Of birds and birdseed

[steelyglint]

4 years previously.

The shop door opened, ringing an old fashioned bell to let the proprietor know a potential customer had entered the store. Hopefully, for the proprietors benefit, they were cashed up and able to afford some of the more exotic items that were for sale.
For the punter entering the store, their ears would be assaulted by a cacophony of noise and their eyes by the array of different sizes, shapes and colors of animals from the entire length and breadth of Rubi-ka and the shadowlands. If one desired, leets by the dozen could be ordered. After all, real leets are much better companion animals than those faulty robot ones from R.U.R that ate your carpet and drank your plumbo when you were not looking.
If leets were not to your taste, one could order a meta-water shark from Adonis, complete with tank setup and installation costs into your apartment or HQ building. Horribly expensive, but great to entertain friends with while feeding them your enemy's or unsuspecting travelling salesmen or those cultist door knockers who tried to entice you into their odd temple with promises of eternity.

However, if one got understandably nervous, and a bit worried about ending up as their pet sharks dinner, there were, reets, roller rats, mini bulls, scuttlers, mantis's, enigma tree's, various snakes and a myriad of of other animals. At Perfect Pete's perfect pet emporium, if you couldn't get the perfect pet for you, Pete was perfectly unsatisfied. After all the customer is always right.

Perfect Pete was sitting on his stool behind his counter, absent mindedly reading about new leet shock training collars, but he was actually worrying about his business. He had been enticed to Rubi-ka with promises of opportunity, creds and a good life. Unfortunately for Pete, this was not the case. The pet business on Rubi-ka was pedestrian at best. No one had time for pets in the middle of a civil war, of which there seemed no end in sight. And the overheads in rent and tax he had to pay to Omni-tek were more ferocious than a wounded Notum Scourge. Omni ent was prime real estate and the privilege of having a business there had to be paid for. True that shark sales were up, but trying to capture those Adonis sharks was super risky, many a time he had ended in reclaim, add the transportation costs and the special tanks that he needed for them, it was only a break even opportunity.
Locked up in his thoughts, Pete hadn't heard the bell ring and the prospective customer enter. So when the gentleman cleared his throat and rapped on his counter, Pete was so surprised he fell backwards off his stool and hit the white tiled floor. However he was quickly back on his feet and had his best and friendliest salesman look on his perfectly shaven Solitus face.

"Welcome sir", Pete swept his arm around, trying to get the customer to notice the tanks lining the walls and rows of animals in cages. "Feel free to browse around, or if you have a specific request, please do not hesitate to ask". The customer just stared flatly at Pete, causing him to falter from the rest of his sales pitch.. Pete looked a little closer at the man in front of him. He was a non descript human, average height and build, nothing distinguishing about him, but he had an air that made the pet shop owner a little uneasy.

"I do have something that you could assist me with". The customer smiled an oily smile filled with 2 rows of needle sharp teeth. He lifted a cage onto the counter and took the cover off it. Inside was a large reet type bird that was very silent and had the most striking colors.
"I can't identify that type of bird sir; it looks most unusual, if it is identification that you are after?"
"Identification is not required, and you are correct, it is a most unusual bird, not one that you would see everyday"
"Then what is the nature of your inquiry sir?"
"I have a straight forward business proposal for you proprietor. I would like you to look after this bird for me. I will pay you handsomely of course. The bird is not to be sold under any circumstances. And you must take exceptional care of him. You don't come across birds like this every day".
Pete started to protest "I'm not a bird minding service; there are plenty of other places to take him to, like a pet hotel for people who go off world and leave the animals behind".
"No proprietor, I simply cannot leave him in a facility like that that. I need an expert who will give him expert care , I believe he will be yours for a very long time."
"Umm it isn't stolen I hope, I don't want the pol's here asking questions, I could lose my pet license, then where would I be?"
The gentleman smiled his oily, toothy smile again. "You have my word that he isn't stolen, and believe me when I say that no one will come looking for him. He was a troublesome bird, putting his beak in where a bird shouldn't, eating too many things that he shouldn't of been eating. So he has been captured, and and now he just needed the right environment to spend his incarceration. And I couldn't think of a better place".
Pete nodded slowly, sounded plausible enough on the surface but something still nagged him.

"Allay your fears proprietor, to sweeten the deal, you will be paid a sum of 100 million creds, plus you needn't worry about the rent , utilities or taxes on your business any more, it will be taken care of ". The man leaned in close to Pete. “I trust that you will be discreet about our little arrangement, I'd hate to have to make any, alterations, to this deal".
Pete nodded slowly, understanding very clearly, the generosity, but also the implied threat. He was almost going to refuse, but the offer was too good to be true.100 million creds , no rent or power bills or taxes, he could hire people to do the shark hunting for him amongst other things. He smiled his best salesman's smile.

"Sir that’s a deal, you can trust me to take great care of the bird, any pet enthusiast would be happy to take care of such a magnificent creature. And discretion is guaranteed!".
The man nodded and pressed some buttons on a data pad. "Very well proprietor, the transfer is made. I trust we will not see each other again for your sake". He turned on his heels and left the store.

Perfect Pete stared at the door for a long while before picking up the cage and holding it close to his face. "Well bird, I think I'll call you Bob. Welcome to your new home".
The bird stayed silent seemingly unwilling or unable to sing or chirp. However Pete thought that the collar that was on the bird emitted a very very very very faint "beep". Pete shrugged, must be the tracking collar they used to capture him. He put the funny noise out of his mind, Hung the bird from a stand, put some of his best quality seed in the cage, and then went off to plan on how to use his windfall.

[steelyglint]

"So where is the bird now?"

"Omni ent, in a pet shop"

"A pet shop?, how did you convince the owner to keep it?"

"Too easy, every person has a price, some more so than others. He was struggling so that made the bribe even easier."

"I would of thought a zoo would be more appropriate.

"No, this is more discreet, less chance of some over curious bird expert wrecking the gig."

"The chances of the bird being located?"

"I'd say Zero, the rest of the flock has been scattered. If any others are interested it will take a while to work out that the bird is missing and they would first assume that the animal was transported back to it's original home world. By that time it is worked out that was not the case the trail will be cold. Any searchers wouldn't have a clue where to start"

"Speech capable?, if it started to be able to mimic, su****ions might be raised".

"Well the nano engineers were able to come up with something quite unique., a program will prevent the bird from making any noise for a few years, after that, it will allow the animal to chirp and sing, but not mimic Hopefully after so long of not being able to make any noise, the voice box will be damaged and not work.. All the precautions have been taken as specified".

" It all sounds satisfactory, you have done well, you may now return to your regular duties. However do keep an eye on our little trophy from time to time, I'd hate it if the owner sold it it for a quick cred. That would not be good for either you or him, more so you as it would be a reflection on some poor judgement".

"Don't worry, I made it very clear that the bird was not to be sold or else. I doubt the the shop owner would be fool enough to go back on his word"

"Very well"

[steelyglint]

"There you go Bob, cleaned, groomed, claws trimmed and feathers clipped, yep, can't have you continue trying to fly out the door on me again when I clean your cage". Perfect Pete chatted softly to the bird as he did his weekly cleaning routine. He had promised to take exceptional care of the bird and he backed his words up with action. Bob was arguably the best kept bird on Rubi-ka.

Perfect Pete was still a little puzzled by the bird. It never sang or chirped once in the 2 years since acquiring him. It had very odd eyes. Eyes that seemed to look at you in a perpetual state of confusion. As if to say where am I? Why am I in a cage?. And also it's feathers. The bird had a bright pink head and feathers that were a mix of shimmery silver, black, blue and grey. He wanted to take the collar off its neck but the bird resisted fiercely any time he tried. It was as if it was meant to be there, making its odd little noise. Most unusual even on a planet where everything was unusual. However, Pete kept his thoughts on the bird to himself, lest he inadvertently say the wrong thing to the wrong person and screw up the good thing he had going with his shop.

Ever since he inherited Bob and the windfall of creds that came with him, his business had started to boom. Having no financial obligations to Omni-tek had greatly improved matters. Also, he had invested the creds wisely. He ventured into the shadowlands, set up a small factory and hired Yutto's to manufacture meta water tanks for him, rather than buying them from his old suppliers. Pete had also hired some trox's to do the shark hunting for him. He paid them exactly what they asked. (After all, happy workers were productive workers), A daily rate with a giant food bag each thrown in. Pete couldn't be around them when they ate, it was truly disgusting watching them shoveling their lunch bags into their mouths, while jabbering like happy children , spraying food around when laughing about who went to reclaim. He guessed that they were just too dumb to recognize just how dangerous it all was. Between the trox's and the Yuttos, he was paying far less for the final product than he was before. Pete was able to lower the prices on the sharks and business boomed. It seemed everyone wanted a shark. The creds rolled in. Perfect Pete decided that Rubi-ka was a perfect place to be after all.

Pete sat Bob on his counter while he cleaned the bottom of his cage. Bob turned his head sideways and stared at his owner. Once the bird noticed that Pete was involved with what he was doing, He jumped down and started to hop towards the door. Claws clacking on the tiles. The bell rang and the shop door opened. A customer stood in the doorway, shaking the rain off. Bob saw his break and started hopping faster. Pete heard the clacking, and heard the bell. Dropping what he was doing he raced up behind Bob and scooped him up. "I think we need a leg chain for you" he mumbled as he deposited the escapee back in his cage.

Turning around, He put his salesman face on and greeted the customer. The prospective client looked well dressed, Black hair slicked back. Smooth unblemished face, Defenatly a corporate type.

"Nice bird ya got there, how many creds ya asking?".

"Sorry, he is my private pet, he is not for sale, perhaps I could interest you in a Mountain Reet instead. They are hand raised, very rare, they come from a little hobby farmer in Varmint Woods".

"No thanks I really want that one, my wife would love it. Tell ya what; I'll give you one hundred thousand creds for it."

"I'm sorry but it isn't for sale at any price, if you would care to browse the store I am sure you will find the perfect pet for her that isn't my bird". Pete smiled his biggest friendliest smile.

Just as the customer was about to give up, Bob started tapping the cage with his beak and staring at the man who wanted to buy him. The customer went back to his haggling.

"See he really wants to come home with me, tell ya what I'll make it five hundred thousand creds. That’s fortune for a bird; you'd be a fool to say no".

"I'm sorry sir, I just can't part with him, no matter the price, now if you would just look over here I have a super fluffy Leet. They are new breed. A leet farmer in Pleasant Meadows has spent a lot of time getting these right, just for my store!. They are a very exclusive pet, Easily trainable, and because you look like a fine gentleman, that wants to give his wife the very perfect pet, I'll let you have one at eighty five thousand creds. that’s cost to you sir and you can say you have the first one"

The man nodded slowly. Bob the bird tapped his beak harder and faster against the cage.

"That bird really wants to get out of there; sure you won't part with it?"

"Positive, I'm sure if you were in a cage you'd be trying to get out too"

Both men chuckled.

"Yes, I guess you’re right. Tell you what I will take one of those leets, If the wife doesn’t like it, I can always fatten it up and turn it into a pie"
Both men laughed again.

"Just let me swipe your cred stick sir and we will complete this transaction".

The customer took the Leet, plus some "extra gifts", like a collar and lead that Pete had thrown in for free and left the store. Bob stopped tapping on the cage and his eyes followed the customer till he went out the door.

"You were acting funny there bob, you've never done that before, I hope it isn't going to be a constant". Pete put his fingers into the cage to give the bird a pat.

Bob bit him. Hard.

Outside the store, The gentleman who just bought the leet was talking into his comm unit.

"Oh hi Harry, I just finished in the pet shop"

"Yeah anniversary present, you know how it is, she has already got so much jewelry I almost need another apartment to fit it all in."

"Yeah some sort of new Leet breed ,cost a fortune. Not as nice as this bird he has in there. You should go in there and have a look at it".

"Nah, he wont sell it, still worth a look though, anyway, I got to get out of this rain, talk to ya later".

His wife loved the Leet. It turned out to be the perfect pet.

[steelyglint]

A piece of paper from a sticky plaster fluttered to the floor As Perfect Pete patched himself up from being bitten yet again by Bob. Pete had been reading every guide that he could find on exotic birds from a thousand different worlds, But none of them could give him adequate explanations as to why Bob had suddenly turned so savage.

Pete given him a new and roomier cage, changed his birdseed and fruit diet more times than he could count. Immunized him against every disease that he could think of. He'd even put a female parrot in with bob in-case it was a mating issue. But nothing seemed to help. Bob Just seemed to get crankier and crankier and Pete's fingers, hands and face were suffering the brunt of his wrath. Bob was getting so vicious that Pete needed to sedate him to be able to clean and groom him. He didn't like doing that to Bob, as sometimes birds can react funnily to sedation. Unfortunately he was left with little choice.

Perhaps it had something to do with the increase in traffic through his pet store. Business was going so well he had to hire some shop assistants. Word had started to get around Omni-entertainment and Rome about the bird in the pet shop, so people came in for a look. Rome and the entertainment precinct were so dull and gloomy, Pete put it down to them wanting to see some color in their life's after being stuck in their dreary white offices all day. Being a great opportunist, He didn't miss the chance to sell them a pet. Bob did not seem to like people coming in , staring , poking and trying to pat him. A sign had been put on the cage warning people not to touch him, but as with any sign, it was ignored as soon as Pete wasn't looking.

Bob stared back, his bird eyes looking angrier and angrier with each passing day, Biting each intruding finger with venom. The odd thing was he only bit the adults and was extra savage towards anyone in an Omni-tek uniform. When it came to children, Bob was content to let them put their giggling faces up close and tiny hands in to pat him. Pete thought about hiring a small child to do his grooming, but decided against it. After all Bob was a wild animal and with wild creatures, you never knew what they were capable of.

Pete was unwrapping a third sticky plaster to wrap around a bleeding pinkie when Bob suddenly began to chirp.