Her brown eyes were tender. It took him a while to place her, along with his location (currently simulated as a large, old-fashioned saloon), and to place the blond man sitting on a stool ten feet away, his arms crossed and his face almost angry. But then slowly, it all came back. He remembered the Beamers, the simulator, and the one-sided fight. “Hey,” said Kai, still touching his face, withdrawing the cold object as Nicolai sat up. He had been laying with his head in her lap, and although his senses were still fuzzy, he thought she’d been running her other hand through his hair. “They gave you ice?” said Nicolai, indicating the cold rag in Kai’s hand. She nodded toward the saloon’s bar. “I got it over there, in a big chest by some bottles. They also have beer on tap.” Doc, still cross-armed, stood from his stool and said, “Okay. Your pretty baby is awake. You can stop playing nurse.” Kai stared at him, and Nicolai got the impression they’d been having this argument since he’d been knocked cold.
