Righting Wrongs, Part IV
Author's Note: First of all, thanks for all your kind words! I've been away from the fanfic world for a long time, so it's a definite confidence booster. Second, thank you CBS for officially renewing Zoo. Yay! We will get a second season, and we get to find out how the writers and the talented cast resolve all of this. Third, I made a deliberate choice to depart from canon here. Normally I don't like to do that, but in my opinion what we see on screen doesn't jive with the 17,000 worldwide fatality estimate that Amelia Sage gives us. It seems to me it would be far, far higher with entire villages wiped out, so I've chosen 70,000,000 to encompass roughly 1% of the world's population.
"Jamie!" Chloe hugged her. "You look wonderful!"
For someone who's been dead for three months, Jamie thought wryly. She knew that she was pale and frail-appearing with obvious weight loss. Still, she appreciated the gesture of kindness and friendship. She hugged Abraham and Jackson as well. "Thanks, you too. You guys are a sight for sore eyes."
"I can't believe this," Jackson admitted. "Teams combed this area for days. They never found a thing." He shook his head. "The only body not recovered, and now we know why."
"It is truly a miracle." Abe said softly.
"This guy wouldn't leave," Jackson continued with a nod to Mitch. "Even after the search was called off. We had to work to convince him it was over."
Mitch felt a sudden urge to change the direction of the conversation. He and Jamie had not yet had a chance to talk, and the fact that he cared enough about her to have been consumed with wanting to recover her body so she could be buried next to her mother, well, that may too much too soon. He turned toward the leopard. "What does *Anik* have to say about our spotted friend here?"
"Hey," Jamie spoke up, noting Mitch's visible discomfort with the previous topic, "something's been bugging me about him, and I think I finally figured out what it is."
She went to the fence and reached through, stroking the cat's fur. "He's tame. Why?"
"Well, he was hand-raised," Jackson attempted to explain.
"So were the lions in the zoo," Jamie insisted. "So…why is he tame? He has the mutation, right? That's why he could be used for the cure. So why isn't he trying to rip my arm off? We didn't cure him."
Mitch moved beside her, concern furrowing his brow. "That's a damn good question."
Abe sighed deeply. "We need a good answer."
"Well, I guess we'll have to figure that out when we get him back to Washington," Jackson replied. "In the meantime, tame is good. It'll make it a hell of a lot easier to get him to the crate on the boat and back home safely."
Abe and Jackson began preparations for moving the leopard, while Jamie turned to Chloe. "Chloe, please tell him how grateful I am for, um, everything. Seriously, there's no way I can thank him enough. He's been nothing but kind and generous." She found herself feeling a twinge of guilt for wanting so much to leave. After she was gone, he would once again have no companion at all.
She recalled pointing to a photograph hanging on his wall that depicted two women, one middle aged and one young. He had pointed back at it then placed his hand over his heart. Jamie had come to assume they were his wife and daughter and wondered what had happened to them.
"I'm gonna go change so I can give him back all of his stuff." With that, she disappeared back into the house.
Mitch instantly felt the separation as he watched her go. Nothing but kind and generous, huh? Ok, so maybe the man wasn't the root of all evil after all. He decided to go assist with the transfer of the leopard as Chloe and Anik continued talking.
Shortly, Jamie reappeared, dressed in the same clothing she'd worn on the ill-fated flight. It had been washed, but the bloodstains were still quite noticeable. Mitch winced to see the gash in the right pant leg.
"You're gonna need shoes," Jackson declared on spying her bare feet.
"Ok, just swing by a Payless," she joked. " I must have some cash here…" She turned the pockets inside out. "…somewhere."
"No shoes." Chloe sighed.
"This is it. Everything I own in the world." Jamie tried to take a light tone to avoid bringing down the mood, but it wasn't really working. "And I have no job. And no home. And I'm a fugitive from justice. But you know what? I'm alive, and I'm with my friends. I'll be all right."
"Actually, here's a bright spot," Mitch said dryly. "You're not a fugitive anymore."
"I'm not?"
"Long story. I'll tell you later."
"What took you guys so long, anyway? It's been, like, six days." She was only half-joking.
Jackson shrugged. "Killer whales."
"Literally," Mitch dead panned.
Chloe motioned them toward their hired yacht. "Shall we go?"
Once they had set sail, the group gathered in the main cabin to catch up with one another. Jamie found herself surprised to learn that they had split up with the job left unfinished. She shuddered to imagine the depth of pain and grief Mitch and Abe must have felt to compel them to cut contact with the others.
"So…the thing with the animals. How bad is it?" She finally dared to ask.
"Worse than whatever it is you're imagining." Mitch retrieved a beer from the refrigerator.
"Are there more of those?" Jamie asked hopefully. Mitch retrieved a second one and handed it to her.
"It's bad, " Abe confirmed. "People don't dare to leave their homes. It is too dangerous. There are wild animals roaming the city streets killing at will, and the domestic ones are not much better. Millions have lost their lives worldwide."
"They tried to find another leopard. But it turned out to be contaminated by Reiden Global products. We couldn't use it." Chloe added. "It felt like all hope was lost until you called."
Jackson spoke up. "Yeah, Reiden was hawking this brilliant plan to kill off all the animals and repopulate the Earth with genetically modified ones."
"Aldous Huxley would be proud," Mitch snarked in utter disbelief.
"Tell me that at least people can now see Reiden for what they really are," Jamie implored, causing the room to fall awkwardly silent. Correctly reading their faces, she jumped out of her seat. "Oh my God! You have got to be kidding me!"
"Reiden Global," Mitch began flatly, "has found a way to come out of all of this smelling like a rose." He decided it was like pulling off a band-aid; the best approach was the simple truth. The bile dripped from his words. "You probably didn't know this, but they're the heroes who discovered the cure and magnanimously provided a second mother cell for its implementation. If, of course, the new leopard had worked out. Because they're just forward-thinking like that."
And all of you just let them get away with it?! Jamie wanted to scream, but realized she still didn't have all of the information. "Perfect."
"It's getting dark." Jackson stood up. "And I've got first watch. See you at midnight, Abe?"
"Yes. Perhaps I should try to get a nap." Abe followed his friend from the cabin.
Chloe smiled at Mitch and Jamie, "If you'll excuse me, I have some work to do as well. I'll give you time to catch up."
And with that, they were finally alone.
Coming up: Part V looks to be much longer, as it covers our heroes' discussion on their situation and *ahem* other stuff, as well as the formulation of the plan to bring down Reiden Global.