"What else do you need me to do?"
"Hm?"
Silco took a pull on his cigar and looked straight at Van.
"You're impatient. And a little greedy too, Torvan... so tell me. What is it you want?"
"Powder..."
"No."
Silco cut him off before he could finish.
"There is nothing I would trade for her."
Van frowned, unable to understand it.
"Why?"
"That's something you should ask yourselves."
"Ask what? Weren't you the one who took her?"
"Oh? So you still don't know?"
"...Know what?"
Something tightened in Van's chest at the look in Silco's eyes. He had already suspected it, but that did not mean he wanted to hear it confirmed.
"The explosion at the cannery was Jinx's doing. You didn't know?"
"..."
Van fell silent.
He had already figured it out, but even so, it was hard to accept.
The appearance of that monkey robot. The stones that had already caused an explosion in topside. The clues had always been there. Van just had not wanted to put them together.
If it really had been Powder...
"Why should I believe you?"
"Believe it or don't. Jinx made a mistake, and her sister abandoned her. That's the truth."
Silco leaned back and exhaled a ring of smoke, looking perfectly at ease.
"It wasn't that I held her hostage. She threw herself at me."
"...Impossible. Vi would die before she abandoned Powder."
"Then why hasn't she come looking for her sister? Perhaps, like you said, she really is dead. Don't get upset. I'm only naming one possibility."
Silco's expression stayed calm, and his voice flowed low, elegant, and unsettlingly persuasive, pulling Van toward the worst conclusions whether he wanted it or not.
"I'll find her," Van said. "I will."
"Then I wish you luck."
Silco drew another cigar from the box and held it out to him.
"For now, I won't let you see her. At least not yet. She's emotionally unstable... Try it. Topside goods."
Van hesitated for a moment before taking the cigar from his hand.
"I originally meant to bring Renni in. I didn't expect you to handle things that fast."
"Then I guess I should apologize."
"It doesn't matter. I don't need her specifically. Someone else can fill the same place. What matters is that it made things much easier for us. Half the Undercity is under our control now."
"Our?"
"That's right. Our."
Silco picked up the lighter from the desk, struck the flint, and held the flame out in front of Van.
Van looked at him for a long moment. Then, copying what he remembered, he put one end of the cigar between his lips, leaned in, and lit it from Silco's hand before taking a deep drag.
"Cough! Cough!"
Van had never smoked before, and the sheer strength of the cigar hit him so hard he broke into a loud fit of coughing.
"Oh? You don't even know how to smoke?"
"No... cough... I don't."
"Vander should have taught you sooner."
"He didn't get the chance!"
"My deepest sympathies."
Silco leaned back into his chair again and spoke slowly.
"I'll leave the Lanes to you. I look forward to our next partnership... As for what that partnership will be, I'll let you know later."
Strictly speaking, the Lanes were only one section of territory, barely more than a district. Silco had every confidence he could afford to hand that much over.
Vander might once have been the acknowledged leader of the Undercity, but only as a respected figure with a voice people listened to. The only territory he had ever truly controlled was the Lanes.
"Anything else?"
"..."
Van fell silent for a moment and took another puff on the cigar, only to choke on it again exactly as expected.
"Nothing for now... You really are broad-minded, aren't you? Aren't you afraid I'll hold a grudge against you? You're the reason I lost people who mattered to me. Even if Powder... even then, the biggest share of the blame is yours."
"You're a fine young man. Vander wasn't wrong about you. And I'm willing to give Zaun's future a little time."
Silco's expression remained cool, as if Van's words had not touched him in the slightest.
"Besides, you've had plenty of chances to kill me, haven't you? Including right now."
Van's reputation was brutal enough that Silco had no doubt he could kill him with his bare hands if he chose to.
At that, Van laughed helplessly.
"You think I haven't thought about it?"
As he spoke, he reached into his coat and pulled out a yellowed letter, then held it out.
"I was ready to go all in with you if I had to... Those past few days, I went to the abandoned mine Vander used to stay in, looking for materials to reforge my axe. That's where I found this."
Silco took the letter from his hand.
He only needed one glance before the pupil in his remaining eye shuddered violently.
He read the short letter over and over, searching for any flaw, but there was none. He was completely certain it was in Vander's own hand.
"Where did you find this?"
"A few days after everything happened, I went to the abandoned mine Vander used to stay in to gather materials for reforging my axe. That's where I found it."
Van studied Silco's face, then gave a quiet sigh.
"I don't care about the feud between the two of you, and I won't forgive you either. But... just like you said, maybe I should give some time to Zaun's future too. Right? Riverbed and bubbles..."
With that, Van crushed out the cigar after only two drags and got up to leave.
"Close the door on your way out."
Silco slowly lowered the letter, his hand trembling slightly around the paper.
He drew in a long breath, ran a hand over his slicked-back hair, then sank deep into his chair and stared blankly at the ceiling for a long time.
"Riverbed... and... bubbles..."
...
...
As promised, the people from the Lanes were released and made it back to their families before nightfall.
After negotiating with Silco, and then spending even more time talking the old hands from the Lanes down, Van finally dragged his exhausted body back to the Last Drop after dark.
Anyone reckless enough to storm Silco's doorstep in a burst of anger was never going to be easy to persuade, especially when, to them, Van was still just a kid.
He was drained in body and mind.
At that point, all he wanted was to get back and have a few drinks.
But when he pushed open the door to the tavern, he found someone already inside.
"How did you get in?"
"The back door was open!"
Ekko was mopping the floor with all his strength while answering, though he still would not look Van in the eye.
Seeing the obvious lie, Van could not help finding it a little funny, and some of the exhaustion left him.
"Little man, how about working here for me? Food included. I'll pay you too."
"Hmph..."
"If you're not saying no, I'll take that as a yes."
Van smiled, then slowly made his way to the bar, ready to pour himself a drink.
But then he spotted something familiar resting on the counter.
"This is..."
He lifted the object carefully.
"That was left at the shop by Vander," Ekko said, leaning on the mop.
"Thanks, little man."
Van noticed there was still tobacco left packed in the pipe, so he struck a match against the table, lit the tobacco with the tiny flame, and copied Vander as best he could, taking a long, satisfied pull.
"Cough! Cough! Cough!"
[End of chapter]