Birthed From The Harbour
Chapter Four: Just Have a Little Patience
"I will not kill."
"A spider who will not kill is a useless spider."
"If I don't get caught then I won't need to kill. To kill is a sin, to me and my saints."
Kaz snorted, when had the saint's protected anyone in the Barrel? "What separates one sin from the other?"
"I can control whether I kill, it is in my control. I will listen and find your information, I will not get caught, I will be a ghost, I will not kill."
He sighed deeply, aiming a glare at the small girl standing resolutely in his office. Curse all her so-called saints. "If one of the Dregs dies from your inaction, that death is still in your hands, will your saints forgive that?"
Inej paused for a moment, but her jaw was still set, a stubborn glint lying within her dark eyes.
"I will not ask you to kill anyone, get out." He snapped out of frustration that he had to concede this point. They had finished hours of training when she had spoken, clearly, the topic had been on her mind since the first job. He would have been better if she had just kept it to herself. A dreg who wouldn't kill when it was needed, or when it wasn't needed, was a ridiculous concept to accept. When she exited the room Kaz threw his head back in annoyance and frustration. Stupid girl.
He decided to move his thoughts away from the problem of this concession and continue to put his efforts into the development of the crow's club. The renovation was a slow and painful process, finding workers who would be underpaid and not entirely mess up the job was an issue within itself. Kaz spent a large portion of the day that wasn't spent training Inej, being at the club ordering and guiding the Dregs. He was executing a vision, a place where his crows could go outside of The Slat, where pigeons could waste their money. A place where he was king.
He stayed in the office for hours, only leaving to exchange money and words with Haskell. Roeder entered as the night neared and the sun went down. He had heard an offer from a local merchant who was seeking a small job for an interception of goods near the harbour. Kaz knew the information was coming to him as an apology from the Dreg, ironic since Inej's reaction had not been Roeder's fault, if it had been left there Kaz would not have blinked an eye. Roeder's mistake had been going to Haskell with his black eye, going above Kaz was a betrayal and Kaz had been showing his anger in small but clear ways ever since. There had been no leads for the Dreg, Kaz had purposely left him out of jobs and everyone in the Slat knew that the best cuts came from the jobs completed with him. Since this Roader had been bringing Kaz every bit of information he could scrounge, defending his position as a spider in the only way he could.
"Maybe Haskell will be interested, you're his spider," Kaz spoke without looking up from the papers. His words hit home as Roeder scowled.
"We're all Haskell's, Kaz."
"Statements like that might cost you a black eye, Roeder, and not from a novice this time." Kaz purposely toyed with the head of his cane and took his satisfaction from Roeder's nervous eying of the crow's sharp beak.
"There are other skills that girl needs to learn before she'll be useful, I could teach her."
"Did the blow affect your memory, Roeder? I said you were off." Kaz wasn't about to give him another chance to send Inej into a spiral when she was starting to show her use, despite the slight bump of her sudden moralities.
"Will you teach her to jump the roofs then?"
"If I want Inej to be a mediocre spider I'll be sure to ask Haskell to lend you, Roeder." Kaz was standing from behind his desk, his scowl set firmly in place and Roeder took a step back. "Leave the information with me, you won't be needed further."
Roeder looked furious and yet he knew better than to push it further, he left with a nod and Kaz waited a moment before moving towards the door himself. Roeder would be on his list for as long as it pleased him, but the idiot had a point. Kaz was not going to be able to teach Inej how to leap the roofs of Ketterdam, he wasn't even sure if he needed to. He knew she could scale the walls with help from her acrobatic skills but learning to jump and keep running was a different skill set. If not Roeder then who would teach her? The thought was frustrating and moved through Kaz's head as anything he couldn't immediately solve tended to do. The only viable option he could see was Anika, the girl had always been more loyal to him than Haskell and was far less likely to go running if things didn't go right.
He exited his office, bracing himself for the sounds of the Slat ground floor. The room was more filled than normal, and his eyes took everyone in before focusing on the one he needed to talk to. Jesper was at a table in the corner playing cards with Beatle and Specht. By the piles of coins on the table it was clear he was also losing at cards. Kaz was moving towards them when the first signs of trouble began.
He hadn't expected Inej to walk down the stairs and into the landing. She remained in her room or on the roof most nights and had not interacted with any of the dregs aside from Jesper. Yet there she was, her eyes were on him, and he wondered if she was coming to him, but her eyes moved past to Jesper and it seemed to be him she was looking for. She walked across the room towards him and Kaz's eyes followed her, squinting when Roeder stepped into her path.
He moved slightly closer to hear what was being said.
"Happy moving into my spot then?"
Inej looked confused, "I'm sorry about your eye Roeder." The dregs nearest to Roeder laughed at that and Roeder scowled in anger. Kaz rolled his eyes, that may have been the first time the words 'I'm sorry ' had passed the lips of anyone in the Slat.
"Water under the bridge, Half the men here have probably been rougher with you than you were with me. Was that the real reason Kaz is so interested in you?"
Hit him, Kaz thought viciously, hit him and show them they can't talk to you like that. But Inej was not moving, her fist had tightened in that familiar way, body stiffened, and eyes glazed over. If she had passed Kaz's test on that first job she was not passing the dregs now.
Roeder moved forward and Inej did not move back, but by no means was it her way of standing her ground. If her body was on that floor her mind no longer was.
'Saints got your tongue. Were you this quiet for them Lynx?'
Kaz's hand tightened on his cane, and he turned his head away, feigning a disinterest that felt wrong.
"You cheat!" Beatle's shout rang through, and the dregs moved just in time to see a fist aimed towards Jesper and a bullet hit the wall behind Beatle.
"No guns at the table Jesper!" Kaz called out in warning but whether Jesper heard him was debatable as the Zemeni boy had chosen that moment to flip the table. Within moments the room was in chaos, the Dregs fighting amongst themselves with Jesper continuing to instigate and further the violence.
Amidst the fights Inej still stood, remaining like a stone in her position. Her eyes stared ahead unblinkingly. Kaz walked forward and past her, his cane swung out when anyone stumbled into his path. He only looked back when he saw Jesper stumble on thin air and purposely bump his shoulder against her. Jesper muttered something in her ear so quickly it was unnoticed by anyone but Kaz. Inej was moving back towards the staircase. Her eyes met his own, watery, and panicked. Kaz kept his face purposely blank but moved back to let her pass him. He saw a flash of betrayal in her eyes as she walked up quickly, when he began his own walk up the ricked stairwell she was gone, most likely ducking into one of the other rooms and escaping to the night.
Kaz felt an odd appreciation for Jesper, while it was not unlikely for Jesper to cheat, it was not like him to be caught. The sharpshooter was more perceptive than he was given credit for.
Thank you to those who have left reviews! This chapter is definitely on the shorter side, I don't want to call it a filler chapter per say but I definitely debated combining this with Chapter Five. I hope you enjoy the chapter regardless, please let me know what you think in the comments!
Review Responses
ClintandNatasha: Thank you for your review I'm so glad you enjoyed the story so far!
Cat K: Yes I had to make a few changes but I really want it to be as canonical as possible so I'm glad you liked it! Literally the images of Kaz pushing his hair back is just my favourite thing.
- ThisMayFlower