by Michael Todd
JB started to make the drinks slowly. “You always get this way around November. You start remembering holidays. You didn’t even grow up with snow. I think you’ve turned old movies into your past life.”
Paula popped a cherry in her mouth. “Hey, I can be anyone I damn well please. If I want to be a Hallmark made-for-television Christmas movie, I’ll fucking hang the mistletoe, baby.”
JB squeezed a lime into the shaker. “You are past the age of holiday movies. You could be a supporting character. You know, watch the magic from the outside.”
Paula tapped her fingers on the bar. “That right there is the story of my life. Always the secondary character. Ugh.”
JB smiled, handing over one of the five drinks. “At least you are a character. My story seems to be over, yet I’m still standing here as the credits roll.”
Holly noticed Paula’s face twitch, but she quickly straightened it out. “That’s okay, they all have extra scenes for those patient enough to get through the credits.”
Dan took a sip of his beer. “I always fast-forward. I have no patience these days.”
Holly shrugged. “I like the whole thing from beginning to end. Sometimes the credits tell a lot more about the story.”
JB looked up and smiled at Holly. “That’s right. I got lots of interesting shit left.”
Holly giggled and winked at JB, who winked back. He put the rest of the drinks on the bar for Paula, who set down her tray and began to place them carefully on it. She garnished each one fancily even though she knew ninety percent of the fruit would end up on the floor when the roughnecks snarled and threw it off.
JB put a straw in one of the beers. “For Henry, right?”
Paula rolled her eyes. “Yeah, the only motherfucker brave enough to drink a beer through a straw in this bar.”
Dan chuckled. “Have you seen the size of him? He could do a ballet move through the bar wearing a tutu and no one would say a goddamned word. The man could break your skull in the palms of his hands.”
Holly looked at the giant sitting at a table with a straw sticking out of his beer. He had scars all down his arms, and a patch over one eye. His body was like two of JB, and JB was not a small man by any means. She understood very quickly why no one fucked with him. Well, except for Paula and her balls of steel.
Chapter Three
Holly laughed at Paula as she turned and looked at the guys threatening to start a riot. “You know I’ll get out the stick and come after you fools.”
The guys all laughed. “We are looking forward to it.”
Paula smiled and looked back at JB, who was rubbing his forehead. Immediately she reached out and touched his arm. “You okay?”
JB cleared his throat and nodded. “Oh, yeah. Just tired, that’s all.”
Holly could see a look of caring on Paula’s face. A familiar caring, like she had known him all her life. She stepped closer to him. “Did you take it today?”
JB nodded. “Like clockwork.”
Paula pursed her lips. “If you need me to take over or something, we can call in Lindsey. She’s off, but always up to make some cash.”
JB shook his head. “No, no. Don’t be ridiculous. Things are just the same as they were before. Don’t worry about me.”
Holly looked down, not wanting to pry into their conversation. She didn’t know what was going on, but whatever it was, it wasn’t any of her business. Paula glanced down the bar at the others, who weren’t paying any attention to them. She leaned in close and whispered something in his ear. Holly couldn’t hear what it was, but it was obvious she wasn’t supposed to. After a couple of minutes of them whispering, Paula grabbed the tray and headed out into the sea of people waiting for drinks. Holly could hear her yelling at them from the bar.
“Use that hand you got waving to try and find your dick, Steve. I’ll be there before you locate it,” she yelled.
Holly covered her mouth as she laughed, unsure if she was supposed to be seen responding. She turned and watched as Paula made her way through, putting glasses down on the tables. A woman on the other side of the room called her name, a look of exasperation on her face. Paula glanced over and nodded. “Oh, for fuck’s sake, Allison, quit yelling for me. Take your well-used dildo and shove it in your mouth, I’ll get there by the time the batteries run out.”
One of the other guys stood up and clapped his hands. “Then you probably only got like twenty seconds or so, with how much that thing is used.”
Allison rolled her eyes. “Not my fault a piece of rubber does it better than your shrimp dick.”
The whole bar broke into laughter, and the guy gave Allison the finger. Allison winked at him and licked her lips, then settled back down to wait for Paula. Paula was taking orders and giggling, obviously enjoying the banter. Holly appreciated it. For once she wasn’t the bossiest or the baddest bitch in the bunch. All the women had a hard outer layer, and had developed their own combat techniques for being around these men all of the time.
The clinking coming from JB brought Holly’s attention back to the bar, and he said, “She sure gives them hell.”
Holly snickered. “Yeah, she does. I think she likes it.”
JB watched Paula joking around. “She sure as fuck does. She wouldn’t have a good day if she wasn’t abusing the clientele. At first, I was worried about it scaring people off, but it kind of became a staple of the place. People come to be abused by our waitress from hell. They tip bigger, buy more, and come back more often. I just let it happen. Hell, who am I to deny these assholes their well-deserved tongue-lashings?”
Holly watched the amusement flash across JB’s tired face. Once she really took a look at him, she could see he wasn’t quite as bright as the day before. “Does it ever get out of hand?”
JB shrugged. “It has on occasion, but usually she is able to deal with it before I have to intervene. I think maybe five or six times I have had to walk over and take care of it in the years and years this place has been open.”
Holly nodded, pulling up her wallet. “At least she isn’t afraid.”
JB looked at Holly. “You will find insomnia, sickness, broken bones, and lacerations in this town, but you very rarely find fear, at least not the kind of fear that is worn on your face. Fear will get you killed in and out of the Zoo. It’s a weakness to these men, and they can smell it just as well as the Zoo can.”
Holly smiled. “Noted. Keep my fear at bay. I have to admit, though, so far I am fearless.”
JB chuckled, wiping down the bar with a rag. “You look like you got some sleep last night. And I see you decided not to continue with the businesswoman attire. Probably for the best.”
Holly glanced at her clothes. “Yeah, I noticed people didn’t really have a positive attitude toward the business thing. I figured it would probably be better to just come out in plain clothes. That, and it’s a hell of a lot more comfortable when you aren’t sweating from places you didn’t even think you could sweat from.”
JB smirked. “Yeah, and just wait. If you go into that Zoo, you will experience humidity unlike anything before. You sweat even when you are dehydrated. You come out ten pounds lighter every time.”
Holly lifted her eyebrows. “Sounds like a hell of a weight-loss plan.”
Dan sneered. “Especially when you don’t come back at all.”
Holly winced, not wanting to think about the deaths. “The hotel is great. It’s much nicer than the other side. Way less military-like.”
JB poured another drink and slid it down the bar to a guy at the end. “Yeah, that place isn’t too bad, assuming you are talking about the place across the street. Definitely the nicest you are going to find out here. Some businessman in Dubai thought about building luxury hotels out here, but by the time he got the land secured, the Zoo ate it. They put the rest of the deal on hold.”
Holly didn’t understand the purpose. “Why? So tourists could come gawk at the Zoo? Before you know it, you will have tourist treks through the place.
”
JB shook his head. “Nah, the government and the UN put their foot down on that one. That is against the law.”
Holly gawked. “Someone already tried it?”
One of the guys down the bar laughed. “Oh, yeah. Several companies came up with a rail system that they could use to take people on tours of the place. The richies wanted to come through and check it out while eating caviar and sipping champagne. It would have cost millions, but the UN said hell, no. They were not putting lives in danger so some people could brag about going in and seeing the man-eating plants.”
JB snorted. “If they came back out at all. It’s like that Jurassic Park movie. They don’t know what they are messing with, and out of nowhere, you would find mercs being hired to go retrieve some idiot tourist who wandered out into the Zoo. None of us want to risk our lives to save some moron. We’ll save our own people, but if you purposely break the rules to get a good selfie, the man-eating plants can have you.”
Holly snickered. “I think that’s fair. What do you think, Dan?”
Dan took a sip of his beer. “I say, fuck em’. Though knowing me, I would volunteer and end up out there broken, trying to find those idiots. My only thing is, some of the old timers go out there and barely last. I think one of those idiots would snag their Gucci heel and fall right into the mouth of a jaguar with antlers. I really don’t think they have the survival skills to make it. In my opinion, it might be a waste of time.”
Another guy sitting next to Dan spoke up. “Personally, I would take it as a sacrifice to the Zoo gods and hope they go easy on the rest of us for a while for providing a decadent snack for them to chew on every couple of weeks. You know, appease the Zoo so it’ll send fewer deadly things to attack us?”
JB and Dan laughed. “That actually isn’t too bad of an idea. We dress up in native gear and go out chanting and toss some unsuspecting fat guy out into the jungle to be sacrificed.”
Holly lifted an eyebrow. “That sounds terrible. But I could see where it might work. I’m in.”
JB chuckled. “I figured that might be right up your alley.”
Holly shrugged. “I figure if I don’t volunteer, I might be the next sacrifice. Gotta be one up on you guys.”
Dan patted her on the shoulder. “Smart thinking. Very smart thinking.”
A guy walked up next to Holly and took a seat, nodding at JB. “Hey, what’s up? I just got in town, and I was told this was the place to come.”
JB eyed the guy for a moment. “You look roughed up, not new.”
The guy chuckled, running a hand through his cropped hair. “Yeah, was in the military on the American side for ten years, got out, and came over here to try to join up with a merc team so I can make a little non-military money, if you know what I mean.”
JB nodded in understanding. “Okay, I gotcha. So not necessarily a newbie, but new to the French side. I can dig it.”
The guy put his hand out. “I’m Charlie.”
JB shook his hand. “I’m JB, this lovely lady next to you is Holly, and next to her is Dan. The rest I’m sure you’ll get to know on your own.”
Charlie nodded and smiled at the two, his posture perfect and his body cut. “Nice to meet you guys. Everyone seems a bit friendlier over here than on the other side.”
Everyone chuckled, and Holly winked at him. “You must have hit the jackpot today, then.”
JB chuckled. “Girl has been on this side two days and already knows how it works.”
Charlie looked at Holly. “Only two days? You a Marine?”
Holly shook her head. “Nah. I am private sector.”
He nodded and looked back at JB. “Well, you mind if I get a drink?”
JB clapped his hands together. “Mind? Hell, no. Actually, I encourage it. But we have a rule here…”
Dan snickered. “And here comes the magic.”
JB narrowed his eyes at Dan. “Ignore my friend. He is a cynical sonofabitch. Anyway, I get to guess your first drink.”
Charlie looked at Holly and back at JB. “Okay, let’s do this. Whatcha got?”
JB stood there for quite a while with his hand to his chin. Finally, he pulled down a rocks glass, filled it with ice, and set it on the bar. “First a little whiskey—Jack, of course.”
Charlie nodded. “Of course.”
JB pulled down another couple of bottles and mixed a concoction that Holly could only figure out by the strong cherry and mango smell coming from it. He topped it off with Sprite and slid it toward Charlie. Charlie eyed the drink for a moment and picked it up, bringing it to his lips. Everyone stared silently, waiting for his reaction. As the liquid surged through his lips and over his tongue, his eyes went wide and he nodded. “That’s fucking amazing.”
JB picked up the ten from the bar and put it in the register. “You are welcome.”
Holly looked at Dan and leaned toward him, talking loud enough for JB to hear her. “I think he just drugs us all and we are really sipping horse piss and pineapple juice. It just tastes good because we are off our gourds.”
JB faked a laugh. “Be careful. I haven’t made your drink yet.”
Holly realized he was right. “Oh, hell, you’re right. Would you mind mixing me up a little something?”
JB smiled. “No problem. You want it like yesterday, or you want me to try some Skyy?”
Holly shook her head. “Just like yesterday. Oh, and JB?”
JB looked over his shoulder at her as she slid a twenty across the bar. “How about another story, too?”
Dan tapped his hands on the bar and leaned over, grabbing an ashtray. “Hot dog. I second that. We need some action-packed adventure in here today.”
Charlie looked at the other two. “What stories?”
Dan shook his thumb at JB as the bar owner made Holly’s drink. “This guy knows pretty much everything that has happened out here since day one. Holly here figured out the key to getting him to tell a story.”
Charlie looked at the money. “A ten-dollar tip?”
JB looked at Charlie. “And a pretty smile like this beautiful girl has. Sorry, wouldn’t work for you, so you better ride her coattails while you have the chance.”
Holly shrugged. “Hey, whatever it takes. Well, not really, but the twenty I can handle.”
JB finished shaking her drink and poured it into her glass. He topped it off with a cherry and a straw and wiped off his hands. Holly could see he was thinking about his next move, trying to decide what he wanted to start out with. “Let’s see. Another story. What do I want to work on this time? I could do Angel, but there’s so much backstory we’ll be here all year.” He thumbed his chin and looked at Holly for a moment.
She leaned her cheek on her hand and watched as his eyes moved from picture to picture above the bar. Suddenly they stopped, and a smirk went over his lips. “I think I got it. You guys are full of bullshit and sarcasm today, and there is a story that will go right along with your shitty-ass attitude.”
Holly stuck out her lip. “I’m not shitty. I’m funny.”
Dan clinked his glass with hers. “I agree.”
JB snorted. “Okay, you are funny, too. So was this guy. He was rough to the core, and you could tell it just by taking one look at him. He never wore a shirt with sleeves, and he let his scars shine as some sort of badge of honor. He was ruthless and cared for himself and a few, very few around him. That only lasted as long as he could use them for his own good. This guy wasn’t loved by a single soul in the town, at least not while he was alive. His name was Jumping Jack Flash.”
Paula groaned. “A galactic-sized European piece of trash who backed up his bullshit with snakelike reflexes.”
JB laughed. “Yep, and although he was a bit pudgy, no one could beat him in the forty-yard dash. Jack wasn’t named after the song, but the fact that he was skittish. He had a thing for money, wine, and women, not necessarily in that order. He could be an asshole out in the Zoo but a damned gentleman when he wanted to.”
P
aula stopped and shook her finger. “Gentleman, my ass. Jack was the one who damn near talked me out of my panties when I was working one night. He felt he was going to die the next time he walked into the Zoo and wanted something from the prettiest woman he knew. Then he offered me a thousand dollars for them. Hell, I figured they were a twenty-dollar pair that was six months old, so why the fuck not? Pfft. Then I realized he wasn’t good for the payment when he asked if he could pay twelve and owe me when he got back.”
Holly snickered. “Tricky guy.”
Paula shook her head. “Ass was what he really was. I told him he couldn’t set up a payment plan if he wasn’t planning on coming back.”
JB pointed to a hand that was up in the restaurant. Paula turned and flicked them off. “Sit on your thumb and wiggle. I’ll be there eventually.”
JB shook his head and continued, “It’s only because Jack fell off his stool dead-ass drunk that he didn’t get those panties. He could sweet-talk the gold chains off a rapper. But in the Zoo? Jack could be an ass. If you were on his team, it was teamwork, but if you met him out there and were hurt—shit, that man wouldn’t lift a damn finger. Most people are decent, but not Jack. The only time I thought he had humanity was because an American from Heavy Metal was having an issue and asked him to help. He tried to ignore her, but she out-shouted him. I think he carried a torch for her ever since. There was one time he heard she was in trouble at another bar? He tore out of here so fast I thought I’d have to fix my doors. As time passed, Jack’s light began to flicker, and the spark was rarely on display.”
Chapter Four
Jack put his gun on the bar and pulled himself up on the stool, knocking the sand off his boots. He sniffed hard and cleared his throat, wiping his face on the back of his dirty arm. His hair was wild and light brown, but his beard grew in almost black. He shaved it every few days and walked around with a permanent five o’clock shadow. His eyes glistened light blue, and the scars that ran down his arms and chin stayed white compared to the grime and sunburn on the rest of his skin.