[adamu]

Alyce lets Al take her hand and lead her to the bedroom.  Even when he isn't trying, he radiates a strength that Alyce can relate to.  Not for the first time, Alyce is sure that her blindness is one of her greatest assets because it allows her to focus on things that would be invisible to someone with eyes, and it prevents her from focusing on what is visible on the outside of a person.  She is completely aware of Al's features and views him as perfect, but it is the parts of him that are not visible to normal eyes that have impressed her more.  The only thing she finds off about all of this is that he does not show any interest in her.  Oh, certainly his temperature and breathing change when he looks at her; she would be more concerned if he did not react, but he has made no effort to capitalize on their situation.
 
Once back in the room, Alyce sits on the bed and begins unlacing her boots, taking a few moments to try to figure out what he is talking about.  Boots and socks off, she sits on the bed and faces him.  "A believer, Al?  I believe in many things.  I believe in the power of evil and in the absolute power of good to overcome that evil.  I believe in love, although this is certainly not the profession where one would normally expect to find it.  I believe in science, as my multiple implants would attest to.  I believe in the power and majesty of a God who set us here to test us and who allows us to make mistakes, all in His name.  I believe that all of us make mistakes and that some of those mistakes can be very bad.  I was born into the Russian Orthodox Church and still attend services when and where I can.  So, have I just convinced you to pack your things and head to Thailand or are you going to stay?"
 
Still on the bed, Alyce pulls her shirt from her trousers, undoing the remaining buttons as she does.  She slips the shirt off and places it on the bed next to her before laying  down and undoing her pants then slipping trousers and panties off as one and putting them with the shirt.  Standing, she walks toward Al while pulling her long ponytail over her shoulder to her front.  When she is in front of him, she takes the second chair and turns it so that she can straddle the seat with her back to him.  The seven-headed serpent is in full glory on her back, stretching from just above her ass to just below her neck with the body making several ess curves from one side to the other.  Each head is a different color from the main body and the scales are so intricately inked in that they seem to have dimensions.  Even as Al looks at it, he notices one eye blink and the body and heads twist just ever so slightly.  Looking closely, he can indeed see where the artist used the scars on her back as part of the canvas, melding them into the curves and heads of the serpent in such a manner that they seem invisible from a slight distance and he might have missed them entirely if she had not mentioned the scars earlier.  This is a true work of art by a master artist and must have taken several months to complete and the entire effect is a bit eerie, but extremely beautiful and almost hypnotic.
 
Her upper arms are marked with bands of Russian letters in a an extraordinarily ornate Cyrillic script.  The letters wind about her arms and Al can't read them,, but he'd done time with Russians, and knew the band on the right arm was an assertion of honor and the left one of family, part of an initiation into the Russian mob.  From where he is sitting behind her, he can see that her thighs are inked in a pattern of ivy with some butterflies flittering among the leaves.  Looking closer, he can see another of the seven-headed serpents peering at him from within the ivy.

[adamu]

Al was about to answer her, but the end of her speech marked the moment she started undressing. She dispensed with the coy back-turning business, and he saw no reason to ruin the moment by talking. When she stood and walked toward him, he was pretty sure the Apocalypse was upon him. But of course she'd stopped a pace short of his reach, grabbed a chair, and displayed herself for him.

He managed to keep breathing. Took a second to look at the curves formed by the way she sat, then forced his attention to the art. The way she wasn't self-conscious at all, he reckoned she was thinking of him like a brother. So that's what he'd be. And with her back to him, no way even her jacked up senses could see the desperate whiteness of his knuckles as he gripped the seat of his chair.

And then he was lost in the images on her back, her arms, her thighs. They were magnificent. They calmed him some. Took him somewhere else, while reminding him who he was.

"No toots, I ain't runnin' off ta Thailand."

[Mercy Merchant]

Alyce sighs softly then swivels around in the chair to face Al from close up.  "You are a good man, Al Guthrie.  You have skills and talents that most men dream of.  You have a way of cutting through the bullshit and going to what is important, either to you or to the mission.  You talk straight without dicking around.  All in all you are someone worth knowing.  I can tell by several indicators that you are attracted to my body, yet you do not take advantage of me.  I am assuming that you either have a very lucky woman waiting somewhere or you do not mix business with pleasure, or perhaps both.  I applaud you for either reason and I realize that I have been very unfair to you.  I am extremely comfortable in my skin and am not shy about sharing it, but I will change my habits to avoid causing you any unnecessary discomfort.  Please accept my apology and I hope that you can still work with me."

Alyce stands up in front of Al and pushes her chair back with one foot before turning to walk over to her pack.  Bending over, she roots around for a few moments then stands with some material and a small tin in her hands.  Going to the bed, Alyce picks up her shirt and slips it back on, buttoning up all but one button before turning to face Al.  "Neither one of us got much sleep last night.  I think the bed is too soft for me and I noticed you tossing and turning quite a bit.  Would you mind terribly if I slept on the lanai tonight?  I have a mosquito net and some cream our hostess swears will keep me bug free that I would like to try out.  I will set my internal clock so as to wake up in time to make the boat.  I have arranged for some food to take for breakfast."

She picks up her trousers and panties and puts them in her arm before turning to leave.  At the opening to the lanai, she stops.  "Al, you are a remarkable man.  It is a pleasure to be able to work with you.  I hope that you are not too disappointed to have to work with me."  Alyce then steps onto the lanai and spreads her net out before opening the tin and applying some of the cream to her skin.  Her enhanced olfactory senses pick out the aroma and finds it a bit unpleasant but bearable.  After finishing with the cream, she slides under the net and places her trousers under her head for a pillow.

[adamu]

Damn the woman could talk.

Al had just stayed sitting in his chair as she spoke her mind and went about her business. There were several points where he might have interjected something, but he could see she was working to maintain her dignity, and he just let her speak her piece.

And he'd learned a lot. There was much he'd gotten right, and a lot more he'd been wrong about. Same on her side - sometimes she was dead wrong, and other times he wondered if her heightened senses extended to mind-reading.

I didn't help his ruminations that he was looking at an incredibly beautiful woman the entire time. About half of it she'd been naked, which he allowed he liked quite a bit. But he liked looking at her just as much with her clothes on.

And that was a danger sign if ever there was one.

Which meant that all the things her speech had made him want to tell her, he figured they'd better wait.

So he'd just tell her the couple of things he reckoned he had to.

He waited a few minutes until his pulse had slowed and her breathing had evened out a bit, then put his boots back on, sauntered out, and sat down near her.

"Yer a right handful, I'll give ya that. But you've been nothin' but an unlooked-for delight since the moment I laid eyes on ya." It was really hard to just say what he needed to and nothing else. "You've got not one thing to apologize ta me for, an' ya ain't never gotta worry 'bout me leavin' ya alone on this job. Now I'm gon' go fer a walk, an' if yer ass ain't in that bed when I git back there'll be hell ta pay."

Then he walked away looking for somewhere that would sell him a drink.

[Mercy Merchant]

Alyce listened to Al and realized that she liked the way he turned a phrase.  And his voice was pleasing to her ear.  There was little about him that she disliked, other than that he drinks a lot.  She has found that men who drink too much can be nasty and completely unlikable.  She has not seen Al reach that point yet, but he really has not had much opportunity.  Still, if that is his only flaw.................

She waits for him to tromp off before leaving the lanai and going back to the bed.  Sliding under the thin cover, she wonders if he will join her there when he returns.  Before falling asleep, she activates Sasha and sends him after the man with instructions to ping her if he gets into trouble.  The other micro drones are on duty at the house.  It does not take long for her to drift off to sleep, but she does not sleep without dreams.  When Al returns he finds that she has moved about on her side of the bed and that the thin cover has been pulled to one side, revealing her naked ass in the moonlight.  His arrival wakes her slightly and she pats the empty side of the bed and in a drowsy voice says, "Come to bed, Al.  Hold me.  Please."

[adamu]

Al returned home to an intoxicating view and a dilemma.

Listening to her, looking at her, he realized if he snuggled up to her now, she wouldn't need all those fancy sensory upgrades to find out real quick exactly how he was feeling.

So what the hell, why not?

Time was, he wouldn't have hesitated. Wouldn't have thought twice. But none of those times were her.

Some things had to be done right. And she was one of those things.

So he walked around to the side of the bed she was sleeping on, pulled the coverlet over her, and told her he was going to brush his teeth. Not a very good lie, since he didn't own a toothbrush at the moment. But she relaxed and fell back to sleep. He watched her there, feeling protective, and had to remind himself she was a good spell older than he was, whether she looked about twenty-two or not.

He ended up nodding off in a chair for a solid two hours, which was good for him, and was waiting for her out on the lanai when she woke up, new backpack by his side.

[adamu]

Alyce mumbles something as Al covers her then fades quickly back to sleep.  Part of her ponytail has come free and frames her face in the moonlight as she sleeps.
 
When she awakes to the noise from her internal alarm, Al is already up and smoking on the lanai.  Alyce quickly throws her trousers on and heads out the door to the bathroom, returning a few minutes later looking much happier.  She tosses some things in the pack and brings it out to where Al is standing, putting it next to his.  "Don't you sleep?  Anyway, we have plenty of time, so let me go get the sack meals I arranged for.  Be right back."
 
Alyce walks to the kitchen where the hostess is already up.  She helps the woman pack the food and wishes her a nice day, saying that they expect to be back in two days.  The woman looks at Alyce and says, "You tell Mama Baozen if man not treat right.  Woman look like you need much sex.  Many babies.  Mama Baozen find good man here if your man not satisfy you.  Yes, find good man here."  She looks sideways at Alyce.  "Some already ask.  Much good men.  Hard workers.  Make good husbands and fathers.  Let Mama Baozen know."  Both women laugh, but Alyce is sure that the older woman is serious.
 
When she gets back to the lanai, Alyce put the food in her pack and stands up after removing her walking stick from a side strap.  She slings the pack to her back and jiggles a bit to settle the weight and it is quite obvious to Al that her breasts are unfettered as she moves.  Alyce looks at Al and smiles.  "Our hostess already has three good men lined up for me if you do not satisfy my needs.  Hard workers, apparently.  Good husbands and fathers for many children.  You had better watch out."  She pushes some stray hairs behind an ear and adds, "Sorry, I must look a mess.  You will have to get used to this me while travelling.  I was thinking of leaving Sasha here to watch over the building and do a security loop of the village three times a day while we are out.  Yuri and Pyotr will be coming with us.  That OK with you, or would you recommend anything different for the drones?"
 
She puts her walking stick in her hand and follows Al off the lanai and out to the river to pick up their boat.

[adamu]

Al was glad to be on the move. He actually didn't care a whit about using the time well, and he wasn't a believer in making a lot of plans, since they never came off the way they were supposed to anyway. But after a year in one place, he just wanted to be moving. And taking a look up the river seemed as good a plan as any.

He'd spent more than a year in the Cardamom Mountains, handling demolitions for a gray-market tin mining operation before jumping contract with some local guys and getting into trouble farther north. He knew the Preak Piphot river was the best way from here to Chi Pat, but he'd never actually been on it, never been this far toward the southern end of the range. So now for the second day in a row he was standing next to Alyce and looking out over the wide swath of water and the swarms of small boats that earned their livelihood from it.

Theirs was waiting for them as promised. Al introduced Alyce to Sangha. Her chip told her his name meant handsome. He hadn't always lived in the area, and spoke the Central dialect, which made it easier for her to speak with him. They exchanged the required honorific greetings and he pushed off. it was a narrow skiff. Two could not sit abreast. But it had an outboard, which Sangha said he'd use once they were clear of the heavy traffic around the town. For now he was content to push along with a pole, the current lazy, but he still must have been a strong man.

Al sat behind Alyce, and he didn't offer much conversation, except occasionally he'd say something about the shades of green they were passing. Then fall silent again. Up near the front of the boat, the small outboard was not too noisy, and it's hum soon faded from consciousness, replaced by sporadic cries of monkeys and the flapping of heron wings overhead.

Two hours in, Al said, "When I asked if you was a believer, reckon I was jist askin' if you was a Christian. But that were a hell of an answer. Still remember it. Contemplatin' it."

[adamu]

Alyce greets Sangha in Khmer and it seems that his dialect is from the central highlands and she can understand him better than she can most of the locals with their unfamiliar dialect.  She asks Sangha how he came to live in this part of the country and he proudly states that he has married the most beautiful woman in Cambodia and she lives here with her parents, who operate four of the boats on the river.  He has moved here to help run the business and would some day inherit it all and pass it on to his children, of which he had three so far and another on the way.
 
On the boat, Alyce sits in the prow, with Al right behind her and Sangha in the rear.  At first the boatman uses a long pole but starts the small outboard motor up after the leaves the village behind and gets onto the open water of the river.  The Preak Piphot gently winds up toward the mountain, straightening out the closer it gets.  The conversation is light and sporadic, which suits Alyce.  Once in a while, Al will throw up some comment about the colors of the scenery.  Alyce can tell when they pass from the grassland into the rainforest proper when she can no longer feel the rays of the sun on her skin.  The forest is humid and fairly close in, and insects swarm the three travelers.  Alyce is very glad to see that the cream Baozen had given her actually works.  She offers the tin back to Al if he wants it, and Sangha calls out a question when he sees her using it.  "So, is from Baozen?  I can smell from here.  Really works.  Should try some."
 
Further on, the river widens, allowing the sun to filter down, but only for a short distance before the triple canopy closes in again.  The humidity is enough that Alyce undoes a couple more buttons of her shirt to mop the sweat up with a small handkerchief.  She leaves the buttons undone since Al is behind her and cannot see the exposed skin.  She keeps Misha flying above and behind the boat, bringing the microdrone in to be recharged from her portable charger and swapping it for the other drone.  The noises from the surrounding rainforest are a constant mix of monkey and bird, with something else tossed in once in a while.  The river and its banks are beautiful, even for one of her disability, and she can imagine what it must look like to someone who can see.
 
Al's statement comes from out of nowhere and she has to think for a moment before replying.  "A Christian?  Yes, I would like to think so.  I sin, as most people do.  I have caused lives to be taken.  I am sexually active without being married.  I have engaged in sexual intercourse with women, and have enjoyed it very much.  I am not ashamed of my body and would probably be a nudist if given the opportunity.  I have coveted things.  I have coveted other people, although I have never taken a man or woman to my bed if I knew that they were married or otherwise taken.  I have robbed by breaking into banks and storage facilities."  She holds up her arms.  "You saw the ink on my arms, yes?  Those tats show that I am a bonafide member of the Vory, the Russian Mafia, and have done some criminal activities to support that organization.  I have worked for just about every AAA and major criminal organization, which means that my activities for them are probably against the laws of the nations I was operating in.  How many more sins do I need to tell about?  I am a sinful, sinful woman, Al.  Still, I try to give confession when I can.  My priest in London shudders when I come on confession day because he knows that he is in for an earful."
 
"The bottom line, Al, is that I live.  I enjoy life and I enjoy all that life brings me.  I have toyed with drugs, but do not really see the need.  I drink vodka, gin, and whiskey like water, although after a few my clothes tend to start falling off.  I smoked for years but gave it up one day and never went back, although I have been sniffing after the smoke from your Lucky Strikes.  I can swear like the worst sailor you might have met, although I have found that it is best to limit that sort of activity to certain low places.  My sexual techniques could rival the Kama Sutra in the number of positions I know and use.  My philosophy is simple: life is to be lived, sins confessed, penance paid, and exaltation expected at the end."
 
Sitting where she is, Alyce cannot see the effect of her words on Al.

[adamu]

"Franklin fuckin' Roosevelt, woman, ya don't hold much back, do ya?"

Listening to her, he hadn't been able to tell if she was confessing or boasting. Maybe mostly just rationalizing.

He sat for some time without saying anything else, parsing her words. They had surprised him when he knew they shouldn't have. He'd already known that she was a criminal and a mercenary, but he'd let her openness, her kindness, her thoughtfulness, her honesty about herself blind him to all of it. A very dangerous woman.

Come right down to it, though, he'd hardly lived without a few missteps of his own.

Sure enough it was a fallen world.

All the more so because her little speech had actually made her just that much more attractive to him.

"I'll allow as I believe in fergiveness, though I don't know if a body gits exalted fer...hey, lookee there." He pointed to a house built out over the water on stilts. It had a wide porch facing all three sides against the water, stacked with all manner of junk. An unlikely handpainted sign named the place Trader Jim's Good Deal Shack in English and Khmer, or at least as close as the latter could come phonetically. "Groovy baby - good place ta git the skinny on the neighborhood."

[Mercy Merchant]

Alyce listens to Al and laughs.  "No, Al, I do not believe in holding back."  The lie tastes sour on her tongue.  Alyce would love to turn around in her seat and tell the man that she is falling for him, but her code will not let her.  Al is obviously in love with someone else and she will not be the snake that steals another woman's man.  Sad, really, but there it is.

Sasha had alerted her to the building on the river bank, as had the glaring matrix icon when it showed up on her deck and commlink.  A softly purring generator echoes across the water, providing an oddly jarring noise to the backdrop of the natural sounds of the rainforest  Alyce is already searching the matrix with Ivan, her 'link agent, when Al spies the place.  Sangha calls out just after Al does.  "It is Trader Jim place.  Most tourist not go past.  Has tourist souvenirs, some snacks, some cigarettes, some colas.  Trader Jim know many story.  Boat stay two hours tops and still make Chi Pat for night.  Longer and stay on river overnight.  Not good idea.  Tiger, croc, mean monkey, all bad for stay on river bank."

Al says most affirmatively that they will be done here well before the two hours as the boat pulls up to the outer lanai.  There are already five other river boats tied up at the rickety dock when Sangha pulls in.  Al jumps to the dock and takes the rope from Sangha, tying it off to a post.  Alyce holds an arm out for Al to assist her out of the boat and steps up.  Al helps her navigate the steps from the dock to the lanai and on into the trading post, which actually seems to be bigger than it looks.  Alyce hears the tones of several tourists from the UCAS and three from England.  All are jabbering about which T-shirts they should take home for one relative or another. 

Alyce's ultrasound sensor allows her to walk through the aisles without toppling any of the stacks of cheap souvenirs.  The waves bouncing back show a wide variety of things, many stacked without any real sense of place.  "Native-made" trinkets vie for space on the same shelf as canteens made in the UCAS and plastic dolls in local dress provided by a manufacturer out of China.  Dresses in the local style hang on a long rack near one wall, concealing the fire extinguisher, which was last checked several years ago.  Almost everything seems to be on some sort of discount or sale pricing or last on hand special price; all common tourist merchandise speak for "I am ripping you off". 

Alyce carefully moves through the aisles, dutifully touching some of the merchandise to test its quality, finally coming to stand near the counter.  Listening to all the conversations, she filters out what seems innocuous at the time and saves the recordings in her mind to replay later.  Her enhanced hearing allows her to pick up two of the patrons talking about her.  "Look dear.  An Elf.  I wonder what she is doing here.  I thought that just being in Cambodia got you arrested if you are an Elf."

"She, she might hear you.  I hear they can hear better with those ears. And besides, I think I read somewhere that the current government lifted the restrictions for non-humans."

""Really?  Oh, well, there is that, then.  So what should we get for Tommy?" 

She is comfortable letting Al do the talking with the trader as she does not really have many questions on her own.  Al spies a map of the Cardamom Mountains behind the counter, noting that there is a large section of the map marked off with crude hash lines.  Asking about the marks elicits a strange look from the trader.  "Thinking of going up there, eh?  Doing some prospecting, I would guess.  Well, you got the right place for that.  Buried in some parts of those mountains is the remnants of a lost civilization, said to have existed on the ores and gems mined there and sold to far away places.  Why, some of the crown jewels of the old Kingdoms of Europe came from up there.  Some of those mines are just waiting to be found.  And that is not all.  The civilization just up and disappeared, leaving behind temples and palaces full of precious gems and gold statues and rooms full of coins and bullion."

The man realizes that he has an audience and lowers his voice to a conspiratorial level as if to emphasize that he is telling some great secret.  "But that is not all, for these treasure places are cursed.  Strange man-monsters roam the mountains there.  They are descendants of monstrous guardians placed to protect the treasures and mines.  Why, I could tell you some stories that would leave you gasping in horror.  It is not a safe place and it certainly is not a place for the unwary or inexperienced.  I see that some of you are about to leave, but if you are interested, I do have a collection of maps that can guide you to one or more of the lost treasure cities lost in the mountains.  Although I should warn anyone who is thinking of buying one of the maps, that going up there can visit the curse upon you, so buy at your own risk."

The trader happily sells several maps, mostly as curios as none of these tourists are planning any trips into the interior on this or any other vacation.  Soon, Al, Alyce, and Sangha are the only visitors remaining in the shack.  Al takes the man aside and starts asking question.

[adamu]

Trader Jim was no more than twenty-five.  He wore torn up space pants under an ancient Maria Mercurial concert T. A bulky pair of headphones nestled around his neck, and his English was better than it should be for just pushing trinkets on tourists. He had an accent that Al couldn't place at first, but after investing ten minutes in small talk about the weather and river conditions, he understood it was because he'd never heard the accent with English before,  only Khmer or French.  Then he noticed the deep crenellation carved into the cartilage around the back of the kid's right ear. He switched from English to Chong. "You know Grandfather Aruk?"

Trader Jim's eyes went wide as saucers. "Everybody in the four villages revered Grandfather. But he rejoined his ancestors last spring."

Al glanced at Alyce to indicate they were being rude - though it surprised him that he even cared about that - and switched back to English. "I am very sorry to hear that, and..." how would the proper expression go in English? "...I wish him happy fortune on his journey."

The trader put his hands together and bowed, but then reverted back to his preferred hipster demeanor. "Man, I ain't never seen a Yankee could speak the People's language.  Is there a chip out?"

"Fat chance o' that. Tin mines." That got a nod of understanding. "So now ever'one knows who ever'one is, let's lose the tour guide spiel. This here's my associate, Perfessor Galore of the University of Berlin School of Archaeology, an' we got money in our pockets an' questions on our minds."

[Mercy Merchant]

Alyce keeps her silence when Al and the young man switch to a different language.  She searches the Babel database for a chip, but it appears to be an obscure dialect.  She expects that Al will cover the conversation with her later and is pleasantly surprised when he switches back to English.  Even though a bit taken aback by the surprise introduction, Alyce recovers quickly.  She reaches out to Babel and downloads a German chip to give herself an accent as she holds out a hand to the trader.  "Nice to meet you.  We have heard about some sort of artifact buried in these mountains, probably in one of the ruins you have mentioned.  Can you tell us anything else about the area?"

An elderly native comes into the front part of the shack from the rear.  He is carrying a broom and begins sweeping up.  The trader barely looks at the man but gives a soft curse and says, "Hey, scram.  Can't you see we still have customers?"

The old man bows his head and shuffles out of the room.  The trader shrugs his shoulders and says, "Sorry about that.  He knows he is not to be out here when I have customers.  Now, where were we?  Oh yes, the ruins.  There are always legends about lost artifacts in ancient ruins.  That sort of thing keeps people like me in money.  But, OK, no more trade speak.  But this isn't free, so what do you say to 5K professor?  And real money, not the local scrip which is worthless.  I have been thinking of relocating, anyway, and I need a stake.  I have some good info for that price."

[adamu]

"Good info, as in a twenny?" Al asked.

"No man, I don't know where. But look, there is a place, somewhere. Sure, all the sites are either myths or they've been good and worked over. But there's something up there still. Something powerful. Everyone in the four villages feels it. But only the Elders know where it is." He shrugged. "And I ain't no Elder, right?"

It fit. Yao's refusal to say exactly where, just his insistence that Al take them to the Pearic villages.

"No dice amigo. Cuz that ain't hardly front page above the fold material."

"Well, the man-monsters are real. That's not just a story."

"Boy, I done lived up there. They's snake-monsters, bird-monsters, plant-monsters, croc-monsters, hell, I got awakened crabs from a damned camp whore once. If it could Awaken up there, it did. Few more abominations inna mix ain't news ta me neither."

"C'mon man, that's gotta be worth something..."

"Sure, that plus this carton o' smokes is worth five nuyan."

The kid licked his lips. "All right man, saved the best for last, right." He looked over his shoulder at where the old man had left the room. "It's not where, but it's something. I'm not even supposed to know it, I overheard it. But it's, like, against my religion to talk about. Telling it to outsiders could bring a curse upon my village."

Al didn't need Alyce's translator gadget to interpret 'curse upon my village' as 'this will cost more.' He nodded to Alyce and she peeled off a healthy stack of nuyen cash and laid it on the counter. But before the kid could take it Al's burn-melted left hand had slapped onto it like a sprung mousetrap. "That's on the table. Now see if you can talk my paw off'n it."

"Maaan, look, I don't know what it even means. I mean, it's the People's language, but it's nonsense, right. Maybe a name. Maybe a puzzle. But you know, when some old fart becomes an Elder, they actually go on some vision quest crap and go see this thing. And when they do, this is the phrase they teach them before they go."

He glanced over his shoulder, and Al's crushed gravel voice became impatient. "What'cha sweatin' him for? He ain't here an' he sure as hell don't speakee no English."

"Man, he hears me say this, I'm out of the tribe, right. Listen, I'll whisper it to you." And he did, right in Al's ear.

"Now her," Al ordered.

Trader Jim went over and whispered it for Alyce, and Al caught her eye, marking her silent confirmation that she'd recorded it for later. He moved his hand off the cash. "Pleasure doin' business with ya, kemo sabe." He grabbed the carton of Luckys - the one's Alyce had bought him wouldn't last forever - and added another fiver to the stack of money.

A few minutes later, he was helping Alyce down into the skiff. They took their seats, and as Sangha pushed off, he leaned forward towards her and said, "I din't really git crabs from a camp whore. Jist seemed like a badass thing ta say." He leaned back and lit a cigarette with his huge Zippo. "Just sayin'."

[Mercy Merchant]

Alyce laughs.  "Wouldn't matter if you did, Al.  I can fix that problem if it ever comes up.  Miracles of modern medicine and all that.  just sayin'.  So................... you buy his story?"