Hostile Negotiation/Walkthrough

The following is a walkthrough of the mission Hostile Negotiation in Grand Theft Auto IV.

Grab the Assault Rifle outside of the warehouse as extreme firepower is needed, especially in the warehouse which is full of cover, and guards. At first, the thugs will not notice you. Using the element of surprise, take a burst of shots at a group of enemies and aim for the heads. Take out every guard from the first floor while in cover. Some are in cover too, so go inside and finish them. Remember to always take cover, and try to kill any guards on upper floors too. Walk up the stairs to the second floor and look to your right. About five goons are hiding. Shoot them and use their cover to kill the rest of the people on the second floor. It is possible to shoot the fuel tanks that are out of the crate, causing a large scale explosion, ending any nearby enemies. There is a guard just before the stairs to the third floor, who will drop some well needed armour once killed, should you need it.

Make your way to the third floor and shoot the goons on the roof that become visible, one shot is enough to send them sliding and the fall will kill them. The last guard has heavy armor and will need several shots to kill. Walk into the last room after he is dead and a cutscene shows Roman Bellic and an unknown kidnapper emerge from the back of the room. The kidnapper has Roman in a chokeheld, with a gun to his head. Take cover, and quickly free aim at the killer's head. If you take too long, the kidnapper will fire at Niko, and eventually execute Roman. Use any gun, but the pistol is the safest, and shoot the kidnapper.

Once Roman Bellic is freed, a scene will play where Roman will thank Niko for his rescue. Follow Roman and get into the nearby Bobcat, and drive him to your safehouse in Bohan. Make sure the truck doesn't hit any explosive barrels near the warehouse as this will blow you up.

After this Roman reveals his gambling addiction and also a few in-game hours after you drop Roman off, he will call you to inform that he has purchased a new penthouse in Middle Park East, Algonquin to hide from Dimitri. You can now use that as your safehouse. Also because Roman is making a great deal of money, he's bought a new fleet of cabs for his Cab Service. Instead of the rusty old Esperantos, it's now black Cavalcades.

Alternative strategy

To reduce the number of enemies on the ground floor, do not approach the icon at the entrance to the factory; it will trigger a cutscene and force Niko to enter the building. Instead, stay well clear of the doors and equip the sniper rifle. It is possible to take out several targets if you're quick enough. The gun battle will then begin (the icon will disappear, meaning the cutscene is not shown). The gunmen will not exit the building, though you can get hit by bullets. Careful tossing of grenades through the doorway can reduce the enemy count further.

When you're ready to enter, do so and proceed through the mission as described above. Remember to duck, as there is no cutscene to automatically do this and you will still be targeted by gunmen above and in the further corners of the main level.