Another day, another pointless argument with Priya Parekh. Rito sighed, stepping out of the classroom and into the third-floor terrace. It was a nice day, but she’d been feeling antsy all morning. The confrontation with Priya over last week’s test hadn’t helped her mood any. That girl was going to be the death of her.

She leaned against the parapet and tipped her head back, soaking in the soothing winter sunlight. She pulled out her phone, which had been buzzing in her pocket for a few seconds now.

The name on the screen made her lips quirk in a smile. “Laihan,” she said, pressing the device to her ear. “How are you? How’s Afreen?”

“Rito, I’m so sorry.”

Well, that was unexpected. She frowned. “What for? What’s the matter?”

A few seconds passed in silence. When he finally spoke, his voice was strained. “Rinisa called. She wanted your number.”

“What? Rinisa as in...the deputy chief minister of Eraon? That Rinisa?”

Laihan grunted, managing to somehow convey hostility even through that monosyllabic sound.

“Huh. Guess I’m more popular than I thought. She wanted my number, you said? What for? And why did she contact you anyway? She could’ve just emailed me if she wanted to talk.”

He sighed. “God Rito, I’m so sorry. I should never have...I’d never sell you out on purpose, you know that right?”

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

“Sell me out? Lai, what’re you talking about? Seriously man, you’re scaring me now. Is Afreen okay? What about the children?”

The day before Rito left Weritlan, Laihan and Afreen had got engaged. The two of them had been working together to rehabilitate the children rescued from the La Fantome club, many of whom didn’t really have homes to return to.

It was strenuous work, physically as well as emotionally draining; and Afreen was yet to recover completely from her own ordeal at the club. Still, at least they now had each other. Rito was glad of that.

The strain in her friend’s voice sent a chill down her spine.

“They’re fine, for now. But listen to me, Rito. You have to be careful. Rinisa called us yesterday; said she needed to contact you, personally. Guess she just didn’t want to leave a paper trail by emailing you. We refused, of course. But she wouldn’t take no for an answer.”

“Lai, what did you do?”

“She threatened to block the rehabilitation drive if we didn’t cooperate. Said she wouldn’t allow any of the remaining kids to enter Eraon. You know we couldn’t let that happen. After everything they’ve been through–”

“Of course not. Lai, you did the right thing. I’ll deal with this, okay? What I don’t understand, is what she could possibly want from me that’s so important.”

At the other end of the line, Laihan deflated, his voice losing some of its tightness. “I don’t know. Information, possibly. Your brother is the PM’s chief of security. And after what happened at the La Fantome, I wouldn’t be surprised if she wanted some kind of revenge on behalf of her brother and sister-in-law. Whatever this is about, you’ve got to be careful. That woman’s dangerous.”

“And utterly psychotic. I get it, Lai. I’ll take care of it. I’d have ignored her completely if it weren’t for the kids. But don’t worry. Whatever she wants, I’ll string her along and try to keep her happy until all of them are back home. How much longer do you think it’ll take?”

“A couple of weeks, at most. Listen, if she tells you to do anything...anything dangerous...just tell me, okay? We’ll find another way.”

“Hey, stop worrying about me, will you? You’ve got enough on your plate already. I’ll handle this. And Lai?”

“Yeah?”

“Take care of Afreen. I love you guys. And I’ll see you soon.”