I took a couple of days to myself – wasn't really in the right mindset to be writing, but I woke up feeling a lot better today, so… let's get it done!

So, when it comes to songs I listened to, I listened to GR4VES from the soundtrack for this chapter as well as 23 (Hence the name), so… I had to find another song for this chapter. So, Snake Oil – because Foals were playing.

22:30, 11th August, 2089

Drake Avenue, Northside Industrial District, Watson

Robbie pushed the doors open and walked through the lobby; it was about as rundown as the exterior of the building. It was good, people didn't look twice at the place. Meanwhile, when walking inside, one would simply see a couple of bloodstains on the walls and some Edge graffiti – that was enough to send most people away.

Robbie's black shoes clicked against the floor as he glanced over to the boys in the corner, adorned with tattoos, and scars of hash marks carved upon their arms and necks, an asterisk on their shoulder or cheek.

"Robbie," they nodded to him. He continued walking through the lobby and climbed up the stairs to the apartments, walking by Lillia Flowers' place and by Quentin Quick-Fix's pad. He took the last door on the right and, after unlocking it, he climbed down the staircase for two levels until he was in the basement.

It was a long corridor, with the occasional flash of light beating overhead as he walked through the shadows, keeping his shoulders raised like an animal, hands balled into fists, his suit blending and merging with the darkness.

Cold blue lights eventually welcomed him, as did a slowly emerging din of clicking and scraping. He clasped the wrought iron railing and strode down the grated staircase, looking over the dozens of individuals on the floor below that assembled and packaged guns and ammunitions. Rifles, handguns, LMGs – it was nothing short of an armoury. The air was thick with the smell of gun oil and sweat, and the sound of metal clanking against metal echoed off the walls. The one place in Night City were people still worked.

Robbie walked along on the walkway until he came to the office, noticing the light was already on. He took his case from inside his coat and pulled out a cigarette, placing it in his mouth and taking a long sigh, preparing himself for the explanations. He lit the cigarette and then opened the door to the office.

Inside were two people. Mimi, the Chinese woman with unblemished skin and neon-yellow Kiroshis, sat in a silver bodysuit, exposing the numerous burn marks on her hip and down her leg. On the other side of the room was Dwayne, a year younger and an inch shorter than Robbie. He was scratching a small scar of an asterisk on the side of his scalp before smoothing his own dark hair back. He was clad in a worn grey tank-top and a pair of crimson loose-fits. His bare arms were littered in hash marks and asterisks – proof of his prowess.

"You've been gone a while," Dwayne remarked.

"Had a meeting," Robbie said, taking off his jacket and hanging it up next to Dwayne's wine-red denim cut-off. "Just us?"

"She's out."

Robbie flicked his tongue across his teeth and let out a short breath to show his annoyance. "Well, if she isn't here, she isn't here," he said, walking around the desk and taking his seat. He popped the cigarette in his mouth and tapped the base of his palm, ejecting the plug of a thin black wire, which he extracted and plugged into the computer terminal. "Dwayne, I need ten men at each property, each with guns and ammunition."

"Each property?" Dwayne frowned, crossing his arms.

"Problem?"

"Not a problem, I'm just wonderin' what this meetin' might've been about for you to wanna tool up like this."

Robbie stared up at the other man with his dark eyes, the cigarette still hanging out of his mouth. Finally, Robbie took a drag and removed the cigarette before rubbing his eye. "The meeting went perfectly, Dwayne. Redford needed a favour, and I delivered."

"We've never done work for Corpo's, Robert."

"We never ran guns until last year either," Robbie replied. "Now, ten men at each location, including here. The rest, I want out, actively patrolling, but no killing. Not yet."

"What if someone shoots at us?"

Robbie stood up and stared back at Dwayne, who had his same dark eyes. "Do I really need to say it?"

"Well, it's all 'shoot people, don't shoot people'…"

Robbie cast his eyes over to Mimi for a moment. "Okay, Dwayne… you can shoot people if they're being really nasty to you," he said finally, resting his cigarette in the ashtray and crossing one leg over the other. "Any other questions?"

"Yeah, why are we helping out Corps?"

"It's a deal. Favour for a favour."

"And you really trust 'em to not stab us in the back?" Mimi asked.

Robbie tossed a small red shard onto the desk. "This is a shard that a dozen people have died over this month," he said. "Redford thinks he has it. And he has used that to leverage position in Arasaka."

"So?" Dwayne scoffed.

"So now we have leverage," Robbie explained. "If anyone else at Arasaka finds out we have the shard, Redford's finished there. Just in case he thinks about breaching contract."

"What contract?" Dwayne asked, still thumbing his black goatee.

Robbie turned to the monitor and produced a still: a black tablet with the Arasaka logo, his thumb pressed against the screen, next to a chunk of writing and a number at the bottom – '01/23'.

"That is an agreement for Arasaka to lease out Ebunike docks to us over the next seventy-five years for ten percent of our gross profits per shipment-"

"We're paying Arasaka to use the same docks?" Mimi asked.

"We're doin' the same thing and makin' less now, Robert…" Dwayne groaned.

"No, now it's not going to be a couple of crates missing off a ship," Robbie explained. "Now, we're going to have Chicago send in cargo – completely for us. Guns, ammunition, blue grass, smash, black lace, glitter…"

"Movin' in on drugs?" Mimi asked quietly, crossing her arms. "That's kinda Maelstrom territory, isn't it?"
"I'll worry about them," Robbie replied. "Dwayne, we can move most of our men from Ebunike – we're in bed with Arasaka now, might as well use their samurai…"

"As long as they're not the ones fuckin' us…" Dwayne murmured as he stook up and made his way to the door, picking up his jacket.

"There's always someone fucking us, Dwayne," Robbie retorted. "Put the word out – six o'clock this morning, recruitment and training. Find whoever can push product for us in the waterfront."

"Sounds like you're starting a war, Robert," Dwayne replied as he pulled on his coat.

"War's already started, Dwayne," Robbie said as he looked out over the factory floor, watching the guns be packaged up in racks and crates, loaded with ammunition, "we're just picking up our guns, is all."

They were already turning a profit, of course, but it was peanuts. A few thousand Eurodollars a week, after paying wages and bribes. Split between them, it wasn't close to enough. Sure, it paid rent, paid for the food… but that wasn't what Robbie wanted.

Almost everyone in Night City was just trying to survive. Just trying to keep the day going, living to see another day. Dwayne knew it just as well as Robbie – any day in that city could be their last. So, there was no point in waiting. No point in hoping.

Robbie leaned back in his chair, his dark eyes fixed on the monitor, taking in the details of the agreement with Arasaka. He'd spent months negotiating the deal, poring over the details with Redford and his team of lawyers. It had been a risk, but one that was going to pay off, whether anyone else could see it or not.

The basement hummed with activity as the workers below went about their business, assembling and packaging weapons. He took a drag on his cigarette, savouring the taste of the smoke in his lungs. It helped him focus, helped him clear his mind when things got too intense.

And things were about to get very intense. The next few days would be crucial for his Syndicate. He had the guns, he just needed the men. He flicked his cigarette into the ashtray and turned back to the monitor. It was time to get to work. Robbie Barrett, his family, and his Syndicate were going to take everything. From Arasaka, Militech – from whoever the fuck they wanted.

And no-one could stop him.

Well, one chapter left, and I think we can guess who it's centred on. I'll probably take a break from this series and finish off my Harry Potter story. So, I'm not sure when I'll come back to this series – maybe when the Phantom Liberty DLC comes out, if not before.

I'd love to know what you'd love to see more of in the next story. Someone already said they'd like to Kali have more 'missions', which I'm interpreting as some more action in her chapters, which… well, you'll see.

Anyhoo, I'll see you guys for the final chapter,

R.