I'm The Monster ( Jinx X Fem Reader )

The Quiet Before the Storm

- chapter 29-

The dying light of day streams in through the window of Silco's office, the shadow of his high-backed chair falling across the papers that are strewn about on his desk. Sevika sits in silence across the table from it as he stands rigidly by the map on the back of the office door, staring angrily at the spot that was once the southern plant. It's now scribbled out with red ink, accompanied by multiple slits where the spot had been stabbed with the knife that now resides at his hip in a fit of rage not long before. The wood of the door had splintered through the weathered paper. This fact irks Silco for no other reason than that he needs something else to be angry about, and his fists close with a white-knuckled grip into his palm.

"She's changing." Silco grits out from clenched teeth, eyes not leaving the spot on the map. His mind can't help but run circles around the memory of earlier in the day.

"Who? Jinx?" Sevika asks, utterly uninterested as she rubs her thumb across a particularly stubborn patch of dried mud on the barrel of her gun.

"Yes, I..." Silco attempts to gather his thoughts as he sends the splintered wood one last searing glare and retreats to his chair. "I have reason to believe that she's going soft on me, no doubt with the help of the project I stuck with you."

At this, Sevika pulls her gaze from the weapon in her hand. Her voice is dangerously low in her throat when she speaks again. "What are you saying?"

"I'm saying that she's a bad influence." He snaps, strategically splaying his hands out on the wood of the desk in front of him as if to disperse his anger into it. "You were supposed to take her, mold her, bring out her potential with none of the harm. Are you seeing what she's doing?"

Sevika scoffs in spite of herself, eyes falling back to the metal machinery in her weathered palms. "You said it yourself when you first offered her the job- she has a lot of potential. A lot of that potential we both saw in her back then has come to fruition now, and then some, and I think you just refuse to see it because she's rubbing off on your precious little girl."

Much to her surprise, no sharp retort follows. Sevika looks up slowly, only to be greeted with a calculating stare. To most, it would send a chill down their spine; Sevika's eyebrows just quirk upward, prompting him to say whatever is obviously on the tip of his tongue.

"Do you know something that I don't?" Silco says, leaning forward ever so slightly as his head tips to the left.

Sevika huffs out a small laugh again. "I don't think so, Silco."

"What do you know?" He asks again, sounding almost amused.

With a shrug, she holsters her gun. "If you're referencing Jinx's connection with Y/N, it's not a secret that they've become close friends. When they're the only two of their age this close to the top of the food chain, it's only natural."

Silco seems to be lost in thought again at this, gaze flicking once more to the map on the door. Sevika watches him watch the paper for a few moments, his eyebrows twitching downwards every other moment, before she stands.

"Speaking of, I'm gonna head home. Haven't checked in with the little shit since before I left for this past shipment."

Without waiting for a response, Sevika heads for the door. She throws a quick, "G'night," over her shoulder before disappearing into the fading light. She neglects to ease the door closed, so the loud bang echoes through his study. The sharp sound breaks him from his thoughts long enough to sit back into his chair.

Something's happening. The events following the fire leave a bad taste in his mouth, a sick feeling stirring in his stomach, and Silco can't help but wonder if it's a premonition. Jinx, bending so easily for the wellbeing of someone else that isn't Silco himself, especially by her own volition; it's practically unheard of. Silently, Silco decides that he needs to keep an eye on her. He should have done so sooner, and he curses himself for not doing so.