gang and they blew large holes in the roof, 5th floor, and 4th floor. Alex then flew back with a large magnet attached to his chopper. The gang attached the magnet to the panic room and he flew away with the entire room as the gang fought off the police. The gang then escaped through the sewers.

One of their most destructive jobs was the time the gang blew up a bridge to intercept a prison transport and free a wealthy Chinese businessman's son from police custody. To do this, the crew planted explosives on the Green Bridge and activated them. This caused a passing tanker to detonate and blow the bridge in two.

Some of the PAYDAY gang's jobs were not so loud and destructive though. One of the first times the gang took a stealthy approach to a job was the first time they robbed the Garnet Group of its diamonds. The crew used a glass cutter on a window to breach the building. Then they successfully snuck past the guards and hacked the alarm boxes around the building in order to deactivate the lasers surrounding the vault full of diamonds. Unfortunately, the vault code given to them did not work and the gang got caught by security. The crew had no choice but to intimidate the CFO of the company and Ralph Garnet to get the vault code. The gang also stole an extremely valuable red diamond (likely a garnet) locked behind more security measures. The tactics the gang used in Diamond Heist would be used for many of their future jobs, but they would manage to not actually trigger the alarm in the process.

Mercy Hospital and the Guide of Cagliostro

As it turns out, Bain had greater motives beyond just making money. Bain had been wanting to uncover an ancient secret that no criminal organization has ever been able to uncover. To begin his research, he needed to get his hands on the Guide of Cagliostro. This guide contained valuable information and strategies for planning and conducting heists which would be used by Bain and the PAYDAY Gang in the near future. A shady individual agreed to give him the book in exchange for two samples blood from an infected patient in quarantine in one of the isolation units at Mercy Hospital.

As the gang fought off the police assault, a mysterious military group with a shark logo arrived at the hospital. The Air Force attacked the building with missiles.

The four barely make it out alive with two samples of infected blood. After they escape via Bile's helicopter, Mercy Hospital collapses and burns to the ground.

Bain decided he was going to cut ties with this mysterious contact for good, hoping the events that took place today wouldn't come back to haunt them in the future. Little did Bain and the rest of the gang know that they would.

Slaughterhouse

This was the PAYDAY Gang's first direct encounter with Murkywater after their attack on Mercy Hospital.

Hoxton Arrest (2011)

In 2011, at an unknown point between PAYDAY: The Heist and PAYDAY 2, the group had moved out to Washington DC for their next wave of crime. During one job however it went very wrong and Hoxton was arrested. His lawyer stated that the evidence against him was very clear as "You were caught on tape at the Garnet Group break-in, your fingerprints were all over the panic room, and your apartment is filled with blueprints from banks in D.C.". Hoxton even attempted to bribe his lawyer for better means of escape but was unsuccessful.

Subsequently he was charged, sentenced and incarcerated at high security prison, Hazelton, by the Federal Bureau of Intervention. As luck would have it for Hoxton, he was placed in a cell with their previous driver Matt Roscoe, who had double crossed them during a job prior. Beating him up regularly and interrogating him for what he knows, Hoxton sees it as simple karma.

PAYDAY 2 (2013-2023)

The PAYDAY Gang's Return

In 2013, the PAYDAY gang set up in Washington DC. They had a small safehouse and a growing network of contractors. With the original, or old Hoxton in prison, Dallas' younger brother Franklin joined up with the gang and proved himself to be a vital and skilled member of the team. Needing a mask and a name, he took up the mantle of 'Hoxton' and easily became the fourth member they were missing. Bain had also set up a new network known as Crime.Net to help them keep track of and find new job opportunities in the underworld. Seemingly unknown to the others, Bain is looking a few steps ahead of everyone else at the bigger picture that they can't see yet and he's training them for the "greatest heist of all".

The Beginning & Meeting Vlad

At some point they met with a Ukrainian criminal named Vladislav "Vlad" Kozak, a former Russian mob gangster and well known figure in the criminal underworld around Washington D.C., known for being quite violent, crazed and deranged. After coming to the US he was betrayed by a friend and spent eight years in prison. Now released and looking to re-climb the ladder back to power, he figures the PAYDAY gang would be a good tool to utilize.

Vlad employs the PAYDAY gang to do several jobs small jobs for him, mainly for his personal spite against those who have wronged him. One job is robbing four stores to a sizeable degree that used to be controlled by him but were taken over by his Russian rivals while he was incarcerated. Another has them steal an expensive tiara from a safe in a jewelry store in order to ruin the wedding of the person who betrayed Vlad. And another has them vandalize and terrify a mall so it would force the mall owner, Mr Stone, to pay him protection money.

As the gang began to get their bearings in Washington D.C., Bain had them perform other small jobs that would help them build their illegally acquired income. Soon they were able to perform smash-and-grabs at jewelry stores with quick efficiency. Moving on to bigger things, Bain organized a job to have them rob a Harvest and Trustee bank branch by clearing out its vault which the crew pulled off with ease.

With another plan to hit back against his enemies, Vlad employs the crew to hit the Tasteful Club, a nightclub owned by Dimitri Volkov, the man who ratted him out to the police. His main goal is for the safe to be cleaned of its contents and doesn't care whether or not they kill Dimitri in the process. It is unknown what happened to him as he is never seen again after this point but can likely be assumed he was either killed at the club or fled.

Working with Hector

A Colombian contractor the gang had worked with on a "gold deal" years prior, Hector Morales had established himself as the powerful gang leader through the use of drug trafficking, prostitution and a business set up in Washington D.C. He was the biggest drug lord on the East Coast of the United States and apparently next in line for leader of the Sinaloan Cartel in Mexico. As is usual with drug traffickers, Hector was having a violent dispute with a rival gang, the Mendoza Cartel, as they were his direct competition. Hector had plans to completely destroy their whole operation and contracted the PAYDAY gang to help.

The first job the crew undertook with Hector required them to transport cocaine to a harbor warehouse in order for it to be shipped. However, their transport vehicle was suddenly ambushed by law enforcement and the gang had to quickly survive the assault and move the product to another vehicle to take to the harbor themselves. Once they reached the docks they again found themselves suddenly ambushed by the police but were able to defend themselves and made sure the shipment was made.

Hector employs the PAYDAY gang for a more personal job this time as he aims to cripple the finances of the Mendoza cartel. The group makes their way to an airfield where they engage in a shootout with the gang members and steal armaments they had stored in a hanger. Once that was completed, they were required to break into the office of the FBI and steal a server in order to find information on the whereabouts of the Mendoza Cartel's money. Having secured the information that the money is in a vault of a Harvest and Trustee bank, the crew broke into the vault and set fire to the cash reserves, making sure to record it on video for Hector who personally requested it.

The Elephant's Ambitions

In order to further his political ambitions in the Republican Party through means less than legal, Senator John Henry, also known as The Elephant, becomes a contractor for the PAYDAY gang in order to help him achieve success in the election race that is currently being held. While being a typical politician and all round nice guy on the outside, his inner desires tell another story.

The Elephant contracts the gang to obtain a prototype of an experimental fusion reactor from a laboratory owned by Professor Rossy who aimed to make strides in the use of cold fusion. Should he succeed in his research, it would mean less support for the Elephant's campaign as he intends to gain support from oil conglomerates in the upcoming election. The PAYDAY gang infiltrate the laboratory in his mansion and steal the reactor, ensuring support for Senator Henry.

To further achieve his goals, The Elephant devises a plan in which he will frame another senator and gain from the ensuing chaos. Firstly the crew stole several paintings from an art gallery hosting pieces from Singaporean artists. Those were then used to set up a deal with the senator's people in what would appear to be a regular, under the table transaction. Unbeknown to the senator, the paintings contained tiny cameras that were spying on his penthouse, allowing the PAYDAY gang to stealthily enter his home and find incriminating evidence to use against him. Sure enough, the gang played their part and the whole situation apparently shook up Capitol Hill.

Eliminating the Mendoza Cartel

Hector discovers that due to the Payday gang's attacks on the Mendoza Cartel, they have decided to flee Washington D.C.. Once again, he puts to use the PAYDAY gang for one final job - Getting rid of the Mendoza's for good. For that to be possible they need to do a deal with a rival gang, The Cobras, so that they can trade information and find out where the Mendoza's are planning to escape from. Sent to one of Hector's labs to pick up a shipment of meth for the trade, the crew finds the lab under fire from a Mendoza assault, resulting in the deaths of all the cooks. Having nothing to trade and the police on their way, Bain tells them that they must make up the required batches using instructions he will relay to them. Cooking up their DIY meth, the crew escape and proceed with meeting up with the Cobras for information.

The PAYDAY gang bring the meth to the meeting site in Cobra territory but for whatever reason, likely greed and show of power, the Cobras decide to keep the intel and the meth, betraying them and a gunfight ensues. The crew scramble to find the intel and manage to do so before the Cobras were able to burn it. The Mendoza's are planning to escape with the help of the FBI with Bain assuming they have some kind of deal going on but dismisses it as not important.

The bus carrying the heads of the Mendoza Cartel also contains a lot of their money. Heading in by helicopter, they ambush the FBI transports, eliminate the Mendoza's and end their criminal organization, ending the power struggle for Hector.

Building Capital

With Hector's cartel problems finished with, they focus their sights on different places to rob around the city. Firstly, Bain targets a high class diamond store, Gioielli di Famiglia, which the crew hit and robbed a small fortune of valuable, easily fenced stones.

Bain receives intel that the private security company, GenSec, has a series of armored vehicle convoys soon to be making their way through the streets of Washington D.C.. While they do employ a lot of ex-military types for firepower and muscle in their protection duty, this means that whatever they are protecting must be worth a lot of money. Bain gets to work in setting up ambushes on five of the trucks. Utilizing different methods to take down the transports, such as cranes and explosives, the crew immobilize and pilfers the various pieces of loot within their lockboxes.

While GenSec recovers from its string of robberies, Bain finds out that there is one other armored vehicle on its way to the Pentagon via GenSec protection, a train. What's more is that it is transporting a new type of infantry turret dubbed the RC1. With the crew in place ready to pounce, Bain is able to stop the train by hacking the rail network while it is on a bridge over a rocky gorge with the security personnel believing it to have halted because of a glitch in the switches. The PAYDAY gang make their way into the train after finding the correct rail car and steal the special turret's individual pieces along with its corresponding ammunition.

Discovering a small bank that is currently holding stacks of foreign exchange notes in transit, Bain organizes another heist. The crew make their way into the bank, empty the vault and have the money airlifted by Bile in his helicopter before making their escape via the sewers.

Hoxton has since heard about the PAYDAY gang's actions in D.C. and is extremely displeased about being "replaced". During a conversation with his lawyer, they explain that it is impossible for him to be bailed out because of the nature of his crimes and how overwhelming the evidence was as well as continuous violent attacks on his cellmate Matt. Figuring the only way he can get out of prison is by being broken out he is determined to find a way to contact Bain.

Election Tampering

With the voting in DC about to commence, The Elephant wishes to ensure that the citizens of Washington D.C. vote the "right way" and that his mayoral candidate, Bob McKendrick, wins the election. Should the gang be successful in making it happen, The Elephant guarantees the reward will be worth the effort. Arriving at Pier 39, where trucks containing the voting machines are parked, the crew sneak in and attach GPS trackers to them allowing them to follow and find where the machines are being stored and hack them. The ballot job is pulled off successfully and The Elephant thanks the gang for their services by using his connection to McKendrick to help Hoxton be transferred from Hazleton to a prison with lighter security.

Murkywater

One of Bain's underground contacts and black market arms supplier, Gage has a request for him about a job - robbing a warehouse owned by the private military company, Murkywater, one the PAYDAY gang have ran into before in the past. He wants whats inside as he suspects its full of items shipped from Iraq and Afghanistan, areas where he used to be posted as a soldier and wants as much as they are able to get out with. Gage further requests that this heist be done in complete and total secrecy where nobody must raise an alarm or ever find out they were there. As expert heisters, the gang enters the facility and steals the various shipments stored there from drugs, paintings, statues, gold, cash, foreign currency and even an entire set of samurai armor stored in its vault.

The Dentist

While a nervous Dallas visits a surgery for a cavity that needs work done to it, the dentist there strikes up a casual conversation with "Mr Steele" about what he does for a living and finds amusement in his reply of "financial transfers". While checking his teeth, the dentist starts to make remarks about the Benevolent Bank and its apparently "impenetrable" vault. He then shifts the conversation to McKendrick to which Dallas replies he has no interest in politics. The dentist then reveals he knows that's not true and refers to him by his alias, "Dallas". Feeling as if he is being trapped, Dallas attempts to escape but is held down at knifepoint. The Dentist then tells Dallas that he would like him to work for him and that he knows a lot about what the PAYDAY gang has been up to since before they came to Washington. He then requests that once they have hit the Benevolent Bank he would like to send them to the National Gallery to retrieve "the Diamond", something another gang has attempted before and failed. Once that job has been done he also wants them to rob a casino in Las Vegas, the Golden Grin Casino. The Dentist says that the key to heisting is 'pre-planning'. Dallas is skeptical and in disbelief about what he has just been asked to perform and attempts to leave but is suddenly stopped in his tracks when the Dentist brings up an inmate by the name of Jim Hoxworth and how he has knowledge of his transfer plan. Understanding that this is Hoxton's only ticket out of prison, Dallas reluctantly agrees to work for him.

The Benevolent Bank has had many attempted robberies over the past few decades yet they have all been unsuccessful but Bain insists that that will change once the PAYDAY gang hits it. The planning and tools provided by the Dentist allowed them to figure out the perfect route for both entry and escape and easily bypass the extensive security that other gangs failed to. The crew made their way to the vault and emptied it cleanly and, as the Dentist said, made the First World Bank look like a 'toy store' in comparison.

The Hotline Miami Job

To further his criminal dealings and provide incentive for the PAYDAY gang to continue working for him, The Dentist sets up another job for them which takes them one step closer to freeing Hoxton from prison. They are to kill the head of a Russian mafia gang named "The Commissar" as he has ties with the district attorney.

Kidnapping a member of the Russian mob, Wolf interrogates him violently and aggressively demanding to know where the Commissar is. After trying unsuccessfully, Wolf stands aside and a clang of wood on stone begins to make its way down the corridor towards the room. A man arrives at the entrance holding a baseball bat, wearing a varsity jacket and donning a chicken mask. Frightened, the Russian gangster cracks and says he'll talk but the chicken masked man ignores him and strikes him with the bat, presumably killing him.

To start their operation, they head over to one of the Commissar's properties, the East Riverdale Motel, kill the Russian thugs stationed there, destroy the attached gas station, burn cars and rob the underground safehouse. Angered by the sudden attack, the Commissar calls to threaten them whereby Bain is able to trace his exact location via the call.

Taking the Commissar by surprise, the PAYDAY gang hides themselves in storage crates, Trojan horse style as Bain comments, that are delivered to the Russian mafia's base of operations, an old, run down apartment building in a "crappy part of town". Once the assault starts the crew fights through his small, private army while chasing the Commissar as he makes his way to the top of the building. As they arrive they find he has secured himself inside a panic room in the penthouse. Bile drops them a thermal drill that they set up and maintain while holding off law enforcement and a Russian gunship opening fire on them. As the vault door is forced open, the Commissar attacks the gang in a last stand but is ultimately gunned down. Before the gang make their escape, they rob the Commissar's gang of everything they had including guns, money and drugs to give themselves an extra pay day.

With the Commissar out of the picture, the Dentist applies leverage to the district attorney and has him lower the security around Hoxton and orders them to stage a retrial which will give the crew the perfect opportunity to break him out.

John Wick

Chains begins to enjoy some of his private life as he is living with a young woman in a remote area in a luxurious lakeside mansion. As he and this woman begin to share a tender moment he receives a phone call from John Wick, one of his old comrades from his time in the military. John warns Chains that the authorities have found out where his location is and tells him that he's looking for a crew to work with as he has some jobs lined up in Washington D.C. that he is unable to do alone. As Chains begins to bring out weapons, the young woman is shocked and is told not to call him "Nicolas", likely due to the police knowing more of his identity. The two share an uncomfortable yet emotional goodbye. Seemingly giving himself into the police as they surround him, Chains set off explosives and catch the police unaware, managing to gun some down before making his escape. Suspecting John bought the police to him, Wick quickly snipes one of the police near him signifying his loyalty. The police manage to shoot Chains as he is running away and falls into the water where he is able to put on stashed scuba gear and destroy the house before any investigation can be conducted.

While setting up the operation to free their old crew member, and John now a part of the team, the gang make a return hit on the art gallery that they hit prior, as art is a lucrative and much desired object for the black market and underworld collectors.

Hoxton's Breakout

The stage is set and everything has been arranged for Hoxton to be released from prison by force. While being transferred to a retrial at the court house, the gang is in waiting and strikes at the opportune time, blowing open the walls of an underground walkway, taking out the guards that were escorting Hoxton and bringing him to an armored car waiting outside. With Hoxton secured in the back, the gang fights their way through the streets of Washington D.C. and fends off the law enforcement eager to capture them all. As per the plan, the PAYDAY gang drive to an underground parking lot and secure their escape. While there Hoxton reminds the gang that he has been effectively replaced and now requires a new mask and presents one that he made while in prison, a more sinister version of his old clown mask with a burn on its side to match his own acquired scar. To make things right again with the code names he takes back the name of Hoxton and Franklin is now referred to as Houston.

Hoxton however isn't happy with simply just escaping back to the safehouse, he heavily suspects there was a rat in the network of people they worked with and is eager to discover who the 'rat' might be, having accepted that Matt wasn't the one responsible as he would have "beaten it out of him" already. Not taking any time to rest or enjoy freedom, he demands that they go to the center of it all, the FBI headquarters at the Hoover building. A fierce battle breaks out between the gang and FBI agents and law enforcement but they are able to sift through various pieces of evidence and escape with a server that contains valuable insight into who had betrayed them years ago.

As of this point, Bob McKendrick has won the election and has become mayor yet due to the rising crime rates, that he was directly involved in, his competency was immediately called into question. To try and keep his position secure he contacted an old friend, FBI Commissioner Solomon Garrett, to betray the PAYDAY gang and cover up all involvement he had with them. Garrett immediately sets up a special task force made up of his most trustworthy men and assigns Captain Neville Winters to lead it in order to bring down the clowns.

Towards the end of the year, on Christmas Eve 2014, Vlad contacted the PAYDAY gang and explained that a small civilian aircraft had crashed in the woods that was being piloted by his brother in law who was untrustworthy and drunk. He wanted the crew to bring back the product he was shipping, Colombian cocaine, as well as retrieve his brother in law so that the police are unable to link the drug running back to Vlad.

The Diamond & Clover

Many years ago, Hoxton met a young woman by the name of Rochelle Maloney and took her on as an apprentice. Before long the two were making their way across the UK pulling off various robberies and con jobs. Deciding to go solo, during the hijacking of a truck full of Territorial Army L-95's, Clover took them all for herself and left Hoxton to fight his own way out. Questioning whether to kill her for her betrayal, Hoxton let her go finding himself more full of pride than vengeance.

Years later, Bain discovered her and her experience with jewel heists and found her to be a perfect fit for the upcoming job of stealing 'the Diamond' since she also seemed to know about that particular stone as well. She was inducted into the gang and once again crossed path's with Hoxton who was happy to see her back but did bear a small grudge.

The third job requested by the Dentist had arrived, breaking into the national gallery, the McKendrick Museum of Ancient Arts, and stealing a very important and valuable jewel that has been rumored throughout history to be cursed and has been long sought after by many heisters over the years. What makes this attempt different however is that the Dentist reveals he is one of the very few people who have the "connections" to move it. With Clover's knowledge and experience, The PAYDAY gang make their way through the art gallery exhibitions and break into the secure vault that houses the Diamond. Once it is in their possession, along with several other valuables on display, they make their escape and hand over the Diamond to the Dentist.

The Butcher & Dragan

In Zagreb, Croatia, two cars of Interpol agents are making their way to the office of a woman, a butcher shop owner. An agent introduces himself as Mr. Zubovic and says they are looking for Mrs. Horvat. One of the agents, Keszthelti, begins to uncomfortably question her about her business operations to which Zubovic steps in and convinces her that they only need five minutes to look around. She smiles and leads them to the back where agent Keszthelti presses her about her employee's loyalty and, with his partner he refers to as 'Dragan', demands that she show him her arms smuggling stockpile, hoping to cut into her action with his connections in Budapest. Before he is able to call them, Mrs. Horvat stabs him fatally and he suddenly realizes his fellow agent, Dragan, as well as the other officers who joined them, are her loyal employees. Mrs Horvat, known better as 'The Butcher' sends Dragan on an assignment in Washington D.C. to meet up with Bain.

With Dragan now in the US and joined up with the PAYDAY gang as part of a deal with Bain, they set their sights on a job the Butcher has lined up for them, retrieving a thermobaric bomb that is being sent to Norfolk to be decommissioned. To cover different outcomes, the Butcher gives them a choice on how to perform the heist. The first plan has them intercept the cargo ship, Moretta, at its first calling point at the Port of Virginia and secure the bomb before it leaves for Norfolk. The second plan has the crew disabling the freight train carrying the bomb and extracting it while it's en route to Norfolk. The PAYDAY gang made their decision and pulled off the heist for their new contractor.

Jacket

Bain comes up with the idea of making more money by returning to the old, run down meth lab once owned by Hector and continue the production of meth, despite having no more experience on making it since the last time they were there. The crew fought off the law as they made as many bags of drugs as they could before escaping.

The mute psychopath that helped interrogate the Russian mobster during the hunt for the commissar joins up with the PAYDAY gang. Talking only through spliced cassette tapes, Jacket is violent and deadly. Little is known about him but he has a clear hatred towards the Russians with rumors stating that he possibly killed an entire gang of them in Miami.

Shortly after, Bain is contacted by an unknown party about another lucrative heist that would net them a good profit, stealing expensive, luxury, imported supercars, the Falcogini, from Teuer Autos. Understanding that the job would only work if they remained hidden until their getaway, they set up an escape route that opened up with explosives, allowing them to avoid traffic by driving through a deserted tunnel system, that would be used when they drove the cars out of the showroom.

Hoxton's Revenge & Bonnie

An old, Scottish friend of Hoxton was released from prison and managed to find the gang using information she gambled for during her time incarcerated. Being introduced and vouched for to the gang by Hoxton himself, Bonnie proved very useful when she revealed her cellmate was a woman named Juliana Morales, a likely relative of Hector Morales, whose information proved vital in getting revenge for Hoxton.

With the stolen FBI server checked out and Hoxton raring to put a bullet in the rat who sold out the gang, Bain helps them organize an operation at a secluded FBI safehouse that supposedly is holding the informant. Arriving at the house and making their way past the security detail, they discover evidence related to their case and a board that contained most of, but not all, of their contractors under investigation as well as a chart dedicated to 'Operation Watchdog'. Ultimately finding the panic room, the crew is shocked to find that the FBI informant was none other than their former contractor, Hector Morales.

Piecing the evidence gathered together they discover that Hector was being forced to cooperate with the FBI but used his position to play both the FBI and the PAYDAY gang. He managed to keep running his criminal organization and had the PAYDAY gang eliminate his competition, the Mendoza Cartel, which infuriated his handler as they were also FBI assets. Operation Watchdog was a set up for the crew where they were to be arrested while delivering the cocaine for Hector but was unsuccessful. Luckily, his cover was kept in tact since he was losing millions of dollars worth of product as a result. The evidence also revealed that the FBI were mainly interested in arresting Dallas but as he is the PAYDAY gang's de-facto leader he would be too risky to set up so Hector arranged for Hoxton to be arrested instead. While under the protection of the FBI, Hector was helping them build up a case for them to catch the PAYDAY gang as he had heard Hoxton was released and would likely discover he was the one who betrayed them and be out for blood. The case never made it to court as the evidence was seized and Hector Morales was killed.

Nukes

A year after the Shadow Raid at the Murkywater warehouse, Vlad receives word that the mercenaries have received some fresh merchandise and wants the PAYDAY gang to steal it for him. The job seems a little suspicious as he won't divulge what exactly it is he is after but is offering a large amount of money upon delivery. As the unknown objects won't be kept there for very long, the crew decides to launch a quick assault on the warehouse and retrieve them as fast as they can. Upon opening up the cooled storage containers they crew are surprised to find out that Vlad has them stealing a large number of nuclear warheads. Due to the heavy loads and amount of warheads, the crew utilize the forklift trucks as well as a car stored there and take them to a train for escape, fighting past law enforcement and Murkywater troops. With the heist successful, the authorities never found out what was stored by Murkywater or stolen by the PAYDAY gang.

A short time later Bain discovers that GenSec run an arena, mainly for large events and exhibition rooms for corporate VIP'S, that contains a fully working vault making the place a high security storage facility. With the last night of famous Swedish DJ, Alesso's tour, Bain will make sure it goes off with a bang. The crew make their way to the control room of the performance and use the closing pyrotechnics display to cover the sound of explosives damaging the infrastructure beneath the vault, allowing the money to fall through and be collected. While they scored big, since the GenSec arena was their security flagship, it cost them a lot in reputation and reliability.

Golden Grin & Sokol

Even though he had played for the St. Petersburg Bombers as a great hockey player, this was always a front and not his true calling for in between matches, Sokol was an experienced heister. Throughout his career he had robbed casino's and left a trail of empty vaults in Russia from Moscow to Minsk. When the police seemed to be closing in and his time as a solo criminal was coming to an end, a light opened up for Sokol when Bain, after figuring out his identity, offered him a trip to Las Vegas to join the PAYDAY for one of the biggest heists of his life.

The Dentist puts forward his plan for the final request of the PAYDAY gang, going to Las Vegas and robbing the vault of the Golden Grin Casino. According to Bain it had a vault to rival even that of the Benevolent Bank. Aside from the magnitude of the heist, one thing concerned Bain and that was the Dentist would not reveal what it was that he wanted taken from there, avoided answering and said that once the heist was completed their business together was done.

In order to go ahead with the job they needed a new drill designed by their newest member. Sokol gave them what they wanted - the BFD, the Big Fucking Drill. Traveling to Vegas in first class, courtesy of The Dentist, they made their way into the casino for an unforgettable heist. Clearing out the casino with firepower, they constructed their large drill and began sawing their way through the ground. Keeping it stocked up and functioning the drill finished its cutting and opened up the floor. The crew jumped down and began filling their backs with the casino's money and making sure to grab the 'Dentist's loot' before making their grand escape.

Ever since their work concluded, Bain felt very uneasy about the Dentist and the mysterious box they had recovered for him.

Earthquake & Jiro

Abandoned by his family and joining up with a Yakuza faction in Osaka, the Bōsōzoku, Jiro was quick to rise up through the ranks through his violent nature and became one of the clan's most outstanding members. Eventually he had a secret child named Kento with his boss' daughter which ended in tragedy when they were discovered and the daughter was killed. Jiro managed to escape with his son but was eventually arrested and sentenced to twenty years in prison. Once he was released he decided to look for his son and knew one person would be able to help him, Bain. Using his talents for crime and violence, Jiro joined up with the PAYDAY gang and began the search for his son.

As Chains is out on a jog, he sits down to take a rest and is surprised to find Vlad who proposes a job offer for him. He went to Seattle, Washington State and found a huge criminal organization. They and Vlad made a deal which he wants Chains' help with so he can rise up "like a Sputnik". The deal involves black market safes and looking for buyers. Chains declines the offer and walks away while Vlad makes a phone call to his contacts.

In October of 2015, California was hit with sudden and devastating 8.7 magnitude earthquake which caused a lot of chaos and destruction around the city. Vlad is furious as his shipment of weapons was traveling through L.A. to ship them out of Long Beach at the time and demands Bain send Chains and the rest of the gang so that they can continue to be part of his "empire". Dropping in by helicopter, the crew find the shipments, haul them to the rendezvous point by truck and are airlifted away, securing Vlad's weapons.

Locke's Reveal & Bodhi

Employed by Murkywater but remaining true to his roots as a mercenary through and through, Vernon Locke has been tasked heading up their cyberwarfare division and infiltrating Crime.Net. then bringing it down. He achieves this with seemingly relative ease and informs them that he is able to bring down the whole system with the "push of this button". But instead of doing what he was ordered, Locke instead sees an opportunity and decides to employ, or blackmail, the PAYDAY gang into working with him on a few jobs and in turn he will reward them with intel and opportunities for their fight against Murkywater as well as keep them hidden.

To help them on the proposed jobs lined up, Bain employed the help of Bodhi, a Venezuelan extreme sports athlete, environmental activist and career criminal. As he is attempting to complete the "Eight Ordeals", trails to honor the forces of nature, since most of his companions are deal (either to law enforcement or died undertaking the trials) Bodhi accepts Bain's offer to join him.

The crew travels to Nevada in order to infiltrate a secret Murkywater base, Black Ridge, that was valuable and classified loot that is just waiting to be stolen. The PAYDAY gang fight their way through the mass security of the PMC but eventually reach the central control of the facility and use it to open the vaults. Provided passage by Locke himself, the crew take their stolen goods up to the roof where a helicopter is waiting for them for extraction.

The second job proposed by Locke has the crew secretly board a Murkywater plane and eject the massive pallets of cash out of it before parachuting down for collection. Once they reached the ground they noticed some of the pallets had come apart requiring them to collect the remaining cash, storing it back onto the pallet and having it airlifted. As the plane collected the last mountain of cash, the gang escaped through the sewers and rode a dinghy to meet up with Locke.

Towards the end of 2015, Vlad informed the gang that there was a small drugs manufacturing plant within the industrial areas of Washington D.C. that was supplying the city with cocaine. The crew arrived at the facility and saw that the workers were dressed as elves as part of the festive season but it didn't stop them from ordering the workers at gunpoint to continue their production of coke even while they were under fire from law enforcement. Once they had enough, they dropped the bags at a pre-planned pick up point and escaped.

As if Christmas hadn't been odd enough with Vlad's request, the Ukrainian criminal came back with another one for the beginning of 2016. A shipment of goats that had drugs "stored inside" them for smuggling were running amok around an area of the city. The PAYDAY gang turned up to collect them and were quickly involved in a firefight between the Honduran Cartel and the law. Once they were all collected, Vlad wanted them taken to a barn in the country for extraction. The Honduran Cartel tracks them down and attempts to steal the coke back which also attracted the police. The PAYDAY gang held off both opposition and made sure the goats were airlifted to safety before escaping via a bridge they had to hack to bring down.

Heading to Russia & Jimmy/Sydney

The Elephant meets with Dallas at a rooftop bar to discuss a new job offer, one that is unlike any they have done so far that will send them to the Siberian tundra in Russia. He needs them to steal certain research samples from a Russian organization for another Russian organization. The flight is all ready and paid for, just waiting to drop them into the action. From their show of wealth and boasts of "high level tech shit", Dallas questions why their surveillance photographs look very dated. The Elephant impress Dallas by showing their true function of being able to move while on solid photo paper. The Elephant points them to a blonde man sitting behind them and says that he is their client and is a very powerful man who is capable of extraordinary things. Dallas scoffs in skepticism but his client, Akan, proves his ability by murdering a waitress Dallas was flirting with earlier, seemingly with his mind. Akan demands he and his crew get "the bomb", get on the plane and go ahead with his plan.

As Dallas makes his way out of the hotel he rides an elevator in which two ladies enter and kill the thugs that were escorting Dallas before telling him to make his way to room 312. Upon arriving there he finds Chains and Wolf held at gunpoint while a bleeding Hoxton is tied up with a bag over his head. The man introduces himself as Jimmy and proposes a job for the crew as he is actually "on their side" and wants them to work for him. Dallas and his crew decline the offer to which Jimmy says he is very disappointed in them and proceeds to shoot himself in the head. In shock, the four suddenly hear someone snorting in the bathroom and as Wolf goes to open it he is assaulted by a man in a bright pink shirt, wild bushy hair, covered in cocaine and looks exactly like the man who had just killed himself. Jimmy grabs the shotgun and tells them that they should work for Akan as he is evil and instead work for him where they will "save the fucking world...kinda". To sweeten the deal, Jimmy matches Akan's fee plus fifty percent.

The PAYDAY crew arrive at the hidden rail yard that Murkywater uses to house a bomb that they need for the second part of the job. Stealth is of upmost importance as without it they could lose the element of surprise at the Russian lab or a firefight could be very dangerous to have around such a valuable piece of technology. Hacking into the rail cars and finding the pieces, the gang makes off with what they were looking more.

With the bomb parts all collected and crafted together, the gang travel in their van with a powerful electromagnetic pulse bomb. As they make their way to their destination, Jimmy annoys the crew and insults Hoxton that he ends up beating him. The van is suddenly ambushed by a group of Russians, likely in retaliation for them betraying Akan. They surround the disabled, upturned vehicle but the gang launches a counter attack and escapes the assault with the bomb.

The crew reaches their destination, the snowy tundra of Siberia, and is immediately greeted with anti-aircraft fire from a lumberyard base on high alert. Parachuting out of the plane, the PAYDAY gang make use of the anti-air missiles and breaches their defenses allowing them to charge in and reach the secret entrance to the underground lab. Detonating the EMP bomb, it temporarily knocks out communications but gives them the opportunity they need to enter the blast door. Making their way into the facility they find the x-ray machine needed to get the samples from the bodies. After trying several times they finally get a match. The gang steals the server with the test data on it and a briefcase at the request of Bain before making their way to the lake where a plane is waiting for them to leave Russia for good.

Due to the nature of the facility and hostilities between the two countries, the US authorities were not able to find any answers as to what the PAYDAY gang was doing in Russia, let alone what it was that they stole from the Russian gang.

Kelli "Sydney" King was always a troubled and rebellious youth and was part of a delinquent gang called the "Dingos" when she lived in Victoria, Australia. In 2016, Sydney traveled to Washington D.C. and coincidentally intercepted the PAYDAY gang during a robbery. With no hesitation at all, she quickly jumped into the fire and helped the gang with their crime, essentially joining the gang of her own volition. It didn't bother them at all and they accepted her as one of their own and uses her skills as an artist to help with creating their masks.

The Overkill MC & Rust

Since 2013, the gang has used the Bodhi's Dry Cleaning as a front for their criminal base of operation. With their crew growing in number and their armories and cash reserves expanding too, as well as it being essentially forgotten by Bain for three years, Hoxton decides that it's time for a change by setting fire to the building. He calls his family's old butler, Aldstone, and says he has a new place set up for the crew to which he leaves London and flies out to Washington D.C. to become the new caretaker.

A lone biker pulls up to a dive bar and brandishes a shotgun. On the inside The Elephant is meeting up with a member of a biker gang, the Overkill MC, and hands over a large briefcase of cash. As they are handing over a small, wrapped packaged, a knock is heard at the door putting everyone on alert. One of the biker gang opens the door but is thrown back as it is blasted off its hinges. The Elephant's contact fires at the lone biker now entering but is shot along with the biker gang member on the ground. The bartender, calling him Rust, thought that the two men were 'brothers' but meets his end with point blank shotgun fire. Rust sits down with The Elephant and the senator tells him that he has called Bain, who wants Rust for his intel on a new piece of advanced weaponry, and the crew is waiting for him to join their ranks. He leaves the bar and rides to meet with Chains, Dragan and Dallas.

With Rust's loyalty with the gang as of yet unproven, Dallas comes up with the idea of buying his loyalty in obtaining his custom made bike back from his former Overkill MC biker gang that is being stored at a clubhouse. To be able to get it up and running they need Rust's friend Mike, a mechanic, who has been taken hostage and Rust will not talk unless his friend and bike are returned to him safely. The PAYDAY finds the mechanic and has his complete the repairs on Rust's custom ride before they all escape on bikes to the extraction zone.

Rust has his bike and friend back safe so he lives up to his part of the deal and explains to the gang that somehow the Overkill MC got their hands on a new type of technology called "brain-computer interface" which lets you control military grade drones using just your mind. Technology like that would be worth a lot of money to those willing to pay high amounts and Bain already has a potential buyer offering a hefty sum. The BCI headset and computer software is on a freight train that Bile drops the PAYDAY gang off on. Fighting through Overkill footsoldiers and law enforcement that was already tipped off about the gang showing up, the PAYDAY crew arrive at the head of the train and retrieve the tech.

The police manage to catch wind of criminal activity happening at a building and decide to raid it but are unaware as to who it actually belongs to. However they are unable to successfully perform the raid as the safehouses' defenses are too strong and the law are outmatched. To ensure that the police have no other reason to come to the safe house again he is able to "make a call" and ensure that the bodies are "taken care of" and that the police will believe that nothing suspicious was found at the location.

As 2016 comes to a close, Vlad and his brother in law are once again finding themselves in a situation that could spell doom for their criminal empire. After hiding Vlad's cocaine inside ordinary products that were subsequently distributed to shops around the Midtown Mall, his brother in law stole some vodka and was later found to be badly dressed as Santa Claus, extremely drunk and disorderly in the streets. When approached by officers, he fled into the Midtown Mall where he was apprehended. Employing the PAYDAY crew to get him out of another embarrassing situation, the gang entered the mall, freed his brother in law and managed to secure all the packages of cocaine before escaping on an airlifted Christmas tree.

The Bolivian Sosa Cartel & Scarface

Coming up from a troubled life in Cuba and making his way to the US, Tony Montana, also known under the alias, Scarface, lived a criminal life with all the hallmark traits, a fast talking wiseguy who knows what he wants, how to get it and is a natural born heister. He found a place with the PAYDAY gang who welcomed his skills and perseverance.

For a long while, the Butcher has been gun running in the Caribbean which has proven to be a successful business venture. Unfortunately, it has attracted the attention of organizations that do not appreciate her business in their territory, in particular the Bolivian Sosa Cartel. Due to them not being able to rival The Butcher's organization, they decided to attack her operations by sinking her ships, killing her crew and stealing her merchandise. To hit at the heart of the Sosa Cartel, she contracts the PAYDAY gang to head down to the cartel head's mansion in Miami in the early morning and put an end to his operations as well as his life. Through their methods, the gang entered the mansion and was able to eliminate Ernesto Sosa, stopping his assaults on the Butcher's business and secured much of his product for themselves.

The Continental's Contracts

A calm and friendly, yet shadowy figure from John Wick's profession, Charon works for the Continental, a hidden in plain sight hotel that caters to criminals and assassins. He and John hold great respect and loyalty for each other so when Charon was intercepted en route to a deal, the PAYDAY gang rushed to his rescue.

Making their way through derelict apartment buildings in Brooklyn, New York, the gang fight through the police and other criminals to try and get Charon free from his captors. Once he is out of their hands, Charon opens up the route for them to all escape through where they are met with a strong force of ambushers that they are able to overcome. Grabbing a briefcase that they require, they manage to escape the Brooklyn streets once their extraction arrives.

Due to McKendrick turning against the PAYDAY gang, they decide to ruin him by stealing funds that he keeps on a yacht that is currently being used to host a fundraiser as it is needed by him to win the next election being held. McKendrick himself is there giving a speech. As a thank you from Charon for saving his life, he gives Bain a file that notifies him that somewhere on the yacht is a server containing all sorts of incriminating evidence against McKendrick, such as passwords for offshore bank accounts. Having once again to not raise a single alarm, the crew infiltrate the boat, avoid the guards and partygoers, steal the funds and the server and escape without anybody knowing. Due to the FBI files not mentioning anything of the robbery, it is assumed that McKendrick realized he was unable to report it without harming himself.

Plots and Betrayals & Sangres/Duke

Seemingly out of nowhere, Locke informs the gang that he has received intel that an unknown organization has the PAYDAY gang as their target and wants them dead. He manages to track down one of their accomplices. The PAYDAY gang sets off to find him and is surprised to find out the man they're chasing is Matt Roscoe, a former member of their gang that betrayed them in the past and Hoxton's old cellmate who had beaten him up regularly. Once again they find themselves chasing him through the city streets. Locke sends Eddie, the driver for the gang, to pick them up but is shot down by the police before they reach him. Catching up to Matt, they discover his van has crashed and that have to flush him out by burning the vehicle with him inside. As he exits the vehicle, the crew force him to the extraction point where they are able to escape the city via helicopter. Matt is subsequently kept prisoner at the safe house, in Jacket's room. Matt didn't give them much information and refused to talk about his employers but did tell them about a man who knew the whereabouts of Kento, Jiro's son.

With that information, Bain and Jiro set up an operation to rescue an ex-Yakuza named Kazuo. Bain was able to incite a riot in Long Island Prison that caused Kazuo to be transported to a different facility. Returning to the Green Bridge, the crew manage to cause enough destruction to the bridge to stop the transports and drill them open to find the correct prisoner. As the law make their way to capture the clowns and prisoners, the PAYDAY gang make their way to a construction site and have Kazuo airlifted to safety before escaping themselves.

A former Mexican sicario for a drug cartel, Sangres decided to up and leave one criminal organization for another. Defecting from his homeland to the US, he aimed to make big money and was eventually introduced to the PAYDAY gang via Gage due to his skills and ruthlessness.

The Butcher and Locke reach a deal for an armament shipment that is being delivered via a freight train running through Alaska. The PAYDAY crew are assigned there as protection detail as well a to supervise the deal. The gang does seem to feel a little off about the job when they are not given any weapons and the arms are suspected to be from Murkywater. However, Locke had intentionally planned this to go south quickly when he gives the PAYDAY crew up to the police by alerting the authorities to their presence and allowing the Butcher's merchandise to be seized.

With no other way to escape, the PAYDAY gang free the Butcher's workers from the police, along with a ships' captain, and load up what they can onto the boat. Having to refuel it at first, the gang escape and are left confused about what happened. As Dallas and Hoxton try to calm the crew down and have them think logically, they receive a call from the Butcher who is enraged and demands retribution. Before they do anything, Dallas suggest that they talk to Bain first and see if they can get any intel on what happened. Turns out that Bain was just as surprised as they were to find Locke turning against them but says he will try dig around for something that could shed light on the situation.

Shortly after, Bain lets Dallas know that Locke has disappeared and gone completely off the grid but ensures the crew that he will find him, nobody can hide from Bain. But in the meantime he has a plan to launch a hit on Locke's "financial situation" by robbing the Garnet Group, one that they have hit previously in the past. The crew get ready for their return to the Garnet Building where they steal all of the valuable jewels stored there. Much like before, the heist just so happens to coincide with the owner, Nathan Garnet's, son's birthday. While Ralph is enjoying his party, the Payday gang manage to capture and hogtie him in order to gain access to the vault where they pack up the precious stones and get out of there.

Because of the hit on their fortune, the business goes bankrupt, Ralph begins to suffer trauma from the event and Nathan's mental state begins to deteriorate. Meanwhile, while the crew are celebrating their successful strike on Locke's finances, Dallas receives a call from Bain who says that he has some news about Locke.

Coming from a well-off background of money, August "Duke" Lindenhurst is a professional art thief and as such has extensive knowledge of art, ancient relics and artifacts. Bain inducts him into the PAYDAY gang due to his research into a mysterious, shadowy organization.

Bain's Capture

Working with a group of criminals in L.A. known as the "Cabot Group", they plan to hit a branch of their previously robbed company, the Garnet Group Boutique. Just as the Cabot's and PAYDAY crew enter the store however, one of the Cabot's, Mr. Brown, is sniped. Mr Blonde and Mr Pink flee the scene. This sudden ambush takes them all by surprise by the PAYDAY gang to finish the job with instruction from Bain. As they get to work their communications begin to suffer from some kind of interference but they do what they can. Grabbing liquid nitrogen from Mr. Blonde's car, the crew force their way into the vault and bag up the diamonds and escape through a neighboring shopping district. While they escape Bain sends them a troubling message while gunfire is heard in the background. His location has been compromised and "they" are coming for him. Strangely he reveals that he has gotten "so close" to finding something and that even more bafflingly that they should trust Locke as he is on their side. Before the transmission is abruptly cut off they manage to hear that they need to get to Brooklyn and that "Locke knows".

Not out of the woods yet with the Garnet Group Boutique robbery, the crew make their way to an old warehouse/mortuary. On the way Locke gets in touch with them to explain what he can about the situation. Understanding they have little reason to trust him he informs them that betraying them in Alaska was the quickest and best ruse they had time for to get the PAYDAY gang out of Washington D.C. and people that Bain thought he could trust were revealing themselves to be against him. Not keeping the PAYDAY gang in the loop about all the goings on behind the scenes was Locke's idea, not Bain's and he thought that Bain was untouchable until now. Locke then promises them he will help get them out of their current situation and do what he can to save the gang while finding out what happened to Bain.

As Mr. Blonde is interrogating a policeman, the crew have to defend themselves from law enforcement until the arrival of Mr. Pink who crashes his car nearby and is badly wounded. Rescuing him from the streets and bringing him to safety. Mr. Blonde tells the gang that he hid some of the diamonds in the storage units nearby but to get into them they will have to saw them open. Proceeding to collect all the jewels before Twitch arrives to help them escape. Locke then reveals that Bain was after something and he will, from this point on, be their guide.

The Boxes & Joy

Due to Locke switching allegiances to the PAYDAY gang and Bain, Murkywater have effectively locked him out of their organization which makes him conclude that they are the ones behind the situation they are finding themselves in. Based on Bain's final transmission to the gang, as well as Duke's findings when examining one of his ancestors paintings, "The View of Mount Vernon", clues pointed towards something buried in the foundation of the Harvest and Trustee bank in Brooklyn. Confusing the police during the investigation, the PAYDAY broke into the bank, entered its vault but weren't focused on the money or valuables and instead stole something from its floor. Underneath a large Fleur-de-lis tile was a box that contained a special medallion.

A young man investigating conspiracies, going by the online handle "SkepticGuy_96" sets up a website called TheSecretIsReallyReal.com and begins to post about uncovering a truth and promises to show something his 'contact' ensures is like nothing seen before. He begins to talk about the Brooklyn Heist and how it was very unusual that money wasn't the issue and that he had heard about something going down in Alaska.

While making his way to catch a flight, The Elephant suddenly found himself detained by the authorities, on the orders of Garrett. One piece of his luggage, a mysterious box, was confiscated. Due to lack of any concrete evidence, the senator was let go without prosecution. Knowing that this unknown package is now in the ownership of Solomon Garrett at the FBI headquarters, Locke has the PAYDAY gang go and retrieve it without killing him or raising an alarm to ensure that its theft can't be linked back to the group. SkepticGuy_96 is somehow able to hack into the FBI security cameras and overhears a conversation of Commissioner Garrett on the phone but catches a glimpse of the PAYDAY gang taking out the cameras as they began their infiltration.

Several days later, SkepticGuy_96 checks out an industrial area that the PAYDAY gang had been sighted in. Upon arrival he discovers that the area had radioactive activity. Following up on his leads, he then stakes out a large brick building which he discovers is the safehouse of the PAYDAY gang. Later he is sent a file, albeit mostly corrupted, that came straight from Garrett and takes an interest in the odd looking logo at the bottom of the page. A few days later he talks about how a "some guy in a wheelchair" was under investigation after an arms manufacturer was robbed. SkepticGuy_96 gets his hands on a recording of Commissioner Garrett talking angrily on the phone to someone and mentions that the box the PAYDAY gang stolen and that due to lack of evidence, the theft couldn't be linked back to The Elephant. The young man starts to notice that he being followed and black vans appearing around him.

Using the last of his Murkywater connections, Locke and the PAYDAY gang plan to hit a large storage facility owned by Murkywater in an effort to retrieve two boxes. Being smuggled in via wooden crates, the gang hack their way into the facility and begin their search. Looking through various departments, such as a bio lab, storage area, weapons lab and archaeology lab, they manage to find both boxes they were after. One being very similar to the one owned by The Elephant they retrieved from the FBI headquarters and the other they had robbed previously at the Golden Grin Casino at the request of The Dentist. As they make their way out, a shutter opens up and they notice that they are being observed by a man wearing a black and red Murkywater uniform and that his dog tag reads "Kento". Behind him is a large monitor that shows two people with their faces obscured, one wearing a white coat and glasses, the other tied to a chair with a bag over their head and physically wounded by torture. With nothing they can do, the gang make their way to the heliport and escape with the boxes.

Emails, sent using an Akkadian cypher, sent to Garrett show him in communication with the mysterious organization, known as the Kataru, and reveal that he was working with them for their support in taking down the PAYDAY gang. It further reveals that he was the one responsible for The Elephant's arrest using falsified evidence and that he was also responsible for Bain's capture and handover to The Dentist.

SkepticGuy_96's last post on April 29th 2018 was a live feed that shows him open up a link that reveals an old Murkywater recruitment ad with footage of one of their bases. Another link shows a firefight between the authorities and the PAYDAY gang at Henry's Rock. Before he is able to do anything with what he had just seen, an unknown group break into his house, and shoot him as he begs for his life. The stream ends.

In retaliation to his previous arrest and theft of his box, The Elephant decides to tip off the PAYDAY gang about a secret auction happening soon in Boston that contains a certain item from the doomed 1905 Shacklethorne Expedition that may be of interest to them. To help them with the building's high level security, Locke brings his protege, Joy, into the PAYDAY gang for her technological expertise in hacking and cyber-security. She edits their invite to make them register as legitimate and provides added protection to Crime.Net with their fight against the Kataru heating up. The PAYDAY gang make their way into the auction, disable the power boxes to the alarms and escape with the item they were looking for - a mysterious black tablet.

Breaking News & Rescuing Bain

CNM News reports that Congressman Simmons has demanded the creation of a grand jury with the aim of fighting corruption in the government system after his false arrest. CNM journalist, Rachel Riggs, finds a USB stick on her desk simply labeled "SH". On it she finds images of an old prison built in 1902, Fort Clatsop Prison, that has since been abandoned. She then attempts to call Congressman Simmons and believes she is talking to him until the man on the phone asks her if she likes cupcakes and should visit "Kozak's bakery" at which point she figures out that it is Dr. Helmann. Rachel then hears a recording of Garrett, the same one from SkepticGuy_96's website. This all piques her interest and decides she wants to investigate further.

Thanks to a tip from The Elephant, the PAYDAY gang eventually discover where Bain is being held, Fort Clatsop, which is now being used as a prison by Murkywater. As they make their way in stealthily, they are quickly discovered with The Dentist aware they are there. Murkywater send their private army to stop them but the crew make their way to the control room and free Bain from his cell. Before they can get to him, Bain takes his chance for freedom and runs away and appears to have killed many guards, including cloakers and bulldozers, despite being badly wounded. Once they get to the roof, they find Bain, seeing him in person for the first time, dropping the corpse of Kento before collapsing to the ground. Locke appears and grabs Bain while they make their way to the helipad for extraction as Murkywater troops close in.

Once they are free, Locke reveals that Bain has been experimented on by The Dentist and Murkywater, injecting him with the same virus that they stole from No Mercy Hospital years ago which Bain had set up to obtain the "Manuscript of Cagliostro", a vital part of the situation they are now in. It appears that Murkywater and The Dentist had bought that same virus from the client who requested it in the first place. Due to the effect it is having on his body, Bain suspects that he does not have long left to live.

The Silk Road

While Dallas, Chains, Wolf and Hoxton are setting off on their mission to rescue Bain, Locke instructs Clover, Sydney, Sangres and Sokol to split off and take the fight to Murkywater from another angle in an effort to cripple their business and end them for good. The crew head to a club house owned by the Overkill MC in Miracle Valley that contains a secret tunnel that takes them across the border into Mexico that belongs to the Coyopas. Murkywater made a deal with them to transport their goods by aircraft. Locke doesn't care if they sneak in or shoot the place up just as long as his former organization are humiliated. The crew manage to pull off the heist, escaping with a plane full of stolen goods. This hanger was returned to later on when a set-up meth lab was utilized.

Catching wind that the PAYDAY gang was in Mexico, Vlad requests help from them while they are there. Due to their attack on the Murkywater plane, it has not only caused problems for The Dentist, but for Vlad himself too and feels like the gang "owes him one". Reluctantly agreeing, the crew hear out his plan to break into a Coyopa-owned bank, the San Martín Bank, as it is host to a number of illegal activities. But Vlad's main concern is the recover of several Russian treasures that were once owned by the Romanov Dynasty that Vlad claims to be family heirlooms. Using their skills, the gang pull off the heist and keep Vlad happy.

Vlad's brother in law, Hajrudin, who helped them with the San Martin bank, was captured by the Mexican police right after the heist and transferred to a police station in Tijuana. According to Locke, there is enough evidence against him to send him to prison for a very long time. As a thank you for helping him with the bank job, Locke organizes a plan in which the PAYDAY gang infiltrate the prison and break him out while destroying all the evidence that authorities have against him.

As revenge for putting Hajrudin in prison, Vlad puts out a hit on the leader of the Coyopa Cartel, a man simply known as Buluc. During a masquerade ball hostel by the cartel leader, the crew make their way through his security filled mansion and eventually find Buluc in his office. As he pleads for his life, he ends up falling backwards over his balcony and into the water below where the crew could decide to shoot him, let him drown or watch him get eaten by a shark. With Vlad's contract fulfilled, the PAYDAY gang end their business in Mexico.

CNM reports that a nuclear detonation has occurred deep underwater in the South Pacific ocean that has caused a radiation spike and a whirlpool that dissipated within an hour. The President orders the military to be on alert for any further developments. Rachel investigates the baker but finds it boarded up and empty. When attending a press conference, she noted that it was another normal day full of lies from politicians but was confused about why Dr. Helmann was there and considers investigating his clinic patients as well as any possible donations or funds he may have made to congress. Another nuclear explosion was reported deep underground in Giza, Egypt that was followed up by a thunderstorm and lightning hitting the pyramid several times causing most of it to collapse. The US government offers aid in investigating these occurrences. Rachel notices that Dr. Helmann was recently listed as a passenger of flight GNW-59 to Egypt.

City of Gold

An ex-triad arms dealer based in San Francisco, Jiu Feng gets in touch with his old friend Joy in requesting the help of the PAYDAY gang in launching attacks on his former gang, the Golden Dagger. To start his campaign against them, Feng wants them to head to Chinatown, break into the triad-run tea shop and steal a jade dragon from its possession. Not caring whether they sneak in and steal it or get into a gunfight, Bonnie, Rust, Dragan and Joy pull off the heist successfully under the navigation of Locke.

Even though they were successful in bringing the jade dragon to Jiu Feng, the Golden Dagger kidnaps Vlad and is keeping him at a triad controlled dockyard. Even though they have worked together many times in the past, they are unsure if Vlad would talk and give up information if put under enough pressure or torture. When they locate him, they find that he has been put under immense pressure and as such has to be stabilized to be able to move again. Once he is back on his feet he hides in the scoop of a skid loader and taken to the extraction zone where they signal Feng for pickup.

Not backing down and always eager to hit back against his enemies, Vlad wants revenge for kidnapping and torturing him and have the PAYDAY gang help him fight the Golden Dagger. This time they decide to rob one of their casino ships and empty its vault. They do so even with some of the triads notable members, Xun Kang and Li Deng are onboard.

In a surprising turn of events, one of the bosses of the Golden Dagger, Shayu, gets in contact with the PAYDAY gang correctly and proposes a job for them. Even though they have been disrupting the triad organization's business throughout San Francisco, Shayu wants the gang to eliminate Yufu Wang for his incompetence and so that she may usurp control over the triad. Accepting this interesting job offer, the PAYDAY gang break into Wang's penthouse and successfully eliminate him, allowing her full control over the criminal empire.

Further investigation has Rachel Riggs view a video that was possibly stolen from FBI archives that shows the PAYDAY gang during various criminal activity. After a hearing in congress, Rachel managed to talk to Congressman Simmons about Dr. Helmann answering his phone to which he became noticeably distressed, refused to comment and left in a hurry. Continuing her investigation on the USB stick she finds photographic evidence of the PAYDAY gang's heist at Mercy Hospital years prior. According to online news sources, the public was unaware about what happened there and the reason for the hospital being no longer in use was because of a mysterious fire that destroyed the building. She then requests the number of an antiquarian as the USB stick mentions a manuscript written by someone named 'Cagliostro'.

Texas Heat

Returned from their time in Mexico, Clover and Sangres, along with Bonnie and Jiro, are contracted by a Texan arms smuggler by the name of Gemma McShay who has a job for them robbing a farm, Midland Ranch, that is being used to stockpile military firearm prototypes. As per their instructions, the crew manage to secure the prototype weapons as well as securing laptops for intel. For the second job, Gemma has them infiltrate a military train yard with the goal of stealing printing plates. The crew succeed in breaching the train cars and stealing the plates before making their escape.

Gemma's employer, Blaine Keegan, contacts the crew and comes to them with another job offer, ruining the research of one of his rival companies, SERA Inc. ran by Alice Rainey in Dallas. This is to fulfill his ambition in expanding his business into the Texas oil market. The PAYDAY gang accepts the job and makes their way into SERA Inc's corporate office and into the R&D lab. It is there that they steal the Neo-2 prototype that the company was about to reveal as well as finding incriminating emails that Alice Rainey had on her computer. Once they had all they needed, the crew escaped.

As the great mission Bain is setting up is drawing near, the PAYDAY crew have one last job for Blaine Keegan to fulfill. Dropping in by helicopter, the crew make their way across SERA Inc's oil rig and hunt for the head of security, Gabriel Santiago, in order to eliminate him. Once he lays dead, the gang move onto stealing the reserves of pure petroleum before sabotaging the rig itself and escaping as the entire structure explodes, ruining SERA Inc for good. As Alice Rainey had arrived on the rig earlier, it is unknown if she was caught in the blast or managed to escape but either way, her company and reputation are effectively destroyed.

CNM's breaking news report says that D.C. authorities have declared a state of city wide emergency after radioactivity was detected throughout the capital. Scientists say there may be some connection to the recent earthquake that shook the city. The President orders the White House be evacuated and crucial cabinet members be transferred to Air Force One. With her information growing, Rachel tries to find out what the connections are between Simmons, Helmann, Kozak, and Crime.Net.

Another breaking news story hit from CNM where they reveal that the President's plane, Air Force One, has crashed in Northern California. Even though there are reports of survivors, the President is declared as missing and it is difficult for rescue operations to go ahead due to intense thunderstorms in the area. This development leads Rachel to suspect whether this was an accident or a deliberate attack and questions why they decided to use a private military company for their security as opposed to Homeland Surveillance.

Rachel finally receives an email telling her to stop pursuing her investigation due to various reasons.

The Greatest Heist of All

Determined to finally pull off what he deems as the "greatest heist of all", Bain's plans have all led to this moment, robbing the White House itself. Without much time left Bain watches over the crew one last time with Locke filling in for him as their guide, intending to see his heisting crew free of legal persecution by stealing 24 presidential pardons. Succeeding yet again despite all the odds stacked against them, Bain congratulates the crew and says he is proud of them, right before the virus apparently claims his life. His funeral is held in Mexico not too long after, with most of the PAYDAY gang throwing in their masks into the hole signifying the end of their criminal careers.

The funeral ending is obtained if the players did not complete what is necessary involving the boxes and ARG. By completing the cryptic set of events, players can obtain the secret ending which is likely the canon ending but is yet to be confirmed.

The Payday Gang, after infiltrating the P.E.O.C. in the White House, see a Mayan painting with "markings" that were apparently seen before in a museum, according to Locke. Upon removing the painting and detonating the wall with C4, an old tunnel, most likely initially used for mining upon first glance, leads to an elevator in which Locke will tell the crew to ride it down. Locke's signal will break up as the gang get deeper. Once they arrive at the lower level, there is a giant wheel with cryptic markings that can be activated. Upon starting it up, mysterious, dark entities will attempt to apprehend the crew. Whilst fighting them, the crew must pull and push levers to turn certain parts of the wheel in order to have them match up with its correct answer. When it is solved, the wheel and walls behind it open, revealing a giant, vertically mounted, cylinder shaped cave with a structure resembling a Mayan temple, such as Chichen Itza. Soon after, the cave closes behind the crew and the Dentist announces his presence by stating the crew's names. While the crew made their way down and into the cave, he had taken Locke and Bain hostage and advises the crew to let him in and not to meddle in his affairs. When the door opens, the crew shoots the Dentist from a safe distance before he is able to harm Bain or Locke. The cave then begins collapsing, forcing the heisters to rush as they take the Dentist's Mayan gold to the center, inserting the golden bars in the bar-shaped molds around the model temple. The cave fills with lights and goes white. As the heist comes to its end, Bain thanks the crew for everything.

Members of the PAYDAY crew are seen gathered around on a sunny beach, relaxing and enjoying their lives and Dallas is happy to have a boat named Medic Bag. Locke is golfing before being beaten by The Butcher still not having forgiven him about the ruse in Alaska. Vlad arrives and pays his condolences about Bain then speaks Russian to an unknown person on the phone that raises the gang's suspicions before joking it off and announces his own retirement. As they begin to watch TV, CNM reports about rumored gunfire at Capitol Hill and then shows a returned President of the United States, that is heavily implied to be Bain reincarnated from the mysterious device in the cave into the President's body, begins his speech and awards Commissioner Garrett for stopping crime on the streets. The ticker banner also mentions that Murkywater has now files for bankruptcy. The President closes his speech by saying "America, let's do this!" much to the delight of the crew and cheer to the "greatest heist of all".

The Crew After the End

Upon unlocking the secret ending, a credits-like sequence reveals what each of the gang members and some contractors did after their retirement. However with the release of Payday 3, various contradictions have called into question the canonicity of these ending explanations. For example it says that Chains moved to L.A. and became a well known filmmaker, Wolf moved to Sweden and was never seen or heard from again, Clover went back to Ireland, bought a castle and breeds horses and Dragan gave up crime to teach boxing.

It's safe to assume that with the release of Payday 3 that this ending has been retconned.

PAYDAY Gang Assassination Attempt

The Payday gang members are all living in retirement and have split up to live their own money-filled lives in peace in the various ways they see fit. But all good things come to and end when they are suddenly attacked and their accounts frozen by an unknown enemy. Shade, a good friend of Bain and his successor, brings Dallas, Chains, Wolf and Hoxton together along with Joy to New York to bring back the Payday gang. As they have no money any more, Shade sets up a few jobs to get them started in building up capital while she figures out who is behind the attack.

PAYDAY 3 (2023-)

No Rest for the Wicked

Shade arranges their first job as the newly returned criminal organization - hitting Secure Capital Bank in New York city. It was chosen due to its unusually large amount of cash being held in its vault that is awaiting transport. The group manages to get in, empty the reserves and escape.

Since their offshore accounts are no longer viable places to store stolen money, Shade has them use C-Stacks, a form of digital currency that would be just as effective for the time being. Dallas asks if she has heard any word from their former comrades but instead of answering the question, she introduces them to new member, Pearl. As news begins to spread on the return of the infamous Payday gang, the FBI sets up a special task force in an effort to stop them. Agent Rebecca Stone is among their ranks.

Road Rage

Joy gets in touch with an old contact from San Francisco, Shayu, who sets the gang up with a job robbing an armored transport containing rare-earth materials that are used in manufacturing electronic components. It will be undertaken while it is passing over the Queensboro Bridge, currently under renovation. The group manages to take control of the transport and empty its contents before making their getaway.

Shade struggles to discover the identity of the conspirators but knows they are well off and have access to good tech to cover their tracks. Meanwhile she is concerned that they are still in need of more money.

Dirty Ice

Dallas gets in contact with a former contractor, The Butcher, who sets up a job for the gang – stealing imported diamonds from Ashton Fine Jewelry. While making sure they steal the diamonds at their highest value, they also come away with various other precious stones.

Ralph Garnet, a victim of the Payday gang during the Diamond Heist, is conspiring with Patricia J. Sharke and John Concord, talking about the failed hit on the group. Concord recommends making preparations for other ways to hit the gang. Meanwhile, former contractor, Vlad Kozak, reconnects with the Payday gang and is visibly angry at the assassination attempt on their lives but lets them know that he has a way for them to make some more cash.

Rock The Cradle

Vlad sets up an operation where they are to break into a vault inside the Neon Cradle, a nightclub for the high class and criminal, for the 'crypto-wallet' that contains the clubs profits. After making their way down to the underground vault, the gang manages to make away with the club's finances.

Shade discovers that the conspirators are based in New York and are extremely well connected. She then introduces them to a contact of hers named Beckett.

Under The Surphaze

Beckett has the gang steal from the wealthy Surphaze Art Gallery as it was currently hosting some special pieces that were more expensive. Bypassing the various security measures, the gang stole the requested paintings and received a large payload in return.

Ralph Garnet is betting all he has left on a tech deal with Wuxia. Shade discovers that one of the conspirators behind the gang's ambush was Patricia J. Sharke, the owner and CEO of the Gold and Sharke bank who is a major shareholder in the security company, GenSec, which the Payday gang had effectively run out of Washington DC.

Gold and Sharke

In an effort to ruin both her finances and her reputation, Shade has the Payday gang hit the Gold and Sharke bank in Lower Manhattan, a location that is seen as a temple of old-fashioned American capitalism. The gang robs the vault for all it's worth as well as personal data on the bank's network.

Joy attempts to decrypt the files which proves difficult but Shade deduces that Sharke wouldn't have access to that technology in her position, revealing she is connected to someone higher up. Garnet gets impatient with the way everything seems to be going in the revenge plan and goes ahead with his own plan regardless of the others. Shade sets the gang up with a new contact, Mac, who reveals that he plans to steal from the Wixia corporation which has ties to Ralph Garnet. Shade informs the gang that his father, Nathan Garnet, killed himself after the financial devastation of the Diamond Heist.

99 Boxes

Mac lets the Payday gang know about a shipment of experimental electronic equipment that is stored in a warehouse in New York harbor that are part of a deal with the Wixia corporation and worth a lot of money. After keeping them safe and secure in specialized coolers, the Payday gang makes off with another rich payload.

Due to the Payday gang's actions, the Wixia deal fell through for Ralph Garnet and he is subsequently being sued for billions of dollars.

Still finding difficulties in decrypting the hard drive, Joy thinks that the technology used for it is very similar to that of Murkywater. Shade believes that someone connected to them could be part of the conspiracy. Joy proposes that by using this technology they can apply it to C-Stacks and make their money untouchable from any outside tampering. Shade connects the gang with Blaine Keegan, and old contractor and the employer one of another one of their former contractors, Gemma McShay. Keegan informs the group that Mason Laurent was a large part of the now-defunct Murkywater Private Military Company and likely has what they need. Because of his security creations, Shade believes he may be behind the whole conspiracy. He owns a penthouse in which he stores the valuable key that the Payday gang sorely need.

Touch The Sky

Shade devises a plan for the Payday gang to break into Laurent's penthouse to steal a copy of a digital encryption key. The operation goes smoothly and the gangs future profits are untouchable.

The group manages to decrypt the hard drive and proceeds to leak the information while also ensuring their money is never touched again via C-Stacks. Patricia J. Sharke's reputation is in ruins and is also facing criminal charges for bank fraud and corruption. After getting out of her car for some air, she is hit by a vehicle and presumably killed. Ralph Garnet, is shot in the head by an unknown assailant in his home with his death made to look like a suicide.

These assassinations were ordered by John Concord.

Locke's Return

Vernon Locke returns to the gang after seemingly surviving a hit on his life. While he managed to get away he now has a large scar down the right side of his face and is blinded in one eye.

Turbid Station

Locke sends the gang to a familiar location, a railyard that was once owned by Murkywater. It is now home to a large stash of expensive satellite prototypes. Knowing that remaining undetected is key in this heist, they manage to take what they need and escape with nobody knowing they were there.

Cook Off

An old brand of meth has returned to the streets with the supply chain operating out of an old house that the Payday gang had once before taken over for their own production. Locke, again, has them clear out its current occupants, hold off the police presence and cook up a number of batches for their own profitable gains.

Syntax Error and SINS

Shade combs through the files on Patricia J. Sharke's stolen hard drive and discovers that it contains data for a cutting-edge, military grade, drone operating system. While unsure why Sharke had it within her banking network, Shade is sure that she can make a fortune on the black market with the help of The Butcher. The Payday gang breaks into the Scry Digital data center and discovers an AI called SINS that controls all of the security systems. The group manages to leave with the servers they came for with another successful job.

Locke begins to have troubling thoughts about the stolen drone software and finds out that its patent was owned by a defense contractor known as Treaty, a fairly recently established company made up from the remains of Murkywater. Discovering the identity of John Concord, they now suspect he was one of the conspirators, if not the mastermind, that tried to have the Payday gang killed.

Boys In Blue

The gang scours outlets for more info on Concord and Vlad comes back with something. However, to hand over the information he needs them to do him a favor. Vlad operates a legit cash for gold business which he filters his money through. A falsified drugs raid was ordered at his operation by a corrupt police official named Blythe so she could plant evidence there and steal Vlad's gold. If he doesn't get it back from the police lock-up soon it will go into Blythe's own pocket. To convince the gang further he mentions that in his digging she found a connection between her and Concord. While discussing the plan, Vlad brings an old heister back into the mix, Clover, much to the gang's surprise as they assumed her to be dead, who lets them know she's also looking for the man who tried to kill the Payday crew. Dallas agrees to hit up the NYPD police station and Clover excitedly accepts joining in the job.

The Payday crew make their way to the police station and launch their hit. They succeed in breaking into the vault, stealing back Vlad's gold and even making out with some useful information on their servers.

Upon return, Clover reveals that after the Payday gang retired she returned to Dublin and took a new generation of petty and inexperienced criminals under her wing to teach them how its done just as Hoxton did for her. However, like the other members, she was ambushed and everything that she had built up was destroyed and her new crew was killed. Angered by the senseless killing, she vows revenge against Concord.

Shade decrypts the files they obtained and is confused at some messages sent by Concord talking about "Prisoner 270-82014', someone unknown to them that is being currently held at Rikers Island but will be shortly transferred to a private prison. Concord wants Blythe to plant evidence to frame this prisoner further. Noticing that these emails are all dated after the Syntax Error heist at Scry Digital, Shade deduces that this situation is reactive to their actions and possibly in retaliation. Hacking into the police database, they discover that the person being held there is their former crew member and Dallas' younger brother, Franklin Steele, otherwise known as Houston.

Dallas calls for the crew to return to the safehouse to plan how to stop Concord from going after him.

Reports of the heist quickly made their way to the news stations where 'The Gateway Live' covered it on their section 'Clowns Outsmart Authorities' stating that the group hit the holding facility and made away with impounded gold that was part of an investigation. Due to the quantity stolen it sparked internal investigation. The reporter also mentions Scry Digital CEO, Andrew Kang, is facing backlash for social media posts he made referencing the PAYDAY gang and large bags of cash were found to be floating in the Hudson River.

A short while after the Boys in Blue heist, a funeral is held for the police that were killed during the assault.

Still in an unknown location, Dragan talks with Shade about how they have found Houston and plan on how they are to rescue him from Concord's plans. Dragan offers to take part in the breakout plan but Shade declines and tells him to stay where he is and continue finding the rest of the scattered PAYDAY gang members. Inquiring about leads, Shade reveals that there have been a series of brutal murders on thugs "down south" that have also been robbed, in the same manner of a 'PAYDAY veteran'.

Houston Breakout

With Concord's connection to district attorney Kimble, he uses that power to get Houston moved from the courthouse he is being sentences at to one of his private prisons where he will have him eliminated. Shade finds out that Houston is being held at the Supreme Judicial Court of New York and the judge presiding over the case has had several "trysts" that he would prefer to keep secret. The PAYDAY gang make their way to the courthouse and once inside find Houston, donned in a spit/bite mask due to his violent behavior and both of his hands broken. Once they manage to free him from his confines, they take him with them to remove the evidence of his crimes and safely extract him out of Concord's grasp.

Houston, now back on the outside and with his former gang, is filled with a bloodthirst against Concord. Shade gives them some more details about him such as since Murkywater had been taken down he has been building up a warchest and got Treaty up and running with a more effective public optic by branding itself as "crisis aid and security consultancy firm". Behind the scenes however, are more dangerous than Murkywater as they deal in drug running, deal in blood diamonds and help corporations strip natural resources illegally, all without proof of their involvement. Shade suggests that instead of hitting Concord head on, they instead go after his source of funding.

The Gateway reports on the breakout at the courthouse and criticisms the continuous failures of the police and justice system in New York.

Fear & Greed

To get Treaty on the same level as Murkywater was at its prime, Concord needs one last financial push and does so by taking on massive loans based on shares he has in certain companies. Joy explains that if they are able to get inside the New York stock exchange and tamper with it, they can cut off Concord's money supply, turn his "investors" against him and take some extra cash for themselves. Dallas would prefer to have him trapped in a room with Wolf but says that this is the next best thing. Due to their recent crime spree at well known locations, such as the courthouse and a police station, the city is on high alert which amounts to tighter security.

The plan goes off without a hitch as the PAYDAY gang infiltrates the stock exchange and effectively ends Concord's method of power. In the days following the heist, local news stations begin to fear at what the returning crime spree is being caused by the PAYDAY gang and how they make impossible jobs look easy. Concord has also likely lost his position and what's left of Treaty may be sold to the highest bidder. As Shade suggest laying low for a while after their high profile stints, Dallas laughs it off and wants to progress into their renewed life of crime.

Unresolved Storypoints

PAYDAY 2

• The boxes, amulet, the book of Bain and the diamond - Were they part of the secret? The storyline left this unresolved with a sudden return to Bain instead.
• The Virus - Is it in the air. What was Murkywater trying to learn from the No Mercy virus?
• Vlad - His warheads may have used for the nuclear blasts around the world. The Dentist lead a journalist to him, but nothing else was said about it..
• The Elephant - After his arrest and release, he assisted the Payday Gang with the boxes and set up an investigation in the capitol. Nothing has come of that as of late.
• Overkill MC - After The Biker Heist, The Elephant tasked the Payday Gang with being his replacement for the MC, performing tasks they would originally do. Nothing came of this.
• Dragan's phone call - Nothing came of it.
• Gage - Teased for something by his actor, but nothing came of that. The last known mention was Alaskan Deal(?)(On the website for the weapons?).

PAYDAY 3

• SINS - several heisters mistakenly identified by the AI during the heist's loud section are currently still missing. Only Clover has returned, but it is unknown if the other mentioned heisters (such as Sangres) will return.
• Dragan Files (ongoing) - Dragan has gone underground in the wake of John Concord's plot against the Payday gang. It is unknown when Dragan will resurface, nor is his location known.
• References to Hotline Miami and Jacket - despite frequent mentions alluding to the events of Hotline Miami and Jacket, especially in the Boys In Blue heist, nothing concrete have come out.
• GenSec - despite the Lost Tapes establishing GenSec's significant losses after the Payday gang's various heists, especially after the Alesso Heist, their presence in New York is entirely unexplained nor is their previous failure in Washington D.C. ever brought up.

Trivia

• It is known for certain that First World Bank is the first heist to take place in the timeline. Its position on the list in the heist selection screen, the description of the heist, newspapers in Counterfeit, and the description of the heist's PAYDAY 2 remake plus comments made by Bain confirm this.
• Initially, both Overkill Software and Valve Corporation confirmed that No Mercy is not canon in either the PAYDAY universe or the Left 4 Dead universe. This was changed in PAYDAY 2 in which the stolen virus ended up in the hands of Murkywater and is used to infect Bain after he was captured by them.
• No Mercy must have occurred before Slaughterhouse because it is heavily implied this is Bain's first encounter with Murkywater.
• Counterfeit occurs after at least Slaughterhouse, if not every heist in the game, as when putting the drill on the Franz Jaeger safe, Bain will comment on how unlike the "other ones", this drill won't jam.
• There is little continuity within the heists in the first game, with only the order of the heists in the heist selection menu possibly indicating some sort of timeline. For example, it is presumed Undercover is the last heist to take place in PAYDAY: The Heist due to it being at the bottom of the heist selection screen list.
• GO Bank, White Xmas, Stealing Xmas, Santa's Workshop, and Brooklyn Bank are the only heists known to take place during winter. The trailer for The Diamond heist shows a Christmas tree in one of the rooms, showing that it was previously meant to also take place in winter.