Birds of Feather

Chapter 1: Pity

It was the worst day of your life.

Nothing had gone right since you'd woken up, and nothing was going to go right, you were sure of it. Your timed crock pot had shorted overnight, so instead of waking up to the really fancy oats you'd gotten used to, you woke up to cold, curdled mush. The power bar was a poor substitute, and to add insult to injury your coffee filter tore a little, and there were grounds in your brew.

Crunchy coffee wasn't high on your list of caffeine options, but you didn't have time enough to brew a second pot. Gulping down what you could stomach, being un-caffeinated wasn't an option since you hadn't slept much at all the night before. You chased it with some tap water to clear the grounds from your mouth and grabbed your coat before heading out.

It took three tries to get your car going, and that should've been warning enough for you to just call a taxi or order up a Bubble Ride™, but you didn't. Two miles from work you're stuck at the side of the road, waiting for a tow truck and just bouncing your head off the top of the steering wheel in a vain attempt to brain yourself into unconsciousness.

If you had the time off to spare, you'd just call off and call the day a wash. Ivankov was a reasonable boss, and honestly you could probably just tell him everything that had happened, and he'd give you the day off. At this point, however, you were closer to work than home. Getting the car towed to Kid's shop was going to be expensive enough without buying a ride back home.

You'd ask to ride with the tow driver, but not all of them were okay with that, and you weren't having the kind of day that had you wanting to see Kid's face in the first place. If he didn't give you hell for holding onto your old car, he'd probably try to get you to go out with him again.

For an ex-boyfriend, he was still a good guy. You made decent enough friends, but the attraction was still there from time to time and it was in your best interest to ignore it. You were almost tempted to try and date his best friend, but Killer was pretty loyal to Kid and honestly that would be awkward as hell for at least a couple years.

The only thing that went right for you, was that Heat had answered the phone when you called the shop. A mark for the win column, you supposed.

The walk to work had, admittedly, been a smart move too – but not for you.

Strange sounds had caught your attention and looking into an alleyway you saw a few kids, teenagers maybe, beating on what looked to be a dog. They were hollering and cheering one another on, and you could hear whimpers and yelps from the dog.

You didn't even think about them turning those kicks and sticks on you as you yelled and ran into the alleyway. You were yelling swears and threats and heading toward them without stopping. You weren't normally the most threatening thing around, but they must've decided an adult was too much bother and they ran off.

The dog was in a sad state, but you knew there was a vet hospital between here and work, it was only a couple blocks from your office, and a few of the people who worked there would come to the same bistros and cafés for lunch.

"It's going to take everything I have left to haul you to that hospital." You say softly, kneeling down and carefully, slowly reaching a hand out toward the dog. You were certain it was a pit bull of some kind. You weren't much of a dog person, but that didn't matter right now.

"If I pick you up, I hope you don't bite me. I'm not like those fuckers." You say it evenly, and the quiet growls of the dog cease. It licks its nose and seems to relax. "Well, if you do, at least I'll be on my way to a hospital."

You pull out your cell phone and dial 4-1-1. "Yeah, can I get connected to Phoenix Rising Animal Hospital?"

"Location?" The operator asks.