After Kuwei had been taken away, they'd mostly laid low until they found more information on where Kuwei or Inej might be.
A few days following their initial encounter with Pekka's men, Rotty reported back saying that there were Dime Lions patrolling a few storage rooms in the warehouse district – the same place where there were reported to be stolen Grisha. Nina had been able to recover in this time, and although she wasn't completely back to her old self, she was in much better condition. She, once again, insisted that she help out with getting Inej and Kuwei back; after all - according to her - even if she couldn't use her powers, she could still point a gun or use her fists just fine.
"Van Eck owns shares of a lot of things in the warehouse district – he probably has a free spot or two to keep Inej and Kuwei," Kaz had said. "We'll need to get close enough to figure out exactly which building it is, meaning that we need to know which ones are actually of Van Eck's property," he said, stroking his chin. Specht was standing behind him, his big arms folded over one other as they all listened to Kaz. "Specht," Kaz said, without turning around to look at him. "Holdings are public knowledge – they can be found at the Exchange. I want you to go there and figure out which buildings in the warehouse district Van Eck owns."
"I have other allies of the Dregs around the warehouse district keeping an eye on anything that seems odd which would point us in the right direction; no matter how secure Van Eck thinks he is, we have eyes in every corner that he isn't watching."
Jesper noticed that Kaz no longer made eye contact with him, instead fixing his cold gaze on everyone else. But Jesper didn't take it personally – he knew that was just Kaz being Kaz. Jesper had long given up trying to earn Kaz's approval or affection since Kaz had never given him anything; he always kept everything in, away from Jesper. It had been a futile effort, and Jesper had come to accept that.
While Specht and Rotty made their way to the financial district, Kaz had requested that Wylan make a couple of flash bombs – they still had enough supply of the other ones. He reluctantly agreed, not trusting Kaz's motives. Jesper was grateful, as Kaz hadn't given anyone else any orders.
Without anything better to do, he followed Wylan down to the demolitions lab. In Ketterdam, few buildings had basements due to the constant flooding of the city, but Kaz had insisted on building one after he took the Slat up into his own hands. Once Wylan joined them, he had it converted into a lab and all of Wylan's chemicals were brought there.
Jesper grasped a thin glass vial, filled with a transparent blue liquid as Wylan was looking through a box of glass bottles.
"What's this one do?" he said, swishing it around.
"Don't touch that," Wylan said, leaving his bag and running over to Jesper. "If it mixes with the oxygen in the air, it can explode all over your face."
"Wouldn't want that to be ruined, no?" Jesper replied, letting Wylan grab the vial from his hand and watched as he carefully set it down on the table.
Wylan let out a small laugh, a slightly nervous look on his face from Jesper's close call. "I think it's safe to say we don't want any explosions in here," he said, making his way back over to his box. He pulled out two decently-sized bottles, handing them to Jesper.
They both had no markings and a narrow opening that gradually expanded towards the bottom. Wylan, a flask in hand, gestured for Jesper to follow him, walking to the far end of the table which held the rows of chemicals and various instruments.
"I've always been fascinated at how you can make explosives with all of these random ingredients," Jesper noted, handing Wylan the bottles and leaning his weight against the table.
Wylan unscrewed the flask that he already had in hand, looking down as he meticulously poured some of it into the smaller of the two bottles that he had chosen. "They're not random. Everything in here has a purpose. You just have to figure out what works well together, and what doesn't," he said, looking up at Jesper. He grabbed another bottle, one with a cork in it. "I just need to add a little bit of this, and then I'll have enough to make a handful of flash bombs."
"Watching you flaunt your wit is adorable," Jesper teased with a grin.
Wylan took what appeared to be a wooden toothpick, dipping it into the mixture. The end of it dissolved, a gas rising up from the now missing end. "That's what'll happen to you if you're not careful."
Wylan stirred the contents of the clear bottle with a glass rod, holding it up to the lantern that was suspended at the ceiling.
Instead of responding to Wylan's demonstration, Jesper pulled him into his arms as he set down his concoction.
"Jesper, seriously. Not right now."
He shushed him, running his fingers through Wylan's hair. "Just appreciate it. In the moment."
Jesper couldn't help but smile as he felt Wylan relax, his head settling into his arms. He smelled, albeit faintly, of lavender and rosemary.
Jesper could hear Kaz's voice from somewhere nearby, causing him to look up. He quickly glanced up, seeing Kaz making his way down the basement steps, his cane clacking rhythmically with he boots. Wylan's embrace left him just as fast as it had come, and he hastily made his way back to the table of equipment.
"I didn't know that I sent you down here to have a cuddling session," he said.
Jesper felt Wylan abruptly pull away, leaving him feeling a little empty. "No, Kaz, that's not what it was-"
He watched as Wylan hastily grabbed a few bombshells, keeping his eyes focused as he hastily filled them with his mixture.
Kaz rolled his eyes, going back up the steps.
"Kaz always ruining everything…" Jesper muttered to Wylan through gritted teeth. "I'll go see what his problem is."
"No, Jesper, please don't-" he pleaded, but Jesper was already off after Kaz.