Love can find you |~ Kaz Brekker ~|

|26| a stowaway

The crows went to the under compartment of the skiff. Roars could be heard from where they were hidden. The beastly growls echoed throughout the fold.

Kaz and Danielle were sat next to each other while Inej and Jasper were across from the two.

"This is a bad idea." Jesper stressed while cleaning out his guns.

"I think it's rather practical." Kaz said from his spot in the compartment.

"What? Why?!" Jesper whisper shouted to his boss, hurriedly cleaning his guns.

"I don't see how we could step off this boat without you pulling those guns." Kaz responded. "So cleaning them is a good idea."

"I don't mean this." Jesper held up one of his guns. "I mean this." He twirled his finger in the air, motioning to the situation they're in.

A growl sounded yet again, they all looked up. To this, Jesper started to speak again. "We are in the worst place in the world. On a ship, full of people who want us dead. Surrounded by monsters who want us in their guts." Jesper stopped loading his gun for a moment and looked up. "I should've bright Milo."

"Who's Milo?" Inej asked as she had forgotten about the goat.

"The goat!" He yelled.

"Shut up." Danny said to him.

"How many bullets do you have?" Kaz asked the Zemeni man.

"Not enough." The sharpshooter replied. After a few moments, Jesper began to talk again. "So. What's our play?"

"We wait." Replied Kaz.

"For what?"

Kaz looked at Danny for a moment. "For whatever the general has planned."

"So we haven't figured him out?" Jesper questioned.

"Not yet." Sighed Kaz. "Consider this scenario. The sun summoner fled from his palace. Now she's tied to the deck. We're sailing for a city another ravkan general hired Arken to kill her. I saw his face as he boarded." Kaz inched closer to Jesper as he spoke, Jesper backed up a bit. "I know that look." Dirtyhands continued. "He's a man consumed with vengeance."

"See it enough in the mirror, do you?" Jesper sassed. Kaz looked at him as if he had killed his mother. Jesper hid his smirk.

Jesper and Kaz spoke back and forth. "We need to threaten her life." Is all Danny heard as she had spaced out.

The voices rang out in unison, "what?"

"Who's this?" Jesper stared at the man Inej was pointing a gun to. "Who are you?"

"A stowaway." Inej answered for him. "Why pick this of all Skiffs?" Inej aimed the gun to his neck as she asked the question.

"To kill the General." He had said. "I'm here to save Alina."

"I'll ask again." Jesper walked up to the stowaway. "Who are you?"

"Mal Oretsev."

Kaz limped over to him, leaning on his cane. "You know Alina?"

"I do."

Jesper had his finger on the trigger of one of his guns, Inej still stood behind Mal with a gun to his neck.

"Who's in control of her?"

Mal looked at Danielle which made Jesper raise his gun up. "The general I'm going to kill."

"Inej give him his gun." Kaz commanded.

Inej looked at Mal then back to Kaz. "Why?"

"Because if he isn't with Kirigan's crew, he's with ours." Inej handed him his gun and Jesper put his own gun away.

~*•*~

The boat suddenly stopped. Jesper flicked his guns to the air and Inej got closer to Danny, the latter placing her hand on the other's in comfort. "Why have we stopped?"

"Shh." Kaz shushed her.

"One more demonstration!" The General's voice sounded.

The noise of air swooshing and shouts boomed. Jesper lowered his weapons. "What now?"

"We wait."

Inej stepped up to the boss. "Kaz, you can hear him slaughtering a city-"

"So you understand the scale of his power then? Good." The limping man spoke firmly.

"The bold move is to strike now!" Mal snapped.

"And the smart one is to get clear of the Fold first!" Danny snapped back, her call demeanor lowly fading.

Mal nodded then walked away. "I never said I was smart."

"Can you believe him?" Jesper said as Mal climbed up the wooden stairs out of the compartment.

"I'm going with him." Inej said, started to strip off her coat and hat so she could have more movement. She ran up then too.

"Inej!" Elle called out.

Mal charged through the people on the Skiff and started shooting at the guards. A heartrender then took hold of him. Kirigan took the gun from the ground.

Back down below, Jesper, Kaz, and Danielle stood looking outside from the grate. Jesper began to walk to the door as well.

"We wait!" Kaz shouted. Jesper shook his head.

"The actions up there."

"They have the advantage!"

"Only because I'm not in the game." Jesper responded.

Jesper walked forward shooting at them, Kaz pushed him out of the way when he saw the General conjure a sword like shadow that was flying at him.

Inej threw a knife at Kirigan. "It will take more than this!" He declared.

As Danny climbed out, she had noticed the back part of the skiff was now in the fold. Kaz and Jesper on the main part, Zoya along with Inej on the top part of the Skiff.

A volcra flew down and pushed Zoya off the very top of the skiff. Inej ran to her. "Zoya!"

Inej began flinging her knives in the air hoping to get any of the monsters. She went to grab more but she was out. Just then, a volcra landed onto the railing of the skiff.