Deadly Deception
Chapter 31
To timeskip, or not to timeskip… I feel like moving into a new apartment would be boring, but I think I'll try and make it cute.
"Papers are signed!" Katarina was in the middle of her workout, her elbows and forearms on the floor, her legs rigid, and toes against the floor as she looked up and watched Vi walk into the room. "We got it!"
"The good one?" The assassin jumped to her feet, straightening her tight shirt and pulling her wife's arm towards her to look at the papers. The past month had been incredibly fast paced. Vi had thrown herself into being a Warden again, despite her needing to rebuild a lot of her equipment, and made herself known again around Piltover. There had been multiple interviews from the various news stations, asking the Enforcer where she had been for the past few months, and why she had vanished, but said nothing at both her boss', and her wife's requests.
The last thing that Katarina wanted after moving to a new city was to be in the spotlight, and being married to one of the two most powerful women in the city would put the radar on her.
One thing that they had been doing in between the shifts as a Warden, where Katarina missed Vi horribly but refused to admit it, they had looked for apartments. The stipulations had been strict, and they had actually ended at a compromise. Both women initially wanted their own workshop and office, but agreed that they could share a room if it was big enough.
"Yeah!" With a smile that threatened to face, Vi let go of the papers, which were barely caught by Katarina, and kissed her wife's cheek. "We have a home, Kat!" And not a moment too soon, in the Noxian's mind. Just over a month of living in the same house as Caitlyn, and the air became thick with tension every time they were in the same room. Like they agreed, the two women were civil, but obviously had animosity. "But, uh, there's one small problem."
"Problem?" Katarina echoed, looking up at Vi, who lifted one arm away and rubbed the back of her head with a sheepish grin.
"Well, I've been told that I can't take any time off for like, a week." She knew that Caitlyn was trying her hardest to meddle. "We can send a bed ahead of us, so we have somewhere to sleep, but we wouldn't have anything to decorate with." Katarina focused on not letting her eyebrow twitch. "But," Vi smiled again and stepped around to face her. "I know that you're much better at decorating than I am, so what if I give you access to my bank, and you buy whatever you like?"
"You want me to decorate the apartment by myself?"
"Well, if you pick it all out, I can arrange it. I'm not gonna make you do all the heavy lifting yourself, Kat." There was a moment of silence, Katarina looking back at the papers in her hands. Give and take, give and take… She looked up again, ready to agree.
"Vi?" Knuckles tapped softly against the bedroom door. "Are you here?" Both women looked towards the door, and the Noxian tried to glare a hole through both the wood, and the person behind it.
"I am! What's up, Cait?"
"I have the list of the city's most wanted." The Enforcer looked back at her wife, grinning.
"Work, huh?" She asked, pressed a kiss to her cheek, and stepped away from the hug. "Do you wanna go out for dinner after we go through this?"
"I would prefer to just spend time alone with you." Katarina replied, still holding the papers.
"So, come back in and lock the door. Gotcha." Vi laughed to herself as she left the room, leaving the door ajar behind her. The Noxian smiled and placed the documents down, ready to get back into her workout. As she lowered down to the floor again, the Wardens' voices filtered through the hallways.
"I can't believe that we haven't caught this one yet." Eavesdropping wasn't polite, but it couldn't be helped. "He needs to go down for at least ten."
"Ten might not be enough. He has an extra charge as of yesterday." Despite not being in sight of them, Katarina did her best to pretend that she wasn't listening. "I'm surprised that no parents have shot him for what he's done." Already, that was enough for her to drop the pretense.
"I think you should shoot him, Cait."
"Not anywhere vital." Pushing herself up from the floor a second time, Katarina slipped out of the room silently, and followed the sound of the Wardens' voices. "He is top priority right now, but he's also elusive." The two of them were in Caitlyn's office, standing in front of a corkboard that was around half the size of the wall, and mulling over mugshots. The Sheriff's office was almost exactly the same as her office in the Hall of Law, but with less (gifted) decorations, and less filing cabinets.
"Undercover work?" Vi asked, turning to look at her partner. Katarina was worried for a moment that they would notice her there, half hidden behind the ajar door, but it became quickly obvious that they were too engrossed in their work.
"We've tried that. He can see a Warden from a mile away. The last person that tried to tail him got quite injured." They fell into silence, mulling the situation over, and Katarina scanned the ten portraits on the board.
"This woman's new." Vi broke the silence, reaching for one of the pictures and tugging it from the board, with the pin that was holding it in place rolling down the paper. "Smuggler, right?"
"Yes, working with a Chem-baron. Trying to create a black market in one of the larger, unused pipes in the Boundary Markets." Caitlyn paused for a moment, tucking hair behind her ear. "Whenever a Warden approaches her, she screams that they're trying to sexually harass her. Even if the Warden is female."
"Guess we'll have to use those capture poles that are used for catching aggressive animals." The sheriff chuckled at Vi's suggestion and squatted down to pick up the fallen pin. "Or you could send me in; she can't cry wolf when I'm not even touching her."
"If I did that, you would get annoyed with her behaviour and tighten your gauntlets by 'accident'." The grin on Vi's face told her that she wasn't wrong. "We'll get our chance for both of them." Caitlyn plucked the picture from her partner's fingers and pinned it back up. Still unseen, Katarina scanned the list intently.
~X~
"Hello, ma'am. Can I help you with anything?" Katarina stepped away and waved off the attendant. The fifth one in around half an hour. Entering a furniture store, she didn't expect to be crowded by salespeople whenever she took a step. Going furniture shopping already wasn't the first thing that she wanted to be doing. And Piltovian styles were quite far from Noxian styles. She hadn't seen one couch that she didn't find ugly.
"Hello, can I-" Katarina snapped around, hand moving to her concealed kunai. The attendant flinched back, ready to defend himself if he was attacked. The Noxian just sighed and waved him off as she hid the kunai again, deciding that a less populated store would be better to look around in. Thankfully, nobody bothered her as she walked to the exit, and onto the street.
Piltover was on the edge of winter, and the cold got intense as the season got deeper. The air that rolled over the ocean came from the Freljord, and set deep into people's bones. The chill was already embedded into the air, with Katarina shuddering and hugging Vi's jacket tighter over her chest. Piltover was still mostly an unknown place, as were the people, who took multiple looks at Katarina's fiery hair. She paid them no mind, and continued walking, the look of murder in her eyes. The people of Piltover continued their work, either on the ground, cleaning the pristine stones that made up the streets, or hanging from the tops of buildings by their waists, fixing the machinery that made things tick.
One thing that was spreading through the city was that the rumour, and confirmation, that the Sheriff's ex-convict partner was married. On occasion, people say Katarina with her, and made the connection, but it was not entirely common knowledge yet. The whispers wondered who would be crazy enough to marry Vi, or if her partner was forced into it. None of these rumours bothered either Vi or Katarina when they heard about them, because the whispers of jealous strangers had no impact on their lives.
Ahead of her, in the street, a heavy, overindulgent merchant was walking towards her, dressed in heavy, blue robes, adorned with golden cogs, and laughing uproariously with the crowd gathered around him. Gluttony was something that Katarina hated the most. She glanced around, looking for somewhere to hide, and ducked into a grocery. It was mostly empty, save for one man at the small counter in the back of the store, a man that Katarina felt like she recognised, and a small boy. The man was getting closer and closer to the boy as they talked quietly.
She did not have a good feeling, even if it was none of her business.
Pulling Vi's jacket tighter again, Katarina focused her eyes on the shelves of packets and cans, trying to move as closely as possible without alerting them. A little closer, and she could make out what they were saying. The man's voice was as creepy as his vibes.
"Why wouldn't you want to come?" He mumbled to the child, a smirk on his lips. "I have quite a few sweet treats that I can't finish by myself."
"I don't know, mister…" The Noxian got closer, ready to lunge.
"You don't want to miss out, do you?" The man lifted his hand and gripped the child's bicep. "You can trust me, I'm-" Something bumped into his side, and he let go, lifting his head and glaring at Katarina as she took a step away. WHat he didn't see was her hand moving in a 'shoo' motion behind his back. The child took the hint, and he ran. When the creep turned his head back to look, he sighed and turned fully to face Katarina. "You got a problem?"
"Accident." She picked up a can of peaches and held it up to him. What he didn't see was the rush of adrenaline that surged in Katarina's chest when she saw his face. That was the exact face on the most wanted list.
"He is top priority right now, but he's also elusive."
"He can see a Warden from a mile away."
Short, dirty blonde hair, long, gaunt face, deep eye sockets that looked like he had not gotten any sleep for a few days, with the bloodshot eyes backing that theory up. Now she understood what he needed to be sent to prison for…
"Whatever." The man shook his head and turned away, walking to the door. It may have been the adrenaline, but Katarina placed the can down and followed him. Five steps behind. He wasn't dressed like any Piltovian citizens, dark green, almost threadbare jacket, heavy black boots, and beige trousers, with many pockets. She followed him through a couple of streets, until he seemed to realize and snapped his head around. Katarina was much quicker than he was, and slipped into a doorway a pace ahead of her.
His dark eyes scanned the streets, looking for Wardens, but saw none, and continued to walk. The Noxian was close behind again, ready to lunge at a moment's notice. The wind blew from behind them, and one of Katarina's hairs came loose, flying forward. She hoped that it went unnoticed, and it seemed to, but he noticed. It was almost impossible to see two people with blood-red hair, and even that single hair tipped him off. He started to realize that the woman in the store didn't nudge him by accident.
The man shuddered with cold and continued walking, listening closely for any footsteps behind him, but he couldn't hear the steps of a trained assassin. After a moment of thinking, he turned towards where a Hexdraulic Conveyor was just lifting into the station. Despite never going into Zaun, or even the Boundary markets, Katarina followed. Both of them slowed to a stop, waiting for the citizens to finish stepping onto the street. With an annoyed look, the man looked over at the Noxian.
"You following me or something?" He asked, getting increasingly annoyed. She wasn't even looking at him.
"Going home." Katarina replied simply.
"Sure you are." He turned back to look ahead, a smug grin cracking his lips open. "You're just following me because you want a chance at me, huh?" Still with a blank expression, Katarina lifted her hands and pointed to her ring. His expression soured again. "Yeah, right… Stop fucking following me."
"I'm not." He grumbled something under his breath and stepped onto the conveyor when it was time. When Katarina stepped on, there were around six people waiting to move down into Zaun, and the man was starting to get nervous.
He couldn't hear her feet, so she's skilled. He didn't notice her following him until now… He had never seen this Warden before, and she's too distinct to have not noticed. The glass doors of the conveyor shut, and panic started to set in. He can't have this Warden following him home. The man mined the action of adjusting his belt, but gripped the hilt of the blade under his belt, and lunged for Katarina. She was three metres away from him, and he closed the gap in a few seconds. The people on the other side of the platform opened their mouths to shout in fear or surprise,
And silenced themselves at the sound of his blade hitting another.
Of course she saw the attack coming. Katarina pulled her kunai from her own concealment and turned to meet the man's blade, stopping him before his blade met flesh. Her expression, as always, was neutral. Katarina kept a cool head; the criminal, however, started to panic. A woman that he had never met before matched the speed of his attack, when she had no warning of it…
Those green eyes started to burn through his soul.
He pulled his arm back and swung again, dodged as the redhead stepped back. Still no expression change.
"The Wardens aren't going to catch me today!" He yelled, slashing through the air again, and missing as Katarina moved out of the way. The Hexdraulic Conveyor ground to a halt, shaking everyone inside of it, and the metal screeched together as it started to climb again. As it did, the convict started to panic even more.
"Send the Conveyor back down!" He focused his gaze onto the operator, and took two steps of a run towards him, stopped by the swipe of the kunai in front of him. Katarina stepped around him as he was stunned, placing herself between him and the civilians. Still with that cold stare. He stepped closer again, and Katarina swiped again.
"Back the fuck off!" He yelled holding his knife shakily, pointed at her. "I've never been taken down by a Warden, and I'm not gonna let it happen!"
"I'm not a Warden." Katarina replied, still just as cold. The convict's eyes flicked between the citizens and the woman in front of him. The stand off lasted just long enough for the glass doors to grind open again, where he started to run. The Noxian raised her kunai again, ready to defend herself, and watched him bolt past. Of course, she gave chase. The person who was running the Conveyor had called the Wardens with a single button press, and two of them were waiting by the door, ready to arrest who they thought was a petty thief.
Their joking stopped in a second when they watched Piltover's most wanted, Matthew Davies, sprint away from the Hexdraulic Conveyor, with the Deputy's wife hot on his heels.
"Was that-"
"The car! Get in the car!"
Matthew glanced behind him, swearing audibly at the sight of Katarina close on his heels. The Wardens knew exactly where he was, and there was no way that he could shake this woman off. He ducked down endless alleyways, and after quite a few, he looked behind him, saw nobody and slowed down, grinning victoriously. Shouting was obviously a dumb move, so instead, he shook his fists in a little victory dance as he caught his breath. He turned again, ready to walk home,
And yelped in surprise, falling onto his back when he saw Katarina standing there.
"Who the fuck are you?!" He yelled, scrambling back to his feet. "How the fuck did you follow me like this?!"
"That isn't important." Katarina said, as cool as ever. "You're a threat. I don't like threats."
"And what makes you think that you can take me out?!" Matthew yelled, holding his blade, the point forward. The Wardens' sirens were getting close. Now, or never. "I'll die before I go to prison!" He lunged forward, slashed through the air, grunting as Katarina deflected his blade. He started a flurry of attacks, all of which were deflected with a 'clang' of metal on metal. Ionian steel was stronger than Zaunite iron, and the last hit cracked Matthew's blade. In the onslaught, Katarina had taken a couple of steps back, but didn't even flinch, while the convict was panting heavily.
In one final, desperate attempt, Matthew roared and picked up a stone at his feet, swinging it through the air, towards Katarina's head. In the moments before it connected, The Noxian was grabbed and hugged from behind, and almost folded in half against the person behind her, as a gunshot rang through the air above them.
In a second, she knew exactly who had hugged her, in a mix of gauntlets that wrapped around her in a protective way, and the feel of a bulky necklace against her back.
"Target down!" VI lifted her head, looking at the writhing prisoner on the ground, surrounded by a net.
"Kat, are you okay?" The assassin nodded and shifted to kneel down, so she would conceal her kunai.
"He never touched me. I'm fine." There was a moment longer before she stood up fully and jogged over to Matthew, untangling him from the net to correctly detain him. The sound of heels made Katarina look up, into Caitlyn's smirk as she pointed the smoking barrel of her rifle towards the floor.
"You stayed on him all that time?"
"From the store, to the Conveyor, and then here." The sheriff nodded, still smiling.
"I have a proposition for you."
It's been so long, and I… genuinely have no words. Other than to thank you all for sticking with me.