Chapter Text
The fog that laid over the streets of Piltover was dense enough to render anyone invisible. Citizens were avoiding the streets due to the conditions which made the city just that much more quiet. It was a wonderful day to sit inside and do absolutely nothing. But for Vi, this meant very little since the sheriff still insisted she would accompany her on her nightly patrols.
They had been working the night shift for several days and it was starting to wear Vi out. Just as she was making it home after a long day at work, the sun was shining and the world was loud once again making it almost impossible to fall asleep. God she felt like she could easily kill the birds outside her house. Just one, well aimed stone and she could just end their annoying tune. The enforcer furrowed her brow, bringing her hand up to ease the tension from her overwhelming fatigue. She looked down at her empty cup of coffee.
'Why the hell isn’t this kicking in? I drank it like an hour ago,' the bruiser thought to herself.
She took a deep breath and looked out towards the water. They were patrolling the Wharfside docks due to an increased volume of smuggled goods. The goods in question were expensive pelts of endangered animals being sold as a top commodity amongst the Mercantile guilds of Piltover. Despite their popularity, the pelts were extremely illegal and Piltover's Finest had to figure out where they were coming from.
“Have you finished your coffee already? I haven’t even gotten halfway through mine,” Caitlyn stated as she observed her partner. Vi looked as though she hadn’t slept in days. Her eyes were surrounded by dark shadows and failed to focus on the cup in front of her. Her shoulders appeared tense- in fact, her entire body was tense.
"Huh?" Vi looked up from the water below them having completely missed what Caitlyn had said to her.
Caitlyn rolled her eyes and passed her coffee to the exhausted brute. "Here. Take the rest of my coffee. It's black, I'm not sure if you'll like it."
Vi gingerly took the cup from the sheriff's hand. She looked down at it, contemplating if she really wanted to drink it at all. However, her eyes burned at the thought of not having anymore caffeine. She took a gulp from the cup almost wincing at its bitter taste.
Noticing the enforcers grimace at the taste, the sheriff laughed. She focused her attention back towards the docks of the wharf. A boat had come in over an hour ago and it still had not started to unload any of it’s cargo. With the sheer amount of cargo ships that pass through the wharf and its docks daily, it's strange to see one taking it's time to move along.
Just as she's ready to mention something to Vi, Caitlyn notices a man walk out from the belly of the ship. She pushes her hand up towards Vi's face to direct her partner's attention. She points at him without a word and steadies her spyglass.
She watches as the man goes to the edge of his ship, peering over the bow and onto the dock. His head is shooting back and forth as he scans his surroundings. The man straightens, assuming the coast is clear, and beckons out to the rest of his crew. From the hull emerges two more men. One was large and bulky, with a long beard and the other was scrawny, adorned with large metal earrings and bracelets. The crew moved down towards the dock as the man who called to them began to open the cargo hold on the stern of the ship.
"Whatcha think, cupcake? Do we go check it out or do we wait?" Vi asked, almost bursting at the seams with excitement. No better source of energy than pure adrenaline.
Caitlyn pressed her finger to her lips, gesturing to the enforcer to remain quiet. Vi dramatically threw her head back at the motion.
The sheriff turns her attention back to the ship and the shady individuals. The men continue to haul out boxes and boxes of freight, each one highlighted with a Noxian official cargo seal. However, one box was not like the others. It was abnormally tall with holes drilled into the facing side. There was no seal on this box. The men clamored over each other as the box almost fell over being sure to keep it entirely upright.
"Something's not right here," Caitlyn whispered to her partner. She passed Vi the spyglass that she was using.
As Vi peered towards the ship, she almost instantly agreed with Caitlyn's bad feeling. The group of men continued to pull out several more boxes that lacked the Noxian seal of commerce. A man turned towards the inside of the ship and began to yell something at the others, pointing at the elongated box. The leader of the crew returned from the hull of the ship with a crowbar and proceeded to pry open the box. As it finally caved, a man fell forward and onto his hands and knees.
"Oh, it's go time!" Vi exclaimed as she practically threw the spyglass back at Caitlyn and began sprinting down towards the docks.
"VI! Wait!" Caitlyn cried out after her but the enforcer just continued to bolt towards the dock. Frustrated, Caitlyn sprints out after her.
Vi rounded the corner of the dock in full sprint. The sound of her own heartbeat was deafening in her ears. Her vision was entirely focused on the three men at the end of the dock, barely illuminated by the dockside lights. She needed to be faster. She kicked up the pace as she became parallel with the front of the boat. The jet on her back hummed to life as she pulled her giant gauntlet upward, thrusting herself forward. She ground to a halt at the dock end, facing the three men and the unsuspecting man from the box.
The leader of the group pulled a revolver out from his belt loop and aimed it towards Vi's face.
"Who the fuck are you?!" He seethed.
The other two crewmates grabbed the nearest weapons they could find which happened to be the crowbar used to free the man from the box and a board that flew free in the process. The man from inside the box shrunk away back into his previous confines, clearly afraid of the possibility of violence.
"The names Vi! It looks to me like you got some cargo there that may not be on the cargo list?" She taunted as she exercised the fingers on the gauntlets.
"That's none of your business," the man growled as he pulled the hammer back on his gun. His eyes narrowed with intent when a well aimed shot echoed through the night, piercing him right in his shoulder. The man cried out and dropped the gun immediately.
'Nice shot, cupcake!' Vi thought as she reeled her gauntlet back and charged forward as the man staggered backwards, nailing him right in the chest. She knocked him entirely off his feet, sending him 15 feet backwards. The other two men steadied their weapons and charged towards her. The scrawny one reached her first, throwing the plank of wood over his head and bringing it back down to crash it over her head. Defensively, Vi threw her gauntlet up to block. The board shattered once it made contact with the metal of her fist. She countered by throwing her left fist directly into the man's right side. He stumbled backwards, grabbing his side in pain. With his guard down, Vi placed a well aimed fist directly into his face, knocking him unconscious.
In the midst of Vi's focused attack, the larger man swung his crowbar into the back of her knee. The enforcer cried out and fell forward, her hands reflexively tightened as she braced her fall. She only had enough time to look up before a swift kick landed directly into her stomach. CRACK! A choked noise fell out of her mouth on contact.
Vi fell to the ground, clutching her abdomen as it burned from the assault. She rolled onto her back to see the man bring the crowbar up over his head. He lunged at her, letting out a yell as he moved forward. Another shot rang through the eerie fog colliding with the man's leg. He immediately bent down to grab at the location of his pain. With the opportunity, Vi jumped up onto her feet and cracked the man in his stomach, sending him to the ground.
'Paybacks a bitch, huh?' Vi thought to herself as she cradled her stomach once more. The pain was annoying but not unbearable. She turned to evaluate the area and came to the conclusion that the men were unable to keep fighting.
Caitlyn ran out from the fog from the other end of the dock with her rifle still in hand. She seconded Vi's action of scouting the area before she fully lowered her weapon. The sheriff looked over to the man who had kicked Vi and then back to her partner.
"Are you alright?"
"Ah, nothing I can't handle! I'm fine," Vi said, pulling her hand away from her midsection. However, her body language said something else. She was unable to fully stand up straight and her voice came out strained. Vi cursed herself for sounding that way to Caitlyn.
Unsure if she should pry, Caitlyn decided to call in the altercation before continuing.
The police arrived within several minutes and apprehended the three men. All of which were quickly identified as career criminals who frequently smuggled goods into Piltover and Zaun. Most of the time the goods smuggled in were lacking authenticity. However this time, they seemed to get their hands on the real deal. Alongside their endangered pelts, the crew somehow managed to kidnap an esteemed merchant from Piltover, hoping to cash out on ransom money.
The press soon converged on the scene. Multiple journalists flooded to the docks hoping for first hand information about what had happened. Caitlyn sighed as the first journalist made his way to her. Most of the time, Caitlyn tried to avoid the press. They often made things a lot worse than they needed to be. Not only that, but she hated the fame. She dreaded having to be the face of the stories as the sheriff. All she wanted was to do her job and go home for a nice cup of tea. Clearly that wouldn't be happening tonight.
"Sheriff! What happened here? Did you finally catch the criminals responsible for the major smuggling in Piltover?" The journalist barraged her with questions as soon as he reached her. A man was standing behind him with a photo camera.
Click!
Caitlyn instinctively winced at the sudden bright light crossing her vision in the night. She put her hand up slightly to shoo the man away. Her annoyance was already boiling in her chest.
"Yes, the criminals have been apprehended. And no, I cannot disclose any more information at this time," the sheriff said as she ushered policemen to take them away.
As the police officers shuffled towards the journalist, she heard him throw a few more questions her way.
"Is there any more information about the merchant missing in Piltover? Was your enforcer previously involved with these men?"
The last question stopped her in her tracks. What the hell did he just say?
"Excuse me?" Caitlyn spun towards the journalist, fury dripping on every syllable.
The journalist appeared to go white at the sudden change in her tone. His notepad fell to his side as he struggled to apologize.
If looks could kill, the man would be dead. A bullet between the eyes. A dagger to the chest. Her eyes could freeze him over in an instant. Instead of laying into him like she wanted to, Caitlyn took a deep breath and closed her eyes.
"Get them out of here. Now."
The policemen hurried the group away quickly, also afraid to face Caitlyn's wrath. Vi had always seemed to be the target for the journalists' games. Caitlyn can remember many occasions when the newspaper seemed to paint Vi in a 'less than ideal' way. They often described her as ruthless and cold. That she only aims to destroy as much of Piltover as possible under the guise of a Warden. But Caitlyn knew better. She saw a side of Vi no one else saw. Everyone sees Vi as a brutal miscreant, hellbent on creating as much property damage as humanly possible. Sometimes, Caitlyn did believe in the property damage part but she didn't believe Vi to be brutal. Vi was blunt. She was straight to the point, no bullshit. She was soft and gentle when she wanted to be. More times than Caitlyn could count, Vi had brought her dinner when she was knee deep in paperwork from the following week. She would sit there and talk with her about anything and everything until Caitlyn was done. Vi would offer her jacket to her whenever she was cold in her office. And the countless times Caitlyn would find a coffee on her desk in the morning, exactly how she liked it.
"Sheriff Caitlyn," a police officer Called from behind her, "I think we have everything under control from here. You may go back to the station if you would like."
"Oh, thank you lieutenant. I think we probably should get started on the paperwork for this mess," Caitlyn said as she turned to look for Vi.
The enforcer was sitting on the cleat that the ship was tied to. Her gauntlets were laying down in front of her. Her free hand was still providing security to her stomach. As the sheriff approached, her hand fell to her side.
"Hey, cupcake! We headin' back to the station?" Vi asked.
Without a word, Caitlyn strode forward invading Vi's personal space. The bruiser clearly stiffened at the lack of space between them. Caitlyn smelled like flowers. Vi took in her boss's scent once more, letting it sink into her senses. Realizing she may have been staring, Vi looked up at her boss who just glared right back at her.
"W-what?" Vi managed to get out before Caitlyn pressed her hand to the bruiser's abdomen. Vi visibly winced in pain and grabbed Caitlyn's wrist.
"That's what. You're hurt. We are going to the clinic," Caitlyn concluded before she turned around and began to stride back towards the dock entrance. The enforcer wasn't going to be able to argue with her this time around. Instead she stood up and placed her gauntlets back on her hands and followed.
As the duo had arrived at the clinic, it was quickly discovered that Vi had a broken rib and needed to take it easy for several weeks. An idea which the enforcer despised. However, Vi begrudgingly accepted the doctor's advice and promised to take it easy. The two then made their way to the station where Vi could hopefully catch up on some sleep.