Blood in the Ink

Morning broke over Blackridge like a dirty secret crawling into daylight.

Elias Kane stood on the roof of the safehouse, eyes scanning the sprawl of alleyways, shuttered shops, and sagging tenements. Vire Alley was his. Secured. Stabilized. But every corner past it pulsed with hostile eyes and whispers waiting to tear his name down.

And the system was already thinking bigger.

[New Objective Available: Establish Influence Zone]

Requirements (Choose Two):

– Intimidate Local Enforcers

– Bribe or Blackmail Key Informant

– Gain Control of Secondary Resource Node

– Create a Front Business or Cover Operation

Reward: +20 Crime Points | +3 Skill Points | Criminal Rank: E Unlock (if completed within 7 days)

He chose: Intimidate Local Enforcers and Blackmail Key Informant.

Elias didn't have the resources for businesses yet, and the last stash node was crawling with Syndicate scouts. Better to carve influence from fear and leverage.

"Dizzy," he said, stepping back inside. "You still know anyone on the Watch?"

Dizzy squinted at him over a mug of instant coffee. "You tryna pay 'em or piss 'em off?"

"Neither. I'm trying to remind them who owns this part of the map."

Dizzy shook his head. "That'd be Darren Brooks. Patrol captain for East Vire. Used to shake me down once a week till he stopped liking witnesses."

Elias nodded. "Then we'll shake him."

By noon, they were posted up in a liquor store two blocks from the East Vire substation. Dizzy kept watch while Elias slipped into the back office, where the building's ancient security system fed into a single dusty monitor.

He worked fast, fingers flying through menus. The footage was crap, but usable. He found Brooks—recognizable by the ratty blue windbreaker over a badge chain—taking an envelope from a dealer two nights ago.

And then again. And again.

Elias copied it all to a drive.

Then he sent it.

Not to the precinct.

To Brooks.

With a single line of text:

"You work for me now. Keep Vire quiet or your career ends on the evening news."

[Key Informant Blackmailed: Officer Darren Brooks]

Effect: Police Raids in Vire Alley Suspended | Info Feed Unlocked: Patrol Routes, Priority Flags

+10 Crime Points

Progress.

Elias left the liquor store before anyone could get curious. Dizzy caught up with him two blocks away, eyes wide.

"You're really playing this like chess, huh?"

"No," Elias said. "I'm playing it like war."

That night, they made their next move.

A dive bar called The Crosscut sat right on the edge of rival turf. Dirty neon signs. One working speaker. And a man named Fergie Pike, a self-declared "business mediator" who sold information and muscle to anyone who paid him in product or protection.

Elias didn't have either. But he had leverage.

Fergie sat in his usual booth, bald and bloated, with two guys flanking him and a revolver on the table like a centerpiece.

Elias walked in alone.

"Mr. Pike," he said, sliding into the booth opposite. "You've got a reputation."

Fergie raised an eyebrow. "And you got a face I don't recognize. Why are we talking?"

"I've got footage of you selling off route drops to the Bone Dogs while they were under Syndicate contract. One email and you're done."

Fergie blinked.

Elias set a flash drive on the table. "Or I can make that disappear. In exchange, you make sure word gets out: Vire Alley is closed. My turf. Anyone crosses that line, they don't come back."

The table was quiet for a long breath.

Then Fergie smiled.

"Ballsy. I like it. You got a name?"

"Elias Kane."

"I'll remember it."

[Key Enforcer Intimidated: Fergie Pike – Status: Neutralized]

Influence Zone Established: Outer Vire | Status: Unstable

+10 Crime Points | +3 Skill Points

Criminal Rank Up: Tier E

The system hit him with another rush of information.

[New Access Granted: Tier E Crime Shop Items Unlocked]

– [Silenced 9mm Pistol] – 25 CP

– [Safehouse Upgrade: Reinforced Doors] – 18 CP

– [Surveillance Camera Kit] – 12 CP

– [Forgery Starter Pack] – 10 CP

– [Combat Reflex Booster (Lv.1)] – 20 CP

Current Crime Points: 37 | Skill Points: 4

Elias's phone buzzed.

Unknown number.

Message:

"You're making waves, Mr. Kane. Let's talk. You don't want us as enemies." — L

He stared at the screen.

His name was out there now. His influence zone had formed like a ripple around Vire. But ripples always reached further than you expected. And sometimes they brought sharks.

He looked at Dizzy, then out the window toward the broken city.

"Let's get to work."