» CHAPTER FOUR
❛ A good heist is all I need ❜
( episode four, season one )
𝗔𝗙𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝗔 𝗙𝗘𝗪 𝗠𝗢𝗥𝗘
hours the small train stopped nearby their destination. They had to walk for a while but that was the easiest thing they had done in the last couple of hours.
As the small group reached the edge of Kribirsk, a city that laid in the East of Ravka, they could already see the people, who were totally busy getting their jobs done or to get to their appointments on time.
Estelle smiled as they walked down the streets of Kribirsk in silence. Now and then Estelle would stop walking as she eyed the buildings that stood on the sides of the large Streets.
Even if Kribirsk wasn't that special Estelle wanted to enjoy every moment of it, before she would rot away in Ketterdam again. But when the woman thought about it, simply not going back seemed like a pretty good idea.
"Estelle you're coming?", Inej's voice suddenly interrupted her thoughts.
The young woman snapped her head towards her friend's voice as she saw that the others stood by the entrance of a club waiting for her to join them.
"Coming", she answered the Suli quickly as she approprached the group following them into the building.
Arken, Inej, Jesper and Estelle sat down by the bar as Kaz disappeared into the crowd. They ordered a few drinks, Inej and Estelle helped themselves to some pastries that stood right in front of them.
"So- that went well", Jesper sighed as he put his drink down. No one answered him as they all stared into the distance.
"The Little Palace went to fete", Arkan exclaimed as he threw a paper onto the counter. "There's just no way he can find a way to the Sun Summoner without Nina."
He held up the paper again, "Especially during this ridiculous party. The place will be crawling with second Army."
Estelle eyed the man with the glasses carefully as suddenly Kaz spoke up from behind them. "We're in luck."
He came to a stand next to Jesper as he looked at them, "There's a chance we can crack on. Now that we're three days' travel from the capital, the next play is finding a way inside the Little Palace. It turns out the Kribirsk archives house the Little Palace blueprints."
Estelle raised an eyebrow as she knew what he was about to propose, "But-they're kept under lock and key. Far from the prying eyes of the masses."
A smirk made it's way onto Estelle's and Inej's face as Jesper clapped into the counter in excitement, "Yes!"
Arkan looked at him confused, "What does that mean?"
Jesper chuckled as he patted the man's shoulder several times, "Time for a heist!"
They quickly jumped off of their chairs while Jesper's grabbed his goat, which he had named Milo on their way to Kribirsk. The young man handed the goat to a barmaid as he said his dramatic goodbye.
The group met outside on the street before they continued their way to a side ally where they all gathered in a circle.
"All right. Royal Archives heist. Here's the game plan. Watchmen and on guard around the clock. We want to get in and get out as quite as possible. That means the hardware stays in the holster, Jesper", Kaz looked at him intense as he leaned on his cane.
Jesper rolled with his eyes as he scoffed, "Urgh, fine!"
Estelle looked at him amused before Kaz addressed her and Inej, "Inej, Estelle, the dome on the roof is directly above the repository where the blueprints to the Little Palace are kept. Watch each other's back."
Inej and Estelle nodded at the same time, "Got it. That's our way in", Estelle said as she crossed her arms and leaned against a wall.
Kaz nodded at her before he continued with the explanation of his plan, "I'll set a trail of phosphorus that will lead you straight to the target. The respiratory is secured at all times behind a two-part lock mechanism. So you two-", he pointed at Inej and Estelle. "- have to leave the same way you came in."
"Two hours after sunset is when you'll go in, Jesper. You'll need to bend in."
"Easy", the young man answered him confident as he smirked. "The lighting valves are on the second floor.
Inej looked at the group, "We'll take our cue once we see the lights go out and then follow your trails straight to the blueprints."
Kaz nodded again, "The archivist has to pull them a number of times a day, so we can't steel them or they'll know something is up."
"So we make a copy?", Estelle questioned as she looked at Kaz curious.
"But careful. If you're heavy-handed you'll bleed the ink", he warned her as he looked at the black haired woman.
"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing", she answered him confident as she pushed herself away from the wall with her foot.
After their conversation the group splitted up again as Kaz and Jesper went to get their costumes for their heist.
Inej and Estelle stayed behind and went into the next hostel to book a room for the four, where they could stay until the evening.
The girl prepared their knifes and packed the roaps they would use to get the themselves down into the archives.
The evening came quick leaving the city in the dark as the group made their way to the Archives. The women quickly climbed up to the dome from where they were supposed to enter.
The lights went out which meant Jesper had successfully made his way inside. The two climbed over the railing and quickly made their way around the dome until they found a window opened.
They connected their roaps to the dome before the two slowly let themselves down on the ropes.
As they elegantly landed on their feet Estelle immediately spotted the bright blue footprints on the floor and followerd them to a shelf.
Iman was right behind her as Estelle pulled out the blueprints. Inej sprayed some water on it before she walked a large paper over the prints, copying then carefully as she pressed the paper on it.
Estelle then slowly disconnected the papers from one another, she eyed the copy closely before she rolled it together and stowed it.
She quickly put the blueprints back onto their original place before the two made their way over to the roaps.
Estelle hadn't even reached them as suddenly the light went on, her eyes widended as the young woman stopped in her trail.
Inej's head snapped towards her as they heard a deep male voice from the distance, "Valve was the turned off! I don't know how! Where's Lev? Find him!"
Inej immediately grabbed both roaps and yanked them down, she spun around and threw one of them at Estelle, who cought it before the two hid behind a shelf.
They both immediatley drew a knife from their belt as Estelle looked around the corner of a shelf.
A man in uniform had entered the room and let his gaze wander around as he walked up and down. Inej quickly vanished behind a shelf as Estelle had to quickly stand up and walk directly behind the man.
She held her breath as she quietly followed the man through the room. He slowly spun around but Estelle always stayed behind him, somehow managing that he didn't even had a clue that she was right there.
He made his way through the door, which gave Estelle a perfect opportunity. She quickly rolled over the floor and laid on the ground as she could hear one of the others, "Anything?"
"Nothing"
The footsteps slowly faded away and as Estelle couldn't hear them anymore she felt safe enough to stand up again.
Inej quickly joined her as the two made their way to the door. But to their disadvantage the men had looked it behind them.
The two tried to shake the gate open but it didn't worked. "Shit", was all Estelle muttered to herself as the two looked at each other.
But then they could hear a quiet whistle, the two women immediately looked up and spotted Jesper, who stood at the next etage looking down at them.
"Move!", he whispered as he waved his hand through the air.
Inej immediately moved back followed by Estelle, who watched Jesper as he lifted his arm, his gun in his hands.
He breathed out heavily before he pulled the trigger making the bullet hit the lock exactly when the clock hit the full hour and drew out the gun shot.
Estelle looked at him impressed as the door opened for the two. The women made their way through the halls, their knives still in their hands as they finally reached the big door that would lead them outside.
They saw a guard standing in front of the doors looking ahead, Inej was the first one to go through the doors followed by Estelle, who watched as Inej wanted to hit the man over the head.
But suddeny the man hit his cane onto the floor making the two stopped as they looked at him. "Bit slow on the draw there", Inej told him as she let her knife down.
"Or just in time", Kaz answered them as Jesper came out as well. "That was insane", he quietly exclaimed as he looked at Estelle, who raised an eyebrow at him.
"We nearly got busted", she told him as she crossed her arms over her chest.
"But we didn't", Jesper reasoned with her as the group began to quickly walk over the cort and faded into the darkness of the night.
The group had made their way back to the club which they had visit by their arrivel.
Estelle stood inbetween Kaz and Inej as they all eyed the copy they had maid of the blue print. "What about-", Jesper began as he pointed at a room on the map but I am interrupted him as she pointed to another one, "No, look."
Estelle spotted a hallway on the map. "What about this hallway?", she questioned as she pointed at the map.
"No go, see. Guard tower", Jesper told her as Inej let out a annoyed breath. "There's no way in."
"And no way out", Estelle added as she looked at Kaz who still eyed the map. "Well, I thought this plan might not work", Arken spoke up as some girl that had a rehearsal with aerial silks suddenly fell onto the ground with a loud thud making them all turn around to her.
They soon went to their several rooms because the group had absolutely no idea how they would get in and even if they would get in, how would the get out. Inej and Estelle sat in their beds as a candle lit up the dark room.
Estelle looked at the celling as suddenly Inej spoke up from her bed, "I know it's not my business, but what is going on with you and Kaz?"
Estelle's breath hitched in her throat, "Nothing why?"
There was a short scilence before Inej spoke up again, "You two are pretty close, you're probably the closest person to him."
"We just understand each other", Estelle told her friend, who chuckled.
"Mhm. Sure", Inej chuckled to herself as Estelle scoffed, "Shut up, Inej."
The two let out a laugh before Inej stood up, "Goodnight El."
She slowly closed her eyes and Estelle watched her a smile playing on her lips as she thought about Kaz.
The black haired woman quickly shook her head before she blew out the candles leaving the room in complete darkness.
"Got any plans up your sleeve?", Estelle questioned Kaz as they looked at each other, but he didn't answered her as he just looked back ahead, a dark look on his face.
"I mean, Kribirsk isn't the worst. We can open up a bar- brew East Ravka beer for the Westerners?", Jesper spoke up but he was interrupted by the others as they all interrupted him in syncrony, "Shut up, Jesper."
Jesper put down his drinks as he stared into the distance, "I miss Milo."
Suddenly Arken approached the four from behind smiling widely, "Friends."
"What are you so cheery about?", Kaz asked him as he turned towards the shorter man.
"This is Marko. He is the leader of the traveling group known as the Pomdrakon players", he introduced the man that stood besides him looking sceptical.
"They have been invited to perform in this year's winter fete." The man looked at the proud, "A lifelong dream."
Arken clapped the man onto his shoulder, "A chance to get inside the Little Palace. But they lost their star performer due to an unfortunate freak accident. They are in desperate need of someone with skills to replace their star performer, and as Ketterdam's premier talent manager, I had an idea."
They all looked at Inej and Estelle but the girl with the tattoos looked at her friend and sighed, "So who wants to go first?"
In the end Inej had went first and had bewitched the audience with a beautiful performance with the two aerial silks. So Estelle had to be as good as her if they wanted to get into the Little Palace.
The woman turned to Kaz who stood behind her as she pulled her knives out of her pockets. "I'm counting on you", he told her as they looked into each other's eyes.
"As a friend once said, If I can't crack this, none of us are going anywhere", she gave him her last knife as they held eye contact.
She turned around and quickly approached the aerial silks, the music started as she reached them making the woman quickly lift her self into the air.
She roaped the silks around her body before she let herself fall, the silks stopped her in the air and she spun around leaning her upperboady back.
The crowed started cheering as they clapped, the black haired woman pulled herself up again before she moved her leg elegantly in the air and spun around her own axis before she landed quietly on her feet.
The crowed cheered again as they all clapped loudly while Inej and Estelle approched the man. "The saints must have sent you two!"
"Yes! The show will go on! Now-", he turned around and snapped with his fingers as another man handed him two costumes. "Can you fit into this?"
The two women wrinkled their noses as they looked at the rainbow colours. "Of course she can", Jesper spoke up before they could as he laid an arm around the man.
"Those are their colours. But the things is, the two come only in a package deal", he pointed at himself confident as he smirked.
"No free rides", the man told him clearly. "What are your talents?"
Jesper looked at the two woman who gave him a annoyed glance. "This one is all yours", Estelle told Inej who rolled with her eyes and went to the silks again.
Jesper quickly sat down with his back turned to her as he looked into a small mirror. The young man pointed his gun behind him as Inej dangled in the air, a card in her mouth.
He breathed out deeply before he shot over his shoulder, the bullet hit the card cutting it into two pieces.
The crowed was impressed as they all started cheering and clapping again.
Jesper put his gun away again as Inej came back, the man chuckled as he hugged Jesper excited. He then turned to Kaz an expecting look on his face, "Stage is yours, sir."
Kaz eyed the man seriously, "I'll make my own way."
A light smirk played on Estelle's lips as she eyed him. They had finally found a way into the Little Palace and that meant there was a little chance that they could really get the Sun Summoner out of there.