Departure Time

Departure Time is the final storyline mission in The Ballad of Gay Tony.

Since Timur states that "Rascalov is dead", this means that the mission takes place after the events of Grand Theft Auto IV, and is therefore the final mission in the Grand Theft Auto IV trilogy.

Description
Luis and Tony have a heated argument in Tony's Apartment over Luis contemplating killing Tony on the orders of Rocco Pelosi and Uncle Vince. However, since Luis killed Vince instead, both the Bulgarin Family and the Ancelotti Family are pursuing Tony. After the argument, Luis and Tony agree that they must confront and defeat Ray Bulgarin at the Funland in Hove Beach, Broker, and also destroy the Heroin he has stashed there. Luis and Tony drive there, and Luis tells Tony— who cannot return home or to the clubs for his own safety — to wait by the Monoglobe in Dukes for a few hours. Luis promises to meet Tony there if he survives. Tony leaves for the Monoglobe and a short cutscene plays where Timur comments on Dimitri Rascalov's death, before the player regains control of Luis.

Luis makes his way through the park and destroys four duck-shaped bins containing heroin whilst at the same time killing Ray Bulgarin's guards.

After destroying the bins, Luis discovers that Ray is not in the park. Luis heads to the east side of the park, killing any pursuing guards, and destroys the final bin. After the last bin has been destroyed, Timur arrives with backup and explains to Luis that Bulgarin is at the airport and is heading back to Europe in his private jet. Luis kills Timur before he has a chance to escape, and steals a Bati Custom parked outside the park, which he uses to ride to the airport.

Luis rides to the airport via the Broker-Dukes Expressway. Along the way, Yusuf Amir calls and Luis explains the situation. Yusuf offers to help, but Luis declines. However, upon reaching the Expressway, Yusuf appears in his gold Buzzard. Luis follows Yusuf, who destroys any pursuing Russian vehicles with homing missiles.

After reaching the airport, Yusuf wishes Luis luck and departs. Luis drives onto the runway and sees Bulgarin's jet preparing to take off. The plane's doors open and one of Bulgarin's guards begins shooting at Luis. Luis kills the guard and jumps on the plane's doors before they close. After killing the last of Bulgarin's bodyguards, Bulgarin emerges from the cockpit holding a grenade. Bulgarin threatens to activate the grenade if Luis shoots him, but Luis claims he will "take his chances". Luis executes Bulgarin, who drops the grenade. The pin comes out of the grenade and becomes live, which destroys the jet in mid-air. Luis survives and collects a parachute, and jumps out of the jet before it crashes into the sea. Luis parachutes back to Liberty City. When he reaches land, he meets Tony at the Monoglobe.

Upon arriving, a cutscene plays showing a homeless man walking the street looking for food. Luis bumps into him, which knocks over a bin. Luis helps the man to his feet and walks off, after which the homeless man finds a bag containing Bulgarin's diamonds in the bin. He then walks away laughing with joy.

Tony meets Luis, where the duo make amends. Tony reflects 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 the two men have become so close considering their vastly differing personalities. Yusuf arrives and congratulates the duo for "winning", later mentioning that he wants to franchise the clubs. Tony points out that his clubs are more about the people than the style, before Yusuf replies that Tony should "Whip out your dick and piss all over them!". The three men walk away, which ends the game.

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

Reward

 * The reward for completing this mission is $10,000. Yusuf's Golden Buzzard also becomes available to the player, much like his Super Drop Diamond, and can be collected from the Helipad on the West River in Algonquin.
 * The player can now call Henrique for an APC and Armando for a Gold SMG.

After the Mission

 * The player can replay all the game's storyline missions, via the "missions" section on Luis' phone.

Deaths

 * Timur - Killed by Luis for threatening and attempting to murder him.
 * Ray Bulgarin - Killed by Luis for threatening and attempting to murder him and Tony.
 * Members of the Bulgarin Bratva - Killed by Luis and Yusuf in order to destroy the heroin and to get to Bulgarin's plane.

Tips & Tricks

 * In the first part of the shooting at Funland, after killing the first two goons by the van next to the entrance, instead of go inside the game area, keep going straight towards the beachfront. Then climb up the shops and reach a rooftop, where there's a good vantage point to snipe most of the thugs. From that point aim to the wall near the further dustbin marked with a Rocket Launcher to destroy it quickly instead of going all the way there.
 * Propane tanks can be found in the park, often with Bulgarin's guards standing next to them. Shooting the tanks can kill a number of enemies at once whilst saving ammunition.
 * The explosive shotgun is recommended for killing Timur. The player should leave the automatic cover given after the cutscene, chase him before he turns in the corner and shoot him quickly. This will save a lot of time and the player can go straight to the motorcycle waiting for him.
 * Whilst chasing Bulgarin's jet, pushing the [[Image:PS3 LStick.png|25px|LStick]] (Xbox 360/PLAYSTATION 3 controller) can tilt Luis forward, increasing his speed.
 * When parachuting back to the Monoglobe, holding back the [[Image:PS3 LStick.png|25px|LStick]] (Xbox 360/PLAYSTATION 3 controller) can make the player travel closer towards the Monoglobe. It is possible to even reach the marker while gliding all the way there, making possible to shorten the time.

Trivia

 * During the second dialogue on the way to Funland, Tony says that he is going to hide in Middle Park, despite the Monoglobe being located in Meadows Park. In the first dialogue, Luis mentions Meadows Park correctly.
 * The song featured in the parachute scene after Ray's death and Luis' clever remark is "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.
 * The Bati Custom used in this mission cannot outrun Yusuf's Buzzard, meaning it will never get caught in Yusuf's rocket blasts. This is also the only chance to obtain the Bati Custom in TBoGT.
 * The four-star wanted level earned for entering the airport is also scripted differently. Despite the wanted level being earnt normally, no police officers will spawn in the airport, most likely to make it easier for the player to chase Bulgarin's plane.
 * 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 staircase. 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.
 * 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.
 * If the player kills Bulgarin with other method instead of the execution with a handgun, the cutscene will be reduced to Bulgarin dropping the safety pin of the grenade.
 * After reaching the Ghawar, the clouds moving outside the plane is just an added effect of motion. The vehicle will be suspended mid-air in exactly the same position, regardless of the time taken to kill the guards inside and/or executing Bulgarin.

Navigation
Departure Time Departure Time