Off the Algo by Michael W. Barnes

Author:Michael W. Barnes [Barnes, Michael W.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Twin Nickel Press
Published: 2022-12-07T00:00:00+00:00

Lead Head Bookends the Drone Convention

As the day’s formal Drone Conference activities drew to a close, the informal receptions, dinners and schmoozing began their last evening in earnest. These events ranged from forgettable plastic serving platters with rubberized chicken and gooey dim sum with cheap well liquor poured by bored wait staff to more elaborate and intimate affairs. This would be the second year of the “Lead Head” event. John had quietly started it at the previous year’s convention, and had invited his friend, the wine merchant Tom Gallier, to co-host it as a very private after-hours affair, with a select group of about 100 people, including several of the culinary elite of the New Orleans restaurant industry and a few key sommeliers from the best joints in town. The chefs and sommeliers of New Orleans were world class, so in the first Lead Head, John and Tom knew the wines would have to be stunning. And if the culinary elite of New Orleans were impressed, Lead Head would become an event of legend – a highly sought-after invitation.

Both the 1982 and 1989 Bordeaux vintages had changed Tom Gallier’s life when he’d bet everything he had on them, and thus John had thought it a good reason to arrange for a number of giant bottles of the best 1982 and 1989 Bordeaux wines to be poured at the first Lead Head at last year’s Drone Convention. That event had established Lead Head as being a “must have” ticket.

And this year, Lead Head indeed did return. It was still a private party at the conclusion of the Predators Ball, but a few of the convention sponsors had caught wind that a ticket to the event defined the cool crowd and was a coveted item. The problem was there were no obvious strings to pull or calls to make to get an invitation. Money didn’t buy a ticket.

The reception was being held the second-floor rooms of an old-school restaurant, Marnie’s, in the heart of the French Quarter, complete with a private staircase entry, a wrap-around balcony overlooking Jackson Square, and several opulent sitting parlors for semi-private conversations. And, of course, the place had a resident ghost.

With John having unexpectedly left town, Luke met up with Tom Gallier ninety minutes before the start time to finalize any last-minute details, and to make sure that John’s absence would not cause any problems. John and Tom had invited a few key people to stop by a half-hour early, including John’s old friend Mike Shepard, a retired military man whose unassuming manner masked a deep intelligence and a quick wit. There would be a special ‘pre-bottle’ for the crew.

Some of the 200 invited guests had arrived a bit early, not wanting to risk that any truly great bottles might get emptied early in the affair. They were queued outside Marnie’s by five plain-clothed security guards, two of whom were fast-rising female professional MMA fighters and two others were giant football linemen from the local college teams.

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