Viktor looked around the shop. He'd been up before day break sorting and cleaning the piles of clutter from the shelves and floor. It was finally starting to look like a respectable place of business. Mirko had allowed the mess to remain long enough, Master Ue was a brilliant smith but had no head for organization or business. In truth it was a miracle he'd managed to keep himself and his daughter fed let alone keep the shop open.

Vik was going to change that. Ue's smithy would be the talk of Anaxas, it would be THE place for weapons and armor. In order for that to happen, Vik was faced with a few challenges. The protection money Ue was paying to the Bad Brothers would have to cease somehow. Viktor was also going to have to clean up the neighborhood, no one was going to risk going to a run down shop in a crime ridden part of town. Lastly, he was going to have to improve their clientele, get into business with legitimate arms dealers and merchants.

These were all long term goals of course, his first priority had been getting the shop in order and looking professional. Next step would be cleaning up the neighborhood, getting the local merchants together and making a stand against the torment of the crime lords. It would be difficult and dangerous. This didn't matter to him but Ue and Daisy could easily get caught up in violence once the cash flow to the Bad Brothers begin to dwindle. A neighborhood protection group of some sort would be needed. Their own little militia to combat the terror tactics of the criminal underground. Vik just had to find the right people.

Vik walked out into the street leaving Master Ue to stare with amazement at the transformation of his humble shop. His mind was made up, the campaign to put Ue's Smithy on the map was going to start today. The question was how.

Viktor scanned the neighboring buildings, shops and taverns mostly. A brothel, a pet shop. The pet shop grabbed his attention. The whole time he'd been at the smith's he'd never actually seen anyone leave with an animal. Besides, the fact that there was a pet shop on a seedy dock was peculiar in and of itself. There also seemed to be a few riffraff that frequented the store front, strange hang out for thugs.

Mr. Mirko checked the road and casually walked toward the pet shop.

The "pet shop" was a hovel near the edge of the wharf, with a less-than-convincing storefront sign that read "ANIMELS", with no further clarification. A few shady-looking men loitering outside stared at Viktor as he approached, smoking flat Mugrobi cigarettes and spitting into a bucket.

Inside, the ruse was even less authentic. Stuffed parrots, long dead, sat propped up against their cage walls; a clearly fake bobcat in a standing position was lying on its side in another cage in the corner.

The back door, however, seemed very busy. The man at the counter seemed to be guarding it, and gave Viktor a sly wink as he entered the store.

"Good mornin', sah," he said, with a heavy nautical accent. "Are you lookin' to buy a "parrot" today, sah?"

Vik stared silently at the man, it was obvious he'd stumbled across a front for some elicit activity. What it was he wasn't sure of yet so he decided to play along. "Oh yes, I'm here for a "parrot" alright." Viktor replied being sure to add the same emphasis to "parrot". "I heard this place has the best "parrots" around Old Rose."

He walked over to the man's counter and did his best to look shady, something he wasn't all that good at. "Two of your best "parrots" good sir!" he proclaimed slapping 3 tallies down on the rough wooden counter.

The grimy man stared at the tallies, one of his eyebrows cocked.

"All right, first of all, we don't accept that type of currency 'ere," he said, sounding incredulous at Viktor's innocence. "Secondly, if'n we did, that's about enough to buy something about the size of my little fingernail. What, you got a noisy kid at home or something? Tryin'a shut 'em up? Try whiskey."

He pushed the money away as though it was worthless.

Vik felt foolish, of course these low life's wouldn't take legal tender. He was making a fairly large fool of himself, though it seemed to be a fairly good cover. He decided to take advantage and play it to the max. He'd learned a good deal more about the criminal world just in a few minutes of conversation.

"Well, where would a person interested in "parrots" go to exchange this currency for your currency? And just what are "parrots" going for these days? In my day that would have purchased a fine "parrot"." Vik wondered if he were saying "parrot" too much.

Raising the other eyebrow to match the first, the man at the counter now seemed genuinely surprised by Viktor.

"Er..." he said, scratching his lousy head. "If you ent got the money, you ent gettin' a parrot. There ent no exchange, bub. You do the work an' you get paid."

Vik raised his own eyebrows to match the proprietor's. "Work you say, where would I find this work?"

Just how much information was this guy going to freely offer up to him? Vik's first instinct had been to rough this guy up, but so far it wasn't necessary and it was dangerous besides. Right now he was just a simple idiot obsessed with "parrots" and interested in making some shady money. If he were to get physical it would raise questions and then it wouldn't be long before more trouble showed up on his doorstep.

"Ah," said the man. He was cottoning on now. Viktor was looking for the Bad Brothers, and this was the first place a good man looking to get in on the opium trade normally looked. "Well, go talk to the dockmaster up on Haverton Pier. Tell 'im you're lookin' for some fast work. You might have to take a little trip, if you get me." He nodded curtly.

"Ah I see, Haverton Pier you say." Viktor replied. He was getting in deep now. Just how far was he willing to take this? Couldn't hurt to go check it out.

"Thank you good sir, you've been most helpful." Viktor exclaimed and he lightly smacked the counter with his hands for effect. Then he turned and left the "Parrot Shop". The pier was just a short walk, course last time he was there he ended up murdering someone. Patting his hammer, he started off for Haverton Pier. He could at least talk to the dock master, every bit of info on his enemies was useful.

The dockmaster was not hard to find. Vik had gotten directions from a kindly older man of fortune with two peg legs and a pet Leira, which strangely enough also had two peg legs. After a short walk down the pier found the dockmaster looking over a ship's manifest.

"Scuse me sir, might you be the dockmaster, I was told to inquire about some "work" from you." Vik said in his best scoundrel voice. He threw in a wink when he emphasized "work". Man, he was good at this undercover stuff he thought proudly to himself.

((he is soooo cute))

"Work?" barked the dockmaster. He was a short, wiry old man with a comically oversize silver mustache; his head was embellished by a courier's cap. "What kind of work? Luggin' stuff? Liftin' stuff?" He set down the manifest on a nearby piling. "Breakin' stuff up? Tyin' stuff? Be specific, boy!"

"I'm looking to get into the "parrot" business." Viktor replied. He of course had no intention on becoming an opium smuggler but if he knew when and where it came in to port he might somehow be able to put a stop to it. Besides he was enjoying playing the simple idiot, especially since his profession and size made people assume he was anyway.

"Our mutual friend from the "Animels" shop told me to see you." Vik continued.

The dockmaster had never actually been into the pet shop, so the parrot reference caused him a moment of confusion. He wondered if Viktor was off his rocker. "The clock are you talkin' about, boy? I c'n practically hear the quotation marks in your voice. What do you mean?"

Vik was growing just as frustrated as the dock master. "Whatever it is you supply to the pet store, I want in on. I was told you were the man to see, was I mistaken?"

He had dropped the act and Vik became aware that this wasn't going to be as easy and safe as he'd originally thought. Maybe this plan wasn't the way to go. Storming the pet store and smashing the clerks precious counter, stuffed birds, and secret door to pieces was sounding more and more like an easier plan.

"Pet store...pet store?" The dockmaster was just as confused as Viktor.

"Yeh, pet store," chuckled a nearby man. He was not dressed in the sort of clothes one usually associated with a pirate, which was how Viktor knew that he probably was one. "Tha's what we call the deposit'ry, Bilgie. It's a false front, a whatchamacallit."

"A facade?" offered a passerby.

"Arr, tha's the word," nodded the pirate. Turning to Viktor, he grinned. "You lookin' ta get in on the Vein, laddy?

Vik grinned his most sinister grin. "Dyin to." He growled. "What all does it entail exactly?" He would have to keep his outlaw investigations a little quieter, anybody could have overheard him.

This question made the pirate grow suspicious. Who went looking for work without knowing exactly what that work was? Rather than quirk an eyebrow at Viktor's question, however, the pirate decided to be sly, and kept his poker face. Years of bluffing had blessed him with a mightily neutral expression.

"Well, first you gotta apply," he said, grinning in a friendly sort of way and clapping Viktor on the back. "Gotta get you registered, right? Can't let just anybody in. Head on over to Angler's Alley, an' they'll get you fixed up for the business, right as rain." He pointed towards the alley, giving Viktor some vague directions.

The dockmaster didn't quite comprehend any of this. Suspecting the pirate (whose name was Decker) was being cunning in some way, he adopted a "don't know, don't care" look. He just moved the stuff - didn't care what was in those big packages, didn't care where it went, and it wasn't worth the brain space to ask about it.

((Hmm..I kinda limited my options since I've commited Vik to the To Arms thread.))

Being a rather shrewd business man, Viktor knew when he was being taken for a ride. If this wasn't the place then why did the parrot man tell him to come here and not Angler's Alley?

"Yeah, alright, thanks for your help mate!" Vik put on his best idiot smile. He wasn't sure whether he would take this all the way, anything could be waiting for him in that alley. He'd at least have to get his hammer first.