‘You discover something new every day, I guess.’

  Noa smirked as she mused. She was still tasting the chemicals in the dish she had tried and wondered if they would come back later to haunt her stomach.

  It’s been a couple of hours now since she arrived at the corner where the report confirmed the sighting of her query, and she was growing restless. Having decided to walk around the area and scout routes.

  Main streets that gave way to back alleys, the area seemed to get progressively dirtier and stinkier the farther away one moved from the main streets; as Noa pondered on that, her mind started to come up with a calculation formula for the rate of progressive dirtiness, while her eyes kept a steady scan of the area she faced.

  She noted that she hadn’t seen a single CP patrol in the area, in spite of what was briefed to her about the high probability that she might encounter more of them in the area.

  A man with a red jacket walked past, and she immediately recognized him. Her mind recalled the exact same person walking in her line of sight, three sightings in the past hour. An uneasy feeling crept up as she kept her face looking ahead, yet her eyes trailed him, safely hidden behind the sunglasses she had on.

  “Young lady no want more?” A voice suddenly broke into her revelry.

  She turned and looked at the voice's owner, an old man who wore a strikingly clean visor that kept his thinning hair away from his face.

  She shook her head as she gave him a crooked smile. “No more, thank you. I’m rather full as it is.”

  She leaned back against the wall and looked around. The graveyard shift workers had left at the same time the morning shift workers arrived, and now the streets were relatively empty again.

  “You waiting for fren?” The old man asked again.

  This raised her curiosity, and she straightened up and took a few steps to the small window counter separating the interior of the man’s small streetside eatery from the sidewalk.

  “Do I look like I’m waiting for someone?”

  The old man smirked and nodded slowly. “Is a bit obvious.”

  She huffed softly and smiled. ‘Damn, Noa, if some rando oldie busted you, this definitely needs work.’ Her mind's voice reprimanded at her.

  Noa bit the side of her lip as her mind conversed with itself before she shrugged and leaned onto the counter.

  “Well, I’m looking for a friend of mine, maybe you know her?”

  He shrugged. “Maybe?”

  She huffed and chuckled softly. “Compensation certain.”

  He smiled and shook his head slowly. “You young people always think is about YeeBee, is not. If …”

  He paused, looking for the word before continuing. “... anybody know I tell an outsider about a local, it won’t be money I worry about.”

  She returned the smile. “She’s not a local.”

  “Haih! That I can help, yes.” He exclaimed, showing his badly maintained teeth in a generous smile.

  Noa dug into a pocket and took out a small rectangular object the size of her hand. She tapped the screen, and a photo of Ally in an animated loop started playing on it.

  “You’ve seen her?”

  He smiled wide. “Ah, little blonde girl, yes. She sure not from here. Too clean, smell nice, like you.”

  “Mhm, tell me more?”

  He looked around as if checking the area before he leaned in closer.

  “She with some baddies here. Rough people…um crazy… You know? Not good for neighborhood.”

  “Okay. When?”

  He shrugged. “Many time. She usually go to bar there.”

  He bopped his head, using his chin to point in a direction directly behind Noa, who turned to look, then cocked her head in the same direction.

  “That one?”

  “Yes.”

  She smiled and nodded.

  “Thank you.”

  He nodded enthusiastically. “If you want more noodle, come back. I give you special priy.”

  Noa dug into her pocket and produced a small stick the size of a fingernail before she slid it onto the counter.

  “I know you weren’t looking to get YeeBees, but this is a thank you. And I wasn’t here.”

  “A Preedi girl like you who talks to me and eats at my place? No one believe me.” The old man guffawed, smiled, and, with a thankful face, accepted the payment.

  Noa chuckled and dipped her chin at him before she spun around. She looked around the area for possible cameras that could have a good line to the bar’s entrance. And she needed to be more mobile.

  She had only taken a few steps before she saw her. It wasn’t her blonde hair that drew Noa’s attention but the guy she was with. He was wearing a uniform that said he was a member of the Civil Authority’s City Police.

  She waited, lowering her head slightly, pretending to pay attention to the rectangular tablet in her hand. Her eyes were trained on Ally and the man between the top of her wraparound sunglasses and the visor of her cap.

  They seemed to be talking animatedly before they entered the bar, and Noa immediately made a call.

  “Noa? Everything daze?” Hassan’s voice immediately came over the line, concern in his tone.

  “Daze. Did you know the guy she was seeing was a CP?”

  “CP? Nope. But this is interesting. Can you record the tailing? CPs don't use transport in that area. They park their viks in designated locations to keep them secure. Patrols are foot.”

  “Yea, about that. I’ve been here about two hours, and I haven’t seen one, not one.”

  “Ok. Anything else?”

  “Talked to a local. And he said something interesting.”

  She could hear Hassan chuckling hard, which sounded more like he was trying not to laugh.

  “What’s so funny?”

  “You… spoke to a local?”

  “Yea? And?”

  Hassan seemed highly amused. “Never mind, later. What did this local say?”

  “He called them bad, rough people. Even used crazy.”

  “Hmm. You sure it wasn’t for lack of vocab? A lot of people in New Tuman aren’t known for their language skills.”

  “I noticed, and no, didn’t seem like it.”

  “Ok. I’ll press Intel.”

  Noa nodded. “Anything else?”

  “Turns out that rumor is true then… this changes things.”

  She smirked. “You think?”

  “Listen close. CP aren’t known to like High Rise types like you. And yes, they will be able to tell where you’re from. Their soft will pick you up faster. CP iden soft bypasses the soft we have on you that blocks ID recognition; you’d need soft that requires implants or hardware modules to have total iden read blocking. High Rise profiles are always flagged high prio in their systems due to their importance in the quad-city area.”

  She bopped her chin. “Noted. Anything else?”

  “I’m gonna flag this recon run a free action mission. And I’m adding a sanctioned action note to it as well.”

  Noa’s brows frowned. She knew what that meant.

  “Won’t taking out CP personnel raise eyebrows?”

  “Not if they are engaged in sus activities. Based on what you told me about what that local said, I’d bet my mil grade chromes it's what they are up to there. As far as rules between the High Houses go, a sanctioned High Rise action can treat CPs engaged in sus activities as criminals. It’s never really been used. But it is there.”

  Noa nodded. “Copy. Thank you.”

  “I’m covering my ass as much as yours.”

  She scoffed.

  “I don’t think you really appreciate what this means, Noa.”

  “No?” She looked around, then snuck toward an alley, leaning against it before she continued,

  “...I think I need you to tell me.”

  “Fine…” There was a long pause before he continued.

  “The High Houses of Adina City have a lot of vested interest in New Tuman in general, and specifically regarding the district's manufacturing power. It’s frowned upon, almost a crime, if any House assets are found there carrying out a House mission without proper docs. And I mean with physical copy backup at Council building.”

  “You mean, this is illegal?”

  “It’s not… illegal in the usual sense. No set rule says we can’t have House Intel or Security assets there. Every House will at times have someone visiting the area, from the more… economically inclined divisions and House Intel or Security usually go with them to provide escort.”

  Noa nodded. “But?”.

  Hassan continued. “But these are very transparent and on-the-table visits. Our lil mission isn’t.”

  Noa did a double take; this didn’t make sense.

  “Isn’t the mission upgraded to sanctioned?”

  Yet another long pause from Hassan before he replied.

  “By our House, Essedar. Not by the council.”

  She rolled her eyes.

  “Noa. The peace between the High Houses is a precarious balancing act. If one is viewed as trying to tip the balance in their favor. We may have another War of Rebirth on our hands.

  Noa frowned; she had always disliked placating people. And this was just that.

  “Ok, fine…another thing. I haven’t seen any gang affiliates here. I know it's a large area, and I’ve only been in a small part of it, but I haven’t seen any. What you said before, it seems to check out.”

  “Fuck.” Hassan whispered to himself.

  “What?”

  “I’ve seen this; I think I get what going on. Stupid, I should have known. They’re using their power as civil servants upholding peace not just for the city, but also for their own personal interests.”

  “As in?”

  Hassan sighed on his end of the call.”They are flexing full control over the area. Either you submit to what we say, or we close you down… that sort of thing.”

  “What are you saying, exactly.”

  “I don’t wanna sound paranoid, but don’t get caught or even discovered. What you are saying tells me that they will arrest you without basis if you get caught.”

  Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

  “Are you serious? I’m a High House family member.”

  “It won’t matter. Discovery of your presence there, being a direct family member of House Essedar, will bring dire consequences not only to you and me but to the House as well if word gets to the other Houses.”

  Her mind and heart raced. She could feel a slight dread clawing its way up, yet funnily enough, it was mixed with a tinge of excitement.

  “You mean, as a High House family member, I can’t just visit this area?”

  “Not without official docs, nope. That will be viewed as an even worse affront to the other High Houses.”

  “So… you’re saying if that happens, I may have to engage?”

  There was a long pause before he replied. “Yes. Use of force is authorized if you have been discovered. CP personnel upload all their cam footage of the day at the end of their shifts. And we can’t have them do that.”

  Noa’s mind raced. From what she learned, CP personnel were all issued cameras with their body armor, and some plainclothes personnel had personal HUDs synced with whatever hardware stored camera footage.

  “Are you saying what I’m hearing you’re saying?”

  “Yes Noa. That’s a kill order. If that happens, make sure to retrieve or destroy the hardware and any potential recording implants they may have. The shock from your baton is sufficient for that.”

  Her heart started beating faster. She hadn’t properly appreciated the depth of what she had to go through on this mission; it was supposed to be an easy-tailing, no-contact run.

  “Noa? Acknowledge receipt.”

  She felt her mouth dry up and licked her lips as she shook her head to bring herself out of her mind.

  “Yes, I hear you. Order acknowledged.”

  “It’s us or them, Noa. Take it that way.”

  “Yes, Hassan. I understand.”

  “Mission params still stay, tailing, Noa. No contact is still prime.”

  “I remember.”

  “I mean it. If anything bad is about to happen. Try and de-escalate first before you do anything.”

  “Copy.”

  “Noa, I need to know you understand me on this.”

  She exhaled heavily. “Yes, Hassan, I understand.”

  “Good. Stay safe.”

  When the call ended, she felt more alive. For some reason, the knowledge that she might have to do more than just tailing pumped her adrenaline more than before. She slid her hand into another pocket in her jacket lining and gripped the vials she had brought with her. The feeling that she had combat sims at hand reassured her.

  She scanned the area again, her eyes noting the stores before she decided on one to go to.

  ‘A digger right about now would be of much help.’ Her mind mused as she walked over to the store, keeping the bar’s entrance in her line of sight. She paused as she gripped the door’s handle.

  She took a deep breath, her mind steeling as she prepared herself for what she was about to do. She set aside what she had just heard from Hassan and let out a strong exhale. Interacting with people was never her strong suit, and she swore to herself it was already at a limit today.

  ‘Guess that’s why he sent you on this mission, eh.’ Her mind interrupted her thoughts again, which made her scoff.

  “Builds character,” she whispered dryly before pulling the door.

  Noa walked in and saw a young girl about Anya’s age and an older lady in the middle of a conversation. Then she turned to look at what the place had for sale, pretending to look at the wares displayed in the store.

  Rows of clothes were on hangars on the walls, while more were folded on counters. Strangely colored mannequin holograms were placed at what seemed regular intervals, moving in animated poses to show off how some of the selection would look when worn.

  “Hello, miss! Welcome to…” The girl paused as she tapped the clear wraparound lenses she had on.

  “What’s the matter?” The older lady addressed her younger counterpart, who had slid her lenses and was turning them around in her hand, muttering something about it not working.

  Noa stepped closer, stopping them in mid-discussion.

  “Um, young lady. I don’t know if we can serve you; your ID isn’t coming up.”

  Noa’s brows frowned. “Oh really? I’m sorry I had a soft upgrade the other day; it seems to keep glitching.”

  The old lady looked at Noa sideways as she cocked her head to the side, her eyes narrowing.

  Noa smiled pleasantly and shrugged. “You can call my soft guy if you want?”

  The old lady smiled and shook her head. “No need. This isn’t the first time. What can we do you for?”

  Noa didn’t answer immediately; instead, she looked around the interior, noting the cameras and their angles.

  “Do those work?” Her finger motioned toward one of the cameras that was above the older lady, who looked back at where she was motioning toward.

  Her eyes narrowed again. “Why? Are you with the CA?”

  Noa chuckled. “Oh goodness, do I look like I work with the CA? I hope not; have you seen what those people wear to work?”

  This made the younger girl giggle, which was hushed quickly by the older woman.

  The older woman kept her narrowed eyes trained on Noa. “What is this about?”

  Noa looked at the younger girl and then back at the older woman, who was leaning on the counter. She lowered her voice.

  “Listen, I’m Aibeah Seinner. I get paid to track runaways, and my contact told me that one of the ones I’m tracking for a client has been seen in this area, specifically this street around this block.”

  The older woman’s eyes seemed to light up when Noa explained herself. But she tried to hide it as she kept her eyes narrowed. “And?”

  Noa shrugged. “And, you seemed like a decent store that decent people…”

  The old woman scoffed and interrupted her. “What’s left of them, you mean.”

  Noa smiled back at her and nodded slowly. “Yes, sadly. Anyway, I wondered if you would allow me the use your cameras. One is enough if you can’t spare.”

  The younger girl was silent, her eyes focused on Noa and the older woman, who continued to stare daggers at Noa.

  Noa’s mind was screaming. She had to actively hold herself back as all she wanted to do at that moment was to smack that look out of that woman’s face.

  “Compensated, of course,” Noa added when the older woman stayed silent and kept her stare.

  Her stare and straight lips turned into a more pleasant smile and demeanor when she heard that.

  “Why didn’t you start with that? I’m Nelly, by the way.”

  Noa dipped her chin. “So… I can have access?”

  “Not so fast,” Nelly said curtly, two of her fingers rubbing against each other as a sign for Noa to cough up what she mentioned.

  Noa smiled and dug out a dark, fingernail-sized stick. Two small luminous lines crossed the entirety of the stick, denoting the amount they held as Noa rocked it in her hand.

  The older woman smiled broadly and nodded, then stepped back from the counter, moving one hand to the side.

  “The camera room is behind that door.”

  Noa smiled. Her mind wondered how hard it would be to cut through all the fat on this Nelly.

  “Daze. Thank you, " she said as she placed the dark stick on the countertop before slipping past the younger girl and then Nelly.

  “Wait.” The younger girl suddenly spoke.

  Noa turned, and an eyebrow rose as she looked at her. “Yes?”

  “Your outfit, where did you get it?”

  ‘Mil grade boots, pants, and top with my fav riding jacket that you won’t be able to get anywhere in lowbie town.’ Her head voice replied.

  “Oh, this? I got it as a gift from a client. It's vogue, right?”

  The younger girl giggled and nodded enthusiastically. “Very! Must totally be High Rise made. Daze cloth and cut! And how it's all put together, so good.”

  Noa winked at her without saying a word before she turned around and entered their camera room.

  She sat down on the only chair in the dimly lit room. The dust over everything hinted at how much attention was paid to everything inside it.

  Noa exhaled and leaned back. She could feel the amount of energy she had to expand in that quick interaction she made, and she was thankful that it was done for now, silently praying that there wouldn’t be much more like that today.

  Her hand felt for the slot she knew was there as it glided on one of the screens in the room that displayed the street with the bar entrance. A relieved smile etched her lips when her fingers found the slot exactly where she thought it would be.

  The stick she slid into the slot blinked immediately, and a small screen showing the same view appeared on the top left corner of her HUD.

  Satisfied, she dug out a small rectangular screen from her pocket and tapped on it. After setting the stick to self-wipe after a set amount of time, she sat up and headed to where the two were. They were engaged again in deep discussion and immediately went quiet when she walked in.

  Nelly was still giving Noa the side-eye. Noa’s hands slid into the pockets of her pants as she felt the urge to smack the older woman for no other reason than what felt like an uncalled-for attitude toward her.

  She walked past the two, then spun and smiled, “Thanks.” She pushed the door with her shoulder before stepping out into the street's heat again.

  —-----------------------------------------------

  Nearly two hours passed, filled with yet another bowl of soup with noodles from the old man with the broken accent before Ally appeared on the camera view that Noa had hitched on.

  She had tried to find an alternative entrance into the bar, but the only other exit from the low building was via a mechanical steel flap that would only fit a small labor bot that utilized rails. Ally was small, but she wasn’t that small.

  Finally the blonde locks that yelled Ally appeared from out of the bar. From the way she was walking, Noa could guess how much she consumed, probably added with drugs, if her knowledge of some SEHIL students in Anya’s batch was true.

  She made sure to start recording via the temporary HUD she wore over her eyes as she rounded the corner she had decided to hang out at and started walking. She kept a distance to allow her to keep Ally and her companion in her line of sight, yet nowhere close for them to even feel her tail.

  “Hassan, update. I have visual.”

  “Good. Make sure to hang back. Remember what we talked about.”

  She nodded curtly, mindful of their pace and her own. She felt thankful that she could easily see the couple as she weaved through the crowd of pedestrians on the sidewalk.

  Some time passed as the streets and the crowd of pedestrians progressively grew. The streets were better maintained and wider here - with broader sidewalks, and signs showed that it was one of the main streets in New Tuman that connected with the two main thoroughfares that snaked around the quad-cities.

  Every building front seemed like it had been taken from a template and tweaked to suit its user. Large, garishly colored signs bore the names of the stores they were placed for and seemed as numerous as the shops they announced, perhaps even more.

  A multitude of animated holo boards advertised various wares that people could buy, from wholesome household appliances to images—animated or otherwise—of places that dealt in the trade of carnal pleasure or its accessories.

  The place was in stark contrast to the area where she had walked from. Announcements from the boards mixed with music that blared from different sources, as well as the noise of the throng of people around. It was a harsh riot of noise to Noa, one that she didn’t find pleasant at all.

  The couple stopped and turned before climbing a short flight of stairs into a low-rise structure that looked like a residential building. Noa paused, turning her head as she scanned for any possible location that would afford her a view of the entrance without drawing attention.

  She finally spotted a sign for a cafe and noted an alley right next to it, which would help her if she needed to beat a hasty retreat. Trying to act casual, she started bruskly walking toward it, her mind filled with the possibilities of what Hassan had told her when she bumped into another pedestrian who stopped her steps right in front of the back alley entrance she had noted.

  A burly man suddenly stepped to her side and roughly pushed her deeper into the side alley. She was strong, but the man was much larger and felt much stronger than her. She stumbled back for a bit before finding her balance again. Noa glared at him, getting a smug grin from him as he talked to someone on his communicator.

  The corner of her vision picked up movement, the gait different from a regular pedestrian's. She darted a look over her shoulder, making sure it was clear, before stepping back and heading deeper into the alley toward what she noted was a larger space between the backs of the blocks' buildings.

  As she reached there, her body instinctively moved to a ready stance.

  The man who shoved her chuckled, a sardonic grin on his lips as he closed in on Noa.

  “Lookit, this lil girl, all ready to get rough. You like getting rough wit the CP lil girl?” He cocked his head toward her while he looked at his two friends who had just appeared.

  ‘Plainclothes, dammit. Dumb one, Noa.’ Her mind piped in as she picked out one of the stims she was carrying with her.

  “Stop her! She’s pumping up!” One of them yelled, and the other rushed toward her.

  She slammed the vial into the side of her hip as she dodged his lunge.

  She raised a hand up. “Back up! I don’t wanna do what I will do if you continue this course of action.”

  One of them, who wore a garish red fake leather jacket over his clothes, laughed out loud. “Are you serious? Who do you think you are? We’re CP blud, get on your knees, hands behind your head. Fuckin’ High Rise cunts thinking they run the place.”

  His companions chuckled while one replied. “They do. But this is CP turf, blud. None of your daddy’s people here.”

  Noa smirked in response. Her mind cleared of all concern. She liked that these were actually trained fighters.

  Her senses felt alive as she kept all three within her vision. The man in the red jacket and the big man were coaxing the third man, who wore the same jacket as the red jacket but in black, to attack her.

  He stepped closer, and his hand drew back to hit Noa with a baton. She didn’t wait for the return swing and moved in faster than any of them had anticipated. The heel of her palm landed squarely on his chin, and her other hand swiftly followed with an equally quick strike to his throat.

  The man crumbled onto his knees, gagging as he grasped his throat before Noa kicked his face, the force sending him head-first to the ground.

  “Oh, this is gonna be fun.” The burly man said as he moved to the side, while his companion did the same in an opposite direction.

  Noa lunged toward the smaller of the two. Her initial attack to his face was skillfully parried before her other hand hit hard just below his chest, followed by another equally fast and strong hit to his rib. The man had a knife in his right hand and slashed weakly at her as he stumbled.

  She easily dodged and slapped it away with one hand while her other hand deftly moved to her belt and pulled at the hanging baton there, instantly smashing one end against his chest, right between his ribs. He gasped and coughed before Noa stepped closer, and her elbow found his cheekbone, sending him down on the ground.

  The burly man was almost on her. His large hands swung on either side of her as if about to hug her. She immediately dropped to one knee as his arms hugged the air, and she spun, slamming the baton between his legs, eliciting a cry of pain from him.

  As he gripped at the pain between his legs, Noa kicked his chin, and he flew back, crashing on the ground before she stepped back.

  “Recordings. Delete them, now!” she cried out as her mind rebelled against what she was saying. This was not what Hassan had told her to do.

  The burly man was coughing, yet he managed a hoarse chuckle.

  “We’re gonna make you and your family pay for that once we’re through with you.”

  Only then did she realize the soft blue glow in one of his eyes as he nodded to himself. He was still on his communicator.

  A sudden surge of urgency gripped her, and she found herself stepping up to him, the black dagger in her left hand, its blade already powered up as she stabbed forward, only to sink it into his thick arm.

  He cried out in pain, a look of shock on his face as he was surprised at how the blade in her hand had easily cut through the armor on his forearm. It turned to fear as Noa withdrew it.

  He tried to get up from his knee before Noa’s booted foot crashed into his face, sending him on his back, dazed.

  “No, wait!!” He screamed out as Noa lunged at him, her knife finding its mark as it stabbed and sliced at his exposed, thick neck.

  She spun around; the one she had hit on the neck was still on the ground while the other was struggling to get up.

  She walked up behind the one trying to get back up and gripped the man’s hair before jerking it back and up. The edge of her knife pressed and moved against his now exposed neck.

  “No one threatens my family, especially not vile Lokhs like you.”