As Nina left, Julia turned to see a figure approaching with a glass of wine in each hand.

“Reina is going to spit her drink out when she sees that invoice,” Svanda laughed as she handed one of the glasses over.

A wicked grin appeared on Julia’s face as she pictured Reina’s reaction. Examining the glass, Julia took a sip as though signaling that it was adequate. “You were so bored that you listened to it all?”

“It’s hard not to hear it when you’re sitting just around the corner.” Svanda was nonchalant as she turned and walked back to the sitting area where Nina had shared tea with Julia just before. Flopping down on the couch, she looked up at Julia. “It’s a nice gun though, the 022.”

“It is, isn’t it,” Julia sighed as she sat down opposite Svanda. “It’s almost a shame to see it go.”

“You’ll just have to order another one.”

“If only it was that easy.” Shifting the teacup which she had been drinking from just before, Julia placed her feet on the table. “Limited runs are always hard to find at this stage.”

“Why don’t you just ask your brother to send one down?”

“He’s so cheap that he would ask for more than I sold that one for. I don’t want to owe him a favour either.”

Svanda laughed as Julia pouted. “We both know that you’re going to ask him anyway.”

About to respond, Julia paused as a bell quietly rang from down the hall. Standing up, she looked to Svanda. “Seems like it’s here, do you want to have a look?”

“I think I’ll let her show me herself,” Svanda replied as she hopped off the sofa before following Julia back down the hall to the office, her wine swirling around the glass with each step. Entering the office, the pair found that the display area now contained an ornate wooden case, a giant T&TERM etched in silver across the front.

“Did I mention that you’re taking this over there for me?” Julia smiled.

“I already guessed,” Svanda said as she waited for the glass to retract before grabbing the case by a handle that protruded from the top. Setting it on Julia’s desk, she looked towards a small doorway at the back of the office. “How about we get Alis to bring out another bottle of that red before I go?”

“Just for you,” Julia smiled as she pressed a small button on the underside of her desk before heading back to the sitting area.

Meanwhile, Reina was busy cleaning the remainder of the coffee from her computer screen as Jade pushed her way through the door to the office, Aline sliding through behind her.

“What happened?” Jade asked as she dropped a bag of shopping on her desk before walking over to the entrance to Reina’s office.

Without a word, Reina tapped her keyboard. As the printer began to whir, Jade walked over and collected the still warm invoice before running her eyes over it, stifling a laugh as she finished reading.

“What’s it for?” Aline asked as she peered over Jade’s shoulder. Seeing the contents, she laughed before turning to Reina. “You spat your coffee when you saw it?”

“I can imagine Julia’s face as we speak,” Reina scowled as she tossed a coffee soaked paper towel into the bin. “Well, it’s about time she got me for something.”

“Are you going to make Nina pay for it?” Aline sat at her desk before putting her feet up. Fishing around in her drawer with one hand, she pulled out a lollipop and discarded the wrapper.

“I said it would go on my account, so it will go on my account.” Reina stood up and took the printout from Jade’s hand. Folding it up before tossing it in the bin, she looked at the pair. “Don’t say anything to Saela. She’s grumpy enough at Nina as it is.”

“You’re the boss.”

Reina returned to her desk before sitting down. Opening a search engine, she typed in the model number listed on the invoice to see a range of images appear on the screen. Quickly flicking through them, she sighed. “It’s really nice though.”

“For that price, you would hope so,” Jade said as she walked over to Aline’s desk, fishing a lollipop out from the top draw while ignoring the scowl on Aline’s face. Returning to her own desk which was opposite from Aline’s, she flopped down. “We have any jobs?”

“One came in this morning,” Reina said as she brought up a document on her computer. “Some new chips came down from those people at Ember. They want them taken to the distribution point over at KF-14.”

“Sounds boring,” Aline said as she pulled the lollipop from her mouth. “How’s the full run looking?”

“We’re juggling about 4 right now. There’s a couple of pending jobs from here to Zaffre’s, and another pair through Terminus. Once we can add another couple that fit the schedule, we’ll begin planning.”

Jade propped herself up before looking at Aline. “Looks like we’ll have a while then, you want to take this run to KF?”

Aline paused for a moment before turning to face Reina. “The distribution point is still at Glass Heart, right?”

“It is, yes.”

“Hmm, yeah I think we can take it then, it should be pretty straight forward.”

Reina smiled as she took a document from a tray on her desk. Holding it out, she waited for Aline to stand up and walk towards her before retracting the paper away from her outstretched hand. “I have a condition.”

“Don’t tell me…”

“Take Nina with you.”

“I thought you were going to say that,” Aline sighed before reaching for the paper in Reina’s hand. “Fine.”

“The extra hands won’t hurt, will they?” Flicking her mouse across the screen, Reina clicked a few times before leaning back in her chair. “It’s settled then. They’ll expect you the day after tomorrow, so you still have tomorrow free.”

“It’s not the hands, it’s the bonuses being split with an extra person,” Aline grumbled.

“I’ll throw in a teaching bonus for the two of you, is that good enough?”

“Sure is,” Jade replied before Aline could speak. “Thanks Reina.”

“Let Nina know when she gets back then,” Reina smiled as she stood up. Grabbing a keycard from her desk, she strode out of her office while waving a hand above her head. “I’m heading to the Network information session. Tell Svanda to meet me there if she comes back, I don’t want to disturb her if she’s still with Julia.”

“Even if she’s drunk?”

“Even that pair from Dari Corp can’t keep up with Svanda once she gets started, she’ll be fine,” Reina laughed as she disappeared through the door.

As silence descended on the room, Jade looked over to Aline. “What do you think?”

“I think I need a snack,” she replied as she headed for the stairs. Seeing that Jade was following her, she sighed. “I guess it can’t be too bad. It’s a pretty easy task.”

“Maybe Nina will be good to work with,” Jade said as they reached the top of the stairs. Watching as Aline walked to the kitchen, she instead chose to lie on one of the sofas. “Did you look at pictures of that T&TERM?”

“Yeah, it looks totally badass, doesn’t it,” Aline smiled as she opened a cupboard and began to rifle through the contents. Finding a packet of biscuits, she brought them to the sofa setting and dropped them on the coffee table. “Maybe she’s bolder than she looks.”

As Reina hadn’t mentioned it since they had returned, the pair had no idea about Nina’s actions earlier in the day. With the pair’s discussion about to continue, they heard the door below them open again.

“Did Reina forget something?”

“Sorry, it’s just me,” Nina said as she appeared at the top of the stairs. Glancing around the room, she looked at the biscuits on the table. “Is it just the two of you?”

“Yeah, unless you count Euris,” Jade said as she took a biscuit from the packet.

Deciding to ignore the glance between the pair that seemed to be some form communication, Nina perched herself on the edge of the free couch. “Why wouldn’t I count Euris?”

Aline chuckled before she looked towards the stairs. “Euris is… a unique case here. You’ve seen how the glass to her office is blacked out, right?” Seeing Nina nod, she continued. “Euris doesn’t leave her office unless she needs to. Before she came out to help when you joined, we hadn’t seen her in days. The sheet is to block out all light because she usually sleeps during normal hours.”

“How do you communicate with her then?”

“Just e-mail her,” Jade replied. “If you need to give her something, leave it in front of her door and flick the switch on the wall, it lets her know that there is something waiting.”

Nina was surprised. She remembered how Euris had been very quiet when she had helped Reina before, but this was extreme. To live in an office without leaving, how was that even possible?

“How does she eat?”

“We leave food for her regularly and she has her own fridge in her office.”

She’s not a pet, Nina thought. “She doesn’t have a room down the hall?”

“There are six rooms up here, right?” Aline said as she held up six fingers. “There’s Reina, Svanda, Trim, the two of us, Saela, you, and then Euris. That’s eight people.”

“Even if Euris slept in her office, it still doesn’t add up then,” Nina said.

“It does once you know that we share a room,” Jade replied with a smile.

“Alright, but she doesn’t have a bathroom then does she? What happens when...”

“There’s actually a bathroom downstairs. It’s the office bathroom,” Aline said. “It doesn’t really make much sense for us to always come upstairs to use our bathrooms in an office environment, does it?”

“Well, we have to now because Euris blocked up the main door to it,” Jade laughed. “She took it for herself.”

“It is what it is,” Aline said as she picked up another biscuit before looking at Nina. “Oh, by the way, we talked with Reina just before.”

“And?”

“You better get your work clothes sorted,” Jade smiled. “We’ve got a job.”