Knuckles couldn’t have been prouder of his men when he saw the headlines pile on top of one another about the rash of vandalism sprees and crime in wealthiest parts of the city, especially since not even one of them had been arrested. The focus didn’t seem to be on finding the perpetrators but rather what to do about this terrible substance that had caused them to act so wildly in the first place.
He had gone into his next meeting with Sir Charles expecting, in the best-case scenario, to be told that things were looking good but that at least a few more months would be needed to assess the effects of the vandalism. Instead, Knuckles was met with a grinning Sir Charles, who not only handed him over the other $50,000 falons promised but passed him another $10,000 and told him, “Don’t tell your men about this one; this one’s a bonus to the mastermind, which is you, my friend,” and then he had immediately had his servants bring one of his oldest bottles of wine to celebrate over quite a few games of chess.
Knuckles had been so focused on the job itself he had almost forgotten about what was possibly causing such big money to be behind a series of vandalistic acts, but when Sir Charles went ahead and laid it all out right on the table, Knuckles began thinking more about the newspaper headlines’ focus on Smokeless Green, and he started to suspect he was wrong that this was about scaring off the current owners so that new owners could squeeze in.
“Mr. Hathers,” Sir Charles began, putting a little Smokeless Green on the table, “what right now costs little more than ordinary tobacco will soon make gold seem like a common pebble. I have certain contacts right now that have told me that due to the alarming side effects of this substance it is soon going to be made illegal by our wise, noble senators. As you already know, this stuff has already almost replaced alcohol in terms of its widespread usage, and people are going to want it even more once they are told they can’t have it. Whoever can supply that need will make a fortune.”
This all seemed rather silly to Knuckles. After all, if this stuff became illegal, wouldn’t people prefer to just go back to getting drunk like they used to? Even if it was a little more exciting than alcohol (he himself had not tried Smokeless Green yet), would people really be willing to pay that much extra and risk going to prison? It just didn’t seem to add up. But what Knuckles lacked in economic instinct he more than made up for with his instincts regarding Sir Charles, and he knew that Sir Charles was not a person to come up with fanciful ideas. Knuckles found himself becoming more and more convinced as he listened.
He supposed it was just going to be a matter of wait and see.