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2.
THE MARSTEN HOUSING PROJECTS
The
western border of the Combat Zone WAS strategically
chosen to encompass the MHP. Originally built on
New York housing project models, the Marsten complex
is enormous. The complex was originally
built and designed to temporarily house the vast
numbers of workers brought in to construct the city,
but once the majority of construction was complete the
corporate conglomerate who owned the buildings turned
them into low rent housing. It didn’t take long
for the criminal element to set in, and even before
the walls were erected and the Combat Zone was sealed
the Marsten Projects were known far and wide as the
most dangerous place in the city. Since then
things have only gotten worse. Marsten was the
very first section of Night City to be labeled a
Combat Zone, and formed the basis for the police
departments policy of avoidance when in 2010 officers
were sent to search the buildings for suspects
involved in a previous police shooting. 24
police entered the buildings in groups of 4.
None made it out alive.
 Before
the
City pushed the more violent gangs out of the other
areas of the city and into the Zone, the Marsten
projects were home to scores of different gangs.
Most of the individual buildings were home to at least
one, some up to three, and conflict among them was a
near constant. It was so prevalent that they
media dubbed it “Block War”, and showed imagery of the
tenants of buildings shooting at each other from their
windows. After the push, Slaughterhouse quickly
allied itself with one of the stronger gangs and dug
in. When the reality behind Carnival was
announced, they called a meeting with all the other
gang leaders in the Marsten projects. When the
meeting took place in the courtyard at the center,
Brick, new leader of the Slaughterhouse, had his men
disguised as police, launch incendiary and
fragmentation grenades into the meeting. The
death toll was staggering, and Brick used it to unite
the gangs under the Slaughterhouse colors.
During
the course of Carnival, as the gang took over the
central buildings altogether, Brick discreetly
eliminated anyone perceived as a threat to his gangs
total domination of the Marsten Housing
Projects. Rumor has it he fed information on his
rivals to bounty hunters who took out most of his
competition for him. Now Slaughterhouses hold on
the Marsten complex is complete.
 The
complex
itself is a maze of roads, parking lots and alleys
moving between the buildings. Slaughterhouse keeps the
lawn mowed, and makes sure the trees stay healthy as
to provide cover from police and media air
surveillance. The central buildings overlooking
the fountain are kept up, and repaired, and are
believed to be the seat of power for the gang.
The further out from the center the buildings begin to
degenerate. Some along the outside edge of the
complex are little more than burnt out shells on the
verge of collapse, but even these buildings are
usually home to large numbers of indigents and look
outs for the gang. The other buildings are
mazes, almost impossible to navigate once you are
inside, and filled with, prostitution, and drug dens,
labs for making narcotics, and of course, gang
members, but the complex also has its own medical and
dental facilities, shops, auto body and repair shops,
a movie thater and nightclub, and of course lots and
lots of non-affiliated families who just want a roof
over their heads. Most of the rooftops have at
least some form of garden, and rabbits are bred all
over the complex for food.
 Because
of
their domination of the complex, Slaughterhouse is by
far the largest street gang in Night City. Although
the walls that surround the Zone keep the majority of
their activities confined to the Combat Zone, they do
make moves outside the Zone in small numbers, and
provided that they can escape back into the safety of
their base, it would be almost impossible for police
to move against them. The grounds are constantly
patrolled by armed gang members, each equipped with
either a submachine gun, shotgun, or assault rifle.
(For
more on Slaughterhouse, please see Gangs Of The Combat
Zone)
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