These guys think that they're better than me. They think they can fuck me around and beat me up because there are more of them. Not any longer. Me and you, Niko, me and you are going to show them. Fucking Dardan smashing my fucking stuff. Who does he think he is? Just some fucking petty Albanian hood. If I wanted to buy a stolen TV I'd go to Dardan. Who does he think he's fucking with? Bellic Enterprises, that's who. We're going to the top, Niko, the top.
As Niko nears Michelle's Apartment for his first date, Roman calls to ask him for help; the Albanian Mafia loan sharks have him trapped on the basketball courts in Firefly Projects. The player can choose to either ignore this call completely, ignore Roman's call for help and continue with dating Michelle, or skip the date and attend Roman (if this happens Niko will later apologize to Michelle and will have another chance to date her).
If either of the first two options are chosen, following the date with Michelle Niko receives an angry phone call from Roman asking him to pick him up from the hospital. This is not considered part of the mission (i.e. there is no reward for doing this). Soon after returning Roman to the depot, Roman will call Niko again telling him that he's under attack, at which point the mission proceeds as it would have had Niko skipped the date earlier.
The player must follow the radar blip to the basketball courts. Upon reaching the basketball courts, Bledar approaches Niko, while Kalem continues to beat up Roman.
An onscreen tutorial walks the player through melee combat techniques. The player must defeat Bledar and then Kalem in hand-to-hand combat. It is also possible to pick up the baseball bat in front of the Hove Beach Safehouse (it can be found on the weapons map). The player can beat up Bledar and Kalem with this weapon in the mission, or ram through the fence with a vehicle and run them over. Another alternative is to take the shotgun from the police car that spawns at the Hove Beach Police Station close to the Safehouse, then shoot Kalem and Bledar instead.
Go and help Roman.
After fighting off Bledar and Kalem, Dardan waves and gets in his car (beige Willard).
Niko and Roman enter Roman's taxi and chase Dardan.
Dardan has abandoned his car. He's escaping on foot up the staircase.
The chase eventually leads to Twitchin's Sugar Factory in BOABO, where Dardan stops, gets out, and flees up a flight of stairs into the factory, bordered by floor to ceiling windows.
Take out Dardan.
When the player enters the room, Dardan will draw a knife and attack the player. At this point, the game provides instructions on how to disarm an enemy, prompting the player to take Dardan's knife and use it against him. The player can also simply beat Dardan until he crawls over towards a window; hitting him again will trigger a small cutscene in which Dardan falls through the window, onto an overhang, and into the Humboldt River, though the fight is considered over even if this doesn't happen; Niko is considered to have won if the on-screen instruction to return to Roman's car appears.
These guys think that they're better than me. They think they can fuck me around and beat me up because there are more of them. Not any longer. Me and you, Niko, me and you are going to show them. Fucking Dardan smashing my fucking stuff. Who does he think he is? Just some fucking petty Albanian hood. If I wanted to buy a stolen TV I'd go to Dardan. Who does he think he fucking with? Bellic Enterprises, that's who. We're going to the top, Niko, the top.
Niko:
For now, let's just try to survive, cousin.
Roman:
Ever since I get to Hove Beach, Niko, ever since I arrive here I have been pushed around. Vlad, Dardan, Bledar, even Mallorie push me around. Me and you, Niko, me and you are going to be in control from now on. Ain't going to let no one push us around. Going to stand up to all this pimps and loan sharks from now on. Liberty City won't know what hit it, man. We going to own this town, Niko. Mark the words that are coming out of my mouth.
If Dardan gets to the upper floor of the factory, Niko can push him out of a window. Dardan falls into the Humboldt River.
Dardan Petrela:
Ahhhhhhhh!
Niko:
I promised myself I wouldn't kill people here.
If Dardan gets to the upper floor of the factory, he will take out his knife and fight Niko with it. Niko can disarm Dardan and kill him using the knife.
Niko:
You shouldn't play with sharp objects, Dardan.
Niko:
There's what we owe you, Dardan. Nothing else.
Back to the Cab Depot
Niko returns to the car and drives back to the cab depot.
Nice one, cousin. Drive back to the depot, these bruises are starting to pain.
Niko:
These men, these shylocks like Dardan, they always try to squeeze you for everything. A man in Europe, another Russian... Bulgarin. He live on the Adriatic. Believed I owed him money when I did not. He made my life impossible. There was no avoiding him.
Roman:
Did you deal with him like you did Dardan and Bledar?
Niko:
He had too many connections for that. I had to leave. He is one of the reasons I came here.
Roman:
And to see your cousin, of course.
Niko:
Of course.
Roman:
We will have no more problems from now on, cousin. it is all plain sailing straight to the top for you and me.
Niko:
We will see if things are that simple.
Roman:
Will you drive me back to the office, cousin? Argh.
Niko:
What is it?
Roman:
I think he broke my rib. Man that hurts. Shit. I need a massage. We should go out and find some ladies, get some message oil.
Niko:
What about Mallorie, Roman? You shouldn't stay with her if you want to have these threesomes.
Roman:
It doesn't matter. Argh, I think I'm in too much pain anyway. Fuck.
Niko:
You really are American. You don't even swear in our language.
Roman:
You say this now, but soon even you will forget about the Old Country.
Niko:
We shall see. I have reasons to remember it. I saw bad things happen there. You do not know what is it that...
Roman:
Urghgh... I think it must be two ribs. Those fucking punks. What were you saying?
Niko and Roman alight from a bus outside the cab office. Roman then enters.
Roman:
Screw money I owe the Albanians, paying for the cab would be a lot harder. See you later, cousin.
DETERMINANT: Post-Mission Text Message
If First Date was not completed before starting Bleed Out, Niko will get a text message from Michelle while driving Roman back to the cab depot.
Michelle:
(text message) Niko, where did you go? I couldn't find you. Did something important come up? Are you involved with some bad people?
Video Walkthrough[]
Trivia[]
When parked by the taxi at the beginning of the mission, Dardan's car is invincible, even to RPG shots, and the player cannot drive it.
If the player has a wanted level before getting to the basketball court, it will be lost when he goes to help Roman after beating up (or killing) Bledar and Kalem.
The "Mission Passed" song that plays at the end is exclusive to this mission, and will not be heard again at any other time in the game.
If the player shoots Bledar or Kalem with a weapon from a long distance, the objective "Kill Bledar./Kill Kalem." will instantly appear.
If the player pushes Dardan out of the window, Niko will express anger at having killed a man.
The whole traffic during the chase is scripted (as are numerous other missions in the game). The vehicles seen in the traffic are not random: a Bobcat, two Marbelles and two Vigeros are seen in Crockett Avenue, two Mananas, one Marbelle and a Vigero in Mohawk Ave, a Manana, a Marbelle and a Bobcat in Bart Street, a Bus, one Vigero and one Marbelle in Delaware Avenue, two Merits, three Yankees and five Marbelles in southern Mohanet Ave, two Marbelles, one Merit and a Trashmaster in Chicory Street, and one Marbelle and a Pony in northern Mohanet Avenue. Attacking those cars or shooting the drivers' head won't affect the mission, and it is usually not possible to obtain a wanted level in this way.
During the fight with Dardan, he wears a blue and grey undershirt under his jacket, however when he is kicked out of the window, the cutscene will sometimes show him wearing the white undershirt he wore in Three's a Crowd.
If the player abandons Roman's Taxi it will trigger a cutscene of Niko and Roman getting off a Bus, which cannot be used as public transportation during gameplay. The game otherwise won't allow the player to leave in another vehicle, such as Dardan's car. Depending on how much damage was done to Roman's car during the chase, abandoning it may be the only option.
If the player takes Crockett Ave instead of following Dardan, he will drive extremely fast to keep ahead.
If the player kills Roman without attacking Bledar or Kalem before the cutscene, they will walk off like nothing happened. If the player targets them, their health bars will appear red, but getting close to them or attacking will not cause them to fight back or run away. Killing them will also not affect the storyline.
There is a glitch where when the player punches Dardan and causes him to fall out of the window, he will sink into "blue hell", but Niko will act as if he killed him.
There is a somewhat rare glitch where Bledar will be next to impossible to defeat. Even using guns, it takes numerous headshots to kill him. Another glitch that accompanies this is that Roman may inexplicably die while Niko is fighting the thugs. It is unknown what causes this.
If the player drives a vehicle into the basketball court, parks next to Roman, and opens the door, it will instantly kill Roman.
