After we got out of the car, I inspected it. It was totally wrecked. I called someone from Apollo Enterprises to take care of the problem. That person being my secretary Charlotte. God, that girl was a lifesaver.
"Okay Artemis," I said getting off the phone, "someone will come and take care of it. Why don't we …"
I turned to see a trail of smoke going headed towards Apollonia. I guess she wanted to be alone.
.
Back in Apollonia, I attended an important meeting, made up of members of my inner circle.
Olivia, Emily, Madison, Yuka, Charlotte, Dankus, Piotr, along with other executives in Apollo Enterprises and Artemis Enterprises.
Each one was aware of my divinity. Most were immortal or were scheduled to be immortalized.
As I stepped into the room, they stood up in respect. I surveyed the room.
Many were couples. Olivia and Dankus, Emily and Yuka, along with others. Would they have met if it weren't for me? Probably not.
"Someone, anyone," I said as I fished out a flask, taking a long drink before continuing, "someone give me a status report."
"Apollo, should you be drinking?" Olivia questioned.
"Don't nag me woman, you know I can't get drunk," I waved away as I took my seat at the head of the table. "You there," I said, closing my eyes and pointing to a random person. "Status report."
"Um," the woman fumbled as she brought out a document from her binder. "As you requested Lord Apollo, we –"
"Uh, excuse me," I interrupted, "should you be here? Who are you? Uh, security?" I snapped my fingers at Dankus before pointing at the woman.
"Lord Apollo," Charlotte whispered, "she's the Head of Artemis Enterprises' Aid Department. She's been serving at that role for 10 years and was one of our lead inspectors of Site 002 before that."
"Alright, alright," I said before turning back to the woman, "didn't you proposition me back in '86?"
The woman's face blushed red as she looked towards the door. A beat of silence consumed the room. I think I saw Olivia facepalm.
"Don't answer that," I said as I saw the woman open her mouth. "Unless legal tells you to," I said pointing to another woman, "you are the head of our Legal Department, right?"
"Yes, my lord," she responded, looking slightly uncomfortable.
"Great," I responded. Focusing back to the Head of Artemis Enterprises' Aid Department, I asked, "What's your name again?"
"Jessica, my lord."
The room was enveloped in silence. Taking deep breaths, I leaned forward in my chair, resting my elbows on the table. "Just give me the rundown."
"Yes, my lord," Jessica said as she summarized the report. "As you predicted, there were four planes. Artemis Enterprises and Apollo Enterprises has completed the memorial site in Houston. We fully intend to rebuild the New York Sunscraper to its full glory. The New York regulators have assured us that we can do as we please. Dankus and Piotr have more details with our direct response."
Then Dankus and Piotr stood up and went to the front of the room. Clicking a few buttons, a map of Afghanistan and Pakistan were shown.
"Due to the lack of phones and computers in these countries, we are unable to ascertain the location of Osama bin Laden. However, we are making full use of our satellites to find the terrorist. As expected, the Taliban has refused to hand over bin Laden. So, we are coordinating with American forces to invade Afghanistan in early October. Pakistan will be infiltrated. If he is there as you suspect my lord, we will find him." Dankus said.
I contemplated what I was hearing. Early October. That was weeks away. Weeks that I didn't feel like waiting.
I wished I knew where bin Laden was. But I didn't. My powers over the sun weren't helping. Either al Qaeda was moving at night, using a tunnel system, or were disguised as women, because I simply couldn't find the guy.
"Everyone, I appreciate the effort, but you're overcomplicating things," I said. "Here's the new plan. Step one: we'll use every satellite, submarine, and aircraft we have to bomb every manmade structure to oblivion. Step two: I go in and flush them out of their tunnels. Step three: I follow the cowards back to their leader. Step four: celebrate the great success."
At those words, I brought out my flask and took another long drink, enjoying the silence.
Unfortunately, the silence was broken. "What the actual fuck?" Olivia asked, "Apollo, you can't just go in and take down a country."
"Uh, really?" I asked sarcastically. "Tell that to East Germany. Or the Soviet Union. Oh wait, they don't exist anymore."
"I think what she means my lord," Emily said, "is that the operation appears too wild. Would it not be better to use the two million strong army we have?"
Yuka nodded furiously. "Yes, we'll also have help from the American, German, British, French, and other militaries."
One by one, each of them stated a new reason we should stick with the current plan. My plan would apparently make a bunch of world governments hate us. My plan apparently had no contingencies. My plan apparently violated a bunch of human rights stuff.
"Listen here!" I said sharply as I slammed my hand on the table. I projected an aura of dominance using my divine powers. "When those planes hit, they weren't targeting America, they were targeting me! They damaged my property! Killed my family! They weren't targeting you, or you, or you. They weren't targeting me!"
I took a few moments to calm myself. "On 9/11, Osama bin Laden challenged me. He challenged a god," I said calmly.
"So, I'll give him a god!" I yelled as I heard cracks of thunder in the distance. "Let him fight a god! I'll make Bellerophon look like a genius! I'll make Arachne's fate appear tame! When I'm done with him, he'll wish I gave him Erysichthon's punishment!"
Then, I walked over to Charlotte and took her tablet. Clicking on a few apps, I ended up on an automated call.
"This is Alpha-0 Papa-1 Oscar-0 Lima-1 Lima-8 Oscar-0," I said quickly. "I am ordering the implementation of Operation Rumbling on Afghanistan. Effective immediately."
With that, I closed the call and walked out of the room.
"Where you going?" Olivia asked, bewildered.
"I got a press conference," I responded while tossing Charlotte her tablet back, "prepare a quinjet immediately. After that, I'm headed out."
.
.
.
AN: 2 chapters today cause Chapter 54 was short.