Benzo's shop.
Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap...
Ever since the Enforcers had started locking down the Lanes, most of the shops had been shut by force. Benzo's shop was no exception.
Vi had already managed to pry the truth out of Ekko and learned that this was where Vander usually met with the Enforcers, so she had come early and waited here.
In the stillness, the sound of her foot drumming against the floor was painfully clear, fast and heavy, almost like her own heartbeat.
Vi absently rubbed the bandages around her hands. Feeling the faint warmth seeping through them, she found herself calming down a little.
Things had already reached this point. Other than sacrificing herself, she couldn't think of any other way out.
She didn't regret what she had done. It had been her choice from the start. And now, at last, it was time to face the consequences.
Step. Step. Step...
Hurried footsteps came from outside. Vi, who had been staring at the floor, snapped her head up, and her leg began shaking even harder.
What was going to happen to her next? Would the Enforcers kill her without hesitation, the way they had killed her parents?
Or would they throw her into some pitch-black, stinking gutter and leave her there until she died of old age?
What did "judgment" even mean? Being pierced through with a rusty hook and hung up in public?
Vi had never seen much of the world. She had no idea how topsiders dealt with criminals, so all she could do was imagine it through the lens of life in the Undercity.
And the more she imagined, the worse it got. Her heart pounded harder and harder, and as the footsteps drew nearer, she found herself swallowing nervously again and again.
"It's fine, Vi. At worst, I die. Vander will take care of Powder."
Hearing the steps stop outside the door, Vi quietly steeled herself, then rose from the chair, slow but firm.
"Vi?"
"Vander?!"
The door swung open, and to Vi's shock, the one who entered wasn't some vicious-looking Enforcer, but a clearly anxious Vander.
"Hah... I knew I'd find you here."
The moment he saw Vi, Vander finally let out a long breath.
The second he saw Powder that morning, he had known something was wrong. Kids that young just weren't good at hiding things.
"You're my pride, Vi. You always have been."
Holding her face in both hands, Vander spoke slowly and softly.
"I'm sorry, Vander. I... this is the only way to protect everyone."
"It's not the only way."
Only then did Vi notice that behind him stood not just Benzo, nervously glancing toward the door, but Van as well, his expression grave.
"What's going on... Why is Van here too?"
"Vander!"
Benzo suddenly shouted. Through the window, he had already made out two figures approaching the shop.
Vander understood at once and hurried his words.
"You have a good heart. No matter what this world does to you, don't ever forget that. And... take care of our home."
"Why are you saying this all of a sudden..."
Vander looked at Vi's face and bit down hard. Pain and reluctance surged through him, and his nose stung. He shut his eyes and turned his head away.
"Van!"
His hands fell away from Vi's face as he turned his back. Van did not hesitate. He stepped forward, hooked one arm around Vi, and dragged her toward the storage room at the back of Benzo's shop.
At that point, even Vi understood what was happening.
"No! You can't do this! Vander! Torvan, let me go!"
She struggled with all her strength, but Van was far too strong. His arm was like an iron clamp. It didn't take much effort for him to force her into the storage room.
"No! Van..."
Just as Van was about to shut the door, Vi threw her full weight against it and held it open, tears brimming in her eyes as she stared at him.
"Don't look at me like that..."
Van turned his face away, unable to meet her gaze. Then he pushed harder, shut the wooden door, and, just to be safe, dropped the bolt into place.
"It's time, Vander."
At that moment, two Enforcers stepped through the door. They were the same familiar pair as before: Grayson and Marcus.
"At least let a man have a smoke before he dies."
Vander took a long pull from his pipe, then casually set it down on the table.
"What?"
Grayson's eyes widened at once, her brow drawing tight.
"I can't use you to close this case, Vander. If you go, the Undercity will fall into chaos."
"Don't worry. Benzo's still here. He may not be as stylishly handsome as I am, but underneath it all, he's a real hardliner too."
As he said that, Vander looked toward Van, who stood pale-faced with his back braced against the storage-room door.
"And besides, I've got a suitable successor. Give him another couple of years, and he'll be able to take over just fine."
"Torvan! Torvan! Open the door!"
Vi's cries still hadn't stopped. Van shut his eyes, the shouting scraping at his nerves.
Then a large hand came down on his shoulder.
"I don't have much time left to teach you... Learn from Benzo. Protect our home."
"...Yeah."
"You're doing this, and you may not be coming back for a long time... Why?"
Grayson truly didn't understand. She and Vander had maintained this balance for years. She did not believe anyone else could take his place.
Was it really that hard to hand over one person and make an example of them?
"This is the only way."
Vander walked up to Marcus on his own. Marcus, practically unable to wait, snapped the cuffs onto him.
"Let's go."
With that, Vander stepped toward the door of his own accord. Marcus glanced at Sheriff Grayson, who still seemed torn, then followed after him and escorted him out.
Grayson let out a sigh. Then she gave Van a long look, and another at the trembling doorframe behind him, before leaving the room with Benzo.
In an instant, only Van and Vi remained, separated by a single door.
Vi's sobbing and shouting now seemed a hundred times louder, forcing their way into Van's ears and tearing apart his thoughts.
"Torvan! How can you be this cold?! How can you just stand there and watch them take Vander away?!"
If I had a choice...
At that moment, Van regretted more than anything that he had failed to keep watch over this pack of idiots. Reason told him none of this was his fault, but in his heart, he still desperately wished none of it had ever happened.
Bang!
"What was that?"
The sudden noise yanked Van out of his turmoil.
A huge, unnatural sound rose from outside the shop, and a strange presence began to spread through the air.
"What the hell is that..."
"What happened?"
Van shoved himself away from the door and sprinted for the front of the shop, yanking it open in one motion.
But before he could even make out what he was looking at, a purple blur flashed past him.
He didn't even have time to react before his body was already airborne.
Boom!
"Torvan!!!"
Cough!
Van slammed hard into the storage-room door. Blood burst from his mouth and nose at once.
The back of his head cracked against the wood, pain exploded through him, and his chest went numb. His vision blurred fast, and all he could make out was a vaguely familiar figure still holding the end position of a front kick.
[End of chapter]