"What are your names?"
Keenly aware something was fundamentally wrong with the official narrative, Caitlyn chose not to bring the two back to the Piltover Enforcer station. Instead, she immediately began questioning them in the field.
She pulled out a leather-bound notebook and pen to document their testimony, knowing this conversation could become evidence.
Normally, an interrogation required at least two officers of the law present for legal validity, but she had Jayce beside her as a witness.
A Council member's presence was more than sufficient to legitimize any proceedings and silence potential bureaucratic criticism.
"Levi."
"Aria."
She carefully jotted down their names and continued, "What's your relationship? Where are you from originally?"
"Brother and sister, from Ionia."
Her pen froze mid-sentence. She looked suspiciously at the siblings.
"Ionians? Why would you travel all the way to Piltover from such a distant land? What secret purpose brought you here? Speak the complete truth!"
"Purpose?" Levi let out a bitter laugh.
"Noxian raiders invaded our homeland, captured us during their expansion campaign, and sold us as human chattel here to Piltover's industrial district. And now you, a sworn law enforcer of this supposedly progressive city, are asking us what kind of shady agenda we slaves might have? Don't you think that's utterly absurd?"
He sneered with the kind of contempt that comes from witnessing too much hypocrisy. His face was crisscrossed with scars from years of abuse, and when he smiled bitterly, they looked like centipedes crawling across his skin.
"You're lying. There are no slaves in Piltover."
Caitlyn didn't believe him for a moment. Piltover, internationally known as the City of Progress, had long ago officially abolished such backward, ignorant systems like slavery.
So, this had to be some kind of elaborate deception or misunderstanding. Anything else? Out of question!
"Hahaha, the other workers were absolutely right, you Piltovans really are the pinnacle of hypocrisy. You call this the City of Progress? The real City of Progress is below us, Zaun!"
Levi wore a mocking smile that didn't reach his eyes, and fury burned in his eyes.
"Openly insulting Piltover's government and reputation, I will officially record this offense. You will face legal consequences for sedition."
"Sedition? Piltover and there pretty words. I don't even know what that means, hahaha!"
Caitlyn remained expressionless. Law enforcers often encountered uncivilized criminals making wild accusations. The law and Stillwater Hold would teach them proper respect for authority.
"You mentioned your other workers, are you part of some organized resistance movement?"
Having recorded Levi's new criminal charge, she continued the interrogation.
Through their hidden communicator, Cipher's voice came through clearly: [Levi, you're losing control. That won't help either of you survive this. From now on, answer her questions exactly as I instruct you.]
Sensing Levi's unstable emotional state threatening to derail the entire operation, Cipher intervened immediately. His words were like a bucket of ice water dumped over Levi's head, shocking him back to think clearly.
He glared at Caitlyn, took several deep breaths, and suppressed his anger before calmly repeating Cipher's message.
"My sister, myself, and hundreds of other workers were all captured by Noxian slave raids from across the world."
"Demacia, Ionia, Bilgewater, Shurima, there are people from every nation you can imagine."
"We were purchased by subcontractors from the Noxians, then sold to Piltover enterprises under the legal fiction of employment contracts."
"We're forced to work at designated factories every day from dawn to dusk. We have no freedom of movement, no wages, no rights. We live in conditions worse than you'd treat livestock, our very lives are held in the hands of the overseers."
"If anyone tries to disobey orders or question treatment, the overseers will torture them to death in front of all the other indentured workers as an example."
"Yes, maybe we're not officially called slaves, we're 'indentured laborers,' and the overseers aren't called 'slave masters' but 'employment coordinators.' But what difference does it make?"
Levi asked Caitlyn directly, his eyes reddening once more as traumatic memories surfaced. He stared at her intently.
Caitlyn said nothing for a long moment. Her training in interrogation psychology told her one thing: Levi was telling the truth, no matter how much she wanted to reject it.
"Did you not seek help from law enforcers when this abuse occurred? Those overseers and business owners who break the law, we are sworn to deal with them."
After a long pause, she finally spoke.
"Huff… huff… huff…"
Levi was breathing heavily, barely keeping himself from losing complete emotional control as rage and despair warred in his chest.
He looked at Caitlyn like she was a naive child who'd never seen the real world, scoffing coldly at her ignorance.
He wanted to curse her out for being willfully blind but managed to hold back the worst of his anger. Instead, he repeated Cipher's words:
"I have to remind you, the indentured labor system is completely legal here in Piltover under current municipal law."
"Not only do law enforcers refuse to help us, they actively protect the legal rights of the overseers to maintain their human property. When indentured workers attempt to escape, enforcers routinely assist in recapturing them."
"During those captures, if an indentured worker hesitates, moves suspiciously, or doesn't cooperate fast enough with their own re-enslavement, law enforcers won't hesitate to shoot them dead on the spot."
"After all, for indentured workers who have no hope left in life, death might actually be a merciful release. The dead ones might even have to thank the enforcers for ending their suffering…"
The mockery on Levi's face deepened into something approaching pity for Caitlyn's ignorance.
"That's enough!"
Caitlyn cut him off sharply, then turned to Jayce with hope for contradiction.
"Is what he said about the indentured labor system actually true, Councilor Talis?"
She practically spat the formal title through gritted teeth.
Her face was pale with disbelief, she could hardly imagine that Jayce would have knowingly approved such a monstrous policy.
"The Council did vote to approve the implementation of the indentured labor system," Jayce admitted heavily, his shoulders sagging, "but I swear I remember the original proposal having completely different intentions."
"It was supposed to address Piltover's labor shortage while providing legitimate employment opportunities to people from less economically developed regions, to help them build better lives through honest work."
His expression was grave as he grappled with how thoroughly he'd been deceived. The indentured labor system had clearly deviated completely from its stated humanitarian purpose.
How could I have been so blind? So naive about how these things actually work in practice?
A few years ago, after Zaun gained independence and its workers were no longer available for exploitation, Piltover's factories faced severe shortages of cheap labor.
Hiring actual Piltovans required paying minimum wages and following labor protection laws, and Piltovans themselves refused to perform the most dangerous and degrading industrial work.
So the industrial leaders had banded together and submitted a carefully crafted proposal for the indentured labor system to the Council, complete with humanitarian justifications.
In the feasibility reports and project plans submitted by those business owners, the entire system was framed as charitable work, meant to rescue the desperately poor from underdeveloped areas and give them opportunities for advancement.
Jayce hadn't noticed any problems with the proposal at the time, trusting that his fellow Council members had properly vetted the details. He had genuinely thought the indentured labor system was another progressive welfare policy, similar to the social programs he'd heard about in reformed Zaun.
Besides, as the Chief Engineer of Hextech development, he had been overwhelmed with technical responsibilities and hadn't had time to follow up on the implementation. Who would have thought the reality would become this horrific?
"Jayce, this must be thoroughly investigated and brought to light. Piltover's justice must not be corrupted by this kind of systematic abuse. Do you understand what I'm saying?"
Caitlyn took a deep breath.
One look at Jayce's stricken face told her he had been completely manipulated, the indentured labor system probably wasn't directly his fault, though his negligence had enabled it.
That would make sense with everything she knew about his character. He was naive and sometimes arrogant, but he wasn't the kind of person who would knowingly commit such despicable acts for political gain or profit.
"I understand. I'll support you with every resource at my disposal. I won't tolerate anyone standing in the way of Piltover's progress!"
Jayce lacked political experience, but he wasn't fundamentally stupid about human nature.
From Caitlyn's words alone, he immediately understood what she meant.
For the indentured labor system to have become this systematically brutal and dehumanizing, completely disregarding the basic rights of workers, it must have had the backing of powerful figures throughout Piltover's government, possibly including other Council members with significant financial interests.
Caitlyn wanted to launch a full investigation, but it would be extremely dangerous for both of them.
Jayce even felt that, despite offering her his full support, uncovering the whole truth might not be easy at all.