The Gate of Tears, Episode 30

Mae-Ying Allen, 4–22–2029, 8:00 PM GMT

Mae-Ying schedules an evening meeting with the rest of the team, regarding Dr. Jack Schulyer and his impending disappearance. Niva spends most of the intervening time making a presentation for the meeting on her datapad. This is apparently the first time she’s come up with a mission plan or had to present one.

At 8 PM, people begin filtering into the conference room. A number of them get coffee. Niva stands at the front of the room, hands folded in front of her, looking both stern and as though she has to pee. Melina is once again the last to arrive. Once she’s in the room, Niva clears her throat. “Um. Yes. Good evening. So we are trying to decide how to get information from this man, Jack Schulyer. Who is a doctor.”

Raskoph frowns. “I thought a plan was already in place.”

Hold on, hasty pudding, Mae-Ying thinks to herself.

Niva glares at him. “We are revising the plan and that is what we are talking about.”

Raskoph blinks a few times.

Niva recovers her composure. She brings up a photo. “Yes. So. This is the man. The plan comes in two stages. The first stage is finding out if he is an Initiate. So far we do not know if he is an Initiate or not. So we need to figure that out.”

Niva clicks her slide. The heading: Stage 1: Is He An Initiate? slides up the screen slowly. She clicks again. A bullet point appears: Step 1: Benny Hits Him With A Car.

“Uh.” Benny grunts.

Mae-Ying clears her throat. “Okay, we didn’t talk about this being Benny specifically.”

Niva blinks. “Oh, and I should have said, ‘hits his car with a car’!”

Mae-Ying grins awkwardly. “Yeah, that’s also an important distinction…”

“Benny has a lot of experience hitting things with cars!” Niva says.

Benny glances around as people look at him. He shrugs. “I mean… she’s not wrong.”

“The idea being, in a moment of panic, Dr. Schulyer will channel Logos reflexively,” Mae-Ying says.

Raskoph nods. “Yea, that’s a good play.”

Lydia stares at the presentation unblinkingly. “I feel like I’m on the weirdest episode of Mission Impossible…”

Niva clicks and Step 2: See If He Channels Logos appears. She frowns. “We said that part.”

She clicks again. A new heading, Stage 2: How to Interrogate him? appears, followed by Plan A: Drug Him

Niva clears her throat. “So, I have been reading about rohypnol,” she says casually.

“For any reason in particular?” Lydia asks.

“So I can learn to drug people,” Niva says. “I have not done it before.”

Lydia blinks and nods. “Oh.”

Niva clicks and Step 1: Melina Catches Him in the Elevator appears. “Melina, you will cross the lobby while he is coming into the hotel.”

Melina nods. “And then I’ll bump into him and be so embarrassed and he will apologize and I’ll ask him to get a drink!.”

Niva glares and clicks past Step 2: Melina Asks to Get a Drink. Mae-Ying presses her lips together so as not to smile or laugh.

“I think we get the outline of this one. What’s Plan B?” Raskoph asks.

Niva frowns. “Oh. I was going to do something about a fake taxi cab with a false floor but then I realized this was probably more simple and would work even if he was not an Initiate.”

Raskoph takes a moment. “Uh huh. Well, this is actually fairly solid. It’s easy to disengage from if he gets suspicious and if we use the right drug — “

“Rohypnol,” Niva says.

Raskoph inhales. “Yeah, then he’ll look like he’s drunk.”

Niva nods. “And we can get him into our car and take him to a warehouse down by the docks.”

“Washington doesn’t have any docks…” Lydia says quietly.

“But overall, I think this is a lot more doable than our last mission was,” Mae-Ying says.

“Really, anything that doesn’t involve unexpected frag grenades is a step up,” Benny mutters.

“Anyone have any input? Suggestions?” Mae-Ying asks.

“We are sure he prefers women?” Melina asks. “Because I can do a male cloak for this.”

Niva shakes her head. “Bryana has found video footage of him standing at the front desk chatting every time it was a pretty lady checking him in instead of a man. One time he stood there for twenty minutes. There was a line forming behind him.”

“Oh boy.” Mae-Ying smirks. “Are you sure we need to drug him?”

Niva frowns. “Yes. Because I do not think asking ‘what do you do at your job which is for a company that is trying to end the world’ will work unless he is drugged, even if it is a pretty woman asking.”

“I was mostly being facetious,” Mae-Ying says. “So, I’m thinking we can just get him back to his room and somehow… soundproof it? Is that a thing we can do?”

“Not so much, chief,” Ria says.

“You think the hotel staff would notice if we called down for three dozen pillows and some rope?” Jeb asks.

“You know? Probably not. But can’t we, you know. Supply our own rope?” Mae-Ying asks.

“Jeb’s being budget-conscious,” Ria says.

“If he screams, I don’t know if pillows are going to do it,” Raskoph says.

Benny rolls his eyes. “Guy’s an engineering professor, just put a gun in his face and he’ll keep quiet.”

Raskoph looks unconvinced. “If he doesn’t, we’ll have to get out quick.”

“We still could take him to a warehouse somewhere,” Niva says.

“We’re not intending to torture this man, correct?” C.J. asks.

“No,” Mae-Ying says.

C.J. inhales. “Then for God’s sake just put him in a car! A moving vehicle! We have no idea if he’s a Lawyer! It’ll prevent him from easily Throwing away.”

Raskoph, Benny and Jeb all stare at each other, abashed and slightly disturbed.

“So a conversion van,” Mae-Ying says.

Raskoph nods. “Something that large, yea, but C.J.’s right.”

Mae-Ying nods. “All right.”

“I’ll start making arrangements,” Raskoph says.

As the meeting breaks up, Mae-Ying hears Lydia ask C.J., “Why would it matter if we were planning to torture him?”

“It’s difficult to do without a lot of room, and you have to be concerned with cleaning out the vehicle,” C.J. says.

Mae-Ying contemplates the idea of having to order torture — or worse, take part in it herself. She shudders and tries to hide her discomfort by saying, “I’m going to get dinner if anyone would like to join me. I promise not to talk about work. Much.”

Niva perks up. “I am hungry.”

“As long as it isn’t tandoori,” Bryana says, “If I see koorma again ever I’m going to vomit.”

“Really?” Ria asks, “I think I have some in my minifridge…”

Bryana makes a face at her.

“I was thinking about this Japanese place,” Mae-Ying says.

Niva claps her hands excitedly.

#

Ultimately Niva, Ria, Bryana, Benny, and C.J. end up in a booth at the restaurant together. Raskoph begs off so he can do work. Jeb has to enhance their nonexistent supply of rohypnol, and Lydia doesn’t like Japanese food. Mae-Ying buys sushi and alcohol for everyone on her expense card.

“Yeah, I dunno, this gig hasn’t been that bad so far,” Benny says.

Ria arches an eyebrow. “Because you don’t have to pay for anything?”

Benny takes a swig from his Kirin. “Definitely contributes.”

“I like it all right.” Mae-Ying shrugs. “It beats what I was doing.”

“Me too!” Bryana says. “God, you have no idea what Chinese prison food is like…”

“Better than koorma?” Ria asks.

“Ugh, god, stop.” Bryana wrinkles her nose.

Mae-Ying wonders what it is about koorma: is it the texture? The odor?

“What were you doing prior to this, ma’am?” C.J. asks. “If it’s not inappropriate to inquire?”

“Oh no, not at all,” Mae-Ying says, “I was the legislative director for a senator.”

“Really?” C.J. sounds sincerely surprised. “I wouldn’t have guessed!”

Mae-Ying smirks. “Why’s that?”

“You don’t look like a bureaucrat,” C.J. says.

“I didn’t act much like one either.” Mae-Ying shrugs.

“Yea, but you have to be a shark to survive on Capitol Hill,” Ria says, “And you’re definitely one of those.”

“I am,” Mae-Ying admits, “I don’t sleep, in fact.”

“Yes you do…?” Niva looks bewildered.

Mae-Ying tilts her head towards Niva and mutters, “Sharks don’t sleep.”

“But they do, I saw a show,” Niva says.

“Seriously?“ Mae-Ying frowns. “Well, it’s a good thing marine biology won’t be on the test…”

Niva nods. “They sleep shallowly and drift slowly forward so that they do not suffocate! Which is also not like you very much!”

Ria snorts into her donburi and Mae-Ying laughs.

Bryana, picking up a slice of tuna. “How long have you two, been, like, a thing?”

“Since the day before I was promoted,” Mae-Ying says.

Ria looks surprised. “Wow, really?”

“Yes,” Mae-Ying says. Niva blushes.

“I figured it was way before that,” Ria says.

Mae-Ying laughs. “Well, we were kind of trying not to die. Plus, injuries…”

Ria shakes her head. “See, that’s when I get most of my screwing done.”

“Ew, no, tension is so bad for sex,” Bryana says.

“I’m not really a fan of being in excruciating pain, either,” Mae-Ying says. “But, you know. No judgment.”

“You girls don’t know what you’re missing out on,” Ria says.

Benny looks at Mae-Ying. “You hear about Miyako?”

“Yeah,” Mae-Ying says, “Reed told me.”

“Kinda weird timing, huh?” Benny asks.

“It is indeed.” Mae-Ying maintains a neutral tone and expression.

C.J. frowns. “What about her?”

“She got blown up.” Mae-Ying looks over at him nonchalantly.

C.J.’s eyes widen. “What?”

Mae-Ying’s mouth flattens and she shrugs.

“Do we not know who did it?” Niva asks.

Benny glances at her. “No one’s taking credit.”

Niva raises her hands. “Was not me.”

“I really don’t know enough to comment,” Mae-Ying says.

C.J. shakes his head. He looks subdued.

“Are you alright?” Mae-Ying asks him.

“Oh, I’m just thinking about… possibilities,” C.J. murmurs.

Mae-Ying nods.

“This was Miyako Ikumi?” Bryana asks.

“Yes,” Mae-Ying says.

Bryana laughs inappropriately. Mae-Ying’s eyebrows go up. Bryana subsides. “She was a tool.”

Mae-Ying shrugs.

Ria, chewing thoughtfully. “So, like, with the koorma thing. Is it the smell or the taste or what?”

“Ugh! Stop!” Bryana shouts.

#

Raskoph is waiting for Mae-Ying back in the lobby. He approaches her as she walks in.

“Hey,” she says, inwardly marvelling at his inability to call her or, you know, send a text, rather than stand around waiting.

“Hey. Can I talk to you for a sec?” he asks. Niva’s expression flattens.

“Sure, what’s up?” she asks.

He gestures with his chin over to the bar.

Mae-Ying turns to Niva. “I’ll be up when we’re done, okay?”

Niva gives her something close to a smoldering look. “Okay. Do not be too long…”

Mae-Ying smiles and nods, trying not to show how awkward she feels. Raskoph glances at Niva’s back as she leaves, then walks with Mae-Ying over to the bar. He picks a booth near the back.

“Is everything okay?” she asks.

“Just wanted to talk to you about a few things is all.” He pulls a small device out of his pocket and lays it on the table. He taps it. “If anyone’s using a bug or a shotgun mic, they’re getting an earful of my TV now.”

“Huh. Cool.”

“One of Curry’s better toys. Very tight radius, but…” He looks her in the eye. “After we’re done with Schulyer, what are we doing with the body?”

Mae-Ying blinks, taken aback. “Oh. Shit. Yeah. I was hoping there was an alternative, but there really isn’t one, is there?”

“No. Bringing him back here is an impossible risk, even if we had a way to do it, and I don’t think we do.”

Mae-Ying runs a hand through her hair. “I think, subconsciously, this is why I was so gung ho about the senator idea…”

“I understand, but if we’re going to take this risk, we have to be all-in. If you don’t want to know, I’ll deal with it.”

“No. No, I can… I guess I just don’t know what one does with a corpse.” She shifts uncomfortably and avoids his eyes.

“The preferred way in most countries is to pay off a sanitation worker to drive it a good distance away in the back of a garbage truck. In America that’s problematic. I’d suggest the river.”

Mae-Ying nods, her eyes unfocused. The reality of killing someone, in cold blood, for no better reason than intelligence, sinks into her mind and settles there, stifling all other thought.

Raskoph shakes his head. “That’s not the main reason I wanted to talk to you, anyway.”

“What is it?” she asks, trying to return to the conversation.

“If Lydia, or anyone else, is an enemy agent, we’ll be ambushed. So we’ll have to be ready for that.”

This is less of a problem, somehow. Maybe she’s managed to brace herself for this possibility; maybe being betrayed, needing to fight for her own life, is more palatable than taking someone else’s.

“Yeah, I’d thought about that,” Mae-Ying says. “I think I phrased it in my head like ‘if X is an enemy agent’, ’cause I’m still not sure it’s Lydia. Anyway, I think we have an opportunity here.”

Raskoph nods.

“If we keep the specific travel details under wraps, then if we are ambushed, we’ll know it was someone on the team we take with us,” she says, then pauses, “Well, I mean, that’ll at least be more likely.”

Raskoph nods thoughtfully. “If they spring something on us when we take Schulyer, that’ll be out the window, but… not if we keep the exact time and place under wraps. It’ll make it a lot harder on them, in any case.”

“So who don’t we need on the mission, I guess is my next question,” Mae-Ying says. “I don’t feel like we need Lydia, obviously, or C.J.”

Raskoph thinks for a moment. “We need Melina and I’d prefer to have both Niva and Ria.” He pauses. “Bryana’s a tough call. She’s not bad in a fight, if you can get her into one in the first place, and it would clear her of suspicion if nothing happens…”

“I’m really not particularly suspicious of Bryana.”

Raskoph smirks. “You might be the first person to ever say that.”

“I don’t know. Something about her being in prison just seems like a low probability play.”

“Just remember, she’s had time to make phone calls.”

“Yeah, I guess so…” Mae-Ying sighs. “You know her better than I do, what do you think?”

“I don’t find her behavior suspicious. Not for Bryana, anyway. But I wasn’t suspicious while she was cheating on me, either.”

“Well, we might actually want her there, regardless. We need to disable any devices Schulyer is carrying. And who knows what else she might be good for.”

Raskoph nods. “Bryana’s a vastly more competent Technomancer than Ria. And if you tell Ria I said that, I will deny it to my grave.”

“We will couch it as we want Ria to be able to focus on her job.”

“Good call.” He pauses. “To be honest, I’m not sure you need me on this. If you’re going to insist on going, anyway.”

Mae-Ying nods. “I think one of us should go, but not both. Partially because I’m not sure what will happen when we’re gone.”

Raskoph nods. “Right.”

“So we need to weigh my familiarity with DC versus your field experience, really.”

“I want to say up front that I think I should go, if for no other reason than I’m really not wild about this suicidal streak you seem to have.”

Mae-Ying gives him a flat look.

“Having said that, if you have Melina, Jeb and Ria, I’m not going to contribute very much to operational knowledge.” He sighs.

“I’m glad you’re capable of putting my mental illness aside for the moment.”

“I didn’t say mental illness. Maybe you’re just curious about the afterlife.”

“Depression isn’t a laughing matter, Raskoph.” She gives him a deadpan look, then adds, “It’s also among the neuroses I don’t have.”

“I’m not laughing! But when you’re going back through my record, if you could add ‘sensitive to those who are differently abled’, I’d appreciate it.”

Mae-Ying opens her mouth, on the verge of noting that neither of them are going to survive this entire project, but stops herself short. When did she start becoming this fatalistic? And why does she feel both so confident in the idea, and so… accepting of it? She scrambles for something else to say.

“Raskoph, if we manage to pull this off, I will go change all your scores to tens. If we manage to take down Synesis, that is, not just kidnapping an engineering professor. Don’t get ahead of yourself.”

“No, fair’s fair, that’s a solid deal.”

“And as for my death wish, I don’t have one. I just feel like we have to use our resources to their utmost capacity.”

Raskoph thinks about this for a long moment. “Then you should go. You know what to ask. That’s why the Grand Marshal put you in this position.”

Mae-Ying nods. “I promise I will at least try not to do anything really stupid.”

“My blood pressure and I appreciate it.” He smirks.

“So, question.”

He lifts his eyebrows

“Melina can totally still die of liver failure and or emphysema, right? That’s not part of our deal.”

“Yes. She’s virtually immune to cancer though, for what that’s worth.”

Mae-Ying nods thoughtfully. “Okay. Good to know.”

“I’d ask if you’d like a drink, but I’d hate to make Avraham nervous.”

Mae-Ying feels herself freeze. If she says no, it’s weird. If she says yes, is she sending a message? Is she opposed to sending a message, for any reason other than Niva? No, Niva’s a good enough reason not to send one. She doesn’t want to send a message, but she doesn’t want to be weird…

Raskoph pretends not to notice her indecision.

“One drink isn’t going to kill either of us.” She holds up one finger. “But I really can’t do more than that.”

“Understood. What’s your poison?”

“Is bourbon allowed in England?”

Raskoph bursts out laughing. “Yes. Yes, we do have that here.”

Mae-Ying nods. “It’ll get me back in DC mode.”

Raskoph gets up and gets their drinks. He comes back with a bourbon and a scotch, both straight up. “I’m a poor German. I ought to drink beer.”

“You’ve gone native.”

“It has been a while.” He sips the scotch. “I’m surprised, though. Most women don’t drink straight whiskey.”

Mae-Ying smirks into her glass. “This is one of the few things I started doing to fit in with the boys that I learned to enjoy.”

Raskoph shakes his head. “I shouldn’t be surprised that you had to try to fit in, but somehow the precise extent of male stupidity hasn’t penetrated. Possibly because I’m a male.”

She gives him a long suffering smile. “I don’t want to ruin your evening with a bunch of social theory. But yeah, when you’re trying to edge your way into the biggest good old boys club in the known world, you have to do your best to play the game. I’m lucky my dad was a white dude.”

“Do you think you were successful?”

“Depends on how you define success.” She shrugs a little. “I was one of the youngest legislative directors in history?”

Raskoph shakes his head. “I have a very hard time remembering how young you are.”

“It’s because I never had, nor wanted, a childhood. I was too busy trying to get a model UN started at my elementary school.”

Raskoph laughs.

“But, you know. Going back to the other thing. It’s not like everyone forgets who you are.” Her tone becomes bitter. “And I’ll always wonder if I got my promotion because my boss wanted to sleep with me.”

“As long as we try to be worthy of the power we’re given, does it matter?”

Mae-Ying shakes her head. “That’s the best anyone can do.”

“At least you can be fairly certain the Grand Marshal didn’t promote you for any such reason?”

Mae-Ying blows a raspberry. “It doesn’t feel much better? Like I said, I think it’s a bunch of portents and signs, and for all I know they’re true, but… it’s not like I worked for it. But it’s like you said, you have to try to be worthy of the opportunities you’re given.”

“You seem to have done a fair amount in that direction, prior to Initiating…”

“Oh. Yes. Obviously.” She snorts. “I fucking killed that job.”

Raskoph laughs. He drinks some of his whiskey. “By contrast, all my accomplishments got me was a desk job I hated. I should thank you for getting me out of there, by the way.”

“Hey, no problem.”

He smiles at her for a moment, opens his mouth to say something, then seems to stop himself. “In any case. I think you’re doing well. Better than I could have done in your position.”

“Well, thank you. I’m nothing if not a good manager, but I’m pretty sure I would have gotten myself killed by now if you hadn’t signed on.”

He raises his glass to her. “To keeping one another alive.”

“I’ll drink to that.” She raises her glass.

#

Later that evening, Mae-Ying lies on her back, her head turned, staring into Niva’s sweat-beaded, glowing face. “I’ve never been this happy in a relationship before.”

Niva snuggles into Mae-Ying’s neck. “I am glad you are happy. I want you to be happy. This is my greatest want in the world right now.”

“Of course I’m happy!” Mae-Ying laughs. “I love you, and… I don’t have to wonder what you’re thinking all the time, we can just talk about things.”

Niva wraps one leg over Mae-Ying’s own. “Is that something that is strange?”

“Yes.”

“I don’t understand many people, Mae-Ying…” Niva frowns. “I look at the people around us, and their feelings about one another are so plain to me, and yet no one ever speaks. I thought perhaps it was because they were not together, as we are.”

“I think most people aren’t trying to be closed off, really, but they don’t even admit what they want to themselves.”

“There are so many things you should do or shouldn’t. There is a word for this…”

“Inhibitions?”

“Well, those yes, but another word. It means what the society puts on you. Um. Taboos!”

“Yeah.”

“I think that there are so many factors and competing thoughts. The mind of the body is tangled with emotions and those chemicals that happen when you want to have sex…”

“Hormones.”

“Yes, those! And the thoughts collide, and the mind is left to try to make a picture that seems complete, even though it is nothing like complete…”

Mae-Ying tilts her head. “I’ve often been told that I’m cold, because I don’t really let my hormones make decisions for me.”

Niva smirks. “Not ever?”

“Well, sometimes. But I don’t confuse them with love.”

Niva smiles and presses her lips to Mae-Ying’s shoulder.

“I love you,” Mae-Ying says. “That’s a very different feeling for me than wanting you. Of course they go together nicely…”

Niva giggles. “I wanted you before I knew what wanting was. So it is somewhat the same. I think I put it together with the drive I felt, to do the will of the Angels.”

“Really?” Mae-Ying blushes. “You really wanted me before… like…”

Niva smiles. “My body felt things, things I could not really understand. But yes, in hindsight.”

Mae-Ying smiles.

“I am glad you had the courage to show me all of this. I would not have found it without you,” Niva says.

“I’m not sure it was courage, so much.”

“Well, I think it was.”

“You don’t think there was any ulterior motive?”

“If you had wanted to… what is the phrase, ‘take advantage of me’? If you had wanted it, I was so innocent of these things that I doubt I would have known what you were doing. You tried to teach me what love and romance were before you told me you loved me.”

“I didn’t have to, but I can’t imagine… not letting you know… it’s not right.” Mae-Ying frowns a little. “No, if anything I had this stupid scenario in my head where you would be like wow, I am really curious about what these sexy things are like and then I could be like well you know, I could show you…”

“Yes but that is just another way around to it, and the point is that you had the courage of your convictions and you are too hard on yourself because you wish to think you are so morally… average, but you are not! You are just totally good.”

Mae-Ying’s face sours as she turns Niva’s words over in her head and thinks back to her conversation with Raskoph. She blinks hard, then starts to cry.

Niva looks up. “What is it?”

“Raskoph… the thing he wanted to talk to me about…” Mae-Ying puts her hands over her face. “We can’t keep this guy alive, Niva. Schulyer. Not after questioning him. And I can’t… I can’t shut myself off…”

Niva is quiet for a long moment. “Because you think he is not involved with the terrible things that they do?”

“I don’t know,” Mae-Ying says. “It would be different if we knew he was involved with Maelstrom or Ophelia, but we don’t even know what he does.”

“If we talk to him, and he is terrible, would you have trouble destroying him?”

Mae-Ying presses her lips together for a moment, then admits, “No. I think I’ll be okay with that. I’m worried it won’t be that simple.”

“If it is not simple… if he is good, then we will find a different path.”

“Like what? We can’t bring him back here. We can all wear Cloaks, when we talk to him, I guess, but…”

“When we are done, I will take him through the Wild. To somewhere far away. Somewhere he can survive and get back to his home, but not easily.”

Mae-Ying nods slowly.

“By the time he is back, Synesis will know someone has done something to him, and when he tells them, what can he say? Strangers abducted him and questioned him. By then we will have already begun to act on what he has said.”

“We should do our best to make him believe we’re Invictus.”

Niva nods. “All you must do is talk about the advantage you will get from this. Over your enemies. That is all they ever talk about.”

Mae-Ying smirks and wipes her eyes.

Niva scoots up and kisses her cheeks. “You are too good. Sometimes it is painful to be so good, I think.”

“So are you.”

Niva shakes her head. “No, I would just kill him if not for you.”

Mae-Ying contemplates the idea for a moment. “I guess… if he’s been duped, I kinda relate to him.”

Niva nods. “I can see that. And I think the Grand Marshal picked you and not me.”

Mae-Ying laughs, then hesitates. “There’s another thing. Raskoph and I agree that we need to keep all the details of the mission under wraps, internally.”

Niva nods. “I can do that.”

“He’s going to stay back with CJ and Lydia, and we’ll be going with the rest of the team. If something goes wrong… well, we’ll at least have a shorter list of suspects.”

Niva pauses. “We are not trusting Lydia, still.”

“I don’t trust anyone, Niva, except you and Raskoph.”

“I suppose Mr. Raskoph is probably not a traitor…”

“We’ve been over this. If he is, we’re doomed.”

“No, I will save us,” Niva says with utter conviction.

“In any case, for the purposes of game theory, I have to trust him.”

“Okay. If your theory of games says so.” Niva grins. It occurs to Mae-Ying that the phrasing ‘theory of games’, as a phrase, is perhaps a little too twee, even for Niva, despite how endearing Mae-Ying finds it. And then she realizes Niva must know how endearing she finds it.

Mae-Ying touches Niva’s cheek. “But I trust you implicitly.”

Niva smiles. “Okay. That is all I need.”

Mae-Ying kisses her for a moment, then asks, “Do I make you happy?”

It takes Niva a long moment to reply, “Before you were here, I didn’t understand ‘happy’. I only knew ‘existing’.”

Mae-Ying’s lips part. “Niva…”

She folds her arms around Niva tightly, and is enfolded in return.

Continue in Episode 31!