[adamu]

Al approached the birth tent with purpose in his stride, and seeing she was done nodded his head to indicate she should come along with him. He silenced her questions with an easy 'we'll talk when we're alone' look, and once they were back on the short jungle path to town filled her in.

"Gotta pick up the pace jist bit - boat leaves at noon an' that leaves enough time ta git the bearers sorted, but not a lot o' wiggle room. Thing is, I'd planned ta git the bearers there inna refugee camp. Made sense fer a lotta reasons. But it were no dice. They's scared, amiga. I know they said so last night, but I reckon I chalked a lot of it up ta dark and drink and dumb. But these warn't the young bucks, an' they warn't drunk. They told me the same spooky stuff we done heard last night, an' I'll allow as i'm inclined ta take it a whole lot more seriously now. Seems ol' Senor ain't the only thing we gotta worry 'bout."

As he talked, he was handling a couple of long leather thongs he'd found somewhere, checking their length, giving them good tugs to test their toughness, and then folding them tightly on themselves to gauge their pliancy. Finally satisfied, he put them in a pocket.

As Chi Pat came back into view, he said, "This won't take thirty minutes - scoped it out a bit last night at the bar and labor's willin' an' cheap. You gon' come with an' tell me how the young family's farin'?"

[Mercy Merchant]

Alyce falls in with Al and keeps up with his pace, very thankful for her ultrasound sensor.  She listens to him, nodding To show she understands.  She, too, had been inclined to pass off some of the talk of the previous night as fermented stories, but she has been on enough expeditions to search for awakened artifacts that she is not really surprised that there is likely to be some truth in what had been said.  "It is likely that Wuxing is after that book.  At least we have some idea of what the artifact is and where it maya be.  I should probably let Yao Lung know about this when we see him."

Alyce walks at Al's side through the village and tells him that the mother and child are doing well.  She laughs, "It seems I have some use for all that Latin I was taught in med school.  It was like some form of magic language to the witchy woman and allowed her to accept me."

[adamu]

"Yeah, reckon I was right impressed last night with the way you was pertendin' ta be a devil-worshipper ta put the pagans at ease. We's headed jist over here."

There was a corner of the market where a decent-sized group of men were loitering. Just smoking and player cards. Some looked up hopefully when Al and Alyce approached, while others appeared almost disappointed. It made choosing easy. They were Khmer, so Alyce had no trouble following the conversation. But there wasn't that much to it - Al asked them a few questions about their experience on the mountain, weeded out a few liars, and quickly found four able-bodied men. He chose all men with children to feed, and told them when and where to be ready, went over a few other details, and had Alyce pay them a small retainer. Done and dusted.

Heading for the boat, Al pulled a mean-looking survival knife out from the small of his back, and stepped into a stand of trees at the edge of the village. Spent a few minutes among them, looking, and then turning slowly with his eyes closed. Finally, he selected a healthy sapling and used the serrated back of his blade to saw off a branch about two inches thick, and then sawed the green wood down to a length of about six inches. Put it in his pocket and they headed down to the boat.

"Is it tonight or tomorrow we link up with the whole group?"

[Mercy Merchant]

Alyce follows Al to his meeting with the potential bearers and nods at his questions.  It is obvious that he has done this sort of thing before and is taking steps to get good men that can do the job but will also be loyal to him.  She is confused by the entire thing with the leather straps and the piece of green wood, but says nothing, expecting that Al will say something if it is important.  When it looks like Al is done, Alyce says, "Hey, do you think we should look into getting rooms at the hotel for when we come up?  At least for Ling Tse Tau, maybe?  Your call, but it strikes me that he might appreciate that."

[adamu]

Al nods enthusiastically."Sure, let's see what they got. Hell, get as many rooms as we can - last night not in a tent for a month or so, put as many people in proper beds as we can makes damned good sense," he said, but he couldn't deny that his mind was on the thought of one more night of privacy getting to know her before they were all camping in a big group.

Even though she said things that made him wary, he found himself wishing he had audio recorders to go with his video, because he wanted to replay some of the things she'd said. As it was, he'd been sorely tempted to make some video recordings - not only last night, but on the boat, at breakfast, whenever - but decided there was no need as long as he had the real thing right by his side.

He was in serious trouble.

Stopping quickly back at the hotel, they found that the miners would be back out in the bush in a couple of days, and with no other reservations on the books, Al was able to secure four small rooms and two group suites.

"There - one fer the guards an maie missionaries, one fer female missionaries, one each fer Ling, Yao, you, an' me...jist ta keep up perfessional appearances, mind. Now let's go catch that boat."

[Mercy Merchant]

Alyce nods in agreement and they return to the village public to find Singha waiting for them.  He smiles nods at their appearance.  "I heard of fight at Wang's last night.  Looks like you were there.  But not hurt much.  Also hear about new baby in Pear camp.  Story is about white witch doctor helping local one.  Much happiness in camp.  Told you not safe, but glad you went.  Was good thing.  Now ready leave or have other things to do?  Must leave soon or not get Andoung Tuek by night."

After assuring them that they are ready, he helps them into the boat and unties it, poling out into the river before turning on the small motor and heading downriver.  The trip back is quiet at first, with both Al and Alyce wrapped up in their own thoughts.  Alyce is desperately in need of figuring out what she feels for Al.  Certainly there is lust, God is there lust.  But there is something more and she cannot just blow it off.  She has not even thought of loving another man since her fiancé had been killed in front of her.....................at least not until now.  There is something about this Al Guthrie that has her thinking that word might apply to him and she is scared and exited at the same time.  Scared because she feels that she is so into him that she might cause him to leave.  After all, A man like him might not want to be tied down to a woman who wants to be with him all the time and perhaps have a life with him.  Thoughts of children with this man sneak into her thoughts and she finds that she actually likes the idea.  But that, too, might chase him away.  All in all, she is so confused as to what to say that perhaps it is better to just not say anything for a bit.  Maybe he will say it first, after he gets to know her.

As Sangha had told them, the travel time is much faster going with the current.  Soon they are approaching where Alyce's internal map indicates they should come across Trader Jim's outpost and she looks forward to asking him a few more questions about the artifact now that they have corroborating information from the natives.  But her thoughts change when Al calls out the there is heavy smoke from the hut.

[adamu]

Downriver was faster, but it was a miserable couple of hours nonetheless – the vibrations from the outboard were somehow finding their way to Al’s smashed nose and it was distracting the hell out of him. Girl packed a punch, even if she didn’t seem to know it was she that had done it. No point in saying anything. He’d passed again on her offer of a painkiller but was looking forward to buying a bottle from the Trader Jim kid – or maybe not.

The black smoke coming up from the trees ahead, where the river traced a wide turn around a small promontory, was unmistakeably from a good size fire involving petroleum products – likely plastics. “Slow her down, my friend, keep to the far side of the river as we approach,” he instructed the boatman.

“Shit,” he said in English. Fire was gouting from two windows, but the blaze was not yet fully involved. “Okay, take us in,” he ordered in Khmer. There were two other boats tied to the stilts supporting the front half of the shack. One had been there before, probably Jim’s, and as they came closer they saw a body lying in the other one below the gunwales – a white woman, a tourist by her clothes, shot through with arrows. Then there was screaming from inside.

“Stay here!” Al told Alyce. He dunked his leather jacket into the river for a moment then put it on and pulled himself easily up onto the porch, then almost fell as something caught his ankle. He looked down to see Alyce gripping the cuff of his fatigue trousers, and even with the shades on her expression was clear as day – I’m safer with you than out here, and you should know by now I’m not staying behind anyway. He knew there was no point to arguing, so he pulled her up and ran inside as the screams grew in intensity. There was a white man in there pinned to a central post by two arrows through his abdomen. The flames had just reached him and all his clothes were on fire, as well as the hair on his head. His screams were deafening in the small space. Al tucked his hands into the sleeves of his coat, darted them forward and snapped the man’s neck. The place went deathly quiet but for the sound of the flames eating into old wood.

The smoke was thick now, Alyce was coughing and Al waved her out as he switched to internal air. He looked around for as long as he could, but no Trader Jim. When he came out Alyce was still coughing, and he helped her catch her breath as they moved away from the fire. But Al was already looking around for sign. Using his left hand to keep her behind him, he followed an easy trail through the brush. They trail led well into the foliage, twigs and thorns scratching, the everpresent sound of birds and monkeys now not present at all. And then they broke into a clearing and found Trader Jim.

[Mercy Merchant]

The wind had been blowing downriver and Alyce had not been alerted that anything was amiss before Al interrupted her thoughts with a warning to the boatman.  Instantly alert, Alyce sends Misha arrowing to the shack in an effort to get information,  What she "saw" was horrible.  What was not there was worse.  A second boat was tied up at the small dock, probably a tourist boat based on the skin color and clothing of the dead woman inside it and the dead boatman on the dock near the boat.  Screams almost more animal than human were coming from the inside of the shack, probably made by another tourist or Trader Jim and his servant.  If they were screaming, there was still a chance that she could help.  As Al stepped onto the dock, she grabbed her pack with one hand and his leg with the other.  He must have known not to argue and helped her up, telling her to stay behind him.   

Alyce barely penetrated into the entrance before the smoke started getting to her and she stopped, taking a knee in an attempt to get below the level of the smoke layer.  Her ultrasound scanner caught Al braving the flames and running to the man standing against one of the support beams.  From where she is kneeling, Alyce can tell that the poor man is on fire and she is already running through her training on what she can do for him and realizes that her kit is not equipped for that sort of trauma.  Then Al makes a move to release the man and the screaming stops, almost as if choked off.  She calls out into the fire, "Al, the man is beyond saving at this point.  Get out and save yourself."  Knowing how stubborn the man can be, Alyce rises to a hunched over position and moves into the building to get to Al, but he must have heard her, as he turns and comes toward her.  Al pushes her out of the building and helps her catch her breathing.  She shakes her head, "Al, the man was beyond my help.  It pains me to say that, but his death is more merciful than anything I could have done if you had succeeded in cutting him free and dragging him out to me."

"Was that Jim?"

Al shakes his head.  "Musta bin the woman's husband.  No Jim inside.  Maybe got away."  He is already looking about for any sign of passage away from the cabin and finds it quickly enough.  As they head down the trail, Al motions with his arm for Alyce to stay behind him and she sees no reason not to comply.  After all, this is his field of expertise and she has nothing to say on the issue.  The trail leads well into the foliage that surrounds the small clearing that had once been the trading post.  Twigs and thorns scratched at clothing and exposed skin as they went as quickly as Al thought safe.  The limited field of vision hampered the small drone flying just above them, making it almost useless as warning device.  Suddenly Al breaks into a small clearing and commands Alyce to stop and she immediately freezes in place.  Unfortunately for her, her sensors and the drone paint an all too clear picture of what is in the clearing.

Trader Jim has been hung upside down against a tree, held in place by several arrows that penetrate him at the legs and abdomen.  He has been gutted, almost certainly while still living, and three symbols cut into him; two on what is left of his chest and the third on his forehead.  A still-burning fire holds the remains of Jim's vital organs as well as various herbs.  The fire warns Alyce that the attackers might still be near and she filters out the normal jungle sounds around her to focus on people moving through the underbrush.  Her enhanced hearing picks up yelling back at the dock and she whispers, "Sangha," before sending Misha racing above the level of the undergrowth back to the dock.  "Al, Sangha is in trouble."  Al swears and races past her on the way back down the trail, moving in the direction of the boat.

[adamu]

Even as they entered the clearing, Al’s eyes were panning around the ritual death tableau, recording every detail for future analysis. He figured her drones were getting it too, but never hurt to be thorough.

Looked like Trader Jim’s indiscretion had gotten him a lot more than kicked out of the tribe.

And then Alyce must have heard something back at the river, because he was barrelling through the brush. The very first thing he saw was a guy aiming an arrow and he didn’t even break stride, just punched the man in the spine on his way past, breaking his back.

The he took in the scene – by their dress the bad guys all appeared to be from the four villages, but they had new markings painted on their chests and backs that Al didn’t recognize. He could see three of them. One was on the boat, he and Sangha had their hands on each other’s throats in a macabre waltz that was threatening to topple them into the water or else capsize the skiff. The other two were up to their waists in the river trying to board, but a young girl of maybe ten, covered in blood, had Sangha’s pole and was fending them off. As Al approached she smashed it down on one man’s hand has he put it on the gunwale, sending him floundering back with a yelp.

Then Al was in the water with the two men before they knew he was there. He slammed the webbing of his hand between thumb and forefinger into one’s throat, crushing his windpipe and dooming him to slow death by asphyxiation. Caught the other by the hair in his left hand and forced him under the water. Held him there, dragging him along beneath the surface as he waded to where Sangha was. Reached up with his right, wrapped his hand around the painted man’s knee from behind and yanked back. Something snapped as the man fell into the water, and then Al held both men under until they stopped moving. Alyce ran up during their struggles and Sangha pulled the boat in closer so that she could board. She was clearly as surprised as Al was by the presence of the girl, who had sat down and was now staring vacantly at the far bank, ignoring the thrashing beneath the water. But there was no time for explanations – Al was sure there were more hostiles about. Grisly work done, he was shouting “Go go go,” as he rolled into the boat.

Sangha had the skiff out into the current and Alyce was just starting to look at the girl when the hairs on the nape of Al’s neck stood up and the voodoo gods saved him once again. “Get down!” he yelled at Sangha while enveloping Alyce and the girl, one in each arm, and rolling the three of them over the side. Keeping a firm grip on them both, he looked up through the water and into the sunlit sky and watched a thick volley of arrows pass over them amid a purplish orange wave of oscillating light.

The boat was still drifting out into the central current, gaining distance away from the shore, and Al was holding the gunwale with one hand, letting it tow the three of them, Alyce and the girl holding on to him and him to them. He didn’t need air, but they did and their eyes were bulging. Finally the volleys of arrows thinned and Al pulled them both to the surface, where they sucked in oxygen in huge grateful gulps. “Hold on here, and stay behind the boat,” he said as he got back aboard, straggling arrows flying past. He took control of the outboard and took them around the next bend in the river as fast as he could without the woman and girl losing their grips. It took about two minutes to get to safety, and he spent every second hoping he wasn’t taking too long for Alyce to help Sangha, who as clearly still alive but riddled with arrows, his right arm and right half of his face horribly burned.

[adamu]

Alyce runs back to the dock a bit slower than Al but Misha lets her see everything as it unfolds.  The girl is a surprise and Alyce wonders where the frag she has come from, but is more concerned about the opposition Al will face when he breaks from the foliage onto the dock.  She opens her mouth to scream but closes it as she watches Al devastate the natives.  By the time she is on the dock and up to the boat, Al is pulling himself out of the water.  Sangha gives her a hand then gets the boat moving away and toward the current, eschewing the pole for the motor.  Alyce moves to just behind where the girl is sitting, still staring at the far bank, and reaches out a hand to touch her.  The lack of any reaction is unexpected as the girl says, "They are dead, aren't they?  My parents are dead.  Mum fell on me and they shot her.  She told me to remain silent and slip overboard when I could.  She lived for a while and we could hear daddy screaming to let us go.  Then she just breathed softly and died.  Then I heard more noises on the dock as another boat arrived.  It was boots so I thought it was more tourists.  I wanted to warn them, but thought that daddy screaming would do that so I said nothing.  It must have been you."
 
Alyce turns her around to begin looking her over, but the girl pushes her hands away.  "The blood is Mum's, not mine.  And Daddy stopped screaming so I know he is dead, too.  Isn't he?"
 
"Yes, dear.  Now, what is......................"
 
Alyce does not get to finish her question before Al grabs both her and the girl in his strong arms and takes them over the side of the boat into the water.  She barely has time to register that his arm is around her before she is submerged in the water of the river.  She reflexively grabs onto him with one arm and reaches for the girl with the other to allow Al to latch onto the side of the boat.  She feels the thump of a heavy object against the bottom of the boat and surmises that Sangha has taken cover there.  Al is apparently much more used to remaining underwater than she or the girl are and she is soon tapping Al on the shoulder, hoping that would be enough of a clue that she was in trouble.  Al must have understood her intent because he hauls them to the surface, telling them to hold on to the boat.  The girl was gripping Alyce's arm tightly, softly crying between gasps for air, "Please don't let me die.  I want to live."
 
Alyce is sucking in huge breaths herself but manages to squeak out a reply.  "You are not going to die.  Grab hold of the boat and hold on."
 
The rocking of the boat tells her that Al has managed to get aboard.  He swears loudly and yells for the others to hold on and Alyce feels the boat pick up speed as the outboard is engaged.  The weight of their clothes drags against Alyce and the girl, but they manage to hold on until the boat rounds the next bend and the former trading post is no longer visible to Al.  Better, the men shooting arrows at them are no longer visible.  Al stops the boat long enough to drag the two inside, helping the girl first, then Alyce.  As he settles back down to the engine he says, "Alyce, better look after Sangha.  He been hit with sev'ral arrows and some'at has burned 'im."  He did not have to say he was sure the man was bad off as the tone of his voice made that clear.  Alyce crawls along the boat to get to where the boatman is spread across the bottom.  The man is unconscious and Alyce sets to work to try to save his life.  The arrows are serious enough, but only two have hit the man in potentially serious places.  The burn has her concerned as the feel is not quite natural.
 
Alyce calls over her shoulder for the girl to get the pack from near the back where Al is and pass it over to her.  The girl tries but the motion threatens to send her and the pack over the side and she almost panics.  Alyce calls out to her, "Okay.  It is Okay.  We will do this a different way.  Just open it and hand me what I ask for.  I will have to do this without hooking him up.  First, what do I call you?  'Hey you' is not working for me."
 
"Gemima."
 
"Too long for now.  Will Gem work?"
 
The girl actually smiles.  "Yes.  What do you need first?"
 
"Good girl, Gem.  Now dig into the top pouch and find me a small metal box about eight inches long and hand that to me, please."
 
Over the next hour, Alyce works on the boatman, passing instructions back to Gem for gear, trying not to be too harsh when she gets the wrong thing the first time or two.  She removes the arrows and treats the burns, continually checking on the man's vitals. Sangha has lost enough blood for her to be concerned and she has to jury rig a small tripod to hold an IV bottle of blood since she cannot get the kit hooked up to do the job.  To her credit, Gem only retches twice over the side during the treatment and learns quickly where the things are that Alyce asks for.  Even still, things are very touch and go until Alyce removes the final arrow and places it in the boat with the others she has removed.  Alyce sits back against the side of the boat after replacing the blood on the tripod with a second unit from the kit.  She sighs and places her hands in the river to wash the blood from them before using a sterile wipe to clean them of what might be in the water.
 
She finally takes the time to look at the stored feed from Misha's sensors and looks back at Al, "It looks like several of the men jumped into one of the other boats to follow us as we left but were unfamiliar with the motor and never left the dock.  Three men left to follow the river and the rest returned to the deep foliage near the shack.  I have Misha zipping along after us right now and he has just passed the men following us.  If you want my two Nuyen on the matter, I would recommend putting in to shore and ambushing them.  Misha can keep tabs on them and let us know where they are, which should make your job easier.  I have stabilized Sangha and he is out of danger for now, but if you put us up to the shore I can also move my medkit up here and see if I need to correct anything I screwed up.  Going to have some nasty scars to remind him of us, though.  And his burns seem odd;  it is almost as if some mojo was slung at him.  I have seen similar effects before."
 
She gives him a ragged smile.  "And I do not want to forget to thank you for saving our lives on the boat.  We might have looked like poor Sangha if you had not taken us over the side.  And that was very nice work on the dock.  Misha fed me all the details."  She faces the girl and adds, "And Gem here has been a trooper.  Saving this man would have been much more difficult without your help.  Thank you."
 

[adamu]

Once everyone was aboard, Al picked up the pace considerably. He watched the river and he watched Alyce and the girl. All three of them were soaked to the skin, but it was actually a help in the oppressive heat. Unlike Sangha, he kept them as far from the river banks as possible, and that meant no shade. The water took heat with it as it dried off of them. A minor blessing.

Mind racing with options and problems and how to solve them, he'd known instantly he'd be busy with the boat and wondered what Alyce would do with this poor traumatized girl, since she'd need all of her attention keeping the poor boatman alive. And he was duly impressed as she managed to deftly kill two birds with one stone. It would have been so easy just to ask him to bring her the medkit, but using the girl as a surgical nurse kept her mind off of her situation nicely. And it also told him that Alyce was a hell of a sawbones, if she could handle those wounds even with such an inefficient set-up. Why did she have to be so wrong and so perfect at the same time?

He studiously avoided the girl's gaze. What she'd just been through, and soon a full realization of her loss, he had no idea what he'd say if forced to interact with her, and thanked Damballa that Alyce was here.

He nodded at her unnecessary praise, and then his eyes narrowed when she suggested an ambush. All he said at first was, "Put the feed on my 'link." But the thing's screen was hopeless in the bright sunlight, and he had to route it to the image link in his eyes. Immediately his head swam, but they didn't need another sick person aboard so he grit his teeth and mastered it. Looked at the GPS overview showing their own location and that of the tracking drone, and was surprised to see the speed those guys were making. He'd never have thought they could keep up, but somehow they were. More bad juju, he was sure.

He respected Alyce's abilities as an operator enough that he would normally have laid his reasoning out for her, but he didn't want to do that in front of the girl. He very much liked the idea of killing two of those guys and catching one alive for a chat. But they had no idea how many more were out there, so there was no way he could risk leaving the others. And they didn't have time. Once night fell, the whole game would change, and they had two people that very much needed to reach Andoung Tuek. Sangha needed to be at the small hospital they had. And the girl...hell, everything was going to hit her and the adrenaline would wear off and the protection the shock afforded her brain would wear thin and she'd be in a right state. Couldn't have that happen out here on the water.

But it sounded like Alyce needed to get Sangha on the ground for a minute to fully stabilize him. And at the rate those guys were coming, they wouldn't have to wait more than twenty minutes...

He slowed. Now that he'd made his decision he was happy for the opposition to catch up. Found a clear spot of beach, cut the motor, and used the pole to guide the boat in. It was clear he was familiar with watercraft. He carried Sangha easily onto the shore, and took him out of sight into the foliage. The woman and girl followed him, Alyce with her kit. Then all he did was tap his 'link. "I ping you, you leave him, take her, and go on the boat. Or you'll all three be dead."

Then he disappeared into the bush.

Seventeen minutes later they heard the sound of stifled screams, like someone was gagged but still making an incredible noise. It went on for a few minutes. Then five minutes after that, Al came loping out of the brush, looking no different than when he'd gone in.

He stooped to pick up Sangha. "Ever'one back inna boat. Not long ta dark."

[adamu]

Alyce is impressed by the way Al handles the boat and the idea of the ambush.  She channeled the feed from Misha to Al and watched him parse it for what was important.  She had had no doubts for days now that Yao Lung had found the perfect man for this job, and his actions now just proved that even more.  No moaning, no wasted action, just appropriate action.  God, could this man be more perfect?  Alyce lets Al carry poor Sangha off the boat, following with the medkit and Gem, who she immediately sets to work checking the boatman's vitals as she shown her on the boat.  She looks at Al as he makes his statement and simply nods her head, lying and knowing that he knows she is lying, but there is nothing more that needs to be said about that.  His last view of her as he disappears into the dense foliage is of her removing a strange device from the kit that remotely looks like some sort of gun.
 
Alyce quickly hooks Sangha up to the kit and runs the biomonitor scan to check his status.  She shows Gem what she is doing and talks her through the use of the kit.  Then, satisfied that everything is as it should be under the circumstances, she packs the kit away in her pack and places it on the boat.  Then she and Gem move the boatman as close to the boat as possible.  Alyce has a view of everything as it happens, thanks to Misha and the now linked feed to Al's cybereyes.  She wonders at his reticence to using the wireless capabilities of his eyes and files the information away into the Al Guthrie folder in her brain.  Gem looks up at the screams, but Alyce calms her by telling her that Al is just fine while those following them were not.  knowing that Al must feel strongly about the feed, she cuts the link between him and Misha as soon as the need is past, maintaining her own watch and commanding the microdrone to remain in position to watch for anyone else following them.
 
She hears Al making his way back to them long before Gem does and has both of them ready to get into the boat, believing that Al will want to leave as soon as possible.  Even knowing that Al is alright thanks to her drone feed, her heart leaps at the sight of the man coming out of the foliage and approaching the boat.  She motions to Gem who thankfully does not argue as she moves into the prow near the medlit, followed closely by Alyce herself, who turns to assist Al get Sangha into the small craft.  She is pushing with the pole even as Al clambers aboard and takes his place at the motor, and within a few seconds, the boat is motoring back into the current and continuing its journey to Andoung Tuek.  Alyce places the pole inside the boat and sits down to take care of the bandages that had been loosened when her patient was moved.  She has Gem check Sangha's vitals every few minutes at first, then every half hour.
 
They meet four boats with tourists heading upriver and pass on the warning that rampaging warriors have killed Jim and burned his shack.  There is a great commotion among the other boatmen over this news and Al and Alyce are met at the dock by a crowd of people and three policemen, which must be just about the entire strength of the law in the village.  A doctor from the local clinic is also waiting and gives orders for Sangha and Gem to taken up and asks Alyce to accompany him to tell him what she has done.  The policemen indicate that they would like to take Al's statement.  Before leaving, Alyce looks at Al and says, "Find me when you are done.  I will be at the clinic."

[adamu]

The last time Al had talked to a Cambodian cop he'd been in chains on his way into prison. His eyes narrowed for a minute, sizing them up. He wasn't going back. But they were local seat-warmers whose only experience appeared to be handling drunken tourists. And he was sure no documentation from the prison had survived the coup.

So he went back to their little station with them - a cinderblock cube with a functioning communications suite and some bars across one corner, some doors leading to storerooms or offices. Told them about finding the place already burned to the ground, and then how the kid had been found under the mother. They'd tried to bring her, of course, but then arrows had been shot at them, felling Sangha, and they'd naturally fled. Simple story. First chance he got he texted it to Alyce, in case they questioned her too. No, he hadn't seen who had shot the arrows. If he told them it was the Pearic tribes, the government might use it as an excuse to go in and make them go to school or pay taxes or something, and they had enough problems. More importantly, government attention was the last thing they needed if they were going to go in there and get the dingus - and that was what he'd been paid to do.

The cops were happy with his story, grateful to be able to speak Khmer rather than struggle along with their outdated chips and their own rudimentary English skills. The interview didn't last long, but it felt like an eternity since his cigarettes had gotten soaked and he wasn't about to accept one of the local smokes the cops offered him.

Dusk had turned into full dark by the time he got out, and the atmosphere on the muddy streets was more subdued, though he could sense the buzz of alarmed conversations and excited speculations inside the houses he passed.

The clinic was the only two-story structure in town, even had its own generator just like a bona fide hospital. There were lots of lights on when Al walked up, and he could hear activity, normal bustle. But the reception area was empty, no one at the desk. He sat down on a plastic chair and waited, itching for a smoke, knowing he was going to squeeze Alyce to within an inch of her life the moment she reappeared.

[Mercy Merchant]

Alyce accompanied the litter that was brought out for Sangha, holding Gem's hand the entire way and answering the doc's questions the best she could.  A very pregnant young woman accompanied by several relatives arrived at the clinic just as Alyce and the rest went in.  She is introduced to Alyce as Wewah, Sangha's wife and the two women talk briefly before the doc calls Alyce back to where he is looking over the boatman.  Official doctor words are said as Alyce describes her treatment and the condition of the injuries.  Both spend a lot of time looking at the burned areas and shaking their heads at the condition of the skin there.  Both come to the conclusion that some sort of magic caused the burns.  The doctor congratulates Alyce on a very fine job and credits her with saving Sangha's life.  Both commiserate that something could not have been done for the tourist couple or their boatman.

Alyce is allowed to return to the waiting room as Wewah and the other relatives are allowed to visit with Sangha.  Gem crawls up onto the plastic covered bench in the waiting room and sits next to Alyce.  In a small voice that Alyce is sure is supposed to sound brave, the girl asks, "What is to become of me?"

Alyce has been thinking of that very thing for some time and does not have a very good answer.  "I think that someone will contact your relatives and you will be sent to live with them.  Do you know any of your parent's families?"

The girl shakes her head.  "I don't think they had any.  Never met any, anyways."

Alyce gets the girl's full name and the names of her parents and tells her that she is going to pretend to be asleep for a bit and not to disturb her.  Going into VR, Alyce rides EVO's Global Grid to London and accesses the public host for registered marriages and births.  She fills out the proper cards and hands them to tuxedo-clad servants, who dash off to locate the names and anyone associated with them.  Each returns with a similar story...................no record.  Alyce's avatar pauses and considers the options before sending out more cards.  More success this time as the servants return with information on an address and an auto registration.  Sadly, there is conflicting information; the address is a vacant lot and the name on the title to the non-existent house that is listed there belongs to a man dead over fifty years. 

Puzzled, Alyce leaves this host and visits the EVO host in London, asking for an appointment with her handler.  Matrix cheeks are kissed and Alyce presents her problem.  Arrangements are made for the girl to live in London at Alyce's home while EVO does some digging into the girl's family.  Alyce draws her avatar back to her body and carefully slips out of VR back into the meat world.  She sits up and places a hand on Gems, saying, "Gem, I am having trouble finding your family.  I have asked some friends of mine to look into it for me.  In the meantime I am going to send you to my home in London.  My assistant, Coral, will look after you until I get home.  A nice man will come out from Phnom Penh tomorrow to take you there and put you on an airplane back to London, where other nice people will meet you.  I am sure that we will find something for you.  Do you have any questions?"

The girl shakes her head and curls up next to Alyce, falling asleep.  Alyce receives Al's message a few minutes before a policeman enters the clinic and asks to speak with her.  A nurse volunteers to watch Gem and Alyce goes off to a small office to answer questions.  Sticking to the story is easy to do as it is mostly the truth.  After the policeman is finished with her he says that he wants to talk to the girl, too.  Alyce requests to remain in the room and that is allowed, as there is no one else from her family available.  The counter nurse is summoned to bring Gem and she is asked a number of questions, most of which she cannot answer, although she does mention a few times how scared she was and how brave Alyce and Al had been.  The doctor pokes his head in to say that he wants to look the girl over and the nurse takes her away.  As he leaves, the doctor announces that he thinks it best to keep her at the clinic overnight for observation as sometimes a great shock such as what she has been through will not manifest for a number of hours.  Alyce comforts Gem, telling her that she will see her in the morning.

Leaving the small room, Alyce returns to the waiting room to find Al waiting there.  Her heart leaps as he stands and walks quickly to her, catching her up in a great hug.  Her body melts to his and she would purr if she was a cat.  All of the troubles of the day vaporized as he holds her in his arms.  After a while that seems to last far longer that it really does, she turns her face to his and places her forehead against his and whispers, "May I kiss you?"

[adamu]

He didn’t say anything, just gently pulled her head down and kissed her softly on one eyebrow, then a cheek, moving slowly. Turning her head, their noses brushing, he took his time kissing her other cheek, and finally a feathery meeting of their lips, held just long enough to leave doubt whether it was a kiss for a sister or a lover.

He chided himself for his response to her entrance to the reception area – they’d been apart barely two hours, and whatever they’d faced on the river was likely just a warm-up for what lay ahead – but he had missed her terribly. Not cool. And although the embrace he’d offered had been about a reunion with a friend, the feel of her chest and hips tight against his had caused an immediate and obvious reaction in his body that there was no way she could miss, and a tiny parting of her lips and a quarter of a sly smile had confirmed that she had felt him.

Pulse dangerously high, he separated their bodies along with their lips, holding her by the shoulders at arm’s length and grinning hugely at her, taking her all in hungrily. The chestnut hair, the funky shades, restless tattoo, full lips. His eyes were full of unspoken praise, but he had to keep reminding himself that even as she divined his moods by his pulse and heat signature, some more subtle facial expressions might be lost to her. So he said, “Ya done outdid yerself today, toots. Yer a helluva player.” He put his arm around her waist – her shoulders were too high if they were standing – and walked her out of the clinic. “First thing, we smoke. Then we eat! I ain’t had nothin’ since the hotel this mornin’.  If we was in Chi Pat I’d say shower first, mark the occasion, but since we’s stuck with a barrel an’ a ladle here, I’m fer headin’ straight ta the local waterin’ hole an’ orderin’ two of ever’thin’ on they menu.”