This past week I was walking buy a storefront business in a part of Harm City that I will not discuss. Nor will I discuss the name or nature of the business, because I want to live!

This store front is on a primary street, in Baltimore City. It is a retail outlet which legitimately sells electronic devices. It is also a major narcotics outlet with the local dealers drawing most of their product from this one source. This is not the actual stash house but the contact point.

Knowing this, I was quite surprised to see a uniformed Harm City cop, sitting in the store on a chair provided for his use while he played video games on a handheld electronic device. The owner stood beside him, glaring at some young hoodlums across the street.

I went next door and bought two beers, which netted me two sources of information. Apparently, this drug wholesaler had his legit retail business robbed by a pair of young thugs. Even as he is arranging for the professional level disposal of these hoodlums, he must also arrange for the protection of his business. There is a Baltimore City program by which retail business operators may pay the police department the overtime rate for one of its police officers. This costs no more than a good armed security guard and acts as a much better deterrent, because every criminal knows that if you hurt or kill a cop you are toast.

So, even as word goes out that King Blo needs some muscle to settle a score, King Blo himself stands besides his very own pet cop, playing Angry Birds on his smart phone. I find this to be all very interesting, and surprisingly practical.