Heist of the Centuries Heist of the Centuries is a in the " " add - on " Dead Money " . Detailed walkthrough . To begin the quest , the speaker next to the elevator in Vera Keyes ' suite must hear the password in Vera ' s voice . The Courier can take the holotape of Vera ' s audition , go down to the front computer in the main lobby , collect all three music varieties , and return to the elevator in Vera Keyes ' suite . Play the music into the speaker , and the elevator can now be taken to the lower level . Alternatively , if one has not killed Christine , she will say the password using her new vocal cords after recovering the music from the lobby computer . The Courier must navigate a maze of ducts and catwalks filled with security holograms , toxic clouds and many shielded speakers . In some situations , the Courier may have to trigger hologram monitors to clear a path . Once passing through the two initial vault doors , on the right is a terminal next to another vault door . Enter the duct maze by using vault maintenance access terminal to open the maintenance access . There ' s a speaker nearby . Follow the passageway around to the first room . Entering the first chamber , the speaker is immediately in front of the Courier . Halfway down the chamber the Courier enters the range of another speaker . Jump down the broken walkway and then to the right to enter the shelter . There is a safe spot in front of the table in the enclosure with the worker ' s note complaining about safety and Frederick Sinclair ' s ignorance of the vault issues . There are two ammunition boxes next to the note on the shelf . Continue through the passageway to the left . Follow the passageway around and into another shelter area . In the next room are four speakers , two of them unshielded . Exit the sheltered area to the right , go up the stairs , jump over the broken walkway and the safe spot is in the corner . Directly behind the Courier above the door they came through is an unshielded speaker . Slightly to the right and up high above a doorway is the second unshielded speaker . Destroy both of the unshielded speakers . A third , shielded speaker is high on the wall just a bit further along the catwalk . If the Courier ' s gun is holstered , they ' ll have barely enough time to run down the left side of the upper walkway and reaching the terminal to override the alarms . Continue through the corridor . Note : On the right broken section of the top walkway , one can actually jump onto the beam and then onto the section with the exit . If one ' s timing is good then this is an easier way to get through than to follow the left path . If one lands on the beam and run to the right towards the wall , they can step out of reach of the speakers , resetting the collar timer . Once the alarms are off , standing next to the console walk to the edge to see the roof of the shelter the Courier just ran from , if they can , fall onto that and there will be a and inside will be a random small gun and some other Items . The next room adds security holograms to the gauntlet . The hologram control computer is in a workers ' hut to the left of the entrance to this area across a walkway with a gap in it . There are 3 hologram emitters in this room , although they require a Repair skill of 100 to disable , the Courier can shoot them . The first is on top of the enclosed structure to the left ( when entering the room ) . The Courier can push a barrel onto the catwalk to the left , jumping on it and jumping in the air while on the barrel will allow them to shoot the emitter on the roof of the first structure ( After moving said barrel , it will disappear and become visible again after touching it and will repeat in this way ) , alternatively this can be achieved by exiting the room towards the gap in the walkway the Courier came from , hopping onto the rail and attempting a jump shot into the emitter , this will make the holograms hostile so run . The second is on top of the metal beam almost directly on top of the door with the force field . The Courier will need to run along a beam and jump up onto the roof of the structure in the southeast corner of the map to reach these . The third is on the ceiling ( not the roof like the 1st , but inside ) of the control structure in the northeast corner of the map . The Courier can also use 2 or 3 carefully tossed hand grenades to blow up the emitters without having to get close to the holograms or the speakers ( one can get up to 9 from the grenade bouquets that Dean Domino set up around himself from where the Courier first encounters him , so long as they can pass an Explosives check ( 30 ) to disarm the grenades ) . Alternatively , one can run from the southeast structure to the northeast structure and shoot it , running back quickly , but you will have to be very fast , as this method puts you in danger of the radios for under a second less than the time needed for your collar to detonate ( or one could run past the last security and turn off the alarms first , then run into the adjacent room where the emitter is ) . After dispatching the three hologram emitters , the Courier can turn off the security system at the last terminal . There is a terminal in a shelter on the lower catwalk on the other side of the room . This allows them to turn off all alarms . After the room is quiet , drop down to the lower catwalk in the poison gas and grab the Vault turret terminal password tape . Activate the vault security turret terminal password as this shuts down the last set of force fields and speakers . After entering the hall past the force fields , there is the vault security terminal which can be used to shut down the remaining security . ( Note : Initially there are only two options : " Vault Security Protocols Information " and " Vault Security Protocols Warning , " but after reading the first entry another option to disable security comes up . ) Immediately before entering the vault is a toolbox and next to it , a holotape containing a venomous message to Vera Keyes . A skeleton lies on a pipe beneath it - Sinclair ' s - and the duffle bag next to it contains a copy of " " . Inside the vault itself is an assortment of weapons , armor , chems , money , chips . . . and the fabled Treasure of the Sierra Madre : 37 gold bars worth 10 , 539 each , for a total of 389 , 943 caps and the single greatest collection of wealth in the Mojave Wasteland - each of which weighs 35 pounds , for a total of 1 , 295 pounds . There are also over 2000 . 357 Magnum round s inside a gun cabinet ( not a fixed number , it ' s dependent on Luck and whether the Courier has Scrounger ) , as well as some Sierra Madre armor , reinforced . However , the vault door seals within seconds of entrance . Lift the lockdown using the left security terminal , then use the monitor in the back to look up the word ' Vera . ' This reveals that Sinclair in fact designed the Sierra Madre Vault not to protect valuables , but a small number of people as per a Vault - Tec vault through the Great War : namely himself and Vera Keyes . Learning that Dean Domino planned to rob the Sierra Madre with Vera ' s help changed these plans . Sinclair left a warning for Vera , and a trap for Domino : a file marked " Sinclair ' s Personal Accounts , " the reading of which activates a system which permanently seals the vault . Premature endings . If the Courier chooses to access Sinclair ' s personal accounts , the game will end in with a slideshow cutscene , stating how the Courier was trapped in the casino vault , eventually dying inside . The game will then load the autosave created before accessing the terminal inside the vault . After the Courier reads the Vera entries ( and without reading the personal accounts closes the terminal ) , Elijah will make contact . Skills of 75 + in Science , Repair , Sneak , Explosives , Barter , Speech or Lockpick can be used to persuade Elijah to enter the vault to confront the Courier personally . If one ' s reputation with the NCR is low enough , the Courier can ally with Elijah during this conversation . He regrets putting the collar on a potential ally and comes down to the vault . But the end slideshow starts early , detailing how the Courier and Elijah conquer the Mojave with an army of holograms and generate a second Cloud over Hoover Dam , ensuring nobody gets the power . Unfortunately , this results in another nonstandard game over . The Courier cannot ally with Elijah unless they previously spoke to Veronica about him and exhausted all relevant conversation options . Normal endings . After leaving the vault control terminal , Father Elijah will contact the Courier on a green screen behind the terminal and they ' re given the opportunity to further question Elijah ' s methods and motives . When the topic of Elijah coming down to the vault arises , the following dialog options and skill checks ( 75 + ) are available : With any of the first three options ( he ' s persuaded or coerced into approaching the vault ) , he will arrive via the elevator , deactivate the forcefields and walk directly to the vault door . The player character has one of two options : confront Elijah and kill him , or sneak away from the vault and make one ' s escape to the elevator . It is also possible , although very difficult , to sneak through the door Elijah comes in through . Hacking the security terminal ( Science 100 ) in the vault will cause the outside to turn on Elijah . However , if they kill him , the player character will not receive the Cash Out achievement / trophy ( credit is only awarded for personal or companion kills , and the turrets are neutral ) . Destroying the turret generator ( Melee or Unarmed 50 ) next to the terminal will disable the security turrets and cause Elijah to become hostile when he gets to the vault door . Elijah is immune to damage as he approaches the vault , up until combat is initiated and he reactivates the forcefield barriers blocking access to the elevator . He becomes instantly aware if the Courier steps near either of the two forcefield barriers nearest the elevator , even if the Courier has 100 Sneak and is using a . Elijah can also pass through the forcefield even if it is active , before or during the fight . If the Courier is on good terms with Christine Royce when you initiate combat with Elijah , she will aid them by deactivating the turrets that are hostile to the Courier . If the Courier is on good terms with Dean Domino when you initiate combat with Elijah , he will aid them by deactivating the speakers giving the Courier more ground to walk on without having to worry about their collar exploding . In order to sneak past Elijah and seal him in the vault , resulting in the Safety Deposit Box achievement , simply leave the vault when Elijah comes down and remain Hidden outside the blue forcefield barriers . When Elijah triggers the trap that seals him in the vault , he will realize the Courier tricked him and activate their collar . It will take about a minute to explode . The entrance opposite the elevator will remain open until Elijah activates security , but , as noted above , the forcefields nearest the elevator will activate automatically if approached . If one remains within the confines of the turret room barriers , whether Hidden or not , Elijah eventually activates security , turning the turrets on and sealing the Courier in while they fight . There are a few ways to escape without a fight : Once Elijah is killed , or he realizes he ' s been tricked , the entire vault level begins to fall apart and the explosive collar is activated ; it will detonate within a minute unless the Courier boards the elevator to the surface . Reach the elevator in time , and the Courier appears at the fountain in the Villa . The Courier can then revisit any location in the Sierra Madre except the vault itself . The explosive collar will have been automatically removed upon arrival in the Villa , which makes navigating the outlying areas easier and allows exploration of previously unavailable locations . Once the Courier exits the front gates of the villa , a slide show plays detailing the fates of his three fellow captives , ending with the Courier deposited at the abandoned Brotherhood of Steel bunker , unable to return to the Sierra Madre ( except with PC console commands , finding a steel " Door to Villa " ) . Thus make sure everything needed was collected before leaving . The radio plays a last broadcast from Vera Keyes , bidding the Courier farewell and reflecting on the real meaning Sinclair intended for the Sierra Madre casino . The Courier ' s original equipment will be returned as they walk up the stairs to leave the abandoned BoS bunker . Behind the scenes . If the player character chooses to read Sinclair ' s personal accounts , they will find a letter to Dean Domino . At the end of the letter , it says " . . . and I will raise my glass and say ' Fortunato . ' " This is a reference to Edgar Allan Poe ' s " The Cask of Amontillado , " in which the protagonist Montresor lures his victim , Fortunato , to an underground crypt in his family catacombs , where he chains him to a wall and seals him up alive in an alcove . This is similar to how Sinclair was supposed to have trapped Dean Domino in his own grave at the bottom of the Sierra Madre . It is signed " in pace requiescat , " Latin for " rest in peace , " the phrase with which Poe ' s story ends .