VI, CAITLYN & MEL
"How long?"
The question being asked by Lieutenant Ternnus to the crowd of gathered enforcers within Sidereal Precinct was a simple one, but quite enough to stir up the anger pent up in each and every one of them.
"How long will this keep going on?", Ternnus continued. "The deaths in Progress Day. The deaths in the bridge, including Sheriff Marcus himself! And now the Council! Again, how long!?"
The crowd felt those words, as much as painful as the bombs and gunfire that afflicted their brothers and sisters in arms, and started roaring in agreement. It'd eventually come to this, no matter how much the higher-ups insisted otherwise. They weren't on the front lines, unlike the enforcers. It was years ago, and it was so, right now.
The Undercity was out for blood. It was up to Piltover's finest to bleed them back.
"I'll answer for how long.", Ternnus continued. "For as long as WE allow them! AND I SAY NO LONGER!"
The crowd roared again, too focused on it's speech to notice both Vi and Caitlyn coming in, startled at the scene. One would wonder why Mel Medarda, of all other surviving Councillors would want them to meet up in that precinct, but now with the scene brewing up, it was obvious, now.
To both quell this little tantrum rising over Piltover's police force as well as talk something with both Vi and Caitlyn. Two birds, one stone.
"The trenchers have clearly grown bold enough, to think they can threaten us!", Ternnus continued. "They've forgotten their place, and it's up to us to remind them of that. We can no longer rely on the current government."
While indeed Caitlyn seemed a bit enticed with that, even she knew this was just too rash, even with all that happened.
The problem wasn't the Undercity, it was Jinx. Putting them all on the same bean bag would be playing exactly to what Jinx and even the late Silco were rooting for...
Vi, on her part, had finished putting her Atlas Gauntlets back on. At least, the one still with a Hextech gemstone, given the other was crippled in that fight with Sevika. The time to curb this was now, and she knew exactly how.
"We must march on the Undercity, and it must be now!", Ternnus continued in the meanwhile. "Give them a wake-up call they'll never forget!"
And, suddenly, a desk flew towards Ternnus, forcing the enforcer next to him to quickly dive in and take the speecher to the ground, preventing injuries. The desk flew past them and impacted on the wall, drawing the attention of the enforcers to whoever launched that with such an ease at the one speaking never truer words.
To the couple of woman right behind them. To the naive, spoiled Kiramman and that new fissure girl with a large metal gauntlet whom was seen frequently by Kiramman's side.
"March on the Undercity.", Vi started, in a clear tone of defiance. "Wow! Such a brilliant idea, worthy of Piltover. What comes next, heads on pikes in the streets!?"
"You don't get a saying in this, trenchrat scum!", a female enforcer close by roared. "Go back to your girlfriend in her manor!"
"Well, at least I won't be the one facing a horde coming all angry at you!", Vi retorted.
"And against the Council's orders, too?", Caitlyn followed up. "What happens if they decide to send enforcers for you? You'll have the nerve to shoot them, as well?"
"The Council's one whom lost it's nerve!", the enforcer whom saved Ternnus retorted, from the 'stage', as Ternnus himself went back on his feet. "Hell, there is no Council now, is there?"
"Leave it, Sergeant Teckle.", Ternnus said, adjusting his jacket. "It's fruitless to debate with animals, whom only recognize brutish strength and nothing more."
Though all those years in Stilwater Prison and the ones in her childhood had taught Vi too well to ignore such painful remarks, they were painful nonetheless. They just served, in the end, to further showcase the gap between Piltover and the Lanes was too great to bridge, too deep to bring together, deeper than the fissures she lived in. For Caitlyn, it only showcased how much lacking in actual knowledge that the enforcers became, too used to the issues and conditions topside rather than below.
"Quite bizarre, then, that the brute animal happens to have more of a head than a whole precinct."
The new voice, diplomatic, yet loud and firm, caught up everyone's attention as the new, golden-clad figure walked into the room, and the room fell silent. Only one would as mad or foolish to try and retort Councillor Mel Medarda herself, even more in her current stern look.
"I just left a hospital ward with two Councillors at the crib, one of them we're not even sure she'll make it.", she started, dead serious. "And now the time I should've been using to reform command and re-establish public order is instead being *wasted* in settling down restless people with guns!"
"How interesting...", Ternnus started after a while. "Just as much all the time we should have used in advancing into the Lanes and taking down Silco and his henchmen was instead wasted in *bargaining* with him."
Vi looked a bit to the side, her expression a bit ashamed. She knew it was about the same as she pleaded the Council days before, when it was refused and she incited Jayce Talis into conducting a daring raid against one of Silco's Shimmer factories. But then she only thought of neutralizing the Shimmer flow to incite the Fissurefolk into turning against their invisible hand overlord. Now, she witnessed what looked like the fallout of her deeds, and it was anything but inspiring.
Worst case... it inspired the wrong people.
"It was supposed to buy us time, Lieutenant.", Mel defended herself. "Piltover, at best, has only the enforcers to try and defend itself. We don't fully know what the Undercity has or how much. Marching forces there was suicide back then, just as it is now."
"They destroyed the Council with our guard down!", Ternnus retorted. "All of Piltover is in disarray! The other nations must've seen, by now, how vulnerable we are! The Trenchers should've been handled with an iron hand since the last rebellion, instead of capitulating!"
"This 'iron hand' is what brewed the likes of Silco in the first place!", Mel retorted, firmly. "We need dialog more than ever now, not action."
"After all this, you still persist on dialog?", Ternnus shook his head slowly, gesturing at Mel. "As I stated, we can no longer rely on the Council."
"You do this, Lieutenant and you and all whom follow you will be as wanted as those responsible for today's events, and you'll be alone when the storm comes for you.", Mel warned, turning towards the other enforcers. "I know what it's like. The desire for blood, for retribution. And it's exactly why it has to be contained, especially now! You call the Fissurefolk animals, but whom is readily wanting to fight back with a bloodlust? Violence, right now, will only attract more violence, to the point both sides become victim and villain in this! You swore an oath, to protect and serve, but to also uphold what we stand for. Piltover is called the City of Progress, and this should be chance to prove it! Progress beyond machines, architecture or even Hextech. That's why I plead: Those whom believe in Piltover, remember and stay from this foolishness."
Although Vi and Caitlyn could notice a bit of a shake in Mel's standing, Vi could respect a bit of that, harkening back to when Vander lectured her. When Vander gave her lessons. Gave her strength. Gave her pause in her hot head. She almost could hear his words in Mel's.
'That path? This? It's not gonna solve your problems. It just makes more of 'em...'
"You call for Progress.", Ternnus started again. "I call for action, for the future of our city. Speeches and diplomacy have gotten us nothing but corpses, Councillor. Why it'd be different now?"
Ternnus and Mel deadlocked eyes for a couple of seconds before he continued. "Those of you whom *truly* believe in Piltover...", he started, gesturing at her. "Remember and stay away from this foolishness."
Merely three seconds passed and an enforcer immediately turned around to leave. And then another. And another. And one more.
A stream of enforcers started to leave the precinct. And though Vi wanted to do something, Caitlyn barred her. Now it wasn't the time to go rash. They were offered the choice and they made it.
By the time the crowd left, only one or two enforcers remained at the precinct, standing by their desks. Ternnus and Teckle were the last ones to start leaving.
"Nobody wins in war.", Vi spoke, coldly, glancing at both deserters.
"And what do you know about war, crack rat?", Teckle asked, in a bitter term.
"Close enough.", Vi answered, as both Ternnus and Teckle passed through her, Caitlyn and Mel and right to the front door. The brawler then faced Mel a couple of seconds later. "They're gonna fuck things up even further, especially if they target the Chem-Barons."
"And who'd blame them?", Caitlyn asked. "You heard him, far too many enforcers dead to just not give a damn."
"Enough.", Mel dismissed, facing both. "I'll make this brief, I don't know how much time we've got: It *is* war, now, but the first shots haven't been fired yet. From our side, at any rate.", she added as she noticed Caitlyn's shrug. "That means we can still achieve something, if we hurry up."
"Well, Councillor, we could've got *something* by now, were not for *someone* interrupting.", Caitlyn commenting, glancing at Vi.
"I won't regret it.", Vi stood her ground.
"Not yet, you won't!", Caitlyn retorted.
"Enough!", Mel raised her voice, bringing the discussion to a halt. "Officer Kiramman, I sympathize with your loss, but I need you to stay rational. I knew your mother, not enough, but on a fair deal to know that she was a fair person. And I'm sure she wouldn't want you acting like this."
Caitlyn sighed, looking away for a while, aware they were going to try and use this just to get her under control. "What if it were *your* mother, Councillor, with all due respect?", she asked.
"I won't make any comparisons, because you do not know my mother.", Mel replied, cold but firmly. "And I know you want this Jinx, but I need her alive.", she then noticed Caitlyn's triggered look. "I need something for the Chem-Barons and Piltover's populace, and a corpse just won't do."
"Janna's sake, you can't be serious...", Caitlyn shook her head slowly, staring at Mel's stone-walled look. "Councillor, Jinx won't just hand herself over and won't go down without a fight. And even more with... what happened..."
"If you won't, I'll find who will.", Mel stated, the tone clear enough. "Simple as that. And that brings us to the next matter.", headed to a desk as Vi and Caitlyn follow her, where she took her seat. "Marcus' post needs to be filled up. Any other on that place will just either be too by-the-book or play into Ternnus' hands and escalate the conflict, and Marcus' past affiliation with Silco has already put much doubt in the integrity of every enforcer of ours. Councillor Talis knows you enough to trust you, Officer Kiramman. And you both came closer to Jinx than anyone else in Piltover ever has. That's why I and Talis have talked about this... and are making you the acting Sheriff."
Caitlyn took a second to absorb the news before being awed. "A-acting Sheriff?", she asked.
"Caitlyn's in a rough shape, and right now you're giving her a position of power?", Vi asked, shocked as well. "You got hit in the head or something?"
"We need someone trustworthy, that gets results, there's little time and we've no one else.", Mel said, her decision made, staring at Vi. "I'm making you an enforcer too, at best you're keeping an eye on her."
Vi took a while to absorb that. She could get some of Mel's reasoning, but still didn't mean she had to particularly like it, especially now that she's making a Trencher, of all people, the very thing Trenchers despise. "You said you want results, right?", she asked Mel. "I'm doing things my way, I don't need any police procedure crap on my back."
"Your way?", Mel asked. "Roughing up people, you mean? You'll fare no better than the deserters."
"You've a better idea?", Vi asked. "To not mention these are sure more interested in making body counts."
Mel looked aside and let some air out. Compromises were nothing new to a politician like her, but the delicacy of the events was just too much on this case...
She stood on her feet. "Beatdowns, and that's about it.", she warned. "Away from here. And away from the deserters. The last thing both Piltover and the Undercity need to see is enforcers killing each other."
Vi's eyes darted aside for a bit. If anything, it was fair enough. "Can we go now?", she asked. "As you said, we can still achieve something, if we hurry up..."
"Don't make me regret it.", Mel said after a second, sitting down as Caitlyn and Vi turned to leave.
Vi, as she walked with Caitlyn towards outside the precinct and back to the streets of Piltover, gave a thought about all this. "Sheriff Cupcake...", she muttered. "Kinda has a nice ring to it. Won't shine your boots, though."
"Shut it.", Caitlyn said. "And don't you utter that in front of anyone else, is that clear?"
Little did either Caitlyn, Mel or Vi knew that, far above the ceiling, behind a door, a lone blue eye peeked through it all. Blue and shining in absolute defiance against the dark.
But one wasn't to blame it. It was it's owner's nature.
To peek. To know.
And then, to act.