The Red Ribbon {Kaz Brekker X Reader}

Rough Seas Ahead

~ Y/N pov ~

At the Crow Club, Kaz unchains Matthias, stashes away Wylan's maps, and makes sure that we are all here. His count comes up one member short.

"Jesper," Kaz mutters.

"I can go get him-" Inej offers, but as soon as the words leave her mouth, Jesper comes tumbling into the office.

"Are you ever punctual?" Kaz asks in irritation. Not a great way to start our journey.

"Jesper's version of punctual is being a little bit late, we all know that," I say. We need a team that is put together, not going at each other's throats within three seconds. Kaz ignores my comment and heads out of the office. We all follow. Moody or not, Kaz is on the move.

"No mourners," I say.

"No funerals," the others repeat. This time, Nina joins in.

The one good thing about the Barrel is that it is a melting pot of people. No one looks twice at an oversized Fjerdan, or two Zeminis trying to see how loud they can be before a boy dressed in black shoots them a glare. Our seven member crew blends into the crowd. And that's why we easily make it down to the harbor without any question, where Kaz suddenly stops.

"Be on the lookout for any trouble. Board the Ferolind. Avoid any altercations-" Kaz says, but his voice gets drowned out by the sound of the Ferolind exploding into a million pieces. Jesper immediately unholsters his guns. Gunshots start to ring out, but he stays still.

"Jesper, shoot!" I whisper, raising my hands in preparation.

"Kaz said to avoid alterca-"

"How is this the one time that you actually listen to Kaz? Shoot!" I say, panic starting to take over.

These can't be the Dime Lions. Pekka's crew already left. He wouldn't risk a shootout when he needs the men for this job. So who the hell is shooting at us?

We all scatter. It is a free-for-all. I end up following Jesper and we hide behind some cargo. Every couple of seconds, Jesper pops up to shoot some of our opponents.

"Can you tell who they are?" I ask, staying low as to avoid a fight.

Jesper swallows, "Blacktips. And Razergulls. They are ambushing us."

Two different gangs on us at the same time. How did they know about the job? Van Eck couldn't have offered it to anyone else, knowing that something like this would happen.

Suddenly, Kaz appears behind us.

"Go to berth twenty-two. Don't get shot," he says quickly, already preparing to deliver the same information to someone else.

"Why would we go on someone else's boat?" I ask.

"The real Ferolind is at berth twenty-two. Ever heard of a decoy?" He asks, not even sparing a glance at me.

Ouch. He didn't have to be so harsh about it. But we are all stressed, so I brush off his tone with little thought as he runs over to Inej.

Jesper sees an opening and darts behind a barrel down the harbor, where Wylan is currently hiding, eyes closed tight. Together, they both make it to berth twenty-two. I take a deep breath and pray to the Saints that no one sees me dart to the ship. I readjust the grip on my knife and run as fast as my body will allow.