Chapter Five: Old Wounds
Command Center – Local Station
Scratch.
Scratch.
Scratch.
The sound of Levi's pen filled the quiet office.
Reports were stacked across his desk in uneven piles, some completed, others waiting impatiently for his attention. A cup of coffee sat nearby, long since gone cold.
Levi signed the bottom of another report and slid it aside.
He stared at the next one.
Then sighed.
Lily was ruining him.
A few weeks ago, he would've found an excuse to leave half of this until tomorrow. Now he could practically hear her voice every time he considered it.
Three reports from last week still aren't finished.
Levi picked up another file.
"Should've let the bandits shoot me."
A knock came from the door.
He barely looked up.
"Come in."
The door creaked open.
A young woman stepped inside.
Levi continued writing for another second before finally raising his eyes.
"Can I help—"
He stopped.
Something about her face pulled at a memory buried beneath years of responsibility.
She was older now.
Of course she was.
The roundness of childhood was gone, replaced by sharper features. There was exhaustion in her face that shouldn't have been there at her age. Her clothes were worn, her posture guarded.
But her eyes...
Levi knew those eyes.
The woman stood half-shadowed in the doorway.
"Levi?"
His pen stopped moving.
"It's me..."
She swallowed.
"Silvia."
The pen slipped from his fingers.
It struck the desk and rolled across a report before falling to the floor.
Levi didn't notice.
He stood slowly.
"Silvia...?"
For the first time in years, Captain Levi—the man who could command an entire station without hesitation—couldn't find the words.
Silvia managed a faint smile.
"All these years, and you haven't changed a bit."
It was supposed to sound warm.
Maybe even teasing.
But her eyes betrayed her.
Something inside them was broken.
Levi stared at the little sister he remembered.
Except she wasn't little anymore.
He remembered holding her hand after their parents died.
Giving her the larger half of whatever food he managed to find.
Telling her everything would be alright when he had no idea whether either of them would eat the next day.
He remembered the day Stone sent her away.
She had cried.
Levi had promised her it wasn't forever.
And then somehow...
Forever happened.
"Silvia..."
"I need your help."
Her voice tightened.
"I'm in trouble."
The shock disappeared from Levi's face.
The captain returned.
"Sit down."
Silvia lowered herself into the chair opposite his desk.
Levi sat slowly.
"What kind of trouble?"
She clasped her hands together tightly.
For several seconds, she said nothing.
"Stone's relatives were kind to me after you left for training," she finally began. "They took me in. Fed me. Gave me somewhere to sleep."
Levi nodded slowly.
"They weren't wealthy, but we managed."
Her fingers tightened around one another.
"Then I turned eighteen."
Levi watched her.
"The money stopped coming."
His stomach dropped.
Silvia looked down.
"I didn't understand at first. They never told me where it came from."
Levi already knew.
"Captain Stone," she continued. "He'd been secretly sending them money. Enough to help support me."
Levi said nothing.
Silvia looked up.
"When I turned eighteen, it stopped."
A cold realization settled over him.
She didn't know.
Silvia didn't know Stone was dead.
"They couldn't afford to keep me anymore."
Levi's mouth opened.
Nothing came out.
"They put me out."
Her voice remained controlled, but only barely.
"And after that..."
She looked away.
"I was on the streets."
Levi felt something twist inside his chest.
"I told myself you'd come for me."
Her eyes returned to his.
"That once you finished training, you'd find me."
Levi lowered his gaze.
"But you never did."
"Silvia, I—"
"Spare me."
The bitterness in her voice stopped him.
She looked around his office.
At the reports.
At his uniform.
At the command insignia.
"I can tell it's been real hard for you."
Her eyes settled on him.
"Sitting behind your desk. Captain of Leone."
Levi's jaw tightened.
"Stone gave his life for this town."
Silvia froze.
For just a moment, the anger vanished.
"What?"
Levi realized what he'd said.
"Stone..."
He exhaled.
"Silvia, Stone died six years ago."
Silence.
She stared at him.
"No."
"He was protecting Leone."
Silvia looked down.
Something shifted across her face.
Shock.
Then realization.
"The money..."
Levi nodded.
"If that's when the payments stopped..."
Silvia looked away.
Levi could see her trying to process it.
"He never abandoned you."
A long silence followed.
Then Silvia laughed once.
There was no humor in it.
"That's supposed to make me feel better?"
"That's not what I meant."
"He died."
Her eyes returned to him.
"And where were you?"
Levi had no answer.
Silvia stood abruptly.
"You knew he was dead?"
"Yes."
"For six years?"
"Silvia—"
"You knew the man supporting me was dead, and it never occurred to you to find out what happened to me?"
Every word landed harder than the last.
Levi stood.
"After Stone died, Leone was falling apart. I had an obligation—"
"And what about your obligation to me?"
Her voice cracked through the office.
Levi fell silent.
"Did this town care when Mom and Dad died?"
"Silvia—"
"No!"
Tears gathered in her eyes.
"It was us against the world, Levi. Remember?"
He remembered.
Of course he remembered.
"You were my brother."
Her voice grew quieter.
"You were all I had."
Levi couldn't look away.
"And when Stone's money stopped, I had nothing."
She wiped angrily at her eyes.
"Not even you."
Levi's throat tightened.
There were explanations he could give.
Stone's death.
The chaos afterward.
His responsibilities.
His training.
His officers.
Leone.
None of them mattered.
Not to her.
And standing there, looking at what the last six years had done to his sister, Levi wasn't sure they mattered to him either.
His voice softened.
"I don't want to argue."
Silvia looked away.
"Just tell me what happened."
She slowly sat again.
Levi did the same.
For several seconds, she stared at the floor.
"When you're homeless, you learn pretty quickly not to trust people who offer you something for nothing."
Levi remained silent.
"I was hungry. It was cold."
Her hands began trembling.
"There was a shelter."
Levi's expression darkened.
"They gave us food. Beds. Clean clothes."
"Us?"
"Girls."
She swallowed.
"Mostly girls."
Levi's jaw clenched.
"They weren't running a shelter."
Silvia shook her head.
"They were slave traders."
The room suddenly felt very small.
"They pose as shelters," Silvia continued. "Find girls who don't have families. Runaways. Orphans. People nobody will come looking for."
Her voice weakened.
"Then they sell them."
Levi's hands slowly curled into fists.
"What happened to you?"
"I escaped."
"How?"
"It doesn't matter."
"It matters to me."
Silvia looked at him.
"I escaped."
The finality in her voice stopped him from pressing further.
"But I've escaped before."
Levi frowned.
"What do you mean, before?"
Her composure finally began to crack.
"They always find me."
Levi felt cold.
"Every time I think I've gotten away, someone recognizes me. Someone tells them where I am."
Tears rolled down her cheeks.
"I change towns. I sleep outside. I hide."
Her breathing became uneven.
"And they always find me."
Levi pushed his chair back slightly.
He wanted to go to her.
To hold her.
But something about the way she recoiled into herself told him not to.
So he stayed where he was.
"I thought about going to the local officers," she continued.
"Why didn't you?"
Silvia laughed bitterly.
"Because some of them are customers."
Levi went still.
"Others get girls in exchange for looking the other way."
His expression hardened.
"The law doesn't protect people like me."
"That's not true."
Silvia looked directly into his eyes.
"It didn't protect me."
Levi had no response.
The Star Badge resting at his hip suddenly felt heavier than it ever had before.
He had worn it as a promise.
A promise to protect those who couldn't protect themselves.
And sitting across from him was the person he'd made that promise to long before he'd ever become a lawman.
His little sister.
Abandoned.
Hunted.
Terrified.
"I didn't know who else to turn to," Silvia whispered.
Her voice broke.
"You were the only one left."
Levi leaned forward.
His voice was low.
Controlled.
But beneath it burned something dangerous.
"You don't have to run anymore."
Silvia stared at him.
"Not from them. Not ever again."
He held her gaze.
"You're safe now, Silvia."
She laughed.
It was hollow.
"Safe?"
Levi's heart sank.
"Safety is something I gave up on a long time ago."
The words hurt more than any bullet ever could.
Levi wanted to tell her she was wrong.
That everything would be different now.
That her big brother was here.
But promises were cheap.
He had already broken one.
So this time, he wouldn't promise.
He would act.
"Where are they?"
Silvia hesitated.
"They run auctions every weekend."
"Where?"
"An old warehouse outside the capital."
Levi stood.
His expression had changed.
The guilt remained.
So did the pain.
But now they had direction.
"Then that's where this ends."
Station Corridor – Later
Levi moved through the station with purpose.
His coat hung over one shoulder. His sidearm rested at his hip alongside his Star Badge, and a small travel bag was already being packed in his quarters.
Three hours to the capital by express train.
Maybe less if the line was clear.
He rounded a corner.
Lily was waiting for him.
Levi stopped.
She folded her arms.
"You're going somewhere."
"Capital."
"When?"
"Three hours."
"For how long?"
"Don't know."
Lily's eyes narrowed.
Levi sighed.
"You'll hold Leone while I'm gone."
"Like hell I will."
He stared at her.
"Lieutenant."
"Captain."
"It's an order."
"And with all due respect, it's a stupid one."
Levi's eyebrow twitched.
"I appreciate the respect."
"You're welcome."
He tried to walk past her.
Lily stepped into his path.
"Not without knowing why."
"It's personal."
"Then make me understand."
Levi's jaw tightened.
He didn't have time for this.
"Slave traders."
Lily's expression immediately changed.
"They're after my sister."
Silence.
"Your sister?"
"Silvia."
"The woman who came into your office?"
Levi nodded.
Lily processed that for a moment.
"Where?"
"Outside the capital."
Her brow furrowed.
"That doesn't make sense."
Levi's expression hardened.
"What doesn't?"
"If this operation is as large as you're suggesting, it shouldn't be able to function openly that close to headquarters."
Levi's eyes narrowed.
"So you think she's lying?"
"No."
Lily's answer came immediately.
"I'm saying the capital isn't Leone."
Levi stared at her.
"Law enforcement there is stricter. Oversight is heavier. Five Points headquarters is practically on their doorstep. Senior officers, Council personnel, inspectors—people who would notice if women were regularly disappearing."
"Apparently they didn't."
"That's exactly my point."
Lily stepped closer.
"If your sister is telling the truth, this isn't just a group of slave traders."
Levi's anger cooled slightly.
She continued.
"Someone is protecting them."
The corridor seemed quieter.
"Maybe local officers are corrupt," Lily said. "Maybe it goes higher. Maybe there's something else we don't understand yet."
Levi's voice hardened.
"I grew up on the streets. I know exactly what people are capable of."
"I'm not questioning that."
"Sounds like you are."
"I'm trying to stop you from charging into an unknown situation because you're angry."
Levi stepped toward her.
"They hurt my sister."
"I know."
"They hunted her."
"I know."
"And I'm going."
"So am I."
Levi blinked.
"No."
"Yes."
"Someone has to protect this town."
Lily folded her arms.
"You trained these men."
"That's different."
"If you trained them even half as hard as you train me, they'll manage."
Levi opened his mouth.
Nothing came out.
Lily smiled faintly.
"That's why you pushed them so hard, isn't it?"
Levi looked toward the officers moving through the station.
Stone had taught him that lesson.
A leader who made everyone dependent on him wasn't protecting anyone.
He was creating a weakness.
Levi exhaled.
"They had to give me a lieutenant as stubborn as I am."
"Like you said..."
Lily smirked.
"Where you go, I go. Field or office."
Levi stared at her.
"You remembered that?"
"I document important statements."
"You're never letting the paperwork thing go, are you?"
"No."
Despite himself, Levi smiled.
Then the seriousness returned.
"We leave in three hours."
Lily nodded.
"I'll be ready."
Train to the Capital – Night
The train thundered through the darkness.
Its wheels hammered rhythmically against the rails as the engine pulled them eastward toward the capital.
Most of the passenger car had gone quiet.
Lily sat several rows away, reviewing what little information Silvia had given them.
Levi sat beside the window.
Outside, Leone's wilderness had disappeared into darkness.
Every so often, moonlight illuminated distant hills before they vanished again.
Levi stared at his reflection in the glass.
For years, he had told himself he'd done what needed to be done.
Stone died.
Leone needed someone.
He stepped forward.
He became stronger.
Became Captain.
Protected thousands.
But somewhere along the way, he had stopped asking what happened to the first person he'd ever sworn to protect.
Silvia.
He remembered her as a child.
Now all he could see was the woman sitting across from his desk.
You were all I had.
Levi closed his eyes.
This wasn't redemption.
Saving her now wouldn't erase six years.
It wouldn't undo the nights she'd spent hungry.
It wouldn't erase what those people had done to her.
It wouldn't give her back the brother she'd waited for.
But it was something.
A second chance.
And Levi wouldn't waste it.
His reflection stared back at him through the dark glass.
Silvia's voice echoed through his mind.
They always find me.
Then another.
Safe?
His hand slowly curled into a fist.
Safety is something I gave up on a long time ago.
The train thundered onward.
Levi opened his eyes.
Not anymore.