Chapter 11
A Moment of Rest
As-Sift, Kingdom of Libni
03 Erdak BE 001
Rio's first sensation was a deep aching all throughout her body. She was not particularly eager to wake up, but she knew she needed to take stock of the situation. She opened her eyes, and it took a moment for her vision to come into focus. Based on the dim light, it was either around dawn or dusk. All she could see out the window was the wall of the building next door, so she could not be any more specific than that at the moment.
The room she was in was nondescript, lightly furnished. Much like the view out the window, it told her little at first glance. However, sitting at her bedside to her right was Eiri. It would be quicker to just ask her for the information Rio wanted.
"Where am I?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.
"A safehouse about thirty klicks from Bin Harun," Eiri replied. She knew Rio well enough not to waste her time with pleasantries like asking how she felt or offering to get her something like some water.
"How did I get here?"
"You were carried. Casevacked by the Auxiliary as soon as they could get to you."
"How long have I been out?"
"Three days."
"Where's Ellis?"
Eiri gave a nod to signal to Rio to look to her other side. There was Ellis asleep in a chair, clearly unable to maintain his vigil as well as Eiri. While Rio was relieved to see that he was still safe in their custody, alive and in one piece, she was quickly annoyed to see him here specifically. Eiri was perceptive enough to anticipate her objection before she could voice it.
"I know what you're going to say, but he wouldn't leave you. You know you're the only one who can make him do anything, except for maybe the Boss and Obasama."
For a brief, foolish moment, a part of Rio that she was supposed to have killed off a long time ago was happy to hear this, but that was the old Korin. She was not that person anymore and 'Rio' had no use for such pointless displays of sentiment when it put the mission at risk. Even so, there was a softer edge to her voice as she said, "He sure as hell better not complain when we pick up the pace to make up for lost time."
"I'm sure he will anyway," Eiri replied with a rare hint of a smile.
"Is it just you here?" Rio asked.
"No. Kirik got here two days ago with Doc."
Rio held up her hand and flexed her fingers.
"I suppose that's how I'm still functional."
"Doc said that he needs to give you a followup before you can be cleared for duty."
"Then call him. I've wasted enough time as it is."
Again, Eiri, knowing Rio as well as she did, made no effort to try to tell her that she needed to rest or anything like that. The typical worries of a concerned party were wasted on Rio. Understanding this saved precious time that could be put to better use.
* * *
Arcanists were a rare commodity in the world and Arcanists with a command of the Healing Arcana were the rarest of the rare. Among these precious few, Dr. Sanjay Krishna was rarer still, a once-in-a-lifetime prodigy and one of the Protectors' most prized assets. With his abilities, repairing broken bones, internal bleeding and ruptured organs--even reattaching severed limbs--could be done with a simple laying on of the hands as if he were some kind of faith healer. However, he was more than that. He was also a fully trained and licensed medical doctor in the conventional sense as well. Supposedly his medical education served to enhance his skills as an Arcanist. Those skills certainly served to save Rio's life from the injuries she suffered at Bin Harun.
Doc came by a few hours after Rio woke, and after Ellis had been run out of the room, he did a full head-to-toe physical and some assorted scans to ensure she was fit to be back on her feet. He advised a week or two of rehabilitation, but he knew he would not be able to make her stay put that long. Instead, his reservations had to be relegated to a footnote on her release.
Once Doc was done with her, Rio took a much needed shower. She did not normally afford herself any luxuries, but this building had hot water and she was damned sure going to make the most of it. They would be back on the road soon, tomorrow morning if she had anything to say about it, so she would go back to being on full alert all the time, but for now, for this brief moment of reprieve, she could permit herself to lower her defenses a little.
In training, whatever form bathing took, it was meant to be as quick and efficient as possible and those habits stuck with you afterward, so it actually took a bit of fighting her instincts for Rio to spend more than ten minutes in the shower. The most time-consuming part was washing her hair. Long hair was impractical from a tactical standpoint but it was important for her cover identity. Short hair on women was rare in the Magreb and although she was travelling openly as a Protector on the Warrior's Road, she needed to be able to blend in if the situation called for it.
Perhaps because she was working so hard to short-circuit her training, she was actually a little taken by surprise when she stepped out to find Kirik standing there, leaning into the wall like some loitering delinquent as he waited for her.
"You sure know how to keep a guy waitin'," he said. "I almos' mistook you for Minx."
"I'm sure you would've appreciated the view more," Rio said, "but I don't know if you'd think it was worth it after Bel would cut your balls off for it."
"Oh, I like what I'm seein' plenny," Kirik replied with a grin.
Rio was more annoyed than embarrassed. Communal bathing was common during training. Getting flustered by the sight of some skin would only be a liability in the field, but Rio knew how Kirik looked at her and for some reason it bothered her more than she wanted to admit.
Kirik was not always the most perceptive, but it certainly felt like he could see through Rio's stone-faced facade as he offered her a towel. If he had any less sense of self-preservation, he might have tried playing keepaway with her. Even he was smart enough to know that would not end well for him.
While Rio was drying herself off, Kirik said, "Glad to see ol' Magic Fingers worked his magic on you. All your bits present and accounted for. I heard you dragged the kid halfway 'cross the city with your damn guts hangin' out and an arm off."
'Magic Fingers' was Doc's nickname, but Rio never used it herself. It had a pervy sound to it, which was exactly why Kirik liked to use it.
"My guts weren't hanging out," Rio said, "though the blast might've turned them into pâté."
"Pâté, huh? Sounds fancy."
"Yeah, real fancy..."
"Well, I got good news for you. That circus act you took out is prolly the last you'll see a' the Ghaddafis."
"Oh?"
"Yeah. The fat man got himself a bad case of indigestion. 'Bout a meter-long piece a' metal in his gut."
"That doesn't sound like one of ours."
"That's 'cause it wasn't. Whoever did it didn't leave any trace. No one saw nothin', nothin' on the cameras. This cat was real good at what he does."
"So what does Intel think?" Rio asked. "He for us, against us, neither?"
Kirik shrugged.
"Hell if I know. I ain't heard nothin'. All I know is that the whole damn unnerworld from the Tip to the Neck's gonna be tearin' itself apart. Could be good for us."
"Black hats and white hats both will have their hands full," Rio noted. "Not much room to be minding us."
"Exactly."
At this point, it might have seemed pointless, but now that she was done drying off, Rio wrapped the towel around her. It did little to deter Kirik's roving eyes, though.
"I'm going to be heading out in the morning," she said. "What's your plan?"
"It's whatever the hell the Boss tells me," Kirik replied. "Maybe I'll be scoutin' out ahead, maybe I'll be cleanin' up after y'all. I dunno."
"Well, take care of yourself out there."
Kirik gave her an incredulous look.
"You're tellin' me that?"
He gave a bit of a scoffing laugh, but then there was a moment of silence that passed between them before his eyes rested on her chest. It turned out that he was not looking there for the reason one might imagine. Reaching out, he took hold of the key hanging from the chain around her neck.
"I can't believe you still wear this thing."
Rio did not need to say anything. It was a memento of her father. Kirik knew that. Of course, he also knew what the key stood for.
"You know, you're gonna give this ring to me one day."
Rio rolled her eyes.
"Keep dreaming. And if you don't have anything else, get out."
"Oh, I wouldn't say I got nothin'," Kirik said, "but I don't 'magine it's nothin' you'll say yes to."
"Out."
"Alright, alright, I'm goin'," Kirik said as he let go of the key. "You watch your ass now. You know I'd love to do it for you, but the Boss ain't so understandin' when it comes to givin' out assignments."
"Out," Rio said again, this time a little more forcefully.
Kirik finally left the bathroom with any further comments, quips or come-ons. Finding herself left alone with her thoughts, she looked at her key and thought about her father's words to her. Her training had beaten any girlish romantic notions out of her, so the whole 'key to her heart' concept had long since lost any meaning for her. If anyone besides her father had given it to her, she would not still be carrying it with her.
The irony was not lost on her that the token meant to have her look forward only served for looking back. It was not what her father intended for her, but there was a lot of things he had not intended. Perhaps when all this was over, she would give her future some serious thought, but until her mission was completed, she only needed to think about the here and now. She did not need to look any further than the Great Temple.
Letting go of the key, Rio rubbed her shoulder as she told herself, "Today for today, tomorrow for tomorrow. The day after... Who the hell knows?"
