A Debt in Flesh

Blackridge was a city of debts.

Most were paid in coin. Some in silence. And others—in flesh.

Three days after Elias Kane locked down his influence zone, the Scavengers sent a message. Not with bullets, but with a body.

He found it hanging from the overpass on 9th Street.

One of his temporary "Broadcast" allies — the twitchy runner with a face tattoo — skinned down to the waist, the word "THIEF" carved into his chest.

[Alert: Territory Status – STABILITY THREATENED]

Vire Alley: Confidence -3

Reason: Retaliatory Display by Rival Gang (Scavengers)]

Effect: Increased unrest. Local recruits harder to maintain.

Elias stared up at the body as sirens echoed in the distance. Dizzy stood beside him, jaw tight.

"They know we're not afraid of blood," Elias said, his voice low. "But now they want to prove they're better at spilling it."

Dizzy nodded. "We gonna let 'em hang this on us?"

"No," Elias said. "We're going to hang it back."

By nightfall, Elias had a name: Tino Rask, a butcher who used to run muscle for the Scavengers before they left him behind. Now he sold meat by day and information by night — to anyone except the gang that burned him.

He was also the one who gave up Elias's name for the Broadcast payment. Word was he'd been bragging about it in a bar two districts over.

"That's how they found him," Dizzy muttered. "That poor bastard—they traced the call. You think Tino knew they'd do that?"

"I think he didn't care."

They found Tino alone in his meat shop, sharpening blades.

"You made a mistake," Elias said.

"I made money," Tino said, not even looking up. "That kid volunteered to fight for you. I didn't make him stupid."

"You painted a target on my name."

"Welcome to Blackridge."

Elias didn't even hesitate.

He slammed Tino's head into the cutting block, bound his wrists with a butcher's chain, and let the silence speak for itself.

He didn't kill him — not yet. That would've been too easy.

Instead, he dragged Tino to a rat-filled, mildew-choked cellar under the safehouse and left him there. One flickering lightbulb. One bucket of filthy water. One rusted chair.

[System Alert: Unique Resource Secured – Interrogation Asset Acquired]

Effect: +3 Territory Control | Unlocks Interrogation Options in Base Management (Tier E+)

+5 Crime Points

Back upstairs, Elias brought up his HUD. The Crime Shop shimmered like a black market catalog. His empire was growing, but so were his enemies — and the next wave wouldn't be a warning.

It would be a war.

Time to invest.

Available: 42 Crime Points | 4 Skill Points

He purchased:

– [Surveillance Camera Kit] – 12 CP

– [Safehouse Upgrade: Reinforced Doors] – 18 CP

– [Forgery Starter Pack] – 10 CP

Crime Points Spent: 40 | Remaining: 4

Upgrades Installed: Safehouse Lv.1 Fortified | Surveillance Active

Forgery Unlocked:Fake IDs, Burner Bank Accounts, Utility Shell Corps (Basic)

He glanced at Dizzy. "Get this place wired. I want eyes on every entrance, every street. If someone even sneezes in our direction, I want to know."

"And the guy in the basement?"

"Let him sweat. Tomorrow, we talk."

The next morning, the smell of pork and rust still clung to the safehouse basement. Tino sat in the chair, eyes sunken, lips cracked.

"I've got nothing to say," he muttered.

"You've got everything to say," Elias replied. "Names. Routes. Who's feeding the Scavengers info. You talk, you breathe."

"And if I don't?"

Elias crouched, calm. "Then I feed you to the dogs the Scavengers abandoned you for."

Tino looked away, but his shoulders slumped. The breaking had begun.

[Interrogation Success: Partial]

Information Obtained: Known Scavenger Fence | Route Through District 9 Sewers | Contact: "Monk"

+2 Crime Points

Elias stood and climbed the stairs. The game was evolving.

Enemies were watching. Informants were folding. And now, Monk, whoever they were, had just become his next target.

He stared out the window.

Blood was in the ink now — and the city was writing his name.