- "When the villains around here start carrying water pistols instead of lethal fuckin' weapons, then maybe I'll start clipping round the ear, until then, just let me do my fuckin' job, all right?"
- ―Frank Carter
Frank Carter is a character in The Getaway series who acts as the secondary protagonist and a major character in The Getaway.
Frank is a police officer in the rank of detective constable and was in service of the London Metropolitan Police Force's Flying Squad. His ambition was to bring the legendary Charlie Jolson and his psychotic nephew Jake to justice. His superiors did not share this goal and so Frank had to take the law into his own hands and he became a vigilante.
Character Description[]
The Vigilante[]
A determined member of the elite Flying Squad, Frank Carter's ambition is to bring Charlie Jolson to justice. Some of his superiors, however, do not share his obsession, so Frank must bend the law to bring the Bethnal Green Mob to justice.
Early Life[]
Frank Carter was born in 1969 and grew up in Shoreditch. He joined the police force at a young age. Since at least 1997, his ambition has been to bring down Charlie Jolson and his gang. This would later expand to eliminate all gangs in London.
2002[]
In 2002, Frank Carter was working alongside Joe Fielding and under Clive McCormack his DCI. One morning, they were parked near a brothel when Frank noticed Eyebrows. Frank wanted to arrest him, but Joe reminded Frank that where the Brow is, his psycho boss isn't far behind. Just then, Jake Jolson pulled up with Sparky. Joe called for back-up, but Frank wanted to go inside and arrest Jake. The two cops went inside and shot their way through Jolson's henchmen but unfortunately, Joe was shot by Jake. The SO19 officers arrived and took over, arresting Jake. Frank had to drive Joe quickly to the hospital since he had a serious abdominal wound. Charlie Jolson was furious that Frank had arrested Jake. Charlie ordered Frank's boss McCormack to keep Frank away from Jake's case. Frank was unaware that McCormack was bent, but was annoyed when McCormack would not allow Frank to interrogate Jake. Frank decided to eavesdrop on the interview and found out about Jamahl's latest crack delivery down at the Thames, which was being delivered to a depot at St. Saviour's docks. Frank drove to St. Saviour's dock and took out members of the Yardies who were working for the leader of the gang, Jamahl. After this, Frank had to drive to Soho in order to stop the riot which was incited by Mark Hammond setting fire to the Republic. This was followed by a gang war in Chinatown between the Triads and the Yardies. Frank managed to bring the fight under control after an intense shootout in the Cambridge Circus Car Park, but McCormack was not impressed by Frank's way of dealing with crime. Frank defiantly stated that he was doing his job and that "desk jockeys" like McCormack did not bother to help him. McCormack ordered Frank to follow Jake Jolson's prison transfer and did not want any more failures. After Frank left, McCormack received a phone call from Charlie reminding him to allow Jake to be broken out. Frank, on the other hand, was forced to abandon the convoy in order to chase after a range rover which had rammed a police car off the road. Frank tried to drive back to the prison van in time, but he was too late as Mark Ham had rammed the van off the road. Jake shot at Frank's car causing him to overturn. Frank managed to catch a glimpse of Mark's face as they drove off. Back at Snow Hill Police Station, McCormack blamed Jake's bust out on Frank and suspended him, pending investigation. Frank angrily left McCormack's office but was confronted by a female officer. She was frightened because two young rookies who had been sent to the Yardie Drug Factory by McCormack had not contacted back. Frank decided to see what the problem was despite being suspended. He did not care if McCormack arrested him. At the Yardie Drug Factory, he found that the two rookies Ryan and Harris had been tortured by the Yardies. Harris was unconscious, but Ryan explained that McCormack had sent them to the Yardie Drug Factory to supposedly uncover a link between the Yardies and the Triads. Apparently, McCormack was not interested in Harris' lead. This news angered Frank who by now was beginning to question his boss' integrity. Frank drove back to Snow Hill Police Station to confront McCormack but ended up following his boss to the King's Cross Depot, owned by Charlie Jolson and the Bethnal Green Mob. Frank overheard McCormack talking to several of Charlie's men and noticed counterfeit gear which had been seized on a previous raid. Frank then eavesdropped on a conversation with McCormack and Big Walter, one of Charlie's heavies. McCormack had given Big Walter instructions on how to kill Frank's partner Joe who was in the hospital, in order to silence him from testifying against Jake. Frank was satisfied that he had found crucial evidence against McCormack but realised he had to rush to the hospital to save Joe from the Bethnal Green Mob. When Frank arrived, Joe told him that McCormack has just been killed by Mark Hammond. Frank was disappointed that he cannot use evidence against McCormack but Joe informed him of a secret lock-up on Scoresby Street where Charlie kept his real records. Just then, the police officer guarding Joe's room was shot dead. Frank had to fight the Bethnal Green Mob members and kill or arrest Big Walter. After this, Frank drove to Charlie's lock-up and found the files that Joe was talking about. Frank decided to bust every place on the list, starting with a warehouse in Southwark. At the warehouse, Frank had to sneak past Charlie's men and went downstairs to the cellar where he overheard Charlie talking to Harry and Jake. Charlie told them that once they have all the other gangs on board the Sol Vita along with Mark, Yasmin and Alex, he planned to blow them all up. In particular, Frank heard Charlie explaining how the bomb works that once you pressed the detonator, the bomb starts counting down for three minutes. If you released your finger from the detonator, the bomb would explode instantly. Frank found Mark and Yasmin locked up in a cell. He offered to break them out if they promised to work for him. After an agreement, Frank broke them free and shot his way out of the warehouse. His aim was to follow Jake to the depot. Once he arrived, he found Jake preparing to leave with half the Bethnal Green Mob. They were packing weapons and preparing for a full on gang war. Frank received a phone call from Mark, telling him that Charlie had taken off with Alex. Frank told Mark that they were headed for the Sol Vita on the Thames. Frank drove after Jake to the Sol Vita. They engaged in a shootout resulting in Frank killing Jake and settling the score once and for all. Frank found that Mark, Yasmin and Alex were safe, but he wanted to find Charlie to finish it. Nick Collins and Liam Spencer arrived, with other members of the Collins gang, holding Charlie at gunpoint. Nick ordered Frank to drop his gun or else he would shoot him. Nick, along with the Triads and the Yardies wanted to kill Mark but Frank told them all that Charlie had intended to blow them all up. This saved Mark's life and Mark, Yasmin and Alex were set free, but none of the gangsters wanted to spare Frank because he was a cop. Frank did not care as he thought it would be a disgrace to be saved by criminals. Charlie then went mad and prepared to detonate his own bomb. Nick prepared to shoot Charlie but Frank stopped him saying that if Charlie let go of the detonator, it would blow them all up. Everyone then panicked and tried to leave. Frank fought his way through the carnage and jumped off the boat at the last second just before it engulfed in flames. Frank landed in the water as the ship exploded behind him. Ultimately he escaped the Sol Vita alive but came within seconds of being killed.
Aftermath[]
Frank Carter may have been so disgusted by the events of The Getaway that he didn't want to be part of the police anymore, but it's pretty hard to believe. Aboard the Sol Vita, he proudly says that he's a cop and that it will be a long fucking day in January before he begs for help from criminal trash. Furthermore, he probably used the files he found earlier in Scoresby Street to clear his name once and for all. And even though it wasn't enough, he had Joe Fielding's testimony to corroborate his version of the facts. So, it's likely that he was able to reintegrate the Flying Squad to do his job like he always did. Also, some players of the game think that Carter may have replaced McCormack and became the new head of the Flying Squad.
Personality[]
Frank Carter is a Dirty Harry-esque cop. He takes no nonsense from anybody and is prepared to kill if necessary. Frank is the type to put his job first and foremost. Frank is friendly with his partner Joe and many of his fellow officers, but he hates his boss McCormack. Frank's aim is to clean up all of London from the four gangs, in particular, the legendary Bethnal Green Mob and its leader Charlie Jolson. After he is suspended, however, Frank prepares to bend the rules in order to achieve the goal. His philosophy is that the police force is corrupted and that he does what he believes is right. Frank has an understanding side to him as he learns the truth about Mark Hammond that he is innocent and being controlled by Charlie. When Frank finds out that Mark is also wanting to defeat Charlie, they both form an alliance.
Murders Committed by Frank Carter[]
- Jake Jolson - Killed in "Showdown with Jake" for being affiliated with the Bethnal Green Mob and a criminal. He is also the archenemy of Frank Carter.
Optional:[]
- Big Walter - Killed in "Do the World a Favour" for being affiliated with the Bethnal Green Mob, a criminal and trying to assassinate Frank's friend Joe . If not killed, he is arrested.
Mission Appearances[]
- Aiding and Abetting (cutscene only)
- The Prodigal Son (cutscene only)
- Aboard the Sol Vita (cutscene only)
- The Bargain Basement (first chronological appearance)
- Show some Remorse
- Disturbance in Soho
- Painting the Town Red
- Escort Duty
- The Vigilante
- Stalking McCormack
- Do the World a Favour
- The Jolson Files
- Meet Mark Hammond
- Showdown with Jake
- Land of Hope and Glory
Trivia[]
- In the mission, The Vigilante, Frank starts out driving a black 1990 Saab 900 Generation 1, which rather ironically has a rear tail light out. This is presumably Frank's own car.
- Carter is known by many people on both sides of the law, and is renowned for his ambition is to bring the Jolson's to justice . It is mentioned several times in the games' dialogue.
- Charlie seems to have had a number of problems caused by Carter, as he loses his temper when he finds out he was responsible for Jake's arrest and uses the phrase "him again!". It could also imply that this wasn't the first time Frank has taken his nephew into custody.
- The name Carter may have been taken from the 1971 gangster film, Get Carter. This film is said to have been a major influence on The Getaway. It could also been taken from the 70's British cop show, The Sweeney. One of the members of the Flying Squad in this show has the last name of Carter.
- As he is a police officer, Frank Carter is able to use this as an excuse to steal cars. Oddly he doesn't get into trouble for stealing cars when he is suspended.
- Unlike Ben Mitchell, Frank Carter picks up any guns from the ground and when he is finished with it, he drops it on the floor.
- Although part of the Metropolitan Police Service, he is stationed at Snow Hill. Snow Hill is actually part of the City of London Police Force. These are two different police forces.