Rogue hummed to herself as her contacts throughout Night City kept her informed of the recent warfare that was currently occurring. As the 'Queen of Fixers' of Night City, Rogue must always keep herself informed, and one of the things she's keeping tabs on is the ongoing Builders War.
She snorted at the name. The last time Night City experienced something like this was when NUSA declared war on the remaining Free States for attempting to reunify the country. Gigs and jobs flew around her bar like goddamn pachinkos hitting their slots that day. Solos and mercs strolled through her bar, looking for the latest gigs and eddies to fill their wallet. Though, this time, it was different.
This time, it's a war by a corporation against the trash that litters Night City. A conflict between Builders Incorporated and the hostile gangs that loathed the corporation. The remaining Maelstrom wreaked havoc through the NID, killing numerous innocent people working for or aligned with the corporation. Animals rampaged the streets of Little China, decimating factories and severely hampering the day-to-day operations of Builders Inc. The Tyger Claws, who defected from Wakako's control, sought out their revenge in Kabuki alongside the Voodoo Boys, with their Netrunners attempting to break through Builders Inc. servers to no avail.
Except for Valentinos, who have an iron grip in Heywood, 6th Street, who's suffering a civil war as Will Gunner's attempt of usurping control from Rick Morton backfired and is currently suffering a civil war within their ranks and City Center, which is the home of the megacorporations, Night City was in an absolute state of chaos.
Of course, Builders Inc. didn't lie down like limping dogs: waiting for a savior. No, they gave the same response as to what corporations did during the Fourth Corporation War: they escalated. Since Tom made that declaration on TV, Builders Inc. went into overdrive. Not only did they start to ramp up their production when it comes to producing Militech guns and ammunition for their troops, but they also partnered with corporations that are struggling to compete with the market, like Malorian Arms and New American Autoworks, to produce weapons and vehicles exclusive for Builders Incorporated and their security branch, Builders Security Service.
The fact that Tom managed to convince Erin and Eren to cooperate with him was already a miracle and a half.
'I guess both of those old goats had a good impression on Tom if he managed to convince them to work together.' Rogue mused as her eyes shifted to the people currently littering her bar, with swathes of them talking with their respected fixers on the current gigs and jobs available.
Across the bar, she could see Claire studiously maintaining close attention to the people while Weyland continued sorting through the reports made by his contacts.
Two weeks into the conflict, Malorian Arms and New American Autoworks goods were flooding the market, with the famous Malorian Arms 3516 and Overturn flooding the streets: with numerous Solos packing one on their holsters. And New American Autoworks vehicles, long seen as a defunct corporation despite surviving the Fourth Corporation War, became prominent once more as their vehicles serve as the go-to vehicles for Builders Security Service.
Already, the two struggling corporations were beginning to become prominent once more on the streets as their goods flooded the streets: making them affordable for numerous Solos and crew roaming around Night City. There's also the fact that in cooperation with NCPD's SWAT and MaxTac divisions helping out, the Builders Security forces had managed to turn the tide almost immediately, with Maelstrom gangoons once again scurrying around like the rats they are, and both Little China and Kabuki seeing numerous Animals, and Tyger Claws stain the streets.
Despite that, the gangoons remain tenacious: hiring people outside the city to supplement their numbers, coercing civilians into the conflict, or outright hiring Solos to serve as cannon-fodders for their war against Tom's company. Either they hated Tom's company for upsetting the status quo, or someone or something was supporting them in the shadows. Both are in the realm of possibility, and Rogue seeks to find out the truth about it, especially when Tom paid her three million eddies as to why they dared to attack his people.
"And to think I used to call the man an idiot the first time he approached me. Truly, my age is catching up to me," Rogue muttered as Weyland gave her a raised eyebrow.
"More like you underestimated him, miss Rogue. I remember you saying he's a 'kid with no sense of danger and a victim waiting to be devoured by the city.'" Weyland repeated, causing Rogue to snort while giving her Silverhand a shake.
"I did say that, did I?" Weyland hummed in agreement before shaking her head.
If there's always someone she'd made an exception to the rule she had imposed on herself, it would be Tom. The boy had earned the right, with how many times he made her predictions wrong, alongside that girl Lucy. The way they professionally handled their gigs and jobs reminded her of Morgan Blackhand, the finest Solo the world had ever seen. That they didn't do any gigs relating to a corpo raised their cred spectacularly.
It also helped that the boy had tons of street cred with how much the fixers respected his work.
As she opened her mouth to retort, it fell short as Rogue saw Emmerich crisply walk to her, his filled with weariness, "What is it, Emmerich?"
"Ma'am, it's Dexter. He wants to talk to you." Rogue's eyes narrowed at the name Emmerich uttered.
Dexter DeShawn, one of the biggest fixers in Night City, made a lot of enemies last year and is the man who brought her numerous headaches. His antics caused Afterlife to flood with numerous Voodoo Boys attempting to find Dexter, to no avail. Of course, this made Dexter a Persona non grata within Afterlife. And now, to hear of him returning, with the Voodoo Boys in conflict with the Builders Incorporated, and wanting to meet her?
This whole deal stinks of something much bigger, and Rogue would be damned before she gets outplayed by Dex.
"I could see why you wanted to bring this to me personally instead of sending me a call. Emmerich, let him in. Weyland, have Nix scan Dexter in case he does something stupid." The two of them nodded at her words, with Rogue taking a sip of her Silverhand.
Not moments later, Rogue saw Dexter enter Afterlife, sauntering about like he owned the place. Sadly for him, Rogue knows that he's merely pretending. A facade of strength is what Rogue saw, but she couldn't blame him. He caused a lot of trouble for himself, especially in Pacifica.
And facing her is akin to meeting with a lioness.
"Well, if it isn't Dexter DeShawn. How's your vacation in New York? From what I'd heard, you've been swimming with the sharks there last time I heard." Rogue started, the man's fat belly dominating the seat.
"You know me, miss Rogue. When one finds an opportunity, one usually tends to grasp it." Rogue only hummed at his words, taking a sip of the refilled Silverhand that Claire had given to her.
"And I'm sure it doesn't involve the Voodoo Boys being too preoccupied with Builders Incorporated, allowing you to insert into Night City without even a single notice from them." The man only grinned at her words, lighting up a cigar.
"Ah, you know how I work so well, miss Rogue. Truly, you deserve your title." Rogue's eyes narrowed as she leaned forward to Dexter.
"Don't patronize me, Dex. I know how you operate, and you better keep your mouth shut lest you find yourself dumped into the Municipal landfill myself." Dexter raised his arm in surrender, the grin he had faltering at Rogue's threat.
"Chill, miss Rogue. I didn't mean to offend. Besides, I am willing to pay any outstanding debt I caused during my time here in this bar." Rogue only hummed at his proposals, her eyes glowing and sending Dexter the exuberant fees he caused during his hastened departure from Night City. The man only whistled before taking a puff of his cigar.
"Surely I didn't mean to cause this much damage?" Dexter questioned.
"The Voodoo Boys made a rampage throughout my bar, thoroughly looking at where you're on. They caused so much damage to the integrity of my bar that I lost profit over the month that you decided to turn tail and flee to New York. The Voodoo Boys are good at what they do, and do be thankful that I haven't personally put a bullet in your head the moment you decided to show your ugly mug here." Rogue causally summarized, her eyes boring into the back of Dexter's eyes.
"I... understand, miss Rogue. If that's what it takes to earn your trust, then I'll happily pay off my debts to you." Rogue snorted as she once again took a sip of her Silverhand.
"You'll have to do a lot before you can even dare to earn my trust, Dexter. Think of this as a trial run. If you manage to repay your debt within the week, I'll give you a room in the back. If not, you better prepare your eulogy because I'll make it my mission to have your corpse at my feet. Is that understood?" Dexter could do nothing but nod at her words, the tension in the room relaxing at Dexter's nod.
"I'm glad you understand the position you are in, Dexter. If you have nothing else to say, then feel free to leave. I'm quite the busy woman, as you can see." She emphasized her words as Weyland gave her a shard, ignoring Dexter's presence. Dexter, for his part, understood the situation he was in and, without deigning to give Rogue a goodbye, immediately left the room and bar altogether.
"The man sure is quick on his feet, despite the relative rotundness of his body." Weyland snorted at her words, his focus momentarily breaking before focusing on his tablet.
"Aptly said, ma'am. In any case, I have sorted out the files into the shard, and you might need to contact Tom after you finish reviewing the shard." Raising an eyebrow at how vague Weyland is, Rogue inserted the shard.
After a couple of minutes, with Weyland stoically standing while Rogue meticulously reviewed and re-reviewed the files, Rogue heavily sighed before her eyes shined, contacting Tom.
Within a few seconds, Tom's voice rang through Rogue's ears. "Hey, Rogue! How's the hunt going? I'm taking that this isn't a call to catch up?"
Rogue barked a laugh, "Ha! No, kid. I'm making good use of the eddies you've given me."
"Oh? Have you finally cracked the code to who's supplying these bastards their weapons?" Tom questioned.
"To be honest, I'd rather not want you to know, but since you paid me a lot of money, I'm obliged to answer," A moment's pause before she continued, "It's Arasaka, Tom. Granted, they used a lot of proxies, and my contacts found a lot of dead-ends, but I can confirm that it's Arasaka supplying the weapons."
Silence permeated the call before she heard Tom let out a deep sigh, "I feared that's the case."
"You feared?" Rogue repeated, causing Tom to snort.
"Yep. I'm more surprised that it took this long for Arasaka to act against me, to be honest." She could feel the kid shaking his head, "Oh well. I could only hope for the best at this point. I only need to finish this 'war' quick before returning to what I was doing."
"Tom. You and I both know that there's no going back. The only thing you could do is, like you said, hope for the best and prepare for the worst."
Tom gave her a sigh before ruefully chuckling, "You really are the Queen of Fixers, huh? Even knowing what I'll think."
Rogue snorted, her lips forming a half-smile, hearing how Tom's joviality returned, "Don't test me, Tom. I could still kick your ass six ways to Sunday."
"I know that very well, ma'am." Tom chuckled before continuing, "In any case, thanks for the deets, Rogue. I'll thoroughly make good use of it."
The line died before she could retort, calling out to Claire for another drink. This time, named after Tom, the stupid gonk.
"Sooner or later, Tom, you'll find out that despite your prowess, you'll never be able to save everyone..."