[Mercy Merchant]

Alyce shivers a bit in spite of herself as Al touches her thigh, unconsciously sliding forward a bit to give him better access to her and tempting him to stay a bit.  She smiles at the slight moan he whispers as he leaves the table with the Trolls.  She stands and starts to clean the table, this time assisted by Jiahui, despite a sharp retort from Baozai.  The young missionary shushes her older companion, who snorts and pushes away from the table without saying a word.  The two women make short work of the task of cleaning up as they talk about their lives.  By the time the work is done, the two are getting along quite well.  They are serenaded by the noises coming from the presidential suite, the increase in volume indicating that things are almost done in there.  Jiahui is obviously embarrassed by the noise and Alyce tries to keep her mind on answering questions.

Outside, the Trolls are appreciative of Al's efforts to make them more efficient.  He is told that this is perhaps their third trip into a jungle, and the first with mountains involved.  They are far more experienced with the arid conditions of a desert.  They willingly slough off those items Al recommends leaving behind, although they probe him with the reasons, obviously trying to pick up some of his great knowledge.  All of them watch as the guard is sent back to the post on the roof and then relax with a smoke, offering Al one of their rather large cigars.

[adamu]

Al is not much of a cigar man, but happily gives it a try. he dispenses with the cutter they offer, preferring his teeth, and though he knows he's not supposed to inhale, has a hard time resisting. All in all, he is frustrated by the time it takes to work through the thing, eager to get back to real smoking.

The trolls are pleasant enough fellows, though, even if Al assumes they have an entirely different face when things get hot. As they talk, he texts Yao - <<Not above pulling a guard shift, if you want to work me into the roster, give your boys some extra rest.>> - then simply enjoys the evening air, vaguely hoping Alyce will come out to join them.

[adamu]

Inside the barracks, the two women finish cleaning up and Alyce shows Jiahui what she would like to have set out for the morning in preparation for breakfast.  They seem to be getting on well when Baozai pokes her head from behind the curtain and calls the young missionary over for prayers, her peremptory tone leaving no room for dispute.  Jiahui nods to Alyce and bids her good evening before leaving for the curtains.  Alyce finishes her preparations and goes out for some air.  She is glad to see that Al and the others have finished their own work and are relaxing with a smoke.  The acrid odor of cigars fills the air near them and Alyce pulls out her own pack of Lucky Strikes, taking one and offering the pack to Al.  She accepts a light and stands in silence near Al as he chats with the huge Trolls.  She feels comforted just being near him, even if he is talking to the others.  She slips an arm into his and stands close, listening to the back and forth.
 
Al receives a response from Yao.  >>Thank you Al.  I will definitely have you on roster during trip.  But not tonight.  Thank you for briefing.  It was very full and informative.  I am giving you small a bonus for your good service so far.  Come see me for credstick when return to building.  Maybe more bonuses as we go.<<
At some point, one of the Troll brothers includes Alyce into the conversation by asking if she knows what happened to a common acquaintance.  The conversation becomes a back and forth between all four about various ports of call around the world and people they have met.  Al notes that even though there is a lot of information given, neither the Trolls or Alyce ever divulges any specific details of the expeditions they were part of, keeping those things confidential.  The Trolls give large, booming laughs in comparison to Alyce's, but it is obvious that there is a respect that comes of recognizing experts in a common way of life that leaves little real room for amateurs to last long.  That the gunmen have lived through a number of years and expeditions talks to their ability and Al can see that they respect him for the same thing.

[adamu]

When Alyce takes his arm, Al doesn't jerk away immediately, though it is on his mind directly. He is assuming Senor has eyes on them right now, and it won't do to give him a relationship to exploit. So he acts as if he hardly notices her, chats a bit, and gently extricates his arm to go and find a seat on a crate.

Of course, he doesn't miss the chance to take a Lucky off her. It tastes like heaven after the cigar.

And ten Lucky Strikes later they are still trading stories when Al yawns big and bold. He realizes that sleeping there in the barracks with all those other people, he might actually get some sleep, and decides that sounds real good. "Hate ta break up the party, folks. Jist carry on. Yao done gimme the night off'n guard duty, so reckon I'll take advantage."

[adamu]

Alyce senses the reticence in Al to be close to her and allows him his space.  She does not move to join him when he goes to sit on the crate, but continues the conversation as if nothing was out of the ordinary.  When Al announces that he is going in, she nods to him and takes his place on the crate.  Watching him go inside is like watching part of herself walk away and she considers that for a bit.  Perhaps she is being a bit too clingy and needs to back off a bit.  It is something to talk to him about.  She has misinterpreted his actions and words before and would dearly like to avoid that again.
 
Al is not quite inside yet when one of the Trolls speaks up.  "Sweet on him. are you, Doc?"
 
"Yes, actually.  Very much so.  Strange how you just know when it happens.  After decades as a relative loner, I find the man of my dreams out here in some backwater village in Cambodia.  I certainly was not looking for love to whack me across the face like this."
 
"Well, just be careful, Doc.  I've seen men like him in other places and other times.  His stories say he is a wanderer with no roots and probably no desire for any."
 
Alyce nods her head.  "Yes, I know you are right.  I keep hoping he will ask me to wander with him, but...........................not yet.  And I don't know why I am telling you two slackers all about my private life."
 
The Trolls both laugh with her.  "Because we are just like you, Doc.  We walk in a special place in the world, professionals for hire to do what no one else can do.  Say, I heard that Senor might be the opposition.  True?"  That is the last thing Al hears as he reaches the door to the barracks as the three of them break into Or'Zet to continue the conversation.

[adamu]

Damn - so much for their talk about keeping whatever they had going on between them, well, between them. He reckoned he couldn't blame her on account of she was a woman. He'd learned long ago that they need a lot of latitude regarding things like common sense or sound judgement, and you just had to take them as they were sometimes.

But what worred him as much as the lax security were her words about what she wanted. He suddenly felt like he was sinking in quicksand, and shut the barracks door behind him - because it wasn't gritty and cold, it was silky and warm and inviting him to ignore the lifeline that basic reason was trying to toss him.

He went to his cot and found to his dismay that Master Po had taken the one next to his. The man was on his knees praying loudly enough to make sure everyone in the place could hear how pious he was, and Al was glad he couldn't tell Chinese from birds singing. He was pretty sure he wouldn't approve of whatever confused blasphemies the old guy was on about.

He took a piss then sat down and unlaced his boots, hung his jacket on the rickety chair by the bed. The guy was still praying. Jeans came off and it was too hot for blankets so he lay there in his boxers and T-shirt. Lay there and smoked one last cigarette. Still praying.

"Hey, Master Po - reckon I'm gon' give ya somethin' ta pray about ya don't pipe down an' let a body catch some shut-eye."

[Mercy Merchant]

Po shuts up after giving Al a bad case of stink-eye and takes a seat on his cot before standing up and removing some papers from his pack.  He turns slightly to Al and bows his head.  "Sorry for disturb.  Will go out and get air.  Back in some minutes.  Short time."  With that he bows his head again and leaves the building.  Outside, Alyce has been telling the Trolls that she is pretty sure that Senor is indeed on the Azzie team that is following them.  The Trolls exchange glances and the three accept that they have an experienced and dedicated foe arrayed against them.  After a few minutes, the Trolls also signal that they are ready for some rest and one goes inside while the other goes over to check on their gear and stand watch.

Alyce slides off the crate to sit against it and is soon lost in thought.  Uppermost on her mind is Al.  And second on her mind is Al.  And third and fourth.  Face it, she has Al on her mind.  She knows that she needs to respect his need for space while he is making up his mind, but she also feels that she will lose him if she does not let him know how she feels.  Quite incongruously, she also feels that she might lose him if she DOES tell him how she feels.  She is so very confused that she almost misses Po leaving the building and walking past her to stand near the corner of the barracks.  Almost misses him.  Her mind might be focused on Al, but her heightened senses are still focused on her surroundings and Sasha's ping as the older missionary approaches her is enough to clear her head.  From her vantage point she watches the man go just around the corner and stand there after adjusting his robe as he takes some papers from somewhere and fans them open in his left hand.  Alyce initially thinks he is about to piss against the building, but the obvious lateral movement of his right arm and the low moans indicate that he is doing something else entirely.  Now too embarrassed to move, Alyce sits and watches as the man begins to jerk off.  Po begins talking in Chinese and referring to Jiahui as if he is guiding her through the initiation into womanhood through sex.  He applies several positions in his lust, bringing the papers closer to his face.  Alyce sends Sasha to peer over the man's shoulder and the micro drone sends back two images of a naked Jiahui.  It would appear that the young woman has no idea that she is being photographed.  Suddenly, the man stops his masturbation to shuffle the papers he is carrying and now Sasha is sending back images of a naked Mai Lin, the girl Ling Tse Tau is currently shagging in the presidential suite.  This woman is used to being naked, but also does not appear to know Po is recording her.  The man returns to wanking himself, but his language changes from gentle guide to ardent lover, complete with a talk-dirty attitude.  Before long the man lets out a small groan and finishes stroking himself, apparently satisfied for the time being.

Alyce lets Po return to the building and waits a few minutes before standing up from against the crate.  It is at that moment that Viktor pings her.  The agent on her deck has been running near-constant scans of the area for objects running silent and lets her know it has found two.  Alyce sits back down in the shadow of the crate to evaluate the data.  She recognizes the signatures of a pair of unknown micro drones running surveillance on the barracks.  She widens the search parameters and slides into VR to conduct a search herself, being rewarded with finding two additional drone signatures.  Concentrating on one of the original pair, she carefully places first one, then two more marks on it in quick succession, gaining control of the drone but lettings its controller think he or she is still in command.  Alyce taps into the feed and sees what the owner is seeing, which right now is the interior of the barracks from a vantage point near the entrance.  Backing out of the drone, Alyce searches for the others and freezes.  One is located in the presidential suite and is observing all of the sexual activity there.  Worse, it is controlled by the woman, Mai Lin, and feeding its images out of the building to the same area the other drone feed was going to.

Cursing in her native Russian, Alyce carefully comes out of VR to AR then the meat world before rising and moving to enter the barracks.  She goes to where Kang is standing guard and tells him that she has to see Ling Tse Tau, that he is in danger.  Kang, torn by indecision over whether or not to let her in, freezes, allowing Alyce to push past him and into the room.  The woman is kneeling on the bed with Tau behind her, pumping for all he is worth.  She has a rag in her mouth to muffle her moans and she looks up as Alyce barges in.  Ling Tse Tau pulls out of the woman and comes around the bed, his erect manhood swinging as he swears and shouts out, "How dare you interrupt me!  Kang!  Yao Lung!  Get this Keeb bitch out of here.  Now!"

Before Kang can gather his wits, Alyce says, "Listen to me, Ling Tse Tau.  You are are being played.  This woman is spying on you.  She is controlling a drone that is watching you right now."

The man roars and slaps Alyce in the face, swinging her head around and leaving a large red mark on it.  "How dare you say such a thing.  I am the expedition lead and my grandfather is the Vice Chairman.  I am not being played.  I will have you killed for saying such things and embarrassing me in front of my men."  He swings his head about to call out for Yao again and Alyce can hear feet running toward the room.  But she is faster.  In one movement, she draws her autoinjector and places it under Tau's chin as she draws a scalpel from a pocket on her sleeve.  "You got one hit, Ling Tse Tau.  One.  Do you have any idea how fast I can make you dead?"  Without turning her head, she calls out to Kang and Yao.  "Do not come closer, Yao and restrain Kang.  You know I can do it before you can get to me."

Tau's face contort first in anger then in fear as she presses the barrel of the autoinjector harden into his neck and flashes the scalpel in front of his eyes before placing the razor sharp medical instrument against his throat.  "I am telling you that the woman is bugging your room and your conversation.  All of your sexual antics have been recorded and sent to Senor or one of his people.  She is too good at this to be a casual agent for him, so she must have been planted so you would pick her up."  The woman moves as if to stand and Alyce quickly puts the gun to her arm and presses the trigger, causing her eyes to roll up in her head as she collapses on the bed.  Before Tau can act, she has the gun pressed back into his neck.  "That can just as easily be you.  Now will you listen?"

Tau nods and Alyce steps back, lowering her weapons.  She explains what she has found out and Ling Tse Tau grows redder by the minute.  As Mai Lin stirs and moans, he orders Yao to kill her, but Alyce steps in front of the woman.  "That is not how these things are done.  You need to let her go."

Tau almost goes purple as he yells that such a thing is impossible.  Such betrayal needs to be punished.  He once again calls out to Yao to kill Mai Lin, but the man stands firm in the door with a hand on Kang's gun arm.  "No, Ling Tse Tau.  Miss Krait is right.  That is not how things should be done.  There is a formality to these things that needs to be observed.  We found their spy and now we let her go.  You should not have killed that other man, either."

As Tau fumes even more, Mai Lin rouses a bit and sits up on the bed.  Alyce grabs her clothes and tosses them to her.  "As you dress, please open a channel to Senor.  Use this link so we can all hear."

The woman nods as she dresses then keys a commcode into the burner 'link that Alyce gives her.  A deep voice comes on and asks what the problem is.  "I am blown  Their blind decker is better than your fragging rigger.  I am out of here."

"Hmm.  Ling Tse Tau is not going to kill you?  I am surprised after what he did to poor Sao."

"Not his choice.  I would be dead by now if the decker had not stood in the way."

"Then I owe you one, Alyce Krait.  Thank you.  You are still as formidable as ever.  I hope that we are on the same side again some day.  Come, Mai Lin, I will be expecting you."

With that the connection is broken and Mai Lin bows to Alyce and Yao Lung before disappearing from the room and out of the building, one of Alyce's micro drones hidden in the folds of her clothes where Alyce had placed it before tossing them to her.  Alyce holsters her gun and puts the scalpel back in her sleeve as she leaves the room.

[adamu]

Only upon exiting the room does Alyce realize that Milo Gaxxin has had a huge revolver trained on her head - right over the top of Yao and Kang - for some time, and he only lowers it once she is cleared from Ling's line of sight.

When he does, Al takes the barrel of his shotgun out of the troll's armpit.

At which point Xander Gaxxin let's the hammer of his own revolver drop gently back into place and takes it out of Al's ear.

"Well shit boys, that were almost a party. But all's well that ends well, hey? Bygones." He let his weapon drop, and it caught on the shoulder sling. Flashed them both peace signs and a wolfish grin, then grabbed Alyce by the nape of the neck and marched her out the front door.

"Lord o' lightnin' toots, ain't ya never heard o' teamwork? Looks like ya done a good thing here, but was somethin' so compromisin' giittin' recorded ya didn't have thirty seconds ta talk ta me or Yao afore bargin' in on the bossman in flagrante? Eight or nine ways that coulda been done without half of us havin' ta almost slaughter one another."

He shook his head and lowered his voice some. "Din't have no chance till now ta tell ya - those two trogs, they ain't here fer the job per se. They contract is pertect Ling. Might o' found a way ta tell ya sooner, but jist had no idea you were gon' put a knife ta the man's throat quite so early on in the trip."

[Mercy Merchant]

As things resolve themselves inside the room, Milo holsters his huge revolver and smiles down at the man with the shotgun.  "That could have hurt, Al.  Would have been a sad way to end a budding friendship."

Alyce does not struggle much as Al takes her outside.  She waits for him to finish before replying.  "Thanks Al.  I needed that.  I have guessed that the Gaxxins are here for Ling Tse Tau, and I should have come to you first, but I really did not anticipate Tau's reaction.  He really has no idea how things are done out here.  I should have known that and it pisses me off that I got it wrong.  I am sorry, Al."

As Al, digests this, Milo Gaxxin comes outside and nods to the pair.  "Evening.  You alright, Doc?  Say, Al, do not be too tough on her.  The man was not in any danger from the Doc and she wasn't in any danger from me.  This time.  She knows the way this game is played.  Without rules it just becomes a free-for-all and lots of people die for no reason.  But it seems the money man does not know the rules."  His eyes bore into Alyce and he adds.  "No harm this time, Doc.  But don't let that get to be a habit.  Now I am off to pull my watch on our Mule.  Night."

The large Troll nods at the pair and moves off in the direction of the Mules.  Alyce turns back to Al.  "I really am very sorry, Al.  It will not happen again."

[adamu]

"Hey, takes a while to get the right rhythm goin' when ya start workin' with someone. Jist try not ta go off half-cocked without some back-up." As he walked, he led them away from the barracks to a quiet lane between half-lit bungalows so that they could talk. Now that she'd dealt with Senor's surveillance so decisively, it was the first time in a while the hairs on the back of his neck weren't twitching with the feeling of being watched.

Leaning against a wall and smoking, he said, "Don't reckon I understand all this stuff 'bout rules an' such. Only rule is win, way I see it. An' do to the other guy first. But maybe it was worth it, hear ol' Senor's voice. Reckon him sayin' he owes ya one has any value at all?"

[Mercy Merchant]

After saying good evening to Milo, Alyce walks with Al.  She stands near him, placing her back to the wall as she accepts a light for a cigarette.  "Yes, Al, I do.  In this life there are rules.  Most of us, the ones that survive, are independents.  We work for a corporation or crime syndicate or even sometimes a country, but are rarely part of who we work for.  We learn to respect the assets of our competitors because we never know when we will be working for that competitor.  We are professionals.  Many have reputations and it is not uncommon that we will work together on one mission and on an opposing side the next.  If we willy nilly killed each other, the pool of professionals would be much smaller.  Don't get me wrong, we do compete, and will da what we can to complete the mission for our side.  Sometimes people die; that is inevitable in this line of work.  After all, we do these things in the most unforgiving places on earth.  Some of us have just disappeared into some desert or jungle and never been heard of again."

"But most of us know each other, by reputation if not personally.  And most of the handlers and team leads know us.  People like Yao Lung and Senor have been around the block more than once and understand the codes we live by.  It is perfectly acceptable to use surveillance by matrix or people, bribes, accidents, and so on to slow down or stop the opposing team, but we do not kill each other.  That young man I reported to Yao Lung should have been questioned and let go.  Ling Tse Tau broke the rules when he killed him.  He wasted an asset that was coming up in the game and might have amounted to something with some seasoning and experience.  After all, we all started out with zero experience in the field.  The team leads and handlers that don't learn and live by the rules usually do not get to enjoy the benefits of our service more than once.  And Ling Tse Tau is a good example of a team lead that will probably never get someone of my caliber, or that of the Gaxxins, again.  Unless he grows up during this expedition, he will be blacklisted.  This sort of expedition is dangerous enough with our help and can be deadly if all you have is amateurs.  It is people like me and the Gaxxins and perhaps thirty or forty other I could name, that make these things succeed and make them survivable.  Certainly, there are talented amateurs out there, but they usually do not live long in this life."

"Sometimes these people are our only real friends.  We might be competitors, but we respect each other.  Milo knew I would not kill Tau because that breaks most of the rules, however, I might have gone mad and he had to be ready to act if I had.  And sadly, it does happen that we go mad out here on occasion.  It is a hard life and bad things happen to us all the time.  I have been doing this sort of thing for over thirty years, which is very long for this sort of life.  Maybe too long.  I have a life outside of the jungle.  I am a respected surgeon and a talented musician.  My father left me a large sum of money in a trust fund that has grown faster than I can spend my allowances from it.  I do not need to do work like this, bit I cannot let go of the life.  I am an adventure junkie, Al.  I am more alive out here in the middle of nowhere than I am in civilization.  I think part of the draw is the different people I meet.  I can remember everyone I ever met, but there are many who I really want to remember.  I have been back to visit places like this village just to see some of the people in my life.  And who knows who I might meet on the next trip?  I met you on this one and you have turned my world completely upside down.  I have never met anyone quite like you.  I already know that I want to spend the rest of my life with you, but I also recognize that you are not yet at that place and are not ready to make that sort of a commitment.  I will give you the time you need and try to show you that I am worth the effort, despite my many flaws and imperfections.  Take your time to get to know me, Al, but I hope that you do not take too long.  I may have just said the entirely wrong things to you.  For some reason I seem to do that around you.  It is hard to think clearly when you are standing near me and even harder when you touch me.  Just don't let me scare you away."

She stops talking and lights another cigarette as she waits to see if Al will respond to her.

[adamu]

Al wasn't going to touch any of that together forever stuff with a ten-foot pole. Fortunately, she said enough else, standing there beside him smoking, that he could just as easily talk about something else.

"Reckon I see yer line o' thinkin'. Lotsa folks onna trid say stuff like that too, so must be somethin' to it. But near as I can tell, rules is fer games, an' standin' there half an ounce o' trigger pull from killin' someone jist ta have yer own brains blowed out, that ain't no game. Way I see it, these rules is all nice an' cuddly an' all, an' folk gon' keep to 'em jist as long as they's useful...but no further. Moment someone reckons they's set fer that last big score, they gon' start playin' ta win - which'll mean playin' the rules folk fer suckers." He shrugged. "But that's jist an outsider's two cents. This ain't really my world. I'm jist a workin' stiff, blessed by the voodoo gods with this one lucrative gig fresh outta the joint."

As much as he'd relished their nights alone together, he was just as happy now. It wasn't the same thing he'd realized before - that he enjoyed seeing her clothed as much as nude. It was that with her or without her, he was just as happy in a muddy alley where he had no business as he was in a comfortable room bought and paid for. Or a cot in a barracks.

Cigarette spent, he tossed it into a puddle and was started thinking he should get some sleep. "So with his poon out on her ear, ya reckon Ling-buddy'll let us shove off tomorrow instead o' wankin' ourselves fer another day?"

[adamu]

Alyce shrugs, "Yes, Al.  There is always a chance that someone will decide to play with a different set of rules.  But the thing, the real thing, is that the professionals out here like the Gaxxin brothers, like myself, like Silverman and Blanc and Ritchie Owens and more than a score more I could name, would not do that because we are not out here for the big score.  This sort of life is a need, Al.  A burning need that simply retiring rich somewhere will not satisfy.  I can travel in any jungle in the world and feel at home, the same for a sprawl barrens.  I am not so familiar with the deserts, but I can understand that draw as well.  It is the doing it and succeeding at it that matters, along with the respect we get from the small circle of people that knows who we are.  I can mentally picture a team lead somewhere going over a pile of CVs and selecting mine as his desired field medic and communications specialist.  He may even have worked with me or against me in the past because the circle of specialists is so fragging small.  And the pay is extremely good for those of us in good standing, which certainly helps."
 
She goes silent for a moment then adds.  "I guess I cannot explain it well.  I am sorry for talking nonsense to you."  She desperately wants to tell him that he is her working stiff, but that sort of thought is apparently taboo.
 
Alyce tosses her butt away as well after licking her fingers and extinguishing it.  On the way back into the barracks she says, "One can hope that he will want to leave tomorrow.  It will not take too long to load everything onto the boats, especially with the bigger one you took on.  I think both mules and the Gaxxins can go on that one.  I will make sure that I keep one of my medkits with me."  Once inside she waves to Al and quietly moves to the curtained area, only to find that the extra beds have been moved out to the main room.  Jiahui is asleep, but Baozai is sitting on her cot and reading from a small book as she slaps ineffectually at some of the more persistent pests of the night.  The older missionary holds up a hand and points outside the curtain as she whispers, "Menials should be out there.  I had your cot moved to the kitchen.  Your pack is there, too.  You should leave now."
 
Alyce pauses to control her temper and realizes there is very little she can do to remedy the situation right now.  She nods and goes to the kitchen removes her portable netting from the pack.  She spreads it out and crawls under it to the cot and falls asleep.

[adamu]

From his cot, Al watched as Alyce was expelled from the supposed women's quarters. He caught her eye and they shared a bemused moment of eye contact. She went straight to sleep, and followed suit. Two or three times he leaned across the intervening space to kick the snoring Po into a new position, but otherwise he slept better than he had in over a year.

So well that he was one of the first awake, except for poor Cheung who was half nodding in front of Ling's door. Al went outside and smoked as he watched the sun come up over the river. Before long some others started to stir, and when Yao stepped out, he ventured, "How 'bout that credstick you mentioned?"

"Of course." Yao handed it to Al.

"Bit of a fracas last night."

"Alyce is a skilled operative, but she proved herself..." it looked like he was accessing an AR dictionary or something "...impetuous."

"Oh, she can make decisions real fast." Al congratulated himself on his amazing capacity for understatement.

"The event was revealing in some ways," added Yao. "Certain loyalties became evident."

"Heh heh. Jist helpin' keep the peace, kemo sabe."

"I think you are aware that the Gaxxin's have a distinct mission within the overall operational parameters."

"Yeah, they made that clear in more ways'n one."

"I understand you have had occasion to work closely with Alyce. She can be...charming. Just remember who you are working for."

"Well, hopefully I'm workin' fer the cat gon' let us git this show onna road now he's not saddled with sport pussy."

[Mercy Merchant]

Yao Lung looks at Al with no humor in his eyes.  "Ling Tse Tau is a very important person in Wuxing Corporation, and your employer.  I advise you to remember that before you talk so inelegantly about him in future.  I expect that we will be loading the boats you have procured for us after breakfast.  We should be ready to leave as soon as all is loaded..  On another matter, after last evening's display, I would like you to report on Alyce to me, personally.  I know that you are close, so is there a certain sum of credits that would soothe your conscience?  Think on it and get with me later today."

Yao Lung returns to the barracks and soon Al and the others can smell breakfast being prepared.  Alyce serves mounds of bacon, scrambled eggs, and hash browned potatoes along with steaming bowls of sticky rice with fish and pork.  At breakfast, Ling Tse Tau announces a change in the schedule.  He is now convinced that the expedition should leave as soon as possible today.  In light of that, the equipment would be taken down to the water right after breakfast and stowed on the boats.  He says he expects everyone to be ready to depart by noon or sooner.

After breakfast, Alyce stays behind to clean up the kitchen while Al leads the others down to the river to begin loading the equipment.  Milo and Xander get with their boatman and begin loading their mule on the boat, leaving room for Alyce's large drone and begin stowing things on the boat while Al supervises the loading of the other boats.  When he goes to check on the progress of the Trolls he overhears part of an ongoing conversation between the two of them.  "...........she knew, Xander."

"Fragging right she knew.  Already had control of my gun by the time I was tickling Al's ear with it."

There is a loud laugh.  "Mine too.  Might have hurt her if I had thrown it, though.  But why do you think she knew I still had the secondary safety still engaged>"

"Listen dummy, and let your smarter brother show you."  Al hears a very soft hum and then the sound of a weapon spinning up to full active.  "Hear that?"

"Barely.  So how do you expect that she heard that through all the noise?"

"You remember what Ginty said about her a couple of years ago?"

"Hmmmm.  Yeah.  Didn't he say that she might be blind but she can hear a fly fart from a hundred feet away?  Ah, yes.  Silly me."

"Now you're thinking.  We are not all that quiet, so it was easy to hear us coming up and then act against our guns.  Smart girl, she is.  Still, the suit was in no danger, either."

Another laugh.  "Yeah.  Rule number three.  "Don't kill the person paying the bills."  Looked to me, though, that he was fixing to piss his pants, what with the bitty gun at his throat."

At that, the Trolls come around the corner, both chuckling, to find Al standing there.  They stop and Xander says, "Hey, Al.  We're done here except for the Doc's mule.  Who else is riding this one with us?  If they are ready, we can take off and do some out front recon as soon as that mule is loaded aboard."  He pauses then adds, "How much did you hear Al?  I would hope that you do not wish to embarrass the fire support in front of their boss by blabbing what you heard?  So keep it just between us three, right?"