[adamu]

Al did not like the idea of Alyce walking point - the most dangerous position - one tiny bit.

Sure, it was nifty her sensors could spot the holes, but not every type of booby trap would show up so easily. That wasn't an argument he wanted to get into, though. Instead he said, "Most vulnerable position inna line, an' we lose our doc, whose gon' help if someone else gits hit? Listen, ain't yer drone got all the same sensors you do? We could task it to ride with the point man."

He looked at Yao, hoping for agreement.

[Mercy Merchant]

Alyce shakes her head.  "No, Al.  My drones do not have the same sensors I have.  But my range is such that I do not need to be right up with the point man.  I will say that not all traps will be like this.  Some could be trip wires and some cleverly disguised natural dips in the ground.  I cannot promise to see everything, but I can do better than most people.  Nature does not like straight lines and those are pretty easy to see with my sensors.  Maybe just put me a bit closer to the point man and it will mean that our walking speed will need to slow a bit so my sensors can refresh adequately."

Yao Lung nods and looks at Al.  "Put her closer to the point and have Cheung slow down some.  It would not do well for us to lose anyone at this stage.  Good eyes on the trap, Al."

As a consequence, the pace after the first trap was slower.  During the course of the afternoon, Alyce detects several small pit traps, both on the trail and some just off the trail, where someone might walk to avoid the first ones.  She also finds an unsophisticated trip line stretched across the trail.  This last causes Al and Yao to put additional security measures in place, to include never travelling outside the group without two people with you, at least one of whom is armed and knows how to use the weapon. 

[adamu]

With the end result that Alyce had to walk up front with Al, it seemed the voodoo gods had smiled on hm again. They didn't talk much, mindful of the way noise could carry, but he liked having her near him. And though he was an experienced woodsman, he nearly crashed into a tree or two staring at the way her sweat rendered the shirt clinging to her breasts nearly transparent.

Or maybe he just acted the fool a bit to bring a smile to her face. Who knew?

Eventually they had to stop - even with the ultrasound, the danger of traps made moving around with a large group untenable. As if Ling wouldn't have ordered them to halt at supper time anyway.

Al found a spot that could be hastily cleared with minimal effort - the trolls were stunningly effective with machetes - so that their individual tents could be pitched in sight of one another. They secured a spot for a shared latrine - again, they couldn't have people wandering off by themselves to find their own spots. The rule about always having an armed escort soon became an issue. Alyce was altogether unfazed, but Jiahui was clearly distressed, especially when Ling volunteered to be a gentleman and accompany her himself. But Yao and Al decided it was close enough that as long as Alyce made that one of her perimeter drone posts, they could relax the rule so that the on-duty sentry simply needed to be informed.

Al put up Alyce's tent since she and a helpful, and grateful, Jiahui were busy cooking. Soon the camp was awash with savory smells. Ling, suddenly bursting with tradecraft, was worried the smells would alert hostiles to their presence. Al looked at him with sad amusement. "Yup, sure will. But believe you me, bossman, we ain't hardly in stealth mode as it is. Dump the baggage, maybe we can try cuttin' our footprint down, but way things are right now, ain't really no point in worryin' about it."

[adamu]

Alyce is glad to be walking with Al near the front.  They do not have to speak for each to know what the other is thinking, which scares Alyce a bit and probably has Al in almost "let's think about what I am getting into" mode all over again.  Still, he does not back off and even pretends to run into some trees while looking at her chest, which does bring a smile to her lips.  She is very intent on scanning her ultrasound sensors for indications of anything artificial as they walk, and by the time they break for the day, she has helped the team avoid several pits and two trip lines.  After stopping, she immediately shrugs off her back and sets the camp stove up and begins preparing the evening meal.  Once the immediate things are going, she calls Jiahui over to her as she bends over her pack and pulls out two dry shirts and her baby powder.  Standing, she strips off her soaked tee and places it on a small slide she pulls from the side of the mule.  Jiahui looks scandalized as she says, "But.  Men looking."
 
Alyce laughs.  "They have been looking all afternoon.  At you, too.  An expedition like this is no place for being over modest."  She pats some of the powder along her breasts, especially on the underside.  "Here, you need this, too.  Come on, you want to pretend that your boobs have not been on display all day, that is fine.  But you will surely suffer if you do not take care of them.  You can wait and use the tent when it is set up, but believe me, it is way cramped in there.  So my advice is to just get it over with.  Let them have their look and then get on with life."
 
Jiahui thinks on what Alyce has said as the Keeb holds out the powder, then nods and begins to remove her shirt.  Bhaozhai cries out and tries to shame the girl into putting her shirt back on and completely ignores Alyce when she holds out the powder for her to use.  Jiahui smiles at Alyce as she finishes removing her shirt and uses the powder.  She is trembling at the beginning, completely self conscious about being topless in the camp and knowing that several of the men are staring at her.  But her confidence grows as she applies the powder to her sweaty breasts and by the time she puts the dry shirt on, she seems completely at ease.  Alyce nods at her and the two begin working on the meal.  There is a short bit of unpleasantness when Ling Tse Tau volunteers to escort the women to and from the latrine, but Al's answer solves that problem.
 
Jiahui is no cook, but is willing to learn and she proves an apt student.  She is amazed at how a blind woman can do so much and listens at Alyce explains her enhanced senses and shows her the small dots on almost everything she has that indicates in Braille what is in each spice container or food tray.  "Keep organized and what seems like a disadvantage becomes something great.  I have lived with being blind since I was a teenager, a very long time ago.  I have learned to adapt and now I take charge of my life instead of letting others do that.  I am sexually liberated and emotionally free.  Most of the time.  I survive, and that is important.  But more, I have made a life for myself in exactly this sort of environment and like it.  My rep is solid among people in the know and I could be employed in this sort of work every day if I chose to be.  I have found that once I stopped allowing what others think of me to determine what I did that I was able to do more and better.  Think about that."
 
During the meal, Alyce relays the latest from her sensors she has scattered behind her.  "The three men Senor left behind in Anduong Tuek are just sitting about drinking beer, playing cards, and sharing one of the local girls."  Some of the men chuckle and Bhaozhai mutters something under her breath about men.  "Senor himself is having a hard time in Chi Pat.  As expected, a military helo set down in the village just before he arrived.  There was some arm waving and some yelling and then the military sorts placed Gaucho and two other men on the bird and left town.  So that part of the plan worked.  After they left, Senor was talking very animatedly with a young man I am thinking is his decker.  Lots of finger pointing went on for some time.  I have already fended off two direct attacks on our systems with little trouble.  I do not think that my opposite has the same skill or the same equipment I do, which is good news.  The bad news is that I am sure that he has some skills or Senor would not have hired him.  He will try something else.  That is it so far."
 
Alyce and Jiahui clean up after the meal and put everything away after setting out some things for an early breakfast.  Milo, Lok, and Kang fetch water from a nearby stream to replace what was used from the stores on the mule and Alyce sets the purifier going to ensure good drinking water is available.  Before retiring, Alyce fiddles a bit with the small satellite dish on her mule then goes to the edge of the camp for a smoke.

[adamu]

Al watched the girls' display with rapt interest, leaning against a tree and smoking. Alyce was a sight to behold, and the Chinese missionary girl wasn't exactly painful to look at. Of course, everyone else in the camp was staring as well. No doubt it would boost morale. But Al wasn't sure it was the sort of catalyst they needed to be throwing into the powder keg of a bunch of armed men isolated in a hostile jungle. He wasn't the man in charge, though, so he reckoned he'd just enjoy the ride. As usual, he had no problem sitting back and enjoying the transient fruits of bad ideas.

Dinner was delicious, after which the less hardy members of the group were quickly in their tents, while the soldier-types likewise turned in, wise enough to get rest when they could, and facing sentry duty later in the night.

Al found Alyce at edge of the clearing with an unlit cigarette in her mouth and offered her the flame of his Zippo. "Waitin' fer someone, sister?"

[adamu]

Alyce leaned in to get the light.  Without turning her head, she said, "Thanks.  I was just thinking to myself that I have waited my entire life for someone like you to just waltz in and offer me a light in the middle of a Cambodian rainforest.  And here you are.  God works in strange ways, doesn't he?  We are so different, you and I, and yet here we are.  I am probably very much not the sort of girl your mother would want for you, but if you let me, I will do my best to make you feel the luckiest man alive.  I already feel like the luckiest girl alive.  I just need the chance, Al.  I just need you to give me that chance.  Hmmm.  Maybe I should change the subject if this is getting a bit too clumsy on my part."
 
She waves the hand without a cigarette in it, "He is out there.  The shaman.  Waiting.  He probably has pits and other traps on every major route until we get closer to the mountains.  After that I imagine we will get hit with spears and arrows again.  I hope that we do not have to kill too many of the tribesmen to get this shaman and his book."  She takes a couple of drags and continues, "I know it is not my place, but sometimes I do wonder what these corporations do with all of the things I have helped bring back.  What could they want with this thing and especially after it has shown that it is dangerous?  I think that they are sometimes so sure of their own power that they forget that there are things best left untouched."
 
Alyce finishes her cigarette and field strips it in the dark.  "So that is the last of those for me at night.  A glare from a burning fag stands out for a long way in the dark.  Smoking is a daytime thing for a while."  Turning to face Al, she says, "OK.  Back to clumsy.  I feel that we were at a certain point in our relationship back in Chi Pat, and I think that you were about to tell me that you had maybe sort of possibly made up your mind about me.  You would have to tell me that I am wrong.  But in case you were ready to hear it, let me tell you, for sure and for certain............fuck.  Al, camp six o'clock, hundred thirty-one feet.  One man.  Just moved behind a tree.  No one else in scanner range.  Sending Yuri out to take a look."

[adamu]

Snatched from the jaws of woman-talk, Al had never been so grateful to have something horrible happen.

"Alrighty, Cheung's off yonder on sentry duty - send Yuri's feed to his image link...an' mine too,"Al added, activating his wifi. "Two-D only, though. Wake Yao, but keep things quiet, no one else goes out," he sotto voced over his shoulder as he loped off into the brush, keying his throat mic.

"Cheung, baby, you got that? I'm headed fer four o'clock. Flush 'im towards me."

The drone was soon on station, showing a Pearic man with the same painted sigils worn by the men that attacked Al and Alyce in Andoung Tuek.

Just enough moonlight filtered through the canopy for Al to make his way to an open spot he'd spotted earlier where he could see a little better. If Cheung did his job right, the guy would have to cross the clearing or skirt it, and either way Al would be waiting on the other side.

The Wuxing man lived up to his scout-badge - Al could hear him tramping through the jungle and making just enough clumsy noise to keep the man moving away from him, but not enough to let the man know he was being herded. Al accepted Yuri's feed and kept it in a minimized window in the corner of his vision, allowing him to track the man easily enough since Yuri also provided a graphic showing the relative positions of all three players.  Once he was in Al's line-of-sight, it was a done deal. Al slipped into a concealed position on the man's line of approach and then erupted from his hide, hauling him to the ground with a hand in the man's hair and a finger inside his cheek. The squirmed and hollered something fierce, but once the jig was up Cheung closed the distance quickly and piled on. The two men dragged their captive back to the camp, where the others were up and waiting.

[Mercy Merchant]

Alyce nods and moves off to find Yao Lung, who is sitting in front of his tent, sharpening a knife.  Alyce passes on the information and cues Yuri's feed to his image link as well so that he can follow the action.  Alyce lets the small drone keep the man in view and feeds the data to the others as she keeps an eye on the area around the camp.  For her, darkness is no hindrance and she alternates between her radar and ultrasound sensors to make sure that she is getting the best information possible.  There is only the one man within the scan range of her sensors and she passes that on to Yao Lung and Al.

The fight is brief and determined well in advance of the man being subdued.  Al and Cheung truss him up and bring him into the camp to where Yao Lung is waiting.  Aroused by the noise, the rest of the expedition team emerges from their tents to see what the noise is about.  Cheung and Lok are immediately sent back out to their sentry posts and Alyce maintains her vigil on the area around them.  Ling Tse Tau wants to shoot the man straight off, but Yao Lung convinces him that would be a bad idea.  He turns to Al, who is the only person on the team that can talk to the captured man.  "Al.  Can find out if other men are near?  Where is his camp?  How let others know what we are doing?  Anything else you think important."

[adamu]

"Roger that, boss man."

Al squatted down next to the bound, agitated man, gave him some water, which was eagerly received. Began to chat. Chatted some more. Sat down cross-legged on the ground across from him. Chatted some more. It was clear that Al was not as comfortable in the language as he was in Khmer, but it was clear the two men were communicating. It was a a language spoken by maybe six hundred people in the whole world - a dying tongue, and Al reckoned by the time they were done up here they'd probably have sped up the process considerably.

Eventually the man got a bit wild-eyed, started shaking his head urgently. That was when Ling stepped in and kicked the man in the head. Al gave an exasperated look to Yao, who said something placating and obsequious in Chinese to Ling, and the two stepped back a bit. Al dialled the conversation back some, but before long the man was panicking again.

The little man got up and went over to his employers. "Yeah, he was sent to spy on us by shaman-dude. Was glad fer the job, since it meant a break from bein' worked ta death rebuilding parts o' the old city. Wouldn't tell me anything else useful though - says his kin is up there, an' if he talks they'll be skinned alive."

Ling drew a knife. "I will make him talk if you cannot."

"Whoa there, Chinese amigo, slow down. Listen, unlike these over here inna war-got-rules camp, Al's all about doin' unto others afore they do ta you. Thing is, man's worried 'bout his kin..." He might have added that he only squeezed bad guys, and didn't consider this man to be one. But he knew that would carry any weight with Ling, and would only make him look weak in the man's eyes. So he carried on with the pragmatic angle. "An' a body can take a lot when that's the case." He looked over at Alyce. "Woman, ya got any drugs'll loosen a feller's lips - besides pheremones an' natural charms, that is."

"Nothing intelligence-grade," she lied, not wanting to see the man's brains scrambled, "But if I dose him with G-S he'll be quite pliable in about an hour."

Soon the man was paralyzed by the drug. Those for whom an interrogation was something exciting and novel stayed up, those for whom it was just work went back to bed if they weren't on sentry duty. Knowing how suggestible the man was during this period of hallucination-ridden paralysis, Al sat behing him whispering sweet nothings about how safe he was, and how safe his family was. He figured it was true enough - if the shaman could see them, he wouldn't have needed to spare the labor to send a spy. And he had no intention of killing the man himself. He planned on sending him back with false intel, knowing that the man would know that reporting their contact would endanger his family.

Once the man could speak, Al started chatting with him again. As promised, the man was a lot less resistant, and soon they came around to Al confirming his calculations about exactly where the target site was. The man readily started to answer, but as he did he began coughing a little. Then more. Al motioned for water, but by the time it reached the man he was choking and hacking uncontrollably. Alyce leaned forward to assist him but snatched her hands back as a rush of huge black roaches erupted from the man's mouth, scattering in all directions across his face and out around the camp, sending the missionary women screeching, bouncing from one foot to another. The man's cheeks split from the overpressure of the impossible volume of bugs rushing up from his throat, and then his nose started twitching and they started squeezing out his nostils as his eyes quivered in panic.

"Do something!" shouted Po, the others transfixed and speechless in shock.

Al stood up, watching the scene, and shrugged calmly. "This here's dark arts. Work o' Satan. Only two things can stop it - another devil-worshipper, which we seem to have neglected ta hire on, or a true holy man. Care ta do the honors, Master Po?"

But the senior missionary could only stagger away and vomit.

Al leveled his shotgun at the pleading eyes of the doomed man and pulled the trigger. 

[Mercy Merchant]

Alyce watches the interrogation of the native man with interest.  At least up until Ling Tse Tau tried to take matters into his own hands.  The Wuxing boss proves to be unwilling for Al to do the questioning at his own pace.  He first kicks the man in the head then draws a knife in an attempt to show that he is willing to inflict torture on the man to get him to talk.  Al calms the boss down twice and Alyce drugs him so that he becomes more pliant.  But the eruption of insects from the mouth of the man meant the interrogation was over.  Al mercifully put the poor man out of his misery as others did their best to kill as many of the roaches as possible before they skittered off into the jungle. 

The flood of roaches ceased after the host was dead, but the damage to the man's interior had been done.  Alyce poked around and determined that the man's insides had been completely destroyed.  She and Al moved the body outside the area of the camp to let the local carrion eaters take care of it.  She looked at Al as they walked back in.  "I assume this means that the shaman knows our precise route of march.  Do we want to press on or try to slide over to an alternate route?"

[adamu]

Momentarily out of the camp, Al put his left arm around her neck, slipped his right hand up under her shirt to seize a breast, and pulled her in for a long kiss, pressing his hips against her to let her feel how she made him feel.

Then he pulled his face back and said, "Don't know enough about this devil crap ta say if he knows where we are - all we know fer sure is he knew what that feller were tellin' us. We got no one can look inta the ghost world an' see if he - or Senor fer that matter - has spies on us there. But way I unnerstand it, demons what can travel in that world can't translate they findin's 'bout the real world fer shit. So he might not know where we are even if he is watchin' - that's why he sent poor bug-mouth." The thought made him grimace, and he broke the embrace with an apologetic grin for bumming the mood.

"But yeah, we shift route if we can. Tomorrow's trail choice all depends onna weather anyhoo, so make sure we got a solid feed from the weather service, an' I'll figure the best way inna mornin' based on that."

[Mercy Merchant]

Alyce loves the way Al's hand feels on her breast and leans in for the kiss.  When he presses against her, she can feel his desire for her.  It is almost all she can do to keep from stripping right here and letting him take her however he wants to.  He leaves his hand up her shirt rubbing her breast after breaking the kiss, almost as if it is a natural place for his hand to be and she does not mind one bit.  The nipple on the breast he is not fondling presses hard against the material of the thin tee-shirt she is wearing and she moans softly to let him know that she appreciates the attention.

She nods at his request for a good weather update and drops a hand to below his waist to let him know that two can play the touchy game.  His hardness is quite apparent and he jumps just a bit at her touch.  She leans closer to him and whispers, "Unless you change your mind, we have a date with a bed after this is done.  I will shag you like you have never been laid before.  I hope that you will want to keep me around."

Alyce gives him another light stroke and a soft squeeze and walks off to try to comfort Jiahui, who is still stomping on roaches that are no longer a threat.  For a bit, the two stomp away at dead roaches together.  At some point, they look at each other and laugh, the panic gone.  Alyce steps into her and says, "It is alright to panic at what we saw.  I know that it is a reaction to where the bugs came from and not the bugs.  You can get past this.  You have to get past this."

"How can you be so brave?"

"Because I have to be.  You have to be.  Out here, such a panic can kill you.  Or another one of your team.  This is past now and you will not react the same again.  Mojo is unpredictable and scary, but no scarier than looking at a tiger charging at you or seeing someone point a gun at you.  There are many ways to die and if you are going to be afraid of them all, you might as well be locked in a box.  You have to be stronger than your fears in order to survive.  Can you do that?"

The girl nods her head and smiles.  "Thanks.  I will try to get some sleep."

Alyce watches the girl go to the tent and nods her head before following her.  Bhaozhai is already back inside, but is curled into a ball in her sleeping bag.  Her only response to Alyce's questions is a snarl about not listening to sluts and whores so Alyce leaves her alone.  jiahui crawls into her bed and stretches out a hand to Alyce, who takes it and squeezes it before falling asleep.

[adamu]

The smell of breakfast had everyone up bright and early. Al was the only one up before Alyce, but only because he'd had the last shift of sentry duty. He greeted daybreak like it was Christmas morning - the sunlight allowing him to smoke. He and Alyce shared the first cigarette as she juggled getting food ready and securing the connection to the grid - not easy now, and certain to get tougher the further into the mountains they went. Once Al's crappy commlink was patched through her hardware he was able to access the Royal Thai Meteorology Service, which was his go-to for reliable climate info in the region. He already knew the route he wanted to take, but now he checked not only the summary for the day, but also accessed the raw data. Though not exactly a metiorologist, he'd spent enough time in these mountains, and more than enough time at sea, to read a weather map. Satisfied that there was no chance of rain today, he selected a rout through a steep run-off that should not only shift them off their current line of march but also save them at least a day on their journey.

People started emerging from their tents. Rush hour at their little latrine, and several of the men simply walked to the edge of the cleared space and watered the foliage. The daylight revealed hundreds of huge, crushed roaches, their carcasses attracting hungry birds. Jiahui quickly improvised a broom and set about clearing the space as best she could, Master Po kind enough to help her. Bhaozhai simply scowled in disgust.

Once they had eaten and Al had outlined the route to everyone, they set out again. This time, however, he took point, since he wanted Cheung screening their rear. Alyce walked up front of the main group with Yao. As before, the trolls stayed with Ling near the center of the line.

The climb was getting steeper and rockier. The trees changed to sturdier fare, with great thick tangles of roots often crossing over the broken-rock terrain in search of soil to invade. Soon it was clear that their trail was no trail at all - Al had indeed simply traced a path up an old stream bed. As the sides of the bed grew higher on both sides, the shade grew deeper and the air currents funnelled through the narrow draw and over the cool water, providing a constant cool breeze. Not only was it more comfortable, since it wasn't an actual trail they immediately stopped finding booby traps, and towards mid-day, despite the need to scramble over rocks and wandering roots, spirits rose throughout the group.

Only Al wore a sour expression. The weather data had been definitive. So why was the sky starting to darken?

They were making good time now, and the top of the draw was now closer than the bottom. At noon, Ling didn't call for lunch, and Al wasn't going to say anything. But it was getting darker. A good way ahead of the rest, Al climbed a tree and cleared the canopy, then scrambled back down, jumping the last half of the distance. He was speaking to Yao on his throat mic. "Ever'one up the sides. Right now!" He started running back when the first drop hit his face - just one - the canopy would catch it for a bit until the leaves were well laden with water. But that didn't matter. Because what he'd seen from the treetop was a downpour three miles ahead. He was in sight of the group now. The trolls already had a perplexed Ling up out of the draw, and Alyce helping Jiahui up. The missionaries were hopeless though. Even as Lok pushed Bhaozhai up the side she batted at his hands as they touched her ample hips - he lost his grip and she slipped down to the bottom. Po wasn't doing much better, huffing and puffing and slipping on muddy leaves, ending up on his hands and knees in the stream just as Al came into sight. And then they heard the roar behind him.

A wall of water was rushing down the draw at an incredible pace, dead tree trunks bouncing along the banks like matchsticks.

[Mercy Merchant]

Alyce wakes up early when her internal chronometer lets her know it was time to get up to begin making breakfast.  Her hand is still wrapped around that of Jiahui and she strokes it gently.  The young missionary wakes with a startled gasp and almost yanks her hand back.  Almost.  She leaves it in Alyce's hand and gave her a gentle squeeze in return.  Then the need to use the latrine comes on both women and they scoot from the tent, Alyce first because she barely takes the time to shimmy into some panties before she is out the door of the tent.  Jiahui struggles with her pants but gives up on the shirt.  After all, the men in the camp had already seen her topless yesterday.  It actually excites her a bit to be so brazen.  It is entirely against what Bhaozhai thinks is prudent and proper, but having the men stare did not seem to bother Alyce, and on reflection, her statement that it was best to just get it over with seemed to make sense.   

Alyce is already on her way back to the tent when Jiahui emerges and starts walking to the latrine.  There are some stares at the women, especially Alyce, who is wearing nothing but some skimpy boys cut panties.  One of the Trolls calls out playfully to Alyce and she waves as she goes on into the tent.  Bhaozhai is awake and getting dressed when Alyce re-enters the tent.  The older missionary scowls and hissed.  "Strumpet.  All you do is tease those men.  I think you would take them all to bed if you could.  You are nothing more than a cheap slut."

Alyce does not even pause in getting dressed as she responds.  "As I told you before.  I do not charge for sex, so I am a free slut.  A right and proper tramp."

This seems to make the other woman even angrier and she swears in Chinese as she leaves the tent, almost bowling Jiahui over at the entrance.  The girl slides into the tent and moves to her pack to get some clothes out.  Alyce is nearly dressed by now, but stops to give some helpful hints on how to pack clothes so that everything is right to hand. preventing delays.  The girls stops when half dressed, looking at Alyce.  "You are very helpful, despite what Bhaozhai says.  And you are right.  I felt quite more at ease walking out there just now.  They are still looking, but now that they have seen it, I am not so embarrassed.  Thank you."

It seems that she is about to say something else but does not, sitting topless in the tent.  Alyce scoots a bit closer and places a hand on the young woman's breast, tracing a circle around a suddenly erect nipple.  She is rewarded with a slight moan that escapes from the pretty girl.  Alyce leans forward and brushes her lips gently across those of the missionary, probing with her tongue.  Alyce takes the woman's trembling hands and places them on her own breasts.  She sits back and smiles at Jiahui.  "I can show you more if you like.  When we are alone."

Not trusting herself to speak, Jiahui simply nods as Alyce sits back and the two finish dressing.  They pass Bhaozhai as they leave the tent and the girl cannot but help blushing at her stare.  Alyce laughs and pulls Jiahui over to the mule and they begin preparing breakfast.  Al comes over and asks about the weather and Alyce takes a break from cooking after making sure that Jiahui is comfortable going solo.  Alyce digs out the small satellite antenna and fires it up, searching for a good signal.  Finally finding one, she uses three additional small antennae that rise from her head to assist in reducing the noise.  Al had not seen her use these before and it sort of startles him, but he is now used to being startled by what Alyce does.  They connect to the weather channels out of Thailand for the local area and everything seems good for Al's new route.   

During breakfast, Alyce gives the latest updates on Senor's progress.  It seems that he is weighed down by carrying too much weight.  Alyce tells the rest that she believes that he had planned on using local bearers and was stuck when none were available.  She also says that it seems that Senor has forgiven his decker as he does not appear to be arguing with him.  After the briefing, the team finishes breakfast.  Some jokes are told that hint at the near nakedness of Alyce and Jiahui.  Alyce responds as if one of the guys, but Jiahui is very self conscious at first.  Alyce prods her and whispers something to her that gets her smiling and after that she begins responding as Alyce does and is soon part of the group, accepted as one of them.  Al certainly notices that the differences are Master Po and Ling Tse Tau, both of whom seem to be staring at Alyce and Jiahui without really participating in the playful banter.

During the morning travel, Alyce looks up at the gathering clouds more than once and checks the weather report each time the group stops for a short break.  She is glad when Al goes ahead to look at things.  Her first hint that something is wrong is when her sensors pick up Al tumbling from the trees.  Immediately realizing that her worst fears are about to come true, she wastes no time in grabbing Jiahui and moving to the edge of the ravine with the mule.  She is already shouting at the others to get up to higher ground when Yao Lung receives the same command from Al and begins roaring at the rest.  Alyce races for the front of her mule and releases the winch and chain cable before helping guide Jiahui to the top of the ravine.  She lashes the chain to the largest tree she can find and commands the drone to climb.  Something that should be impossible proves easy with the drone's winch assisting it to climb the steep wall.  Alyce's other drones are letting her see what is happening, but she did not need them to tell her that doom was near.  Her enhanced hearing could make out the sound of the flash flood as a wall of water swept down on the group.  Milo and Xander released their heavy weapons from their mule and tossed them up to where Alyce and Jiahui could grab them and put them to the side.  Ling Tse Tau simply stood at the top of the ravine shouting and being completely useless.  She get a word on the comm that Cheung has made it out of the draw in the rear and Yao Lung pulls Lok up with him after Bhaozhai slips back to the bottom.

Alyce senses that the water is going to beat the rest to the top of the ravine and her heart almost stops.  In the chaotic last seconds before the water slams into those left, Al grabs Po by one skinny arm and holds on to a large tree root that is sticking up out of the draw bed like a large handle.  Kang and Yao Lung slide back down to where Bhaozhai is flailing and try again to get her up but opt for the hoped for safety of a huge tree instead just as the water hits.  The two mountainous Trolls stand as close together as possible to shield their mule and each other.  Alyce sends her aerial drones up into the sky to avoid the wall of water and the debris it is sweeping before it, but one is caught by a large branch and smashed to pieces.  The other drone and Alyce's ultrasound sensors show her what happens, almost in slow motion.  The water slams into those remaining in the draw, twisting and pulling at them at the same time as huge rocks and broken trees try to crush everything in the path of the flood.   

A large broken tree pierces Bhaozhai's chest, killing her instantly and ripping her from the arms of Kang and Yao Lung, who are both battered by the debris.  A boulder the size of Milo bounces down the canyon and smashes against Kang's head, but Yao Lung manages to avoid being hit and holds onto his man.  Al and Po are covered by the wall of water and nearly swept away.  Al's immense strength is augmented by Po's surprisingly strong sense of self preservation and both manage to hold onto the tree grip until a derelict tree cuts across Po and knocks him unconscious, forcing Al to try to hold both in place.  The Trolls also disappear under the water, but seem to do well as a bulwark until the same tree that swiped at Po smashes into Milo, nearly decapitating the huge man and knocking him unconscious as well.  Alyce is not waiting to see all of the damage and has taken a special clamp from a pocket of the mule and attaches the clamp to her ankle.  She commands Jiahui and Ling Tse Tau to help her, but only the girl responds as the Wuxing boss seems rooted to the ground as far away from the edge as he can get.  Not wasting time on the man, Alyce has Jiahui unwind a second length of chain cable and run it around the largest tree she can find before attaching it to the device on her ankle and then they affix it to the cable already on the winch.  Alyce pulls as much slack as she can and tells Jiahui to stand at the winch controls in case something happens to her.  Alyce sets out the second medkit and leaves it with Jiahui with instructions on how to attach it and let it do its own thing then she goes to wait at the top of the draw, looking at the devastation below.   

The ultrasound shows everyone except for Bhaozhai, who has been swept away with the crest of the flood.  The rush of water goes past those still in the draw for several minutes, but the pace of the flood quickly slows to normal for the draw when it has water in it.  Al drags Po with him to the surface and finds purchase lodged against a tree that was stopped in its careen down the ravine.  Yao Lung is holding onto Kang and sputtering while Xander is trying to get his brother to wake up, but at least everyone remaining seems to not be in danger of being swept away.   Alyce calls out to Yao Lung to be ready and then steps back from the edge a few feet.  She races forward and leaps into the air, trailing the loose cable behind her.  Al is not sure what to think as the slight Keeb launches herself over the river, but her sensors have guided her to the right spot and she grabs out for the team second, who catches her arm.  She wraps some of the cable around Kang's shoulders and under his arms then commands the mule to pull her in.  The winch easily manages to take the weight of both and Kang is soon deposited on the ground at the top of the ravine.  Alyce tells Jiahui to come and attach the biomonitor from the kit to Kang as she commands the drone to let slack again.  She stands and goes back to the edge and Yao Lung points over to Al and Po.  Alyce nods and once again steps back before racing to the edge and jumping as close to Al as she can.  He helps her put the cable around Po and she commands the drone to once again pull her up.

Alyce repeats the process with Milo next, but the huge Troll is so large that she has to unhook herself from the cable to get enough slack to take him up.  During the process, she slips into the still fast moving river and only Xander's quick grab prevents her from being swept away in the current.  Jiahui sees the immediate problem when the Troll is brought up; that there is now no one to get the cable back down.  She quickly pulls slack from the drone and tries to fling the cable end back to Alyce, but falls far short several times.  Finally the young missionary sits down and wraps the cable about her own ankle before going back to the edge and jumping into the maelstrom below.  Alyce can hear the girl cry out as her ankle snaps from the pressure and torque put on it.  She leaps into the current and grabs the girl, in turn being grabbed by Xander.  Alyce carefully unwraps the cable and refastens it to the clamp at her own ankle before kissing the girl and sliding the cable under her arms.  The drone brings both up and Alyce goes back in for the second mule then the other three men.

Cheung makes his way to the group but he and Lok are on the opposite bank from the rest.  He says that he had followed Bhaozhai's body down river and it is now wedged against a tree about three hundred feet further back.  He says that he tried to get to her, but it was impossible.  Alyce checks on the victims and quickly determines that Kang his died from the blow to his head, but that Milo will survive his head injuries.  Po will also survive his head wound, but she is not sure that she can save his arm.  Everyone else that was in the water has been pummeled, with wounds varying in severity.  Still, losing only two in such a situation is a miracle.  She looks over at Al as he squeezes some water from his shirt and mouths a silent "I love you." 

Ling Tse Tau comes over, spitting out questions about how such a thing could happen and looking to blame someone.  Yao Lung sees Alyce reaching for her small gun and takes the boss off to the side to calm him down.

 

 

[adamu]

With Yao busy pacifying Ling, Al took charge. The rain was pelting down now - the storm having reached them, and the canopy above already saturated..

Cheung and Lok were in the best shape, but were stuck on the other side of a raging torrent. Though rated for submersion, Al's transceiver was useless - the mic had washed away, and the earpiece had clearly shorted out. Shouting was pointless over the roar of the flood between them, but big arm gestures proved enough to send Lok north and Cheung back south to screen the main approaches to their position - if they were hit right now they'd be decimated.

The next thing was to move. Like everyone else, Alyce was drenched to the point where her clothing was a liability and a hindrance more than any sort of protection, and she was sporting half a dozen minor injuries, but she was already setting up her gear and spittling her attention between Milo and Po. But he told her to stop and get ready to move, glancing down at he earth beneath their feet. They were in a spot where the canopy screened so much sunlight that there was very little underbrush. And even as the water pelted down, the soil was rapidly moistening, becoming unstable. "Flash flood's jist the start - this whole slope could go right out from under us in a mudslide, we gotta git ta them rocks over there pronto."

Xander fireman-carried his brother and Al did the same for Po. The women gathered up the medical supplies. Some people still had their packs, others did not. The porters, however, who had been first up the sides of the ravine, now quickly gathered up all the fallen gear they could and started moving. Once they'd reached the rocks, Al put them to work setting up the biggest of the tents they still had, knowing the rain would hinder treatment and precipitate shock in the injured. He himself was constantly having to wipe away the blood flowing into his eyes from a huge gash on his forehead.

The porters were quick, and soon Po was under cover, along with Alyce and Jiahui - the newly deputized nurse - and their gear. That left enough room for Milo's head and shoulders, which were what Alyce said she needed access to. They laid another tent over the rest of him but he started to shake, and Xander laid under the tent next to him to keep him warm.

Then Al looked to the mules - they'd been tasked to make their way to the rocks, but the thickening mud was the worst possible thing for the heavy quadripeds. Al pulled the winch cable from Alyce's drone to a tree in the rocks - it would be fine from there. But the weapons drone was hopelessly mired - at least the trolls had had the presence of mind to toss their primary weapons out of the ravine before the flood hit, and they'd been retrieved by the bearers. Now Al, knee deep in mud at this point, called them over. They hesitated, seeing the deepening mud start to shift, but when Al started to unsling the shotgun, which had miraculously stayed with him through the flood, they started towards him. It was slow going out to the stranded mule, and things were already gravely unstable when they reached it. Al loaded them all up as much as he dared, knowing that they could get mired just as the drone had. He started with the trolls' food, and then managed to load the last man with machine gun ammo while taking a bunch of mini-grenades himself.

Halfway back the mud around their thighs started shifting slowly but inexorably down the slope. They struggled forward, but it was nearly impossible to make progress as the pouring rain made the mud more like quicksand with each passing moment. One bearer dropped his load, but Al growled at him to pick it back up - the man did, but half was lost - as Yao had finally freed himself from wet-nursing Ling to make himself useful, tossing the cable from Alyce's now-secured drone to them. They formed a line and were pulled in, but the Gaxxins' mule was washed down the mountain.

Exhausted, the porters collapsed to the ground, but Al forced them to keep working until the tents - those that had survived - were all set up so that those not assisting Alyce could take some shelter and shed their drenched, mud-encrusted clothing.

Al stayed outside in the rain on sentry duty. He'd patched his forehead himself with his own small kit, and now was letting the falling water do its work on the mud that encased him from the waist down. Having checked the action on his weapon, he stood peering into the misty gloom and wondering how it could be raining when the satellite had shown no cloud formation within a hundred miles.