෴෴
෴෴෴ ෴෴෴ ෴෴෴
The dreary Virginia weather was a perfect complement to the funeral. Stratton looked out-of-place sitting there amongst Generals and Directors of various acronym agencies that didn't officially exist.
The young man was sweating, contrary to the other mourners who gathered jackets and shawls closer to avoid the unseasonable chill. He sat there with a distraught look on his face among the DC elite who sat there checking watches and phones, clearly, or at least playing the part, of people with other places to be.
During the long graveside ceremony, Stratton engaged several key people in conversation, seemingly by happenstance. Each time he played through a similar script, touching on his talking points, expressing just the right amount of loss, tempered by political cynicism. Each meeting allowed him to slip the idea of “already taking care of all the day to day operations” along with cautiously optimistic predictions about the future of the Project, given the right leadership. All of this accompanied by long handshakes and periods of close proximity.
The only other person who even slightly appeared to be mourning in earnest was Mrs. Kellog. Stratton barely spared her a glance, focussing on the committee members who would be appointing the new Director for Project Turnabout.
By the end of the funeral, several people had asked him if he was ok. His pale and sweaty pallor drawing the eye of funeral-goers with death on their minds.
Later that night, when he received the call from the committee head, he considered all his planning and work worthwhile.
“We’re putting a lot of faith in you. Normally we’d have someone step in as an interim director, but after today’s meeting, we’re all on the same page. It just feels like the right decision to get you into place as the new director asap.”
“Thank you sir. I’m confident that my work will justify the confidence the committee is showing.” He said, grinning widely.
“See that you do son, see that you do. This is all highly irregular, and if the committee wasn't unanimous on it, well, something like this would never happen.”
“I won’t let you down.” He said with conviction. He picked up a ceramic mug filled with lukewarm coffee and took a sip before grimacing.
“Excellent. Take the rest of the week, and send us your plan for the next year’s operations. I’ll have my people send over the other list of all information we’ll need to make this official.”
“Of course, I’ll get right on it.”
“You’ll need your A game. You have some big shoes to f—Actually, let me level with you. Kellog was on thin ice before he started making big mistakes. You should know that Project Turnabout is on thin ice as a whole. Make us proud, or go down with the ship. Those are your only two options at this point. We’ve put a lot of dark funds into this project, and so far the operational return is negative. That can’t continue.”
Stratton nodded to himself with a frustrated look. “Of course, I’ll keep that in mind while I draft those plans. Thank you again, sir.” He poured the stale coffee out and set the mug down on the edge of the counter.
The call disconnected. Stratton stared at the phone in his hand for nearly a minute before picking up another phone. After several minutes of navigating security protocols and allowing the phone to establish a secure connection, he dialed a number by heart.
The other side answered immediately, as though poised to answer the call.
“Hello and congratulations Director Stratton, how are you this evening?”
He blinked, looking confused. “Uh, how did you—”
A soft feminine laugh was his only reply. He could hear her speaking to someone else though. “Darling, I forget how fun it is to talk to someone who doesn’t know me so well already. This one is a gem!”
Stratton could barely make out a low pitched chuckle in reply.
He waited a few more seconds in awkward silence. Just as he was about to speak up, she came back on the line. “Well Director Stratton, do you have anything to tell us beyond the trouble Turnabout is in?”
His brow furrowed as he frowned. “Uh, well no. But if you knew all this, why did I call?”
She sounded almost giddy. “That’s such a great question. Why would we have you call if I already know everything you’re going to tell us?”
He looked around the room, as though expecting to spot cameras spying on him. “I don’t know. That's why I asked.”
“Well, it’s a fair question. In any case, we’ll send over a packet with all the documents you’ll need to get this done, and the plan for Project Turnabout’s next six months. And don’t worry, I’ll make sure they send over a new mug with it.”
“What? Why would you—” he turned and caught the mug with his elbow. It fell to the floor and shattered with a loud crack on the tile floor.
Before he’d marshalled his wits enough to reply, she’d ended the call.
He set the secondary phone down with a heavy sigh. “This is going to end badly.”
෴Raz෴
෴Hex෴
෴෴෴ ෴෴෴ ෴෴෴
The next thing he knew she was shaking him awake. As soon as he woke up, discomfort rushed in. His body felt leaden, everything ached. His eyes burned as he tried to blink the gritty feeling out of them. “Ok ok, I’m up. How long was I asleep?”
[3h 51m]
[Energy 15/?]
Wait, why is it 15/? Wasn’t it out of 100 before?
She groaned right back at him. “A few hours. Not long enough, but you said you’re dying, so I’m onsite with her. So just talk to me. I’ll relay it to her.”
[100 was always a percentage, not an exact amount.]
[I can no longer make an accurate estimate of how much energy you’ll have when you recover, so displaying a flat percentage based measurement will be misleading based on old values.]
He blinked a few more times, thinking through how to go about saying what he needed to say. “Hello, I’d like to humbly re—” Hex shushed him. “She’s not into all that respected elder bullshit. She’s our age, and she might live in Chiang Rai, she’s spent a lot of time in the west. Just tell her what you need.”
He took a deep breath. “Ok, Here’s the thing. I figured out a way to refill my ability energy, based on some breathing and energy circulation exercises I learned a very long time ago. They worked great, but I’ve injured myself, and I can’t seem to bring in energy anym—”
Sia put her hand to his lips again. “She says, ‘Let me stop you right there. It sounds like you’re talking about the kind of thing my grandparents talk about. I don’t get into all that mystical stuff. Do you need help with your form or techniques?’ .“
Raz shrugged. “I probably do. But not right now. Right now, I need someone who’s good with that mystical stuff.”
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.
Hex whispered “She doesn’t know where I live, and I prefer to keep it that way.”
“Why are you whispering?”
She laughed. “Good question. Anyway, she says ‘I know people who might be able to help. How far can you travel?’ Shit. She’s going to figure out what region I live in.”
“Just don’t tell her it's where you live, you could be anywhere helping me out.”
She shook her head. “No, she’s going to figure it out. Don’t worry about it, I’m just being paranoid. I told her we could go anywhere in the South East US, and she mentioned someone in Atlanta. Fuck, she might already know.”
Raz put his hands on her shoulders “Hey, it's a city of six million people! Even if she cares, and does figure it out, so what?”
She took deep breaths for several seconds. “Yeah, you’re right. Atlanta’s a big city, no reason to think it's anything other than just the odds that her father lives here.”
“It’s the middle of the night here, how soon can we talk to him?”
“She’s already called him. Get dressed, we’re heading there now.”
“Ok, but if we get there too fast, then she really will know where you live.”
She nodded, her expression tense.
----------------------------------------
Raz dozed off on the way over. He jolted awake when he nearly fell out of the van as Hex opened his door. “Whoa! I’m awake!”
“Sure you are. We’re here. Here for ten minutes actually. I already went in and told Kiyoshi we’re here. He’s waiting for you with Prin.
Raz staggered out of the van and up the steps. Halfway up the steps he caught sight of the sign and stopped to look around. The sign ‘Rinreiki Chiropractic wasn’t currently lit, but he could see it had Japanese Kanji beneath the English, with more symbols he didn’t recognize below that. “Why are we at a chiropractor?”
Sia pulled him along. “This is her parent’s practice. We woke them up in the middle of the night. At least have the decency not to keep them waiting any longer than we have to!”
Inside, they were met by an Asian woman. Raz couldn't guess her age, but her movements and dress made him think she was closer to his mother’s age than his.
He dipped his head politely. “Good evening, I’m sorry to visit so late.”
She spoke in clipped, but otherwise unaccented and perfect English. “We were told it was a matter of life and death. My daughter wouldn't pass a message like that lightly. She must have significant trust in at least one of you.”
Hex nodded. “She is my teacher. I train with her as often as I can.”
The woman’s eyes narrowed. “That is a very long way to go for training. How often do you see her?”
Hex’s expression tightened just slightly. “As often as I can. This man needs help, and I’m told by your daughter that you or your husband may be able to offer some help.”
“And.” she replied with a tone of finality, before turning and gesturing toward a door behind her.
Raz finally looked around the room. It looked like any number of doctors offices he’d visited in the past. It was nicer, but had a much nicer overall vibe then the waiting room everything had started in.
“And?” he blurted out, stalling for reasons he couldn’t have articulated.
She nodded, a faint smile touching her eyes, if not her mouth. “Yes, ‘and.’ Forgive me, I am Prin, my husband Kiyoshi and I are the owners of Rinreiki Chiropractic and healing. He and I work as a team.”
She smiled gently at him, and looked more pointedly at Hex. ”My daughter, who told me she met with you.” she continued to look at Hex, “Less than an hour ago.”
She looked back at Raz with some concern. “She told me you may have an internal problem. This is something my husband and I have some experience in.”
She smiled wider, and placed her hand on Raz’s shoulder to urge him forward. “Afterward, perhaps we’ll discuss how it is that your woman here meets with my daughter halfway around the world, and then arrives here in less than an hour.”
Inside, they were met by an older man tidying up a set of wood and metal implements. He looked up with a tired smile. “Konichiwa and welcome to Rinreiki chiropractic. How can we heal you today?” He said in an almost sing-song voice that seemed like a parody of a Cantonese/English speaker.
Raz looked at Hex with concern. Facing the old man, he nodded to give himself a moment to formulate his words. “Sir, I am not sure what you have been told, but we’re here for—”
Prin brushed by him and interrupted him just long enough for her to interject. “Pardon my husband’s strong habits. We normally deal with patients needing more conventional treatments.”
The man cleared his throat. When he spoke, the smooth cadence of his rich baritone sounded nothing like his earlier higher register greeting. “Indeed, I have developed certain habits over the years. My darling daughter tells me you have great need of our more traditional assistance.”
Raz nodded. “Yes, I do. Do you need to know the whole story, or can I just tell you what I need?”
The older couple smiled. “Neither.” she said.
He nodded in agreement and pointed to the table. “Just lie down here and allow us to examine you. Once we’ve learned all we can that way, you are welcome to fill in any gaps.”
Oh man I hope this isn’t just a load of bullshit. I haven’t got time for any fake stuff.
“Do I need to strip or anything?” he asked before laying down.
The old man snorted. “I’m sure the ladies would be happy if you choose to, but no. If we need more access than your clothing provides, I’ll let you know.”
Prin made a little ‘hmf’ sound, but her smile didn’t falter.
Raz lay face down on the table. WIth his face looking through a hole in the table, he quickly grew bored of the view of polished hardwood and closed his eyes.
Two pairs of hands began gently probing and poking at him. He jumped when they found tender spots, but soon relaxed into the experience.
He woke up some time later to the sounds raised voices in the next room. A moment later the shouting had changed to sounding like urgent muted whispers. He willed his hearing to sharpen up, but nothing happened.
Bee, turn it up. I need to hear this.
[Energy 11/?]
[You are critically low on energy.]
[Enabling enhanced senses usually takes up to one energy per minute!]
Raz pushed through the resistance and turned his hearing up.
“—annot heal that! It is not a wound he bears, but rather deep chasms of the spirit on a soul that has been nearly flayed.” The Japanese man’s deep voice snapped into full clarity.
“He seems ok though, how can it be so bad?” Hex replied.
The old man took a breath and made a frustrated sound. “How, how can I explain this? It looks to me, as though he chose to eat razors, by slicing open his own midsection, and dropping those razors into his bisected stomach.” Kiyoshi said with a sad tone of finality.
Well that’s a disgusting mental image.
“Please excuse my husband’s disturbing analogy, and understand that the gifts we use are far from what they once were. Even as recently as our grandparents, each one could, alone, perform healings we can not match today, even working together.” Prin added.
Raz could tell Kiyoshi nodded before replying. “You may not know this, but when we were wed, the marriage of a Japanese man and a Thai woman was not a common, or widely accepted practice. The names that were cast at us, and worse, at our children, well, there is a reason we no longer live in Japan.”
The smile was clear in Prin’s voice. “Yes, our arranged marriage was a strange mix of old tradition, and wildly progressive. Our families hoped to strengthen the healing gift we carry in our children.”
There was a long pause, and Raz had just about decided to get to his feet and join the conversation when Sia spoke up.
“You seem happy together, and I am glad of that. Your daughter is one of my closest friends. I say that as someone who does not count many people among my friends.” Her voice broke into sobs.
“Please, is there nothing you can do?”
The regret in the old man’s voice was palpable. “My dear, most people come to us with perhaps, the slightest of imbalances. Sometimes so slight that a mere realignment of the body is all that is needed to resolve it.” he sighed, “Some come in with slightly more advanced injuries to the body or spirit, and we work with what we can, while referring them to whichever type of additional help they need. These people often need many treatments to begin to see the path to recovery.”
“So let’s do that!” Sia interjected. “Begin the treatment, and we’ll come in every day, or twice a day. Whatever it takes.” Raz could somehow hear Sia pulling a tissue out of a box and wiping her face.
Kiyoshi’s nervous swallow was clearly audible to Raz. “It is—not so simple. There is no treatment course we know that can reverse such extensive damage. More frequent visits would not help either. In the best of cases the patient requires time and rest, but also stimulation and challenge, to heal best and properly.” he sighed and the creak of wood sounded like he’d bent over to hold his head in his hands. “Your man does not have anywhere near the time for our treatments.”
Raz could imagine the stubborn set of Sia’s hands on her hips and her nostrils flaring in anger. “Is it about money then? I can pay. Whatever it costs I can pay it. There must be something you can do.”
Prin’s voice broke as she answered. “Oh child. We are not attempting to negotiate or justify a high price. Nothing could be further from the truth.”
There was a long pause, interspersed by soft broken sounds from Sia and a long sigh from the woman. “I should not have played with you when you arrived. I thought only to lighten the mood. Please know that we know very well, who you are. Our daughter has long since told us the story of the ‘Medicine woman army.' I cannot say I understand how you accomplished such a thing on your own, but she is adamant that you alone performed the miracle, no one else would try.”
There was a rustle, as though the hem of Prin’s clothing had suddenly brushed against the floor. “Your money, it is no good here, and we would do anything that you need of us. But please understand that this injury is far beyond us. There is truly nothing we can do.”
[Energy 10/?]
Raz shut down his sensoria, and closed his eyes.
I suppose I should just accept that I fucked up and this is the outcome.
He lay there stewing in a growing rage against that idea.
But fuck that. I should have died from other things already, sure as hell not giving up now!