Reprobates (The Bohica Chronicles Book 1)

by C. J. Fawcett

  “Enjoy. Just holler if you need anything.”

  They started eating. Through the course of the meal—and a pitcher of beer to himself—the Aussie started to return to normal. He flirted with the waitress and she humored him but mostly, she flirted with Charles.

  “Seems you only attract crazies,” Booker observed.

  “Fuck you,” Roo said. “At least I get some. You don’t seem to have any luck.”

  He shrugged. “I think I like my balls where they’re at.”

  “There you go again, saying you’re afraid of chicks.”

  “Again, I’m not afraid of women. I just don’t trust any of them here at the Zoo. Seems against my best interest to get involved.”

  Roo held his glass up.

  “Really? You’re doing a toast?” the Brit scoffed.

  “Hey, asshole, I’m trying to say something nice. Raise your fucking glass.”

  He raised his glass and Charles followed suit.

  “Here’s to making a shit-ton of money and having a hell of a time doing it.”

  “That’s your big toast?” Booker asked.

  The Aussie rolled his eyes and emptied the contents of his glass. “I never said I was good at speeches.” He belched.

  Charles reached across the round table and clapped him on the shoulder. “Wouldn’t expect anything more from you, buddy.”

  “Thank y—hey. After all I’ve done to get this night going, and this is how I’m repaid?”

  His teammate laughed.

  “If I remember correctly, I was the one who suggested we go out. And you protested,” Booker pointed out.

  Roo rolled his eyes. “A technicality. We all know I’m the real party here.”

  “It really is a miracle you can stand upright,” Booker said.

  “I can hold my alcohol better than you.”

  The Brit laughed again. “Not talking about the drink. Your head’s so big it’s a wonder it doesn’t tip you over.”

  The man flipped him off.

  Charles looked around, then spotted a dartboard that was nailed to the outside of the building. “Who wants to play darts?”

  They stood in front of it. Charles planted his feet wide apart and took aim. Although he was buzzed, the dart still hit just below the bullseye.

  Booker took aim next. As he threw the dart, Roo nudged his elbow and it sailed past the board and bounced off the wall.

  Roo and Charles laughed and their teammate flipped them both off.

  Roo topped the man’s glass off.

  “If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you were trying to get me drunk,” the Brit said.

  “Maybe I am. Maybe I’m trying to get your tight British panties to untwist.”

  He made a face. “Firstly”—he pointed at himself—“I’m Cornish. And secondly…secondly, I can’t remember.”

  Charles kept throwing darts at the board. The other two didn’t show much interest. They were too busy arguing.

  “Ok, Mr. I’m-Cornish, answer me this. Where do you live?” Roo asked.

  “The Zoo.”

  “No, dumbass. Where do you come from?”

  “That’s not what you asked.”

  Roo pinched the bridge of his nose. “Charles.”

  The American shrugged. He threw another dart into the bullseye.

  “Just answer the fucking question, Booker,” Roo said.

  “Okay. Okay. I mean, I come from the U-bleddy-K.”

  “Bingo. Makes you British.”

  “If you’re using that logic, aren’t you British too?”

  “Fuck no.”

  “Then why do I have to be?”

  “You just are.”

  Booker shook his head, then chugged the rest of his beer. “You don’t make any sense.”

  “Neither of you makes sense,” Charles said. He yanked all the darts out of the board.

  “Want to play me at darts?” a man asked. He walked up to them and indicated the board.

  Before Charles could answer, Booker stepped up to the man. “What’s in it for him if he plays you…”

  “Rhajit,” the man supplied.

  “Rhajit. What’s in it for Charles here if he plays you at darts?” the Brit asked.

  The man shrugged.

  “You better not say ‘the satisfaction of winning,’ Rhajit,” Roo said.

  “All right. I play your friend at darts. If he beats me, I give him ten grand.”

  Charles’ eyebrows shot up. “And if you win?”

  He grinned. “If I win, I get your vehicle.”

  “No fucking way, asshole,” Roo protested.

  Booker grabbed him by the shoulder and dragged him away from the newcomer. “Sounds like a deal.”

  Rhajit’s smile widened. He shook Booker’s hand.

  Roo gaped at his teammate. “Are you fucking serious? You can’t bet with that car.”

  “Oh, lighten up,” he said. “Charles here has this in the bag.” Booker nudged Charles in the side, throwing off his aim. The dart hit next to the board.

  Roo groaned.

  “That was just a practice shot,” Charles said, glaring at Booker.

  “So be it, but practice time is over,” Rhajit said. He took aim, but the Brit stopped him.

  “Not so fast, buddy. We’re going to play this by BDO rules, and since we don’t have all the time in the world, it’ll be three-oh-one up,” he said. “I’ll keep score.”

  “How do I know you aren’t going to cheat me?”

  He held up three fingers. “Scout’s honor.”

  The man grunted, then took his turn. He was good, but not the best Booker had ever seen.

  “If you lose Shira’s car, I am going to flay you. Then I’ll give your body to her so she can castrate you for good measure,” Roo growled to Charles.

  His teammate glared at him and pushed him away. “Breathing down my neck isn’t going to help anything.”

  Booker laughed and rested his elbow on Roo’s shoulder. “Charles has this. Don’t sweat.”

  The Aussie muttered curses, but he seemed happier after Charles took his first turn.

  The two players were pretty evenly matched, but the American was just a little bit better.

  “Okay, Charles. You have one-hundred and fifty points left,” Booker said. “Rhajit, you’re at one hundred fifty-five.”

  A small crowd had gathered around the game. The onlookers were split in their cheering.

  “Rhajit, you’re up,” the Brit said.

  “I can’t watch this,” Roo said, chugging another beer, but didn’t look away from the dart board.

  Rhajit missed the last dart he needed to check out. The Aussie heaved a sigh.

  “Okay, Charles, your turn,” Booker said.

  “Do not fuck this up,” Roo growled.

  Charles rolled his shoulders. He threw his darts and hit three consecutive bullseyes.

  The crowd erupted in cheering.

  “Yes!” Roo yelled. “Yes, yes, yes! I knew you could do it!”

  Charles rolled his eyes. “Sure you did.”

  Booker grinned. “We’ll be taking that ten grand now.”

  “Let’s have another round, on us!” Roo yelled. There were more cheers from the crowd.

  Rhajit shook the victor’s hand. “Good game, friend. You proved yourself to be a worthy opponent.”

  Charles nodded.

  “That could’ve gone badly, Booker,” he said. He drained another glass of beer quickly.

  Booker shrugged. “I had faith in you, Charles. And it looks like it paid off. Now come on, let’s get out of here. Oh, and Roo, I’m driving.”

  “You don’t outrank anyone anymore,” Roo retorted and rolled his eyes. He passed the keys to the man anyway.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  The Harvesters Camp, Three Weeks Later

  Thor had become quite the side-show in the camp. Off-mission men liked to gather and watch Charles and the dog train. He worked him every day when they weren’t out on miss
ion. Thor had grown to almost reach his waist. He was a fast learner and performed his commands without any puppy awkwardness.

  Charles had been keeping an eye on the small horn that seemed to be growing from the top of his head. He’d taken to filing it down, although it wasn’t a pleasant experience for dog or master. It was too unnerving to watch the horn growing, but Thor’s mood always bounced back quickly afterward, so there wasn’t much harm done.

  “I think it’s time for Thor to come on a mission with us,” Charles said. He was playing fetch with him, tossing his favorite toy—one of the old tires from the mule.

  Booker grunted but didn’t look up from his tablet. He was scanning through the mission database. After six missions, Franco had granted him access. It was full of information on previous missions and also had an indicator for when missions would be announced. He still showed up at the dispatcher’s office first thing in the morning, even though he had access to the database. He wanted to make sure he wasn’t missing out on anything.

  “I’m serious, Booker,” Charles said.

  “I don’t know, Charles. Sure, he’s come a long way, and you certainly have him trained. But it’s dangerous out there. I don’t want him getting hurt.”

  “I also don’t want him to be hurt, but I think he’s ready.”

  “We talking about the dog going on mission, again?” Roo asked. He walked around the corner of the shipping container where he’d been standing in the shade. He’d claimed it was to take a break from the sun. Booker and Charles both knew he’d been avoiding Shira.

  “She was here again,” Booker said.

  He rolled his eyes. “I know. She just isn’t getting the hint.”

  “Do you think it’s a good idea to keep avoiding her?” Charles asked.

  “At this point does, it matter? We’re making a name for ourselves. We don’t really need Lampton anymore.”

  “It’s still a bridge we don’t want to completely burn. Especially if we want to keep relations good between us and the top-tier companies,” the Brit pointed out.

  “What makes you think Thor is ready for the Zoo?” Roo asked, changing the subject.

  “He knows all his commands,” Charles said, ticking off the reasons on his fingertips. “He can keep up. He might not be fighting ready yet, but he is a good deterrent.”

  His teammates didn’t look convinced.

  “En garde,” Charles said, pointing at Roo. Thor’s hackles rose and a deep growl rumbled from his throat. He bared his teeth at the man and took a few menacing steps forward.

  The Aussie put his hands up. “Okay, okay. I think we get it. Call him off.”

  “Leave it,” Charles commanded. Thor sat and wagged his tail.

  “It just makes me nervous,” Booker said.

  “Think of how much money it’ll save not having Dan watch him,” the American said.

  “Fine. We can take him on the next mission.” The Brit sighed.

  Charles grinned. “This’ll be great. You’ll see.”

  Booker put his tablet away, then stretched. “I’ll go see if I can find us another job. It looked like there were a few up for grabs. I’ll be back.”

  Roo patted Thor cautiously on the head and the dog wagged his tail.

  “He isn’t going to attack you,” Charles said.

  “Can’t be too careful. If I’m going to lose any body parts, I don’t want it to be to your pet.”

  “He only does that on command.”

  The man shrugged. “That’s what they all say. And then, bam, your pet’s ripping your face off.”

  “He’s not a chimpanzee.”

  “You can never be too careful.” Roo crouched at Thor’s level. The dog licked his face. “But who would want to turn you into a mean attack dog, huh? You’re too cute.”

  Charles rolled his eyes. “And all this time I thought you still wished we’d left Thor in the Zoo.”

  “I still think it was a stupid decision to get a pet. But it was good to pull him out of there. Besides, if he can do all you think he can, he’ll be an asset.”

  Booker soon returned from Franco’s.

  “We’ve got another job, gents.”

  “That was fast,” Charles said. He stretched and started gathering his kit.

  He shrugged. “This database thing seems to be working out.”

  “What’s the job?” Roo asked.

  “Flora.”

  The Aussie moaned. “Again? How many more of these gathering jobs can we do?”

  “A lot,” the Brit said. “Besides, I picked flora because if we’re taking Thor, we should do something relatively easy for his first time. When he’s better prepared, we can take him on a fauna mission.”

  “You ready, Thor?” Charles asked the dog.

  Thor wagged his tail so hard his whole body shook.

  “How far out is this mission?” Roo asked.

  “Fifteen klicks,” Booker responded.

  “And we can’t take the mule for this?”

  He shook his head.

  Thor trotted along beside the men. Charles shrugged his rucksack higher on his back as he walked. He had a long rope attached to the dog’s harness. “We can all fit on the mule. And I have it running perfectly now. There won’t be any more mishaps.”

  Roo rolled his eyes. “That’s what you said two missions ago, remember? It cost us two days dragging that thing back out again.”

  “Yeah, well, that little sparkplug problem is fixed now. It won’t happen again.”

  “We aren’t bringing it because fuel is expensive,” Booker explained.

  “We’re making enough money now. Why are we worried about it?” the Australian asked.

  “I just think it’s smarter this way. Besides, your legs still work, don’t they? Wouldn’t want you getting soft. We all know how much Shira likes that tight ass of yours.”

  “Unnecessary, Booker,” he said, flipping the man off. “Also, I never want to hear you describe my ass again.”

  “Those were your words, not mine.”

  “When did I ever say that?”

  “One of the times you were complaining about Shira. You mentioned she liked you for your ass.”

  “I never said that.”

  “Hate to break it to you, but you did,” Charles interjected.

  “You stay out of this, Charles.”

  The American held his hands up.

  They arrived at the gate and waited for the lights to turn and the gate to open.

  “What’s taking so long?” Roo muttered.

  Charles shrugged.

  Booker looked around for one of the guards who usually operated the gate. The post was empty. “Huh, that’s strange.”

  “What is?” Charles asked.

  “The guard’s not at his post.”

  “That’s ʼcause he’s standing in front of the gate,” Roo said. He pointed at the man who’d positioned himself between the men and the Zoo.

  The guard stood with his legs apart, his submachine gun at the ready.

  “Is there a reason the gate isn’t opening?” Booker asked.

  “Yeah,” the guard said, then jerked his head toward Thor. “You got any papers for that thing?”

  The three looked at Thor. Then they made a big show of checking their pockets.

  “Oh, you know what? He doesn’t have papers,” the Brit said.

  The guard frowned. “Can’t let you go through. That animal needs to be papered.”

  “Is that really necessary?” Booker asked. He sidled up to the guard. “Listen. I tried to get him papers, but the clerk told me paperwork was for human beings only.”

  “Which clerk did you see?”

  “I don’t know what her name was.”

  “It was a woman?”

  “Yes. And she said she wasn’t going to waste her time papering an animal. She said it wasn’t her area of expertise or interest. It was all I could do to get her to sign our papers if you know what I mean.”

  The guard was sile
nt for a few moments. Booker, Roo, and Charles held their breath, watching him intently for signs of his decision. Thor sat patiently beside Charles.

  Finally, the man nodded. “Yeah. I know which clerk you’re talking about. That bitch’s a right piece of work. What do I care if you have papers or not? Go ahead. And good luck.” He stepped out of the way and the gates swung open.

  “Did you really ask the clerk for paperwork for Thor?” Charles asked once they were through the gate.

  Booker shrugged. “No.”

  “Do you think he needs to be papered?”

  “Who really cares?” Roo asked. “I mean, it’s not like he’s impacting anything. He’s an animal. Why would they want to track that?”

  “I suppose in case someone tries to take something out of the Zoo?” Booker suggested.

  “Fuck that. Who would want to keep a Zoo animal? They all have too many legs, or eyes, or both. Not to mention, it’d definitely try to kill you,” the Aussie pointed out.

  “People like exotic pets,” Booker said. “They always have. When the word gets out about an area full of alien animals, people will be lining up to have one as a pet.”

  “Thor isn’t a Zoo animal, though,” Charles said. “He’s just a dog.”

  Booker nodded. “Exactly. So why are we even having this conversation?”

  Thor was having the time of his life. He strained at the end of his leash, trying to smell everything he could. Charles had to keep tugging on the lead to pull him away from the deep underbrush.

  “I know it’s exciting, bud, but you’ve gotta stay close,” he said.

  Thor ignored him. He zig-zagged across the trail Booker was leading them down and startled a two-headed bird from under a fern. It flew up with an annoyed squawk and the dog barked at it, but the bird only settled in a tree and looked down at him.

  “On your guard,” Booker said. He brought his MP5 up.

  “Do you see something?” Charles asked, also raising his weapon.

  He shook his head. “No, but this is where we usually get attacked by locusts.”

  The three men proceeded with caution. Thor trotted along, wagging his tail. Nothing attacked.

  “I think we’re in the clear,” Charles said, straightening.

  “This is all very bizarre,” the Brit said.