Episode 3 – Agents of Desire – Engram Black Market Reveals a Dangerous Fixer Showdown

Intro Paragraph

Engram Black Market profits became the crew’s next problem after the warehouse firefight ended. More than one hundred copies of Aisha remained trapped on the servers, and the NCPD was only three minutes away. Iris found offline storage for the engrams while Bull prepared to erase the crime scene with fire. Meanwhile, Defect and Nova searched for evidence, Thiago tried contacting Rogue, and ChoJo recorded material that could implicate everyone. The crew had survived the gunfight. Now they needed to escape with the most dangerous merchandise in Night City.

The frantic search produced the original Aisha agent, thousands of eddies, and several intact pistols. Then Bull’s improvised fire began spreading through the server farm. Thiago jammed the front entrance and raced through burning hallways. Iris slipped out but attracted cameras from nearby witnesses. Nova protected her by stealing an agent containing an incriminating image. The crew escaped, yet the Engram Black Market followed them. Lotus LeMarch had vanished, Sledge knew Bull had found his message, and someone appeared to be tracking every move the edgerunners made.

Returning Aisha’s original agent completed Kodai Khan’s contract and earned each crew member one thousand eddies. However, Iris wisely kept the copies. That decision left the crew controlling a digital fortune nobody could move safely. Rogue offered thirty thousand eddies to take the entire risk. Sable offered less cash but promised to erase much of Thiago’s crushing debt and provide valuable information. Consequently, the Engram Black Market transformed a successful rescue into a dangerous fixer showdown where every profitable option carried teeth.

Key Characters Introduced

• Kevin Dickens: The dead phone thief from La Lune Bleue was finally identified inside the server farm, confirming the crew had reached the duplication operation.
• Sable: Thiago’s ruthless former fixer offered debt relief, cash, and valuable information in exchange for every copied engram.
• Blank: This XBD dealer became the crew’s next target after Marianne asked for help to stop him from troubling the Forlorn Hope.

Key Events

1. The crew captured the Aisha engrams: Iris transferred more than one hundred digital copies to offline storage during the three-minute NCPD countdown. The destination offered temporary safety, although Iris could not guarantee that the files were untraceable.
2. The server farm burned: Bull built a delayed ignition from chemicals and wiring found inside the facility. The crew split between two exits while Thiago jammed the front door and sprinted through spreading flames.
3. The original Aisha agent returned home: Defect and Nova recovered the source agent used to create the copies. Iris cloned it before the crew returned the original to Kodai and collected their payment.
4. Sledge proved the crew was being watched: Bull received a message stating that an unnamed woman was still alive. Sledge warned him not to investigate and promised to discuss a trade only when Bull became useful.
5. Two fixers valued the Engram Black Market: Rogue offered thirty thousand eddies and accepted the risk of moving the files. Sable offered ten thousand, major relief from Thiago’s debt, and information tied to several unresolved mysteries.

Standout Party Member Moments

• Winter: Winter escaped safely through the rear route as the crew scattered before the NCPD could secure the burning server farm.
• ChoJo: ChoJo recorded Bull preparing the fire, but his poor camera work and existing footage made hiding Bull’s identity harder than expected.
• Bull: Bull created the delayed server-farm fire, disappeared into the crowd, and later received Sledge’s chilling message about an unnamed woman still being alive.
• Nova: Nova protected Iris by stealing a witness’s agent containing an incriminating photograph. The device later became the crew’s backup copy of Aisha.
• Iris: Iris moved the entire engram cache to offline storage, investigated LeMarch’s disappearance, erased the crew’s surveillance footage, and cloned Aisha’s agent before the handoff.
• Thiago: Thiago revealed how a failed gun-running deal left him buried under Sable’s debt. Her offer forced the Engram Black Market decision into painfully personal territory.
• Defect: Defect pitched more than one hundred viable engrams and their buyer contracts to Rogue. His proposal alarmed a legendary fixer and secured a standing offer worth thirty thousand eddies.

Closing Statement

The Engram Black Market gave the crew leverage, but it also revealed how exposed they had become. Sledge knew Bull had discovered the Blackwater Saints message. Sable knew about the engrams despite Thiago sending Rogue only a vague request. Even LeMarch vanished behind a suspicious gap in his building’s camera footage. Bull correctly warned that ChoJo’s recordings, Thiago’s street inquiries, or another unseen leak might be broadcasting the crew’s movements. In Night City, valuable information rarely stays private. More often, it invites strangers to start calculating how much the owners are worth dead.

Rogue offered the cleaner exit. She would take every engram, assume the liability, and spend months avoiding NetWatch and old Arasaka interests. However, her thirty thousand eddies would not free Thiago from Sable. The rival fixer offered less immediate cash but far greater personal value. She promised to remove at least half his debt, cancel its runaway interest, and reveal information about the buyer who vanished with his guns. She might also know something useful about Defect’s search for a replacement body. Therefore, the Engram Black Market is no longer a simple payday. It is a choice between relative safety and dangerous opportunity.

Before the crew could settle that choice, Marianne added another problem. Blank had been selling extreme braindances near the Forlorn Hope, despite the bar’s strict ban. She wanted his operation dismantled by any effective method. In return, the crew could earn free food, drinks, favored status, and a permanent table. Bull accepted when Marianne promised mango kibble, then admitted he had not heard the assignment. Priorities remain undefeated. Next time, the crew must choose a fixer, protect its secrets, and decide whether Blank’s career ends quietly or with another suspicious fire.

Continue Through Night City

Read the previous chapter in Episode 2 of Agents of Desire, where the crew uncovered the copied Aisha and their corporate buyers.

Follow the entire investigation through the Agents of Desire category, or explore more dangerous jobs in the Cyberpunk RED category.

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