Oil and Water | Arcane | Silco | Sevika

Sump-Rats

Mayve has a few hours before she needs to open the bar, deciding to play a few rounds of pool to pass the time. She shoots the ball around the table until she beats her old score. Sometime during early afternoon she hears the doors of the bar open. She should really start locking them. A small figure with white hair enters. Ekko.

"Hey, kiddo." Mayve puts her pool stick away, grinning as he approaches her.

"Hi, Auntie Mayve." Ekko walks in with his hands behind his back. "Thank you for your gifts. I put them to good use."

Mayve's smile grows, gladdened at Ekko's admission. "I'm happy to hear that."

Suddenly, Mayve feels him pull her down to his level, whispering something in her ear. "I saw Vander talk with a lady enforcer yesterday when he was at Benzo's shop."

Enforcer Grayson.

"Come on, let's go talk on the roof." Mayve leads them to where she sat the previous night with Violet. They sit together, overlooking Zaun. "What happened?"

Ekko describes two enforcers entering Benzo's, one woman and one man. The female strikes up the conversation about the exploded building and how it belonged to a family by the name of Kiramman. As a result of the bombing, the Council needs to make an example of the people responsible and how topside needs to feel safe again. Screw how those in the Undercity feel.

     "Vander's deal with the enforcer was to make sure our people stay here and the enforcers stay out of our business." Ekko relayed the terms he heard to Mayve.

     He then went on to reveal that Enforcer Grayson wants Vander to give up a name. As a result, his involvement in the deal will be non existent, but he refused.

     "The lady said the next time she comes back here she will bring all of the enforcers with her."

     This is worse than Mayve thought. It may be worse than what happened at the bridge. She rattles her brain for an answer to this non ending problem. This situation can go one of two ways: one, Vander gives up a name and the person he chooses goes down for the explosion, but as a result he loses the trust of many of the people on his side who follow him, thus initiating more defectors to join a different cause; two, Vander doesn't give up a name and it will be a repeat of what happened at the bridge all those years ago. These people may not be able to afford something like that again. It may have been insignificant to the topsiders, but it means everything to the people of Zaun.

     "Why did you come to me with this?" Mayve knows Ekko is phenomenal at keeping secrets, but why did he entrust her with this knowledge?

     He shrugs, a forlorn look on his young features. "I just feel like you're the only one I can trust right now."

     How such a statement does and does not come as a shock to Mayve confuses her brain, but causes her heart to feel happy. It makes sense to not reveal the fact he eavesdropped to neither Vander nor Benzo, so he can't trust either of them. Other than those two, Mayve is the last adult who Ekko considers family. The sentiment warms her chest.

     "That means more to me than you will ever know." Mayve pulls the child into a hug. "Don't tell any other adults about this, okay?"

     Ekko nods his head. "Oh, there was one other thing I meant to tell you." He scans their surroundings out of habit. "The enforcer lady gave Vander some kind of tube to contact him with."

     Could this get any worse? Mayve pinches the bridge of her nose between her fingers. Now, thanks to Enforcer Grayson's generosity, Vander has the opportunity to give someone up. Who? No one will know until it's too late. Mayve hopes he won't succumb to a moment of weakness such as that. She would never give any of her people up, and it truly makes her angry that Vander would even consider the possibility.