“Okay.”Lane scurried out of the desk chair, giving the three of them a curious look.
Belle sat in the vacant chair and Zee realized Belle looked a little floaty.
“Here, Belle.Sorry I pulled you out of a scene.”Zee reached into the mini fridge and handed her a bottle of juice.
“No, we were post-scene.”She took a sip of the juice, flung her hair back.“Okay, so who is at your gate?”
“A health officer, saying someone made a complaint and they want to come in and investigate.I told Charlie to have them park off to the side and to stall.”
“Good thinking,” Martin said.“They can’t just waltz in here unannounced, but they can be pushy.Ready, my pet?”
“This is going to be fun.”Belle pushed up from her seat.
“Come on Zee, we’ll get rid of this person.”
“Zee, they keep saying it’s an active investigation and they can’t be denied entry.”Static laced through Charlie’s voice.
“I’m coming out with help,” Zee grumbled.
Outside in the cool air, Zee saw Charlie standing next to the sedan.He walked over to join them, Martin and Belle flanking him.
It was Belle who stepped up and took the lead.“Hello, I was told you were from the health department.This is rather late for you?”
“Every complaint is investigated.”A woman with frizzy hair opened the car door.“Here’s my credentials.”The woman thrust her badge at Belle.
“Rachel Patel, health officer.This is a private residence.No food is served on the premises and no alcohol.What is the nature of your complaint?”Martin asked.
“Overcrowding.Someone said you were hosting orgies.”
“Orgies?”Zee couldn’t help the smile on his face.But Belle gave him a look, a subtle warning, and he kept his mouth shut, knowing he should let his lawyer friends handle this.
“Private or not, if bodily fluids are being exchanged in shared environments, we have to investigate.The complaint stated that it was operating as a commercial venue without appropriate sanitization.”
Zee’s pulse raced.The lethargy from earlier, of thinking he had seen everything and Club Bandit was boring, disappeared in a flash.They created something here that was unique and met the needs of their members.
That Florentine routine on stage?That took skill and practice.To have a private place where consenting adults could go and get their kink on was something he held as sacred.
He wasn’t going to let anyone take that away from them.
“This establishment operates as a private membership organization.The owner,” Martin laid his hand on Zee’s shoulder, “does not have to grant you entry without a warrant or prior notice.If you have specific concerns, we’re happy to address them, in the daylight when you can call our office.”Martin gave the health officer his card.“When you call our secretary tomorrow, please make sure you have documentation supporting your claims.”
“We are respectfully advising our client to deny you entry.As you can see there are guests here tonight and we do not want them to be disturbed.You can call our office tomorrow.”Belle’s voice was cool and sharp.
“I am allowed to investigate,” Ms.Patel said but it came out like a whine.
“Yes, you are, when prior arrangements have been made.Goodnight, Ms.Patel,” Martin said.
The woman sighed, shook her head.“Fine but just so you know, this isn’t a usual complaint and someone is making trouble for you.I can’t wait to investigate further.”
“We’ll talk further another time,” Martin said.
The health officer got back into her car, a frown on her face and drove away.
“Fuck, am I happy you two were here tonight.Thanks for dealing with that nonsense.”
“You’re welcome, Zee.I don’t like the sounds of this but hopefully we can make it go away before a health officer ever steps foot into Club Bandit.Who did you piss off lately?”Martin asked as they climbed the steps to the front door.
“I can’t think of anyone recently,” Zee said, forcing his voice to be calm.
