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* ''Series/TheProfessionals''. In "Servant With Two Masters", Bodie and Doyle are jogging through a cemetery, see a man in a bowler hat hanging around and start making spy jokes. (Turns out he's actually there to make contact with them).
-->'''Bodie:''' You think that guy is making a drop or a pickup?
-->'''Doyle:''' Ze microfilm is under ze first headstone on the left!
-->'''Bodie:''' You think that guy is making a drop or a pickup?
-->'''Doyle:''' Ze microfilm is under ze first headstone on the left!
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* ''Series/CowboyBebop''. Spike reveals that he's NotQuiteDead to his former friend Ana, and asks her to find out if his former enemy Vicious also knows he's alive. It's too dangerous for them to meet again, so in a later episode Spike makes contact with a sushi vendor working as Ana's cut-out with: [[SpySpeak "I hear the sake on Mars is only good when it rains."]] The vendor hands him chopsticks with the paper wrapper bearing a message: VISCIOUS KNOWS
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* ''Series/CowboyBebop''. Spike reveals that he's NotQuiteDead to his former friend Ana, and asks her to find out if his former enemy Vicious also knows he's alive. It's too dangerous for them to meet again, so in a later episode Spike makes contact with a sushi vendor working as Ana's cut-out with: [[SpySpeak "I hear the sake on Mars is only good when it rains."]] The vendor hands him chopsticks with the paper wrapper bearing a message: VISCIOUS KNOWSVICIOUS KNOWS.
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* ''Series/CowboyBebop''. Spike reveals that he's NotQuiteDead to his former friend Ana, and asks her to find out in Vicious also knows he's alive. It's too dangerous for them to meet again, so in a later episode Spike makes contact with a sushi vendor working as Ana's cut-out with: [[SpySpeak "I hear the sake on Mars is only good when it rains."]] The vendor hands him chopsticks with the paper wrapper bearing a message: VISCIOUS KNOWS
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* ''Series/CowboyBebop''. Spike reveals that he's NotQuiteDead to his former friend Ana, and asks her to find out in if his former enemy Vicious also knows he's alive. It's too dangerous for them to meet again, so in a later episode Spike makes contact with a sushi vendor working as Ana's cut-out with: [[SpySpeak "I hear the sake on Mars is only good when it rains."]] The vendor hands him chopsticks with the paper wrapper bearing a message: VISCIOUS KNOWS
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* ''Series/CowboyBebop''. Spike reveals that he's NotQuiteDead to his former friend Ana, and asks her to find out in Vicious also knows he's alive. It's too dangerous for them to meet again, so in a later episode Spike makes contact with a sushi vendor working as Ana's cut-out with: [[SpySpeak "I hear the sake on Mars is only good when it rains."]] The vendor hands him chopsticks with the paper wrapper bearing a message: VISCIOUS KNOWS
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* ''Series/LeBureauDesLegendes'': A physical dead drop is used when spying on hackers, who presumably would be able to uncover any virtual communication.
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* Used for TimeTravel in ''Film/{{Tenet}}''. The antagonist Andrei Sator buries a TimeCapsule and leaves instructions on its location where people can find it in the future. He then digs it up to retrieve the contents--gold, weaponry or instructions that have been sent back in time. Though from his point-of-view the burial and retrieval would seem almost instantaneous.
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* Used for TimeTravel to communicate through time in ''Film/{{Tenet}}''. The antagonist Andrei Sator buries a TimeCapsule TimeCapsule, usually in a radioactive area that people will stay away from for centuries, and leaves instructions on its location where people can find it his sponsors in the future. future can read it. He then digs it has the capsule dug up to retrieve the contents--gold, weaponry or instructions that have been sent back in time. Though from his point-of-view the burial and retrieval would seem almost instantaneous. [[spoiler:Sator doesn't worry about the risk of radiation poisoning because he's dying anyway.]]
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* Used for TimeTravel in ''Film/{{Tenet}}''. The antagonist Andrei Sator buries a TimeCapsule and leaves instructions on its location where people can find it in the future. He then digs it up to retrieve the contents--gold, weaponry or instructions that have been sent back in time. Though from his point-of-view the burial and retrieval would seem almost instantaneous.
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[[/folder]]
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----
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* A system of dead drops is used by the Dark Brotherhood in ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIVOblivion'' to assign new assassination contracts and to transfer payments to you. [[spoiler:Half-way through the quest line, however, it is hijacked by a traitor and you are instead sent to assassinate the entire Brotherhood leadership.]]
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* A system of dead drops is used by the Dark Brotherhood in ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIVOblivion'' to assign new assassination contracts and to transfer payments to you. [[spoiler:Half-way [[spoiler:One quarter of the way through this part of the quest line, however, it is hijacked by a traitor and you are instead sent to assassinate the entire Brotherhood leadership.leadership. You’re none the wiser until you are approached by Lucien Lechance, the agent who recruited you, after you kill the Listener.]]
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* In the ''[[VideoGame/{{Infamous}} inFAMOUS]]'' games, dead drops are used as a source of background information not normally available to help the player understand the full scope of various situations.
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* This is an [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dead_drop#Overview actual method]] used by spies in the real world.
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* This is an [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dead_drop#Overview actual method]] used by spies in the real world. Both Aldrich Ames and Robert Hanssen, who were in the CIA and FBI respectively, used dead drops to communicate with their KGB handlers.
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* The spies in ''Series/TheAmericans'' often use these; one mark is a yellow chalk line on a mail box.
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* In ''VideoGame/PAYDAY2'', players can request dead drops of supplies during heists to aid them. With the introduction of the Dentist, it's now possible to strategically place the drops in different locations on some heists.
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* At the start of the third season of ''Series/BattlestarGalactica2003'' the resistance are receiving information this way from a source inside the Cylon government. Information is left inside a filing cabinet and a nearby dog bowl is flipped over to indicate a delivery has been made. Tyrol, who collects the information, doesn't know who's making the deliveries and explains that it's safer for everyone that way. The audience quickly learns that it's Gaeta, President Baltar's aide, who's been making the drops. Once the Cylon occupation has been dealt with Gaeta reveals he was the source by describing the drop method in front of Tyrol, information that saves him from being executed as one of LesCollaborateurs.
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** Several of Creator/FrederickForsyth's other books also had the characters utilizing dead drops.
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* The ''Series/YoungJustice'' series has the Team (and sometimes, their Justice League mentors) use dead drops when they're operating under plausible deniability ops to insert teams or their gear when they can't do things overtly.
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* The ''Series/YoungJustice'' ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice'' series has the Team (and sometimes, their Justice League mentors) use dead drops when they're operating under plausible deniability ops to insert teams or their gear when they can't do things overtly.
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[[/folder]]
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[[folder:Western Animation]]
* The ''Series/YoungJustice'' series has the Team (and sometimes, their Justice League mentors) use dead drops when they're operating under plausible deniability ops to insert teams or their gear when they can't do things overtly.
* The ''Series/YoungJustice'' series has the Team (and sometimes, their Justice League mentors) use dead drops when they're operating under plausible deniability ops to insert teams or their gear when they can't do things overtly.
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* ''Series/TheEqualizer''. In one episode, an innocent bystander is mistaken for the next link in a courier line of spies. A package was dropped off to the doorman of his apartment (the real courier). When someone turns up to murder the doorman and steal the package, he hastily scribbled an address on it to make it look like normal mail. Unfortunately the killer was not fooled and stole the package, assuming that the address was for the next link in the chain which he was trying to shut down.
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* ''Literature/TheFourthProtocol''. A British politician suspected of stealing secrets makes his way across London to visit an ice cream store. The MI-5 Watchers are forced to follow every delivery to see who he's making contact with. One of the recipients is a diplomat in the South African embassy, who later makes a wrong number call to the ice cream store. The protagonist has a computer expert work out the odds of this happening by coincidence, which turn out to be astronomical.
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* ''Literature/TheFourthProtocol''. A British politician suspected of stealing secrets makes his way across London to visit an ice cream store. The MI-5 Watchers are forced to follow every delivery to see who he's making contact with. One of the recipients is a diplomat in the South African embassy, who later makes a wrong number call to the ice cream store. The protagonist has a computer expert work out the odds of this happening by coincidence, which turn out to be astronomical. In the movie a pizzeria is used, and Creator/MichaelCaine's character gets suspicious when the manager personally hands a pizza box to the man who turns out to be the South African diplomat.
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* ''Literature/TheFourthProtocol''. A British politician suspected of stealing secrets makes his way across London to visit an ice cream store. The MI-5 Watchers are forced to follow every delivery to see who he's making contact with. One of the recipients is a diplomat in the South African embassy, who later makes a wrong number call to the ice cream store. The protagonist has a computer expert work out the odds of this happening by coincidence, which turn out to be astronomical.
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* The CIA invented a hollow spike that could be pushed into the ground and used as a container for a dead drop. On one occasion a spike was retrieved and brought back to the United States, only to set off a Geiger counter. Turns out the KGB had found it and contaminated the spike with a [[BoobyTrap lethal dose of radiation]].
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* In the TV movie ''Family of Spies: The Walker Spy Ring'', John Walker's ex-wife tips off the FBI that her husband is selling naval secrets to the KGB. They don't believe her at first because she appears to be motivated by revenge, but analysts report that her description of the signals used to inform that a dead drop has been filled match those techniques used by the KGB.
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* In the Creator/FritzLang spy movie ''Ministry of Fear'' (1944), the Allied plans for the invasion of occupied Europe have been microfilmed by Nazi spies and hidden in a cake being raffled at a village fair. The next chain in the spy ring was supposed to 'win' the cake and take it with him, but by a fluke the protagonist gets it instead. There's a BrickJoke at the end of the movie when the protagonist reacts in alarm when his LoveInterest starts discussing their wedding preparations, which of course would include a cake...
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* In the Creator/FritzLang spy movie ''Ministry of Fear'' (1944), the Allied plans for the invasion of occupied Europe have been microfilmed by Nazi spies and hidden in a cake being raffled at a village fair. The next chain in the spy ring was supposed to 'win' the cake and take it with him, but by a fluke the protagonist gets it instead.instead, setting off the plot. There's a BrickJoke at the end of the movie when the protagonist reacts in alarm when his LoveInterest starts discussing their wedding preparations, which of course would include a cake...
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* In the Creator/FritzLang spy movie ''Ministry of Fear'' (1944), the Allied plans for the invasion of occupied Europe have been microfilmed by Nazi spies and hidden in a cake being raffled at a village fair. The next chain in the spy ring was supposed to 'win' the cake and take it with him, but by a fluke the protagonist gets it instead. There's a BrickJoke at the end of the movie when the protagonist reacts in alarm when his LoveInterest starts discussing their wedding preparations, which of course would include a cake...
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* Russian intelligence [[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4638136.stm literally turn over stones]] in their search for spies. The fun part? [[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/russia/9022827/Russian-spy-rock-was-genuine-former-chief-of-staff-admits.html It's entirely justified.]]
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[[folder:Film]]
* In ''Film/TheThomasCrownAffair1968'', the people who actually carry out the bank robbery, who are never allowed to see the mastermind's face, drop the stolen money off in a trash container at Cambridge Cemetery.
[[/folder]]
* In ''Film/TheThomasCrownAffair1968'', the people who actually carry out the bank robbery, who are never allowed to see the mastermind's face, drop the stolen money off in a trash container at Cambridge Cemetery.
[[/folder]]
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* In ''{{Literature/Aquarium}}'', it is described for most spies under diplomatic cover, all their work consists of either checking and filling Dead Drops, or driving around so that the police won't be able to pinpoint these. Actual contacts with agents are to be made as few as possible.
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* In ''{{Literature/Aquarium}}'', it is described that for most spies under diplomatic cover, all their work consists of either checking and filling Dead Drops, or driving around so that the police won't be able to pinpoint these. Actual contacts with agents are to be made as few as possible.
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* In ''{{Literature/Aquarium}}'', it is described for most spies under diplomatic cover, all their work consists of either checking and filling Dead Drops, or driving around so that the police won't be able to pinpoint these. Actual contacts with agents are to be made as few as possible.
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Suppose you have something that you ''really'' need to get to another person without other people knowing--maybe you're a spy with important information, maybe you're a police informant with a piece of incriminating evidence, maybe you're a government agent paying off an asset in foreign territory. Your phone might be tapped, you can't leave the country, and you absolutely ''cannot'' walk up to the authorities' door, suitcase in hand. What do you do?
A "[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dead_drop dead drop]]" is one option. The gist of it is that there is a location, typically HiddenInPlainSight, where one person can leave a message (or money, or just about anything that can fit in the container), then leave. Later on, someone else goes to the location and retrieves whatever was left at the drop. This allows for information or items to be exchanged without public interaction between the participants, which helps with PlausibleDeniability: If the people in question never publicly (or even privately) associate, it's harder to prove any sort of connection between them.
The obvious risk is that someone can (inadvertently or otherwise) find the message. In fiction, if the protagonist happens to find a dead drop that isn't meant for him, the party that set up the drop will often try to do one of two things: [[JoinOrDie Welcome him into the fold]] or [[HeKnowsTooMuch try to eliminate him]].
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!!Examples:
[[foldercontrol]]
[[folder:Literature]]
* In ''Literature/NextBreedOfThief'', this is the typical communication method between Elsha and Fireboy--the usual implementation is a false rock placed along a jogging route, though Fireboy also uses a potted plant.
* Discussed and averted in ''Literature/TheCardinalOfTheKremlin'': The chain of handoffs between "Cardinal"--a high ranking Soviet official who provides intelligence to the US--and the CIA's Chief of Station in Moscow has no dead drops. It's acknowledged that this bears the risk that the KGB could "pull the thread" by working their way back through the handoffs, but the information that Cardinal provides is too sensitive to be left in a dead drop.
* Creator/JohnLeCarre's spy thrillers routinely detail how dead drops are conducted, as well as "color coding" to identify the contact and whether or not it's safe to make the drop / pick-up. ''Literature/TinkerTailorSoldierSpy'' has a dead drop occur on a ferry boat, with a yellow thumbtack acting as the "it's on" signal.
* In the book ''[[Literature/HonorHarrington Cauldron of Ghosts]]'', Victor Cachat re-establishes contact with seccy allies from the previous novel by spending a day checking assorted dead drops, then leaving a return message at one of them.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
* A dead drop is often how ''Series/MissionImpossible'' agent Jim Phelps received the tape recorder and photographs that detailed his newest mission. Drop points have included a cathedral, a public fountain and a museum.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Video Games]]
* A system of dead drops is used by the Dark Brotherhood in ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIVOblivion'' to assign new assassination contracts and to transfer payments to you. [[spoiler:Half-way through the quest line, however, it is hijacked by a traitor and you are instead sent to assassinate the entire Brotherhood leadership.]]
* In ''VideoGame/Fallout4'', dead drops are how members of The Railroad, a group of rebels who help [[ArtificialHuman Synths]] escape The Institute and get new lives, communicate and get their assignments. In their case, it's not so much for plausible deniability (since the wasteland of the Commonwealth has no real ruling government) but survival. The Institute can teleport an army of Synths, or worse, [[KillerRobot Coursers]], directly to The Railroad's hideouts the instant they know where they are. Thus The Railroad has to be as secretive as possible at all times.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Real Life]]
* This is an [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dead_drop#Overview actual method]] used by spies in the real world.
* For a non-espionage version, Aram Bartholl started a series of [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USB_dead_drop USB dead drops]] as an art project for the public to use.
[[/folder]]
A "[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dead_drop dead drop]]" is one option. The gist of it is that there is a location, typically HiddenInPlainSight, where one person can leave a message (or money, or just about anything that can fit in the container), then leave. Later on, someone else goes to the location and retrieves whatever was left at the drop. This allows for information or items to be exchanged without public interaction between the participants, which helps with PlausibleDeniability: If the people in question never publicly (or even privately) associate, it's harder to prove any sort of connection between them.
The obvious risk is that someone can (inadvertently or otherwise) find the message. In fiction, if the protagonist happens to find a dead drop that isn't meant for him, the party that set up the drop will often try to do one of two things: [[JoinOrDie Welcome him into the fold]] or [[HeKnowsTooMuch try to eliminate him]].
----
!!Examples:
[[foldercontrol]]
[[folder:Literature]]
* In ''Literature/NextBreedOfThief'', this is the typical communication method between Elsha and Fireboy--the usual implementation is a false rock placed along a jogging route, though Fireboy also uses a potted plant.
* Discussed and averted in ''Literature/TheCardinalOfTheKremlin'': The chain of handoffs between "Cardinal"--a high ranking Soviet official who provides intelligence to the US--and the CIA's Chief of Station in Moscow has no dead drops. It's acknowledged that this bears the risk that the KGB could "pull the thread" by working their way back through the handoffs, but the information that Cardinal provides is too sensitive to be left in a dead drop.
* Creator/JohnLeCarre's spy thrillers routinely detail how dead drops are conducted, as well as "color coding" to identify the contact and whether or not it's safe to make the drop / pick-up. ''Literature/TinkerTailorSoldierSpy'' has a dead drop occur on a ferry boat, with a yellow thumbtack acting as the "it's on" signal.
* In the book ''[[Literature/HonorHarrington Cauldron of Ghosts]]'', Victor Cachat re-establishes contact with seccy allies from the previous novel by spending a day checking assorted dead drops, then leaving a return message at one of them.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
* A dead drop is often how ''Series/MissionImpossible'' agent Jim Phelps received the tape recorder and photographs that detailed his newest mission. Drop points have included a cathedral, a public fountain and a museum.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Video Games]]
* A system of dead drops is used by the Dark Brotherhood in ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIVOblivion'' to assign new assassination contracts and to transfer payments to you. [[spoiler:Half-way through the quest line, however, it is hijacked by a traitor and you are instead sent to assassinate the entire Brotherhood leadership.]]
* In ''VideoGame/Fallout4'', dead drops are how members of The Railroad, a group of rebels who help [[ArtificialHuman Synths]] escape The Institute and get new lives, communicate and get their assignments. In their case, it's not so much for plausible deniability (since the wasteland of the Commonwealth has no real ruling government) but survival. The Institute can teleport an army of Synths, or worse, [[KillerRobot Coursers]], directly to The Railroad's hideouts the instant they know where they are. Thus The Railroad has to be as secretive as possible at all times.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Real Life]]
* This is an [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dead_drop#Overview actual method]] used by spies in the real world.
* For a non-espionage version, Aram Bartholl started a series of [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USB_dead_drop USB dead drops]] as an art project for the public to use.
[[/folder]]
