Ultimate Power by Arno Joubert Page B

expectantly.
    “Less than a month ago, she was locked up and tortured for more than a day, she had two broken ribs, a shattered collar bone and internal hemorrhaging. Lacerations and bruising over most of her body, twenty-five stitches in total,” Bruce said.
    The man’s eyebrows shot up. “Tortured?”
    Neil nodded. “Yes, she was in a bad state.”
    The Doctor tsk-tsked. “I wouldn’t have guessed.”
    “And we recently adopted our daughter, Yumi, does that count?” Neil asked.
    The doctor blinked a couple of times and scribbled some more. “Why not? Keep it coming, folks.”
    Bruce scratched his chin. “Then some terrorists captured her Supreme Commander, General Alain Laiveaux and almost killed him. She loves him like her own father.” He shrugged. “I guess she felt it was her fault that he had almost died.”
    The doctor folded over the chart and continued scribbling profusely.
    “And she had a terrible childhood, she—”  
    “Enough, enough already,” the man said lifting a hand. “I’ve run out of damn space.” He clicked the pen and slipped it into his breast pocket, shoved his hands into his pockets. He turned to Neil, deep in thought. “Any one of these incidents could have caused a severe breakdown such as this. Who is she, superwoman?”
    Neil smiled. “Almost.”
    “Was she debriefed after these…,uhm, incidents ?” the Doctor asked Bruce.
    Bruce nodded. “Every time.”
    “By whom?”
    “By myself and the general.”
    “Any one of you have a degree in psychology?”
    Bruce shook his head. “No, but—”
    The doctor held up a hand. “Look, Colonel, she couldn’t have gone on like this forever after experiencing what she had. She’s had a severe emotional breakdown, post traumatic stress, most probably.” He clicked the pen as he spoke, a grave expression on his face. “Her mind couldn’t take it any longer and it’s forcing her to rest. A proper psychologist would have detected the symptoms a long time ago.”
    Neil nodded. Alexa wasn’t into following protocol. “How long before she’s better?”
    He threw his arms in the air. “A day, a month? Who knows? Different people handle it differently.”
    “Okay, then I’m taking her home,” Neil said.
    Bruce grabbed his shoulder and pulled him around to face him. “What? Are you crazy? You can’t. They’ll take better care of her here.”
    Neil shrugged off Bruce’s hand. “No, they won’t.” He started packing her belongings into her bag. “She needs to be surrounded by family and loved ones, in a familiar environment.” He glanced up at Bruce. “You heard what the doctor said, she needs to sleep. And she can get plenty of that at home.”
    Bruce took a step toward Neil. “You saying I’m not family? She stays right here,” Bruce said, grabbing her bag from Neil.
    “She doesn’t need a hospital, she needs some time off, you asshole!” Neil shouted.  
    Bruce’s eyes had murder in them. “You touch her, I’ll kill you Sergeant,” he said, poking his finger in Neil’s face.
    Neil looked at Bruce for a couple of seconds. “Look Bruce, I’m trying to see things from your point of view, but I can’t stick my head that far up my ass.”
    “You little runt, I’ll—“
    “Enough,” Alexa shouted, propping herself up on the bed. “What are you doing?” she asked, wiping her eyes sleepily.
    Neil hurried to her side, took her hand. “You have combat fatigue, Alexa.”
    The Doctor strode to her side, shining a light into her eyes and examining them. “You’ve experienced a lot of stress, Miss Guerra.” He switched off the light and nodded. “I’ve prescribed some rest,” he said with a smile, putting a hand on her brow.
    She lay back and closed her eyes. “And that was what I was doing until you let these two barge in here. What are you two on about, then?”
    “I want to take you home, Alexa,” Neil said, squeezing her hand. “You’ll feel better there than in this unfriendly place,” he