Welcome to Amsterdam, chummers. This here is our Freehaven, where we are the law so you'd best behave. Security and neutrality is guaranteed by at least half a dozen different Penose crimelords, not to mention support from the Albanian mob and even the Yakuza. So just behave, or you'll make enemies of at least half the Dutch underworld. On a happier note, you got a proper garage for your storage, a bunk that should be reasonable comfortable, and a breakfast buffet that is included in the rent. Just remember, safety on, or head off.
History
Freehaven Mokum existed in a less formal way for quite a few years already, several Penose crimelords teaming up to maintain a proper neutral area at the old abandoned docks. Here they sent their mercs, their runners, their witnesses, their mistresses, and so on. From lousy coffins to large penthouses, the place offered all, and the crimelords teamed up on security. And then the Unawakening came, and the Frisian took charge. He invested in the shared areas, beefed up security, arranged for more allies, and bam, a proper Freehaven was born. Since the Penose do not get paid for originality, the city's old nickname now became the unofficial title of the place.
This investment proved worthwhile when Popular Will used the Unawakening to plan the violent deaths of pretty much every criminal awakened in the United Netherlands. With so many of them holed up in Freehaven Mokum, Popular Will chose to send an entire army of skinheads after us. But despite the presence of infiltrants, their plans fell to ruin and their troops were eliminated with extreme prejudice. So great was the bloodbath, they still are having a hard time replenishing their numbers even now.
Afterwards, everyone decided that y'know what, they actually liked the setup. So now the place has more official protocols, its own Havenmaster, meeting rooms, mess halls, errand boys and whatnot. The UNL shadows are starting to become familiar with the place, with more and more Mr. Johnsons, or Meneer Janssens as they usually call themselves here, contacting the Freehaven whenever they're in need of runners for hire.
Layout
Honestly, the place is a bit of a labyrinth, both by happenstance and by design. It originally was temporary and permanent housing, docks, abandoned warehouses and whatnot connected more and more with covered passageways to keep out the acid rain and toxic sludge. With the renovation, the place was fortified, buildings connected to each other by new walls and roofs, some old places torn down, secure rooms built everywhere for every kind of possible lifestyle. There's even several bars and a library! And thanks to all the changes, the Freehaven is effectively a fort if needed, but with an open drawbridge. Figuratively.
Now you might be thinking, can't you just give us a map. And uh, no. They kind of like their security by obscurity, so they frown upon any kind of map or recording of the layout. You'll be told what's relevant to you, and if needed you can find partial floor plans, but the exact layout is classified. Anyone who gets overly curious or pushy about the layout, is at risk of meeting the business end of the Frisian's fists. To no surprise, his violent nature means he has neither the patience nor the kindness to suffer any fools.
Occupants
While some of the employees actually live on the premises, many live nearby and just take the bike to work. That's bicycle, not motorbike. This applies to security but also normal staff. It's a job that pays surprisingly well, since discretion pay is basically included. Nobody saw nothing around here, at least that's what they would say in court. With a few drinks down at the bar, it's a whole different story altogether.
Another rather-frequent, but variable, type of occupants are the Shadowrunners. Criminals dropping by the United Netherlands or Amsterdam for a short while, or longer while if they need to lay low for whatever drek they got in elsewhere, will be provided with safehouse access by their contacts. An upside to them is that it's easy for any interested Js to reach them, which helps when you're basically a fish out of water and would like the opportunity to make some dough.
There's more, of course. Some Penose soldiers and even higher-ranked criminals enjoy the comfort and being harder to target for liquidation, crimelords and their security details will sometimes lay low here, even the occasional mistress. Hell, anyone who cannot afford a Moenen safehouse might just flee here to use a coffin rather than end up in, well, an actual coffin. As long as you're not being actively looked for by the law, you can find a safe haven here. See what I did there?
Then there's of course just random people on the run, or down on their luck. You make too many enemies, you hide here, where your safety is mostly guaranteed. Anyone come after you here, they are extremely likely to regret it. Briefly, usually. You screw around within the Safehaven, security tends not to bother with a trial. Your commlink is all they need to figure out who sent you. So uh, yeah, don't be a dumbass.
Jurisdiction
Amsterdam West, not to be confused with Amsterdam New-West located just west of it, has no official security contract. This means that while the police may venture here if needed, security is mostly handled by gangs and Penose soldiers. The same applies to the Freehaven, located at the northern tip of the district. There's a lot of different folks that are basically on rotating shifts, putting aside any and all grudges when they're at work. At the bars, however, with a few drinks down? Things might get a bit messy, albeit without weapons. After all, we know who really is in charge here... Hinthint, it's the guy who really doesn't like you swinging a weapon around within his house.
That's right, that violent fragface that claimed an entire drekkin' drowned province as his nickname! Hell, I don't think anyone even knows his real name. Everyone simply knows him as the Frisian. Mokum was his pet project, a way for him to control the peace without having to send out an entire army to secure his territory. Sure, everyone else is involved and everyone else has an opinion and offers contributions. But he's the big shot that runs the show.
That said, he knows better than to piss people off. After all, a massive project like this depends on trust, and trust is easily broken. So he holds back, rarely shows his face, flexes some muscles every now and then just to remind people he's still watching, but all in all he makes sure that even he himself respects the place's neutrality. And as a result, pretty much every organized crime group in the country knows they have a safe place here. Even the fraggin' cops. Hell, even the Vory. Though, again, bar fights, easy to catch a fist... Not many of them dare to visit.
Speaking of cops. Don't bring down the heat. Lawless as this part of Amsterdam might be, nobody's interested in getting into a firefight with the fuzz. If the cops come knocking, while they might do it carefully, it still means you're likely to get evicted.
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