of snakes & crows || kaz brekker

─ 𝒇𝒊𝒗𝒆

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[05|| chapter five]
the art of executing a
heist in ketterdam

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━━━━ THE HEIST WENT smoother than they ever could've dreamed. Almost entirely perfect.

Firstly, Ead and Inej were in charge of scouting the rooftops surrounding the home of the merchant who owned the DeKappel painting to check if there was anyone who might get in the way of their plans.

         It was the dead hour of morning, not long before the sun came up, the rare time of day when the city of Ketterdam slowed down. It was when the loud noises dimmed to a quiet hum, when late night workers slept, and a solid moment before those who rose early finally awoke. She called it the hour of opportunity; she'd gotten away with a lot things at this time of day.

Ead's emerald cloak swooshed behind her as the fog hugged her shoulders, her boots landing on the cement softly, but never as quiet as Inej's steps. The Suli woman was truly like a wraith, silent and hard to see. That might've been the fog, but usually Ead had no problem seeing through it. It must've been why Kaz hired Inej in the first place, because she was so good at what she did. Honestly, she was probably even better than Ead, so the reason that Kaz wanted the Viper was yet another mystery.

Ead crouched low on the edge of the roof of a shop she didn't know the name of, squinting at the cobblestone streets below. It was the last building on her side of the road she'd been assigned to scout, and so far nothing seemed out of place. The perimeter was bare. She spotted Kaz's figure a few feet away and ran at him, jumping down and landing right on her feet. She stumbled a bit from the bone rattling impact, but the man jutted out his cane before she could topple and set her straight.

"Anything?" He asked, pulling his cane back quickly after as if he couldn't believe himself.

Ead was breathless and flushed. She hoped he thought it was from her jump. "Nothing. A couple of drunks passed out at the south end. Shouldn't give us any trouble."

"Good." Kaz said, letting his eyes scope the area around them. "Inej said the same, so we're ahead of schedule. Our first guard is out in the open. Is there any way you can knock him out without your signature bite?"

"Of course," Ead raised a gloved fist. "With this bad boy, but it gets messy." She gripped at her bicep with her other hand, squeezing her muscles.

Kaz looked like he wanted to roll his eyes, but his eyebrows were furrowed. He eyed the gloves on her hands curiously. "You've never worn gloves before. What changed?"

Ead tried to keep the emotion from her face, but it was hard controlling herself. She didn't think that he would notice, but now that he had it was difficult coming up with a lie. How was she supposed to say she was wearing them in case she accidentally got too close to him? Curse her softness for making her look a bumbling fool.

         "Oh, uh, I just thought it was be better this way. Just to—"

Jesper saved her ass by coming up from behind. "Fog's still thick, so now's a good a time as any."