Another chapter! Reviews and follows are appreciated. I hope you enjoy! -AnUnknownStranger
A cloud of dust and rubble now took the place of the once symbolic bridge that connected the two cities and people. Caitlyn used the gondola lift to return to Piltover. It overlooked the large angry crowds that gathered at the Undercity's edge. If this was Piltover's only retaliation against the Undercity she was willing to accept it despite how tragic. Only speaking to Jayce would confirm whether that was true or not.
"Jayce!" She found him speaking with the new acting captain of the police force. Jayce waved him off once he saw Caitlyn approaching. She stumbled to a slow walk as she caught her breath approaching Jayce. Jayce raised a concerned eyebrow, "you're face, who did that?" He pointed to her damaged complexion. She ignored him, "The bridge…it's being torn down."
"Yes, I should hope so. I ordered its demolition." Jayce said nonchalantly.
"So you've agreed to make them an independent nation?" Caitlyn raised a brow. "Not exactly." He replied with the same curt response.
"Not exactly?" She pushed for more answers.
"They had the opportunity to be independent and they made it perfectly clear that they are not looking to be allies or even neighbors. They responded with an act of war." He explained angrily.
"Surely one persons actions do not account to entire populations?" Caitlyn said with bewilderment.
"That one person was acting for the nations leader. Silco." Jayce responded as he began gathering his paperwork.
"Silco is dead. The person who fired that missile killed him." Caitlyn informed. Jayce paused gathering his paperwork for a moment. "I have to respond, the citizens of Piltover and other nations are watching." Jayce said before continuing.
"And you have, you destroyed the only connection the Undercity had to us." Caitlyn replied with frustration.
"It's not enough. They cannot think that they can attack us like that and only get a broken bridge in response!" Jayce replied, his frustration now rising.
"What if you had Jinx? Would you leave the Undercity alone?" Caitlyn questioned. Jayce looked to her with tired eyes. "I think the real question you should be asking is, which side of that bridge are you going to stay on?" He exited the room and left her speechless.
Vi found Ekko and was not surprised to hear that he already knew the bridge was down. The next conversation would be about how they were going to respond. "We don't have the numbers for any kind of protest or action. People are still afraid of the Pilty's and I don't have enough Firelights to spare." Ekko sat halfway on a desk tossing his watch back and forth over his palm.
"We can't just do nothing. I guarantee Sevika has already taken over and is taking advantage of this opportunity." Vi argued as she gestured toward the outside.
"What opportunity? They wouldn't attack Piltover." Ekko replied. "No they wouldn't, this is the perfect time for the new nation of Zaun to rise. The council basically gave Silco what he wanted." Vi crossed her arms and shook her head.
"I wouldn't say that…" Heimerdinger stepped through the doorway, his shoulders slouched.
"Professor…" Ekko sat up at the sight of his new friend and partner. "Hello my boy, I'm afraid I bring some awful news." He sat in a chair beside Vi and looked at them both solemnly.
Vi and Ekko gave him their attention and he continued. "Councilor Talis and his partner have constructed a hextech bomb. This weapon if placed in the city, could level most of it." He explained with sadness.
Ekko and Vi's eyes widened and their posture stiffened. "They would destroy an entire city for a few councilors deaths?" VI's face was full of disgust.
"Love can be more destructive than hate, my dear." Heimerdinger frowned.
Caitlyn entered the doorway and was surprised to see Heimerdinger. "Professor…what are you doing here?" She questioned.
"I could say the same for you dear, but I sense we are here for the same reason." He replied with a sad smile.
"Did you talk to Jayce?" Vi asked quickly. She nodded, "he ordered for the bridge to be destroyed, he wouldn't tell me anything else." Caitlyn frowned.
Vi, Ekko, and Heimerdinger all shared a knowing look. "What?" Caitlyn furrowed her brows.
They told her about the Hextech weapon and she kept a horrified expression through it. "I never thought that Jayce would be capable of this…he was like a brother to me." Her eyes began to well with tears but she kept her composure. "Neither did I but I'm afraid our friend is not the same one we used to know…" Heimerdinger frowned and lowered his eyes.
"What if the bridge was a distraction…what if the bomb is already in the city?" Ekko asked the group.
"Then I am afraid we have already lost…" The Professor sighed.
"You mentored Jayce, can't you disable it?" Caitlyn questioned with desperation in her eyes.
"I'm afraid weapons of mass destruction were never in my curriculum. I refused to ever work with his Hextech, I knew it would be abused." The Professor said with regret.
"There is someone who has…" Vi spoke up and locked eyes with Caitlyn. "No…that's a terrible idea." Caitlyn replied quickly.
"If you know anyone who has worked with Hextech then now is the time to speak up." Heimerdinger said firmly.
"My sister…she understands Hextech and bombs are kind of her specialty." Vi explained carefully.
"Caitlyn's right, that's a terrible idea. She's the one that wants Zaun remember?" Ekko replied.
"There isn't going to be a Zaun if that bomb detonates." Vi looked to Caitlyn and Ekko with pleading eyes.
"Violet is right…if her sister can disengage the bomb then she is our only chance." Heimerdinger responded with a seriousness in his tone.
"Good luck convincing her." Ekko rolled his eyes. "She will agree to it. The hard part will be talking to Sevika and her goons." Vi informed.
"Sevika? Silco's right hand?" Caitlyn raised a brow. "Like Ekko said, we don't have the numbers. Talis won't just let us take apart his bomb, he's going to have an army." Vi explained.
"She used to work for Vander, she's more rational than you. If we tell her about the bomb I think she will help." Vi said to Ekko and Caitlyn's surprise. It was no secret that the two hated one another enough to start to fights.
"Fine, but if she says no we drop it." Ekko replied firmly to which Vi nodded.
"This sister of yours…is her name Jinx?" Heimerdinger asked. Vi felt her heart beat faster at the question. "Yes…" she replied.
He nodded in acknowledgement. "There was a time where Jayce was threatened by this Jinx. If it's her then we can expect him to be on high alert. Find her quickly and find this bomb." The Professor urged. Vi nodded before leaving with Caitlyn.
-The Last Drop-
Ekko, Caitlyn, and Vi never thought they'd end up at the last drop again. Since Silco's goons inhabited it, it's old warm nostalgia had become cold and bitter. Caitlyn placed a hand on VI's shoulder before they stepped inside, feeling her tension. "Remember what we are here for." She reminded both Vi and Ekko. They both nodded before stepping through its door.
They expected to be met with a sudden stillness and a room full of stares, but instead they were met with its loud jarring voices and drunken occupants. Vi almost gave a sigh of relief, she'd rather go by unbothered.
They walked up to Silco's office (once Vander's quarters) and stood in front of it. "Do we knock?" Caitlyn asked in a hush tone. Vi rolled her eyes and pushed the door open. Three people turned to face them, two of which looked surprised while the other looked amused. Vi and Ekko recognized Sevika immediately, she now sat on Silco's "throne." The other two looked to be other Crime Lords. "Good you have other pieces of shit with you." Vi said as she closed the door. She then promptly shoved a door under its handle to keep it from opening.
"We are in a meeting, who-"
"This is more important than whatever crimes you're looking to commit right now." Caitlyn began gently. "Too gently" if Vi were to judge.
"Then you have exactly two minutes to explain before I beat the crap out of you again." Sevika said angrily as she leaned forward and pointed at Vi.
"Again?" Vi smirked. Ekko quickly took over seeing that time was pressing. "The Pilty's have placed a Hextech bomb somewhere in the city. If it were to detonate it would wipe out half of the Undercity." Echo summed up.
The two crime lord's chuckled together. "We make Piltover too much money, besides Silco would never allow it." One of them responded indignantly.
Ekko, Vi, and Caitlyn all shared a knowing look. But do us a favor, when you find Silco and his dog…tell him I'm keeping his seat warm for him." Sevika took a puff out of her cigar and leaned back.
"Silco isn't coming back…he's dead." Vi informed them. Sevika and the crime lords froze unsure whether to believe the pink haired girl or not.
Sevika stood quickly. "You killed him?" She assumed.
"No, we didn't. Jinx did." Ekko's response sent a chill through Vi's body. She knew her sister would now have the Undercity and Piltover against her.
Sevika sat back down slowly and smirked before taking another puff. She shook her head amused, "I knew Silco would never be able to keep her on a leash. She's…psychotic." Sevika said with a mix of anger of annoyance.
"Then we need to bring Jinx in, she has to be put down-"
"She's not a fucking dog!" Vi yelled with ferocity. Caitlyn grabbed her shoulder and held her back from lunging at the crime lord's.
"You can't kill her, we need her to deactivate the bomb." Ekko informed them. "We have plenty of shit head's that can take apart a bomb." Sevika replied with annoyance.
"Not a Hextech bomb. I promise you none of your people will understand it, it's complex. Jinx knows how to control the gem." Caitlyn explained confidently.
"So we are just suppose to believe you?" Sevika furrowed her brows. "I don't need you to believe us, we just need you to keep the Enforcers away and then after that…she's all yours." Caitlyn said cautiously. She could feel VI's angst.
Sevika pondered for a long moment but before she could respond they all heard a clicking-no a ticking noise.
Two of the crime lords jumped behind Sevika's desk cowering in fear. Sevika stood and observed the room with the others. "I swear if this was a trick!" Sevika approached Vi, her metal arm engaged to fight.
Jinx jumped down from the rafters and sat in Silco's chair startling the two crime lords. They jumped up and pressed against a wall as far from her as possible. She tossed one of her ticking chomped grenades back in forth in her hands with an eerie grin.
"Powder…" Vi whispered with sincere eyes looking at her sister.
She responded by placing the grenade on the desk before leaning back, her arms crossed behind her head and her legs on the desk comfortably.
Caitlyn aimed her gun at Jinx while Ekko wielded his staff. "Disengage the bomb!" Caitlyn yelled forcefully.
"Tell how exactly I'm going to agree to dismantle this Hextech bomb…and then maybe I'll shut it off." Jinx smiled.
They all looked to one another. "Because we will kill you if you don't!" Sevika yelled angrily.
Jinx rolled her eyes at Sevika like a teenager who had just been told by her parents to go to her room.
"Because if you don't…I will die…" Vi stepped forward slowly and cautiously. Jinx stopped rocking side to side in her chair and became serious. She's lying, there's no bomb. Jinx swatted her hand beside her, at Mylo "shut up!"
She looked to VI's sincere and honest eyes, Vi had never lied to her. "I'll do it." Jinx responded. Ekko, Vi, and Caitlyn shared a nervous smile.
"On one condition. Sevika here gives me a full pardon and then I'll be on my marry way." She smirked and looked to Sevika.
"Fuck no." Sevika growled.
"Sevika…don't forget she's the reason you were sitting in Silco's chair." Vi said hushly.
Sevika scowled and got more nervous with each tick. "Fine."
Jinx smiled, grabbed one of the crime lords by his shirt collar and yanked him towards the window. Her chomped grenade clipped onto his jacket before she pushed him out of of the window.
"No!" Caitlyn and Vi yelled in unison as they ran forward. His scream down the building was cut short by a boom. While Vi and Caitlyn looked out the window at the doomed man, Jinx looked up at Sevika. "You've always been too weak to sit in that seat." Jinx sneered. Sevika wanted nothing more than to back- hand the little blue haired brat but held back in favor of saving the Undercity.
"Alright, let's get going!" Jinx waved them on as she skipped out the door.
"This is a terrible plan…" Ekko mumbled.