The Iron Man [Serial]

The Call

The next morning, I woke before Murphy. As he'd been asleep when I arrived in our room the night before, there hadn't been a chance to learn whether he was already aware of the Malik's intentions. I dressed quietly and then went downstairs, leaving Murphy and Hedone asleep in their beds.

I saw Alpha seated alone at a table in the dining area. I got some breakfast and coffee from the buffet then went to sit with him. He had a teacup before him and a copy of the morning Review printed in Arabic.

The paper was open to an interior page which featured photos of the Malik's special cabinet. Though I could not yet read the text, I imagined the article was about acceptable attire for desert exploration or archaeology, such as David's pith helmet, Thierry's khaki-colored tailcoat, or the lightweight skirts and blouses worn by Queen Elena and Lady Ariella.

"Good Morning, Julien."

"May I sit here?"

Alpha nearly smirked. "Of course."

I ate a bit of bread.

"Thierry's not here?"

Alpha lifted his eyes from the paper. "It is not like that."

I nodded.

"He and Caroline left for Mass with my mother."

I smiled that it might be more like I imagined than Alpha admitted, but the amusement quickly faded. "So, Lady Ariella is not here?"

"No. Do you need something?"

I looked and saw we were more or less alone. Sina presently entered through a door from one of the terraces.

"Alpha, your father has asked me to do something. I would have done it anyway, but he's commanded me to do it."

"Did he say it was secret?"

"Not from everyone," I said.

Alpha nodded. "It's uncomfortable when an assignment does not come through the usual chain-of-command. My father is your Malik; you should do as he asks to the best of your ability." 

Alpha turned away from me as Sina was putting her breakfast on another table. He switched to that Cairene dialect and told Sina she was welcome to join us if she wished.

Sina brought her cup and plate to our table.

Almost as soon as Sina sat down, Murphy approached from the stairs. He paused near the buffet but did not collect food or drink. Instead, he came to stand beside my chair and stooped to speak at my ear.

"May I speak with you?"

I glanced to Sina and Alpha.

Murphy sat in a chair beside mine. "I do not mean to have secrets from any of you," he said aloud.

I turned my head to smile for Murphy.

"Mother is still in Cairo and I've been given leave to escort her home and visit with my father a while."

"I had a wirefax from The Mountain last night," Sina told us.

Murphy looked up across the table at Sina. He must have questioned with his expression, for she nodded at him.

"My father has given his blessing to my continued placement with the team."

"We're glad to have you, Sina," Alpha said.

"You really are our best battle dancer," I told her.

Sina bowed slightly. "Mashallah. Hypatia has said that once the foreign guests depart and our team is no longer needed as escorts, I might train with her and Lady Ariella."

"Your sword styles are of different traditions," Alpha said, "but that could be an asset in the long term." He turned then to look at Murphy, with a darting glance to include me as well. "It's a good time to take leave," Alpha told us, "the cabinet will remain a while longer, but the other guests and press will be moving on now. Julien turns 18 in less than a month and there won't be another chance for leave for a few months, once he reports for his naval recruit training."

"I hoped Julien—" Murphy touched my right hand, "You might travel with me. If Alpha thinks it a good idea then Hya—"

"Hypatia," I said.

"Hypatia," Murphy said slowly, "wouldn't object to your going, so long as you report in November for recruit training.

I wanted to accept, and it was my duty to accept, but I found myself compelled to ask: "Do you wish me to meet your family?"

"Jules," Murphy said, "I've wanted to take you home with me since the day we met."

I began to protest but Murphy lightly squeezed my hand and continued:

"And I am certain you must meet my father, now Mother seems to like you."

"Me'rah does seem fond of Jade," Sina said.

I looked down at the the table before me, uncertain whether I had done anything to impress Murphy's mother. But, I had to agree to the trip.

"I would be honored to accompany you."

Murphy released my hand. "We'll need to pack and leave by morning."

It was then increasingly clear at that leaving on this trip would mean parting from people I considered allies; even friends. Not for the time it took to complete for a mission, but maybe for months, or even longer.

Sina, I trusted, would be well. She smiled when I lifted my face to her. She had her family's confidence and would soon receive training from intelligent, skilled women.

Alpha—I glanced to him—would be without his usual or substitute bodyguard. I trusted he could protect himself, but the more I had come to know him, the more I understood it was not so much his body Murphy had been guarding as Alpha's heart. I wasn't sure how I felt about that, but maybe, I thought, it was time we all take on our own risks and not seek to step in too quickly to help.

I was confident we would remain in in contact with Dolores and Garin, even if I would not see them. Yet, I was not certain of that with others.

"Will we see Hedone again?"

"Xe and Erik will have new assignments of their own," Alpha said, "but Hypatia can always relay messages."

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Chapter 81.

Apparently, I took a summer vacation. I didn't post or write chapters for a while (I didn't even use my computer much or check messages) but now I am restarting.

The media for this chapter is "The Call" composed by Austin Wintory from the Soundtrack of the game Journey.

I have not yet started writing the next chapter, but if writing goes as planned the following chapters may be Tailors and Booksellers. Also, I have not forgotten about current reader requests from the Coffee chapter, so I do still plan to include Derinkuyu in the future.

I decided to include the #Wattys2016 tag on this work since the serial was continued during this year.