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"I'm making a house call and you want two for one?"
Smoke shook his head as he crawled back to the chopper and
fetched the first aid kit.
Moonlight slept through Smoke's field surgery as the
wounds were dressed. Tiger refused to let go of him, despite
Smoke's complaints about making the job harder. When it
was over, Tiger let out a big breath and reclined with
Moonlight lying on his chest.
336
Moonlight, Tiger, and Smoke
by Connie Bailey
"Have any plans for the future?" Smoke asked to pass the
time.
"I know what we're going to do first." Tiger looked over at
Smoke. "Want to help?"
Tiger explained his plan, and Smoke got his phone out
again. Deciding it was safe to make a call, Smoke phoned Key
and gave him several instructions.
* * * *
Moonlight was still asleep several hours later when Smoke
turned on his phone again. A troop transport chopper
appeared out of the night and hovered over the islet. A ladder
was lowered, and Smoke climbed on board. After a couple of
minutes, a stretcher was lowered, and Tiger strapped
Moonlight to it. Once Moonlight was on board, the ladder was
sent down for Tiger. Wrapping his good arm around a rung,
Tiger signaled the crew to pull him up.
"Good to see you," Key said. "You can have this back." He
handed Smoke the flash drive.
"This looks like an official Kagehito troop transport," Tiger
said.
"It is," Key said. "Smoke's phone call to me was
intercepted. The crew of this ship was sent to pick me up." He
held up his hands. "Don't freak out. We're not prisoners."
"What's going on, Key?" Tiger said.
"Lord Talon sent the chopper. The crew will put us down
wherever we say and leave us there."
"Why would Talon do that?"
"I don't know, but you should pick a direction soon."
337
Moonlight, Tiger, and Smoke
by Connie Bailey
"Tell him where to go, Smoke," Tiger said as he sat down
on the floor beside Moonlight.
* * * *
Smoke and Tiger sat on the park bench with Moonlight
propped between them and watched the rising sun gild the
peaked rooftops of the village. A breeze sifted through the
trees, shaking loose some water and a few dead leaves that
drifted down to scurry away across the dewy grass. Objects
that had been dim outlines moments ago took on form, color,
and mass.
"Why do you think Talon helped us?" Tiger asked.
"I don't think he helped us," Smoke replied. "He shot you
twice, if you recall. I think he wanted to help Moonlight."
"I thought he wanted to keep him."
"I think he did too. I also think he may genuinely care
about Moonlight. It's possible that when he realized Moonlight
could actually escape the life he hated that Talon gave him
the chance."
Tiger snorted. "What a fairy tale."
"You asked what I thought."
"I realize my mistake now."
Smoke looked at Tiger over the top of Moonlight's head.
"Maybe he saw Moonlight kill the onmyoji and didn't want a
powerful rival around, so he helped him escape. Not to
mention that Moonlight probably knows that Talon killed Lord
Raven."
"That sounds more believable." Tiger brushed a drop of
water from Moonlight's hair. "What's it like, being Ryuzoku?"
338
Moonlight, Tiger, and Smoke
by Connie Bailey
"I feel amazingly self-assured. Like I could do anything."
A drop of condensation fell on Moonlight's left eyelid, and
he blinked. Opening both eyes, he rubbed the water away and
looked around. "Where is this?" he asked in a grainy voice.
"You'll know where you are in a few minutes," Smoke said.
Tiger squeezed Moonlight's shoulders and kissed his
forehead. "You're free," he said.
Moonlight threw his arms around Tiger and found his lips
in a kiss that ended several years of yearning. He pulled back
so he could kiss Tiger again, letting his mouth wander over
Tiger's face and neck. "We're free," he said.
"We'll have to be very quick and very clever to stay that
way."
"No problem. We're together. That's all that matters."
Moonlight stopped kissing Tiger abruptly. "Is this a bandage
on your shoulder?"
"I got shot." Tiger shrugged and winced. "A couple of
times."
"Why aren't you seeing a surgeon right now?"
"Smoke fixed me." Tiger kissed the frown from Moonlight's
lips. "They were easy wounds. Through and through. He even
disinfected them and put on antibiotics."
Moonlight's brow wrinkled. "Did I see Key on a helicopter?"
"Yeah."
Smoke stood up from the bench. "He decided to stay with
the Shadow."
"Didn't you tell him ?"
"Of course we told him," Tiger interrupted. "He still
believes in the mission."
339
Moonlight, Tiger, and Smoke
by Connie Bailey
"I envy him his faith," Smoke said.
"Blind faith is worse than none at all," Moonlight retorted.
Smoke turned to meet Moonlight's eyes. "Maybe someone
should give Key a good reason to believe."
"You cannot be suggesting what I think you're suggesting."
"We could do it," Smoke said.
"We could do what?" Tiger got up when Moonlight stood.
"We could reclaim the Shadow." Smoke took his hands out
of his pockets and spread them. "Look at the resources we
have between us. Moon and I are both Dragons. We have
Feather and Rose Tribes' power of persuasion. We have a
strong and charismatic leader to front for us." He nodded at
Tiger. "Think about it a reformation guided by the three of
us."
"I'd definitely need to think about it," Moonlight said, his
eyes focused on something beyond Smoke's shoulder.
Smoke turned and saw a woman coming down the road on
an old yellow bicycle. She wasn't young or old but somewhere
in the middle, riding carefully, mindful of the patches of slush.
Her coat was years out of style, an odd pistachio color,
enveloping her bird-like frame from neck to ankles. The heavy
garment made the dismount a tricky thing, but she managed
it with grace and aplomb, using the handbrakes, swinging a
leg over, and alighting on the steps of her destination.
Leaving the bicycle leaning against the rail, she unlocked the
building's front door and went inside.
Moonlight left the park and walked slowly across the street
to stop in front of the sign that identified the long structure as
340
Moonlight, Tiger, and Smoke
by Connie Bailey
an elementary school. With Smoke and Tiger following at a
distance, Moonlight went up the steps and into the building.
The woman had removed her coat and was adding wood to
the cast-iron stove beside her desk. She looked up as
Moonlight entered, an inquiring look on her face. Her eyes
were wide-set, of an indeterminate dark gray color that
Moonlight knew from his mirror, and though the skin over her
fine bone structure was wrinkled now, he knew her face. As
he walked forward, he smiled for sheer joy.
"Jaehan." Moonlight's mother said his name without a
trace of doubt. This was her lost baby, come home at last;
she would know him anywhere. Her steps quickened until she
was almost running, arms spread wide to welcome her son.
"My Jaehan."
Moonlight met her in the middle of the room and swept her
into a hug. Her arms went around him and he smelled the
familiar smell that let him know that all was right with the
world. It didn't matter how long he'd been gone or what he'd
done, the bond between mother and child was not strained.
In that embrace, Moonlight felt joy, gratitude, and
unconditional love, and his soul was finally whole again.
[Back to Table of Contents]
341
Moonlight, Tiger, and Smoke
by Connie Bailey
Epilogue
The Great Hall was well-lit, and the dark wood and costly
fabrics of the furnishings gleamed richly. An assemblage of
the Shadow's high-ranking members sat on the ancient seats
around the High Table. At the head of the oblong table sat the
new Commander in Chief, Lord of the Shadow, Talon of Iron
Tribe.
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