Achilles' Veil

"Deep cover CIA operative Farid has penetrated Menendez' inner circle and is poised to capture him during a JSOC assault on Menendez' HQ in Yemen."

- Mission description

"Achilles' Veil" is the eighth campaign mission in the Call of Duty: Black Ops II single player campaign. It involves Farid infiltrating as a Cordis Die agent and gaining Menendez's trust in order to get a chance to capture him along with support from the J-SOC.

Characters

 * David Mason (playable)
 * Farid (playable) (Alive/K.I.A.) (player-determined)
 * Raul Menendez
 * Mike Harper (W.I.A/K.I.A.) (player-determined)
 * Javier Salazar
 * DeFalco (Alive/not present) (player-determined)
 * Tommy Briggs (cutscene only)
 * Chloe Lynch (Alive/not present) (cutscene only) (player-determined)
 * CIA Nerd (player-determined)

Plot
Deep Cover CIA Operative Farid is working alongside Raul Menendez in an attempt to see what he is planning. In the start of the level, Farid is talking to Harper via internal comlink, saying to not blow his cover. Menendez is then seen next to a fire, thinking there is a traitor. He does not give it much warning, as he claims he is one step ahead of him. Farid, Menendez, and DeFalco (depending on player's actions in earlier missions.) walk out on an outdoor stage with other militia members shouting, "Cordis Die!" A VTOL then comes out behind the stage, and Defalco (or a militia member) takes it down with a FHJ-18 AA launcher. Quadrotors then come in and open fire on the militia. Menendez then tells Farid to meet him at the Citadel, and Farid has to fight his way through enemy soldiers and drones. Later, Menendez appears halfway to the Citadel, in front of a VTOL with Harper in it. He takes it down, and Harper is dragged out later. Menendez, suspecting that Harper knows the traitor, asks who it is, but doesn't answer. Menendez gives the player a Five Seven pistol, and tells him to kill him. The player can choose to either kill Harper, or shoot Menendez. Shoot Menendez= If the player chooses to shoot Menendez, he avoids his attack, and kills Farid with an Executioner revolver, but Harper is spared. Shoot Harper= If the player chooses to kill Harper, Harper gets shot in the head with the player's Five Seven, sparing Farid, and an allied VTOL comes up behind them and kills off the militia. Farid feels devastated since he had no choice but to kill Harper. This, however, will save Karma in the next mission. The player then takes control of Section and acquires Quadrotors to assist him. After the player reaches the Citadel, an allied VTOL is waiting, with Menendez captured. The level ends with the Navy SEALs securing the inside, saying that Menendez will be interrogated.

Challenges
Completing 2 challenges unlocks the DSR-50 for the single player loadout.

Completing 5 challenges unlocks the FHJ-18 AA for single player loadout.
 * Destroy enemy quad drones (x20).
 * Eliminate enemy personnel (x20) with sword.
 * Melee enemy personnel (x20) while using optical camouflage. (stacks with previous challenge if player has the sword)
 * Destroy enemy quad drones (x8) with turret.
 * Eliminate enemy personnel (x5) by exploding vehicles.
 * Destroy enemy ASD (x4) while disabled.
 * Eliminate enemy personnel (x5) as VTOL gunner.
 * Direct quad drones to eliminate enemy personnel (x25).
 * Collect intel (x3).
 * 100% survivability rating.

Access Kit Usage
Pulwar Sword - After Menendez instructs Farid to go to the Citadel, go through the largest exit in the center, next to the tall sheltered houses in the second open garage to the left.

Optical Camouflage - After Menendez instructs Farid to go to the Citadel, go towards the right hallway, and there will be a stairway leading up to a room. There is a set of Optical Camouflage there.

Alternate Path - Near the Citadel, there is a locked gate which can be opened, revealing an alternate path leading up to the balcony of a building. This path can be used to avoid gunfire, plus there is also a Sentry Gun which can be controlled by the player. This path is required for the "eliminate quads with turret" challenge.

Trivia

 * This level's name again refers to the poem "Ulysses", which Menendez recites to his Cordis Die followers. The final line of this poem reads "...And see the great Achilles, whom we knew." It is possible that the name of this mission references a "veil" which is stopping Menendez from "seeing the great Achilles" - a traitor in his midst, stopping him from achieving his final goal.
 * Despite that the enemies are supposed to be the Yemeni army and not US troops, Menendez will say that Farid has "American blood on (his) hands" when they meet up.
 * If the player chooses to kill Menendez, Section's part will start with him controlling a minigun on the VTOL before landing on the ground and meet up with Harper. This part is not available if the player chooses to kill Harper.
 * If the player chooses to kill Harper, Section will be seen carrying an MP7 as he meets up with Farid. However, when control switches to him, Section with be equipped with whatever Farid was carrying. He even retains the Pulwar Sword and Optical Camouflage suit should the player pick them up.
 * If DeFalco was killed, when Menendez continues through the balcony, he will erect the posture of one of the militants.
 * Many of the militants in this level's opening and intermediate cutscenes have no magazines in their AN-94's, yet are still able to shoot them when necessary.
 * If the player does not decide which character will die, after some time, Farid will automatically attempt to shoot Menendez.
 * The way Menendez gives Farid the pistol to execute Harper is almost identical to the way Imran Zakhaev gives Khaled Al-Asad his pistol to execute Yasir Al-Fulani in Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare.
 * Oddly enough, if the player chooses to kill Menendez, when taking control of Section, Farid's dead body cannot be found anywhere. Where Farid's body may have been is a sack with an icon of a hand holding a tree. The words "A SIGN OF HOPE" is on the sack.
 * This is the third mission where Section is seen in third person outside of cutscenes, but only if Farid kills Harper when given the order to execute him, the first being Fallen Angel and the second being Suffer With Me (as a child).
 * If DeFalco was killed in "Karma", and when Farid turns around to the VTOL, a Militant will shoot it down, but the Militian wasn't seen when Farid turned around.
 * While playing as Farid, the Militants assisting the player can be killed without facing repercussions from friendly fire.
 * This is the only mission where Menendez is a friendly NPC, but only when playing as Farid.
 * This level bears similarities to Breaking Point from Call of Duty: World at War.
 * Farid's Five-Seven can be found later on in the mission if he dies, and has a different firing sound if Harper dies.
 * Also, if Harper is killed, and the player later picks it up, the gun is fully loaded.
 * Menendez and DeFalco/a Militiaman destroyed two VTOLs in this mission, but when playing as Farid, the player cannot destroy a VTOL. However, that is only correct if firing on a VTOL that is unloading soldiers.
 * After DeFalco/the Militiaman destroys the VTOL, the FHJ-18 AA cannot be picked up when dropped.
 * A glitch will occur that all yemeni forces (including Harper's VTOL pilot) will have a tiger skin on there uniform when the player is far and if the player get close to the tiger skin soldier they will have the regular colour uniform.
 * In this mission, Harper shouts "Come on!" to Menendez, which is one of Michael Rooker's quotes in Call of the Dead.
 * If Harper dies, the cutscene will show Section closing Harper's eyes in respect, but after the cutscene ends, if the player looks at Harper's body, they can see that Harper's eyes are open again.
 * If Harper survives, the player can shoot him as much as they want without penalty.

Achievements/Trophies
Ultimate Sacrifice (15 / Bronze Trophy ) - Only one can survive.

Deep Cover (20 / Bronze Trophy ) - Capture Raul Menendez.

Futurist (50 / Silver Trophy ) - Complete all future levels in veteran.