Chapter 2: Poker Night
Mike walked into a poorly lit room where two men sat with their cards in their hands. One was large and had a gentle look while the other was rather tall and skinny with an afro. "I do believe you've met Armando and Tipa on your last visit," said Marcel. Mike looked at the large smuggler and nodded. "I've met Tipa but I don't think I've met Armando," said Mike. The tall one leaned forward and shook Mike's hand. "Names Armando. Will you be joining us for a quick hand"? asked Armando.
"Yep." replied Mike as he took a seat and picked up the cards that were dealt to him. "You drink"? asked Marcel as he offered Mike a bottle. "You better believe it," said Mike who quickly grabbed the bottle and took a sip. Time passed and one game turned into two. Two turned to three and three turned into four. "Well Mike looks like I win again," said Marcel with a grin as he stared at the large pile of cash on the table. "Wait, I still have one last thing to bet with," said Mike who was now clearly intoxicated. "What would that be"? asked Marcel. "The rest of the birds," said Mike.
"You have yourself a deal," said Marcel. The game was over before it even started and Mike was left with nothing. "Boys get the birds out of the van," said Marcel. Tipa and Armando got up and made their way outside with Nigel taking wing to follow them. "Well Mike, as usual, it was a pleasure doing business with you," said Marcel. Mike got up and staggered backward before collapsing against the wall. "Mr. Eduardo is going to kill me," he muttered. "Don't worry about Mr. Eduardo, I'm sure he'll be very understanding " said Marcel as he helped Mike up and led him towards the door.
Mike said something illegible before turning his back to Marcel. Marcel grabbed one of the bottles and smacked Mike on the head with it knocking him out cold. "Sorry Mike, just business." laughed Marcel. "Boss we got a problem"! yelled Armando. Marcel ran outside to see that Nigel had a hawk pinned to the ground. "How the hell did he get out"? asked Marcel. "Looks like he was messing with the lock on the way here," said Tipa who looked at the broken cage. Nigel looked down at the hawk and smirked. "Look at you, feeling clever today are we"? asked Nigel. "I definitely don't feel clever right now, if anything I feel annoyed," said Peter. "Silence you feathered parasite," said Nigel. "Let him go, he's young and brash," said Aaron. "Ah, so you let the old man speak for you"? laughed Nigel.
Peter let out a sign of resistance before growing exhausted. "Let this bird be a reminder to any of you that think you can escape," said Nigel. Peter opened his mouth to say something but was stopped when Nigel slammed his head on the ground so hard that it knocked him out. "I think we're going to have a lot of fun together." laughed Nigel.
Peter awoke with a start to find himself in a dark room filled with cages. "Mein God Peter you scared me," said Aaron. "What happened"? asked Peter who still felt groggy. "You did something stupid." replied a scarlet macaw. "Wouldn't be the first time." he groaned. She rolled her eyes and went back to what she was doing. Peter looked over to see two blue macaws sitting in one of the cages. They were chained together by what appeared to be a small chain. "What are you looking at"? snapped one of the macaws.
"Nothing," said Peter who quickly averted his gaze. Peter was rarely scared of things but one thing that always seemed to frighten him was angry female birds. "So Peter… now what"? asked Aaron. "We try it again," said Peter. "Peter I admire your persistence but…" before Aaron could finish Nigel flew into the room and landed on top of the Blue Macaws cage. "Wonderful night for a stroll isn't it pretty friends," said Nigel. "Listen to me buddy, we can work something out." stuttered the other macaw. "Real nice Blu, try to reason with the bird who is clearly insane." said the female macaw. "Jewel please don't anger him," said Blu who seemed like he was going to pass out from terror. "You should listen to your friend, he seems clever," said Nigel.
Peter muttered something under his breath which caught Nigel's attention. He flew over to Peter's cage and clung onto the side of the cage. " you're awake! How wonderful, I was starting to worry that I killed you," said Nigel. "I have nothing to say to you," said Peter. Nigel let out a sinister laugh that made Peter feel a little uneasy. "You know I do enjoy the different types of heroes. We have the outspoken ones who end up dead within the hour. We have the wise ones whose friends turn against them. Then we have you, the fighter, the rebel, the believer of what some would call a resistance.
They always end up dead." said Nigel. "I'm no hero," said Peter who stepped towards Nigel but was yanked backward causing him to collapse. "What the heck"? wondered Peter. "I assure you that you will not be trying any more stunts like the one you pulled back at the van. My owner made sure of that." laughed Nigel. Peter looked over to see that his leg was chained to one of the bars on the cell. "Your cruel Nigel." said the red macaw. Nigel looked over at the macaw and gave her a sinister smile.
He flew over and landed on top of her cage. "The beautiful Rose, I'm so glad that you found your tongue dear," said Nigel. Rose gave him a disgusted look. "I don't see why you ignore my advances darling. I was once a superstar, I can give you everything," said Nigel. "You're just as dried up as your career," said Rose. Nigel started to twitch a little bit before the situation could escalate further Peter spoke up. "Leave her alone."
Nigel once again turned and looked at Peter. "As I said, you act like a hero," said Nigel. "Then that makes you the villain," said Aaron. "I was the one that was wronged," exclaimed Nigel. "If he's the hero and you're the villain then I hope you're ready for him to kick you in your tailfeathers," said Aaron. "Nigel it's feeding time," yelled Marcel. "Don't worry, we'll have plenty of time to continue this conversation later. Until then, happy nightmares." laughed Nigel before flying into the other room. "Armando, close that door," said Marcel. "On it boss," replied Armando.
The door slammed shut leaving everyone in the dark. The only source of light came from a small window. "Freedom is so close, we just need to find a way out of these cages," said Peter. "Again you persist with this, look at you your chained to the cell for God's sake," said Aaron. "Why are you doubting me, we are so close," said Peter. "I'm being like this because I don't want to lose another friend," said Aaron. "I'm sorry Aaron… but I need to do this. I want to be free to live my life the way I see fit. Not in some cage." said Peter. "Linda will be here soon and this whole nightmare will be over," said Blu. "Blu, Linda isn't coming. It's up to us to get out of here and we're doing it tonight," said Jewel.
Authors Note: Once again special thanks to Kodiwolf321 for helping out with this project and If you're looking for more stories filled with quality content then head on down to his profile since he has some pretty sick stuff. I hope you're enjoying the story so far and I look forward to continuing Peter's story. Feel free to leave a like and review and as always welcome to Rio.
