[Mercy Merchant]

Alyce works on Po and Milo in the test, completely unaffected by the dim lighting.  But Jiahui is not blind and does not have Alyce's advantages and Alyce needs her help, so a bright lantern is set up for the impromptu nurse.  Alyce pulls her pack inside the tent and removes some dry clothing, passing some to the young missionary.  "Here, strip and change.  I do not need you going into shock.  Luckily you did not break your ankle when you jumped in.  That was very brave of you to do that."  Jiahui smile and begins to unbutton her shirt, then stops, looking about.  Alyce shakes her head as she strips off her soaked shirt and begins to shimmy her pants off.  "You think these three care what you look like naked?  Besides, they might need the pick-me-up of two naked women."  Jiahui blushes a bit then nods, stripping as well and putting on the dry clothing Alyce hands her.

Alyce then gets to work on Po, who has been awake long enough to see both women up close and personal, but seems more interested in his arm, which is hanging uselessly at his side.  Alyce has him hooked up to the biomonitor and frowns at the readout.  There is some horrible damage to the muscles and bones.  She strips his clothes and tells Xander to do the same for Milo.  "Got to get them out of their wet clothes before shock finishes stealing their body warmth.  She calls for and gets extra blankets to help then sets about doing what she can.  It takes hours of work in horrid conditions, but there is a very good reason why she is in demand for expeditions like this one.  Alyce is an excellent surgeon and she specializes in the sort of trauma care needed in the field.

[adamu]

The storm passed.

The sun came out, bright and hot, blazing down on the treeless cluster of rock outcroppings, drying Al's clothing as it sat on his unmoving frame.

Alyce, Jiahui and Xander were still at work on the two most seriously injured, but the others started crawling out of the tents, mostly in their shorts, pulling their clothes out with them. The bearers set about laying apparel and gear out to dry.

There were footsteps behind Al. He was gazing up, alternately at the sky and the elevated treeline to their north. Thinking about what awaited them up there. Or, if the othes didn't make, what awaited him up there. He figured whoever was walking up behind him would state their purpose soon enough. He was in no mood to be solicitous.

Yao and Ling came around to face him. Ling's mouth was a tight line. Apparently Yao had convinced the executive to let him handle the conversation.

Yao said, "Aside from an impertinent attitude, you have proven extremely valuable to this expedition, Al. This, however, has been a grave setback. I would hate to think it was a lapse in judgement." The guy had been at his dictionary again prepping the speech. The English would start to slip once they got into it.

But Al didn't want to give the guy a hard time. He knew the man had been working with Kang for a long time and a lot of jobs, and he knew how it felt to lose a chummer. He pulled out his Lucky Strikes, but they were a pasty mash in the pack. No doubt the cartons he and Alyce had in their packs were in the same condition.

"No lapse, amigo. Show ya the data if ya want. No way it shoulda rained. But," and he motioned with his chin up the mountainside, "I told ya he was gittin' more powerful while y'all spent yer time ballin' enemy spies. Ya think all he had ta throw at us was a few punji pits?"

[Mercy Merchant]

Alyce emerges from the medical tent and stretches.  She is smiling as she moves over to the remaining mule and pats it.  She reaches into one of the compartments and pulls out two packs of Lucky Strikes.  She momentarily grieves for the loss of human life and the drones.  Bhaozhai had not been a nice person, but that does not mean that Alyce had wanted her dead.  And Kang had been a good man, honorable and true to Wuxing and to Yao Lung.  Casting her sensors about she sees Ling Tse tau and Yao Lung talking to Al and focuses her hearing in that direction.  What she hears bothers her and she walks over to the small group.  She tosses one pack of fags at Al and leans over to get a light while listening to them talk.  She picks up the slight hiss from the Wuxing boss that he is disturbed by her interruption, but it does not bother her.

Standing, she takes a few drags, enjoying the taste.  Without facing either of the corporate men, she says, "Al is right, Yao Lung.  I can show you every weather report and map that was published by the Thai National Weather Service from early this morning on.  The storm did not show up in the reports until just before it struck.  I know of three reasons for this, two of them bad.  One, the weather man was wrong.  Two, the shaman used some serious mojo to spring the weather on us.  Three, the other decker violated some pretty serious international laws and manipulated the weather satellites.  I think, given the ferocity of the storm, that we can rule out number one.  I am about to determine if number three is possible.  But first I wanted to update you on our situation.  Milo Gaxxin and Master Po are resting and should recover.  Neither has regained consciousness, but vital signs are good.  I called in a favor from a friend in London and had him shoot me some data on possible brain injuries and a software upgrade for my medkit that will help if there is any damage there.  I......."

Ling Tse Tau cannot contain himself any longer and interrupts her.  "How much money is this you are talking about?"

Alyce pauses for a moment to draw on her cigarette.  "I got a discount through my relationship with the hospital.  It was only 57400 Nuyen.  I....."

She is interrupted again as the man gags.  This time his voice is high pitched and angry.  "Only 57400?  Only?  You committed funds for such an extravagance without authorization.  Miss Krait, you have acted irresponsibly.  Again I must remind you that you are not to spend Wuxing monies without approval.  It must be returned."

Alyce calmly waits for him to sputter to a stop.  "Ling Tse Tau, are you saying that you would not commit expedition funds to try to save the lives of this team?  You certainly did not lift a finger to help us rescue any of them, even when asked.  And you did not let me finish earlier.  I did not commit expedition funds.  I spent my own money."

Ling Tse Tau steps back a pace, opening and shutting his mouth several times without speaking.  Apparently the thought that this blind employee could have such funds at her disposal surprises him.  Alyce stubs out her cigarette and field strips it, putting the paper in her pocket before adding.  "You are a coward and a bully and far too inexperienced to be leading this expedition, especially after we found out that the shaman already has your precious artifact and is using it to get stronger.  Al Guthrie is right when he says that you delayed this team for at least three days while you were shagging a woman who turned out to be spying on you and sharing all of your information with the Azzies.  Now, I am going to do my best to see if that decker has done something very wrong and I will try to deal with that if he has.  I came out here to tell you that we need to camp here.  Or somewhere close.  I do not recommend moving the unconscious men too far.  But there is a row of hills less than a half mile away that might have a cave we can use.  Perhaps someone can go scout out there while I work?  I should be back in time to fix dinner."

She takes another fag from the pack and leans over for another light from Al and moves back toward the medical tent, saying over her shoulder, "Please try to not disturb me until I get back to the meat zone."  Once inside the tent, Alyce sits down and looks at the medkit monitors for her patients.  Satisfied that all is as good as it can be, she tells Jiahui what she is about to do and slips into the VR world.

[adamu]

When Alyce had leveled her ire at Ling, Al had been unsure if the man would attack her or start crying. He did notice that a disheveled Xander Gaxxin had appeared at a respectful distance, hands empty, keeping an eye on things. But Ling had simply turned on his heel and stalked off, while Yao had given Alyce a stern look that carried little weight since they all knew he agreed with what she'd said.

Al was glad his brief stint as a company man was long in his past.

"Reckon I'll go find that spot. Ya got another transceiver you can hook me up with?"

It was a silly question, and Alyce gave him hers, planning to get one of her spares when she got back to her mule.

Then Al tromped off, checking in with Cheung and Lok. They'd had no contact, and he called them in to get their clothes changed and some rest. The loss of even just Kang was going to stretch their sentry roster thin.

He looked at the land and his topo maps and headed to where they might find some better shelter, but good caves don't grow on trees. The first couple he found had old sign around them - they were known to someone local. But finally he found something with virgin foliage all around, and the interior was large enough, with a spring as a bonus. No rear way out that he could find, which he hated, but it was the best they'd do.

If he went back now, they'd never be able to get the group here by dark, so he called Alyce, made sure she was securing the transmission, and gave her the coordinates. Then set out to meet them on their way, help with Milo and the rest of the load.

[Mercy Merchant]

Alyce slips into the trix and soars to the global grid, racing to the host for the weather satellite that serves this part of the world.  Sadly, although technology had increased by leaps and bounds over the years, the ability to toss satellites into space has not kept up.  The one serving this part of the world is an older one and the security protocols are weaker than she would have expected.  Good news and bad news.  The good news is that she is easily able to enter the satellite.  Bad news is that the other decker could have done the same thing.  Alyce snoops around without touching much, as even being here is highly illegal in many ways.  It takes some time to do it without setting off any alarms, but she finally finds a trace of something that is not supposed to be in the files and sniffs it out.  Soon she has all of the information she needs to prove that the Azzie decker has interfered with the processing data of the satellite.  The idiot has even left a sort of calling card behind and Alyce wonders where Senor has found this guy.  She creats a trix box for her findings and anonymously sends the package off to the appropriate monitoring agency.  Someone will be very interested indeed in what she sent.

Alyce takes care to remove any sign of her own intrusion and leaves the satellite for her body, where she takes the time to slip back to AR before waking.  She begins to collate her data in one part of her mind as she checks on her patients.  No improvement yet for either, but no deterioration, either.  Her new software upgrade is showing that there should be no real brain trauma, but she leaves it running, just in case.  She considers the expense well worth the value and wonders why she had not picked it up sooner.  She is not brain expert, but the software will let the kit do something if needed. 

She tells Jiahui to get some rest and goes out to check on those that were injured but not as severely as Po and Milo.  She sees that Lok and Cheung have rejoined the group after crossing the river on a fallen tree.  They report that Bhaozhai's body was washed away and they could not find it.  She walks to the mule and begins removing things, stacking them on the ground under a tree.  Jiahui comes up behind her.  "I could not sleep.  What are you doing?"

"Getting things ready to move.  If Al finds us a cave, I want to be able to put those two on the mule to move them.  It will take two trips, but it will be safer than trying to man carry them anywhere."

Jiahui nods and begins to help.  Soon after the mule is prepped, Alyce gets the call from Al that he has found a place.  She relays the information to Yao Lung and has Xander help move his brother to her makeshift stretcher.  Yao Lung leaves Lok behind to watch over Po and the equipment and the team begins the trek to the nearby hills, meeting Al on the way.  It takes three trips for Alyce to bring both patients to the cave then return for her equipment.  After the last trip, she checks on her patients then breaks out the camp stove to prepare dinner.

[adamu]

Al helped with all the moving as best he could, although half his job seemed to be keeping a fire lit under the asses of bearers. They were getting pretty restless with the turn of events, the shaman's presence weighing more tangibly on their minds. Mixed with their stress and general fatigue, and they needed watching. But having them jump ship would be even worse than letting they slack off, so he had to pace them.

Their leader's name was called Kheda. They needed to talk, and like his companions the man only spoke Khmer. "Listen my friend, I know things have been hard, but you knew the job when you took it. You knew it would be tough going, and that there would be opposition. That's why you're getting paid so well."

"Mister Al, you know the saying. Maybe you have something like it in English - dead men can't spend money."

"Yeah, well quitters can't feed their families, either. It's a tough call, I know. And it's not as though I can tell you there is some sort of higher cause here. These men are after something that equals money to them, and that is what they have to trade. But the sort of bonus I think I can get you, it's money that can change lives, buy security, educate children. And you know fighting's not in the deal. Once we get near the foe, you men just stay well out of the way."

The man thought. "The bonus you think you can get us?"

They were down one mule, down one troll, and up a man and a troll to haul around if need be. These guys had to stay. He nodded. "You talk to your men, I'll talk to the boss after he's fed."

Turning back to the other activity in the cave, Al wasn't sure how Alyce kept going. Like the rest of them, she'd walked half the day after a much-disturbed night, swam to the rescue of people and gear, nursed the wounded through a storm, and then humped people and gear on three trips back and forth to this cave. And now she was cooking dinner for everyone. Jiahui was helping as best she could, but she was exhausted as well.

Knowing she'd never agree to letting one of her duties slide, Al went over and did what he could to help with the cooking.

[Mercy Merchant]

Alyce nods to Al as he comes up to help.  Despite his thinking, Alyce feels beat.  "Thanks, Al.  I am afraid I am almost ready to drop.  I will get some rest after dinner then wake up and do what I can about that Azzie decker.  I hope that Senor does not really know what that man did.  It is sad to think that he might have stooped so low.  So fragging criminally low."  She goes silent and lets Jiahui and Al take over most of the cooking while she gives direction.  Despite everything, dinner is a success.  Alyce makes a round to check on all of the injured people and then goes to where she has laid out her bedroll.  She strips naked and slides inside the bag, oblivious to the stares from everyone in the cave.  Al catches Ling Tse Tau looking at Alyce and his gaze is somewhat between a high degree of lust and hatred for the Keeb.

Alyce wakes at 0100 and crawls out of her bag.  She slips her pants and shirt on and walks over to where her mule is.  She opens the compartment where the satellite dish is stored and sets the device up.  She sits on the ground near it and raises her antennae, takes a deep breath, and sinks into the trix to go to war.  She sets her agents to certain tasks to keep the team defended but arms her deck for offense.  She is like a jungle cat as she glides through the matrix stalking her prey.  She finds him hiding behind an inferior firewall.  His deck is not as good as hers and the attributes are not optimally set for defense.  Moving like a ghost, she carefully slips marks on the device without alerting its sleeping master.  At three, she has full access and glides into the device.  Several successful matrix searches later and she knows everything about the man and his deck and begins making fundamental changes to its programming, opening and editing files with a deft hand.  It is almost scary what she is doing, but the man is not protecting his equipment.  Alyce's avatar smiles as she spots connections to his team's equipment.  Following the chords, she invades several commlinks and weapons, silencing the 'links and basically ripping the wired guts from several of the weapons.  The damage can be repaired, but it will take time and she hopes that Senor will want to make things right before moving on. 

When she has what she wants, she backs out of the deck and smashes several direct attacks at it.  These wake the Azzie decker, who rushes into VR to try to defend himself and his deck.  But Alyce has anticipated his moves and the first file he opens ignites and explodes in his trix mind.  He is experienced enough to try to change his configuration on the fly, but Alyce has tripped up the program files and he is actually making things worse as she continues her assault.  She overwhelms the decker, who is just coming to grips with being attacked and staggered by the damage from her data bombs that just seem to explode at every touch.  The avatar screams in pain and fury and the meat body jerks to the physical damage it is taking due to him being in VR.  He slips into unconsciousness before he can jack out and the physical damage keeps on coming, pushing into overflow.  The man's body spasms, thrashing in his tent and panicking the man sharing the tent with him.  By the time the team medic gets to the tent, the decker is staring with sightless eyes with blood flowing from his eyes and ears.  Even with heroic effort, there is nothing the medic can do to save the man's life.

Alyce bricks the deck as she works her way out and back to the cave and her own body, carefully slipping out of VR to AR and then the meat world.  She is sad that she has actually killed the man, but he had crossed the line when he hijacked the weather satellite.  People she knew had died due to his actions and this was justice.  Still, she is crying as she sits with her back to her mule.  Crying for the deaths of her companions and for the man she has just killed.  Alyce cradles her head in her hands and sobs out loud.

[adamu]

Al had always been a light sleeper, and on jobs like this he made a point of it. He knew Alyce was up and about, but once he saw her set the sat-link up at the mouth of the cave, he knew there was nothing to do and drifted back off. The sound of her sobbing a couple hours later, however, had him up like a bolt.

At first he was a afraid she was in trouble virtually, and realized with some dismay he had no idea how to manually unplug a decker whose hardware was internal. But it was quickly clear that she was merely upset about something. Well, she was a woman, and you took the bad with the good. He went over and sat next to her, figuring if she wanted to talk she would.

After a while, when her sobs had quieted, he stood and took her hand, lifting her from the floor easily, and led her outside for some air. He knew Cheung was on watch up in a tree, and started to wave...but the man wasn't there. But only a few seconds later he saw the man hurrying back to the tree, buckling up his pants. Well, no one was immune to nature's call, though Al would have done it from his hide in the branches.

He took Alyce up a gentle slope and around to a small glade he'd noticed earlier - there was moonlight here, a few flowering plants. He hoped it would do her good just to step away from the cramped and crowded hospital cave for a bit.

[adamu]

Alyce lets Al take her outside the cave.  She grips his hand like it is the life preserver it is right now.  When he stops, she turns to face him and presses against his comforting chest.  "I might be a horrible person, Al.  I think I might have just killed a man.  It is not the first time, but it is not something I do on a regular basis.  My earlier research of the weather satellite proved that the Azzie decker fiddled with it.  People died, Al.  Not just us, but others as well.  The news was all about the failure of the weather satellite to provide adequate warning to the people in the area.  At least twenty-seven deaths have been attributed to the flash floods, and that only counts the ones they know about.  The authorities are certain that there are more deaths and injuries from the storm, but it is hard to get details in a place like this.  People like Bhaozhai and Kang.  I alerted the authorities of what I thought happened by anonymous post, providing the fingerprints necessary to get the guy.  The fragging asshole left a calling card as some sort of hacking trophy.  I made my own justice, Al.  I slipped into his deck and fragged it then attacked it with brute force, making sure that he would wake up and jack in.  Once he was in VR I attacked with everything I could.  He did not stand a chance and because he was in VR, he was taking physical damage.  I overloaded him and just kept on attacking, even after he collapsed and could not jack out or shut his deck down.  He was an amateur hacker and got people killed.  I am sure that he is gravely injured and probably dead."
 
She sighs.  "I also took the opportunity before my main attacks to brick up several of the Azzie commlinks and weapons that were linked to the deck.  I am hoping that Senor will want to fix his stuff before moving on and do not know what sort of assets he has to do that.  He will be pissed, but I left him a note explaining why I did it.  I hope like hell that he did not know what his decker was doing.  I will check Sasha's feed in a bit.  I already pulled Misha back to here to replace poor Igor.  I really want two set up around us."
 
Alyce looks up at Al, "I hope that you are not too disappointed in me.  I just could not stop once I got going.  All those dead people were calling out for justice and I gave them what I could.  That man suffered a lot before I stopped.  I hope that he is dead."

[adamu]

Al held her and listened to her until he figured she was done. Then he sat her down on the ground and put his own back against a tree, stretching his legs. He patted his pockets for a pack of cigarettes before realizing they'd all be ruined by the floodwaters.

"Woman, only thing I'm disappointed in ya 'bout is leavin' any communications at all fer this Senor feller ta play with. Smart guy like him can pull intel outta jist about any snippet ya might wanna give 'im - if nothin' else it lets 'im know yer mindset. Which, by the way, in your case is the cause of all yer frettin'. Ya jist now said ya hoped this decker sumbitch killed Kang was dead, an' that's the smart girl I know talkin', but then here's all this weepin' an' wailin' an' gnashin' o' teeth feelin' bad about it. That, sexy, is the part o' ya that's still treatin' all this like some sorta game, all this honor-among-thieves crap. Sooner ya disabuse yerself o' this may-the-best-man-win-an'-after-we's-all-goin'-fer-drinks bullshit, the sooner yer gon' know ya did the only thing they was ta be done."

He sighed. It was probably not the right tone for the moment, but he wasn't some damned hippie life coach. "Listen, reckon ya know yer business, but it's all new ta me. I ain't never done this sorta thing afore. Not the guide thing, done lots o' that. But it were always me against nature or whatever other hazards fate sent my way. What I damned well thought this gig was. But I'm jist a workin' man, sailorin', minin', tradin'. On occasion survive by the sword, but don't live by it. So now that we's not only up against the shaman-dude, but also this other corp group, well, that's jist a whole 'nother ball o' wax fer Al. An' I reckon they'll kill us if they have to ta git whatever we find. So I ain't gon' have no qualms 'bout killin' them first. So maybe you can explain it to me, cuz here you are, yer doin' this merc thing all regular-like, can't tell me it ain't never come ta blows afore. An' yer all sworn inta this Russky mob thing, which is a whole 'nother thing I been tryin' not ta think too much about. So why is it yer so hesitant to play hardball?"

[Mercy Merchant]

Alyce lifts her head and smiles.  "Is that what you think, Al?  That I can't or don't want to play hardball?  I was not crying for that fragging Azzie cheapo chump hacker.  He got what he deserved.  No, I was crying for all the people he killed.  And feeling a bit guilty, too, I suppose.  I did not like Bhaozhai, but she did not deserve to die.  That way or any way.  Our last words were not nice ones and I do regret that.  Nothing I can do about that.  I have caused people to die before through my actions, like those men that attacked us in Andoung Tuek.  But this was the first time I had purposely set up a kill and then tricked a man into doing what I wanted so I could kill him.  That was different, and a bit.........scary.  Not crying about it, but a bit surprised that I could do such a thing."

"I.......I was trying to tell you that so you could see that I am not always a nice person.  I do not want to be on the level of some of the people I have known, but I can now see that I am not so far apart as I had thought."

She pauses to put her thoughts together.  "As to the rest, I do not know how to explain it well, I guess.  Perhaps it is something that you need to experience to really understand.  In some ways all of this is a game.  A very dangerous game this time out, but mostly because of the shaman, not the opposition.  Yes, the hacker tried to kill us and did kill a lot of people through his actions, but that is not normal behavior.  So either Senor did not know about what his man did or something has changed how he is reacting to this expedition.  Believe it or not, this very much is an honor-among-thieves sort of thing.  Our group of associates is incredibly small.  There is every chance that my next job offer will come from the Azzies and perhaps from Senor himself.  If so, I would seriously consider taking the job and we would work together.  It really is that simple."

"Yes, there have been times when teams have resorted to various means to get to a prize first or to take it before it is delivered.  Such things rarely end in violence, however.  Al, I am not making this drek up.  I have lived in this environment, with teams just like this one, for over thirty years.  Trust me.  Be prepared, but trust me."  She pauses for a few moments, then touches both of her upper arms.  "As for the last bit.  I belong to EVO and I also belong to the Russian Vory.  My life is sworn to both groups and they could call me back at any time and I would go.  I have sworn oaths that cannot be broken.  The Vory and EVO are my family.  They stood up and protected me when I was an infant in my mother's arms and have been there for me at every step of my trek to adulthood and even now.  They allowed me to go my own way after I found the Yak assassin that had brought shame to us.  That slate was cleared by his torture and execution.  At the time, I was considered broken, even by my "family", and they could not see the true potential of what I could be.  Frag, I could not see it then, either.  They agreed to set me up as a freelance and we set rules that none of us were to break.  I was allowed to work for competing corporations and criminal organizations and not ever be required to tell tales on them.  At the same time, neither the Vory nor EVO would ever ask me to tell tales.  But there is a catch; they could call me back.  So far they have not, even though I have proven many times how effective I am.  I think that they still consider me broken in some fashion and that it is better to leave me as is than to try to bring me in."

[adamu]

"Well, no offense, but I reckon that's jist 'bout the most horrible thing I ever heard. Yer life ain't bein' yer own...sounds like yer jist livin' on borrowed time, with them can yank the rug out from under ya whenever they damned well please. I'll allow as I respect payin' yer debts. But safe ta say Al'd die afore incurrin' that kinda open-ended obligation. 'Specially to a pack o' thieves an' low lifes don't work fer a livin'. An' they's no way they still think yer busted, not with the track record you got. Nah, reckon they's treatin' you like they secret weapon, they hole card, they knife inna boot, an' the longer they wait, the bigger the ask is gon' be." He shrugged. "Condolences."

He looked up at the stars for a moment, then at her across the moonlit glade. "As fer all that sportsmanship stuff, like I said, ain't my world, so best give yer story the benefit o' some doubt. That's how ya wanna play, then I'll respect it. But Al don't have no gloves ta take off. No half measures. Warn't no water pistols those boys inna vid was packin', an' I git one in my sights, that'll be all she wrote."

[Mercy Merchant]

Alyce shakes her head but does not look down.  "I cannot change who I am, Al, just as you cannot change you.  I would not ask you to understand my life.  Frag, I am not sure I do.  But I do have rules to live by and they keep me sane in a world that is going mad.  I have to believe in something.  I have to.  It is my life."  She sighs and then softly adds something she fears the answer to.  "Al, my greatest fear is that I will chase you away from me through my own stupidity.  I already know  that I have on occasion said things to you that make me my own worst enemy.  But my rules are pretty fundamental to who I am.  Have we reached a barrier that we cannot cross?"

[adamu]

"Barrier we....woman, crossin' ta where? Ya got all these plans an' dreams or somethin', an' seems like ya want me ta say they's all gon' work out, jist gumdrop candy mountain. Maybe it's some kinda keeb big picture thinkin'. How old are ya, anyway? Look like yer 'bout twenny-five, which don't lose ya no points, I'll allow, but ya ain't countin' in centuries, is ya? Not that I'd mind, but it might help me figure where all that overthinkin' always comes from?" When she didn't answer immediately, he once again felt pricked for his rough tone - she just exasperated him to pieces at times - and took a shot at reassuring her some. "Listen, ya done laid some bad vibes on me with this lifetime slavery thing. Evo ain't so bad, but Al's got no truck with mobsters. They call ya in, it'll likely be somethin' I won't help ya with. But like I said, can't fault ya payin' yer debts, an' it ain't like anythin' ya done said gon' change my thinkin' 'bout ya."

[Mercy Merchant]

Once again, Alyce feels that she has said the completely wrong thing.  It would almost be better if she just did not speak at all.  At least that would reduce the number of times she puts her foot in her mouth.  Al's last words do reassure her, though and she smiles.  Taking a deep breath and releasing it, she simply says.  "Fifty-eight.  I am fifty-eight years old, Al.  And thank you for saying just the right thing.  I wish I had that talent."