Shadowing

“Echo and French are dead.” 

“What?” 

“You heard me.”

“How? When?”

Joe “The Thumb” McCurdy slathered horseradish onto a cut of prime rib before it disappeared into his mouth. A pool of blood formed on the plate as he lit a match and held it to the cigarette now dangling from his lips, 

“Well, you play with fire, you get burned.”

Adam “Leaf” Erikson felt the hair on his forearms stand up,

“Stop being so cryptic, what do you mean?” 

“I mean,” Thumb said pointedly, “they’re as good as dead… What do you know about Tyson Alba?”

“The tech mogul? What’s he got to do with this?”

Thumb took a drag from his cigarette and let out a plume of smoke. Leaf felt a nervous laugh leave his lips,

“You don’t mean they pulled a job on him?”

The Thumb said nothing.

“That’s way out of their league!” said Leaf, “You approved this?”

“Oh, it never came across my table… Frenchie went rogue.”

“No way she would cut out The Boss," Leaf sat back in the booth, "What did they take?”  

“Like I said… Echo and French are dead.”

The words weighed heavier the second time. 

“If French didn’t get approval, how’d you find out?”

“AlbaTech represents a significant investment for our organization,” Thumb snorted, “Besides, do you think anything happens in this town without The Boss knowing first?”

The Boss.

The Overseer. The man watching from the shadows. In all the time Leaf had been pulling jobs, he’d never once heard or seen sight of The Boss… but nothing could happen without his consent. If there was a job to pull, big or small, you came to McCurdy and he let you know. 

Thumbs up. 

Thumbs down. 

Leaf had heard of whole crews that went missing after going against The Boss. 

God help you if you tried, he thought.

“But why?” said Leaf, “It doesn’t make any sense.”

Thumb sipped from a tumbler of whisky, no humour left on his face,

“I was hoping you could tell me.” 

A chill shot up his spine, suddenly he realized McCurdy hadn’t called him there just to enjoy his company,

“Me?”

“You and French go way back, don’t you? I seem to recall you were inseparable.” 

“Actually… separable is all we are anymore.” 

Leaf felt a pit form in his stomach. He hadn’t spoken to Marie since they broke up and he still hadn’t come to terms with the whole thing.

“That’s a shame," Thumb finished the last morsel of beef and sucked the drippings from his knife, "So... you haven’t heard from her?”

“No, not for months.” 

“I see... Then it won’t be a problem for you to let me know if you do hear from her.” 

Leaf started to feel Thumb’s stare pierce him like the knife in his hand. 

“Yes… of course.” 

“Let me give you some advice,” McCurdy leaned in over the table, the smell of body odor thinly masked by beef and sickly sweet aftershave,

“Friends and lovers come and go, but enemies are there 'til the end. Choose yours wisely.”

Leaf's heart was racing now, he could see in McCurdy’s eyes that he didn’t believe him.

“Now get outta here."

Leaf didn’t need to be told twice. As soon as he got outside the bar, he pulled out his phone and searched the contacts for Marie, always labelled “French.”

He was the one who had given her that nickname. It wasn’t very clever he had to admit, but every thief needs an alias and "French" just felt right for Marie... then again, anything was better than “Leaf the Thief.” 

Echo was so pleased with himself, he thought, "Y'see, Adam wore a leaf to cover his naughty bits... So! Adam LEAF Erikson. Get it?" I still don't get it, I mean who is Leif Erikson anyway? Marie said he was pronouncing it wrong, but hey, it stuck and here we are... Turns out, not all code names are cool.

He hovered his finger above the call button, unsure if he should press it, unsure if she would answer... unsure if he wanted her to.

This is important, right? Life and death? or do they call me Leaf because I crumble under pressure?

He swallowed the lump in his throat and hit send. The phone rang once. Twice. Three times. It rang until the inevitable click sent the call to voicemail. Marie’s accent came through clear as a bell. 

“…If I don’t know you, I don’t want to hear from you.”

BEEP!

Her outgoing message had always been funny to him until now. 

Does she still know me? 

“Uh… Hey, it’s Leaf… We need to talk. I don’t know what you and Echo got yourselves into but now you’ve got Thumb looking at me. My number hasn’t changed. Please call.”  

The sun dropped below the horizon and the city went dark around him. The moment was further marked by the sound of a bird screeching above him, as if it was announcing the change. It was a strange noise, unlike any city bird he had ever heard. He looked up to see a dark silhouette perched atop a street lamp. The light of the lamp shone into his eyes and he couldn’t distinguish the bird’s features… but he felt like it was watching him.

He shook the paranoia from his mind and rushed to his car. He needed to get home to collect his thoughts. 

===

The drive home didn’t take much time at all. His mind was far away from him and before he knew it, he was pulling into his parking stall. He walked up the staircase to the entrance and found a ghost waiting for him on the stoop.  

…Or at least it looked like a ghost. He thought maybe it was an old Halloween decoration or a child’s toy, until it’s head moved. It was a bird. A white barn owl with curious black eyes that looked out from a pale heart-shaped face.

A barn owl in the city? 

The owl twisted its head again while keeping its eyes fixed upon him, then something caught his attention... A blinking green light at the bird's neck.

What is that?

As if in response to the thought, the light turned bright red and with a squawk, the bird spread its wings and took flight. He turned to watch it disappear into the dark, only to discover a whole group of owls watching him from the building across the street. A silent row of silhouettes perched above him like gargoyles, and this time he knew they were watching him.

He wasn't going to wait to see what they did next and before anything else could happen, he got inside and made his way up to his apartment.

He opened his door to find a pitch black room, the curtains had been drawn and no lights were on. He reached for the light switch before hands grasped against his collar to pull him inside. He was pulled with such force that it brought him to the floor and the shape of a large man stood above him against the light of the hallway. The man then closed the door behind him and flipped the switch. 

“Echo?” 

Stephen “Echo” Jayne twisted his bearded face into a wry smile and held out his hand, 

“-‘Ello Leafy. Sorry about that, mate.”  

He pulled Leaf to his feet,

“What are you doing here?” said Leaf, “What are you—”

“Hello, Adam.” 

The voice was instantly known to him, he turned to see French standing in his living room. Her posture was poised as it always was, as if she was ready to run at any moment. She continued, 

“Sorry to break in like ‘zis… when I heard your message, I…” 

“What is going on, Marie? McCurdy is —“ 

Then something caught his eye.

Behind her, he saw a strange cage covered with dark cloth resting on his coffee table. The cage shifted with movement, something was inside.

“What is this?” he said, “What’s going on?” 

“It’s hard to explain,” said French. 

Echo laughed, “You can say that again. I still don’t understand it.” 

The cage rustled again.

“What the hell is with all these birds?” Burst out Leaf. 

French perked up and grabbed him firmly by the arm, 

“What do you mean by ‘zat?” 

 “What? I just mean I’ve seen a lot of birds tonight.”

“Owls? Tell me! Were ‘zey Owls?” 

“I think so,” said Leaf, “At the bar and just outside the building... What?” 

French’s face betrayed a fear he had never seen in her. She turned from him and went straight to the window. She pulled the drape so that only a small sliver of the evening came through, then pulled it shut again. 

“Dammit! I ‘sought we would have more time. We have to leave. Now!”  

She grabbed the cage from the table and pulled Leaf toward the door. Echo slid a backpack over his shoulder and cricked his neck, 

“No rest for the wicked, eh?” 

He then pulled a gun from behind his back and cocked it.  

“Jesus,” said Leaf, the seriousness of the situation growing by the second. 

“C’mon Adam,” said French, “You act like you’ve never seen a gun before.” 

“We’re thieves, not commandos. Listen, we can fix this, I’m sure this is all just some big misunderstanding. ” 

Echo smirked and shook his head, 

“Same old Leafy.”  

He then turned to the apartment door and pulled it open. 

What met him on the other side was the barrel of a gun held by none other than Joe ‘The Thumb’ McCurdy. A bullet ripped through his skull and splattered blood and brain across Leaf’s apartment. His limp body crumpled to the floor in front of them.

French immediately leapt into action, she threw the cage into Leaf’s arms and kicked McCurdy’s hand out of their direction. The gun discharged as it hit the jamb and Thumb let out a groan.

The cage was so light, as if there was nothing in it at all. Leaf set it down and moved to close the door. He threw his shoulder into it and it swung past French and hit McCurdy as it slammed closed. French turned the lock and looked to him, 

“—‘Ze fire escape!” 

Another bullet shot through the door and just nearly missed him. French grabbed the cage and rushed to the window.

Once they made it out onto the fire escape, they saw two of Thumb's men waiting outside the building below them and inside they could hear McCurdy kicking against the front door.

French turned and rushed up the steps away from him.  

“—‘Ze roof!” she said in a hushed voice, “Come!” 

She took the stairs two at a time and before he knew it, Leaf had fallen behind. When he arrived, he saw French holding the cloth covered cage at her side and standing perfectly still. 

“What do we —“

The owls were staring back at them, nine strong and cold in their judgement. The roof was sparsely covered by vents and ducting with an owl perched here and there all around them, blinking green lights shining from their necks.

Suddenly, a unified screech emanated out from the owls as their lights turned red. They swarmed around them as the sound of a door shattering came from below them.

French was swatting the owls away with one hand and protecting the cage with the other, cussing at each one. Leaf had to act fast. He pulled the cloth from the cage and twisted it in his hand. He started whipping it at the birds, snapping it like a wet towel in a locker room.

“Go on! Get out of here!”

He managed to strike a few blows with his cloth but the owls were too many. Then suddenly without warning, the owls stopped and settled away from him and French was no longer cussing.

He turned to her and it all became clear.

Inside her cage was not an owl at all but instead a floating ball of light. Its light was pulsing, as if it was a heartbeat. The owls seemed to be mesmerized by it until at once, they erupted from the rooftop. They flew high in a coordinated fashion then pivoted in the air towards French and the glowing orb. She looked at him and took a deep breath,

“God, I hope ‘zis works.”

She closed her eyes and opened the cage. The ball exploded out towards the nose-diving owls. The orb's vibrant glow filled the night sky before suddenly with a flash of light, it took the shape of an owl. A golden glowing owl that shone brighter and brighter as it gained speed before clashing with the onslaught of attacking owls.

It was truly an amazing sight. The golden glow reflected off of silver wings and together they danced in the sky like electrons around a nucleus.

The dance didn’t last long however, soon the attacking birds closed in and were clawing and pecking at the golden owl. French flinched at every blow struck and gripped the cage tightly in her arms.

Hurried footsteps could now be heard approaching from the fire escape.

“We have to get out of here!" said Leaf.

He scanned the roof for something, anything that could help them. He saw what looked to be a telephone line linking his roof to a neighbouring building below them.

He still held the cloth in his hand, which he gripped and pulled tight.

“Hold onto me!” He said, looping the cloth over the line, praying that it would hold.

French dropped the cage before wrapping her arms around him and with one deep breath they leapt into the air as Thumb and his goons reached the rooftop. They didn’t have far to travel and thankfully gravity was on their side, but it wasn't long before the cloth gave way.

They landed with a thud and looked at each other in amazement, they had made it.

Bang!

A gunshot sounded out. One of McCurdy’s thugs was pointing his gun at the swirling owls above the building.

“No!” shouted French.

McCurdy slapped the goon in the back of the head,

“Don’t shoot! Let the owls work! Get the cage!”

The goon bent down and grabbed the cage left by French. The owls above swarmed, completely enveloping the glowing creature in their midst. A loud screech rang out from inside the disarray.

"Philippe!" cried French, which drew the attention of McCurdy and his men.

Leaf pulled her toward the roof access door, “We have to go, French!”

Suddenly, a burst of light exploded above them. It was as if a massive firework had detonated in the sky. The Thumb shielded his eyes and ducked for cover as stunned owls fell from the sky, dropping to the roof like feathery meteorites.

The golden bird was nowhere to be seen.

"Where'd it go?" called out McCurdy, who turned back to Leaf and French, "Stop those two!"

“Philippe!”

“Marie!” shouted Leaf.

French looked at him with burning tears in her eyes, she then pushed past him through the door and went down the stairwell.

===

They drove furiously away from Thumb and his men and after a safe distance, Leaf pulled the car into a back alley.

"What just happened?" said Leaf.

French looked out of the passenger side window and said nothing.

"You need to start talking... you owe me that much."

French cut right through him with her eyes,

"Owe you? I just saved your life and lost every'sing to do it! Echo told me I was crazy for coming to get you but -"

"So why did you?"

French stared hard into his eyes. She then let out a sigh and looked back outside. They sat in silence for a moment before Leaf spoke up,

"Who is Philippe?" said Leaf, "What was that thing?"

"Philippe... is my brother."

"I don't understand."

"I don't care if you understand," she clenched her jaw tight, "Years ago... Philippe got caught up with a gang," she rolled her eyes, "Zey called him 'Lip'... I begged him not to go with 'zem and one day he just went missing... And now I've lost him all over again."

"What happened to him? How did he... well, you know."

"I can't tell you how it happened... but I can tell you who is responsible."

"Tyson Alba."

"Yes."

At that moment, the radio started scanning through channels all on it's own, the windshield wipers flashed wildly across the windshield and the interior lights blinked on and off.

"What is 'zis?"

The lights then fell dark and the radio went to white noise...

Suddenly, a flash of light burst out from the dashboard and in front of them stood the golden owl.

"Philippe!" cried French.

Philippe leapt onto her arm. Leaf couldn't believe his eyes. Philippe's inner light had dimmed now to a point where the bird looked as real as any owl he had ever seen.

"Why does he still look like an owl?" said Leaf, "Shouldn't he be an orb again?"

Philippe tilted his head curiously at him and instantly turned back into the floating orb.

"Does an orb make any more sense 'zan an owl?" replied French, and the orb shifted back to the owl, "I like it."

"Fair point... So, why doesn't he just change back into himself?"

"-'Zis isn't Philippe... I mean, it is but it isn't... I 'sink it's just a projection... like a shadow."

She flipped on the overhead interior light and held her hand in front of it.

"See?"

The shadow of her hand on the dashboard looked like a hopping bunny rabbit. Philippe then jumped to the dashboard and in a flash, took on the shape of a brown rabbit.

"I know it sounds crazy," said French, "but 'zis is Philippe's life force."

French caressed Philippe's head, who was leaning happily into her fingers.

"How do you know?"

"When we broke into AlbaTech, we found a lab. Men were strapped to beds. Wires and tubes everywhere. Each bed was labelled. Owl 1. Owl 2... So many... 'Zen we found Philippe's body. He was laid out on a slab, cold and dead... but nearby was 'ze glowing orb and I knew in my heart 'zat it was him. Alba did 'zis to him."

"Then you know they won't stop," said Leaf, "They won't let you get away with this."

"I know," she said solemnly.

"You can't run away from this one."

"What do you suggest we do? Fight? We're not commandos, remember?"

She was right, their enemy was far too powerful for them to take by force. Philippe looked up at him and there was something in his little black eyes that revealed the answer.

"No," said Leaf, "but we can think like thieves."

"What are you saying?"

"You're just going to have to trust me."

He pulled the car back into the flow of traffic and explained his plan.

===

Tyson Alba lived in a gaudy mansion overlooking the city. His entire estate was walled off, with the only entry point being a guarded gate about a half mile from the residence. Joe "The Thumb" McCurdy pulled up to the gate and was immediately greeted by the guard on duty,

"Evening, Mr. McCurdy! A bit late for a night cap, wouldn't you say?"

The guard's laughter was stifled by the look of disgust on McCurdy's face.

"Right... I suppose Mr. Alba will be expecting you."

The entrance gate creaked to life and pulled open. The Thumb drove slowly up the long driveway to the house. He looked up to see a platoon of owls lining the rooftop like sentries on a castle. He parked the vehicle and walked up to the front door and out of their sight. He took a moment to gather himself. He brushed his coat clean and adjusted his collar in the glassy reflection of a window.

"Mr. McCurdy."

At the door stood Tyson Alba, an older man but still formidable.

"Look at you, cowering out here like an animal... and empty handed as usual. You criminal types never learn, do you? Always an empty hand looking to be filled by someone else."

McCurdy hesitated and opened his mouth to reply. Alba's hand shot up to silence him.

"Not a word! I've had enough of your excuses. Come."

Once inside, Alba led him down a long corridor. They passed many ornate rooms, all of them quiet, all of them vacant of life. The house was cold and all that could be heard was Alba's footsteps echoing through the halls.

When they arrived at their destination they found a room with a large bay window facing the sprawling estate. The room was lit with low light from wall sconces and moonlight that poured in from the window and a skylight above them. Inside was a large glass desk surrounded by leather chairs, and atop the desk was a massive computer monitor. Half the screen was subdivided into what looked like closed circuit cameras.

Each viewer had writing at the bottom.

Owl 1, Owl 2, Owl 3, Owl 4, and so on. Nine in total.

The other half looked to be various business briefings, with banking and stock portfolios showcasing impressive account balances. In the centre of his desk was a conspicuous red button.

Alba sat down in a broad backed leather chair.

"I'm a businessman, Mr. McCurdy, and as such I make investments. Those investments pay dividends only when they are seen through," He offered McCurdy a seat, to which The Thumb obliged.

Alba continued, "Did you know that owls are some of the stupidest birds alive? Yes... contrary to popular belief, owls have little to offer in the ways of intelligence. Something I'm sure you can relate to... but they have profound abilities elsewhere.

The voice of the security guard came over an intercom on Alba's desk,

"Uh Mr. Alba, I think -"

"Not now, George!" He pressed the mute button on the intercom and looked back up at McCurdy,

"Where was I? Oh yes, abilities that can be useful to a businessman like me," Alba gently fingered the red button as he spoke, "Their lack of intelligence made a perfect seedbed for AlbaTech's neuro-link technology. So, when we placed the minds of your hapless thugs inside them, they did not fight it... well, no more than the thugs did and after a while, they made excellent pets. You see, prisoners are easy to control when they think you'll free them."

He chuckled at the thought, The Thumb said nothing.

"Of course, there was only one problem. Both sides of the chain must remain intact. Transmitter and Receiver," He slammed his hands down on the desk, "We have to keep those stupid fools alive in order to keep it going! Keep them strapped into beds sucking nutrients from a tube! All so that I can have eyes and ears everywhere... until one day, we broke the code. Complete separation of mind and body! Transcendence! So... when I tell you I need my investment returned to me. You know I'm serious."

Alba leaned back in his chair, "Now, tell me what I want to hear. Where is it?"

The Thumb said nothing.

"Speak!"

The Thumb said nothing.

"What is your problem?"

Alba stood from his desk and walked to where McCurdy sat staring blankly at him.

"Speak!"

At that moment, the door to the office opened and there stood Joe "The Thumb" McCurdy, looking shocked at what he found.

"What the hell is this?" said The Thumb.

Alba went pale and turned back to the McCurdy that sat in front of him. The imposter smiled and burst into a flash of light. It was Philippe, who then took the shape of an owl and flew around the room. Alba jumped at it, grasping at empty air as he failed to catch the golden bird.

"Get it! Get it!" cried Alba.

Alba ran back to his desk and pressed the red button frantically, the skylight above them opened slowly. McCurdy was running around the room, knocking over decorative vases and bookcases.

"To hell with this!" said McCurdy, as he pulled out his revolver and started shooting, blowing holes through the walls and windows all around him.

"Stop you fool!" cried Alba, who cowered behind his desk, desperately smashing the red button again and again.

Philippe dodged the bullets with a burst of speed, and turned his sights to Alba. He flew straight at him in a fury and Alba braced for impact...but Philippe bypassed him completely and flew into the computer monitor, but there was no impact. Philippe had gone into the computer.

The skylight was now fully open, Alba stood and looked up into the night.

"Where are my owls!?"

"Here."

The voice came from the doorway, where French and Leaf stood alongside nine men in hospital gowns, breathing heavily and looking mad as hell. The Thumb started to laugh.

"This is your army, kid? A bunch of hospital patients? Didn't I tell you to choose your friends wisely?"

He held up his gun and pointed it at Leaf.

Click!

His gun was empty.

The men rushed toward Thumb and overpowered him easily. The terrible sound of fists meeting flesh and bones breaking came from the pile. Weakened as they may have been by their stay in the owl beds, their rage kept them going. Then as if by ritual they raised The Thumb's lifeless body above them and carried him from the room. The sounds of their hooting and hollering echoed through the halls.

"Til the end," said Leaf, staring at the blood that pooled on the floor.

"No, no, no, no!"

Tyson Alba was staring at his computer screen in horror. The numbers in his bank accounts were zeroing out, his stock portfolios were being wiped clean. It was all being erased before his eyes. He dropped to his knees as he watched his empire crumble completely. Finally, the screen blinked and the glowing orb floated out from the screen.

The orb then took the shape of the man once known as Philippe. French walked toward him and stood beside him with her arms folded,

"It seems a fair trade to me... One body for one body of work."

Alba had gone catatonic. Leaf knelt down beside him.

"Tyson Alba, I presume? Or do you prefer The Boss? No... I don't think that name suits you anymore... From now on, we are The Boss, and we will be watching you."

French bent down to look Alba in his eyes,

"You won't hear or see us, but we will know if you go against us."

"God help you if you try."

THE END