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“The hell are you looking at, fucker?” the woman asks, eyeing the man next to her. “You wanna pick a fight?”
“Nah, of course not. That tattoo, where’d you get it? Are you one of Silco’s men over from Zaun?” the man asks, frowning. “We’re not big fans of ’em, I hope you get why I’m a bit suspicious.”
“None of your fucking business,” she replies, curling her hand into a fist. “I don’t fucking care if you guys like Silco’s folks, I don’t like him all that much either.”
“Where’d you get that tattoo then, kid? I’m sure the sheriff will be happy to talk to you.”
“Well, I’ll be perfectly happy to talk to the fucker, make myself known. I’m new here, I’d love it if the people here knew my name. Say, your sheriff-”
The door to the bar swings open then and a tall woman walks in, smiling at the people there. “I’ve heard there’s one of Silco’s folks over here, any idea where she’s gone?”
The woman at the bar stands up, smiling at the taller woman. “Are you the sheriff? I’m happy to make your acquaintance, do you wanna have a quick talk? I’m sure that I can tell you some things that’ll interest you, ma’am.”
The sheriff nods, twirling a pistol on her fingers. “Let’s talk outside.”
“I’m not with ’im, or at least I’m not anymore. But I know enough about him that I can help you.”
“And I should trust you why?” the sheriff asks, tucking her pistol away in her belt, though she keeps her hand close to the trigger. “I can’t say that I’m particularly fond of criminals marching into my town and causin’ a scene.”
“He has my sister,” the woman responds, frowning. “I’d do anything to help her, even if it means I have to help you.”
“What’s your name?”
“Vi. No last name,” she responds.
“Your number is the same as your name?” the sheriff scoffs, something that makes Vi frown, rolling her shoulder as she tilts her head.
“He had a shit sense of humor. Do you have anything else to say, sheriff?”
“My name’s Caitlyn Kiramman. Welcome to Progress.”
With Sheriff Kiramman’s coin, Vi finds a bed at the local inn. The sheriff watches Vi as she tosses her few belongings to the bed, wondering if she’ll get to have a shower.
“Are we going to start the interview at some point?” the sheriff asks, leaning against the wall. “I would appreciate it if we could start this as soon as possible.”
“Look, Sheriff Cupcake, I’m covered in dirt, I haven’t slept in at least three days and I feel like I’m about to die. I’m not gonna be fucking interviewed, at least not until tomorrow. Thanks for the bed and all that but I’m fucking exhausted,” Vi says, slinging off her jacket and tossing it onto the floor. “See ya.”
“Sheriff Cupcake?”
“Yeah, what about it?” Vi says, smirking. “Are you going to let me sleep or are you going to throw me in some fucking concrete cell just because I said no to you?”
“I’ll see you tomorrow morning,” the sheriff says, holding her head high. “At nine.”
“Okay then. Can I be alone for now?” she asks, turning towards the sheriff and smiling. “If you want to see me naked, I’d rather it be when I’m not covered in dirt.”
The sheriff doesn’t answer, she instead just marches away and Vi rolls her eyes. She could be in jail so it could technically be worse. Probably.
“Just so you know, Silco’s men are after me,” Vi says, propping a leg up. “I hope you don’t mind, maybe it’ll lead them right to you? Why do you care about Silco and his people in the first place?”
“They killed my mother,” the sheriff replies, voice flat. “And thank you for telling me that. I’m sure that we’ll be prepared. So, you were a part of Silco’s gang?”
“Yeah, I grew up in it pretty much, my parents were friends with him before he started pulling all this bullshit and when they died, we landed with him. I was the muscle for years, I’ve always been good at that shit, but I left when I realized he was hurting our own fucking people.”
The sheriff starts asking Vi various questions and Vi goes along with it, answering everything to the best of her ability. She’s surprisingly good at it, or the sheriff seems pretty happy with it. It takes all day, the sheriff is incredibly meticulous but Vi’s happy to be of use, especially if it’ll get Powder to safety.
“Do you know where Vi is?” the sheriff asks, reloading her gun as she speaks. “I wish to talk to her, her information led to another lead and I would like to see if she knows anything more.”
“She’s workin’ at the bar,” one of the officers answers. “She’s a damn good bartender, I can tell you that. I asked for something really dumb the other weak, I was trying to test her, but she didn’t bat a fucking eye. Do gangs have bartenders?”
“I don’t think they tend to. Thank you, Mohan,” Caitlyn says, stretching out her shoulder. “I’m going to pay her a visit, I’ll be back soon.”
“Are you fucking following me?” Vi asks, leaning against the bar and putting the bottle she’s holding down. “I know you’re a fucking bastard but hell, I’m on the fucking job.”
“I don’t mean to interrupt you, I just would like to talk to you later today. When are you going to be off shift?”
“Usually when girls ask me that, I’m not about to head to prison,” Vi grins but adds, “Gimme fifteen minutes, then I’ll do whatever you want, Cupcake.”
“Usually, when girls tell me they’ll do anything I want, I’m about to lead them to my bedroom,” Caitlyn smiles before walking away. “I’ll wait for you outside.”
“God damn,” Vi says under her breath, frowning as Caitlyn walks away. She is really fucking hot, Vi thinks, though she doesn’t want to get caught up with the sheriff of all people.
The sheriff is far too tall but now, Vi is a bit scared. She’s always been a bit scared of horses, Powder loved to ride but Vi hasn’t done it since she was a little kid. She notices that Vi’s staring at her and she frowns, pulling the horse to a stop and saying, “Is there something you want to talk about?”
“Where’d they find a horse big enough for you?” Vi asks, trying not to sound dumb but she does anyway.
“My father used to breed them. Is there anything besides horses you want to discuss?”
“No, not really,” Vi says. “Just walking around.”
Caitlyn pauses for a moment before asking, “Are you scared of horses? You seem unnerved by it.”
“No, of course not,” Vi says, forcing herself to chuckle. “That’s a dumb idea, of course I’m not scared of fucking horses.”
“Are you working tonight?” the sheriff asks, lips twitching into a smile a bit.
“I’ll be off at six. Why the hell are you asking?”
“Nothing. I’ll see you then if that’s okay with you, Vi,” she says, adjusting her hat and she kicks the horse, or that’s what it seems like she does to Vi.
“Yeah, it’s fine.” Who is she to say no to the sheriff as a criminal after all?
“This is Atlas, I think he could suit you. He’s rude, stubborn and loves sweets,” Caitlyn says, patting the rump of the horse. Vi looks at the pair strangely and Caitlyn can’t help but smile. “You have ridden before, haven’t you?”
“Technically.”
“Well, I thought you should be more comfortable with horses, the only train is over thirty miles away, if you wanna get anywhere, you need to have a horse.”
“I’m living in an inn, sheriff, I don’t particularly have the space for a donkey, none the less a fuckin’ horse,” Vi says, leaning against the stable wall. “If you give me Atlas, I doubt ’e’ll have a very good life. Much better off in your mansion.”
“If you think I live in a mansion, you should see my parents house,” Caitlyn chuckles. “And you’re allowed to visit the stables whenever you please, ma’am. Just bring Atlas back ’round and we’ll be fine. Now, do you want to meet him properly?”
“How?” Vi asks, her voice a bit gruffer than usual.
“Hold out your hand to him, let him sniff you and see how he reacts,” Caitlyn says, smiling. “Don’t let ’em know you’re scared.”
“I’m not,” Vi scoffs unconvincingly. Still, she holds up her hand and Atlas, nearly as hesitant as she is, before nudging her with his head.
Slowly, Vi starts to smile.
When Vi’s not working, she’s at the stable, Caitlyn notices. She’s starting to look healthier, she moves lighter. Caitlyn watches them as they run through the tall grass a dozen miles away, barely more than a blur at the speed they were moving.
Caitlyn likes seeing her, she’s glad that she’s made her way into Progress. Most of the people here were torn down, criminals, gamblers who’d lost everything they owned or people who had nothing to begin with in the first place and Vi fit in Caitlyn’s town perfectly.
“Is the sheriff here?” Vi asks, nodding at the officer at the station’s front desk. “I wanna talk to her.”
“She’s in her office but she’s working. Sheriff Kiramman can be rather finicky around this kinda stuff, if you wanna get screamed at, that’s your business.”
“I’m sure I can handle her,” Vi says, smiling. The officer points her in the direction of the sheriff’s office, though in such a small place it isn’t hard to figure out where it is. She doesn’t bother knocking on the door, instead swinging it open with a smile. “Sheriff Cupcake, lovely to see you on this fine day.”
“Ge- Oh, Vi, you may come in. I’ve made amazing progress on the case but there’s a piece missing. There have been these designs left by a few killings done by Silco’s men but they are different than they were before. There are some photos on my desk, I’d love it if you could take a look at them.”
Vi nods, noticing that the office looks like a paper storm has blown through it. She imagined that the sheriff would be rather neat and apparently, the exact opposite is true.
She forgets all about it when she sees the drawings, bright colors and flashy patterns that she’s seen for as long as she can remember. “It’s… It’s my sister.”
Vi is asleep in Caitlyn’s bed. She had started crying, breaking down into such violent sobs that Caitlyn didn’t know what to do except bring her to her house and make her tea. She could have gone to the inn but everyone would have seen her and Vi was apparently so exhausted by this incident that she fell asleep almost instantly.
And now, Caitlyn is watching Vi as she sleeps, trying not to be overbearing but she can’t stand the idea of leaving Vi alone like this. She looks fragile like this, or smaller at the very least. She pauses for a moment, taking another sip of tea before frowning. Hopefully, Vi will feel well enough to inform her of what happened and hopefully, there’s something Caitlyn will be able to do to help her.
“Thank you. For bringing me here, I mean,” Vi says, frowning. “It means a lot, sheriff. Fuck, that sounds sarcastic. I’m ready to talk now if you want.”
“I have a cake coming out soon, if you’d like to stay. I’m a pretty good baker,” Caitlyn says, smiling a bit.
“You… Don’t you want me to tell you what’s going on? What my sister has to do with this?”
“Not until you’re actually ready to talk. And it was no problem, ma’am.”
“Call me Vi, please,” Vi says, smiling softly.
“Then stop calling me sheriff. Or Sheriff Cupcake,” she says, standing up. “I’m going to go check in on the cake, I’ll be back in a moment, Vi.”
Vi watches her as she walks away, part of her hating that she feels comfortable around the other woman. Another part of her wants to stay at Caitlyn’s house for as long as she can.