{"id":3500,"date":"2010-04-10T09:19:37","date_gmt":"2010-04-10T13:19:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/brandywinebooks.net\/?p=3500"},"modified":"2023-04-26T21:42:39","modified_gmt":"2023-04-27T01:42:39","slug":"eagle-eye-pigeon-secret-agent","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/brandywinebooks.net\/?p=3500","title":{"rendered":"Eagle Eye Pigeon: Secret Agent"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This story is part of Loren and B.&#8217;s <a href=\"http:\/\/bnagel.blogspot.com\/2010\/04\/shared-storytelling-six-birds.html\">Shared Storytelling: Six Birds<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Stokes awoke that morning, which meant he was alive\u2014as far as he could tell. He still suspected the Cubans at Poco Burrito of being a front for Castro\u2019s international revolutionary army, but now he knew they didn\u2019t poison his bean dip last night. Perhaps they don\u2019t suspect him, or perhaps they made a mistake and poisoned someone else. He could check the files for everyone he photographed using the micro-cameras in his ear studs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cBut there are bigger fish to batter,\u201d he muttered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWater. Hot,\u201d he said as he stepped into the shower. No water came until he turned the knobs by hand. One day, he thought, the bathroom will be fully automated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Over his coffee and freezer waffles, the news feeds screamed of possible threats and leads. Spring break threatened by vigilante wildlife in Bull Moose, Maine. Japanese crime boss eludes Iraqi police by wearing a burka. Apple\u2019s new iPork could inspire a wave of high tech breakfast food designed to spy on us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Sigh. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<!--more-->\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While pulling out of his drive, his phone rang. \u201cPigeon. Rook.\u201d His boss always used their handles over the phone. \u201cI\u2019d like you to take flight today, if you aren\u2019t too busy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Take flight<\/em> could mean anything from posing as a street clown to get a DNA sample from a U.N. ambassador to picking up Rook\u2019s dry cleaning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIs Condor molting today?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cHe\u2019s roosting. I\u2019ll tell you about it. Would you pick up some sticks for Mama\u2019s nest on your way in?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Sure. He would buy biscuits at Shooty\u2019s Waffle Huddle. It was on the way.<br><br>A few minutes later, Stokes drove down a tree-lined block to the entrance. The popular family restaurant stood on the edge of a city park which seemed to sprout children. Even now in the early morning, three or four kids were skipping through the trees. He picked up a dozen biscuits with extra packets of Shooty\u2019s Sugar Glaze and hot mustard. He didn\u2019t see the message until he was leaving.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Six birds on the concrete a few feet from the door. Dead. Their tail feathers touched with yellow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWhat kind of twisted monster . . .\u201d he said aloud. \u201cBirds don\u2019t line up to die, and they wouldn\u2019t be fighting to get through the window, not even for the Wonderful Waffle Waste Xpander with Whipped Cream. I might fight for that, but not birds.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">No, the birds delivered a clear message. He was part of a six-man team\u2014Rook, Eagle, Condor, Sparrow, Waxwing, and Pigeon. Someone planned to kill them&#8211;using yellow dyed tail feathers?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cDoes the yellow mean something? Hydrogen sulfide? Golden poison frogs? A dart in the neck while I stand here talking. . .?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He trotted back to his car. He frisked the back seat while climbing inside. With all of the mind-games they\u2019ve played and plots they&#8217;ve worked to uncover, who could be turning the tables on them with intent to kill? The Manx couldn\u2019t know about that submarine base yet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A school bus passed. \u201cYellow,\u201d he mouthed. He had to get to the office.<br><br>When he cranked the engine, the radio started playing, \u201c . . . I wrote a tune for you, and all of the junk you do, and I called it yellow.\u201d He switched stations. \u201cThey say that the grass is greener on the other side, but when I look at your yellowed lawn, I have to . . .\u201d Switch. \u201cFire! Higher and Higher! Red and yellow, melting below.\u201d Off.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He hadn\u2019t moved his car yet, and now his phone rang. Rook began, \u201cPigeon, where\u2019s the file on . . .\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cDid we get any yellow things delivered today?!\u201d His voice cracked.<br><br>\u201cUh, did you get a worm, early bird?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cYes! A fat, yellow worm. Juicy!\u201d He was starting to sweat. \u201cYellow could be . . . um, it could be like . . . a cat for us today, Rook.\u201d How could he say this in code? On a cell, someone could be listening.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cYellow. Sparrow did receive flowers. It\u2019s her birthday.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWhat color are they?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI didn\u2019t notice. I\u2019ll ask her.\u201d Click.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He tried to think of other possibilities. Ukrainian spy agents had trademark yellow raincoats and bullet-proof blue fedoras. Maybe the clue pointed to them. Were they still angry his work in the Orange Revolution hadn\u2019t worked out? Maybe he should apologize again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Still sitting in the parking lot, Stokes noticed a boy meander out of the park, leading his mother and beaming with satisfaction. He walked straight to the birds and pointed at them. Stokes leaped from the car.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cDon\u2019t tell me you touched all those birds?\u201d he heard the woman ask.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI found them!\u201d the boy boasted. \u201cTwo\u2014two were here already. I found four more, and-and I\u2019m six!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cGag! I\u2019ve got to wash your hands!\u201d She grabbed his wrists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cBut they want Shooty Sugar, Mama! The birds . . .\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cStop it! We\u2019re going to the bathroom,\u201d she said as she dragged him through the door.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Stokes stood between two cars, feeling a little cold. Ants stormed two of the corpses and poked around a third. He hadn\u2019t noticed them before.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">His phone rang again. He could hear Sparrow yelling behind Rook as he spoke. \u201cThe flowers are in the toilet. Can you tell me more about the worm? Pigeon, are you there?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He plodded back to his car and sat down before answering. \u201cYeah, I think I ate it.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This story is part of Loren and B.&#8217;s Shared Storytelling: Six Birds. Stokes awoke that morning, which meant he was alive\u2014as far as he could tell. He still suspected the Cubans at Poco Burrito of being a front for Castro\u2019s international revolutionary army, but now he knew they didn\u2019t poison his bean dip last night. &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/brandywinebooks.net\/?p=3500\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Eagle Eye Pigeon: Secret Agent<\/span> <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[6],"tags":[559],"class_list":["post-3500","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-creative-writing","tag-comedy"],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/brandywinebooks.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3500","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/brandywinebooks.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/brandywinebooks.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brandywinebooks.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brandywinebooks.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3500"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/brandywinebooks.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3500\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18129,"href":"https:\/\/brandywinebooks.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3500\/revisions\/18129"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/brandywinebooks.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3500"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brandywinebooks.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3500"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brandywinebooks.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3500"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}