As you might recall, Vic had taken it upon himself to nominate me for the temporary position of Zoo Ambassador.

The Ambassador was essentially a glorified production assistant for the film crew that was working on Vic's brainchild, a documentary-style film that was destined for secret and ultra-expensive screenings around the world.

Vic had named this ambitious project, Bonsaw Vick's Crypto-Zoological Gardens, the movie.

I was chosen for this task for one very specific reason. I was the only member of the caretaker

staff who was even remotely suitable for a role in customer service. Everyone else was either a

crusty ex-soldier or a rough-looking character from the depths of Victor Bonicelli's underworld empire.

To be fair, I wasn't exactly an angel myself. That was one

of the reasons why Vic hired me in the first place, but I wasn't a hardened criminal either,

not by a long shot. I was just very unlucky on a few occasions, and now... I had a record.

Of course, a lowly caretaker's assistant would never be allowed to run the show by themselves.

Kaz was still recovering from our encounter with Harry, the Sasquatch, so Vic chose Esmeralda

to be his replacement.

Let me tell you something, folks.

I was not looking forward to working with this lady.

Esmirelda could best be described as a storm cloud on legs.

She was crass, extremely rude, and she displayed an open contempt for anyone who wasn't a cold-blooded killer.

Just like Casimir, Esmeralda was an ex-mercenary who had served in the personal armies of dictators and drug lords.

She was well over six feet tall, and she was a dedicated weightlifter.

I honestly don't know if she was taking performance-enhancing drugs or not, but this gal

was fucking jacked between her towering height and bulging muscles and thinly veiled aggression, she was a very intimidating

figure. Long story short, my new partner was dangerous, and she didn't like me at all. Not an

ideal situation. Vic claimed that she was actually very fond of me, but this was a straight-up lie.

...