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{{trope}}
[[File:
{{quote|You know what? I'm sick of being in the van. You guys are going to be in the van next time. I've been in the van for 15 years, Harry. |'''Gib''', ''[[True Lies]]''}}
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So here's the plan: to accomplish our mission, we're going to need a [[Sub-Trope]] of [[The Stakeout]]. Plotwise, it will go down the same way as a traditional stakeout, but to make things more interesting, we'll be adding a vehicle. A vehicle that looks like any other normal vehicle on the street. But on the inside, it'll be filled with all sorts of electronics and several spies monitoring cameras and bugs they've planted.
Most of the time, this trope will be [[Exactly What It Says
First, we'll need some spies. They can be highly skilled detectives or bumbling idiots. What we're looking for is the ability to further the plot or provide comedy relief as required by the writers. The spies will work for the organization. Most often, it's a slightly corrupt but well - intentioned, [[Anti-Hero|AntiHeroic]] [[Government Agency of Fiction]] that uses this tactic, but the [[Big Bad]] will often have these too. Sometimes it's operated by a much smaller organization, such as a private detective or a pair of crooks planning [[The Caper]].
Next, we'll need a van. The vehicle selected will need to provide sufficient space for the spies to do their job, with relatively few windows, in a reasonably maneuverable, high - speed, and, most importantly, ''nondescript'' vehicle. Of course, it doesn't ''have'' to be a van or even a traditional land vehicle for that matter. After all, surveillance equipment can also be placed in a tractor trailor, boat, aircraft, or spacecraft. It's just that vans tend to look more... ordinary. The van is often if not usually camouflaged with a fake business logo; in comedies this is often a [[Paper-Thin Disguise]] [[Played for Laughs]].
Regardless of its exact form, enclosing the operation in a vehicle has several advantages. First, it allows [[The Stakeout]] to move, often following a specific individual, without having to pack up the equipment. The van can tail or pursue a person of interest, or be used to kidnap them. The van can serve as [[Mission Control]] as well. In a pinch, the van can be used as a getaway car, safehouse, or emergency headquarters should the [[Elaborate Underground Base]] be compromised.
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{{examples}}
== [[Anime]] and [[Manga]]
* In ''[[Gunsmith Cats]]'', ATF agent Bill Collins uses one of these to spy on Rally. The girls aren't fooled.
* In ''[[Pokémon Special]]'', the Shadow Triad has one decked with spy equipment.
== [[Fanfic]] ==
* Happens in one of the early chapters of ''[[The Return (
== [[Film]] ==
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* ''[[Sneakers]]'' has a van like this. Whistler ends up having to drive it across a parking lot despite being blind.
* A Van of Undercover Cops appears in several scenes in ''[[Lucky Number Slevin]]''. They even (briefly) abduct the main character.
* In ''[[Matilda (
* The NSA van in ''[[Enemy of the State]]''. The problem with doing this is shown when Robbert is able to spot them and call the police on them, claiming they are drug dealers.
* ''[[
* The expository opening scene of ''[[Smokin Aces]]'' features FBI agents in a van.
== [[Literature]] ==
* The [[The Dragon|Delta Force]] in ''[[Deception Point]]'' are introduced like this (albeit in a hidden tent rather than a van).
* The short story [https://web.archive.org/web/20121229041806/http://www.stanleythewhale.com/StW/index.php/issue-1/issue-1-short-stories/45-the-van-on-atlantic-street "The Van on Atlantic Street"] by Desmond Warzel is an example of this, though it's unclear throughout exactly who they're spying on, or, for that matter, who they're spying ''for''.
* Milgrim from [[William Gibson]]'s ''Spook Country'' serves as a translator in an ordinary one of these. Late in ''Zero History'' he gets to ride in a cooler one for a different reason.
== [[Live Action TV]] ==
* ''[[Leverage]]'' does this
** In the [[Leverage]] episode ''Two Horse Job'', Parker and Hardison are using a van to carry out surveillance on Sterling.
** The FBI themselves have a fairly obvious van as well.
* ''[[The Wire]]'' does this a lot, both by the cops and by Omar (a stick-up artist - he only uses a ''van'' in season one and briefly in season four, though). Featuring such antics as Detective Sydnor complaining that the van is full of Detective Carver's empties, and the fact that Carver is eating such a variety of junk food while on stakeout outside a mini-mart, Omar looking out the van window and watching for hints of where the stash-house is (and Bailey taking notes based on what Omar observed, on a sheet of notebook paper on which they were clearly playing hangman before), Omar and Renaldo watching a convenience store they suspect is a drug front, and getting distracted watching Detective Kima Greggs watching the same convenience store from her own vehicle, and so on.
* The Dog washing van from ''[[Arrested Development (TV series)|Arrested Development]]''.
* Done occasionally in Season 1 of ''[[White Collar]]'', and [[Once an Episode]] in Season 2.
* Spoofed in ''[[Life On Mars]]''. Sam Tyler convinces a dubious Gene Hunt to use a bug to gather information on the bad guys, saying "One day this stuff will bring down Richard Nixon." Gene is sitting in the van when he suddenly says, "Wouldn't they notice a great big van parked outside the White House?"
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== [[Video Games]] ==
* In [[The Simpsons Hit
* In [[Hitman]] Blood Money, one of these vans is used by FBI agents to control and monitor their witness protection efforts. Spiking doughnuts meant for the agents there with sedatives or poison is probably the best way to get an FBI agent suit in this level.
* In the ''[[Sam and Max]]'' episode, ''Reality 2.0.'', because Max became president last episode and moved the Oval Office to the corner of Straight & Narrow, the Secret Service is staked outside in a truck marked [[Paper-Thin Disguise|"Secret Serv Ice Cream"]].
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== [[Western Animation]] ==
* The page image is from ''[[The Simpsons (
** Another episode has '''[[Fun
** The Simpsons love this one. Another episode has an otherwise nondescript van, with "ORDINARY VAN" on the side.
* In ''[[Family Guy]]'', Peter uses such a van to spy on Lois.
* Used in an episode of ''[[
* 1973/74 ''[[
{{reflist}}
[[Category:Espionage Tropes]]
[[Category:
[[Category:Example as a Thesis]]
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