Nick Mendoza

Detective Nicholas "Nick" Mendoza is the main protagonist of the 2015 video game Battlefield Hardline.
He was a rookie detective for the Miami Police Department, who was assigned to a couple of cases to stop criminals during Miami's drug war. When learning of police corruption, Nick is framed by his captain, Julian Dawes and his colleagues Carl Stoddard and Khai Minh Dao to cover their connections. Becoming embittered and vengeful while imprisoned, Nick escapes from custody by the assistance of Khai and the criminal Tyson Latchford, who wants his help to take down Dawes for good.
He was voiced by Philip Anthony-Rodriguez (who also voiced SPARTAN-B312 in Halo: Reach), and modeled after Nicholas Gonzalez.
==Biography==
===Early Life===
Nicholas "Nick" Mendoza was born in Havana, Cuba in 1987 to Hector Mendoza, a corrupt assassin, and an unnamed mother. According to Nick, he states that he was first in his family to be lawfully employed, as his other relatives had criminal histories. His father worked for the Cuban Secret Police, and was assigned to torture prisoners to get information from out of them before killing them. Hector would return home and abuse his wife and son, as Nick stated that his father "liked to bring his work home" when speaking with Boomer. 
Wanting a better life for her son, Mrs. Mendoza left Cuba with Nick and immigrated to the United States. Due to the abuse he suffered from his father, Nick despised him and didn't know if he was alive after immigrating to America. Hector would later be killed in 1992 after becoming an enemy of the state, which Nick would learn in 2015. Nick and his mother moved to Miami, Florida, where the young child saw criminals on the streets, but was kept out of trouble by his mother. Nick loved his mother dearly, since she raised him all alone in Florida and kept him from falling into the wrong crowd.
===Joining Law Enforcement===
Seeing the crime in Miami and seeing his father be a corrupt individual, Nick decided he wanted to be a "real cop", and joined the Miami Police Department during the 2000s During his early career, Nick was friends with two patrolmen, who later killed during criminal shootings. Nick rose through the ranks of the police department, and managed to become a detective by 2012 due to his good reputation. Despite his skills being respected by his fellow colleagues, he was known by many to be a by-the-book cop. Once in vice, he was partnered with Carl Stoddard, who taught him the ropes while under the supervision of vice Captain Julian Dawes.
==Battlefield: Hardline==
===Detective===
By mid-2012, the drug war in Miami has become more troublesome, and Mendoza is assigned to stop a drug bust before it turns into a shootout. After arresting Shea Dorsett, Mendoza is partnered with Khai Minh Dao by Captain Dawes since Stoddard was put on special detail. The detectives are assigned to arrest Tyson Latchford since he is distributing cocaine across Miami, and the two blackmail his colleague Tap Milstein to get to him. While Tap speaks with Tyson, criminals under the head of Lawrence Kent attack the abandoned school, and Mendoza and Dao confront the criminals while Milstein escaped. After dealing with the criminals in the area, the detectives speak with Tyson, who is revealed to contacting his assets via video chat. 
Seeing that Tyson was in trouble, Mendoza and Dao track him down to protect him from criminals, but were attacked and Khai was injured. Nick protects Khai until SWAT arrives, who put Latchford in custody for questioning while Dao is taken to a hospital to recover. Once Khai recovers from her gunshot wound, she and Mendoza are assigned by Dawes to meet with Leo "Stingray" Ray, as the criminal claims to have information about the drug war. Traveling to the Elmore Hotel, Nick and Khai meet with Ray, who goes back on the deal since he wanted to meet with Dawes before criminals hired by Remy Neltz attack them. Mendoza battles the criminals and chase down Ray, where Nick sees Khai assaulting him. He stops her, reminder her that they need to take him in, and the two escape from Neltz's men in a SUV.
Meeting with Captain Dawes, Mendoza covers for Khai about Ray's injuries, but his lie is seen through by Dawes, who decides to let it go after Nick states he's sticking with his story. Afterward, Nick and Khai are assigned to track Ray's drug bales in Flordia's everglades, where they come across Neltz's men and Ray's mutilated corpse. Once clearing the area, Mendoza and Dao travel to a abandoned water park where they confront Neltz, who reveals his deal with Stoddard before escaping on a boat. Arriving at Neltz's hideout, Nick decides to enter the building despite Stoddard setting up a plan, and is assisted by Khai in confronting the criminal. Before they can arrest him, Stoddard kills Neltz and gives himself and Khai a stash of money before tossing some to Nick. Shocked and realizing that police corruption is not only tied to Stoddard, drops the money and leaves in disgust.
===Betrayal===
Later on, Nick was called into Dawes' office, who tells Mendoza that he passed his test by not taking the money, telling the rookie detective that it was just a test to see if he was incorruptible. Still believing that Stoddard is corrupt, Mendoza returns to Neltz's hideout to find evidence after being assigned to find any connection between Carl and the criminals. Finding a recording of Stoddard's deal with Neltz, Mendoza and Khai find a toy that Neltz has been voicing, and track it down to a warehouse with a bunch of criminals outside. Nick enters the building and finds Stoddard, whom he states is under arrest, but Carl tells Nick that they need to help Khai since she went to the Domo Roboto. He then reluctantly works with Stoddard to rescue his partner, and the trio escape from the Domo Robot as it's being destroyed by a dangerous storm.
Meeting with Dawes, Nick hand-cuffs Stoddard and gives the captain the recording of the deal with Neltz. Dawes proceeds to destroy the recording, thus revealing that he is the head of the corruption in the vice department, and Stoddard and Dao are part of his corruption as well. Dawes then reveals that Nick will be framed as a corrupt cop since they've placed a thousands of dollars in his apartment, thus linking him to the evidence of negotiating with Neltz. Angered by the betrayal of his colleague, Khai tells Nick that he should have taken the money, indicating that they framing him because he refused to become corrupt.
===Imprisonment and Escape===
After being framed by his former colleagues, Nick was sentenced to three years in the Federal Detention Center, as his reputation was publicly ruined. While in prison, Nick presumably suffered from a traumatic experience there, as he was adamant about not going back in episode five. During his imprisonment, Nick's mother passed away, causing him to suffer from more grief and mourn his life without being at her deathbed. Angered at his former colleagues for their betrayal, Nick became embittered and distrustful of others, and would want to seek revenge against Dawes and Stoddard for their actions.
In 2015, Nick was sentenced to be transferred to another prison, where he encountered Tap, who revealed that he was assisting Tyson in breaking Mendoza out. Nick manages to escape while evading law enforcement, and meets with Tyson and Khai, who want his help to bring down Dawes and Stoddard since Latchford was taken out of business and Dao was betrayed as well. He then decided to join the two since he was left with the ultimatum of going back to prison or enact his revenge on Dawes and Stoddard.
===Defeating Dawes===
Going to their safehouse, Nick was informed by Khai that Dawes gained more success and started his own network security, Preferred Outcomes, which is made up of hired mercenaries and military contractors. Seeing that Dawes is tied to major crime lords in some states, Khai sends Nick and Tyson to meet with her contact Marcus "Boomer" Boone to stop crime lord Henry Kang. After retrieving from a drive from Kang's dealership, Nick and Tyson deal with Kang's men due to triggering a silent alarm before rescuing Boomer from a nearby junkyard. Nick then collects Boomer's laptop before assisting Tyson and Boomer in killing more of Kang's men during a car chase. Afterward, Boomer informs the two on how Kang gets his drug delivers, and tells them of his location so they can eliminate him. Kang's association with Preferred Outcomes is stopped by Nick, Tyson and Boomer upon confronting and killing him. 
Afterward, the group decide to follow a lead on Neil Roark, a drug kingpin in Los Angeles whom will have a meeting with Stoddard. Nick and Khai infiltrate Roark's estate, and Mendoza comes up with a plan to steal Dawes' money by placing Khai's phone into a briefcase to track it. Placing the phone into the briefcase, Nick is confronted by Roark, who sends his men after him before being knocked out by Dao. After surviving the attack, Nick and Khai leave the estate, and learn that Dawes' money is being held in a skyscraper in a vault that is impenetrable. Boomer then reveals that he knows a contact that has a safecracker, but they will have meet with them in the Mojave Desert to obtain the device. Meeting with Boomer's contact, Dune Alpert, Nick and Marcus are imprisoned by her father, Tony since he knows that Mendoza is a wanted man.
The two are imprisoned in a cold war bunker, but escape and are assisted by Dune, who reveals that she was part of Tony's set up, but was told by him that he was only going to take Nick. Driving to Alpert's compound, the trio are ambushed by Tony's men, but managed to hold their ground while Dune leaves the desert permanently. Nick and Boomer kill Tony during a tank battle, and escape from the Mojave Desert in a plane with the safecracker. Returning to their hideout, Nick and the group are ambushed by Stoddard and his men, but he is killed by Mendoza, who sends Dawes a picture of Carl's corpse. Nick and the group then infiltrate Dawes' penthouse and use the safecracker, but learn that it was set up after Tyson is injured by a bomb that was in the vault. The group escape from the area and travel to Santa Rosita after Dawes gave Nick his location, deciding to enact his revenge.
Making it to Santa Rosita, Nick orders the others to leave and treat Tyson for his injuries, as Khai unwillingly agrees to since she knows Mendoza will be walking into a trap. Traversing through the island, Nick confronts Dawes, who tells Mendoza that they are same, "more criminal than cop". Nick agrees to this and shoots Dawes, thus enacting his revenge before finding a letter written by his former captain. Dawes gives Nick to go to his vault, where he has left him a fortune, telling the former detective what will he do with it. Nick's choice on either taking the fortune or leaving it are left ambiguous, as the screen fades to black with Nick pondering.
==Abilities==
*Police Training: Having joined the Miami Police Department at a youthful age, Mendoza is highly trained in the fields criminology, deduction, and investigation.
*Expert Investigator: As a vice detective, Nick is a remarkable investigator, managing to find evidence or piece things together during cases.
*Marksmanship: Due to his police training, Mendoza is an expert marksman, being able to hit targets at far distances. 
**Weapons Expertise: Mendoza is also proficient in the use of various weapons, including handguns, shotguns, assault rifles, gadgets and explosives.
*Stealth Expertise: Nick is an expert in using stealth, as he is able to sneak up behind enemies, turn off alarms to keep quiet, or evade patrolmen.
*Vehicle Intuition: Nick is an expert driver, being able drive a police interceptor, numerous cars, and operate a tank despite not having experience with one.
===Equipment===
*Police Scanner: Nick is in the possession of a police scanner, a gadget that allows him to survey a scene via marking targets and objects in the area, such as evidence, alarms and explosives. With this tool, Mendoza can strategically scope out an area before going into combat, or going into stealth.
*Taser: Nick can use a taser to non-lethally take down criminals from a short distance, which will incapacitate them without Mendoza being alerted.
*Grappling Hook: A device that allows its user to attach a hook to a object to traverse. In the episode "Gator Bait", Mendoza is given a grappling hook to traverse tourist platforms in the everglades.
*Zipline: A device that allows the user to traverse to another part of land, Mendoza is given one to traverse in the everglades.
==Quotes==
==Gallery==
BFH CharacterRender Nick.jpg|Mendzoa's character model.
Stoddard-and-Mendoza.jpg|Nick Mendoza and Carl Stoddard.
Mendoza-betrayed.jpg|Mendoza upon being betrayed by Dawes, Stoddard and Dao.
Mendoza-imprisoned.jpg|Mendoza as an FDC prisoner.
Mendoza-kills-Dawes.jpg|Mendoza kills Dawes.
Mendoza-fortune.jpg|Mendoza seeing Dawes' fortune, which is now his.
==Trivia==
*He is the first playable protagonist in the series that speaks during gameplay, barring Daniel Recker silently cursing in the beginning of Battlefield 4's campaign.
*Despite being of Cuban descent, Mendoza is referred to as a "Mexican" by Neil Roark and later by one of Alpert's men.
*His signature weapon appears to be the 92FS, as he is seen wielding the sidearm in cinematics and in-game sections.
*He is similar to Cole Phelps from L.A. Noire: 
**Both are true-blue police detectives.
**Both are honest cops and truth-seekers.
**Both are falsely accused and betrayed by their partners.
Category:Male
Category:Video Game Heroes
Category:Officials
Category:Vigilantes
Category:Fighters
Category:Lethal
Category:Honest
Category:Vengeful
Category:Honorable
Category:Selfless
Category:Rescuers
Category:Protectors
Category:Loyal
Category:Betrayed
Category:Fallen
Category:Victims
Category:Scapegoat
Category:Successful
Category:Determinators
Category:Lawful Good
Category:Criminals
Category:Liars
Category:Truth-Seekers
Category:Falsely Accused
Category:Virtually Resourceful
Category:Localized Protection
Category:Friend of a Villain
Category:Pawn of the Villain
Category:Deal Makers
Category:One-Man Army