"You what?" Fletcher asked.
"I need you to catch a snake," Nelly repeated herself.
"I'm...I'm a zookeeper, not a hunter," Fletcher said, "you do know what you hired me for, right? Hunting dangerous game was certainly NOT on my resume."
They were standing in the break room, the others sitting at the table, as Nelly and Fletcher had this conversation. Nelly sighed, rubbed her forehead, and poured herself a new cup of coffee from the pot on the counter. She sipped a bit before turning and leaning against the cabinets, looking at everyone.
"It's a bad look when a dangerous animal is loose in a zoo. For fucks sake, you guys, our one and only goal is to keep them in habitats. It makes us look incompetent if we can't even do the one thing expected of us from the public. I need you guys to catch him, real fast."
"Which snake is it?" Harvey asked, biting into his granola bar.
"It's..." Nelly said, pausing, lowering her head and whispering, "it's The Violator."
"Excuse me?!" Fletcher shouted, "you want us to catch something named The Violator? Look, there's 3 things I know never to approach in life, and those are underage girls, houses that have too many lawn ornaments, and giant fucking snakes."
"Maybe it isn't that dangerous," Casper said, shrugging.
"It's name is The Violator, Casper, that's the name of a pro wrestler," Fletcher said, "or, like, a Russian assassin."
"It won't be difficult. We have tranquilizer darts for this sort of situation," Nelly said, "actually, the harder part will be moving him once you've captured him, since he's 200 pounds and 20 feet long."
A hush fell over the room.
"...pardon?" Casper asked.
"He's a Python. He's a new arrival, that's why this happened. The idiots who work over in the relocation zone didn't properly check his habitat for any possible ways he could escape. They just figured he would stay on the ground, not climb into a tree and out an air vent. It was just a mistake, but I need you guys to get him for me. But you have to not alert the guests, okay, they cannot know that there's a loose giant Python in the zoo."
"Listen to me," Fletcher said, "you wanna catch a giant snake, you hire Steve Irwin. You want some help moving a couch, you call someone else because I'm not doing that either. Frankly, I'm a selfish person, and I think in this instance my selfishness justifies my lack of interest in attempting to capture this thing. What if it eats me?"
"It can't eat all of you at once," Casper said, as Fletcher shot him a look.
"That is NOT the helpful sentiment you think it is. 'Oh don't worry, you'll be digested slowly', yeah, real comforting," Fletcher said.
"Well, you guys don't have a choice, because I'm your boss, and this is what I'm telling you to do. We have temp tour guides right now filling in for you, so you don't have to worry, and in fact you'll get paid extra for this, so it all works out I feel," Nelly said as she got up from the cabinets and headed towards the door.
"Why do I have to do it?!" Fletcher shouted as Nelly opened the door and stood there, thinking.
"...because you make me angry," she said, before exiting and shutting the door behind her.
"...alright, well," Fletcher said, "I can't really argue with that reasoning."
***
Robin was pacing back and forth anxiously outside the gate near the parking lot, waiting for Sophie to arrive. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, she saw Sophie's car pull in and park. Sophie climbed out and locked her car before stopping upon seeing Robin. Both smiled, blushing, as Sophie approached her.
"I didn't know I was worthy enough to-" Sophie started, but before she could even finish, Robin had grabbed her face and kissed her, making her giggle even more; after the kiss, Sophie added, "wow, is this the kind of treatment I'm welcome to every day now?"
"I couldn't stop thinking about you," Robin said, "and I'm...I'm not used to that. I mean, I've had relationships, but...I've never been the sort of woman to go gaga over someone, you know? Where they just...they consume all of your waking thoughts? But you...I couldn't stop thinking about you. I had to see you."
"Wow..." Sophie said, "that's...intense."
"I'm sorry," Robin said.
"No no, I like it," Sophie said, smiling, lacing her fingers through Robin's and squeezing gently, "It was...it was so nice kissing you the other day. I've never kissed anyone, and so it was, um, kind of a new experience and-"
"Wait, you've never kissed anyone? Like anybody at all? Like not a single other person?" Robin asked.
"Yeah, that's...that's kinda what I meant by that statement," Sophie replied, laughing, "does that...bother you?"
"No, I'm just surprised, that's all," Robin said.
"I'm not a very outgoing person," Sophie said, shrugging, "Ya know, I...I live at home, with my parents, and I don't really socialize outside of work and, well, even at work you're one of the only people I socialize with and...it just never happened. Plus I just...never got the chance. Nobody's ever seemed to be interested in me."
"I'm very interested in you," Robin blurted out, making Sophie laugh again, as Robin quickly adding, stammering nervously, "I mean, god, I'm so not good at this kind of thing. I've never felt anything for a woman before. But when you kissed me, it was like...it was like I'd been kissing wrong the whole time throughout my life. I suddenly enjoyed it. I wanted more."
"...you know I'm nothing special, right?" Sophie asked.
"I'll be the judge of that."
"I mean, I'm a janitor basically, and I...I'm not very smart, and...and not much to look at and I can't really see why anyone would want to-"
"Sophie, hey, don't...don't talk about yourself like that. Your job doesn't matter to me at all, and as for being smart, you're super insightful and as for being pretty, oh man, you are like watching a sunset come to life. All the things you might not like about yourself I love."
Sophie blushed and pushed her face into Robin's chest, letting Robin stroke her hair.
"I know it's scary," Robin said, "it's scary for me too, but...I wanna try at least."
Sophie didn't say a word. She just nodded eagerly in response.
***
"Where the hell is everyone?" Robin asked as she and Sophie entered the breakroom, only to find nobody there. Robin set her bag and other items down on the round table in the center of the room as Sophie leaned against the wall, confused. Suddenly Casper entered and everyone stopped to look at one another. After a moment of awkward and confusing silence, Robin spoke.
"What's going on?" she asked.
"Zoo is shut down today," Casper said, "you two need to come with me. Fletcher, Harvey and Nelly are already on a hunt, so we're the other group."
"The hunt? What...what are we hunting?" Robin asked as Casper opened a cabinet, pulled out some dart guns and handed Sophie and Robin each one before loading his own and cocking it.
"We're hunting a 200 pound, 20 foot long Python named The Violator," Casper said, "so lock and load ladies."
"I just love coming to work," Robin said, making Sophie laugh, as they each loaded their guns and followed Casper back out to the main roundabout of the zoo. Once outside, they stopped and looked around; Robin cleared her throat and asked, "so, if I were a giant, murderous Python, where would I be?"
"That is the million dollar question," Casper said.
"So do I really get a million dollars if I figure out the answer? Cause I'll wrestle a Python for a million dollars," Sophie said.
"Their diet consists primarily of rodents, birds, lizards, and mammals like monkeys, wallabies, pigs, or antelope, so honestly the options for their whereabouts of seemingly endless," Casper said, "Considering the rodents, birds and lizards are essentially in closed off habitats, a lot of them in plain glass enclosures, I vote we make tracks for the mammals."
"A Python can eat an Antelope?" Robin asked, "christ that's terrifying."
"Gives whole new meaning to 'I'm so hungry I could eat a horse'," Sophie said, she and Robin laughing until she asked, "wait, are Antelopes related to horses? Am I just dumb?"
"The thing we really need to be aware of is that it could likely be hunting any of us as well, so that's why it's important to say together in a group like this," Casper said, "so always have your back to a wall if you can, and always keep one another in your immediate sights."
"Why do you sound like you've done this before?" Robin asked, "you don't regularly go hunting giant snakes in the Amazon or something, do you?"
"What I do on my own time is my personal business," Casper replied, "now we got a snake to hunt."
***
Fletcher, Nelly and Harvey had found themselves holed up in the Prairie Dog habitat, seeing as it was the only 'rodent' one that was not entirely enclosed and was something The Violator could get into. Nelly was sitting on the ground against the wall behind the brush, with Harvey and Fletcher, as she chewed on her nails, her tranq gun in her lap.
"I can't even imagine eating a prairie dog," Nelly said, "that just isn't a creature I'd ever even entertain consuming."
"What you and I find unacceptable, others consider a culinary delicacy," Harvey said, checking the sights on his gun, "kind of like how the Japanese will eat Dolphin. We see it as an awful thing, but that's just a part of their cultural heritage. Who are we to judge."
"Uh, we're superior moral Americans, that's who," Fletcher said, "I'll judge a mother fucker for anything, you watch."
"Yeah, we're aware," Nelly said, "you guys, I don't think he's gonna show in here."
"Well then where do you suggest we post up?" Fletcher asked, sounding annoyed, "look, Nell, you asked me to do this, and I'm doing it my way. You wanna go off on your own like some kind of snake bounty hunter, be my guests, but this is, I promise you, the most accurate place he could show up. Easy target, and lots of 'em to choose from. Plus he can slither down into their burrows. This is the spot."
Nelly wanted to argue with him, but...Fletcher kind of had a point. And, as he said, she had entrusted him with this endeavor. He was already doing more than he normally would for her, even with her being his boss, but still, he was notoriously difficult to work with and yet...here he was, not only doing exactly what was asked of him, but taking it seriously to boot. He exhaled and ran a hand through his hair as Nelly looked up towards him.
"It couldn't hurt to check elsewhere," Nelly said.
"Yeah but we need to be in groups of 3, because someone going off on their own makes them a target, isolated and easy," Harvey said, "we need you here, Nell."
Nelly smiled weakly. Well, she thought, if nothing else, at least this event was making them appreciate her company.
Meanwhile, off near the Antelope enclosure, Casper, Sophie and Robin were approaching, Casper leading the pack a few feet ahead of them. Sophie leaned into Robin and whispered.
"So, about everything in the parking lot," she said, "you know, about you and me and us and-"
"We'll have plenty of time discussing that when we're not in the middle of a literal b-horror movie," Robin whispered back.
"I know, I know, I just...I need clarification," Sophie said, and Robin stopped, looking at her now, as this sounded serious; Sophie exhaled, blinked a few times, then asked, "because...because others have expressed interest on rare occasions, and then they always take it back. Like...once they see me, who I am and what I'm like, they completely withdraw their interest and I just don't think I can handle that again, so-"
"Sophie, hey," Robin sad, putting one hand on her face, the other holding her gun, "hey, listen to me, okay? That is shitty that people do that, but I'm not that kind of person. When I truly like someone, I like them until they tell me to fuck off, so you're kinda stuck with me, partially cause I'm very much into you and partially because we work together. So unless you directly tell me you don't want anything to do with me, platonically, romantically or otherwise, you're gonna get a lot of kisses."
Sophie giggled and blushed as Robin leaned in and pecked her on the nose.
"Hey!" Casper whispered back at them, "over here, check this out!"
The girls ran up to join him, only to see The Violator hanging from a tree inside, of all things, the Crocodile habitat. Robin bit her lip and inhaled violently.
"Well that isn't good," she said coldly.
***
"Well, let's pack it in, I guess, maybe hit another possible location," Fletcher said, sounding immensely disappointed. He gathered up the groups belongings and, as Harvey punched in the code to the door that allowed them to exit, Nelly walked right beside him, hand on his back.
"Look, sometimes things don't go the way you plan or expect, it's not your fault. You're dealing with an intelligent and dangerous wild animal here," she said, "so try to cut yourself a little bit of slack, okay?"
"Guys, it's Casper," the radio on Nelly's hip rang out, "you need to get over to the Crocodile pen. We have a situation."
And within minutes, Nelly, Fletcher and Harvey all had gathered into a little cart and zoomed on over there. They found Casper, Robin and Sophie waiting outside the habitat, and Fletcher jumped out before Harvey had even parked, rushing up to the ground, gun at the ready. Casper turned to greet him as he did.
"Whoa, calm down there, Rambo," Robin said upon approach.
"He's in there?" Fletcher asked, and Casper pointed to him.
"Yeah, he's right up there," he said, "I don't know if he's just relaxing, or if he's, like, secretly plotting something, but-"
Just then The Violator unclenched itself from around the branch it had taken hold of, and dropped onto an unsuspecting baby Crocodile underneath. The water splashed as the two animals began thrashing violently, and Sophie screamed in surprise. Fletcher turned and grabbed Casper by the shoulder, looking into his eyes.
"I'm goin' in," he said, "if I don't come back, tell my mom I love her."
"I don't even know your family," Casper said.
"Find my mom and tell her she meant the world to me," Fletcher said, holding his gun up.
"That sounds like a lot of effort, honestly," Casper replied.
"Then just...send a postcard to her," Fletcher said, annoyed, before climbing over the fence and into the habitat. He clung onto the branch with one arm before dropping on top of the two creatures, causing everyone to scream. The water splashed more, and for a few minutes, nobody could really make heads or tails of anything they were witnessing, it was all just a watery blur of scales and skin. After a few minutes, however, they heard the sound of the gun go off and then everything went quiet. Three shots had been fired in total. After another minute or two, Fletcher emerged from the water, the Python over his shoulder like a prized kill, the Crocodile floating gently against the shore of its habitat. At the sight of him, everyone broke into cheers.
"Goddamn man, you're like an action hero!" Casper shouted.
"Fletcher, I'm giving you a promotion!" Nelly yelled, at which he saluted.
"Okay I have two problems," Fletcher said, "the first is I can't possibly carry this sucker up the enbankment and back to zoo grounds, and the second is I shot myself and I think I'm passing out."
And with that, he fell to the ground.
***
Fletcher was laying on a cot in the break room with Nelly watching over him as everyone gathered their things to prepare to head home for the day. On account of all that had happened, it was a short day, and after the excitement, Nelly figured it was fair to just give everyone some paid time off, along with the extra pay for the activity itself. Robin and Sophie walked out first, while Casper went back to his own space to gather his things. Harvey, however, stayed behind, sitting at the table, watching Nelly.
"He was a hell of a guy today," Harvey said.
"He really was," Nelly replied, "he may not be my favorite employee, but damn if it he's the best for some things."
"Awww, you play favorites?" Harvey asked playfully, making her smirk.
"Well, you know, it is like raising children," Nelly said.
"Hey, I resent that! I am not a child! I am a teenager, or young adult at the very least," Harvey remarked, making them both laugh; he took a sip from his water bottle then added, "so you're gonna stay here til he wakes up?"
"Might honestly just crash here," Nelly said, "don't really feel like going home. Apartment's been hell lately. Lots of construction outside, the woman above me just had a baby, and the couple below me is a newlywed fucking like rabbits. Between it all I'm mad about not getting laid and not getting sleep and frankly I'm not sure which one I'm angrier about if we're being honest."
"That is a shame," Harvey said, capping his bottle, standing up and pulling his coat on, adding, "well, if you ever need help with anything, you have my number."
"...help with what, exactly?" Nelly asked, and Harvey shrugged.
"Finding a new place maybe? My cousin works in real estate, he could get you a nice little house to rent," Harvey said, "or just some company, I don't know. I'm just sayin' I'm here for you, Nell, that's all, don't make it more than it is."
Harvey patted her on the shoulder, smiled at her and exited. But Nelly did want to make it more than it was. She'd admired Harvey from a distance for a number of years now, finding him level headed, down to earth and attractive. Sometimes she'd lay in bed and fantasize about inviting him over, making dinner with him, and then taking him right on the couch in her little apartment. Maybe she was just so deprived of intimacy that anyone would do, but Harvey was her suitor of choice. Still, he'd never go for it, she felt, and why eat where you shit, right? Fletcher rustled on the cot and mumbled.
"Mommy," he said, "can I have some chocolate milk?"
Nelly ran her hands through his hair and laughed. Oh yeah, she thought, she was gonna hold this one over him for a long time. Meanwhile, Robin and Sophie reached their respective vehicles in the parking lot and stopped.
"Do you want to go do something? My...roommate...isn't going to be home for a while and I'd rather not be alone," Robin said.
"I'd like to, but my folks always want me to come home right away," Sophie said, looking at her fingernails anxiously; she then exhaled and said, "um...maybe after they've gone to bed, we can go out to dinner?"
"I'd like that," Robin said, unsure of what excuse she'd use on Kyle for her not being available, but he didn't know the zoo was having an off day, so she'd just say she was working late; Robin leaned in and kissed Sophie on the forehead, then added, "I'll wait for you, you're worth it."
"...why are you so nice to me, I don't understand," Sophie whispered, almost sounding hurt.
"Have others not been? I mean, I know they haven't, but...why wouldn't I be?" Robin asked, and Sophie leaned in and buried her face in Robins chest, crying. Robin didn't understand, but she just held her and stroked her hair. Sophie was clearly damaged, and after some time Robin figured the answer for her baggage would come out, but right now she was just happy to be a place of comfort and safety for the girl she was falling for. Much like they'd hunted The Violator, Sophie had been hunting for years for someone who understood and accepted her. She never figured she'd find that person at work, though.
Who says your job is good for nothing.
"I need you to catch a snake," Nelly repeated herself.
"I'm...I'm a zookeeper, not a hunter," Fletcher said, "you do know what you hired me for, right? Hunting dangerous game was certainly NOT on my resume."
They were standing in the break room, the others sitting at the table, as Nelly and Fletcher had this conversation. Nelly sighed, rubbed her forehead, and poured herself a new cup of coffee from the pot on the counter. She sipped a bit before turning and leaning against the cabinets, looking at everyone.
"It's a bad look when a dangerous animal is loose in a zoo. For fucks sake, you guys, our one and only goal is to keep them in habitats. It makes us look incompetent if we can't even do the one thing expected of us from the public. I need you guys to catch him, real fast."
"Which snake is it?" Harvey asked, biting into his granola bar.
"It's..." Nelly said, pausing, lowering her head and whispering, "it's The Violator."
"Excuse me?!" Fletcher shouted, "you want us to catch something named The Violator? Look, there's 3 things I know never to approach in life, and those are underage girls, houses that have too many lawn ornaments, and giant fucking snakes."
"Maybe it isn't that dangerous," Casper said, shrugging.
"It's name is The Violator, Casper, that's the name of a pro wrestler," Fletcher said, "or, like, a Russian assassin."
"It won't be difficult. We have tranquilizer darts for this sort of situation," Nelly said, "actually, the harder part will be moving him once you've captured him, since he's 200 pounds and 20 feet long."
A hush fell over the room.
"...pardon?" Casper asked.
"He's a Python. He's a new arrival, that's why this happened. The idiots who work over in the relocation zone didn't properly check his habitat for any possible ways he could escape. They just figured he would stay on the ground, not climb into a tree and out an air vent. It was just a mistake, but I need you guys to get him for me. But you have to not alert the guests, okay, they cannot know that there's a loose giant Python in the zoo."
"Listen to me," Fletcher said, "you wanna catch a giant snake, you hire Steve Irwin. You want some help moving a couch, you call someone else because I'm not doing that either. Frankly, I'm a selfish person, and I think in this instance my selfishness justifies my lack of interest in attempting to capture this thing. What if it eats me?"
"It can't eat all of you at once," Casper said, as Fletcher shot him a look.
"That is NOT the helpful sentiment you think it is. 'Oh don't worry, you'll be digested slowly', yeah, real comforting," Fletcher said.
"Well, you guys don't have a choice, because I'm your boss, and this is what I'm telling you to do. We have temp tour guides right now filling in for you, so you don't have to worry, and in fact you'll get paid extra for this, so it all works out I feel," Nelly said as she got up from the cabinets and headed towards the door.
"Why do I have to do it?!" Fletcher shouted as Nelly opened the door and stood there, thinking.
"...because you make me angry," she said, before exiting and shutting the door behind her.
"...alright, well," Fletcher said, "I can't really argue with that reasoning."
***
Robin was pacing back and forth anxiously outside the gate near the parking lot, waiting for Sophie to arrive. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, she saw Sophie's car pull in and park. Sophie climbed out and locked her car before stopping upon seeing Robin. Both smiled, blushing, as Sophie approached her.
"I didn't know I was worthy enough to-" Sophie started, but before she could even finish, Robin had grabbed her face and kissed her, making her giggle even more; after the kiss, Sophie added, "wow, is this the kind of treatment I'm welcome to every day now?"
"I couldn't stop thinking about you," Robin said, "and I'm...I'm not used to that. I mean, I've had relationships, but...I've never been the sort of woman to go gaga over someone, you know? Where they just...they consume all of your waking thoughts? But you...I couldn't stop thinking about you. I had to see you."
"Wow..." Sophie said, "that's...intense."
"I'm sorry," Robin said.
"No no, I like it," Sophie said, smiling, lacing her fingers through Robin's and squeezing gently, "It was...it was so nice kissing you the other day. I've never kissed anyone, and so it was, um, kind of a new experience and-"
"Wait, you've never kissed anyone? Like anybody at all? Like not a single other person?" Robin asked.
"Yeah, that's...that's kinda what I meant by that statement," Sophie replied, laughing, "does that...bother you?"
"No, I'm just surprised, that's all," Robin said.
"I'm not a very outgoing person," Sophie said, shrugging, "Ya know, I...I live at home, with my parents, and I don't really socialize outside of work and, well, even at work you're one of the only people I socialize with and...it just never happened. Plus I just...never got the chance. Nobody's ever seemed to be interested in me."
"I'm very interested in you," Robin blurted out, making Sophie laugh again, as Robin quickly adding, stammering nervously, "I mean, god, I'm so not good at this kind of thing. I've never felt anything for a woman before. But when you kissed me, it was like...it was like I'd been kissing wrong the whole time throughout my life. I suddenly enjoyed it. I wanted more."
"...you know I'm nothing special, right?" Sophie asked.
"I'll be the judge of that."
"I mean, I'm a janitor basically, and I...I'm not very smart, and...and not much to look at and I can't really see why anyone would want to-"
"Sophie, hey, don't...don't talk about yourself like that. Your job doesn't matter to me at all, and as for being smart, you're super insightful and as for being pretty, oh man, you are like watching a sunset come to life. All the things you might not like about yourself I love."
Sophie blushed and pushed her face into Robin's chest, letting Robin stroke her hair.
"I know it's scary," Robin said, "it's scary for me too, but...I wanna try at least."
Sophie didn't say a word. She just nodded eagerly in response.
***
"Where the hell is everyone?" Robin asked as she and Sophie entered the breakroom, only to find nobody there. Robin set her bag and other items down on the round table in the center of the room as Sophie leaned against the wall, confused. Suddenly Casper entered and everyone stopped to look at one another. After a moment of awkward and confusing silence, Robin spoke.
"What's going on?" she asked.
"Zoo is shut down today," Casper said, "you two need to come with me. Fletcher, Harvey and Nelly are already on a hunt, so we're the other group."
"The hunt? What...what are we hunting?" Robin asked as Casper opened a cabinet, pulled out some dart guns and handed Sophie and Robin each one before loading his own and cocking it.
"We're hunting a 200 pound, 20 foot long Python named The Violator," Casper said, "so lock and load ladies."
"I just love coming to work," Robin said, making Sophie laugh, as they each loaded their guns and followed Casper back out to the main roundabout of the zoo. Once outside, they stopped and looked around; Robin cleared her throat and asked, "so, if I were a giant, murderous Python, where would I be?"
"That is the million dollar question," Casper said.
"So do I really get a million dollars if I figure out the answer? Cause I'll wrestle a Python for a million dollars," Sophie said.
"Their diet consists primarily of rodents, birds, lizards, and mammals like monkeys, wallabies, pigs, or antelope, so honestly the options for their whereabouts of seemingly endless," Casper said, "Considering the rodents, birds and lizards are essentially in closed off habitats, a lot of them in plain glass enclosures, I vote we make tracks for the mammals."
"A Python can eat an Antelope?" Robin asked, "christ that's terrifying."
"Gives whole new meaning to 'I'm so hungry I could eat a horse'," Sophie said, she and Robin laughing until she asked, "wait, are Antelopes related to horses? Am I just dumb?"
"The thing we really need to be aware of is that it could likely be hunting any of us as well, so that's why it's important to say together in a group like this," Casper said, "so always have your back to a wall if you can, and always keep one another in your immediate sights."
"Why do you sound like you've done this before?" Robin asked, "you don't regularly go hunting giant snakes in the Amazon or something, do you?"
"What I do on my own time is my personal business," Casper replied, "now we got a snake to hunt."
***
Fletcher, Nelly and Harvey had found themselves holed up in the Prairie Dog habitat, seeing as it was the only 'rodent' one that was not entirely enclosed and was something The Violator could get into. Nelly was sitting on the ground against the wall behind the brush, with Harvey and Fletcher, as she chewed on her nails, her tranq gun in her lap.
"I can't even imagine eating a prairie dog," Nelly said, "that just isn't a creature I'd ever even entertain consuming."
"What you and I find unacceptable, others consider a culinary delicacy," Harvey said, checking the sights on his gun, "kind of like how the Japanese will eat Dolphin. We see it as an awful thing, but that's just a part of their cultural heritage. Who are we to judge."
"Uh, we're superior moral Americans, that's who," Fletcher said, "I'll judge a mother fucker for anything, you watch."
"Yeah, we're aware," Nelly said, "you guys, I don't think he's gonna show in here."
"Well then where do you suggest we post up?" Fletcher asked, sounding annoyed, "look, Nell, you asked me to do this, and I'm doing it my way. You wanna go off on your own like some kind of snake bounty hunter, be my guests, but this is, I promise you, the most accurate place he could show up. Easy target, and lots of 'em to choose from. Plus he can slither down into their burrows. This is the spot."
Nelly wanted to argue with him, but...Fletcher kind of had a point. And, as he said, she had entrusted him with this endeavor. He was already doing more than he normally would for her, even with her being his boss, but still, he was notoriously difficult to work with and yet...here he was, not only doing exactly what was asked of him, but taking it seriously to boot. He exhaled and ran a hand through his hair as Nelly looked up towards him.
"It couldn't hurt to check elsewhere," Nelly said.
"Yeah but we need to be in groups of 3, because someone going off on their own makes them a target, isolated and easy," Harvey said, "we need you here, Nell."
Nelly smiled weakly. Well, she thought, if nothing else, at least this event was making them appreciate her company.
Meanwhile, off near the Antelope enclosure, Casper, Sophie and Robin were approaching, Casper leading the pack a few feet ahead of them. Sophie leaned into Robin and whispered.
"So, about everything in the parking lot," she said, "you know, about you and me and us and-"
"We'll have plenty of time discussing that when we're not in the middle of a literal b-horror movie," Robin whispered back.
"I know, I know, I just...I need clarification," Sophie said, and Robin stopped, looking at her now, as this sounded serious; Sophie exhaled, blinked a few times, then asked, "because...because others have expressed interest on rare occasions, and then they always take it back. Like...once they see me, who I am and what I'm like, they completely withdraw their interest and I just don't think I can handle that again, so-"
"Sophie, hey," Robin sad, putting one hand on her face, the other holding her gun, "hey, listen to me, okay? That is shitty that people do that, but I'm not that kind of person. When I truly like someone, I like them until they tell me to fuck off, so you're kinda stuck with me, partially cause I'm very much into you and partially because we work together. So unless you directly tell me you don't want anything to do with me, platonically, romantically or otherwise, you're gonna get a lot of kisses."
Sophie giggled and blushed as Robin leaned in and pecked her on the nose.
"Hey!" Casper whispered back at them, "over here, check this out!"
The girls ran up to join him, only to see The Violator hanging from a tree inside, of all things, the Crocodile habitat. Robin bit her lip and inhaled violently.
"Well that isn't good," she said coldly.
***
"Well, let's pack it in, I guess, maybe hit another possible location," Fletcher said, sounding immensely disappointed. He gathered up the groups belongings and, as Harvey punched in the code to the door that allowed them to exit, Nelly walked right beside him, hand on his back.
"Look, sometimes things don't go the way you plan or expect, it's not your fault. You're dealing with an intelligent and dangerous wild animal here," she said, "so try to cut yourself a little bit of slack, okay?"
"Guys, it's Casper," the radio on Nelly's hip rang out, "you need to get over to the Crocodile pen. We have a situation."
And within minutes, Nelly, Fletcher and Harvey all had gathered into a little cart and zoomed on over there. They found Casper, Robin and Sophie waiting outside the habitat, and Fletcher jumped out before Harvey had even parked, rushing up to the ground, gun at the ready. Casper turned to greet him as he did.
"Whoa, calm down there, Rambo," Robin said upon approach.
"He's in there?" Fletcher asked, and Casper pointed to him.
"Yeah, he's right up there," he said, "I don't know if he's just relaxing, or if he's, like, secretly plotting something, but-"
Just then The Violator unclenched itself from around the branch it had taken hold of, and dropped onto an unsuspecting baby Crocodile underneath. The water splashed as the two animals began thrashing violently, and Sophie screamed in surprise. Fletcher turned and grabbed Casper by the shoulder, looking into his eyes.
"I'm goin' in," he said, "if I don't come back, tell my mom I love her."
"I don't even know your family," Casper said.
"Find my mom and tell her she meant the world to me," Fletcher said, holding his gun up.
"That sounds like a lot of effort, honestly," Casper replied.
"Then just...send a postcard to her," Fletcher said, annoyed, before climbing over the fence and into the habitat. He clung onto the branch with one arm before dropping on top of the two creatures, causing everyone to scream. The water splashed more, and for a few minutes, nobody could really make heads or tails of anything they were witnessing, it was all just a watery blur of scales and skin. After a few minutes, however, they heard the sound of the gun go off and then everything went quiet. Three shots had been fired in total. After another minute or two, Fletcher emerged from the water, the Python over his shoulder like a prized kill, the Crocodile floating gently against the shore of its habitat. At the sight of him, everyone broke into cheers.
"Goddamn man, you're like an action hero!" Casper shouted.
"Fletcher, I'm giving you a promotion!" Nelly yelled, at which he saluted.
"Okay I have two problems," Fletcher said, "the first is I can't possibly carry this sucker up the enbankment and back to zoo grounds, and the second is I shot myself and I think I'm passing out."
And with that, he fell to the ground.
***
Fletcher was laying on a cot in the break room with Nelly watching over him as everyone gathered their things to prepare to head home for the day. On account of all that had happened, it was a short day, and after the excitement, Nelly figured it was fair to just give everyone some paid time off, along with the extra pay for the activity itself. Robin and Sophie walked out first, while Casper went back to his own space to gather his things. Harvey, however, stayed behind, sitting at the table, watching Nelly.
"He was a hell of a guy today," Harvey said.
"He really was," Nelly replied, "he may not be my favorite employee, but damn if it he's the best for some things."
"Awww, you play favorites?" Harvey asked playfully, making her smirk.
"Well, you know, it is like raising children," Nelly said.
"Hey, I resent that! I am not a child! I am a teenager, or young adult at the very least," Harvey remarked, making them both laugh; he took a sip from his water bottle then added, "so you're gonna stay here til he wakes up?"
"Might honestly just crash here," Nelly said, "don't really feel like going home. Apartment's been hell lately. Lots of construction outside, the woman above me just had a baby, and the couple below me is a newlywed fucking like rabbits. Between it all I'm mad about not getting laid and not getting sleep and frankly I'm not sure which one I'm angrier about if we're being honest."
"That is a shame," Harvey said, capping his bottle, standing up and pulling his coat on, adding, "well, if you ever need help with anything, you have my number."
"...help with what, exactly?" Nelly asked, and Harvey shrugged.
"Finding a new place maybe? My cousin works in real estate, he could get you a nice little house to rent," Harvey said, "or just some company, I don't know. I'm just sayin' I'm here for you, Nell, that's all, don't make it more than it is."
Harvey patted her on the shoulder, smiled at her and exited. But Nelly did want to make it more than it was. She'd admired Harvey from a distance for a number of years now, finding him level headed, down to earth and attractive. Sometimes she'd lay in bed and fantasize about inviting him over, making dinner with him, and then taking him right on the couch in her little apartment. Maybe she was just so deprived of intimacy that anyone would do, but Harvey was her suitor of choice. Still, he'd never go for it, she felt, and why eat where you shit, right? Fletcher rustled on the cot and mumbled.
"Mommy," he said, "can I have some chocolate milk?"
Nelly ran her hands through his hair and laughed. Oh yeah, she thought, she was gonna hold this one over him for a long time. Meanwhile, Robin and Sophie reached their respective vehicles in the parking lot and stopped.
"Do you want to go do something? My...roommate...isn't going to be home for a while and I'd rather not be alone," Robin said.
"I'd like to, but my folks always want me to come home right away," Sophie said, looking at her fingernails anxiously; she then exhaled and said, "um...maybe after they've gone to bed, we can go out to dinner?"
"I'd like that," Robin said, unsure of what excuse she'd use on Kyle for her not being available, but he didn't know the zoo was having an off day, so she'd just say she was working late; Robin leaned in and kissed Sophie on the forehead, then added, "I'll wait for you, you're worth it."
"...why are you so nice to me, I don't understand," Sophie whispered, almost sounding hurt.
"Have others not been? I mean, I know they haven't, but...why wouldn't I be?" Robin asked, and Sophie leaned in and buried her face in Robins chest, crying. Robin didn't understand, but she just held her and stroked her hair. Sophie was clearly damaged, and after some time Robin figured the answer for her baggage would come out, but right now she was just happy to be a place of comfort and safety for the girl she was falling for. Much like they'd hunted The Violator, Sophie had been hunting for years for someone who understood and accepted her. She never figured she'd find that person at work, though.
Who says your job is good for nothing.