Cairo

Chapter 8: Confliction of Intrests

"I thought I told you to leave?" 

Aidan's body didn't stiffen as Doctor Savas greeted him with the most unpleasant of looks, the kind that says "I don't ever want to see you again" with their eyes. He stared back at the doctor with an almost equal distaste before his mood, seemingly out of nowhere, brightened like there was no argument or disowning that had previously happened between the two men. A smile complimented his rosy complexion and spoke as if talking to a friend he hadn't met in ages. 

"I'm glad to see you're still safe, Doctor," he said, holding out his hand for the doctor to shake. He withdrew his hand after a few seconds, getting the hint the doctor wasn't going to shake it.

"I told you to leave, Aidan, not walk out that door and come back." 

"The arrangements you talked about previously have been made. One of the Fire Mages will be here shortly to help you move your things. Regarding why I'm here, it's a matter involving Sir Cairo, not yourself." 

"Don't drag me into the middle of your fights, Aidan." Cairo stood in the doorway by himself, leaning on the doorframe, examining the room. He didn't spare a glance in Aidan's direction as he talked to him, instead let his eyes drift to Doctor Savas. "Besides the problem with Aidan, I'd like to hear more about what happened here." 

"You'll get a full report when the Commander comes," Adian cut in.

"You called her?" 

"Of course I called her. It's standard procedure!" 

"Not everything has to follow 'standard procedure,' Aidan. Rules can't be applied to everything." 

"So are you saying I shouldn't have called her?" Aidan bobbed his head over to the hallway. "If you didn't notice when you came in, there's a plethora of dead bodies laying around. Do you have the authority to handle this?" 

"You know damn well I do, Aidan, and so do you." 

Aidan grew silent for a moment, breathing deeply out of his nose. "I was given orders from the Commander personally to tell her about anything like this; it might be the work of the rebels. You would have gotten the order as well if you came to work some time." 

"Stop looking for a fight and start working then." 

He shrugged before shuffling out the door. The doctor sighed as he pulled his chair from his desk, swiveled it around and sat down, massaging his ankle with a groan every now and then. 

"I'll make sure to send you a full report about what happened," Doctor Savas said, pinching the bridge of his nose. "That boy is always so far up her ass, I don't know how she stands it." 

It was Cairo's turn to shrug. "She likes the attention and he likes getting into fights. They fit each other like a match made in heaven," Cairo said, stuffing his hands into his pockets. When his knuckles hit something hard, his eyebrows shut up."Oh, by the way, I got what you asked for." 

"Improbable." The doctor shook his head, running a hand through his hair, the conviction in his voice absolute. "The Ruby Jade... we only know about it from legends that were written on the walls of this civilization. We don't know much from it: The deciphering process is hard enough, but there's not even whole walls for us to check out! Tell me then, how'd you manage to get your hands on it? I can't imagine it was just sitting on a pedestal for you." 

The corners of Cairo's mouth pulled upward until he was giving the doctor a half grin. "Well, actually it was," he said, matter-of-factly. "Getting to the part where it was on a pedestal was the hard part, and to tell you the truth, I think I need a medic. "