Elliot Nelson was a resident of Pauper's Drop. When he was out of work, he accepted a job from Augustus Sinclair constructing hypodermic needles during his free time at home. He would buy the needle parts from Sinclair, construct them, and then sell them back for twice the price for the labor involved. Nelson thought that Sinclair was a sucker for giving him such a good deal. Sinclair was charging him twice what the needle parts were worth, and paying him less than what he could get if he could sell the finished hypos to Ryan Industries (a typical business ratio to cover various overhead, operations and risk).