GHOSTS • ⟨Inej Ghafa⟩

Chapter Four

Cheers greeted Kaz and Niklaus as they emerged from the eastern arch, Jesper trailed a bit behind him and, it looked like she had already worked himself into a sulk. Dirix, Rotty, and the others charged at them, whooping and shouting.

Niklaus pushed through the crowd, making a beeline for his weapons. He needed to feel the cool metal of his knives and guns pressing against him. He already missed it.
The crew had got the barest glimpse of what had happened with Geels, but they’d heard most of it. Now many of them were chanting "The Burstraat is on fire! The Dregs don’t have no water!" They cheered "I can’t believe he just turned tail!" Rotty jeered. "He had a loaded pistol in his hand!" A smirk tugged at Niklaus's face when he spotted Kaz's expression.

To say he looked less than happy to be crowded by this many people was an understatement. "Tell us what you had on the guard" Dirix begged.
"Can’t be the usual stuff" One Dreg said "I heard about a guy in Sloken who liked to roll around in apple syrup and then get two-" Another began but was cut off by Kaz "I’m not talking" he said "Holst could prove useful in the future" The mood was jittery, and their laughter had the frantic serration that came with very near disaster.

Many of them had expected a fight and some were still itching for one. Some worse than others but Niklaus knew there was more to it, he hadn’t missed the fact that no one had mentioned Big Bolliger’s name either. They’d been badly shaken by his betrayal. Both the revelation and the way Kaz had delivered punishment.

Beneath all that cheering and whooping, there was fear. That was good for Kaz. He may have relied on the fact that the Dregs were all murderers, thieves, and liars but he made sure that all of them knew better than to lie to him. Kaz dispatched two of them to keep an eye on Bolliger and to make sure that if he made it to his feet, he left the city.

The rest of them could return to the Slat and the Crow Club to drink off their worry, make some trouble, and spread word of the night’s events. They’d tell what they’d seen, make up the rest and with every retelling, Dirtyhands would get crazier and more ruthless. Ofcourse in a few versions it would get near absurd and Niklaus (if he had been there and knew the real story) would joke around with Jesper about them.

Niklaus spotted Kaz heading away from the rest of them in the direction of the fifth harbour but Jesper stepped in his way. Niklaus paused, not for the sake of eavsdrooping he already knew what the conversation was going to be about and how it was going to go. They'd had these several times. Kaz being well... Kaz, not telling them anything and going through with some reckless plan that they didn't figure out until after it was all over.

And Jesper would be angry about how Kaz would never tell them anything and expect them to just follow him blindly. "You should have let me know about Big Bolliger" Jesper said said in a furious whisper. "Don’t tell me my business, Jes" Kaz said "You think I’m dirty, too?" Jesper asked

"If I thought you were dirty, you’d be holding your guts in on the floor of the Exchange like Big Bol, so stop running your mouth" Kaz responded. Jesper shook his head and rested his hands on the revolvers he’d reclaimed from Dirix. Whenever he got cranky, he liked to lay hands on a gun like a child and the comfort of its favourite toy. Not that he knew that feeling much (Thank you, Aleksander) it was ridiculously easy for Kaz and Jesper to make peace.

All Kaz had to do was tell Jesper that he knew he wasn’t dirty, remind him that he’d trusted him enough to make him his only real second (Not including Niklaus himself) in a fight that could have gone badly wrong tonight but since he was Kaz Brekker and being sincere for once in his life would kill him he didn't say that. Instead, he said "Go on, Jesper. Niklaus is waiting and so is a line of credit waiting for the two of you at the Crow Club. Play till morning or your luck runs out, whichever comes first"

Jesper scowled, but he couldn’t keep the hungry gleam from his eye. "Another bribe?" He asked "I’m a creature of habit" Kaz said simply "Lucky for you, I am, too" Jesper said. Niklaus turned and was about to walk away when he noticed that Jesper wasn't following.

The Zemeni sharpshooter hesitated "You don’t want us with you? Geels’ boys are gonna be riled after that" he said. Niklaus already knew the answer that he would get "Let them come" Kaz responded, and turned down Nemstraat without another word. If you couldn’t walk by yourself through Ketterdam after dark, then you might as well just hang a sign that read 'soft' around your neck and lie down for a beating.

Spotting a flash at the corner of his eye Niklaus spotted Inej watching them silently from a rooftop. He doubted Jesper had noticed her. Kaz may have, he was never sure with him. Niklaus moved towards the building, monkeying his way to the top. Wordlessly he came to sit next to Inej. "Inej" he greeted "Klaus" she responded "Was that other guard, what's his name... Van Daal. What he working for Kaz too or was his silence your doing?" he asked. "I got the jump on him. Pressed a knife above his kidney" Inej said.

"I take it you didn't know about the plan this time either?" She asked. "He only tells me sometimes when the oh so gracious Kaz decides he can spare a few words to include me but it's not often" Niklaus said. It was only half the truth. Kaz only gave him further details when the mission needed his specific set of skills as a Shadow Summoner. Kaz had found him when Niklaus was just about two years into the Dregs.

He wasn't sure how closely Kaz had been watching but it had been much closer than he realised. Kaz could now consider himself the only person alive who knew who he really was. Niklaus noticed Inej's eyes following Kaz, he felt a small spark of jealousy but immediately stamped it out. It was unnecessary. There was nothing between Kaz and Inej, she probably just wanted to talk him about the mission. She'd have to have moved quickly to find and reach the guards in time.

He glanced down at the ground where Jesper was waiting for him. "I'll see you at the crow club" Niklaus murmured to her before making his way down to join Jesper.

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