Nine Years Ago

"Nine Years Ago" is a special set of levels in Monolith's Game, The Operative: No One Lives Forever. These missions only appeared on the release of the PlayStation 2 (PS2) version of the game. It is a series of three flashbacks to Cate Archer's days as a Thief before joining UNITY. Archer is knocked out (thus causing the flashbacks) in Unexpected Turbulence, A Tenuous Lead and The Indomitable Cate Archer.

Scene 1

 * This scene is played in Unexpected Turbulence.

Archer sets out to ply her trade in London, England. She reminds herself not to be greedy. Just three picks and then head straight home. Avoiding the local Police, Archer comes across a couple on vacation talking about the recent purchases they made and nicks the Purse. Next she overhears a remorseful man trying to apologize to his "lambchop" over the Telephone. Archer grabs his briefcase. Later she comes upon a crying woman (girlfriend of the aforementioned guy), whom Archer retrieves her purse. Done for the night, Archer heads back to her flat.


 * The confirmation that this takes place in London is found in an intelligence item from the No One Lives Forever 2: A Spy in H.A.R.M.'s Way mission The Art of Murder.

Scene 2

 * This scene is played in A Tenuous Lead.

A contact shows Archer a way to get into the basement of a local Brasserie (aka a pub). Inside there are two Safes that she plans to rob. As she makes her way through the basement up to the ground floor, she overhears the owner giving instructions to his employees. Archer sneaks past them to the safe behind the bar and the safe in the owners office. After she has cleared them of any money found inside, Archer slips out the front door.

Scene 3

 * This scene is played in The Indomitable Cate Archer.

Archer bribes a servant with a bottle of Glen Rothes, Scotlands finest Whiskey, he provides her with a replica of the Robin's Egg. Archer plans to replace the real jewel with this fake one. After warning Archer about the ghost known to haunt Cramble Castle, the servant tells her which window he left unlocked for her. Archer enters through the unsecured window and overhears some tourists talking about their next adventure. Archer finds a mess and cleans it up which attracts the attention of the Grey Servant. The spirit, moved by her cleaning effort, opens up a passage that Archer uses to get to the Robin's Egg. After swapping the two jewels, the Grey Servant opens up a secret passage that Archer uses to escape the castle.

Memorable quotes
Female Tourist: "Which do you prefer,the violet or the avocado?"

Male Tourist: "What's wrong with the purse you have now?"

Female Tourist: "That raggedy old thing? I'm embarrassed to be seen with it in public."

Male Tourist: "You bought it last month!"

Female Tourist: "I know, but... well, it doesn't go with my new shoes."

Male Tourist: "New shoes? Darling, this vacation is costing us an arm and a leg. You keep spending money like this, we'll have to swim home."

Female Tourist: "Well, you can't expect me to wear shoes that clash with my new dress."

Male Tourist: "New dress?"

Female Tourist: "Don't be mad, Sweetie. I just want to look good for you. You don't want people thinking you married a country bumpkin, do you?"

Male Tourist: "Darling..."

Female Tourist: "Besides, I couldn't resist. The dress goes perfectly with the wonderful new hat I bought."

Male Tourist: "(groans)"

Trivia

 * As a thief, Archer wears a black catsuit to help her blend in with the darkness.
 * Archer's apartment number is 202.
 * If the police catch Archer, there is a scene where she is locked up in jail.
 * This mission has it's own music score.
 * A video walkthrough of the exclusive mission is available for viewing on YouTube, courtesy of JohnnyDFox: Flashback #1, Flashback #2, and Flashback #3. There is also a HD video showing all the missions at PS2 Nine Years Ago.
 * In the PS2 trailer it was said to have 4 new missions (scenes). However, there are three scenes in the mission. Rumors say that 4th scene is available when all intelligence items are collected. If it really existed, it'd probably show how Cate Archer met Bruno Lawrie.