Jinx Unchained

Chapter Three

Caitlyn stretched and yawned as she and Camille waited in Jayce's office in the Council Tower—after their testimony, Jayce had asked both women to wait in his office while the Council deliberated their next plan of action. She'd just spent an hour and a half thoroughly detailing every bit of evidence—circumstantial or otherwise—she had against Calvert. That, in addition to Camille's sworn testimony that Calvert gave an unlawful order in which he ordered her to murder someone, even if that was someone was Slane, should be enough to get Calvert put away. It was enough, she told herself, but she never knew which way the Council was going to go. If Calvert was one of the Councilors' personal pet projects, she might be forced to let him go again.

Glancing over her shoulder, Camille asked, "You seem nervous?" She stood on the far side of the room, where she was looking out one of the windows overlooking the streets of Piltover.

Caitlyn sat up a little straighter on Jayce's extremely comfortable sofa and gazed at her tall, partially metal companion. She was starting to get used to her a little more, but at the same time, she just couldn't get over the fact that the woman was, in fact, Martin's sister, Malea. And as they talked more and more, it seemed her cold and taciturn form of speech was slowly turning into something different. She didn't quite know what to make of that—was she remembering her life as Malea? Was she turning back, so to speak? "Yeah. You can never be sure what the Council's going to do. I really don't want to let Calvert walk."

"They won't let him walk," Camille said confidently. "All the lieutenants would revolt, myself included. At worst, they'll order him imprisoned under house arrest, then quietly let him go on the next Airship to Shurima or something and claim he died of natural causes."

"And that wouldn't bother you?" Caitlyn asked curiously. "I'd think with how, if you'll forgive my use of the expression, obsessed you are with the Law, you'd absolutely loathe the thought of Calvert getting to walk."

"I do, but..." Camille hesitated, searching for the right words. "It's hard to explain. I want to see people arrested if they break the Law, but I don't... it's like I don't really care what happens to them afterwards. The sentencing and the jail time they do are of no concern to me, really."

Caitlyn let her words sink in, then she frowned slightly. "That seems like an... odd attitude to have, for an Enforcer?"

"I know," Camille said, obviously distracted. "I can't put it into words better than that. It's something I'll have to ponder more deeply."

Caitlyn nearly bit her tongue trying to keep from blurting out that the fact Camille wasn't who she thought she was would be an excellent explanation for why her priorities seemed so strangely out of whack. She was worried about what would happen if she did, however. Camille could gut her like a puffer fish without breaking a sweat, so it seemed wiser to keep things close to her vest when it came to the volatile assassin. Still, she couldn't just leave it completely alone. "I've also been wondering... isn't it strange for a Ferros to be in the Enforcers? No disrespect to your house or Lady Emilia, but Ferros hasn't exactly been known for its... shall we say, adherence to the Law." She left her tone deliberately neutral, just making it appear as if she was making small talk, rather than actively trying to prod the woman into remembering who she was.

"I..." Camille began, then she halted, her head crooked as if she was lost deep in thought. "I'm not sure what you're referring to."

"Surely you remember the Crash, nine years ago? When your house's... less-than-legal manipulations caused the value of the Golden Hex to plummet versus almost all other coins, but especially the Noxian Securi. House Ferros made a fortune in that."

"Yes, I... I remember," Camille said. The tone in her voice left little doubt in Caitlyn's mind, however, that the woman, in fact, did not remember.