Bit Stuffing

I have three numbers that I'm limiting to 10 bits each and then hoping to packing into a 32-bit standard int.  This would be easy if the numbers were just positive, but they also could be negative.  I end up fighting with the 2s complement.  I know someone is going to suggest just saving myself some headache and forcing the last bit to represent a truncated positive/negative flag, but I really need all ten of those bits for the number (anyone have a 33-bit data type they can spare?).

Now I've already looked online and there isn't much to digest about the matter.  Of the two lonely solutions I've found, one doesn't seem to work and the other is a hassle to implement.  Knowing what I do about 2s complement I'm inclined to believe the latter is the case - it's a hassle no matter what - but I'm also stubborn enough to be believe that there is a more elegant solution.

I managed to chain together a bunch of bitwise that works for both positive and negative numbers nine bits long, plus a sign.
int x = -411;
int packed_bits = x&1024 | x&1023;
and
int y = packed_bits&1023;
x = (y&512)>0 ? -(~y&511)-1 : y&511;
That sound is me glaring at the ternary.

>>14
Now you're making me think about that infinite compression scam.