Disclaimer: I obviously do not own anything relating to Harry Potter or League of Legends. All characters and properties are the products of their creators and I am a simple writer trying to increase my skills with characters and worlds that I love.
Part Five - A World Torn Asunder
With a lazy, contented, sigh Violet stretched in the large bed of her boyfriend's apartment, being careful not to release him from her arms. Even after months of living together it still surprised her that Hadrian liked being the little spoon when they snuggled.
Seeing that her boyfriend was still dead to the world she smiled and looked around the room. The walls were filled with pictures of the two of them together. As well as pictures of him and powder. The younger girl had taken to her new boy toy almost as soon as she had, and to his credit, the man had adjusted quite quickly to the idea that any relationship with her would undoubtedly need to include her younger sister.
He'd offered to let her move in with them but Powder had insisted she was fine at Vander's since Violet went there every day. She wanted them to have the nights to themselves, and the sparkle in her eyes when she said it made Violet almost one hundred percent sure her sister had discovered 'boys'.
Finally Violet gave a defeated sigh and extricated herself from Hadrian and the very warm sheets they'd been buried in. Her crew was expecting her after all and it wouldn't do for their leader to be late. Opportunities like the one she was going to lead them on only came once in a lifetime after all.
It was as she was putting her boots on that a voice stopped her. "Leaving without a goodbye kiss Vi? Should I be worried that I've offended you somehow?"
She smirked and strutted over to her now awake boyfriend and forcefully shoved her tongue into his mouth, dominating the space, for a solid minute before releasing him with a contented sigh. He hadn't stopped her, hadn't fought her for dominance or control. That was something she loved dearly about Hadrian. He respected women, wanted them to feel in control so they never felt forced. But more importantly, he absolutely loved it when women took control. Not that he was a hardcore masochist or anything, but he liked a strong woman that knew what she wanted and held the reigns in the bedroom. For a dominant personality like Violet, that was just perfect.
"You don't need to worry love, you couldn't offend me if you tried. I just have somewhere to be and I didn't want to wake you."
She sat beside him on the bed, softly admiring his naked chest. His right pectoral held a tattoo of her name and the rose thorn vines trailed down his ribs.
"But now that you are awake, how are you feeling Hadrian? I know your dad has you meeting with that creepy chemist of his today."
The boy managed to avoid shuddering with a force of will. "Aye he does. I understand why my pop keeps him around. The man is bloody useful after all, but I'm sure he must have some other product in the works he won't tell us about. He gets too much freedom in that laboratory of his."
He sat up then and took his lovers hand. "Regardless, he's proven invaluable in our Shiver production so I can't convince father to get rid of him. I'll just have to wait."
At the word 'Shiver' Violet had scrunched up her nose. "I still don't like that you're involved with that stuff babe. It's gross."
"I agree with you Vi. My pop does too. But the fact of the matter is that Piltover is stronger than us. If it comes down to a fight in the future then we need that edge. I'm not saying we have to use it, but better to have it and not need it."
He finally released her hand and hopped out of bed, displaying his back to her as he opened his closet. The entire surface was covered by a dark raven standing on a stack of books with a feather quill in its beak. He moved several items over on his rack before selecting one of his regular three piece suits and an ornate silver cane.
Violet stifled a chuckle. He hadn't been shuffling suits in that closet, he wore the same style every day after all. No Hadrian had been shuffling his collection of walking canes. She supposed every man needed a hobby, and it could be worse. He could have been into competitive eating.
As he got dressed he tried one last time to get information from her. "Are you sure I can't convince you to tell me about this job you guys are pulling? Perhaps I could help or get you better supplies." He got his pants on and turned back to her. "I don't like not knowing if you're safe Vi."
Warmth sprouted in her chest like every time before when he said something sweet to her like that and she hugged him. "We'll be fine love. Just focus on your own project today and with any luck I'll be meeting you back at The Last Drop for a glass of whiskey and dinner."
She kissed him a final time and left the room, a subtle sashay of her hips earning a groan that cheered her all the way to the bar.
Once there she met up with her crew and went over the plan. A week ago Ekko, or Little Man as he was sometimes called, had come to them with information. Apparently someone had come into his employer's shop and tried to sell information on a high end home in Piltover. He had guard rotations, floor plans, and a basic list of the riches that could be expected inside. The boss however had thought Piltover was too dangerous to invest in as far as heists went so turned him down. Luckily Ekko had heard everything and passed that knowledge onto her. For a small finders fee of course.
When Violet walked through the doors of the bar and saw her boys and sister all waiting for her she smiled. Today she'd take a shot at Piltover and make her crew some serious money all at once. It was a good day.
Six Hours Later
It was a very bad day. At least that was what Violet was thinking now that everything was going to shit. Things had been going fine to start. They'd made it to the room, gotten inside, and filed an entire bag with gold and other valuables. Then the owner had come home early. They'd made a break for it but some kind of explosion had gone off and shattered half the building.
She didn't know what that meant for them now but they had to get back and safe before she could make any decisions on the matter.
Which made things entirely too unfortunate that they were now being held up by a group of teenage thugs who were blocking the entrance to the underground.
"Well well well, what do we have here?" The speaker was a thin blond fuck with a knife in his hand. "That looks like a mighty fine bag in your hands kid."
His words were directed at Powder and with a snarl her big sister stepped up into his path. Apparently that was what it took for the others in the attacking group to recognize her.
"Shit Finn, that's Red Eye's girl!" One of them practically sneered.
Violet smiled at the brief look of fear on the knife wielders face before it disappeared in resignation.
"That means she can just go to him and describe us. We can't let them leave now." He said.
"Are you insane!" Another nearly squealed. "If he finds out we touched his girl he'll hang us by our entrails!"
"That's why we can't leave any witnesses. Now attack!"
Suddenly it was on. Everybody moving at once. Fists, knives, loose boards of wood and pipes. Everything that could be used as a weapon was utilized to their full potential.
As for the knife wielder, he made Violet his sole focus and proceeded to slash wildly in her direction. Once upon a time she would have just taken a hit in order to get in close and finish him, but months of training with Hadrian had fixed that habit right up. Instead she kept stepping back and dodging until her opponent began to pant with exertion before grabbing his knife hand, twisting, and driving the point straight into his own heart. He jerked once before falling limp to the ground. His compatriots didn't take much longer to follow him, but once Vi started to think they would get away safe a white light blocked out all sight and an explosive concussion of force sent her sailing down the alley.
An unknowable amount of time later Violet jerked up. She could see, and her hearing was returning swiftly, but she couldn't see Powder!
With a rush of energy she didn't know she had the older girl ran back to the sight of the explosion and started pulling rocks, boards, and other pieces of debris off the ground to try and find her little sister. That was how she found the remains of her crew. None of them were in one piece. There were arms and legs scattered everywhere, as well as pulped heads. Vi couldn't help but throw up at least twice during the process.
Finally, after what seemed an eternity in hell, she pried a crate lid off the wall and there was her sister, huddling behind it for safety.
With a sob of relief Violet pulled the blue haired girl into her arms and cried, hugging her for all she was worth as Powder did the same. When they finally calmed down enough to talk Vi asked what happened, noticing the distinct outline of a new bruise on her cheek.
"I don't know!" Powder exclaimed. "Everything was happening so fast. I got hit and I fell so I crawled here to hide, one of the rocks I took from Piltover fell out of my pocket and there was a loud booming sound." She presented the rocks to her sister and Violet gulped. She had a feeling she knew what had happened to their mark's home after all.
As she was thinking this however Powder had moved around her and was making her way back to the street. "Hey Violet, where are the others?"
The girl in question rounded quickly and tried stop her but was too late. Powder had seen the bodies. Her screams of hysteria and fear shook the very air around them.
"They called me a jinx!" were the first understandable words amidst the screams. "They were right!"
Violet couldn't bear to hear that from her sister and pulled her back into a hug, humming to her the entire time. "No they weren't Powder. This wasn't your fault."
"Yes it was!" She sobbed. "I brought those rocks here. I thought they were cute! I should have known better!"
"And how would you know that? I said to grab anything that looked valuable and those rocks do look valuable." She pulled her sister's eyes to her own, "I'm right here Powder. Just look at me and breath deeply, in and out." The bluenette did as ordered and slowly managed to calm herself. The lowered heart rate combined with all the stress she had endured caught up to her all at once and with a sigh the girl passed out in her sister's arms.
Gazing out into the devastation Violet couldn't even begin to understand how things had gone so wrong.
Two Hours Later
When Hadrian arrived at The Last Drop he was expecting to meet his girlfriend at the bar, not a swift finger from Vander pointing him to the basement. Something must have gone wrong.
With a curse he bolted his way down the stairs and burst through the doors only to find himself with an armful of red hair and tears. The two fell to the ground with him holding his love and listening to her tale of woe. When she was finished he glanced to the bunk across the room where Powder was clutching one of her robotic grenades like a teddy bear and shivering beneath her blanket.
"How is she? How are you? Where are the bodies? I can send someone to retrieve them for a proper burial."
"I don't know." Violet shivered for a moment. "She was in a really bad place before she passed out, and I can't stop seeing their faces. I left them right above the main lift. That's where you'll find them."
Gently, oh so gently, Hadrian cupped her face and kissed her. In that movement he tried to convey the depths of his love, support, and caring. After a moment the girl stopped shivering and simply leaned into his warmth. He figured that meant he'd succeeded, if only slightly.
The two were content to stay that way until a loud bang and chorus of stomping boots on the ceiling broke their immersion. Something was happening topside, and Hadrian only knew one kind of boot that made such unnecessarily loud noise.
"It sounds like enforcers are here. You stay and look after Powder, I'll see what they want."
Vi seemed about to protest for a moment, but then she looked back to the huddled mass that was her sister and nodded. Without another word she sat on the ground beside her and he donned his top hat before climbing the stairs again.
When he reached the main room he saw the cause of the disturbance. A mustached fuck of an enforcer was leaning on the bar with Vander's iconic pipe in his hand, and a cadre of lower ranked enforcers standing as his guard.
It seemed to Hadrian that his father hadn't gotten the proper leverage on the enforcer department after all. Shame.
With his usual swagger the man walked up to the bar, snatched the pipe out of the lawman's hand and lit it on a nearby candle before putting it in his mouth for a puff.
"Vander," he drawled, "after all the times I asked you to share your pipe weed you choose to give it to an outsider first? I'm offended."
"Well when the situation calls for it…" The bearded man mused with forced joviality.
Hadrian turned to mustached enforcer. "So what exactly is it you want here mister….?" He trailed off politely.
"Enforcer Marcus." The man drawled. "Trencher trash like you ought to learn to recognize your betters boy." He reached to take back the lit pipe and every sound in the room stopped. Thick as he was, Marcus had ears, and turned to assess the situation.
Every patron of the bar was now standing with weapons in hand. Some had knives and swords, others loaded firearms, and some had just picked up the chairs they had formerly been sitting on.
Marcus turned back to the impudent boy with an outraged tirade prepared in his head only to find his face smashed into the bar. A burst of pain preceded by a sickening crack indicated that his nose had broken on impact.
Hadrian was standing over him, his hand delivering the attack and the pipe in his mouth. He took it out, tossed it to Vander (who carried a look of resignation), and started speaking to his captive.
"Trencher trash like us let you walk in here in the first place because we're polite." A jerk of his foot took out Marcus's stool and his body fell to the ground in an undignified heap. "Trencher trash like us let you and your men walk our streets without incident." He squatted down before the enforcer, who was clutching a blooded rag to his ruined nose. "Do you get it now Marcus? You aren't our betters. Not really. You don't walk these streets because you own them. You walk them because we allow you to do so and live. Although if your actions here today are an indication of how that politeness is viewed… perhaps we ought to change that policy."
With a nod of his head two patrons of the burlier variety stepped forward and held the man between him. His enforcer bodyguards tried to step in but were held back back the others. They didn't have the numbers here.
"Those are words of war!" Marcus's now nasally tone spoke from between the brutes.
"Only if you make them so." The young gangster responded. "Now go back to Piltover. Talk to your superiors and relay my words. If you want to come here again with proper respect then we can talk. Come without it and bodies are going to start littering the streets."
He waved his hand and the brutes carried/dragged the enforcer away, his men hurrying to follow. As they left the crowd cheered and began chanting Hadrian's name. Not his real one though. They called him Red Eye.
Then he turned back to the bar keeper. "Sorry Vander, guess your deal just went out the window."
The older man nodded his head and took a puff on his pipe to calm down before pouring drinks for the two of them. "Guess your old man would have told you about that. Doesn't matter now I guess. My time has come and gone, it's your fight now. But are you prepared for what your words and actions can bring? Last time words like yours were spoken we went to war. It didn't end well."
Hadrian took a large swallow of his whiskey. "The last time you went to them. You charged a fortified position with heavily armed defenders. It was a noble gesture but unless you were willing to accept great losses it was doomed to fail. We'll do it differently this time. They want to rule us, they'll need to come here to enforce it. They'll have to come to our streets with our men and weapons hiding in every alley, under every sewer drain, and on every roof. We'll make them bleed for every inch of ground and this time we'll be willing to outlast them."
He finished his whiskey and looked into Vander's eyes. "If your sheriff contact is as good as I think she'll understand that. But this only works if we have a united front before the people. You just said it was my time now, but if it comes to it, will you follow me?"
The older man sighed. "I'd hoped to never see war again in my lifetime, but if it does come down to that I'll stand with my people. You'll have my support."
Hadrain smiled at his mentor, "Thanks Vander." He finished his glass and slid it back to him. "Now I have a couple girls in the basement that need me. If I've judged things right that sheriff should be here tomorrow at the latest to try and smooth things over. Let me know when she arrives."
The big man gave him a nod and he disappeared down the stairs.
Piltover Council Chamber
"A grievous injury has been done to one of our enforcers Sheriff," Councilman Bolbok stated in his usual robotic monotone. "What is being done to get justice and ensure it never happens again?"
Sheriff Grayson gripped her gloves behind her back hard enough to make them squeak. She'd had this situation well in hand and then Marcus had to go and ruin everything. It was going to take everything she had to avoid another bloodbath.
"At present nothing. He went to The Last Drop in force against my orders and without a warrant. By the letter of the law the Zaunites were defending themselves." She stated.
Councilman Hoskel scoffed. "That does not matter sheriff. The enforcers are the visible display of our authority in Zaun. If they are not respected then we are not respected. I want the perpetrators brought here in irons to stand trial for assault!"
"Those charges will not stick unless you rig the trial. Are you implying that you would rig an official trial Councilor?" Though her tone was light Grayson's eyes were anything but as she stared the man down. The woman had no tolerance for corruption and had no qualms about arresting anyone guilty of such. Even a councilman. Hoskel knew it too. He blinked first and gulped nervously.
"I'm not saying that at all sheriff Grayson." He raised his hands to try and placate the woman. "All I am saying is that our authority in Zaun is tenuous at best so we cannot allow it to slip in any way. We need to be seen taking action here."
"Taking what action precisely? Increasing our number of enforcers in the districts? I tell you now that with the way things currently stand they will see such a choice as an act of war!" Though she tried to stay calm, Grayson couldn't keep her frustration from leaking into her voice at the end of her statement.
Ever the mediator, Councilor Kiramman stood next to speak. "I can understand putting aside the assault on your enforcer sheriff. He is under your aegis so we shall respect your decision in regards to him. However there is still the explosion near the market district to account for. Several witnesses claimed to see a group of Zaunites fleeing the premises. What is being done to conclude that investigation and bring the guilty parties to justice?"
Grayson frowned at the taller woman. "I was working on that very issue before Marcus went and cocked everything up. Although I shouldn't be surprised considering what he told me about a certain council member giving him the green light to act." Her eyes zoomed in on Hoskel and the rest of the council joined her in glaring. To his credit the man said nothing and looked down at the ground.
"Regardless," the sheriff continued, "the game might have changed as a result."
"What do you mean sheriff?" Kiramman asked.
Grayson straightened further before answering. "After the events on the bridge six and a half years ago I reached an understanding with the nominal leader of the underground at the time. A man by the name of Vander. He was as sick of the fighting as I was and agreed that as long as I kept the majority my enforcers on our side of the river he would keep his people on his. If one of them committed a crime on our side he allowed us to retrieve them as long as we didn't falsely convict them. All in all it was a very mutually beneficial deal."
Councilor Kiramman nodded along. "It sounds like that deal is perfect for our current situation. What seems to be the problem with it?"
"Well first off, enforcers invaded the trenches in force. That flies directly in the face of our deal. Second, Vander allowed retaliation on an enforcer, also against the terms of our deal. I think we need to consider the possibility that the deal we made is no longer valid. Marcus and Hoskel here destroyed it."
Silence reigned for several minutes before the newest councilor, Mel Medarda spoke. "So all the trust the Zaunites had managed to gain in us is gone then. What now?"
Grayson sighed. "Now I'm going to go there myself and see if I can make a new deal."
"With this Vander fellow?" She clarified.
"No. Not with him. The man he let attack Marcus."
This caused Councilor Medarda to blink. "Why ever would you want to make a deal with him? I thought Vander was in charge?"
"So did I. But I've been hearing things about this boy for several years now. He personally represents over a quarter of the underground in Zaun, is the son of the man representing an entire half of it, and if the events at the Last Drop are any indication, has the trust of the man that runs the last quarter. The people of Zaun call him the Red Eye. If he cannot make the deal himself then he can put it forward to the people who can."
"And you are confident you can make him agree to your new deal for continued stability and turn over those responsible for the explosion?" Medarda asked.
In response, Grayson sighed. "I hope so councilors. I truly do. Because the alternative is war. They won't stand for anymore enforced authority from us. We've pushed them too far. And there is a good chance that they'll win this time."
Unable to stay silent any longer Hoskel spoke up at this outrageous insinuation. "They are peasants in the muck! How could they possibly defeat our superior weaponry? We showed the futility of such an attempt the last time they tried to rise against us."
The man spoke with pride, while the rest of the council looked down in shame. None of the rest were proud of the blood shed that day like Hoskel was.
Regardless of the fury rising in her at her councilman's words, Grayson answered. "We only won back then because they charged a fortified position and our men had ranged weapons. I don't believe they'll do the same thing again. They'll make us come to them. And in confined spaces, in the streets they know, we'll be at a crippling disadvantage."
Remarkably that managed to shut the short man up.
Seizing the opportunity Kiramman stood to speak next. "We applaud any measure that can lead to continued peace Sheriff Grayson. Please go with out blessing."
The sheriff nodded and turned to go, only to be interrupted one last time by councilor Bolbok. "However we cannot accept any deal that does not give us the perpetrators of the explosion. Our people must have their justice."
Greyson hung her head, her bangs covering her eyes. "Are not the Zaunites supposed to be our people too? Where has their justice been all these years?" Before a response could be given she exited the room and let the doors slam behind her.
All was silent for several moments.
Medarda was the first to speak. "Perhaps it's time we cut our losses and granted the Zaunites independence? That is what they truly desire isn't it?"
Hoskel was the first to jump to his feet in denial. "Nonsense! Those trenchers are the best source of cheap labor on the continent. I need them to keep my factories running."
Next to speak was Bolbok. "They are not wealthy but the tax revenue we take from them is a key part of our economy. if we simply stopped collecting from them then our markets would come crashing down."
It was with clear reluctance that Kiramman stood next. "There is also the international aspect of Zaun. Having them under our control doubles the size of our nation. That alone has made more than a few others reconsider invasion plans. Should we split then neither of us would be as safe. It is distasteful Medarda, but for the good of all, we must stay united."
Mel Medarda gave them all a flat look. "Unity only truly works if both parties want it. I don't think that is the case here. Good night to you all."
With that she slammed the meeting hammer onto her table and everyone dispersed for the evening.
The Next Morning
The Last Drop
Grayson approached the bar alone. Marcus had insisted on coming with but she saw through the bravado in an instant. He hadn't wanted to protect her, he merely wanted a chance to get back at the boy that had wounded him. The man had been extremely put out when he found out no charges were going to be forthcoming.
Even this early in the morning music was playing and a there was clearly a crowd inside. This fact was confirmed when she entered and saw every seat packed. She didn't focus on any particular person however. She instead focused on the bar where her old contact Vander was cleaning a glass with a remarkably clean rag.
When she sat down at the only available stool she finally took stock of her surroundings. To her left was was a thin, scarred man, that almost made her jump with shock. She had not expected Silco to be here. Then she looked to her right and was equally disturbed. The muscular woman known only as Sevika was sat there with a cigarette between her fingers. All but one of the bosses of the underground were present and apparently waiting for her. She wasn't sure if that was a good thing.
Finally she sighed. "Shall we begin?" She asked in the dull tone of one that knew she was about to start walking upstream.
Vander however shook his head. "Not yet I think. Our deal is done Grayson. You knew that coming in." He turned to Sevika, "Why don't you go grab him and Powder." He grabbed a bottle of what she assumed was juice and poured a glass in preparation of meeting the blue haired girl. "She needs to get out of that room, if only for a little bit. If Violet is sleeping let her rest a bit longer."
The woman nodded and left her seat. Immediately two more opened up and it wasn't long before three individuals came back. Sevika herself, a blue haired girl with dried tear marks on her face, and a young man with a cane and a blood red eye visible under the rim of a top hat.
Internally Grayson was getting worried. Vander was an idealist, which in and of itself was dangerous, but she had understood him and knew how to deal with his type. This man though… she couldn't read anything from his face.
"Sheriff Grayson I presume?" The new man drawled in a tone that made it clear he knew the answer. She decided to answer in kind.
"Yes, it's a pleasure to meet you Mr. Red Eye." Though he gave no immediate reaction the enforcer thought perhaps she saw a brief twitch of his eyebrow.
"I was not aware that my reputation had spread to your neck of the woods. Regardless, I don't much care for small talk at the moment. I can guess why you're here. I'm assuming you came to make a deal."
She nodded before looking askance at Silco and Vander. "Does he speak for you now?"
Silco nodded while Vander kept quiet, staying focused on his glass. "It's the younger generation's time now." Silco spoke, "As such it is right that he has my support and voice for this."
Taking the silence of the bar tender for agreement, the older woman turned back to the young man. "We're in a bit of a clusterfuck here Red Eye. What's it going to take to get out of it?"
Hadrian seemed to take a moment to think before answering. "You could remove every single enforcer in Zaun."
In response Grayson tapped with with her hand and gestured with two fingers. A moment later a glass was slid in front of her with two fingers of whiskey. She took a large sip and then gave her answer. "That will never happen. It would be tantamount to the council granting you independence."
The red eye seemed to glare into her soul at the word. "Exactly."
The grey haired woman sighed. "Be careful boy. that sentiment can lead to war."
"And this time we're prepared for it."
The response was given without hesitation or doubt. Grayson was getting very worried now.
"No one wants a war boy. What if we-" She was cut off by schnicking sound and the pressure of a blade on her neck. She looked down to find a cane handle in her discussion partner's hand. Leading off that handle was three feet of steel that was currently pressed uncomfortably into the crook of her neck. She marveled that her eyes hadn't even tracked his movement. The boy had skill with a blade.
"What did you just call me?" His voice was deadly still. Almost as still as the rest of the bar had become.
She was just preparing a response that would ease tempers when the blue haired girl, she thought her name was powder, leaned past Sevika and bopped the aggressor on the head with a lightly closed fist.
"Bad Hadrian." She giggled as if the very action of making the sound hurt her, but still she smiled. "Old or not she's still a girl. And you don't hurt girls. You protect them."
He seemed to consider that statement for a moment before pulling the blade from her neck and returning it to its stick/sheath. "Thanks for the reminder Powder. Now drink your juice." The girl huffed in mock annoyance before returning to her drink. For the first time that night Grayson noticed Vander smiling.
"Well there is one other thing you could give us to prevent open hostilities…" Hadrian led off. Continuing the conversation as if he hadn't just threatened to cut her throat open.
She took it in stride with the benefit of literal decades on the force. "What would that be?"
He gestured to the streets visible outside the windows and the latent smog that seemed to haunt them. "Our people are continually harassed by the toxic fumes of Councilman Hoskel's factories in the narrows. Those fumes have led to the deaths of thousands of my people. Close them. Close them all and we can talk about peace."
The very reasonable nature of the demand made the sheriff cringe. She knew he was right about the smog. Knew that asking for them to be closed was preferable to war; but she wasn't sure she'd be able to get the council to agree. They'd said they'd make compromises, but that was before the direct profits of one of them were threatened as a consequence of them.
"I can't promise that now, but I will pass on the demand and get a response back to you as soon as possible." She said.
The boy didn't respond verbally. He just looked at her as if he expected disappointment. As if the idea of Piltover's council doing anything to remotely help the Zaunites was laughable. She was ashamed to agree with him.
So she stood and turned to him. "Regardless of the consensus of this demand or any future negotiations, I have been told to make you aware that nothing will happen unless the culprits behind the explosion in Piltover yesterday are turned in to me. People are scared Red Eye."
The boy, no man, she corrected herself shook his head as if to deny her before seeming to change his mind. He stood up beside her. "I can't give you the people directly responsible. They are under my protection."
She was about to argue that point but he raised his hand to stall her.
"Answer me honestly, does your council care specifically that justice is brought to the perpetrators, or do they just want a body or two to show off to the masses?"
Again shame colored the thoughts of the sheriff. "The latter. One or two may want true justice but the rest just want to appease the mob."
Hadrian nodded. "I have in my possession four men guilty of rape. We were going to castrate them before hanging their useless corpses in the streets. Would you like them instead to meet your demand?"
It didn't even take a moment for her to nod her head. Rapists were some of the worst people alive in her estimation, and using them to avoid conflict and possibly secure peace while also giving them a prison sentence that some would consider worse than death was icing on the cake.
The Red eye gestured to the door, "Then let us retrieve them for you. You can show them off to your council as a sign of good faith in the negotiations to come. As you said, no one wants a war if it can be avoided."
For the first time that morning Grayson found herself smiling. Perhaps peace wasn't off the table after all. Then everything had to go tits up!
A booming crash echoed in the room as the front doors flew off their hinges, killing two patrons that had the misfortune of sitting in their path. In the opening stood the Mustached fuck Marcus, with a grenade launcher in one hand and a cadre of enforcers behind him.
As a veteran hunter and marksman Grayson prided herself on her keen eyesight. As such she was quick to notice a certain sigil on both the launcher and the shoulders of the masked enforcers. Councilman Hoskel had decided to intercede once more.
"Red Eye!"He screamed into the room, swinging the weapon back and forth at any patron that decided to get too close. "Show yourself!"
Beside her Grayson saw the man step slightly in front of Sevika and the blue haired girl. As if he planned to shield them with his body.
"What do you want Marcus?" He asked with a level of calm in his voice that the sheriff certainly didn't feel. "No charges were filed for what happened to you. Do you even have the clearance to be here?"
The invader laughed, a curdling and cruel sound. "I have permission from a councilor of Piltover, and he agreed that for daring to place hands on an enforcer death is the only right response!"
Grayson was about to step forward to try and call off the man, but Powder accidentally dropped her glass and several things happened at once. The glass shattered on the ground, the sound made Marcus jump and, with his finger on the trigger like an idiot, his launcher fired. None of that was what shocked Grayson though.
As previously stated she had excellent vision, so the moment the glass shattered everything seemed to happen in slow motion for her. As the ignited grenade made it's way toward Sevika and Powder the Red Eye moved his hands. His left hand shot to the side and a visible wake in the air seemed to shove the muscular woman and the child to the other side of the bar, while the right hand moved straight up. That motion caused the same wake to come into effect in a haze all around him just as the grenade hit.
The enforcer expected an explosion. She expected shrapnel and pain and death. What she got was a flash of light followed by a single scream of pain and rage. She followed the sound to the stairs at the end of the main room. An older girl with scarlet hair stood there with a look of horror. The scream had come from her. In a flash she was running to site of the explosion and pulling the body into her arms.
That term, 'body, also seemed inaccurate as it was twitching and beginning to move. While everyone else was distracted the woman marched across the room to her former deputy and ripped the weapon out of his hands. He was still staring at his fingers. His eyes wide and uncertain. That was what made the sheriff understand. His words aside, the man didn't come here to kill. Sure he meant to threaten and more than likely put his fist in his attackers face, but the man had yet to take a life, and all his years of bravado were not enough to prepare him for an act that almost had.
She was about to start ripping into him when a fist sailing past her head stopped any chance of it. Said fist crashed into Marcus's face and drove him to the ground where the red head from before followed him. Each of the successive punches were brought forth with cries of pain and rage so profound that the hardened enforcer found herself taking a step back. She looked aside and saw the cadre that had come with Marcus being held on their knees with knives at their throats by the patrons of the bar. She needed to end this now!
With a flourish of her heeled boots she marched back to the bar, the sickening squelching sounds of her subordinate's face being smashed-in her accompaniment.
The bar however brought her an even greater shock. The Red Eye was standing! and he was missing his left arm! The entire thing ended at his shoulder.
A cursory glance showed him taking deep, strained breaths while Sevika and Powder fussed over him, trying to stop the bleeding.
The only thing that made sense to her about this entire situation was that he had somehow contained the explosion so no one else got hurt. When she went over the slow motion of the events in question in her mind only one conclusion provided an answer… and it terrified her.
Before she could speak she found the knife of a pissed off gangster at her throat, and when she turned Silco was the one holding it. His dead eye almost seemed alive again with the amount of anger he was clearly giving off.
"We met you with respect! Our leaders present to hear you out and try for peace. This is how you reply!" He screamed the last at her and she was too shocked to answer. Never in all her years as an enforcer had she seen the gangster lord this emotional. A quick look to the bar saw a thunderous expression on Vander's face as well. He was looking directly at her with murder in his eyes. That alone was enough to make her heart plummet. The trust she'd spent years cultivating with the man was gone.
A shuffling sound made her look up as Silco pulled her close and dug the knife into her skin, drawing blood. His message was clear, she wasn't going to be moving.
"Your son is a mage." She managed to state in a whisper. She was too afraid that if she spoke louder the knife would cut deeper. The crime lord didn't seem to care. "What of it?"
"Piltover law says the moment he displayed ability he was supposed to be turned over to the academy." Silco leaned in close to her ear. The scent of cigars on his breath washing over her face from the action.
"Look over there." His free hand tilted her head to the right where she could see the furious red head dragging the limp, unconscious, form of her deputy over to the bar where Hadrian was still being tended to. When she arrived she fussed over him for a few seconds before he said something to her that made her stop. After a couple of moments a sickening grin split her face and she nodded before giving him a quick kiss and dragging her captive upright. With a final look of hatred she wrapped her arms around his head and twisted. A sickening crack filled the room and Marcus's body was dropped to the floor without ceremony.
But the slaughter wasn't finished. The Red Eye turned to the patrons of the bar holding prisoners and nodded to them one by one. Though she couldn't see the results, the slicking sound of knives on flesh painted a pretty picture for the sheriff.
In the face of all this murder, impossible as it seemed, Grayson had almost forgotten that Silco was holding her. That was until he said, "Does it look like we give a fuck about Piltover Law?"
With a grunt of utter contempt the gangster dropped the woman to the floor and moved to provide what comfort he could to his maimed child. With any luck his scientists and chemists would be able to create a new limb for him, but it would never be as good as the real thing.
Seeing that no one else was going to clean up Vander crossed the bar, grabbed the back of the only living enforcer's shirt and dragged her outside before tossing her into the street. When he turned to go back inside she tried one last time. One last hopeless attempt to stall the bloodshed.
"Vander!" he stopped, his back to her, with his hand on the door.
"Don't let this happen! Please, there must be something we can do! Some deal we can make!"
Still the big man did not turn, and when he replied his words came heavy as stones. "You said you'd come alone Grayson. You gave your word. That was a lie. You said you were coming peacefully, your man brought a cadre of armed guards and a grenade launcher that maimed my oldest friend's kid. I thought we had trust sheriff. I was wrong. So no, there isn't any deal, any compromise, or any stopping. The only thing, and I do mean the only thing that is going to prevent bloodshed is independence. Total independence. Get your council to sign a draft of emancipation for every citizen of Zaun. If that is not signed and ratified by tomorrow then you can consider us at war."
Though tears began to fall, the stoic enforcer didn't make a sound as she stumbled her way back to Piltover.