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Grand Theft Auto V

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OnlineGTA Online
All missions
The Third Way, Lester Crest
Ending

The Third Way

Lester Crest

Ending6 gold medals
Mission giver
Lester Crest
Playable
Franklin Clinton, Michael De Santa, Trevor Philips
Location
Lester's House, Grand Banks Steel Foundry, Del Perro Pier, BJ Smith Recreational Center, Pacific Bluffs Country Club, Devin Weston's Mansion, Paleto Cove
Target
*Devin Weston *Steve Haines *Stretch *Wei Cheng *Merryweather Security *FIB
Unlocked by
The Big Score
Unlocks
Story Complete, Mrs. Philips, Hot Rod Blazer for Trevor

Player notes

Franklin chooses the Deathwish option and meets Lester Crest at Lester's House. He explains that Steve Haines and Dave Norton want Trevor dead, while Devin Weston wants Michael killed. Lester proposes baiting the FIB and Merryweather into Grand Banks Steel Foundry with a story that the crew is melting down their gold. Franklin collects Lamar Davis from his house and takes him to the foundry, leaving Lamar outside to watch for trouble.

Inside, Franklin finds Michael De Santa and Trevor Philips still arguing. He forces them to put their dispute aside as Lamar reports the FIB's arrival. The three men ambush the agents and Merryweather forces, holding the foundry against successive attacks. Franklin goes outside to save Lamar when he is pinned down. Michael later fights through the foundry after Trevor stops responding, finds him alive, and joins him in clearing the remaining attackers before they regroup with Franklin and Lamar outside.

Outside the main doors, the trio decides to remove the people who have threatened them. Franklin contacts Lester for their locations. Franklin goes to Pacific Bluffs Country Club and kills Wei Cheng before escaping the Triads. Michael heads to the BJ Smith Recreational Center, confronts Stretch and kills him, then gets away from the Ballas. Trevor travels to Del Perro Pier, brings down Steve Haines during his television appearance and loses the police.

Trevor then drives to Devin Weston's Mansion, where Merryweather guards protect Devin. He kills the guards and finds Devin hiding in a crate. With Devin locked in the trunk of his car, Trevor takes him to the rendezvous at Paleto Cove, where Michael and Franklin are waiting. The three men push the car over the cliff and into the ocean with Devin still inside.

Objectives

22 steps

In the order the game gives them. The unnumbered steps only appear if you go off script.

  1. 1Go pick up Lamar at his house.
  2. 2Go to the foundry.
  3. 3Enter the foundry.
  4. 4Ambush the FIB team when ready.
  5. 5Go to Lamar.
  6. 6Take out the attackers.
  7. 7Rescue Trevor.
  8. 8Take out the attackers.
  9. 9Go outside.
  10. 10Take out the attackers.
  11. 11Regroup outside the main doors.
  12. 12Get rid of Mr. Cheng.
  13. 13Escape the Triads.
  14. 14Take out Stretch.
  15. 15Escape the Ballas.
  16. 16Bring down Haines.
  17. 17Lose the cops.
  18. 18Go to Devin's house.
  19. 19Kidnap Devin.
  20. 20Take out the guards.
  21. 21Go to the rendezvous point.
  22. 22Finish Devin.

Gold medal

6 requirements

Every one of these in a single run earns the medal. Replaying the mission later counts.

  • Time

    Complete within 21:30.

  • Headshots

    Kill 20 enemies with a headshot.

  • Accuracy

    Finish with a shooting accuracy of at least 70%.

  • Stick, Tick... Boom!

    Kill Cheng with a Sticky Bomb.

  • Lead Lobotomy

    Kill Steve Haines with a headshot.

  • Stretched Out

    Kill Stretch with a melee attack.

Rewards

Achievements
To Live or Die in Los SantosCareer Criminal (If 100% Completion is achieved)

Mission failed if

Any of these fails the mission and sends you back to the last checkpoint.

  • ร—Wasted
  • ร—Busted
  • ร—Franklin/Michael/Trevor died.
  • ร—Mr. Cheng/Stretch was lost.
  • ร—Haines was abandoned.
  • ร—Trevor missed his chance to kill Haines and cops are swarming in.
  • ร—Lamar died.
  • ร—Lamar was abandoned.
  • ร—The fight was abandoned.
  • ร—Police attention was attracted to Devin's house.
  • ร—Devin died.
  • ร—Devin died before he could be disposed of properly.
  • ร—Devin was abandoned.
  • ร—Devin's car was abandoned.
  • ร—Devin's car was destroyed.
  • ร—Devin's car got stuck.
  • ร—The wrong person alerted Stretch/Haines/Mr. Cheng, bringing heat down on the crew.
  • ร—The wrong person killed Stretch/Haines/Mr. Cheng, bringing heat down on the crew.

Trivia

  • โ—†For the first time in the series, all the major antagonists are killed in the same mission.
  • โ—†When Michael says "Be very afraid" to Franklin, it may be a reference to the 1986 movie The Fly.
  • โ—†Michael's last quote in this mission, "I'm getting too old for this nonsense" might be a reference to or parodying Danny Glover's famous line, "I'm too old for this shit" in the Lethal Weapon film series. This is the second reference to the film franchise after Michael brought Martin Madrazo's house down in Marriage Counseling.
  • โ—†The achievement "To Live or Die in Los Santos", which is acquired after beating the final mission, is a reference to the 1985 film To Live and Die in L.A..
  • โ—†It may also be a reference to the GTA IV mission To Live and Die in Alderney.
  • โ—†This is confirmed to be the canon ending of the game through several updates in GTA Online.
  • โ—†In The Diamond Casino & Resort mission Casino - Strong Arm Tactics, when driving Tao Cheng and his translator to Pacific Bluffs Country Club, Cheng will proclaim that he was almost killed there; in this ending, Franklin finds him and his father at the mentioned club, killing the latter.
  • โ—†In addition, in The Contract mission On Course, Franklin will mention Michael as a movie producer in 2021 during the chase through the Backlot City lot, and later Trevor as being retired in 2022 according to Ron in Los Santos Drug Wars.
  • โ—†Furthermore, Raf De Angelis mentions in the mission New Listings - Due Diligence as part of the Money Fronts update that Devin's mansion has "been empty over a decade" - the update is set in 2025, twelve years after the events of GTA V.
  • โ—†Michael appears as a well-known movie producer in A Safehouse in the Hills, which is set in late 2025. In Michael's introductory cutscene upon the GTA Online Protagonist purchasing a Prix Luxury Estate Mansion, Devin is brought up using the past tense, confirming he is dead.
  • โ—†During the opening cutscene, Lester asks if Franklin's problem might be that "someone has the same tattoo as him". This line is also said by one of the DJs on Vinewood Boulevard Radio during one of the segments in between songs.
  • โ—†Despite being referred to as FIB, the tactical units at the foundry use the NOOSE model which has "POLICE" written on the front and back, unlike the FIB tactical teams in The Wrap Up who wear uniforms with "FIB" on the back.
  • โ—†Following the conclusion of the foundry battle, the game will autosave, most likely as a reason to prevent progress loss if the game crashes or is closed mid-mission. Should the game be closed, then reopened, the save file will load at the point where the three protagonists split up to take out their targets. This instance of the game autosaving and being able to be loaded within a mission is the only such occasion in the entirety of Grand Theft Auto V.
  • โ—†During this mission, Michael's car's rims are changed from the dollar rims to a completely different set of black rims, possibly the "GT One" wheels (unless the player has already customized the car). After the mission is completed and during the time when Michael murders Stretch, they will change back to the dollar rims.
  • โ—†After Trevor has killed Haines and escaped from the police, the radio station in his Bodhi will be tuned to Channel X and My War by Black Flag will always play. Similarly, when Trevor enters Weston's Tornado after putting him in the trunk, the radio station will be tuned in to Los Santos Rock Radio, and the track I Wouldn't Want To Be Like You by The Alan Parsons Project will always play.
  • โ—†The former can be subverted if Trevor takes another vehicle while losing the cops after killing Haines.
  • โ—†It is possible to keep Devin's Tornado as Trevor. Drive the car to Los Santos Customs or Beeker's Garage, and purchase a vehicle modification. Then exit the garage, continue to the rendezvous point, and finish the mission. Afterwards, the car can be retrieved from the Impound Garage for $250.
  • โ—†Michael and Trevor's outfits are scripted in this mission. Michael will always wear a brown leather jacket with jeans (which he is also scripted to wear in The Time's Come) and Trevor will wear his default white T-shirt and skinny jeans.
  • โ—†Should Trevor reach the rendezvous point at least one in-game minute after 20:00, the game will cycle the time to the next 20:00, which is equal to almost one in-game day.
  • โ—†The song that plays in the cutscene when Trevor waits for Michael and Franklin is Dog by Wavves. The song is not featured on any of the radio stations.
  • โ—†Trevor's "So now what?" quote that is used in this mission was initially meant to be used in Blitz Play, according to the gameplay trailer.
  • โ—†Sometimes when the game ends and switches to Trevor during the credits, he may be listening to Los Santos Rock Radio, though the song playing may be from Radio Mirror Park, Vinewood Boulevard Radio, or Radio Los Santos.
  • โ—†After completing this mission, if the player switches to Michael, Dave Norton will call and say that he hopes Michael is "behaving" himself. If the player gets a wanted level, Norton will call again and tell Michael to stop causing trouble. This only happens for the first wanted level obtained after completing the mission.
  • โ—†The internet news article about Stretch's death mentions that he was killed a couple of months after being released from prison. This suggests that the events of the storyline happen over the course of at least two in-game months.
  • โ—†The ending music is The Setup by Favored Nations. This song can also be heard on Radio Mirror Park.
  • โ—†If the player fails and exits the mission, the ending song will instead be Don't Come Close by Yeasayer, which is also heard on Radio Mirror Park.
View on GTA Wiki โ†’

Mission data from GTA Wiki, CC BY-SA. Not affiliated with Rockstar Games.

Last verified September 14, 2026