Chapter 72

72

In the Mayor’s mansion, Zeus strode back from his study, tossing his cell phone to an aide. With his usual exuberance, he threw open the doors to the dining room and looked down the long table at the assembled guests.

Every night the same, like a boring joke, Zeus thought as he viewed their expectant faces. A visiting dignitary, a decorated war hero, and a kiss-ass aide walk into a bar… Out loud he said, “Apologies for my tardiness. I hope the first course was to your liking.”

Polite murmurs came from up and down the table. Zeus made sure to share his smile all around. People could be so petty if they felt not enough attention had been directed their way.

“I’m told the chef received a gift from one of the ships docking in our ports,” Zeus said as he sat down. “So tonight we dine on fresh sea bass. It was imported specifically for a particular shipping tycoon’s meals, now graciously gifted to us.”

The guests all expressed their appreciation.

“Please, enjoy.” Zeus smiled and gestured, and took his first bite as everyone would wait on him. “Mmm,” he said. “Much better than the way my ex-wife used to char it.”

The guests around the table laughed, right on cue.

“What we call a sea bass is actually two species of toothfish, renamed to sound more palatable,” said a man from midway down the table in a heavily accented voice. He had a neatly trimmed salt and pepper beard, and piercing blue eyes. He was a professor, if Zeus recalled correctly. Professor Wagner or Ziegler? Something like that.

“A fish by any other name…is still delicious.” Zeus savored a forkful and motioned to the servers, calling for more wine around the table.

A round, bald headed man bustled up to the table. “My apologies for being so late.”

“Commissioner,” Zeus greeted the newcomer, and only the very astute would pick up the slight twitch of his lips, a micro-expression of annoyance. Zeus thought the bearded professor had noticed, though. Observant, that one.

“Sorry, boss,” the heavy man breathed, tucking his napkin into his collar and grabbing a dinner roll. The man was the opposite of refinement and it was his position alone that afforded him a seat at the table. “This new drug has got us all scrambling.”

Zeus wished he was sitting closer so he could kick the man under the table.

“New drug?” The dignitary from Metropolis, Claudius, perked up before Zeus could change the subject.

“Just hit the streets,” the commissioner said, oblivious to Zeus’s glare. But Bill wasn’t the cleverest man and had always been slow at picking up on social cues.

“Limited quantity, but we think that will change. Couple of rich kids got picked up for indecent exposure, said they had taken something. Their parents went to swinger parties and came home with a couple pills. The kids know their stash; they try everything their parents do. We questioned them in the hospital and it all came out.”

The commissioner finally paused in buttering his roll and realized that every eye around the table was trained on him in fascination.

“Are the kids ok?” a woman asked, Zeus forgot her name in his budding fury at his commissioner. Zeus had gotten re-elected, it was true, so he wasn’t immediately worried about campaigning again. But a mayor was only as strong as the confidence he inspired. If his guests left with the impression that he couldn’t control the drug traffic on his own streets?—

“Oh yeah, effects wore off hours ago,” Bill continued. “Just a little groggy, dehydrated. One of them still had a high, and he had an erection the size of—” Bill finally saw Zeus’s face and bit off the rest of the sentence. Cheeks ruddy, he continued, “We rushed the labs to figure out what was going on.”

“Interesting,” Zeus said, his tone frosty.

The commissioner winced, having obviously caught onto Zeus’s disapproval. Finally. But it was too late. The rest of the guests leaned in as one.

“What is the effect of the drug?” the professor asked in a scholarly tone.

“An extreme high, leading to almost uncontrollable arousal. Sets off…uh, climaxes that are…uh, off the charts, as it were.”

“Again, nothing like my ex-wife,” Zeus said, going for laughs and hoping to steer the conversation away from talk of drugs.

“Detrimental side effects?” the professor’s fork was frozen halfway to his bearded mouth.

“Too soon to tell. But for some it seems to cause aggression. In all cases the high is followed by a crash. Sweating, shakes, a little dehydration, withdrawal headaches, that kind of thing.” The commissioner, sweat beading on his forehead and obviously as desperate as Zeus was to end the conversation, shoved the entire roll into his mouth.