Lifestyle: Low
The Vegas Heights district are typical of thousands of other run down neighborhoods in the PCC, with buildings in need of repair, roads full of potholes, and very little foot trafific from citizens of Las Vegas who don't live in the neighborhood. Originally designed to be affordable housing for blue collar workers in the 1950's, this neighborhood was never a desirable community to live in, and has only declined over the decades. While passing through hands of various factions, from mafia hnds, to Comanche Tribals, through PCC government care (The 2030's Vegas Heights Urban Re-Vitalization Plan), before finally being all but forgotten and left to pass through the hands of countless minor gangs.
The current gang, named "The Sandstormers" are a group of young 20-somethings and burgeoning youths who have managed to snag themselves a handful of guns, mostly throwbacks, and travel in packs, using their numbers to overwhelm opposition. While not exessively violent,they are quick to identify outsiders and take what they can by force. Their leader, a young troll who goes by Graysen Blockpounder is a dim thug, with just enough muscle to keep the gang in line with fear but not enough brains to expand his gangs territory beyond its current borders.
Honeybadger has an uneasy truce with the Sandstormers. Although his apartment complex, The Beautiful Views, falls within their territory, he and Curbstomp are more than a match for the unruly bangers. The Sandstormers give The Beautiful Views complex a wide berth, making sure not to harass anyone in the building, or in the immediate view of Honeybadger's 5th floor window.
Honeybadger's small slice of the neighborhood is a 5 story tenement. Far from luxurious, it is still better than most of what Vegas Heights lives in. Honeybadger and Curbstomp are strong enough to claim the building as "their turf", and keep other gangs out, buying them a measure of protection. The other citizens are too scared of the gruff Orks, but still enjoy the protection offered by their proximity, and occasionally offer "tribute" in the form of fresh baked soycookies, the ocasional beer left on their doorsteps, and single cigarettes on demand for either Ork. In return, anyone harassing residences of Beautiful View on or near the apartments gets a swift beatdown.
The rest of the neighborhood contains much of what one would expect for low lifestyle neighborhoods; 2 Stuffer Shacks, a Comfy Cubicle Hotel catering to the handful of prostitutes who scrounge out a living in a neighborhood no one wants to visit, a Loco Foods store ran by an almost comically stereotype Mexo-Native American who goes by "Martinezelo", a seller of black market goods smuggled by a shady cartel. A single, "family-owned" bodega, ran by tempermental Swedish gnomes, that stocks a handful of nearly-fresh soyfoods not found at Stuffer's Shacks. The most reputable of the many pawn shops is Honest Bill's Pawnemporium, which specializes in selling licensed, non-restricted firearms. Strangley, the business is bereft of anyone named Bill or even William, but the mysterious proprietor has been known to leave Sticky Note memos to his employees directing them to carry out his wishes. At the opposite end of the used goods spectrum is the plainly named "Pawn Store", with it's brown painted cinderblock walls peeling with age, it's faded red tiled roof and its glowing neon sign proudly displaying it's "OPEN 24/7" status. The store is ran by two surly dwarf brothers, Englin and Elgin, who keep the shop dimly lit. The two brothers only bother to hide their sleaziness from the occasional law enforcment agent that comes in to check their store, but otherwise are unrepentant in their illicit dealings. The brothers sell whatever their slimey contacts pass their way, from black market weapons, drugs, the ocasional banned critter, and all manner of BTL chips and fenced goods, and charge a hefty premium for anyone disturbing them past the 10 o'clock hour.
The only non-chain resturaunt called "Mina's" is a 1950's style diner, owned by the daughter of the late elven beauty Mina, Polly, an elf whose naturally good looks are marred by heavy body modifications of low-grade cyberware. "Mina's" is treated as neutral ground and safe haven, a rule strictly enforced by those within Vegas Heights. Since it was declared a safe place, no violators of the truce have made it out of Vegas Heights with anything less than a near-death beating.
Despite his aloof and somewhat reclusive nature, twice a year, the Urban Brawl Amateur circuit makes its way to Las Vegas and Honeybadger gets a chance to shine. With Vegas Heights being a perfectly square-shaped disrict with Lubertha Johnson Park serving as its direct center, it provides an excellent staging ground for the event. Various members of the community, including members of The Sandstormers, Honeybadger, and Curbstomp along with other rough'n'tumble sorts come together to form a team. Honeybadger was widely regarded as one of the best amateur guards in the Southwest, before he had biowear installed, and has only improved. The Vegas Heights team is far from flawless, but they consistently rank in the top 20 teams, giving anyone who treads on their turf a serious run for their money.
