[Mercy Merchant]

Alyce has just heard the words she needed to hear and her heart leaps in her chest.  **He wants me, and not just now, but for years.  For years.**  Her smile could not be broader as she takes his arm to leave the building.  They walk together around the perimeter of the village, but nothing stands out as out of the ordinary, except that the local constables seem to be out and about instead of in their shack.  She walks silently, her mind and body a whirl of emotions as she relives more what he had said to her than what he had done to her.  She feels strongly that the man loves her and is trying to determine if that love is strong enough to last years or just a few nights.  She hopes he makes the right choice.

The day is drawing to a close by the time they meander back to the house and go in.  Their hostess and her kids are setting the table for the evening meal and welcome Al and Alyce in, telling them that dinner will be in thirty minutes.  The husband is standing in the door to the kitchen, staring at Alyce as they go by.  Once in the room, Alyce sheds her trousers and panties, grabs her cloth from the pack and goes to the lanai to wash up, returning in a few minutes to dress for the evening meal.  She looks over at Al and says, "So, one last night here.  If Ling can keep it in his pants long enough to leave Phnom Penh."

[adamu]

"Yeah, that's a big if, ain't it. Reckon he delays us again, we leave ever'thin' in place here, then call Yao an' head on up ta Chi Pat ourselves. Clock is fucking tickin', an' I want ta start makin' a few quick stabs up into the mountains if we gon' have ta wait longer."

He watched as she got ready for dinner, his head still swimming from the sensation of her lips on his earier that afternoon. He was irritable, annoyed they had to eat with the family, when all he wanted was to spend as much time a possible with her before the rough and tumble of the coming expedition.

Even if it meant another near sleepless night for himself.

He'd stayed awake all last night contemplating, and by morning felt the tremendous relief of a huge decision made and made well. His misgivings and caution about her resolved in his mind, the ensuing travails required by their Agreement didn't bother him.

But the events of the afternoon had confused him deeply again, if only because the more he liked her, the higher the stakes became in his mind, and the more determined he became not to act in his usual precipitous manner..

He caught her eye and asked, "what you said in Chi Pat, about takin' things slow - that all out the window fer you now?"

[adamu]

Alyce already has her trousers changed and is in the process of slipping a clean shirt on when Al asks his question.  She stops and turns to face him for a moment, then walks to the table and sits in the chair next to him.  She folds her hands in her lap and carefully considers her words, knowing that everything she wants for the future might be riding on her response.  She forces her mind to calm and then says, "Al, I am feeling things in my mind and body that I have not ever felt before.  Much of it is confusing to me and so I might frag up what I am going to try to say to you.  Please listen and then ask questions, because I want things to be clear to you.  By our big agreement, I cannot directly tell you that I am falling in love with you, but I think I can say that my feelings for you are reaching heights I have never felt before and let you figure it out from there.  I still like our agreement in principle because I agree that both of us need to agree if this is something more than a quick few days of passion and a shag or if it is something that is timeless and forever.  I know which I prefer and am willing to see if you are of a like mind."
 
She sits back in the chair.  "I can be patient, Al.  I got a feel for some of what you think of me this afternoon and liked it quite a lot.  I want you to be sure of me and sure of you. Now, do you have any other questions for or about me?"

[adamu]

Al smoked calmly as he listened to her. When she finally finished he tamped out his smoke and shook his head with a smile as one would at an insufferably precocious child. Looked up at her and raised one eyebrow.

"Questions 'bout you? Millions. Reckon I wanna ask ya questions day an' night till I could write an encyclopedia 'bout ya. Wanna know ever'thing about ya."

He got up, knowing their hosts were waiting for them. "But we got all night, or more if we choose it. Thanks. Talkin' 'bout such things ain't my way, an' I appreciate you carryin' the load. Now, ya hungry?" He reached out a hand to help her up, and waved at her clothed figure with the other. "I jist hope when we git back here I won't have ta remind ya none about the rules we got in here."

[Mercy Merchant]

Alyce is very hungry and tells him so as she takes his arm and stands, letting him escort her to the dining room.  As usual, the meal is excellent and she enjoys the small talk between the family members.  She positions Misha in the rafter and the feed from the microdrone tells Robyn that the woman's husband looks at her more than during the previous meals here.  Dinner extends a bit due to questions asked them about the river trip and their narrow escape.

Once back in the room, Alyce is quick to strip out of her clothes before offering to read Al a bit more of the book.  A slightly cooling breeze blows in from the lanai as she sits in the chair next to him and continues from where she had left off earlier.

[adamu]

Al listened intently, swept up in Austen's tale.

He also watched intently. He couldn't get tired of her nude form, nor of making the occasional adjustments to her posture. Some of the resultant poses may not have been strictly the most comfortable or relaxing for her, but she only smiled wryly. And as long as she could keep one hand on the book, she could keep reading, which was kind of a funky trick. And a useful one, because if his mischief had threatened her reading he'd have stopped. He was fascinated by the tale not only because of it's beauty and themes, but also because - knowing it was her favorite - it let him learn more about her.

Which just confused him more. Of course.

When he could stand it no longer, he interrupted her rudely. "You sure this is yer favorite book?"

She didn't respond directly to his rhetorical opener, just raised her head to face him, which was really adorable since she was always just a little tiny bit off. Though he never told her that because he knew she hated being typecast as the cute little blind girl.

"Reckon all any o' these women think about is landin' theyselves a meal ticket. Where here you are, doin' a conspicuously fine job o' takin' care o' yerself."

[adamu]

Alyce seems to pay no real heed to the small ways Al moves her body about but she is very pleased by the attention he pays her body, even if he puts her in some slightly uncomfortable positions at times.  Truth be told, she really does not need to touch the Braille symbols as she knows the story by heart and could recite it with the book closed.  However, she does enjoy the feel of the raised characters and it gives her hand and mind something to do.
 
Alyce considers her answer to the questions Al raises and says, "  The value of the story to me is that they rise above significant obstacles to realize they love each other.  They start in very different circles, both social and financial.  They manage to eventually get past some serious misunderstandings that separate them for a while.  They have honor and are jealous and demonstrate the sort of emotions that real people have.  And Elizabeth is more into making sure that her sisters are taken care of than in getting her own meal ticket.  Jane Austen wrote a masterpiece about the interaction of two human spirits and the way that love can triumph over anything in the path of these two lovers.
 
"Thank you very much for the compliment.  And allow me to return it.  You seem to be on a path to your goal.  I would think that the money you make from this expedition will help get you a ticket to your Hollywood.  Perhaps you would take me there with you after we are done here.  I have worked for Horizon in the past and still know some people in Los Angeles, although I have never actually been there.  Perhaps they can help you get in touch with the man you are looking for."

[adamu]

Al chuckled, partially in disbelief, and partly at his foolishness in even being surprised anymore. "Woman, I couldn't make you up. You got any more rabbits ta pull outta yer hat, make yerself even more perfect?" Even as he spoke he remembered the afternoon's emotional rollercoaster and realized she probably had a lot more tricks up her sleeve.

[adamu]

Alyce gives Al one of her very pleasant laughs as she closes the book, moving the attached silk ribbon to mark the page she is on.  She puts the book on the table and leans forward just a bit, saying, "Al, you have not yet even begun to see all the tricks I can pull out of a hat.  I would be more than happy to show you some if it will help you make up your mind faster.  There is a rather nice bed in the room."

[adamu]

Al's nostrils flared involuntarily, like a bull before it charged. He worked his jaw and thought of Chi Pat. Two days. Light at the end of the tunnel.

As of this morning, it'd have been easy for her to convince him to accelerate his timetable. He'd been ready. But now, his feelings having hit whole new vistas - again! - with the touch of her lips, he had a lot more thinking to do.

"Heh, those qualifications, hon, I am already fully convinced of. But whyn't you lead the way darlin'?" he answered, struggling to sound nonchalant. "Take the book, though. Reckon I'll set an listen fer a bit. Evenin's young."

He sent her to the bed partly because he wanted to watch her crawl onto it. Mostly because he needed to get her out of his reach. And then there was the little wish that she'd figure out a way to coax him on there with her.

[Mercy Merchant]

Alyce stands with the book and stretches in front of Al before slowly walking to the bed.  She remains facing away from him as she places on knee and leg on the bed and bends over to sort of slide onto it, clearly exposing her backside to the man in the chair.  She lies on the bed on her stomach with her legs slightly apart and opens the book to the page marked by the ribbon.  While she reads more of the book, Alyce wiggles her ass and her senses pick up that it affects Al quite a bit, so she does it again every few minutes.  For her, the best part is that she is getting as hot as she is making him.

Alyce finishes a couple of chapters and stops reading as she marks the page and closes the book.  She slides out of the bed and moves to the pack, putting book inside.  "I think I am about ready to get some sleep.  It could be a big day tomorrow.  I am expecting a man to come in from Phnom Penh in the morning to get Gem and take her back there so she can fly to London and stay at my home while I try to find her family."

[adamu]

Truth be told, when it came down to what Al really wanted to do, he was more than content to stay in his chair. The sight of Alyce simultaneously reading the classic romance while teasing mischievously teasing him in a very un-Elizabeth Bennet way was intensely erotic to him, and well within his notion of acceptable things to get excited about.

He watched her unblinking until she was finished with her chapter.

"Alrighty, toots, hope ya don't mind if I join ya, then." He pulled his sweaty T-shirt off, intending nothing. But ending up unable to keep his hands from her face and hair.

[Mercy Merchant]

Alyce loves the way he plays with her hair and the touch of his hand on her sends an electric shock through her.  At some point her mind realizes that Misha is madly beeping at her and she accesses the feed from the small drone to see several shapes moving rapidly towards the house from beyond the lanai.  She brings the zoom in on one of them and notices the same odd markings on his bare skin as were on the men at Jungle Jim's dock.  She pushes at Al's head.  "Al, we are about to be visited by several nasty men from the shaman.  Out back from beyond the lanai."

[adamu]

Al lifted his face from her neck, gave her a thigh a motivating slap as he rolled off the bed, and muttered, "Really enjoyin' that. Some sumbitch gon' pay." He made himself small against the wall and peered out over the lanai into the night. Couldn't see a damned thing.

Alyce had not been idle, she was already on the other side of the room by the table. Her breasts shook as she tossed him his shotgun. He caught it and as he set the choke for wide he gave her a 'where are they?' shrug. Squatting down behind the table her head lolled just slightly and she quickly flashed him a series of crisp hand signals. Some guys back in his Proteus days had used those, but he'd never bothered learning them. Now, as then, he gave an efficient-looking nod, pretending to understand. Bad guys outside - check!

He'd just decided he'd rather go out and hit them while they staged rather then let them bring the fight in here where Alyce was, when movement on the floor near her foot caught his eye. They must have tossed it in - Malayan pit viper - probably wouldn't kill her, but easily cost her a limb, and unlike other local snakes it'd strike instead of flee. Couldn't shoot it - he'd take out half the wall and her with it - so he dove. It wasn't pretty, and he didn't prove the faster one, but it went for him instead of her, sinking its fangs into his cheek before he grabbed it.

Someone was coming in, so he tossed the reptile from where he was on the floor, getting a scream for his trouble. Then he was up and two more were rushing in - he pulled the trigger and the top half of one nearly disintegrated. The spread caught the arm of the other and nearly took it off, but the asshole didn't even slow down. Al caught him on the chin with the shotgun butt before he could smash his tomahawk-ey thing down onto Al's head, but he still didn't go down, and Al saw that familiar look in his eyes. He'd seen it in New Orleans, he'd seen it in Accra, and then lots more in Tehran. Feller was on a whole different plane of existence right now.

Al kicked him in the knee, forgetting he didn't have his boots on, and it was questionable which of them suffered more. Then two more blows to the head with the gun butt before the now-shrieking painted psycho went down, head half caved in. Given Al's unnatural speed, that only took about a second.

But it was long enough for six more screaming freaks to be hurtling across the lanai towards him.

[Mercy Merchant]

Alyce scrabbles over to her pack while Al is fighting off the first three attackers and digs out what she calls her emergency kit.  By the time she has her things out, Al is standing in the doorway leading to the lanai grappling with several of the second wave of attackers.  She can hear noise from further inside the house as people wake up to the shotgun blast and the sounds of the melee.  Alyce takes full advantage of her senses and drone sensors to see that Al is bashing about with the shotgun as a makeshift club and already has one of the new attackers on the floor.  However, he is sorely pressed and even whatever is charging his attacks may not be enough.

Alyce glides around the bed, approaching one of the attackers from behind, injection gun in one had and a naked scalpel in the other.  She places the gun against the neck of her target and fires the concentrated dose of Slab directly into him.  The powerful drug ignores whatever he is high on, causing near instant paralysis for a short time.  As the man collapses to the floor, Alyce goes with him and runs her scalpel through his right eye and into his brain, making sure that the effect of the drug is permanent.  Even as the assailant is twitching out his last moments on earth, Alyce is looking for her next target when it finds her first.  A body slams into her and carries her to the ground, the impact jarring the injector from her hand.  The man's shouting is completely unintelligible as he straddles her prone form, but the large knife in his hand indicates his intentions all too well.  Alyce slips her head to one side in time to avoid a stab aimed at her, the knife ramming into the floor near her ear.  She cuts at the man's face with the scalpel she has managed to hold on to, slashing across an eye and ruining it.  The man drops his knife as he rears up, clutching his face as blood flows between his fingers.  Alyce grabs up his knife and stabs upward with it.  It takes little skill with a knife to hit her target and the man's momentum does most of her work her as the knife slices him down his stomach, releasing his inner organs onto Alyce.  With a scream, the man tries to hold his guts in, but Alyce gives him little opportunity to do so as she rams the knife into his throat, choking the scream to a gurgle as the man falls away, knife still in his neck.  Alyce feels for her injector and grabs it up before checking her sensors to see the current situation.