Barry Lewis
Barry Lewis is an officer of the NCPD residing in his apartment in H10 megabuilding, Little China, Watson.
Biography
2077 has been a tough year for Barry, dealing with the increased rate of crime following the mayor's death and colleagues that simply having no further depth than job efficacy. Sure, Barry wants to do the right thing and help the people of Night City, but that's somewhat difficult when every crazed gangoon or murderous corpo that gets into trouble with the law seems to be deep in the pockets of someone who can make their crimes go away with a simple transfer of eddies to the chief's wallet, or can close an investigation faster than the NCPD can open it. To make matters worse, his best friend Andrew recently passed away, leaving him feeling alone in an unforgiving world. In order to process his thoughts and deal with inner turmoil, Berry has taken an indefinite leave from work without providing a proper elaboration, which has incited worry among his colleagues. After an extended time of not responding to their holo calls or emails, Juan Mendez and Nadia Petrova, both fellow officers of the NCPD, have decided to pay Barry a personal visit. However, their voices were ignored, as Barry failed to feel sincerity in their intention and feared they would not understand him should he actually explain the nature of his troubles.
Passing through the megabuilding atrium, V can encounter the two officers standing in front of the apartment and desperately wanting Barry to open the door. Should V decide to interfere, they will make use of the neighbourly acquaintanceship and send V to try to get Barry to open up and finally explain what's truly going on.
How V approaches this task will be pivotal to Barry's fate. Being kind or using the body dialogue check (5 required) will provide entrance to his rather unkempt apartment. Barry is willing to talk to a stranger, much more freely, in fact, than he could to his colleagues - ones he considered friends as well. He will soon realize that V thinks that his state is simply due to the loss of a close friend, as is what Mendez and Petrova had said, so he decides elaborate on the story. A lot of bad events have stricken poor Barry in recent months, from overlooked injustices to witnessing a murder of a child by a Maelstrom gangoon, only for the case to be thrown out with the paperwork and ruled a suicide because this particular gangoon had a friend in a high place. Through it all, his old pal Andrew has been with him; in fact, he's been with Barry since even before the world started losing sense, so his departure seems to have broken the only strand of hope Barry had of better days being remembered. He will also note that Andrew's remains now rest in a niche in the Columbarium, indicating that there might be something worth investigating.
If V talks to Petrova and Mendez without visiting Andrew's niche:
- V has not learned enough information, only that Barry can no longer stand his job and wants understanding, something V relays to Mendez and Petrova. Mendez will think that Barry is just a "drama queen", ignoring Barry's real feelings, and believing Barry just needs to take some time alone to toughen up and pull himself together. Unfortunately, without anyone to talk to, Barry will commit suicide several hours later, leaving Mendez sobbing and regretting his words.
If V visits Andrew's niche in the Columbarium, then goes back and tells Petrova and Mendez:
- After arriving at the Columbarium, V reads the description on Andrew's niche. Much to V's surprise, the so-called Andrew is actually a tortoise, instead of a human. With Johnny's help and explanations, V realizes that Barry is not well at all: he couldn't bring himself to talk about his issues with his human companions for fear of being ridiculed for having "pussy genes" (in Mendez's words), so Andrew was all Barry had to keep him from doing something stupid - and now Andrew is gone.
- V goes back to the megabuilding and tells the officers about Andrew and how serious Barry's situation is. Mendez initially refuses to believe it, but he and Petrova eventually realize what Barry has been going through. After the conversation, they decide to talk with Barry, with Mendez opening up about a similar incident with a murdered child he had, and Barry finally lets them into his apartment to help him start the long road to recovery.
Associated Quests
Humans of Night City
HUMANS OF NIGHT CITY – BARRY
My grandma used to tell me that a man has to settle down. Get a house and a steady job. Find stability. Wasn't buyin' none of that until I got my own place. Boy, was she right! Preem idea that was – gettin' a pad in the heart of the city. On top of that, I managed to lock down a pretty sweet mortgage deal. Another perk of bein' a cop. How many jobs come with guaranteed life insurance, right? Knowing that I have a place of my own provides me with a much-needed sense of security – in 2076, one less thing to worry about is all you could ask for. I'm done driftin' and I've dropped my anchor. Maybe you find it surprising that a cop thinks about mundane shit like that, but when putting your life on the line is your 9-to-5, being able to come back to a place you can call home makes a world of difference.[1]
Notes
- It is possible to read the messages and files on Barry's computer once V is in his apartment. He will dislike it but will not become hostile.
- The footnotes on the files in his computer show he's been spending a lot of time digging through old cases that seem to have omitting of evidence in common.