CHAPTER TWO: SO MUCH FOR THAT PLAN

Stuart awoke Margalo three hours after they'd gone to bed. "Stuart, what gives?" the canary asked him.

"We're getting outta here. That's what's up."

"Don't underestimate Falcon."

"I think he fell for it. And he's asleep. So we're leaving. I can take you back home with me. We just go to the edge and you fly me away"

"You don't know him like I do. He's pretty wily. And even if we got out of here, he'd come to your house and kill us both."

"Once we get home, we'll set a trap for him."

The two tiptoed in the dark, Stuart in the lead and Margalo following very reluctantly behind him. They didn't speak and hardly dared to breathe. As they neared the edge of the building, they spotted Falcon asleep, right in front of it. He began to stir. Margalo quickly, but quietly, fled back to the room she had come from. Stuart followed her, but Falcon spotted him before he could join her. "Hey Whiskers, what are you doing out here at this time of night? You wouldn't be trying to get away, now would you? You know, it's a long way down if you were to have an accident on the edge of this tower. And you shouldn't upset me at night. I tend to get hungry and could use a late night snack."

"No, I just had to pee."

"Oh, didn't want to go in front of Margalo. Well, go over there in the corner," the bird said, pointing with a talon. "I promise I won't look."

Stuart, having no choice, went off the corner by the wall and relieved himself, then went back to the room with Margalo.

"I told you it wouldn't work. Falcon is too wily. You're lucky he didn't just throw you off the tower just for being out there. There was a little squirrel once, Aaron I think his name was, who met me, years ago, when I was returning from a job for Falcon. He saw that I was miserable and wanted to help. He was such a sweet creature."

"Was?"

Margalo began to cry. "Yes, I said 'was' for a reason. I told him it was too dangerous, but he came up here and begged Falcon to let me leave. Like what happened with you, he got grabbed. But he was more foolish than you and bit him. That didn't hurt Falcon like Aaron had planned. And then-" Margalo paused to cry some more, "Falcon said 'You think that hurt me? It didn't. But now I'm going to hurt you. It's morning so I'll have a pancake.' and then," she paused to cry harder "he took him to the very top of the tower and dangled him over the edge, asking him if he had any last words. Aaron just said 'Someday she will be free.' and he laughed and said 'No, she is mine. But I'll free you,' and then, he dropped him. I tried to get there and save him, but I was too far away and Falcon deliberately blocked my path. Aaron hit the ground and died instantly. And then, to make matters worse, Falcon ate what was left of him."

"Yikes, Monty was right!" Stuart gasped in horror.

"That night, I buried the pellet Falcon spat up so that at least he could have a decent burial. I do not want to see that happen to you, Stuart. Falcon is a murderer. That's why, I'm afraid, you're stuck here. And if you ditch him on a job, he'll find you. He knows where you live. That's why I told you to just go home and not make the deal."

"I'm so sorry to hear about your friend. But I'll find some way for you, us, to get out of here."

"Oh Stuart, I fear the only way we'd ever get out of here would be as pellets and falcon peeoop."

"Peeoop?"

"Yes, birds have a cloaca. Both liquid, well, semi-solid in our case, and solid, come out one spot, hence peeoop."

"Monty called it falcon poop."

"I don't know who Monty is, but I can understand his ignorance. Most non-birds don't know about how birds are made and use the wrong term too."

"Ok. I wonder how Falcon knew what I meant when I said I had to pee, then."

"He's been around."

"I'll bet he has."

"Well, we should go back to bed. Falcon usually has me start jobs at 8 AM. And he doesn't give a bird's cloaca if I'm tired or not."

"Well, yes, then we'd better get some sleep."

"Goodnight, Stuart."

"Goodnight, Margalo."

Author's Note

Actually, I changed the first chapter, from the original stuff, to be a bit different. so those who read it before might want to reread it. Stuart was just saying stuff to buy time and get Falcon off his guard. He never really had any idea that he might actually have to go through with this. And I thought of Margalo having lost a friend before to Falcon, already knowing what Falcon was capable of, being willing to steal from the Littles to save Stuart, and hearing Elanor say that she would do anything to save Stuart, so she left, before Falcon could try anything on him.