Welcome To The Jungle Read online

  Welcome To The Jungle

  Protected by the Damned, Book 5

  Michael Todd

  Michael Anderle

  Laurie Starkey

  Welcome To The Jungle (this book) is a work of fiction.

  All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Sometimes both.

  Copyright © 2018 Michael Todd, Michael Anderle, and Laurie Starkey

  Cover by Ryn Katryn Digital Art

  Cover copyright © LMBPN Publishing

  LMBPN Publishing supports the right to free expression and the value of copyright. The purpose of copyright is to encourage writers and artists to produce the creative works that enrich our culture.

  The distribution of this book without permission is a theft of the author’s intellectual property. If you would like permission to use material from the book (other than for review purposes), please contact [email protected]. Thank you for your support of the author’s rights.

  LMBPN Publishing

  PMB 196, 2540 South Maryland Pkwy

  Las Vegas, NV 89109

  First US edition, April 2018

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Author Notes - Michael Todd Anderle

  Author Notes - Laurie Starkey

  Connect with Michael Todd

  Books by Michael Todd

  Books written as Michael Anderle

  Welcome to the Jungle Team

  Beta Readers

  Bree Buras

  Dorthy Lloyd

  Tom Dickerson

  Dorene Johnson

  Diane Velasquez

  JIT Readers

  Tim Bischoff

  Kelly O'Donnell

  Jim Caplan

  Sarah Weir

  Peter Manis

  Kim Boyer

  Kelly Bowerman

  John Ashmore

  Micky Cocker

  Paul Westman

  Joshua Ahles

  If we missed anyone, please let us know!

  Weapons Consultant

  John Kern

  Proprietor

  Spurlock's - Henderson NV

  Editor

  Lynne Stiegler

  Dedication

  To Family, Friends and

  Those Who Love

  to Read.

  May We All Enjoy Grace

  to Live the Life We Are

  Called.

  — Michael Anderle

  1

  T’Chezz smashed back into hell, rolling before slamming a fist on the ground. His hands clenched and his legs trembled. Slowly he stood up, growling, his teeth dripping saliva.

  The ground shook as the portal closed and he was left right back where he had started, only this time with a gift.

  He cursed and grabbed the car with both hands, crushing it into a ball, then yelled in anger and slammed it to the ground like a basketball. This ball didn’t bounce, though. Instead, shards of twisted metal bounced off and rattled across the ground.

  T’Chezz let out a deep breath and stomped around for a few moments, finally grabbing the hunk of metal and bitching as he moved toward his castle. He issued commands to the sycophants on his way in. When he entered his office, he walked over to a corner and tossed the new artwork on the floor.

  In fact, T’Chezz had expensive taste, always lifting something historical or precious before returning to hell. Last time it was Michelangelo’s “Leda and the Swan,” which Italians were still searching for last time he had gone aboveground, and Johannes Vermeer’s “The Concert" which he had read was thought to have been stolen.

  Either way, that ball of metal was the most important thing on his mind at that moment. He picked the car up, set it on the pedestal, and stood back to stare at it, seething in anger at the fact that he hadn’t even set foot onto that desert before being sent back down. He couldn’t just stand by; he knew that things were going to get complicated if he didn’t get control of these damn demon hunters. He needed someone on the inside; someone who could give him details and knowledge of where these hunters were and how to destroy them.

  He had been on Earth often enough to know that the human conscience was flexible, so there would definitely be someone in the Damned willing to do a deal with him.

  There always was.

  “Your Grace,” one of the sniveling servants said, bowing. “You requested the one who calls himself ‘the Ivy.’”

  “Stupid name,” T’Chezz growled under his breath. “Yes. Is he here?”

  “Yes.” He bowed and opened the door.

  One of the more powerful demons entered. His walk was more human-like than the normal scuttling most demons did. He bowed his head to T’Chezz and took a seat. The demon leader walked over to the window and ran his hand across the weapons sitting on the table underneath it. He was tired of losing, and at this point he would try anything to get to the Killers.

  “I have a job for you,” T’Chezz growled quietly. “You owe me a favor, so I figure this is the perfect time. I need you to go to Earth, find a host, and infiltrate the Damned. I need one of them to make a deal with me; give up the whereabouts of the Killers and their toys. That team is the only thing standing in the way of my taking over. I am choosing you for this because, though you are boring as hell, you always get the job done.”

  “I’m fastidious and driven,” the demon replied. “I am not mischievous. It is a downfall of so many of our kind and humans, T’Chezz. It is why our kind have problems, and why humans suffer our advances.”

  “Uh huh.” T’Chezz rolled his eyes. “Report back when you’ve gotten me something.”

  The demon nodded, got up from the chair, and walked out of the room. T’Chezz’s servant went to close the door, but he stopped him.

  “Do something for me,” T’Chezz requested, rubbing his chin.

  “Yes, sir,” he replied.

  “I want you to speak with Zallot for me. Make sure that asshole Ivy is taken care of when he is finished,” T’Chezz told him, rubbing his hands together. “His usefulness to me is at an end. I won’t miss him for a few hundred years.”

  “I will make sure it is done, and report back as soon as he has completed the task, sir,” the servant replied, nodding.

  “Good.” T’Chezz laughed evilly. “And leave the car there for now. It’s a nice addition, don’t you think?”

  “Very nice, sir,” the demon agreed fearfully.

  “Right.” T’Chezz looked at the servant with distaste. “That will be all.”

  He walked to the window again, this time feeling a lot better about his plans. The one thing that has always been true was that humans could be bought with the promise of a good life…and this was the perfect opportunity to exploit that.

  He was going to get Korbin’s Killers and bring his sister back down to hell, squashing her little human in the process.

  No one hit T’Chezz with a car and lived to tell about it.

  Korbin, Calvin, Katie, and Damian sat around the large table in the conference room, staring at each other. There was a
lot to talk about between the move, the changes in Katie with Pandora, and the fact that they weren’t going to be able to keep the weapons hidden much longer.

  Katie hated when they had to talk about her abilities, but it was a conversation that needed to be had so everyone was on the same page. Korbin shuffled through the report of the last fight and took off his thin-rimmed reading glasses, tossing them on the papers and leaning back.

  “So, how about it?” Calvin asked. “Do you think it’s time to come clean about Katie and Pandora with the others? Are they ready to accept something like that?”

  “My first instinct is to be honest,” Korbin said. “But I fear that in this case honesty will ultimately lead to an inability for me to protect Katie to my full ability. When you see her in action you get it, but when it’s explained it seems a lot dicier. And none of them know her like we do.”

  “I’m right here,” Katie reminded him.

  “I know,” Korbin replied. “I’m sorry, I’m not used to having this conversation with you instead of about you.”

  “Well, if it’s any consolation, I agree with you,” Katie told him. “I don’t know if the other teams can handle a change like that. We barely handle it on a daily basis. If you questioned it at the beginning, then you know they will, hands down.”

  “You’re right.” Korbin sighed.

  “I can agree on that,” Calvin interjected. “Damian? What do you think?”

  “I have to agree,” he began carefully. “I saw the struggle Korbin went through when it all began, and what kept him straight is the fact that he knows Katie. The fact that he cares for her as part of this team. Without that, though?” He paused for a moment. “I’m not sure they would even try to understand. Fear can be a powerful thing, and people tend to fear what they don’t understand.”

  “All right,” Korbin agreed. “The other team leads are coming to the base. Well, whatever is left of it, anyway. We are going to have a confab over the weapons. It’s time they got theirs, and are made aware of the importance of keeping them secret. Katie, I want you to go out of town for a day or two, just so things don’t get dicey. I know what will happen: we will get a call while they are here. I don’t want them finding out in the heat of battle, since they’d likely strike you down without thinking about it.”

  “I know!” Damian offered, sitting up. “I’ll take her to Disneyland. Buy some mouse ears, ride the Teacups, get some good food.”

  “I don’t know about Disneyland,” Korbin said doubtfully. “I would stick to somewhere like Los Angeles. At least there she is less likely to be spotted as a demon since it’s…well, Hollywood, to be honest.”

  Hey! Pandora exclaimed in Katie’s mind. I resemble that remark.

  Katie pressed her lips together and looked down, trying not to smirk at Pandora’s comment. She was finding it harder and harder to not let it be known that her demon was talking to her. Pandora had become kind of an everyday thing for her by this point.

  “I will let the LAPD know that the two of you are coming into town,” he continued. “After you guys kicked ass last time, they started requesting that we let them know when you are in town in case we are looking for something they can help with, or if they need an extra set of hands. It will also keep them from panicking that there is about to be an incursion.”

  “Sounds good.” Katie smiled.

  “We can go to Universal Studios,” Damian suggested. “It’s close enough to Hollywood that no one will pay attention to your beady red eyes.”

  “Hey, I’m not the only one with red rings, my friend.” Katie smirked.

  “True.” Damian stood up. “Is that all for now, Korbin?”

  “Yep. Just be safe.”

  “We would be safer if I had my damn car,” Katie grumbled as she collected her things. “Seriously, I hope my license plate is imprinted on T’Chezz’s balls. It would fucking serve him right.”

  “If it’s any help, we all thank you for your sacrifice.” Calvin chuckled. “We know how much that car meant to you.”

  “It isn’t any help.” Katie shook her head. “The things I do for my country!”

  Korbin snickered. “A proud patriot.”

  “One day you will lose something precious, and I don’t want you coming to me complaining,” Katie warned them, sticking out her tongue. “It was my pride and joy.”

  “And you are ours.” Damian bowed as the two walked toward the door. “Like a shining beacon of hope.”

  Katie snorted. “Right.”

  Stephanie stood in the doorway of the conference room as Katie and Damian walked toward her. She had rushed from the house, having done some last-minute things to help the girls get packed up, and was running late. She knew Korbin was rarely on time for meetings anyway, so she had just tried to get there somewhat promptly.

  “Am I interrupting?” Stephanie asked.

  “Nope,” Katie replied, giving her a high-five. “Just discussing my car.”

  “Still?” Stephanie chuckled.

  “She is only in the second stage of mourning,” Damian replied with a smirk.

  “Hey, that thing was like part of my body.” Katie pouted as she walked out of the office and down the hall.

  Damian laughed and followed her, leaving Stephanie to join Calvin and Korbin at the big round table. Korbin smiled at her as she walked in. She was wearing jeans and a tank top with her pink Chuck Taylors. She had dived head-first back into being the woman she wanted to be, not the one she’d had to pretend to be.

  “Howdy!” She sat down at the table. “What’s up?”

  “I’d like you to tell me more about your land,” Korbin replied.

  “Well, it’s plenty of space…over a hundred acres,” she began. “I am assuming you are going to build a base on it?”

  “Yeah, that’s the plan. We have to get out of here as soon as possible, though,” he replied.

  “That shouldn’t be an issue,” she said. “There is an old ICBM facility on the land that, with a little love and care, you could stay in while you build your new base.”

  Calvin chuckled. “Did they leave any presents behind?”

  “Yeah, a bunch of dust and trash,” she answered. “But you could build your base around it. Probably incorporate part of it into the new digs.”

  “Good,” Korbin replied. “I have to admit, my first effort at finding anything—especially in our territory—has been a complete and utter failure. It’s either too close to civilization, for commercial only use, or it’s wayyyy overpriced. I need something that I can eventually build an airfield on, and I have found absolutely nothing.”

  “Well, you could do that on my land, but until that comes about, there are other options,” she told him. “I suggest you invest in a helicopter instead of renting. You can either chopper to the location, or if it’s a longer trip, right to the airport. It will save time fighting traffic, and helicopters can now carry a hell of a lot of stuff. I mean seriously, it’s not like there aren’t a million choppers flying around Vegas at any given time. You will blend right in; no one will even know the difference.”

  “I like that…all of that,” Korbin admitted, rubbing his chin. “I agree, we do need our own helicopter. It would make things a hell of a lot more efficient. That kind of money will have to be okayed by the higher-ups, but I am pretty sure they will be more than happy to send one over since we have been doing well.”

  “You mean Katie has.” Stephanie chuckled.

  “With the big ones, yeah, but whatever pays the bills.” Korbin laughed and opened his laptop. “I just want to see how close your land is to Area 51.”

  He pulled up the map and put in the address, then leaned back and stared at the screen. He could see that the two places were fairly far apart and he nodded, then looked at Stephanie’s land from every direction. He had to be sure. He couldn’t build something like the facility he was thinking if anyone in the government might catch on.

  “It actually looks to be a perfect distance away
from Area 51,” he mused. “But let me ask you this: why do you still have that land? You are Damned, and I am pretty sure you were put into the system as deceased. I really don’t want the government to come looking for the land or the owner.”

  “They won’t,” she assured him. “I bought the property under the radar from someone who needed to get out of a dire situation. I put it under my mother’s maiden name, and I paid for it in cash. As far as they know someone else owns it, and unless we give them reason, they aren’t going to come scratching around.”

  He got down to brass tacks. “Okay, so how much for us to occupy the space?”

  “Well, I won’t sell it, but you guys can stay there for free,” she started. “I guess ‘you guys’ includes me. However, I have one stipulation: if you ever leave, I get to keep the upgrades at no cost.”

  “Wow.” He laughed. “That’s a tall order. How about you keep the upgrades at ten percent of the cost or $1,500,000, whichever is cheaper.”

  “You will be living on the land for free,” she argued.

  “Yeah, but the land is not even close to being worth the same amount as the structures I will be building on it.”

  “Five percent,” Stephanie negotiated.