How could this have happened? All he wanted to do was find a nice, cool spot in the shade and enjoy a juicy apple. Instead, he found himself sweating bullets and wandering through the world's hottest Asian rainforest in order to earn some cash. Normal employment just didn't exactly suit this particular trigger-happy man. He grunted in frustration as an overgrown plant smacked him in the face. Pissed, he retaliated by ripping it from the ground with his superhuman strength and tossed it aside with a huff. That would show it what's what!

Birds and foreign animals played with his acute senses as he tried to get a feel for his surroundings. Now let's see… he thought stopping to wipe the sweat from his brow. His piercing blue eyes surveyed the area for any signs of human habitation. He was on the hunt for a notorious black market fur trade group that was killing Tigers. Such an easy target would normally bore him and he would have declined, if the pay hadn't sparked his interest at 500 grand. Save some pussy, get paid! Sounds like the good old days. He had thought at the time…if only he knew he would have to trek through this massive green hell to find them!

How much longer, damnit? Spotting a red herb nearby, he instinctively headed towards it, as it would more than likely come in handy later. But right as his fingertips brushed the soft leaves, his feet were whipped out from under him and he was flung upside down in a matter of seconds by a hidden rope.

"You have got to be kidding me!" he roared when his swinging had calmed down. He easily hoisted his upper body up towards his feet and tore at the ropes that had snared him like tissue paper, dropping to the ground with an unpleasant thump. "Takes more than some silly little snare to catch me..." He said brushing himself off and standing back up. "Well, at least I know the bastards are in the area."

He snatched up the red herb that had enticed him, then shoved it in his pouch and pulled out his 909. If a trap was here, their encampment couldn't be too far. He wasn't about to face these pricks unarmed. Though, he was fairly sure he could still take them all on with his fists if the worse they had was some measly little rope. Of course, that was never the case, at least, not if these fuckers were hunting tigers!

Slowly he moved through the trees and ferns, staying as much in the shadows as possible. Getting the jump on these guys was his priority…he just had to find them first. He froze, holding his breath as an odd sound caught his attention. In this jungle, it could damn well be anything, but he needed to be sure it wasn't a threat before continuing on.

One minute went by with no further sounds. He relaxed just a second before realizing that silence in a jungle was usually a bad thing…a very bad thing. Tensing, he slouched inside of a brush with his back to a massive tree. He breathed along with the wind that played with the leaves as his eyes darted every which way.

He smelt it before he heard it when the wind had changed direction. It was the stench of blood and the sound of tearing flesh. He rested his index finger on the trigger of his 909 as he tried finding the source. Was it a tiger? Leopard? Or some other feasting predator? After the things he had seen, he had only hoped it was something so normal. The low growl that had meshed with the slapping of meat and blood told him that this was certainly not human…at least not a living one.

Slowly he shuffled around the tree to take in what he was unable to see before. He needed to find this beast before it found him. It was then that he saw it. Not even twenty yards ahead of him was an encampment…or at least, what was left of one. Scattered all around were the bodies of several men. He was unable to count how many, due to several being torn to pieces and their limbs being strewn about everywhere. Blood adorned the tents and pelts that had been flayed from their unfortunate victims and hung for cleaning. It was the poacher's camp.

Movement from inside one of the tents grabbed his attention and he moved forward staying crouched. Whatever did this was still around, despite the feasting noises having stopped. Every brush of wind and every twitch of leaves distracted him. He was grateful for his hair being buzzed off, despite still showing signs of his red locks. The last thing he needed was bangs in his eyes. How the hell did that Leon guy last so long? He briefly wondered as he neared the tent's flap.

With his gun ready in one hand, he gently grabbed the loose fabric with the other and carefully pulled it open. In a breath, he had jumped facing the interior with his pistol aimed at whatever was inside.

A monkey had been eating away at a basket of fruit that had spilled during the struggle. It stopped to look at him, and let out an ear piercing noise at being disturbed.

"Tsh!" he cocked his head then lowered his gun sighing, "Stupid Mon-" his breath had suddenly been knocked out of him as he felt claws in his side as something had pounced on him, knocking him several feet from where he had been just moments ago. The weight of the beast pinned him down as he struggled to keep its fangs from sinking into his face with his arms.

The warm stench of its breath jabbed at his nostrils, as drool slapped his eyes keeping him from seeing whatever it was that was attacking him.

"Sorry!" he grunted shifting his feet under it's torso, "I don't kiss on the first date!" using his superhuman strength, he kicked it away from him as the last word left his lips, then quickly regained his footing. "Besides. You need a mint!" he said wiping the drool from his eyes, and waving at the air in front of his nose.

Crouched before him was a massive cat. But this frisky feline was unlike any normal jungle predator he had read about. It stood furless with exposed bloody muscles, and pulsating tendons. Its fangs were like those of a smilodon and four pale eyes watched him from bloody sockets as it began to circle him.

"Oh-ho! You're a big kitty!" he instinctively reached for his pistol, but it had been knocked from him when he was attacked and now lay several yards past this new threat. With no other option, he crouched low and readied his hands, then flicked two fingers at the beast. "Here kitty, kitty. Daddy's ready to play!"

The infected feline readied a pounce, but the sound of a whistle could be heard in the distance and it perked its head up facing the foreign sound. It's body relaxed, it turned to growl at him, and took off in the jungle leaving the man dumbfounded.

"Dunno what the hell that was all about!" he grunted relaxing his stance then walking over to his abandoned pistol and picking it up, "But I think I like it better with that thing not around." His 909 now secure, the sound of birds slowly returned, and he examined the camp. "Looks like that thing did my work for me." He said picking up an arm that was still clutching a gun. He dropped it with a look of disgust then walked over to the tent that the monkey had been in.

It must have left during their shuffle, because it was nowhere to be seen as he entered and took in the chaos. Papers were strewn about torn and bloody blankets, but an undisturbed chest was what caught his attention. It sat with a lock on it, which was easily disposed of with a single bullet.

Inside were documents of sales and species of exotic wildlife that the now deceased had made a living off of. It wasn't particularly interesting, and he was about to leave it, when a vanilla envelope peaked out from beneath the stack. Out of curiosity, he peeled it open and slid the contents out to show papers with the logo of a red and white umbrella on the top and a lot of scientific mumbo-jumbo on it. But what really caught his attention was a picture that had been held together with the papers by a paperclip.

It was a picture of the feline he had just fought, and it was caged up.

"So they knew about that thing before it attacked them? What the hell?" confused, he let the papers swing at his side in his hand. Then used his free hand to pull out his phone. He dialed a number from his contacts, and held the phone up to his ear.

It took a moment for the recipient to pick up, "Hey Sherry! Long time no chat!" A smirk crossed his face as a gentle feminine voice sounded from the other end. "The one and only!" A few seconds passed, "Oh you know…here and there. Taking in the sights." Another few seconds and his smirk left almost as quickly as it came, "Well you see, there's a bit of a problem. I was taking a leisurely stroll through the jungle…" he was interrupted, "Yes, a jungle. You know? Big trees, lots of green, mosquito's…usual jungle stuff. Anyway, I was strolling through your friendly neighborhood jungle, and may have stumbled upon something you and your DSO buddies might find interesting."

He reached in one of his pouches that hung attached to his belt, and pulled out his shades, then slipped them on over his eyes, "I've got a feeling we may have some more nutcases on our hands that are playing science class with the local wildlife and that nasty virus you and I are all too familiar with." He sighed staring at the document in his hand, but he nearly dropped it in response to something that had been said on her end, "Oh no, no! You keep your pretty little ass in America. I'll head back and send this crap to you." A minute passed, "Sherry. You don't even know where I am! Besides, I don't need any help! …No, I don't. You know me, super girl. I'm Jake remember? I got this!"

He closed his phone cutting off her reply, then put it back in his pocket and looked around, "…just as soon as I figure out how to get back first."


**Let me know what you think! I haven't written any sort of fanfiction for quite a while. I forgot how fun it was! But besides me having fun, and just enjoying Jake's personality, I hope you enjoyed the read and look forward to more. The next chapter is already almost done.