“What happened to your face?” Rito asked, clambering into the car.

There were many things she’d expected after being handed over to the police by Dileep Haval, who thankfully didn’t seem to have recognized her. But being bailed out at 3 in the morning by the prime minister wasn’t one of those things. Maybe Haval had put two and two together and figured out who she was, after all.

She wondered what Abhijat was doing. She wanted to call him, but her phone was discharged. She glanced around for a charging point in the car and plugged it in, setting the device over the dashboard before fastening the seat-belt and sitting back with a sigh. It’d been a long night.

Now that it was all over, she regretted having called her brother. She was sure he was going out of his mind, worrying about her. Abhijat had always been like that, the over-protective big brother. He’d always felt responsible for her, ever since they were kids. And it was like he couldn’t stop thinking of her as his baby sister, no matter how old she got.

But Rito had never been in jail before, and for a moment it’d scared the living daylights out of her. Calling her parents was out of the question, so she’d dialed the first number that’d popped up in her head, which happened to be Abhijat’s. She could even remember crying during the phone call. God, she needed to call him ASAP and tell him everything was alright.

Thinking about Abhijat brought her attention back to her companion, who was wearing a tattered turtleneck and looked like he’d just gotten out of a bar brawl. His face was heavily bruised and he had a split lip that looked like it’d only recently stopped bleeding. Still, he’d said nothing in response to her question, and she supposed it wasn’t her place to pry.

“So, where’re we going?” she asked instead, turning to look at him.

Jehan shrugged. “I thought I’d drop you home, but I suppose we can go anywhere you want.”

“Very obliging of you,” she grinned. “Now, what do you want?”

“I have no idea what you mean.”

“Yeah, right. So you came all this way to bail me out of prison at 3 in the morning, after I’d tried to steal your precious drug samples, out of the goodness of your heart?”

“What can I say? I have a very good heart.”

“That, and an agenda you’re not telling me about.”

Jehan smirked. “Fine, why did Rinisa want those samples?”

“How did you know she’s the one who wanted them?”

“It’s not rocket science,” he shrugged. “I got them from the La Fantome, which was owned by her brother, but I have reason to believe was operated largely by her. And the police found the pictures she’d sent you on your phone.”

Rito sucked in a sharp breath, but said nothing. It wasn’t like she hadn’t known the risks when she’d decided to go through with this.

Jehan waved a hand. “We’re not going to press charges, don’t worry. All this will be resolved in a couple of days, and nobody has to be the wiser. Question is, why did she want those samples?”

“I don’t know. All she said was that she wanted them back before the Maralanese New Year. So, you really did pilfer them from her, huh?”

“Only because she’d made them using a stolen formula. A formula she’d stolen from me, to be precise. So, I see it as…reclaiming what was mine to begin with.”

The car slid into a deserted highway and sped up. Rito didn’t remember the last time she’d seen the city so quiet, so peaceful. A few trucks rumbled along from time to time, and a lone car or bike would whizz past them every few minutes. But there was no sign of the bumper-to-bumper traffic and the constant honking and pollution that characterized daytime Qayit.

After a few minutes of silence, Jehan cleared his throat. “Whatever Rinisa offered you, I’ll double it,” he said. “You may not trust me, but you know what Rinisa’s capable of. You saw that club. Surely, you don’t want to see more like it.”

“Of course not,” Rito snapped, looking away. She bit her lip. She wasn’t angry at Jehan, not really. And she had no reason to lash out at him. He had nothing to do with the mess she’d gotten herself into.

It still stung that he thought she’d accepted some kind of bribe from Rinisa. “Look, I’m sorry, okay? And she didn’t offer me anything. Or at least, nothing I had any interest in. She…she threatened to frame my father for the metro blasts, if I didn’t do what she said.”

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

Jehan sighed. “My own fault, I guess. I’d left that door wide open; someone was bound to use it sooner or later. Anyway, what’s done is done. So, here’s the deal. You stop working for Rinisa and start working for me instead. And I promise you, by this time next year, your father’s name will be cleared and he’ll be the prime minister once again.”

Rito’s breath caught in her throat. To say that she couldn’t believe her own ears would’ve been an understatement, and a cliché one at that. Then again, she didn’t need to believe them. Jehan was obviously lying. Another trap set to lure her into some scheme or plan, to make her dance to someone else’s tunes.

Still, until she learned how to choreograph her own moves, she would much rather dance to Jehan’s tunes than Rinisa’s. Neither choice was desirable, but to the best of her knowledge, the worst thing Fasih had ever done was to lie, cheat, and betray his friends. Which was still a damn sight better than selling drugged children into prostitution.

How had her life come to this?

“Fine, what do you want?” she asked, after a few minutes of silence.

“Fantastic!” Jehan said, and flashed her a bright smile before focusing on the road once again. “I want you to tell Rinisa that you got the samples she wanted.”

“But I didn’t. The officer who arrested me confiscated the vials I took from the lab. I don't even know where they are right now.”

“They’re safe with Dileep, but that’s inconsequential. It doesn’t matter if you have the drugs. All that matters is that Rinisa believes you do. You can send her photos of the samples if she asks for proof. I’ll email them to you first thing in the morning.”

Rito began to speak, but Jehan interrupted her. “And you don’t have to worry about her finding out what happened here today. All records of your arrest have been expunged and you can rest assured that there’ll be no mention of this in the media.”

Rito frowned. It all sounded too good to be true. She felt like a pawn on a chessboard she couldn’t see the entirety of. “And what happens when she demands I hand the samples over?”

“You will agree to do so, but only in Maralana during the New Year’s gala.”

Rito rolled her eyes. “She’d never agree to that.”

“She wouldn’t, if she had a choice. As things stand, she doesn’t. She needs those samples desperately, and needs them by the time that party in Maralana kicks off. And she can’t have anyone knowing what she’s been up to.

“Just tell her your brother’s been worried about you because of the debacle at the La Fantome club. You could’ve gotten yourself killed, so it wouldn’t be unnatural for him to worry. Everybody knows about the excessive codependency of the Shian clan–”

“Hey!”

He flashed her a grin. “My point is, you have to convince Rinisa that Abhijat’s been keeping a very close eye on you ever since you returned from Weritlan, because of what happened at that club. Hence, it'd be impossible for you to meet Rinisa in Naijan – either in Weritlan or in Qayit – without making your brother suspicious.

“And if Abhijat feels like he has reason to be concerned about his sister’s safety, it’s very likely he’ll start digging into whatever it is that Rinisa is planning. I mean, if your brother were to find out that you’re meeting Rinisa, you know he’d stop at nothing to destroy her. Even she isn’t stupid enough to risk that.

“Just tell her you’ll hand over the samples in Maralana, when everybody’s busy preparing for the party. Abhijat would be too preoccupied with the preparations to pay much attention to who you’re meeting and for what. It’s a perfectly plausible excuse; she’d have no reason to doubt it. And even if she did, there’s no real way she can prove you’re lying, is there?”

“And what if she sent someone to Qayit to collect the samples from me? I’d have no reason to refuse a meeting with some random stranger Abhi wouldn’t even recognize. No one would ever have to know that it had anything to do with Rinisa; not unless I told them.”

“You underestimate the extent of Rinisa’s paranoia, Ms. Shian,” he smiled. “There isn’t anyone on the planet she trusts enough to delegate a task this important. The only reason she blackmailed you into committing the actual theft is because it was too dangerous for her to do it herself. You were cannon-fodder, essentially. But she knows exactly how valuable those samples are. She’d never risk them getting stolen or lost in transit, not if she has a choice in the matter.”

Rito thought about that for a few seconds, then nodded. “And what happens when I finally have to give the samples to her in Maralana?”

“Well, if all goes according to plan, that wouldn’t be necessary. But if it is...” he shrugged. “Then you’ll give her what she wants. It’s a prototype, anyway. And while I’d rather keep any version of Amven out of Rinisa’s hands as far as possible, those samples aren’t that important in the grand scheme of things.”

“Really? Then why go through all this trouble to keep them from her, if I may ask?”

“Oh, I’m not doing any of this to keep those samples from Rinisa. That’s just a bonus. What I really want is for you to spy on Rinisa and Maganti for me, during the New Year’s gala and beyond, if possible.

“Get in contact with her a couple of days before the event and find an excuse to meet her more than once, if you can. Feed her some bullshit about somebody following you around the city, tell her you think I employed them. That should spook her enough to go running to Maganti. And I’ll take it from there.”

“So you really think they’re working together? Maganti and Rinisa, I mean.”

“I don’t think it. I know it. All that’s left now is to prove it.”

She grinned. “You’re strange. But your plan’s sound enough, I suppose. Or as sound as these things can get.”

She shook her head, covering her mouth against a gigantic yawn. When had she last slept? She could barely remember anything that came before tonight’s misadventure at the QRI. “Fine, I’ll help you. But you should know, in the spirit of full disclosure, that if my brother finds out you’ve been using me as a spy, he will find a way to kill you. He’s annoying like that.”

“Your brother seems eager enough to kill me as it is,” he said with an exaggerated sigh. “So I’ll take my chances. At least then, my untimely demise will serve a higher purpose.”

“Which is?”

“I’ll die screwing Rinisa over.”

Rito laughed. “Count me in.”