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Chapter 33: Imprisonment
"So... what's happening to us now?" Caitlyn stared at the pitch-black basement, at a loss for words. She's an enforcer! How on earth did she end up tied up again? What on earth has been happening these past days...
"I think we've been imprisoned by Powder... or something like that," Vi said awkwardly. In a sense, she and Caitlyn had just escaped a wolf's den only to find themselves in a tiger's lair — although this "tiger" happened to be her sister.
"Isn't she your sister?"
"There are a few... misunderstandings between us," Vi confessed as she slowly recounted their backstory.
"I see." If the room could be likened to a canvas, it had already been painted with deep blue watercolor, symbolizing sadness. Listening to the entire story, Caitlyn felt her spirits dampen.
"Yeah. Afterward, I got caught by that enforcer, and I never had a chance to reconcile — but hey, at least we've met now. Powder might just be angry temporarily, and she'll cool down eventually," Vi tried to sound casual, shrugging her shoulders, though she quickly realized that the ropes tying her and Caitlyn back-to-back were so tight she couldn't even manage a shrug.
"Sorry for dragging you into this..."
"It's okay, let's just think of it as a vacation." Oddly enough, Caitlyn felt no tension at all. She even had the mind to observe the wall paintings: "Doesn't the wall seem to be painted with portraits? Ignoring those odd lines, there seem to be five people in total."
"Yeah, those are our former companions." Despite Jinx's abstract drawing style, Vi immediately recognized them. "The skinny one is Mylo, he used to handle lock-picking in our team. The chubby one is..."
"Is the short-haired girl drawn with a pink pen you?"
"Yes."
"It feels so twisted..." The portrait representing Vi on the wall was extremely exaggerated, with fierce eyes taking up half the face and a jagged mouth occupying the other half. This portrait was the second largest on the wall, placed centrally, exuding an overwhelming presence.
"Maybe that's how Powder sees me now..."
The largest portrait occupied the right corner. It was the only one smiling, with eyes squinted into slits and surrounded by soft lines.
"That's Justin, he's always smiling," Vi scoffed, a bit displeased.
Next to the representation of Justin was a small and delicate face, submerged in what seemed like tears made of blue paint, surrounded by glaring reds. Near Justin's side, there were lines highlighted in warm yellow, resembling rays of sunshine.
"What a strange artwork..." Caitlyn reminisced about painting on walls in her childhood, earning numerous scoldings from her mother. Here, the basement's paintings also mirrored a child's, yet with an eerie twist.
"These paintings reflect her mental state," Vi had specifically studied about them: "Powder has some... mental issues."
"No wonder." Caitlyn recalled the altercation at the precinct, involuntarily twitching her lips.
Were they truly sisters? Caitlyn found it hard to believe. In her eyes, Jinx was a purebred villain, the kind who could be executed on the spot under special circumstances. Whereas Vi... she was a good person.
While the definition of a good person is complex, Caitlyn was willing from her heart to simply and straightforwardly categorize Vi as such. It's not solely because of her handsome face, strong build, toned muscles, and cool tattoos... Ahem, okay, maybe those factors did play a minor role. But more importantly, it was about a genuine connection.
"What are you thinking about?" Back-to-back, Vi couldn't see Caitlyn's face, forcing her to guess, "Are you hungry?"
"Uh, yes, a bit." Over the course of two days, surviving on some moss and half a rat had left Caitlyn famished.
"I wonder if Powder will bring us food," Vi mused, mimicking a swallowing motion despite her parched throat.
"I'm full!" Jinx proclaimed, putting down her chopsticks as she packed a bowl of food, seemingly intending to take it somewhere.
"What are you up to?"
"Nothing~"
"Why do I feel like you're hiding something from me... You seemed distracted during dinner."
"Yes, I am hiding something from you."
"What is it?"
"Not telling!" Jinx playfully stuck out her tongue and dashed off.
"Isn't this the conversation from earlier..." Justin was momentarily speechless, watching her leave. "Why is she going to the basement? Could it be that the 'wound' has reopened?" The basement harbored Jinx's past, back when she was known as "Powder." Her friends, adoptive father, and family all vanished that night, immortalized in the watercolor paintings on the walls. Justin rarely went there; whenever Jinx acted out or was in a bad mood, she would lock herself in the basement, staying alone in silence. "Maybe I should buy her some medicine from the upper city?" Justin rubbed his head, feeling a headache, and didn't even consider why she took the food away.
The door opened, and light poured in along with the aroma of food. Vi scooted forward excitedly, exclaiming, "Powder! I knew you wouldn't let me starve!"
"Hmm hmm, hmm hmm hmm, hmmm~" Jinx hummed happily, carrying the bowl with one hand while skipping over to place it in front of Vi. "Eat up."
"Uh... there's no chopsticks, how am I supposed to eat? Even a spoon would do, right?" Vi suddenly had a bad feeling.
"You can eat like a pig from a trough," Jinx squatted down, resting her chin in her hands, grinning at her. Perhaps from spending so much time with Justin, Jinx was smiling more than before—but to Vi, she seemed far less adorable than she once was.
"No... stop joking around, untie me so we can talk!"
"Bleh~" Jinx made a face, giving Vi no chance to speak, slamming the door shut and leaving.
"This..." Vi hesitated for a moment, actually preparing to bend down and eat from the bowl.
"Wait." Caitlyn stopped her, and soon Vi felt the tension release—the ropes binding them had been cut.
"Phew..." Caitlyn stretched her body, holding up a blade to Vi's surprised gaze, smiling, "I'm an enforcer after all, I won't get caught by the same person twice, right?"
Though no longer restrained, Vi didn't seem particularly happy. She silently picked up an abandoned paintbrush in the corner, snapped it in half, and handed it to Caitlyn, "Here, utensils."
"Utensils?" Caitlyn held a "chopstick" in each hand, looking puzzled, "How do I use them?"
"Hmm, it's actually quite complicated. It took me a year to barely learn how to use them... But it's fine since the food is in a bowl. Just hold the two chopsticks together and shovel it up."
"What about you? Aren't you eating?"
"I'm not hungry..." Vi shook her head, though it wasn't clear if she was genuinely not hungry or if it was something else. She sat quietly on the floor, staring at the watercolors on the wall for a long time before finally letting out a slow, drawn-out sigh. "I'll sneak you out once they fall asleep at midnight."
"And then?" Caitlyn put down the bowl and chopsticks. The food Justin made was delicious, and she was very hungry, but there seemed to be a more pressing matter at hand.
"And then? Then I have to run back before dawn... Ideally, I'd tie myself back up, otherwise Powder might get triggered again."
"No need, right?" Caitlyn frowned slightly. "She's already treated you like this... and that Justin doesn't seem like a good person either. You can come back with me for now, I..."
Caitlyn bit her lip, finally making up her mind to say, "I won't arrest you. You can stay at my place, my house is quite big."
"No." Vi rejected the offer decisively. "I broke out of prison because of Powder. If I leave with you, it would only complicate things further."
"Alright... then I'll stay here too."
"Huh? Why are you staying to keep me company?" Vi was too surprised to find the words, "You, this... it's really dangerous, you know. I'm Powder's sister, she won't harm me. But you're an enforcer, if she goes crazy..."
"You already said she has mental issues; nobody can guess a mad person's thoughts," Caitlyn said with a helpless smile. "I can tell the kid is very sensitive. If I leave, she might think I'm going back to the precinct to rat on you. You'd be in a difficult position."
"This..." Vi hadn't thought of that, her emotions were all over the place, and her expression twisted as if she had a cramp. "In any case, I've got to sleep here tonight, it's too late to sneak out now," Caitlyn said, picking up the bowl again, pausing slightly before handing it to Vi. "I'm full, you should eat a bit too."