Lefevbre was talking to Sawyer on the comms. Apparently, the CP member they were tasked to apprehend gave up without a fight.

  “They’re bringing him back to High Rise. Intel guys should be arriving soon.” He walked over to a sitting Noa, who was leaning back on the short steps that led to the front entrance of the building they were just in.

  He sat down at the other side of the doorway from her, a boot nudging her outstretched leg, dragging her away from whatever was occupying her mind.

  “You alright? Fine job, by the way.” He smiled, almost with pride, at her as he fished out a white stick from a box in his chest pocket.

  Noa smirked at him, scoffing softly while an eyebrow rose.

  “Think so? Felt kinda messy to me.”

  He took a drag of the cigarette he just took out and leaned back, resting his arms on his knees as he let out the smoke.

  “You did really well. Improvising on the fly like that. How did you know the walls would give?”

  She shrugged. “I took an elective course; had to do with materials. Recognized the walls having the same characteristics.” She replied nonchalantly.

  He turned, his face surprised. “Really?”

  Noa chuckled and nodded, a wide grin on her lips.

  “One of the more interesting engineering classes we had a choice to take as an elective was about building materials, and I had to work my ass off trying to mold that same material they use on apartment walls in this part of the city. I remembered it very well…So, I immediately recognized the same texture and soundproofing and put two and two together.”

  His eye squinted as he studied her relaxed face.

  “Heh, not bad. You majored in engineering?”

  She nodded. “Electrical and Mechanical.”

  He bopped his head as he took another drag of his cigarette.

  Noa turned to him. “Aren’t House personnel eligible to sign up for courses?”

  He looked at Noa, his face showing his surprise at the question. Then he nodded slowly.

  “I’m bad with numbers, at least, not good enough to delve deeper into engineering stuff...”

  Rogers suddenly appeared between them, standing in the doorway.

  “I went through the digger’s room. Messy, but filled with gems.”

  He fell silent and looked up, an imaginary line toward where they had engaged the robots.

  “Retrieved Turner’s recording implant. Don’t know if it made a transfer back to HQ since we killed our comms.”

  Lefevbre nodded solemnly. The hurt was palpable on his face, and he shook his head. A member of his High House was here, and he couldn’t show that he was too deeply phased by the loss.

  “Good.” Was all he could muster, replying as Rogers sat down between him and Noa.

  “Hey, Noa.” He nodded to her, who responded back with the same.

  Then he brought his hand up to pluck the cigarette from Lefevbre’s hand before taking a deep drag of it before he leaned back on his hands.

  “How long ‘til they get here?”

  “Why? You have a hot date waiting?” Lefevbre shot back.

  “Yeah, the shower.”

  Noa’s eyes fleeted over the two of them as they started bantering with each other, and her thoughts brought her back to Anya, wondering how her side of the mission went. No comms were to be had between the two separate parties before the all-clear was given, and the all-clear wasn’t given yet.

  She closed her eyes and leaned back comfortably against the doorway’s frame. ‘Comfortable,’ she chuckled inwardly, thinking of the choice words Anya would have if the only choice for her to sit was on the door landing of some lowbie apartment complex.

  Her mind tussled with itself. Anya’s words echoed in her mind. If she followed through with her decision to get into the merc game, she knew there was a high chance that Anya would somehow find a way to follow her into it.

  Part of her welcomed it, yet part of her didn’t quite sit still with it. She knew well of her sister’s likes and dislikes and how comfortable she was where she was. And that feeling crept up inside her again. She had been having it ever since she could see the end of her time in SEHIL coming around the corner.

  Despite of everything she had growing up in the Essedar High Rise, there was something that had always nagged her in the back of her mind. She couldn’t quite put a finger on it, and it would disappear just as soon as it came up, but it was always there.

  A gentle touch and then rocking of her shoulder brought her back. She opened her eyes to see Lefevbre looking down at her.

  “Hey, damn, you really get deep into your head, don’t you?”

  She smirked and shrugged. “Only at select times. What’s up?”

  “Intel peeps are here; we’re handing the digger over, then heading back to compound for debrief.”

  She nodded and stood up, inadvertently demonstrating her flexibility and fitness in one smooth and swift motion.

  Lefevbre cocked an eyebrow at the display and smiled.

  “Can you drop me off where Anya is?” She looked at him with an expectant face.

  He hesitated for a moment before he shook his shoulders and nodded.

  “Sure.”

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

  Unbelievably, the party continued while Anya’s security detail subdued the two other CPs at the house.

  Anya had stayed defiantly by Ally’s side, watching with cold disregard yet with smug satisfaction when they took Joe’s wounded body away.

  Ally was sitting on the long, L-shaped kitchen counter, sipping on a mug of tea.

  Anya smiled as she tapped her friend’s thigh.

  “That smells good; which tea issit?”

  Ally, whose make-up was in a mess, smiled warmly at Anya.

  “It's from the can you gave me.”

  Anya smiled. “Ah, oh, that's really good tea.”

  Ally nodded and took another small sip from her mug. “The best.”

  “How are you feeling? Tell me truthfully.”

  Ally chuckled nervously as she coddled the mug in her hands. “Relieved, in a big way. Scared a bit?” Her lips dropped as she tried to think of ways to describe it.

  Then she looked at Anya as if wanting to ask something yet was afraid to.

  Her redheaded friend leaned against the counter, an eyebrow raised.

  “You wanna ask something? What are you waiting for? Ask.”

  “So… what happens now? I mean… I didn’t have a choice, you know. And…”

  Anya waved a hand as if telling her to stop, which she did.

  Her hand moved, peeling the mug from Ally’s hand. She gently placed it to the side before clasping Ally’s dainty hand between hers.

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

  “Ally. When have you ever had to worry about anything? Don’t count what these guys made you do.”

  Ally took the question seriously, her eyes moving as she tried to recall the times she had been in trouble - minor or otherwise, then looked back at Anya with a smile and shrug.

  “Exactly. It’s all been done. Do you know me ever to make a move without a plan?”

  Ally shook her head. Anya had all her attention now.

  She winked at Ally before continuing.

  “Now, we’ll have to bring you to Essedar House, get a debrief with…” House intel, Anya’s mind piped in, but it wasn’t what came out of her lips. “...my House assets.”

  “We’ll make sure that neither you nor your family will bear any responsibility for this.”

  Ally was silent. She nodded profusely, leaning on every word that Anya was telling her.

  “So…”

  “So, you are graduating with flying colors AND a clean slate, daze, right?” Anya smiled wide.

  Ally giggled, bopping her head up and down as she wiped the lines of tears on her cheeks, which were drying up.

  She looked at Anya. Her friend didn’t need to say or even hint at it. She reminded herself this came with a price, but deep down, she knew that whatever the price was, Anya wouldn’t risk her unnecessarily.

  It didn’t matter that she was the daughter of another High House and not her patron House to which her family owed their plathead status. It only mattered to her that she was back in the good books of her redheaded friend.

  “Now, you have a choice to either clean up your face or go debrief…” Anya leaned back and crossed her arms as she looked at Ally, “... like this.”

  Ally chuckled, “How about the party?”

  Anya shrugged. “I’ll assign a couple of the men to look over it. Let them have their night?”

  Ally smiled, nodding as her lips pressed together into a smile.

  Her communicator buzzed, and she answered.

  “Anya here.”

  “Miss Essedar, your sister is here, shall I direct her to your current?”

  “Yes, please.”

  She turned to Ally and squeezed her shoulder assuringly.

  “Now go. I’ll wait here.”

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

  Noa sauntered into the kitchen, a wide smile on her face when she saw her sister, who was sipping on a mug of her own, looking out toward the darkness of the ocean from the kitchen window.

  “Mmm, I could smell the Oolong from the door.”

  Anya turned as she nearly flung the mug from her hand. “Noakins!” she squealed in delight before she placed the mug down.

  They embraced tightly like they always do, basking in each other’s presence before tearing themselves apart.

  “So? How did it go?”

  “Went vogue. Didn’t take him out though; secondary ob was to take him alive.”

  Anya playfully acted disappointed before she giggled and nodded, her mind giving her the reasoning behind an order like that.

  “Better then.”

  “I know, right?”

  Noa picked out a berry from a nearby tray and tossed it skillfully into her mouth as she looked around. Part of the kitchen was a mess, and there was blood on the floor.

  “Trouble?” She asked, not caring how stupid the question may seem.

  Anya turned and pulled the bare back of her dress to the side, enough for Noa to see the bruise.

  Noa’s eyebrow rose as she cocked her head.

  “Kerb CP tried to take me.”

  Noa looked back at the blood on the floor, then back at her sister.

  She scoffed lightly. “Served him right, then.”.

  “See, this is why I definitely made the right choice in specialising in long guns,” Anya said as she fed herself another berry from the same plate Noa had taken hers from.

  Noa chuckled, half knowing what was coming next.

  “All that blood, all that peton blood.” Anya’s face scrunched up as she half-pretended to shudder.

  Noa just smiled back, stifling a laugh. “I know, vile, right?”

  “Ugh, effing eff, yes.”

  Noa looked around. “Where’s your friend?”

  “Noakins, her name is Ally.”

  “Ally, where is Ally?”

  “She’s getting herself decent.”

  “How’s the party? I’m quite surprised it just went on. I’d have thought this was prime drama.”

  Anya giggled as she shook her head. “No one came in. I myself couldn’t hear the pitiful sound the gun makes when firing..” she shrugged.

  “Heh, well, that’s what it was made for.”

  “Well timed, though; I had spent a lot of effort in telling peeps not to come in before that.”

  Ally entered, her mouth opening to say something before it abruptly stopped when she saw Noa’s ponytailed silver locks.

  “Oh…”

  Noa looked at where her voice came from. “Ah, Ally, you ready?”

  She looked dumbfounded at Noa, then shot a look at Anya, who moved her head, encouraging her to continue.

  “Y… Yes. I’m ready.”

  “Daze, let's go. Back door, transpo is waiting.”

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

  The ride back was quiet. No one spoke.

  Ally had elected to sit next to Anya. Her eyes studied Noa with a measure of trepidation. She had never known Noa well, but to her, Noa was like some presence that was always near Anya.

  Even when she wasn’t around, there was an unwritten belief that she would show up if Anya ever got into any trouble. Not that the fact that Anya herself was fierce and unyielding, in addition to being an Essedar, wasn’t reason enough for anyone to try anything with her.

  She squeezed Anya’s hand. She knew that Anya didn’t quite like it, but somehow, tonight, her friend was slightly more tolerant of her quirks, and she wasn’t going to ignore the opportunity.

  Noa seemed to ignore Ally’s stares and chose instead to look at her sister.

  She admired the sisters' ability to communicate by just looking at each other, perhaps even having a full discussion without uttering a single word.

  As if to confirm her thoughts, Anya nodded and turned her head to look at Ally. Her hand moved over Ally’s and patted it before she looked at her deeply.

  “Now, when we get there. Commander Zhou will lead you in. I trust him and don’t worry, he’s going to look after you. But don’t say anything without being asked to. Always end your answers with ‘sir’... And don’t fidget; he doesn’t like that.” She shot a look at Noa, who smirked knowingly in return.

  “If I know him, he’ll do an impromptu test on what you will be briefed on; after the briefing… right, Noakins?” She looked at her sister.

  Noa nodded. “That’s defo a Hassan thing, yes, yes.”

  She looked at Ally again.

  “So, when they are walking you through whatever they will walk you through. You don’t only just listen, but take in everything they have to say, and if you don’t understand anything, just raise a hand to indicate you have a question.”

  Her head tilted to the side as she studied her.

  “Okay, Ally?”

  Ally bopped her head repeatedly.

  “Anything you wanna ask?” Anya looked attentively at what seemed like a nervous Ally, who had proceeded to chew lightly on the side of her lower lip.

  “Just don’t fail the questioning that Commander Zhou will give you. Unless you want to risk grave circumstances.” Noa suddenly chimed in, dragging the word ‘grave’ slowly along to emphasize it.

  “Noakins!” Anya blurted out at her sister, who giggled profusely in return.

  Anya looked at her friend and patted her hand assuringly. “Noa’s just joking. She is, trust me, okay?”

  Ally’s eyes were wide. Hurriedly, she glanced at Noa before turning back to Anya and nodding slowly. “Okay.”

  “Okay, daze. Now, please, remember to breathe.”

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

  Their transport landed at the Essedar Security Complex without any delays or hitches.

  Hassan was waiting, watching the three girls disembark like a lion guarding their pride. He approached them as they got closer to the entrance of the building he was standing at.

  “Noa, Anya. I’ve heard prelim reports. Good work, the two of you.” He looked at each of them. One could almost hear the pride oozing in his voice, which he tried to keep subdued.

  “Is this Ally?” He turned to face her.

  She looked at him like an animal caught in headlights. He was imposing, standing with his large chromed arms crossed over his chest. Towering and brawny, accentuated by the uniform of House Essedar Security that he wore.

  Anya poked at Ally’s shoulder.

  “Y... Yes, I’m Ally, Alison.” She looked at him as if she would disappear by him just standing close to her.

  He smiled warmly, extending a hand. “Usually, non-House members address me as Commander Zhou, but you can call me Hassan. Pleased to meet Anya’s friend who I have heard so much about.”

  She hesitantly took his hand and shook it before she pulled her hand back, and she gave him the best smile she could muster at the moment.

  “Has Anya told you about what we will be doing?”

  Ally nodded. She could feel Anya’s hand on her shoulder, which gave her assurance.

  “Yes, sir.”

  Hassan smiled, then turned his attention to the sisters.

  “We’ll do our briefing in the morning.”

  “Yes, sir.” They answered in unison before they looked at each other, knowing full well that instead of sleep, they would probably be up all night.

  “Good. Have a pleasant evening.” He dipped his chin at them before turning. A large hand tapped Ally’s shoulder before he led the way toward a steel door.

  Noa stood next to Anya, watching Hassan and Ally disappear past the doorway before they turned to each other.

  “Hot tub?” They both said almost simultaneously, then broke out laughing before heading toward the Essedar family house.