The Professionals

"Okay... these guys look like Professionals. Military-grade weapons, tactical training... but then again, they don't have me."

- Paige Harris to the GTA Online Protagonist during Robbery in Progress The Professionals are a crime syndicate featured in Grand Theft Auto Online.

Overview
As their name implies, they are a professional group of criminals that deal in everything from drug trafficking to arms smuggling to robbery to general mercenary work, operating all throughout San Andreas. The Professionals appear in several missions, Gang Attacks and Biker Contracts.

The Professionals appear to be a drug-distribution network, dealing with various other gangs such as the Ballas, the Vagos, and The Lost MC. The Professionals seem to be affiliated with the Federal Investigation Bureau as well. They are in control of many different fronts, including the Mile High Club construction site, as seen in a Gang Attack.

The Professionals also seem to be providing courier and bodyguard services for a variety of valuable employers, thus making them potential competitors of Merryweather Security Consulting. Gerald describes them as "professional-type dudes" in text messages. Lester, in one text message debriefing a mission, describes them as an "ex-military unit." Judging from dialogue during shootouts, they are apparently ex-United States Marines, sometimes shouting "I'm a fucking marine!", or "Semper fi!", the motto of the Marine Corps, though this might be an oversight as well since they share their quotes with the military. This makes them even more similar to Merryweather, as Merryweather operatives are former servicemen as well. The Professionals also serve as muggers when randomly selected by the game's code.

The Professionals dress in suits, sports coats, collared fabric bomber jackets or collared leather bomber jackets with business attire, and are multi-racial, with white, black, and Hispanic members. Some wear black leather gloves, adding even more to their look of stereotypical hitmen. Sometimes, they may be seen wearing black, gray or white ballistic face masks, as well as bandana masks and ski masks. The Professionals always drive all-black or all-gray vehicles, ranging from sedans like the Fugitive to SUVs like the Granger. In some Online missions, they can be seen using Vapid Speedo's for transporting cargo and sometimes pursue the player on Bati 801's.

Most likely making use of their military skills, they acquire and make use of Maverick and Buzzard Attack Chopper as seen in numerous contact missions and Gunrunning resupply missions. They also own a Technical Custom which is stolen by the player in a resupply run.

In Grand Theft Auto Online, if the player defeats them in five Gang Attacks within one session, they will put a bounty on their head. A man, presumably their leader, who goes by the name of, "The Boss", will send a threatening message prior to placing the hit - "You won't even see them coming".

Despite being enemies of the protagonist, they can be hired as security for their weapon trafficking in the Gunrunning update. They are also hired as security in biker businesses.

The Professionals have a major appearance in the Diamond Casino &amp; Resort update as hired guns working for Avery Duggan. They are also featured in the Casino Work mission Department of Defense where they are seen trying to rob The Diamond Casino & Resort from the outside. Under Agatha Baker's orders, the protagonist must defend the casino at all costs. The Professionals are standing at the west entrance to the casino and after they are killed, the protagonist needs to follow a Speedo to a random location where more of them are waiting. It is also at this location that "The Boss" finally reveals himself by making a physical debut armed with a minigun and Ballistic Equipment. The protagonist has to eliminate him along with all of the remaining gang members to complete the mission.

Despite the death of their leader and the losses they sustained while working under the Duggan Crime Family, The Professionals make a minor appearance in The Diamond Casino Heist update in the mission Heist Prep: Vault Drills. They are in possession of some heavy-duty drills capable of boring through the vault of the Diamond Casino & Resort, and Lester Crest sends to protagonist to steal these drills from them. The protagonist is forced to contend with both the gang and the LSPD in order to secure the drills.

When replaying The Cayo Perico Heist, if the primary target is in the glass case, the protagonist must steal a plasma cutter from The Professionals. The protagonist breaks into one of their their safe houses to gather information on where they went, finding a heist planning board with three bank locations. Pavel eventually tracks them down to one of the robbery locations and the player ambushes them while they attempt to break into a building, stealing their plasma cutter in the process.

They continue to operate as hitmen for hire in the events of The Contract update, where they can be encountered during Rescue Operations for F. Clinton and Partner and during a payphone hit when they are hired by the CEO of Coil to silence a whistleblower.

Influences

 * The gang's name could be a reference to the 1966 film The Professionals, or to the British detective drama The Professionals from the 1970s and 1980s.
 * They also bear resemblance to the main group of antagonists in the movie Lethal Weapon, called Shadow Company. Like the Professionals, they are ex-military operatives involved in the drug trade.

Mission Appearances

 * Grand Theft Auto Online
 * A Boat in the Bay
 * Artificial Scarcity
 * Blow Up III
 * Coveted
 * Death Metal
 * Dish the Dirt
 * Four Trailers
 * Gassed Up
 * Going Down the GOH
 * Handle with Care
 * Hard Labor
 * High Priority Case
 * Landing Gear
 * Landing Strip
 * Last Chopper Outta LS
 * Mixed Up With Coke
 * Quarry Quarry
 * Rooftop Rumble
 * Sinking Feeling
 * Stick Up the Stickup Crew
 * The Los Santos Connection
 * Turbine Carbine
 * Trash Talk
 * Water the Vineyard
 * Factory Closure
 * Free Mode
 * Gang Attacks
 * Securoserv
 * Special Cargo
 * Vehicle Cargo
 * Heists
 * Series A Funding
 * Pacific Standard - Hack
 * Biker Contracts
 * Cracked
 * Resupply
 * Gunrunning
 * Disruption Logistics
 * Smuggler's Run
 * Air Freight Cargo
 * VIP Work
 * Fortified
 * Fully Loaded
 * The Diamond Casino & Resort
 * Casino - Strong Arm Tactics
 * Casino - Play to Win
 * Casino - Bad Beat
 * Casino - Cashing Out
 * Casino Work
 * Department of Defense
 * The Diamond Casino Heist
 * Heist Prep: Vault Drills
 * The Cayo Perico Heist
 * Heist Prep: Plasma Cutter
 * The Contract
 * Payphone Hit: The Hitmen
 * Security Contract: Rescue Operation

Trivia

 * In the Capture Creator, the player can choose The Professionals as the "actors" in their custom jobs, but they are not available to be used in Director Mode.
 * Their masks are unattainable and may only be seen during Cracked, Muggings, gang attacks and when in the Capture Creator. However, the masks disappear when the Capture is published. The masks were initially to be worn by Michael, Trevor and even Franklin during the Paleto Score. The mask is also worn by the Hacker Gunman in the Ramp Buggy's special vehicle mission.

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