Southwest City, Phone 2: Caukenbolls, Curly and the bomb-cab ambush

Prerequisite: second phone, not a second mission tier

In When We Were Very Small, answer the second of the four Southwest City phones from the left. Completing Phone 1 first is not required. This assignment repeatedly switches between passenger protection, interception and a fight on foot. Reaching the first building therefore does not finish it. Remember the vehicles by their roles: the initially armoured taxi, the kidnapped passenger’s taxi and the prepared bomb cab belong to different stages. A similar-looking random vehicle does not replace a specifically designated mission car. Learn the Westminster–City–Mile End connections in advance; the chain later extends into Soho as well.

Vehicles and destination changes

This sequence explains objective order, rather than providing a scale map. District labels follow the mission messages; older FAQs sometimes call the later pickup area Central rather than East Mile End.

Step by step

Let the boarding confirmation happen at each pickup. Merely having driven close to the passenger does not complete these interactions.

1. Collect the designated London Cab in East City. Take it to Bobby at the Armour Shoppe in Southwest Westminster for the requested armour. The message following the workshop visit confirms that you have moved into the pickup stage.
2. Drive to the hotel in West City. This first pickup is documented as a 30-second leg. Brake before reaching the passenger rather than striking him on arrival, and wait until Mr. Caukenbolls is actually inside the car.
3. Take him to the building in Southeast Mile End. This journey is also documented as a 30-second leg. Drive through the indicated roller door and let the delivery register; simply stopping outside the building is insufficient.
4. You are now told to meet Curly behind the building. Obtain a fast, accessible car first and leave it ready for departure. Speaking to Curly triggers the timed rescue, so do not begin searching for transport after hearing his report.
5. After Curly’s message, head to Southeast City around the Tower of London. The target taxi travels west on the broad four-lane road there. Also follow the current mission arrow, since this is a moving vehicle rather than a permanently parked pickup.
6. Stop its progress and take over the taxi without killing Caukenbolls. Heavy gunfire or explosives against the vehicle defeat the protection objective. What matters is the rescue confirmation with the passenger alive, rather than destruction of the kidnappers’ car.
7. Deliver the rescued man to the secure hideout in East Mile End and trigger the drop-off. This is a separate journey after the interception; the preceding rescue countdown is not an instruction to complete the entire return trip within that same allowance.
8. Next collect the specifically prepared London Cab nearby. It already carries explosives intended for the gang hideout in Northwest City. You do not need to take an arbitrary taxi on an additional visit to a bomb shop.
9. Drive to the indicated destination in Northwest City. As soon as you reach the drop-off point and receive the exit instruction, leave the bomb taxi immediately. Do not remain inside waiting for another message; the sequence triggered here leads into the ambush.
10. Collect the provided armour and flamethrower from the crates and fight your way out of the courtyard. Watch the flames and the exploding car. Clear the immediate danger area rather than remaining beside the charge to reach one extra enemy.
11. Leave in an accessible car. Lose your wanted level if possible before entering the next mission Cab in Southeast Soho. Another passenger chain follows, and unnecessary police fights consume time and vehicle condition.
12. Take this final taxi to the next pickup in East Mile End. Wait for Caukenbolls to board again. Then deliver him to the hotel in North Soho, driving through the roller door on the SOUTH SIDE of the block. The success message confirms completion, rather than reaching the address or the wrong building face.

Timing and keeping the passenger alive

Curly’s conversation is the important preparation boundary: a fast car can be ready beforehand, whereas afterwards you must intercept the kidnapping transport. Written sources disagree between 20 and 25 seconds for that rescue. Follow your displayed timer and do not treat either figure as guaranteed spare time. The concluding taxi pickup/hotel stage is documented as a 70-second phase; watch when its countdown actually begins instead of assuming that boarding restarts it. The VIP needs protection and is not invulnerable. At his first and final pickups, stopping under control matters more than one last burst of acceleration. During the rescue you must take a moving vehicle while preserving its occupant; an exploded taxi is not a successful extraction. Curly must also remain unharmed.

Tell the failure causes apart

Here, a new arrow often means a different task with a different vehicle. Check the latest message before concluding that the route itself is wrong.

FAQ: completion, retrying and original-version boundaries

Does the kidnapping prove that I failed the first taxi delivery? No: it belongs to the subsequent mission chain. Must I rescue the VIP from the bomb taxi after the attack? No: he was delivered to the secure hideout beforehand; the next explicit pickup happens later. What finishes at the last roller door? This phone chain. The chapter’s 100,000-point target and its ending are separate. How do I repeat a failed stage? Plan a fresh chapter attempt for a complete replay; the original sequence does not provide a freely selectable modern checkpoint for these sections. Continuing to drive after failure does not reset the chain to Curly or the bomb cab. This walkthrough covers London 1961 on PC only. London 1969 on PlayStation, modern GTA taxi mechanics, modified timers and external save states are not treated as equivalent editions. Use your configured PC controls rather than borrowing console buttons from another London guide.