Wylan
It was an easy task taking out the watchtower lights. They were back and waiting for Kaz's return in no time.
Wylan watched as Kaz descended from the seaplane that Sturmhond had used to steal the titanium from the army base. He was convinced that it was for a worthy cause, even added his own ideas to the drawings that Sturmhond had provided. He almost asked about the person that drew them up but stopped short when he read Zoya's and Sturmhond's expressions. It was the same one he and his crew had when they lost Mathia's and thought better of it.
The pain still cut deep for him and prayed to the saints for Nina's sake she had moved on. When he looked upon Jesper he only knew that losing him would be losing a part of himself. Wylan knew better than to ask Kaz how it went and only took the box he held in his hand to know it went well. Jesper still had his cackling energy stifled a bit since he was practicing his fabricating route.
"What's in the box?" Jesper asked knowing he might not even get an answer, Wylan found that part of him enduring. "Something that might save Inej's life one day." Was Kaz's only response as he located the oxcart and tipped his hat at them as he went back to his life at the crow club leaving Jesper and Wylan to tend to the horses' something he was not looking forward to, Jesper grew up with horses, but Wylan could only think of them as creatures that were not meant to serve humankind in any way.
After having ridden back to the mansion and having the stable hands tend to the horses, they walked back to the mansion hand in hand. His mother was still painting in the back yard she still didn't say too much but he saw the life back in her eyes and whatever medication they had on her on was finally worn off. He had to taper her off gradually, but life was coming around in her eyes, but he didn't know if the gray in her hair was too permanent either way to she was the most beautiful woman to him.
Jesper held Wylan's hand a bit tighter to comfort him knowing he worried about his mom he squeezed back in appreciation for his concern. "Kaz looked pleased," Wylan noted as they entered the mansion together. Jesper agreed.
Wylan sucked in a breath and let it out slowly. "He gambled with our lives though to get it. I would do anything for Inej it's the only reason I agreed but we owe nothing more to Kaz." Jesper pulled his hand away from Wylan. "Wylan," Jesper said cautiously not knowing how to go on. "No, I am serious, if Zoya wasn't Suli Kaz assumed if she didn't speak the language of her father, we'd be dead meat." "That would mean putting his own life on the line you know Kaz he loves life better than anyone I know we were not in any danger." "Is that what you tell yourself whenever you go do a job for him?"
"We may have just prevented endless war for the Ravkans for people like me," Jesper responded. Wylan nodded. "I agree with you on that, we did a good thing, and I should be dancing in the victory of what we may have done for them for Inej but its Kaz I'm worried about the next thing he would expect you to do, the job you never come back from." Wylan moved closer to Jesper tentatively taking his hand again, Jesper let him. "Kaz has no one to answer to anymore and with his fortune comes more and more risk do you think there would be enough revenge in Ketterdam to satisfy him? He moves from one job to the next never taking a moment to savor his accomplishment. We've both known for a long time there's something wrong with him."
Jesper lead Wylan on a couch and breathed deeply through his nose to calm himself. "Wylan, I'm not going to remind you of what we have because of him, you've never asked me how I came to work for Kaz." It was true Wylan thought he had not. "I want you to ask me," Jesper said quietly. Wylan thought he had seen Jesper at his low, might have thought he'd seen him at his worst. Now Jesper wanted him to know him at his worst. "I thought he bought off your debt at the time and had you work it off," Wylan confessed not wanting to ask him. Jesper touched Wylan's face gently. "Please just ask me what Kaz actually did for me."
Wylan hesitated took a deep breath and asked him. "What did Kaz do for you?" Wylan felt Jesper move his hand away although he wanted the question Jesper still stiffened beside Wylan as though the mere memory brought him back there. "I owed money to some very bad people; I was at the casino playing every credit I had to my name. I felt so close to the money that would…. Change everything until my debtors came back for me finding me." Jesper shivered as he relived his past.
Jesper
Jesper has gotten surprisingly good at living life in the barrel a lot better than at the dorms. Whether or not he had a roof over his head was debatable at best, but he knew how to look out for people who wanted to Jump him and find ways around them. He was stronger than people thought so when he couldn't evade them, he fought till he had pistol's out than they were just dead.
Jesper was always cautious leaving the casino's being tall made him stick out more, and he knew he owed a lot of money to some unbelievably bad people, but he loved the spin of makkers wheel more than he feared the people who wanted his money. He worked for gang members and had a little kruge in his pocket, so he felt good when out of nowhere he felt arms pinned against him. He didn't get a chance to draw out his guns because two men had his arms pulled out. He cried out but a rag was stuffed in his mouth and being dragged somewhere.
He let his guard down he cursed himself stupid. He tried to fight the men, but they were burly, and he was punched in the stomach for his effort he tried to double over but he was righted up before he had the chance. One had hair like straw that stuck up in complete disorder the color of gray and dingy, and the other one reeked. They desperately needed a shower.
He heard a shout from somewhere nearby, it sounded of gravel if it could talk. He was too busy thinking of the beating he was going to endure when he felt first his right hand being released than his left. Something was being swung a flash and his captures were writing on the ground in pain. He was dropped to the ground unceremoniously. "You going to sit on your ass all day?" He heard the gravelly voice ask. He dared a look as he sprang to his feet the men were spitting blood on their hands and knees. Jesper kicked one in the head for good measure, it was for the punch to the gut.
The man standing before him was tall but not as tall as Jesper. His skin was pale, but it was his eyes that unnerved Jesper beyond his good looks. The color of deep dark brown. "Come." He heard as Kaz started walking leaning onto his walking stick. The weapon he used to beat the two men he realized. Although he walked with a limp, he was fast, so Jesper had to jog to keep up. "Where are we going?" Jesper asked as they went through stores, Alley's abandoned apartments. Kaz ignored him.
"Who are you?" Jesper asked but again the man said nothing but continued following regardless until they were in front of crow club. He knew the crow club well as it was one of the places where he lost a lot of money. "Kaz Brekker." Jesper said. "You know of me. Good, come to my office." He said opening the front door of the crow club. Jesper followed and almost went down to the floor of the betting pools forgetting himself when Kaz stopped him with his crows' cane. It was a swift movement much like he used on the men who had Jesper. He pulled it away gesturing for him to go up the stairs.
"For a man who's handicapped I'd have thought they wouldn't make you walk up all those stairs." Jesper said more out of bitterness that he was stopped from his own true love. "I saved you from one beating, you might want to hold your tongue before you get a beating from me." Kaz said. "And I hit harder I promise you that." He held Jesper's gaze with his shark eyes making a shiver in his spine. "Sorry." Jesper said lowering his head.
Without another word he led Jesper to his office. Kaz lit a candle allowing light into the room on what Jesper supposed could be called a desk, stacks off wooden boxes and a door as the surface. Kaz sat down on a chair suppressing a groan letting his bad leg out. "Jesper Fahey." Kaz said making Jesper jump. "How do you know my name?" Jesper asked. "When a sharpshooter comes to town who never misses his mark, one's name tends to be brandied about." Kaz responded. "There's a hit out on you kid." Jesper tried to read the expression on Kaz's face to understand what a hit was, but Kaz's face never changed expressions once. "The men who grabbed you, they were going bring back your corpse for the man hired to kill you." Kaz replied. "You owed him money and he figured it was worth the expenditure to kill you." Kaz groaned as Jesper's legs gave out on him.
Jesper felt as Kaz jumped up and grabbed him by the shoulders easing him against the wall that is when he noticed Kaz's leather gloves. "Use the wall for support I am not going to carry you." Jesper leaned against the wall as instructed breathing hard. Kaz quickly let go as though he was hot to the touch. "If you're going to faint, I suggest you lower yourself to the floor kid, which is if you don't want a concussion." "Is this your way of telling someone he is a dead man walking?" Jesper managed to say his mouth felt dry.
"Your benefactor met an untimely end." Kaz said. "That would be a good place to start when telling someone that they had a hit out on him." Jesper said relief flooding through him. "You were gaging my reaction seeing how I handle stress." Jesper realized. "Also, your gullibility there was no hit." Kaz replied. "Don't believe everything you hear men who want money tend not to kill those whom they can profit from. It's not good for business." "Saints." Jesper breathed pushing himself off the wall. "Why in the hell did you bring me here? Why did I even follow you?" Jesper wondered aloud. "Thanks for saving me from a beating but I'm off."
Jesper made to leave but Kaz got in his way before he could. He might have tried, however, the cane Kaz used with uncannily good precision was in his hand. "You refused to join gangs before only doing enough to get paid. I want you to join us the dregs." "Why? And how would I benefit from joining when I have my pick of litters whenever I want." He hated being told what to do it was the primary reason he never joined up. "First the pay is good any job you do would be my jobs. Second, we have a place you can stay where you never have to sleep under a bridge again, and third, I proved myself to be a useful source to have whenever you want out of a beating. Once you get our tattoo no gang will dare lay hands on you." "What's it looks like?" Jesper asked. Kaz showed him his crow drinking out of a nearly empty cup. "Before you get the tattoo, you're going to have to meet Per Haskell, my boss, yours too if you say yes," Kaz said confidently now he had the sharpshooter's attention. Kaz once again sat in his chair. "You may leave. But be back tomorrow by 2 pm." He opened a ledger that was sitting on the desk pretending to read it. Jesper stayed a couple of minutes.
"Do you ordinarily hire men who fail your tests?" He finally asked. Kaz looked at him. "who said anything about you failing? Your legs gave out Jesper even when you're falling you can aim, one can hope" He spoke.
"Should I trust you Kaz Brekker?" Jesper asked, "The deal is the deal." Kaz Brekker spoke back, Jesper repeated him putting his hands on his revolvers at his waist.
Wylan
"He protected you the same way Kaz protected me," Wylan murmured. "Yeah. I was put under the dregs protection ever since that night." Wylan stood up. "But you earned every protection he put you under. How long would Kaz of lived if not for the weapons that never fail because of what you are?"
"You can rationalize it as much as you please, but you know he would never come to me if he had anyone else to count on and I won't let him die. In a ruthless city such as this, Kaz was my protection." After a brief pause, Jesper added. "Our protection."
Wylan sighed he had a feeling this is where the conversation would lead to, yet he had to try. He sat again next to Jesper. "I never forgot what Kaz did for me, or us," Wylan said. "Does he really have to come around when he needs something?" Jesper laughed at that. "Do you really envision him holding a conversation?" Wylan gave in on that. "He could pretend he's negotiating." Wylan protested the smile on his lips telling it was a joke. Jesper laughed again. "He can sure put up an act when he wants to." He agreed. Jesper pulled Wylan into his lap, kissing him lightly on the lips feeling Wylan press back.
Please read and review
