Sheriff Marcus had many reasons to be glad to get home. It was a respite from his masters, the ones on either side of the Pilt. It was time away from the always growing paperwork. Why couldn't hextech find a way to solve that? There was also quality liquor for him to enjoy in his choice of quantity.
"Hee hee hee," Ren giggled from her bedroom. Marcus smiled from hearing the best reason. He walked to her bedroom and saw her standing. She was buzzing with energy.
"Okay, okay. I'm a–big, scarecrow with red eyes and–and metal teeth and I have a scythe," Ren made a reaping swing with her little arms. "And I make you feel your biggest fear!"
"Now that is scary, Red," a young woman's voice replied, almost matching Ren's enthusiasm. The blood drained instantly from Marcus face. "It beats my dark spidery tickle monster, but you're borrowing from some others, aren't you, you little scamp?" Marcus slowly pushed the door open as he saw a slender hand pinch playfully Ren's cheek.
Jinx turned to the Sheriff and waved with her fingers. "Howdy doody, Sheriff." She had her minigun on her back and two of those damn biting bombs he had heard about on the floor. On the floor and close to Ren. "It's my turn and I hate to lose this far in," she explained and looked back at her opponent.
Can I be fast enough to overtake her? Marcus then saw the Loose Cannon had brought company. Marcus didn't recognize him. He wore a black top hat and a Shimmer mask, though it was empty and inactive. He looked pale and shaky. Shimmer withdrawal? Just stressed by this? Most importantly though, he was holding Jinx's pistol with his eyes dead on Marcus.
She adjusted the minigun so it scratched her head. Suddenly, she snapped her fingers, fully capturing Ren's attention.
"I got it." Jinx stood ramrod straight. "I'm a blue pig. I bind people with cables and metal, seal them in small dark rooms, hurt them with rods, and put holes into whoever I want." Jinx finger pistoled and feigned recoil at the stranger, who pretended to be shot and then dead. "And the really scary part, Red, is I'm not hated for it–oh no. I'm a monster that people praise as a hero." Jinx finger gun turned into a fist she beat into her heart in front of Ren.
Marcus' mouth was a desert and like the unknown gunman he was shaking. "Jinx, we–"
"Tu-tu-tu-tu-tu" Jinx wagged her finger at Marcus without looking. "The rules are the other grades."
"I–I think those acts are sad and scary. But the creature doesn't sound that tough," Ren determined with an uncertain tone.
Jinx grinned. "Yes! That is true blue, Red," Jinx leaned over and ruffled her hair before looking back at Marcus. "Not that tough."
"Can I do another?" she asked with a wriggle.
"Of course. And since you found the weakness in mine, you can take a long time to think of it. Maybe make a drawing of it. I used to do that when I played with my sis for extra scary points. I'll chit-chat with daddy while you do. Awesome possum, Red?"
Ren raised her hands to cheer, "Awesome possum!" She took out some crayons and a sheet of paper, determined to make her win complete.
Jinx stood up, rolled her head around, and then put on her game face as she moved to Marcus. "516?"
"What?" Marcus said in genuine confusion at first. He saw her expression go from serious to deadly serious. The sister. Vi.
"She's safe, it was–"
JInx slammed her fist into the wall, startling all three others in the room. Ren spoke first, "Was it a bug, Miss Jinx?"
Jinx exhaled shortly and seemed to shift back as she returned to Ren. "No, Red. Just a fun little exercise me and my sister like to do. There's some mean, old bullies we have to deal with, so we try to be ready to protect yourselves if we need to."
Ren considered that. "Oh, well Daddy protects me, Miss Jinx."
"Does he? How lucky you are. Oh, and my mother's name was Miss Jinx. Please, just Jinx."
Ren nodded and Jinx returned to Marcus, her demeanor changing again from warm but cool grown up to icy hot vengeful sister. "Hey chum, from your experience, is it a good idea to lie to me?" she asked by pointing at him while staring at Marcus.
"Chum!" Ren exclaimed for some reason.
"No," the gunman answered, trying to speak volumes with brevity.
"There was an explosion when I wondered about someone's sincerity, right?"
"Yes."
"So, Act II, Scene I, from '516?' Please get the lines right this time, Marky."
Marcus swallowed but kept his eyes on the threat to him and his. Besides balancing the truth, I can't set off her emotions from then. "That night, Silco would have killed Vi. She was brought to Stillwater, because Silco wouldn't think to look for her there and the Council still needed someone alive to pay."
Jinx closed her eyes and re-clenched her fist. "All this time. Over eighty months of a small cell. Over three hundred fifty weeks of fights with inmates and beatings from enforcers." She opened her blue-gray eyes overflowing with tears and loathing. "Your enforcers."
Think! Think! Assuage her somehow. You and Ren depend on it! Marcus ran through his knowledge of her, grasping for some leverage. "I will do what I can to get her out, but if Silco–"
"He truly didn't know," Jinx said, glancing away and going down a new train of thought. Marcus would have sighed, but was smart enough not to. "But Silco said.." her eyes went back to him. "You were the one who said she'd died."
"On my–like I said, it was for her protection."
Jinx scoffed, but looked more disgusted than vindictive. "And she still left because… but she'd have returned?" Jinx looked to the side and put a hand to her temple. "I know, but it must have been temporary. Yes, that's what he said."
Marcus felt a sinking feeling in his stomach. Jinx talking to Ren is scary, but Jinx talking to herself is terrifying.
"She was going to try to fight Silco before he got to you. I thought you were lost but she could be spared."
Jinx shook her head. "You were half-right, which is better than any enforcer I've ever seen. Anything else? I'd ask you about how she is doing, but you don't know, right?"
Shame overtook Marcus. She's right. Even that act of mercy left a teenager as an untried prisoner in harsh conditions for years. "Getting her release will need to come from a Councillor, not me. I'm persona non grata with them since the raid, but if Silco–"
"No. No! He does not learn about Vi until I get her out!"
The Sheriff nodded. More secrets; more deals. I need a successor and a way to keep Ren and me safe from them.
"You'll have more time on the stage later. 'Speak the speech as I pronounced.' Maybe, we can right some wrongs without making more cadavers."
Head gesturing to Nick to get up, Jinx walked back to the girl drawing on the floor. "Just about wrapped, Red?"
"I just need a few seconds," she replied. Jinx smiled and picked up her bombs as the gunman moved close to the door.
"And… done!" Ren practically jumped up. She held the drawing in one hand and put the other to the back of her neck to imitate a fin. "I'm a shark that has eyes like ice and razor sharp teeth in its wide jaw. And I can shoot out fire, so you're not safe even on land!"
Jinx brought her hands to her cheeks to show her amazement, careful by her standards with the explosives she was still holding. "Geez Louise! You're gonna give us all nightmares, kiddo! The shark is–" Jinx extended her arms out like a fisherman's fantasy, "ginormous, right?"
Ren's smile widened. "Nuh-uh. It can go anywhere with help. It could fit in a backpack tank and be carried on your back, like your, uh, Pow-Pow."
Jinx looked like she was just shanked in the throat. She dropped both her bombs. One landed fine; the other lost its pin. "Jinx!" the stranger yelled and tried to recover the pin from a crack in the floor.
Jinx looked petrified and was repeating. "I'm sorry! I only wanted to help! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"
Ren was befuddled and frightened. She had back against the wall.
Protect her! Protect her! Protect her! Ran through Marcus' mind. He dove on top of the bomb, its jaw snapping shut on his uniform. He coiled himself around it as best he could.
"Jinx!" the gunman shouted. "Is it just a paint bomb?!"
It was not.
