✨ Tattered Wings ✨ Kaz✖️OC.

All these empty faces

It took another few hours to hash out what they intended, get through supplies they needed, and message the Cormorant. Wylan and Jesper would ride ahead to gather ground intelligence, then meet them at a bay. It was the easiest place for Zoya to board the Cormorant so that she and her Squallers could guide it into position over the base once Kaz, Nikolai and Anika were inside.

If all went according to plan, there would be no outcry, no alarm. They would be in and out of the base without anyone knowing, and the stockpile of titanium would appear as plentiful as before. Only now, most of it would be aluminium.

"I don't think it's fair that I don't get to ride on the airship," Jesper said as Kaz hustled them out of the dinning room. "Anika should be with Wylan and I should be with you, boss."

Kaz turned to Jesper, "you're the sharpshooter, not her. We need your skills if anything goes south."

Anika was glad that she was tagging along with Kaz and Nikolai, she hadn't seen or been on an airship before and she couldn't wait to be on one.

"The king of Ravka will be grateful for what you're doing and he has plenty of airships." Nikolai winked at Jesper. "And you're welcome at Ravka anytime."

They traveled to the bay by oxcart because they wanted to be as quiet and inconspicuous as possible. As soon as they arrived at the cliffs Anika could sense something was off. In the distance, she could see the lights of the naval base twinkling through the fog. But here on the cliff tops, there was an eerie quality to the mist rolling in.

The wind howled over the cliffs, a mournful chorus. These cliffs were supposed to be haunted, she'd heard stories about it. She could only hope that, she'd remain calm and not freak out. She couldn't afford her fears coming to life when they had a mission to complete. Zoya's eyes scanned the surroundings uneasily, maybe, the Grisha senses it too. Anika thought eerily.

Hoofbeats signalled their arrival. "We have a problem," Jesper said, sliding from his horse with ease. "They've locked down the goods. There's some kind of new metal shell they've installed, protects cargo from the elements."

Wylan dismounted slowly, he was less accustomed to the task.

"Titanium doesn't rust," said Kaz. "But there's other cargo on the yard on base, or I guess the military is getting more particular."

"This wasn't part of the intelligence you gathered?" Zoya frowned.

"It must have been installed recently," Kaz said, adjusting his hat "and when you rush a job, you don't complain when the job goes wrong."

"You take your time or you take your chances," said Jesper.

"And I don't take chances," added Kaz.

Zoya muttered. "You're telling me you can't get past a metal roof?"

"Of course I can, but with a bigger crew." Kaz said. "If Jesper and Wylan are handling the watchtowers, I'll need to get inside, locate whatever mechanism opens the shell, and get it to work without anyone noticing. We don't know where the guards are posted or what kind of alarms are rigged up. Assuming we could get inside, we'd need time to suss it out and at least two lookout."

"Surely the greatest thief in Ketterdam can outthink such a problem," said Nikolai.

"I'm not susceptible to flattery, only stacks of cash." Kaz squinted. "If you're willing to take out a few guards or let Wylan blow a hole_"