Dick Winchester in... The Cliffhanger

The story you are about to read is based on a real missing pet poster and a real building. The names have been changed to protect the innocent and/or protect the author from a defamation suit.

Somehow, I always knew I’d find myself here, hanging off the balcony of the Leedos building, one hand gripping the concrete wall meant to prevent this very scenario, the other hand gripping my new-found best friend.

I just didn’t think it would happen so soon.

Two goons from Leedos upper-middle management leered down at me from the railing.

“Ready to give up the goose now, Winchester?” Deviated Septum asked.

“Ready to get that nose fixed?” I fired back through teeth gritted against the increasing burn in my fingers.

“I already told you, it’s hereditary,” he replied, turning his face away. “You talk to him,” he ordered his coworker.

Knuckles walked up to the ledge, bouncing a bat in his hand. “Give us the bird, Winchester. Or it’s a one-way trip for you.”

Despite the fact that the only thing preventing my first and her last flight was my left hand and a whole lot of Pilates classes, I smirked up at him.

“What?” Knuckles demanded.

“One-way trip? That’s the best wordplay you can come up with?”

Now it was Knuckles’ turn to have his feelings hurt. “Hey, I’m trying my best, pal.”

“All right, I shouldn’t dunk so much on the new guy,” I conceded. “But there is something you might have overlooked.”

“What’s that?”

“You knock me off this balcony, and she comes with me.”

Knuckles’ eyes narrowed, and Deviated Septum reappeared at the ledge. “The hell are you talking about?”

I lifted my right hand. “Jordan here won’t fly.”

“She’s a bird.”

“Rose-ringed parakeet,” I corrected.

“Whatever. Nice bluff, Winchester, but we saw her fly earlier.”

“Sure, at ground level, but this little miss is afraid of heights.”

Now it was Knuckles’ turn to act incredulous. “What bird is afraid of heights?”

“Jordan’s a sensitive queen, and you will treat her as such or I’ll throw myself off this building.”

“Just give us the damn bird—”

I responded by slowly lifting my pinkie off the concrete lip, cutting Knuckles off mid-sentence.

Deviated Septum threw up his hands. “Screw this. George, break his fingers and let’s be done with this wise ass.”

Knuckles didn’t move, though. “I dunno, Dhruv. I don’t think he’s bluffing us.”

“Then what do we do?”

“Call a meeting? Talk through potential solutions?”

“No, the boss was very clear on this one, George: we can’t turn to the group for the answers. We have to prove we can handle this project by ourselves.”

“Hey, I’m just trying to be supportive over here. No bad ideas, right?”

Deviated Septum gripped the bridge of his nose between his fingers, turning away. “I know, I know. I’m sorry. The pressure’s just getting to me. This project is going to directly impact my yearly review, and if I don’t get the promotion this year, I don’t know what I’ll do. The cost of my son’s cancer treatment keeps increasing…”

Dad had always chided me in our chess games.

You don’t think things through, Richard. You just pick the first move you see.

But this time, I know he’d be proud. For this was the moment I finally chose to regain the initiative. As Deviated Septum turned away and Knuckles moved to console his coworker, I launched Jordan skyward.

Spreading her inert wings, Jordan glided toward Deviated Septum with talons extended and made contact with the side of his head, putting her claws and beak to work as her new prey screamed and dropped to the ground. I grinned at the sounds of her battle cries and Deviated Septum’s wails.

Go, little Jordan, go!

Knuckles spoke as he approached the concrete wall. “Nice trick, Dick, but now we’ve got the bird, so you just lost your bargaining chip. Should have tried going for the guy with the bat, huh?”

Oh. Guess Dad had a point after all.

Still, Knuckles paused when he looked over the edge and found my Smith & Wesson .38 staring back at him in my now parakeet-free right hand.

But it only took a moment for him to regain his composure. “Ha, you won’t use that. You know how much bullet prices are increasing, pal?”

Unbidden, the gun lowered a bit. “Impossible to know these days with the Democrats in charge.”

Knuckles nodded. “It’s why Leedos decided to lay off all the guys with guns around here. Gotta recession proof ourselves, you know?” He chuckled as he raised the bat over his head. “Suppose I’m doing you a favor here, instead of having to live under all that debt.”

Will Dick risk the cost of multiple .38 rounds to save himself? Or will he embrace the sweet release of death, or, at the very least, a broken leg of two, waiting for him approximately seven to eight stories below? And will the author ever explain how a rose-ringed parakeet got caught up in this corporate conspiracy?

Find out next week in the thrilling continuation of The Cliffhanger.

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More Dick Winchester in...

The Opening Salvo (Book 1)

1. The Box with No Name
2. The Last Word
3. The Hat Trick
4. Dick Winchester Episode 1: Gratuity Not Included
5. The Terminus — print exclusive*
6. The Fairy Tale
7. The Cop Out — print exclusive*
8. The Enlistment
9. The Cliffhanger — you are here
10. The Cliffhanger, The Prequel
11. The Cliffhanger, The Finale

*When the book is released in September 2024

The Counterattack (Book 2)

• Opening chapter: The Deflation