48. JOE DEVIL’S PAWN SHOP

Joe Devil’s Pawn has been around for 15 years.  It was originally a furniture store that went out of business and was quickly bought by Joe “Devil” Duvall.  Joe is an elderly black man, who has lived in the area most of his life.  His sons originally worked here with him, but all but one has died, and his last son has moved on, apparently a lawyer in Portland now.  Now at 72, Joe has carved out his own place in the Zone, and his Pawn Shop is one of the most respected and longest lasting establishments in the Zone.   Joe himself is a cantankerous old curmudgeon with a foul mouth and a quick temper.  But his hard weathered and rough façade, he has a soft spot for women and children, and has been known to give children toys, and women free products they might need to survive.  He also sees himself as something of a ladies man, and has several “girlfriends” around the Zone.

The shop itself is one of the best places to buy and sell goods if you don’t have the time or inclination to try and set up one of the black markets in the Zone.  Joe will buy anything he thinks he can sell, though he may not offer much.   In addition the shop buys vehicles, some they sell, others they rent out for a small fee.  Each rental vehicle is marked profusely with the Joe Devil logo.  No respected gang in the Zone will steal or vandalize a Joe Devil marked vehicle, as doing so will violate the Neutrality truce in place in the shop and make the store and its goods off limits to the offending gang.  This may not sound like a big deal, but Joe Devil’s has yet another side, as the largest arms dealer in the Zone.  They supply anyone with the cash to afford their guns, getting the latest Chinese military hardware from a Triad source.

The shop itself takes up the entirety of the ground floor, and the basement is where they keep their surplus.  The upper floors are residential, with the second floor shared by Joe and Eddie, and the other rooms rented out to people who Joe has taken a liking to.  A young mother named Maria and her daughter Selena, Maria cooks.  A plumber named Tito, and an Electrician named Big Pam and her 15 year old daughter Louisa.  Ditto keeps a room here as well.

Eddie Guerrerro

AGE: 28

ROLE(s): Savage/Solo/Fixer

CHARACTER POINTS: 128

INT:7 REF:9 TECH:9
COOL:9 ATTR:9 LUCK:8
MA:9 BODY:10 EMP:4

For the last several years Joe Devil has taken a young Brazillian named Eddie Guerrero under his wing.  Eddie was a former pro-wrestler in Mexico, but after numerous affairs with female fans, his wife left him and took their son Perro with her.  He had heard she was in Night City, so he came here looking for her.  While looking in the Zone for her, he came across Dead Zoners attacking woman.  He was able to drive them off, but was severely wounded in the process.  Joe had seen the entire thing, and brought Eddie back to his shop to help heal his wounds.  Eddie has been a fixture ever since.  Eddie is very much a lost man… when not working he spends most of his time playing his guitar and drinking beer.  He still holds out hope he might find his wife and son, and has enlisted Ditto from the Digital Renegades to help him… but so far nothing at all has turned up.  Her trail just vanished here in Night City.  Eddie is now a full partner in the business.  He handles most of the customers, as well as repossessing rental vehicles that have gone overdue.  Joe has Eddie to thank for the stores continued status as neutral ground.  A deal he secured from Stomp in a race, the stakes of which were that if he lost, Eddie would have to join Stomp.  Winning did not make him any friends, but the gang stayed true to their word.  Eddie is a huge man, prone to somber reflection, and lingering on the edge of alcoholism.  A man capable of extreme violence, Joe keeps him around because the younger man reminds him of his own misspent youth, and because Joe Thinks he can help Eddie to soothe his demons.  With Customers Eddie is very straightforward and all business.  Often Joe will go behind his back and help a customer out who can’t afford an item, or to get an item out of hock, by offering them odd jobs and letting them work off the debt.

Written By Deric Bernier, images from Deric Bernier, Set It Off, Fallout New Vegas, Sanford And Son, Grand Theft Auto

For questions, complaints, criticisms and suggestions, e-mail the author:wisdom000@gmail.com