by Michael Todd
Marcus sighed. “To really kill them.”
“Exactly. And I brought you back with the thing that was so important to me all this time in the Zoo. It’s a serum made from a plant in the Zoo and…well, you see what it can do. But those are details we can talk about later.”
He stared at her for several moments. “I really thought you were dead and I simply had to wait to get the pieces of your body left in the suit back. I honestly believed something had gotten you and that was the end of your story.”
Billie reached out and put her hand gently on his arm. She tilted her head to the side and smiled. “You didn’t actually think you could get rid of me that easily, did you?”
Marcus laughed. “A boy can hope.” He sobered almost instantly. “No, seriously, it was devastating.”
Not good with emotion, she simply sniffed and pulled her hand back. “I guess my pole dance made a big impression. Luckily for you, there is definitely more where that came from.”
He raised an eyebrow. “Oh, boy. Well, now that I’m alive but dead, what will I do? I can’t go back to the office for my tech so I suppose my research is done. And I assume I’ll have to live off-grid.”
Billie scrabbled in her bag and hauled out a sheaf of documents. “Here. It’s your new identity. Charles Greenwood. I hacked your bank accounts and moved a good portion of it to a secret off-shore account. You have a card there and stuff for that.”
Marcus narrowed his eyes at her. “I think you might actually be too good. So, what will I do with all this?”
She leaned back and fiddled with her helmet so she didn’t have to look at him. “I have a partner who I think will want to create a new company in the Zoo and we will need a tech guy. We have to figure out how to get the materials and abilities to create new armor, so I thought you would be the perfect candidate.”
He nodded and scowled at his T-shirt. “That definitely sounds interesting. But first, we need to get that armor back to the lab before it opens. Otherwise, the company will hunt it down.”
“Oh, yeah, that’s where we’re headed now. I only borrowed it.”
Chapter Three
Holly typed fast, as usual, to capture as many observations from her memory as she could. She’d taken good notes while she went through the process of making the serum, but she wanted to document JB’s progress as well as what happened to Billie. Up until that point, there seemed to be no negative side effects and in fact, it seemed to have made people younger. At least that was how it appeared from the outside, but the changes were subtle and should be documented.
When that was complete, she uploaded everything to her drive and deleted the information from the air-gapped computer. She hung the flash drive on the chain around her neck beneath her shirt. With meticulous care, she gathered all her handwritten notes and went to the closet, where she placed them in a fireproof safe before she buried the strongbox beneath a pile of clothes. She really had no other place to put them, but she knew that, if someone stole them, they wouldn’t really understand anything only from the notes. They would need the drive and the notes together to get the whole picture and the full story on how to create her Elixir of Life.
She grabbed her keys, headed out of the apartment, and stopped in the doorway to the shop to see Amanda. The armorer finished a small soldering job, put her tools down, and walked over to talk to her visitor. “Hey, girl. I feel like it’s been forever since I saw you.”
Holly sighed. “Yeah, I’ve been working on stuff to get it all together for the serum. I want to make sure it’s all down, you know, in case something happens to me.”
Amanda nodded and leaned against the table. “Good idea. What will you do now, though? I mean, since JB is basically cured.”
“I talked about that with Salinger and there were some serious choices I had to make.” She shrugged. “He asked me if I was ready to play God. We talked about never telling anyone about the serum. We talked about selling it outright and also limiting who I gave it to. It was definitely a confusing situation. I didn’t think about having that kind of responsibility when I made this stuff.”
The other woman leaned her head back and looked at the ceiling. “Oh, to retire so young. Live your life on some beach with hot chicks—or in your case, penis—all around. Soaking in the sun, buying whatever you want, and simply relaxing. Of course, I know that isn’t the right choice, but a girl can dream. In reality, I wouldn’t choose that, but I would kick myself on occasion for not doing it.”
Holly laughed. “I know how you feel.”
Amanda clapped as if to close that line of thought. “Ethics are a real bitch. So, did you actually choose one?”
“Actually, yeah. And I’m sure you will be part of it in some way. But this is between us, of course.”
Her companion made a motion of locking her lips and tossing the key. “I am the master secret keeper.”
She smiled. “I think Billie and I will start a black ops kind of thing. Something that allows the secret to remain hidden, but we can still get the elixir out there. I’m not positive how it will work yet, but it’s in the planning process.”
Amanda chuckled. “If Billie has anything to do with it, it will be badass.”
Holly looked at the floor and back at Amanda. “I thought—and I know Billie is bringing in a tech guy—but I thought you might be perfect to work with him. You know, to handle the equipment and stuff. If you’re interested.”
“Uh, hell yeah. But how is all that supposed to work if Billie is some secret operative for God knows who?”
Holly turned and shut the door. “Okay, so here is the big secret. Billie went out in the Zoo and faked her own death. She knew it was the only way out of whatever she was into. When she is with me doing business, she calls herself Jean. She changed her life so she could be here and do this.”
The armorer’s mouth dropped open. “Are you shitting me? That’s fucking deep, girl. Like she straight waved the middle finger at the scary behind-the-scene guys. The man just got punked.”
Holly laughed. “I know, right? I still wonder how fucking amazing that feels to her. To be free of everything in the world.”
Amanda picked a bolt up and shifted it around in her hand. “Yeah, but also to be a permanent ghost, always looking over your shoulder. I guess it’s better than a life completely in the shadows. I don’t know how she did it for so long. It’s insane.”
“I know. I would lose my mind, I think.”
“I am really proud of her, though. It’s not often you get to stand up to the man and live to tell about it. She did what so many of us wish we could do.”
Holly turned and leaned back against the table. “To be free sounds beautiful. But I am unfortunately not in a position to do something that bold. I have too much work to do to get this elixir into production, tweak it if necessary, and continue to do research on it. It is really in its infancy. We have no idea what this stuff is capable of.”
“Or the long-term effects.” Amanda wrinkled her nose.
“Very true. But we have two—maybe three by now—people who will be able to show us what might happen. It will be a lifelong dedication to this project but at the same time, it could seriously be the most important one in human history. I mean, as long as we figure out a way to keep the Zoo from growing to the point where it simply devours everything on Earth.”
The armorer hissed through her teeth. “Yeah, that’s definitely a problem I hope they are at least working on out there in the government. I really don’t want to see the last of the females out here swallowed up by the freaking Zoo.”
Holly chuckled. “What’s wrong? Your dating life not going so smoothly?”
Amanda rolled her eyes. “Dating life? What dating life? There have been like four choices for me out here over the last six months. Two of the girls are complete badass bitches with biceps that would seriously scare off a mountain lion. Now I don’t mind my ladies tough, but shit, when you look like Arnold with a vagina, I tend to shy away
. The other two are interesting but I’ve had a date with only one of them so far. I only hope they don’t find each other and hook up. I’ll be the odd woman out.”
“I am so glad I don’t have that problem.” Holly laughed. “If I wanted to date, there are more than enough dudes out here to figure it out. Luckily, I am too busy. My dating past is a little shaky, anyway.”
Her friend nudged her. “You could always switch teams. Everything is better on the lesbian train. Okay, that’s a lie, but hey, I’m recruiting. It’s my job.”
Holly straightened, rubbed her hands together, and smiled. “Thanks, I appreciate it. If I decide to, you’ll be the first one I tell.”
Amanda watched her walk toward the door. “Where are you going?”
Holly shrugged. “I had planned to go to FUBAR, but I think I need a coffee and some quiet time to think.”
“Get it, girl. I’ll be finished up down here soon so if you leave, lock up. I have to work over at Heavy Metal.”
She returned to her apartment and closed the door behind her, still chuckling at Amanda’s proposal. A little distracted, she walked to the coffee maker and filled the mesh with the last of her coffee from New York before she tossed the empty package in the trash with a shrug. Those types of things didn’t seem to matter to her anymore. She had bigger fish to fry in life. Besides, her money was spoken for, at that point. She wouldn’t waste it shipping expensive coffee in simply so she could have one cup a day. JB’s brand would do just fine.
Holly poured herself a cup and headed to her desk, where she sat and drew a deep breath. She didn’t open her computer or notes but simply sat there. The warm aroma of her cup of Joe relaxed her shoulders and she stared out the window, her mind rampant with thoughts. She was so on the go all the time, she rarely had time to sort through her own mind. Back in New York, she always took time out, whether it was in a spa or simply relaxing on the balcony of her condo overlooking the city.
The reality of the situation was that everything had changed for her. From the way she dressed to the way she looked at life. Even the way she let people in and trusted them had changed. She had developed almost a sixth sense, an ability to weed the bullshit out and absorb the truth. The people she had let in were absolutely fantastic—stronger, probably, than any friend she had made before, and all in such a short span of time. In fact, it was an incredibly short time—barely a couple of months before, she had listened to the first of JB’s stories. Still, she didn’t mind. Change was not always a bad thing. Her life had always hinged on change—of jobs, location, style…everything had always rotated and moved in her life, ever since she was a little girl.
Holly glanced at a group of men who walked past in their suits, their helmets under their arms. From the dirt and minor cuts and scrapes, it was obvious they had returned from the Zoo. That place had started it all for her. It had initiated the very change that brought her to the present situation. Until the exact moment she had decided to go into the Zoo, she hadn’t actually thought it would ever come to fruition. But then, there she was, standing in the thick of it, battered and bruised, and fighting off some crazy creature.
The stories that JB had told couldn’t have been truer. From the way the Zoo made a person feel to the way it engulfed everything it touched, it was exactly how JB had described it. The very moment she exited for the first time, she’d wanted both to run away and run back inside. There was a draw to the jungle she had never known before. The mercs at Fubar talked about that same draw over and over. They described a knot in their stomach, an ever-changing need for the adrenaline that bolted through them as the veil of the jungle opened to all its violence and splendor at the same time.
The developing ecosystem breathed in and out as people moved to the beat of its circulation. And if they didn’t? Well, that was when the beasts would come. That was when people would lose their lives forever in the beating of the invisible drum. And the craziest thing of all was that most people didn’t mind. Most of them knew that it was inevitable. They would one day give their lives to the Zoo, a sacrifice for all the times they hadn’t. Holly could feel a whisper of that in her own soul, like a faint voice singing through the breeze. Going into the Zoo really would change a person.
The sound of her phone vibrating beside her pulled her from her daydream. She glanced at it and rolled her eyes when she saw Rod’s name on the screen. She didn’t want to answer, but she knew she had put him off long enough. It had been weeks since she had checked in with them.
She lifted the phone to her ear and smiled. “You would think after ignoring your emails you would get the hint that I wasn’t ready to talk to you yet. Although I do miss my morning wakeups.”
Rod cleared his throat. “Holly. The board is on the line.”
Holly straightened and her eyes grew wide. “Oh. Uh…hello. Sorry about that. I thought Rod was calling on his own.”
She grumbled under her breath. “I’ll kick his ass for this—putting me on the damn spot.”
He had done it before, and it always pissed her off. She hated when he sideswiped her like that. It was like putting someone on the spot to make a decision they didn’t want to make. The truth was that it was a bully tactic by the company, one she had seen before although never directed at her specifically.
One of the members cleared his throat. “I’m sorry to bombard you like this, Holly. This is Ralph Finnes. We’ve had conversations before.”
Holly nodded. “Yes, Mr. Finnes. We worked on the True Fruit project together. What can I do for you?”
Ralph hesitated for a moment before he spoke. “Holly, it’s no secret that we’ve waited on your answer. We’ve tried to give you as much time as you needed but we found out, however, that you have in fact been into the Zoo. This came as a slight surprise to us but made this phone call that much easier.”
She raised an eyebrow. “And why is that?”
He chuckled. “Well, we want you to go into the Zoo for us as well. And if you have experience in there now, it’s all the better.”
Holly pursed her lips and looked at her fingers as they strummed the desktop. “Mr. Finnes…board, I guess my biggest question here is why you would want someone to go in. It’s incredibly dangerous and it’s a jungle. What does your company want from that?”
A woman laughed. “We are searching for new ingredients that we can put into a drink.”
“That’s right,” Ralph cut in. “Imagine that kind of marketing campaign. Taste a bit of the Zoo. Everyone would jump at the chance to buy that.”
She narrowed her eyes and listened carefully. The truth was that she had a hard time believing they were willing to risk money and life for a drink. There had to be something more, but it was obvious they weren’t willing to give it up.
Chapter Four
The call finally ended, and Holly groaned as she put the phone on the desk and rubbed her face. She hadn’t given the board an answer, but she’d promised to call them back by the end of the day to let them know. It wasn’t a choice she had given any thought to at all. Under the circumstances, though, she was fairly sure she could get a pretty penny for the team. They could really use the money, especially with her and Billie preparing to embark on a company of sorts. But after everything she had already been through, it seemed like such a waste of fucking time and a ridiculous reason to put herself and the others in danger. Still, that was the reason she had come there in the first place.
Holly stood, grabbed her wallet and keys, and headed out once more. Amanda had already left so she locked the door before she hurried down the block and in through the door of FUBAR. The loud noises of the crowded bar swept over her as she walked in. She didn’t know why she expected anything less. It was the busiest bar in town, after all.
She skipped around the bar and looked at Paula, who once again gave one of the customers a hard time. “Where is he?”
The woman nodded toward the stairs and rolled her eyes. “And boy, is he on a kick today. Complain, complain, com
plain.”
Holly laughed as she passed through the bar, turned the corner, and headed up the staircase on her right. She knocked on the door and cracked it open when she heard a thump. “Are you okay in here, JB?”
“Come on in—not like anyone else actually knocks,” he grumbled. “You are a step ahead of the game.”
She smirked as she walked in. “How are you feeling?”
JB sighed. “I feel like I’m tired of having to continue to rest. I’m tired of being stuck up here when I could be down there doing my dang job. That’s how I’m feeling.”
Holly sat in the chair in front of him and nodded. “Let’s see it.”
He raised his pant leg and she leaned forward, stunned. “There is no discoloration, no spider marks, nothing. That’s insane.”
“All I need it to do now is grow my leg back and I’ll be set.” He chuckled.
She grinned in response. “So, how are you feeling otherwise?”
JB shook his head. “I feel great. The pain is gone, the marks are gone, and the fatigue went away almost instantly. I’m bored as hell doing laps around the apartment and driving Paula nuts. Even my hair has started to turn from silver back to brown. And that was a side effect of age, not the poison.”
Holly narrowed her eyes and studied the brown coming through in both his hair and his beard. It was unbelievable, unlike anything she had ever seen before. “All right,” she said, “lift your sleeve. I want to check your vitals.”
She went through the routine and checked his pulse, his blood pressure, and his temperature. Everything seemed to be exactly as it should be. His blood pressure had even gone down, which was a surprise to her considering how agitated he seemed to be.
Her checks complete, she leaned back and looked at him for a moment. “Everything seems to be going exactly as it should. I know you are bored and you want to get back to work, but it’s important that you don’t jump on that train too soon. You want to be completely healed, otherwise, something might happen. You know this medicine is basically experimental. Don’t worry, though. You are almost ready to rejoin the world.”