There were some things he had done on a regular basis that would shock people, but there were others he simply wasn't built to withstand. Inflicting pain like the son of a bitch had was something that didn't ring as healthy in his mind, and he couldn't help but feel a little infected and besmirched by what he'd seen. Admittedly, he’d felt no remorse over the three thugs who had tried to burn his building—and still didn’t—but they had brought that on themselves. They weren’t innocents and would have likely not given a rat’s ass if he’d died in the blaze they tried to set.
He didn't even find out the fucker's name before he’d pounded his face into the ground. While he was sure Desk could probably dredge up ownership files for the cabin that would provide his name, it honestly wasn’t worth the effort. It was done. In his mind, there wasn't anything he wanted more than to simply put it all behind him.
If it meant he wouldn’t be paid for the job, so be it.
Once he was clean and in a fresh set of clothes, he headed down to the bar where Banks already waited for him. Or was already drinking, which seemed more likely, although she had her phone pressed to her ear and was too distracted to notice his approach.
"He isn't anything like that," she said as he entered earshot. "He's all brutish and a real man's man, the kind who wouldn't think twice about loving women and leaving them before they have time for a morning cuddle."
His eyes narrowed. That actually sounded a little familiar. He gestured to the bartender to set him up with whatever he had on tap, and the man nodded.
"Look, you need to know that he's bad news to any woman who has two brain cells to rub together and don't go anywhere near him," she continued, still unaware that he was nearby since her phone was on speaker.
"You try almost dying a couple of times, Niki," the woman on the other side of the line said. "When that happens, one's concept of long-term love does tend to get a little shattered—maybe even badly shattered. You're happy with a weekend of fun love."
"You're not in the Zoo anymore, Jennie," Banks retorted. "You need to get out of that mindset. And hey, I work in the FB-fucking-I. I've almost died many times."
"Sure, you have," Jennie said and laughed. "I'll let you get back to it. Love you, big sis."
"Love you too, you idiot.” The agent hung up and turned to the bar to order another drink. In doing so, she realized that he stood less than two yards away from her booth.
She paused, cleared her throat, and turned her attention to the bartender to order another gin and tonic.
Taylor joined her without a word and waited for their drinks to arrive.
"If you have to know, that was my little sister," the woman said after she cleared her throat.
"Well, for starters, I'll simply go ahead and inflate my ego and assume you were talking to her about me." He took a sip of his beer and looked for the non-verbal confirmation that he was right. "In which case…ouch. It’s accurate but still hurtful."
"She's a curious person and likes to know about the kinds of bounty hunters I have on my task force. She appears to have something of a romantic streak, and she imagines you're some kind of Wild West, Clint Eastwood-style hero who's all gruff on the outside but possesses a heart of gold. I need to remind her that movies are full of shit and the people who take the job of killing for money tend to be shitty people."
"Really?" He narrowed his eyes. "Because that's not what I heard."
"Oh, pray tell, wise one," Banks said and rolled her eyes. "What is it you heard?"
"Well, it seems like your sister might like to tease you, as I assume sisters do. But she actually sounds like she's the practical one of the two of you."
"How's that?"
"Well, you seem to think that my approach to women is an antiquated ‘bang woman on head and she mine’ kind of mentality." He deliberately adopted the Neanderthal voice she probably heard him speak in anyway—and would even he was a posh Brit who spoke the queen’s English. "Jennie appears to know that it's less about simply taking what I want without care about what comes after and more about knowing what I need and that there are those out there who need the same thing. We both take what we need from each other and don't worry about unnecessary entanglements." He took a sip of his drink to emphasize his point. "It’s entirely practical."
"It seems like you've put considerable work into rationalizing your behavior," Banks said with a smirk. "I would say you know it's wrong and that's why you feel the need to defend it to someone as unpractical as me."
"Well, it's obviously a defense mechanism, so of course I have to defend it," he said. "There's nothing about it that I'm ashamed of, but you have to think about how I might actually not be cut out to be with someone over the long term."
"You can always change that about yourself," she pointed out and raised an eyebrow in a challenge.
"Yes, and until that happens, I'll stick to the untethered enjoyment to which I'm accustomed." He grinned cheekily and raised his glass in a mock toast.
The woman shook her head and took a sip of her drink. "Whatever makes you feel better."
"There was another thing I noticed about this sister of yours."
"Do tell."
"She was in the Zoo?"
Banks appeared to have almost forgotten she had mentioned that. Her eyebrows raised quickly and her hand grasped her glass a little tighter as she gulped involuntarily.
Unfortunately, the special agent was the consummate professional and after a moment of shock and even a little fear, she was back her to her normal, unflappable self and took a second to toy with her drink.
"Yeah, she was in the Zoo," she conceded finally. "She's an evolutionary biologist and was somehow caught up in the hype of how the Zoo is the place to be if you're in that particular field."
"In fairness, that is accurate. It's a little more complicated than that, of course, but when you’re out there, you are on the cutting edge of many scientific fields, including but not limited to evolutionary biology. It was mechanical engineering, in my case."
"Be that as it may, she was barely out of college and her heart led her to places where her brain couldn't follow. No, that's not a good metaphor. It’s more like she volunteered to head into the Zoo before she could think about the decision. She ended up caught in too much pain and death and eventually, had to come home. So you'll have to forgive me for being a little protective of her."
"I have nothing against being protective over siblings." He raised his hands in a placatory gesture. "I didn’t criticize you for standing up for your little sister."
"Then I'll be glad to hear you understand that I won't talk about my sister and her time in the Zoo—or any part of my personal life with you again." She fixed him with an unyielding expression.
Taylor raised his hands again. "Okay, sure. It seems a little unfair, though, given that you appear to know everything about my life."
"I've read your file," Banks said. "Mine is available should you need it. My knowing about your professional life is not the same as you knowing about my personal life."
"But you did have a nice little chat with Dr. Bedford, right?"
"That was a rare exception where your personal life intersected with your professional life," she pointed out. "You needed to be cleared psychologically to work on this task force. Your doctor needed to do that for you."
He sighed and shook his head. "Whatever you say. All I'm saying is that you might get a little tired of being up on that high horse of yours when you finally realize that you're the only one riding it."
She narrowed her eyes. "That…doesn't even make sense."
"I know. I thought I’d make it something clever like a joke about a high horse and riding, but it didn't come together in my mind. Unlike…you and…"
"Yeah, it didn't work there either." She grinned.
Before he could make a third attempt, she pulled her ringing phone out of her pocket. Her scowl told him that she might have expected a return call from her sister Jennie, but he could see
the familiar blocked number instead.
She accepted the call and put it on speaker.
"Desk, you have Banks and McFadden here," she said and placed the phone on the table.
"Good, because I was about to call him as well," Desk replied.
"Is something wrong?"
"Yep, and I think the term the higher-ups in the bureau used was emergency. Yeah, they sent a memo to the task force about ten minutes ago about an emergency contract that opened in the Appalachians—and in more or less the same area the bear-bug monster was killed in. The assumption is that the one McFadden killed had babies or siblings or something. They're not sure yet since they don't have a clear image of what has done the killing there."
Taylor couldn't help a shudder when he recalled the beast in question and confronted the thought that it might have laid eggs somewhere—or birthed offspring. He wasn’t even sure what it was, so either possibility and everything else between was an option.
"Why is it an emergency?" Banks asked.
"Because the word that it might be a creature or creatures from the Zoo has already begun to spread," Desk explained hurriedly. "There's a time constraint on this, so Fallon said he wants you on it immediately as well as the operative who’s the closest."
"Which would be me," Taylor said.
"Correct," Banks replied. "We're on our way. Send us the coordinates."
"Already done and already waiting for you." The line clicked and they looked at one another.
"I'm…well, on my third drink so I don't think I'll be able to drive," the agent said. "Would you mind taking the first leg in the SUV?"
"I won’t leave Liz here. What you can do, though, is hop into her passenger seat and we'll make it overnight."
The agent sighed, rubbed her temples, and finally nodded. "Fine. Let me get the bags I left in my room. Shit, I need to check out of the hotel too."
"That sounds like a plan. I'll meet you in the parking lot in…fifteen minutes?"
"Yeah, I guess." She looked unashamedly unimpressed by the whole idea. "And that truck had better be clean when I get in. I won’t spend the night in a man-cave on wheels."
"Hey, she has a name, you know," he protested as they both paid their tab and headed toward the exit.
"I don't care"
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Banks predictably had complaints to offer about Liz's current state, but she couldn't deny the fact that it was a comfortable truck to ride in. The shocks had been improved to the point where there wasn't even a hint of impact inside the cabin, even when they traveled the rougher roads in the area.
Once they reached the highways, it was considerably smoother, and she began to drift off slowly while watching a film on the screen.
Taylor pulled them into the auto-drive lane and adjusted his seat far enough for him to snooze for a while, which actually lasted until he could already see the first faint trace of morning in the sky. They were already most of the way there.
Low, forest-covered mountains already filled the vista he could see to the east, with one or two smaller towns pressed against them.
Zoo monsters aside, this area actually didn't look too bad. It had been one of the locations he had considered as a place to settle in when he returned. At the end of the day, the fact that he wanted to be somewhere far away from where the Zoo would be able to grow unabated had eventually led him to choose Vegas.
That and the sheer number of loose women. He couldn't ever forget about that.
As the sun started to rise, Banks groaned and shifted in her seat before she adjusted it. She grumbled something about her neck being stiff as she turned to look at him.
"Did you drive all night?" she asked. "Because I don't think this mission will be tolerant of you taking chemical help to keep you awake for it."
"I never admitted to that," he replied. "And to answer your question, no, I didn’t drive all night. I turned the AI auto-pilot on and it kept us cruising while I slept with you."
"Oh, God, don't word it like that," she protested with a scowl.
"What, that I slept with you?"
"Yeah," she muttered and shook her head. "It's like a ghost placed a cold hand on my heart and squeezed over that possible future."
"It's accurate, though. And you can tell that ghost to calm down on the groping of your…uh, future or whatever that metaphor was. You're not my type."
"Is that so?" She raised an eyebrow. "Is that why I caught you and Zhang staring at my ass when I left that bar?"
"Well, you have a nice ass so it merited a stare," he told her unashamedly. "You can take that as an insult or as a compliment, whichever you prefer."
"I do have a nice ass," she conceded. "I've put considerable work into it too."
"Well, yes, obviously, but with that said, you're still not my type. You're looking for something I won't be able to provide, emotionally speaking. So, while I appreciate the ass and…other qualities, we really aren't suited to be together, physically, or otherwise."
"Oh." She frowned and rubbed her eyes. "Well, I guess that makes sense. And you're still an asshole, so while I appreciate the work you put into your body, you're not my type either."
"See how well that works for all involved?" he asked with a grin.
"Sure, whatever."
"Do you think we have time to get breakfast and coffee before we head into the mountains?"
"Yeah, but it will have to be quick," Banks replied after she checked her phone. "It looks like the situation has gotten worse and they need boots up there as quickly as possible."
By unspoken consent, they made a hasty breakfast of cold sandwiches, pieces of fruit, and cups of coffee to go. When they were on the road again, Desk directed them to the location of the emergency and they gradually moved away from the highways and into the mountains. Once again, it didn't look like there was much in the way of civilization in the area.
In fact, the only traces that humans actually passed through was the two-lane road they were on.
When the sun was halfway into the sky, they reached a group of cars assembled beside the road. Officers stopped all incoming traffic and sent them the other way.
Banks had to show her badge—with a little under-her-breath but colorful expletives—before the men who manned the line dragged the blocks out of the way and let them through. They disembarked and moved over to where the collection of regular police cars, flashing red, white and blue, and the FBI's SUVs were parked at the edge of the road that overlooked a shallow drop into the woods.
"Banks, nice to see you again," one of the FBI agents said. The tall man with a hint of male pattern baldness showing in his graying hair shook her hand. "I thought you might need to take a flight here."
"I decided it would be quicker and easier to drive up with my operative," she replied and gestured toward Taylor. "This is the operative I had closest at hand, Taylor McFadden."
"McFadden—our newest recruit. Of course." The two men shook hands. "I'm Jack Fallon, Special Agent in Charge and supervisor of Banks' task force. We… Well, there were doubts about bringing you on, but I have to say your resume speaks for itself."
"Thanks, I guess," he responded.
"Why hasn’t the area been cordoned off?" Banks asked to bring them back to the subject at hand. "Turning cars away will only stop the least interested people who are heading in to watch the show."
"The area in question is actually over three hundred square miles," her boss explained. "We don't really have the people to cordon it all off so couldn’t exactly stop the folks who are the most persistent from reaching the location."
"How did word about Zoo monsters spread, anyway?" she asked.
"Two Zootubers were making a film out here when they apparently caught footage of some crazy beasts in the background of their video yesterday. It was eventually revealed to be nothing more than a viral marketing ploy, but before anyone knew that, a group of crypto-hunters headed in to see if they could bag themselves a monster or two. They
were filming too, and they caught images of themselves being torn to pieces but there hasn't been any word since."
"Hence the emergency," she stated flatly, her expression one of irritation and disgust.
"Oh, yeah, a group of gun nuts heading into the wild to kill them some illegal aliens," Taylor said and laughed. "That'll totally not be misinterpreted when it reaches the news feeds. Do let me know how that goes for you."
"Shut it," she snapped.
Fallon shrugged. "It's a free country. People have been warned about the dangers of it, but there are those who think they're above such petty things as official guidelines. So, if they choose to head in, they are legally liable for anything that happens in there. With that said…"
"We still have to head in there and save their asses." Banks completed his sentence in a long-suffering tone as if she would prefer to buy popcorn and watch.
"Unfortunately, yes. So since you are here, why don't you suit up and head out there to earn the money we pay you, Mr. McFadden? It should be a good week for you with two jobs in quick succession like this."
Taylor narrowed his eyes and hesitated as he tried to make sense of the man's words. He had technically been a part of two jobs but he wouldn’t be paid for the one in the swamp. Did the man merely not know about what happened? It seemed like the kind of thing a supervisor would be made aware of, especially if it had to do with the budget.
While a little confusing, it was also a question for later.
He returned to his truck, unloaded the crate with his new, lightweight suit, and began to assemble the pieces. Something that was lighter and easier to handle was also quicker to put on, as it turned out. He should have known about that but he had been surprised the day before by how quick and smooth it was to complete.
Of course, wandering through the swamp and beating a rapist, murdering prick didn't exactly constitute an actual test for the weapons and armor he would wear, but it at least helped him to get a little more used to how it moved and felt. It was quite literally like a second skin.
It was easy to forget that it was, in fact, almost a ton of hard exoskeleton armor that functioned with a mixture of hydraulics and magnetic coils, especially around the boots, that would allow him to move a little faster if he wanted to.
Hired Killer (Cryptid Assassin Book 1) Page 23