Leone
Levi stood at the edge of Leone's bustling town square, arms folded across his chest as he watched life move around him.
The morning rush was already well underway. Merchants called out prices from crowded stalls while horse-drawn carts rattled over the stone streets. Somewhere beyond the square, a steam engine released a distant whistle as it prepared to depart the station. Telephone wires stretched between buildings, cutting thin black lines across the morning sky. A motorcycle sputtered past a carriage before disappearing around a corner, earning an irritated shout from its driver.
The chatter of merchants, the clatter of carts, the laughter of children—it all felt distant as Levi's thoughts drifted inward. From a boy who had known nothing but hunger and loss to captain of the local law division... it hadn't been an easy road. He had never imagined himself becoming a lawman.
Levi had been young when a mining collapse claimed both of his parents. Afterward, survival became the only thing that mattered. He scraped together whatever food and money he could find, doing anything he could to keep himself and his younger sister alive. Back then, there hadn't been much room for dreams beyond another meal, another night with a roof over their heads, and another morning when the two of them woke up together.
Yet even when Levi had almost nothing, he found himself giving some of it away. He helped neighbors when he could, shared food when someone else was hungrier, and stepped between trouble and those who couldn't defend themselves. He hadn't thought of it as heroism. It was simply what you did. That instinct changed his life the day of the robbery. Levi had still been just a boy. No training. No badge. No weapon.
The robber had forced his way into the general store with a knife in his hand. Outside, someone shouted for the police and ran toward the station. Levi heard the alarm, but the man was already advancing on the shopkeeper. There wasn't time to wait.
He stepped between them. The robber swung at him, and Levi slipped aside just far enough for the blade to miss. He caught the man's wrist with both hands and drove it against the edge of the counter. The knife fell. Levi snatched it up as the robber reached for him again, kicked his leg out from under him, and followed him to the floor. By the time the man recovered his breath, his own blade was at his throat.
"Don't move," Levi said. His hands were shaking, but he kept the point steady. "They're coming. Just stay there."
Looking back, Levi still wasn't sure whether he'd been brave or simply too stupid to understand how easily he could have died. Captain Stone seemed to have much the same question when he arrived with the officers. He stopped in the doorway, taking in the overturned goods, the robber on the floor, and the boy holding him there.
"You did this?" Stone asked.
"He was going to hurt somebody." Levi looked toward the knife. "I didn't have anything else."
"You didn't have that either, from what I'm told." Stone crouched where Levi could see him. "My officers will take him now. You can let go."
Levi hesitated until an officer took hold of the robber. Only then did he lower the knife. Stone accepted it by the handle and passed it to another officer before looking at Levi again.
"That was a dangerous way to solve a problem. Effective, though. What's your name?"
"Levi. Am I in trouble?"
"For stopping him? No. For nearly getting yourself killed, I'd like to have a word." Stone's stern expression eased. "You've got nerve, and you noticed someone needed help. With training, you might learn to do something useful with both."
Levi eyed the uniform. "You mean work for the police?"
"I mean a chance to change the way you're living. A roof, regular meals, and someone to teach you. It won't be easy, and it won't happen overnight. But if you're willing to work, I'll train you myself."
The offer sounded too good to trust. Levi looked down at his empty hands. "I've got a little sister. Silvia. I can't leave her to look after herself while I do that."
Stone listened as Levi explained what had happened to their parents and how they'd been getting by. He didn't interrupt or tell him how fortunate he ought to feel. When Levi finished, Stone considered him for a moment.
"I have relatives in the capital," he said. "Good people. She could live with them, go to school, and have more to look forward to than the next meal. I'll make sure she's provided for while you're here."
"You'd send her away?"
"Only if you both agree. This is a chance for her too, Levi. You can write to each other, and when your training is finished, you can go and see her. Distance doesn't have to mean you've lost her."
Silvia was less interested in the promise of school than in how far away her brother would be. When Stone explained the arrangement to her, she sat close beside Levi and caught his sleeve.
"Why can't you come too?"
"Because I'm going to learn a job here." Levi tried to sound more certain than he felt. "Then we won't have to keep living like this."
"And you'll come when you're finished? You won't just forget?"
"I'm not going to forget you." He turned toward her. "I'll write. You write back, even if it's only to tell me school is terrible."
That earned a reluctant smile. "What if it is terrible?"
"Then I'll hear all about it."
Stone gave them time to talk, and the chance to ask him questions before anything was arranged. Neither sibling liked the thought of parting, but a safe home and an education were things Levi couldn't give her yet. When Silvia eventually left for the capital, they held on to the promise that the separation would end when his training did.
Stone took Levi under his wing. He taught him how to fight, how to shoot, and how to command, with little patience for shortcuts and even less for recklessness. More importantly, he taught him that enforcing the law and delivering justice were not always the same thing. A lawman needed to know the difference.
Years had passed, and Stone was gone now. Levi carried his mantle as captain of Leone's law division, leader of a skilled team, and trusted protector of the town. His hand drifted unconsciously toward the Star Badge fastened to his belt at his hip. It wasn't merely a symbol of his authority. Like every Star Badge, there was something alive within it—a being of Order bound to its bearer, granting power in exchange for the bond they shared.
But to Levi, the badge represented something simpler. A promise. The same promise Stone had once made to Leone. Protect the people who couldn't protect themselves. And today, that promise came with a new responsibility. A fresh lieutenant was arriving from the capital.
"Captain Levi? Excuse me, Captain?"
The voice pulled him from his thoughts. Levi turned. A young woman was making her way across the square toward him. Her uniform was crisp enough that Levi suspected it hadn't yet survived a real day in the field. The Star Badge on her chest caught the morning sunlight as she approached, briefly flashing against the polished fabric. She stopped in front of him with her back straight, shoulders squared, and eyes forward. Definitely from the capital.
"Lieutenant Lily, I take it?" Levi asked, extending his hand.
She gripped it firmly.
"Yes, sir. It's a pleasure to be here."
Levi studied her for a moment. There was determination in her eyes, that familiar spark of someone eager to prove herself. Once upon a time, he'd seen the same thing every time he looked in a mirror. Maybe he still did. Levi gave a small nod.
"Good. Let's get started. Command center's this way."
Local Station
Leone's law division headquarters stood just off the town square, a sturdy stone building that had watched over the town for generations. Newer additions had slowly crept into its aging architecture—electric lights, wired telephones, and a radio room tucked behind walls built long before anyone had imagined such things. Lily followed Levi through the entrance and into the main corridor. Officers moved between rooms carrying reports and case files. Somewhere deeper inside the station, a telephone rang.
As they walked, Lily noticed Levi slow slightly. A plaque had been set into the stone wall.
To the Stone Wall That Protected Us—May He Live On in Our Hearts.
Levi's eyes lingered on it for only a moment before he continued walking.
"I've arranged a workspace for you," he said.
He opened the door to a modest office. It wasn't much. A wooden desk sat beneath a window overlooking part of the square. A telephone occupied one corner beside a stack of blank reports, while a filing cabinet stood against the opposite wall.
"From today on, this space is yours."
Lily stepped inside, surveying the room.
"Orientation begins tomorrow morning. Seven sharp."
"Understood."
Levi leaned against the doorway.
"One other thing."
Lily turned toward him.
"We've only got one set of quarters for command staff, so you'll be rooming with me until we make other arrangements."
For the first time since arriving, Lily's professional expression cracked slightly.
"If you have any grievances," Levi continued, completely straight-faced, "file them in the complaint box."
He gestured toward the corner. Lily followed his hand. A battered trash can sat beneath a crooked handwritten sign.
COMPLAINT BOX
She stared at it, then at Levi, one eyebrow slowly rising. Levi managed to hold his expression for another second before chuckling.
"Come on, Lieutenant. Lighten up. If you can't find some humor in this job, you won't last long."
Lily looked from the trash can to her new captain, a faint smile tugging at the corner of her mouth.
"I'll keep that in mind, sir."
"Good, because around here, we get plenty of complaints." Levi pushed away from the doorway.