005 | find the conductor

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v. you're free to leave me
but just don't deceive me

KAZ AND AURORA WALKED OUT OF
the Crow Club with something that they didn't have before, a lead. And that's all that mattered, not their arguments or disagreements.

"Jesper, come on," Kaz said as the two walked past the confused man.

He followed after them, clearly not knowing where he was going, he just kept rambling on about needing a demo man.

"You still on about that?" Aurora questioned, turning around to look at him.

"I just brought it up now," He held his hands up on surrender.

"Jesper, you ask for an explosives expert on every job," Kaz stated as him and Aurora walked in the lead.

"Because I don't want to be the one you point to and say 'explode something for us' that is not a Jesper talent, I shoot things with style," he explained

Kaz ignored him, "Alina Starkov will be kept at the Little Palace, entering the Little Palace will mean we have to be quiet. Blowing something up, we've likely failed," he said.

"Then we should take Inej," Aurora said and she saw Kaz tense up, "Shes a good investment, more quiet than me or Jesper will ever be,"

When Jesper saw where they were heading, he placed a hand on Kaz's shoulder to stop him from moving any further; Aurora stopped as well.

"Hang on, aren't we on Pekkas turf now?" Jesper questioned, fully well knowing the answer but just checking anyway.

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

Aurora hid a smile. She knew deep down he had listened to her and that he did care about them, underneath all that armour he hid behind.

"Thats evil. Wait, how do you know that?" Jesper asked, looking at Kaz with confusion.

"It's what I would do," he replied before turning to the Emerald Palace, "Besides, Inej refuses to kill, would you trust her in a matter of life and death?"

Aurora sighed, "Well I've trusted her so far and I'm still alive, so, yeah," she said, Jesper nodding his head on agreement at her statement.

"Now you want to tell me why we're scoping out a rival club?" Jesper asked and Kaz just sighed.

"To have a talk with an old business partner," he stated but Aurora knew there had to be something else.

"The bouncers will know you - and me - instantly, that's dumb," she said, furrowing her brow in confusion.

"Thats why I brought Jesper, make sure they don't see me or you," Kaz said as he started to walk off, "Come on,"

She sighed as she followed him, placing a hand on the fabrikator made dagger that would turn into a sword when she spun it around in her hand.

As Jesper made a distraction with the guards, Kaz and Aurora snuck in, they needed to find Poppy.

When they found him, they stood there until he turned around, picking up a gun and aiming it at the.

"I see you're still upset," Kaz said, looking at Poppy with amusement.

"About you stealing my shares of the Crow club," Poppy kept the gun aimed on Kaz before pointing it at Aurora, "I thought you didn't take in women Brekker,"

Aurora chuckled, a smile on her face as she thought about the confusion on Brekkers face that he hid when Poppy mentioned him having a girl.

"Shes a member, and anyway, it wasn't stealing, it was just a raw deal," Kaz said, not flinching as the gun was aimed back at him.

"What do you want Dirtyhands, because you clearly didn't come to show off the girl," Poppy asked, putting the gun down on the table.

Kaz felt awkward and uncomfortable as Poppy kept on insinuating that Aurora was somehow his girlfriend, his property. So he ignored the comments, ignoring the way his skin crawled at the idea.

"We need to find someone or learn how to find someone. Tonight," Aurora said and Poppy chuckled.

"Shes a real keeper, straight to the point just like you," he said, starting to apply his makeup casually like they weren't even there.

"I'm looking for the Conductor," Kaz said and Poppy froze, turning to look at him, "So you do know him,"

"This is about a job, isn't it?" He asked, a sudden serious expression on his face, "One that sends you all the way east, for a million kruge? You'll never make enough to compete with Pekka Rollins,"

Kaz looked down at a table and saw a card on the table, a Menagerie card which meant that the person was being summoned to her.

"Tante Heleen wrote you?" Aurora asked, narrowing her eyes at Poppy.

"Just this evening, you're as snoopy as Kaz. She was asking about the Conductor as well, probably about the same job," Poppy explained, "So I warned him to steer clear of her,"

"You warned him? With a note?" Kaz asked, Poppy nodding, "She wanted you to do that so she could have the messenger followed,"

"She wouldn't hurt him, would she?" Poppy asked, a look of worry on his face.

Aurora scoffed, "She would, if it meant hurting us," she looked at Kaz as she said that, knowing this was about Inej.

"If you have any loyalty to him, tell me where he is, right now," Kaz demanded and Poppy agreed, giving them the location to the Conductor.

They rushed to his house to find Inej was next to him, holding a knife to his throat ready to kill him.

"Don't!" Aurora exclaimed, a knife being hurtled her way as Inej didn't realise it was her.

Kaz reached over just in time, placing a hand on her waist and pulling her back so that the knife landed an inch from her head.

"Nice shot," Aurora said, looking at Inej, "But he's our way to Alina Starkov,"

"Him?" Inej asked. Her breath was trembling and she sounded scared, she was about to kill someone after all.

"Heleen knew it, she was using you to sabotage our mission," Kaz said, looking at Inej who held another knife to the man's throat.

"She and I made a deal," she stated, still glaring down at the man.

"It isn't worth more than what we get with him alive," He replied, him and Aurora walking closer to Inej.

"He is worth more than my freedom," she sounded bitter and angry and Aurora knew how that felt, to be trapped in a corner with no escape.

"You assume its one or the other," Aurora said, "Don't do it Inej,"

Inej took a deep breath before removing her knife from the mand throat, moving away from him.

"Conductor, I have a job for you," Kaz said as he towered over the man, "Get us to the Little Palace,"

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