Chapter 1A metallic clang echoed on the balcony, snapping Alec’s attention from lines of coding consuming the laptop screen. Rising from his desk, Alec hissed at the stiffness in his knees from sitting at his desk for hours.
Silently, he slid open the screen door and edged out onto the slab that passed for a balcony in his New York City apartment. Quietly cursing himself for his hesitancy, Alec glanced quickly among the small jungle of plants lining the rails. His ongoing battle with one of the neighborhood pigeons had escalated over the two months of the city’s pandemic lockdown. Convinced the winged creature harbored anger issues, Alec assumed the noise to be the most recent attack on his beloved wildberry heuchera.
“Dang it!” a voice called from somewhere above, followed by a rattling
