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"What! This Chen guy is Jax? He actually kidnapped Powder! Took her on an adventure to blow up a factory?! Unforgivable!"
Vi was pacing the Firelight hideout, her knuckles white as she gripped the air. The news that her sister had been snagged by some mysterious vigilante with a streetlamp was enough to make her want to punch a hole through the nearest ventilation shaft. She'd never met Chen. To her, he wasn't a hero; he was a wildcard who had stolen the only family she had left.
Ekko jumped in, trying to play peacemaker. "Chen is a good guy, Vi. He's like a brother to me. Honestly, we wouldn't even have the Firelights if it weren't for him." He pulled out the red-covered book Chen had gifted him. "He gave us this. It's... it's a blueprint. I think this ideology can actually fix Zaun."
Vi looked at the book with pure, unadulterated disdain. "A book? You think one book is going to fix this pit? The Sump has been rotting since before you could crawl, Little Man. It's not that simple."
"It's not just a book, it's a vision!" Ekko shot back, realizing that explaining socio-economic theory to Vi was like trying to teach a Gromp to play the violin. He sighed. "Look, forget it. The point is, Powder is working for Heimerdinger now. She's safe, she's happy, and she even writes to me. Let's just go see her."
"Fine," Vi grunted. "But I have to see a friend first."
They set off for the Topside. Gone were the days of climbing rusty pipes and dodging toxic vents. Vi hopped onto the back of Ekko's hoverboard, and they soared toward the golden skyline of Piltover.
In the quiet luxury of her bedroom, Caitlyn Kiramman was surrounded by chaos. Photos were pinned to a map of the city, connected by a spiderweb of red string. She was deep in the "zone," her mind a blur of deductive reasoning.
"The girl is Powder. Zaun. The boy is Chen. Also Zaun," she whispered, her finger tracing a line on the map. "Are they Firelights? No, they don't fit the profile. Powder seems... innocent. Like a scholar who took a wrong turn."
She was so focused she didn't hear the boots on the balcony.
Her Enforcer instincts kicked in a split second before her brain did. She did a tactical roll, grabbed her rifle from the bedside, and leveled it at the shadow in the window. "Don't move!"
"Whoa, easy there, Cupcake," a familiar voice teased. "It's been a week and you're already trying to ventilate me?"
Caitlyn lowered the rifle, her heart hammered against her ribs. "Vi! Can you use the front door for once in your life?"
Vi unceremoniously flopped onto Caitlyn's bed, sprawling out across the silk sheets. "Your mansion has guards at the gate, remember? I'm not exactly looking for a social invitation."
Caitlyn sat beside her, her annoyance fading into curiosity. "Did you find anything? Please tell me you have something."
Vi hesitated. She knew the Firelights were behind the Hexgate heist. She knew Powder was involved. But there was no way in hell she was handing her sister over to the Enforcers. So, she did what any loyal sister would do: she pinned it all on Silco.
"I found this," Vi said, tossing a vial of shimmering purple liquid onto the bed.
Caitlyn caught it with both hands, her face pale. "Vi! This is evidence! It's highly volatile and you're throwing it around like a ball!"
Vi just grinned. "But you caught it, didn't you? Relax. I found a bunch of ledgers and stash sites, too. It's enough to bury Silco under the prison."
Caitlyn looked at the evidence, a genuine, radiant smile breaking across her face. Vi found herself staring, unable to look away from the "Little Cupcake" in the sunlight.
"Thank you, Vi," Caitlyn said softly.
Vi sprang up, sitting shoulder-to-shoulder with her. She slung an arm around Caitlyn's neck with roguish ease. "Don't mention it. We're partners, right?"
Caitlyn turned her head, catching Vi's handsome profile just inches away. Her face flushed a deep crimson. Ever since the night in the Zaun when Vi had pinned her against the wall to "test her pulse," Caitlyn felt a strange heat whenever they were close. She stood up abruptly, trying to hide her shaking hands by fussing with the map.
"Right... right. So, Silco is definitely the source of the Shimmer," Caitlyn said, her voice a bit too high. "But the Hexgate explosion... I still think the Firelights did it. They're his rivals."
A drop of cold sweat rolled down Vi's neck. "Uh, I wouldn't be so sure about that..."
"You've been down there for weeks, Vi. You haven't heard anything about the Firelights?"
Vi shifted uncomfortably, her eyes darting toward the window. "No. Nothing. They're new, I guess. I was in Stillwater, remember? I'm out of the loop."
Vi was a terrible liar, and Caitlyn knew it. The investigator kept quiet, but her mind was already racing. She reached for a specific photo on her desk. "There's one more thing. Look at this pattern. The glowing monkey."
Vi flinched. She knew that drawing. It was Powder's signature.
"I saw this same monkey on a bag at the Academy," Caitlyn continued. "The girl with the blue hair. Powder. Do you know her, Vi?"
The air in the room turned cold. Vi felt the walls closing in. The Enforcers were closing in on her sister. "Never heard of her. Not familiar. Look, I gotta go—I forgot I had a thing!"
Vi didn't wait for a reply. She scrambled onto the balcony and vanished into the night.
Caitlyn didn't let her go. She grabbed a dark cloak, threw it over her uniform, and followed Vi into the streets, staying far enough back to avoid detection.
In a dark alleyway near the Academy, Ekko was checking his stopwatch. "What is taking her so long? She just bails on me for—"
Vi came skidding around the corner, grabbing Ekko by the collar. "Ekko! We have to go! We have to get Powder out of here and hide her at the Sanctuary. Now!"
Ekko looked confused. "What? Why? She's safe with the Professor!"
"The Enforcers are on her!" Vi hissed, her voice panicked. "They traced the monkey drawing from the Hexgate to her bag. They know, Ekko!"
Ekko froze. "How? We all wore masks!"
"Doesn't matter! We have to move!"
They turned to leave the alley, but a tall, hooded figure stepped out of the shadows, blocking their path. A long-barreled rifle was leveled directly at Ekko's chest.
"Don't move," Caitlyn said, her voice cold and professional. "Both of you. Hands where I can see them."
Vi stepped in front of Ekko, her eyes wide. "No! Little Cupcake, wait! It's not what you think!"
"I think," Caitlyn said, her eyes fixed on Vi with a look of deep betrayal, "that you've been lying to me from the start. And I think your 'Firelight' friend here has a lot of questions to answer about an explosion at the Hexgate."
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