First Flight, page 14
“He made some noble-sounding speech about valued employees and valuing one another and camaraderie,” she said, taking her jacket off and hanging it up. “Which I’m pretty sure is just a bunch of cover-your-ass BS so no one will know he’s got a little crush on you. C’mon, we gotta get out front.”
Jesse peeled the backing off the sticker and stuck it to the dead center of the top of his apron. One of his bosses apparently had a crush on him, his boyfriend was currently a bird, his ex-boyfriend had lost his mind, and the whole world had been informed that he was gay. On the other hand, everyone in the store seemed to be claiming solidarity with him. “This is the weirdest day of my life,” he said, and followed her out of the room.
“Hey, are you Jesse Swanson?”
Jesse looked up from the pack of gum he was scanning. “Why?” The last guy that had asked that had used it as a lead-in to asking him where his purse was, then told him a hoary old joke about the difference between lesbians and gay guys preparing to go on vacation.
“Robbie Amundson,” the guy said, holding up an ID badge that said PRESS on it. “With Inquisitive Times. My boss lives up the street. She called me on her way in this morning, saying we gotta talk to you and your coworkers.”
“Oh, okay,” Jesse said, dropping the gum in beside the chips and the soda he’d already bagged. “That comes to five seventeen.”
“Can I get an interview with you?” Robbie said, holding out a ten.
Jesse shrugged as he took the bill. “Why?”
“My boss, she’s Juliana Hyde.”
“That’s awesome for her, I’m sure,” Jesse said, as he finished up the transaction and handed the man’s change over. “But I’m not—I don’t read the Inquisitive Times. I don’t know who she is.”
“She used to be Julian Hyde,” Robbie said, stuffing his change in his pocket without looking at it. “She’s got a huge chip on her shoulder when it comes to discrimination and denigration and a lot of other big words that don’t start with D. Anyhow, she wants to do a story on the graffiti and on you and the response of your coworkers and stuff. When I told her about the sign out front, she actually swore in front of board members ’cause she couldn’t come down here herself.”
“Julian Hyde?” Jesse frowned, then tilted his head. “Wait, is she the one that sued the mayor for vetoing the assembly’s motion to add sexual orientation to the non-discrimination thing? And what sign?”
“Yeah! That’s her.” He nodded enthusiastically. “The sign in front of the entryway that explains that by shopping here, people are making a stand against hate, so please tell your friends to shop here too and the plan to donate money to some good causes and the whole nametag thing. So can I ask you some questions?”
“Really?” Jesse looked around, standing on his toes so he could see all the way back to the customer service desk. Everyone seemed to be busy with their normal Thursday tasks, from what he could see. “Huh. What the hell, okay.” He checked his watch. “I’m supposed to go on break now anyhow. I can give you twenty minutes, okay?”
“That’s awesome!” Robbie dug a battered notebook and a cheap pen out of the inside pocket of his jacket. “Okay, so, first thing is, do you know who did this?”
“So on top of the guy from the Inquisitive Times, there was the lady from the regular paper and a photographer, Marnie and Devon from Rock On’s morning show, a guy from the public radio station, two girls from the university’s radio station who couldn’t stop giggling, and two TV reporters, one from channel five and one from channel twelve,” Jesse said, rubbing his face and wandering across the kitchen to open the fridge. “I need a nap.”
“Good Lord,” Leanna said, on the other end of the line. “What did you tell them all?”
“Basically the same thing,” Jesse said, closing the door again and heading back toward the phone, “since they were all asking the same questions, pretty much. It was more tedious than anything else.”
“Ah. Oh, I know what I was going to ask you. Where did you get that big stuffed bird that’s in your room?”
“Stuffed—oh, uh, Betsy found it at some craft store in their Halloween stuff for, like, five bucks. She brought it in and was trying to give it away, and since Chris likes ravens and crows, I bought it from her.”
“Oh, okay then. There was something else…. Oh, that’s right. Will you be okay if your dad and I go out to dinner tonight? He made us reservations at Bellaluna a couple of weeks ago, but if you’d rather not be home alone, we can cancel.”
“No, I’ll be fine. If Kevin shows up, I’ll pretend I’m not home and call the cops, I swear. Chris was going to try to call me tonight, which I’m really looking forward to.”
Leanna laughed. “And I’m sure you don’t want snoopy parents listening while you’re being all mushy,” she said.
“Hardly,” Jesse said and laughed too. “Seriously, go have a good time. I’ll be fine.”
“All right, then. Don’t burn the house down.”
“Aw, that was right after ‘talk to Chris’ on my list of stuff to do tonight! I guess I’ll just have to go to bed early, then.”
“I’m sorry, but you know how your father feels about insurance premiums,” she said. “All right, then. I’ll talk to you later. Love you.”
“Love you, too, Mom. Bye.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
He was late. Jesse would already be home, and maybe worried about him. He didn’t want to make his chosen one worry.
Sings-like-water looked down as he rested a moment, not liking something about the car that was traveling along the street below. It was just a car, big and smelly and dangerous, but it was down there and couldn’t hurt him. He was almost home; he really needed to pay attention to where he was going.
Home. Just as he reached the edge of the Swanson’s property, the car pulled across the drive at an angle, part of it on the grass. The door opened and Sings-like-water didn’t think about it: he simply shrieked, dropping straight out of the sky.
Jesse frowned and paused his game, listening hard. He decided it must have been a kid or something and went back to playing.
Kevin hit him, pushed him away, and leaned back into the car. When he straightened up, he was holding something long and dark and skinny, but Sings-like-water didn’t recognize it. He’d only had a glimpse of it, anyhow; he was too focused on finding purchase on Kevin’s head or face to pay attention to what was in his hands. “Go!” he said, “Danger! Go away!”
Danger. Bright-tail flew up to the peak of the roof and looked over, looking for the hawk or eagle that was threatening Sings-watery. She couldn’t see one, couldn’t see any other birds at all, actually. A movement from the ground and another cry of Danger! caught her attention and she hopped down to the gutter. There was Sings-watery and a man too. The man seemed to be the one who was dangerous. Bright-tail wouldn’t argue that, not at all.
She also would not sit and watch, not when Sings-watery needed help. Leaning forward, Bright-tail let gravity pull her over the edge, flicking her wings open just enough to arrest her fall and gain forward momentum. “Danger!” she called, diving at the pale oval that was turned toward Sings-watery. “Go away, go away!”
Another shriek pulled his attention away from his game. “That’s not kids,” Jesse said, shoving his chair away from his desk. He leaned back and glanced out the window, fear lancing through him as he recognized Kevin. The black-and-white shape on Kevin’s head was a magpie, and the big black shape— “Chris!” Then the magpie made a feint at Kevin’s hands, and he swore his heart stopped: the man was holding a gun.
Jesse turned and tripped over his feet as he tried to get up. He crawled across to the table beside the bed and found the handset, dialing with a shaking hand.
“Nine-one-one, what is the nature of your emergency?”
“Hi, um, I need you to send the cops over here because he’s got a gun and I’m pretty sure he’s gonna try to kill my boyfriend—”
“Okay, you need to slow down. Someone has a gun?”
“Yeah, Kevin, Kevin Woods. He’s on the lawn, um, and I’m at 7659 Emberly Drive—”
“Okay, I see your address here. Is anyone injured?”
“I don’t think so. I didn’t hear any, uh, any shots and please you have to send someone—”
“Just slow down, sir. What’s your name? Are you Desmond Swanson?”
“I’m Jesse,” he said, peeking out the window again. “God, please, he’s loading the gun and you’ve got to get the cops here.”
Sings-like-water circled, called out, and dropped again, latching onto the fabric and soft skin at the back of Kevin’s neck, pecking hard at the back of his head.
Bright-tail caught the glint of light on brass at the man’s hands and darted at it. “Want!” she said, grabbing at the gold-and-red thing the man was trying to push into the pipe he held. “Give me!”
The cartridge fell to the grass and the man swatted her, knocking her to the ground as well.
“Bad! Go away! Danger!” Bright-tail, indignant, flew up into his face and drove her beak toward his eyes.
“Danger!” Sings-like-water said, and tore a clump of hair free from Kevin’s scalp.
“Just stay calm, Jesse. I’m Lynda, and I’ve got two units on the way now. You said Kevin is on the lawn? Where are you?”
“In my room on the second floor,” Jesse said, his head swimming. He blinked a few times and took a deep breath.
“Where’s your, um, boyfriend?”
He couldn’t decide what the little hesitation meant. There had been a few vocal detractors among the day’s incredible support, and the idea that he’d managed to find another one scared him more than the gun in Kevin’s hands. “You’re still sending the cops, right? You’re not going to let him—fuck—” His breath caught, his throat squeezing tight.
“The police are about five minutes away, Jesse, and they’ll be there as soon as they can. Where is your boyfriend? Is he in the house too? I need to let the officers know where he is.”
“No, he’s outside.” Jesse didn’t want to look. He could still hear the birds, which probably meant that they were fine.
“He’s outside? All right. I’ve just let the officers know, so they can look out for him, all right?”
“Okay.” He couldn’t stand it. Jesse peered over the window sill in time to see Kevin lift the gun to his shoulder, aiming at something that Jesse couldn’t see. “No!” The phone fell to the carpet, Lynda’s voice a forgotten buzz as he dashed from his room.
Jesse took the stairs two at a time, landing in the entry way with a thump and staggering a little before wrenching the door open.
“Bad man,” Bright-tail said, flitting away and then throwing herself at the man’s face again. “Very bad—”
“You bastard!” Jesse charged across the yard toward Kevin. “You fucking bastard!”
A sudden noise startled Sings-like-water and he flew straight up, as hard and as fast as he could go. Another of the thunderous sounds split the air and something stung his left wing. He didn’t stop, didn’t look back, not until his breathing grew harsh.
There was another person on the lawn. Sings-like-water pulled his wings in and plummeted, faster than he’d ever fallen before. When he hit Kevin’s head this time, his momentum was too great, and he slid right down the back of the man. He didn’t let it stop him, though, hopping around to stand between Kevin, his home, and his chosen one.
Jesse had stopped short when Kevin had fired. He started moving again as the gun dropped down to point at the grass, nearly stepping on Sings-like-water as they reached Kevin at almost the same time.
“Oh, fuck you.” Kevin jerked backward, barely avoiding Jesse’s grasp. He dug in his pocket with his left hand, scowling at the bird that was jumping at his knees. “Missed,” Kevin said, “damn.”
“Don’t you dare,” Jesse said, scrambling to put himself between Kevin and the raven. “I won’t let you do anything to Chris, ever.” His voice seemed thin and flat after the noise of the gunshots.
“You’re fucking crazy,” Kevin said, trying to get the action open with two more live shells in his hand. “Jesus, I can’t believe I didn’t know.”
“Go someplace safe,” Jesse said, as Sings-like-water squawked behind him. “Please, Chris.”
Sings-like-water didn’t want to abandon Jesse, not when Kevin was still standing right there. “Danger,” he said, expending the effort to get airborne once more. He kited between the two men, ignoring the pain in his wing as he made a grab at whatever Kevin held.
“Chris! It’s my turn,” Jesse said, grabbing the bird and turning away from Kevin just long enough to throw Sings-like-water toward the porch. “Let me prove it.”
Kevin had the stock tucked under his right arm, the barrels in his right hand, when Jesse turned around again. He pulled the first cartridge from the breech and promptly dropped both the live and spent rounds. “Dammit!”
Jesse didn’t wait. He just pulled his hand back and hit Kevin in the face as hard as he could. The gun fell to the grass as Kevin yelped, then did his best to tackle Jesse.
Perched on the gutter, Sings-like-water watched the two of them wrestle for a few moments. Jesse was protecting him, this time; was showing him that he had chosen well. Reassured by this, he took the opportunity to look for Bright-tail. He couldn’t see her, but she was so small that she could have hidden almost anywhere in the yard.
“Bright-tail?”
Nothing but Jesse and Kevin, swearing and grunting at one another. Sings-like-water glanced at them again, wondering if he should help, then looked up as sirens caught his attention. They seemed much louder than they were when they went by in traffic, and a green and white car pulled up on the lawn proper. Another parked behind Kevin’s car, and he dropped into the branches of the big lilac that grew at the front corner of the garage just in case.
Men emerged from the cars, pointing small black things toward the young men on the lawn. There was some confused shouting, then Kevin was picked up and carried away to one of the cars and one of the men went over to talk to Jesse.
Jesse got to his feet as the officer approached.
“Are you Jesse Swanson?”
“Yeah,” Jesse said, looking around the yard. “Have you seen a black bird anywhere?”
“No,” the officer said, giving him a strange look. “I’m Officer Foley. Can you tell me what happened?”
“Just a minute,” Jesse said, pushing past the officer. “Chris? Chris!” He looked around again and spotted something on the ground, in one of the flowerbeds. “Chris?”
It was too small to be Chris; there was too much white. Jesse stared stupidly at the remains of the magpie for a second or two before looking up again. Maybe he was using the wrong name? “Uh, Sings-like-water?”
It was safe, now; he could go to Jesse. Gathering himself, Sings-like-water launched himself from the lilac and flapped laboriously across the open ground. “Here!”
“Christopher, thank God,” Jesse said, holding his arms out. “Are you okay? Did he hurt you?”
He didn’t bother trying to land on an arm or shoulder, he just sort of crashed into Jesse’s chest. It hardly mattered, because he was wrapped up in big arms and held close, just where he wanted to be. “Jesse.”
“God, you’re okay, right?” Heedless of the people watching, forgetting they were on the front lawn, Jesse dropped to his knees and turned Chris’s face up toward his own. He kissed the top of his head, the side of his sharp black bill; there was a dazzling flash of light and—
“Jesse!” Chris twisted so he could put his arms around the other man. “Jesse, Jesse, look!”
“Chris?” Jesse blinked, trying to get his vision to clear. The fact that he was no longer holding a three-pound raven but rather supporting a hundred-thirty-plus human was more than enough proof, really, but he wanted to make sure. “I—you’re you!”
“I’m always me,” Chris said, and then he laughed. “My arm hurts.”
“Let me see,” Jesse said, still blinking. Chris held his left arm out, then pulled it up so he could peer at the back of his forearm. A half-dozen purplish-red spots, each sporting a small oozing of blood, stood out against his pale skin.
“Oh, that’s why.” He frowned, then looked up as Foley approached them. “I’m naked again.”
“He must have just missed you,” Jesse said, suddenly nauseous at the thought of how close he’d come to losing Chris. “I know. We should get you in the house and into at least some pants.”
“Excuse me, Mr. Swanson, but I really need to talk to you,” Foley said. “And where did this guy come from?”
“An egg,” Chris said, matter-of-factly. “I need clothes.”
