Booker raised an eyebrow. “For the team, right?”
“Oh, yeah. For the team.”
Chapter Eighteen
The Harvesters Camp
Their quarantine was finally over. Booker and Charles didn’t itch anymore, aside from their desperation to have another job. Roo’s skin was still a little inflamed but it was manageable. The men were preparing to leave the container when a lackey from Lampton showed up. He stood at the entrance of the converted container and shifted nervously.
“Can we help you?” the Brit asked.
“Um, yes. I was told to find Mr. Demopoulis of a Bohica Warrior company?” the man said.
“You’ve found him,” Roo said.
“Great. The Lampton Company has a job for you if you accept it. Shira del Mora has the details,” he said.
The Aussie grinned, then sent the lackey away. “What did I tell you guys? It’s all paying off.”
His teammates grumbled.
They arrived at the Lampton compound only to be met by the ever-stoic Ishmael.
“Heard you had some shitty luck with that three-headed monster job,” he said by way of a greeting.
“Hello to you too,” Roo muttered.
“You guys here for the Boomerang job?”
Charles snorted. Booker rolled his eyes and Roo groaned.
“Yeah. I’m assuming so,” the Brit said.
“Great. You guys need to stock up? I was told to offer you access to the armory,” Ishmael said.
Charles and Roo almost started toward the armory when Booker held them back. “No, we’re good with our own equipment. What’s the Boomerang job?”
“Suit yourselves. You’re going to set up a transmitter ten klicks in at north, northwest. The thing needs to be placed up as high as you can get it.”
“That all?” Booker asked.
“That’s all.”
“I thought transmissions didn’t work inside the Zoo?” Charles asked.
Ishmael shrugged. “I wouldn’t worry about it too much. You just have to set it up.”
“You guys trying to figure it out?” Booker asked.
The man gave a non-commital grunt.
“You got the transmitter?” Roo asked.
“It’ll be given to you when you’re ready to head out.”
“We’ll just get our gear together, and then we’ll be ready to head out,” the Brit said.
They returned to the container to gather their kit.
“You think we’ll need more firepower?” the Aussie asked, checking his S&W.
“It seems like it’ll be a quick in and out,” Booker said, barely keeping his grin in check. “I don’t think we’ll need much more.”
Roo flipped him off.
“We’re all out of grenades,” Charles said.
“Think we’ll need them?” Booker asked.
He answered with an arched brow.
“Fine,” the Brit said. “We’ll stop by Dan’s and pick up a few. We need more ammo.”
Charles grabbed the thick rope he used as a leash for Thor and attached it to his collar.
“What are you doing?” Roo asked. “We can’t take the puppy with us, Charles.”
“Of course, we’re not, not yet. He’s not quite big enough and we need to work out a few kinks in his basic commands. I’m taking him with us to Dan’s so he can keep an eye on Thor.”
“We won’t be gone long,” Roo said.
“No, but you never know. I just don’t want Thor forgotten in this container.”
“He’ll be fine, Charles,” the Aussie said.
“Still having Dan watch him,” Charles said.
Dan looked less than enthused about watching Thor again.
“I see the fleabag returns,” he said.
“Thor,” Charles corrected.
The man waved his hand through the air like he was batting at gnats. “Details, Charles. You boys got another mission? Off quarantine, huh? Some of those plants sure pack a nasty punch.”
“We need some grenades,” Booker said.
Dan nodded. “I’ve always liked you Brits, straight down to business.”
He merely waited the supplier out.
Dan brought back a box of grenades and put it on the table. “How many you need?”
“Three each,” he said. “How much is that going to cost?”
The man pursed his lips. “Sure. Yeah. You need nine of these, let’s just make it an even ten.”
“You’re out of your bleddy mind. I wouldn’t give more than five.”
“I’ll take nine.”
“Six,” Booker countered.
Dan shook his head. “You’ve gotta meet me part of the way here, man. I’m trying to run a business.”
“You’re ripping people off is what you’re doing,” Roo grumbled. Charles elbowed him in the ribs.
“Man’s gotta eat,” the supplier said unapologetically. “I’ll take seven, and that’s my final offer.”
“This is highway robbery,” Booker said, but he handed him the money anyway. “Next, you’ll be asking for our firstborn children.”
“Don’t think so, not here. Don’t like kids.” Dan counted the cash he had handed him. He took the leash from Charles. “Hurry back now. I don’t want to be stuck with the little beasty forever.”
“You won’t be,” he promised.
“Don’t make promises you can’t keep, cowboy,” he said.
“You won’t be left with him,” Charles repeated.
Shira was waiting for the three men as they approached the gate. She had her arms folded over her chest, but she was smiling.
“Hey,” she said.
Booker and Charles nudged Roo forward.
Shira grinned. “Here’s the transmitter you’ll be placing. I’m assuming Ishmael briefed you?”
“Yep,” the Aussie said. He took the transmitter from her. It was a small chrome device, about the size of a shaving cream can. Three thin spikes protruded from the bottom where the transmitter would be grounded, and the outside was smooth aside from a small light that blinked a neon blue.
“We just need that planted up somewhere high,” she said. “Roughly ten klicks in, north, northwest. But it’s really all about the height, not so much the distance. We need it as high as you can get it. Don’t forget to toggle the switch that’s between the three prongs. It has to be in the ‘on’ position, otherwise, this was pointless. Boomerang is working on creating waves of communication within the Zoo itself, as well as from inside the Zoo to the outside world.”
They turned to leave, but not before Shira gave Roo a discreet smack on the ass. She grinned.
“Be sure to come back in one piece now, boys. I might have another mission for you upon your return,” she said, undressing Roo with her gaze.
Booker and Charles stared at their teammate, but he was staring intently at the transmitter.
“Well,” the Brit said as the lights above the gate turned green and the alarm started, “guess we better get this over with and hurry back so Roo here can get to the very special side mission Shira has for him.”
Charles laughed and Roo continued to ignore them.
It was relatively smooth going. They were barely scratching the surface of the Zoo to plant the transmitter.
They encountered another of the wolf-like creatures, the same type that had attacked them as a pack earlier. This one was alone, however, and it seemed confused. It was limping heavily, clearly injured. Charles drew down on it, but when it didn’t attack, he pulled back his Remington and let it slink off into the bush.
“Getting soft-hearted, there,” Booker said.
“Think they’ll have any luck with this?” Roo asked, turning the transmitter over in his hand.
The Brit shrugged. “Don’t know, but I bet they’re not the only ones trying. If they do manage to get it to work, though, it’ll be huge.”
Charles scanned the underbrush but there wasn’t any immediate threat there. The wolf creature had slunk
off, and nothing else seemed ready to attack them.
“Do you think it was always called Boomerang?” the Aussie asked.
His teammates were quiet for a moment.
Roo, who was on point again, stopped and looked at them. “Do you?”
Charles shrugged.
Booker looked thoughtful. “How am I supposed to know? It would make sense for it to be called Boomerang. I mean, the signal bouncing back and forth is sort of mimicking the boomerang’s movements,” he said.
“Or you’ve managed to find yourself a Defcon One clinger,” the American suggested.
“Fuck you,” Roo said.
At ten klicks in, they were surrounded by towering trees. Booker programmed the transmitter with the information that would be sent back to Lampton if it was a successful plant.
“Okay. This seems as good a spot as any,” he said, running a finger under his nose. “Who wants to go for a climb?”
Booker and Roo both looked expectantly at Charles.
“Why am I always the one who gets elected to climb things?”
“Firstly,” the Aussie said, “I only remember you having to climb something once. And secondly, I also seem to remember you insisting on doing it yourself because you were the tallest.”
Charles took the transmitter with a scowl. He put it in his hip pocket and began to climb. The branches of his chosen tree were too high, even the lowest ones, so he had to grip the tree and walk up it like Pacific Islanders did harvesting coconuts.
The tree protested under his touch but didn’t try to dislodge him. He knew it would be a different story the second he sank the prongs of the transmitter into it. Charles climbed to a height he figured was sufficient for the device. He didn’t want to admit that it probably wasn’t as high as it could’ve gone, but he had no desire to be flung out of the tree. He wanted to give himself a chance if it was to shake him off.
He took a calming breath, made sure to toggle the switch, and plunged the prongs into the trunk. The tree shuddered and twisted and leaves fell around them as it writhed in slow motion. He scrambled downward as it started slapping its branches at the transmitter.
Charles was nearing the lowest branches when one caught him in the face. The hit knocked him off balance and sent him spiraling to the Zoo floor. He lay there for a moment, his eyes closed.
“You okay?” Booker asked, leaning over him, and offered him his hand.
He grunted and pushed off the ground without the offered assistance. “Yeah, I’ll live.”
Shira and a tech were waiting for the team when they strode out of the Zoo.
“It’s done?” she asked.
They nodded.
The man frowned at his tablet and shook his head. “I’ve got nothing. Did you toggle it?”
“Yes, we fucking toggled it,” Roo said between gritted teeth. Charles angled his body subtly between the tech and Roo.
“Damn. Looks like Boomerang Fifteen is a non-starter too.” With that, the tech walked away, making more calculations and calibration entries on his tablet.
Booker watched Shira. He remembered last time they’d taken a moment too long and she had had them blacklisted. He didn’t know how she would react to a mission that was essentially a fail. Sure, Charles had successfully planted the transmitter, but it if wasn’t transmitting, it was just some junk.
“Now that you’re operating as a company, did you open up an electronic payment account?” she asked.
“Sure did,” Booker said, then told her the number.
She took her tablet out and initiated the transfer of funds. “Here’s your payment for a job well done,” she said.
The Brit blinked at her. Then he and Charles turned to leave. Roo lingered a step or two behind them.
“Before you go, Mr. Demopoulis,” Shira said. “I was wondering if you could—”
“I’d be happy to help, Ms. del Mora,” he said. “I just need to tend to my gear first and I’d be more than willing to lend a helping hand.”
Shira smiled.
“Gag me,” Booker said when they were out of earshot. “I thought she was hot before but now, I’m having second thoughts.”
“I think that’s enough out of you, asshole,” Roo said.
“How chivalrous of you, Roo, standing up for the lady’s honor,” Charles said with a laugh.
The Aussie glared at him. “I’m not messing around with you.”
They made it back to the container. Charles went off again to fetch Thor and Booker watched Roo struggle with what dress shirt to wear. He had two. One was dark-blue and the other was black.
The Brit gave up pretending to look at information on his tablet and simply watched his teammate as he looked at one shirt and then the other, frowning.
Finally, he settled on the black shirt. He shrugged it on, and Thor came bounding into the container, launched himself at him, and left muddy paw prints on the black shirt. Booker laughed.
“Charles! Get a handle on this goddamn beast!” Roo protested, shoving Thor none too gently away from him. He ripped the shirt off angrily and shrugged into the blue one.
“What’s the big deal? You’ll just be taking it off anyway,” the Brit yelled after his retreating back.
It was one o’clock in the morning when Roo dragged himself back to the container. He didn’t bother being quiet as he stumbled through the darkness to find his cot, then stripped down to his boxers and collapsed onto it.
“You assholes better appreciate the things I’m willing to do for the company,” he muttered.
“Shut the fuck up and maybe we’ll appreciate it more,” Booker mumbled, but the man was already snoring.
Chapter Nineteen
The Harvesters Camp
Booker stood with the team leaders and waited for Franco and the other dispatchers to emerge from the building to assign missions. He glanced nonchalantly around him and the men all looked expectantly at the door, waiting for the jobs to be doled out. It reminded him of seals at an aquarium, all lined up and waiting for their handlers to come out and feed them fish. After he made the connection, he regretted it. He never liked seals very much and he certainly didn’t want to be compared to one, even if he was the one doing the comparing.
Franco came out with a few other dispatchers. He gave the group of men a lazy once over. His gaze caught on Booker for a moment before moving on. He couldn’t tell what the man’s expression meant, and it worried him. He hoped that after the disastrous last mission, the dispatcher wouldn’t have second thoughts about assigning missions to their team.
Flora and fauna jobs were handed out. He noted that there weren’t any hardware jobs like the one they had performed the day before for Lampton. As always, he showed his interest in each one.
“Ok,” Franco said after most of the team leaders had already been assigned missions. It was only Booker and two other men. “This job’s a collecting flora job. Bore samples. Who wants it?” His gaze flicked up from the clipboard he was holding. He made eye contact with Booker and motioned him forward.
“You want this one? It’s certainly not as exciting as the last one,” he said when the Brit stepped up to him.
“Doesn’t have to be exciting. The last job was plenty of exciting for the time being,” he said.
Franco smiled and nodded. “Right. Good. I need twenty samples from the silver-leafed trees. Not so bad, right?”
“Right. So, what’s the catch?”
“No catch.”
“Come on, man, there’s always a catch.”
“The only catch would be you aren’t the only ones out collecting these samples. A pretty big quantity might be needed, but the more samples that get in ahead of yours, the more the value of the samples you’re bringing in drops. Got it?”
Booker nodded.
“We’ll provide the bore tubes this time around. There isn’t a high demand for bore samples, so the containers aren’t widespread. Your normal supply man most likely doesn’t have these,” the dispatcher ex
plained. He gestured for Booker to wait and disappeared into the building.
He doubted that Dan wouldn’t have bore sample containers, but he wasn’t about to tell Franco that. If he wanted to lend them what they needed, he wasn’t going to argue.
The man came back with twenty slim metal and clear synthetic tubes, all about the length of Booker’s forearm and about two inches in diameter. They reminded him a little of wine cork pullers. Franco demonstrated how to use them.
“You put this open end here after you’ve unscrewed the lid,” he said, showing Booker as well as telling him. He unscrewed one end of the tube and showed him what the inside looked like. The tube itself was made of two tightly fitted chambers, one of the synthetic material and the other stainless steel.
He pressed the now open end to the side of the building, then grabbed hold of the two slim prongs, pulling them till they created a T-shape from the tube itself.
“Then, you just turn it.” He spun it around, the stainless-steel chamber digging into the wall, the tiny corkscrew growing closer and closer to the wall as more of the steel chamber disappeared. When the corkscrew bit into the wall about halfway, he stopped turning. He pressed the prongs in toward the side of the bore tube, which dislodged a thin cylinder of siding from the wall that fit perfectly inside the tube. He screwed the cap on and held it up for Booker to see.
“Nothing to it, just a little time-consuming. The surface has to be as flat as possible for the device to work its magic.” He popped the core out of the chamber and blew it clean.
"Oh, and they all have to be from different trees in separate areas. You can’t take from the same copse otherwise the dual samples will be no good and that’s more off your pay.”
“I think we can handle that,” the Brit said. “We’ll be back for the chambers.” He hurried away to collect his teammates.
He returned quickly with Charles and Roo in tow, geared up and ready to begin the mission. Thor was once again with the pissy Dan.
“I can send you over a list of azimuths where copses of the trees have been found,” Franco said.
“GPS would be so much easier,” Roo muttered.
Reprobates (The Bohica Chronicles Book 1) Page 20