BANG-BANG-BANG

  "Ugh- wait..." Orion groaned, stumbling downstairs inside his Emberflit Alley home with every fiber of his being ag.

  BANG-BANG-BANG

  "WHO IS-" Orion cursed, quiing his pace. He peered out momentarily before fully opening the door. "Vander? Benzo?"

  Orion looked worse for wear. His tired eyes drifted between them as his thoughts swirled through exhaustion.

  'What are they- Ah, right...' Orion thought, his grip on the dhtening. He knew he couldn't stop these two behemoths without using magially, he'd be tossed and pyed with like paper, and he suspected they thought the same. But did they know of his magic?

  'Maybe, I don't know what Vander knows..." Orion mused between the silend tension.

  "You look worse for wear," Vander ented, examining Orions' haggard appearance. "It's only been a few days- doing things you shouldn't be?" His tone carried a hint of knowing.

  'Fuck, what does he know?' Orion groaned internally before sighing and stiffly replying, "Yeah...rough times. What are you two doing here?"

  Vander shrugged nontly. "We just want to talk. Miing us in? These streets are dangerous for old bozos like us."

  "We could be mugged!" Benzo added, feigning distress, his eyes glinting with amusement.

  Vander chuckled, gng back at Benzo, "His fat arse couldn't even kick a chemrat nowadays."

  "Hey now," Benzo began to protest, but Orion interrupted with a groan like a hungover drunkard, opening the door fully, "Fine. e in."

  The two thudded ihe flroaning uheir weight.

  "Not bad. You've taken care of it," Vander plimented, his gaze sing the living room. Benzo raised a brow, adding, "Is this cause o' those topsiders? Teag you to keep it tidy?"

  Orion shuffled to the kit, p water into a few cups. "Nah, it ain't any different than the Last Drop. Just keeping it ," he replied as Vander sat on the couch, it groaning under his weight.

  "Got some anger issues, aye?" Vander ented as his gaze lingered on the knuckle dents iallic wall.

  Orion didn't respond, gng over his shoulder. They didn't look particurly wary of him, so he cluded at the very least it wasn't urgent. 'It may be serious still,' he thought as he brought the water over.

  "No, no, boy. You'll kill us," Benzo joked, shooing away the water. "Our blood runs on alcohol- give us that and we'll croak!"

  Shrugging, he pced it down oable. For many in the Uy, drinking alcohol felt safer than water.

  'There's merit to that,' Orion thought mildly, eyeing the faintly tinged water. 'A no-win situation...'

  His gaze shifted back to Vander and Benzo, the dull throb of his headache fading into the background as the real question hung in the air.

  "So why are you two here?"

  The two tensed slightly, exging ed looks before Vander's gaze fell and Benzo leaned against the wall, crossing his arms.

  "You've been talking to Silco, kid," Benzo said slowly, the accusation sharp and abrupt.

  Vander's eyes snapped up, his expression unreadable as his sharp gaze rested on Orion. "We want to know why. And why you old us."

  Orion stiffened up, his posture and gaze freezing as Benzo piled on. "We know what you've been up to, kid- running topside gigs, pulling in favors- but why Silco? Why the bloody hell him?"

  Vander raised his hand, sileng Benzo with a simple gesture, his gaze never leaving Orion.

  "It was never iional," Orion admitted with a heavy sigh. Their sharp, fixed gazes refused to leave him as he tinued, "After I met Vi, a dy calling herself C offered me a gig topside at t Mei's Menagerie."

  "I took it. Some Ionians crashed the pd caused trouble, but I made es with the Kirammans- es that may be shattered now..."

  "This m, that was you?" Vander's voice cut through the room, his posture straightening as his hands rested on his knees. His eyes glinted dangerously.

  Benzo's eyes wide Vander's words, his gre snapping back to Orion.

  "No!" Orion excimed, shaking his head and waving his hands furiously. "That dy- C- she kidhe Kirammans! She was trying to backstab Sild break my es topside to force me onto her side."

  Groaning, Orion leaned back, his gaze shifting toward the ceiling as if searg for crity. "Thanks to her, my retionship with the Kirammans may be ruined. And as for Silco..." He paused, l his gaze back to Vander and Benzo, who were locked in a teare. "I didn't even know C- or should I say a Veraza- was w under him until weeks in."

  "Wow..." Benzo gnced back wide-eyed at Vander, his expression incredulous as he eoward Orion. "You nded yourself in every dangerous and shitty pile there is."

  "Aye," Vander muttered, nodding in agreement, though his expression darkened as his brows kogether. "But why?"

  Orion flinched slightly under Vander's sharper tone.

  "Why did you tinue w for Silco after finding out?" Vander pressed, leaning forward as his voice took on a hard edge. "And why the hell didn't you tell me? You put Vi and Powder in danger by staying quiet- you know how dangerous Silco is."

  Orion's jaw tightened slightly, frustration creeping into his voice as he spoke in low tones. "Do you think I wao stay involved? People like Sild 't just let you walk away. They won't let you."

  Running a hand through his hair, Orion's voice wavered, then broke. "Maybe I screwed up. But what was I supposed to do? Tell you? If you found out, what would you have done? Run in swinging? Expose Vi and Powder in the process? I kept it tained!" His voice rose, his posure breaking as tears formed in his eyes.

  Vaood up, his gaze hardenie tears prig the edges too as he stepped toward.

  Orion tio shout emotionally, his voice growing louder and more desperate. "I've killed to protect them! I killed a to stop it all!" Orion's gre burned with fury, but his vision was blurred and his mind cloudy with emotion. "You should uand! After all, you tried to drown Silco!"

  Whack.