[adamu]

Al's chant was in full swing, muttering the name of every voodoo god he could think of, along with whatever glossalolic verbiage they asked of him. But he wished he'd finished his fetishes as he laid about with his weapon of choice, a swirl of motion, constantly shifting stance faster than his assailants could reacquire him, vicious blows with the gun butt at every turn. He knew right off that pain wasn't much good on these guys, so he left off his usual favorites like groin crushes and eye gouges, instead going for disabling strikes to knees and throats, then following up with sure blows to the skull.

It took him about twenty seconds to put them down - seemed like fewer than he'd thought - and then he saw Alyce crouching bloodspattered in the shadows over one of her prey like some icy-cold succubus. Then something clicked in his head and he jerked it aside - the voodoo gods had smiled on him again - as an arrow thunked into the support post. There was a rattan screen rolled up near the ceiling that was used to close off the open wall from the lanai, and he yanked at its tie-cord before diving into the bush - it would shield Alyce inside from the arrows now bouncing off its yielding surface  as he took the fight into the bush - no percentage in standing there in the open getting shot at.

[Mercy Merchant]

The thin rattan screen at the entrance to the lanai is paper thin to her radar sensor, as is the wall of the house itself, and she is able to view the outside action as if nothing is in the way.  She sees Al racing into the brush outside and follows, believing that the attacker's attention will now be on Al.  Her slight form is nearly invisible in the near darkness and she knows that once in the brush, the advantage will be hers because she can "see" the terrain around her.  She quickly ties Misha's feed to Al's eye and sends the drone after him while she keeps the other two tied to herself. 

Alyce has spent years in one jungle or another and has learned the art of moving silently in this type of terrain, and it helps that she has a perfect map laid out for her in her mind.  She keeps her eyes on the map provided by the ultrasound sensor and moves through the brush like an avenging tigress, stalking her prey.  Twice she is able to sneak up on an assassin armed with a bow and dispatch him by immobilizing him with the infuser then finishing the job with her scalpel.  She had kept the smaller weapon rather than taking one of the larger knives because it was more comfortable in her hand and easier to hide.  Misha keeps her informed of Al's progress, which is considerable; he again shows abilities that are far greater than they should be.  She watches as he slams into a group of three bow armed natives, tossing one to the ground and facing off against the others, one of whom drops his bow and flees, preferring to run than to stand and die against the man that seems unstoppable.  She places herself in the path of the man and throws herself low at his legs as he runs past her, causing him to trip and sprawl to the ground.  She bites back the pain of his shins hitting her back and swiftly moves to inject and kill the man. 

By the time she looks up, Al has dispatched the two men near him.  Alyce scans about for any additional foes and finds only two assailants remaining.  The men are apparently leaving the fight and she sends her sensory feed through Misha to Al's eye so that he can follow them as well as know her general position as she does the same.

[adamu]

Al was pretty sure all but these last two runners were down, and as he chased after them Alyce confirmed it for him.

And boy did she confirm it - an unsteady video image from above the trees showed both Al and the two men he'd lost sight of about sixty meters ahead, all only fleetingly visible throught the canopy but apparently also tracked by radar because thei positions were marked with bright green, blue and red circles. A window appeared in the upper right range of his vision with a wider view also indicating Alyce in the jungle behind him. The images were clearly visible yet ghostly, designed not to impede his primary vision.

Which didn't stop him from seizing up with nausea and crashing agonizingly into a tree. With a quick mental twitch he manually shut off the wifi connection on his optics and resumed the chase. Having no one that you sent out ever come back was a powerful message, and one he wanted to send to uber-shaman, With the choke on his weapon tightened, itt took him a good ten minutes of hard running,, but he finally closed forty meters on them and squeezed off a shot, dropping the furthest one. The second was slower, and Al ran him down easily.

The man had lost any weapons he might have had and Al threw him against a tree, stunning him, and saw that it was the old man from Trader Jim's. "Played Judas on yer boss, hey? Special place in hell fer you, amigo. But by the time I finish with ya, you'll be beggin' ta go there." The man obviously couldn't understand a word of Al's angry English tirade, but after struggling vainly for a moment against the smaller man's iron grip, he smiled strangely and became docile. Al grabbed a handful of the man's hair in his left hand and held him at arm's length ahead of him as they made their way back.

The adrenaline left Al's body fairly quickly, so the cuts in his feet started to hurt. Braced this time for the nausea, he reactivated his wifi just long enough to see where Alyce was, and steered in that direction. The man staggered a bit, and Al prodded him forward. But then the man collapsed and blood started pouring out of his mouth, along with the front half of his tongue. He'd bitten it off, and a prod at his stomach indicated that is was full of swallowed blood.

Well, full marks for commitment.

Al left him and soon met Alyce, who was working her way through the foliage more surely than he was. They came together in a small clearing,, the moon shining down on her. She was coated in the blood of her fallen foes, bits of their viscera clinging to her hair and nude flesh. A scalpel flashed in the light. He was consumed with hunger for her and engulfed her in his arms, kissing her deeply before slinging his shotgun over his shoulder and picking her up in his ropy arms and carrying her back towards the house. 

[Mercy Merchant]

Alyce has watched the events unfold as Al chases down the two fleeing men.  She is running through the underbrush as fast as she can manage.  Not needing light to see is a great advantage in this sort of situation.  She slows to a walk when Al drops one of the runners and quickly catches up to the other.  Misha's feed and that of the ultrasound map show the second one drop, even though Al had done nothing, and Alyce infers that the man had found a way to kill himself rather than talk.  She meets Al in a small clearing and is surprised at his reaction, but her heart sings at his kiss.  She resists not one bit when he picks her up and carries her back to the house.  "Are you injured, Al?  I happen to know a doctor who makes house calls.  She might need to do a VERY thorough examination, though."

Even before the pair walk out of the brush, Alyce knows that the scene there is anything but calm.  Her drones are reporting a large number of people gathering inside and outside the dwelling.  She quickly determines that they are villagers and all three of the constables.  She tells Al and asks to be put down then walks calmly up to the lanai, her body still covered in bits of flesh and internal organs.  And lots of blood.  Several of the women gasp and move to gather round her, jabbering away in their odd dialect.  Without fanfare and without really asking anyone, Alyce is taken to the next house over, where she is cleaned up.  Several of the women blanch at the sight of her in the light, but others are made of sturdier stuff and stay to help.  Al is not so lucky.  He watches as almost every man in the crowd has a very complete view of a nude Alyce before she is surrounded by women and taken off.  A number of the men turn to let their eyes and imaginations follow the blood-covered woman, but not the constables, who carefully approach Al, antiquated AKs in their arms as if they know how to use them.  He complies when asked to surrender his shotgun after they promise to return it to him after questions are asked and answered.  He is politely asked to sit on a chair on the lanai for a few minutes so someone can take a statement.  The owner of the house brings a bowl of water and a cloth to him as he is telling the policeman what happened. 

Alyce gets a look at herself through Misha's sensors and is a bit horrified at the amount of blood on her, realizing that she must look a fright.  **He kissed me.  He actually kissed me.**  After cleaning her the best they can, the women give Alyce one of the local wraps to wear to cover her nakedness.  They hand her a small mirror to try to show her what she looks like all cleaned up and she pretends she can see.  After proclaiming herself ready, she is led back to the other house, where the constables are waiting to take her statement.

[adamu]

Al has never been so relieved in his life as at the sight of her safe, and is a bit ashamed that his first reaction to sight of her was animal lust. Judging by her reaction he figured she'd get over it.

Asked by his passenger if he was hurt, he said, "Well, damned feet's cut ta shit, same as your'n. An' that viper like ta took a piece outta my cheek." When he saw her alarmed reaction to the latter point, he realized there was no time to forestall a lot of annoying questions, so he lied, "You know how it is with scared snakes, though. Sometimes they overjuice ya, sometimes they don't give ya none at all. Reckon i done got lucky."

The scene back at the house was pure chaos. He wasn't thrilled about all the men looking at her, but only because of his protective instinct, and knowing she was a bit of an exhibitionist he didn't figure she was too upset, if she even noticed with the gaggle of lady geese clucking over her and whisking her off for a bath.

The constables were as friendly and perfunctory as ever, and he capitalized on his hero status in the village to placate them some. But selling them on the idea that he had no idea what was happening, just in the wrong place at the wrong time, wasn't going well given the painted and festooned appearance of the fallen. So as they brought Alyce back, he tried a different tactic. He spoke to her in Khmer, but his thoughts were intended for the cops.

"Was jist explainin' to our friends here how fortunate they are that these is just rovin' bandits, since a report like that's likely to score 'em a bit of a budget increase. Whereas if these was, say, savage minions of a mysterious Pearic shaman, well, gummint mostly like come in an' take ever'thin' over from 'em, bunch o' damned apparatchiks be showin' up an' buryin' 'em in paperwork an' self-criticism sessions."

[adamu]

Alyce might be sightless, but she has never really been called slow on the uptake.  Her first words to the constables, though, had nothing to do with that topic.  "Could you please have someone bring me my medkit?  It is about so big by so big and is on the top of my pack in the room.  Thank you."  She turns to Al and lifts his bloody feet to feel them, removing several of the larger thorns from his feet, courtesy of the local variety of underbrush.  When the kit arrives, she thanks the man who brings it to her.  As she is hooking the kit to him, she nods at him.  "Yes, you are so right.  Remember that expedition in Colombia, near those ruins?  Those local women who were kidnapped?  The local government  just postured and said they were doing all they could as long as everyone thought it was just bandits taking people for the drug crops.  But then that idiot sent a message that he thought it was some religious cult.  Government soldiers all over the place in days.  And they had no barracks there so they forced people out of their homes to make room for them.  They arrested all the local constables for failing to do their jobs.  We had soldiers watching us every minute of every day after that."  She turns to face the senior constable.  "Certainly the official report can be written to include bandits?  All of them are dead so who is to tell?  And please feel free to write how you saved us and the village from these criminals.  I would be ever so grateful."
 
The constables might have been ill-trained and a bit on the lazy side, but they were not slow on the uptake, either.  The senior constable looked at the others and said something in their dialect before turning back to Alyce, all smiles.  "I am sure that these were all bandits, trying to raid the village."  Alyce smiles then checks the biomonitor readout on Al.  "Lost some blood, Al.  No sign of any snake venom in your system, but there is an indication that something was injected.  I would say that you were indeed lucky.  You aren't going to be a hero and refuse to let me treat your feet and your other cuts, are you?  Thank you very much."  She will take tweezers from the kit and remove the smaller thorns from his feet and then treat them and the minor cuts on his arms and torso.  "Good thing you had your shirt off.  It would have been ripped to shreds out there."  She turns her face up to him.  "And thank you very much for saving my life."
 
Mama Baozen will come outside to the lanai and say that the room is bloody and ruined.  Alyce stands and goes to her, telling her that she will pay for the damages and cleaning and that she and Al would go to the barracks for the rest of the night, provided that the constables let them go anywhere.

[adamu]

Al was damned glad for Alyce's work on his feet - they had a lot of walking and climbing ahead in a couple of days, and tough as he was, it wasn't as though he enjoyed pain.

Released at last by the local constabulary and Mama paid off handsomely, they gathered their gear and went over to the barracks.

Al immediately raided the food stores - he was famished - asking Alyce if she wanted anything.

"Reckon we git the Presidential Suite tonight, good ol' Ling not bein' here yet. Ya got any word on when - or if - they arrive tomorrow?"

[Mercy Merchant]

Alyce sits on a chair in the small kitchen while Al scrounges food.  "No thank you.  I am good for now.  I can cook you some breakfast in a few hours, though.  What do you want to try?"

"And yes, I have sent a message off to Yao Lung describing what has happened.  His response was that Ling Tse Tau wants to delay yet another day with his current lover, but that Yao Lung will push him to leave in the morning as planned a couple of days ago.  My feed from Sasha at the warehouse shows me that two truck are packed and tied down.  I would assume that they are coming to us, but I cannot see Ling riding in a truck, so I am guessing he has a car of some kind."

She smiles at the reference to the room set aside for Ling.  It is certainly no fancy suite, but it does have a real bed and access to a private bathroom, while the rest are going to have to use the communal latrine at one end of the building.  She waits for Al to finish putting some food on a large plate then follows him into the room, shutting the door behind her and stationing one drone at the door outside the room and another flying a pattern around the building and the third on patrol around the village.  She waits for Al to settle down in one of the two chairs in the room before she moves closer to him.  "Would you like to undress me this time?  All it is, really, is a robe tucked into itself."

[adamu]

"Reckon I don't mind doin' the honors," he said, balancing the plate of cold cuts in one hand and releasing the wrap's tie with the other. The whole thing fell to the floor in a heap. "Well, yer nice an' clean, no question there."

Unable to understand how she could not be hungry, he offered her the plate again, but she shook her head. "Well, this has been a good night indeedy. Cuz now we know killin' Jim warn't jist about him breakin' ranks. They go ta that much trouble ta come after us, means that magic word he done sold is the real McCoy. Now me, I'm fer keepin' that betwixt us'n. Little ace inna hole. But if ya need ta tell Yao, then I unnerstand. Oh hey, by the way, I'll leave my eyes' wifi on so's you can access the image link if ya want, but ya wanna send me a feed, jist announce it with a prompt or somethin', an' I'll open it when I git a chance. Thing is, I don't take real well ta them newfangled AR overlays - like ta lay me on my back if I'm not careful."

[Mercy Merchant]

Alyce enjoys the feel of him undressing her and wishes she had had more on than just a robe.  The feel of his hands on her skin is very much like an aphrodisiac.  She would have enjoyed him unbuttoning her shirt and removing her pants and panties.  She nods, "I have not forwarded everything to Yao Lung yet.  Although it should not matter, but I have a bad feeling about Ling Tse Tau and agree that an ace in the hole is a good thing."

She gives Al a concerned look when he mentions his problems with the feeds.  "That is indicative of your body not happy with the implants.  Perhaps they were not put in properly or some quack body doc slipped you a defective set.  I could take a look at them when we are finished here, if you like.  I really am a good surgeon and have done hundreds of implants over the years, including lots of eyes.  It might just be a tweak that is needed, or maybe just a new set."

Alyce bends over to remove the medkit from her pack and places it on the table along with a small, odd looking silvery gun she takes from an outside pocket of the pack.  Sitting, she opens the kit and withdraws a container of a liquid and a syringe.  She carefully pokes the needle of the syringe through the cap of the bottle and draws some of the liquid into the tube then picks up the gun and pokes the needle into a port and pushes the liquid through it.  "I used four doses tonight and need to refill the reservoir.  Like I said, it makes a rather good improvised weapon.  Not a lot of skill involved; just jab and push.  Good in a pinch."  When finished, she carefully replaces everything where it goes in the pack and goes to lie on the bed.  "We were interrupted earlier by some very rude blokes.  Are you interested in finishing what you started, or are you too tired?"

[adamu]

"Heh heh. Tired? Yeah. Righteous tired. Too tired? Bite yer tongue." He licked grease off his fingers, one by one, then wiped them on his fatigues. Shrugged his jacket off and kicked off his boots, both against his better judgement since he wasn't convinced trouble was far off. Laid down next to her on the bed, facing her, up on one elbow.

"Don't know 'bout startin' an' finishin', though. Reckon I was jist meanderin'."

And he carried on meandering for a while until they were both dead asleep.

[Mercy Merchant]

Alyce wakes fist in the morning.  She is on her side and Al is behind her with an arm around her.  She carefully moves his hand to where it is against her chest and thoroughly enjoys the way her nipple instantly hardens at the feel of his skin.  Sighing, she bows to a different sort of pressure and slides out from under his arm to go use the toilet.  Al is awake when she returns and heads off to the bathroom as she dresses and heads out to the kitchen.  As she putters about getting the stove on and getting things out to make them a breakfast, she considers how comfortable it had been with him there beside her when she woke up.  **Damn the man.  Why cannot he just make up his mind?  I would take a chance on him if he wants me.......if only he would say it.** 

When she hears him leave the small room, she asks, "What do you want for breakfast?"  In her mind and heart she is begging to hear him say that he wants her, and not just for breakfast but for all time.  However, she knows that is just a fantasy.

[adamu]

"Aw, jist whatever you're havin', toots...long as its bacon an' eggs."

He looked around their new home for the next twenty-odd hours, noting the one entrance by the kitchen area. That wouldn't do, so he went back into the makeshift bathroom he'd had installed for Ling and loosened the screws on an exterior wall panel backing the toilet - now it wouldn't slow him down appreciably if he needed to make a quick exit. Then he took all of his gear and put it on the cot furthest toward the back away from the main door - no point in sleeping at greater threat if they had hired guns arriving paid to take that risk.

Then he sat down to watch Alyce cook. He was disappointed she'd dressed to do it, but that actually didn't make him enjoy watching her any less.

[Mercy Merchant]

Alyce laughs and grabs bacon and eggs from the antiquated refrigerator and sets to cooking them, saying, "Do you like your eggs scrambled, hard, runny, or what?  And I received a message from my EVO chap.  Still no luck on finding Gem's family, but he is trying.  And the man he is sending from Phnom Penh will be here in about three hours, so we should go to the clinic after breakfast and make sure she is ready to travel.  Other than that, what do you want us to do today?"

[adamu]

"Reckon Al eats his eggs any ol' way."

He started washing any dishes she'd already used.

"Well, after the clinic...I done checked around and turns out they don't actually have an art museum or a safari park. I ain't much fer karaoke, an' we jist missed the regional theatre troupe, while the town's own acclaimed ballet company's out on tour. But I do got whittlin' ta do, less'n you got some other ideas afore our friends roll in, in which case Andoung Tuek is our oyster."