Back at the Spirit Blossom Gang's hideout, Marsen spotted Logan and immediately came over.
Then he saw Jinx—already back to normal, messing around with Isha like nothing happened on the way back—and Vi, who looked completely hollowed out, her mood at rock bottom.
They go out once, and Vi comes back looking like this?
Marsen was curious.
Too bad nobody was going to answer him, because Logan was already leading Jinx and Isha straight toward the tent.
Seeing that, Marsen turned to Vi, about to ask what happened.
"Vi, you guys—"
"Get lost!"
Vi shoved Marsen and stormed after Logan and Jinx, brushing right past him and barging into the tent.
"Shit…"
"What, you think it's like before? You think you can talk to me like that when you can't even beat Logan?" Marsen muttered under his breath, pissed. "I'm the boss's guy."
Kids from the Lanes had gotten their share of beatings from Vi. Marsen especially—he'd been a little troublemaker when he was younger, and Vi had pinned him down and smacked him around more than once. Hell, Logan had probably gotten hit by her too.
Marsen kept grumbling as he wandered, and then he spotted that pretty Piltover girl crouched near the tent, eavesdropping.
Marsen instinctively wanted to stop Caitlyn—then he remembered what Logan had said: as long as she didn't wander off and cause trouble outside, she could do whatever she wanted.
So Marsen let her keep listening.
At the same time, inside the tent—
Logan sat with Isha, watching the heavy silence hanging over Vi and Jinx. The sisters were talking on and off, but it was mostly Vi talking while Jinx brushed her off.
"Uh… Jinx, I'm gonna step out for a bit." Logan stood. "You two… talk."
Vi immediately turned and gave Logan a grateful look. She really did need a chance alone with Jinx.
And the second Isha saw Logan get up, she grabbed his hand, babbling softly, making it clear she wanted to go too.
Isha couldn't stand this atmosphere either!
It was seriously weird!
Her sister obviously liked that red-haired woman so much—so why was she acting like this?
From what Isha knew of her sister, if some random person clung to her and annoyed her like this, Jinx would've shot them ages ago. She wouldn't sit there obediently, letting them talk.
Which basically meant: she liked her. She cared.
So if she liked her and cared… why wouldn't she show it?
Little Isha couldn't understand it, so she summed it up in the smartest way she could:
Adults were like this. Complicated. Annoying.
Logan looked at Isha and smiled.
He was really starting to like this little tagalong Jinx had brought home.
Holding Isha's hand, Logan stepped out of the tent—and immediately saw Caitlyn crouched there with her hips stuck out, blatantly listening in.
"Ahem." Logan cleared his throat.
Caitlyn snapped her head around. A flush rose on her face, and her eyes were full of embarrassment. She patted her knees as she stood and looked at Logan.
"You… you saw Silco just now?"
"Enforcer," Logan said. "Were you eavesdropping on our conversation?"
"I was just… I just happened to be walking by." Caitlyn looked like she wasn't the best liar as she delivered an extremely unconvincing excuse.
Isha pouted and looked away from the cop.
People Jinx hated, she hated too.
See—this was exactly how Isha knew her sister liked the red-haired woman. Because if the person inside annoying her right now was this enforcer, Isha would already be finding a sheet to cover the body.
"Alright." Logan didn't bother calling her out. "Go back to wandering around. I still have things to do. In a few days I'll have someone take you back to Topside. For now, stay here."
Since Logan wasn't exposing her, Caitlyn nodded hard, then lifted a stiff hand and wiggled her fingers like she was trying to wave.
Logan smiled, then turned and walked away from Caitlyn.
Isha followed right after him.
Looking down at her, Logan asked, "You're coming with me?"
Isha was fiddling with a toy. She didn't even lift her head—just reached her hand out to him.
Logan got the message. He took her hand and grinned.
"Then stay close. Where we're going is dangerous."
The Last Drop.
Silco sat at a table, drinking.
He'd driven Sevika and the rest of his men outside. Staring out the window, Silco found the alcohol tasted especially bitter today.
Drinking alone, Silco suddenly chuckled. He raised his glass toward the distance and murmured to himself, "Vander… I'm sorry, brother. I'll admit you were right once."
"Only that once."
"…Having a daughter really doesn't let you rest."
Silco poured the drink onto the floor.
And right then, behind him, a voice spoke.
"Uncle—Vander wasn't only right once. He was right a lot."
Silco whirled around. When he saw who it was, he turned back toward the window and said, "How did you pull off that kind of change? Topside tech?"
"Do I look like I've got some gadget installed in me?" Logan replied.
Logan walked into Silco's room and first set little Isha down on the sofa.
The moment Isha got inside, she lit up—because this place was covered in graffiti she recognized.
"Mm-nyah!"
She turned back, mouth open in a cute grin that showed she was missing a tooth, and pointed excitedly at a spot on the wall.
"You're saying the drawings here look just like the ones at home?" Logan laughed.
Isha nodded vigorously.
Logan looked at Silco, who was pouring himself another drink.
"Got any juice?" Logan suddenly asked.
"…"
Silco went silent, but after a moment he opened a cabinet in his desk and pulled out a cup painted with a little monkey in blue and pink. He also took out a bottle of juice.
He actually has juice…
I know you spoil Jinx, Silco, but this is on another level.
Silco poured a cup and slid it forward on the table. Logan took it, then carried it over to Isha.
Isha drank happily and wandered around the room, fascinated.
This was where her sister had lived!
And Logan—Logan turned back to Silco.
"Logan, you have power. You should be with me. With you here, we can make Zaun stand on its own."
"Independence isn't just my dream—it was Vander's dream."
"No. It's every Zaunite's dream."
"It's my dream too," Logan said, taking the drink Silco poured for him and shaking his head. "But uncle… the way you're trying to change everything is too extreme."
"And besides—I didn't come here to get recruited. I came to talk about a deal."
"A deal?"
"Yeah. Uncle, I want you to stop Shimmer from spreading everywhere. Keep the Chem-Barons' factories under control, make sure this—"
Silco waved, cutting Logan off.
"Stop Shimmer from spreading? Do you know why it's called Shimmer?"
"Because it's the Undercity's faint little light."
"I'll admit Shimmer has hurt a lot of people." Silco's voice dropped. "But that's their own problem. They had no self-control. They used it the wrong way. Used properly, Shimmer isn't harmful."
As Zaun's godfather—the man behind it all—Silco knew exactly what things looked like in the Undercity.
And what of it?
He looked at Logan and continued, "Reform requires blood. Sacrifice is unavoidable."
"What did Vander and the sheriff's so-called peace treaty buy us?"
"It bought us being penned into the Undercity."
"It bought Topside taking more and more, pushing their line further every time."
"It bought mine collapses, poisoned rivers, and air so thick you can taste it."
"If this is what you came to talk about, then you can leave." Silco's gaze sharpened. "Or you can make your move."
As he spoke, the hand he'd kept hidden under the table slowly moved—reaching for the gun strapped beneath the tabletop.
Silco never put his life in someone else's hands.
Even if that person was someone he knew.
So from the moment Logan walked in, Silco had already been ready to strike back.
But Logan simply spread his hands.
"Relax."
"I haven't even said what I came to say yet."
"Listen to the deal I'm offering first. Then you can decide."
"Silco."