Kat stumbled on the indoor track as her smartpanel chirped at her, indicating a phone call from an unknown number. She jogged past a man and a woman in the middle of their morning cardio in the college gymnasium before grabbing her towel from where she had left it next to her school clothes and accepted the call.

“Miss Debs,” Belle Donnst’s voice froze Kat, her hand halfway to her sweaty forehead with the towel. “It’s good to see that you’re keeping in shape.”

The other woman smiled frostily at Kat. Belle’s tiny image in the smart panel was immaculate, without a crease in her pantsuit or a single hair out of place.

“After all,” the executive continued good naturedly. “Now that you’re back in the game, you’ll need to keep your body fighting trim. All of the powers and instincts honed in The Tower of Somnus don’t mean much if your waking form can’t keep up with them.”

Kat forced her hand into action, wiping her face down as she forced a smile.

“It’s good to see you too Mrs. Donnst,” she replied, voice much steadier than she felt. “I’m a little surprised to hear from you. Mainly because I don’t recall giving you my personal number or informing you that I was back to work.”

“Oh please,” Belle leaned toward her camera, waving a hand dismissively. “When it's just us girls, I’m Miss Donnst. I might be married, but that doesn’t mean I’m taken.”

She winked at Kat, a carefully studied facsimile of a normal human interaction, devoid of the warmth or playfulness one would expect.

“Sure,” Kat replied. She stepped away from the track, letting the pair of joggers huff past her as she made her way toward the gym’s showers. “Miss it is. That still doesn’t tell me why you’re calling me at this exact moment.”

“Of course Miss Debs,” Belle nodded, a satisfied smile on her face. “Straight to business. An admirable level of focus.”

“Xander’s passing… saddened me.” The older woman struggled with the word, not even attempting to display grief. “He was a solid and capable business partner. He kept his end of deals and we both profited together greatly.”

“Thanks I guess?” Kat replied uncertainly.

“And so,” Belle continued, ignoring Kat’s hesitation, “I find myself bereft of a reliable infiltrator. I have plenty of muscle. A thug with more chrome than sense and something to prove is cheap outside corporate enclaves. What I want is a scalpel.”

Belle pursed her lips, letting a ghost of a smile play over her face.

“But I suppose I am willing to settle for a machete. Your results speak for themselves, Erinyes, but many would prefer their infiltrators to come and go unseen.”

“Does it count as unseen if there aren’t any witnesses?” Kat asked rhetorically. “I think most people only know about my operations because we posted promotional vids of them to bring in contracts.”

“Or if we were closely watching a lead only for him to disappear around the same time you and your friends visited his neighborhood,” Belle riposited with a chilly smile. “Copper Spook was a clumsy idiot, but that was why my people liked him. He couldn’t help but brag about how he’d set up ‘the great Erinyes’ only for him to go missing hours later. Now I’m left without any way to keep a tab on Millenium’s movements.”

“I’m sorry?” Kat replied with a shrug. Belle could only see her face projected from the smartpanel, but the reaction was simply reflex. “I didn’t go after the idiot to try and rob you of a target. He tried to have me killed and he missed so I grabbed his data vault and iced him. Nothing too complicated or nefarious about it.”

“But you did get his data vault?” Belle leaned forward, a gleam in her eyes. “You know who he’s been talking to and what he’s been doing? Given how deep Millenium has gone underground that would be very valuable information in the right hands. Why don’t you tell me what you have and I’ll give you an offer?”

Kat quickly shucked off her clothing, changing into her street apparel while she considered the older woman’s words.

“I’m not sure exactly what we have,” Kat hedged. There was just something about the predatory look on Belle’s usually expressionless face that set off internal alarms. “We found some references to active operations in the Chiwaukee area. I’ll look into selling the data one I get a chance to check out exactly what we have.”

“After all.” Kat let a shark smile of her own play across her face. “It’s hard for me to request a fair value for a product if I don’t know what it’s actually worth. I wouldn’t want to accidentally sell gold for a handful of credits because I thought it was brass.”

“Good girl,” Belle replied, nodding approvingly. “Know your worth and assert it. Otherwise someone like me will eat you alive.”

“Thanks I guess?” Kat replied, confusion on her face.

“Just give me a call when you’re ready to sell.” Belle nodded at her camra. “This number should be able to reach my personal secretary day or night. Also, if you’re looking for work, I’m sure I can find something for you.”

A motion of the older woman’s hand panned the camera out, revealing a floor to ceiling window overlooking the daytime bustle of downtown Chiwaukee. Kat recognized the landmarks of the megalopolis’ corporate sector, barely a couple of blocks from the upscale highrise the corporate college called home.

“After the last round of unpleasantness I was promoted out of Schaumburg entirely,” Bell continued. “I’m located in Chiwaukee now. Although the increase in wealth and prestige is appreciated, it has left me disconnected from my contractor network. If you’re looking for work, I’m sure I can find something for you to do.”

Kat fought to keep a wince from her face. As useful a contact as Belle was, chaining her fate to the ruthless woman sounded like a losing plan. Donnst didn’t hide the fact that she would use contractors like Kat as disposable patsies. Hell, the woman would brag about it.

“I’ll reach out to you if I need something.” Internally, Kat congratulated herself on keeping the response cordial. “Once I have a price in mind for the information we pulled out of Spook, I’ll let you know.”

“Great,” Belle beamed back, entirely unperturbed by Kat’s noncommittal response. “I’ll buy anything related to the aliens or Millenium that you can get your hands on. The megacorporations may be putting on a brave face, but this entire thing has them scared. They know there are still clone farms, and no one knows who to trust so information on the stallesp is selling at a premium. Get me something good, and you can get yourself a slice of that premium.”

The call ended abruptly, leaving Kat in the gym lockerroom, abruptly aware of the girl showering to her right. With a flush of embarrassment, she stuffed her workout clothes into her duffel bag and made her way back to the elevator. A short stop in her dorm room later and Kat was on her way to the cafeteria for breakfast.

After standing in line at the crepe bar for almost a minute, Kat turned away, her plate full to search for a table. A second later she flinched as a high pitched voice shrieked her name.

“Kaaaat!” Emma Tiller ran up to her, grabbing her by the elbow and dragging her, mostly unresisting, toward a corner booth. “You’ll never guess what happened last night!”

Her body tensed, mind flickering through the events of the previous evening and the phone call with Belle, wondering how Emma could have possibly found out.

The other woman pulled her into the booth where Jasper and Iris were both sitting together, blushing.

“Jasper finally got up the nerve to ask Iris out,” Emma gushed, ignoring the pained looks on her companions’ faces. “I mean we all knew that he had a crush on her, but now it’s finally official.”

“We’re just going out for drinks,” Jasper replied uncomfortably. “We’ve been friends for a while so it’ll be a little weird for us to start seeing each other in a romantic way, but it just seems natural you know.”

Kat noticed Iris’ hand gripping Jasper’s tighter as she sat down across from the two of them, placing her plate of crepes on the table.

“I’m so happy for you,” Kat smiled at both of them, trying to ignore Emma practically vibrating next to her. “I’m not really one to talk about dating, but the two of you do make a cute couple.”

“Whereareyougoingfordrinks?” Like a dam breaking, the words gushed out of Emma. “How did he ask you out Iris? Come on, I just have to know!”

Kat took advantage of the stream of words erupting from her side to skewer a sugar glazed strawberry slice from the top of her plate and pop it in her mouth. She’d be lying if she pretended she wasn’t enjoying the visible discomfort from the usually calm and collected Iris and Jasper while Emma interrogated them.

“We were just studying together and he asked?” Iris squirmed, her face beet red. “I mean, at first I wondered why he would want to go out for a glass of wine when we could just send the help for an older and better bottle. Then he explained it to me-”

“It doesn’t really make sense.” Jasper shrugged helplessly. “Dating would be so much easier if you were allowed to simply shake hands with someone and agree that you like each other. Unfortunately, there are some formulas and rituals related to the process that simply can’t be ignored. Davis is trying to explain it all to me, but-”

Emma squealed, leaning forward in her seat while Kat shoveled down food. She spent about an hour in the college gym every morning between cardio, agility, and weight training exercises, and that required a fair number of calories to keep her moving. If she was going to be a side character in Emma’s unending quest to collect gossip on other students, Kat was going to need to get as much of her breakfast down as possible before the other girl drew her back into the conversation.

“Are you going to Chateau Rue?” Emma’s face was practically glowing. “They have some of the best ambiance in town and last week Diane Sather, the actress who plays Jenny Silverarm? She was spotted there with a shareholder.”

Kat raised a hand, cutting off Jasper before he could respond. Chewing frantically she swallowed a mouthful of crepes.

“Don’t answer that,” Kat cut in, shaking her head. “If you tell Emma where you’re going, our entire class will know by the end of the day. If you and Iris want a moment alone, I’d suggest keeping it under wraps from everyone but Davis.”

“You’re no fun Kat,” Emma pouted while Iris silently mouthed her a ‘thank you.’ “Outside of all that political nonsense this is some of the most excitement we’ve had in months.”

“Jasper Haupt and Iris Leander,” she continued, batting her eyelashes as she let a singson note of lyricism enter her voice. “Two of the most eligible singles at GroCorp College squaring off together. What could possibly be more romantic than that?”

“Actually.” Jasper ignored Emma, instead turning to Kat, with a slightly furrowed brow. “Davis said that you should get in touch with him. Something about you having something he’d be interested in buying?”

He shrugged, embarrassed. “Sorry I don’t remember anymore Kat. I was in a hurry to get out the door. It’s been hard adjusting my schedule now that I can’t rely on Andrew to get me to school on time. The new driver just isn’t as good as…”

Jasper trailed off, wincing as his words carelessly brushed over a sore spot.

“Jesus.” Kat forced out a chuckle. “Davis knows too? Sometimes I wonder if there’s even a point to trying to be secretive in Chiwaukee. Everyone’s so deep in everyone else’s business that stealth barely even matters.”

“Oohhh?” Emma turned to Kat, a single brow arched. “Are you holding out on me now too Kat? Come on, out with it.”

She burst out laughing, followed shortly afterward by Jasper and Iris, all of the table’s tension and awkwardness disappearing like the air from a popped balloon. Emma glanced back and forth, perplexed.

Kat was almost in tears from her friend’s earnest confusion by the time she gathered herself enough to respond.

“I know you can’t help yourself Emma, but sometimes you have to let a girl have her secrets.”

“Even if it's a borderline open secret,” Iris chuckled, shaking her head. “I mean he said your name-”

“Iris,” Jasper squeezed her hand, silencing the girl. “If Emma doesn’t know and Kat wants to keep things quiet, we should respect that.”

“Come on!” Emma frantically looked from Kat to Iris and back again. “This isn’t fair! How come I’m the only one at the table that doesn’t know what’s going on. I’m supposed to be the one that knows the secrets and tells everyone else.”

“It’s political anyway.” Kat shook her head, unable to keep a smile off her face as Emma threw a fit next to her. “Don’t worry about it, I have my secrets but they aren’t anything you’d actually be interested in. No moonlight escapades with paramours or breathless encounters with mysterious heirs or heiresses.”

“You promise right?” Emma grumbled. “Seriously Kat, you’re enough of an oddity that your personal life comes up fairly frequently. The minute you start seeing someone, it’ll be news and I want to be the one to break that news.”

“Again,” Kat chuckled. “Don’t worry about it. I don’t think my dating life will be interesting anytime soon. I’ve already made my share of mistakes on that front, and I’m not excited to try my hand again anytime soon.”

“Oh?” Iris asked, raising an eyebrow. “I thought that friend of yours with pink hair had a thing for you. She certainly seems to spend a lot of time around you.”

“I’m her only friend in Chiwaukee,” Kat replied with a shrug. “There are really only bad memories left for Whip in Schaumburg, but she doesn’t know anyone here. Of course she’s going to be spending most of her time with me.”

“And you’re sure there’s nothing there?” Iris leaned forward, eyes twinkling. Without even looking, Kat could tell that Emma was crowding in as well.

“Not that I know of,” she responded with a self deprecating smile. “Of course, I’m about as knowledgeable on these sorts of things as a turnip. I would basically be the last to know anyway.”

“That said,” Kat continued, focusing on Jasper and Iris on the other end of the table. “I don’t want to intrude on your couple time or whatever, but the two of you are leveling in The Tower of Somnus together right?”

“It’s hardly ‘couples time’ unfortunately,” Jasper answered, a sour expression on his face. “Davis has one of his guards in there with us at all times as a chaperone. He’s the same level as us, but Davis put him through melee training daily for almost six months before giving him a subscription.”

“Then I don’t suppose you’d mind substituting him for Whip?” Kat asked. “She’s only level one at the moment, but she’ll need a team before long. It only makes sense to have her climb the Tower with the two of you. That way you have someone you can trust at your back and we can keep in touch no matter where we are.”

Jasper opened his mouth to say something, concern on his face, only for Iris to squeeze his hand

“Come on,” she whispered to her boyfriend. “We owe Kat. Plus, it’ll be fun.”

His expression crumpled into a rueful smile.

“Fine,” he responded helplessly. “I’ll run the idea past Davis.”

“Great,” Kat beamed back, digging her fork into the crepes once more.