Tapping his foot on the floor, Marcus stood in front of the empty chair and looked out the window. His shoulders were tense, he could hardly breathe properly.

His fingers played uncertainly with the buttons of his uniform. After Silco's men had picked him up, Marcus had barely had more than ten minutes to get dressed. His uniform looked as if he had pulled it out of the back of his closet and just thrown it on.

When the click of the door opening filled the room, he flinched in surprise. His gaze jumped over his shoulder.

Silco met him with a grim expression on his face. It was obvious that he was not thrilled. He never was.

But at the same time, it was hard to tell what exactly was bothering him. Maybe it was the slow developments with the Topside issues, maybe the fact that Jayce Talis was causing him more and more trouble, or just Marcus' presence. It could have been anything.

Without sitting down, Silco grabbed a cigar to cut and lit it, taking a deep breath before looking properly at his visitor.

"Sheriff.", his voice revealed, a greater issue was bothering Silco. "Apparently our conversation the other day didn't leave a lasting impression."

He raised an eyebrow.

Confused, Marcus frowned. Grimly, he met the man's deprecating gaze. He shouldn't think he was accepting the trashy mood for no reason.

"Is there a reason why I was picked up from my own home this early in the morning?", he asked with a hissing undertone. "That has never happened before. We had agreed that my house was off limits."

Silco rolled his eyes.

"And I warned you.", he growled back.

Marcus frowned.

"I didn't make any mistakes."

"Your little friend. I told you that all it would take was one more mistake and it would be over."

Even more confused, Marcus eyes darted around the room. He was thinking, not understanding what he was getting at.

When something crossed his mind, his heart almost stopped beating in his chest. With his eyes wide open, his gaze returned to Silco.

"The fight at the bar was my fault.", he said, hoping it would smooth the waters if he took the blame.

Annoyed, Silco rolled his eyes, shook his head and gestured as if he didn't care.

"I've already put this on you.", he said, taking another deep breath from the cigar. "And I don't care either. If you feel the need to be immature and fight like idiots, I don't care. No, the brawl is not the problem, it's your little appendage's own initiative."

With his lips pressed together, Marcus eyed him as if he could find some answers in those hateful eyes. His eyebrows drew together.

"What? I don't understand.", he muttered, glancing out the window. "The last time something happened was yesterday. And that was at the bar."

"Oh?", Silco's eyebrows rose and a hint of surprise appeared on his scarred face. "Then you don't know anything about it? And I thought you had full control."

"About what?"

A grin appeared on his thin lips. Smirking, he dropped into his chair and glanced at the ceiling.

"This morning I got a visit from one of the miners.", he explained, pulling something out of the drawer to put it on the table. "He brought me this. Someone gave it to him as proof that the Baroness gave the order to help in the mines. Does this look familiar, sheriff?"

Swallowing hard, Marcus let his gaze wander downward. Startled, he inhaled sharply.

"That's...", he bit his lips to suppress a curse.

"That's the proof of the Firelights' guilt I gave you.", Silco confirmed in a dissatisfied tone. "And for some reason your little friend got hold of it."

"I... I had kept it safe. The Hextech wonderboy was supposed to get it today.", Marcus tried to explain himself.

"Too late, sheriff. Now the tick's in the mines."

"I'm going right now. I'll take care of it."

"No. One mistake, Marcus. That was the last warning."

With his lips parted, Marcus pulled a grimace, something between desperate helplessness and cold anger. Fear suddenly lit up in his eyes. His breathing quickened.

"But it's just the mines.", he protested. "If something is found there, I can simply push it on Renni! You will not be endangered. Trust me."

Silco looked at him with a frown. Threateningly, he leaned forward.

"Down there we use bombs from Jinx for the shafts.", he growled. "A single bomb in the wrong hands and everything shatters to pieces. This time you were too careless, sheriff."

Gasping, Marcus frowned. He didn't like that blue haired brat but her downfall would be his.

"I'll take care of it.", he assured. "I promise. (Y/N) doesn't listen to anybody but me. I can still fix the damage."

His hands trembled.

Silco looked him up and down.

"I'll just get rid of the vermin.", he shrugged.

Amused, Marcus had to snort.

"Bold of you to assume it will be that easy. This vermin is a kind of its own. I know what I'm talking about. I grew up with it."

Displeased, Silco pulled a face. But it seemed that he understood the issue at hand. His men must have informed him about you, your little powers in particular.

And Silco was no fool. He knew that if he wanted to get rid of you it would have a huge price.

A price he wasn't willing to pay. At least not yet.

Even if he didn't want to admit it but Marcus was his only option to settle this peacefully and discrete.

And Marcus was very much aware of that. Despite the nervousness that made his heart beat wilder than it had ever been, he remained calm on the outside and waited for him to give in.

"I'll give you an hour. See it as a little treat.", Silco said after a moment of consideration. "Everything that is not fixed in one hour will be cleaned up my way. Do we understand each other, sheriff?"

Swallowing hard, Marcus nodded.

"I'll take care of it.", he assured and rushed out the door.