Echoes of your name

Chapter 1 - Between the drink in our glasses and the ache in our hearts

TW: Underage Drinking

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~ Some days I need to break down ~
~ Some days you're just like me ~
~ BUT..... ~
~ It's like you're my medicine ~
~ Good, good to bad, bad to worse ~
~ Back to good, But it works ~

Messed Up - Once Monsters & Chloe Adams

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The city of Ketterdam lay spread out before Kaz in the imploring, golden rays of the spring morning sun. Kaz thought that the city always looked like this at dawn, like someone had cut her open and was now trying to stuff all the ugly things back inside because they couldn't stand them.
Merchants were scurrying back from brothels, from pleasure houses and pubs, from alcohol and gambling addictions. Back home to equally unfaithful wives, ready to pull the facade back up and hide that they sacrificed their youth, love and happiness on the altar of business.
Actors were pulling themselves back together, street vendors opened their stalls or, depending on the kind of wares they were selling, packed up to go home and count their kruge.
Prostitutes were wandering back to their bases, trying to cover up the prize they paid for selling away their bodies night and night again, thieves and other street rats were ducking through the alleyways afraid that the sun might shine light on their sins.
The spring nights were long and people preferred to indulge in the faux-anonymity of darkness so they were also fruitful.

But Kaz wasn't thinking about the going-ons of the barrel. No, his thoughts were captured by the proposition Jan van Eck had just made him. 30 million kruge for an impossible heist. How would he do it? He could fell the roots of a plan somewhere in his mind but whatever van Eck had given him had left a major headache and he couldn't think clearly.

He was walking like that, making his way back to the Slat to tell Per Haskell about the job, when he was stopped by a gangly, tall boy. 16 years of age Kaz estimated, typical street rat, but better clothes.
"'Ay, ar' ye Misser Brekker?"
He turned his head and raised an unimpressed eyebrow. "Indeed."
"Boss-lady sa'd to gif' ya t'is." Pushing a small paper package into Kaz' hands, the boy tried to scurry away, but Kaz easily trapped him with his cane.
He glared at the boy. "Who sent you?" The boy chuckled nervously "Boss-lady sa'd ya'd kno' w'en ya op'n t'is." "Then you will be staying right here until I have done that."
Opening the small package Kaz closed his eyes briefly and dropped his cane from the boy. "Go." The boy didn't hesitate.

Inside the package was a pill and a note in a familiar handwriting.

This will help with the headache you undoubtedly got from the anesthesiac Van Eck gave you. Good Luck in Fjerda.

Taking the pill dry, Kaz thought about the note. Of course, Anya had known. She always knew. He should have expected it, even though he hadn't yet told anybody, not even Inej.

He hadn't known that she was back in the city. Like every other big player in the Barrel he had informants monitoring the comings and goings of the city. And like every other big player in the Barrel she knew how to avoid said informants. She was particularly good at it, actually.
'Two years ago, I would have been the first person she came to.' he thought and then chastised himself. It wasn't two years ago and he had better things to do than think about her. But his mind betrayed him. Now headache-free and focused on making plans, each of them seemed to involve her.

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It took three days and a visit to Hellgate before Kaz caved in and went to visit her.