by Michael Todd
Sal shook his head and brought his mind back to the moment. He was surprised that he’d had the chance to wander off like that, all things considered. The constant gunfire had been replaced with the sound of people who forgot to turn their sound filters off and panted like they’d jogged through a jungle in half a ton of combat armor. He realized that the animals had backed off from their relentless assault, and people now slowed in response.
“No, no, no, bad idea,” he admonished them as he checked his rifle and scanned the trees around them. “We can’t slow down. They’ll come back, you can count on it. The scent of blood is on us and they won’t let up until we’re out of their territory—or dead. We have to keep moving.”
One of the soldiers looked at him and scowled deeply. Sal realized that there was a break in his armor and he was limping. It didn’t look like anything had gotten through the heavy plates, but physics dictated that any impact absorbed by the metal had to go somewhere. Something had crashed into the man’s leg and left him with what could be a career-ending injury if he pushed himself like this.
“Come on,” he said and drew the man’s arm around his own shoulder to help him keep his weight off what he believed was a broken leg.
“I’m fine,” the soldier protested softly but seemed grateful for the help.
“I know,” Sal replied with a small smile and focused on the treetops. “This is only for my own peace of mind, believe me.”
“You wouldn’t need it if these motherfuckers hadn’t plucked a fucking Pita plant,” the soldier confessed as they moved on. Kennedy pushed them at a good pace, even if they had slowed a little.
“You’re one of the rescue team?”
“Oh, yeah.” The man nodded. “Corporal Brian Telser at your service. We were doing a security patrol in this area when the message came in and arrived in time to save their asses, but at a heavy cost. These fucking first-timers don’t know what the hell they’re doing out here.”
“How do you know that they plucked a plant?” he asked.
“They denied it, of course,” the soldier said with a shrug. “But why else would the animals attack them this relentlessly? And why else would they offer a cash reward to help them get out of this?”
“I’d say that they have a big take and didn’t want to risk it,” he responded but kept his voice down. “But plucking a Pita plant? Nah. I survived a couple of those. It’s like the whole jungle suddenly decides to go to war with you. Even the trees. We wouldn’t have any respite at all if that was what happened, and the longer it took to kill us, the bigger and meaner the animals would get.”
“Why are the fucking things chasing us, then?” Telser asked.
“Sometimes, shit simply goes bad. The hyenas are a real problem since they travel in packs, but animals respond first to the sound of gunfire, and the smell of blood riles them even more. You have to stay on the move at all times or they’ll find you, and eventually, more and more will come until you get out or they finish you off. That’s how the Zoo treats people out here.”
“So you don’t think they have a Pita plant in their possession?”
“It’s not impossible,” Sal responded thoughtfully. “It’s not like this place abides by anything resembling rules, but from my experience, I’d say it’s highly doubtful. You’ll still be paid, though.”
“Thanks,” Telser said with a chuckle. “What’s your name again?”
“Sal Jacobs. No rank. Freelancer. Nice to meet you.”
“Right back at you, Jacobs.”
The group came to a halt at the lieutenant’s command and everyone paused gratefully for a rest.
“I managed to make contact with our people guarding the Hammerheads and they’re on their way in to pick us up,” Alberts said. He sounded calmer than he had been earlier and a lot more confident. The sentiment seemed to be shared by the rest of the men in the teams, who looked around with expressions of dawning relief. Their eyes all told the same story as they immediately set up a defensive perimeter once again.
They might actually get out of this after all.
“I don’t like this,” Kennedy said. She shook her head as she walked over to where Sal stood guard. The footsteps of her heavy armor made the ground shake slightly with each step. “To sit here and wait for the fuckers to come and get us gets on my nerves. We know that there’s nothing the animals would like more than to chow down on us.”
“The animals aren’t what I’m worried about,” he said softly, his gaze fastened on the trees once more. “Something is up there tracking us. It’s not an animal but has moved consistently with us. If I had to hazard a guess, I’d say it was those damned tentacle vine things, but… I can’t think of a reason why it hasn’t attacked us yet.”
Her gaze shifted to the trees that towered over the little group. She remembered those tentacles very well. The thought that something that wasn’t an animal or anything like that was out there and could track them was entirely unnerving. It meant that the very trees could be determined to annihilate them too. Any tree could kill them, and they were in the middle of a fucking jungle.
“And you still have no idea where they come from?” she asked. “There’s no sign of a source for those things?”
Sal shook his head. “There’s still too much that we don’t know about this place, and with the way it constantly changes, that could be the case for however long we stick around here. Despite the millions poured into research, we have no idea where these trees and bushes obtain sustenance, and nobody can make out the psychology of the animals either.”
“It’s like the Zoo is running its own experiments,” Kennedy said softly. “And nobody knows why.”
“Right. Ever since the start of all this, nobody’s ever returned from a visit to ground zero—where they first implanted the soil with the goop. Or if they have, I’ve heard nothing. If I were to hazard a guess regarding a place that might have some answers for us, I’d say that’s the place to go.”
“It sounds like a suicide mission,” she retorted as the familiar and welcome growl of Hammerhead ATVs headed their way.
“Or a career-making mission,” he replied, “for someone like me. To see and document what’s happening to the areas that have been exposed to the goop for the longest would make my name legendary in the academic community—and yours too. If that doesn’t interest you, maybe the amount of money people would be willing to pay for that documentation should be. You could buy an island, make it your own country, and become a petty dictator.”
Kennedy smirked. “Don’t think I haven’t considered it.”
“Well, it’s food for thought,” Sal said as the Hammerheads came into view. “If we ever want to talk about a job to end all jobs—one way or another.”
They stopped talking when the lieutenant approached.
“We really appreciate your support out here,” Alberts said with a firm nod. “I don’t think we would have made it without the two of you.”
She nodded. “We try to help humans in the Zoo as much as we can. We would have done it for free, but don’t think that we won’t charge you guys for the assist.”
“No worries, I’ve already transmitted the currency exchange files for you to sign,” he asserted with a grin. “You turn them in to the commandant’s office for your paycheck. That aside, do you guys need a ride out of here?”
“We have a Hammerhead of our own parked just outside the Zoo’s confines,” Sal said. “We wouldn’t say no to a quick ride over there. It shouldn’t be more than an hour out of your way.”
“We’re happy to help,” Alberts said and gestured for them to clamber aboard the vehicle.
Chapter Nine
She had been right, of course. They had been too chickenshit to fire her outright. It was a simple fact that she knew too much for them to simply let go like that. They also knew her too well to think that she would take that shit lying down. What she knew could be used to hurt them, either legally or economically, and they couldn’t have th
at. The members of the board all had names that spanned centuries of old money in the US, and they’d done that by carefully keeping their names in the shadows. Any company that they affiliated with would be closed down, either through investigation or the simple act of being outsmarted by any of the hundreds of companies that would get on their hands and knees to help them out. It was simple economics. Anything that would hurt their market shares was bad news.
She was off the board, admittedly, but she didn’t really mind that. It was all political ass-wiping anyway, and her time was better spent elsewhere. She’d been given a meaningless title and a corner office and basically told to stay quiet and treat her time there as an early retirement. Nobody cared how late she came in—or if she came in at all—so long as she spent the last few years of her tenure at the company without causing anybody any trouble.
It was like they didn’t know her at all, she mused, and sat at her desk. The office was pleasant, though. The view over LA was something she knew people would murder for, and the fact that she had a seven-figure annual salary plus benefits and full retirement guaranteed was supremely appealing. She could enjoy her life now, take up a hobby—maybe writing self-help books that would get her on book tours or cameos in TV shows. The world was her oyster.
That was what people thought Covington would do, anyway. It was what anybody in their right mind would do in her circumstances.
It wasn’t entirely personal, Andressa thought to herself. There had been a reason why Carlson had insinuated her into this company. He wanted any and all studies made into the Zoo to be connected to him. Unfortunately, with Little Miss Heiress’ stunt, she was left with no other alternative than to use brute force measures to shift things so they went her way again.
Monroe had ended up being more complicated to deal with than previously anticipated. That wasn’t much of a problem in itself. She could handle police investigations, litigations, and all kinds of legal problems with a wave of her metaphorical magic wand. It was when the woman had decided to take things into her own hands that things became difficult. First, she had gunned down the useless goons sent to kill her as if she’d done something like that before. After that, she’d refused to press charges or even cooperate in the police investigation. Finally, she’d broken into Andressa’s home and left a cow’s head there as a warning—in her bed, for fuck’s sake, while she’d slept through it. All the while, she’d used her newfound clout to push Covington out of the spot on the board that she had spent so many years cultivating.
So yes, it was a little personal. Under any other circumstances, she would have admired the sheer mass of Courtney Monroe’s balls in taking on something like that. She was right. The Zoo changed people.
In actual fact, Andressa felt a little cowed by the woman’s presence—a little insecure about her own standing, which was both unusual and uncomfortable. And more than a little scared for her own life. Everything she did now was simply a response to that.
Huh. What a psychological breakthrough. Her therapist would be proud.
That didn’t change the fact that when business and personal life mixed, a mess was bound to ensue. Andressa didn’t care. She merely wanted Monroe out of her life for good, one way or another.
Her gaze turned to the lovely oak desk as the phone rang. She could have sworn that she’d told her assistant to filter all calls.
“What?” she snarled into the receiver.
“There’s a Rodrigo on the line for you,” her assistant said and kept her voice low and soft. “You said to put his call through if you remember?”
“Of course I remember,” she said irritably. “And make sure we’re not interrupted.”
“Of course, ma’am.”
“Andressa Covington,” came a deep voice with a vaguely Mediterranean accent. “I’ve been told by serious people that you’re someone to take seriously. How can I help you?”
“Rodrigo, I presume?” She smiled but without real mirth. “My guess is that there won’t be a last name with that.”
“You guess correctly, on both counts,” he replied. “A mutual friend tells me that you have need of my assistance. It is out of courtesy to him that I make this call and assign you only friends and family price packages.”
“Of course.” She tried not to roll her eyes. “There’s someone I need handled. The woman herself is in the US and in such a position that I can’t have her disappear just yet. But she has friends in the Zoo that I’d like handled as quickly as possible. A freelancing team called Heavy Metal.”
“I’m familiar with the name,” the man said smoothly. “And you should know that I’ve been put on their case already, with less than pristine results. Of course, I had to act indirectly at the time. I could be convinced to act directly, but it would cost a substantial amount more than my usual fee.”
She rolled her eyes this time. While she’d known that this was coming, she hadn’t particularly looked forward to it.
“What’s your fee on this?”
“Fifteen million euros, paid in the usual manner,” Rodrigo replied after a few seconds spent in calculation.
“You are fucking with me right now.” Her eyebrows raised in shock at the figure. “Are you high? That’s the cost to kill a sitting senator.”
“I have never touched drugs in my life,” her contact said, and she could hear a smile in his voice. “What I do know is that you tried to have a member of Heavy Metal killed using local talent, and they mostly died in the attempt. She was the scientist of the group, and from what I’ve seen and heard, by far the inferior member of the Heavy Metal team when it comes to combat. These friends you want me to kill are much more competent and able to defend themselves against attack. Fifteen million euros, non-negotiable.”
“Fine.” Andressa sighed and shook her head. “But you won’t get a fucking dime until I have one or both heads. And yes, there’s more money in it for you if you send me both.”
“Perfect. I’ll send you the bill when the job is done. Do you have any preference for how it should be carried out?”
“I honestly couldn’t care less,” Andressa snapped. “I merely want their heads shipped to me on ice, do you understand?”
“Understood.” There was a short pause before he said crisply, “I’ll call you again.”
The line went dead and she replaced the phone in the cradle and stared at the gold-inlaid mother of pearl for a few long seconds. She didn’t even remember where she’d gotten the damn thing. A garage sale somewhere in Pensacola or something like that, where old people had sold their family treasures for peanuts. She assumed that she’d bought it with her first real paycheck when she was sixteen, but she had been so wasted at the time she didn’t remember. Despite that, she still kept it around. Weird.
She looked at the screen of her dead laptop which reflected her own face back at her.
“You’ll get that IP,” she declared unequivocally. “You killed the father and now, you’ll kill the daughter and take what’s owed to you.”
With that, she pushed from her chair. Business for the day was concluded, so she might as well take an early lunch. She could still bill the company for it.
Madigan stepped out of the Hammerhead and blinked as the glare of the sun on the sand reflected back at her. Irritated, she recalled that she’d forgotten her sunglasses on Sal’s bedside table. The memory of the night was still a little fuzzy, but she did remember that it’d been fun.
That wouldn’t happen tonight, though, she mused as she slammed the door shut and locked it. He had stayed behind to run inventory on all the upgrades they’d made to the compound security. Unfortunately, there had been some issues with their supplies for the week, and she needed to come to the base and shout it out with the people in charge of supply management.
Normally, she wouldn’t have bothered, but Heavy Metal paid these fuckers a lot of money every month to keep their place stocked with food, ammo, and all the other things that were needed for long-term living in a compou
nd out in the middle of the desert. At least they didn’t have to rely on diesel generators. Solar and wind energy were enough to run virtually everything and have some left over besides to sell to the base. It had been some clever thinking on the part of the people who had built the place.
That said, the delivery of coffee had short-supplied, and that shit could not be allowed to stand. Every single member of the group ran on a combination of coffee and sleep, and if the former ran out, blood would definitely flow. Madigan would not be responsible for her actions.
And she wouldn’t have to be, after all. She straightened the situation out, collected the check from the commandant’s office for helping the squad to escape the Zoo, and suddenly realized that she had nothing else to do for the afternoon. If she returned to the compound, she would simply be roped into doing more work. Amanda still tried to figure out how to tie a security system with guns on it to an AI and, for some reason, continued to dig the whole place up in an attempt to make it work.
Madigan wanted nothing to do with that. Give the AI a gun and soon, it would wonder why it followed a puny human’s orders anyway. And that was how it would all start and end.
Maybe Sal was right, she realized as she pushed the doors of the bar open and sighed contentedly when she was greeted by the pleasant air-conditioned darkness of the place. Watching the Terminator movies that young had fucked her thought process the hell up, at least when it came to robots. It didn’t mean that she was wrong to fear them, though. She would take some plain old human error over the creepy Hailey-1000 in there.
As she dropped into one of the few unused booths, she realized that there was a commotion at the bar. She scowled. That meant it would be a while before she could expect one of the waitresses to reach her. She’d come here to drink, dammit, not wait around while some dumbasses played a drinking game.