History Characters / PAYDAY2ContactsAndContractors

* WhatTheHellIsThatAccent: Locke was born and raised in South Africa, but his accent sounds less Afrikaans, and more of New Zealand Maori.
** Slightly justified by his backstory, where he is confirmed to have done his training in the US, worked for [=MI5=], and now works in the US again, meaning his accent has probably gotten mixed a bit.

* VillainWithGoodPublicity: The bakery that he uses as a front is extremely popular with the general public. [[spoiler:It has gotten to the point that the FBI ''somehow'' [[BeneathSuspicion believes]] that Vlad is [[BlatantLies an innocent man and an upstanding member of the community, and that Bain in using him as a patsy]]]].
* WeirdnessMagnet: Quite a few of Vlad's jobs and requests are... well, a bit on the stranger side. The loot he's had for the crew pick up for him includes a decorative tiara, safes, a stuffed pig, live goats (ones that are being used to smuggle cocaine, of course, but still goats), and [[spoiler:of course, nuclear warheads.]] He's also provided the crew with the [[ChristmasEpisode 2014, 2015, and 2016 Christmas heists]]. The 2014 heist, according to the FBI Files, had his brother-in-law's plane hit an "unidentified flying object" heavily implied to be Santa's sleigh, the 2015 heist revolves around gangsters in elf costumes disguising narcotics as Christmas presents, and 2016 features the clowns turning a mall upside down to find packages of cocaine, mistakenly distributed to various stores in Christmas presents, hidden by his drunken brother-in-law disguised as Santa, culminating in ''stealing the mall's Christmas tree''.[[labelnote:*]][[NotMakingThisUpDisclaimer Trust us, we couldn't make this crap up if we tried.]][[/labelnote]] Lampshaded by Bain in Aftershock:

* ArtEvolution: Locke got one to match his VA's face, Ian Russell. This was done to reflect his appearance in Payday 2's ending cutscenes. Before the visual update, Ian already had a striking resemblance to Old!Locke (sans moustache), so all the visual update did was just made his face more detailed.

* FauxAffablyEvil: Locke is friendly and polite as long as everything is going exactly according to plan, but he is prone to meeting any change or delay with instant hostility and gratuitous swearing. [[spoiler:He betrays you in Alaskan Deal, driving off with a near cheerful tone to his voice. With the relevation that the betrayal was a ruse in the Reservoir Dogs Heist, he drops the act and becomes much more focused.]]

Born in South Africa, educated at Lincoln Laboratory, trained under [=MI5=], and now employed by Murkywater. Vernon Locke heads their special cyberwarfare division, which has been tasked with infiltrating and destroying Crime.net. Locke has managed this. However, being a mercenary with no loyalties that extra money couldn't bend, Locke sees this as an opportunity. An opportunity to get rich, and cause a little chaos. He has reached out to Bain and the Payday gang. The deal? Work with him, or he brings Crime.net down forever.\\
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Locke's jobs are direct hits on Murkywater's resources, favouring speed and violence over subtlety, with the Gang often moving from place to place rather than holding out at a single point. Also, fair warning, Locke has entered WalkingSpoiler Territory. Hence the huge amount of spoiler tags everywhere...

[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/dxhv6vxwsaeopr4.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:300:For sure!]]

Born in South Africa, educated at Lincoln Laboratory, trained under [=MI5=], and now employed by Murkywater. Vernon Locke heads their special cyberwarfare division, which has been tasked with infiltrating and destroying Crime.net. Locke has managed this. However, being a mercenary with no loyalties that extra money couldn't bend, Locke sees this as an opportunity. An opportunity to get rich, and cause a little chaos. He has reached out to Bain and the Payday gang. The deal? Work with him, or he brings Crime.net down forever. Locke's jobs are direct hits on Murkywater's resources, favouring speed and violence over subtlety, with the Gang often moving from place to place rather than holding out at a single point. Also, fair warning, Locke has entered WalkingSpoiler Territory. Hence the huge amount of spoiler tags everywhere...

* LimitedWardrobe: He is only ever seen wearing military fatigues. [[spoiler:Even on the beach during the TrueEnding.]]

These are the people who give you contracts, which include Bank heists, Robberies, and other weird items that a contractor might want, all in order to get your Payday, too. As of December 2017, the game got a serious story arc, and as such, there's some '''major [[LateArrivalSpoiler Late Arrival Spoilers]]''' for those who are new to the game. Spoilers are marked as such, but there's a few characters on here that are considered [[WalkingSpoiler Walking Spoilers]], so their pages will be full of spoiler tags, '''so be warned!'''

* AdaptationalVillainy: The Web Series paints him in a darker light, showing his colder side more befitting of a traditional EvilGenius, and having him be perfectly cool with hiring PsychosForHire to kill off people threatening to expose Crime.net. It's completely at odds with his in-game personality.

* EvenEvilHasStandards: He is perfectly fine with you slaughtering cops and [=GenSec=] security guards, but killing civilians is a step too far for him, and doing so makes him chew you out and deduct part of your pay.

** He is also, very understandably, squeamish about someone like [[AxCrazy Vlad]] getting his hands on [[spoiler:a set of six ''nuclear warheads'']].

* HellYesMoment: Will often lose his composure from excitement when you see what's in the vault in Shadow Raid, once he's seen the inside of the Big Bank vault, or whenever a large amount of C4 detonates.
* HeroicRROD: [[spoiler: The Hell's Island heist has him single handedly taking out murkies and EliteMooks by himself, despite his physical health being ''very'' deteriorated from all the torture he endured previously. He is also infected with a virus that is sapping away at his strength. By the time you reach him, he collapses from his injuries, thus Locke has to carry him.]]

* NotQuiteDead: [[spoiler: If you find the White House's secret, Bain survives, and it appears he ''becomes the President of the United States'']].

* RetiredBadass: There's implications. Many of his connections seem to have come from genuinely getting into actual jobs like yours, he constantly alludes to the times he himself was working and compares particularly good work to what he did "back in the day", and [[spoiler:when Kataru comes to take him he does not go quietly at all, clearly answering with something [[HandCannon of decent caliber]] while offering the team his last instructions]].

** [[spoiler:Interestingly, one of his quotes when he books it at the start of Alaskan Deal indicates that he was on the end of this as well, though it is never made clear where he got the deal or who made it. It is eventually revealed in the Reservoir Dogs heist that the weapon deal was arranged by him and Bain in order to get the crew out of DC as the Kataru was looking for them.]]

* EvilCripple: His wartime injuries have confined him to a wheelchair. [[HandicappedBadass Doesn't stop him from being able to shoot from it though]]. [[spoiler:He somehow regains the use of his legs in the True Ending, presumably thanks to stolen technology from Henry's Rock.]]

* AscendedExtra: He was just another contractor players could use for jobs, but he slowly gained popularity among the community and he eventually gained more jobs involving him, had his character traits expanded to be crazier, and started to take on the role of Bain as MissionControl in his later heists. Vlad even appeared in a few trailers.
* AxCrazy: Compared to the other contractors, Vlad is the most ruthless. Hector, the Elephant, and The Butcher are motivated by business ([[CharacterizationMarchesOn though his last few heists are purely financially motivated]]), and they all prefer their stealthable jobs to be handled quietly. [[ItsPersonal Many of Vlad's jobs are the result of personal feuds, and he outright enjoys it when the crew "gets messy."]]

* CasualDangerDialog: [[spoiler:During the Meltdown heist, he brushes off Bain's reaction over Vlad wanting the crew to steal nuclear warheads for him as if it was a common everyday thing. He'll even casually ask the crew if their hair has fallen off or if their bones have been exposed yet.]]

* LateArrivalSpoiler: Bain may comment after opening up one of the trucks in "Aftershock" that safes are just another thing in a long line of weird cargo Vlad has had a hand in distributing, specifically bringing up [[spoiler:the nukes from "Meltdown".]]

* NotSoHarmlessVillain: In Meltdown, it turns out the mystery loot he's wanting from the warehouse is [[spoiler:a set of ''nukes''. Even Bain is absolutely horrified.]]

* ShooOutTheClowns: [[spoiler:He disappears from the game entirely after the plot gets more serious, starting with Heat Street. He doesn't appear again until the TrueEnding.]]

** The Sosa cartel attacked one of her ships that was in the cartel's territory by killing all the crew on board, stealing the weapons being smuggled, and then blowing up the ship before sending her a photo of the deed warning her to stay out of Miami. Not one to be pushed around, she hires the PAYDAY gang to storm the Scarface Mansion to kill the leader behind the cartel.
** As Locke and Load Day 6's comic shows, she is ''not'' happy that [[spoiler:Locke double-crossed her]], ranting to Dallas that she will find him and make him pay. Thankfully, [[spoiler:Locke manages to calm her before she takes action-- though she still smacks him in the face with a steel briefcase in an act of retribution in the True Ending]].

* TheButcher: Duh.

* CreatorCameo: He's voiced by the game's lead composer and Overkill's former sound designer, Simon Viklund.
* EvenEvilHasStandards: He's perfectly fine with you slaughtering cops and [=GenSec=] security guards, but killing civilians is a step too far for him, and doing so makes him chew you out and deduct part of your pay.
** He's very disdainful of the Murkywater mercenaries in ''Shadow Raid''. He'll sometimes express digust when a bag of cocaine is retrieved, saying that he hopes it wasn't actually given to any ''real'' soldiers. He may also call Murkywater 'shameless' in a similarly hostile tone if you come across paintings looted from the Iraqi National Gallery. He also calls Murkywater "corn-fed crooks", and sometimes notes that stolen coke won't be funding any terrorist activities anymore, [[DoubleStandard just good old American crime.]]

* MissingMissionControl: [[spoiler:His location is compromised and he is captured at the end of Day 1 of the Reservoir Dogs Heist, courtesy of the Kataru. Locke becomes the gang's MissionControl in his absence.]]

* MysteriousPast: After a successful assault wave, Bain sometimes notes that the crew reminds him of himself back in the day. Locke even notes that he had the ''real'' painting of The View of Mount Vernon. And the whole [[spoiler:"secret society crap" and the hunt for Baldwin's Lament? It's implied he's been at it for ''years'', and may have even been part of one of the bigger players in the conspiracy game, going by him being called a "Watcher" in some of the available documentation (according to Chains, at least)]].

* PragmaticVillainy: While he's willing to do anything to get the job done, he condemns certain actions as unprofessional and immoral - most notably, killing civilians. He also prefers options that don't expose the crew to unnecessary risk.

** [[spoiler:Interestingly, one of his quotes when he books it at the start of Alaskan Deal indicates that he was on the end of this as well, though it is never made clear where he got the deal or who made it. It is eventually revealed in the Reservoir Dogs heist that it was a ruse coordinated by him and Bain in order to quickly get the gang out of DC.]]

* FauxAffablyEvil: Perfectly friendly and polite as long as everything is going exactly according to plan, but prone to meeting any change or delay with instant hostility and gratuitous swearing. [[spoiler:He betrays you in Alaskan Deal, driving off with a near cheerful tone to his voice. When he reveals that he's on your side in the Reservoir Dogs Heist, he drops the act and becomes much more focused.]]
* ForeignCussWord: When he gets angry he'll start using Afrikaans slang, calling police 'kerels' (a dated equivalent of the American 'pigs') and everyone [[CountryMatters 'poes']].
* GoodAllAlong: [[spoiler:Despite seemingly selling out the crew during the Alaskan Deal, Highland Mortuary reveals that he was forced to do that to ensure the crew's safety. Bain is aware of this and uses what little time he has left before disappearing to clear up Vernon's name.]]
* InsufferableGenius: Incredibly annoying, especially after offering two heists involving sabotage towards Murkywater's leading assets. To the point of sounding even more irritable than Bain's constant barking. Birth of Sky has this the worst, especially if you're having a hard time finding the money pallets or are getting shot from every angle. [[spoiler:He drops this in the Reservoir Dogs heist, as things have gotten much more serious.]]

** JerkWithAHeartOfGold: [[spoiler:The Reservoir Dogs heist reveals that the betrayal in Alaska was a ruse, and he does genuinely respect the crew.]]

* VerbalTic: Has a habit of adding "for sure" to the ends of his statements, and his VA is quite aware of the MemeticMutation. The fanbase is all too happy to turn it into the memetic "Fo Sho".

* AscendedExtra: First appearing as a minor character, the "Gage Weapon Packs" line of [[DownloadableContent DLCs]] show that he's the crew's main weapon supplier, providing them with [[KnifeNut combat knives]], [[MoreDakka machine guns]], [[StuffBlowingUp grenades]], [[BoomHeadshot sniper rifles]], and even [[BreakOutTheMuseumPiece older weapons]] from UsefulNotes/WorldWarII and beyond.

* EvenEvilHasStandards: In the ''Film/{{Hardcore Henry}}'' trailer, Simmons had to warn Dallas about Akan's wrath. He attempted to defuse Dallas' doubts, and even held him back when Akan casually telepathically kills a waitress. [[DummiedOut Cut dialogue]] [[WhatCouldHaveBeen from the game implied that Simmons would have betrayed him by having the gang rob the EMP bomb and data, feeling that working with him is a ''really bad idea'']].

She came with two heists initially, The Bomb: Dockyard (which could be played stealth or loud) and The Bomb: Forest (which could only be played loud), along with being the supplier of three weapon packs: the BBQ Pack, AK/CAR Mod Pack and Western Pack. [[PutOnABus After a long hiatus]], she [[TheBusCameBack got a third heist in December 2016]]: Scarface Mansion, another stealth-or-loud heist. One of her cargo ships ends up in Alaska during the Alaskan Deal heist, and she's not exactly happy about what ends up going down there.

* EvenEvilHasStandards: Like with Bain, he's perfectly fine with you slaughtering cops and Murkywater assault units, but [[spoiler:killing civilians will make him...pertubed, not least because he has to work extra, and deducts pay as cleaner costs.]]

* MissionControl: [[spoiler:In the Reservoir Dogs Heist, he entirely replaces Bain as this for Day 2 (Day 1 gameplay-wise) of the heist. He even gets to narrate when assault waves begin and end, as well as when players get downed, in custody and hostage trades. This carries over to Brooklyn Bank, and every heist from then on with the exception of No Mercy.]]

** Locke will ''never'' hesitate to remind the crew when a civilian gets freed by the police, even if the crew themselves are cornered by the cops and can't do anything about it.

* FromNobodyToNightmare: Vlad is a mob boss running his own illegal businesses, but compared to everyone else the crew had done jobs for (and Vlad having a somewhat silly personality), one might not take Vlad too seriously and even the FBI didn't consider him a threat for a while (his biggest heist at game release was smashing a mall on his turf so that its owner pays him protection money). But later on, Vlad asks the crew to steal [[spoiler:nuclear warheads]] for a potential buyer and he acts like it's no big deal. Vlad eventually gains a lot of influence in the criminal underworld and he manages to make connections to a large organization on the West Coast by moving their product of customized skins for guns on the East Coast, and by the Goat Simulator heist is moving in on Hector's old turf as a cocaine distributor.

* VillainWithGoodPublicity: The bakery that he uses as a front is extremely popular with the general public. [[spoiler:It's gotten to the point that the FBI ''somehow'' [[BeneathSuspicion believes]] that he's [[BlatantLies an innocent man and an upstanding member of the community, and that Bain in using him as a patsy]]]].

* CombatPragmatist: ''Firestarter'' sees you stealing weapons from the Mendozas to ensure they are no match for his cartel - then burning their money, so they cannot even afford to pay their soldiers or their families down south. He doesn't stop there, as ''Rats'' sees you intercepting the remaining Mendoza leaders before they can escape the country.

* DroppedABridgeOnHim: Turned out to be [[spoiler:the traitor who got Hoxton imprisoned. Naturally ends up dead as a result.]]

* PutOnABus: Hector's had no new heists since the game's release, and then... well, they DroppedABridgeOnHim.

A Republican councilman, '''Stephen J. Simmons''', AKA '''"The Elephant,"''' aspires to be a senator - and uses Crime.net as a means to that end. He's not above paying to have his rivals discredited or 'problems' taken out of the picture in a more permanent fashion. Whether it's vote manipulation, frame-ups, or aid for his political allies, he has the connections to make it happen.\\

** Ironically, [[spoiler:part of the news ticker from the True Ending suggests that he's switched political affiliation to the Democrats and is now spearheading a push against corruption after being [[RightForTheWrongReasons outed as supposedly corrupt by the Kataru using forged evidence]]. Whether this is a legitimate change of heart or just another ploy is up for debate.]]

** TheBusCameBack: ...until June 2016, where he's the contractor for the DLC Biker Heist.

* YouOweMe: After The Biker Heist, the Elephant notes that his ties with the Overkill MC gang are all but severed, so the next time he needs something done, the gang will be expected to provide.

* ArmorPiercingQuestion: Delivers one to Dallas in regards to Jim Hoxworth, which stops him dead in his tracks when he was about to leave.

* BigBad: [[spoiler: Turns out to be the main villain of the storyline, after he kidnaps Bain, then tortures and infects him with a virus.]]

* KarmaHoudini: [[spoiler:He kidnaps Bain and has him tortured and injected with a virus, which eventually kills him. While the PAYDAY crew manage succeed in winning their freedom by stealing presidential pardons, the Dentist is still at large. This is averted in the TrueEnding, where he is killed by the gang.]]

* ThePlan: He appears to have a greater purpose in mind for the Payday crew, beyond actually breaking Hoxton out. [[spoiler:His plans seem to involve the theft of priceless artefacts for a third party- the Gold Grin implying a connection to a mysterious secret socity group.]]

* TheSpook: The FBI Files reveal that even the police know almost nothing about him -- in fact they've only just gotten a visual description. [[spoiler:Given his affiliation, that's not surprising...]]

* ScaryShinyGlasses: [[spoiler:If he's truly related to matters like the Burning of the White House and the Diamond, then these are what gives him away]]; he can be seen as only a silhouette with shining glasses, watching from the background.

* TortureTechnician: [[spoiler: The man shown torturing Bain in Henry's Rock looks a lot like him, especially his glasses]].

* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: With The Golden Grin Casino being the last heist from him, he simply vanished without a word. Presumably, with the crew already fulfilling their end of the bargain, The Dentist may simply not need their business anymore. He does continue to speak in the Pre-Planning screens for post-Golden Grin heists, however, but this is probably more of an oversight more than anything else.

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/dxhv6vxwsaeopr4.jpg]]

The crew's enigmatic boss, '''Bain''' is the man with a plan, who coordinates the crew's work through Crime.net. Everything about him is a mystery, with few having ever seen his face, let alone heard his name. Even the crew is in the dark about much of his past - all they know is that he's reliable, he's on their side, and he's in control.\\
\\

[[caption-width-right:350:For sure!]]

Born in South Africa, educated at Lincoln Laboratory, trained under [=MI5=], and now employed by Murkywater. Vernon Locke heads their special cyberwarfare division, which has been tasked with infiltrating and destroying Crime.net. Locke has managed this. However, being a mercenary with no loyalties that extra money couldn't bend, Locke sees this as an opportunity. An opportunity to get rich, and cause a little chaos. He has reached out to Bain and the Payday gang. The deal? Work with him, or he brings Crime.net down forever. And he already has a couple of jobs for you...\\
\\
Locke's jobs are direct hits on Murkywater's resources, favouring speed and violence over subtlety, with the Gang often moving from place to place rather than holding out at a single point. Also, fair warning, Locke has entered WalkingSpoiler Territory. Hence the huge amount of spoiler tags everywhere...\\
\\

You can't exactly buy fully-automatic, high-capacity weapons from just any gun store or gunsmith, and you don't find them lying around on the street. '''Gage''' is a bitter and crippled war veteran who provides some of the tools and weapons the gang needs to get the job done, using his contacts and connections within the military. He also occasionally takes 'care' of problems for Bain, using his injury to make victims underestimate him.\\
\\

Vlad's heists are all single-day duration (not counting escape sequences, with the two-day Goat Simulator heist being the exception). Early jobs offer some opportunities for stealth and subterfuge, but later ones focus entirely on loud and violent approaches. He has also been the contractor for the yearly Christmas-themed heists[[labelnote:*]]Except for 2017, as Locke offers that particular contract, due to the storyline getting serious[[/labelnote]].\\
\\

Hector's heists focus mostly on action and stealing highly valuable items like money, drugs, and weapons, but there are some opportunities for stealth.\\
\\

His heists strongly encourage stealth and caution, and while highly difficult, they are extremely rewarding. The Biker DLC introduces a heist from him that can only be done loud, which contrasts from his usual stealthy approach, though he notes that there was no other option given the circumstances, and is largely unconnected to his political goals.\\
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[[spoiler: He is also older than he looks. ''[[Really700YearsOld A lot older.]]'']]\\
\\

She came with two heists initially, The Bomb: Dockyard (which could be played stealth or loud) and The Bomb: Forest (which could only be played loud), along with being the supplier of three weapon packs: the BBQ Pack, AK/CAR Mod Pack and Western Pack. [[PutOnABus After a long hiatus]], she [[TheBusCameBack got a third heist in December 2016]]: Scarface Mansion, another stealth-or-loud heist. One of her cargo ships ends up in Alaska during the Alaskan Deal heist, and she's not exactly happy about what ends up going down there.\\
\\

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/bain2_6947.png]]

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/20170313205607_1.jpg]]

** [[spoiler:Interestingly, one of his quotes when he books it at the start of Alaskan Heist indicates that he was on the end of this as well, though it's never made clear where he got the deal or who made it. It is eventually revealed in the Reservoir Dogs heist that it was all a sham.]]

* LimitedWardrobe: He's only ever seen wearing military fatigues. [[spoiler:Even on the beach during the TrueEnding.]]

* OverTheShoulderCarry: Does this to [[spoiler:a beaten up Bain near the end of Hell's Island.]]

* WhatTheHellIsThatAccent: Locke was born and raised in South Africa, but his accent sounds less Afrikaans, and more New Zealand Maori.

* {{Wildcard}}: It's pretty hard to guess which side is he on when he throws insults to both sides in the battle between the crew and Murkywater. His allegiance has also been brought into question more times than any other contractor, [[IronicEcho for sure]]. By the end of the storyline, he's very much in the '[[spoiler: trustworthy ally]]' camp.

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/gage_1119.png]]

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/better_vlad_8215.jpg]]

Recently returned from a long stay in prison, '''Vladimir "Vlad" Kozak''' seeks to reclaim many of his old holdings - and wants revenge on the man who framed him. To do this, he's taking back his gangland stranglehold on DC, starting with his protection racket. Vlad also runs a bakery in town, which serves as a front to his more illegal means of business.\\

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/better_elephant_8206.jpg]]

[[spoiler: He's older than he looks. ''[[Really700YearsOld A lot older.]]'']]\\

* BodySurf: It's strongly implied that he has used [[spoiler: the secret artifact beneath the White House to repeatedly reincarnate as different individuals, making him functionally immortal.]]

* TheIlluminati: [[spoiler: The treasure he's looking for in The Golden Grin Casino job heavily implies connections to this. Henry's Rock reveals he's actually working with Murkywater, and the boxes have another, more grandiose purpose]].

* KarmaHoudini: [[spoiler:He kidnaps Bain and has him tortured and injected with a virus, which eventually kills him. While the PAYDAY crew manage succeed in winning their freedom by stealing presidential pardons, the Dentist is still at large. This is averted in the TrueEnding, where he's killed by the gang.]]
* KnightOfCerebus: Whenever he's present, or sometimes only just involved, some ''dark'' shit is usually going on. Even if his initial heists weren't too suspicious his trailer with Dallas portrayed him as the most intimidating figure the crew had dealt with yet, and [[spoiler:now that the heisters are fully involved in occult matters he's a constant presence]].
* ThePlan: He appears to have a greater purpose in mind for the Payday crew, beyond actually breaking Hoxton out. [[spoiler:His plans seem to involve the theft of priceless artefacts for a third party- the Gold Grin implying a connection to the illuminati.]]

* ZeroEffortBoss: [[spoiler: To unlock the true ending, you must kill him after solving the puzzle in the White House heist, and he's rather pathetically easy to take down.]]

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/8f4dd9218e15fd3612ebec82f52cfd08.png]]

Denisa Horvat is a woman running a butcher shop in Croatia, better known as '''The Butcher'''. Similar to Vlad, The Butcher runs a legal business while doing more dirty work behind the scenes - in this case, the international arms trade. Not much else is known about her other than that she has a connection to Bain and is filling in for Gage while he's on an "extended vacation." She is also responsible for Dragan joining the crew, with him serving as her ambassador to Crime.net.\\

The crew's enigmatic boss, '''Bain''' is the man with a plan, who coordinates the crew's work through Crime.net. Everything about him is a mystery, with few having ever seen his face, let alone heard his name. Even the crew is in the dark about much of his past - all they know is that he's reliable, he's on their side, and he's in control.

* TheCracker: Bain tends to personally handle any hacking that the gang needs done in a given heist.

** He is also understandably squeamish about someone like [[AxCrazy Vlad]] getting his hands on [[spoiler:a set of six ''nuclear warheads'']].

* KilledOffForReal: [[spoiler: If you don't find the game's secret ending, Bain succumbs to the virus Murkywater infects him with. If you find the secret ending, Bain's body still succumbs to the virus, but he reincarnates into the body of the President of the United States.]]

Vernon Locke was introduced in a 'teaser' update for ''PAYDAY 2'', whose heists were released as part of the ''Film/PointBreak'' tie-in DLC.

He is the head of a cyber-taskforce division of Murkywater that managed to successfully infiltrate Crime.net, but instead of simply taking it offline (as he was hired to do), left a message for the crew within Crime.net that states he would like to work ''with'' the crew, offering to provide intel on Murkywater and protection from the other members of his taskforce.

Born in South Africa, educated at Lincoln Laboratory, trained under [=MI5=], and now employed by Murkywater. Vernon Locke heads their special cyberwarfare division, which has been tasked with infiltrating and destroying Crime.net. Locke has managed this. However, being a mercenary with no loyalties that extra money couldn't bend, Locke sees this as an opportunity. An opportunity to get rich, and cause a little chaos. He has reached out to Bain and the Payday gang. The deal? Work with him, or he brings Crime.net down forever. And he already has a couple of jobs for you...

Locke's jobs are direct hits on Murkywater's resources, favouring speed and violence over subtlety, with the Gang often moving from place to place rather than holding out at a single point. Also, fair warning, Locke has entered WalkingSpoiler Territory. Hence the huge amount of spoiler tags everywhere...

** Subverted in that he does have standards, such as not killing civilians, and [[spoiler: part of why he betrayed Murkywater is because he was disturbed by some of the stuff he saw stashed in Henry's Rock]].

You can't exactly buy fully-automatic, high-capacity weapons from just any gun store or gunsmith, and you don't find them lying around on the street. '''Gage''' is a bitter and crippled war veteran who provides some of the tools and weapons the gang needs to get the job done, using his contacts and connections within the military. He also occasionally takes 'care' of problems for Bain, using his injury to make victims underestimate him.

Recently returned from a long stay in prison, '''Vladimir "Vlad" Kozak''' seeks to reclaim many of his old holdings - and wants revenge on the man who framed him. To do this, he's taking back his gangland stranglehold on DC, starting with his protection racket. Vlad also runs a bakery in town, which serves as a front to his more illegal means of business.

Vlad's heists are all single-day duration (not counting escape sequences, with the two-day Goat Simulator heist being the exception). Early jobs offer some opportunities for stealth and subterfuge, but later ones focus entirely on loud and violent approaches. He has also been the contractor for the yearly Christmas-themed heists[[labelnote:*]]Except for 2017, as Locke offers that particular contract, due to the storyline getting serious[[/labelnote]].

The leader of the up-and-coming Sinaloan Cartel, '''Hector Morales''' is looking to deal with his rivals, the Mendoza Family, so he can secure distribution of cocaine and methamphetamine. He doesn't care how they are dealt with. He just wants them out of the picture. One of the most intimidating things about him is that he has no previous criminal record - he's never once been caught.

Hector's heists focus mostly on action and stealing highly valuable items like money, drugs, and weapons, but there are some opportunities for stealth.

A Republican councilman, '''Stephen J. Simmons''', AKA '''"The Elephant,"''' aspires to be a senator - and uses Crime.net as a means to that end. He's not above paying to have his rivals discredited or 'problems' taken out of the picture in a more permanent fashion. Whether it's vote manipulation, frame-ups, or aid for his political allies, he has the connections to make it happen.

[[spoiler:The Breakin' Feds heist reveals that he has been arrested by the PAYDAY Task Force, as part of Solomon Garrett's deal with the Kataru. It is also implied he is looking for Baldwin's Lament, like Bain. He is later released after 37 days in custody, presumably due to a lack of hard evidence linking him to the gang, combined with his political connections.]]

His heists strongly encourage stealth and caution, and while highly difficult, they are extremely rewarding. The Biker DLC introduces a heist from him that can only be done loud, which contrasts from his usual stealthy approach, though he notes that there was no other option given the circumstances, and is largely unconnected to his political goals.

Not much is known about Doctor Helmann, a.k.a. '''The Dentist''', but he knows the crew very well - after all, he's been monitoring them ever since they robbed the First World Bank. The Dentist uses his occupation to present the image of an honest, working citizen, but behind that mask breathes a cunning and dangerous criminal mastermind. After his "introducing" himself to Dallas, he gave the crew an offer - work for him, and Hoxton will be freed. [[spoiler:He seems to be working with the people that kidnapped Bain, as the box you stole from Golden Grin appears in the Henry's Rock heist, along what seems to be him next to a tied up Bain.]]

The Dentist has a network of connections that rivals The Elephant's, and uses them to great effect during his Heists, which typically require careful planning and precise execution.

[[spoiler: He's older than he looks. ''[[Really700YearsOld A lot older.]]'']]

Denisa Horvat is a woman running a butcher shop in Croatia, better known as '''The Butcher'''. Similar to Vlad, The Butcher runs a legal business while doing more dirty work behind the scenes - in this case, the international arms trade. Not much else is known about her other than that she has a connection to Bain and is filling in for Gage while he's on an "extended vacation." She is also responsible for Dragan joining the crew, with him serving as her ambassador to Crime.net.

She came with two heists initially, The Bomb: Dockyard (which could be played stealth or loud) and The Bomb: Forest (which could only be played loud), along with being the supplier of three weapon packs: the BBQ Pack, AK/CAR Mod Pack and Western Pack. [[PutOnABus After a long hiatus]], she [[TheBusCameBack got a third heist in December 2016]]: Scarface Mansion, another stealth-or-loud heist. One of her cargo ships ends up in Alaska during the Alaskan Deal heist, and she's not exactly happy about what ends up going down there.

* ArtEvolution: Locke got one to match his VA's face, Ian Russell. This was done to reflect his appearance in Payday 2's ending cutscenes. Before this, Ian already had a striking resemblance to Old!Locke (sans moustache), so the visual update just made his face more detailed.

-->'''Bain''':''Vlad, smashing malls is one thing. Stealing tiaras is one thing. But '''[[spoiler:nukes]]?!?!'''''

[[/folder]]

[[folder:Vernon Locke]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/20170313205607_1.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:For sure!]]

->'''Portrayed By:''' Ian Russell

Vernon Locke was introduced in a 'teaser' update for ''PAYDAY 2'', whose heists were released as part of the ''Film/PointBreak'' tie-in DLC.

He is the head of a cyber-taskforce division of Murkywater that managed to successfully infiltrate Crime.net, but instead of simply taking it offline (as he was hired to do), left a message for the crew within Crime.net that states he would like to work ''with'' the crew, offering to provide intel on Murkywater and protection from the other members of his taskforce.

Born in South Africa, educated at Lincoln Laboratory, trained under [=MI5=], and now employed by Murkywater. Vernon Locke heads their special cyberwarfare division, which has been tasked with infiltrating and destroying Crime.net. Locke has managed this. However, being a mercenary with no loyalties that extra money couldn't bend, Locke sees this as an opportunity. An opportunity to get rich, and cause a little chaos. He has reached out to Bain and the Payday gang. The deal? Work with him, or he brings Crime.net down forever. And he already has a couple of jobs for you...

Locke's jobs are direct hits on Murkywater's resources, favouring speed and violence over subtlety, with the Gang often moving from place to place rather than holding out at a single point. Also, fair warning, Locke has entered WalkingSpoiler Territory. Hence the huge amount of spoiler tags everywhere...

* AmoralAfrikaner: He is a South African mercenary who aids criminals in various heists.
** Subverted in that he does have standards, such as not killing civilians, and [[spoiler: part of why he betrayed Murkywater is because he was disturbed by some of the stuff he saw stashed in Henry's Rock]].
* AnOfferYouCantRefuse: He successfully crippled Crime.net and could have easily destroyed it, but he decides to take this opportunity to have the PAYDAY crew work with him. Naturally, he could easily bring the entire Crime.net system down for good if his offer was refused.
** [[spoiler:Interestingly, one of his quotes when he books it at the start of Alaskan Heist indicates that he was on the end of this as well, though it's never made clear where he got the deal or who made it. It is eventually revealed in the Reservoir Dogs heist that it was all a sham.]]
* BreakoutCharacter: Originally just another contact for a couple of tie-in heists, Locke has been further and further integrated into what little plot Payday 2 has, mostly due to his popularity. [[spoiler:He's even taken over Bain's role as the gang's MissionControl as of the Reservoir Dogs Heist.]]
* TheCracker: Managed to crack into Crime.net and would have taken the whole thing down, but he used his cracking skills as means to get some money out of the deal as well as for the crew.
* DefectorFromDecadence:
** Locke works with Murkywater and was ordered to bring down Crime.net, but he decided to betray his company by offering the PAYDAY crew to work with him so that everyone can make more money since he wasn't getting enough at his day job.
** During the storyline briefing of Henry's Rock, Locke also states that [[spoiler:what little he saw stashed there was enough to make him uneasy working with Murkywater for much longer.]]
* EnemyMine: Despite the near destruction of Crime.net, he was able to set off two heists that potentially sends crippling blows to Murkywater. [[spoiler:Subverted during Alaskan Deal, then played straight once more since Reservoir Dogs.]]
* EvenEvilHasStandards: Like with Bain, he's perfectly fine with you slaughtering cops and Murkywater assault units, but [[spoiler:killing civilians will make him...pertubed, not least because he has to work extra, and deducts pay as cleaner costs.]]
* FauxAffablyEvil: Perfectly friendly and polite as long as everything is going exactly according to plan, but prone to meeting any change or delay with instant hostility and gratuitous swearing. [[spoiler:He betrays you in Alaskan Deal, driving off with a near cheerful tone to his voice. When he reveals that he's on your side in the Reservoir Dogs Heist, he drops the act and becomes much more focused.]]
* ForeignCussWord: When he gets angry he'll start using Afrikaans slang, calling police 'kerels' (a dated equivalent of the American 'pigs') and everyone [[CountryMatters 'poes']].
* GoodAllAlong: [[spoiler:Despite seemingly selling out the crew during the Alaskan Deal, Highland Mortuary reveals that he was forced to do that to ensure the crew's safety. Bain is aware of this and uses what little time he has left before disappearing to clear up Vernon's name.]]
* InsufferableGenius: Incredibly annoying, especially after offering two heists involving sabotage towards Murkywater's leading assets. To the point of sounding even more irritable than Bain's constant barking. Birth of Sky has this the worst, especially if you're having a hard time finding the money pallets or are getting shot from every angle. [[spoiler:He drops this in the Reservoir Dogs heist, as things have gotten much more serious.]]
* {{Jerkass}}: Perks from being an EnemyMine for the Payday gang from the already nuisance mercenary group that had been fought down until Murkywater's HomeBase was discovered.
** JerkWithAHeartOfGold: [[spoiler:The Reservoir Dogs heist reveals that the betrayal in Alaska was a ruse, and he does genuinely respect the crew.]]
* KnowWhenToFoldEm:
** [[spoiler:Legs it in a bulletproof car in Alaskan Deal and, as Day 9 of the Locke and Load event shows, went off the grid right after to avoid the gang tracking him down again. Ultimately averted, however; turns out that he never actually intended to betray them.]]
* LateArrivalSpoiler: People who haven't played Locke's heists in story order won't know why [[spoiler:the Reservoir Dogs Heist and beyond has Locke as the gang's MissionControl]]
* LimitedWardrobe: He's only ever seen wearing military fatigues. [[spoiler:Even on the beach during the TrueEnding.]]
* MissionControl: [[spoiler:In the Reservoir Dogs Heist, he entirely replaces Bain as this for Day 2 (Day 1 gameplay-wise) of the heist. He even gets to narrate when assault waves begin and end, as well as when players get downed, in custody and hostage trades. This carries over to Brooklyn Bank, and every heist from then on with the exception of No Mercy.]]
* OverTheShoulderCarry: Does this to [[spoiler:a beaten up Bain near the end of Hell's Island.]]
* PoorCommunicationKills: [[spoiler: True, telling the gang about his supposed betrayal would ruin all the shock factor, but not telling The Butcher about it earned her ire as well, something which Locke notes as a matter that needs to be dealt with at the end of Brooklyn Bank. The Butcher smacks him across the face with a steel briefcase in the True Ending over it.]]
* ReformedCriminal: [[spoiler:He starts a cyber-security company based in Silicon Valley in the True Ending, with a bit of professional golf on the side.]]
* SkewedPriorities:
** Locke will ''never'' hesitate to remind the crew when a civilian gets freed by the police, even if the crew themselves are cornered by the cops and can't do anything about it.
** Also the intro in a nutshell for Brooklyn Bank.
* TeethClenchedTeamwork: During the briefing for [[spoiler:the Reservoir Dogs Heist]], Locke notes that he realizes that the gang has little reason to trust him after what happened in Alaska.
* VerbalTic: Has a habit of adding "for sure" to the ends of his statements, and his VA is quite aware of the MemeticMutation. The fanbase is all too happy to turn it into the memetic "Fo Sho".
* WalkingSpoiler: His role in the Alaskan Deal heist and beyond. Before Alaskan Deal, his entry here was actually spoiler-free. '''''Now look at it!''''' [[spoiler:And his role in the succeeding heists make this trope come into full effect.]]
* WhatTheHellIsThatAccent: Locke was born and raised in South Africa, but his accent sounds less Afrikaans, and more New Zealand Maori.
** Slightly justified by his backstory, where he is confirmed to have done his training in the US, worked for [=MI5=], and now works in the US again, meaning his accent has probably gotten mixed a bit.
* {{Wildcard}}: It's pretty hard to guess which side is he on when he throws insults to both sides in the battle between the crew and Murkywater. His allegiance has also been brought into question more times than any other contractor, [[IronicEcho for sure]]. By the end of the storyline, he's very much in the '[[spoiler: trustworthy ally]]' camp.
* WhatTheHellPlayer: Locke will start to get mad or, at worst, pissed at you if you [[spoiler:start killing civilians for the hell of it]], and he reminds you that [[PragmaticVillainy the extra work he has to put in to cover it up will be deducted from their pay]], and also because he shares Bains' morality and [[EvenEvilHasStandards he finds it wrong]].
* VisualUpdate: Locke got one to match his VA's face, Ian Russell. This was done to reflect his appearance in Payday 2's ending cutscenes. Before this, Ian already had a striking resemblance to Old!Locke (sans moustache), so the visual update just made his face more detailed.

[[spoiler: He's older than he looks. ''[[Really700YearsOld A lot older]]'']]

* AxCrazy: Compared to the other contractors, Vlad is the most ruthless. Hector, the Elephant, and The Butcher are motivated by business ([[CharacterizationMarchesOn though his last few heists are purely financially motivated), and they all prefer their stealthable jobs to be handled quietly. [[ItsPersonal Many of Vlad's jobs are the result of personal feuds, and he outright enjoys it when the crew "gets messy."]]

* KilledOffForReal: [[spoiler: If you don't find the game's secret ending, Bain succumbs to the virus Murkywater infects him with. If you find the secret ending, Bain still dies, but he reincarnates as the President of the United States]]

* PutOnABus: According to the Butcher, Gage is on an "extended vacation". As such, she took over as the group's weapon supplier for three DLC packs. He [[TheBusCameBack eventually came back]], revealing that extended vacation was to Japan, and he came with Japanese-themed weapons in the Gage Ninja Pack DLC.

* AxCrazy: Compared to the other contractors, Vlad is the most ruthless. Hector, the Elephant, and The Butcher are motivated by business, and they all prefer their stealthable jobs to be handled quietly. [[ItsPersonal Vlad's jobs are all the result of personal feuds, and he outright enjoys it when the crew "gets messy."]]
* BadBoss: In the web series, where he insists one of his girls 'take care' of a 'special client' despite having promised her she wouldn't have to do that sort of thing.
** PlayedForLaughs in Santa's Workshop, where he makes thinly veiled threats to the "elves" packing drugs, talking about how he would roast their balls alive, beating the teeth out of them among the long list of the things he would do if they don't work faster.

* EvilIsPetty: Most of his missions are motivated by him feeling personally wronged by somebody else, and unlike Hector's feud with the Mendozas, Vlad's victims don't have any sizable backup.

* RoaringRampageOfRevenge: His primary motivation. His rivals got him sent to prison on charges that he actually ''wasn't'' guilty of and carved up his empire in the process. Now that he's out, he wants his business back - and to watch them suffer.
* ShooOutTheClowns: [[spoiler:Ever since Alaskan Deal sent the game onto a surprisingly dark storypath involving shadowy organisations and time-travelling artefacts, little has been heard of him since.]]

* VodkaDrunkenski: While he usually stays sober for the initial briefing, Vlad tends to, ah, "let loose" once a job has been completed.

** Vodka seems to run in the family as shown in the White Xmas heist where escorting Vlad's brother-in-law can be a pain in the ass due to said in-law falling over, vomiting, or even stopping to drink every few steps.

* LateArrivalSpoiler: People who haven't played Lockes heists in story order won't know why [[spoiler:the Reservoir Dogs Heist and beyond has Locke as the gang's MissionControl]]

** TheBusCameBack: She made a cameo during the Hoxton Housewarming Party event, and returned as the contractor for the aforementioned heist.

* {{Wildcard}}: It's pretty hard to guess which side is he on when he throws insults to both sides in the battle between the crew and Murkywater. [[spoiler:As the Alaskan Deal shows, he's not on YOUR side, [[IronicEcho for sure]].]]
** ...which is then brought into question again by the [[spoiler:Reservoir Dogs Heist, except he's closer to the 'on your side' camp now as its' revealed that Lockes' betrayal was a ruse]].

* KarmaHoudini: [[spoiler: He kidnaps Bain and has him tortured and injected with a virus, which eventually kills him. While the PAYDAY crew manage succeed in winning their freedom by stealing presidential pardons, the Dentist is still at large. This is averted in the GoldenEnding, where he's killed by the gang.]]