Once the heartbeat of global finance, Wall Street was a symbol of power, excess, and influence. Towering skyscrapers lined its narrow streets, housing the titans of capitalism who pulled the strings of the world's economy. But when the Green Poison ripped through New York City, this symbol of stability crumbled fast, turning the Financial District into a war zone of desperation, corruption, and lawlessness.
Pre-Pandemic[]
Wall Street stood as a monument to capitalism — home to the New York Stock Exchange, massive investment banks, and luxury high-rises. The area bustled with traders, executives, and tourists. As news of the virus first spread, financial markets crashed and panic ensued. In a matter of days, Wall Street turned from a beacon of stability into a fortress of fear.
The Green Poison Outbreak[]
With the Dollar Flu directly linked to contaminated banknotes, Wall Street became a symbolic and literal epicenter of infection. Quarantine zones were hastily established around major financial buildings. The government tried to lock the area down, but order dissolved faster than containment efforts could hold.
The Rikers[]
The Rikers, hardened criminals who broke free during the Dollar Flu chaos, initially unified under Larae Barrett to exploit Manhattan's lawlessness, targeting authorities like the JTF and NYCP for revenge. After Barrett's death at the hands of Second Wave Division agents, a power vacuum emerged until James Dragov, a former First Wave Division agent, assumed leadership.
Dragov, a former NYCP officer born to a Russian crime family, was driven by a complex sense of justice. Disillusioned by corruption within the NYCP and the Division's mishandling of the crisis, he went rogue during the Rikers Island riots, killing the warden and freeing prisoners, including Barrett, by tossing her the keys. Convinced by a Riker named Duchess to lead the faction, Dragov transformed the Rikers into a disciplined force, establishing a black market empire centered on Wall Street.
Under Dragov's command, the Rikers stormed the New York Stock Exchange, turning it into their headquarters. The trading floor, once a symbol of order, became a fortified maze of barricades, weapon caches, and black market goods like meat, armor, and ammunition. Dragov, a heavy weapons and defense specialist, ruled with a fierce loyalty to his "family" of Rikers, whom he protected fiercely, even under pressure from rogue agent Aaron Keener, who coerced Dragov into supplying biohazard materials for his schemes.