[Mercy Merchant]

The work of a team medic is never done, and that is more true in the environment they were in.  The slightest scratch could lead to an infection that could sideline even a strong man and Alyce was busy at every rest stop, checking the people out for sores, cuts, scratches, or other injuries.  She had planned ahead for this sort of trial and had packed lots of medical supplies.  She did not say much, but the amount of universal donor blood she had used on Milo had put a serious dent in her supply, but all other medicines were still well stocked.  She is glad to see that the wounded men are up and moving, but still checks on them both at every opportunity.  Alyce realizes that the bearers are more used to this environment, but does not ignore them in her medical ministrations.  She gains a measure of trust and appreciation from them through this and uses the time with them to practice her language skills supplement her chipped speech. 

Alyce is very glad to have Jiahui help her with the first aid and the cooking.  For her part, the young missionary does all she can to fit into the team, adopting the success of the mission as her primary goal instead of the now almost forgotten ruse of missionary work.  The two women work well together and Jiahui is learning fast, sometimes responding first to a new medical issue and taking care of some of the small injuries without first needing to consult Alyce on the procedure.  Po seems to have been affected most by the death of Bhaozhai and his own brush with death.  He is mainly quiet, although he still watches Jiahui with undisguised lust.  It is as if being so isolated has made him a bit bolder, although he has not yet said anything.  He seems very jealous of the closeness developing between the two women.  Ling Tse Tau is just impatient.  And scared.  He tries to hide it, but it is obvious to the more seasoned team members that he now realizes that this is serious business and not a walk along a Hong Kong boulevard.  People have died, and the entire emergency process to save Milo had almost completely unnerved him.  All he wants now is to finish the damned mission and get home, but that does not stop his baser instincts from showing through.  His eyes are seldom off either Alyce or Jiahui, especially during the heat of the day when the sweat plasters their shirts against their chests.  Since both women have taken to not wearing a bra, this makes sure that everyone can get a good look at their breasts.

Alyce has already advised Yao Lung that the fresh foods are running out, which was to be expected.  However, the Trolls had packed a good portion of food on their mule, which was now lost, thus reducing the available rations.  She is quick to mention that she has plenty of dried and survival rations for several days yet, but that he needs to be prepared for some rationing.  The team second has been in situations like this before and knows the score.  He nods and thanks Alyce for the briefing and sits down to try to work out a solution.  Calling Al over after camp is set up, he says, "Al.  Can you hunt for fresh meat or fruits.  Our rations are getting low.  It is wrong to stop moving, but it is worse to starve.  Any ideas?"

[adamu]

Al had just finished setting up the tent he would share with Lok and Po. He'd seldom be in it at the same time as Lok, but he imagined Po - delightful company - would be a constant presence.

He contemplated Yao's request without standing up, taking his time with another few puffs of the cigarette he was working on.

"Well, be a mite tougher without usin' my rifle, but it could be done. Wouldn't slow us down none - I could give ya an idear of the course, and the Good Lord knows at the rate we's movin' I can range around pretty far an' still catch yer trail up without much sweat. Trouble is, how'm I gon' go out huntin' an' still keep up my spyin' duties on ol' Alyce there? Gotta admit, she's kinda the dead weight around here. More a liability than anythin' else." He looked Yao straight in the eyes when he said it.

Yao sighed, as if about to address an irascible child. "Obviously there is no need for you to keep that mission. You are smart. I know you can understand I had reasons. Tomorrow find us some food."

"Manana. One o' my favorite words, kemo sabe. Manana." And he crawled into his tent to nap until the women have the food ready, since he had first watch tonight.

[Mercy Merchant]

Alyce finally completes her tasks.  Milo and Po have been tended to, as have all the rest of those with less severe injuries.  The preparation for breakfast are laid out and she and Jiahui retire to their tent.  Before laying down, Alyce checks Sasha's feed of Senor's camp and the feeds from the two drones stationed around the team's campsite.  Satisfied with everything, she begins to undress, slipping out of her shirt to let it dry overnight.  She sees Jiahui looking at her and then looking away in embarrassment.  Alyce slides over to sit next to the young woman and reaches out to touch her shoulder.  Jiahui turns to look at her and smiles tentatively.

Alyce leans over and gently kisses her, sending small shock waves through both women.  Jiahui's eyes widen and she pulls away for a second or two before leaning back in for another kiss.  Alyce places her hands on the missionary's breasts and rubs circles around her erect nipples, eliciting a soft groan.  Alyce puts a finger to her lips and smiles before taking the girl in her arms and introducing her to making love to a woman.  They remain as quiet as possible but Alyce is certain that some noise escapes the tent.  But she does not really care at this point.

[adamu]

Awake and on watch, if no one else hears the sounds creeping out of the tent, Al certainly does.

He chuckles to himself. It's not the way he was raised, but he's well aware of Alyce's predilections, and he loves her for who she is - the good and the bad...and apparently the unnatural.

Eventually he'll get the proper chance to tell her that.

Hiking in the heat among the bugs, dealing with asshole-dandy-fop-Ling, ferreting out poor slob gambling addicts for execution - for Al it's all in an honest day's work, and he views none of it as a particular hardship. He loves living randomly and on the edge, making his own way through whatever honest work can bring the required sweat to his brow. No, for Al the only thing making him wish this silly expedition would end is his desire to whisk Alyce off to Bangkok, access his MIB account, and disappear into some hotel's penthouse suite with her and really get close to her.

But for now he hadn't promised her squat, and he knew it had been frustrating her. Let her have her fun - since it was another girl it was neither here nor there anyway.

He did sort of wish he had some pictures - but then reminded himself that it was really none of his business, and worked his way out through the bush to get out of earshot.

The perimeter was quiet, and the ground had dried since the rain a few days ago, which would make their next day's march a lot easier. So why was he suddenly standing in mud? He sniffed. Dammit, he'd certainly stepped in something. Squatting down well into the bushes, he cupped his hand around his flashlight and risked a look, wanting to know what sort of fauna was close enough to leave something this fresh for him to dirty his boots in.

He recognized what he found, and didn't like it one damned bit.

Shit!

Pun in-fucking-tended.

[Mercy Merchant]

Alyce wakes up facing Jiahui's face.  The two had fallen asleep in each other's arms and managed to stay that way.  The young missionary wakes as Alyce starts to move and smiles at her, reaching her arms up to bring Alyce's face to hers for a long kiss.  Alyce presses her lips firmly against Jiahui's and molds her breasts with a free hand.  Hearing noise from outside the tent, the two women smile and quietly giggle as they dress.  They race to the small latrine slot then go about getting breakfast ready.  Once the missionary has things in hand, Alyce makes rounds of the other tents, checking on her patients.  She is pleased at the progress Milo and Po are making, although she is concerned about Po's apparent lack of appetite.  She is certain it is not a medical issue but a mental one, but if he does not regain his appetite it will become a medical issue.

Back at the stove with Jiahui, Alyce accesses the previous night's feeds from her drones.  She follows Sasha's until the early morning and nothing out of the ordinary pops up.  It is clear that Senor is capable of motivating his men.  The good news is that he has camped off the track that Al had taken them after the flood.  They had found the caves the team had stayed in, but are now following what they believe the trail should be based on the direction Ling Tse Tau's team had been following.  She passes this information on to Al and Yao Lung and they both look pleased as well, but Alyce senses that Al is bothered by something.

[adamu]

The news from Alyce as he walked back into camp was some solace, but not enough.

She was busy cooking - no way to pull her aside without attracting notice. Whatever they did, it would have to be coordinated, so he'd have to start with Yao.

Following the man as he made his latrine run, Al caught him for a quiet word.

"Ya ever heard of arok sat?"

The man's eyes moved as he accessed his dictionary. "Demon lizard?" It was clear from his face that he had not, and neither had his database.

"That's close enough. Ya know what a Komodo dragon is, right? An' ya know some genius introduced 'em here back inna twenties, right? Well, we done had this thing called the Awakenin' since then."

Yao's language skills might not have been the best, but he was far from a stupid man. It was clear he understood what Al was saying. "And there is one near us?"

"Been scoutin' us all night, near as I can tell. So it'll move tonight, less'n it sees a better chance first. We shouldn't even be out as far as this here shithole." He motioned for Yao to accompany him back closer to the group.

"They hunt humans? They attack camps?"

"Well, ta be fair, sometimes humans hunt them, too. Gummint's got - or did have afore the coup - a fat bounty on 'em. So local guys'll go out, lookin' ta score enough ta buy they own farm. Go out in twos an' threes. Don't wanna split the pot any more'n that. An' they all say they g'byes an' git they death rites done afore they set out. Cuz how it works is, it gits one o' them, then the other ones git it. If they git it."

"So what do you suggest?"

"Well, we stick together tight, real tight. But that only puts it off ta nightfall. After dark, it comes an' gits one of us, an' that's how it is. So ya don't wanna lose no one, ya send me an' Xander out after it. Reckon he can take a hit, if'n Alyce's got enough antibiotics close ta hand. An' nothin' on four legs or two kills Al. So reckon we got a shot, him an' me."

Yao nodded. "I'll speak to Ling."

"Shee-it, he won't go for it. It'd mean losin' his bodyguard. Don't tell 'im. You was gon' send me out huntin' today anyhoo, then jist say Xander's on sentry duty, an' Milo's mobile enough ta guard the pussy hisself anyway."

The Chinese man looked at Al, a bit red faced. "Ling is the commander, and neither you nor I will ever lie to him."

Al shrugged and walked away. Back in the camp, he got handed a plate of breakfast by Alyce, and they sat down together to eat.

[Mercy Merchant]

Alyce serves Al his breakfast and sits by him to eat hers.  "Something bothering you, Al?  Anything I can help with?  You did hear that Senor is on the wrong track to finding us, right?  that should be good news."  She desperately hopes that she has not said anything wrong again.  She is a bit tired of saying the wrong thing to this man she loves so much.  Perhaps she is trying too hard.  Perhaps he is not into her as much as she thinks he is.  That has certainly happened before with other men.  Not for the first time she wonders what he will think of her when she tells him she is a sharer and what that means.  He is a man, and many men have the fantasy of sharing, but few actually participate more than a few times before realizing that it is not really for them and Al might be that type of man.  Still, he will need to be told.  Or shown.

[adamu]

"It is indeed good news," Al answered. Sitting to her right, closer to the edge of the camp, plate balanced on an upturned knee, Alyce noticed that he was eating with his left hand, his right on his weapon. And that he had swapped the shotgun for the rifle. He was focused more on the jungle than her.

Al thought of lightening the mood by teasing her about the sounds he'd heard from her tent the night before. Knowing her, though, she'd misinterpret his ribbing as some sort of complaint or criticism, and then he'd have to hear three minutes of overthought and overshared woman-talk. So said nothing about it, offering no indication he'd heard anything.

Instead he let her know what was up. "We got a real nasty para sizin' us up fer its next meal. He's out there inna bush right now." He kept his voice quiet so as not to carry - the others would have to know soon enough, but he wanted to have a game plan with Yao before laying it on the whole group. "This thing is big an' it's fast. I mean, Awakened fast, faster'n me, faster'n wired-up gillettes. Somebody gon' git mauled afore this is over, an' this thing's like a Komodo dragon - bacteria in its mouth is worse'n poison. Yer gon' have ta be Johnny onna spot with some badass antibiotic cocktails."

Just then Yao came up and squatted down next to them. Al noticed Ling had come out of his tent was was finding excuses to stand very close to Xander. "Our leader has rejected your plan," Yao said, stony faced. "Given our current losses, he believes it unwise to split up. Of course i agree."

Al spat on the ground, and stood, his food half uneaten. "Well, better git this show onna road, then." He stepped into the center of the camp, said something in Khmer to gather the bearers near him, and then raised his voice enough for everyone to hear. "Ever'one listen up. Lok, Xander, Milo, eyes onna treeline while I talk. We got somethin' nasty doggin' our trail - locals call it arok sat" - the bearers did not speak up but tensed visibly when Al mentioned the creature's local name; at least now he knew they wouldn't be leaving the group just yet - "it's a big ass, fast lizard an' a mighty aggressive hunter. If it sees a stray from the herd - that's us - it'll have ya before ya see it. So we keep movin' north, an' all stay extra tight till this is resolved."

He answered questions. When the trolls questioned the wisdom of a wait-to-be-eaten approach, Al simply suggested they'd need to "take 'er up with management." They knew what he meant and didn't bother.

Camp was broken quickly and soon they were moving again, Alyce and Jiahui, followed by Ling and Po, then the four bearers. Al led the way, the trolls stayed tight on either side of the core group, and Lok and Yao took up two points immediately to their rear. With Senor on their previous line of march, they had to strike out on a fresh course. There was a trail about five kilometers north-northeast, but for now they were fighting their way through virgin terrain and the going was terribly slow, visibility limited and down to zero past twenty yards.

[Mercy Merchant]

Before departing camp, Alyce checks her supplies of anti-toxins and nods.  So far, those have not been drained any and she feels confident that she is ready.  She removes the shot cartridges form one of her injectors ad replaces them with some containing the anti-toxins.  Alyce calls Jiahui over and shows her where the gun is located and  how to use it in case she needs to.

It is precisely this type of environment that makes Alyce a valuable asset to the team.  Her ultrasound sensor paints a perfect picture of the ground around them, covering well out from the group's line of march.  She kept a verbal update going between her, Al, and Yao Lung by subvocal microphone.  It would still be possible for the creature to get to them with its speed and aggressiveness, but at least they should have some warning if it appears on the sensor feed.  Four hours into the march, Ling Tse Tau calls for a break, saying that the pace Al is setting is too much.  Po takes the opportunity to go off a few feet to relieve himself.  Somehow the monster tailing them detects that and begins his attack rush, alerting Alyce to his presence as it crosses the boundary of her sensor range.  "Al, Yao Lung.  Attacking from the six.  Now!"  The speed of the creature is far greater than expected and it is upon poor Po before Al can unshoulder his rifle.  The missionary screams once as the massive jaws close around him them goes silent as it carries him off into the jungle.  Alyce calls out the direction of travel, but it disappears from her sensor before Al can get to it.  She gathers Jiahui and the bearers into the center of the group and waits for instructions. 

[adamu]

Wasting no time on sentiment, Al turns to look up at Ling. "That's gon' be you next, jefe. This thing singles out the weakest target, so with Po gone, you can do the math."

Ling was clammy white and shivering at what he'd witnessed. But he managed to say, "No, it will feed now. Then it will sleep. For days, probably."

"No, kemo sabe, that's what a damned natural lizard would do. This ain't one o' the Good Lord's creations, it's an abomination born o' Satan's return ta walk the earth. These things hunt fer fun, an' they stock up they kills too. Like 'em better ripe. That boy's comin' back, sure as I like beer, smokes, an' poon. An' right now draggin' a bleedin' corpse he's slower an' easiest ta track. You let me an' Xander go after it now, or you can sit up tonight waitin' for 'im ta come a'callin'." 

[adamu]

Alyce quietly walks up to Ling Tse Tau and says, “If you had listened to Al earlier, Po might still be alive.  We should not let your cowardice cost us another life.  Please let them go after this creature before it returns to kill again.”  The team leader gawks at the Keeb and tries to speak but cannot get words out, although his face turns a bright red in anger.  Then he seems to change his mind, nodding as he turns to Al and says, “Yes, you go.  Just go.  Xander, attend me, please for special instructions.”  The large Troll nods and goes off with him before picking up his huge autocannon and nodding to Al that he is ready.
 
Alyce’s face is passive as she waits for Al and Xander to reach the edge of the camp.  Then she calls out to Al to wait and goes to the mule to get her pack before joining them.  “You need me on this, Al.  You can track it but I can see it well before you can and can let you know if it is waiting in ambush ahead of you.  I have hunted and been hunted by creatures such as this in the past.  Besides, I can bring enough anti-toxin cocktail to help if either of you gets bit.  Don’t waste your breath saying no.”  She turns to Ling Tse Tau.  “And don’t waste yours, either.”  Alyce refuses to budge on going, even if Al raises a ruckus, but he can see the validity of her statement and has to relent, no matter that he does not like the idea at all.  He takes the lead and sets off, following an easy trail into the jungle.  Alyce steps as lively as either of the others, her sensors painting an exact map of the jungle around her and one of her drones staying just ahead of Al.  Twenty minutes into the hunt, Xander calls a halt.  “I am bothered.  Ling Tse Tau has told me to try to ensure that Al Guthrie does not return to the camp and to make it seem that the monster took you before I was able to kill it.  I will refuse to do this for several reasons and he will have to deal with my excuses.  But I warn you that, while neither Milo nor myself will do this thing, he does have others under his control that might.  I am also pretty certain that Yao Lung knows nothing of this or he would have said something.  This is completely against the terms of our contract and allows us to break it without losing reputation or honor, although some money will have to be repaid.  Do what you wish with this information.  By talking to you I have broken a contract agreement, but we will be glad to be rid of it.  We signed on with a poor leader.  His stupidity and incompetence seem to know no bounds.  Time and again he has demonstrated a willingness to risk the expedition for personal reasons.  I fear that he is thinking that he is smart enough to follow Al’s original path to the book, probably by forcing Alyce to fill in the gaps with her perfect memory.  A dangerous man, indeed.”
 
Alyce grins.  “I was waiting for you to say something.  Ling Tse Tau is clearly not familiar with any sort of enhanced hearing, and mine is much better than most.  His whispers are as normal speech to me.  You are honorable, Xander, and so is your brother.  Then perhaps you are looking for new employment?  Would you accept Y 30,000 to keep Al, myself, Jiahui, and the bearers safe for the rest of the expedition?  My contract is not with Ling Tse Tau, but with Wuxing and I feel obligated to see the mission through.  I will be including this event in the report I am already preparing on the displayed incompetence of Ling Tse Tau.  The Vice Chairman will accept the report and know that his grandson is a failure.  It will burn hard, but my understanding is that he is more loyal to Wuxing than to his grandson.  At least I hope so.”
 
The huge man smiles and holds out a hand.  “I like the way you do business, Doctor Krait.  I will have to consult with Milo, but I think it is safe to consider us hired.”  He looks over to Al, “Any problems with that, Al?”

[adamu]

"Problem? How can I have a problem with not havin' ta kill a nice feller such as yerself?" He grinned up at the giant. "But we they's a whole lotta worms in this here can y'all're openin'. First we off this critter. Then we have us a proper powwow."

Al led out again, but the hunt didn't take much longer. His tracking skills unnecessary - a child could have followed Po's blood trail, though it wasn't as heavy as Al would have expected. They made the best time they could, hoping to overtake their quarry while it was still occupied with its kill. Only a few minutes later they heard a faint moan, they broke into a clearing, they saw Po in the middle of it, still alive.

"Oh hell no," Al whispered. Alyce instinctively moved toward the broken man, but Al grabbed her arm and yanked her back. Xander had already tipped to the reality of the situation and had positioned his back toward Al's. "It's here," Al rasped. Alyce scanned and shook her head no, but then her eyes widened and she said, "Above..." before Al shoved her hard away from himself, her warning having given him the split second he needed to dive the other way as a scaly blur careened off his shoulder instead of biting his head off. He raised his rifle from his position on the ground and Xander whirled, but it was already gone, bushes shaking in its wake. Al kipped up and instinct took his feet three step after it before his brain kicked in and told him it was impossibly fast.

His shoulder was intact thanks to the armor in his jacket, but its teeth had grazed his face and the hand he'd raised defensively. Both wounds were bleeding and he used it - "Go high," he told Xander, thinking two could play that game. The troll's long arms hoisted him into the nearest tree with the agility of a gorilla and Al dropped his rifle and staggered into the middle of the clearing, wandering about the open space listlessly, head hung down. The wait was measured in mere seconds - the thing was clever, but the idea of self-sacrifice was still far beyond its conceptual vocabulary. It raced into the clearing to finish its prey and never stood a chance as the reaction-enhanced Xander's autocannon turned the beast into a fine red mist the millisecond it broke cover.

Alyce was pumping Al full of some sort of meds before the dust settled, then irrigating the wounds with a powerful antiseptic as he and Xander high-fived. Po had not lasted the fight - whatever life had been left in him was gone by the time she reached him. Soon, she had hooked a monitor up to Al to watch for any sign of infection in the wounds she was binding.

"Well," Al mused once they'd all caught their breath, "reckon I'm glad ya got 'er back now, giant amigo, cuz I wouldn't buy much stock in her - or even Yao, fer that matter - makin' it back ta the world once we got the dingus. Ling's a company man, an' he won't want anyone that might report on his performance seein' the outside o' this jungle. An' as much of a pussy as he is, I'll allow he's got a trick or two up his sleeve when it comes ta the sneaky stuff. Fact is, yer weavin' a tangled web here. If'n yer loyalty's ta Wuxing, woman, then I don't imagine you'll want they boys Yao or Ling dead. But only way not ta kill 'em is let 'em think they's still callin' the shots. Simpler fer me - Ling hired me, he tries ta kill me it's fuck him. He'd be dead right now if I didn't think it'd mean havin' ta kill poor Yao an' Lok too. So now the only thing keepin' me around is that I told Alyce i'd go where she does till this gig wraps. But that still leaves me alive, which is an inconvenience. So we can make our merry way back an' Xander can come up with some excuse, or the two of ya can go back an' I can spend the rest o' the time ghostin' y'all. Keep in touch by point-ta-point with Alyce, let her know where ta go. Lets me range well ahead as I please, an' don't need no fancy tent an' hot chow anyhoo."

He wandered over and kicked idly at the remaining chunks of demon lizard, clearly impressed by Xander's weaponry. "Either way ya play it, it'll be amusin' fer Al. Or maybe y'all got some other scheme - whatever covers all the angles, cuz they sure is gittin' ta be a lot of 'em ta cover."

[Mercy Merchant]

Alyce sits and considers Al's words.  This time it appears that she is the one stuck on the spit of logic and turning over the fire.  She nods.  "What you say might be truth, Al, but what happens if you get hurt out by yourself?"  She motions in the vague direction of the dead lizard.  "What if there are more of these out here?  I know this plan makes the best sense, but I do not have to like it.  So we just go pretend that you were wounded by the creature and that by the time Xander killed it, you were too badly infected?  Or that you were killed when the thing dropped from the tree and took half your head away in its jaws?  The story should be the same.  Ok, that sound like I have agree to this wild idea, and it does sound good, to a point.  I am good with languages, but I can barely talk to the bearers by this point.  That might be an issue."

[adamu]

Al was honestly surprised Alyce went for what he called in his mind the "Freedom Plan." Even if it was harder, he always liked working alone best. He'd likely miss her, but he'd keep that to himself.

"Heh heh, there probably are more o' these out there. Not ta mention man-eatin' plants, parasites'll rot yer pecker off, 'bout three hunnerd dif'rent poisonous bugs, an' then the usual tigers, demonic shamans, and Azzie operators. But since it's me, woman, ya ain't gotta worry. Hell don't want me, an' heaven is full. Meanwhile, you all gon' be safer - I'll scout better thisaway, an' trouble comes, I'll be sittin' off somewhere with this rifle an' they'll be onna ground afore they know they's dead."

While he talked, he was still digging through what remained of the beast. Finally, he bent over and picked up a huge tooth, held it up with a grin like a kid who'd found a penny, and put it in his pocket.

"As fer what exactly ya tell 'em, reckon ya leave our options open. Tell 'em it latched onto me, an' Xander took the shot. He can say it was as much ta put me outta my misery as anything. Then ya say that Godzilla-killer of his done blasted me an' the critter right off the side of a cliff. Sure ta be dead, but no body. Then if after a few days we think I should be back inna camp fer whatever reason, I can stagger in pretty as I please wth a tale o' sufferin' an' woe. Jist gimme whatever smokes ya got on ya before ya go."

[Mercy Merchant]

Alyce looks up at Xander then back at Al and nods.  "All good arguments, Al.  Somehow I catch the idea that you've been thinking on these liners for a bit.  We will come up with something and I really doubt Ling Tse Tau will come out looking for a body."  She fishes in her pack and comes up with a carton of fags.  "I, uh, packed these in case we needed to run.  Somewhere.  Try not to smoke all of them on the first day.  I still have a few packs back at the camp.  It might have looked suspicious if I had taken everything."  She stands and looks at Al.  "I will come find you if you die out here, fix you up, and kill you myself.  You understand?"

With that, she hugs him and turns away to Xander, nodding at the Troll to lead off.