PART II:
Section 1: Bisham's Finest
The smell was ghastly and somewhat nauseating. Not the sweet, sour smell of clean sweat, but the intoxicating smell of old liquor and unwashed bodies pressing against each other. The music had a loud, echoing sound in the large room. It was that techno crap of the new age type music, not really interesting, mostly just there to give the mindless sheep something to dance to and someone to give there money to. Only the self-righteous youths were without drink. Most had had their first drink when they came in. Some lonely bachelor would be sure to buy himself as well as his sex interest a tipple. Margaritas were the obvious pick of the lot. All of the veterans in the club had their clique surrounding them in a tightly packed corner of the massive room. So many strobe lights and shiny reflectors sprinkled the ceiling and walls, it was a wonder people didn't go home with burnt retinas at the end of the night. Illegal was an unheard of word in this messy world of drugs, sex, and alcohol. A club among clubs, only the most prominent of the social classes were allowed in. There was no point in trying to get in with a fake I.D. Age doesn't matter in places like that. Just come with the right person and you're in.
There was a very respectable amount of business being passed in the rooms in the back. One of the more pronounced being Jack Vincent's arrangement on the balcony. A mighty heavy load of cocaine and heroin has been passed up and down those stairs in his lifetime, including the latest, "Hex". His father was closely related to the local mob, and on the basis of immunity to the police he began a simple business that was only illegal if you asked those who were bitter for being turned away. After a considerable amount of time, things became extremely complicated for such a simple man, and soon his employees did not consist of just his closest friends, but anyone he could find. Some were even junkies who were just looking for a quick easy way to always have a supply. Many of these junkies just happen to have been the clients of competitors. Most had been turned away because they were too needy and never had the money to front. Some became resentful of their old suppliers, but a surprising amount made deals to repay the cash they owed. These deals involved the downfall of Frank Vincent's up and coming business. All in all, it became quite the impossible task to tell where loyalties lie and how deep they plunged.
So Jack Vincent has decided that, after seeing his father run "the business", and then lose it, he ought to try the entrepreneur business. To the surprise of his father's old friends, within three years of business he somehow found himself in the back of a well-to-do club running scams on the local law enforcement. Within five years he was in the balcony with several hundred thousand dollars in the bank behind the wall at all times. It came to be that Jack was decidedly better at "the business" than the late Frank Vincent. Sure, the business wasn't clean, but Jack was fair with his money, the merchandise was top of the line, and best of all, there was much effort put into never leaving traces.
One might wonder how such a large business could go unnoticed and untouched. Well, if you have the right front, you're on the easy streak. Jack has always been a fan of the arts. He sponsored an academy for those talented individuals that go unacknowledged in the crazy whirlwind of education, such as painters, sculptors, musicians, poets, and writers. The academy's name was ADA-the Academy for Developing Arts.
He was a writer himself, and would frequently give lectures at the academy. His personal bodyguards would accompany him, and business would be done on the campus. Mostly the kids were into Hex. Injected into the tear duct, it was virtually impossible to detect without taking blood tests, and without just cause, the school could not perform this test on the students. The academy was Jacks lab rat, a place to test all of his new drugs. Up until Hex, all other drugs caused hallucinations, the inability to function properly, or had other noticeable effects on the students. Hex was more along the lines of a strong, addictive pick-me-upper that allowed the students to continue their studies. When a person subjected to Hex becomes addicted, they become more and more often depressed, therefore, buying larger quantities more often.
To the students, Hex was "the smart drug" because they seemed to absorb more of the information thrown at them. A small hit in the morning and they were instantly awake and alert. The drug was expensive, but many of the students going there had parents who were loaded up to their armpits in money. Some parents had sent their children away in the first place because it was easier not to feel guilty about not speaking to them, if sending money could fill that gap than so be it. These are the same parents that feel their children deserve the money for picking up their grades so much. Then there were the parental units that would send their children money just for the sake of looking gracious, when really they just wanted the kids out of their hair.
Hex was also among the top picks in Club Cahoon, where Jacks business is. The perfect party drug, Hex was only addictive if you took it often in the first place. To a nighttime high-flyer at the club, Hex allowed them to dance and go crazy until they literally collapsed. Traces of Hex are cleared of the system within 10 hours. If taken again before the system clears itself, the clearance time is doubled, making it 20 hours. If taken again before that time is up, the user has now developed a small but curable addiction, and clearance is now 30 hours. Taking more adds both to the addiction and clearance time, a combination that makes turning back almost impossible to achieve.
Up until nearly 6 months ago, Hex was sold solely on Bisham, but certain ingredients needed were only accessible from other planets, ones where the government had less control over the people. Jack's contacts on these planets naturally wanted a slice of the pie, and the selling of the drug became more renowned. Up until 3 months ago, the drug was undiscovered by the govt. Then the local cops raided a cargo ship on its way to another drop off spot, and Hex was discovered. Now the only way to retrieve these ingredients anywhere is by people transport ships. Mixed in among the luggage and supplies needed for the trip are regular looking boxes that are in fact miniature cooling units used to keep the chemicals fresh but inactive. Any pilot who is looking for some extra cash only has to label these boxes as his own cargo, and then pay the customs official some small hush-hush money to squeak the boxes by. Jack Vincent's problem is that there are only so many pilots willing to take the risk, and there are only a special few who know the way to Bisham in the first place since only new maps gave away the position of Bisham.
Section 1: Bisham's Finest
The smell was ghastly and somewhat nauseating. Not the sweet, sour smell of clean sweat, but the intoxicating smell of old liquor and unwashed bodies pressing against each other. The music had a loud, echoing sound in the large room. It was that techno crap of the new age type music, not really interesting, mostly just there to give the mindless sheep something to dance to and someone to give there money to. Only the self-righteous youths were without drink. Most had had their first drink when they came in. Some lonely bachelor would be sure to buy himself as well as his sex interest a tipple. Margaritas were the obvious pick of the lot. All of the veterans in the club had their clique surrounding them in a tightly packed corner of the massive room. So many strobe lights and shiny reflectors sprinkled the ceiling and walls, it was a wonder people didn't go home with burnt retinas at the end of the night. Illegal was an unheard of word in this messy world of drugs, sex, and alcohol. A club among clubs, only the most prominent of the social classes were allowed in. There was no point in trying to get in with a fake I.D. Age doesn't matter in places like that. Just come with the right person and you're in.
There was a very respectable amount of business being passed in the rooms in the back. One of the more pronounced being Jack Vincent's arrangement on the balcony. A mighty heavy load of cocaine and heroin has been passed up and down those stairs in his lifetime, including the latest, "Hex". His father was closely related to the local mob, and on the basis of immunity to the police he began a simple business that was only illegal if you asked those who were bitter for being turned away. After a considerable amount of time, things became extremely complicated for such a simple man, and soon his employees did not consist of just his closest friends, but anyone he could find. Some were even junkies who were just looking for a quick easy way to always have a supply. Many of these junkies just happen to have been the clients of competitors. Most had been turned away because they were too needy and never had the money to front. Some became resentful of their old suppliers, but a surprising amount made deals to repay the cash they owed. These deals involved the downfall of Frank Vincent's up and coming business. All in all, it became quite the impossible task to tell where loyalties lie and how deep they plunged.
So Jack Vincent has decided that, after seeing his father run "the business", and then lose it, he ought to try the entrepreneur business. To the surprise of his father's old friends, within three years of business he somehow found himself in the back of a well-to-do club running scams on the local law enforcement. Within five years he was in the balcony with several hundred thousand dollars in the bank behind the wall at all times. It came to be that Jack was decidedly better at "the business" than the late Frank Vincent. Sure, the business wasn't clean, but Jack was fair with his money, the merchandise was top of the line, and best of all, there was much effort put into never leaving traces.
One might wonder how such a large business could go unnoticed and untouched. Well, if you have the right front, you're on the easy streak. Jack has always been a fan of the arts. He sponsored an academy for those talented individuals that go unacknowledged in the crazy whirlwind of education, such as painters, sculptors, musicians, poets, and writers. The academy's name was ADA-the Academy for Developing Arts.
He was a writer himself, and would frequently give lectures at the academy. His personal bodyguards would accompany him, and business would be done on the campus. Mostly the kids were into Hex. Injected into the tear duct, it was virtually impossible to detect without taking blood tests, and without just cause, the school could not perform this test on the students. The academy was Jacks lab rat, a place to test all of his new drugs. Up until Hex, all other drugs caused hallucinations, the inability to function properly, or had other noticeable effects on the students. Hex was more along the lines of a strong, addictive pick-me-upper that allowed the students to continue their studies. When a person subjected to Hex becomes addicted, they become more and more often depressed, therefore, buying larger quantities more often.
To the students, Hex was "the smart drug" because they seemed to absorb more of the information thrown at them. A small hit in the morning and they were instantly awake and alert. The drug was expensive, but many of the students going there had parents who were loaded up to their armpits in money. Some parents had sent their children away in the first place because it was easier not to feel guilty about not speaking to them, if sending money could fill that gap than so be it. These are the same parents that feel their children deserve the money for picking up their grades so much. Then there were the parental units that would send their children money just for the sake of looking gracious, when really they just wanted the kids out of their hair.
Hex was also among the top picks in Club Cahoon, where Jacks business is. The perfect party drug, Hex was only addictive if you took it often in the first place. To a nighttime high-flyer at the club, Hex allowed them to dance and go crazy until they literally collapsed. Traces of Hex are cleared of the system within 10 hours. If taken again before the system clears itself, the clearance time is doubled, making it 20 hours. If taken again before that time is up, the user has now developed a small but curable addiction, and clearance is now 30 hours. Taking more adds both to the addiction and clearance time, a combination that makes turning back almost impossible to achieve.
Up until nearly 6 months ago, Hex was sold solely on Bisham, but certain ingredients needed were only accessible from other planets, ones where the government had less control over the people. Jack's contacts on these planets naturally wanted a slice of the pie, and the selling of the drug became more renowned. Up until 3 months ago, the drug was undiscovered by the govt. Then the local cops raided a cargo ship on its way to another drop off spot, and Hex was discovered. Now the only way to retrieve these ingredients anywhere is by people transport ships. Mixed in among the luggage and supplies needed for the trip are regular looking boxes that are in fact miniature cooling units used to keep the chemicals fresh but inactive. Any pilot who is looking for some extra cash only has to label these boxes as his own cargo, and then pay the customs official some small hush-hush money to squeak the boxes by. Jack Vincent's problem is that there are only so many pilots willing to take the risk, and there are only a special few who know the way to Bisham in the first place since only new maps gave away the position of Bisham.
