The cold breeze followed Taylor into the Bricktown pub, he knew the only way to truly escape it was with a warm tea or shot of whisky. Though the tea in this country tasted like piss for the most part, but he had a great supply always on hand thanks to his former boss, now Godfather, Tetley. A meeting was planned to take place here, and with a final glance over the shoulder he knew he had gotten to the meet-up spot without a tail. This was an official introduction to a fellow member of his family for some side work.

Jobs had been scarce when Mr Brown first arrived from London, the money nothing like he was use to when he assisted Mr Kimber in fixing races and taking sports bets.  Wasn't long after he had met some of a crew called The Gentlemen at the track whom needed an extra hired gun around the docks. The ring leader was a notorious gangster that grew most the Marijuana that supplied 60% of Europe. It was Taylor that had been in charge of making sure the shipments of dope left on time and the shipments of money arrived in full exactly when scheduled to. This allowed him to make substantial money at a young age, but that all changed with the war. A blind sense of patriotism, a duty to the crown, a chance at glory...he never really discussed which was the main factor in enlisting. It was almost three years he spent across the English Channel fighting German forces, living in trenches. By the time the war ended the whole operation was now under control of a rival gang led by some pig farmer named Bricktop, leaving nothing for him to return to. Knowing he would be unemployed and likely killed he snuck aboard an American Navy Vessel set to dock in Detroit, Michigan. Didn't take long for the Fuckerish Mob Inc to recruit and house him. Teaching him the ropes of what they called 'This Thing of Ours', making use of his military training and putting him right to work--

Now here he was months later having been Made into the American Mafia, working for @RasAlGhul , sipping tea in the close thing to an 'authentic British pub' on this side of town, waiting for his next new line of making money...

Despite suggesting that he should start a cigar shop, Honey couldn't imagine himself being a connoisseur of tobacco. It just wasn't his style and he couldn't stand the smell. Frankly they made his lungs hurt and feel short of breath and dedicating himself to a shop that he couldn't even be in was the stupidest idea he had ever heard. He'd gone for a max of the two things he was most familiar with. Tea, and flowers. He'd opened a small floral shop and sold his custom tea blends on the side. Inside the small business, there were a few tables and chairs set up for tea time and he'd hired a couple girls to make and serve the tea and biscuits. Scottish shortbread was by far the favorite though the ginger nuts were also in high demand. Across the way was a British pub and this small corner of Detroit seemed occupied with Scottish, Irish, and British immigrants who didn't quite fit in with the Italians. 

He checked his watch and nodded, realizing it was time to meet the new hire to the crew. Taylor was his name and he was going to show him the ropes of the other side of the business. The flowers and tea were the front for a rather lucrative drug running business that used his custom tea blends as vehicles for the drugs laced into them. His tea was particularly popular in the music and art scene. 

He told the girls he was leaving and headed across the street to the pub, sliding into the booth across from the new associate. Thankfully he supplied the tea to the pub, undoctored of course, and was pleased to see that Taylor wasn't complaining about the black tea blend that he'd carefully curated, purchasing blocks of tea from a small Chinese apothecary in the next town over. 

"Good afternoon, you must be Taylor." His Scottish brogue was as thick as the golden honey that sat next to the teapot but his smile was genuine. After a somewhat rocky start to the business, teaming up with Rom to run drugs, he'd settled into a routine that allowed him to work the business and Ham the freedom to hunt down leads. Lately though, he'd required more help and the British man across from him seemed eager to get underway. 

"Name's Honey, you'll get used to the odd stares when you call me that rest assured. How long have you been in America for?"

Hand extended to shake as his comrade introduces himself. Cracking a smile he couldn't help but chuckle at the observation, and curious as to where that nickname stemmed from but from the jar of it next to teapot he sorta could piece the rest together. It was refreshing hearing a familiar accent. Made him feel back home to an extent, closest to home he's been since the war. Raising cup to lips he took a quick sip before introducing himself..

"Nice to meet you Honey, I'm Taylor. The boss has spoken nothing but good things about you.  I'm curious as to what sort of assistance I can offer you and more so what's the nature of the racket you're in. I'm not sure how much Ras has told you about me but I've got experience in collections, running & delivering errands, infiltrating docks for smuggling & transportation purposes, and also with murder thanks to King George V. So please take the floor.." he said before giving @Honey is full undivided attention.

Ah, so the man was English! From what he could hear, he had served at the pleasure of his Majesty's service King George VI. It seemed as though, in the kings employ, he had learned quite a few things which would make him invaluable to the business he had entered with Rom. The drug trade was tricky but he had picked it up rather quickly and within a few months, he had made enough of an impression that his need had grown exponentially with his endeavors and needed an associate. Taylor, he'd been told, was the perfect fit for the operations and the meeting was set up. 

"It's a pleasure to meet someone more from my side of the pond. I must admit, I'm not so familiar with England as I am with my homeland but the familiarity is welcome. As for assistance, you were recommended to me based on your skills. The business I run across the street is more than just flowers and tea, it's got a little extra kick to it. I've been doing the lions share of running materials and supplies into other cities and even states but it's left me precious little time for caring for the shop or attending to the personal business between my brother and I. I need someone who would be willing to go on journey's to take and bring back much needed supplies to keep the business running. I need someone who is quick, adept, smart, and knows how to offer much needed encouragement."

He sipped from his cup of tea, savoring the hot drink as he closed his eyes. He set the cup down and folded his hands under his chin, leaning forward to explain in more detail exactly what Taylor could expect as his associate.

"Now there are flies on the wall that have ears so I'd like to invite you back to my shop so you can get a feel for the trade."

He paid the bill and gave a handsome tip to the waiter before the two of them made their way back to the tea shop. They slipped past the tables of patrons enjoying their afternoon tea sandwiches and biscuits and went into the office at the back of the shop. There, Honey was able to show that tea and flowers were only the icing on a very large drug running business that used the crates of hand mixed teas as a cover for the cakes of cocaine and bags of dried mushrooms. He waved to the boxes and bags and paper wrapped bundles. 

"The cops look the other way, at least the ones we've paid off to keep this running. I need someone willing to deliver. I've been traveling so much to and fro buying all of the tea supplies to make the journeys seem plausible but one man simply isn't enough anymore. I'll be training you over the next several weeks in where to buy and sell. We get the drugs from Rom, we use the tea and flowers as a cover, and we deliver to our patrons. Most of them are artists and businessmen. People who thrive off of the drug trade because it keeps them doing what they need to do to provide us with the entertainment we seek. All in all it sort of goes together quite neatly don't you think"

Swirling the tea around with his spoon while he listened to Honey's proposal Taylor couldn't help but to be stunned by it all. Just how intricate and well thought out the whole racket was was quite brilliant to say the least. Most impressive was the determination and ambition he could see in Honey as he went more in depth with what was needed from Mr Brown and just how large this could be. He knew instantly this was something where they weren't just going to nibble on crumbs, but in fact be eating most the pie as was the case with The Gentlemen and their Marijuana business. A big difference though was it seemed this wasn't restricted to one drug but instead any and every that would earn a buck. This was by far within Taylor wheelhouse of expertise. Finally taking his last sip as Honey concluded he set the cup down on the table before replying..

"Well I must say I'm happily surprised to hear all of this, I had at best hoped for a bit of work on the side. Never did I expect to have such a splendid proposition for employment. I can definitely relieve the burden and stress of doing so much traveling, and if you have any business on the east coast mainly New York City and Philadelphia I can streamline productivity by making use of Lake Erie." Taking a pause to refill both his and Honey's cup with tea and to take a bite of his crumpet he tried examining Honey's face to get an idea of what he thought of using Lake Erie to get it out to ore shops. Maybe Honey had some already out there or would want to use Taylor's which were currently in the works for being built.

"When can we get started?"

Honey rubbed his palms together as he looked around the shop and back at Taylor. 

"Now is the perfect time quite honestly. I've all the materials here to begin packing and our next scheduled drop is tomorrow. We'll be driving up to Columbus Ohio tomorrow by way of the ferry, it's a bit faster to take the boat."

For the next few hours, he painstakingly showed Taylor what each tea was, allowing him to smell it and learn it by color and appearance. He showed him the herbals and flowers and additives that made his tea blends unique, informing him that while a few custom blends were laced with the illicit drugs, mostly they just served as the cover alongside the flowers. Nobody questioned large boxes of wholesale flowers or bouquets and only once in a while did the herbs and teas get odd stares but he'd thus far had an excellent track record running drugs across the borders. He showed him how to pack boxes, wrap flowers, and get the shipments ready for the morning. Once they were finished, Honey gave Taylor the rest of the evening and told him he would see him the next morning bright and early. As they were leaving, Oolong hopped up on Honey's shoulder so they could go home together. 

"Taylor, I liked what I saw today, keep that up and I might just let you run the operation out of Detroit."

He wasn't about to tell him that recent events had changed for him and his brother and they had followed several leads which pointed that their sister might be out west. If that was they case, Detroit was simply too far away to continue their work and Honey would need to establish a base out closer to Hollywood. Land of drugs, glamor, and many of the children that had been trafficked by illicit "adoption agencies".