And rarely is it quite as comfortable as simply 'moving in'. It's rolling in, digging out all opposition and brutally killing it, while said opposition fights violently to overthrow you.

KE cannot simply overthrow or crack down on a single syndicate. The result would be serious bloodshed. Their plan of action should be as such:
1) Integrate yourself with the underworld. Establish contacts. Offer clemency and bonuses for snitches and gangs who change their alliance (and provide value).
2) Find one or two targets who are poorly connected, who do not hold a critical niche (i.e. do not provide security to their area of operation) and who have not changed their loyalties to KE. Whether they are loyal to LS or not is irrelevant, it'll be egg on LS's face. Persecute those groups extremely hard, making big news and wiping them off the map. This is a slight against LS, but more importantly, a stick to other groups who haven't come over to KS's side yet. Repeat regularly to keep that fear going, and to keep the illusion of being effective against crime.
3) Determine which major organizations feed KE's needs best. This would likely be the Mafia, because the Mafia shares more of a connection with Ares than either do with any other group. Also making connections with the Seoulpa Rings might be prudent, as they're potent, currently untapped, and aggressively anti-Yak and anti-Triads. They will want to make a graceful shift in power from their drek-list syndicates to their favored syndicates, by making precise hits, hitting certain gangs, busting up businesses, etc. These should be strategically done. No piece of turf should be threatened without a supporting character there to pick it up, control it and establish it. Freeing a block so it goes into violent riots or falls into the hands of another competing syndicate is worse than leaving it in the hands of an undesired syndicate.
4) Ensure that, even when the balance of power has shifted, that the drek-list syndicates are never eliminated from the arena. This avoids desperate last stands, and more importantly, gives them a stick to use against their favored syndicate, should relations turn sour. The more precarious a balance KE can maintain, the better. If the Mafia ONLY makes money because KE is actively keeping the Yaks in check, that means the Mafia will break necks to keep the contract from defaulting back to LS.

That makes a LOT of space for shadowrunners, since they'll need non-affiliated specialists with plausible deniability.


However, this is Shadowrun. It's just as likely they'll come in like a bull in a china shop, crashing into everything they see, knocking down every syndicate simultaneously. This isn't cost-effective (it's very expensive and results in 0 income, but KE can do it because they don't necessarily have to make a profit, just to stroke Knight's ego), and in the short- and long-term it'll result in massive armed rebellion at every level as every hobo with a board with a nail decides to take advantage of the vacuum to establish his own little gang. Violence will spill over into even the AAA areas, as syndicates with large ordinance decide to strike back at KE and do everything in their power to get them forced out.

Given this is Shadowrun, it might go yet another way - Ares might spin off a 'syndicate' of their own. These Black Knights have no official connection to Ares, but have incredible resources and always seem to miss the KE crackdowns while the competition gets crushed. There aren't many profitable vices that are too unsavory for a megacorp to want a piece of, if they thought they could get away with it. Once they've carved out a turf of their own, they get to call the shots, which means the gang maximizes profit and minimizes bad PR for KE.

Why would they do this rather than simply absorb an existing syndicate? Also, it's not much of a syndicate if it's only one city. Since KE already operates in other cities and hasn't done this, I suspect they aren't going to go this way.

I admit it's unorthodox, and I'm just throwing ideas around.

It occurred to me that the reason that removing the organized crime is a bad idea is that there is still a huge market for the services it provides. As long as there is a market for BTLs, chems, sex and guns, there will be somebody selling. Why not accept that and simply take over? It's a variant on the 'Legalize it and Tax the Hell Out of it' economic theory.

The Black Knights (obviously would need a less obvious name on the street) would be a reliable, stable vice provider. No psychos, quality merch, no innocent bystanders whacked for no reason, and no KE busts. You've still got junkies and chipheads to deal with, but the dealers aren't shooting people to make a point - it would be a net gain for the city as far as stability, and it would drop violent crime dramatically. More importantly, it's a chance for Ares Black Ops to secure a significant revenue stream.

It's complicated, and it does assume that Ares has the resources to crush the syndicates in Seattle without anyone noticing. Still, I find it an intriguing approach to law enforcement.

Well... like you said, they'd need a less obvious name so... who says one of the minor and less violent groups isn't really an Ares front? What I've always liked about the shadowrun setting is some of the connections are left for you to make...