Chapter Text
This was the weirdest fucking job Inej had ever taken.
She was sat on a loveseat next to a man dressed all in black, who held a cane in his hands.
His name was Kaz Brekker, and they had met for the first time less than an hour ago, in the coffee shop across the street.
Now they were side by side in a counselor's office, pouring their false hearts out.
"I just don't know if we can make this work anymore," Inej was saying, trying her hardest to work up some tears. "I don't know if I even want to."
"Don't say that," Brekker said, sounding utterly broken. He was a good actor, she had to hand it to him. "We're worth fighting for, darling, I know we are. You can't just throw that all away."
She sighed, wiping at her eyes.
"What would be the point, Kaz?"
"Do you still love me?"
"Of course I do!" She pretended at outrage. "How can you even ask me that?"
"That's the point, then!" He grabbed her hand in his, which was still covered by his glove for some reason. "I love you, Inej, I have loved you for the last ten years, since we were children. Please don't walk away from me. From us."
"Okay guys," their counselor, Jeannie, cut in. "This was a good intro session. I think I got a pretty good feel for how things have been going. I think we should meet again next week. Does Tuesday at three work for you guys?"
Putting on a defeated slump of her shoulders and staring down into her lap, Inej nodded.
"Yes, that will be fine." Kaz said.
"Wonderful," Jeannie said. "Be good to each other until then."
They nodded at the receptionist on their way out.
***
This was the first job Inej had taken on as an independent contractor, since she'd finally escaped the Menagerie a week ago. She'd been breaking into houses for sale to sleep at night, and stealing food from bougie grocery stores, but that would all be over soon. This job would pay handsomely, she just had to make it through to the end.
She had responded to a posting looking for a spider, who could commit to running a long con and was a decent actor.
She didn't know exactly what the purpose of the con was, but she knew Jeannie wasn't their actual target. She just gave them a solid excuse to be in the building every week.
She blinked a little as she stepped out into the daylight, side by side with her new employer, Kaz Brekker.
She'd heard his name before, of course. Dirtyhands was a frequent player in the city's criminopolitical scene, and apparently she'd been the only serious candidate mad enough to apply.
"I'll need you to sneak onto the eighth floor tonight," Brekker said. "Don't need you to steal anything, but figure out a route in and out and map out the security for me."
"Of course," Inej said.
"Bring your findings to this address when you're done," he continued. "They'll ask you for a codeword at the door, it's 'corvid' this month."
She nodded again, and he tipped his hat to her.
"Well I guess I'll see you tonight."
***
Inej arrived at the address Kaz had given her at half past one in the morning, to find it bustling with activity. An impossibly large man stood in front of the door, scowling at her as she approached.
She didn't like the looks of him. He reminded her too much of an old client she'd seen at the Menagerie, and she didn't feel like dredging any of that up just then, so she ducked around to the back of the building and began climbing up a wall.
It wasn't difficult to locate the right window. Getting through it proved a little trickier, but it was less than five minutes until she slid into the empty room.
It was spartan in its plainness, but obviously belonged to Kaz. She sat in his chair and propped her feet up on his desk, just because she could, and waited for him to make an appearance.
It was only moments later when the door banged open and he strode in, followed by the receptionist from Jeannie’s office, the redheaded one.
“Nina’s services are required elsewhere, Wylan,” he was saying. “And Jesper would make a terrible secretary. We’ve already decided that it has to be you, and I’m not exactly clear on why I’m stuck here explaining it again.”
The receptionist, Wylan, caught sight of Inej over Kaz’s shoulder and stopped short, staring.
Kaz whirled around to face her and froze for a moment, shock flitting across his face.
It was only for a moment, though, and then he collected himself again.
“Wylan,” he said pleasantly. “Please excuse us.”
“But-” the boy started.
“I have things to discuss with my new spider. Out.”
Sighing, Wylan left, shutting the door firmly behind him.
“I have a name you know.”
“Of course,” Kaz said magnanimously. “May I have my chair back, Inej?”
Sighing, she levered herself out of the desk chair and plopped down onto the desk instead.
“I drew out a rough map of the eighth floor,” she said, nodding down to where she’d set the plans. “Entry and egress routes, security systems, layout.”
“Any complications?” he asked, settling into his chair with a sigh.
“Night janitor,” she responded. “Comes in and does a sweep of the floor around eleven. Out by midnight.”
He nodded.
“Good.”
They sat in silence for a few minutes, until Kaz spoke again.
“I seem to recall giving you the passcode to get in,” he said.
She nodded.
“Corvid.”
“That’s right,” he stretched his bad leg out in front of him. “And yet I didn’t get a heads up from any of my door guards that you had arrived.”
She shrugged.
“Not my fault they can’t do their jobs.”
“Oh, but they can,” he said. “I only hire exceptional talent.”
“Maybe I found another way in,” she responded.
“Care to enlighten me?”
“It’s as you said, Mr. Brekker. You only hire exceptional talent. And I,” she leaned forward a little. “Have exceptional talent.”
“Be that is it may,” he started to say, but was interrupted by the office door banging open.
A tall brown boy stood in the doorway, a massive grin spreading across his face.
“You must be Inej!” he cried out. “Kaz’s wife!”
Kaz rolled his eyes.
“You know the plan as well as I do, Jesper,” he said. “You know we needed a sham marriage to get inside the building.”
Jesper waved this away.
“And I offered to be your irate lover, but no,” he propped himself up on the desk beside Inej. “I just wasn’t good enough for you.”
“Inej,” Kaz said pleasantly, as though the other man had not spoken. “This is Jesper, our sharpshooter and jack of all trades. Jesper, our new spider.”
Jesper slung his arm around her shoulders, pulling her into a half hug. He let her go immediately when he felt her tense against him, though.
“Lovely to meet you, I’m sure,” he said.
Inej gave him a nod and a smile in return.
“If that’s all you needed, Kaz,” she said. “I had best be on my way.”
“Of course,” he said. “I’ll contact you if we require your services before next Tuesday.”
Inej went to slide off the desk, but was stopped by Jesper’s hand on her shoulder.
“Come on, Kaz,” he said. “You’re not gonna send her home alone in the middle of the night. She can stay at the Slat.”
“It’s fine,” Inej said, making for the window.
“Nonsense!” Jesper caught her elbow. “You’re part of the crew now! All of the rest of us live here.”
They both looked to Kaz, who shrugged.
“Makes no difference to me,” he said.
“Wonderful!” Jesper steered her across the room, towards the door, talking a mile a minute. “I’m sure you can bunk up with Nina. You’ll love Nina, everybody does. Is that Sankta Lizabeta?” he nodded to her necklace. “Wonderful, you’re religious. Matthias will like you. Maybe with your help we can convince him to make us waffles in the morning. The man’s a bit of an asshole, but he makes a mean waffle. How did you get in, anyway?”