"Mr. Silco, you may bring only one person inside."
The moment Van's group reached the conference-room doors, they were stopped by the security posted outside.
"I'm with the Iverson gang," Finn said.
The doors opened at once, and he was let in first.
Silco turned to Sevika and spoke quietly.
"Go on. Do what you're supposed to do."
Sevika nodded, then gave Van's shoulder a pat before turning away.
Van touched the suddenly bulging pocket of his coat and watched her leave with a complicated look in his eyes.
He did not even need to check. Whatever Sevika had slipped him had to be a vial of Shimmer.
"No weapons either!"
Van frowned and shot the big guard at the door a cold look.
"Let them," Silco said, then walked straight into the conference room.
"Tch..."
Van did not argue. He casually dropped the axe into the guard's arms.
"Ugh—"
Bang!
The sudden weight slammed the big man straight to the floor. The axe was so heavy it nearly crushed the air out of him, and it took a serious effort just to shove it off to the side.
"You need more training, kid."
Van gave the fallen brute a scornful look, then followed Silco inside.
The instant he stepped into the room, the place caught his eye.
Unexpectedly, it looked nothing like something that belonged in the Undercity.
The conference room was shockingly luxurious. A massive table dominated the center, and the bridge directly opposite the entrance had once apparently been lined with green plants, though they had long since withered away.
The walls were carved with elaborate murals and patterns, though age had yellowed and peeled them in places.
The ceiling was made entirely of glass, flooding the whole room with light.
Of course, there was no reason to expect any kind of view through it. The room was not high enough to rise above Zaun's choking gray haze.
A huge ventilation fan with two wide blades hung overhead, and because of it, the air inside the room felt unusually fresh.
The room was already full, with bosses from every gang seated around the table.
And judging by the number of bodyguards behind them, hardly anyone had obeyed the one-person rule.
"Silco! What took you so long? We've all been sitting here waiting for you!"
"You're always so excitable, Smeech. Sometimes I wonder whether it's only your face that looks like a mad dog."
Noticing that Van had no intention of pulling out his chair for him, Silco quietly did it himself, then sat down at a leisurely pace and adjusted his tie with practiced elegance.
"Silco, you've gone too far lately."
A thick-necked man played with the lighter in his hand and spoke in a mocking tone.
"You're reaching too far. Even Vander never pushed things like this."
"Vander? Heh..."
Silco smiled faintly, let out a quiet, meaningful sigh, and smoothed back his hair.
"The situation has changed, Iverson. I sincerely hope we can all unite and share the benefits... of standing against topside."
His deep gaze passed over everyone in the room, studying each face in turn.
The reaction was immediate. The room erupted.
"What? Stand against topside?"
"Silco... have you lost your mind?"
Several bosses slammed their hands onto the table and stood up on the spot, clearly unwilling to accept what they were hearing.
"This meeting," Silco said, lighting a cigar and exhaling a calm, elegant ring of smoke, "was meant to divide the gains."
He looked at their outrage with a single cold eye and not the slightest trace of concern.
"But it seems that on the most fundamental issue of all, our differences are impossible to reconcile."
...
...
Stillwater Hold.
"What happened to the prisoner I brought in before?"
"She's in solitary. Still hasn't learned how to behave."
"Hunger strike or anything like that?"
"No. Eats like a beast. She's not very big, but she can put away enough for three."
"Mm..."
Led by a prison guard, Marcus walked into the solitary wing of Stillwater Hold. The place was dark, heavily guarded, and reserved for prisoners who had caused trouble.
And in the cell at the farthest corner, a red-haired girl was hammering one fist after another into the wall.
"Seeing you still have that much energy is a relief."
"Heh..."
Vi lowered her fist, breathing hard, then turned and looked at Marcus with cold contempt.
"Ptui!"
A glob of spit came flying at him with impressive force. Marcus jerked aside just in time.
"I was actually planning to bring you some good news."
"Hmph. Nothing good ever comes out of your mouth."
"Really?"
Marcus spoke calmly and stepped a little closer to the bars, peering into the dim cell.
"Torvan... that's his name, right?"
Bang!
Vi slammed into the bars so hard the noise made Marcus stumble back half a step.
"What happened to him?! He's alive?!"
Being startled by a half-grown girl made Marcus feel ridiculous, and he quickly glanced toward the guard standing nearby.
The man took the hint and wandered off to check the other cells.
Only then did Marcus clear his throat and recover some dignity.
"He's alive. And... now that he's working for Silco, he seems to be doing pretty well."
"Working... for Silco?"
Vi froze, her expression going blank for a moment. Then she jerked a hand in disgust.
"Knew it. Same old filth out of your mouth."
She let go of the bars and sat back down on the bunk, running a hand through her tangled red hair.
"An explosion that big, with half the factory collapsing, and he was that close to it. There's no way he could still be alive."
"I wouldn't have believed it either if I hadn't seen him standing right in front of me in one piece."
"Heh. Or maybe you just made the whole thing up because you want something from me."
"I have no reason to lie to you. Believe it or don't."
"What about Powder?"
"Powder? Who?"
"My sister... she... the one with blue hair."
"...That, I honestly don't know."
Vi's leg started bouncing as she turned Marcus's words over in her head. She knew nothing about the outside world. She had no way to judge what was true and what was false, and that uncertainty only made her angrier.
"Then just say it already! Why the hell did you lock me up here?!"
"You committed a crime."
"Then... at least tell me how long I'm supposed to be in here!"
"Heh..."
Marcus gave her a flat look, said nothing, then turned and walked away from the cell.
"Hey! Answer me, you bastard!"
Vi's shouting gradually faded behind him, while Marcus's face only tightened further.
He did not want to spend the rest of his life under Silco's thumb. If there was even the slightest chance to escape that control, he would take it.
And Vi...
As the only living witness who still knew the truth and remained openly opposed to Silco, she might be the only card he would ever have left.
If he was being honest with himself, he had saved her life too.
Thinking of it that way made him feel better.
"Move her to a better cell," Marcus told the guards as he was leaving. "And keep a close watch on her."
[End of chapter]