Cordis Die (mission)

For the faction, see Cordis Die (faction).

Cordis Die
Previous level	Odysseus
Next level	Judgment Day
Game	Call of Duty: Black Ops II
Character	David Mason
Team	J-SOC with LAPD and Secret Service
Place	Los Angeles, California, United States of America
Date	June 19th, 2025
Objective	Get POTUS to the 'Prom Night' bunker Use the SAM turret to shoot drones Regroup with protection detail Protect POTUS Save all 3 Cougars Get to the MRAP vehicles Eliminate the CLAWs Clear the street Get to the FA38 Follow Harper's van Destroy the drones
Enemies	Cordis Die, Mercs
Console codename	la_1 la_2
Multiplayer map	Aftermath, Express

"Marine One is shot down over Los Angeles, and David Mason must escort President Bosworth to safety as US drones under Menendez' control destroy the city."

— Mission description

"Cordis Die" is the tenth and penultimate mission in Call of Duty: Black Ops II. The mission criteria consists of the player controlling primary protagonist, David Mason as he escorts the President through a war-torn downtown Los Angeles by using SAM Turrets, Dragonfires and an FA38 to his advantage.

Characters

• David Mason (playable)
• Mike Harper (Alive/not present) (player-determined)
• Marion Bosworth
• Chen (on-screen only)
• David Petraeus
• Jones
• Samuels
• Johnson (K.I.A.)
• Secretary (K.I.A.)
• Anderson (W.I.A./K.I.A.) (player-determined)
• Raul Menendez (mentioned only)
• Officer Jannsen
• Officer Barnes
• Agent Smith (Alive/K.I.A.) (player-determined)

Plot

David starts out in a MRAP cruising through Highway 110 under siege by drones. He sits opposite of a heavily wounded person (labelled 'secretary' without capitals) being attended to by Harper. To his right is the U.S. President, concerned about the city's condition. Mason checks his Wrist Pad, readies his KAP-40 and looks through the window. As they are passing through traffic, citizens are being evacuated by a police helicopter hovering overhead while drones invade Los Angeles. An incoming missile hits the helicopter, causing it to crash onto a military convoy entering the city below. Debris flies towards the truck, causing it along with most of the convoy to crash. David blacks out and when he comes to, he sees Harper giving orders to the agents, telling them to stay down. David climbs out of the wreckage as Harper tells him about a mobile SAM turret that they could use that had crashed on the other end of the road. They make their way to it. David jumps onto the hood of the car and nearly falls off, he regains his footing and mans the turret. He takes down the drones that attempt to circle the president's location. Once they are taken down a missile hits the SAM, disabling it and breaking the ground beneath. Mason jumps out and watches it fall, he turns back around and sees a drone coming for him. It was then shot down by Anderson, crashing down and narrowly missing him. Anderson arrives and provides close air support. Mason gets up and regroups with his squad at the end of the highway, he can choose whether to snipe from the highway or to rappel down. Either way, he picks up a Storm PSR and fires at enemies hiding within a crashed truck, behind a column and approaching enemies. As they reach the second convoy, Mason regroups with the team. He drives the president out of there while the freeway falls apart, running down any opposition. Anderson takes down the drones trying to get near them, and blasts the debris blocking the tunnel. As they travel through the destroyed roads, Harper mentions Menendez's attack on the Pentagon, Washington, and Wall Street from the previous days. As David turns to reply, a truck is seen rushing towards the two. The screen blacks out.

The screen fades back to David recovering from the impact of the truck, and he climbs out of a hatch in the roof and fights his way down the street with Anderson still providing cover fire, destroying C.L.A.W.s along the way. At the end of the road he reaches a plaza in downtown with LAPD officers and his SEAL team, machine gun nests have them pinned down so they decide to bypass them through a mall to the right. Quadrotor drones arrive and David uses them to distract the machine gun nests and help clear out the mall. They come out onto the balcony and kill the enemy snipers and gunners in the nest. Anderson gets on the radio and asks for help, her last wingman is dead and the presidential convoy is taking heavy fire from all sides. David promises relief and advances down an alley, and onto a road with his squad. Anderson says she is hit and has to set the jet down. They advance down the street while taking out tangos towards Anderson but a building falls down to their immediate front. Mason blacks out for another time and gets up. Anderson is no longer talking.

They reach her FA38 to see her unconscious body next to it. LAPD arrive, protecting her as paramedics bring Anderson to an ambulance. Harper follows inside while David, not even knowing how to pilot it, mans the FA38 and follows the ambulance. They head towards the president's convoy and take down enemy troops, drones, armor and emplacements that threaten it. A drone garrison attacks the convoy and David detaches from the convoy to chase them down, locking on and firing. The president reaches the evacuation point and the mission ends.

Video Walkthrough

Call of Duty Black Ops II - Cordis Die

Challenges

Completing 2 challenges in the Cordis Die mission will unlock the Throwback perk for use in Single Player. Completing 5 challenges in the mission will unlock the Ammo Pickup perk for use in Single Player.

• 100% impact ratio with SAM engagement on highway.
• Perform headshot (x10) sniper kills from the upper freeway.
• Direct quad drones to eliminate enemy personnel (x8).
• Rescue trapped SSA in damaged vehicle.
• Destroy enemy drone (x30) using SAM on roof.
• Protect G20 cougar at the intersection.
• Destroy drones (x3) with one shot.
• Protect all G20 vehicles.
• Collect intel (x3).
• 100% survivability rating.

Weapon Loadout

Recommended Loadout

Type 25 w Reflex Sight

Storm PSR

KAP-40 (only carried at the start of the level)

Found in level

RPG

M8A1 (used by Secret Service and Harper if present)

M27

Storm PSR (used by Harper if present)

Chicom CQB

Vector K10

KSG

KAP-40

Ballista

SWAT-556

Five Seven (used by Secret Service)

LSAT

M9 (seen in Section's holster)

Access Kit Usage

Saving three Secret Service Agents.

• Dragonfire drones that fire rockets are available inside the overturned container, near where the player engaged the first enemy CLAW.
• Before the player enter the plaza, there's a flipped MRAP just outside and is catching fire, Secret Service agents will be heard calling for help if the player gets close.
• Take the left route into the mall and after taking the escalator to the floor above, there's a locked glass door to the roof, up there is a SAM turrets that the player can use to take out some of the drones.

Gallery

President Bosworth speaking with Chen, relieved.

Harper treating the Secretary.

Inside the MRAP.

David looking at himself before looking out the window.

Looking out at the helicopter falling down.

Getting to the SAM turret.

David almost falling into the streets below.

Using the SAM.

Anderson to the rescue.

Making a choice.

Protecting and securing the vehicles.

Driving through the streets.

Climbing out of the vehicle only to see Anderson get hit.

Attacking enemy CLAWs.

Reaching the French President's convoy.

Getting into the air.

Chasing the drones.

Ejecting.

Harper, smiling at David at the end of the mission.

Samuels talking to David if Harper didn't survive.

Achievements/Trophies

• Late for the Prom (20 / Bronze Trophy ) - Escort the president to the secure location in downtown LA.

Transcript

Main article: Cordis Die (mission)/Transcript

Trivia

• The M8A1 appeared as the starting weapon in the E3 demo instead of the Type 25.
• Section's Wrist Pad in the E3 Demo says that the mission took place on October 3, while the mission itself says differently.
• The E3 demo had David looking at his reflection without his HUD glasses, but in the actual release, he was wearing them.
• In the E3 demo, Jones says that the soldiers attacking Los Angeles were Cordis Die sleeper cells, but in the final game he says they are mercenaries instead.
• If the player's loadout does not contain the PSR or a sniper rifle, they will be forced to rappel down the highway since the option to snipe will not appear.
• If Anderson dies in the ambulance during the escort, the player will not have access to the Sky Buster Missiles during the dogfight with the drones. She will live if Section protects the ambulance while escorting the convoy.
• In the E3 demo, the drone initially shot down by Anderson was an Avenger. However, in the final version it is a Lodestar.
• At the very start of the level, if one looks back into the crashed truck at the Secretary the name will read "secretary" without proper capitalization.
• After the player gets hit by the truck while driving, one can find a semi-automatic KAP-40 with no attachments, dropped by an ally near the small hole in the road. The player can pick up another fully-automatic KAP-40, and hold both weapons simultaneously.
  • After the building falls down, the KAP-40 will become fully-automatic as usual. If both variants were held, then the semi-automatic one will be lost.
• Before the player chooses to rappel or to snipe, there's a typo in the subtitles. Samuels will say "PMCs", but the subtitles read "PCMs".
• Rarely, one of the paramedics that carries Anderson can be named Officer Anderson.
• In the intro, if subtitle is enabled, Jones is just referred as "Agent".
• At the beginning of the level, after taking down all the drones with the SAM turret and getting down off the truck, on the wall is pink graffiti of the words "DIE YOUNG".
• If Graphic Content Filter is enabled, in the beginning, the man that has major injuries will not be shown, the screen of the game will simply remain black.
• The LAPD uses semi-automatic KAP-40s, while the Mercs use fully-automatic KAP-40s.
• If Harper is present in this mission, after the player and Harper recover from being hit by the truck, he will destroy the CLAW in front of them by himself with a few grenades from his M8A1's undermounted grenade launcher, but if you look closely at his gun, you will see that there is no grenade launcher attached to it.
• Interestingly enough, in the E3 Demo, it clearly shows David wielding an M8A1 at the beginning, but once he rappels down the broken highway after covering the president with the Storm PSR he is equipped with a Type 25.
• The title picture of the mission is a shot of Aftermath.
• The trucks when Section jumps onto the front of the missile truck and nearly falls off in the E3 Demo were the LAVs that have the G20 leaders, while in the final version of the game they were red semi trucks. This likely means the LAPD were using them to transport CLAWs and Quad drones.