Offices

“	No one is truly free in the City. Every person is chained to something. Not a single thing appears to be done out of free will; Fixers obey their Offices, and those Offices obey the Associations, even if they know full well that their orders might get them killed. The same goes for the Syndicates. Everyone is heading somewhere, but no one knows where, and no one can decide where to go. They’re all drifting along with the flow.	”
–Angela, Urban Nightmare Introduction

Fixer Offices, or Offices, are small professional business organizations run by Fixers within the City. They are one of the main types of guests in the game.

Description

“	After acquiring the license, the Fixer must join an ‘Office’. After all, it’s nigh impossible for a no-name Fixer to take jobs on their own. Choosing the right Office is also important, but you can worry about that later.	”
–A Grade 8 Fixer, Page 3

Offices are the first step of the Fixer hierarchy, overseen by the Associations. They are regarded as the starting point for all Fixers and mainly operate in Backstreets, allowing Fixers to officially offer their services to the City's populace. It is exceedingly hard for Fixers to find work otherwise.

New or incompetent Fixers do not have the necessary connections or resources to make it on their own without joining even the worst Office. Fixers of high prowess are sought after by all Offices, and are proudly displayed and supported by the Offices which are lucky enough to have them. The head of an Office is generally called an Operator, and they are the one most responsible for the financial situation of their Office, such as paying the monthly rent for their Office space. When employed by an Office, Fixers are not allowed to undertake work on their own without their Office's awareness and consent. Just like Fixers, Offices are graded on a numerical scale, where Grade 9 is the lowest and Grade 1 is the highest.

Offices vary greatly in size, method, and style, and can be commonly found throughout every District of the City, even in the Nests. While some Offices can have cooperative, almost familial relationships among their members, others will have Fixers who have no qualms about betraying and exploiting each other to find success. In fact, one-man Offices are also possible, though they are rare. While this can severely limit the amount of work and the income the Office will receive, it also allows for more freedom, since the Office's sole Fixer is effectively self-employed.

An Office's image is essential for marketing purposes. Formality and professionalism attract clients, and this is reflected most in the attire of the Office's Fixers. Because of this, most Offices use strict dress codes. They will deal with Tailors in order to have attire which will both reflect the Office's class and provide utility in combat situations.

Offices receive work in the form of requests and are paid upon completion of the request. These requests are often put under strict contracts which act as physical evidence to avoid either side reneging on their deal, as commonly happens without such contracts. Contracts also provide proof of an Office's performance for grading purposes. In fact, certain Offices exist entirely to handle the official and legal matters relating to contracts. Offices can accept work from any client, whether they are an average denizen of the Backstreets or even an executive of a Wing, and are paid accordingly (with room for negotiation.) A request made by a Wing can pay enough to secure three months' of an Office's finances, though the credibility and reputation that a Wing's trust gives is far more valuable to the Office's business.

Relations

Between Offices

Due to manpower difficulties and the inability to specialize in all fields, Offices often partner together to provide support and reinforcement when needed. This can lead to Offices becoming sister Offices, working more closely with each other than with other partners.

Otherwise, Offices are generally business rivals, competing with each other to find success in the oversaturated Fixer market. Many Offices resort to sensational stunts or outlandish sales claims for advertising... although those claims are often steeped in dishonest practices, if not outright lies. Offices are also known for other shady business practices in pursuit of profit, such as massively overcharging potential clients.

Associations

Main article: Associations

All Offices are regulated and overseen by the Associations, and Associations delegate work to Offices. The Hana Association in particular holds regulatory power over Offices and Fixers in general; they grant permits for creating Offices and also grade them based on their performance. The Hana also rates the threat levels of the City's hazards, which determines the requests given to Offices.

Offices can directly subordinate themselves to an Association, becoming an associate Office of that organization. This guarantees that the Office will receive stable payment from its Association and will not have to worry about finding work. However, associate Offices must complete any request given to them by their Association, even if they carry a high risk of wiping out the Office.

Syndicates

Main article: Syndicates

Syndicates can be viewed as the more criminal versions of Offices, and more often than not they are at odds with each other. Notably, Syndicates are known to conduct "Office raids" without warning to gain notoriety. While these raids are sometimes little more than brawls, some Syndicates will go as far as wiping out the entire Office. However, Syndicates and Offices can also be viewed as two sides of a mutual relationship, as without Syndicates to fight against, many Offices would not have nearly as much work available.

The greatest difference between Syndicates and Offices is that Syndicates are not subject to the strict hierarchy of Fixers. While this makes them less reliable, being far more likely to renege on a deal, there are also some advantages; they can act with far more freedom. Some Syndicates function almost like unlicensed Offices, accepting requests and targeting criminals, and refuse to become Offices simply because of the copious formalities and preparations needed.

Specializations

Much like Fixers in general, Offices undertake a wide variety of work which is not purely combat-focused, including dispute mediation, investigation, and even psychiatric counseling. Types of Offices include:

• Combat Offices: Specialize in battle. This comes in many forms, be it direct warfare, strategic analysis, or other.
• Peacekeeping Offices: Specialize in securing and protecting a specified area for a given length of time; the size of this area is dependent on the size of the Office.
• Notary public Offices: Also known as contract Offices, they specialize in negotiating and enforcing notarial acts (contracts) for other Offices and groups. They are responsible for ensuring that such deals are honored. Though less common than other Offices, the City is divided into "domains," and at least one notary public Office can be found in each domain.

One particular type of Office is on the rise, specializing in cases of the Distortion Phenomenon. The growing presence of this threat has quickly made it a lucrative chance for those who are seeking a place in the world of Fixers and have the skills to take it on. Moses' Office is the best example of this.

Known Offices

Name	Known Members	Description
Yun’s Office	Operator: Yun Eri Finn	A low-ranking Office which has fallen into hard times.
Hook Office	McCullin Naoki Taein	An Office employing ex-Syndicate members, known to utilize brutal tactics to stand out.
Streetlight Office	Operator: San Lulu Mars	An associate Office of the Zwei Association, specializing in area peacekeeping.
Molar Office	Operator: Olga Mika Rain	A small Office currently hired by R Corp.
Full-Stop Office	Liwei Stephan Tamaki	An Office which specializes in long-ranged assassinations, currently hired by Director Yujin of the Shi Association.
Dawn Office	Operator: Salvador Philip Yuna	A wealthy Grade 4 Office affiliated with the Liu Association located in the Nest of District 22.
Gaze Office	Operator: Alloc Bono Dalloc	An Office whose members have cybernetically augmented and/or replaced their bodies.
Wedge Office	Operator: Oscar Pamela Pameli	A sister Office of Dawn Office, specializing in precise situational assessment and piercing attacks.
Jeong’s Office	Hanafuda	An affiliate Office of the Öufi Association in Nest J, specializing in gambling dispute resolution.
Cane Office	President: Nemo Bada Martina	A wealthy notary public Office capable of handling Star of the City-class requests.
The Udjat	Captain: Moses (formerly) Ezra (formerly) Han Hee-joon	Officially a large Grade 1 Office. In practice, it is more similar to a Syndicate which acts as Dias' private militia.
Bayard’s Office	Operator: Bayard	An Office with ties to former members of Charles' Office.
Clam Office	N/A	An Office whose Fixers used to collaborate with the Kingfishers Syndicate, now said to be "gone."
Charles' Office (defunct)	Operator: Charles Roland Olivier Astolfo Ogier Naimon Renaud Angelica (all formerly)	A Grade 1 Office capable of handling Star of the City-class requests, now said to be disbanded.
Moses' Office	Operator: Moses Ezra YuRia Vespa Crabro Han Hee-joon (formerly)	A small investigative Office run by Moses, the Distortion Detective; affiliated with the Seven Association.
Ame Office	Kaoru	An Office with ties to Moses' Office.
Dou Gui Combat Office	Operator: Zhang Lei (formerly) Fei Lei (current)	A Grade 2 combat Office in District 14 with strong emphasis on loyalty.
Rusk's Office	Operator: Rusk	An Office contracted to protect Hotel Larriere.
Bloom Office	Flower Taii Ella Finn	A small Office shown in WonderLab, created by former employees of L Corp. Branch O-5681.

Trivia

According to game director Kim Jihoon, the design of Offices was largely inspired by law firms.