Al couldn't think what stories he'd tell that he might not with Alyce present. He mused that anything he'd consider inappropriate in mixed company would hardly raise an eyebrow with the woman, who could no doubt leave in him in the dust when it came to such tales. But he made no comment as he slung his shotgun and led the way out the door, followed by Kang, and then the two trolls, ducking and squatting to navigate the human-sized portal.
Kang brought his Mossberg - it was a good weapon for jungle fighting, and he carried it like an old friend. He was older than the other Wuxing men, maybe older than Yao. Didn't seem to speak English or Khmer, and it was soon clear the trolls spoke about as much Chinese as Al. But no one seemed to mind.
The trolls had left their primary weapons in the barracks, but both bristled with personal weapons Al doubted he could heft properly. Walking along beside them in the mud, he figured he was just about tall enough to peer over their belt buckles. He'd worked with plenty of trolls, but these two were huge.
He hoped it would matter when they locked horns with the shaman's pet demon.
The bar fell silent upon their entry. And never recovered. Two by two, one by one, the place emptied. Fear or bias, probably the former. The trolls were neither bothered nor surprised, seemed to take it as presumed privilege - as if their very presence demanded the deference of privacy. Walking imperatives for lebensraum.
There were no chairs that would possibly hold them, but by settling on the floor with their backs to a wall, they made the tables just about the right size. Al and Kang sat in chairs across from them, and they all started drinking in earnest. Al and Kang smoked, Milo and Xander did not. There was a lot of small talk, and after a few drinks Kang joined in, even though no one could understand him, nor he them. They were all lauging together within an hour. But Al knew what the trolls wanted to hear about. They would get it all at the briefing after dinner, but he knew they wanted it from him first. And they knew he was waiting for Kang. He carried a weapon alongside them, sure, but he was management. And might understand more than he let on. Or be recording something.
But North Africa was plenty to talk about, and eventually Kang went for a piss. The trolls looked at Al. He shrugged. "You'll hear it all tonight. This was supposed to be a treasure hunt, now it's a witch hunt. The dingus already done got found, an' medicine man up there done turned the whole set o' villages into his own sacrificial cult ta fuel his power. That's what it is, an' it ain't my complaint. My beef is, we been reportin' this fer three, four days now, an' this Ling fuck is still whorin' his way through half o' Phnom Penh. Hell, he wanted another week, an' I reckon Yao worked a miracle gittin' 'im here this fast. But all this time, this psycho up there knows we's comin' for 'im, an' done made two tries on us, one last night here inna vill. Heaven forbid they check the loads tonight an' git onna river tomorrow - no, they gotta take they sweet time an' wait till day after tomorrow, while that freak up onna mountain's spendin' ever' spare moment preppin'a nice warm welcome for us."
Both trolls nodded gravely, but Xander was philosophical. "You don't want that sorta shit, you don't work corp. And you don't work corp, you don't get paid squat."
"And understand this, Guthrie," Milo added, keeping his thunderstorm voice as amiable as he could, "much as we'll all no doubt want to frag Ling and let Yao take charge, Ling's the money. And our contract," he didn't need to explain to Al what a contract meant to mercs like these, "we'll tell you right now - primary stipulation is we keep him safe. Everyone thinks we're here for the team. But essentially we're bodyguards for the asshole."
Al nodded. They'd read his mind, and they'd warned him. He put their minds at ease with a shrug. "Hell, I took they money too. Guide, interpreter, handle the locals, that sorta thing. Nothin' in any of our jobs puts us at cross purposes." The trolls extended their hands, and they shook, Al's scarred paw dwarfed within their massive grips. By the time Kang was back they were asking him about the mountains and the natives and the language. Just informative small talk, but he knew they were testing him, making sure he knew his stuff. If they had any doubts they didn't say anything, and when Al's burner pinged that dinner was ready none of the four was more than buzzed. Al assured them Alyce's cooking was not to be missed and they headed back.
