Hey Sunshine

Taking Care of Bastards

Wylan

"Goddammit," Kaz's voice broke through the haze and they all jolted. "You just had to come in right now?"

Jesper shot him a glare. "Let me make out with my boyfriend."

Wylan's cheeks burned red, but he pulled away from Jesper reluctantly, resting his head against the side of Jes' chest. "Alright, so I'm assuming we're changing the plan?"

Inej nodded, padding into view. Wylan lifted his head sharply, twisting to give her a grin. "Hey Inej," he said smiling, pulling her into a hug. She shot him a smile.

"Are you alright?" she asked quietly, so only Jes and her would be able to hear.

"I'm fine," he said with a smile. "A little bruised, but that mainly came from jumping out of my window."

Both Jesper and Inej pulled away and gave him a sharp look.

He grinned sheepishly.

Kaz and Nina hurriedly ushered Jesper and Inej into the room, locking it shut behind them. Nina and Inej pulled each other into tight hugs, before Inej slipped next to Kaz. "Alright, so what's the new plan?" Jesper asked. "Seeing as though we've ruined your old one."

Kaz scowled at the reminder. "I was so close to implementing it too," he muttered under his breath. Inej subtly dug an elbow to his side. "Well, thankfully, we still have Matthias as our getaway driver," he said, face morphing into a thoughtful mask. "Inej, Jesper - did the two of you find or see anybody while you roamed the mansion?"

Inej shook her head. "It's become a ghost house," Jesper said grimly. "There was a brief moment of terror - I think Van Eck hired him? I don't know what happened, but he pulled a gun on us. We managed to fight him off."

Wylan pulled away from Jesper once again to give him a horrified look. "He did what now?"

Wylan asked, face darkening at the thought of his father hiring such a person. "He pulled a gun on you?"

He tried, vaguely, to align his views of his father with the new man. He'd always been cold and distant - that much had always existed - but to pull a gun on others? Hell, to hire such people?

Wylan had always known his father was loose with the law, but this was a new level of misery his father condoned.

"I'm sorry," he said, resting his head against Jesper's chest once again. "I'm so sorry."

Nina snorted. "It's fine, Wylan. Plus, you have no control over your dad's actions. You can't do anything about his behavior."

Inej nodded solemnly, and even Kaz looked angry on his behalf. "I have an idea," he said instead, face morphing into something thoughtful. "Wylan, how much do you know about the corruption within Van Eck's company?"

Wylan bit his lip. "I can't read a lot of the papers because of my dyslexia," he said hesitating. "But I know that it exists. It's obvious. And from what I've gathered over the years, the board of directors at my father's company are well aware of the corruption, but as long as it doesn't affect them or it isn't known about, they don't care."

"But as soon as it gets out in the open...?" Kaz said quietly. "He'd be ruined."

Ruined. What would it look like - his father, the man who had terrorized him for most of his childhood - to be brought to his knees, no longer in power? No longer in power of him?

"Yeah," Wylan said quietly. "He'd be-" his voice cracked. "He'd be ruined."

Jesper reached out and tightened his hand around his own.

Inej and Kaz looked at each other for a few seconds. "It'd take a lot of hard work," Kaz said thoughtfully. "But if we all play our cards right, we should be able to pull it off."

"I don't like should's," Inej said in response. "We're not risking our lives for a should."

"I'm okay with should's if it means taking care of bastards like Jan Van Eck," Nina piped in. Kaz shook his head.

"This plan needs to be foolproof," was all he said. "It needs... I've had a lot of plans tonight, but this needs to be our last."

Jesper swallowed, the breath audible to all of them. The night could be over - they just needed Kaz to come in and do something akin to saving the day. Saving the day? Wylan thought, almost amused. The thought was practically insane. He gripped Jesper's hand tighter, leaning into the taller boy's comforting presence. They were together again.

"How much corruption have the servants witnessed?" Kaz asked Wylan, eyes blazing suddenly.

"And how far is the nearest house from here? Who is it owned by?"

"A lot," Wylan said. "They've seen a lot, but they're kept silent by either blackmail or really big paychecks. The nearest house from here is about a mile and a half away. It's owned by my father - Jan. It's owned by Jan as well. He owns most of the properties within the area."

Kaz nodded. "What do you mean by properties? Does he own any of the small commercial properties?"

Wylan shook his head. "They're largely aware of my father's rule, but they keep quiet about it."

A slow smile crept onto Kaz's face. He looked a bit like a cobra narrowing in for the shot, close to finishing the last stage of a plan that could free him. Did Kaz know that he held Wylan's freedom in his fists? If this - if this went badly, Wylan's life could be over. His father... he might be kept in his father's grip his entire life. And the rest of them might end up dead.

That man had a gun.

Kaz has a plan, Wylan reminded himself. It's going to turn out alright. On his left, Jesper lifted his chin and lightly placed it into Wylan's curls. Wylan felt himself sinking into the boy some more.

"Nina, how far away is the local diner?" Kaz asked, leaning backwards and stretching his legs.

"A little further than the nearest property," she responded immediately, voice clear against the darkness they all sat in. "Two miles? Three at most."

Jesper snorted, the gesture shifting his chin and vibrating against Wylan's scalp. "How do you know that?"

Nina made a face at him. "I was really hungry, okay? I was just keeping track of every available food source."

"Silence," Kaz demanded grandly, slowly raising onto his feet. A smile had crept onto his face, looking almost unnatural on his face. The pale moonlight from the window reflected off his skin, and his eyes glowed coal black. A dark coffee, actually, Wylan considered. He would have to figure out the exact shade later.

Kaz toned the smile down just a little.

"I have a plan."