The soap opera collection kept Chiun passive for the next several days. The nurses quickly learned to listen for the closing theme music as their cue for when it was safe to fluff a pillow, offer a glass of water, and do whatever made them feel useful. Chiun began to expect them, and, being Chiun, also began to treat them as personal servants, sending them to make rice, then sending them to re-make it when they got it wrong. When they would get aggravated with him, he would put on his “helpless old man” act that would cajole them into doing whatever it was he wanted, which mostly included changing one finished disc for a new one.
Remo did the math and put in a call to Smitty to order As the Planet Revolves: The Complete Second Season, The Collector’s Edition, and Smitty in turn placed a call to the show’s producers to speed along their production, which involved placing an advance order of a thousand copies of all subsequently planned releases in order to make the venture profitable for the studio. The orders would all be shipped to the Cheerful You Soap Company (“makers of fine bathing, clothing, and dish detergents”), whose sponsorship was exclusive to As the Planet Revolves and whose patronage kept the show on the air, and the actors and writers employed, despite the program’s abysmal ratings.
The night Chiun was due to reach the last episode, Remo went to say farewell to Avital, who herself had taken a brief leave of absence after assuring her people that the ya Homaar matter had been settled once and for all. To her mild surprise they already knew this, and gave the credit to ya Homaar themselves for being so incompetent in the handling of their bombs.
Remo, in contrast, was far from incompetent in the handling of the explosions that shook her body repeatedly that evening. She had initially planned to make mental notes of the American’s techniques, certain she could employ them in the future as part of her job. She had tried this each time she was with Remo, and each time she regained control of her body and her tongue, she found herself clawing at her pillow without the slightest idea of how she ended up that way.
Every two hours, Remo let her recover. They’d sit up in bed, she’d have a drink. He even let her watch television because that’s what people did, even though there was nothing worthwhile to watch. He no longer had a need to watch the news, but everyone else was still tuning in to make sure there was going to be a tomorrow. He ruefully knew there were more than a few people who tuned in hoping that things would go back to the disaster movie they had become accustomed to living.
“Looks like the apocalypse has been put on hold until further notice,” Remo muttered as the latest talking head segued out of a fifteen second bit about the earthquakes into an interview with an American truck driver who nearly foamed at the mouth as he told the reporter’s microphone how he was constitutionally entitled to carry his machine gun and bandolier while shopping for groceries.
Avital clicked off the news. That was another thing he liked about her—she had taste.
“It’s funny,” she said, sitting up and propping a pillow behind her back. “The earthquakes seemed to subside shortly after all the bombings stopped.”
Remo closed his eyes. Don’t think about it, he thought. Please don’t think about it. But he knew she would.
“You don’t suppose one has anything to do with the other? That it was part of ya Homaar’s plan all along?” she asked aloud. “But no, that wouldn’t make sense. It’s not possible.”
Remo could sense the gears turning in her head. Avital was smart, stubborn, and tenacious. She didn’t know how to let things go. They were all attractive qualities, even without considering her more physical assets. He knew she didn’t believe it now, couldn’t believe it now. But eventually she’d find something. And then she’d be obligated to report it. And then it would be in a file somewhere, and someone else would learn about it. And the next time, it might land in the hands of someone who would actually pull it off.
He leaned over and kissed her passionately.
“Mmm, I love how quickly you recover,” she smiled, momentarily distracted. Her sharp, dangerous sparkling eyes were taking on that drifting, dreamy quality that comes when the body begins to undergo pleasure.
Remo clasped his palm to the side of her neck and kissed her again, once more lightly massaging an artery that fed the limbic centers of her brain. Much needed oxygen was being held back, and nitrogen narcosis was settling in.
“What are you doing?” she asked, her eyes rolling back in ecstasy.
“Two can keep a secret,” Remo whispered sadly, kissing her once more. Then he softly laid her back on the bed and closed her eyes before tucking her body in with the sheet. She looked so serene, so peaceful.
Remo tugged on his chinos and pulled on his shirt. He picked up his shoes and gave Avital’s body one last rueful glance.
“That’s the biz, sweetheart.”