The Black market.

The hustle and bustle of the notorious Black Market filled his ears with the sounds of less than legal dealings, though he knew better than to attempt to cause any sort of scene here. Vega drifted through the streets of the forsaken section of Zaun with a purpose, and a certain glint in his dark eyes that betrayed a sense of morality. He despised this place, and he despised how rotten and corrupt his beloved city-state had become that good, honest guys like him were so easily broken and left in the toxic gutters with little more than the clothes on their back and their hard earned equipment to their name.

He had long been stripped of his badge, but since then he had worked his absolute hardest to bust every single criminal he had ever caught that was released due to the forged evidence against him. The raven haired vigilante had grown accustomed to using the information brokers that populated the Black Market in order to help him achieve his ends, to bring justice to those that had been released back into the wild streets of Zaun. But there was far too much crime for him to simply pursue any thug or ne'er-do-well, so he didn't bother. Even if he wanted to, he didn't have the resources to do it, even after all the busts from which he claimed the goods he found himself selling around here to make even the smallest of profit he could manage.

He had one final target. One more criminal that had escaped him all those years ago. His desire to see that man locked up and caged for his unforgivable crimes had not wavered, but he had to be careful. The Mad Chemist had proven himself all too able to stop him in his tracks if he made himself to public in his pursuit. For now, he would have to go through the shadows of the criminal underground, play by their twisted rules until opportunity struck.

For as long as he could remember since using the Black Market to bring justice, Vega had never known any authority to ever set foot in this sector. For that matter, he never knew anyone with enough guts to kill a man right in front of his face like the armored punk who had just crashed out of the nearest wall and now stood there like it was nothing to him to simply end another person's life. He had to admit, the guy had some major balls to do that, but he knew better than to try to act as the hand of justice that he truly tried to be.

"Hey, kid, you might wanna think about stashing that body before some guys you really don't want on your ass catch wind of what you did." He said, gruffly and nonchalantly. To be honest, he didn't have time to wast on the guy in front of him, and he'd rather not be around when the criminals went bonkers because of what happened to one of their own. Though there was no real loyalty amongst them, specific groups didn't like losing their members so easily.

Vega regarded the young man before him with a sneer as he took a moment to make note of the blade being pointed at him, and watched as a mask came up from behind his chestplate, apparently some form of hextech. "Don't get ahead of yourself, kid. You fail to realize how insignificant you are here. I can admire your desire to get rid of criminal scum, but you can't just go around killing any half-crazed bastard you find." His words held the edge of a man who possessed experience, and even the stubborn Andrei couldn't deny the conviction in his voice.

Looking around for a brief moment, Vega noticed with much chagrin that the boy before him had drawn the attention of some rather unpleasant looking criminals nearby. A band of six were heading towards them with purpose, as he drew the conclusion that they might have had ties to the one that Andrei just killed. "Dammit," he muttered under his breath, annoyed that they were too close in proximity for him to simply pretend that he had nothing to do with this mess. "Stupid kid, stirring up the wrong kinda trouble..." He immediately turned back to Andrei and gestured towards a nearby alley. "It'd do us no good to fight them, since it might be taken as a declaration of war. These types are real sensitive about authority-types mulling around where they're not wanted. So let's scram, you'll thank me later."

And with that, he said nothing more as he went to the alley while pulling Andrei along after him, whether the youth wanted to or not. He wouldn't take no for an answer, but they didn't need to start a fight in the middle of crime central.

When they were out of the clear, apparently the kid he just saved out of the goodness of his heart decided to repay that kindness by grabbing him by the shirt and pushing him back against the wall. The former police sergeant grunted at the impact, which wasn't life threatening, before glaring daggers back at the armored sentinel before him. "Tch! This how you thank someone who saved your life?" There was an edge to his voice now, making it clear that he was displeased with the way he was being man handled, but he didn't seem to be at all intimidated by the younger male.

At this moment he chose to take a better look at Andrei, the armor surrounding him, the blade that had been extended then retracted with seemingly a thought, the mask that rose out of the chest plate "You know, if I didn't know any better I'd say you were some kinda assassin.....And that'd make you no better than criminal scum. So you better let me go, before I get mad and decide to take you down..." Behind the veil of his read overcoat, his right hand soundlessly went to his holstered revolver, gripping it tight and ready to draw it should his attacker decide not to comply. He was trained for something like this, so it was almost second nature to him by now.

Finding himself now on the dirty ground, Vega growled lowly in irritation as the armored man crouched down and taunted him. Pure, unfettered rage boiled up from his gut and spread through his entire body, threatening to engulf him and drag him into darkness. But he wouldn't, and couldn't kill someone claiming to fight against the injustice of his native Zaun. So, instead of getting ready to fight, Vega slowly got to his feet, patted out the dirt that got on his coat, and scoffed at the young man. "Forget it, kid. You're not worth attracting the entire criminal underworld and jeopardizing my mission, so have fun dying while trying to play hero."

And with that, he gave one final grunt of disapproval before turning and walking away from Andrei, no longer having any desire to interact with him further. What a wonderful night this turned out to be, helping out a will-intentioned would be crime fighter by keeping him from getting killed in the worst part of Zaun.

Vega heard the shot ring out from behind him, the loud bang the gun made echoing throughout the alleyway the two men found themselves in. He immediately stopped in his tracks and looked down to find no exit hole from what he had assumed to be a real bullet, which to his surprise meant that his would be assailant had used a dummy round to attempt to spook him. If it weren't for the fact that he had been an officer long enough to be promoted to the rank of sergeant, and his many, many months of working through the criminal sector of Zaun, he might have actually shown some fear for his life.

Unfortunately for Andrei, however, there would be no satisfaction for the self-proclaimed anti-assassin as Vega merely turned his body slightly to glare back at him. "Kid, I dunno who you are or where you come from, but if your aim is to coax me into a gunfight then you're barking up the wrong tree. See, me, I don't pick fights with small dogs who ain't even grown into their canines yet. Now, you're making me regret saving you from the war you're trying to start, and I can't help but want to just leave you for dead since you don't seem to get it through your thick skull. Either way, if you don't quit acting out soon you're gonna end up pretty dead. I did you a service by keeping you from getting into a scrap with those guys, so don't go wasting your final chance at life by picking a fight with the one guy who would rather not see you die."

At this point he brought his left hand, a rather interesting piece of hextech in its own right, up to scratch the top of his head rather nonchalantly. He didn't have time to deal with this, but if he kept being challenged he didn't know how much longer it would be until it became a matter of pride to subdue the rambunctious armored rookie. He let out a long, exasperated sigh, as another thought came to his mind. The kid was starting to remind him of himself, back when he had first joined the force, and that just irked him even more. "You're being a pain in the ass, Kid. I'm warning you one last time, go home and stay out of trouble. You're giving good, honest cops a bad name with your antics."

Vega was too focused on putting distance between himself and Andrei to really pay attention, which was all it took for the former assassin to set up what he was about to do. However, he was almost completely certain that the younger man wouldn't let him walk away with another dummy shot, so it took all of his willpower to force himself to the wall just before the bang came, causing the bullet to whiz right by him. Sweat forming on his brow, and a foul feeling developing in his gut, he turned his head to glare down at the back of the rookie who had just tried to shoot him. "OI! Didja just shoot at me with my back turned?!"

That had done it. The kid had gone too far now. If there was one thing that Vega hated more than criminals, it was ungrateful bastards whose life he had just saved doing nothing but being a pain in the ass for him. That second shot was all that it took to bring the former police sergeant to a boil, his eyes narrowing as his right hand immediately went to and drew his revolver from its holster. Raising it up to aim at Andrei, however, he wouldn't allow the boy to walk away now that he'd fired the first real shot. It wouldn't matter, anyway, the entire Black Market would assume he'd just killed the one who had killed the earlier criminal. Without missing a beat, within the span of a few seconds, he had flicked the switch on the outer side of his weapon and fired an arcane bolt of electricity from the left lower barrel of his gun at the fleeing anti-assassin.