Once they had all settled down from their slightly manic moment of relief, Jesper and Wylan walked over to Inej and Kaz.
Inej threw her arms around the two as they approached. "I'm so glad you found us," she said as she hugged them tight.
"Well, we were no where close to figuring out where you two had been taken, but then the weirdest thing happened!" Jesper exclaimed. "Wylan and I were at Kaz's office, going over maps and crossing out names of enemies we had eliminated. Some of Kaz's more trusted Dregs were out scouring the streets for clues and rumours to where you two might have been taken, but we were coming up blank on all fronts, running out of leads to chase. Then out of nowhere there was a knock on the window, nearly scared me half to death! I assumed it was you Inej, but there was no one there. The knock came again, and that's when Wylan noticed a crow. A frigging crow was knocking on the window! It made Wylan curious," Jesper said, serving the rest of the story over to Wylan.
"I had noticed a little sack of nuts, seeds and dried fruit on the windowsill earlier, and remembered that Inej liked to feed the crows. I figured the crow was hungry in her absence, and that I would offer it a few pieces for good luck. It jumped away as I opened the window, studying me. I think it expected to see you Inej, or maybe even Kaz. As soon as I threw out some food it seemed happy enough. I was about to close the window when I noticed it had something in its claws, a scrap of cloth that looked like your garments, Inej. I tried to reach for it, but the crow avoided me. I threw out some more food, and drew back, hoping it would release whatever it was holding. It finished its food, jumped up to the windowsill, and deposited the cloth piece in a small hollow in the roof before flying off. Upon investigated it I saw that it appeared to be an address from you. As we had no better leads, we left a message for the others, and hurried over here to rescue you," Wylan said.
"But then it turns out you didn't need rescuing after all. It's not fair, I never get to use my guns anymore…" Jesper sulked. Wylan patted him on his back, comforting him.
Kaz huffed a laugh while shaking his head at Inej. "Only you could get a crow to be your messenger bird."
"I told you it pays to treat them nice," she winked at him. "It was risky, but it was the only way as I wasn't leaving you to fight on your own," she said, looking pointedly at Kaz.
Kaz missed the look as he was too busy trying to keep himself from tilting sideways. Whatever had been in that drug was making his head woozy, and had done a number on his balance.
Jesper took inn the state of Kaz. Bruised, slashed, unstable, shirt torn and several wounds still leaking blood. "So how come Inej looks as pretty as ever, and you look one step away from death?"
Kaz was not in the mood, and gave him a full death glare as an answer, making Jesper want to hide behind Wylan.
"He kept me safe, making himself the target," Inej chimed in, sending Kaz a grateful look.
"He only took Inej to get to me, "Kaz added. "He let her go earlier, but she apparently decided she needed an escort as she didn't want to leave unaccompanied," Kaz replied while looking at Inej, a mixture of exasperation and affection on his face.
Jesper was confused. Something had changed between them. Despite the circumstances they both seemed more comfortable around each other, hell, he would even say they looked happier. Kaz had even laughed, and that only happened once in a blue moon. And now he was either feverish or saints forbid it, blushing at Inej's attention! Either they were both on the brink of exhaustion, drugged or something similar, or something he didn't know had happened. In truth he kind of liked these more relaxed versions of his friends. He hoped they had managed to bridge whatever gap was between them, and that they had finally realized their feelings for each other.
He was brought out of his musings when Kaz started to list sideways. He shot out a hand to steady his friend. "Hey there, I think it's time we leave, get some rest and food back at the Slat. You look like you could use a bit of everything," he offered softly.
"We can't leave," Kaz stated while righting himself, locking one arm around the back of the chair to keep himself steady.
All eyes, including Inej looked incredulous at Kaz.
Inej broke the silence first. "But Plan E is finished. We took them all out, and now we make our getaway just like you planed."
Kaz sighed. He needed to make his friends understand that running was no longer an option. "Plan E is no longer in play. We might have taken out the eight gang members, plus his mistress, wife or whatever she was, but Keller, or Kinker, is still out there. We have no clue where he is, and if we don't stop him now, he will keep on coming for me, and he'll do it by going after all of you. I won't let that happen. We know he is returning here this morning to finish whatever this is. He doesn't know what has happened here, so we have the advantage. We can use it to trick him, and take him out before he can do any more harm. I once had a chance to kill him, but I didn't. I am not making that mistake again. This time he dies."
"Hold on, did you say that you two took out eight, I mean, nine targets, some with weapons, all on your own?! You two are insane! Remind me to never get on your bad side! I mean, sheesh…" Jesper said with a whistle.
Kaz and Inej shared a look, acknowledging each others part in their work.
Wylan stepped closer. "In short, there is a maniac after you, and we need to stop him in order to keep everyone safe. Who is he, and why are you his target?" Wylan queried.
Kaz let himself lean into the back of the chair, and started telling them of his past, and what had transpired so long ago. He also gave them the headlines of what had happened since he and Inej had been taken.
"So, this Kinker-dude, you've got a plan to take him out too, right?" Jesper asked, exited by the prospect of danger.
Kaz lips tweaked at that, scheming face back in place. "Of course."