A Murder Of Crows {10}

I stared down at Kieran's mask. It was so simple, but something about that simplicity was menacing.

It was the weekend, and instead of relaxing, I was stressing out over this shit. Kieran had left after classes ended on Friday, leaving Mia with his phone and me with his mask and clothes. The Doctor hadn't called for a Friday job, but Saturdays could be hit or miss when it came to the Doctor.

There was a knock on my door and I set the mask back in its hiding spot. I almost hoped that this was Val or Jamison here to bother me, and not Mia announcing that we had a job.

"Hey, Cor," Jamison said as I opened the door.

Hell yes, but also god fucking dammit.

"What do you want?" I asked.

"Your company, I guess. I have to run by the Nest, and then I'm heading to the café for lunch. Want to come?" he offered.

A chance to peek inside the Nest? "If you'll buy my food, I'll give you my company."

"This sounds oddly like a form of prostitution, but I'll take the bait. Let's go," he said.

I followed Jamison out, locking my door. He was surely just trying to keep an eye on me to see if anything happened this weekend. If there was an attack and I was with him, and Kieran was off campus with his mother to confirm he was home at the time, that would up our innocence. It wouldn't fully clear us, I'm sure, but it would be helpful. Maybe I could convince Mia and Val to handle anything that came up on their own.

We left the dorm and started down the path. There was a building on the other side of campus that housed campus events, like movies and club meetings, a school store, several offices including the Nest, and a café.

"Not hanging out with your friends this weekend?" Jamison said.

"Kieran's home for the weekend, Mia hates me, and I can't stand Val," I said.

"Well, I feel honored that you'll hang out with me," he said.

"You're buying me food," I said.

"Fair enough," he said.

We fell into silence as we walked. I snuck glances at him, taking in his outfit. I always found it interesting to see what people wore on the weekends, free from their uniforms.

Jamison dressed simply, just nice jeans and a red plaid shirt buttoned up over a white T-shirt. My weekend outfit was similar to my school outfit; just a thin black hoodie over white shorts.

"How do you usually spend the weekends?" Jamison asked.

I shrugged. "I get my work done, and then I do whatever I feel like."

"The joys of Crowe Academy. Mounds of homework on the weekends," Jamison said with a sigh. "I have that on top of work for the Crows."

"Did you want my sympathy? You willingly joined the Crows, and we're in the same rotation so we have the same amount of homework," I said.

Jamison gave me a smile, but there was something sad and regretful about it. "I see why Kieran keeps you around. You're stubborn."

"I'm not stubborn," I said.

"Sure you are. You make it a fight to try to be your friend," he said, giving a light shrug. "I'm not trying to be an ass when I say that, either. I'm sure you have your reasons." He tapped his finger next to his eye. "Even your glasses, though. You hide yourself."

"Why don't you ever let anyone see your eyes? I'll see them someday and I'll know all your secrets."

My pace slowed and I forced myself to walk at a normal speed, hoping Jamison hadn't noticed. It took quite a lot of self-control not to reach up and touch my sunglasses.

"I have a sensitivity to light," I lied. "Think what you want. I'm not hiding anything. There's just not much to share, especially with someone I just met."

Jamison glanced at me but didn't say anything. We finished the rest of our walk in silence, reaching the building a few minutes later.

Jamison held the door open for me, but took the lead again once we were inside. We went up to the top floor and to the right, down where the offices were. Jamison had his charming smile on his face, greeting people as we walked by them.

We reached the Nest and Jamison typed in a code to the door, pushing it open. Kenz looked up from a table, Cole lounging on a couch with a book in his hand. Nia was standing over at a counter, pouring herself a cup of water.

"Jamison," Kenz greeted. She looked from Jamison to me and back again.

"We won't be in here long," Jamison said, gesturing me inside.

I looked around, keeping my head forward so no one could tell. There were posters around the room, and files with papers leaking out. There were filing cabinets with locked drawers pushed against the walls. There was a small bookshelf next to the couch Cole was on, though most of it seemed more educational than fun.

"What, now we let anyone in here? It was your rule not to bring outsiders," Cole said, looking over his book at us.

"It was an Academy rule," Jamison said, holding his hand out to Kenz.

Kenz handed him a keyring and he went over to one of the filing cabinets, unlocking a drawer. He shifted through the files and pulled one out. He went over and set it down in front of Nia, tapping a finger on it.

"Do this paperwork. Kenz will help you, but she won't do it for you," Jamison said. He turned and yanked the book out of Cole's hand. "You, do your work too. Kenz, make sure they're working, not just screwing around in here."

"Here, this is what you needed," Kenz said, holding a key out to him. "That'll get you into Mr. Larson's office. He told me to tell you that the paperwork you need is on his desk, labeled for you."

Jamison took the key and stuck it in his pocket. "Thank you. I'll see you all later. And your work will be done."

"Yea, dad," Cole said, folding his hands behind his head. "You go have fun and the kids will suffer on a lovely Saturday."

"Should've gotten your work done earlier," Jamison said. "Let's go, Cor."

I followed him out of the Nest, watching as the door shut and cut off my view. We started back down the hallway towards the stairs.

"What, you guys spend all your time there?" I said.

"We spend a lot of time there. The school gives us plenty of paperwork to keep us busy. We're in charge of proposals for field trip budgets, guest speakers, class events, entertainment around campus, and certain problems around the Academy," Jamison said. "We've been super busy with these attacks happening around the town."

"How is that your problem? They seem random to me," I said. "The kids on the news have been from all the schools around town, not just Crowe Academy."

"We have a job to keep students safe, just as much as the faculty," Jamison said. "We're trying to find a way to do that without restricting students' freedoms. A lot of them are kids that live in town, but room on campus for convenience. They want to be able to visit home whenever they want, so it's not like we can confine students to campus."

"It's not your job to protect students. They know there are attacks happening. They should be smart enough to stay on campus, or else stick to main roads with witnesses around," I said.

"It is my job," Jamison said, and his voice surprised me. He was serious. He really believed he had to protect students, even though he was a student. "I'm the president of the Crows. I'm a student, but I took a position where I knew other students would be my responsibility. I want to protect the students here."

"Why?" I said, unable to help myself.

Why did he think it was his job to protect people? It was their job to protect themselves. If they were too weak, they should just stay on campus, where they'd be safe.

We had reached the café, but neither of stepped into it. Instead, we silently moved off to the side.

"It's my job," Jamison said slowly, thoughtfully. "If you have a job, you need to do it, and do it well. I knew the responsibility I was taking on when I joined the Crows, and when I became president. I'll protect Crowe students."

I shook my head and moved towards the café entrance. "Then you're wasting your time. They'll never thank you."

He grabbed my shoulder, dropping his hand when I looked back at him. "It's not about them thanking me. It's just about their safety. I want results, not praise."

His face was solemn and serious. It was baffling.

It was familiar.

"Well, you're not getting praise for buying me lunch," I said, gesturing at him to follow me.

"And I can live with that," he said, the smile back on his face.

We got in line, ordering food and drinks. Jamison paid for both of us, and we waited for our food. Once we had it, we picked a secluded table in the corner, sitting down across from each other.

"Do you follow the attacks on the news?" Jamison asked.

"Not really. I just have the news on as background noise when I do my homework sometimes," I said.

"Does it scare you?" he said.

I shook my head. "Why would it? I'm on campus. I have no reason to go off campus. I'm not in danger."

"But what about your friends? We run business off campus sometimes, and I get worried about my friends," Jamison said.

"They can handle themselves. If not, then they should've been more careful," I said. "Kieran is off campus for the weekend. If he gets attacked wandering the streets, that's his own problem."

Jamison pushed a few chips around on his plate. "How are you not worried about them?" He met my eyes, and I could almost feel his curiosity in the air. "Isn't there anyone you worry about, Cor?"

Behind my sunglasses, I closed my eyes.

That crooked smile with one dimple. Blue eyes, so enticing, as beautiful as the ocean with as much danger lurking beneath the waves. Delicate hands that could pull a trigger to end a life.

"People can handle themselves," I said, opening my eyes.

I was worried. I was so worried.

But I'd drown that worry in those blue eyes, let those little oceans swallow it up. We were old enough to carry our own weight and save ourselves. We were old enough to face our own consequences.

"Then you must have a lot of faith in your friends," Jamison said.

I paused. Faith?

I had never thought about it like that. I never worried about Kieran getting overpowered on a job, because I knew he was strong enough to handle it. Was that faith?

Faith was believing in something. But was believing in knowledge really faith?

"Does it matter?" I said at last. "I have faith that this food will fill my empty stomach, and that's all the faith I need."

"Fair enough," Jamison said with a laugh. "Let's eat. Sorry to make lunch so serious."

I picked up my food and started eating. My mind wouldn't slow down or stay quiet, though.

When was the last time someone made me think this much? I wasn't sure I liked it. I didn't want Jamison to be interesting. I wanted him to be a game, something I played and tossed aside once I won. He was a Crow, and I was a Collector. Getting too emotionally involved, even just too curious, was dangerous.

But he was interesting.

All those sides to him. The ideas he had, about faith and morals and responsibility. His past with Kieran. All of that bundled into a kid who appeared nothing but average on the surface.

My phone buzzed in my pocket and I mentally groaned. Kieran was gone, which meant it was either Val or Mia texting me.

I pulled my phone out, unlocking it and bringing up my messages. I kept my face composed as I read the message.

From: Mia

My room, one hour.

Shit, shit, shit. A job.

I put my phone away without responding. My appetite was gone, but I forced myself to finish my lunch so Jamison didn't get suspicious.

"Well, I got what I wanted. I'm out," I said, pushing my empty plate away from myself.

"Eat and run, huh?" Jamison said, stacking his empty plate on top of mine. "Sure I can't interest you in a post-meal walk?"

"Positive." I stood up. "I've got homework to do."

"Dinner?" he said, getting up and getting rid of our plates.

"If I'm bored enough of my homework, I'll consider it," I said.

"Let me at least walk you back to your dorm," Jamison said, following me out of the café.

"I can find my way back on my own," I said.

"I know. But sometimes company is nice," Jamison said. "You never look lonely, but you do always seem to be alone."

"Glad you can tell the difference," I said.

We left the building and walked along the sidewalk. It was nice out today, and kids were strolling around campus.

Jamison held out his hand. "Let me see your phone."

"What for?" I said, already knowing the answer and dreading it. Having my number meant he'd talk to me more.

"What do you think? So I can text you. Then I don't have to keep showing up at your dorm to surprise you. Besides, then I can see if you want dinner later," Jamison said.

I reluctantly handed my phone over. Eliminating the surprise visits to my dorm would be nice, at least. Especially tonight, since I wouldn't actually be in my dorm.

Jamison typed on my phone a bit before handing it back. "There, I texted myself so I'd have your number."

"If you start texting me all the time, I will block you," I warned.

"Then I'll only text you some of the time," he said, pulling out his own phone. "C-o-r, right?"

"It's actually spelled l-e-a-v-e-m-e-a-l-o-n-e, but C-o-r is close," I said.

"Smartass, huh?" He grinned a little, typing my name into his phone before locking it and sticking it back in his pocket. "I think you're getting fond of me."

"You're thinking wrong, but okay," I said.

Interest wasn't fondness. Jamison was interesting, nothing more.

We reached the dorm and I glanced at Jamison. "Bye. Quit showing up to my dorm now that you have my number."

"No promises. But I'll try to limit myself to one surprise visit a day," he said.

"You've already hit your limit for today, then." I tapped my pocket where my phone was. "Don't overdo it."

I went inside, heading up to my room and letting myself in. I stuffed Kieran's mask and clothes into my bag and left, making my way to Mia's room.

She let me in, gesturing at me to sit. Val was already seated on Mia's bed, looking far too amused at this situation.

"We're striking early. Our target's name is Kyle Dana, and he'll be biking home from work in an hour," Mia said. "We can catch him alone easily."

"In the middle of the day?" I let out a disbelieving laugh. "Genius, truly genius. Might as well rob him in a police station."

"Quit being a baby. It'll be fine," Mia said. "Just pretend you're actually tough. We don't need you wrecking the Collectors' reputation. I'll handle the muscle, you just be the distraction."

"Neither of you are fighters. This should be fun," Val said, grinning at us. "No security cameras for me to watch from, either. I'll be sure to listen in."

Mia pulled her hair back into a ponytail, securing it with a clip so it didn't swing around. "Let's go, Jpeg. We can't be late."

I slung my bag over my shoulder, moody over this whole situation. Of course Kieran would leave when we had a weekend job.

"Good luck, Cor!" Val said, waving as we headed for the door.

"Fuck off," I grumbled.

Mia pushed past me to lead the way. We left the dorm and went towards the edge of campus, where there was plenty of coverage behind trees and tall grass.

"Great, I love ticks," I said as we started down one of the hills that led off campus.

"We can't be seen leaving campus," Mia said. "You complain too much, you know that?"

"And you're a raging bitch for no reason, but I let you live your life," I said.

"Just walk," she said.

We made our way down carefully, keeping an eye out for any other students. The campus was surrounded by a fence, though it was easy to climb over. It was just there to mark the property, and anyone inside the fence who wasn't part of the Academy could get in trouble by the security who patrolled.

But we didn't run into the security, or any other students. The campus let students off campus whenever they wanted, they just asked that students sign out with whoever was in charge of their dorm so everyone was accounted for if something happened.

We hopped the fence and I followed Mia into town, biting back my complaints. I knew we weren't supposed to be seen off campus, but taking the bus would've been a lot nicer than walking along town on sketchy paths.

After what felt like forever, though, we stopped walking. We were on a dirt path just off the town's park, shaded heavily by trees and hidden from view of the main roads.

"What if someone comes along here?" I said, gesturing to the clearly worn path. This had to be a common place to walk or ride bikes.

"They won't. This part of the path leads to a neighborhood up ahead. Most people split off the path farther down, where it winds around behind the park," Mia said, opening her bag. "Get dressed."

I pulled Kieran's clothes out of the bag, pulled his pants on over my shorts and quickly changing from my hoodie to his shirt. I picked up the mask and frowned down at it.

"I can't see well without my glasses," I said to Mia.

"You don't need to see well. I'll tell you we have the right guy," Mia said.

I turned away from her and took my glasses off, folding them up and tucking them in Kieran's pocket. I pulled the mask on, surprised at how snug it fit on my face. My vision was blurred without my glasses, but hopefully that wouldn't screw anything up for me here.

Mia put a hand on my shoulder and led me to a spot. She kept her hand on my shoulder, but neither of us spoke, just turned on our earpieces so we could communicate with Val if we needed to. She would probably be monitoring the police radio to make sure there were no calls to send them to where we were.

It was a little while before Mia lightly slapped my shoulder and led me out towards the road. I stumbled a little, unable to make out all the tree roots and large rocks on the ground without my glasses.

"It's him. Don't fuck this up," she said, dropping her hand from my shoulder.

I looked over just as Mia stepped out from behind a tree and kicked the back of a bike tire. The boy on it let out a little yell as his bike gave out and flung him to the ground.

"What the fuck?" he demanded, scrambling off the ground. He froze as he saw our masks.

"The Doctor doesn't like freeloaders. Pay up," I said, trying to mimic Kieran's emotionless tone. My voice was higher pitched than his, but if I was careful, I could make it sound deeper than it actually was.

Kyle instantly tensed up. "I've paid for my shit."

"The Doctor doesn't like liars either. You gives us the money, or we give you the Doctor's message," I said.

Kyle's head turned to look between us before he settled his focus on me. I was the boy, and he took me as the bigger threat. His mistake.

"Haven't bought from him in two weeks. Fuck off," Kyle said, his hands curling into fists, readying himself for a fight.

"Doesn't matter. You owe him money, you're going to pay it." I took a step forward, trying to gather myself up to look menacing. It was hard to read his facial expression without my glasses on, his features a blur.

Kyle slowly raised his hands. "Fine. I've seen what happened to the others. Take the damn money and leave me alone."

He pulled his backpack off and unzipped it, reaching inside. In a flash, though, he swung it at me. I reacted quick enough to jump back, but it wasn't far enough and the bag caught me in the side of the head, heavy with textbooks.

I reached up, making sure the mask still covered my face. When I dropped my hand and looked up, I didn't even have time to react before Kyle's fist slammed against my mask.

I could taste the blood in my mouth, feel the warm drip of it on my lips and chin. I reached up to protect my face from more blows, but there was no need.

Mia was already on him, twisting his arm behind his back and yanking it up so hard I was surprised it didn't pop right out of the socket. Kyle let out a hiss of pain, trying to swipe Mia's feet out from under her.

She jabbed her fingers into his brachial plexus origin. He gasped and nearly dropped to his knees, but she yanked him back up by his arm.

I stalked forward and grabbed his bag, swinging it and whacking his face with it. I dumped its contents out and picked up his wallet, opening it and pulling out all the cash in it.

I leafed through the money, unsure of how much he owed but positive from past experience that this wasn't enough. "He's short."

"He'll pay up," Mia assured, digging her fingers into the spot harder.

"Ow, stop, stop, I'll pay!" he cried.

"You should've paid already," Mia said. She gave another rough jab to that spot before delivering a punch to his mouth. She yanked his arm harder and dug her knee into his back, dropping him to his knees.

Fighting wasn't my thing, so I tucked the money into my pocket and hooked my thumbs in my pockets. Mia seemed content to torture Kyle by herself, which was fine by me. I did hope she'd hurry it up, though. My mouth was throbbing, and I wanted to see how bad he'd split my lip.

Mia's body was flexible, but Kyle's clearly wasn't. Unlike Kieran's brute strength punishments, Mia took her time jabbing pressure points, twisting his limbs to the brink of danger, and digging her foot into his gut whenever he begged her to let him go.

Finally, Mia threw Kyle to the ground, his body trembling. She stood over him, putting her foot on his neck and nodding at me.

I stepped forward a little, wincing at the pain in my mouth. "We'll be in touch. You'll know where to leave the money. If the message still isn't getting through to you, maybe one of your friends can be convinced to pay up on your behalf after a meeting with us."

"Please," Kyle choked out, but neither of us paid attention to him.

We disappeared into the trees, moving quick and quiet. Mia kept a hand on my shoulder to make sure I didn't stumble on anything, and we stayed silent as we maneuvered out of sight.

Finally, we stopped and Mia pulled her mask off. I copied her, putting my glasses back on and rubbing the blood off my chin with Kieran's sleeve.

Mia pulled my hand away and grimaced at my face. "Shit. He'll tell the cops he punched you. If the Crows find out, they'll look for anyone with an injury like yours."

"And Jamison's up my ass now, so he'll be the first to know." I spat blood on the ground, sliding down against a tree and raking a hand through my hair. "Fuck. I'm fucked. I can't just skip class until it heals."

"It's bad. It'll take a while to heal," Mia said, taking out her phone. "I'll tell Kieran we ran into a problem."

"Thanks for nothing," I grumbled.

She shot me a dirty look. "When he swung the bag, he hit both of us. It was enough to slow me from stopping that first punch. I got him off of you before he could break your nose, because his second punch was intending to do just that."

I rubbed Kieran's sleeve along my chin again, my mouth horribly pained. Shit. If the Crows found out Kyle had punched one of the Collectors in the mouth, Jamison would know it was me. He was already suspicious, and for me to be unaccounted for and have an injury where Kyle had hit the Collector...

"Shit. I'm fucked," I said, tugging lightly on my hair.

If there was a way out of this situation, I couldn't see it. Without a miraculous wild card, I was about to lose this game, and my future with it.