The Apothecary

The ran down community building just off of Michigan Avenue was known as a hotspot for proprietors of the underground. The building was used mostly by the poor and impoverished, but the relationship between it's inhabitants and the wise guy's leasing the place always seemed symbiotic in nature. Who better to peddle product to than the beaten and downtrodden?

In the basement of the community building was a shop whispered only by the name 'The Apothecary'. The place in reality was just an old common room with a plethora of make-shift security that rivaled that of Riker's back east. Barbed wire, reinforced doors, and goon's watching the entrance were the first sights to be seen when entering the basement. Through a row of make-shift fencing you would find yourself being lead to a small cafeteria window reinforced with iron bars.

Those wishing to cure their ailments would be greeted at the window by a small German woman who could barely see over the counter that adorned the other side.

"What ailments plague you, child." her crackling voice would say.

No drug, drink, medicine, or poison was on short supply at the Apothecary. It did not matter if you needed a dab of morphine for that pesky cracked tooth or a plum of cyanide to deal with that troublesome neighbor, the Apothecary had it for a cost. The chemist of sorts running the place was personally trained by the owner Jarrick. For those looking for more sinister services a meeting with the owner could be arranged.

"Hurry up, there are others waiting!" the little woman reminds those who loiter.

 

Iron Mike had been tipped off by Skidmark to hit up Michigan Avenue, there might be something of interest there for him. He hurried over quickly & headed for the basement, he nods as he walks past the goons & hears a crackling German sounding voice.

"What ailments plague you, child?"

"Do you have anything for a lithp?" replies Iron Mike in a high pitched tone.

He stands & waits for a reply. 

MikeTyson

The small woman moved out of sight when suddenly an audible click could be heard coming from the door that seemed straight out of Mad Max to your right.

"Enter, please." a grumbled voice said ominously from inside the next room.

"It is a pleasure to meet you, this is indeed a peculiar request." said the shadowed man in the corner. He sat there hat, trench coat, and shadow obscuring most of his features.

"Sadly, I can not cure an ailment of the brain as such. But, what is good for the soul is also good for the brain. With this powder here I can CURE your lisp per say." the man said before leaning back in his chair.

This is even stranger than the time a random person told Mike's fortune in a public bathroom but he was willing to roll with ith. His eyes light up with excitement & wonder. His shovel sized hands clenching & relaxing.

"How muth to cure my lithp? I don't have a lot of money right now. Headcoath hath put our payday on hold until we actually win a game..."

CancidRunt limps into the freshly opened shop wearing an oversized trench coat and fedora pulled over his eyes.  Jarrick s eyebrows raise as a pair of very skinny but very hairy legs are evident from the base of the trench coat.

Cancid looks up tipping the fedora back before looking suggestively around the shop, noticing that no-one else seemed to be around... with a dramatic flourish he splayed out his trench coat arms wide making the request:

"Got any leeches for this?"

Looking back at MikeTyson Jarrick grabbed a small pinch of powder from a pouch in his desk.

"With this powder Mike. You will care not what people think of your lisp. All you have to do is snort it." Jarrick said while presenting a small spoon with a white powder at the end.

"For a man such as yourself, it is free." he said with a smile.

Alina with Russell her trusted bodyguard arrived at The Apothecary.  Through reliable sources and word on the streets Jarrick was considered a man that could be trusted.   It took some doing but Alina was able to obtain a scheduled appointment to meet with him, avoiding the barbed wire, reinforced doors and make-shift fencing. However she was greeted by the small German woman directing us to Jarrick office in a crackling voice.

Jarrick opened the door to his office, shook our hands, invited us in and to have a seat. Alina had seen him around the headquarters but never officially met him.  She didn’t want to beat around the bush so she sat down and commenced to telling him what she was there for.

I have heard good things about you being an expert in chemistry.  A number of years ago my ancestor Rosaleen had a friend named Ilaria_Santoro who was a chemist that created a concoction for her. Alina wasn’t ready to divulge that she had two of the portions left just yet.  She wanted to see if Jarrick had the skills to develop it himself first.  This concoction was clear, tasteless, and odorless and only a few drops were necessary.  If consumed the person would have a natural heart attack within eight hours depending on how active they were. Alina remembered the last time she used it.  She had posed as a nun, entered a prison cell and the unfortunate prisoner had a fatal heart attack hours later. Is there any way you could create a formula like that for me, I am willing to pay handsomely for it?

CancidRunt

Jarrick's eyes lit up! "Leeches you say? Why yes, yes I do in fact carry leaches of all sizes."

Leaning over to pull 4 large jars from the nook of a small cupboard, Jarrick laid them across the table.

"I have leeches from small to extra large my friend. I can see you are a man of TASTE! What shall it be?" he said with a sinister smile.

 

Jarrick heard the door open as his next clients walked in. It appeared to be Alina whom Jarrick had only see around the family headquarters but had no formal introduction with. He listened to her story and pondered the bodyguard that followed her. Rubbing his chin in a moment of thought he continued...

"Straight to the point, and I like that. Let me see here. Well, if you are looking for something of this nature I would suggest potassium chloride. It is an ionic compound of salt and chlorine that when eaten merely tastes like salt. It is odorless, colorless, and best of all natural to find in an autopsy. This compound takes quite a large quantity, around seven ounces, to be deadly. But, if injected can be administered in a much smaller dose."

He paused to catch his breath...

"The alternative I would recommend is based in the oleander plant. If a heart attack is specifically what you are looking for. An oleander tea will do the trick but it would alter the taste of another liquid slightly. It can be detected but is rarely screened for if foul play is not already at a high level of suspicion."

Looking back at the woman, Jarrick smiled.

"Does any of this seem near your expectations?"

Iron Mike takes the small spoon with white powder on the end. His shovel hands tremble. Just snort it eh? Why not can't do more damage to my body than Coath's "Sports recovery drinks"

Iron Mike takes a snort that would make John Belushi blush.

"Thatth goooood man, real good. Almotht ath good ath that time a dude told my fortune in a public bathroom, but it hathnt done anything for my lithp!"

Iron Mike goes crashing back up the stairs & out into the Detroit afternoon. Woe betide any man who tried to pick pocket Iron Mike today.

All kinds of thoughts started running through Alina’s mind.  She had searched the journals over and over again and nothing was ever mentioned about the receipt for the concoction. She vaguely remembers something was use to narrow the coronary arteries.

Alina reached into her purse, pulled out a jewelry box.  Inside was a beautiful Blue Diamond ring in 18K Black Gold. This is my enticement piece. I get a lot of compliments on this ring, especially from men. Black gold is extremely bold and outrageously beautiful. Alina gives Jarrick a serious look.

All I know about the formula is that it’s for sure tasteless and only a small about is needed. She slid the ring on her finger and twisted it around where the stone was now on the inside of her palm.  She turned her palm back around to show Jarrick the stone was now open.

  This stone hold just enough of the formula to get the job done. Pierre excellent jewelry maker designed for me.  It took weeks of practice to master it.  She shows him the side of the ring where the small diamond was located when pressed opened the stone. She turns her hand palm face down again, continued to turn the ring until the stone was closed faced up again. 

She distracted Jarrick by staring suggesting something behind him. When he turned to look she did it again over his coffee cup that was sitting there.  She just laughed to herself.  Damn she’s good.  He didn’t even notice. She just continued to talk.

It’s take a lot of planning to get close enough to someone you wants to take out.  This method has been very successful.  I would hate to fuck up and not get the job done. 

She takes the ring off, puts it in the jewelry box,  back in her purse then looks back up at Jarrick.

I have a small portion left.  Do you think there is any way you might be able to duplicate the formula?

Jarrick pondered for a second.

"I think I can Alina ." he said with a devious smile.

Ignoring whatever hand motion she did over his coffee Jarrick got to work mixing a small vial of a clear odorless concoction.

"I think this will work. I was able to isolate a small trace amount of thallium. That coupled with the ionic bond of..." he paused and looked up at the woman.

"I won't bore you with all of that. What are you willing to trade in return for this deadly little vial? I accept all forms of payment." he said with a devious grin.

Alina knew Jarrick could reproduce the formula.  All the good things she had heard about him made her feel real confident in his abilities. She knew how dangerous the formula was and sure didn’t want it to get in the wrong hands. She was very careful in handling it and although she trusted her people only two other people knew about it.   When using it the most tasking thing was getting close enough to the person to administer the drug. Then the consequences didn’t happened for hours later always gave enough time to cover any tracks. She didn’t have anyone in particular in mind to use it on but knowing she has access to it was a relief. 

She thank Jarrick for he’s expertise.