The Façade of Quad in Nimrod ✓ | Satire, family drama, dark society

XII

Henry had started to move around to try to distract himself from feeling hunger. At this point, it was near painful like a stomach ache. 

So, he wandered. He was used to walking around with no aim and wondered now if this was a skill he had. Those were the only thoughts that crossed his tired mind now. Deep down inside, Henry was still shaken from what happened and he couldn't believe it was still Tuesday.

Not a single Quad, in fact, could believe it was still Tuesday. All were at wonder that so many things could happen in twenty-four hours.

The bushes near Henry rustled, making him jump. While he guessed it was some wild animal, it was actually one of Nelly's urchins that had come to spy on him. Two had followed him from Nimrod into Mourning, watching, waiting to see what was going to happen now so they could report to their Master.

Back in the battered streets of Nimrod, Nelly pushed the door open to a jeweler's shop. She needed some luxury and she needed it now.

"Good afternoon." She smiled coyly at the older man behind the counter as he polished a necklace piece. "I know you, uh," She leaned in, lowering her voice, "have some midnight oil?" 

She produced a thread-bound packet of pholars out from her bodice, eighty in total. Recently, she had captured a new 'cow'—her term for a rich man—to milk. He turned out to be a jackpot who didn't seem to mind the extremely high prices she put on her information.

The jeweler looked at her over his eyeglasses and put down his work. "This way miss, I have just the gem you're looking for," he said, but she had not come for jewelry. It was all coded talk to avoid the eyes of police just to be safe. 

Although, the police didn't put much effort into controlling this trade. It was international and almost impossible to tell where all this opium was coming from.

The jeweler led her into the back room and further beyond three doors and one narrow hallway and several curtains until they came to a door painted in red with a single golden lion as a knocker in the middle.

He opened the door and called, "A ten packet." There was shuffling in the back room and then finally a grunt response from inside. Nelly walked into the darkened room and was guided to a bed. An oil lamp on a table with a pipe next to it was her luxury.

"Tin pawkeet," the man who guided her said in a thick Jonchese accent. Nelly thanked him, handed him the money, and sent him away disgusted at the way his eyes traveled up and down her body as if he would rather have a different kind of payment. 

She lay down on the bed and breathed in the air, tainted with the luxurious scent of her daily dose of opium. Ever since her first 'cow' in Lwendolen got her on it, she could not go a day without.

The opium trade was rife all over the world. Although some countries had begun to crack down on the case, it was hard to know who owned what and where it was all coming from. The black market had a deeper side to it, often called the "trade of the abyss" or, at times, "Davy Jones' Locker" as it was thought to have come from the sea. It was the black of the black, the dark of the dark, the deepest pit of all corruption that was led by a single person. 

Not one person who set foot in the abyss even knew if the mastermind were a man or woman. Whoever it was, was undoubtedly rich as the opium trade brought in cash like no other product. People addicted to the stuff were willing to spend fortunes to get their next fix just to get back into that dreamy state of mind. To them, it was instant heaven.

Taking a long sniff, Nelly drifted off into her own dream filled with happiness. Nelly was very obviously addicted, and her hands would tremble in withdrawal if she missed a few days, but unlike other patrons who frequented the joint, her mind was still clear. While she sniffed and indulged in the drug, she concocted a master plan she knew would get her more than just hundreds of pholars, but thousands and her key ingredient was the Quad family.