Work Text:
normalcy is boring (i’m over with that)
It was dark outside. Caitlyn checked her surroundings frantically, paranoid to any noise that reached her ears. She was in Zaun, far away from her home, chasing after a tip she had received from a so-called concerned citizen.
Of course, Caitlyn didn’t really buy that. She knew exactly why she was here, or rather, who called her here. She bit her lip as she thought of her. No one she knew, not by face, not by name. The only thing she had to identify her by was the voice that liked to tease her as she missed her target once more.
Simply stated, she was a vigilante. She wasn’t as violent as the average self proclaimed hero they encountered around these parts, but she wasn’t exactly following the set of rules Caitlyn was appointed to protect and enforce. Which is exactly why Caitlyn found herself here, in the middle of the night, looking for the woman. She had been tasked to bring her in and extract any kind of information she might possess about the networks that she had been bringing down for months.
Caitlyn, during these months, was mostly just busy being a few seconds too late. Whenever she entered the scene, colleagues hot on her heels, she found the suspects tied up like neat little presents, without a trace of their mysterious helper.
It drove her absolutely insane. Whenever she closed her eyes, she thought of the woman and her ridiculous antics, her unbearable attitude, and a voice that forced Caitlyn to ban her own thoughts from her head, hating what they told her.
Their first meeting was a few months ago. Caitlyn had been leading her task force, aiming to dismantle a smaller shimmer dealer, hoping he would be able to tell them more about the bigger players in exchange for a significant cut in their expected jail time. Everything had been planned out completely, taking any kind of surprise into account. It was supposed to go perfectly, without any bumps on the road, if it wasn’t for the woman that haunted her head.
Her first action had been a bit clumsy. While taking out the leader, she had punched him a bit too hard, breaking his jaw. By the time he was arrested he was unable to talk to them, and he was found useless by her supervisor, who of course took that as the perfect moment to reprimand her for her reckless planning and careless attitude.
The culprit was daring. She had been waiting for Caitlyn, meeting her face to face for the first time. She had laughed, told her to lighten up a little, and then disappeared into the night before Caitlyn could grab her, bring her in and prove that she wasn’t as useless as Marcus thought she was.
Of course, that didn’t happen, not any time soon. He told her to bring in the woman specifically, somewhat obsessed with the thought of bringing her down before she could do any more damage.
Caitlyn failed to see what damage he was referring to, but it was her job, and the woman was breaking the law, so she persisted in her mission.
It stayed low profile until she caused an explosion. Caitlyn didn’t know if it was an accident or not, it didn’t suit the profile she had been building, but it shook up the higher powers of Piltover. A load of shimmer had caught fire, and some of their suspects had gotten hurt, one close to death.
A bounty was placed on her head, one that Caitlyn wasn’t just gonna let anyone collect. She was going to catch this woman herself, even if it drove her towards madness.
So she found herself here, in Zaun, in the middle of the night, no clue of where she was going exactly. She had left her weapons at home, listening to the careful instructions the note had given her. As she was walking, she felt something in her chest, suddenly regretting following the orders of the woman she was supposed to catch.
A noise caused her head to turn. She froze as she saw the figure leaning against the wall of an alley. She was wearing a ragged pair of jeans with old worn sneakers underneath them, a black coat covering her upper body. Caitlyn wasn’t surprised with the mask, but still chuckled as she saw it. It was stupid, comical even.
“I didn’t think you’d actually come.” She started, tilting her head. “Nice to see you did, cupcake.”
Caitlyn narrowed her eyes at the nickname. “Don’t call me that. What do you want from me?”
The woman shrugged. “Didn’t you read the note? There’s a suspicious transaction happening, right over there.” She used her hand to point behind her, into the alley. “You should go and check it out.”
Caitlyn scoffed. “Do you take me for a fool?” She stepped closer, making herself bigger. “Why would I trust you?”
She didn’t immediately reply. “Why not? Have I not been anything but useful to your investigation?” She walked towards her as well, closing the gap between them significantly. “I was under the impression I had earned your trust by now.” She looked over her shoulder, slightly distracted, and Caitlyn saw her chance.
Shooting forward suddenly, she took the woman by surprise, grabbing her shoulders and pinning her up against the wall.
“Don’t move.” Caitlyn bit out as she reached into her pocket, frantically trying to find the handcuffs she had brought with her. “You’re under arrest, do-”
Before she could finish her sentence, the woman had moved away from her without touching her, backing up into the alley.
Caitlyn prayed it was a dead end.
She shook her head. “That’s disappointing. I called you here to warn you.” She kept walking back, looking over her shoulder like a scared animal. “I intercepted a transmission from Silco himself. He’s after you as well as me. I needed you to know.” Her back hit the wall and she looked up. “Take care of yourself, cupcake.” She launched herself up, disappearing into the darkness of the night.
Caitlyn cursed at herself as she nearly tripped over something, rather someone, laying on the ground at her feet. After a quick search she found a firearm and a picture on his pocket, with her face on it.
She felt her head get dizzy as she pulled the man up, a groan coming out of him as she led him outside of the alley, not looking forward to the reprimand she was about to receive.
She groaned as her body hit her bed after a long day of work. Her life had been hell after the last meeting with her masked vigilante.
First, of course, the conversation with Marcus that followed. She had been reckless, nearly gotten herself killed. Then, the suspension he punished her with. She wasn’t allowed to work for the entire week, not until his own detectives had figured out exactly what the picture in the pocket of the man she had found incapacitated had meant.
When she was finally allowed back, she was met with a shitload of paperwork that she was still working on, days later.
It had been awfully quiet. It didn’t exactly worry her, Caitlyn wasn’t about to feel worried about the woman that was practically terrorizing her, but it didn’t soothe the feeling in her chest either.
It wasn’t like her to just disappear and do nothing for weeks. Caitlyn knew the way Silco operated, if she had been caught and killed they would have found her body by now.
She shook her head, pushing down the thoughts, and closed her eyes, wanting to sleep.
Her head didn’t want to leave her alone. After her days off in solitude, away from the case and her job, she had been made to think about her situation. She was starting to doubt everything that was happening, everything she was doing.
The woman didn’t seem all too bad. Caitlyn didn’t know anything about her, about her motivation. What if she was trying to protect someone? She had warned Caitlyn about the people chasing her and taken out someone who had been tasked to take her out.
She had to have some kind of motivation to be doing all of this, to be going through all of this trouble rather than just killing them. Judging by the ease she took everyone out with, it would probably be an easier way of dismantling shimmer altogether.
Something else was going on, and Caitlyn was going to figure out exactly what it was.
That’s how she found herself in Zaun, once again, in the middle of the night. She was alone, carrying multiple weapons and other tools to subdue any kind of enemy, hostile or not. She was determined and wasn’t gonna allow the woman to slip through her fingers again.
She had found this place with her own research, no tips from outside, nobody to trick her into another scheme.
Her hand found the door as she pushed it open softly, careful not to make any noise that would alert anyone to her presence. She heard soft voices coming from a room closeby. She knelt down and listened, trying to understand what was happening.
First she heard a stumble. Then, breaking glass. She tensed up, grabbing her gun and gripping it tightly. Her eyes were fixed on the door, waiting for it to open.
She wasn’t prepared for what she saw when it did.
Two figures, struggling, beating each other.
She recognized one of them.
As did the figure, probably, considering she froze when her head turned to Caitlyn.
The man took advantage of her slight distraction and punched her in the face, a loud groan escaping her mouth. He attempted to grab her throat but missed as she jumped forward. Instead, his hand handed on her face, gripping the soft fabric that hid it from the world.
Everything seemed to move in slow motion as he pulled it off, revealing exactly who Caitlyn had been sparring with all these months.
She headbutted him, knocking him out and laying him down.
Her eyes went up to Caitlyn and instead found the barrel of her gun.
Her hand was shaking as she aimed her weapon at the woman in front of her, who quite honestly, was breathtakingly beautiful. Her eyes were blue and stood a bit sad as she looked at Caitlyn, a frown on her scarred eyebrows.
“Don’t move.” Caitlyn commanded as she pushed herself up. “You’re coming with me.”
Her eyes widened as she suddenly jumped forward, not saying a word. She pushed Caitlyn down and worked her to the ground, holding her down.
Caitlyn was about to punch her in the face with the gun when all hell broke loose.
Something was shot through the now broken window and smoke filled the room they were in.
“Silco..” The woman on top of Caitlyn breathed, keeping a hand tight on her mouth, preventing her from making any sounds. “We’ll wait for the shooting to stop and then run through the back. You understand me?”
Caitlyn shook her head slowly, not exactly sure what shooting she was referring to, but not in any kind of position to argue with the woman keeping her locked to the floor.
Her question was soon answered as several rounds were emptied mostly above their heads, missing them. The woman used her own body to shield Caitlyn off from any ricocheting bullets, suddenly flinching when a shard of glass flew into her shoulder.
It took about a minute for the rain of bullets to stop. She immediately removed her hand, which was shaking slightly, and pulled Caitlyn along with her in a swift movement.
Caitlyn let herself be dragged around like a ragdoll, finding herself a bit too panicked to react, and ran along with her.
When they ran through the door, they were unsurprisingly met by at least 6 angry looking men waiting for them.
“Fuck..” The woman whispered as she let go of Caitlyn, grabbing something from her pocket.
Caitlyn bit her lip as she watched her shake the small container behind her back as she walked up to them.
“What do you want, asshole?” She got up in his face and pushed him back, not worried by the bloody knife he was holding.
He grabbed her shirt and pulled her close, raising his arm to put the blade to her neck. Before he could do so, she used the pepper spray to incapacitate him. He screamed out in pain and slashed his knife anyway, nearly hitting the woman as she jumped to the side, running towards the next goon charging her.
Caitlyn decided it was time for her to get involved and grabbed her gun, aiming it at one of the men, taking the shot as soon as she locked it, hitting him in the leg.
The vigilante took out another man, leaving the last one for Caitlyn to take care of. She did so, easily, and found the woman staring at her with a look in her eyes she could only describe as impressed .
That didn’t last very long, as Caitlyn moved her gun towards the woman, whose shoulders slumped as she did.
“Are you kidding me, cupcake? You would have been dead if it hadn’t been for me.” She tilted her head, taking a small step back.
“Get on your knees and put your hands on your head.” When the woman didn’t oblige immediately, she moved her finger to the trigger.
The woman noticed, eyes widening at the sight, and groaned as she slowly lowered herself to her knees. “Listen to me. I can help you, you know it. You don’t want to do this.”
Caitlyn didn’t respond as she walked up to the woman and put the cuffs around one of her wrists, quickly fastening them behind her back. She pulled her to her feet and started searching her for any clue of an identity.
“What’s your name?” Caitlyn asked, not missing the way the woman flinched when she had grabbed her. She turned her around and inspected the glass shard that was still stuck in her arm. “Sit down. I’ll take it out.”
The woman sat down without complaining and clenched her jaw.
“Not so talkative anymore?” Caitlyn asked, a slight smile on her lips. “This will be easier if you just told me your name, for the both of us.” She grabbed the shard with steady hands and pulled it out in one swift movement.
She groaned underneath Caitlyn, twitching at the pain. “Ow.”
“Something tells me you’ve seen worse than that.” Her eyes found the scars that covered her face. “Are you gonna tell me your name or do I need to come up with my own ridiculous nickname for you?”
The comment earned her a glare. “You want my phone number with that? We could do this sometime else with a less hostile attitude, if you wouldn’t mind.”
Caitlyn scoffed. “You didn’t think you could keep getting away from me, did you?”
She shrugged. “I thought we were having a bit of fun.” A hint of disappointment was found in her eyes and Caitlyn suddenly felt guilty. The woman then looked up at her and they locked eyes. “The name’s Vi..”
Before Caitlyn could react Vi was on top of her, having escaped the handcuffs somehow. She was too stunned to fight back as Vi flipped her over and used her own cuffs against Caitlyn. She didn’t even bother to lift her head from the sand, groaning as Vi knelt down before her.
She pulled her up, gently, and grabbed her face, wiping away some of the dirt that still stuck to it. “Do you hear that?” She looked around, eyebrows raised. “That’s the sound of your colleagues coming to rescue you. It’s also my cue to leave.” Vi sat Caitlyn down against the wall, careful not to hurt her. “Better luck next time, cupcake.”
Caitlyn resisted the urge to shout out multiple words that her mother would disapprove of as Vi disappeared into the darkness once again, leaving Caitlyn alone, unable to move.
It had been days. She was on suspension, again. Marcus hadn’t been happy at all with her antics and decided to put her on hold for at least another week. She was at her apartment, looking at the map on her wall that now contained her newest addition.
A rough sketch of Vi’s face and her name written underneath it, threads connecting her to almost everyone else on the board.
Silco took the center, of course, supposedly being the boss of everything shady happening around town.
Caitlyn groaned as she looked at it, frustrated at her lack of progression. She still had red marks around her wrists, caused by her own cuffs. Her face turned red at the thought of what had happened, embarrassment taking over her chest as she remembered the way Marcus had laughed when they found her. They had taken their sweet time to finally release her, nearly having her beg for someone to take the metal off her.
Her eyes found Vi again, and she clenched her jaw. The next time she saw the woman, she was going to have to deal with it differently. She couldn’t get surprised again, and had to end the conversation before it even started.
She started imagining multiple ways she could use to subdue Vi and even considered just shooting her leg, but eventually settled for a good punch, when she heard a noise behind her.
Caitlyn whipped around and froze as she saw her window open, with a person halfway through it. She recognized the pink hair immediately, not having to see the face to know who it was. She walked forward, ready to put her in a strong headlock when she noticed the way Vi was shaking.
Her head shot up and found Caitlyn.
Caitlyn grabbed her shoulders and pulled her into the room, closing the window with a hard slam. Her face twisted as her gaze fell to the blood that covered Vi’s entire stomach. She knelt down next to the woman, who was breathing heavily as she studied Caitlyn.
“I’m sorry..” She whispered to Caitlyn. “I know I shouldn’t have barged in here. I know that it looks bad that I know where you live. But please-”
Caitlyn had already lifted the shirt and spotted the wound that covered her side. “What happened?”
“They ambushed me.” Vi admitted, clenching her jaw. “I managed to take out most of them when one of them came at me from behind. I never saw him coming, just felt his blade sinking into my stomach.” She mumbled a soft curse word as her head hit the floor, eyes fluttering.
“Shit.” Caitlyn whispered, pulling up the nearly unconscious form onto the couch, laying down her head on a pillow. “Try to stay awake.” She walked into the kitchen and came back with a first aid kit., snapping on a pair of plastic gloves. “You need a doctor, Vi.”
She just shook her head. “Please.”
Caitlyn groaned as she rolled up the shirt, exposing her toned abdomen. She started by wiping away all the blood, taking in the severity of the wound. It was pretty far to the side, far enough to hope the knife didn’t reach any vital organs. She put some cloth on it and pushed gently, checking the bleeding.
“Why did you come here?” Caitlyn asked as she continued. She gritted her teeth as she took in the size of the wound and shook her head.
“I didn’t have anywhere else to go.” She admitted, eyes closed, face twisted in pain. “I’m sorry to put you on the spot like this.”
Caitlyn sighed. “At least you won’t be able to escape from me this time.”
“Let's focus on not letting me die first. If you drag me through this you can do anything you want to me.” Vi didn’t look at her.
“You need stitches, Vi. I’m not a doctor.” Caitlyn looked at her own hands, covered in blood.
“Aren’t all cops supposed to know how that works?” Vi bit out, finally opening her eyes and looking at the woman sitting down next to her.
“That doesn’t mean I’m the best person for the job, Vi.” She replied, shaking her head. She knew how to lay a simple stitch, but she wasn’t sure it was gonna be good enough.
Vi looked at her with pleading eyes. “I can’t go to the hospital. They’ll find me.”
Caitlyn rolled her eyes. “Alright. I’ll do it.” She got up to get some more things and returned with her hands full. She handed Vi a piece of cloth. “Bite on that. I can’t have you biting your own tongue when your precious brain is full of intel I still need.”
She looked at Caitlyn with weary eyes before slowly accepting it and putting the rag into her mouth.
Caitlyn didn’t waste any time and started cleaning the wound with water, careful to wash out any dirt that was still left in here, before applying some more pressure. Her hands were shaking slightly as she took the needle into her hand. “I’m gonna start. Once I do I won’t be able to stop, please keep that in mind.”
Vi cried out when the needle pierced her skin. Caitlyn noticed a tear falling down her face. Her body started to tense up every time she put the needle back in, softly tugging the thread through. When she was nearly done, she heard a soft sniffling coming out of Vi.
She was crying.
Caitlyn bit her lip as she shook her head, ignoring it for the time being. She dressed the wound and got up. She left Vi alone in the room, giving her a bit of space.
When she returned with a glass of water, Vi still hadn’t moved a single bit. She was breathing alright, just frozen on her couch.
“Vi?” Caitlyn knelt down next to her head, slowly pushing it up a little. She took the cloth out of her mouth and cupped her cheek, inspecting her face. “You should drink something.” She tried to hand her the glass, but Vi only groaned as she tried to keep her arm up. “Come on, work with me.”
Vi managed to grab it eventually, and Caitlyn helped her head up as she took a small sip. “Good girl. Just a bit more.”
Caitlyn decided to stop pestering her and put the glass down, staring at the woman for a second. She used a tissue to dry some of the tears that were still on her face. Her lip was cut, a small trail of dried blood running down her chin.
Her eyes were on Caitlyn as she continued to clean her face. “Thanks, cupcake.” She struggled to get the words out of her mouth.
“Don’t thank me just yet.” She sat herself down on the table, looking at the woman in front of her. “I’ll give you some time to rest. After that, I’m gonna ask you some questions and you’ll answer every single one of them.”
Vi nodded and took a deep breath, closing her eyes.
Caitlyn returned to Vi after about an hour, holding a steaming cup filled with leftover soup. She put it down on the table and softly nudged Vi, awakening her from her slumber.
She groaned as she turned her head away from Caitlyn. “You’re a pushy woman, do you know that?”
Caitlyn grabbed her head and pulled it back herself, earning a shocked expression from Vi. “I’m also running out of patience. Tell me why I shouldn’t bring you in right now? You’ll be safer at the station.”
“You can always cuff me if it makes you feel safer.” Vi held up her arms, wrists together. “If you seriously think I’ll be safe in police custody, I overestimated you.”
Caitlyn huffed. “What’s that supposed to mean?” She forced Vi’s hands back down, not in the mood for any games.
“Marcus is dirty.” She stated, like it was a fact. “He works for Silco. Why else do you think they have you running after me like a headless chicken? Once you bring me in, they’ll kill me and kill you next because of everything I’ll tell you.” She studied Caitlyn, probably waiting for a reaction. “That’s why I won’t be telling you anything. There’s no reason to endanger you any more than I already have.”
Caitlyn shook her head. “You’re lying to me. You come here, into my house, only to manipulate me more? What the fuck do you want from me, Vi? I’m done with all this.” She pushed herself up and walked away from the woman that was currently occupying her couch. “I’m done playing this game with you.”
“Caitlyn, wait, please.” Vi pushed herself up, visibly struggling.
Caitlyn halted at the use of her name, something she hadn’t heard from Vi’s mouth before.
“I’m not playing a game. I’m telling the truth. I can prove it.” She reached into her pocket, looking for something. “Where’s my phone?”
Caitlyn tilted her head and reached into her back pocket. “What do you want with it?”
Vi groaned. “Did you search me while I was passed out?” She shook her head. “That’s a low blow.”
“Just because I’m suspended doesn’t mean I stop investigating.” She walked back towards Vi, putting the device into her hand, and sat back down. “Thanks for that, by the way.”
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have left you like that.” She sounded genuinely apologetic, but Caitlyn had a hard time believing her. Vi scraped her throat, ready to continue. “I was following around one of Silco’s henchmen a few months ago, trying to figure out where he operated from. I followed him out of Zaun and straight into Piltover, for a meeting with Marcus.” Her hands were trembling as she turned her hand around, showing Caitlyn what was on the screen.
“And you thought it was a wise idea to keep this on your phone? You didn’t think I should have known about that?” Caitlyn pulled the phone out of her hands and looked at the picture, cursing at herself.
It was undeniably Marcus, standing in front of a man Caitlyn hadn’t encountered before.
“I have backups.” Vi bit back, not happy with the critique on her work. “I’m not stupid.”
“Really?” Caitlyn put the phone down, sarcasm clear in her tone. “You could have been followed coming here. Killing us both. Did you ever consider that?”
“I wasn’t followed.” Vi was starting to get worked up, a bit more annoyed at everything Caitlyn said to her. “I warned you about these men trying to kill you, didn’t I? I wasn’t even sure if I could trust you. For all I knew, you were part of the whole scheme. Do you have any idea how deep this corruption goes?”
Caitlyn hadn’t even known it existed a few seconds ago, so she decided not to answer that question.
“Do you even have a plan?” Caitlyn asked, closely watching the way her body moved.
Vi looked away. “I had one. All of this just crashed it a bit.” She pointed at her stomach, the blood, the wound. “I was too far away from home and probably would have bled out on the way there.”
“What were you even doing?” Caitlyn handed her the cup and pushed her to drink it before it got cold.
Vi hesitated for a short second, tasting the soup Caitlyn had just given to her. “I was going to finish it.”
“Finish it?” Caitlyn questioned.
“I figured if I went and took out Silco while you were at home, you wouldn’t be targeted if anything went wrong.” She admitted, afraid to meet Caitlyn’s eyes as she averted her gaze. “They saw me coming from miles away and took me by surprise.”
Caitlyn didn’t miss the way her hands had started shaking when she mentioned Silco. She clenched her jaw and ignored the urge to grab them, comfort her somehow.
“Why are you doing this?” She took the cup from Vi again, tilting her head as she studied her expressions.
“He deserves it.” Vi answered quickly. “He deserves it for everything he’s done to the undercity, for everyone he’s hurt and everyone that got hit in the crossfire.” She pushed herself up and grabbed Caitlyn. “I don’t care what happens to me, as long as he gets what he deserves. After that you can arrest me, you can put me behind bars, as long as everyone from Zaun is safe it’ll be worth it.”
“Nobody’s putting you behind bars.” Caitlyn said, immediately regretting her words and she saw something shift in Vi’s eyes. “We’ll figure something out.”
A knock on the door made both their heads shift. Caitlyn got up and pulled Vi along with her, dragging her out of the living room. “You have to hide.” She didn’t wait for a response as she pushed her into one of the closets in her bedroom. “Stay quiet until I come get you.”
Vi just stared at her, slightly frowning, as Caitlyn shut the door.
She walked out of the bedroom, towards the door, and opened it.
Marcus was waiting for her, hands behind his back. “Good evening. I was hoping we could have a chat.” He walked in, not waiting for a response from Caitlyn. He studied her apartment, eyes not missing the bloody shirt that was sloppily kicked under the couch.
“What is this about, sir?” Caitlyn asked, trying not to sound annoyed at his presence. He has never come here before, always discussing everything over phone or at the station.
“Your suspension. It has been lifted.” He turned around, eyes on Caitlyn. “There has been an incident and I suspect you might be able to be of use to us again. Please get ready, we’ll leave immediately.”
Something was wrong. Caitlyn felt it in her stomach. She felt herself nodding and turning around, into the room she didn’t want to enter with Marcus staring at her every move.
“You couldn’t have called?” Caitlyn asked as she changed her clothes, keeping her eyes on the closet, praying that it stayed closed. “I would have been ready for you.”
Marcus barged in, holding the shirt and a glass from her sink that had blood on it. “Do you want to tell me what the hell is going on here?” He tilted her head as she cornered Caitlyn slightly, knowing she was unarmed and had nowhere to go. “Something tells me you know exactly what incident I am referring to, don’t you, Caitlyn?” He threw both the objects at her, glass shattering as it hit the wall. “Talk.”
Caitlyn flinched and considered her option. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” She picked up the shirt and felt the wetness of the fresh blood. “I tripped and cut myself on a sharp edge. I’m fine, thanks for asking and assuming.” She bit out, throwing it back at him as she looked at the shards. “What the fuck is wrong with you?”
He walked towards her and grabbed her throat, pushing her against the wall. Her head slammed against the wall and she groaned slightly, her own hands shooting up to force him to let go.
“Where is she?” He bit out, cutting off her access to oxygen. “Do you take me for a fool, Caitlyn? Do you think I’m not aware of everything that happens around this town? She was seen in this neighborhood, headed towards your apartment. Tell me where she is, or I’ll arrest you and the next conversation we have won’t be as friendly as this.” He tightened his grip again. Until he didn’t.
Marcus grunted and fell down, face hitting the floor, still covered in glass shards.
Caitlyn rushed forward to catch Vi, who was holding a book and had trouble standing up.
Vi grabbed her, hands softly touching her neck, eyes frantically searching her face for an injury. “Are you alright?” She said, growing weaker in Caitlyn’s arms.
Caitlyn could barely stand herself and led Vi to the bed. “I’m fine.” She quickly checked Vi for any injuries and took a deep breath when she found nothing else. “What are we gonna do now?” She buried her head in her hands as she looked at Marcus, her boss, passed out on the floor.
“I don’t know.” Vi muttered. “He didn’t go alone. There will be more of them.” She pushed herself up and looked at Caitlyn. “Is there anyone you trust?
She slowly turned her head, face to face with Vi. She opened her mouth to say something, but the words died in her mouth as soon as she noticed how close Vi was. “I can think of one.” She whispered, biting her lip. She watched as Vi glanced down at her lips, clenching her jaw.
“Do you?” Vi got in even closer until their noses nearly touched. “Tell me about them.”
“She’s a bit stubborn and likes to get in my way. She enjoys teasing me until I lose my mind and is messy enough to leave blood all over my floor.” Caitlyn grabbed Vi’s cheek.
“She sounds like a real piece of work.” Vi answered, grinning at her words.
Caitlyn put her lips onto Vi’s to shut her up. She caressed her cheek with her thumb, not wanting to let go of her just yet. Vi smiled throughout the entire kiss, getting more and more hungry as the seconds passed. When they finally let go to suck in some oxygen, Vi grabbed the hand on her cheek.
“Do you have any idea how long I’ve been waiting to do that?” Vi whispered, leaning into the hand. She wanted to kiss her again when a groan dragged them back to reality.
Caitlyn nearly shot up as she saw Marcus twitch on the floor. She nearly forgot about him, cursing at herself for getting distracted so easily. She knelt down next to his body and cuffed his hands behind his back tightly.
“I think I have a plan. Do you think you can walk?”
Caitlyn watched Vi as she got dressed in one of her uniforms. She grabbed the coat Marcus had worn as he entered and pulled the hood over her head. She had trouble staying on her feet, but had assured Caitlyn she would manage the walk to her car. Caitlyn, dressed in her usual clothes, walked over Marcus, who had woken up in the meantime. She had decided to put a few layers of tape over his mouth, not wanting him to ruin their plan.
They were just gonna walk out, having Vi dressed as Marcus and pretending Marcus was their prisoner, which anyone waiting for them outside was hopefully gonna assume was Vi.
The plan was shitty, but they didn’t have any other hopes of getting out of here, so they persisted.
Caitlyn dragged him up, ignoring the muffling sounds, and forced him to walk towards the door. Vi was following close behind her, breathing heavily.
“Calm down.” Caitlyn tried to comfort her. “It’ll be fine, I’ll protect you.”
Vi didn’t reply.
When they walked out of the building, Caitlyn immediately spotted the two police cars waiting for them. She walked them to her own car and opened the door, forcing Marcus in by pushing his head down. She locked the door and nudged Vi to take the passenger seat. Before anyone could talk to them, she got in herself and drove away.
Vi pulled the hood off as soon as they were out of sight and looked at Caitlyn. “Now what? We’re just gonna drive around without a plan?”
Caitlyn shook her head. “We’re gonna finish it.”
Vi’s eyes landed on her gun as she flinched at her words. “I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but I’m not in any way capable of fighting right now. Please tell me you’re not gonna go in there blasting, expecting it to go well.”
Caitlyn shrugged. “I don’t know if you’ve noticed, Vi, how long I have been working on this case. I had this plan ready before you even showed up. With this clown I’ll be able to pull it off.” She pointed at Marcus, who shot her a dangerous glare. “You won’t even have to exit the car.”
Vi scoffed. “You’re crazy if you think that’s gonna happen.” She looked around, eyeing a bit nervously. “Who would’ve thought, you and me teaming up?” A grin appeared on her lips.
“Certainly not me.” Caitlyn mumbled back as she concentrated on not crashing the car. “Do you know how to shoot a gun?”
Vi shook her head. “I’m not using that. I’m not killing anyone.”
“You don’t have to kill anyone. I’d just like to make sure you can defend yourself at a distance.” Caitlyn opened the glove compartment and grabbed the pistol she kept there, putting it on Vi’s lap. “Like I said. You don’t leave the car, you probably won’t have to use it. I just want you to be safe.”
She took the gun with caution and nodded slowly. “Alright.”
Her lack of response worried Caitlyn, but she decided not to comment.
Caitlyn stopped the car right where she wanted it. She looked over at Vi, who for someone who had been taking on Silco on her own for months now, had a blank face that expressed nothing but nerve.
Her eyes found Caitlyn, but she looked away immediately. “Just try not to die.”
“I won’t.” She contemplated kissing her again, eyes fluttering down to her lips. She pushed down the thoughts as she exited the car, leaving Vi alone. She dragged Marcus out of the car and started walking towards the seemingly abandoned warehouse she had been keeping an eye on for weeks.
The roof was only partly intact, drops of rain falling on top of them as they entered. She pushed Marcus to his knees and walked away from him, towards the basement. She struggled to open the lock, but eventually managed.
As she entered, she felt a weird feeling strike her chest. This wasn’t smart. This wasn’t safe. She was probably gonna die and get Vi killed along with her. She took a deep breath, inspecting the endless barrels filled with the same purple liquid she had vowed to destroy.
It took her a while to figure out the right structure, but eventually she figured it out. She opened one of the barrels and flicked her lighter on, letting it set on fire. She pushed it away, spreading the fire across the whole basement, and ran back out.
Marcus wasn’t where she had left him. That was somewhat what she expected, but she still cursed at herself for letting it happen.
She nearly ran out, heart sinking to her stomach when she saw Vi also wasn’t where she had left her. A crack caught her attention, and she barely had enough time to crouch down as a gunshot rang out. She could have sworn she felt the bullet graze her cheek, but the lack of blood brought her a bit of comfort.
“Come out, Kiramman.” No voice she recognized. It was low, threatening. Judging by the bullet that had just almost blown her head off, Caitlyn guessed he was probably serious.
She crawled away from the situation, hiding behind her car, eyes searching for any clue of Vi.
Then, everything went to shit.
A huge explosion made her ears bleed, the blast sending her against the car, probably cracking a few ribs in the process. She heard other people scream as her vision blurred, head stinging. She felt blood running down her face and she couldn’t stop the smile from appearing on her face as it did.
Something grabbed her from behind, a hand clenching her mouth shut, dragging her away from the mess that was happening in front of them.
Her entire body ached, in too much pain to fight back.
The hand was removed and she was flipped over, coming face to face with Vi, who, much like Caitlyn, had a bloodied grin on her face.
“I can’t believe you did that.” Vi whispered as she lifted her head, checking it for any serious injuries. “Silco is here. Along with some of his henchmen.”
“Marcus?” Caitlyn asked as she pushed herself up, suppressing a groan.
“He’s dead. Silco got him.” Vi answered, looking past Caitlyn, eyes widening. “You took out most of them with that explosion. Not enough of them, though.” She pulled Caitlyn aside, saving her from the bullets that suddenly came flying around their ears.
“Are you alright?” Caitlyn didn’t miss the blood that had started staining her shirt.
“I’m fine.” Vi hissed as she closed her eyes, hand grabbing the gun tightly. “When this is over, I’m gonna kiss you.”
“Kiramman!” The voice roared again.
Vi rolled onto her stomach and breathed out, firing the gun.
Caitlyn recognized the sound of a bullet hitting skin. She looked back and saw a man, on his knees, hands clenching his thigh.
Vi got back up within three seconds and suddenly flew up, a hand on her shirt. Caitlyn watched as she used her arm to smash her attacker’s nose and forced him to let go, landing another hit on his chest before she even reached the ground.
Caitlyn saw the energy slowly leaving her body as she struggled to kick her leg up, causing a sickening crack in his knee.
The man sank to his knees as he cried out in pain. Vi knocked him out with a final blow to his face.
“Are you gonna do anything, cupcake?” Vi panted as she grasped her stomach, shaking because of the pain. “I’m supposed to be in a car seat. Doing nothing.”
Caitlyn shook her head as she pulled Vi down, out of the line of fire. “It’s not my fault you’re so good at this.”
“Stop flattering me and try to stop them from killing us.” She pointed at the two men that had started to shield Silco, who was still floored.
Caitlyn fired a single bullet, hitting one of them in his shoulder, the force knocking him down.
The other stumbled back because of the shock and never saw the fist flying towards his face as Vi charged him from the side.
His nose broke, and he joined his fellow goon on the ground.
Vi froze as she stood over Silco, exhausted with pain, sweat running down her forehead.
“You..” He hissed, looking at her.
Vi hummed. “Me..” She delivered one last kick to his face, knocking him out cold. She lost her balance and nearly tumbled, if it wasn’t for Caitlyn, who caught her from behind.
“Easy..” She whispered as she laid her down, hands immediately trailing down to her stomach. “Are you sure you’re alright?” The stitches had ripped, but the bleeding wasn’t as bad as it had been earlier. Still, it worried Caitlyn.
The sirens came closer and closer to their location.
“Kiss me.” Vi asked, grabbing Caitlyn’s hand.
Caitlyn obliged, leaning down to give her a soft kiss. “You need to save your strength.” She pulled Vi up and led her towards the car. Suddenly there were officers everywhere and Caitlyn pulled out her badge, quickly explaining the situation.
Nobody seemed happy, but there were no comments.
Vi and Caitlyn watched together as Silco got dragged away in cuffs, along with what was still left of his crew after the explosion.
Some paramedics checked Vi and restored her stitches, told her that she wasn’t really good to go, but she ignored them. She walked back towards Caitlyn, who had seen the glares thrown their way, and decided it was time for them to leave.
Caitlyn helped Vi into the car and gave her another kiss before closing the door.
Vi remained quiet for a bit. It took her a good minute to open her mouth. “Shouldn’t you be out there, explaining what happened?”
“They can read all about it in my report.” Caitlyn answered, jaw clenched.
“Is that really how that works?” Vi frowned and shook her head, not believing a word coming out of her mouth.
“No, but I got the feeling that staying for a few minutes more would probably end up with you in cuffs, so I figured we should leave before any of that happened.”
Vi eyed her. “You were serious about not sending me to jail.” She shook her head and smiled slightly. “You’re insane, do you know that?”
Caitlyn shrugged. “My life would be too boring without you in it.”