She Bleeds for Us: The Galactic Consortium 3

Chapter 50

As his date with Åse approached, Jake was a bundle of nerves. He was excited about the date, nervous he would blow it and worried about Gabriel. He'd talk to Devaki twice and zie hadn't heard anything. He almost called off the date but he was worried what she would think. Besides, what excuse to give? "Hey, I'm sorry but I've been involved in this smuggling operation on the side and there's been a problem with my contact." So he dressed in the cleanest of the two civilian outfits he had with him and headed across the barracks to find Åse.

She looked stunning. She wore a bright blue dress with red trim. Her blond hair was held back in a long braid.

"Wow, that's gorgeous," he told her as she spun and curtseyed for him.

She blushed and fiddled with the hem of the dress. "It's a gákti, or...gákti-inspired. Grandma sent it to me. She's on Vienne Station now and making these. Got quite a business going. At her age even."

"Okay."

Åse laughed. "Sorry, I tend to ramble when I'm nervous."

She was nervous? But she was gorgeous. What did she have to worry about? Jake took her hand. "I, I stumble over words," he stumbled out. "When I'm nervous. So I'll just clam up and you ramble. We'll be fine."

She laughed again, a high tinkling sound that filled Jake with warmth. They set off down the lane, towards Mama Ayo's. "You're grandma is on Vienne Station?"

"Yah," Åse said. "She was sick, had been for some time. We thought we were going to lose her two years ago, before they came. But this last time, when things got bad, they moved her to the station for advanced treatment. Now... She's in her nineties but with their medicine she could easily live another fifteen, twenty years. So she stayed on the station and opened a textile business."

Åse's family were from the far northern part of Norway and were part of an indigenous culture called the Sami. The gákti was their traditional dress. It was designed for cold and unsuitable for station life, or Africa. But her grandma used the same colors and patterns on silks and cottons to make unique clothes like the dress Åse currently wore. She was turning out to be very successful, to her family's surprise.

Talking of Åse's family carried them through to the restaurant and most of the way through the meal. Jake told her a bit about his family, but they weren't interesting compared to hers. He had no idea there were still indigenous groups in Europe.

But by the time they had finished eating, it was growing hard for Jake to stay focussed. Every time he saw a kid he thought of Gabriel. What if something had happened to the boy? Jake should... What could Jake do?

Åse suggested they take the long way home, not that there that many ways to walk from the one restaurant, through the camp to the barracks. They came to the edge of the camp. Ahead, in the falling twilight, they could see the border. The Consortium peace keeping force had a presence nearby, but few actual people manning the border. On the far side the Sierra Leone army had a large military presence, though not as big as it had been early on. Fewer refugees were making it this far, but that meant more demand for soldiers deeper in, where there were camps and checkpoints.

They stood there a long time. Jake's worry peaked.

Åse gave a quiet sob and that startled Jake out of his reverie. "Are you okay?"

"It's nothing," she lied, brushing a tear away. "Just worried about someone." She met his gaze. "It's not like that. A boy. I mean, a little boy, not another guy. I was supposed to..." she looked away.

A sudden suspicion filled Jake. "A boy? You were suppose to see him tonight?"

"Not like that," she insisted.

"No," Jake said. "You were suppose to give him something. A pack?"

She squinted her eyes at him. "How do you know?"

"I gave him one two nights ago," Jake said. "Devaki arranges it."

"You too?"

Jake nodded.

Åse smiled, relief flooding her. She hugged him, squeezing his chest tight. It felt good. "You are a good man, Jake King." Then she pulled away and looked up at him again. "You know Gabriel? You saw him two nights ago?"

"Yeah, it was his regular drop. Then Devaki called me yesterday, said he hadn't checked in. I've been worried sick."

"I feared something like that when Devaki cancelled tonight's drop. 'A problem with my contact.' Zie couldn't say much more. But that's enough. Poor boy. He just wants to help his people."

There wasn't much else to say. The two of them stood there and stared out at border for a long time, Åse leaning against Jake for support. It felt nice, to have her close and to share this burden. But despite that a deep feeling of disquiet settled on Jake. Something was happening over the border, he could feel it in his bones. But what could he do about it?