[Saturday September 12th, 2076; Waldorf Astoria Hotel New York Metroplex]
Robyn laughed. "Some things you do not have to worry about. I do not have a SIN attached to either EVO or the Vory. I am a highly valued asset to both organizations, but I work independently of their direct control. I do, however, owe them loyalty for what they have done for me and our relationship remains strong and if it were not, I could not have brought you that vid of Cara. On that, I am sorry that I failed to save her life, but I am glad that I was able to stabilize her long enough to tell you goodbye. She loved you very much and you are a lucky man to have had even a bit of that sort of love." In a softer voice not necessarily meant to be heard, but probably was, she says, "And she was a lucky woman to have had your love."
She feels herself misting up and rises. "Excuse me for a minutes, please. I need to use the loo. I will be back soon. Our ride to the airport will be here in thirty minutes."
Thirty-two minutes later, Alyce and Rick are in a limousine, headed back to airport. They receive ISaint's message and Rick responds to it and soon they are back in the air, headed for Seattle. Once seated and the aircraft in the air, she turns to face Rick. "You might be tired of my playing after yesterday, but if not, four lines below the recording you heard yesterday is another one of mine. I composed it after we returned from Below and I named it "Requiem for Below. It is the finest work I have ever done, which might be crap to you if you hate cello music, but there are also some vocals in it and my singing voice is quite good, believe it or not. It is a long piece, ostensibly about our foray Below and the defeat of the demon, but you could say that it really is about life, love, loss, and eventual triumph of spirit over adversity. I do not think that I shall ever write something as good or play it and sing it as well. The recording is from an impromptu concert I gave in the park across from my book shop. Listen if you like and let me know what you think."
She jacks in and settles back after dialing up the selection and listens to her opus magnus. The song has never failed to bring tears to her eyes and this time is no different from any other. She makes no attempt to wipe at the tears, knowing that more will follow , until the piece is over. She smiles to herself as she finishes. She had really made that old wooden cello sing..
On arrival, the two contact ISaint and make their way to where he is waiting. Alyce excuses herself and leaves Rick to go meet ISaint alone as she makes a stop at the baggage counter and picks up a large case that has been waiting here for her. She snaps the carrying handle up and rolls the advanced medkit out of the area and to the airport lounge to meet the guys. "Hello, ISaint. Long time, you are a sight for sore eyes. I hope that you have room for the medkit."