"You're right." Tarris made a move to leave. "You're leaving?" Darmen asked.

Tarris stopped and looked at him. "You wanted me to stop the Prime. Well, it's done. The rest is up to you."

"But-"

"No! I've done my job, now you do yours," Tarris said as she walked away.

"Where are you going?" Darmen called after her.

"I'm going back to my home and forget I was ever a trooper."

"It's not that easy."

"Oh, yes it is. All I ever wanted was to be left alone."

"Alone?" Asher asked.

"Not by you. I've done my duty. Let someone else keep the peace." Tarris felt the time was right to step aside. She was ready for a life where day was day and night was night, and not the other way around, especially when that kind of life would remind her of who was missing.

"Come and see me," Darmen said.

Tarris could see the plea in the old man's eyes. "At the park?"

"I don't think that's a possibility anymore. Maken will be in contact with you."

"Fine. He knows my number." Tarris smiled grimly. She turned and didn't look back. Asher's finger brushed the pulse point at her wrist and manipulated the analgesic patch there. "What's that for?"

"I know you. You get the crap knocked out of you, and heaven forbid you let anyone see you're in pain."

"You've been with me all of what? Two weeks? And you think you know me?"

Asher smiled. "Prove me wrong."

But Tarris couldn't. All she wanted was to crawl into bed and forget the world for a while. Her body was one big bruise from head to toe. She could feel every aching inch of it even down her legs. "Let's go home."

Chapter 16.

Tarris had slept for two days as easily as if she had slept for four hours. Over those two days, whenever her consciousness resurfaced, Asher touched her sleep patch and she would once more sink into oblivion. Whether she liked it or not, Asher made sure she recovered.

On the morning of the third day after losing Rya, Tarris began to wake. Someone was talking.

"...known as The Battery. The abandoned turbine station had been turned into a secret laboratory for human experimentation. Evidence has been collected and The Battery destroyed. The government has designated this site as a memorial to the hundreds of citizens who lost their lives."

Tarris lay there with her eyes closed and listened to the broadcast.

"The election of a new government will take place shortly. In the meantime a provisional government has been set up, headed by the Prime's brother, Garven Sholter. Until the transition is finished, there will be a curfew from sundown to dawn.

"The trial of Roden Sholter and his ministers will commence in six months. From what this reporter has been told, the evidence collected concerning the Prime's secret experiments and his manifesto is likely to bring about the death penalty."

"I see you're awake."

Tarris's eyes had been firmly shut until that point. How did Asher know?

"Your legs have stopped twitching. They do that when you sleep. You won't need the suit for much longer," Asher said.

"You think so?" Tarris opened her eyes and looked at her with a burst of hope.

Asher moved to the bed and sat on the mattress next to her. "With a bit of corrective surgery and a few months of intensive therapy, yeah, I know so." Asher stared right into her eyes, and Tarris could see the truth of it. To emphasize her point, Asher poked her in the leg.

With some joy, Tarris said, "Ow!" Even though her stomach churned with the thought of the life-changing events to come, she smiled. What she had always dreamed of was now within her reach. She made a move to get up.

"Stay put."

"I've been in bed how long?"

"Two days."

"Two days? You let me sleep for two days?"

"If you could see what I'm looking at right now, you'd have let you sleep for two days, too."

"Why? What happened?" Had she missed something?

"Oh, I don't know. Maybe the beating you received made me do it."

"Oh. That."

"Yes, that." Asher chuckled. "You don't have to be a big tough girl around me. I know better."

After what they had been through, Tarris knew she was right. Her toughness was not a faade, but Asher was different. She had nothing to prove in Asher's eyes. She relaxed and let her head lower to the pillow.

"How are you feeling otherwise?" Asher asked.

"The bruises will disappear-"

"No, not that." Asher covered Tarris's hand with her own. "How are you... inside?"

Tarris had tried to avoid searching that part of her. It had been cold there two days ago, and she suspected that feeling hadn't changed. "I don't know."

Maybe her expression said it all, because Asher changed the subject. "I've made a few calls, and your first surgery will be in a week."

"How am I going to pay for this?"

"I called in a favor or two. We should be able to scrape the money together."

"We?" If Tarris had any doubts about Asher, this put the matter to rest.

"Sure. You're not going through this alone."

"I need to get up. My back's sore from sleeping so long."

"Is that wise?"

"I'm fine. Honest." Tarris threw off the blanket and used the overhead handle to pull herself to a seated position. She saw Asher move then stop. "Can you help me with the wheelchair?" She didn't really need help, but Asher had held herself back the moment before, despite wanting to help.

Asher squinted at her in annoyance. "Don't patronize me."

"Well, if you don't want to help-"

"I didn't say that." Asher's expression softened. "This is going to take some getting used to, isn't it?"

"It sure is. I'm used to living alone."

Tarris's front door alarm rang. She glanced at Asher. "Are we expecting someone?"

"I got a call yesterday. You might want to slip something on." Asher's gaze swept over Tarris's underwear.

As tempting as it was to stay as she was, Tarris maneuvered her chair to the bathroom. Asher followed silently behind her and tossed in her clothes before closing the door. Tarris dressed quickly. She could hear the sound of familiar voices as the door slid open.

"Ah, there you are."

Darmen and Derille stood in her living room.

"I told you I'm not a trooper anymore."

"I don't think I was asking you to be one. Was I, Maken?"

"Not that I recall, sir."

Tarris looked from Darmen to Derille and back again. "Then why are you here?"

"The Council has a proposition for you."

"I told you-"

"It's not a trooper position, believe me," Darmen said. "We were reviewing the trooper program and came across one division that needs someone to direct it."

"You're still running the program?" Tarris asked with incredulity. "I thought you were closing it down." She cast a suspicious glare at the man she had come to consider as a friend.

"This particular division can't be closed down without consequences. We need your sensitivity in this area."

"Sensitivity? Me?" Tarris had never associated that word with herself.

"For this, yes," Darmen said.

"What can be so important that you need my help?"

"There are children still at the Institute, Tarris. Children who need your guidance and experience."

"Tarris has her first operation next week," Asher told them.

"We're prepared to wait if she agrees to take up the position."

"It could be a few months before she's fully functional."

Tarris frowned. "You make me sound like an android." The door alarm went off again. "No one visits me, now I'm Miss Popularity." Asher answered the door.

"Excuse me, ma'am." An officer of the law stood in the corridor, holding a woman's arm. "I found this young woman wandering around the concourse. She kept asking for Tarris Waite."

"That's me, Officer." Tarris moved her wheelchair to the door.

"Do you know her?" he asked.

At first glance, Tarris wasn't sure. Her dark hair and petite size were rather appealing, and something about the woman's face struck a chord within her.

"Hello, sister."

Those two words said everything. The hint of familiarity Tarris had experienced now came into vivid relief. "Come in." She moved her chair aside and allowed the woman to come into her apartment. "Thank you, Officer."

"Errr, she has my coat," he said. "I found her naked on the concourse."

"Allow me." Asher steered the woman to the bathroom. They disappeared inside, and a moment later, Asher emerged and handed the coat back to the officer. Without another word, she walked to the spare bedroom, returned with an armful of clothes, and handed them into the bathroom.

The young officer in the corridor saw Tarris's visitors and snapped to attention. "Prime! Sir!" He saluted briskly.

"Thank you, Officer. That will be all." Darmen chuckled as the young man turned on his heel and left, the sound of his retreating footsteps steadily becoming faster.

Tarris raised an eyebrow. "Prime?"

"Only temporarily. I have another job to return to."

"You mean the one under the tree?"

"Shhh. Everyone thinks I work hard." Darmen smiled as Tarris relaxed. "I hope you'll consider my offer."

"I heard the broadcast concerning your predecessor." Tarris wanted to find out what Darmen was going to do.

His sad gaze met hers, and he sighed deeply. "My hands are tied in this. His crimes against the State override any feelings I have about the matter."

"But-"