Violet

AN OLD PAL.

Later, me and Caitlyn are walking the streets of Piltover, surveying the masses. There were twice as many people on the street as usual today, all in the name of progress.

We pass the dock of the Hexgate, where in particular, there is more commotion than usual.

Caitlyn pauses, motioning for me to come with her. We had both heard of some attempt to smuggle in something through the gate earlier today. Was this it?

The manifest was absolutely wrecked. How could a smuggling attempt have gone this sideways?

Caitlyn didn't have permission to be here, as usual. We stepped onto the manifest, observing the wreckage. I watched as my blue haired friend raked her eyes across the scene, almost reenacting it. Bending down to observe the bullet casings, tracing their path across the wall, embedding into flesh at some point. She took out her camera, taking pictures of the evidence, for the map of the undercity I knew was in her room.

We came across barrels upon barrels of shimmer.

"So that's what they were trying to smuggle..." I muttered.

I heard a groan. Me and Caitlyn whipped around towards the noise.

It clicked in my head. Five seen leaving the scene, but six amber crystal casings.

The sound was coming from underneath the ship. Caitlyn opened the trapdoor that led down there.

She gasped at the sight before us. A man, with a bullet wound in his side. The bullet casings. One of them must have hit him.

"You're from the undercity." Caitlyn said.

Gasping for breath, the man croaked, "I didn't do anything. She's crazy."

I peered at him, recognizing his face from somewhere. One of Silco's goons.

"Easy." Caitlyn whispered, stilling the man's frantic movements.

"She shot me-" He spoke again.

"Who shot you? Who were you working for?!" Caitlyn now urgently pressed, quickly becoming aware of the life leaving the man's eyes. I crouched beside her now, hoping the added pressure of my presence would urge him to confess.

"-I cant. He'll kill me."

"Who?" I asked. I knew who. Silco.

"I can protect you!" Caitlyn reassured, urgency still present in her voice. Oh no she couldn't.

I was about back her up, when someone interrupted us.

"Caitlyn Kiramman, and her little lapdog friend. Why does that not surprise me?" Shit. Marcus. I froze.

"Interfering in an investigation, again. You're supposed to be guarding your mother's tent." I guiltily looked at Marcus's shoes.

Caitlyn rushed to defend our actions. "I was, Sheriff, but she doesn't need it. And clearly, this takes priority." I nodded in her defense.

"I realize you're used to getting your way, Kiramman, but we have a chain of command for a reason."

"We understand." I said.

"I wasn't speaking to you." Marcus said coldly, not looking in my direction.

"But there's more going on here than just the smuggling, Sheriff." I protested.

"She's right. If I could just question him I could-" Caitlyn said, gesturing to the man on the ground.

"I'll take it from here." Marcus interrupted. "Since you're looking for more work, you both can take the graveyard shift tonight at the fair."

Dejectedly, we both agreed. "Yes, sir."

"Good. I want this one on a boat to Stillwater Prison." Marcus said, pointing to the man, who was now unconscious from his wound.

——————

We walked away from the manifest, Caitlyn in a bitter mood.

"That wasn't a normal smuggling. Something is definitely off." I said. "I recognize the fireflights' work of course, but there was a third party involved." Caitlyn responded.

I nodded in agreement. Things could only get worse from here. She cannot find out about Silco. My cover will be blown.

——————

After we both completed our duties for the day, me and Caitlyn sat on a staircase outside with some other enforcers. One of them, the Duty Captain, was smoking a cigarette. The smell made me want to puke. They were all talking, as I looked up at the sky. What has my life come to? I was also thinking about Jayce's speech. Didn't he mention he had a new invention to present? Well, he didn't. Man of Progress, my ass.

"That's it then? I thought that Talis boy was some kind of genius. Last year, didn't he launch a blimp halfway across the continent?" The Duty Captain said.

"An airship, actually." Me and Caitlyn said at the same time. I smiled at her.

"An airship has a rigid metal hull. It's not a blimp." Caitlyn corrected him.

"It's a balloon, ain't it?" He retorted.

"Sure as hell looks that way." Another enforcer quipped. "Pardon us, if we aren't quite so refined as you, milady." The captain shot out at Caitlyn. I rolled my eyes, looking at her. She looked just as annoyed as me.

"What are you even doing here, Kiramman? Don't you have a cocktail party to attend?" Caitlyn says nothing as the others laugh.

She has her eyes trained on something in the distance. I follow her gaze, quickly noticing what she was looking at. Before I got the chance, she yelled. "FIRE!"

The next bit was like a haze. We all rushed towards the cause, Caitlyn screaming to get the fire brigade, and me calling out into the blaze to check if anyone had been trapped.

A baby's voice called out. "Help. In here please. Help me. Help. It's so hot, please. I'm trapped."

I paused, recognizing the voice. Something was off.

"I'm a helpless little girl, and I've set the building on fire." The voice suddenly changed from a child's to a woman's. "By accident. Totally by accident." Shit. Shit shit shit.

I backed away, seeing the all-too-familiar sign of a monkey, painted on the wall ahead of me. Jinx. I had never seen her face, only heard of her reputation. The same monkey was on the manifest, back at the Hexgate.

"Also, I brought this dynamite. Goodbye!"
I didn't have a chance to react, as the next second I was engulfed in flames, my vision going black and my hearing fading. My last sight was Caitlyn falling beside me, unconscious. Holy fuck.