KAZ
Kaz walked into the Slat with a spring in his step. Well, not necessarily a spring, but his leg didn't feel as heavy as usual. He limped through the throng of thugs and thieves and made his way up to his office. He sat at his desk and idled with an ink pen, spinning the cap around his fingers. He waited.
"Kaz." The soft, musical voice that Kaz longed to hear.
Kaz took a moment to school his features into a neutral expression, then turned around to face the girl perched on his windowsill. "Inej." He paused, unable to keep the slightest smile tugging the corner of his mouth in control. "What business?"
Inej's lips curved into a smile. "None, besides of conversation."
Kaz leaned back into his chair. Dirtyhands wouldn't have done this, wouldn't have dropped his guard on one of the most skilled people in Ketterdam. But Kaz had managed to ward away his cold, calculating mind when in his office, and his mind would start wandering a bit. He would start thinking. What if he dropped his guard? What if his trust in Inej was so complete, he would trust her with everything he had? What if Inej wanted him the way he wanted her? His chest hurt to think of such treacherous thoughts, but he thought them anyway. Sometimes.
"Converse with you I will." Kaz finally allowed a full smile to break his stone features. It was too hard not to. "So… there's a new gang romping around the Barrel."
Inej leaned forward, interest gleaming in her dark eyes. "Go on." Even if she didn't still live in the Slat, Kaz knew she still tried to keep all her knowledge up to date.
"Called Goldfishers, led by a neophyte, Anton Kissin, brawler from Novyi Zem. That's all I've got so far."
Inej raised a dark eyebrow, causing Kaz an unfamiliar feeling in his chest. "Are you so sure?"
"So sure of what?" Her eyes. They were so dark. He felt like she was staring into his soul, and there was no way he could stop her.
"So sure he's a neophyte. He may not be as amateur as you think him to be."
"Perhaps. I don't know enough."
Inej sighed. "If you want me to go on surveillance, you could just ask me directly. You should ask me directly."
Kaz ran a hand through his hair, then dropped it and fiddled with the ink pen, his long fingers fidgeting. "You know me so well. Fine, then. Will you check on this new gang for me?"
Inej waited. There was silence for a moment. Then Kaz remembered. "Please," he drawled, elongating the syllables.
There. A quick smile. "Alright, Kaz. I'll be back in a bit." Then she jumped out the window, as though she were flying.
When she was gone, Kaz drew out a long sigh. What was he going to do about the girl that now plagued his heart?