Sacrifice

Chapter 21 - The Confrontation

Adir marched his platoon into the North Gate parade squad and dismissed them sharply without his usual comments of correction and encouragement. Instead he left them to fend for themselves and stalked off to refill his canteen.

Bending over the running fountain, he splashed his face then watched the water run. Kalli had told him that she was busy with Miriam during the day and Raphiel at night, so she wouldn't be able to see him for a couple of weeks.

Yet he'd seen on the streets not even 15 minutes ago with a companion, a man.

"Hey Captain."

Adir looked over to see Wirin and Laya approaching.

"What's up? You don't seem yourself?" Wirin said.

"What do you mean?" Adir asked gruffly, trying to look busy with his canteen.

"Wirin and I just think you looked a little off beat at the end," Laya said. "We wanted to see what was wrong and if there was anything that we could do to help."

Adir looked at the petite woman in battle fatigues. "It has nothing to do with guard business."

"So?" Laya's bright green eyes were intense. "It wasn't guard business when you helped me get this job."

"Yes it was," Adir argued. "You're one of the most talented marksmen I've ever seen. Recruiting you was a good day's work."

"Maybe," Laya said, "but camping out in front of my fireplace for a week to make sure that my husband didn't put me in the hospital again? That wasn't guard business."

Adir tried to shrug it off. "Once you were part of my platoon, your well-being was my responsibility."

"Really?" Laya challenged, " 'cause if I remember right, that week that you spent on my floor was before I signed on with the guard."

Wirin saw that his two friends were going to continue arguing far longer than he was willing to listen, so he held up his hand and cut them off.

"Look, the point both of us want to make is that we know that you have our backs on or off duty. If there's something giving you grief, on or off duty, then we're here to help."

Seeing Laya about to start up again, Wirin spoke up in a firm tone.

"And if you have something bothering you that you need to deal with solo, we'll respect that and step back."

Laya glared at Wirin as Adir rubbed the back of his neck.

Finally, he looked up at his subordinates; they were waiting for his answer.

"This is something I need to deal with solo," he said. "That is, if I can figure out what to do about it."

"Don't worry about that," Laya said shooting him a cheeky smile. "You honourable types always end up doing the right thing."

In less than half an hour, Adir was checking the courtyard outside the dir Liran manor. Satisfied that there was no one in sight, he grabbed a low-hanging tree branch and started the climb to Kalli's sitting room window.

# # #

"I'm impressed," Bhirdan said, inspecting the bookshelves that covered the walls of Kalli's study. "I'm not sure I've ever seen a young lady with this many antique books. What do you like about them? The cover? The new book smell?"

Kalli shook her head. "Actually, I like the fact that they have information in them," she answered all innocence. "Maybe you should try reading one some time."