Zoo City

Zinzi accepts the job offer from Amira and Mark, and they pick Zinzi up in a gold Mercedes. As she travels to meet their client, the car passes posters of newspaper headlines, including the headline “HOMELESS MAN BURNED TO DEATH” (81). They pull up to a security station that controls entrance to a gated community. The guard is animalled, and Zinzi notes that zoos tend to do well in the security sector. Mark asks the guard to let “Mr. Huron” know they’re here.

Zinzi asks whether Mark is referring to Odysseus “Odi” Huron, a famous music producer and owner of Moja Records, who allegedly lives in Howard-Hughes-style isolation; Mark answers in the affirmative. They pull up to Odi’s house, a rambling, rundown eyesore in an otherwise modern community. At the garage, a chauffeur named James takes their car. As Amira takes Zinzi to the entrance, Zinzi asks her what “procurements” means on the business card they gave her: Maltese & Marabou Procurements. Amira answers that it can mean anything that a client wants it to mean; for Huron, they’ve escorted musicians on tours and helped them make deals. Discretion, Amira says, is one of their guarantees. She says she hopes it’s one of Zinzi’s also, and Zinzi responds that money makes all things possible.