Chapter 1

It wasn't the first time Silco disappeared into his office to work through the night. But usually, the hours after midnight were meant for shady audiences with people that didn't like moving about in daylight. But there were no meetings scheduled for tonight.

For as long as Silco was upstairs in his office, Sevika would be downstairs at the bar to keep an eye on the place. And to make sure no one went up the staircase to pay him an unannounced visit. Everything went through her.

Sighing against her fatigue, Sevika rubbed her eyes. It was getting very late. Silco wasn't the night owl he used to be. She knew he was feeling his years. And his eye was troubling him more and more often. She hadn't seen anyone go up with a decent meal, and she was starting to worry. Was he alright up there? She hadn't seen Jinx either. But that wasn't anything out of the ordinary these days. The girl entertained odd hours for her mischief. She looked at Ran, lighting another cigarette while sipping her drink. She seemed unbothered by the situation.

"Have you heard anything from upstairs?" Sevika asked her.

Ran looked up. "You're the first in command." She said with a bored expression. "If you didn't hear anything.. I didn't either. And if I did you'd be the first to know."

Sevika nodded. Ran was right. The loud music suddenly bothered her. She couldn't hear herself think, and she was getting antsy. Something wasn't right. And although Silco hated to be disturbed, and would surely scold her for just barging into his office if he was indeed just emerged in paperwork, she decided to take the risk, and rose from her chair. "I'm going to go take a look." She announced.

Ran frowned. "At what?"

"Silco"

"Why?"

"Something's off." Sevika told her sternly, gazing at the staircase. "Too long without a word. He never ordered a meal."

"He never orders a meal." Ran reminded her. "Someone just puts a plate in front of him and he shovels it down. But he told everyone not to disturb him so.. no one went up there. We know better."

Sevika shook her head. "And we're supposed to be okay with him starving himself and working himself to death?"

Ran blinked in confusion. "what is going on, Sevika? He's just working. He's probably behind on paperwork because he was dealing with that hellcat. This isn't anything new."

"It wasn't new years ago." Sevika shot back. "But I haven't seen him pull this trick in forever. I'm going up there. Stay here and pay attention in case I need you."

She left Ran behind with her confusion and trudged up the staircase, making noise so Silco could hear her approach, and she wouldn't startle him. She hesitated for a moment before knocking on his door, her hand already raised. She wasn't feeling much for a lecture tonight. Then she knocked. "Sir?" she waited for a moment, but no answer came. Her uneasiness growing, she knocked again. "Sir? Are you alright?" That was a question she had only asked him once or twice before. He didn't care much about his henchmen worrying over his wellbeing. When no answer was given, she tried a different approach. "Alright, I'm coming in." she announced and turned to knob to let herself in. It was cold inside his office, he hadn't been tending to the little wood burning stove. The chair behind his desk was empty, and she frowned, her eyes searching for him in the dim room.

She found him curled up in a ball on his sofa, laying on his right side, his back turned to her. He appeared to be asleep. "Sir?" she asked softly, approaching him with gentle steps. The few times she had found him in a sleeping state, he was awake the moment anyone approached him. He was a light sleeper. But this time he gave no reaction. The closer she came, the more she noticed he wasn't just sleeping. It was hard to see any details in the dark, but he was shivering, and his breathing sounded labored and strained. Her worry now profound, she grabbed his coat from a chair and covered him with it, trying to warm him up. She wanted him responsive, and decided to shake his shoulder gently. "Sir? Wake up, sir."

He groaned against her unkind touch, and shifted his legs slightly. "What do you want?" he whispered harshly, trying to sound imposing.

Sevika frowned. "Are you alright? How long have you been laying here like this?"

"Hush." He shushed her. "I have a relentless headache. If you must talk.. do so more quietly."

A headache. That didn't sound so severe. Nor did it sound as anything new. She studied his features as well as she could in the dim light. He had turned off the lamp on his desk to rest his eyes. She knew his bad eye was very sensitive to light. Risking another scolding, she reached out to feel the side of his head with the back of her hand, and found his skin hot and clammy to the touch. "You're burning up, sir." She told him. "I will get Singed." But before she could turn and head for the door, he reached out and grabbed her arm forcefully.

"You will do no such thing." He growled feverishly. "I'm not in the mood for his.. practices.. tonight." He spat, and let her go, exhausted from the ordeal. "I will not be his experiment today." He continued more softly, out of breath. "I just need to rest."

For a moment, Sevika considered disobeying him and getting Singed anyway, but she did understand Silco's unwillingness to let himself be examined by the doctor. It would probably just result in another injection of shimmer. "Alright." She agreed. "But you're not spending the night on this fucking couch, in this fucking room." She took off the cloak hiding her mechanical arm and wound it around the hard metal. It was a great piece of machinery in battle. But to pick someone up with it, it was less suited. Especially picking up someone as frail as her employer. She tucked Silco's coat around him more tightly, creating more padding. He gave no response, welcoming the warmth, but when he felt her arms slip under his neck and legs, he started struggling against her.

"What the hell are you doing?!" he snapped. "Let me go!"

"Calm down!" she barked at him. "I'm taking you to your bed. This couch is going to destroy your back. And I sure as fuck won't close one eye tonight knowing you're just laying here freezing to death." She picked him up effortlessly but as gently as she could, his weight nothing to her. She could have lifted him with two fingers. For some reason, he listened and allowed her to carry him. She was trying to help him. And the idea of being in his bed did appeal to him.

His bedroom wasn't far. A little further down the hall, up a little staircase to the right. A small door no one would guess was the entrance to one of Zaun's most feared leader's private chambers. Off limits to everyone except Jinx. Atleast, that's how it used to be. But as the girl got older, her ways became more violent. And even though she still harbored respect for her adoptive father, she could also be very rough with him. And he was willing to endure her antics in his office. But not in his bedroom.

Sevika had only been in the room once before. When they moved from their other hideout to The Last Drop. She had helped moving furniture around. The other building had been destroyed, which had been her home for several years, and now they had a child added to the gang. A young girl in need of a proper room, a proper place to sleep. Jinx' room was across the hall from his own. But she rarely stayed there nowadays. She had her workplace. Where she presumably also slept. Sevika didn't know every detail, and she didn't care to find out.

As gently as she could, she lowered him onto his bed. He let out a relieved sigh when his aching head touched the pillow. He just needed to sleep. Tomorrow the pain would be gone, and he could continue with his work. Faintly, he listened to Sevika rummaging around his room to get his heater going. Snapping pieces of wood into smaller pieces to get a fire going in the little stove. All he ingested today was whiskey, and he could feel it burn in the pit of his empty stomach. The now dancing little flames stung his eyes, and he squinted against the light. When she returned to his side, he looked up at her with a semi grateful and wary gaze. She looked like she wasn't done with him yet, studying him until it made him uneasy.

"You look horrible." She told him coldly.

He looked away from her steely gaze, almost rolling his eyes. "How very perceptive of you. Now get out."

Sevika shook her head, not keen on leaving him yet. "Maybe it's time we invest in a real doctor. Someone who's willing to try other things than shimmer to treat stuff." Silco said nothing. His head was too sore to think, but somewhere he knew she was right. But right now he was tired. So very tired. "Anyway" Sevika continued more softly, moving to the other end of the bed to take off his boots. "This room will heat up soon." She was just making conversation now. On her own. "Do you need anything?" she tossed his boots into a corner of the room. Immediately regretting it when she startled Silco with the noise she created. He was already drifting away. Exhausted from the half sleep state he had been in for probably hours. No coherent answer came to her question. He didn't move or react when she took off his vest, but she decided not to push it further. He probably wouldn't thank her for stripping him down to his underwear while he was asleep. "Alright" she approved of her work, studying the sleeping man, looking a little better than when she found him. She grabbed the covers of the bed, three thick blankets made of fine material. Wool of some fancy animal she had never seen in real life. He had spared no expense on warmth, it seemed. Tucking him in carefully, she decided it was time for her to go. She had left the bar unattended long enough, and the rest of his henchmen were probably wondering what she was doing up in Silco's office. "Goodnight" she said, rising from the bed. Almost at the door, she heard his voice ever so faintly.

"Thank you, Sevika"

He had thanked her perhaps once or twice before since they started working together all those years ago. He wasn't a man to show his gratitude with words. He had other ways to let the people around him, that were loyal to him, know he appreciated them. She knew he had paid Singed a great amount of money to save her life the night he found Jinx, and create a mechanical arm for her. She also remembered him visiting her when she was recovering. Singed had sedated her to get her through the worst of it, and the memories of Silco sitting on the side of her bed and talking to her were blurry and could also pass for visions created by her fevered brain rotting on shimmer. But she liked to think they were real. His presence, although dangerous and looming, was also comforting to many people surrounding him. He wasn't just a father figure to Jinx. But she would never tell him that. Not for the world.

"You're welcome, sir" she spoke gently, turning the knob to open the door. "get some rest."

He let out a small grunt that had probably made sense in his head. He would be alright. Atleast for tonight. She could leave him like this for a few hours. The night had only a few hours left, and soon dawn would arrive. Downstairs Sevika sank down in her chair next to Ran, who gazed at her, waiting for an explanation.

"Soo.." the dark haired woman started.

"He's fine." Sevika lied. She grabbed her glass and emptied it in one swig. "Paperwork." She continued and lit a cigarette.

"Was he pissed you broke down his door to see if he was still breathing?"

Sevika shot her a look. "No."

Ran asked no further questions, and studied the other woman as she kept a close eye on the staircase to Silco's office. Even more so than usual. If she wondered what had transpired between him and his right hand woman, she didn't show it. Together they continued their silent sentinel while the bar buzzed on.