History Main / TheInfiltration

A common twist is to make the protagonist [[ShootYourMate kill or do something to his old friends]]. TheHero will fail here, usually, but the AntiHero of the [[SociopathicHero sociopathic]] [[HeroicComedicSociopath sort]] will often pass. Spy work is also crucial, because OnlyTheKnowledgableMayPass often comes into play.

* In the ''VideoGame/ThiefTheDarkProject'' mission "Undercover", Garrett infiltrates the Hammerites by passing as a novice. This is the only time he does this though, since the Hammerite church is far too well-defended for even him to sneak into normally. He also needs help from several inside men to pull it off, and once inside must be careful to not be caught doing something a Hammerite novice shouldn't be doing.

This is not just when they have to disguise themselves [[DressingAsTheEnemy temporarily]], but spend significant time among the villains and the {{Mooks}} themselves and even take on a role in their organization. Spending so long among the enemy can cause a NotSoDifferentRemark or, in a more severe case, lead to BecomingTheMask. Another risk is if the agent somehow loses his link to the parent organization, in which case can they can end up TrappedUndercover. Good guys may be tested by the bad guys demanding that they kill someone to prove they are a criminal.

* In ''VideoGame/SleepingDogs'', Wei Shen is an undercover cop trying to take down the Sun On Yee Triads in Hong Kong.

** "[[Recap/WalkerTexasRangerS7E17LivegirlsDotNow livegirls.now]]" (also in Season 7) had Trivette's new girlfriend being kidnapped by a gang of SexSlave traders [[ModelScam along with other aspiring models and about to be auctioned off]]. Walker, Trivette and Alex's only means of finding the kidnappers is by getting into the auction and tracing their location. Trivette takes on the job of being one of the bidders, and they needed the code from the photographer involved in the scheme after he was arrested by Walker. Trivette's cover is Kim Soo Park, a Korean industrialist who is currently serving 10-20 years for espionage; the arrest was scrubbed off his record so the kidnappers don't know what's going on. The trace is a success, but it hits a snag due to the kidnappers catching on to the ruse.

** Occurs in both plots in Season 9's "[[Recap/WalkerTexasRangerS9E19UnsafeSpeed Unsafe Speed]]". The main plot has Gage and Sydney going undercover as [[AllBikersAreHellsAngels bikers]] to bust up a methamphetamine lab, but to access it, they have to be initiated into the gang through a series of rigorous tests, and among them is killing a Texas State Trooper, [[spoiler:but the Trooper agreed to participate in the covert operation, having [[FakingTheDead survived his gunshot wounds]], due to wearing a BulletproofVest.]] The B-plot had Trivette pose as an unqualified trucker to nail a corrupt DPS Driver License Division employee who was illegally issuing trucker licenses, one of whom, who ended up killing a family of three, alerted the Rangers to the trafficking operation conducted by the bikers.

Contrast TheMole, where, as noted above, a bad guy is posing as a good guy. See also DressingAsTheEnemy. Sometimes involves becoming a FakeDefector, and a case of IfYoureSoEvilEatThisKitten when a character undercover is given a rigorous test to prove their villainous credentials in an effort to gain the bad guy's trust. One subtrope is ImpersonationGambit, where the hero steals the identity of a real person the bad guys have never seen. FlockOfWolves is a comedy trope where everyone else turns out to be "infiltrators" as well. SuperTrope of BlackTieInfiltration, where the infiltration is done at a party or other social event. If this happens on a smaller scale, compare DeliveryGuyInfiltration, SurpriseInspectionRuse and/or JanitorImpersonationInfiltration. Police infiltration doesn't tend to get far if the bad guys CanAlwaysSpotACop, however. The way for the good guys to get their mole to pass is to use someone with a checkered past who was previously associated with the criminal milieu. For large-scale infiltrations, where the good or bad guys have people infiltrated everywhere (or just in strategic locations, but the point is that you don't know who is and who isn't an agent), see WeAreEverywhere.

Contrast TheMole, where, as noted above, a bad guy is posing as a good guy. See also DressingAsTheEnemy. Sometimes involves becoming a FakeDefector, and a case of IfYoureSoEvilEatThisKitten. One subtrope is ImpersonationGambit, where the hero steals the identity of a real person the bad guys have never seen. FlockOfWolves is a comedy trope where everyone else turns out to be "infiltrators" as well. SuperTrope of BlackTieInfiltration, where the infiltration is done at a party or other social event. If this happens on a smaller scale, compare DeliveryGuyInfiltration, SurpriseInspectionRuse and/or JanitorImpersonationInfiltration. Police infiltration doesn't tend to get far if the bad guys CanAlwaysSpotACop, however. The way for the good guys to get their mole to pass is to use someone with a checkered past who was previously associated with the criminal milieu. For large-scale infiltrations, where the good or bad guys have people infiltrated everywhere (or just in strategic locations, but the point is that you don't know who is and who isn't an agent), see WeAreEverywhere.

Contrast TheMole, where, as noted above, a bad guy is posing as a good guy. See also DressingAsTheEnemy. Sometimes involves becoming a FakeDefector. One subtrope is ImpersonationGambit, where the hero steals the identity of a real person the bad guys have never seen. FlockOfWolves is a comedy trope where everyone else turns out to be "infiltrators" as well. SuperTrope of BlackTieInfiltration, where the infiltration is done at a party or other social event. If this happens on a smaller scale, compare DeliveryGuyInfiltration, SurpriseInspectionRuse and/or JanitorImpersonationInfiltration. Police infiltration doesn't tend to get far if the bad guys CanAlwaysSpotACop, however. The way for the good guys to get their mole to pass is to use someone with a checkered past who was previously associated with the criminal milieu. For large-scale infiltrations, where the good or bad guys have people infiltrated everywhere (or just in strategic locations, but the point is that you don't know who is and who isn't an agent), see WeAreEverywhere.

** Occurs in both plots in Season 9's "[[Recap/WalkerTexasRangerS9E19UnsafeSpeed Unsafe Speed]]". The main plot has Gage and Sydney going undercover as [[AllBikersAreHellsAngels bikers]] to bust up a methamphetamine lab, but to access it, they have to be initiated into the gang through a series of rigorous tests, and among them is killing a Texas State Trooper, [[spoiler:[[DisneyDeath but]] [[FakingTheDead he survived]], since he wore a BulletproofVest, and their plan works.]] The B-plot had Trivette pose as an unqualified trucker to nail a corrupt DPS Driver License Division employee who was illegally issuing trucker licenses, one of whom, who ended up killing a family of three, alerted the Rangers to the trafficking operation conducted by the bikers.

** Occurs in both plots in Season 9's "[[Recap/WalkerTexasRangerS9E19UnsafeSpeed Unsafe Speed]]". The main plot has Gage and Sydney going undercover as bikers to bust up a methamphetamine lab, but to access it, they have to be initiated into the gang through a series of rigorous tests, and among them is killing a Texas State Trooper, [[spoiler:[[DisneyDeath but]] [[FakingTheDead he survived]], since he wore a BulletproofVest, and their plan works.]] The B-plot had Trivette pose as an unqualified trucker to nail a corrupt DPS Driver License Division employee who was illegally issuing trucker licenses, one of whom, who ended up killing a family of three, alerted the Rangers to the trafficking operation conducted by the bikers.

** Occurs in both plots in Season 9's "[[Recap/WalkerTexasRangerS9E19UnsafeSpeed Unsafe Speed]]". The main plot has Gage and Sydney going undercover as bikers to bust up a methamphetamine lab, but to access it, they have to be initiated into the gang through a series of rigorous tests, and among them is killing a Texas State Trooper, [[spoiler:but he survived, since he wore a bulletproof vest.]] The B-plot had Trivette pose as an unqualified trucker to nail a corrupt DPS Driver License Division employee who was illegally issuing trucker licenses, one of whom, who ended up killing a family of three, alerted the Rangers to the trafficking operation conducted by the bikers.

** Occurs in both plots in Season 9's "[[Recap/WalkerTexasRangerS9E19UnsafeSpeed Unsafe Speed]]". The main plot has Gage and Sydney going undercover as bikers to bust up a methamphetamine lab, but to access it, they have to be initiated into the gang through a series of rigorous tests, and among them is killing a Texas State Trooper, [[spoiler:but he survived, since he wore a bulletproof vest.]] The B-plot had Trivette pose as an unqualified trucker to nail a rogue DPS Driver License Division employee who was illegally issuing trucker licenses, one of whom, who ended up killing a family of three, alerted the Rangers to the trafficking operation conducted by the bikers.

** Occurs in both plots in Season 9's "[[Recap/WalkerTexasRangerS9E19UnsafeSpeed Unsafe Speed]]". The main plot has Gage and Sydney going undercover as bikers to bust up a methamphetamine lab, but to access it, they have to be initiated into the gang through a series of rigorous tests, and among them is killing a Texas State Trooper, [[spoiler:but he survived, since he wore a bulletproof vest.]] The B-plot had Trivette pose as an unqualified trucker to nail a rogue DPS Driver License Division employee who was illegally issuing trucker licenses, one of whom alerted the Rangers to the trafficking operation conducted by the bikers.

** Season 9's "[[Recap/WalkerTexasRangerS9E19UnsafeSpeed Unsafe Speed]]" has Gage and Sydney going undercover as bikers to bust up a methamphetamine lab, but to access it, they have to be initiated into the gang through a series of rigorous tests, and among them is killing a Texas State Trooper, [[spoiler:but he survived, since he wore a bulletproof vest.]]

* In ''ComicBook/AstroCity,'' Royal Williams ends up joining the villainous organization Pyramid to get more information on the whereabouts of the man who killed his parents.

** In Season 6's "[[Recap/WalkerTexasRangerS6E5ForgottenPeople Forgotten People]]", when an old friend of Trivette's staying at a nursing home turns up dead, C.D. pretends to be an Alzheimer's patient that turns out to be a front for an illegal testing facility where its patients are being used as guinea pigs to have variations of an illegal Alzheimer's drug put on the market. C.D. later makes a new friend during his time there, who is also undercover for the same reason.

** "[[Recap/WalkerTexasRangerS7E17LivegirlsDotNow livegirls.now]]" (also in Season 7) had Trivette's new girlfriend being kidnapped by a gang of sex slave traders along with other aspiring models and about to be auctioned off. Walker, Trivette and Alex's only means of finding the kidnappers is by getting into the auction and tracing their location. Trivette takes on the job of being one of the bidders, and they needed the code from the photographer involved in the scheme after he was arrested by Walker. Trivette's cover is Kim Soo Park, a Korean industrialist who is currently serving 10-20 years for espionage; the arrest was scrubbed off his record so the kidnappers don't know what's going on. The trace is a success, but it hits a snag due to the kidnappers catching on to the ruse.

** In Season 6's "[[Recap/WalkerTexasRangerS6E5ForgottenPeople Forgotten People]]", when an old friend of Trivette's staying at a nursing home turns up dead, C.D. pretends to be an Alzheimer's patient that turns out to be a front for an illegal testing facility where its patients are being used as guinea pigs to have variations of an illegal Alzheimer's drug put on the market.

* ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13257950/1/Someone-You-Trust Someone You Trust]]'', a ''Manga/MyHeroAcademia'' fic, has this presented as a late-story plot twist. Eraser Head is captured and tortured and both he and the reader have no idea why ''Present Mic'' is doing said torture. Turns out, Mic was infiltrating the group, which was trafficking kids with strong quirks, and Aizawa went into a different area than usual patrolling and got caught. Mic is being constantly watched with a hidden camera and has no choice but to cooperate if he wants to save the kids. Aizawa understands when it’s explained post-rescue, but Mic is guilt-racked.