Ben

 Here’s the next part.

***

Ben Sutter loved his job at his father’s law firm. He loved the research, tracking down precedents and coming up with ironclad contracts for his clients. He also loved the money. There were certain financial benefits in being one of the sons in Sutter, Sutter and Sons.

As much as he loved his job and the pace of city life, he loved getting out into the middle of nowhere to indulge himself in rock climbing. Well, cliffs, really, and he was beginning to consider climbing without ropes or safety gear. One of these days. Not today.

Today he wore his safety harness and carried pitons to drive into the rock to attach the rope to. Then, if he slipped, he would only fall a few feet instead of plummeting to an abrupt end on the rocks at the base of the cliff face. This particular route was well-travelled and many prior climbers had left their pitons behind. Ben didn’t mind using them but he was careful to test each one first for its strength and stability before trusting his safety to it.

The afternoon was perfect for a climb. The sun was high in a blue sky where a scattering of clouds floated serenely. A light breeze kept the sun from being too warm on his back without being strong enough to pose a threat itself.

Almost two-thirds of the way up, Ben heard an unfamiliar sound. He held himself still, listening, his head tilted to one side. It came from somewhere above him. He tried to lean back but there was only so far he could lean and stay safely attached to the cliff. Well, maybe a bird was in its nest and rustling around . He hoped it wouldn’t turn out to be a falcon or an eagle guarding a nest. That kind of excitement he could do without.

Ben stretched his arm above his head and groped for a handhold. With his fingers grasping a small ridge, he raised his foot and settled the toe of his climbing shoe into a narrow crack. Left hand, then, and right foot, and up he went another few inches. Another three or four feet and there was a ledge where he could sit and rest before tackling the slight overhang. It didn’t worry him, he’d done it before often enough, but he enjoyed the little breather beforehand.

He heard the strange sound again shortly before he reached the ledge. Great. It probably was a falcon, or even better, a big honkin’ eagle just waiting to beat him senseless with it wings and then feed his eyeballs to it newly-hatched young. Stupid eagles. He chuckled at the idea and hoisted his head over the edge of the ledge.

***

I’ll be back. Chatting on the phone with a friend.