Chapter Text
"Fuck." A wince brushes across your face as you look down to your side, blood seeping out from under your jacket.
You're no stranger to sticky situations, having grown up in the Lanes, but this was completely different. This isn't something you can lie yourself out of. You don't think anyone could lie their way out of being caught in the house of the person they're currently robbing.
The house resides on the edge of Zaun, small yet expensive. Standing two stories tall and built of dark stone, it was indeed a sight to behold. Inside black wooden pillars hold the house together, walls gray and tall with rustic art covering most of it. The floors are beautiful hardwood, except for where you stand. Your blood drips into the cracks of the wood below your feet.
Your thought was interrupted when the nearby door opened, and two figures emerged from the dark hallway into the room you currently stand in. A woman of tall stature and thick muscles from years of training and fighting stands on the left. Sevika, you think; you've seen her before at Vander’s old bar.
The one on the right is a man, slightly slouched but tall, lanky and slim. Dressed in a suit of muted colors that still manages to catch your eye, something a topsider would wear if not for the face of the man wearing it.
Silco.
The figurehead of Zaun himself, Kingpin of the Lanes, and the cause of countless deaths in the Undercity.
You stand in front of them like a deer in headlights, frozen in place by the gravity of your situation. This could be your end, yet you can't muster up any strength to move your body.
"Have you heard the rumor? Young street kid goes missing. No?" Silco says as he looks at you blankly.
He then walks up to you, towering over you, and grabs you by your hair, slamming you against the nearby wall. Your eyes roll to the back of your head, nearly passing out from the impact.
"Now, it wouldn't really be missing now, would it?"
Vision blurry and going in and out, you try to follow his movement as he steps back, your body slumping to the ground as blood trickles out from your mouth and nose. One of your teeth slightly hangs out of your mouth as the slit in your lip starts to gush.
Your eyes meet Sevika for a brief second, a smirk on her face as you turn and try to get up, but your body betrays you as your face slams into the floor.
You're going to die, you think as you lay there. You're never going to see your friends again or get out of Zaun. All because you tried to make a quick buck by trying to rob the ruler of Zaun. How stupid of you to think this would go any other way, that'd you succeed and walk out of here with riches. Nothing was ever that simple in the Undercity; there was always something that followed behind every twist and turn. Very few ever leave, and you weren't going to become a part of that few.
"Help them up," Silco says to Sevika.
You barely have a chance to process what he just said as you were lifted from the floor by the back of your jacket. Your body limp as you're released into the seat across from where Silco stands.
"Please…" you murmur to no one in particular. Your head rings as you try to look up at Silco.
Silco turns to look at you.
"What were you trying to do here? Steal from me, get information, spy on me? Nothing as stupid as that, I hope."
It was as stupid as that.
"Answer me." He growls at you.
You can barely think straight, but you try to speak anyway, better than ignoring him.
"I was trying t- to…" you trail off, not able to find the strength to finish your sentence.
"Silco…" Sevika says as she moves to stand beside him. She looks you up and down, her smirk gone, replaced by a thoughtful look.
She reaches her natural hand down to lift your chin up, "I think you hit them too hard. You're not going to get anything out of them like this right now."
He says nothing for a long second as if he's pondering how much force he really used on you.
He hums as he looks down at you, "Unfortunate…I didn't want to keep them alive this long. But, if they were sent here by someone, this place has been compromised."
Sevika shakes her head in agreement as she lets go of your chin, "Do you want to secure the rest of the house?" She asks, whipping the blood that got on her hand on her pants, "They may have come with someone else." She says.
Silco shook his head, "I highly doubt there's anyone else but check anyways."
"Got it, boss man," Sevika calls with a lazy salute as she walks out the door.
This leaves you with Silco, the man who holds your life in his hands.
Silco sighs, "Sadly, there's no need for you to die so soon...not just yet." His voice was low and silky, accent thicker than before when he first spoke to you. Almost soothing.
Your eyes open slowly to the image of the tall man bending in front of you, head slightly tilted as he gazes upon your bruised and swollen face. He takes out a handkerchief from his vest pocket and starts to wipe the blood from your nose. He presses a little too hard and you wince.
He smirks, “My apologies, I'm a little heavy-handed I believe.”
He’s striking to look at, at least you think he is; your vision is still blurry from your earlier injury but a little clearer. The only thing you can really make out is his black eye, the pupil mutated and orange. It looks as if it slightly glows.
You tried to look away but his scarred eye stares at you sightlessly, as if looking into your very being and trying to find the very reason you’re here.
He notices and starts to stand again.
“I'm sorry…” you mumbled, hoping that he would take some pity on you.
“Stop talking before you make that gash on your lip worse. I need you to be able to talk when we get back to the Last Drop. You’ll be no good to me if you can't.”
He’s not going to kill me here? I may have a chance to escape before-
“Don’t take that as an invitation to try and escape, Sevika nor I will give you the chance.” he says before you can even finish your thought.
Before he can say anything else Sevika enters the room again with a look of satisfaction on her face.
“There’s no one else here and it doesn’t appear that anyone left before we could get to them. If someone did, the men outside would have noticed the idiot.” she says.
“Good good…I don’t want to stay here until I know why they were here. Get some of the men to gather the paperwork in my office and anything that looks important or viable.’’ He turns to look at you before looking back at Sevika, “As for you, take them and start heading back to the bar and have someone look at their mouth. I’ll be right behind you.”
Sevika nods and you are once again hauled up by her, this time you’re able to somewhat stand. As you head out the door you look behind you and make eye contact with Silco. He’s staring at you with a thoughtful look on his face. Something about that look makes you uneasy and you feel a shiver run down your spine.
He smiles at you before you turn a corner to start exiting the house.
What have you gotten yourself into?