Lyam rushed back into his office and picked up his phone without hesitation. “Red! Red, where are you?!” He called out, conflicted on what the woman’s intentions really are.

“Hello, Lyam. How did the investigation go? You seemed in a hurry to leave.” The doctor answered, “You have been busy on the phone-”

“What are you trying to do to me! Brainwash me?! Mind control me?! How many more have fallen to your trickery?! Why are you making so many weird suggestions lately?! To help the Owls?!” Lyam yelled, not realizing how loud he was being. His thundering voice echoed throughout the entire office.

“Lyam, I haven’t suggested anything. I haven’t been able to answer because you have been so busy-” Red was cut off more. The heron wasn't giving her another moment to speak.

“Then it is one of your kind, right?! I thought I told you I don’t want to deal with your other alien friends! Yeah, that’s right! I found out what you really are! And I’d appreciate it if you told them to fuck off!” In his rage, the detective balled up a fist, pounding it on the desk. It echoed in the office alongside his voice still.

“L-Lyam, I didn’t- I am the only one who has come here to help you. To my knowledge, none of my friends have tried to contact you.” Red tried to plead, but the detective continued to ramble his finding at the top of his lungs; becoming more angry with each word spoken. Like being pricked by the thorns of a rose.

“You’re some alien trying to control my mind and thoughts! And-…” The detective said, piecing together his own theory “And I bet you were hired by the Owls to do it! I should have known they would go to such extremes!” In a fit of rage, the bird grabs one of his mugs and smashes it onto the floor. 

The heron began to let the final bit of his frustrations out as he slammed the phone down onto the receiver, nearly breaking the plastic casing. It didn’t stop there, turning around to the wall and punching his fist through it, followed by other punches in different parts of the partition. It was only after a few minutes, did the detective begin to grasp what he had done in his venting. Carefully removing his hand from a hole that was created, he shook off the debris off him and the freshly made injury. He began to try to clean his wounded knuckles and the mess he created, venting the last of his resentment aloud.

“I thought everything was going to be better! You were supposed to help!” Lyam cried out, the words echoing in the room. “No! All you were was a fake, some outer space being, pretending to be a therapist to lead me astray.” Anger overtook the heron, a guttural instinct. He paced around his office as he spoke for hours, only stopping to look at the red phone on his desk with resentment. 

As his emotions continued to twist on his insides, causing a stabbing pain in the stomach, the feeling of disgust that was previously directed at Red was now turning onto himself and his own behavior. He now questioned everything he just did, every word he said, and considered the possibility that, perhaps, he screwed things up on his own and Red had nothing to do with it. After all, suggestions are still only suggestions. He didn’t have to take them. 

And then there was the matter of Red being an intelligent extraterrestrial… They’ve already established a long time ago that the doctor was not the same being as the avians, why he was so shocked about it when this exact same information came out of another bird’s mouth was beyond him. Other than a hint of where Red’s homeland is, the crazy scientist on the street didn’t exactly say anything he didn’t know already. 

If there was anything that was really worth being worried about, it was the mind control aspect Dewpatch mentioned. But even then, it was unclear if that little factoid was true or false. He wished it was the latter. Hoping that his experience with the doctor was true. 

The heron squawked as he cursed at himself. His queries were tugging on his mind from one end, while his yearning for Red was yanking from the other, trapping him in a dilemma. 

His hands trembled ever so subtly as he reached for the phone and reluctantly picked it up, being mindful of his tone of voice, not wanting to scare Red off with anymore of his aggression.

“Red…” He spoke with a tightened and dry throat. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to yell. Just… Promise me, no mind control, no suggestions, no illusions. Just listen to me as I sort out my thoughts, alright?” The more he spoke about his boundaries, the more he questioned if the doctor even had those abilities or had ever used them in the first place. 

“O-Oh Lyam! I didn’t expect you to pick up so quickly. What’s on your mind?” The lady answered and quickly quieted herself down, prepared to receive any words the detective had for her. 

“Um…” The bird took a few seconds to adjust his mindset, trying to forget what he just did and let go from the anger. By the sound of Red’s voice, she seemed to have already moved on from it. “One of the things I am having trouble with are the companies that they are paying…” Lyam opened back up the ledger, “Like this one, Talon-ted Beaks, I don’t know this company…”

“Oh? Where is it?” She asked, still sounding like nothing ever happened.

“It’s uuuuuh… 67 Lost Caws Way, I think that is on the other side of town.” Lyam pondered, trying to picture where the company is located exactly. The bird then reached for a phonebook and searched for the address once more. “If this isn’t a company… Maybe it is a coverup for a paycheck? But for who?” He suggested, thinking out loud for Red to listen.

“O-Oh! Um… Well, maybe you could check that address out?” She said, sheepishly suggesting a course of action. 

“Hmm… I don’t know…” Lyam said, dragging the vowels in his words, hesitating at the sign of a suggestion once more. He was somewhat disappointed in Red; even after explaining clearly that he didn’t want suggestions. Yet, she still gave him some. However, she had a point. Straight up visiting the location is the fastest way to find out, and time didn’t seem to be on his side. 

With a deep sigh the heron gave in, “Alright I’ll go check it out, but if this wastes my time again, we are done.” Lyam wanted to stay stern on not taking the advice, but  deep down he genuinely wanted to give her a second chance.

The detective then grabbed his coat and headed out the door, calling for the next cab that crossed his building. As soon as one stopped for him, he opened the door and leapt in. “I’m heading to 67 Lost Caws way, just across the bridge.” The driver nodded back before focusing on the road ahead.

As they drove, Lyam found himself gazing out the window towards the passing streets. The further onto the bridge they got, the more beautiful the city looked. The lights that glistened in the waters that surrounded them. The way they glowed in the evening sunset had the impression of stars slowly coming out, scattered throughout the city, but only to shine more brightly in the center. The humming of the vehicle added to the stillness that seemed to be around him along the ride. The slowing of traffic that usually plagued the roads, now open without worry, allowing the heron’s mind to flow with ease. The concrete jungle he once saw as corrupt and vile, was now where he called home. It all reminded him of when he went to the rooftops, and the feeling of freedom he had arisen once more. The heron was almost tempted to ask if the window could be rolled down, but was lost in the thought about Red. Though things as of late have been rough between the two, he still was grateful for her presence and help with the case.

Lyam came to his senses and surroundings as he felt the car slow to a stop. When they arrived at the building, the detective looked around, realizing that he was somewhere in the manufacturing district. The area was more worn down than he expected, causing him to even double check the address as he exited the vehicle. After Lyam paid for the cab fee, he approached the entrance below a barely legible sign. With a quick knock, the detective waited for a reply, as the cab behind him left wasting no time for their next drive.

During the few short seconds of waiting, the detective’s mind started to wander once more. He imagined a giant owl that was thrice his size, opening the door to greet him; if not, perhaps someone involved in the mafia. They would rush him and take him out, knocking him unconscious and tie him up, or worse, maybe kill him on the spot. The heron gulped as he took a few steps back as soon as the door knob slowly turned, giving out ear-piercing, rusted metal screeches as it did. “Hello, Darling.”

“Red?” He called out, being the only words he can muster in his confusion over the matter. On one hand, he was surprised, on the other,  Lyam was also happy to finally meet his secret love. “What are you-” The heron was cut short as he was shoved into the building, falling to the ground.

“I tried to save you from all of this, but as always, you were too damn persistent.” A male voice said from behind. 

Lyam recognized the voice, and quickly turned over to investigate. “Wilson?!” He was now even more confused. 

His former partner knelt down with a knife up to the heron’s chest. “I’m sorry, Lyam. I didn’t want this to happen. You should have taken you being fired as a sign.” Wilson sighed, “But because you found the ledger, I had to go out of my way to do all of this. Finding that songbird at The Ruffled Feathers, convincing my girl to sound like that imaginary friend of yours, and finally getting you alone to settle all of this.” The corrupted cop listed, putting his knee on the bird’s chest.

“You were the one that fed me lies?! Pretending to be Red, and turning me against her?!” Lyam snarled back, piecing everything that linked his former partner to the case.

“You see, that was the hard part…” Wilson found it difficult to explain, but attempted nonetheless. “I don’t know how to say this, Lyam, but your little girlfriend doesn’t exist. I am starting to think you are losing your mind since you left the force.” 

“...What?!” Lyam had a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach, as if someone had just punched him in the gut and knocked the air out of his lungs. It was hard to breathe and for a second or two he felt light-headed. The space around him seemed to warp as the reality that Wilson was in seemed to be getting further and further away from his understanding. “B-But I can hear her! I can see her, too!” He spoke, remembering the first time Red stepped in front of the projector light. In an instant, he snapped back to reality; His vision wasn’t distorted anymore and he could feel his body  all the way from his chest to the tip of his digits. The detective started to struggle, pushing the assailant off of him.

Wilson, though being smaller than the heron, held him down, landing blows to quell the struggle he put up. Each one forced the detective to back down. “Much like your mind, you lost your fighting spirit there.” The petrel retorted.

“We watched you from the building across from you, tapped into your phone line and listened. It was all just one sided with this ‘red’ gal.” The other bird started to explain. “From there, all it took was a plan to mess with you. It was like nothing changed for you, and all you had to do was talk to yourself as you thought.

“So that’s how it’s going to be, is it?” Lyam spat out towards Wilson with exasperation. He was furious at this betrayal and the mockery of Red. “My most trusted friend turning on me?! This is how you want to live your life?!” He starts struggling once more, attempting to break the bind. 

“I didn’t want to do this! You forced my hand! I need to protect my family! My friends!” The petrel cried out, punching the heron once more to keep him down, and pressed the knife against his chest. “Sive didn’t need to die, but there you went, sticking your beak in other avians’ business. He died because of you! Thornwell was right when he fired you. Should’ve just ended things with you then and there, but I was stupid enough to care about you. I was wrong!”

The detective felt the thrust of the knife enter his chest. The sharpened blade pierced with ease, leaving him choking for air. Adrenaline rushed throughout his entire system, wanting to flee, but the body wouldn’t react. Lyam placed his hand along the attacker’s, and the knife handle, keeping it there for a brief moment as he tried to speak up. Wilson spoke up before he had the chance to, cutting off what little air could get to his lungs. “All you had to do was follow the Captain’s orders like the rest of us did!” 

“You all were… in on this?!” The detective wheezed weakly in pain. He could hear his heart pound, like it was about to burst through the chest; it made his ears ring as Wilson’s voice became more and more faint. Slowly, his vision started to blur.

“No, we’re just trying to survive!” The petrel yelled out, their own emotions showing as the knife was ripped out from the heron’s chest. They swatted the detective’s hand aside as he tried to reach up, ignoring what feeble attempt was being made at the time. More pain shot through Lyam’s body as the sharp weapon was planted once more into his chest, stabbing one, two, three more times before losing count. For the last time, he felt the thrust of the blade twist deep into his gut.  

As Lyam’s vision faded to black, all he could do was watch as the world continued to move around him. Wilson had pushed himself up off of the heron, making his way towards the exit, ushering his companion to come with. “We’re done here…” The muffled words managed to reach his ears. As Lyam’s life drained from his body, so did his warmth, hee felt cold. Abandoned in the middle of the building laced in red, where  he finally found the truth he so desperately sought, but stripped of his ability to do anything with it. “Sorry Pasha, boys… I won’t…I won’t be able to-” He closed his eyes, letting out his final breath.