Horatio looked up, just as the barkeep deposited a fresh round on the table...
"Excuse me gents, but that's from the fellow that just left, said it would help you remember who's who.. Now if you don't mind me saying, there's a few things I could tell you, I heard you mention the Professor's name. I figure you gents are new to London, so here's the way it is. Upper London is for the gentry,the nobles , the engineers, and those that are in Governement. But down here, Lower London, well, it has its own sort of Government, not quite so fancy and such. Now, the Professor whose name you mentioned , well, he used to run things down here, but the he was done in by that Holmes fellow from Upper London these few years back. Thats when the Colonel took over, and a bloody time it was. He was the Professor's right hand man, but now he's the top of the heap. Rich as Croesus, he is,and lives up in Upper London. H'es just as hard and clever as the old Professor was, though. Look, its about money and power down here. When you leave here, look over my door, theres a bit of brass nailed there. That means I pays the Colonels "tax" and I get no trouble from thieves and the like in return. The Colonel don't come down here much, but he doesn;t need to... he has his Bosses, who run the sectors down here, and they have their people.. Billy there, well, he's a bad one, but in his own way, he's as fair a man as you'll see anywheres, he'll be a Boss one day, mark my words..
All what happens down here filters up, so to speak, and if its worth anything, well, things happen.. You want my advice, you have a book of the Professores, you'd be wise to sell it to the Colonel.. Make you rich, it would rich enough to move out of here. You want to do that, you come here and tell me, I'll get someone to you..Likewise, I can get information for you, but, it'll cost you"
The barkeep looked at them, winked, and headed bck to the bar