Chapter 49: Three Tough Guys

Unlike Atlanta, in Night City, gangs are colossal entities. Even when composed of veterans, the veterans' associations in Atlanta might have higher military ranks, but in terms of urban ecological status, the 6th Street Gang stands far higher. The 6th Street Gang, along with other Night City gangs, are essentially organized, large-scale criminal enterprises, almost on the brink of being corporations—essentially, they're halfway to becoming a corporation. They have their own people, their own businesses, and even their own laws. Petty crimes like robbery, extortion, and intimidation are left to the rookies who just joined the gang. The real higher-ups in the 6th Street Gang wear combat boots, tactical vests, knee pads, and cargo pants. Only after completing professional training do they officially become members, referred to as "recruits." At an even higher level, like the gang leader known as "Sergeant," you'd find them wearing baseball caps emblazoned with the old American flag and eagle insignia, negotiating deals. And what deals? Arms deals. Gun smuggling is the most booming industry for the 6th Street Gang. It's said that 30% of the black market guns in Night City are sold by them, and they even produce a large amount of varying-quality ammunition annually for sale. Besides arms deals, they have tight connections with Nomads outside Night City—both as strategic smuggling partners and as customers for their services. The 6th Street Gang employs many skilled technicians who buy cheap or second-hand cars and modify them into armed vehicles for sale. This business is also quite lucrative and highly popular among mercenaries. And the reason they've grown so big? Their ties with corporations. Some military-oriented companies leverage the 6th Street Gang to sell special, high-end products to certain clients. This is why the gang's existence is legally recognized. However, all these businesses overlap significantly with those of the Valentinos. Padre keeps a close eye on them, of course: "You have a few options: The first is the arms dealer on Woodhaven Street, Lamar's Armory. The owner is a woman connected with the Nomads, so weapons can be smuggled elsewhere or taken to the border and then resold. The second is 'The Manufactory' across from Wallace Street. There's a professional reseller there who used to work in corporate sales and still has some connections with companies. Neither of these two are 6th Street Gang members; they're secondary sellers coerced by the gang, running their own businesses while occasionally helping out with hot items. They'd be perfect for you. How you proceed will depend on the intel you can gather." Padre handed over two data shards. Leo thought for a moment and asked, "Can I choose both?" "Of course you can, kid, but don't bite off more than you can chew. I suggest you think carefully." Leo swept both data shards into his hand. "Thanks for the advice. Also, I have some second-hand cyberware to offload—stuff Old Vic doesn't want to touch, taken from 6th Street Gang members." "Didn't expect you to be into that kind of thing, but scavenging is dirty and smelly work. Haywood doesn't look kindly on Scavs. You might want to check out the coastline near Preacher's Wharf. There's an unlicensed ripperdoc there who takes all sorts of dirty stuff—but I reckon 6th Street Gang has been eyeing him for a replacement." "Got it, thanks, Padre. You've been a huge help." "No problem. You're all Heywood kids; helping each other is how it should be." After saying goodbye to Padre, the three of them headed back to Jackie's garage. They took some time to review the information on the data shards. By the time Jackie and V removed the shards, Leo had already outlined the key points on the wall. Jackie was a bit confused. "So, what's our plan? I get finding someone to offload the goods, but what's that got to do with the 6th Street Gang?" Leo explained, "What happened in Atlanta and at the border was a big deal, and Padre is currently busy dealing with the 6th Street Gang. He can't handle this himself. Remember, the Valentinos don't have close corporate clients behind them. Padre doesn't want the corporations' attention on him. So, to quickly offload this batch of goods, we need to find clients ourselves. Clients will always exist; we just don't have a middleman to take on the risk for us anymore." The Valentinos are practically a large-scale criminal enterprise, relying on the loyalty of their members to establish themselves in Night City. They're a tough, stinky pile of dog crap—but if the corporations really wanted to chew through them, they could easily pour resources into having the 6th Street Gang do it. If that happened, even Padre wouldn't be able to hold out. "But... the corporations get shafted in Night City every day; it's not that serious, right?" Jackie scratched his head. He didn't quite get why they needed to be so cautious. In his mind, as long as you didn't die on the job, you were fine. However, V, who had spent some time in Atlanta, could relate. In Atlanta, if you committed a crime, you'd be hunted endlessly until you were brought to justice. Unlike in Night City, where you could scan any two street punks and see arrest warrants issued by the NCPD— Hell, even NCPD cops would turn a blind eye to them as long as they weren't breaking the law right in front of them. But if you pissed off a corporation, V still remembered that cyber monster, Norton Knott. Who knows how many more of those they had up their sleeve? "It's serious—trust me. We'll need to handle this ourselves, spin a lot of lies, and find plenty of middlemen to cover our tracks. But if we pull this off, we'll be bona fide big shots afterward, that much I can guarantee. How about a drink at The Afterlife?" The mention of "The Afterlife" immediately brightened Jackie's eyes, and V's interest was piqued as well. The Afterlife, the dream of every street kid in Night City—where they believed they could make a fortune. It's the place where the top fixers and mercenaries in Night City network. If you want to become a legend, making a stop at The Afterlife is essential. V shrugged. "If we could get word out about what we did, even Rogue might invite us over for a job overnight. Too bad we've got a..." She glanced at Jackie, and the two exchanged a knowing look— Yeah, we've got a sneaky bastard with us. "Fame, money, and your life—you've got to give up at least one, at least for now." Ignoring their little exchange, Leo rapped the erasable marker against the wall like a teacher giving a lecture. "Back to the main topic—this is a big job. We're going to rob the 6th Street Gang, hit them so hard they can't do business, and make sure suppliers, distributors, and customers need our approval to operate." "That's it?" V looked surprised. "I thought you were going to lay out a bunch of stuff I wouldn't understand." "When in Rome, do as the Romans do. We'll follow Night City's rules." "But..." Jackie was worried. "The 6th Street Gang has thousands of members. What if they decide to come after us?" "They won't acknowledge it. If they get scared off, the only one who could have scared them is the Valentinos. Padre isn't stupid." V suddenly realized, "Wait... So if we fail, we get dumped in the river; if we succeed, it's because Padre handled things well?" Leo nodded. "Then what's in it for us?" "Money—haven't you ever wondered why fixers make so much just sitting around while you, a merc, bust your ass for scraps? Besides, that's just the rumor. But within the fixer community, they'll know that three tough guys took down the 6th Street Gang, forcing them to bow to the Valentinos." Of course, Leo concealed his true motive—he wanted to wade into these murky waters to establish the data barriers; the other reasons were just a facade. But the idea of three tough guys taking down the 6th Street Gang and forcing them to bow to the Valentinos? V and Jackie exchanged a glance—now that was interesting. "Alright, but I need to correct you. It's one tough guy, one tough girl, and you... you're maybe half a person." "Heh, shove it, dumbass. So—are you both in?" "Of course." Jackie flexed his muscular arms. "We can't just pretend like what happened a few days ago didn't happen." V shrugged. "Big jobs are always more fun." Leo smiled and tapped the marker on the spot on the wall labeled "Rosanne Kaplan," who was the female arms dealer on the edge of Santo Domingo. "First target: Rosanne Kaplan. Let's see what goods she still has on the way."