The Shadow Crow (A Shadow and Bone: Season 2 Fanfiction)

Chapter 4: Gathering of Thieves and Grisha

Back in the lab building... 

Wylan pulled off his work glasses, rifling through some bottles. 

'Hello? Anyone here?' Jesper called out, not seeing Wylan until he turned. 

'Oh,' Wylan breathed with a smile. 'I wasn't expecting you.'

'And you are?' Jesper asked, walking up to the table. 

'We've... uh, Wylan.' Jesper eyed the chemicals on the table, picking up a bottle and perusing it. 

'No, I mean, why did Kaz have us meet here?'

'Oh. I guess - I'm your demolitions man.'

'You? You've got all your fingers.' 

'Well, maybe I'm careful.' He came up to Jesper, taking a bottle of red liquid from him. 

'Careful is something you learn from losing your fingers.' Kaz walked in, with me just behind him. 'This novice is telling me he's our new demo man,' Jesper complained. 'Raske is better. Or even Pim.' 

'And yet Wylan is the one I hired,' Kaz snapped.

'Shouldn't you be graduating university and, I don't know, starting a desk job?' Jesper asked Wylan, sitting on the steps. Kaz looked up, seeing Inej and another woman descend. 

'You're here,' Kaz said to Inej. 'With the new Heartrender?' 

'Nina Zenik,' the woman said with a flourish, removing her feathered and flowered hat. 'At your service.'

'Nina Zenik?' Inej, Jesper and I all exclaimed incredulously. She turned to us. 

'Well, that's a reaction,' she replied with a warm chuckle, then fixed me with a look without saying anything. 'Is there a famous Nina Zenik that I don't know of?'

'Can I get anyone some tea?' Wylan offered, but we said nothing. 

'You worked with Arken,' Kaz replied. 

'It was more of a limited partnership,' Nina replied. 

'Did you trust him?' 

'That turncoat?' Nina scoffed. 'Not on your life. He was shadier than an oak at three bells.' She looked at me again. 'I feel like I know you from somewhere,' she added towards me. 

'Maybe you do, maybe you don't. Not many people know me.' 

'You're General Kirigan's sister.' 

'Former sister. He's dead to me.' 

'How'd you end up here?' she asked. 

'Long story.' 

'What's your price?' Kaz spoke, bringing Nina's attention back to him. 

'I've expended the legal avenues on my problem,' she replied. 'Every clerk in the city says the same thing. "The judge will see you in six months". 

'And so you're looking for the not-so-legal route. On what, exactly?'

'I'm told you could free someone from Hellgate.' Kaz gave Inej a side-eye, to which her reaction was passive. 'Someone, I say as if he's anyone, and in truth, he's the love of my life.' Kaz looked down. 

'I can't get you a release from Hellgate. But I can get you a visit,' he replied. 'In exchange for your services.'

'What do you need me for?' she asked. 

'The aftermath,' he simply said, then walked away, the crew following him, including myself, as Nina looked on in confusion. Inej turned to her. 

'He does this,' she replied, and Nina resigned herself to walking after them. 

'Does he?' she asked, picking up the skirts of her large dress, and walking out of the building with them. They walked onto the roof of the building, showcasing a view that overlooked all of Ketterdam. All of us stood. Wylan, the demolitions man, then Jesper, the sharpshooter and Inej, the Wraith, then Kaz, the bastard of the Barrel, and lastly, Nina, the Heartrender and me, Adela, the Shadow Summoner. 

'Brick by brick,' Kaz muttered to himself. Suddenly, a far-off building in the city exploded into smoke and flame. 

'What was that?' Jesper asked. 

'The Crow Club,' Inej said. 

 'I had some really nice hats in there,' Jesper replied mournfully, as he had when he'd found out that the club had been re-acquisitioned by Pekka in the first place. He looked at Wylan. 'Was that yours?' Wylan gulped and said nothing. 

'I take it we're in the aftermath,' Nina said to Kaz. 

'This doesn't help us clear our name, Kaz,' Inej said. 'This is war with Pekka Rollins, the King of the Barrel. 

'The Barrel doesn't belong to kings,' Kaz said, turning away from the group and furiously stalking away from us. 'It belongs to bastards,' I heard him say, softly enough to himself, but I could still hear him.

On a ship outside of Ravka... 

The door opened to the captain's cabin. 

'Request for charter, Captain,' the soldier said with a smile, opening the door to the cabin, Alina and Mal stalking in seconds later. They'd had a long day of evading the First Army, and they were there for business. 

'Immediate charter,' Mal said.

'He means we need to leave right now,' Alina chimed in, walking behind him. None other than the privateer Sturmhond rose from his seat, now dressed in blue and gold livery, as opposed to his black coat and hat in Ketterdam. 

'Let's be clear about two things,' Sturmhond said, leaning on his desk. 'I don't take orders on my own ship. 'And we're already underway. I'm glad you've joined us.' Alina looked to her left, seeing Weddle Harbour far away from them. 'Now maybe you'd be so kind as to give the room a little light. After all, you are Alina Starkov. A 20-million-kruge Saint. Dead or alive.' He pulled out a gun from his belt, placing it on the table.