Boston Blues - BLACKBIRD book 2

11. rooftop

**picture: Bexley Hall, MIT - Cambridge, MA 

Russell helped Gillian to his car while she called Connor back.

"Mom, I can't talk now," the boy murmured, and hearing him so upset was a fist crushing her heart.

She forced herself to stay calm. "Plug your earphones, so no one will notice we're talking, and I can hear what's going on."

"O-okay..."

"Where are you, Connor?"

Russell was already warming up the car, ready to drive away as soon as they got an address.

"Bexley Hall... Wait! MIKE!"

"Stay with'im, son! We're on our way!" Gillian turned to Russell. "Bexley Hall! It's an MIT dorm!"

Russell just nodded, already gearing in, and stepped on the gas, never caring about the frozen snow covering the street. The other cars followed right away.

Gillian kept the phone to her ear while Russell had Tanya on speaker.

"Fifty Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge," informed the girl, sitting at Aldana's right.

"The boy's heading to the roof," Gillian said to them, stress hardening her voice. "Talk to me, son."

Connor sounded out of breath, running up the stairs after his friend. "We're on the roof... Mike's stopped just out the door... he's just standing there... he's only wearing a tee and he doesn't even feel the cold!"

"Stay with him, son. We're fifteen minutes away. Don't try anything that may startle him, okay? Talk to him like everything's okay, comment on the cold, whatever, but keep'im distracted from whatever he's fancying. Keep'im focused on you."

"O-okay..."

Gillian clenched her teeth and shut her eyes, listening as Connor tried to engage in any conversation with Mike. But the boy's answers didn't sound good.

When Connor said it was chilling out there, the boy said, "Yeah, but the air's so clear and pure up here. D'you feel it? So light... just as light as me..."

"You're right. Why don't we go grab our jackets and come back here?"

"You go, I don't need no jacket. I'm fine like this. I'm just the same as the air..."

There was a noise and Connor let out a muffled cry. "Watch out, Mike! It's all frosted, we can slip!"

"It's like a slide, see?" Mike's voice sounded a little further now. Then Gillian heard Connor's grunt and Mike sounded clear again, as Connor followed him. "A slide straight into the night."

"Mom?" breathed Connor, not knowing how to answer that.

"Change the subject right now," she replied. "Music. Chess. Girls."

"Hey, Mike, what was that band we were listening to back in your room? I liked it."

"What? Who cares about that damned band? Look at the sky, Con! Wouldn't you like to rise up into such a sky?"

"Stay on it, son."

Gillian had her phone on speaker, and Russell scowled as he drove down the white streets flanked by walls of snow.

"Was it Tool? It sure sounded like Tool."

"I... I don't know... It's one of Gary's playlists... Don't know the name of the band..."

"Good job, Connor, keep going."

"Gary liked cool music," Connor said, trying to sound as normal as he could.

"Yeah... He was the coolest guy I've ever met..."

"Ask'im about Gary."

"What was it you were telling me the other day? About that time he convinced a girl to go out by showing up at her dorm dressed up like a priest?"

"Oh, yeah, that's Gary for you!"

"Wanna tell me again? 'Cause I wanted to tell Tim about it and just couldn't remember it quite right."

"Well, there was this girl Gary had a crush on ever since..."

Gillian let out a silent sigh: Connor had made it. He'd bought them a few minutes, at least. Just what they needed to get there and take control of the situation.