Departure Time

"You're a pill-popping old queen, man. I'm a murdering maniac. But we survived, bro...we survived."

- Luis Lopez

"We did more than survive, amigo. We prospered. We took on this town and we won. We took on this place and we gave it the fucking finger. Fuck you all! I don't care what people say. Tony Prince and Luis Lopez could not be stopped."

- Gay Tony

Departure Time is the final storyline mission in The Ballad of Gay Tony. Since dialogue states that "Rascalov is dead" by a goon in the mission, the mission would take place sometime after the mission A Dish Served Cold (if the Revenge option is chosen), or after the mission A Revenger's Tragedy (if the Deal option is chosen). This would mean that the mission takes place after the events of Grand Theft Auto IV, and is also the final mission in the entire Grand Theft Auto IV trinity.

Description
After a heated argument in Gay Tony's apartment between he and Luis Lopez over how Luis seriously contemplated killing Tony (on orders of Rocco Pelosi and Uncle Vince), and how it has lead to Tony being wanted by the Bulgarin Family and the Ancelotti Family thus making his life completely unsafe, Luis and Tony agree to do one final mission together; they must confront and defeat Ray Bulgarin (who was a minor antagonist in Grand Theft Auto IV) at the Funland in Broker, and also destroy the Heroin he has stashed there. During the ride there, Luis and Tony agree that Tony -- who will not go home or to the clubs due to how he is heavily wanted -- will wait around the Dukes Monoglobe, and Luis, if he survives will rendezvous with him there.

Mission objectives
In order to complete the mission the player must:
 * Go to Crocket Ave
 * Go into Funland
 * Destroy the heroin
 * Get to the other side of Funland
 * Destroy the remaining heroin shipment
 * Take out Timur and get to the airport in 2 hours
 * Get on the bike
 * Get to Dukes Expressway
 * Follow Yusuf to the airport
 * Chase after The Blue Ghawar jet
 * Take out Bulgarin's men
 * Execute Bulgarin
 * Go to the Dukes Monoglobe

10 0% O bje cti ves
Complete the mission in under 10:00

Take less than 50% damage

Kill 25 enemies via headshots

Have 70% Accuracy

Enemies

 * Bulgarin Family
 * Ray Bulgarin
 * Timur

Walkthrough
After the intense cutscene, drive to the funland in Broker (don't get the car, you or Tony killed). Once there, Tony leaves for Meadows Park. After potentially hearing Timur comment that Dimitri Rascalov is dead (thus proving this mission takes place after or during the end of Grand Theft Auto IV depending on which ending was taken), Luis must destroy three duck-shaped bins containing heroin. Shoot your way through Ray's guards, sticking to cover, as the theme park is a maze with dozens of ways to be flanked and surrounded. Rifles and explosives are a good way to clear a path. Taking out the nearby vans often destroys the bins and is fairly simple, especially if you have the Explosive Shotgun, which can wreck the vans in a few shots from a considerable distance.

After taking out all three, Luis discovers that Ray isn't there. Take a moment to recuperate health if you need to, from the First Aid Kit near the last van, or with the food vendors on the boardwalk, who can be accessed during the mission, and pick up the body armor. Shoot your way through the east side of Funland, taking down more guards and destroying one last bin at the far end of the area. In a minor cutscene, Timur arrives with backup and tells Luis that he's too late - Bulgarin is about to escape back to Europe in a private jet. Quickly, equip a weapon and kill Timur before he has a chance to get away, then take control of a Bati Custom found nearby.

Luis is now to head to the airport via Dukes Expressway. Along the way Yusuf Amir calls, and Luis will inform him of the situation. Yusuf offers his assistance, but Luis declines. However, upon reaching the Expressway, Yusuf will appear in his gold Buzzard. The player now must follow him - he will destroy any Russians along the way with homing missiles (that, strangely, are unusable -- only the non-homing missles can be used).

After finally reaching the airport, Yusuf wishes Luis good luck. Make your way to the runway, where you see Bulgarin's blue Ghawar preparing to take off. During this time you must catch up to it before it departs. Make sure to lean forward on the bike during straight to get a little extra speed boost. Be ready to turn right, as the plane will make a sudden turn to the right. Now, gain as much speed as possible. A Russian will appear on the stairway of the plane. Take him out and get close to the stairs to trigger a short cutscene; another goon shows up. Luis shoots him off the plane and spectacularly jumps onboard. Once inside, you must take out the last of Bulgarin's goons. After taking them out, Bulgarin finally comes out of the cockpit, face to face with Luis, with a grenade in his hands. Bulgarin threatens Luis that he will activate the grenade, killing both himself and Luis, if Luis shoots. However, Luis says that he will take his chances. Execute Bulgarin and he will activate the grenade as his last action. The jet then explodes in mid air - blasted in half. Miraculously still alive, Luis finds a parachute and dives out of the jet as it nosedives into the sea. Luis parachutes back to Liberty City as "No Security-Kerris" plays. Now, get back on the road and head to the Monoglobe to conclude the mission.

Upon arriving, a cutscene will be played that shows a homeless man walking the street and looking for food. Luis bumps into him, spilling a trash can. Luis will help him up and walk away, after which the homeless man finds a stash of diamonds - Bulgarin's diamonds. He then walks away laughing with joy. Later in the credits, he can be seen in a mansion in Westdyke full of women, in which he will be dancing on the diving board.

Tony will meet Luis and make amends, Tony reflecting on how he squandered his ambition to see the world by going to Algonquin, where '...the world came to me.' Luis still remains a little cynical, amused that two such different people have become so close. Yusuf shows up and greets the duo, later mentioning that he wants to franchise the clubs. Tony points out that his clubs are more about the people than the style, Yusuf replies "Whip out your dick and piss all over them!", as the three friends walk away, thus ending the game and the Grand Theft Auto IV Era.

After the Mission

 * Completing this mission unlocks Yusuf's Golden Buzzard, much like his Super Drop Diamond, to be collected from the Helipad on the West River in Algonquin - and as a result, replaces the Swift there. Also, the player can now call Henrique for an APC, Armando for a Gold SMG, and finally the ability to replay all the storyline missions is now available from the phone, under the "Missions" text.

Deaths

 * Timur - Killed by Luis for threatening the lives of Tony and himself.
 * Ray Bulgarin - Killed by Luis for threatening and attempting to murder him and Tony.

Trivia

 * It should be noted that Tony says that he is going to hide in Middle Park, not Meadows Park, but he still mentions the Monoglobe, and Luis tells him to hide there.
 * It is possible to detach the parachute and the player will not fail the mission unless Luis falls to the shore and dies. If the parachute is detached above the ocean, Luis will land in the ocean and survive, but it will take a while to swim to shore.
 * The song featured in the parachute scene after Ray's death and Luis' clever remark was No Security by Kelis Ft. The Crookers, this song can also be heard on Electro-Choc.
 * Ray's clothes might change if the mission is replayed frequently.
 * It is possible to kill the Russian shooting at you from the plane's set of stairs, and his body will fall off the plane, but the cutscene of Luis shooting him still plays normally.
 * Strangely, Luis asks Tony to hide not far from Bulgarin's house.
 * The Bati Custom used in this mission is scripted to never outrun Yusuf's Buzzard, meaning it will never get caught in Yusuf's rocket blasts, likely to make this mission easier. It is also the only mission to obtain it in TBOGT.
 * The four-star wanted level earned for entering the airport is also scripted differently; although the wanted level is earned normally, no police officers will spawn in the airport. This was also likely done to make the mission easier, as trying to catch up to the plane while evading police vehicles would be near impossible.
 * Oddly, Luis was not wearing a parachute before entering the plane, and there wouldn't have been any time to take one inside the plane; due to the explosion inside the plane, there would have been no chance of Luis' survival, as everyone inside would have been sucked out when the cabin depressurized.
 * This mission has a similar resemblance to the GTA SA mission Stowaway. Luis and Carl must enter the plane by riding the motorcycle given to them up the runway onto either a ramp or stair case. Once on the plane, they need to kill all the passengers on board and complete the main objective. Once finished, the mission ends with Luis and Carl jumping from the destroyed aircraft, and parachuting back down to the ground from extreme heights.
 * It seems slightly unrealistic that while so many shots were fired inside the plane, none of the windows were shattered by bullets, which would be a major risk, seeing as it would depressurize the entire cabin.
 * During the cutscene where Luis is talking to Tony in the park, you can hear Yusuf landing his golden Buzzard close to them.
 * Timur sometimes mentions Dimitri Rascalov's death in this mission, meaning this mission takes place after the final mission of GTA IV, whichever one is chosen.
 * This is one of two missions to feature both the Diamonds and the Heroin, the other one being The Cousins Bellic.
 * This is one of two missions in TBOGT in which an airplane is destroyed, the other one being Bang Bang.
 * The place in Funland where Luis exits the car is the same place where Roman is picked up by Niko during That Special Someone
 * During the part where Luis has to make his way to the airport, even if the missiles fired from the Buzzard miss the Russian mob's cars, they will still be destroyed.
 * All the Russians that Luis killed inside the Ghawar will disappear when Bulgarin confronts him.
 * This is the only time you enter a plane in the GTA IV Era.

Tips & Tricks

 * Basically, you need to go for the 3rd bin, to your left where you start, the 1st bin. Straight ahead where you start, the 2nd bin, in between bins 1 and 3, and then the 4th bin, to your right where you start. Chase after Timur and kill him.
 * The amusement park is full of propane tanks, and enemies just love to stand by them- shoot the tanks to save bullets.
 * Many surrounding buildings are climbable- stand on them to quick kills to make the time limit, stocking up on sniper rifle ammo beforehand will assist you further.
 * Whilst chasing Bulgarin's jet, push the left stick (XBOX 360/PLAYSTATION 3 controller) forward to increase speed.
 * As you're parachuting to the Monoglobe, hold the left stick (XBox 360/PLAYSTATION 3 controller) back to save airtime and not have to find a car and follow the rules of the roads.
 * After destroying all bins, and Luis and Timur's conversation, quickly get out of cover and use any powerful weapon to kill him around the corner This is best done with the Explosive Shotgun.
 * While parachuting out of the jet, you can release the parachute by pressing Y (X360) or Triangle (PS3) which will make you fall into the water. Best to do this when you can see Luis' arrow next to the ground on the mini-map, but still in the water area. You can swim to shore, find a car (there is a Turismo in Beachgate) and drive to waypoint, which can save a lot of time if done correctly.

Gallery
Departure Time Departure Time