Editing Edward McHaggis (section)

=== The Yakuza Crisis ===
Despite the draw, the Big Four—including Alexa—celebrated what they called a victory over the Bay Rebels. The celebration took place in Alexa’s luxury penthouse atop [https://gta.fandom.com/wiki/The_Diamond_Casino_%26_Resort the Diamond Casino and Resort]. For once, there were no deals to be made, no enemies to plan against—just laughter, drinks, and the rare feeling of peace. Edward allowed himself to relax, to toast to good business, and, just for a moment, to feel like everything might finally be under control.

That illusion ended the moment he got in his car to head home.

On the way back to Rancho, Edward was intercepted by a black SUV. The occupants: Yakuza agents. They had tracked him down, likely due to the call he had made months earlier. Calm but cold, they demanded that Edward return to work under them. Edward refused, making it clear that they were on ''his'' turf now. He didn’t back down, and his tone carried the weight of every lesson he’d learned in blood. The Yakuza left—but not before warning that they would return. The next day, Edward realized what he feared: the Yakuza were in the city. They had established a cell.

That morning, a group of Yakuza negotiators appeared outside Claymore MC. They weren’t there to talk—they were there to demand. A staggering 100 million dollars in compensation, for debts and insults long past. Edward told them flatly that the sum was impossible, that it was more than his entire net worth. They didn’t argue. They simply left.

Then the embargo began. Yakuza enforcers began seizing shipments and export goods tied to all four syndicates. Anything valuable was redirected into their own networks. The Big Four were hemorrhaging profit, and pressure mounted fast. An emergency meeting was called.

Edward explained the situation. The Yakuza weren’t just threatening him—they were bleeding the entire Big Four. Alexa, frustrated, accused Edward of dragging everyone into his personal war. Billy remained supportive, but even he looked concerned. The meeting ended in deadlock. If they did nothing, the Yakuza would collapse the whole system.

The next day, another meeting was held—this time with a proposal. Alexa suggested hiring [[Hans Naumann]], a renowned German smuggler with the skill to bypass the Yakuza’s chokehold. Edward, seeing no better option, agreed. The only dissenter was Jim, who believed they should go to war instead. But he was outvoted.

Hans was hired. The deal was simple: 5% of all syndicate earnings would go to him in exchange for clean smuggling lanes. It was expensive, but it was survival. For Edward, it was yet another price paid to keep the empire from crumbling.

But the Yakuza retaliated. Learning of Hans's whereabouts, they raided his apartment on Vespucci Beach. They stole whatever they could get their hands on—valuables, electronics, and, most importantly, Hans’s prized collection of limited edition Playboy magazines. More crucially, they secured a USB stick containing sensitive data: details on the business deal, syndicate locations, and other client information. The breach was catastrophic. Alexa was furious, Jim was vocal in his disgust, and Edward—though equally frustrated—chose not to scold Hans openly. Still, he saw the incident as sloppy, a crack in the armor.

A few days later, Billy tracked down the Yakuza’s base of operations: the Land Act Reservoir Facility. That night, acting alone, Billy drilled into the facility and slaughtered every occupant—over a hundred Yakuza agents. The massacre sent a message, Edward was pleased, the threat was eliminated. To drive the point home, he recorded a video message to the Yakuza. In it, he smiled coldly as he scolded them for their sloppiness.

With the Yakuza cell destroyed, Hans’s role began to wind down. But just as things seemed to settle, Jim discovered Hans’s connection to the Yakuza—specifically his involvement in the death of Jim’s wife. Jim arranged a confrontation at the observatory. Though emotions ran high, Jim ultimately let Hans go. Edward, like many others, saw the decision as weak.

Despite the ordeal, the damage to the Big Four was minimal—except to Edward. Claymore MC had been hit moderately hard during the embargo. And while the crisis had passed, the club’s losses, especially financially and a lack of trust planted seeds of unrest that would soon grow into something far more dangerous.