Someone's picked the lock to my office; there are scratches on the knob that were never there.
It can't be a criminal; there are officers on duty, security patrolling the halls. I am always the first in for daylight shift. I hear rustling behind the closed door, whoever it is, they're looking through my things.
It can't be her
I want to reach for my sidearm, but if it really is her, the sight of it will only bring more trouble. Relax, guard up, hand where you can easily draw.
It's her
At my desk
Playing with the paperweight my mother gave me at the Piltover Police Ball three years ago.
Vi
Early
This blasted woman is fucking 1 hour and 23 minutes early. Even more so since it seems she's been in my office for some time; many of the trinkets on my display shelf had been moved.
There are bags under her eyes, her outfit looks clean and pressed, I doubt she got much sleep last night. Was she up all night preparing for patrol? Is she that nervous for her first day?
Or perhaps nervous about who she's patrolling with.
Absurd
Focus Caitlyn
She looks as surprised as I am, quickly placing the glass sculpture back onto my desk and rubbing the back of her head. She's embarrassed, but eagerness shines in her eyes. The motion is a habit, a childish habit when she has been caught for something.
Remember, there are officers in earshot.
I comment on her punctuality, keeping my tone even, measuring my motions. Strictly business. Today is important, nothing must go wrong or else the mayor will terminate her badge on the spot. My reputation is entwined with her and I can't afford to lose either of them.
I catch sight of her gauntlets attached to her pack; the metal is clean and halfway polished. She used very low quality polish; must've taken hours to get it to where it is now.
I am certain she did not sleep at all last night.
What is she nervous about? A person like her should be nonchalant on how this goes; just another job, another paycheck. Something more perhaps?
I don't understand
Patrol is dull, I give her pointers on what to look for, how to properly arrest people in the uppercity; if she misses a single detail in an arrest, the perpetrator could walk free in court. A sideways glance and I can tell she's not listening. Her shoulders are relaxed, her stride casual. I continue talking; she seems to enjoy the sound of my voice.
She's comforted by the sound of someone talking.
We end patrol at the station, I call out to her to break her out of her daze. She seems to have been staring at the cars in the street; perhaps she's never seen a hexmobile up close. I might her take a tour of our auto department one day.
The station is crowed when we walk in, the daylight shift just beginning to bustle in. They nod towards me; Robert tries to hand me a report. He's having trouble at home, he didn't shave properly for there is a nick on the underside of his jaw, his tie is crooked with a fresh stain on it, and there is not the usual smudge of lipstick on his lips from kissing his wife.
An argument perhaps? He does have a mistress on the side.
Even if he is off his game today, I tell him that he knows exactly where it should go and reprime him for not remembering my policy. He apologizes, embarrassed, and walks off to place it on my desk.
They huddle around us, pausing momentarily whatever they're doing to scrutinize the woman behind me. They're planning something, I know it.
Relax, guard up, hand where you can easily draw.
Someone shouts my name; I look over to see Carl gesturing to me from his office. I rarely speak to Carl in person if there isn't an open case, he is part of the homicide unit and there hasn't been any action for his unit as of late. What does he want…
It's a set up
Relax
Vi can take care of herself
I follow him in, shutting the door behind me.
"Is there a new case to discuss?"
He seats himself casually on his desk, his hands in his pockets. He's a womanizer, fitting that he is the one trusted to distract me. But I have to be certain before I can accuse.
"Nothing, sheriff, been a dry spell lately." He grins, turning up his charm. It's revolting, I don't mix love with work. "I wanted to know how you were doing, maybe we can catch a-."
Respect has been lost
"Save your breath, officer." I growl out, turning my back to him right after the smirk falls from his face. I hear shouts from the lobby. I press my ear to the door.
"-her into some lesbo, fucking fag."
Homosexuality is looked down upon in Piltover, 'great minds are lost when children are not raised in a proper household.' It's pathetic that a city that revolves around science and progress is so close minded. The culture of Piltover is more traditional than the history books show them to be.
"Caitlyn-"
"Officer, one more word out of you and you will find yourself out of a job." He backs down; no one would risk their reputation for anything here in the uppercity.
Spineless cowards.
I ease open the door to peek out; all eyes are fixed on Vi in the center of the crowd to notice the action. Stanly has his gun drawn and aimed at her face. The safety is off, he knows he has little to lose.
Stanly has already been booked for taking bribes from company heads in return for planting incriminating evidence on rival companies. His trial is in two days, the evidence is overwhelming. This is his last 'great duty' he'll do for the station. That's how he thinks, he'll be a hero just like Jayce.
"Down, dog. I don't want to tell the sheriff I had to put down her new pet out of self-defense." His nose is broken; there is a glint of desperation in his eyes.
It will happen in 3 seconds
Not enough time for me to stop it; he'll still shoot her if I call out. No matter what, he wants her gone from the uppercity, they want her gone.
2 seconds
He is going to fire and she is going to dodge it, her weight has already shifted to her left leg. The bullet will graze her shoulder plate, rebounding upwards and bury itself in the chest of the officer behind her.
This how it will happen
1 second
He is has not put on his vest yet, having just walked through the door behind us and placing his equipment on his desk. He will mostly be heavily wounded, perhaps even killed.
The pistol is fired; she predicts it, but she doesn't duck down low enough for the bullet to completely miss her. She does this on purpose, stopping halfway and letting it dig into her flesh. She could've dodged it completely but she doesn't.
She would take a bullet for someone who hates her.
I don't understand
I see her hand cup and I know what's coming next; a textbook move done by fighters who aren't positioned correctly for a direct punch. The hand hits squarely against his left ear, rupturing the eardrum. He screams, dropping the pistol. The rest of the force rushes to keep him from collapsing while she stands there, blood staining her jacket.
I slam the door open, everyone stiffens.
I order Stanly to be taken to the infirmary and to meet me in my office in 30 minutes with his desk cleared. He knows he's done for, but the smug smirk on his face shows that he is satisfied with what he has accomplished; ruining her reputation.
Great Piltover society; if you're going down, take your enemy down with you.
The mayor will have her head for injuring another officer on her first day of duty.
And he'll have my head next.
I take her to my office and lock the door behind us.
Father insisted I take medical classes when I first started law enforcement. It's proved useful time after time. I should thank him one day.
Her steel shoulder plate slowed the bullet down enough for it to only bury itself in about half an inch. She doesn't even flinch when I apply the anesthetic and dig the slug out with a pair of forceps. I have to pause; it is not a round wound that I expect to see after removing the bullet. Her flesh stiches together, not completely healing, but there isn't a hole in a flesh like there normally would be. No more blood trickles out.
She has improved healing capabilities.
Intriguing
Though violence is not permitted in the station, or even in the uppercity, I will testify that she was provoked. But she didn't fight back with words like most uppercity folks would, she defended her name and mine alike with action.
We fight with wit and self-advancement in Piltover, up-showing the other by gaining notoriety through any means necessary and then humiliating them; all as legally as possible. The self is the most important thing; your reputation is held to a greater esteem than the true quality of your work. It's a gutless way to live, but it keeps our hospitals clear and health insurance low. Stanly knew is reputation was already gone for.
Out with a bang, he would say.
By the way she holds herself; the lowercity is much different. Actions, not words, similar to the Noxian champions I've interacted with. She wants to prove her worth through the quality of her work, not the connections she can make. She will have a hard time adjusting to the society of the uppercity.
She does deserve something for her merit. When I glance up I can see the look of pure guilt and shame, though she does not regret her actions, she seems to be aware of the predicament she has put me in. She knows that I'll get in trouble if I don't punish her; she thinks she'll be fired, like what Stanly wanted.
No, she's my responsibility, she deserves a chance; mayor be damned.
I place her badge into her hand and thank her; thank her for standing up to the uppercity officers, thank her for standing up for me. I thank her for showing me a different side of Piltover.
It's time I take a stand for something other than myself.
I dismiss her from duty for the rest of the day. I can't stop thinking about her face, the stubbornness when she stood her ground. Most people would cower at the sight of a gun pointed at them; I would expect Vi to considering her past.
No doubt, she's been in similar situations before, but what made this time different. What made her take the bullet in the shoulder instead of letting it kill the man behind her? What's different from this situation compared to the other times she had had a face off with a firearm.
I expect the others times she's been held at gunpoint were in the Zaun testing facility and on the streets of the lowercity. None of these times she was bound by the law to act a certain way, not that she would probably care, she did not have her career on the line. Not that she would care about either.
Perhaps I am the variable….
Absurd thought
She may have respect for me, but she's grown up on the concept of survival of the fittest, she wouldn't risk her wellbeing in the hope of having an impressing me.
Would she?
No, again, it's an absurd though, highly unlikely.
But still a possibility
Focus Caitlyn
My heart warms
Don't mix love with work