Chapter Text
"Little by little, a little becomes a lot."
– Tanzanian proverb
~~~
The days following Caitlyn's official order to remove Maddie from the mission, the young officer stewed. She had only wished to speak with the sheriff about Heimerdinger’s student, and his increasingly suspicious behavior. It was apparent that Ekko was brilliant and sharp, and hailing from the Underground, it didn’t surprise Maddie that he was also quite dexterous. But at some point in her pursuits to covertly follow him, she knew it wasn’t by chance that she seemed to always lose his trail.
The boy’s background was never divulged to the council, and it was a mystery as to why. Even for Viktor, a native to Zaun, many had known that he lived in Entresol and was born to a family of artisans, and had garnered an eager passion for engineering at a young age. It never sat well with Caitlyn’s subordinate that Ekko’s own past was unknown. Despite the sheriff's clear orders to halt the mission, Maddie made the distinct choice to continue. Something clawed at her; a feeling that the boy may have known something.
As the weeks came and went, and as she continued her mission in secret, she had begun to pick up patterns in his travels. He passed by squabbles of the war with such ease, so much so that it was even difficult for Maddie to contend. Despite her former assumptions, the boy may not have only been familiar evading conflict in the Undercity, he may have perhaps been familiar engaging in them too. Though, it was only speculation.
Still, the amount of distance she succeeded in following him for every trip only grew, as time went on. Until one late evening, as the woman crouched in a corner of a dark building, she noticed Ekko pause at a rooftop. He surveyed his surroundings for a moment, before turning to continue on. It was a new behavior that he hadn't exhibited before, and perhaps the first indication to the woman that Ekko may have known he was being followed.
Since that night, Maddie found it easier to pursue the boy. His travels became more leisurely, less stiff. And though she would still lose him by the end of it, she knew that she was getting close. She knew, if she continued to pursue his late night escapades, she would eventually reach the end of his line.