Chapter Text
THE WAREHOUSE, 10:40pm
Silco blinks hard, trying to shake away the throbbing pain as he anticipates Sevika’s next punch. He’s just fast enough to block it, but a sharp pain lances his tongue as his own raised fists are knocked into his cheek. While he's off guard she kicks him square in the chest, and Renni scurries away with a shriek as he slams into the side of the shipping container. The corrugated steel digs into his ribs as he struggles to regain his equilibrium.
“What’s the matter, old man?” Finn taunts. “Aren’t you gonna put up a fight?”
Silco shakes his head and spits blood onto the floor before he forces a grin. “I just want her to feel like... she’s doing well.”
Sevika snarls.
He takes the next two punches before warding off the third attack and landing one of his own.
Hand to hand combat has never been his forte, and he feels it as Sevika quickly wears down his defenses. She’s slow, but unrelenting. The prosthetic fist strikes like a sledgehammer. He feels pain in every rib, barely able to suck in a full breath before she lands another strike. Once one fist connects, the other is ready to take its place.
It’s another blow to the side of his face that stuns him. She stops his backward stumble by grabbing him by the collar.
“You ready to play ball?” Sevika pants. “Or you need more time to think about it?”
Out of the corner of his swollen eye Silco can just see Finn looking incredibly eager – at Sevika’s display of raw power, and seeing Silco brought so low.
“Not… yet…” He grits through a sore jaw.
Her fist connects and all the air leaves him in a rush.
She draws her arm back again, and that’s when he feels it. The insistent buzzing in his pocket, followed by a cascading ringtone. He scrabbles at her wrist, gasping.
“Time!”
She hesitates, staring down at his desperate face with a frown.
“What?” Finn asks impatiently. “Why did you stop?”
“He’s getting a call.”
“Why the fuck do we care?”
Sevika digs into his pocket, and through a haze of aches and pains he watches her look at the ID.
“It’s the Sheriff.”
She lets him go. He slumps back against the steel container with a groan as the call goes to voicemail.
Almost immediately her face twitches, and she whips out her own phone.
“I better take this one,” She grunts. “She’ll get suspicious if neither of us answer.”
Finn looks incredibly annoyed. “Then get it over with. We have a negotiation to finish.”
She puts the phone to her ear, knuckles red and swollen. “Sevika here.”
Silco struggles to catch his breath, but his eyes never leave her face. She listens for several moments, stoic.
“Understood. He’s busy, but I’ll be right over.”
She ends the call, then stands still as stone.
“Well?” Finn asks impatiently.
“I guess that tip Silco sent her about the warehouse didn’t really pay off.”
He grins.
“But the one Billings sent, did.”
“The lab?” Silco wheezes.
Sevika nods.
Finn's grin freezes. “The lab?”
“Yeah. There was a raid, and the prisoners were rescued.”
Renni’s face blanches.
Sevika takes a few steps back as Finn staggers forward, eyes wild. The guns in his hands are shaking.
“What the fuck did you do?” He shouts.
“I played your game," Silco says slowly. "and won.”
He whips the pistol across Silco's face. There's a pop. Stars burst in his eyes and blood gushes from his nose as Finn continues to scream.
“How the fuck did this happen?!"
“Because he’s the Eye of Zaun,” He hears Sevika growl. “And you’re fucking sloppy, you bitch ass baby.”
Through his blurred vision, Silco can just see her grab both of Finn's hands and yank him forward. She slams her forehead against his, and his head snaps back. He drops one of Silco’s guns with a clatter. It discharges, and Renni runs screaming from the building.
Silco takes the opportunity to stagger forward, blinking hard, one arm cradling his bruised ribs. He bends over with a gasp to grab his firearm. By the time he’s raised and leveled it at Finn, Sevika is fighting to avoid getting shot by the one left in Finn's hand.
He sucks in a single, painful deep breath and fires.
Finn screams as the bullet blasts through his palm. The gun goes flying, and Sevika forces him to his knees in a twisting arm lock.
“Time for a new negotiation,” Silco slurs over Finn’s groans. “Your little empire is... hereby... dismantled. I will take all... of your assets. You go to prison for life… with your life still intact. How does that sound?”
“Fuck you!”
Silco spits blood, and stares pitilessly at the cursing man as he asks Sevika, “Did they hurt her?”
“Thomas said she looked doped up, but otherwise okay.”
“And the boy.”
“Good too. They’re both getting driven to the hospital,” She grunts as Finn elbows her in the stomach.
He yelps as she twists his arm further.
“Which one?”
“Zaun Regional.”
“Then that will be… our next stop.”
“Yeah, no shit,” She scoffs. “You’re looking pretty rough.”
“A little?” A voice asks from the shadows.
Silco watches Viyana swagger into the light. She’s dressed just like Jinx, though her outfit hides a noticeably larger, buffer frame. She’s also wearing a tactical vest and utility belt.
She puts her hands on her hips as she surveys Silco, looking impressed. “You never do things by half, do you Vik?”
“He told me to be convincing.”
“Yeah, but there’s convincing, and then there’s relishing. You don’t think maybe you enjoyed beating the shit out of your boss just a little bit too much?”
“Not as much as I’d enjoy beating the shit outta you.”
“So that’s a hard maybe.” Viyana takes out a pair of handcuffs and easily slaps them onto Finn’s bloody wrists.
“This isn’t over,” He hisses, between grimaces. “I won’t be out of the game for long. Your little bitch will never be safe, so long as –”
His head snaps back as Sevika’s fist connects with his jaw. He careens out of Viyana’s hands in an exaggerated spin and lands with a dull, awkward thump on the floor.
He doesn’t attempt to get back up.
Viyana stares down at him, blandly. “Was that really necessary?”
“I wanted him to shut up.”
Viyana snorts.
Silco starts to sag on his feet, and Sevika hurries over to steady him.
“She’s right though, boss,” She grunts as she half carries him over to a nearby cargo box. “I still think I could have pulled my punches. Finn wouldn’t have known the difference.”
“Maybe,” Silco winces as he falls heavily onto the seat. He touches his nose, which is throbbing with increasing pressure. It feels swollen, probably broken. He reaches for his pocket square and raises his head to stem the flow.
“But the strength of my apology to Leslie… rested solely in your hands.”
“Who’s Leslie?” Viyana asks.
“His girl’s mom.”
“Hold up. Are you telling me that you let your lieutenant fuck you up just so you could rack up pity points from your future mother-in-law?”
She sounds like she’s on the verge of laughter.
Even he can admit it sounds insane.
“Not just. We needed to give Thomas time to find his way into the lab. And I knew Finn would enjoy humbling me.”
“Well Shit,” Viyana laughs. “And here I thought Vicky was the crazy one.”
“It runs in the family.”
Sevika laughs and kicks at Finn.
The sound of sirens blooms in the distance.
Viyana rests her hands on the inside of her vest. “So the rumors are true? The big bad boss of Zaun really is head over heels for a shop girl.”
“I suppose there’s no denying it now,” He replies around the bloody kerchief. “You’ll learn about it soon enough, anyway.”
“Why? You plan on sharing your engagement with the papers or something?”
“No. But I believe Jinx would gladly bring you up to date on my love life, once you agree to come over for dinner. If you’re open to visit, that is.”
He can feel her wary gaze shift to surprise. The girl opens her mouth, face contorted as if to say something snarky, then closes it again. She seems to be undergoing an internal battle of some kind.
“I know how much your sister would enjoy getting to know you,” Silco continues, pretending not to notice her struggle. “And I will not prevent her from pursuing a relationship.”
“How big of you.”
Sevika’s eyes flash. Silco raises a hand.
“My only stipulation is that you get to know her in her own home, so she can feel safe. She’s still susceptible to sudden episodes of psychosis over the events that took place at the orphanage. Like the one you brought on at my party the other evening.”
His tone is even, but the barb strikes.
Viyana has the good graces to look ashamed.
She dips her head. “Yeah. I guess I was just so stuck on the investigation that I didn’t uh… think. And I’m not really good at, you know… Family stuff.”
“Who is?”
There’s the space of several seconds as she stares at the floor, chewing her lip. “I really hated your guts for taking her.”
“I wasn’t aware you were alive until a few years ago.”
“I know. And I hated you for that too.”
He tucks the now bloody kerchief back in his pocket and presses various points on his rib-cage with a wince.
They all feel bruised.
“You may feel any way you like about me, so long as you treat Jinx with care.”
She nods. “I really want a chance to get to know my baby sister again.”
“I’ll likely be in the hospital for a few days. Perhaps you can take the time while I’m away. I know she’d like the company. And I believe that when the initial instability caused by your presence passes… you will prove to be an incredible comfort to her.”
“Oh. I uh…” She looks awkward as she scratches her head. “Thank you. I mean, that would be… Good.”
“Of course.”
Something chirps and Viyana looks grateful for the distraction as she touches her earwig. She frowns for a moment, nods, then grabs the walkie on her vest.
“Roger that,” She releases the button. “The boys got Renni and the goon squad outside. And the squad cars are rolling up.”
"You take all those idiots out on your own?"
"Easy money. They were as well trained as a bunch of clowns."
Sevika actually looks impressed.
Viyana juts her chin towards the unconscious lump on the floor. “Wanna help me with this?”
“You're serious right now?”
“Yeah. I’ll need you outside anyway,” She says, almost like an apology. “I technically have to bring you back to the station and throw you in a cell for this.”
“Throw me in a cell? The hell for? A citizen’s arrest?”
“You didn’t say you were arresting him.”
Sevika turns to shout at the prone man at her feet. “Hey, pissant! This is a citizen’s arrest.”
“And you’ve used excessive force.”
“I didn’t hit him that hard.”
They both take a moment to observe the unconscious, bleeding man on the floor.
“He’s just being dramatic,” Sevika growls.
“You also beat the hell out of Spisak.”
“He’s not gonna press charges.”
“Yeah, but we gotta cover our asses and keep to protocol otherwise this fool could come back claiming we play favorites and that Silco owns the Piltover PD and yata yata yata, you know the drill.”
“I’m not leaving until the medics get here.”
"Fine by me." The sound of far off sirens has already gotten significantly closer as Viyana rolls Finn over and takes his arms. “Grab his legs, will you?”
Sevika rolls her eyes, and shares a look with Silco.
“You’ll be okay in here boss?”
“I’ll survive.”
She nods, and grabs the man’s legs. They lift and start to shuffle towards the door.
“He’s heavier than he looks,” Viyana gripes.
“It’s from all those glittery chains he’s got dripping from his pants.”
“And the golden grill.”
Both women snicker.
“My cooperation better get me a cheaper bail,” Sevika says, voice fading as they move towards the door.
“I can’t promise anything, but I can at least say you were a good sport.”
Their voices trail off completely, and Silco is left alone.
He takes a few moments to simply sit in the slowly disappearing silence. Though everything hurts, the relief he feels at knowing she’s safe takes off the sharpest edge.
But he can't dwell on it for long. The sound of doors shutting and police lights shining through the windows is what at last stirs Silco into action. In the flashing light he searches for his phone on the floor. He spies it where Finn collapsed, only a few feet away. With great effort gets to his feet. He staggers forward, and gasps as he falls to his knees. He’s starting to sweat as he grabs it with a shaking hand. Rather than go through the excruciating work of getting back to his feet, he contents himself with crawling far enough back so he can slump against the box.
He struggles to find the number he’s looking for in his phone. He's never dreaded making a phone call in his life until this moment. Anxiety churns in his stomach as he hits dial, and raises the phone to his ear.
It’s answered almost right away. “Hello?”
He clears his throat. “Leslie?”
“Silco.”
“I apologize for the late call.”
There’s a long pause. When the woman speaks again, her voice is sharp. ”What’s happened to my daughter?”