CHAPTER FIFTY
vol ii — home turf

KAZ HAD COME up with the idea to use Jesper's father as a ploy in the game to win. "How about a jurda farmer who's been holed up in the most expensive suite in Ketterdam?"

Colm looked confused when Kaz stared at him, making Dinara raise an eyebrow. Surely enough everyone would be able to connect the dots between father and son. "Me?"

"No way, Kaz. Absolutely not."
"He knows jurda, he speaks Kerch and Zemini, and he looks the part."
"He has an honest face. You weren't keeping him safe stashing him in a hotel, you were setting him up."
"I was building us an out."
"A hedge of your own."
"Yes."
"You are not brining my father into this."

Dinara cut in, officially done with Jesper between why his father was even in Ketterdam and what he had done to Wylan. "Jes, he's already been apart of this. You brought him head because the farm got put on a mortgage because of you and your inability to win."

"Van Eck will make the connections between Colm Fahey and Jesper Fahey. He isn't an idiot."

"But there is no Colm Fahey staying at the Geldrenner. Colm Fahey rented rooms at the little university district inn, and according to the harbormaster's manifests, he left town several nights ago. The man staying here is registered under the name Johannas Rietveld," Kaz said, an unregistered amount of sadness seeping its way into his words at the name, Dinara being the only one to notice. He caught her eyes, watching as the glistened, the girl understanding the significance behind the name.

"Who the hell is that?"
"Nina."
"He's a farmer from a town near Lij. His family's been there for years. He has holdings in Kerch and Novyi Zem."
"But who is he really."

Dinara stepped in at that moment, knowing the torment that was going through Kaz's mind at the thought of his childhood, the life that was once his and now dead. "It doesn't really matter, Jesper. It's a pawn in the game, there is no real significance. Simply think of him as something of the imagination."

"I'll do it."
"Da, you don't know what you're agreeing to."
"I'm already harboring fugitives. If I'm going to aid, I might as well abet."
"If this goes wrong—"
"I got nothing to lose. You and the farm are my life. This is me keeping both safe."
"This is insane. They'll never fall for it."
"We don't ask for too much from them."
"There are thirteen council members. That's sixty-five million kruge."
"Maybe more."

Dinara zoned out for a minute, her mind racing with the idea that their safety was no secured, hell was it ever. But the idea that they could lose of the people that they had grown so close too was terrifying. Her eyes wandered over everyone that was around her. She'd be dammed if she lost a single one of them, they were here family, and she would do anything for them. She knew that second Matthias was to step foot onto the stage he was going to be recognized, if not by the Fjerdan's then by the people of Kerch. She figured that Kaz would have a distraction, but the unsettling feeling in her stomach continued to rise, the feeling of dread. It was tangling around her body, the feeling of absolute suffocation wrapping around her, her mind racing a mile a minute. Startling out of it when Kaz stated a ridiculous idea. Her old wounds had been cut, so along with the suffocating atmosphere, she felt as though she was bleeding through every aspect on her body, the bandages soaked in blood, knowing she was going to have to deal with them later.

"That's why I'm going to the Slat."
"Inej, have fun at the embassy. I have to kill Kaz."
"What are you talking about? There's a price on your head."
"I know. But we need a bigger crew for this job."
"Demjin, this is not a risk worth taking."

Kaz had the idea in his head that the city would be his after all of this was over, that he would be the ruler of Ketterdam. And he would be dammed if anything got in his way. Dinara had to give it to him, Kaz was not the man to back down, not when it came to money or power. She tilted her head at the idea that he could possibly be putting them all on the line for this, but that was normal, but if she was going to lose him, she would do everything in her power to make sure she could get him out of the mess. Sure, the others were important, but Kaz Brekker was the one thing that kept her going. Nothing was getting in her way to protect him.

Kaz stood up, leaning on the cane that was decorated with the signature crow's head, shifting his weight as his leg was still bothering him. "But I know the one thing this city is more frightened of than the Shu, the Fjerdans, and all the gangs of the Barrel put together. And Nina, you're going to give it to them."