History Main / ComeAlone

* In a first-season episode of ''[[Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit Law & Order: SVU]]'', Olivia is being stalked by a killer. He calls and requests a meeting, telling her to come alone. Not being an idiot, she takes substantial backup and they catch the killer. Two seasons later, she's again being stalked, and again is told to come alone. Having apparently lost brain cells since season 1, she goes alone, and ends up having to [[SuicideByCop shoot the bastard]].

* On one ''Series/{{NCIS}}'' episode, Gibbs arrests a mob boss's son, and goes with an FBI agent to learn who the mob's mole is. The mob boss, of course, shows up with backup. Gibbs, of course, expected this, so he brought insurance of his own: a length of Primacord [[note]]a kind of explosive that looks like string[[/note]], which he wraps around the kid's neck and tells the mob boss that he's holding a dead-man switch. So if Gibbs is shot, the Primacord will detonate and kill them all. The mole, is, of course, the FBI agent, who is shot by the boss's bodyguard when he tries to shoot Gibbs. Hilariously, the mob boss abandons his son to a few years in the pen, claiming it's good for developing character.

* ''Film/{{Se7en}}''. John Doe says he will plead guilty to all crimes if detectives Mills and Somerset (and only these two) will accompany him to where he's left the bodies of his victims. Knowing he's planning to kill two more to make seven, the detectives take every precaution against a trap, only to find John Doe has something else planned.

* ''VideoGame/GuildWars2'': As a couple of lower-caste charr bargain with you to join them alone in the woods to assist them with a job. Even your party is smart enough to warn you that it's a horrible idea. [[spoiler: But in the end, the trope is subverted when they completely fulfill their end of the bargain with no shenanagins. One of them lampshades the trope in response to your character's surprise of their trustworthiness.]]

** A-Train takes Hughie Campbell's father hostage and demands that Hughie come alone. When Hughie does turn up alone, he races round with his SuperSpeed and confirms that no-one else is there, then muses that, given that Hughie knows A-Train intends to kill him, he should have had a couple of cards up his sleeve. Turns out Hughie does: a sample of the [[SuperSerum Compound V]] that A-Train is addicted to, and Kimiko hiding in the ceiling. While A-Train is distracted, she comes up behind him and breaks his right leg with a crowbar.
--->'''Hughie:''' ''[smugly]'' You know, you're right. It would have been stupid to come alone.

* ''Series/Titans2018''. In "Hank & Dove", Red Hood invites Hank to a meeting. To ensure the other Titans aren't with him, he has Hank drive around in a cab, destroy his phone and pick up another he's left in a lunch bag. He then forces Hank to strip to "prove" he's not wired, then makes him swim naked across a filthy pool in an abandoned gym. Hank is not happy about it one bit, though [[MrFanservice the audience might have been]].

Often an EnforcedTrope with a RansomDrop.

* An EnforcedTrope in ''Film/DirtyHarry'', where Scorpio makes Inspector Callahan--who's delivering the ransom--rush from one public telephone to another so he can see if other detectives are following him.

** Played straight in several episodes, but the villains in "Liberty" make it an EnforcedTrope. Knowing John Reese will turn up anyway, they chain a hostage to a bomb and a camera, then order his friend to get into a taxi to the real meeting place. If Reese tries to follow, they'll blow up the bomb.

A line used very, very often on messages summoning someone to a meeting between two people on opposing sides, and it's frequently a sign that one side is being LuredIntoATrap. If they are bad guys they will also likely specify "no police". A variant is one guard for each side.

Almost inevitably, one side or the other will break the agreement and sneak extra people into the area. This side is to be treated as the betraying scum they are, and it doesn't matter anyway, since they will gain no advantage when the other side wipes the floor with them anyway. If [[RashEquilibrium both sides break the agreement]], then whoever the audience first learns cheated are the scum; it's not fair, but it's true. Alternatively, the Good Guy will indeed come alone, but the rest of the team will try to follow discreetly and instead be discovered, thus ruining the Good Guy's efforts.

In modern works, the good guys will almost certainly know it's a trap and set something up in advance, but even if they don't, the worst that will likely happen will be that they are captured.

* Subverted in ''LightNovel/{{Baccano}}''. Jacuzzi comes alone. Then the rest of his gang comes alone. But they bust in together. [[spoiler:And then Claire comes alone with them.]]

* ''Series/TheBoys2019''. Happens twice in "The Self-Preservation Society".
** First, A-Train holds Hughie Campbell's father hostage and gives this trope. When Hughie does turn up alone, he races round with his SuperSpeed and confirms that no-one else is there, then muses that, given that Hughie knows A-Train intends to kill him, he should have had a couple of cards up his sleeve. Turns out Hughie does: a sample of the SuperSerum that A-Train is addicted to, and Kimoko who appears while A-Train is distracted and breaks A-Train's leg. As he screams in agony, Hughie smugly exits the scene with "You know, you're right. It would have been stupid to come alone."
** At the end of the episode, Starlight rings to demand Hughie (who she's just found out was using her to gather information) explain face-to-face. Unhappy with his explanations Starlight tries to arrest him, whereupon Billy Butcher--who has secretly followed Hughie--[[ImmuneToBullets knocks her down]] with a couple of .50 bullets and they go on the run.

** In ''Brotherhood of the Rose'' has a willing version when Chris has his surrogate brother Saul go through a RansomDrop routine to make sure he's not being followed by TheMole that their boss Elliot claims is plotting against them. When Saul is followed to his destination and an attempt made to kill both brothers, Chris uses this to prove to Saul that there is no mole, as only Elliot using the full resources of the CIA could have followed him.

** In ''Brotherhood of the Rose'' has a willing version when Chris has his surrogate brother Saul go through a RansomDrop routine to make sure he's not being followed by TheMole that their boss Elliot claims is out to kill them. When Saul is followed to his destination and an attempt made to kill both brothers, Chris uses this to prove to Saul that there is no mole, as only Elliot using the full resources of the CIA could have followed him.

* Played Straight in ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoIV''. You are told to come alone to be paid by Dimitri, but Little Jacob insists on coming. Naturally, it's a double-cross and the two of you have to blast through tons of Mooks.
* Also played straight in ''VideoGame/SaintsRow1'', for the final mission. [[spoiler:The boat explodes. The only person that survives is the Player, and he's comatose for 5 years.]]
* In ''VideoGame/AdvanceWars: Days of Ruin (Dark Conflict)'', there is a scene like this, in which the BigBad and the hero agree to meet alone. They're accompanied by TheLancer and TheDragon, and while the Lancer is revealed first, it's established that she came without the hero's knowledge. On the other hand, the Big Bad probably brought the Dragon along on purpose.
* This happens in ''VideoGame/HeroesOfMightAndMagic IV'', in the final mission of the Light Campaign, where you storm the villain's capital, you only find a note saying: "Come to the nearby cave, alone, and we will duel to the death." [[ButThouMust You are forced to accept the ridiculous demand]] only to find out the villain has hired a host of thieves to his aid. The battle is, nonetheless, easy.
* Lampshaded in ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublic II'' after the crime boss Visquis invites the [[PlayerCharacter Jedi Exile]] to meet him at a BadGuyBar and insists that she come alone:
-->'''Atton Rand''': [''sarcastic''] Well, good thing it's not a trap.
-->'''Mical''': [[SarcasmBlind No, Atton, I think it may be a trap!]]
** Played straight in the previous installment where Hulas would not talk about the Genoharadan while you had other characters in your party and encouraged you not to take anyone along on your missions for him. It also subverts it since you ''can'' bring your party members on the missions. At the end of the quest line, [[spoiler:if you challenge Hulas to a duel he tells you to come alone. He comes to the duel with a small army regardless of whether you bring anyone and mocks your gullibility.]]
* In ''VideoGame/GuildWars2'', as a couple of lower-caste charr bargain with you to join them alone in the woods to assist them with a job. Even your party is smart enough to warn you that it's a horrible idea. [[spoiler: But in the end, the trope is subverted when they completely fulfill their end of the bargain with no shenanagins. One of them lampshades the trope in response to your character's surprise of their trustworthiness.]]

* In ''Series/TheTenthKingdom'', [[BigBad the Evil Queen]] meets with Relish [[TheStarscream the Troll King]], telling him to "come alone and unarmed" or she would slit his children's throats. Of course he doesn't, instead coming an hour early and hiding his men among the trees of the apple orchard. Not to be outdone, [[SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome the solitary Queen was there two hours early and poisoned all the apples]].