Little Green Apples (Ivan×OC)

Chapter 13

"Could you get my cough syrup?," Gunnar asked.

"Sure, what's it called?," Ivan asked.

"Von Oosten," Gunnar said, holding up an empty bottle of alcohol.

'I have to wonder if Ivan knows the reality of all this and just ignores it, or if he's so checked out that he doesn't comprehend it,' Jessica thought as she watched their exchange.

"Right. Think about what we can do about the birds, if you have time," Ivan said, handing him the bottle.

_______

Meanwhile with Adam...

"It can't be traced, but throw it away anyway. Can you shoot with that hand? Are you going to whack the priest?," Adam's comrade, Arne, asked.

"He's f*cked up. He got it in the *ss as a kid. Now he's all turned the other cheek."

"But you're getting out in eleven weeks. We're waiting for you. Esben can't control them."

"I'm not going to shoot him."

"I just want to understand."

"I need to break him. All that goodness sh*t."

"Does it involve the pear pie? Esben says you talk about a pie."

"It's an apple cake, okay? It doesn't matter. I said that I would bake a cake and the idiot won't let up. He says that the Devil is testing us. Because birds are eating the apples."

"Do you need help?"

"Who the f*ck do you think you're talking to?"

_____

Jessica went out to the garden for some fresh air, when she noticed the apple tree was full of more birds than before, all of them pecking away at the apples. When Ivan joined her, he immediately took notice too, and called the others outside. They all took turns trying to find a way to rid the tree of the birds once and for all.

"Go on. Get them! Don't be afraid. Go on. Get them. He's making them nervous," Gunnar said as he tried to coerce his cat to attack the birds.

"They care f*cking not about the cat," Khalid said, annoyed.

"All can see. Yes. Lambert is not working," said Ivan.

"My granddad had a cherry tree. It was attacked by birds, so he shot a few in the morning and evening," Adam suggested.

'He's actually attempting to be helpful?,' Jessica thought.

"Shot them? With a gun?," Ivan asked.

"No, a waffle iron," Adam retorted sarcastically.

"Of course it was a gun. What gun?," Khalid asked.

"One like this," Adam said, pointing it in Ivan's direction.

Jessica felt panic setting in, not knowing what to expect from him. Surely he wouldn't be stupid enough to shoot someone in front of a group of people... would he?

"You know what? I think that we should try it. Can you take them from there?"

"Can we guns use? For sake of f*ck, why you not said?," Khalid asked, getting excited.

To everyone's surprise, he pulled a handgun out of his pants and began firing at the birds, hitting every one he aimed at. One of the birds was very close to Gunnar's cat; when Khalid pulled the trigger, it grazed the bird, but the cat got the bullett.

"Well...," Ivan began.

"Lambert? Lambert, are you okay? What just happened?," Gunnar asked.

"He's dead. It was a shit cat anyhow," Khalid said defensively.