Inej Ghafa

Inej had thought Kaz's description of Jesper had been the man's first attempt at a joke. But seeing a Zemeni man wearing a suit and vest of bright colours she realized it was merely a very apt description.

"Jesper?" She approached him and smiled slightly as he jumped and spilled his drink on the counter. He hadn't noticed her leaving the office and approaching him.

"Where did you spring from?" He eyed her in false suspicion.

"I'm Inej, Kaz said to go to you for details of tomorrow's job."

"Most people would wait until tomorrow."

"Call me prompt." Talking to Jesper was different from Roeder or Kaz, the man had a smile with everything he said, as if this was a friendly conversation instead of a plan for a robbery. For all of her doubts about joining the Dregs, she felt as if she suited the mood more than Jesper.

"Ah, that must be why Kaz likes you."

"I don't think Kaz likes anyone." If Kaz Brekker felt anything other than mild annoyance with her, Inej would be surprised. The man seemed to view everything and everyone through one lens, how they could be of use to him. It had only been three days, but she knew she was not proving her worth.

"See you say that, but how many of these dredges have been trained by Kaz personally?" He raised his eyebrows at her.

"What?"

"Well unless you're doing something else in…. ouch! Yep, okay deserved that. Moving on!" He rubbed the back of his head where she had hit him, her face was in a scowl and her eyes flashed dangerously. He remained in what seemed to be his consistent state of not phased.

"The plan, Jesper."

"Fine fine the plan, but you're getting the tipsy version and you can blame your promptness for that." He laughed and skulled back the rest of his drink.

The plan as it turned out was straightforward and not quite a robbery so much as a meeting? Kaz had plans and permission from Haskell to renovate and revamp The Crows Club, a currently dingy and hole in the wall club that, although in The Dregs territory, had run mostly unused. For whatever reason, the club had been mortgaged out a few months before to a local Merchant. This meeting was to discuss the paying off and reestablishment of the club. Inej did not understand why she was even needed, it was clear from Jesper's guns by his hips that he would be needed for a backup of sorts, a precaution, but how would she be of any use in a meeting?

"Kaz wants you as a lookout, he said you can get on the roof, and he needs someone watching in case anything goes south."

It seemed frustratingly simple, any feelings of accomplishment she had after her training was ebbing away, it seemed as if she was just a tag along.

"Oh, come now, you've had one day of training, you thought you'd be leading a heist? A spider's job is to sit and watch isn't it?"

"I was good enough to dodge his hits." She protested as if arguing with a sibling, what was it with Jesper making her want to retort.

Jasper laughed so loud her ears hurt, "Oh now that's funny, and tell me what end of the cane he used?"

Her frustrated silence spoke volumes and his laughter increased drying off into chuckles.

"Right, when he goes at you with the head then you'll have bragging rights, Kaz didn't become Dirtyhands by tapping at people with his cane Inej."

"And how pray tell, did I become Dirtyhands Jesper?"

The colour drained out of Jesper's face and the chuckle was more nervous.

"Oh, what's that Anika? Sorry Boss business calls." He winked at Inej and dodged around her to move through the room, putting as much distance between himself and Kaz as possible.

Inej hadn't heard him approach, which was a surprise, for her at least.

"I thought I said to get details of the job."

"I got the details." He had a way of making her feel as if she was letting him down and she was still unsure why she was meant to care if she did. She cared if she let down herself, her saints, her parents' wishes for her. But why did she care if she let down Kaz Brekker?

"Well then maybe you should stop seeking gossip about me and return to your room."

"You think too highly of yourself." The words came out before she had thought of them, surprising herself.

His eyes seemed to cloud as he stared her down, taking a step forward and setting off every alarm her body had, as if all-natural instinct were stopping to scream the word danger at her.

"Perhaps you don't think highly enough. Go." The last word was sharp through the rasp of his voice, a command.

She left, glad to be out of the aura he radiated.

But Inej did not go to her room, still mildly irritated that he had scolded her as if she were a child. She found her way out of the Slat and moved along the windowsills. She wasn't sure what she was searching or listening for, her go to when frustrated had always been to keep moving. That was what she did until the sound of Kaz's voice drifted to her, and she moved until she was crouched by the window it had drifted from. Haskell's office.

Haskell was speaking,

"So, I've spent my money on a girl's indenture with the promise that she would be useful to our operations, and yet so far all that's been reported to me is she's attacked one of my men and can't pull her own weight, what is the point of this gamble Kaz?"

"My money. It was my mistake to have a girl straight from the menagerie go into training with one of our men, I am training her, and she is learning quickly. In the time since she has been here, Inej has managed to hide from one of our spiders for the entire day, sneak up on Jesper and break into my room with no trace." Kaz's voice revealed no emotion, only determination, he spoke clearly, laying out facts. Inej stayed perched under the window, hardly expecting him to come to her defence.

"So, you take responsibility, do you? For Roeder's black eye, for if this goes south?"

"If Roeder wants to complain about getting hit, I'll happily show him how to shut up. If you think this is a gamble, then it's my gamble."

"I'll hold you to that."

"I expect nothing less."

She heard the tapping that signalled Kaz leaving the office.

She moved up until she was pulling open her own window and slipping inside her room. She kept her door locked when she was not there, she rarely used the door to leave so it was not an issue. Having the security of this meant more than she could express.

She was only in her room for a moment before she heard the footsteps and the single rap that indicated Kaz at her door.

A pit fell in her stomach, surely not, she had made no sound. Still, she opened the door and was met with a scowl.

"I don't suppose Jesper remembered to give you time for the job?"

She could have sighed in relief, "No he didn't."

"Ten bells, don't be late."

"I won't."

He nodded and turned to leave.

"One more thing." His words made her pause in the shutting of her door.

"You heard nothing that I didn't want you to hear. Don't try to eavesdrop on me again."

And he was walking off, not looking back to see her shock.

Kaz Brekker

Jesper was late, and Kaz was wishing he had followed through on betting on this exact situation. Jesper would have taken the bet too.

Inej stood near him, her back against the wall.

"Will he make you late?" She asked.

"For that to be possible I would have had to have told him the correct time to meet, which would make me a fool."

"Say it isn't so!" Jesper was approaching them, shrugging on his jacket as he came.

"No."

Kaz scowled at Jesper and led the way out of the Slat. The two walked on either side of him, his mind was on the meeting. If this went well, he would be another step in establishing himself as the natural leader of the Dregs, making the inevitable coup against Haskell more possible than ever. Making it easier to knock down Rollins. Brick by brick, he thought to himself bitterly, brick by brick.

"When I called this field training I meant it, Inej stay on the roof, listen and watch, Jesper you're inside with me."

"What am I listening for?"

"If you need to ask…"

"Shut up Jesper, anything you think I need to know." He knew she could stay on the roof, knew she could remain hidden, this was to see how well she could pick up potentially valuable information.

As they reached the building, he nodded to Inej who looked nervous but stepped back into the shadows, gone in a moment.

"Are you sure she's not actually a ghost?"

Kaz would roll his eyes if Jesper wasn't still squinting at the shadows in disbelief. "Shut up Jesper, prepare yourself."

"Ah yes, better steady my guns in case the ink runs out while you're signing the lease."

He didn't know why he brought him along, every single time.

They entered the building, up the cursed stairs and into the office. The owner was seated behind the desk, already showing Kaz that he was entirely too comfortable.

"Mr Brekker, how do you know what I've done with the place?"

"As charming as a wreck can be."

"A wreck? I've looked after this place well since Haskell signed it over."

Kaz stood in front of the desk, pointedly ignoring the seat available, Jesper was silent at his side.

"Housed the Dime Lions in it?"

The swallow was audible to everyone in the room, "Business is business Mr Brekker, money talks no matter where it's from."

"Well, isn't that admirable," Kaz observed his own gloves on one hand, flicking a pen into it and an envelope. "Per Haskell is willing to offer you 10000 Kruge for this dump."

"I bought it for twice that Brekker and you know it!"

Kaz looked up quickly and stared down the lump of a man sat before him, "It's worth nothing if all our clients know is the Dime Lions have been shacked up in here with any whore they came across for the past month, Pekka Rollins isn't paying you half of that to harbour his men. In my opinion Mr Visser, you should take this deal, or take the ashes when a fight with the Dime Lions goes wrong." His voice hardened, making it clear that if he didn't take the deal, a fight would go wrong. He slapped the pen on the table and pushed it towards him.

Visser looked furious and it almost made Kaz smirk in satisfaction, "Money first then." He spat out.

Kaz tutted, "You'll get your money when I see your signature handing the lease over, on my word."

"And what is that worth Dirtyhands," Visser muttered to himself, but he signed the paper and Kaz grabbed and folded it into his coat.

"My words, my words." He slid the money over and watched as Visser counted it and put it into his left pocket.

"Well, I can't say it's been a pleasure."

"Oh really? Well, that is a shame, Mr Visser," Kaz gave a cruel smile and his hand-tossed his cane up, he swung it across and smashed the head into Visser's skull, knocking him to the ground. "Because it has been an absolute pleasure for me."

"Boys!" Visser shouted, Jesper, swung and shot at the men who ran to the doorway, shooting them down before they could reach for their guns.

Kaz moved around the desk and pulled the bleeding Visser to his feet, taking care to not touch the filths skin as he moved him backwards.

"You bring Pekka Rollins men into our territory and then ask us to pay you? Oh no, Mr Visser, it was a pleasure indeed."

"Please! Please! I know things, I'll tell you anything!"

"Coward, goodbye Mr Visser."

The window smashed as Kaz pushed him back and swung his cane through, sending Visser through the window.

"It's time to go!" Jesper cleared the doorway as they moved and exited through the stairs, the adrenaline easing the pain of his leg as he went, smashing down anyone who dared to get back up as they went.

Inej appeared next to them as they exited.

"What happened?"

Kaz snapped at her, at least she had the good sense to keep moving with them whilst asking irrelevant questions. "How many men?"

"What?"

"How many men Inej!"

"Five, two further at the end of the building and three behind it."

"You're certain?"

"I can count."

"Jesper get them and don't say you're out of bullets. Inej stay with me."

"Four bullets Kaz, you could have bloody warned me."

"Go." He snapped the order and Jesper turned, guns swinging.

They kept moving and Kaz waited as they moved, he knew the last man was pursuing but he needed her to say it first, needed to know she could sense others better than he could.

"Kaz, ahead, there's a man waiting, one from the building."

That was what he had been waiting for, "Left or right?"

"Left."

As they approached Kaz braced himself onto his good leg and slammed his cane to the left, the crack of bones breaking told him he had hit his mark. The man crumpled forward under his broken legs, slumping forward, and hitting the ground out of the shadows, face first. Kaz took one last hit against his head for good measure and continued moving, as if he had swatted a fly out of their path.

Inej stumbled to a near stop at the sight of the body, "Keep moving." Kaz rasped, resisting the urge to push her forward with his cane, simply because getting blood on her may slow her down further.

"He's dead…"

"Forward Inej." He ordered her and she jerked into motion, keeping up with his pace.

They walked in silence, Kaz leading to the back door of the Slat, Jesper joined them as they entered, whistling a jaunty tune.

"A simple meeting, he tells us, isn't that what you heard Inej? It's what I heard but hey maybe the gunpowder is blocking my ears."

"If you take everything, I say at face value Jesper than I would say it's damaging more than just your ears." His mood had brightened at the events of the knight, his investments paying off and money in his pockets.

"Ah my mistake, next time you tell me it's a simple signing of a lease, I'll know you mean 'I'm going to throw someone through a closed window, bring more bullets.'"

"That would be a start." Was Kaz's shrewd reply, he was choosing not to make eye contact with Inej as she processed everything she had witnessed. He had already decided she was capable, he wondered if she was deciding that too?

They had entered the building and moved to Kaz's office before she finally spoke, having ignored any of Jesper's attempts to coerce words or a smile from her before.

"So, it was for nothing? You just take the club back now that man is dead?"

Kaz laid the lease on the table and the envelope of money he had taken from Visser's pocket before disposing of him.

"I have the lease and I have 10000 Kruge to return to Haskell, call it profit. If you have a problem with what you saw tonight, I'd suggest getting over it quickly because you are going to see much worse and once you finish your training it may be your clothes and face stained with blood."

Inej's jaw clenched, and she seemed to be thinking furiously but said nothing, Kaz counted out notes from the pile and slid a small pile towards Inej and a smaller one to Jesper, Jesper looked hopeful for a moment, but Kaz shot him a sharp look and he sighed, taking his money. Kaz didn't need to open his mouth to remind Jesper that his cut was halved as he repaid back debts that seemed never-ending. Inej seemed stunned to see the money, her hands did not move towards it at all.

"Your cut from tonight." He wondered if she thought she wouldn't get paid, or how long it had been since she'd received money that was solely her own.

"I get to keep it?"

"If you don't want it, give it back. But make up your mind now." Inej scowled and it was satisfying, he had grown concerned she would start to create misconceptions about him, he was Kaz Brekker, Bastard of the Barrel, and he was not going to be treated like anyone's savior. She took the money, and he dismissed the both. Remaining in his office for hours to go over the lease papers and information he had missed whilst out. When he did leave, locking the newly re-in stored lock behind him, it was deep into the night or early morning. He passed some Dregs who were still awake, lounging on the ground floor, some celebrating jobs gone well. Kaz said nothing to them as he passed, some like Anika, nodded at him as he passed, and he gave his acknowledgement in return. He made his way up the stairs to his room pausing on the third floor as he heard something odd.

If others in the Slat had heard sounds, they did not mention it, almost everyone in the building had a hang up, to show it in front of others was foolhardy, sure to get you killed. But in the dead of the night, the Dregs were left alone to their nightmares.

He paused in front of her door, raised his hand to knock and paused. What good would he do, to ease any terrors Inej had. What would he say if not to deal with her issues before she became her issues? He lowered his hand and ran a hand through his hair, pushing it away. He turned and walked away, the whimpers had eased, and he wondered if his steps had woken her up.

He made the steps to his room, threw himself into his chair and lit a candle to light the room. He had found his own cure to night terrors years ago, Jordie's face could not haunt him if he did not give it enough time to, he was as sharp on two bells of sleep as others could be on eight.

He was lucky if he experienced one bell tonight.

He sensed her and at first wondered if she had forgotten their discussion so quickly, but when he looked at the window it was still locked, still he knew Inej was nearby, must have awoken and sought the escape of the outside. Why she was by his window was its own question. He stared at the window for a moment until the shadows shifted and he knew she had continued past his attic, to the roof. Whatever she had debated seeking from him she had thought better, he had nothing to offer her that could ease her own troubles.

Kaz Brekker's eyes shut as the candle flickered lower, he dreamt of rising water engulfing his lungs.

We do love a violent Kaz, I have gone back and edited the last two chapters to make them more compliant with the books canon. It doesn't majorly change the plot but I'd suggest maybe going back and rereading!
Thank you Reviewer- Cat K for being my very first reviewer on this site! You are also the first review I've gotten from someone who wasn't a friend irl. I hope you enjoy the direction of this, I intend to write it up to the beginning of the books so it can fill that space!

See you all next week!
~ThisMayFlower