Louis Arnaud pulled his coat around his thin frame as he walked past the grey apartment blocks which rose up either side of the walkway. This was a desolate place to visit after dusk.
He looked around him, his eyes darting from one doorway to another. He had hurriedly arranged the meeting with his dealer as he could see Francine losing the plot as she developed the cravings again. The muttering, the ridiculous gurning of the mouth and the shaking were all symptomatic of her need to shoot up. He knew them well. His own needs were even greater and he had lost count of the times he had lifted a purse or a wallet, or done even worse things, things he did not want to think about.
They were sharks, the dealers. They preyed on people like him and Francine. They got you hooked then left you to dangle on the end of their bloody hooks until they saw fit to reel you in for payment and more of the same.
Louis got to the meeting point and tried to ignore the smell of piss in the doorway and the discarded wraps. Some of his friends took their gear with them because they were unable to wait for their next fix until they got back to the safety of their own homes. They would sit amongst the filth and needles and shoot up there - in the doorway. ‘God, that’s sick’ thought Louis.
“Hey, Louis”. A familiar voice shook him out of his thoughts and back to the present. The Canadian looked straight at him. “ You need some help man?”
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The subplot follows the French connection ( no pun intended!) and Josh’s links with Louis. Which may not be as they first appear.
So...it was Josh's dealings with the gang that led to his getting beaten up. Interesting...so Josh is turning out to be potentially a sinister figure...that would certainly be a good move if he's originally introduced as a 'nice guy'. You've got the hang of the sub-plot idea well - it should be connected to the main plot but only by a few threads. It should have its own life, characters and interest but not take over the main plot (or you'd have two novels!) Would like to know exactly what Louis has done.
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