Anya had left Noa sleeping nearly the whole morning in her bed, calling on Hassan to check what other information he may have had from Intel. Noa had told her everything that had transpired. Anya had noticed something different about her sister and was more attentive than she usually was toward her fiery silver-haired sibling.

  They chatted, as they usually do, about subjects as wide and varied as their minds would allow, yet last night, they had spent the better part of the night devising a thousand different scenarios and paths that could be taken from then on.

  Hassan, though, had an interesting suggestion for her regarding what to do with Ally, and it intrigued her greatly. Apparently, one of the higher-ups in House Intel, who seemed particularly interested in what was going on, suggested it to him.

  She had finished her usual morning run around the family’s vast compound and the follow-up shower she always had when Noa woke up to her exiting her bathroom.

  “Good… nearly afternoon, sleepyhead.”

  Noa chuckled and stretched, a wide smile on her lips. Her hands reached over her head as she relished in the stretch, further roughing her already tussled silver hair. She slid off the bed and looked at Anya, rubbing her eyes as she purred lazily.

  “Oh… snap, you’ve finished your morning run already?”

  Anya tittered and nodded slowly. “Yep, it's that late.”

  She started picking out her outfit for the day as Noa lazily sat on the edge of the huge bed in her room.

  “So… have you spoken to Hassan yet?”

  Anya nodded.

  “He had an interesting suggestion for me…us. Someone from House Intel came up with the idea.”

  “Oh? You mean the option to stake her in her family’s front yard wasn’t received well?”

  Anya giggled and shook her head slowly, turning to face Noa and proceeded to roll her eyes melodramatically.

  “I know, right? I’d say that was a perfectly viable idea.”

  Having picked her outfit and hung it neatly on some hang points next to the entrance of her walk-in wardrobe, she sat beside Noa and patted her sister’s leg.

  “Good rest?” she asked as she tilted her head. Her eyes studied her sister intently, trying to decipher her state of mind.

  Noa smirked and cocked her right eyebrow smugly.

  “Most definitely a yes.”

  Noa’s eyes drifted toward Anya’s clothes before she leaned back on her arms. She looked at her sister and wondered why she had left her hair still quite wet. Her brows frowned, yet it seemed Anya just ignored it.

  “So, execution. I still think a few days before or a day before the graduation party for you babies. Then we could use the party itself as a nice place to get that kerb crawling son of an Augouw.”

  Anya nodded. “I tend to agree as well.”

  “But?”

  “No buts. Honestly, I was kinda skeptical House Intel was interested in this, but… huh…they offered their resources as well.”

  “Huh, that’s really interesting. It's the least they can do after piggy bagging on my gear.”

  Anya chuckled. “Ya, from what you told me? I asked Hassan about it. He said something about playing the long game, et cetera, et cetera.”

  Noa looked at her sister as her eyes narrowed. “Is this the reason why the impaling was rejected?”

  Anya couldn’t help but giggle again while she nodded as profusely as her giggle. “Yep!”

  “A part of me is relieved, though. At least I don’t have to find a new friend.”

  “Anyanas, friends don’t do what she has done.”

  Anya shrugged. “You know what I mean.”

  Noa’s right lip curved up slightly. “That’s our price, being an Essedar.”

  Anya replied with an amused scoff as she shrugged a shoulder. “Only way to do it. Life isn’t fair, and I’m ok with that price…” She turned and hugged Noa tightly.

  “At least you are around.”

  Noa squealed as Anya’s still heavily damp hair landed on her. Anya giggled as her grip tightened around her sister, and Noa tried to struggle free.

  Finally, she let go with a loud laugh and got up.

  “Okay, we better get ready then. Hassan has given us a free day today.”

  “What? No way, I should have just continued sleeping!”

  “Noa!’

  Noa chortled and winked at her auburn-haired sister before she stepped toward the door.

  “Ok, I’ll go get ready. Gear then go?”

  “Go? Where?”

  Noa inhaled, then exhaled with the same intensity. “Your friend.”

  “Ah. Well, aren’t we supposed to wait for Hassan’s approval on our options?”

  “Yes.” Noa dragged the word out before she shrugged. “And?”

  “Well… I wanna hear what he has to say about those before we…you know. I mean, he has his House Intel contacts on this.”

  Noa leaned against the door now, arms crossed, looking at her auburn-haired sister as if she were waiting for something.

  “And after what you told me and what Hassan told us. I feel that we need to tread more carefully than usual.”

  The side of Noa’s lip bent upward, and she nodded slowly.

  “Ok. True. Are you gonna call Ally then?”

  Anya’s lips pushed to the side as she shrugged, then shook her head.

  “Not yet, I guess.” She sighed heavily.

  “Can’t wait to smack her, right?”

  Anya tittered and nodded before she gave out a dramatically low growl. “If we were in lowbie town, I’d probably give her such a beating down.”

  Noa looked amused. “Oh, that's how you think it goes down in Lowbie Town?”

  Anya shrugged. “In my head, that’s canon, Ok. shush.”

  Her sibling chuckled. “Okay. So we wait, then. Get more info from Hassan, refine our plan, then take it to Hassan, then go?”

  “Mhm, sounds about right.”

  “Okay, I need to get dressed! And you should change as well.”

  Noa snickered and stuck her tongue out at Anya before she turned and headed out.

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

  The sun had slid significantly past its midway point, bathing the verandah Noa was on with its comforting rays as she leaned back on an aged yet well-maintained rattan couch. Her eyes fleeted on the shining towers of Adina city’s Commercial Zone, then slid toward the various high-density residential towers that stuck out like rectangular sore thumbs from their surrounding low-rise buildings.

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  Her mind replayed the sounds of the bustling streets, yet everything seemed so pristine from where she was.

  Her finger absentmindedly flicked at the catch on her knife’s sheath as she looked out, letting herself get lost in the familiar faint sound the catch made each time she flicked it up.

  “So, I bumped into Hassan; he was hanging out with some staff from Domestic; what a weirdo.”

  In the hierarchy of a House’s support staff, Domestic staff was considered the lowest tier, and it clashed with Anya’s vision of how prestigious being a member of a House’s Security team was for anyone fortunate enough to have earned that place.

  Anya sat next to her sister, deliberately exaggerating her landing, which shook Noa out of where her mind was.

  Noa chortled as she shrugged in reply, turning her attention to her sister.

  “He said he looked through the more viable plans we drew up and said he likes the one plan we have on approaching Ally.”

  Noa frowned.

  “Just the one?”

  “Mhm, just the one.”

  “What the fuck, why? We made at least a dozen.”

  Anya giggled as she nodded. “Right?”

  Noa sat up and leaned forward, turning her attention onto her sister.

  “So, which one?”

  “The one where we get her to throw an after-party at one of their beach houses.”

  Noa’s brows frowned. “Night of grad party then?”

  “Mhm, those three other girls who are also paying the digger off will be there as well. Not that that matters any.”

  Noa shrugged as she shook her head. “I don’t get it, how are we supposed to get the digger to stop by if we are inviting the CP there? Did they confirm the connection? And, wouldn’t it be a tough sell to Ally?”

  Anya responded with her own shrug.

  “I can get her to throw the party; I am after all, in the committee for grad stuff. On Hassan, apparently, they …, House Intel are very interested in getting that CP; who she most probably is wel…” Anya cringed as she felt a shiver run down her spine, visibly displaying her disgust.

  Noa scoffed. “Are they implying that the CPs will get the digger?”

  Anya bopped her head. “Mhm, I think it makes sense, though. Digger wasn’t working on his own, and the CP are just collecting on both sides…”

  “Plus!” she continued. “It's a good win as they make a bust on not only CPs trying to flex in The Bowels; they also get to chase away the main supplier of controlled stuff to High Rise kids.”

  “Hmph, I suppose.” Noa leaned back, arms crossing.

  “What about Ally, though? Did he… ‘suggest’ anything?”

  Anya smirked. “It’s our call. I kinda liked the idea you suggested, which is so not Noa of you.” She nudged her sister with her knee as she chuckled.

  Noa’s eyebrow rose as she grinned. “It’s a good one though, right?”

  “Heh, defo on that!”

  Anya leaned back suddenly, her voluminous auburn hair fluffing up.

  “Hassan said that the digger is gonna be severely punished.” She visibly shook as she said that.

  “Hmm? In what way?”

  “Non-High Rise diggers meddling with any High Rise resident get slapped with the full force of the law. No leniency.”

  Noa turned her head, eyes wide.

  “You mean…”

  Anya nodded slowly. “Mhm, removal of any implants they have on their person. Then, installment of blockers so that their body won’t ever be able to take in any more implants or any performance-enhancing tech. In addition to prison time.”

  “Whew, harsh.”

  Anya chuckled. “Petons shouldn’t play where they don’t belong. Although, High Rise diggers get it worse, though, well, for unsanctioned activities.”

  “True. Death penalty.”

  “Mhmm.”

  They stayed slumped back on the couch, silently taking in the sky above them, with the occasional distant sound of activity from the Essedar house compound. This was the sound they grew up with. Peace and relative quiet, the only significant noise that sometimes broke it, came from the Security Complex.

  Anya suddenly sat up again, rocking the couch, chuckling when Noa glared at her with a somewhat annoyed face.

  Her sister beamed. “At least I get to keep Ally.”

  “She’s not your friend, babe; not after what she’s done to you, to her House… and she is defo not a pet.”

  “I know that!” Anya squealed out in reply, giggling.

  “But?”

  Anya shrugged. “I dunno. Just a feeling. She is somewhat of a friend, to a point. And it feels good, you know.”

  “No?”

  “She’s gonna owe me big time. What she’s done? That’s a defo path to High Rise banishment for her if not her whole family.”

  Noa scoffed at the thought, then nodded slowly. “True, she’s gonna owe you way big.”

  “I’m still gonna smack her, though. I mean, is that why she hasn’t been seeing anyone?”

  Noa frowned. “Huh? Since when do you care?”

  “I don’t. But wow, if you need it, at least get someone from High Rise. There are more than a few attractive boys in SEHIL.”

  “Heh, well, those types of relationships aren’t that much of a priority for them, just like any other kid in High Rise.”

  Anya’s lip scrunched as she shrugged, her mind pondering on what Noa said. “True, I guess. I hear Lowbies are all about it. Not just in Adina, throughout the Dominion.”

  “Heh, someone has to populate the country.”

  “Mhm, I’m gonna bet it's something they keep tabs on too. The population numbers, I mean.”

  “Yep, defo on that.”

  “You wanna do some training? We have free time; I kinda wanna test out some settings for my long gun.”

  Noa inhaled deeply and held it before exhaling and shrugging. “Sure. Maybe I can show you how the new knife Hassan gave me cuts through plate.”

  “No way!”

  “Yes, yes, it does,” Noa replied with a smug grin as she got up, and her head nodded toward her sister to follow.

  “Oh, and, like it or not, I think you should call Ally to get the ball rolling on the party. Everything has to seem normal. You know, no rushing.”

  Anya nodded in agreement and winked. “Defo on that.”

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

  The call would have been like any other call between the two since they started befriending each other when they were young teenagers. Yet this time, Anya insisted they do the conversation via vid-call.

  Anya had exchanged the usual pleasantries, careful to hide any outward emotion she may have about her closest friend in SEHIL after everything that had been uncovered. Yet she couldn’t keep it all subdued, as her tone and demeanor were noticeably icier than usual toward her friend.

  As per what was preplanned, she had opened up to Ally about the party.

  “But you’re asking me to ask my father to keep the biggest one for our party, Anya!”

  “So? You guys have more than one beach property.”

  “Yes, but…” She looked at Anya; even though it was via camera and Anya was on the other end of the screen she was looking at, she could feel her friend’s eyes burning a hole into her skull.

  “But?” Anya leaned forward, her eyes unblinking, an expectant look on her face.

  Ally sighed and pursed her lips as she closed her eyes and dipped her chin slowly.

  “I guess…”

  “Tell them it's a once-in-a-lifetime thing for the batch, and they can have a more cozy time with their party in one of the smaller places.” She said dismissively.

  Ally sighed again and nodded in agreement. “Hmm, that does sound good. Yes, that sounds doable.”

  “Of course it is, but can you do it? On time? The committee needs to submit plans for the party for approval.”

  Ally looked at Anya wide-eyed.

  “What?”

  “I.. um... Nothing... It’s just that.”

  Anya exhaled slowly. “Listen, Ally. Regardless of who we are or who we think we are, we are still SEHIL students. That means we must do it by the numbers according to SEHIL regulations. I don’t have to tell you this… do I?”

  Ally shook her head. Anya’s tone was noticeably different; she was not as cold as she’d known Anya could be, but definitely not as warm as usual.

  “Daze then. I will tally this as done and forward you the itinerary for the party, which will be the same as what will be submitted. Please pay heed to the budgeted timings of guests' arrival, food prep, et cetera et cetera… Got it?”

  “Yes.”

  “Ally, do you get it? If you need something tweaked, message me.”

  Ally nodded profusely. “Yes, I understand.”

  “Daze, buzz me when done, please. No later than tomorrow afternoon. Anything else?”

  Ally could feel tears welling up in her eyes; her heart felt like it was being run through a masher as she bit her lip. Questions arose in her mind. She knew that, of all things, showing the emotion she could feel growing inside her would make it worse when Anya was in one of her moods, and she knew that her friend was in one of those, at the very least.

  “I…” She bit her lip again as she felt her voice cracking.

  “What issit Ally?”

  She shook her head. “Nothing, I understand, it will get done.”

  Anya finally gave a hint of a smile on the screen. “Daze. I knew I could count on your efficiency, its why I made sure you got the post.”

  Ally smiled and bobbed her head. “You can always count on me.”

  Her friend glared at her silently. It felt like it only enlarged that hole in her skull.

  “Good. I look forward to this. Stay calm, Ally.”

  “You too.”

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