ACT IV

THEY'RE CALLING IT THE "HI-JINX"

SEVIKA

Hours passed by.

Sevika had to do most of the fix job by herself, as most of the thugs weren't reliable, proficient or trustworthy enough. Where once her boss overlooked and planned his actions across both cities, with a map of both Piltover and Zaun at the table, now lied bolts, screwdrivers, wrenches and pliers. All just to put the new mechanical arm back together.

Hours passed by, it was all quiet, and she wasn't even done yet, barely starting the forearm. It wasn't merely a matter of putting pieces back together, but also tying up power connections, tubes where the Shimmer would flow through and power the arm, granting the strength, agility and the kinetic blade which she nearly cut open that Vi brat with. Weren't for that energy barrier she somehow built up with those oversized gauntlets, the fight would've been in Sevika's favor.

Hours passed by and no news of anyone. Not of Silco, not of Jinx, not of any Chem-Barons or any of the informants within the enforcers, as of yet. That could unnerve anyone.

It was all quiet until the door knocked, and before Sevika could say anything, it opened up, revealing one of the henchmen.

"We brought him.", he immediately said. "He's downstairs, by the bar."

Sevika, though not liking the immediate intrusion, rapidly dismissed the criticism on her mind, stopped the assembly and got on her feet, passing by the guarded door to the office and following the henchmen to the main floor of the Last Drop, shut down since the brawl. There, she could see several henchmen gathering around a table, including the bartender himself, a man she only recalls everyone named him 'Chuck'.

As the henchmen noticed Sevika, they made way to what they were surrounding - at the coatless still body of what was the once the most powerful and lethal man in Zaun, laying respectfully at the four tables put together as some sort of makeshift bed, and wasn't breathing.

Her heart raced as she approached the body started noticing and accepting, with all the strength she had, the facts. She noticed the body itself had bullet holes in him, almost as if he was caught in a machine gun flurry.

"It was just waiting to happen...", she muttered, grimly, shutting her eyes and slowly shaking her head. "And you knew about her, over and over..."

The henchmen knew what she meant. It was no surprise that Jinx was Silco's favorite, followed only by Sevika, to the point he tolerated, somehow, all her antics and even screw-ups, including that recent botched Shimmer smuggling gig during Progress Day. It wasn't a surprise, either, of Jinx' manic personality, that Silco was warned and could see the signs, over and over again.

One of the henchmen, however, broke the silence. "Could've been that enforcer girl, for all we know..."

"That enforcer is the type whom needs just one shot, there are over four here, in a beeline!", Sevika censored, making all the henchmen cower in silence again. Sevika waited for a bit to ensure there were no more unwelcome comments like this one before continuing. "Has anyone seen that brat, yet?"

"Not a sign, and most have been patrolling the streets.", another henchman said, figuring whom Sevika might be talking about. "Want us to hunt her?"

Sevika sighed, eyes darting. "That'd just be throwing meat through the grinder...", she replied. "A colored one at that. No one does nothing, but we're not looking out for her, anymore. Is that clear?"

All the henchmen nodded.

Sevika took her attention off of fallen Silco and stared at each and everyone of them, eye-to-eye. "I'll be blunt on this, no speeches or motivational crap.", she started, gesturing at the corpse. "You're seeing it here, you saw it topside. Anyone wants out, go for it, I won't stop you. It'll get worse from here."

"And...", one of the henchmen started. "Where we'd go, boss? Especially now?"

Sevika nodded. Choice given, they made it. "Anything from the Chem-Barons?", she asked.

"Nothing yet, not even mention of a meeting.", a henchwoman replied.

"Arrange for one, it's an emergency, in case they hadn't noticed.", Sevika ordered. "And also send for our factories: suspend all production, now. Tell them to start packing and get out, we'll figure new locations once the dust settles."

"You sure, boss?", the henchwoman asked. "Might be expensive to move it all out."

"It'll be even more expensive once the enforcers start kicking doors all over the Lanes!", Sevika retorted. "Especially the pair we know so well, and we only have the Shimmer to lean on for the moment. Do it."

The henchwoman turned to leave.

Sevika turned her attention to the remaining henchmen. "I want eight of you to stand guard, four every twelve hours.", she started. "The rest of you, out and clear the neighborhood, streets totally empty. It's curfew today and it's now! Get out!"

The henchmen all started moving out at once, as if they already expected this sort of thing. Only she, the corpse of Silco, and the bartender remained.

"What's your name again?", she asked the bartender.

"Thieram, but everyone calls me-", he started.

"Lock the bar, Thieram.", she interrupted, dead serious, as she started walking back to the office.

"Uhh... what about him?", Thieram asked, gesturing at Silco's body.

Sevika sighed, not having given a thought about it. Silco did deserve something with dignity, at the very least.

"I'll handle that later...", she muttered, as she headed upstairs back to the office and rapidly rested her body on the chair, a throne she didn't need to sit on, right now. She took a breath, ran her human hand across her head, in clear frustration. Today was the day in which everything that could go wrong did. She noticed the mechanical arm, not yet finished, and immediately resumed her work, the stress now catching up to her. She couldn't have a breather, she had to get prepared for a meeting she called and stay with a more higher guard than she ever had.

It wasn't just the enforcers - the other Chem-Barons would eventually smell the corpse and try to pry it. Chem-Punk gangs would start picking off anything that he... she still had. And even some Chem-Thugs would start looking for opportunities at the cost of what Silco once built.

Natural order.

With the background gunshots now firing up outside, Sevika knew she wouldn't have a moment of peace. Or rest.

All thanks to that one, and her unnatural gift to ruin everything.