Franklin Clinton

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**Franklin Clinton** is one of the three protagonists in *Grand Theft Auto V*, along with Michael De Santa and Trevor Philips.

## Background

Franklin was born in South Los Santos in 1988. He never knew his father and his mother became a cocaine addict when Franklin was still young. As a child, Franklin often heard stories about how his father was physically abusive towards his mother, possibly causing her cocaine addiction. Franklin's father left his mother while she was pregnant with Franklin. His mother's addiction eventually led to her death when Franklin was young.

Following his mother's death, Franklin moved in with his grandparents. This is where Franklin met Tonya Wiggins and JB Bradshaw. Despite being constantly spoiled by his grandmother, Franklin had decided to take on the role of a street hustler. One of his first jobs was selling cigarettes with Bradshaw. The scheme was successful until Franklin's grandfather caught them in the act. In Tonya's words, his grandfather "gave chase to both him and Bradshaw all around South Los Santos". His grandparents later passed away, and Franklin's grandmother left him and his aunt, Denise Clinton, a house on Forum Drive in her will.

Franklin attended Davis High School along with Lamar Davis, Tanisha Jackson and Tonya Wiggins, but was expelled for assaulting a teacher. Around this time, he began the life of a gang banger and dope dealer and started committing various petty crimes such as carjackings and small-time bank robberies with Lamar. During their first bank robbery, they stole $2000 but did not get to keep the money, because a dye pack spilled onto the money. Franklin also worked for a local drug dealer named Marcus, whom he later killed. Franklin's life of petty crime caught up with him in 2008, when he was arrested and sent to prison. After his release, he decided to give up his previous gang life and get some proper work.

A few months before the start of his story, Franklin moved beyond the role of ghetto-based street dealer when he and Lamar began working for Armenian gangster Simeon Yetarian. Yetarian owns a car dealership which acts as a front for a loansharking and extortion business. Yetarian's dealership sells cars to people who can't afford them and when they default on the exorbitant interest payments, Franklin and Lamar repossess the cars.

## Events of *GTA V*

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Franklin is first seen on a repossession job with his close friend and co-worker Lamar Davis, soon after a chance encounter with Michael De Santa, who unknowingly directs them to their assigned repossession. Later, Franklin and Lamar are assigned by Simeon Yetarian, their boss, to repossess a Bagger in a Vagos-controlled area of Vespucci. While searching for the bike, the two are confronted by the Vagos and a shootout begins when Lamar pulls a gun on them. The duo are then forced to fight their way out of the neighborhood. They find the bike, but the owner was killed during the shootout. Knowing the repossession is meaningless, Lamar takes the bike for himself, and Simeon blames Franklin for the bike's theft. While recovering a BeeJay XL sold to Jimmy De Santa, his father Michael (who had been hiding in the back seat) holds a Pistol to Franklin's head. Under orders from Michael, Franklin drives the car through the window of Simeon's dealership, receiving a payment from Michael himself for doing what he called "a job well done". Because Franklin had driven through the dealership and Lamar didn't return the bike, Simeon fires both of them.

Franklin is brought along by Lamar to kidnap a Ballas member named D, for no other reason than that Lamar saw "opportunity". He and Lamar meet up and travel in a van to Vinewood Boulevard and encounter D down an alley, but he makes an escape on a motorbike with the two in hot pursuit. With the help of Lamar's dog Chop, the two succeed in capturing D; however, they are forced to free him when Lamar inadvertently reveals their location to the police while talking on his mobile phone.

After losing his job at the dealership, Franklin started working with Michael. Franklin helps Michael rescue Jimmy from his yacht, which was stolen with Jimmy on it during an attempted sale. Later, after Michael catches Amanda post-coitus with her tennis coach, Michael and Franklin chase him to a house in the Vinewood Hills. Believing the house to belong to the tennis coach, Michael and Franklin use a pickup truck to pull the deck down, destroying the house. After returning to the De Santa residence, Martin Madrazo appears and reveals that the house was his. He attacks Michael with a baseball bat and demands Michael pays for the repairs to the house, which will cost $2.5 million.

After some time has passed, Michael contacts Franklin to enlist him on the Vangelico Jewelry Store Heist, which Franklin accepts as he sees this as his first major opportunity to become a much more successful criminal. The heist is successful and Madrazo receives his money, with Michael and Franklin splitting the rest between themselves.

Michael, under orders of Dave Norton, infiltrates a morgue and kills several guards. In a panic, Michael calls Franklin and reveals that he is affiliated with the FIB, though Franklin continues to trust Michael due to the latter offering him help while he was in a tough financial position. Franklin also decides to work with Michael, in hopes that there will be better payment from jobs with him.

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Franklin's work with Michael, Lester and Trevor has caused him to distance himself from the Families. When Franklin returns to his house, Lamar and Denise heckle him for his "disloyalty" towards the Families. Franklin explains that he doesn't want to be caught up in the routine of gang life again and wants the opportunity to make a success of himself. Trevor suddenly appears out of nowhere. After giving Denise some money and shooing her back into the house, Franklin angrily asks what Trevor is doing at his house. Trevor says his reason for being there is to "make new friends". Lamar informs Franklin that Stretch has arranged a drug deal with some Ballas, and Trevor decides to join them. The trio (along with Chop) drive to a house in Grove Street. Lamar is offered a sample from a cocaine brick, and is about to buy it before Trevor intervenes. Trevor snatches the brick from the dealer, and discovers the brick is actually dry-wall. A shootout erupts, and Franklin, Trevor and Lamar are forced to fight their way out of Grove Street when their van is disabled. Moments after the shootout, the LSPD show up to chase them. Franklin and Trevor follow Lamar through a narrow alley into the Los Santos Storm Drain. They steal three Jetskis and head towards the open sea. The trio split up and eventually evade the police.

Franklin, after being informed by Michael, gets employed by billionaire Devin Weston who asks Trevor, Michael and later Lamar to steal some rare cars for him so that he can export them to the Far East.

Trevor receives a call from Franklin, who on Trevor's request is tailing the remaining O'Neil brothers, who are angry and vengeful at Trevor due to his earlier attack on the O'Neil household, resulting in the deaths of most of the O'Neils and the destruction of their farm. Franklin chases the O'Neils, who crash because of an elk on the road and escape into a forest in Raton Canyon. Franklin then calls Trevor for air support and eventually, Trevor and Michael arrive by helicopter. Using a rifle, fitted with a thermal scope, Michael shoots Walton and Wynn O'Neil dead, but can't get a clear shot of Elwood, who is hiding behind a rock and firing anti-tank rockets towards the helicopter. With the help of Chop, Franklin locates and kills Elwood, after which he and Chop are picked up by Trevor and Michael and safely returned to Sandy Shores Airfield.

Franklin helps Trevor and Michael rob the Blaine County Savings Bank, as it contains millions of dollars deposited there by Blaine County's corrupt law enforcement who extort money from all the local weed farms and meth labs. Using stolen military body armour and machine guns, Trevor, Michael, Franklin and one gunman successfully rob the Paleto bank, taking a small cut each and giving the largest profit to Haines and Norton so they can purchase the equipment for the Humane Labs and Research chemical plant robbery, much to the team's irritation.

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Franklin arrives on Forum Drive in Strawberry. He receives a call from Lamar. Lamar tells Franklin that he's stolen the final car in Weston's list, a yellow Pegassi Monroe, and now has it nearby, behind Glass Heroes Autobody shop. Franklin meets Lamar there, and the two drive the Monroe to Little Bighorn Avenue where Trevor is waiting with a Packer filled with the other cars the group have obtained for Weston. Franklin drives the Monroe onto the last remaining spot on the Packer. He, Lamar, and Trevor then begin the drive to the drop-off point, the Procopio Truck Stop north of Paleto Bay. The police discover the cars and give chase on the way. Franklin decides to unhitch the JB 700 and use its weapons to destroy the police cars. Franklin has heard from Weston's lawyer that the 700 has "some new hardware on board." Trevor keeps the Packer steady while Franklin makes his way along the cargo carrier. Franklin reaches the JB 700 and drives it off the Packer. Franklin uses the 700's clatrops and newly included guns to take out the police pursuit. They drop off the cars, but Devin angers the trio by refusing to pay them, promising to "invest" their money and pay them at a later date. Franklin calls Lester and asks Lester to talk to Michael about Devin, but Michael isn't answering his phone, and was last located in North Yankton. Franklin tells Lester to have Trevor meet him at his aunt's house.

Trevor meets Franklin at his aunt's house to find out where Michael is. Trevor explains that the Los Santos Triads kidnapped Michael while they were in Ludendorff and that they have taken him somewhere in Los Santos. Franklin asks for his help, but Trevor refuses, claiming Michael is "dead" to him, and leaves. Franklin decides to rescue Michael, alone. He eventually tracks Michael's phone signal to a slaughterhouse using a Trackify app sent to his phone by Lester. Franklin eventually succeeds in rescuing Michael from the Chinese Triads and the two make their escape from the abattoir.

Franklin and Michael are called up once again by Haines for one more job: breaking into the FIB building and remove incriminating evidence against Haines. They can either infiltrate the building disguised as firefighters or dropped off by helicopter, but either way, the team manages to recover the data and escapes. They meet up with Lester and celebrate their victory with alcohol. Michael tells them he must settle things with the FIB, so Franklin stays and relaxes with Lester over some whiskey.

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A while later, Franklin is visited at his house by his ex-girlfriend Tanisha Jackson who tells him that Stretch set Lamar up again with a large group of the Ballas, who are holding him hostage at the Paleto Forest Sawmill. Franklin immediately heads towards the sawmill, and asks Lester on the way to contact Michael and Trevor to aid him in rescuing Lamar (despite the current fractured state of their friendship). Franklin, Trevor, and Michael arrive at the sawmill. They proceed to take out the Ballas and Franklin brings him back home to Forum Drive. While there, Lamar and Franklin get into a small dispute, arguing about Franklin's many efforts to save Lamar from problems he got himself into. Franklin advises Lamar to remain civilized and stay out of trouble, and to abandon his gang-banging lifestyle and get a proper job. Franklin is suddenly confronted by Steve Haines and Dave Norton, who tasks Franklin to kill Trevor, due to his violent behavior and general liability. Franklin refuses, asking them to recruit Michael to do it instead, but Norton explains that Michael can't because Trevor doesn't trust Michael and won't allow Michael to go near him.

Franklin and the team begin their final heist shortly afterwards. They succeed, and come off with millions of dollars in gold. However, tensions are still heated between Trevor and Michael.

### Ending

After the heist, Franklin is tasked by Steve Haines to kill Trevor and by Devin Weston to kill Michael. Franklin must choose to kill Trevor, Michael or save both and kill everyone that had double-crossed them.
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