by Michael Todd
Holly blinked. “Is that Wizard?”
JB nodded. “Yep, and next to him are Mary, Ainsley, and Horace.”
Holly looked around the room. “Where is Jens?”
JB looked at the bar, but he was off in his own memories. “He requested not to be added to the wall. He didn’t want people to think that what he did could be done by anyone else. He was protecting the young kids rolling in here, looking for some secret key that unlocked the Zoo. He knew deep down that getting wasted out there was a terrible idea, but he loved the rush more than life. No exaggeration there. And it eventually caught up with him.”
Holly pushed her plate back. “How many times did he go in?”
JB thought for a second. “He was the record-holder till Madigan Kennedy. He beat Gabrielle’s standings. He went in thirty-two times, I think. Yeah, that’s right. His last trip was the thirty-third, but he never came back out. The statistics caught up with him.”
Holly shook her head. “Man, after ten, I would figure I was pushing fate. But then again, I feel like he believed he was bulletproof.”
JB chuckled. “Either that, or he got to a point where he just gave zero fucks. There are quite a few guys like that. Yeah. Our story leads us to that point. Trip thirty-three.”
Chapter Nine
The NLTV came to a screeching halt outside of the Staging Area, and dust and sand blew around the team as they got out. There was another team in the area in the process of suiting up. The team captain, a middle-aged man with a rough square chin and muscular arms, walked over to Ainsley and Jens.
Ainsley put out his hand. “How’s it going? You guys just getting out or you going in?”
The guy shook the lead’s hand but glanced at Jens, who paid him little attention. “We were gonna go in, but they are detecting some wild weather popping up over the Zoo. First time they’ve ever seen anything like it. The damn place is creating its own weather system. Just thought I’d let you know. It’s probably not smart to go in there today.”
Jens scoffed and walked away.
The guy watched him go. He turned to Ainsley and gave him a look. Ainsley sighed and rubbed his face. “Sorry about him. It’s been a long day already.”
The guy nodded. He knew who they were, and who Jens was. Everyone knew. “Well, probably an even better reason to not go in there. It’ll swallow you up quick.”
Ainsley shook his hand again. “Thanks, man. You guys get back safe.”
He watched the guy walk to the team’s NLTV and climb inside, then Ainsley went after Jens. He leaned into Jens as the man sorted through his liquor, taking inventory. “I’m thinking maybe we should wait out this storm. We don’t have a clue what might go on in there during a swell like this.”
Jens glanced at him but didn’t say a word, just continued packing his bag. Ainsley groaned and leaned against the NLTV. “Come on, Jens. I know you’re feeling invincible, but you aren’t the only one who has to go in there.”
Jens stopped and turned to Ainsley, his face tired and worn from years spent in the Zoo. “I don’t feel invincible. I haven’t felt that way in years. I know these guys need the payday, and if we are the only ones in there, we have our pick of the patches. If there is a bad storm, then most likely the animals will be hiding. I think now is the safest time to be in the thick, but you’re the boss. You make the call. Either way, I’m heading in.”
Jens put on his sack. He didn’t give a shit about his suit. He walked toward the front of the platform. Ainsley gritted his teeth and punched the vehicle, knowing full well the team would follow Jens anywhere. He gathered them together. Jens was hunched over, watching the swaying trees at the perimeter.
Mary, Wizard, and Horace looked at him suspiciously. Ainsley cleared his throat. “Here’s the deal. The Zoo is doing something fucking weird again. It seems to have developed some sort of weather system inside, and the conditions don’t look good. I think we should postpone.”
Mary wrinkled her forehead. “But the contract deadline is tomorrow. What if it’s the same tomorrow?”
Ainsley put his hands up. “I know, but I’ll call and talk to them. We can’t help acts of nature like this, even if they are unnatural.”
They looked at one another. Wizard stroked his beard and tilted his head toward Jens. “What does he say about it?”
Ainsley sighed. He knew that was the end of the fight. “He is going regardless.”
Horace simply put on his HUD and walked over next to Jens. Mary pulled her hair into a ponytail. “If Jens is going, I’m going.”
“Me too,” Wizard replied, picking up his sack. “Let’s just get it over with. Plus, we can pick up some data about the storm and sell it to the government. We’ll get a bonus out of it.”
Ainsley wasn’t happy, but he agreed to go. As he passed Jens and took the lead, Jens downed a mini-bottle of Crown and tossed it in the bushes. Then they entered the Zoo. The wind blew the trees wildly, and lightning flashed. It was like the Zoo knew they were coming.
The wind blew sand down the main street of town, and clouds surged overhead. It was the tail-end of the storm that had inundated the Zoo for the last five months. Barely anyone was out on the streets. They had all either stayed in their rooms, braved the storm inside the Zoo, or gone to the bar. The bar was the top choice for most.
Shops were closing for the day, and the sun was beginning to set over the desert, somewhere beyond the clouds. Thunder echoed across the sandy plains, but it was only an effect. The storm rarely reached past the perimeter. Inside, the winds were calmer. It poured and flooded constantly. New formations were revealed inside the Zoo. The jungle they had known was being washed away to reveal a whole new ecosystem. It was like the Zoo was fully regenerating. While that meant money for the mercs, no one knew how it might affect the animals. Very few of them wanted to find out.
Inside the bar were rows upon rows of guys talking in a low murmur as they ate and drank. The town hadn’t quite been the same for months, not since Jens and his team had entered the Zoo and never came back out. Black tapestries were still hanging in honor of them, and people were telling stories about Jens’ superpowers in watering holes all over town. It was the first time a death had hit the entire town. It even spread to the German side.
One of the guys sitting at the bar looked at the clock and picked up his beer. “Anyone coming out will be back in the next five minutes or they ain’t coming back, at least not tonight. Maybe ever.”
The bartender poured him a shot and nodded. “You know, no one used to pay attention to that.”
The guy scoffed. “Well, we have all come to terms with Jens and the others’ deaths. There’s no way they could have survived this long out there. They’ve probably become part of the new Zoo or something. Who knows? Now I pay attention when our guys don’t come back.”
The bartender glanced at the clock. “Who’s still out?”
The guy spoke up. “Just Sanders and his team. They were the only ones to take a full-day trip today.”
The bar fell silent for a moment as the minute hand on the clock continued to move. Suddenly the door flew open, and a harsh wind blew sand into the darkened bar. Five men stomped in. It was Sanders and his team, looking worse for wear and carrying a heavy duffel bag. Sanders set it on the bar, and everyone heard the bag clink and clank.
Sanders ordered a drink and pointed to the bag. “We had an interesting trip.”
His team stood alongside him solemnly. The whole bar became as quiet as a church. Sanders cleared his throat, then quickly downed his drink, screwing up his face as he swallowed the liquor.
“We were on our way back, but a flood broke out. Out of nowhere, we had a river running across our path, five feet deep and growing. We had to double back; took a roundabout way back to the NLTVs. Didn’t look like anyone had been through there in months as we moved through. There was no sign of wildlife or wakeful man-eating plants. Because of the rain, I guess.”
One of his guys put in, “That’s w
hen we found them.”
The bartender furrowed his brow. “Who?”
Sanders signaled for another round for his team. “We didn’t know at first because the bodies were badly decomposed, but we started to do some research, looking at the tapes in the HUDs we found. Took a look at their gear. We were pretty sure it was Jens and that team. There were four males and one female. They all had torn suits and both major and minor injuries. We couldn’t tell which actually killed any of them. All the bodies were flat on the ground but one.”
The merc behind him grunted. “The one was propped against a tree with his gun across his lap.”
One of the guys at the bar shook his head. “Boys go in there all the time and don’t come out. What makes you think these particular bodies were Jens’ team? There are women in many of the groups.”
Sanders patted the bag and it clinked again. “All around the body were empty liquor bottles, six full-size and about a dozen or so of the minis he favored.”
The bartender was quiet for a moment. “Still, it could have been anyone. That team has been lost for five months. Their bodies would have been consumed by the wildlife.”
One of Sanders’ team members sneered. “Who has seen any wildlife since the storm started? Nobody. Jens and that crew went in the first day of the storm, and their bodies sat in the rain decomposing for five months.”
The bar was silent. After a few moments, the bartender cleared his throat. “Do you have any other proof it was them?”
Sanders opened his breast pocket and put a memory chip on the bar. “We took that from the last HUD. It is damaged, but you can see faces until the wearer goes down.”
The bartender grabbed his tablet from under the bar, slipped his headphones on, and pulled up the video feed. The rain was unrelenting. Horace’s meaty hands were full of his rifle. He was breathing heavily and reloading. Then there was a barrage of gunfire and the camera whipped around. It paused on Mary. Her HUD was gone, and her gear torn to shreds. A snarling jag clawed her across her stomach and she dropped to her knees, screaming. She let her weapon fall and tried to push her guts back into her stomach. Blood covered her hands before she fell face down.
Horace stumbled, wavered for a moment, and hit the ground. The end of the footage was one of the jags walking up and sniffing the HUD before disappearing out of view. Then there was nothing but silence. The bartender pulled out his headphones and looked at the older guy at the bar. He nodded sadly. The whole bar gasped, then went silent.
Sanders reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a soiled and wet envelope. He handed it to the bartender. “I took that from Jens’ pocket. It is addressed to you. No one opened it.”
The bartender took the envelope. He stared at the soggy thing for a moment, then set it down behind the bar. It had to dry before he could open it. “You couldn’t bring anyone back?”
Sanders grimaced. “No. We tried, but the weather had taken its toll on the bodies. Without stretchers, they would have fallen apart. We figured it was more dignified to let them sink back into the Zoo.”
The bartender eased himself onto a stool. “I agree with you. That team, of all teams, would have wanted it that way. There is no way they would have wanted to be brought back in pieces, stuffed into wooden boxes, and buried in the desert. That wasn’t their way.”
Sanders tapped the bar with his hand, then stood. “Sorry we had to bring back the news. We’re gonna go get some dry clothes. We might be back later for a drink. I’ll leave those bottles for you to dispose of. They probably came from here anyway.”
Sanders walked out of the bar with his team.
The bartender opened the bag of bottles and removed them one by one. On each label was Jens’ name written in the bartender’s own handwriting. They were bottles he hadn’t seen in five months. He took Jens’ favorite, an empty bottle of Stoli, and set the bottle on the bar. An old man waved for the bag, and the bartender handed it over. The old man took two minis of whiskey. “Mementos.”
He handed the bag around. Several of the guys took bottles as small remembrances of Jens and his unstoppable feats in the Zoo.
JB looked at some of the faces listening to the story. More than a few had been there that night and heard the news. They looked as somber now as they had then. No one liked to hear when one of their own had been taken down, but that one in particular had hit home.
Holly cleared her throat. “The Zoo finally got them.”
JB nodded. “That it did. It grabbed hold of them and took them under. Some wanted to blame Jens for the others’ deaths, but they were all adults. They loved it in there as much as he did. What they didn’t know was that toward the end, even Jens was tired of the Zoo. Like you said, his superpower had turned into his kryptonite. He was sick, and he knew it. Ainsley knew it too, even though he never told anyone.”
“Then why didn’t he just retire?”
“And do what? What could match punching aliens in the face for ten years?”
Holly pressed her lips together. “I guess you’re right. It would be hard to top that. And with the alcohol issues, I guess I can see where his mind might have been.”
JB took a deep breath and stretched his arms. “The town was somber for a time, at least until after the memorial. Then things started to go back to normal.”
Holly smiled. “That’s nice. You guys had a memorial.”
Toothless laughed. “Oh yeah, we did. The whole town came, plus half the German side. I ain’t never again seen that many men dressed in black simultaneously take a shot of vodka. It was unreal. All five of them have headstones up on the hill. There is a bull on Mary’s, the Batman symbol on Wizard’s, a bear on Horace’s because he was a teddy bear of a man, and a crown on Ainsley’s to show he was the leader.”
Holly looked at JB. “And Jens?”
He shrugged. “Jens didn’t have a regular headstone. One of the guys collected all those bottles Sanders brought back. He melted them down and created one fat multi-colored Stoli bottle with the words Badass Forever written on the label. It’s still up there. A little worse for wear, but still there.”
Holly smiled. “That’s awesome. Sometimes it seems like people in this town know one another better than their own families.”
JB stood up with a familiar clink. “Damn straight. Here we are one big happy fucking family.”
Chapter Ten
Toothless waved his hand. “Oh, but that’s not the end of the story.”
Holly was confused. “How can there be more? They’re all dead.”
Someone from behind them shouted, “The rumor!”
Holly knit her brow together. “The rumor? What rumor?”
Toothless leaned over to her. “The rumor that Jens had a will. That he paid to have the German general roughed up. Apparently, that was how he was going to get his revenge—kick his ass from the fucking grave. Some said it was cowardly, but personally, I thought it was brilliant. Absolutely brilliant. The general would have stopped looking over his fucking shoulder just in time to get a right hook to the face.”
A sly smile broke out on JB’s face. “I have to admit, that wasn’t a rumor.”
Holly scoffed. “How do you know for sure?”
JB opened a drawer and pulled out a wrinkled envelope with his name scribbled on the front. Holly narrowed her eyes at the envelope. “Is that what I think it is?”
JB laughed. “The will? Yeah. The bartender at the end of the story? That was me. I was the executor of his will. That was why I was so glad to see it retrieved. I knew about it ahead of time, but I figured when he disappeared his will went with him. In that will was his final request. He wanted the general to get a thorough beat-down.”
JB stuffed the envelope back in the drawer and locked it. Holly tilted her head back and laughed. “That is amazing. So, did you do it?”
JB scoffed. “The general’s name was Klinghoffer. He was a grade A world-class prick, and everyone knew it. I had heard stories of Klinghoffer on the French
side for years, even before Jens and his crew came over here. The men stationed over there came to the French side just to get away from his ass. In fact, at his memorial, that prick and his wife actually showed up. Sad thing was, she looked devastated, and he looked pleased.”
Holly snarled, “Fucker.”
JB shook his head. “Indeed. Anyway, Jens’ money paid for three bad motherfuckers, and I went for free. I gave my share to Horace’s family instead. I hated that dick anyway. It was about time someone showed him what a real beat-down was like.”
Holly giggled. “What happened to him after that?”
“He stayed pretty low key,” JB replied. “About a year ago he died from a bite he got in the Zoo. Couldn’t have happened to a more deserving asshole. I heard the bite spread like an infection. Took over his whole body. And his wife never came to visit him in the hospital, not even once. Once a year, on the day Jens disappeared, you will see a blonde woman standing up there on the hill. No one ever bothers her or gets close, but I know it’s Clarice.”
Holly slapped her hand on the bar, feeling slightly tipsy. “Damn. I tell you what, that was one fucking good story. You had action, suspense, a villain, a redemption, and a secret love story. That shit is tv-ready.”
JB grabbed a shot glass and filled it with Stoli. He held it aloft for a moment, then downed it. “I always take a shot after telling that story. I don’t want his drunk ass coming back and haunting me. No, ma’am.”
Holly looked at JB for a moment. “You know what I really wonder?”
“What’s that?”
“I wonder how many stories you have hidden up there in that brain of yours about yourself. I wonder how many you have kept to yourself all these years.”
JB shrugged. “A man doesn’t brag about the skeletons in his closet. They might have their own legal teams.”
Holly looked at him suspiciously. “Mhmm. I will get those out of you one day. I am making it my mission.”