Intertwine

44 - So Lame

FIONA

"Oi!" Someone, or something, shouted at me. I looked around Central Park. Nobody was around. I stood up from my bench and took a few tentative steps forwards. "Over here you moron." I looked at where the voice was coming from.

"Oh god." I muttered. "Not again." I sighed and walked up to the tree, looking into it. "What do you want Chad."

"For the last time." The squirrel replied. "My name is not Chad."

"Well you act like a jock from school, what else am I supposed to call you?"

"My name." The squirrel then proceeded to make a series of squeaking noises. "I mean it's not that hard."

"I've told you, some things don't compute in my mind."

"Yeah well, I thought I should tell you, you're being followed." He chucked an acorn at my head.

"Ow. Where did you even get that, it's not even fall?" I asked, picking the acorn up. "Followed by who?"

"I dunno some guy in a suit who can run real fast. One of the foxes saw him last night, took some girl who could vanish into thin air. Message came all the way from Washington." I held out my hand and the squirrel jumped down onto it, running along my arm to sit on my shoulder. "Now put your phone to your ear so you look like you're talking to someone."

"You're so bossy." I muttered, picking my bag up from my seat slinging it over one shoulder before holding my phone to my ear. 

"That lady's staring." He grumbled into my ear. I looked around. A woman with a poodle was looking at me suspiciously. "Just howl poods!" Chad shouted from my shoulder. With a roll of his eyes, the poodle let of a weak howl and began running in the other direction. 

"You know." I said, beginning to walk along the path, "you'd have thought I could have gotten a slightly cooler power."

"Well you were the one who touched all the things in your uncle's lab after he told you don't touch anything." Chad tapped the side of my head. "Your fault."

"Yeah but talking to animals? It's so lame."

"Look sunshine, I don't think your uncle's gonna say his powers are very fun."

"Fine. But if I was gonna be landed with something like this, it should be, you know, useful." I groaned and looked over my shoulder. "Anyone coming?"

"He's just moved to behind another tree, about 300 feet away." Chad replied. Great. "Where are we going?"

"We're going to see my brainiac uncle. If another girl's been taken by this guy already," I turned to look, but I couldn't see anything, so I pushed my glasses further up my nose and carried on walking, "this is gonna be above my pay grade."

Chad scurried onto my other shoulder. "Fiona, you don't get paid. You're a highschooler. And you better hurry up, this guy doesn't look like he'll be stopping anytime soon."

"My stupid glasses." I muttered. My other one's had been smashed the week before, but my spares were old ones, not up to my recent prescription. "Look I'm going to need to call a hawk down."

"I hate it when you do that." Chat muttered and scurried into my hoodie.

I glanced up to the skies and let out a shrill whistle. When no response came I made the noise again, this time louder. A call responded to me.

"Oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no." I heard the muffled voice of Chad the Squirrel inside my shirt now.

"It's fine." I glanced up at the massive bird swooping down to meet us. "It's only Kiraz, she hasn't tried to eat you. Yet."

"She ate my second cousin once removed." Came the quivering voice from inside my T-shirt.

"Cut it out, your scratching my neck." I hissed ad Kiraz landed on my shoulder.

"Greetings Fiona Brooks. How may I assist you?" Kiraz's voice came out as a purr, but I knew how deadly she could be.

"There's a guy following me, can you see him?"

Kiraz turned on my shoulder as I walked. "Yes." She replied. "Would you like me to attack him for you?"

"No." I said firmly. "He's very fast."

"Yes." She agreed. "He just moved. Even my eyes found him difficult to track."

"If he gets close, attack him. Call down the other birds of prey too, we might need backup. I want you going for the eyes and ears. Chad stay in my T-shirt if this gets nasty." I pulled my backpack onto both shoulders, feeling Kiraz adjust her balance as I did so.

"Are you going to have to tell your uncle about what you can do now?" Kiraz mused, her watchful eyes scanning in case of attack.

I gritted my teeth, picking up the pace. "I guess I will."

He followed us down 5th, and kept a way behind us as I turned down East 46th street.

"Is he getting any closer?" I asked, not looking around, as we past the Dunkin Doughnuts closest to the Avengers tower.

"No." Kiraz replied. Chad crawled out to take a look.

"Kid, people are watching."

"Don't call me kid, you're like 4 years old."

"That's about 35 in squirrel years."

"Chad, I will rip your eyes out of your skull." Shiraz warned.

"Noted." Chad crawled back into my shirt.

I looked down at my feet. We did have quite the entourage. A few pigeons were walking with us, making quick glances up at the hawk on my shoulder with fearful expressions.

"Are we there yet?" Chad squeaked.

"Yeah." I looked up at the tower, the massive Avengers sign at the top of the skyscraper. "We're here."