The street stood still as Joey turned into it. To his left, he could see stripped down buildings, in various stages of deterioration, barely standing. Bricks fell onto the street below, and no one around seemed to care. To his right was an even poorer sight. Men huddled around cannisters with fire in them, shoving each other to try and get warm. He pitied these men, and thought how easily they could turn their lives around, if they would just make an effort.

Joey stared down the street at the various characters scattered around. He could make out the usual faces he saw on his errands, and gave them a curt nod. This derelict district of the town was home to the scum of the town, criminals so evil they were vilified by other men of their profession. Whenever he came down this street, Joey felt a shiver run down his spine. But he had a job to do

Joey noticed the lack of sound, how the only voices he heard were the ones heckling him for even coming. But still, he had his job to do. Walking a little further into the street, Joey felt the eyes of those around him pierce him, which gave him a slight uneasy feeling. Turning into a building on his left, he casually walked through the lobby with his hands in his pockets. Although the building appeared to be empty, Joey knew otherwise.

Strolling across to the stairs, he hurried up them, two at a time. Upon reaching the top floor he flung open the door. Ahead of him, Joey could see six doors, three on each side. He walked into the corridor, and turned into the second door on the right. The room was basic, with just a small pine table, and 5 chairs. The freely hanging lightbulb flickered, as an invisible wind seemed to rock it. Joey sat down in the only free seat, opposite four other men. Althought they were the only men he had seen in the building so far, Joey knew more would be waiting in other rooms in case something went wrong. Joey approached the table in silence waiting for one of the men to make the first move. After a tentative silence, one of the men leaned forward on the table