Full chapter on AO3 (Chapter 23)
Silco pushes the door open, then steps aside, leaving you to enter first.
Beyond the opening, darkness stretches outward in every direction. The black clouds you watched from the bridge hang above two suspended windows. The one on your right tapers to a point around a saffron light. Beside it, the circular window from Silco’s office floats upside down in a blue-green glow.
A piano progression rises, and the melancholy chords gather around the circular frame. You move toward it, glancing back to make sure Silco hasn’t left.
On the other side, an argument is underway.
“They were selling to Topsiders right under your nose for months,” Jinx says.
Silco’s composure is worn thin. “How many times do I need to tell you not to interfere?”
“It was just one shipment. If I hadn’t rigged it, the Enforcers would’ve taken it.” She drops her cheek onto her folded arm with a grin.
“They were meant to,” he snaps. “You have no idea what you’ve done.”
“…You’re working with them?”
His hands clench at his sides.
Without another word, he turns and walks out.
You find your own fingers curled into your palms. When you look back up, Jinx sits across from him in the office.
“Still giving me the silent treatment, huh?”
Silco reaches for a cigar, barely hearing her until her tone grows impatient.
“If you care so much about me playing your stupid revolution game, speak up now.”
He pinches the bridge of his nose. “I’ve had enough headaches.”
Her anger begins to waver.
“If it’s some sort of trap…” she says, her voice small. “Just tell me what I did wrong. I can fix it.”
“You’re not a part of this, Jinx. And you never will be.”
You watch the fight drain from her face before she disappears out the door. Silco overturns the sheet of paper on his desk.
Twelve consecutive shipments are to be made in good faith.
Each shipment is to be received by six o’clock on the final day of each month.
Failure to deliver constitutes a breach of the arrangement and restarts the twelve-month term.
Upon completion, Violet will be released from Stillwater.
Your father’s signature sits at the bottom.
Long after the delivery has been made, Silco is still waiting. When Jinx doesn’t come back, he grabs his coat and leaves the office, checking her workshop first and the old arcade after that. His pace quickens after finding each space empty, and with every step, your own pulse climbs.
The bridge comes into view ahead. Near the railing, Jinx stands with her shoulders slumped, staring out at the water. Relief hits first.
She turns her head just enough to glance back, and his heart sinks when he sees her face.
Smudged makeup trails beneath her eyes, but it isn’t the tears that break him. It’s that they’ve already dried.
He takes a step toward her.
She meets his eyes, but something in them has changed. His little girl, who had always looked at him with the certainty that her father would come, now looks at him as though she already accepted he wasn’t going to.
Her voice comes out tired.
Her gaze falls away and her arm shifts. A small metal pin slips from her hand. Your breath hitches as a white flash erupts in front of her, swallowing her silhouette before overtaking everything else.
When you finally turn to face Silco, the same man is looking back at you. Only now, you understand some of what it cost to make him this way.
Before you can find the words, another piano melody begins, and your gaze seeks out the second window. It’s the cathedral-like window overlooking the alley behind The Last Drop, the back route you always took because it was discreet.
Its amber light no longer looks warm. It burns against the darkness until fire is the only thing your mind can make of it. Your stomach drops, and you turn to Silco, shaking your head.
Silco watches you, the hurt in his expression deepening as you take a step back.
“It’s something you need to see.”
