Judy was like a stray cat wandering the streets—she often pulled stunts that left Susie both furious and exasperated. One such habit involved bringing streetwalkers over to Lizzie's Bar. It was true that it boosted the Mox's numbers, but it also meant more mouths to feed. The Mox only had Lizzie's Bar as their turf; there was no way they could support so many people. Besides, these streetwalkers didn't know much of anything about working in a bar. This line of work required a certain amount of skill—nobody could just flop down on a couch like a corpse and expect to make eddies.
"You didn't bring in more people off the street again, did you, Judy?" Susie asked, sounding drained. "I like you, but don't push it. We can't feed them all."
Judy froze. "Susie, that's not why I'm here."
"Oh? Then what's the matter?" Susie's face softened. As long as Judy wasn't dragging more streetwalkers in, it would be easier to talk things through.
"Susie, it's been two days, and Dorothy still hasn't shown up for work."
Susie frowned. "Have you tried calling her?"
Judy nodded, looking worried. "Several times. No one picked up."
"Dammit," Susie swore under her breath. "So what do you want me to do?"
"What else can we do? We're about to open. Tell the girls to get ready—the customers will be here soon."
Judy looked stunned, as if she was only just now seeing Susie for who she really was. "You're just going to ignore Dorothy's disappearance?"
"What do you expect me to do—pull every girl off the job to search all over Watson? You know how big Watson is? How dangerous? The Mox don't rule this entire district."
"But—"
"No buts."
In reality, Susie wasn't heartless. She was actually the first to realize Dorothy was missing. The moment Dorothy hadn't shown up for her shift, Susie tried calling her. When there was no answer, she sent people to Dorothy's place and even went to the NCPD headquarters several times to file a missing-person report. Every time, the NCPD told her the same thing—go home and wait, they'd take care of it.
It was clear, though, that Dorothy had likely run into something awful. Susie suspected it was related to the string of missing-person cases plaguing Watson lately.
Still, Susie was responsible for everyone at Lizzie's Bar, and if the bar fell into chaos, the Mox would be in serious trouble. She had to hold things together.
Judy could tell Susie didn't want to talk about it anymore, so she gave up. "Fine. Got it."
She was about to leave when another Mox girl rushed in. "Susie! Susie!"
Susie glared. "What now?"
"I've got a friend who transports bodies for the medical center," the girl said. "She told me they found two women at a landfill in the Northern Industrial District."
She sent Susie and Judy a photo. It popped up in their vision moments later, showing two women being carried away on stretchers. One had obviously been tortured before death—her body was mutilated beyond recognition. Just looking at the picture made it clear how much she must have suffered.
"It's Dorothy?!"
Her face was the only part left untouched by whoever did this. Susie and Judy recognized her instantly. The other person…
"Anna Knox. She's still alive?" Susie and Judy exchanged shocked looks. Anna had also been a member of the Mox. She went missing so long ago that they'd assumed she was dead. But here she was, turning up alive.
Though Anna had clearly been abused, she was in far better shape than Dorothy. According to the medical center, she was still alive when they found her. Susie immediately sent people to pick her up. The Mox kept an abandoned factory in the Northern Industrial District as a safehouse, and Anna could recover there.
After Susie got off the phone, Judy's face darkened. "It has to be that maniac Jotaro Shobo! That psycho!"
In recent weeks, one woman after another had gone missing in Watson; even Mox members weren't spared. Dorothy was already the third. The Mox girl who had brought the news looked confused. "How do you know it's him?"
Judy's lip curled in disgust. "He's been supplying plenty of new 'material' for the black market braindances on the Dark Net. That scum is notorious for it."
Susie, however, stayed silent. She knew about this "neighbor" of theirs. Lizzie's Bar was located in Kabuki, territory of the Tiger Claws, and Jotaro Shobo was a Tiger Claws officer. The Tiger Claws themselves were a powerful gang hailing from Japan, with their main branch there and a massive presence in Night City's Japantown. Rumors said they even had shady ties to Arasaka. A small gang like the Mox—controlling nothing but a single bar—couldn't possibly take on a giant like that.
"You can both go," Susie said after a long pause.
"Susie?!" Judy stared in disbelief, while the other girl still seemed lost about what was going on.
"So you're really just going to act like nothing happened?" Judy demanded. "Jotaro Shobo is right there. If you don't kill him, our girls will never be safe."
Susie felt a surge of frustration. "Why are you yelling at me? Who's in charge here, you or me?"
Judy opened her mouth but couldn't muster a reply, glaring at Susie like a feral cat. Susie realized she might have snapped too harshly. She took a few slow breaths, lowering her voice.
"Look, just let me think, okay? I'll come up with something. I just need some time alone."
Given Susie's request, Judy and the other girl exchanged glances and left. Once alone, Susie swept everything off the desk in a burst of anger. The more she raged outwardly, though, the calmer she felt inside.
People might have forgotten, but she remembered clearly: Lizzie's Bar was named for its former owner, Elizabeth "Lizzie" Borden. Lizzie had been killed after offending the Tiger Claws, and the Mox formed in the aftermath. Even now, the Mox only numbered around two hundred—counting non-combatants. Going to war with a massive gang like the Tiger Claws would end the same way it had for Lizzie.
Susie wasn't afraid to die, and it wasn't just fear of retaliation, either. She was the Mox boss, responsible for two hundred lives. She wasn't young anymore. She wasn't about to lead everyone into ruin for some hollow slogan or ideal. On the other hand, she couldn't simply brush off the blood spilled by the Mox. They were still a gang, after all—not clay waiting to be molded by whichever hand came along.
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