Jesper watched the sun set from a wooden box in the alley behind Holden. As he waited, he cleaned and polished his revolvers. He had just about gotten them to shine enough to see his face before Wylan walked up.
"Where's Kaz?" Wylan asked, looking around, hand clutching the strap of his messenger bag.
Jesper stood and holstered his gun. "Your guess is as good as mine." His tone and expression were easy, but behind his eyes was a smoldering concern.
"What do you think is up with him? Is he usually like this?"
"No." Jesper said simply.
A few minutes passed in uneasy quiet before Kaz materialized from the dark.
"What business?" Jesper asked with an edge of sarcasm.
Kaz turned to Wylan without acknowledging Jesper. "We're pulling you out of the deal with the Shu. They know about us."
Wylan frowned. "What? How?"
"I'm working on that." Kaz said.
"Is that where you've been the past three weeks?" Jesper asked.
Kaz shot Jesper a sour look.
Wylan glanced between them. He could tell the older boy was peeved and hoped it wouldn't come to another fight without Mattias or Colm to break them up. With a jolt of fear, Wylan realized he would have to break them up.
Jesper didn't meet his eye.
"So what have you found then?" Wylan asked, trying to calm the tension.
Kaz looked back at Wylan. "They're onto you. They somehow know that we're planning to trick them and they're going to use the deal to lure you in and dispose of you."
Despite how many times Wylan had nearly shaken hands with death, the thought still unsettled him. "What should we do then?"
"And what does this have to do with me?" Jesper asked. "If you're going to keep pointedly ignoring me, why ask me to come?"
He had a point, Wylan thought. Although, knowing Kaz, he also knew that there must be some purpose for Jesper being there beyond just decoration and company.
"Because you're the only one of us who has been to college." Kaz sighed.
Jesper laughed. "Yeah. For a semester."
"But you still took law and business classes. Enough for us to scrape by."
"Scrape by in what?" Wylan asked.
"A trial." Kaz finally said.
Jesper raised his hands in mock helplessness. "Again, I only took one semester. And I was asleep or hung-over for most of the classes I did attend."
"You'd better hope you remember something helpful then." Kaz gave Jesper a glare that made Wylan wonder what could have happened between them to spark this much animosity.
"Listen, man. You need to cool it before one of us snaps and pulls out a gun." Jesper said with a dangerous flicker in his eye.
Kaz took a step closer, unbothered by the height the other boy had over him. "You really want to threaten me Fahey? Haven't you tagged along long enough to know what happens to people who threaten Dirtyhands? I have a pile of secrets locked in a basement just waiting to surface-"
Jesper pushed Kaz against the wall. "I'm your friend, you stuck up son of a bitch. You can't threaten me like that."
Kaz grinned, "oh? Trust me, there are very few things I can't do."
Jesper scoffed. "Like hold hands with a girl?"
This time it was Kaz who lashed out. Before Jesper could blink, a sharp knife sliced through the air at his cheek.
"Guys!" Wylan shouted. A sudden pain flared in his chest and he coughed. Jesper and Kaz kept at it. "GUYS!"
They both looked over at him, more startled by the sudden noise than any sense of respect.
Now that he had their attention, Wylan no longer felt unsure of what he would say. "If the Shu are on to us, we can't be at each other's throats! I don't know what kind of drama happened between you two, but put it behind you. Jesper, you know Kaz is a stuck up angry SOB. Stop expecting him to be cuddly and sweet." Jesper looked affronted, but didn't say anything. "And Kaz, you know Jesper is temperamental. Stop pushing each other's buttons!"
"Wy-" Jesper began.
"No. I'm talking now-"
Kaz frowned. "Wylan."
"What!?" he snapped. Then he felt it. His neck stung and he reached up to feel a dart protruding from his throat. Violent coughs wracked his body. Jesper dove forward as Wylan blacked out.
Before either boy could move, a figure materialized out of the mist. Kaz drew his cane up for attack, but felt a prick in his neck before he could swing. Jesper only barely touched his gun before he was down too.