Soldiers of Fame and Fortune Full Series Omnibus: Nobody’s Fool, Nobody Lives Forever, Nobody Drinks That Much, Nobody Remembers But Us, Ghost Walking, 12 Book series...

by Michael Todd

She walked back to sit at the desk. Setting the beer down, she took a deep breath and rolled her head back and forth. “Okay, get it together. You can do this. It’s only numbers and science. You are good at both. Separate it. Make it make sense.”

  After another sip, she scrolled through the next page of data from Shou Industries and read about the components found in the dino sac that had been retrieved. A small bell tolled on her laptop and she glanced over to see an incoming email from the company she worked with. Holly wrinkled her nose and clicked on it.

  It was from Rod but copied to the corporate board. Holly, we have tried to contact you the last few days. We know you are in the Sahara at the Zoo and want to make sure you are safe. Please let us know how your research is coming on. We are anxious to get this contract started.

  Holly clicked out of the email, rolled her eyes, and decided the best course of action was to ignore it. She would eventually respond to them, but right then, in that moment, they simply made her want to scream. With JB dying a slow and painful death at his apartment, they seemed like the least important people in the world.

  She needed more time and more ability to do the research with thorough testing. It was important to be able to test her theories and have her work tested by other scientists. She needed to know she wasn’t making some terrible mistake in her theories because she was exhausted from sitting in a tiny apartment in the middle of the desert. Holly knew there was a fear of the Zoo at the back of her throat, and that might be affecting her actions as well.

  All the wishing for extra time was useless, though. Time was the one thing she didn’t have. At that moment, she heard the familiar tread of boots across the floor behind her. Holly turned quickly as Billie approached, looking tired but definitely not as beat-up as the last time she’d gone into the Zoo. “Hey. Good to see that you made it back. How did it go?”

  Billie grunted as she lifted her bag up onto the kitchen table. She put her hand out and waved Holly over. Carefully, she extracted the plastic container and set it on the table. The two sacs were perfectly intact inside. “And as an extra bonus, I brought you this full Pita. It’s kind of beat-up but you might be able to save her.”

  Holly’s eyes went big as she took the sacs to the fridge and put them inside. Then she picked up the Pita plant and looked at the beautiful shimmering leaves. “Wow. I definitely learned how to take care of one of these in the research. I’ll go out in a little bit and get everything I need.”

  The other woman dropped her bag on the floor and grabbed a bottle of beer from the fridge. She twisted the cap off and tilted it back without a word. Holly lifted her eyebrows. “That bad, huh?”

  Billie swallowed and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. “No, not that bad. Well, that’s a lie, it was nuts. But it doesn’t matter, I got what was needed. How are you doing? Is it coming along?”

  Holly groaned and rolled her eyes. “There is so much damn information. I’ve tried to take as much as I can in as fast as I can but it’s almost overwhelming, even for me. The challenge that I face is simple. I need more accurate information, more specific information, or I need more time to figure it out on my own. And unfortunately, I don’t think time is on my side on this one.”

  Hickok rubbed her hands over her face. “What kind of information are we talking about here? More research?”

  Holly wrinkled her nose. “I have plenty of research. If it’s something new, then sure, I’ll take it. My biggest problem is I don’t know some of the testing procedures. I also want to see what has happened when some of this stuff has been tested on other people or animals.”

  Billie nodded. “I guess that might be good information to have. It might help JB.”

  “Yeah, that and who knows what could happen? I could make him into an alien Zoo zombie or something. That would be insane. Then what do we do? Release him in the jungle or chop his damn head off? I don’t think I would survive a zombie invasion.”

  Her companion chuckled. “You are tougher than you think, my dear. All you gotta do is swing. After the first few, you would be surprised how easy it is.”

  Holly frowned as the ramifications of that seeped into her tired brain. “How would you know what a zombie— You know what? Never mind. I don’t want to have nightmares when I go to sleep tonight.”

  Billie smiled. “I wouldn’t do that to you. So you need more information.”

  She sat in her chair and leaned her head back. “I need the clock to stop. Do you have any gadgets in your bag of tricks that do that?”

  The other woman shook her head and drew a deep breath. “I have a lot of cool shit but unfortunately, stopping time is not something that’s been okayed for our use yet.”

  Holly opened her mouth but shut it again, knowing not to ask. “You definitely live a wild life, woman. Seriously, I didn’t know what you were thinking pulling a Pita out there.”

  Billie shrugged. “I had fought a man-eating plant, a stick thing, a rock man, and two jags. I was ready to get the fuck out of there. I would have had four sacs but I kind of blew one of the dinos to bits.”

  She laughed slightly deliriously. “Poor thing.”

  “Try poor me. That thing was wild. It tried to fucking eat me like Jurassic fucking Park.”

  Holly opened her eyes and looked more seriously at Billie. “So what do you think? What do we need to do?”

  “Well, there is a main research and development building for the American side of Shou Industries. It seems like I’ll have to pay that a visit.”

  Holly picked up her head. “Where is that?”

  Billie smiled. “The good old US of A. Back on home territory, somewhere I haven’t been in a very long time.”

  Amanda stood in her workroom in front of a table at the back and blinked at the pile of armor which sat there. She didn’t even know what to say and had walked in that morning to find it there. It wasn’t in quite as bad shape as the last time, but it was definitely fucked up.

  She groaned and rubbed her forehead as she wondered when Billie would roll in and ask for help. Like clockwork, she heard footsteps behind her.

  Her visitor smirked. “I see you found my drop-off. I figured since you weren’t in yesterday when I got here you were done for the day and didn’t want to wear it upstairs. It kind of has pieces of different animals all over it.”

  Amanda ran her finger across the goo and shuddered. “That’s fucking disgusting. What did you do? Blow something up?”

  Billie put her finger out. “Bingo. And I killed a jag right on top of me.”

  The armorer sighed. “I have been in the Zoo several times and never have I seen gear fucked up like this. At least not with a live body in it.”

  She smiled. “I’m not in it. No one is.”

  Amanda gave her a look. “You know what I fucking mean. Usually, when gear is this bad, we’ve removed a dead body from it first.”

  Billie shrugged and leaned against the table. “I had a hard mission. I mean, I killed quite a few asshole animals in that thing yesterday. I was pretty impressed it came out in one piece.”

  She flicked a piece of flesh off the armor. “Kind of. But you brought back a whole bunch of pieces of something else. I guess we can hose this bitch off, though. Thank God we have gloves to work with. It smells bad too. Like a dead old person.”

  Hickok burst into laughter. “Yeah, it does kind of smell like that. But what do you think?”

  Amanda raised an eyebrow. “I’m gonna need more than a ball peen hammer and a couple of hard whacks. But yeah, Salinger will approve it. I’ll need to pay him this time, though. He was cool last time and might not say anything this time, but when it comes down to it, he has a business to run.”

  Billie nodded. “Of course. I don’t expect anyone to do anything for me for free. I simply waited for you to tell me how much. I’m sure I’ve got enough. If not, I’ll steal something he can use.”

  She raised an eyebrow at Billie. “Kinda free with that skill set, huh? I guess it fits per
fectly with being able to magically break into locked doors without ever unlocking them. I guess if I could do that, I would probably do it all the time.”

  Her companion rubbed her boot across the ground and avoided her gaze. “Honestly? I’ve never had to use it for a good cause. At least, I can’t remember a time where I did. I’ve never asked my controllers the reason for my jobs. Trusting that they make the smart decision was kind of forced into you. We don’t have a moral compass in our line of work. We do what we’re told, turn, and move on to the next job. We wait for our instructions and we are done.”

  Billie coughed to cover up a slightly uncomfortable feeling at telling Amanda that. She never talked about it and tried not to think about it. The truth was, she didn’t know how many people she had screwed over. She didn’t know how many people she had killed who were actually good people. But to think about it would drive her absolutely insane. Marcus had told her early on to put those thoughts out of her head and turn herself into a killing machine. So that was what she’d done, and she was glad that she had.

  Amanda watched her for several moments, knowing she was deep in thought about something. She pursed her lips and tried to decide whether or not to ask the question that lingered on the tip of her tongue. “It sounds like a stressful way to live. I think too much, I guess. I don’t think I would be built for a job like that. I can kill Zoo animals all day but the thought of killing another human or stealing? I don’t think I could bring myself to do that. I’m not judging you at all. You’re different than me, in a lot of ways. I would definitely like the toys, but the secrets and the loneliness? That isn’t for me.”

  Billie drew in a deep breath as Amanda’s voice broke into her thoughts. “Yeah, well, this job isn’t for everyone. In fact, it’s only a good fit for a few. That’s why we’re ghosts. We are lost to society and work the edges of the shadows.”

  Amanda smiled. “I have to ask you…what exactly is it that you guys do? Is it government work?”

  Hickok pushed away from the table and pointed at her suit. “Let me know when you have that back, okay?”

  She started toward the door and the armorer put her hands up. “Really? That’s how you’re going to roll out? You won’t even give me a hint of what you do? Is it like Big Brother shit? Or are you like Men in Black? Rolling around flashing people with your stick thingy and taking down dumbass aliens?”

  Billie laughed and turned toward her. “We save the future so humans can exist.”

  Amanda slapped her hands together. “You can time travel, can’t you?”

  The other woman simply chuckled as she walked through the door and disappeared. “You watch way too many movies.”

  She sighed and leaned back against the table, then smiled and shook her head. “She is so hard-core.”

  Looking down, she realized that her hand was in a pool of sticky blue blood. She grimaced as she lifted it and strings of goop webbed between her fingers. She flung it and grimaced when it stuck to the floor and hardened. “Well, that’s never going to come out. I guess it fits.”

  Accepting the inevitable, she grabbed a bucket of soapy water and a brush with a sigh, laid out the suit, and went to work to get the thing as clean as possible. Chunks of dino fell to the ground as she scrubbed harder. “It looks like a fucking meat market in my shop now. This is definitely not the way to bring more business in.”

  Chapter Seven

  Hickok went hurriedly through her large pack, the one she carried all over the world. She couldn’t take everything with her, but she didn’t want to go unprepared. This trip to the US was specifically to get the information that Holly needed. Sneaking in and out in the desert was one thing but doing it on American soil where protection was ramped—that was a whole other story. Not to mention that she did it off the grid without any help from her people in the least.

  She looked down at her phone to see a message from the van driver, slapped the flap of her pack closed, and put her hood up. Hurrying out, she locked the apartment door behind her and headed to the corner. She had an envelope of cash ready for the man, who made a special trip for her. Because she couldn’t risk anyone else seeing her, he would get her through the gates and drop her at the base, then leave as if she had never been there.

  The ride, shoved behind some boxes in the back of the van, was uncomfortable. It got her in, though, and without any witnesses, so she wouldn’t complain. When they reached the restricted area of the base, he drove her to the side and dropped her in the shadows. Billie waited for him to drive off, removed her jacket, and shoved it in her bag. She stood, pulled her hair into a tight, low bun, and grabbed her military cover out of the bag.

  She tugged her uniform into place and checked her pockets for her ID. It was all fake, of course, but no one would ever be able to tell. She had to get on a military flight that was headed to the base where Shou Industries’ American research facility was located. No other place would have the kind of information she needed.

  Billie headed toward the front gate and stopped. The guard studied her quickly and saluted the officer pins on her lapel. “ID, ma’am.”

  She smiled sweetly and took it from her pocket. He glanced at it and handed it back. “Have a good evening, ma’am.”

  Hickok didn’t say a word, merely nodded and headed into the base. She knew exactly what flight she needed to take and had spent the morning studying the layout of the airfield. The only thing that she thought might be a little tricky was getting inside it. They didn’t let just anyone in, but she couldn’t figure out what military ID was necessary to be admitted. She was fully ready to jump a fence if she needed to, though. Absolutely nothing would prevent her from getting on that flight.

  As she approached the check-in area to the airfield, she saw a young soldier with his ID in his hand. She headed nonchalantly his way and looked up at a passing plane as she deliberately rammed into him. Her arm came down and knocked his ID onto the ground. “Oh, my gosh, I’m so sorry!”

  The kid immediately stood at attention. “It’s quite all right, ma’am. The planes are pretty cool to watch.”

  Billie smiled. “At ease, soldier. Let me help.”

  She bent, retrieved his ID, and looked quickly at the insignia on the upper right-hand corner. “Sorry about that. You have a good evening.”

  Quickly, she turned and walked away as she slid her fingers into her breast pocket and drew out a very similar ID. She’d known she would probably need it and was glad she’d grabbed it. Once through the gate, she followed the lines of people walking up and down the halls. To her right, she could see Bay Three, closest to the building. As the door to the outside came up on her right, she made a quick turn and stepped out onto the side of the airfield.

  She took her time and inched around to the back entrance of the bay. Cautiously, she opened the door slightly and peeked inside. An Airbus A400M sat there with the back hatch down. It was the perfect plane, used mostly for cargo but able to carry people in the back. She would be the only one there since the trip was to drop arms and equipment. It would fly directly into the base and land around midnight. It was a long flight, but nighttime was the only time she could get into the building.

  Billie snuck into the back door and flattened herself along the wall as she moved forward. She found a stack of pallets and hid behind it to watch the soldiers through the slats. They had almost finished their load-in and pushed large jacks of pallets into the back. She could see a good amount of space left open as a walkway that led to the back of the plane. Everything was tightly secured, and she wouldn’t have to worry about being crushed to death if the plane suddenly hit some sort of insane turbulence. The last thing she wanted to do was to be injured in the middle of the whole thing.

  One of the soldiers looked at his clipboard and raised his thumb up in the air. A light flickered on at the front of the bay and all the soldiers left the area. The back hatch of the plane began to churn, and Billie took her moment. Looking rapidly from side to side, she hurrie
d through the bay and jumped up onto the closing door. She slid down on her ass and ran through to the back where she ducked down behind one of the large pallets. When the door was firmly closed, a red light lit the area and Billie exhaled a deep breath, sat down, and leaned against the wall.

  After a few minutes, she opened her pack and pulled out a thermal shirt and a sweater. She removed her military jacket and put them on. She knew they would pressurize the cabin, but most likely, it would get fucking cold back there. That done, she found a ski mask in the front pocket of the bag and dragged it on. Rubbing her hands together, she leaned back and prepared herself for the bumpy ride from the bay to take-off. They didn’t make seatbelts for stowaways. It wasn’t the first time she had done it, and she kind of liked the silence. It definitely beat being stuck on a commercial flight between an old person and a woman with a baby.

  The plane shuddered beneath her with a loud buzzing sound as it pulled out of the bay and onto the runway. From back there on the floor, she could feel every pebble that the wheels ran over. Her ass bounced up and down on the steel beneath her. “Good thing I got junk in my trunk,” she told herself with a chuckle.

  The plane turned and paused in preparation for take-off. She hooked one hand around the straps holding the pallet and with the other, grabbed the metal beam above her. As the plane took off, she tightened her grip and gritted her teeth. No matter how many things she did or how many dangerous situations she got into in her career, she always hated taking off in a plane. There was no fear of falling from the sky, merely the feeling of leaving the security of the ground below that got her every single time. By the time the plane had straightened out, though, she had released her death grip on the strap and beam.

  Billie exhaled her relief. The air had already grown much colder. She leaned back against the wall and pulled the collar of her jacket up around her neck before she grabbed her bag and opened it. After rummaging through the contents, she located and extracted a large bag of beef jerky. Smiling, she opened the bag and took a big whiff. Jerky had somehow become her favorite food, something she couldn’t take into the Zoo with her. It was too smelly for most operations too. It was her treat, a celebration for not getting killed while getting on the plane.