Zeus (Illegal drug) – THR-50;[1] it induces a “God-like” feeling of power and invincibility and may induce hallucinations and lead to violent behavior in some users. Full stun is required to bring down a user of Zeus. (Possibly similar to PCP.) Zeus, combined with Erotica, accounts for most of the rapes in New York City. It was mentioned in Immortal in Death[2] and many other books in the series.
Naked in Death[]
The man Eve killed just before the start of the series was “jagged on homemade Zeus, that wonderful chemical that made gods out of men, with all the power and insanity that went with delusions of immortality.”[3]
Rapture in Death[]
One of the targets in the VR game Eve was playing at the Olympus Resort as her honeymoon wound down was described as “two hundred fifty pounds of muscle and mean” and “she saw his eyes, the glint of mayhem heightened by the chemical, Zeus. She didn’t bother with the stun. The stun setting would do little more than tickle a two hundred fifty pound man flying on Zeus. It was set to terminate. As he lunged toward her, she hit him with full power. His eyes died first. She’d seen it happen before. Eyes that turned to glass like a doll’s, even as he charged her. His body began that jerky dance as his nervous system overloaded. He fell at her feet, a mass of ruined humanity who had played god.”[4] Eve’s court case when she returned to New York was Vito Salvatori, an alleged distributor of illegal substances who stood accused of the murder of three other known dealers of Zeus and TRL.[5]
Ceremony in Death[]
Frank Wojinski’s autopsy detected traces of digitalis and Zeus.[6] Eve told Whitney, “Putting aside who and what he was, a chemical as powerful as Zeus shows. You see it in the eyes, in the personality shift. If he’d been using Zeus, every cop in his division would have known it.” Peabody told Eve, “No true Wiccan’s going to buy, sell, or use Zeus.”[7] Eve thought she would have preferred a quick hit of Zeus to anything brewed at Selina Cross and Alban’s place.[8] Mirium Hopkins was on drugs when she killed Louis Trivane, but Eve told her, “Doesn’t look like straight Zeus, you’re too mellow.” It wasn’t revealed which drugs were in her system.[9]
Holiday in Death[]
Eve saw a billboard with Santa, red-cheeked and with a manic grin that made her think of an oversized elf on Zeus riding through the sky behind his fleet of reindeer, blasting out ho, ho, ho’s while warning the populace of just how many shopping days they had left before Christmas.[10] Later, Eve convinced Piper Hoffman’s doctor that she knew what she was doing by telling him about the rape wards she worked in the rape wards in Alphabet City: “Boys and girls fresh off the farm who didn’t know how to handle a john pumped up on Zeus or Exotica.”[11]
Conspiracy in Death[]
Snooks had been a drinker and had a small stash of illegals in his crate; the illegals included a hand-rolled joint of Zoner, a couple of pink capsules that were probably Jags, and white powder that was probably Grin laced with Zeus.[12] When Roarke offered to attend the Drake Center’s fundraiser fashion show and dinner dance with Eve, she thought she’d rather have gone bare-knuckled with a Zeus addict, but agrees to go for her case.[13] Outside a corner building in Chicago that called itself Hotel South Side, a lanky man with icy eyes offered prime Zeus, Ecstacy, Zoner - mix or match, which Eve declined.[14]
Witness in Death[]
Richard Draco’s tox report came back with “a lovely little mix of illegals in his system at time of death. Exotica and Zing, with a soupçon of Zeus. He chased that with a double shot of unblended scotch.”[15] Michael Proctor looked “as guilty as a man with six ounces of Zeus in each pocket” when Eve and Peabody came to his apartment to interview him about Draco’s murder.[16] Draco had a stash of illegals in his goodie drawer at the Roarke Palace Hotel: “a month’s supply of Exotica, a bit of Zeus, and” a small vial of Wild Rabbit.[17]
Judgment in Death[]
Taj Kohli’s brutal murder was set up: “the metal bat is the probable murder weapon and was used by someone of considerable strength, possibly chemically induced, as the scene indicates excessive violence often demonstrated by users of Zeus” but for the fact of leaving thirty credits and a lot of valuable liquor behind, something an addict would never do.[18] It was “a sloppy attempt to cover with the look of attempted robbery, a missing palm ’link, and thirty loose credit chips.”[19] The enforcers Max Ricker sent after Eve left his Connecticut mansion had concealed banned weapons, six ounces of Exotica, two of Zeus, a fancy set of burglary tools, and three short steel pipes, handy for spine-cracking.[20]
Seduction in Death[]
Morris told Eve the combo of Exotica laced with Zeus “can make a guy’s tool stay in use long after he’s gone flat otherwise,” as demonstrated by the very impressive hard-on Baxter’s stabbing victim still sported.[21] According to Louise Dimatto, it was more common to see an Exotica/Zeus combo or a Rabbit clone than real because it’s so pricey.[22] When Eve tried to break up an illegals deal gone bad, one of the men, who “had Zeus in his eyes, that elixir that made gods of men,” was cut when after Peabody stunned him, he still had the strength to jam his knife toward Eve’s throat; she took him down by kneeing him in the groin, slicing her heel into his instep, then flipping him over her back.[23]
Purity in Death[]
Louis K. Cogburn’s murder of Ralph Wooster looked like Zeus, according to Officer Proctor, second on site after Trueheart. Cogburn opened Wooster’s head, bashed Suzanne Cohen and assaulted Trueheart, but it was caused by the Purity virus rather than Zeus.[24]
Portrait in Death[]
Crack’s mother died when “some asshole she was cleaning for got hold of a bad batch of Zeus and chucked her out a ten-story window,” related to Eve after his sister was murdered.[25]
Divided in Death[]
Blair Bissel had vials of Rabbit, a bag of Zeus, and another of Erotica in the goodie drawer at his studio.[26] He was addicted to Zeus. Bissel “toked a little Zeus, a small reward, and felt like the king of the world.”[27] Later he “took a minute hit of Zeus to keep his energies up, keep his mind alert.”[28] Eve threatens to drop Quinn Sparrow in front of “this nice little cafe where Zeus addicts hang,” but her car is hit by a short-range missile before she can make good on her threat.[29] When Sparrow thought he was dying from the explosion, he confessed that “Blair Bissel killed Carter Bissel and Felicity Kade. He sniffed a little Zeus to give himself some backbone and sliced them up.”[30] When Eve goes to the Flatiron Building to confront Blair, she saw his eyes: Zeus. “He was riding on it. Between that and the body armor, he’d take a few stuns before he went down.”[31]
Visions in Death[]
When Eve and Roarke fired streams at John Blue, he shook it off “like a man hyped on Zeus” and lunged again.[32]
Survivor in Death[]
“Eve would rather have been transporting a three-hundred-pound psycho hopped on Zeus in the back of her police issue than a little girl [[[Nixie Swisher]]]. She knew how to handle a homicidal chemi-head.”[33] The man incorrectly apprehended for Jaynene Brenegan’s murder tested positive for Zeus and was currently serving twenty-five to life at Rikers.[34]
Memory in Death[]
Max “Tubbs” Lawrence fell thirty-six floors, from the Broadway View Hotel, shouting, “Ho, ho, ho,” until he hit the sidewalk and crushed Leo Jacobs, killing them both[35]; Zeus was found in his system, although he normally stuck to Exotica, Push, and Jazz[36], but Zero had laced the latest batch of Push.[37] Eve called catnip “Zeus for cats” after she gave Galahad his Christmas present of a toy mouse.[38]
Born in Death[]
At Central, Eve encountered a skinny guy in restraints between two uniforms “squawking like a parrot on Zeus about harassment, constitutional rights, and someone named Shirley.”[39]
Eternity in Death[]
Tiara Kent’s tox results included Zeus, Erotica, Whore, Rabbit, Stunner, Bliss, and Boost[40] Her killer, Dorian Vadim, had “some kind of super-Zeus recipe” - “not just the whacked brain it causes, or the temporary strength. Speed, too.”[41]
Salvation in Death[]
The energy shake Eve and Roarke split after her nightmare tasted “like a fruit bowl on Zeus,” according to Eve.[42]
Kindred in Death[]
Eve interviewed Risso Banks, whose brother, Cecil, dealt Zeus, hunted runaways and kids who ran the streets, got them hooked, and pimped them out.[43]
Fantasy in Death[]
Eve compared U-Play to “EDD on Zeus.”[44] Later, McNab told Eve Var, whose location they were tracking, was “a pogo stick on Zeus. He’s bouncing, then switching off, banking back.”[45]
Indulgence in Death[]
When Eve saw Adrianne Jonas hanging by a bullwhip, she said about Winston Dudley IV, “He’s got to hoist her up. He’s in good shape, and he’s tall enough to manage it. But that takes some solid muscle. Or some chemical help.” Zeus made gods out of men -- or at least gave them the adrenaline rush to think so.[46] After Eve bested Dudley and Sylvester Moriarity III, Dudley’s tox screen showed he was “souped up on Hype cut with a little prime Zeus.”[47]
Treachery in Death[]
Renee Oberman claimed that the last tip Rickie “Juicy” Keener provided to her was about a Zeus kitchen on Avenue D, which they shut down two weeks before his death.[48] There was some Zeus in Keener’s system, according to Morris, along with enough Fuck You Up to take down a four-hundred-pound stallion.[49]
Chaos in Death[]
Marti Frank’s brother was a junkie, favoring Jazz laced with Zeus, and died from an OD of it.[50] When Eve and Peabody discuss the perpetrator’s description, Peabody said, “I’m not saying I believe in monsters and demons, but somebody hyped up on Zeus, say, convinced he is one, gets in the gear to top it off. Since the wit only saw one man, and the evidence leans toward one man - he’d have to be hyped on something. Zeus not only makes you crazy, but it deadens you to pain, pumps the adrenaline.” Eve thought Zeus was a good fit, but not a perfect one. “It fit the violence, the frenzy of it. But not the calculation. Still, a blend... and some enterprising soul was always coming up with a new and improved in the illegals game. Flying on Zeus, a man could hack, beat, choke--and laugh his ass off while doing it. But he couldn’t plan--costume, satchel with weapons and protective gear, gloved or sealed hands. She didn’t expect the sweepers to gift wrap the killer’s prints for her.” Something else that didn’t fit with Zeus was that he climbed into the apartment, nice and quiet. “Target specific, premeditated, planned.”[51]
Delusion in Death[]
A bastardization of Zeus was a key ingredient in the Red Horse LSD mixture that Lewis Callaway used to kill people, along with LSD, Rush, peyote, synthetic adrenaline, and testosterone, plus one or two as yet unidentified elements.[52] According to Dickie Berenski, “with Zeus added to it, it’s going to be ugly - hallucinations, delusions, and the energy and violence. Kick in the mushrooms - the ibotenic acid, again condensed. Double hallucinogenics. Add a touch of synthetic adrenaline to pump up the Zeus, condensed testosterone - see everything condensed for more punch. Then a trace of arsenic. Mix it up and you have bat-shit. You’re going to be deluded, pissed off, panicked, strong - for about twelve minutes.”[53]
Calculated in Death[]
The morning after Eve’s run-in with Clinton Roscoe Frye at the High Line, she felt better; “she wouldn’t want to go hand-to-hand with a Zeused-up chemi-head, but she could if she had to.”[54]
Obsession in Death[]
Eve compared Roarke’s e-work to playing “the keyboard like a concert pianist hyped on Zeus.”[55]
Wonderment in Death[]
Eve noted that phencyclidine, which was one of the drugs found in Darlene Fitzwilliams’s tox report, is the base element of Zeus.[56]
Dark in Death[]
One of the “motives” for the third murder was Stone Bailey, who “can’t lay off the Zeus,” according to Yola Bloomfield, one of his exes.[57] Another, Adam Glazier, had developed a taste for it in the last turbulent months of his relationship with Loxie Flash, but was clean as of the story.[58]
Leverage in Death[]
“Eve ran through the current caseload with Jenkinson and his psychotic rainbow tie, Reineke and his kittens on Zeus socks.”[59]
Connections in Death[]
Lyle Pickering’s last bust was over a fight with a rival gang member. “Both had knives over the legal limit, and he had possession of Zeus, Erotica, and other substances with a street value of around six thousand on him.”[60]
Forgotten in Death[]
Detective Fruicki, an undercover illegals detective was dressed to meet with a Zeus dealer: “stringy hair, scruffy stubble, and the filthy trench coat over equally filthy baggies... He grinned, showing blackened teeth. ‘Somebody’s added an extra zing to the street sales... Do I look crazy enough for a fix?’”[61]
Random in Death[]
Francis Bryce made his own street drugs, handily labeled: Zeus, Whore, Erotica.[62]
Passions in Death[]
Eve decided “she’d rather face a gang of thugs hopped up on Zeus than a single kangaroo with six-inch claws.”[63] Jenkinson and Reineke were working a cold case of a staged break-in. The wife was cleared by the ME, who said “she’d’ve needed a stool to have bashed him from the angle he was bashed, and maybe some Zeus to bash with that amount of force.”[64]
Other mentions.[65]
References:
- ↑ Immortal in Death (ISBN 0-425-15378-9), pp. 39-40
- ↑ Immortal in Death (ISBN 0-425-15378-9), p. 40
- ↑ Naked in Death, Chapter 9
- ↑ Rapture in Death, Chapter 1
- ↑ Rapture in Death (ISBN 0-425-15518-8), p. 30
- ↑ Ceremony in Death (ISBN 0-425-15762-8), p. 19
- ↑ Ceremony in Death, Chapter 2
- ↑ Ceremony in Death, Chapter 10
- ↑ Ceremony in Death, Chapter 18
- ↑ Holiday in Death, Chapter 1
- ↑ Holiday in Death, Chapter 19
- ↑ Conspiracy in Death (ISBN 0-425-16813-1), pp. 11-12
- ↑ Conspiracy in Death, Chapter 4
- ↑ Conspiracy in Death (ISBN 0-425-16813-1), p. 284
- ↑ Witness in Death, Chapter 3
- ↑ Witness in Death, Chapter 4
- ↑ Witness in Death, Chapter 6
- ↑ Judgment in Death, Chapter 1
- ↑ Judgment in Death, Chapter 2
- ↑ Judgment in Death, Chapter 5
- ↑ Seduction in Death (ISBN 978-0-425-18146-1), p. 31
- ↑ Seduction in Death, Chapter 3
- ↑ Seduction in Death (ISBN 0-425-18146-4), pp. 145-147
- ↑ Purity in Death (ISBN 0-425-18630-X), pp. 2-4
- ↑ Portrait in Death (ISBN 0-425-18903-1), pp. 289, 291
- ↑ Divided in Death (ISBN 0-425-19795-6), p. 55
- ↑ Divided in Death, Chapter 10
- ↑ Divided in Death, Chapter 16
- ↑ Divided in Death, Chapter 17
- ↑ Divided in Death, Chapter 19
- ↑ Divided in Death, Chapter 22
- ↑ Visions in Death, Chapter 21
- ↑ Survivor in Death, Chapter 2
- ↑ Survivor in Death, Chapter 13
- ↑ Memory in Death (ISBN 0-425-21073-1), pp. 1-3
- ↑ Memory in Death (ISBN 0-425-21073-1), pp. 3-4
- ↑ Memory in Death (ISBN 0-425-21073-1), pp. 5, 14-15, 50
- ↑ Memory in Death, Chapter 18
- ↑ Born in Death, Chapter 9
- ↑ Eternity in Death (ISBN 978-0-515-14367-6), pp. 6, 35
- ↑ Eternity in Death, Chapter 10
- ↑ Salvation in Death, Chapter 10
- ↑ Kindred in Death (ISBN 978-0-399-15595-6), p. 142
- ↑ Fantasy in Death, Chapter 2
- ↑ Fantasy in Death, Chapter 21
- ↑ Indulgence in Death, Chapter 18
- ↑ Indulgence in Death, Chapter 20
- ↑ Treachery in Death, Chapter 6
- ↑ Treachery in Death, Chapter 7
- ↑ Chaos in Death, Chapter 3
- ↑ Chaos in Death, Chapter 4
- ↑ Delusion in Death, Chapter 2
- ↑ Delusion in Death, Chapter 4
- ↑ Calculated in Death, Chapter 13
- ↑ Obsession in Death, Chapter 14
- ↑ Wonderment in Death, Chapter 8
- ↑ Dark in Death, Chapter 14
- ↑ Dark in Death, Chapter 15
- ↑ Leverage in Death, Chapter 18
- ↑ Connections in Death, Chapter 5
- ↑ Forgotten in Death, Chapter 4
- ↑ Random in Death, Chapter 20
- ↑ Passions in Death, Chapter 11
- ↑ Passions in Death, Chapter 12
- ↑ Purity in Death (ISBN 978-0-7499-3441-5), p. 253; Innocent in Death, Chapters 1, 11, and 18; Creation in Death, Chapter 8; Indulgence in Death, Chapter 10; Treachery in Death, Chapters 10 and 12; New York to Dallas, Chapter 19; Delusion in Death, Chapters 10 and 15; Taken in Death, Chapter 10; Concealed in Death, Chapters 8 and 13-14; Obsession in Death, Chapter 14; Brotherhood in Death, Chapter 16