-

THREE. VERA IS ALWAYS RIGHT
new monsters , -lantsov
"dirtyhands and his serpent"
˖⁺ 🪶⋆ ୭ ⚔️ .⋆｡⋆༶⋆˙⊹

VERA NEVER LIKED ultimatums. She supposed no one was ever really fond of ultimatums, but being presented her choices in a situation like Pekka Rollins had put her in was ranked especially high on her list of hated things. Her past had been riddled full of ultimatums (some of those choices costing her dearly) so having been plucked from her reality and placed back in the mindset she had had only a few years ago had been debilitating.

Unfortunately, Jesper was not aware of Vera's past trauma, so Vera couldn't quite get across the suffocating feeling in her chest to the gunslinger beside her.

"Is Kaz going to lay off the job?" Jesper asked, watching Vera carefully as she traced her finger over the ridges of the shot glass in her hand.

"Your guess is as good as mine."

Jesper nodded his head in understanding, knowing full well just how unpredictable Kaz could be. Vera passed her shot glass back to Roeder for a refill and turned to face Jesper entirely.

"I need you to teach me how to use a gun up close," she demanded. "I don't want to be caught off guard like that again."

"Of course, love," Jesper replied. His eyes caught onto the bruising on Vera's wrists. "I can do that. Whenever you want to learn, just ask."

Vera gave him a grimace of a smile. "Thanks."

Roeder placed the refilled glass onto the bar, both Jesper and Vera's hands darting out to grab it. A third hand snatched the glass before they could, bringing it up to his lips and tipping it back furiously.

"You alright, boss?" Jesper asked.

Kaz set the glass back down onto the bar top, eyes grim. "No. I've been warned off the job."

"So I've heard," Jesper commented. "By who?"

"Who do you think?" He turned around and leaned back against the counter as he pulled out his pocket watch to check the time.

Jesper and Vera turned around as well, the former asking, "did he remember you?"

"If he had, I'd be dead," Kaz stated. He shut his pocket watch. "Sunrise is in five hours."

"Yeah, but we're off the job now, right?" Jesper questioned.

Kaz walked forward, going to survey the club in front of him. "Never make decisions out of fear, Jesper. Only out of spite."

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

"I can attest to that. Greed works wonders," Vera chimed in finally.

Kaz looked over his shoulder at the two. "Go guard the door, Jesper."

Vera watched as the Zemeni walked away, his irritated expression barely hidden from the public eye. Kaz was still looking out over his club, so Vera moved forward to stand next to him. It was always noisy and crowded in The Crow Club, but it sounded and looked like home to Vera.

"Vera, East Ravkans count money different than the western ones, correct?" He asked.

Vera nodded hesitantly. "Yes..., why are you asking?"

Kaz looked out at one of the Dregs in the crowd, making a quick sequence of hand gestures that Vera recognized as the code to bring someone to Kaz's office. She followed the direction Kaz had glanced in and noticed a woman counting money differently than the rest of the room.

So that was why he had asked.

"Stay nearby," Kaz commanded before turning around and heading upstairs.

˖⁺ 🪶⋆ ୭ ⚔️ .⋆｡⋆༶⋆˙⊹

Vera stayed nearby at least.

It was a bit of a known fact that Vera was a wayward spirit, doing as she pleased when she wanted to. So, for example, if Vera were to be found fighting someone in the alley next to The Crow Club, no one would bat an eye.

And there Vera was, spitting blood out of her mouth and standing over the unconscious body of some handsy man who had tried to make a move on a girl who clearly did not appreciate the affection. Vera had been a bit sloppy (her mind was still up in Kaz's office receiving an ultimatum that had made her chest feel small ever since) and the man had gotten a few punches on her before she focused up.

The bouncers at the club were too big and masculine to take care of an issue like that, but Vera, an unmistakably gorgeous woman, was a predator's perfect target. So with a little bit of forced flirting and an offer to do some favors for the man in the alley, Vera had gotten the perfect opportunity to beat him senseless.

It was a good way to pass the time.

Kaz caught Vera on her way back into the club, his footsteps slowing and ultimately pivoting to follow her as he saw the blood on her face. The dried blood from her temple was cracking off her skin, but the blood on her lips and dripping out of one side of her mouth was clearly fresh. Not to mention her teeth were absolutely coated in the sticky red liquid.

"Have fun?" Kaz asked curiously as Vera led the way into the private bathroom behind the bar reserved for employees and Dregs.

Vera took the handkerchief Kaz was offering her and held it under the sink water. She moved it up to her temple, her eyes daring to stray from her face to Kaz's eyes in the mirror. "Yeah."

Kaz nodded, breaking eye contact to survey the art pieces up on the wall awkwardly. "You were right, you know."

"I always am, but about what?"

"Who to ask," Kaz said. "The East Ravkan was a mother with a Grisha daughter. She didn't want her to fight in the war."

Vera smiled cockily only to quickly close her lips as she caught sight of her red teeth. "Did she tell you how to get across?"

"She gave me a name and a contact. The man who got her across was called The Conductor. When she got across, he left her with Poppy for a few days after," Kaz recounted.

"Poppy, as in the stage performer? The one at the Emerald Palace?" Vera asked.

Kaz nodded. "That's the one."

Vera leaned forward and took a drink of the water from the tap. She swished it around her mouth and spat it out, the now red liquid slowly trickling down the drain. "So you intend on going there now, don't you?"

Kaz nodded again, finally looking at Vera again. "You're coming with."

"As a distraction?" She asked.

"Jesper will be the distraction," Kaz replied. Upon noticing Vera was done cleaning up, he opened the door and allowed her to exit first. "You will be there to do what you do best."

The duo crossed the floor of the club and made their way outside of it. Vera narrowly avoided the neverending drip of murky water outside the door and allowed Kaz to lead the way. The streets were somehow louder than the club, and the usual crowds of people were huddled under the overhangs of the surrounding buildings. Vera scanned them all, taking note of those she recognized and those she hadn't seen before.

"Jesper! New job," Kaz called out as he and Vera walked towards the open area Jesper was messing around in. "Come along."

Vera found Ketterdam fascinating. Compared to the places she had grown up in, Ketterdam was a whole new world. There were no open spaces in Ketterdam; all of the buildings clung onto each other in a crowded jumble. The overhangs of these said buildings were always dripping water onto those below, and the puddles in between the poorly made cobblestone walkways were always a disgustingly dirty shade of grey.

It was dirty, and crowded, and chaotic, and beautiful.

"We need a demo man," Jesper said as the trio walked through the alleyway.

"You're still on that?" Kaz asked.

"Wha- I only just brought it up," Jesper protested.

Kaz turned his head to look at his sharpshooter. "Jesper, you ask for an explosives expert on every job."

"Well, because I don't want to be the one that you point to and say, 'explode something for us'. That is not a Jesper talent. I shoot things with style. And I look good. Just play to my strengths, boss."

"Alina Starkov will be kept at the Little Palace. Entering the Little Palace requires us to be quiet. If we're blowing something up, we've likely failed," Kaz explained.

"That's why we should take Inej," Vera pointed out.

Kaz shot her a warning look.

"She's a good investment, more quiet than Vera and I'll ever be. She can't stay here, you know that," Jesper said. He rolled to a stop, grabbing Kaz's sleeve as his eyes landed on a certain sign. "Woah. Hang on, aren't we on Pekka's turf now?"

"I go to Heleen now and ask for her buyout, she knows I need Inej and sets a price I can't pay."

Jesper wrinkled his nose up. "That's evil. Well, how do you know that?"

"It's what he would do," Vera nearly snorts.

Kaz nodded. "Besides, Inej refuses to kill. Would you trust her in a matter of life and death?"

"Well, I've trusted her so far, and I'm still alive, so, yeah," Jesper replied. "Now, you want to tell me why we're scoping out a rival club?"

"To have a talk with an old business partner."

"The bouncers will know you on sight."

Vera smirked. "That's why you're here, our beloved decoy. Have fun."

˖⁺ 🪶⋆ ୭ ⚔️ .⋆｡⋆༶⋆˙⊹
Episode Two : We're All Someone's Monster