Dirtyhands

two

Kaz wakes up with a pounding headache. He slowly sits up and feels his head start to spin. He falls back onto his bed and rubs his eyes. "Fucking bullshit." He rasps as he force's himself up and out of his bed. Kaz staggers towards his small bathroom.

He stops in front of the small mirror and looks into it. His eyes are bloodshot and he has bags under his eyes. His hair is sticking up instead of staying smoothed back like it normally is. He doesn't look like himself. He looks like the ghost of the man he once was.

Kaz shakes his head and walks past the mirror. He goes to the sink and splashes his face with some water. He smooths back his head and returns to the mirror. He looks a little better now but he still looks drained. He limps out of the bathroom and into his room. He pulls on a clean suit and grabs his cane.

The moment his hand wraps around the smooth and cold metal of the crowd's head he feels himself relax. His cane gives him a sense of security and safety. It's one of the only things that he knows he can rely on.

He limps toward the door. His footsteps echo throughout the crows club. As he walks down the stairs members of the dregs get out of his way. They know not to get too close to him.

Kaz walks towards the gambling den. A few unfortunate people are still there. A middle-aged man is there. Probably trying to find a way to make his mundane life more interesting. A young girl is also there. She has a worried and desperate look in her eyes. It wouldn't surprise Kaz if she was here to get money to pay off a debt. The rest is just his regular customers.

He feels eyes on him. His reputation has grown. Everyone in the barrel knows that he is Dirtyhands. He walks past them and hears someone follow him. He turns into a hallway and waits for whoever it is. He waits for a few seconds until the girl around the corner. She almost walks into him but stops on time. She has to be about 15 and looks very out of place in the crows club.

"I need your help." She whispers her voice laced with fear.

Kaz looks her over. Her clothing is threadbare and she has dirt on her face. "Sorry sweetheart but I'm not in the charity business." He says and turns away.

"I can pay you!" She says desperately and follows him.

Kaz can hear her voice tremble. She is lying. "No, you can't." He says as his patients for this girl are starting to wear thin.

"Please. My brother gambled away our family's savings. He owes Pekka Rollins 500 kruge." She says and steps in front of Kaz.

"Then today is your lucky day. Pekka Rollins left ketterdam and won't be coming back. Now get out of my way before I rip out your throat so you cant bore me with your pointless babble." Kaz replies and pushes past her.

"Pekka Rollins is back. He killed my brother." The girl states and Kaz stops.
He can't say that he is surprised that Rollins has returned. He expected it but he thought that he would take longer to crawl out of the hole he has been hiding in. "How long ago was this?" He asks, something dark in his voice.

"Two days." The girl squeaks and steps back. She has heard the rumors. When that dark thing comes into Kaz, someone gets hurt.

"You're dismissed. Get out of my sight." Kaz growls and walks away. The girl leaves without a word.
Kaz waits until she is gone. Part of him is happy that Rollins has returned. He can finally get his revenge but part of him is worried. Why would Rollins come back and risk everything?

Kaz shakes his head and walks forward. He needs to meet with Jesper. Jesper is one of the only people that he trusts, to an extent. Kaz would trust Jesper with his life but not with his darkest thoughts or a stack of kruge.

Kaz walks into the armory and grabs a pistol, along with a clip of bullets. He limps out of the room and towards the door of the crows club. His cane thumps against the ground as he walks. It's an eerie sound and makes people uneasy around him.

He tucks the gun into his belt and under his jacket as he exits. He walks in the dark parts of the streets. People tend to avoid the dark parts of the barrel. They know what could be lurking in the shadows. Kaz is the thing lurking in these shadows and people should be afraid of him.
Kaz can sense people watching him. He can practically smell their fear. He keeps walking down the street until he reaches the ally behind a gambling den. He has a feeling the Jesper will be here.

He walks in through the back door and scans the crowd for Jesper. He sees him in a corner. By the looks of it, he is having a good night. He has a grin on his face as he lays an ace on the table.

Kaz leans against a wall in the darkest corner he could find. After a few more rounds Jesper's opponent throws his hands up in frustration and leaves the table. Jesper shakes his head and sits back as Kaz emerges from the shadows.

"Your ability to piss people off never ceases to amaze me," Kaz says and he takes the empty chair.

"Hey, Kaz. It's good to see you too. I'm doing just fine, thanks for asking." Jesper says sarcastically and rolls his eyes.

Kaz can almost feel a small smile tugging at his lips but he doesn't let it form.

"Are you up for one last job?" Kaz asks as his eyes sparkle dangerously.

"Hell yeah. What is it?" Jesper answers with a grin.

"We're going to rip Pekka Rollins apart." Kaz rasps.