Edge of Survival Box Set 1 Read online

  If only navigating their relationship was that easy. He could see the problems on the road coming. Could utilize skills honed over nearly a decade to navigate and avoid them.

  But top-notch tactical driving skills didn’t help a lick in avoiding the recurring blowups that were taking a bigger and bigger toll on their relationship.

  What had happened to the little girl he remembered?

  He didn’t feel like a terrible dad. He didn’t think he was unreasonably strict or overly protective. Sure, he preferred to minimize risk. But that was because risk management was priority one. And the biggest part of risk management was having good intel.

  So, yeah, he wanted nothing more than to pore through every single text on Theresa’s phone, identify possible threats and neutralize them before they could escalate into something serious.

  He was a dad. That was his job. Plus, it was his day job as a close protection officer.

  Only, it felt impossible in a way no work assignment ever had. Impossible in a way that nothing in his career of protecting Fortune 500 CEOs and diplomats from around the world made easier.

  A few clients over the years had made protection an onerous task. Famous people usually. They were the worst. He’d sworn off taking those assignments years ago. The pay wasn’t worth the headache.

  “Don’t be so dramatic,” he said. “I looked at you. I’m allowed to look at my smart, beautiful daughter, aren’t I?”

  “Do I look like an idiot?”

  “Not usually.”

  “Very funny,” she said as she looked out her window at the long lines of cars that extended in all four directions at the intersection.

  Mason retreated to easier ground. “Mom texted before we left. She told Tito and Mamaw we’re coming. Tito said there was one chick, in particular, he wanted to show you.”

  The clouds parted and Theresa smiled. So easy like that.

  “I can’t wait to snuggle them. Cute, fluffy little fur balls everywhere. Eeep!” The last part came out in an emotional spike of anticipation.

  “And some possible but unconfirmed bad news. Mom may have to skip this visit.”

  Concern pinched her eyebrows together. “Is it Jane? Is she okay?”

  Mason bent the truth, but only a little. For his daughter’s sake.

  “Everything is fine. Mom just wants to run some additional tests that may take longer than expected.”

  It was weak, but he wasn’t going to break his daughter’s heart if he could avoid it.

  Theresa huffed and blew out a breathy, agitated exhale. “We already canceled the last two times. We can’t cancel again.”

  “Nobody’s saying cancel. Worst case is just us two go.”

  Mason wanted to go as much as she did. When he married Beth, her parents were a big part of that commitment. They’d welcomed him into their family and given him a sense of rootedness that he’d longed for his entire life. Beth had brought needed stability.

  A foundation that kept him from completely sinking, even during the dark years.

  He dragged his thoughts back to the present and bristled at the mass of metal crawling by. He longed for the peace and tranquility of Tito and Mamaw’s small acreage. Their property was quintessential Ojai. Big. Surrounded by beautiful nature. Chickens and goats underfoot. The braying of a mule somewhere in the distance.

  You didn’t find that kind of thing in Venice. Not without spending ten million dollars to get it. Maybe not at all.

  “We’d better not cancel,” Theresa said.

  Mason mashed the brake with his left foot and gently tapped the gas with his right. This stoplight felt like a stop-forever-light. He glanced at the cross traffic and saw an open pocket approaching. A dangerously strong urge to punch the gas and roar through the intersection tickled his leg. “Don’t worry,” he said, as much to himself as to his daughter. “We’re going.”

  Her expression softened. He saw hints of the little girl she once was. Slowly submerging into a woman he often didn’t understand.

  He prayed Beth would have good news about Jane. At least not bad news.

  Theresa’s phone beeped and a message popped up. He resisted the urge to take a sideward glance.

  “You text more than you breathe.”

  “Very funny, Dad.”

  “Kidding. But not,” he said as he leveled a look at her.

  “Understood,” she replied, then nodded toward the road. “Green light.”

  Mason flicked a look up at the light and verified the change. He glanced at the analog clock on the dash and verified the time. Great. Theresa might be late to class. She’d already gotten a parent report about excessive tardies. He wasn’t going to be the reason she got detention.

  He dropped the hammer with his right foot while simultaneously releasing the brake with his left.

  The throaty V8 roared and lurched forward on oversized BF Goodrich All-Terrain 4x4 tires. Their size put all the surrounding cars on a downward line of sight. He’d seen more than a few surprising things from his high vantage point.

  The old beast resembled nothing so much as a proud and aged lion prowling the savannah. Past its prime. Rough around the edges. But strong. Still big and dangerous to the herd of sleek impalas that bounded beside.

  Mason smiled as the windows rattled and the round tuning knob on the old stereo slipped and the station crackling through the single working speaker blended into static.

  Through the static, the dull voice of a reporter bled through in sporadic bursts.

  “Fire… threatening the San Fernando… not contained…”

  Theresa punched the volume knob and turned it off.

  “Would you mind keeping us alive at least until I get to school?”

  Mason flashed a grin and winked. “That’s my job.”

  He turned back and slammed on the brakes, skidding to a stop just beyond the intersection.

  Max barked like crazy.

  A man dressed in rags stumbled and fell against the front bumper. He raised his head as if suddenly aware of their presence.

  Blood streamed from his eyes, down his filth-crusted cheeks. He swiped at the fluid and lurched back, teetering on the edge of staying upright. He covered his face and screamed. “Help me! Please, help me!”

  The words gurgled out as red spewed down his unkempt beard.

  Horns honked behind them.

  A car in the next lane roared by heading in the same direction.

  Mason looked in the rearview mirror. A shiny, white Mercedes flew into the intersection, obviously hell-bent on not getting caught at the light.

  The man stumbled into the adjacent lane.

  He never had a chance.

  Sleek, white metal slammed into fragile flesh. The man’s head whipped down onto the hood and split apart. The impact flung his body through the air, pinwheeling like a rag doll tossed by an angry child. His broken form landed in a heap. Arms and legs splayed at grotesque angles.

  And just like that, whatever dreams or delusions the man harbored ended.

  5

  ELIZABETH WEST stood alone on the safe side of the thick plexiglass window looking into the Bili Chimpanzee exhibit at the Los Angeles Zoo. It was still before opening hours and she enjoyed the relative peace and quiet before the crowds entered. She stroked her fingertips over the smooth, clear surface as a one-hundred-ninety-pound chimp swished back and forth on the other side. Low, breathy hoots of pleasure made it through the thick glass.

  She longed to run her fingers through Jane’s fur. To breathe in the musky female scent that only a vet could love, much like a farmer loved the smell of fresh fertilizer. To scratch behind her ears and giggle as the chimp tilted her head to get just the right spot.

  Beth would have spent time in the habitat with her, unguarded and unarmed if she could have. She trusted Jane completely. Two things prevented her from doing that.

  One was the strict regulation that no one was allowed inside the enclosure while the chimps were out. Only a major emergenc
y could break that rule. Normally, they had to first be lured through the metal door at the back of the enclosure and into the secure holding room. Only then could a staff member enter to do maintenance or whatever was needed inside the enclosure. It was one of a few rules for the larger animals that was inviolate. Bending that one would result in her immediate termination.

  Especially considering who would make the call.

  Even that knowledge may not have been enough to keep her away. But then there was the second reason.

  Jack. A twenty-year-old Bili chimpanzee that made Jane look dainty in comparison. A fearsome beast that stood six and a half feet tall and weighed two-hundred-seventy pounds. Like a jealous boyfriend, he hated anyone that competed for Jane’s attention. And his demeanor had gotten worse as more of his troop had been shipped off to other zoos.

  Beth tried to convince the new management that the moves were wrong, counter-productive despite the potential good of widening the gene pool through inter-zoo exchanges. Their original troop of six was now down to Jack and Jane.

  The transfers were hard on Beth, too. She felt like the exported animals were being abandoned into the world. It didn’t help that the zoos were in places like Mongolia and follow-up calls were never returned. The lack of communication made her question the validity of the whole endeavor. Thus far, her appeals to management had fallen on deaf ears.

  The loss of so many troop members had turned the dominant male Jack into a neurotically possessive mate. A dangerous one.

  Beth couldn’t blame him. She’d feel the same way if people took her family members away. The problem was that he’d sometimes take out his frustrations on Jane.

  As much as she didn’t like him, he was important to Jane. He offered her the chance to live a more normal life. To start a family together. His introduction had been a dangerous gamble but it had paid off. More than she could’ve hoped.

  Beth held her palm to the clear glass. Jane’s huge palm mirrored it from her side of the barrier. The dark palm dwarfed Beth’s. She rubbed her furry head back and forth and looked like nothing so much as a child needing a hug.

  Jane yawned and huge jaws parted wide. Her lips peeled back to show off massive canines. Teeth that could take down a leopard. Packs of Bili chimps in the wild were said to hunt lions. Their size and intelligence made them top-of-the-food-chain hunters in the forests of their home in the Congo.

  Her long tongue rolled out like it wasn’t meant to fit inside her mouth.

  Beth took the opportunity to study the exposed soft tissue. Her gums were an unhealthy pale white. Her pupils were dilated, despite the bright morning light. She wasn’t doing well.

  Jane’s head turned away and froze as a deep barking echoed in the air. Jack. Claiming his territory. Not the ferocious scream of an ongoing fight, but the low rumbling bark warning others not to invade his turf. Promising a battle to any that didn’t heed the warning.

  Beth couldn’t see him. He must’ve been in another part of the enclosure. She was grateful to have a few undisturbed moments with Jane. The female paced away from the glass and Beth watched her overripe belly sway back and forth with each step. It swung under her like a pendulum.

  This was her first pregnancy and added to that was that she was carrying two infants, a very unusual outcome for chimps. The pregnancy was taking a toll on her body. Her left foot dragged awkwardly as the later stages of pregnancy had expanded her uterus and pinched a nerve in her hip.

  Beth knew she was in discomfort. At night, Jane whimpered and whined as she shifted back and forth trying to find a comfortable position.

  It wasn’t a black and white decision, but after analyzing several x-rays and cat scans, Beth had decided not to operate to relieve the pressure. She was near-term and opening her up would put her and the infants at risk. Beth prayed she’d have them before any permanent damage occurred. Anti-inflammatories and close observation were the current best course of action.

  Further back in the exhibit, a patch of tall grass parted and an enormous, muscled male chimpanzee emerged. In the prime of his life, his gray fur swished regally as he walked closer. He took his time, knowing the world waited. He was at the peak of his physical strength and vitality. And he knew it.

  He sauntered closer and then froze as he recognized Beth at the glass with Jane just feet away. Jane lumbered away from the viewing station, but it was too late.

  Jack raised his head and a scream tore loose shattering the morning calm. The surrounding exhibits exploded in hoots and braying as baboons, lemurs, and antelope raised the alert and expressed their fear.

  6

  The hairs on the back of Beth’s neck jumped to attention. There was nothing like that sound. It was a message to every animal within reach and its meaning was clear.

  I will kill you. I will eat you.

  It didn’t get any more primal than that.

  Humans weren’t so long removed from the web of life that the call didn’t instantly get their attention. Genetic memory warned of the multitude of ancestors that heard a similar roar and died soon after.

  Jack loped toward the viewing platform and stopped just short of the glass, his large, deep brown eyes never leaving Beth. His lips curled back, revealing teeth that could end her with less effort than she used to swat a fly. She backed away from the glass not wanting to upset him.

  Too late.

  His teeth gnashed the air as he continued to display. Jane moved further away, not wanting any part of his agitation.

  He turned and in one fluid move leapt at her. A giant clubbed fist lashed out at her head.

  In her debilitated state, Jane was too slow and it caught her square on the cheek. Her head whipped to the side and she tumbled to the ground. She landed hard and barely had the strength to lift her head and bark in return. Blood welled from a flayed open cut above her eye.

  Beth gritted her teeth, seething, wanting to put a boot on Jack’s neck. Not that it would have done any good.

  The male stood above the mother of his unborn infants, deciding whether or not to deliver another punishing blow.

  Beth was already in a sprint toward the door that led to the work rooms, her keys jangling in her hands as she flipped through them for the right one. She snatched the walkie-talkie off her hip and thumbed it on.

  “This is Dr. West with an animal emergency at the Bili Chimps exhibit. Is anyone there?”

  She’d normally have had an assistant vet to help with situations like this, but the position had yet to be filled after the last one left. More budget nonsense.

  “What’s going on, Dr. West?” a voice responded.

  It was Ralph, the zoo’s Security Supervisor. He’d helped out a few times with moving the chimps around. It wasn’t ideal, but he’d have to do.

  Still sprinting through service corridors toward the equipment room, Beth clicked the transmitter and yelled, “Get some oranges and lure Jack into the holding room. Lock him in and get back to me immediately when it’s done. Do not enter the habitat or holding room. And make sure those locks are in place.”

  “You got it, doc.”

  “What is going on?” an imperious voice demanded.

  Diana Richston. The new Director of Admin and Operations. The boss. The witch. She didn’t deserve the position and Beth hadn’t been subtle in voicing her opinion. She came aboard when the city of Los Angeles sold the zoo to Milagro Corporation. Yet another public asset sold to the highest bidder because the city was drowning in debt.

  “Dr. West, answer me this minute!”

  “Not now, Diana!”

  Beth shoved through one last door and came to the tall metal safe she was seeking. She fumbled through the keys on her ring and found the right one. She opened the safe and pulled out a packaged, sterilized syringe. She snapped on rubber gloves and prayed as she plunged it into a small bottle of M99. The drug was a thousand times more powerful than morphine.

  Sweat dripped from her brow as she measured out sufficient CC’s to lightly
tranq a chimp of Jane’s size. She wanted the minimal dose to ensure Jane and the infants’ safety. Just enough for her to sew up the gash above Jane’s eye and give her a field checkup.

  She transferred the potent opioid into a sterilized dart and carefully set it aside. One drop was enough to kill a human. She pocketed a dose of Naltrexone just in case. An exposed human had only a few minutes to counteract the opioid before a fatal cardiac arrest.

  She was in a hurry. But she wasn’t stupid.

  Beth pulled a rifle out of the safe, inserted the loaded dart, and then slammed the bolt forward. After verifying the safety was engaged, she slung it over her shoulder and locked the big safe. A quick look to verify dangerous gear was stowed and she sprinted for the west entrance to the enclosure. The one closest to the viewing area where she had last seen Jane and Jack.

  She finally made it, breathing hard to catch her breath. She found the key but didn’t insert it into the lock of the heavy metal door. She waited for what seemed like forever before the walkie-talkie crackled and chirped to life.

  “Dr. West, this is Ralph. Jack is secured.”

  Beth wondered for an instant if Ralph remembered the locking procedure that ensured the holding room couldn’t be opened. Chimps were famously clever at figuring out how to get a clasp or bolt released. She couldn’t waste time thinking about it.

  Jane was out there on the ground. Already weak and now with a likely concussion and bleeding. She was in danger and Beth was the only one that could help.

  “Thanks, Ralph. I’m entering the enclosure to deal with Jane.”

  Diana’s voice practically blew the tiny speaker.

  “Dr. West, I forbid you to enter that habitat!”

  “Diana, there is an injured animal inside that requires immediate medical attention.”

  “I don’t care if it dies in the dirt. What I do care about is you exposing this institution to unlimited legal liability.”

  “Let me come help,” Ralph said.