James Smith - The Flock

But they were not formally arrested until the real police arrived from the county seat.

From there, things got interesting and it was only after long bouts of questioning and the hiring of lawyers and the arrival of further representation from Fish amp; Wildlife that first Ron, and then Mary were released. After a few days their story was finally believed and authorities took them at their word that they were not involved in the killings that had taken place at Holcomb's compound. It was roughly around the time that Holcomb appeared on their behalf with testimony from a witness to corroborate their tale.

"Kate Kwitney was there. She saw the whole sordid event unfold," Holcomb had told them. And sure enough, the wounded young woman had told her tale from her hospital bed. Her own story was pretty amazing, too, Ron and Mary thought. The militia madmen had left the lady for dead, and only when Holcomb had arrived with help was she discovered unconscious in the lab where she and her murdered coworkers had often worked.

In the days thereafter, Ron and Mary tried to convince everyone who would listen that Kate had provided the killers with aid, had even gunned down Adam Levin. But she said it had been an unfortunate accident; that she was aiming for one of the killers she saw in the forest. She would never touch a gun again as long as she lived, she pouted to one and all.

The newspapers and the video magazines had a field day with it. Grisham, extremist nut that he was, took the fall for everything. But Ron and Mary knew better. Not that the information meant anything. They had talked it over and had decided not to rock the boat. It wouldn't do either of them any good, and might even get them sued into oblivion, the only fate they knew of worse than death.

So they kept their mouths shut. "Sure," Mary had told the cops. "Come to think of it, I think maybe she was aiming at someone past Levin."

Case closed.

A week after things began to calm down, Ron was at Mary's for dinner. It was the first chance they'd had to really be alone together. They had sat and eaten Mary's good cooking. All kinds of offers for her exclusive interview were pouring in, and people were tossing very attractive money offers for the print rights to the story of her adventures in the land of the dino-birds. Several news shows were falling over themselves for exclusive rights to interview the quite photogenic young woman. Playboy had even sent an offer for a pictorial. She and Ron had laughed over it, and Mary was happy to note that the offer seemed to bother Ron more than a little.

For a while, Ron and Mary made small talk and tried to avoid the matter they were dancing around. "What's this about you signing on the register at the Seminole Nation, Ron?" Mary asked. "Why now?"

"I don't know," Ron said. He paused and thought about it, wondered whether he would tell anyone. "To tell you the truth, I still don't feel completely comfortable with it. But that's part of why I went ahead and did it. I've felt too uncomfortable about who-and what-I am for too long. And maybe I did it because of Billy Crane. And because of you. Just got me thinking, I guess."

And that seemed to weaken the barriers that Ron had erected between himself and his feelings for Mary. Some of the tension vanished.

"What about you, Ron? They must be calling you, too. The people with the money for your story, I mean," Mary said.

He looked into her pretty face, her black hair almost glowing like polished onyx. "Nah. I mean, I've had some offers, but not so much money that it would make a difference to me."

Mary looked at Ron, disbelief in her eyes.

"No. It's true. Really," he said.

"Well, you've obviously got the wrong agent," she told him.

"Agent? You're kidding."

"Do I have to do everything for you? I'll give you the phone number later."

With the dinner done and the dishes cleared away, they retreated to Mary's modest den to watch some television. Mary put a videotape in her player. "I wanted to make sure you saw this," she said. It was one of the recent fluff news pieces with Michael Irons' and Vance Holcomb's smiling faces showing as the two sat shoulder to shoulder at a press conference to announce the news.

"Berg Brothers has always been interested in preserving the natural world," Irons said through his shark's grin. "That's why Salutations USA was already a model of eco-sensitive development. But now, with the discovery of this priceless treasure of the existence of Titanis walleri living in our world, and here, why Berg Brothers could not stand idly by."

Holcomb chimed in on cue. "And that's why Berg Brothers, working with Holcomb Industries, is cooperating to lock up over four hundred thousand acres of pristine forest and lowland habitat as a wilderness to be administered by the Department of the Interior, with Holcomb and Berg Brothers footing the bill for additional research. The studio will also, I'm happy to say, be sponsoring the redevelopment of Salutations USA as a combination educational center with continuing growth as a model of ecologically sensitive residential areas and entertainment complexes."

There was footage of the Titanis bird Holcomb had tranq'd being released at the edge of the forest. As the animal dashed from its cage, vanishing into the green, an appropriate selection of rather moving and dramatic music played in the background.

"What's going on with those birds, Ron? Are you hearing anything at work?" Mary asked, watching the footage of the bird dashing for freedom.

"I've heard a little. I talked to one of the big predator guys who came down from Alaska. He's been working with grizzlies for five years. I guess they figured he'd know something about how a Titanis might think. At any rate, he says that what they have been able to see is that the flock seems to be functioning as a unit. Except for the red one, the big one. He's off on his own, now. Has a couple of others with him. They say he's got two females, may be forming his own flock. Who knows?"

"Do you think they'll make it? I mean, now that Man knows about them? Now that we'll be messing around in their wilderness and tampering with them?"

"I don't think I even want to guess, Mary. Look. They've survived there for this long. And, if we're very careful and don't get in their ways and don't intrude…well, I'd like to believe that they will continue to thrive."

"Let's hope so," she said as she reached for the remote and shut the television off. "Can you believe that bullcrap with Holcomb, though? Berg Brothers tried to have him killed, and he knows it. How can he sit there with them like that?"

Ron sighed and slumped in the midst of the big couch. "Hell, I don't know. Maybe he's getting a vicious thrill out of them having to actually help him see his vision become a reality." He sighed again. "Damn."

Mary slid up close to Ron. She put her hand in his and motioned him to her. Ron was only too happy to cooperate and he soon had his arms around her, feeling her muscular form in his grasp. Their faces met, each breathing in the good scent of one another. They kissed, and kissed, kissed again. Ron was wondering how he had ever thought Mary had been anything less than the one for him.

After a moment, Mary disengaged and put her lips close to Ron's ear. "Beats smooching on that deceitful bitch, doesn't it?"

"Damn straight," he said.

Mary was laughing at him, her face pretty, her teeth showing brightly. She was beautiful to Ron.

"I've been such a fool," he told her. "I was afraid of falling in love with you. Of even admitting that I had fallen in love with you. A part of me-the part of me who's a fool-kept saying we didn't belong together. And…I can't explain it, and I know it doesn't make sense…but I didn't want to think of having a family with you. I kept telling myself we were too different. The fact is, we're so much alike. I know you must be sick of hearing me say it, but I'm sorry."