Safecracker


 * You may be looking for the equipment item known as a Safe Cracker.

"Safecracker" is a level in the award-winning video game The Operative: No One Lives Forever. It is the 8th mission of the game and features the game's first "boss fight" as well as the return of Dmitrij Volkov. Consisting of six scenes, it is the longest mission of the game and is followed by the briefing/training level An Ounce of Hope, a Pound of Despair.

Briefing
''While it's clear that Dumas Industrial Enterprises is somehow involved with H.A.R.M., it's not entirely certain who the mastermind is. You must infiltrate the company's corporal headquarters building, locate the safe in the president's office and photograph any relevant documents you find.''

Agent Goodman will provide a distraction that should draw attention away from you, but you should still expect resistance.

Scene 1

 * 9:00pm, September 20
 * Construction Site of Dumas Towers

Goodman tells Cate Archer send him a signal so that he knows when it is his time to make a diversion.

Archer then sneaks around the ground level of the construction zone to turn on the generator so she can ride the main lift further up the tower.

Scene 2
On the upper level, Archer is ambushed by Inge Wagner, who is accompanied by several construction workers and has put a showy performance meant to kill her. In spite of being clad in bulletproof armor, she winds up being the one killed when she is damaged constantly by electricity.

From here, Archer takes the lift higher up the building.

Scene 3
Archer is now on the highest levels of the construction site. Using the zip-cord in her belt buckle, she climbs higher until she can use the crane to gain access to the administrative building.

Scene 4
Now on the upper levels of the administrative building, she evades security, slinking between lockers, slick elevators and luxurious pools. Archer powers up the generators and signals Goodman with a large explosion, alerting most of the floor to her presence. After that, she races to the higher levels and uses the window washing rig at the top floor to enter the offices beneath her.

Scene 5
Noticing the lack of a diversion, Archer sneaks through the offices collecting as much intelligence as possible. After recovering at least eight intelligence items, she uses the Code Breaker to hack into the elevator systems. She then rides to the executive level, where the Baron's office is.

Scene 6
There is still no sign of a diversion, so Archer reaches the Baron's office alone, contending with noticeable resistance. She opens the safe, crosses through a few halls of infrared laser beams which get denser the farther she goes, and photographs the documents within.

Returning to ground level, Archer comes across Goodman who is being held at gun point by Dmitrij Volkov. He is only able to delay Volkov for a few moments before he is shot several times, and Archer is forced to leave, cursing his helplessness. Volkov taunts Archer's slow decision as he sends more men after her.

Scene 1
This is easy, just try to not be caught by cameras and kill enemies outside cameras' sight. Don't do anything until talk between near guards ends.

Scene 2
The player will be attacked by Wagner in bulletproof armor within a two-story area under construction. Her slow, heavy steps will shake the ground, hindering their movement. They will have to watch for H.A.R.M. workers providing cover fire from the upper floor. Since Wagner is slow and near invincible, the player must focus their attention on the workers and look for Body Armor scattered around the stage to protect themselves, should they run low on the latter.

In the unlikely event that they are caught or cornered by Wagner, she will start hitting them with her sword. If they stay out of her sight for too long, she can let out an ear-piercing shriek that will deal substantial damage unless they turn the radio off, which is on top of a barrel.

Wagner cannot engage in combat without her background music, so, when the radio is stopped, she will run to it to replay the song. This is the only opportunity to damage Wagner as that radio sits idly by near a small puddle of water with power cables trailing into it; activating the power cables will electrify her before her normal phase of attack resumes. Once the player does this enough times, Wagner will explode and turn to dust, which, in turn, will stop the flow of H.A.R.M workers.

Scene 3
It's also easy. But you should kill two higher guys before they'll see you. When, using Belt Buckle, one worker there will see you and shoot at you, alerting other two workers, so try to kill him and them as fast as you can. Then just try to not fall, kill the rest and go to crane.

Scene 4
The game has become more difficult since this scene. There you'll encounter H.A.R.M. terrorists, who are well trained and ill-prepared. They can kill you easily. Try to kill them silently. Then, restore the power to the window washing rig, go through ventilation system, which is far from the door lower to starting point. Destroy cages and soon you'll go to the room with lift. Behind the lift there's a button for emergency door release. Go down the ladder and you'll just need to go to the window washing rig.

Scene 5
You have to find eight intelligence items and be careful, there are many cameras and enemies! Look out for cameras and try to kill enemies outside their sights. Then, find a Code Breaker and use it to open lift.

Scene 6
Repeat what you did in previous scene. There is also a security room with three thugs and camera control lever. Turn off the cameras and feel safe. While moving forward, you'll go room with pictures. Interact with fox picture and use Code Breaker. Secret door will open. Using Spy-Glasses, pass the infrared laser beams, especially the third part. The fourth part seems to be unpassable, but there's a small grate! Crawl underneath and go to the safe. There are three items: the ledger itself, two letters near safe and under the second part with laser beams respectively.

Memorable quotes
"Do we get paid today?"

"Day after tomorrow."

"Are you sure?"

"That's what the boss said."

"You'd think they could at least come up with a consistent disbursement schedule. These arbitrary paydays are really getting old."

"No kidding. My car almost got repossessed last month."

"That's horrible! I guess it's better than my last job. Not only did we not get paid regularly, we didn't even know how much we were gonna get. It was sort of a profit sharing arrangement, so if we had a slow month, we might get half of what we got the month before."

"I need more stability than that."

"If I had legitimate job skills, I'd get out of this racket in a second."

"Who were you working for, anyway?"

"Fist of Injustice."

"Oh, I heard about them."

"Nothing good, I wager."

"Lucky you got out of there before that deal in Taiwan."

"Tell me about it. They lost about thirty guys. All because some punk got a conscience and ratted to the cops."

"Rotten bastard."

"He's shark food now."

"Serves him right."
 * H.A.R.M. Thugs

"I think something's going on down there."

"Well, radio and find out."

"What the hell are we doing up here, anyway? If theres really supposed to be trouble tonight, we should be down there where the action is. What halfwit came up with this plan?"

"Regulation 471.2."

"Huh? What's regulation 471.2?"

"Don't question orders."

"Got that one memorized, eh? Been studying?"

"Never mind that. Radio downstairs and find out what's going on."

"Serves him right."

(sarcastically) "Sure thing, tough guy. Regulation 471.2."

"Do you want me to report you? Is that it?"

"I'm going."
 * H.A.R.M. Thugs

"Damn, I'm missing Man from U.N.C.L.E."

"That's a great show."

"Did you catch the final episode of The Fugitive last month?"

"I sure did! That's the way to wrap up a series."

"You like The Saint?"

"Yeah, it's pretty good. Avengers is good, too. I think my favorite is Get Smart, though."

"I love Get Smart. What about Mission: Impossible?"

"Good show, great theme song! I'm looking forward to The Prisoner. I guess that's starting next Friday."

"I haven't heard too much about that one."

"It sounds kind of strange. More of a science fiction thing, but I'm willing to give it a shot."

"You like Our Man Flint?"

"That was a funny movie. I wish In Like Flint was a little better, though."

"Well, it's still better than The Silencers. Matt Helm doesn't do much for me."

"Yeah, there's a new one coming out around Christmas. The Ambushers."

"I'll probably see it, but I'm not expecting much."

"Heck, I better get to my post before Lowell comes back. Fun talking to you."

"Yeah, take care."
 * H.A.R.M. Thugs

Trivia

 * With a total of six scenes, this is the longest mission of the game
 * In Scene 1, behind the warehouse where the scene begins, a second Cate can be seen standing in a far away corner. A similar glitch can be seen in A Man of Influence Scene 3.
 * Even though the construction site is set in England, practically all warning signs and labels are written in German.
 * The battle with Inge Wagner is the first "Boss Battle" of the game. This is the only Boss Fight that starts without a cutscene, making Wanger the only boss that Archer never interacted with. It's unknown why Wagner is here, but presumably Volkov convinced her that this building is perfect for her to "practice" her singing.
 * In her final battle, Inge Wagner wears a bullet-proof Viking costume. This costume is a reference to Richard Wagner's opera "The Ring of the Nibelung". She also sings her signature piece "The Ride of the Valkyries".
 * Inge Wagner is the only character in the game to carry a sword. Swords become usable weapons in the game's sequel.
 * The banner hanging over the lift in Scene 2 reads "Der Erstaunliche Inge" This is grammatically incorrect as "Der" is the definitive article for masculine words. As Inge is a woman, it should read "Die Erstaunliche Inge" - ("The Amazing Inge")
 * Even though the lift in Scene 2 does not seem to lead anywhere above, it brings the player up to the top of the skyscraper.
 * In scene 4, two guards talk about the "old man's new secretary". It is possible that they are referring to Baron Dumas.
 * While eight Intelligence items are required to complete the objective in Scene 5, there are nine items altogether. It is also the only time in which the collection of intelligence items is a compulsory objective, as opposed to optional.
 * The mission briefing also says that intelligence items on this mission are to be photographed rather than picked up, although the only time this comes into play is with the final document within the safe.
 * In Scene 5, two guards can be overheard conversing about popular TV shows from the 1960s. They mention successful spy shows such as The Man from U.N.C.L.E., Get Smart, The Saint, The Avengers, Mission Impossible and the films Our Man Flint and In Like Flint. The game's own genre as well as many of its elements are inspired by these shows/movies.
 * The Baron's safe in Scene 6 consists of four chambers protected by infrared lights. The player must use the spy glasses to avoid them. The fourth chamber can be skipped altogether by opening the small grate just in front of it and by crawling underneath it to the room that contains the final ledger.
 * If the player has the antitoxin equipped when they trip a laser in the safe, they can move freely about the area without taking any damage. However, the entrance and end room will be sealed off, making the level impossible to complete.