𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐓𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐞

Ⅲ 𝒘𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒓𝒂𝒗𝒌𝒂𝒏 𝒘𝒐𝒎𝒂𝒏

BREY REACHED OVER THE BAR TOP, TAKING THE SCOTCH BOTTLE. As she filled the crow marked glass, Brey's mind wandered. Sun summoners were a myth, a legends even the Time Manipulator was told of. How many more were out there? More Grisha? More saints? No. Brey was not a saint.

"Hey, look at the bright side," Jesper smiled, punctuating the word bright. Brey looked up, glaring at him as she sipped the drink. "Okay, sorry. But seriously, another rare Grisha." Brey hummed and downed her drink. "Brey-"

"What do you want me to say Jes?" Brey asked, setting her drink down. "Woo, another Grisha." Jesper shook his head and turned away. "Sorry," Brey mumbled, sliding the drink to Jesper. Jesper spun back and took the drink. "Do you think there are other ones like me?" Brey asked, looking up at Jesper.

Jesper set the empty glass down and moved to rest his hands on the counter. "Is that what you're worried about?" Jesper questioned.

"What happens when Kaz finds someone like me, but they can control it better? Think better? Fight better?" Brey questioned, taking the glass back and pouring another drink. "What then? Go back to the Isle?"

"Kaz only wants the best of the best, and if you weren't it," Jesper hummed and slid the drink away from Brey. "Pretty sure you wouldn't be here."

"I'm here 'cause you're here," Brey reminded, shaking her head.

"And he lets you go on your own jobs," Jesper spoke, resting his elbows on the wood. "Stop doubting yourself, you've saved all our asses multiple times." Brey chuckled quietly and nodded, just enough that reassured Jesper.

Jo made his way over, taking the drink from Jesper. "Come on-"

"She can have it, you can't," Jo reminded, sliding the drink and bottle to Brey with a nod.

"Sometimes I hate that you're a bartender," Jesper sighed, taking his hat off. "Same please," Jesper ordered. Inej walked up to them, slotting herself between the two.

"He doesn't have a way across the Fold, and we all know it," Inej spoke up, resting her hands on the counter.

"I bet he'll figure it out," Jesper smiled. "Come on, take that bet. Bolliger won't play with me anymore, so..."

"Thank you," Inej spoke as the drink was placed in front of Jesper. She snatched it up and downed the shot making Jesper pull an offended face. Inej slammed the shot on the table, licking the remnants off her lips. "He's obsessed with taking down Pekka Rollins."

"Of course he's obsessed with the one villain in town who's paid off the stadwatch to get away with murder," Jesper reminded, taking the shot glass and looking it over. "Thanks. Another one, Jo."

"No, it's more than that," Inej pointed out, looking up at the two. "I've seen the way Kaz looks when he says Pekka's name. Kaz wants revenge." A man walked towards them handing a note to Brey. Her eyes darted over his body and he shrunk as he rushed off. Jepser and Inej paused as Brey read it over.

"She called for you," Brey huffed, handing the parchment with the Menagerie symbol stamped in the middle. "Menagerie."

"Want company?" Jesper asked, turning to face Inej as she walked off, calling back a harsh 'no.' "No, I meant to watch your back." Jesper clarified, his eyes going wide as he noticed his words. Brey laughed at him and took another drink. Kaz stanched towards them and Brey stood straighter. "You all right, boss?" Jesper questioned as Kaz paused at the bar. Kaz grabbed Jesper's shot and downed it in one go making Jesper pull another face.

Kaz slammed the glass back down and grunted in pain. "No," Kaz said harshly. "I've been warned off the job."

"By who?" Jesper questioned in a quiet voice.

"Take a guess," Brey piped up, watching Kaz's body sink slightly lower than usual. Kaz was never one for telling his shoe size, never would he speak of his history with Pekka. But Brey knew pieces, parts that Kaz would kill any other for knowing. Why he trusted her, she didn't know. "He didn't remember you, did he?" Brey asked as Kaz turned to watch his pocket watch.

"If he had, I'd be dead," Kaz mumbled in a tough voice. "Sunrise is in five hours," Kaz spoke in a calmer voice, closing the watch and sliding it back into his pocket and slowly taking short steps away.

"Five hours three minutes," Brey corrected in a mumble. Kaz spared her a simple glance but turned his attention back to the pigeons.

"Yeah, but we're off the job now, right?" Jesper questioned in a soft voice, he and Brey following behind Kaz.

"Never make decisions out of fear, Jesper. Only out of spite," Kaz advised, his eyes looking over the club.

"Well, greed always worked for me," Jesper shrugged.

"Go guard the door," Kaz ordered. Jesper sighed and rolled his eyes softly, walking away from them. Kaz surveyed the club, his eyes landing on different people at the gambling table. Brey turned to slip away but Kaz stopped her with a double clack of his cane. "That woman by the table," Kaz started and Brey followed his gaze to the blond woman by the cards table. "My office, I don't care how she gets there." Kaz stepped away, walking up to his office space.

Brey nodded softly and made her way to the woman Kaz nodded at. "Ma'am, I'd advise you follow me now before you get yourself into further trouble," Brey started and another of Kaz's men straightened up as he watched the scene unfold. "Boss doesn't like cheaters." The other patrons sighed and a few threw their cards down, their annoyance at a cheater more than obvious.

"I was not cheating-" Brey took her money and threw it on the table, and grabbed her by her upper arm, dragging her towards Kaz's office.

Once inside, Brey roughly sat the woman in the chair and stood behind her. "I don't understand. I wasn't cheating," The woman denied.

Kaz lifted his map painting and revealed a safe that he quickly unlocked. He took out a small stash of notes before closing the door and turning back to the woman. "You've been here every night for a week," Kaz recalled, slamming the painting back down to cover the safe. "You don't play Makker's Wheel or Ratcatcher, only cards. Because you keep track of what's played."

"Well, that is not cheating," The woman spoke, shaking her head.

"No, but I'll have to add an extra deck to your table to keep things more... balanced," Kaz declared and slammed the notes against the table. "An incentive to keep playing. Count it for me," Kaz ordered in a dark voice. The woman cautiously reached forward and took the stack of notes. She knocked them against the table and lined them up before setting them in one palm, the other flicked the notes over with her thumb. Brey noticed the difference and looked at Kaz who glanced up at her as well. Kaz's hand shot out and his cane head snapped atop the woman's hands. stopping her from counting. "Where are you from?" Kaz demanded, his chin tilted upwards to glare down at the woman.

"West Ravka. Os Kervo," The woman bit back, her meeker tone replaced with venom.

"West Ravkans count money from one hand to the other, but people out east who work the mines in Sikursk, they count like you do," Kaz explained pointing to the spot on the map.

"I am from West Ravka," The woman repeated, setting the money down.

"There's just Ravka and the old country. No West Ravkans mention the 'west' part," Brey spoke up, resting her hands on the chair.

"You're lying about where you're from because you've fled," Kaz recognized, agreeing with Brey's statement and she shrunk under their gaze. "You're hiding."

The woman paused, her leg bouncing as she thought. "My daughter is Grisha," the woman admitted, and Kaz straightened up slightly, shooting a quick look to Brey. "Neither of us wanted her to fight in the war. You can't make us go back."

"No, I'm not after you, but you need to tell me how you and your daughter got through the Fold unscathed and unnoticed. Now," Kaz ordered in a dark tone.

The woman's breath trembled as she took a breath to start talking. "He just went by a title. The Conductor," The woman informed. Kaz looked up at Brey, expecting her to know the name but she gently shook her head. "We paid him in advance and he took us across in some special transport. It was noisy, but he had us wear hoods, so we couldn't share how he does it. I don't know what else to tell you."

"Give me something," Kaz encouraged. "A name. An address. A contact, someone he worked with."

The woman sighed, replaying the events in her head. "He left us with a stage performer who took us in for a few nights," The woman spoke. "Poppy."

Brey scoffed slightly at the mention of the name and she took her hands away from the woman's chair, taking a step back. Kaz let his head drop as a silent groan caught in his throat. "Where's Poppy working these days?" Kaz questioned looking up at Brey, composing himself.

"Emerald Palace," Brey informed with an eye roll. Kaz let out a heavy sigh and moved his attention back to the woman. "Go," He ordered simply. The woman looked back at Brey who walked back to the door and opened it for her. Brey gave the woman a quick nod. The woman scurried from her seat going to move out the door but Brey slammed her hand in front of her, stopping her movements.

"If you tell anyone what happened in this office, I will personally ensure your daughter goes back to the war," Brey paused, and let her arm fall. "...Alone." Brey finished and the woman rushed past her.

"She wouldn't have said anything anyway," Kaz reminded, his hands pressed against the desk.

"Insurance policy then," Brey reasoned, her tone slightly softer.

"Where's Jesper?" Kaz questioned, reaching for his coat.

"On the street, I think he's looking at a new coat," Brey informed. Kaz nodded and pulled on his coat.

"Do you have your gun?" Kaz questioned. Brey nodded and Kaz hummed in approval. "Let's go. And yes I know your a shit shot."

𓅨

❝ 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆 is a funny thing ❞