The Run this Town quest in Cyberpunk 2077 Phantom Liberty includes a very stealthy spy fantasy ending befitting the espionage-themed expansion. After the end of the Firestarter mission, Kurt Hansen is gone for good and now there is a power void within Dogtown and you are summoned by Mr. Hands to deal with the situation. It seems like there are two main contenders who are in the running to become the Lord of Dogtown.
The choice is between two of Hansen’s lieutenants: Jago Szabô and Chester Bennett. Mr. Hands, though, already has made the choice and prefers the latter to be a suitable leader to run Dogtown after the events of Phantom Liberty in Cyberpunk 2077. He is however doubtful that Jago would be delighted with this news and recommends that Hansen’s Chief accountant be dealt with before the transfer of power within Barghest.
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Accept Mr. Hands’ Proposition
If you offer your assistance in the matter, Mr. Hands accepts but presents a unique proposition to make things work. You are asked to assume the role of cold-blooded Cuban assassin Aguilar Nubiola to take on this unique mission to bring order to impending chaos. Being a foreign assassin, the people of Downtown in Phantom Liberty aren’t too familiar with Aguilar or his ways.
Aguilar’s clandestine identity offers the perfect gambit to deal with the Jago-Bennett situation without drawing attention to V or Mr. Hands. The first step in Mr. Hands’ grand plan is to thwart a meeting Jago has planned with the Voodoo Boys of Dogtown. You are given free rein on how the entire mission turns out from this point forward.
Deal with the Voodoo Boys
Although there are multiple ways this mission can play out, there is only one outcome that you can expect from this stage of the quest. You can head to the designated meeting place where the Voodoo Boys are waiting for Jagon. You can proceed to interact with their leader and convince them to walk out when they still can. The Voodoo Boys though are just Downtown Gonks, so extinguishing them is the only way to ensure that you get to pick who runs the town in Phantom Liberty.
Once the Voodoo Boys are dealt with, you can casually wait by a giant rock nearby and give Jago a cold welcome as he arrives to meet with his new compatriots. Jago is surprised to find that the ruthless killer from Havana has destroyed his possible allies and needless to say, is displeased. You can try to dissuade Jago, but the temptation of power is not easy to walk away from.
You’ll have to flex your murderous traits once more to prove you mean business. Jago understands the folly in his plan as you make short work of his aide’s attempt to kill you. Jago is ready to back down from his plans to run the town in Phantom Liberty and leaves after offering one crucial piece of intel that reveals a larger plot. Bennett is apparently just a pawn in a larger ploy by the rogue outfit Araska to control downtown.
If you had passed a 15 cool check in your earlier interaction with the Voodoo Boys or a 14 body check with Jago after the massacre, he will reveal a bonus detail about Bennett’s secret meeting with the Araska. From this point forward, the decisions you make will impact the outcome of this mission.
The Bennett-Araska Ploy
After Jago’s ambitions are quelled, you are given two options. You can either head to the Black Saphire directly to attend Hansen’s wake or pursue the optional mission of meeting Bennett before the wake. If you choose the second option, you get to meet Bennett after he has concluded his meeting with Araska.
As you arrive at the meeting place, you are tasked to take down Bennett’s driver, hide his body, and take over his position behind the wheels of the Baughest Officer’s exuberant ride. As Bennett arrives, he unknowingly blurts out his ploy to run downtown in Phantom Liberty. As you turn around and reveal your identity, Bennett is shocked as if he had just seen a ghost.
Bennett’s reaction upon meeting Aguilar seems to give the impression that Mr. Hands’ trust in him was indeed misplaced. But Aguilar is a shrewd and at times, a ruthless negotiator. And much like Jago, he makes Bennett see the error in his ways. An intriguing conversation regarding Aguilar’s expertise in tying a necktie the Columbian way convinces Bennett that he is better off siding with Mr. Hands than with Araska.
There is another way this conversation plays out. Instead of reminding Bennett of Aguilar’s murderous prowess, you can offer him a geography lesson which leads to a boss fight. After you have brought Bennett to his knees, you can talk some sense into him and give him a few options. You can either offer Bennett the authority to run downtown in Phantom Liberty or convince him that Jago is a better fit.
Whichever option you choose you’ll find that neither of Hansen’s Lieutenants actually knows how to keep their word.
Head to the Wake
No matter which option you choose after your encounter with Jago, you will ultimately have to head to Hansen’s wake after having a brief discussion with Mr. Hands on your intent. In the conversation, you can let Mr. Hands know of the choice you made and his response depends on what the potential outcome of the choices means to him.
Talk With Mr. Hands Outcomes
| Your Choice | Outcome |
| Dissuade Jago and inform Mr. Hand about Bennett’s Plan without taking any further action | He is glad you have taken Jago and the Voodoo boys out of the Equation and doesn’t buy the Bennett Araksa story dismissing it as a scared man attempt at weaseling out of a tough situation |
| Dissuade Jago, but do not inform Mr. Hands about the Araska situation | Mr. Hands is glad you dealt the situation effectively and is completely oblivious to any other ploy. |
| Dissuade Jago but choose him over Bennett | Mr. Hands is furious about the whole situation and demands that you set things straight. He emphasizes that the Araska are not his concern whatsoever and wants to see Bennett control the BARGHEST at any cost. |
| Dissuade Jago and choose Bennet after making him sever ties with Araska | Mr. Hands acknowledges the Araska threat and is glad you dealt with it before it could go any further. |
All these outcomes suggest that Mr. Hands wants to choose Bennett over Jago at any cost and regardless of your choice, the ultimate decision is still made at the wake. You head to the wake yet again as Aguilar, only to find that the quest still hangs in the balance and that either of the two can still become the leader of BARGHEST. The ending to the quest starts with you approaching Bennet and Jago and proceeding with the decision on who gets to Run the Town in Phantom Liberty.
Who gets to be the Lord of Dogtown?
| Dialogue Choice | Scenario 1 | Scenario 2 | Scenario 3 |
| A fair price Jago. One you will pay. | Jago is asked to surrender all his contacts but he refuses. Bennett kills him. | Jago accepts the offer and decides to share his contacts and remain loyal to Bennett. | Kill Bennett before he can get to Jago as in Option 1. In this case Jago becomes the leader of BARGHEST |
| No, you do not get a new toy Bennett. | Bennett becomes the leader but does not get to lord over Jago. Jago leaves BARGHEST | Bennett after becoming leader decides he is sacrificing too much and kills Jago | – |
| Show your Weapon Impose your authority | Make Jago agree to the terms by threatening him in which case he still lives and serves as Bennett’s Lieutenant. | Make Bennett the leader and let Jago leave and avoid bloodshed | Let Jago become the leader in which case you’ll have to kill Bennett |
Most of the scenarios revolve around Bennett becoming the new leader of BARGHEST and thereby being able to run the town in Phantom Liberty. Any option that leads to this ending will please Mr. Hands and you will be rewarded handsomely. Letting Jago become the leader though will earn you the wrath of Mr. Hands. The only way Jago gets to lead BARGHEST though is by killing Bennett. None of the outcomes of the Run the Town quest have any consequence on the final ending of the Phantom Liberty expansion playthrough. So, the choice is completely up to you and if pursued early game, you get to experience a completely different Dogtown you helped create.
