Hesitantly, Marcus stood in front of the door of the council building. The new bomb Silco had given him was so heavy in his hand that it felt like he was being pulled down. His grip tightened around the metal shell.

He would have liked to crush the thing. But when he opened his eyes again, a sigh left his lips. He could not die. He had to escape this nightmare somehow. It was the only way he could watch his daughter grow up.

And maybe then he would be able to have a happy ending with you, too. His heart grew heavy at the thought. With his helmet tucked under his arm, he entered the hall.

The council members were not present. Only the Hextech wonderboy was sitting at the table, writing something on a paper. It looked suspiciously like a contract.

With impatient harshness, Marcus placed the bomb next to him on the table.

"I found this on one of the firelights.", he said and took a step back. "It matches fragments we found outside your lab and at the Hex Gates. I... have reason to believe they are planning more attacks."

Frowning, Jayce eyed the bomb.

"Well how has this threat gone unnoticed for so long?", he asked, turning to the sheriff.

"Since the Hex Gates were completed the fissures haven't been a priority."

"Oh, we'll settle that later. For now we need to prevent any further attacks."

"Short of searching everyone who crosses the bridges.", Marcus raised an eyebrows. "I don't know how we can."

Jayce thought for a moment.

"Then that's what we'll do.", he decided.

Marcus tilted his head, unsure.

"Are you certain?", he asked. "This sort of an order-!"

"Do it. We have to protect the city."

With a grim face, Jayce turned back to his papers.

Marcus nodded, turned away and put on his helmet again. But before he walked out the door he thought about what Silco had told him the evening before. It could prove useful to make the Hextech wonderboy nervous. Maybe he would stop causing more issues then.

He glanced over his shoulder.

"One other thing.", Marcus said and eyed Jayce. "I saw Caitlyn Kiramman had a prisoner released on your order. Is there anything I can assist with?"

Jayce froze.

"No.", he finally said. "No, uh, we've got it covered."

But despite his efforts to seem calm, Marcus could see the nervous tapping of his fingers on the desk. He already knew what Caitlyn had done. And he was clueless about the reasons she had.

Relieved to know that he wasn't the only stupid one in this city, Marcus smirked and turned away to leave.

"Sheriff.", one of the enforcers came running up to Marcus, holding his rifle. "There is unrest on the bridge. The situation might escalate. We don't know how long we can hold them back."

Marcus pulled a face. His gaze wandered to the bridge.
A crowd was already forming in the distance. With grim faces, people tried to push their way through the barriers that the enforcers were setting up to prevent people from passing without a checkup.

Fights broke out with the other enforcers, who tried to prevent them from crossing.

Through clenched teeth, Marcus shook his head.

"Push them back, by force if necessary. We can't show weakness now. Order of the council.", he ordered. "If we lose one bridge, we lose the others."

But the enforcer shook his head.

"Sir, it's not just the main bridge."

Marcus frowned.

"How many do we have to defend? Three? Ten?"

"All of them, sir. The situation is escalating on all bridges."

Surprised, he took a sharp breath in. He wanted to say something, give orders to prevent the worst case scenario.

But he had no time.

All of a sudden, a group of people broke through the barriers.

Screaming, they threw their hands in the air. One threw a smoke bomb.

It exploded not ten steps away from Marcus.

Coloured smoke swallowed everything. The air became thick, scratchy in the eyes.

Coughing, Marcus jumped back and drew his pistol to aim into the smoke. Screaming filled his ears.

More people found the courage to rebel against the Topside. Silhouettes danced through the mist.

The enforcers called for order, but the whole situation threatened to escalate.

"Hold your ground!", Marcus shouted blindly, having to dodge a blow that came out of nowhere.

Out of reflex he raised the pistol, but his finger hesitated on the trigger. His eyes widened in surprise. For a breath of a second, he thought he could see your face in front of him.

He hesitated. For a single second he hesitated.

Through clenched teeth, the man jerked his fist up, a knife held tightly in his grip. The rusty blade threatened to tear his face apart, when suddenly a shot rang out.

People screamed.

With his eyes wide open, the man crashed to the ground. Blood poured out of the corners of his mouth.

Breathing heavily, Marcus stared at the body staring back at him with broken eyes. He stumbled back.

The fog cleared.

"Sheriff!", the gunman came running to him. "Sir, are you all right?"

Torn from his frozen state of mind, Marcus looked at him. Then his eyes wandered over the bridge.

The man was not the only victim of the chaos. At least two more people had been shot or were still fighting for their lives, laying on their own blood.

Most of the agitated demonstrators had been pushed back. The measly remainder who didn't fight back were led away to spend a night behind bars.

Marcus's gaze darkened.

"This has gone too far...", he growled, pushing the enforcer aside. "No one shoots anymore as long as there is no obvious danger! Spare the civilians. And leave the children alone."

As he gave the order, it felt like the weight of an entire world was pressing down on his shoulders.

The blood of the wounded nestled around his shoes. As he retreated behind the floodlights, a trail of bloody footprints followed him.