History Main / DoubleCaper

* In ''Crooked Kingdom'', the sequel to ''Literature/SixOfCrows'', the Crows pull such a caper after [[spoiler:Jan Van Eck betrays them.]]

* The first ''Film/MissionImpossible'' starts with a caper that goes wrong, leaving the surviving member framed. The second caper is to recover the stolen information and expose the mole.

-->'''Edgin''' sums up the trope, ''Film/DungeonsAndDragonsHonorAmongThieves'' trailer

# The protagonists pull ''another'' iteration of TheCaper on their original employer, for vengeance, money and/or to get the stolen goods back to their rightful owner.

A variant exists where there's only one caper, which goes off apparently according to plan, but with a couple of crucial details changed after the InternalReveal so the loot doesn't end up in the hands of the original intended recipient. This allows for the plan to be meticulously described earlier in the story -- a genre staple -- without running afoul of the UnspokenPlanGuarantee; it ''does'' go "wrong", but only by the protagonists' design, and in their favour. (It's still "double", as they're conning the guy who hired them to run a con; they're just doing both at the same time.)

* In ''ComicBook/XMenNoir: Mark of Cain'', Thomas Halloway and his ersatz X-Men (Cyclops, Captain Logan, and Eugene Judd) are hired by Halloway's old father figure Cain Marko to steal the Crimson Gem of Cyttorak from a temple in Madripoor. When they deliver the gem, Marko double-crosses them; he paid them in ''newspaper''. They don't go after Marko -- because someone beat them to it. They decide to track down Marko's killer instead, reasoning that whoever did him in must now have the gem.

* ''VideoGame/WorldOfAssassinationTrilogy'': The elite assassin Agent 47 and his handler [[spoiler:spend one-and-a-half games performing stealthy assassinations to fight the mysterious Shadow Client, then find out that they've been working for a super evil conspiracy and spend one-and-a-half games performing stealthy assassinations to help the Shadow Client fight their former employers]].

# The protagonists are hired for TheCaper.
# After pulling it off, they learn that they were hired under false pretenses--they don't get paid, or their employer isn't who they thought, or the [[CaperRationalization justification]] they were given for the theft [[MotivationalLie turns out to be a lie]].
# They then pull ''another'' iteration of TheCaper on their original employer, for vengeance and/or to get the stolen goods back to their rightful owner.

This is often used as a way to have a plot based on TheCaper that has some degree of moral justifiability. It also provides a built-in structure for the execution of Caper #2.

A variation exists where there's only one caper, which goes off apparently according to plan, but with a couple of crucial details changed after the InternalReveal so the score doesn't end up in the hands of the intended recipient. This allows for the plan to be meticulously described earlier in the story -- a genre staple -- without running afoul of the UnspokenPlanGuarantee; it ''does'' go "wrong", but only by the protagonists' design, and in their favour. (It's still "double", as they're conning the guy who hired them to run a con; they're just doing both at the same time.)

* The JeffreyArcher book ''Literature/NotAPennyMoreNotAPennyLess'' is about a stock market fraud and the subsequent attempts of the defrauded parties to steal back the exact amount they were scammed out of. At the end [[spoiler:the originally worthless oil company stocks are suddenly valuable -- after an oil strike nearby -- and they have to find a way to run the whole theft in reverse to return the money.]]

* ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIIIMorrowind'':
** One Mages Guild quest has you steal a rare book for the quest giver from a rival mage. However, after bringing the book to the quest giver, she realizes that it doesn't contain the information she desires. Her next quest is to secretly return the book.
** One of the [[JustLikeRobinhood Bal Malogmer]] quests in the ThievesGuild quest line has you performing the second half of the double caper after another thief performed the first half. He stole a valuable dagger from a Buoyant Armiger, a member of the Temple's elite special forces, which was gifted to him by the PhysicalGod Vivec. The quest giver asks that you secretly return it along with a note of apology.

[[AC:WebOriginal]]
* Jeremy Archer finds this out in the first novel of the ''Literature/ShadowOfTheTemplar'' webseries, The Morning Star.

* In ''X-Men Noir: Mark of Cain'', Thomas Halloway and his ersatz X-Men (Cyclops, Captain Logan, and Eugene Judd) are hired by Halloway's old father figure Cain Marko to steal the Crimson Gem of Cyttorak from a temple in Madripoor. When they deliver the gem, Marko doublecrosses them; he paid them in ''newspaper''. They don't go after Marko -- because someone beat them to it. They decide to track down Marko's killer instead, reasoning that whoever did him in must now have the gem.

* The remake of ''[[Film/TheItalianJob2003 The Italian Job]]'' has the crew pulling a caper against the guy who double-crossed them and took the gold from their original caper.

This is often used as a way to have a plot based on TheCaper that has some degree of moral justifiability. It also provides a built-in structure for UpToEleven in the execution of Caper #2.

A DoubleCaper is a plot that takes the following form:

* [[OnceAnEpisode Standard Operating Procedure]] in ''Series/{{Hustle}}''. If they're trying to surprise you, it might be a [[IKnowYouKnowIKnow Triple Caper]] instead. Or even ''({{gasp}})'' a [[TheCaper Single Caper]]. OK, it's possibly exaggerating... let's just say it happens a lot.

A variation exists where there's only one caper, which goes off apparently according to plan, but with a couple of crucial details changed after the InternalReveal so the score doesn't end up in the hands of the intended recipient. This allows for the plan to be meticulously described earlier in the story -- a genre staple -- without running afoul of the UnspokenPlanGuarantee; it ''does'' go "wrong", but only by the protagonists' design, and in their favour.