Ultimate Power by Arno Joubert

where her wound could be treated. She refused and eventually they had to tend to her while she sat in the chair, waiting expectantly. Neil joined her an hour later, shaking his head as the nurses inserted a drip into Alexa’s arm, but keeping his comments to himself.
    Finally, the doors swung open and they pushed Laiveaux out on a trolly. Alexa jumped up. “How is he?”
    A man removed a mask from his face and started pulling off his surgical gloves. He smiled at Alexa. “One tough nut, that commander of yours. He’s fine. He should recover in a couple of weeks.”
    “Will he ever be able to speak again?”
    The doctor smiled. “I know the cric that Williams performed looked dramatic, but yes, he’ll be able to speak as soon as he is well enough, a couple of days at most.”
    She plonked down into the chair, holding her heart. “Thank God.”
    She felt nauseous and her skin was burning up. “Please excuse me,” she said grabbing the saline bag attached to her arm and rushed to the bathroom.
    She slammed the cubicle door closed and sat on the toilet. Her entire body was shaking. What was happening to her? It felt as if every cell in her system was shutting down. She felt spent. Utterly and truly spent. It was a massive effort to lift her arm.
    She stood up and shuffled to the basin and splashed some water on her face. Her heart pounded in her chest. She tried to focus on the reflection in the mirror. Her face was ashen, lined with strain, and her lips were a dull red, like all the blood had drained from them.
    The image blurred and swam back into focus, blurred again. She could hear her heartbeat in her ears.
    Then the world went dark and she crashed to the floor.
    She woke up five minutes later, laboriously sucking in her breaths. She lay there for a couple of minutes, her brow was sweaty and warm, but she felt cold and shivered uncontrollably.  
    She stood up shakily and steadied herself in front of the mirror, shaking her head. “Get a grip, Alexa,” she said and tucked her damp fringe behind an ear. “Get a grip,” she whispered as she staggered out of the bathroom.

Alexa squeezed his hand as Laiveaux slowly opened his eyes, then blinked a couple of times. He tried to sit upright in the bed, but she pushed him down. “Wait, General, relax.”
    He looked around uncertainly. “Where…Where am I?”
    “You’re in the Val-de-Grâce hospital in Paris.”
    “How long?”
    “Four days.”
    He closed his eyes and blew out a soft breath. “You’ve been here the entire time?”
    She smiled. “Day and night.”
    He swallowed, touched his neck. “My throat hurts.”
    “The doctor said it would take a couple of weeks to get better.”
    “Anything else that I should know of?”
    Alexa laughed and squeezed his hand. “Nothing too serious. You have a broken leg and a couple of cracked ribs.”
    “That’s good to know.” He turned to face her. “How is Yumi?”
    She shrugged. “You know.”
    He frowned. “No, I don’t know. What is wrong?”
    She made a face. “Neil’s taking care of her. He takes her to school and feeds her and bathes her and puts her to bed after telling her a bedtime story.”
    Laiveaux looked at her with a furrowed brow. “So what is the problem?”
    Alexa let go of his hand and sat in a chair next to the bed. “Yumi comes to visit in the afternoons. I don’t know. I just can’t…”
    “You can’t give her the attention that she deserves?”
    Alexa’s face contorted into a sad grimace and she started sobbing.
    “And you’re feeling guilty, right?”
    She nodded again, wiping the tears away with the back of her hand. “I feel alone, General,” she sobbed. “I don’t know what I would have done if something had happened to you.” She stood up and embraced the man.  
    He patted her back. “Now, now. Everything is okay.”
    “I know it is now. I’m just so…tired.”
    “Have a seat. Take a nap.”
    She yawned and stretched her arms. “I think I might just do