Francis McReary

"There's no good and no evil... just shades of fucking grey."

- Francis McReary

Francis "Frankie" McReary (Irish: Proinsias Mac Ruairí) is a character in the Grand Theft Auto series who appears as a main character in Grand Theft Auto IV.

Francis is the corrupt Deputy Police Commissioner, and the second-oldest son of the McReary Family. He works at the Westminster Police Station in Westminster, Algonquin.

History
Francis is the brother of Patrick McReary, Derrick McReary, and Gerald McReary. He is the second -oldest child of the McReary family.

Background
Francis and his brothers grew up in an Irish Catholic home. He is frowned upon by his brothers, who consider him a hypocrite for his career in Law Enforcement; Patrick McReary remarks that "Francis is just as crooked as we are — moreso"; Francis gives his brothers similar disdain for their open criminality. He initially aspired to become a priest, but as his brother Patrick recalls, he had to abandon that ambition after being caught cheating on his final test to qualify; as an altar boy, he also had a kleptomaniac tendency to steal money from the church collection plate.

Francis tells Niko that his philosophy to cleaning up the streets of Liberty City is "one percent at a time" — assassinate small-time crooks and drug dealers one by one, to "improve" the city without involving the legal system. This may be mere self-justification on Francis' part — the tasks he sets for Niko are overwhelmingly focused on covering up his own misdeeds. Francis is implied to have illicit tastes, which go unspecified but which may be related to drugs and/or prostitution, as he orders the assassination of a drug-dealing pimp who is implied to be personally inconveniencing him.

It seems he has the same philosophy as Frank Tenpenny, thinking if a necessary number of people do like he does, the community would improve.

Events of Grand Theft Auto IV
Francis first meets Niko Bellic during a publicity spot with Manny Escuela. Later in the game, he calls Niko and arranges a meeting at Castle Gardens, where he reveals that he knows of Niko's criminal activity in Liberty City; Niko agrees to work for Francis in exchange for his turning a blind eye to Niko's other crimes.

Francis first orders the death of a blackmailer who possesses incriminating photographs, and then the death of Tom Goldberg, a lawyer who has evidence against Francis. He has Niko kill a drug-dealer and pimp in the East Holland projects, and then the dealer's accomplice, who is threatening to talk to the police about McReary.

Blood Brothers
After Francis' brother Derrick returns from Ireland, Derrick intends to expose Francis' corruption out of spite, something Francis could not accept as he aspires to become the Commissioner of the LCPD. He orders Niko to kill Derrick during a meeting he has arranged with his brother. Niko either chooses to follow Francis' orders, or goes against them and spares Derrick's life by killing Francis instead. Either choice will end Niko's career with Francis, although Niko can choose to exploit Francis' guilt in the future if he survives. Killing Derrick also allows the player to gain ability of using Francis to remove any wanted level against themself for the duration of the story. If the player chooses to assassinate Francis during the mission "Blood Brothers", he is then buried at the Colony Island cemetery.

Mission Appearances

 * GTA IV
 * Street Sweeper
 * Call and Collect (Boss)
 * Final Interview (Boss)
 * Holland Nights (Boss)
 * Lure (Boss)
 * Harboring a Grudge (Post-mission phone call)
 * Blood Brothers (Boss/Can be killed)
 * Undertaker (Only if spared in Blood Brothers)

Wanted level reduction
If Francis' life spared in Blood Brothers, the player can call him and have any wanted level they have cleared by him. Although this can be done multiple times, the wait required between calls is undetermined — calling too soon after the last successful call will merely redirect to Francis' answering machine. Once the player finishes the story missions, Francis' ability will not be available anymore because most contacts, him included, on Niko's cell phone are deleted at the end of the game.

Trivia

 * Francis McReary appears to be based on Hector Cruz, a character in the film "Entrapment" played by Will Patton. Both characters work for law enforcement and share the same moustache.
 * He may also be based on Inspector Walter Cobb from the movie Die Hard with a Vengeance as, again, they share similar features and are both high ranking in the law enforcment.
 * If Niko kills Francis, his gravestone in Colony Island reads: "Here Lies Francis McReary, Brave, Honest, Shot Dead." Derrick's gravestone will say the same thing if he is killed, but his grave will be in Steinway.
 * Francis drives a black Landstalker, seen in the opening cutscene of Blood Brothers.
 * As Francis is an LCPD officer, he has no record on the LCPD police database.
 * If Niko kills Francis, in the mission I'll Take Her..., Gerald McReary says that he and Francis were never really close, but that "I'll miss him."
 * He appears to be very hypocritical throughout Grand Theft Auto IV; he speaks freqently of second chances or chances at redemption, but he orders Niko to kill Clarence Little because "He is guilty as sin."
 * Sometimes, if Niko starts getting chased by the police while on friendship activities with Packie, he will often shout "Look, Frankie's boys!".
 * Francis can be seen on the homepage for Libertycitypolice.com.
 * In Blood Brothers, Niko can call Francis once to increase his payout, to $20,000, if he kills Derrick.
 * Francis is the first member of the McReary family Niko meets and works for.
 * Blood Brothers is the only time in the game when Francis appears outside of cutscenes.
 * Although his rank is given as "Deputy Police Commissioner" it is likely that he is in fact the First Deputy Commissioner which is the rank below Commissioner in New York (and most likely Liberty City) Police Department. It is also quite possible that he is (or was originally intended to be) the Chief of Police since both Niko and the officer behind the desk in the cutscene for Final Interview refer to him as such. One thing to note is that in New York, the role of Police Commissioner is a ceremonial post and the holder is elected by the mayor i.e. not necessarily a police officer, whereas the Chief is a serving member of the Department who has worked his way up through the ranks over time.
 * Due to the fact he originally wanted to become a priest and Derrick's reference to Cain and Abel in "Blood Brothers" Francis may represent Cain. This is supported by the fact that his other brothers hate him, and Kate referenced looking up to Derrick and his other brothers respecting him, as well as the fact that it was Francis who first asked Niko to kill Derrick. However also due to the fact he is the only police officer in a family a criminals and Francis telling his mother "He has always been a good boy", he may also represent Abel, if a heavily deconstructed version.
 * If the player chooses to kill Francis in Blood Brothers, it will cause a glitch where Francis's contact will remain in Niko's phone for the rest of the game, even after completing the main story, although the player will be unable to call him as he is deceased. Also, his voicemail will change and say the number has been disconnected.

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