𝐄𝐤𝐤𝐨 | 𝐃𝕚𝕣𝕥𝕪 𝐋𝕚𝕥𝕥𝕝𝕖 𝐀𝕟𝕚𝕞𝕒𝕝𝕤

15. Untrusting

She laughed, making me smirk as well.
"Oh, I'm sure you do. But you've made quite the mess here already."
Her mechanical arm seemed to recharge, vapours whistling from its top parts.
"This isn't your playground."

Gary and Slickjaw flanked her, cold and unwavering.
I stayed perfectly still where I was, watching as the topsiders began to encircle Sevika and her small crew, outnumbering them by quite a bit.
The vendor scrambled back, some other Zaunites running away when they'd seen the chance to, trying to avoid being caught in the crossfire.
My thoughts raced.
If they found a reason to arrest her, or worse, it would send shockwaves through the Lanes.

Sevika leaned forward slightly, her grin widening.
"You think Silco's hiding in plain sight? Or are you just here to stir up trouble?"
The Enforcer in charge stepped closer, his hand hovering over his weapon.
"You'd do well to cooperate."
"I am cooperating," Sevika mused, her tone still mocking.
"But you won't find Silco tonight."
Behind the wall, I clenched my fists.
Something wasn't adding up. Gary's presence, Finn's Slickjaw, and now this standoff— it all pointed to something bigger brewing.
Next thing I knew, the tension snapped like a taut wire.

Gunfire echoed through the alley as Sevika's trio lunged into action. She charged forward, her mechanical arm smashing into the nearest enforcer with a sickening crunch. Gary tackled another, his brute strength overpowering finesse, while the Slickjaw danced around her opponents with a dagger in each hand, quick and lethal.
My pulse spiked. I didn't think, I just moved.
Years of growing up around Sevika, learning to fight under her watch, kicked in.
She'd been like family, a though, cruel kind of family, but family nonetheless.
There was no way I could just stand back and let her take this fight alone.

I stepped out from my hiding spot, ready to jump in, when something slammed into me.
My back hit the wall hard, knocking the air out of my lungs. I was sure my organs couldn't take much of that continuous action for long.
I gasped, instinctively swinging my arm to push back, but it was caught mid-motion.

Scar.

His Firelight mask glinted under the dim streetlights, its carved lines menacing even though I couldn't see his face. His grip on my arm was ironclad, and his voice was low and full of 'much deserved' hatred.
"What the hell is wrong with you?" He hissed, pushing me harder against the wall.
"Are you mentally unstable!?"
I tried to shove him off, glaring up at him.
"Let me go!"

The Vastaya leaned closer, those creepy white eyes of the mask on me.
"You're going to blow everything," he growled.
"Do you even remember why we're here? It's not for your old buddies. It's to keep the base safe. To make sure the Enforcers don't find the Tree. Or are you too thick-headed to figure that out?"
His words couldn't bother me in the slightest, and my gaze dropped for just a second to the Talon dagger at his waist— the one that wasn't mine but felt like it should be.
The sight of it only made my frustration burn hotter.

"This isn't about any of that," I spat back, glaring at him. "It's Sevika. I can't just stand by while she's—"
Scar's grip tightened, cutting me off.
"You can and you will," he snarled.
"We don't have the luxury of picking fights. If you want to prove you're not a waste of time, then stick to the plan. Or is that too much for your murderous self?"

The fight raged back in the alley.
I could understand Scar's hate for me.
For all I had done, he could have stabbed me and I'd not complain with a sound. I took away what he had most dear, like someone had done to me.
Sevika was holding her own, but those Pilties were relentless.
A pang of guilt twisted in my chest.
Was Scar right? I clenched my fists, my eyes flickering down to the dagger.