The giant eagle made a sound that made me think it wasn’t doing so hot. Loud, but the furthest thing from fierce.

“We’ll work on that,” Chicken Little said. “Eagles have the worst screeches. What about you two?”

The hawks screeched, the one on his arm flapping its wings without taking off. Several of us winced at the sound.

“Bothering the neighbors,” Effervescent said. She indicated the street. Lots with businesses ran into lots with houses with no rhyme or reason. I was put in mind of the eclectic mix of dentists, doctors, pharmacies, convenience stores, clothing stores and houses one could find in a typical Chinese-American part of town, but this was just regular town.

“Oh, sorry. I can see why you’d be worried,” Chicken Little said.

“I’m not worried. I’m saying literally they’re bothered. I’m aware.”

Chicken Little ducked his head down a little. “I thought it was cool.”

“It was,” Effervescent said. “But cool has a time and place.”

“As I see it, if you’re trying for ‘cool’ you’re doing it wrong,” Anelace said.

Chicken Little huffed, sitting up straighter, looking like he was going to start an argument. Tattletale reached out, and the hawk on Chicken Little’s glove flapped violently, turning its beak her way.

“Huh? What? Did you want something?”

“To get your attention. Let us talk business, listen and learn, alright?”

Chicken Little huffed again, but he nodded.

“Clandestine business you apparently can’t tell us straight,” Anelace said, to Tattletale.

“Essentially,” she said. She turned my way as she said it.

“We’re going to tell them a lie that serves as an analogy,” I told Tattletale.

“Your call,” she said.

“Consider this a, uh, poaching job,” I said. “One group trying to steal members from another. A group of people are out there looking for easy targets. My feeling, and I’m not sure if Tattletale agrees, is that this was something aimed at new members of the team and at fringe members.”

“They’re breaking up teams and looking to recruit them once they’re gone?” Anelace asked. After a pause, where he saw my expression, he added, “In this hypothetical or somewhat relatable situation.”

“Yeah,” I said.

“Has the recruiting already happened?” Effervescent asked. “Do we look at people who’ve left for cryptic reasons and joined some specific team, or—”

“No,” I said. “We’re not there yet.”

“And you’re prying,” Tattletale said. “I think we’re using this rough outline of the situation to avoid spelling it out exactly. Which would make it bad form if you pried.”

“Okay,” Effervescent said. “You don’t want us prying why, exactly?”

“Because there’s a lot of potential misinformation flying around, and if someone else starts following up or trying to cover their asses, we lose the ability to follow the trail,” Tattletale said.

“That too,” I said. “It’s where we need your trust.”