Crooked Kingdom (The Six of Crows Duology #2) - Leigh Bardugo Page 0,64

Barrel to scam? Because no one else is going to get him for us. No one else is going to care that he cheated us or that we risked our lives for nothing. No one else is going to make this right. So I’m asking, do you want to beat Van Eck?”

“Yes,” said Inej. She wanted some kind of justice.

“Soundly,” said Nina.

“Around the ears with Wylan’s flute,” said Jesper.

One by one, they nodded.

“The stakes have changed,” said Kaz. “Based on Van Eck’s little demonstration today, wanted posters with our faces on them are probably already going up all over Ketterdam, and I suspect he’ll be offering a handsome reward. He’s trading on his credibility, and the sooner we destroy it, the better. We’re going to take his money, his reputation, and his freedom all in one night. But that means we don’t stop. Angry as he is, tonight Van Eck is going to eat a fine dinner and fall off to a fitful sleep in his soft merch bed. Those stadwatch grunts will rest their weary heads until they get to the next shift, wondering if maybe they’ll earn a little overtime. But we don’t stop . The clock is ticking. We can rest when we’re rich. Agreed?”

Another round of nods.

“Nina, there are guards who walk the perimeter of the silos. You’ll be the distraction, a distressed Ravkan, new to the city, looking for work in the warehouse district. You need to keep them occupied long enough for the rest of us to get inside and for Inej to scale the first silo. Then—”

“On one condition,” said Nina, arms crossed.

“This is not a negotiation.”

“Everything is a negotiation with you, Brekker. You probably bartered your way out of the womb. If I’m going to do this, I want us to get the rest of the Grisha out of the city.”

“Forget it. I’m not running a charity for refugees.”

“Then I’m out.”

“Fine. You’re out. You’ll still get your share of the money for your work on the Ice Court job, but I don’t need you on this crew.”

“No,” said Inej quietly. “But you need me.”

Kaz rested his cane across his legs. “It seems everyone is forming alliances.”

Inej remembered the way the sun had caught the brown in his eyes only hours before. Now they were the color of coffee gone bitter in the brewing. But she was not going to back down.

“They’re called friendships, Kaz.”

His gaze shifted to Nina. “I don’t like being held hostage.”

“And I don’t like shoes that pinch at the toes, but we must all suffer. Think of it as a challenge for your monstrous brain.”

After a long pause, Kaz said, “How many people are we talking about?”

“There are less than thirty Grisha in the city that I know of, other than the Council of Tides.”

“And how would you like to corral them? Hand out pamphlets directing them to a giant raft?”

“There’s a tavern near the Ravkan embassy. We use it to leave messages and exchange information. I can get the word out from there. Then we just need a ship. Van Eck can’t watch all the harbors.”

Inej didn’t want to disagree, but it had to be said. “I think he can. Van Eck has the full power of the city government behind him. And you didn’t see his reaction when he discovered Kaz had dared to take Alys.”

“Please tell me he actually frothed at the mouth,” said Jesper.

“It was a close thing.”

Kaz limped to the tomb door, staring out into the darkness. “Van Eck won’t have made the choice to involve the city lightly. It’s a risk, and he wouldn’t take that risk if he didn’t intend to capitalize on it to the fullest. He’ll have every harbor and watchtower on the coast on full alert, with orders to question anyone trying to leave Ketterdam. He’ll just claim that he knows Wylan’s captors may plan to take him from Kerch.”

“Trying to get all of the Grisha out will be extremely dangerous,” said Matthias. “The last thing we need is for a group of them to fall into Van Eck’s hands when he may still have a store of parem .”

Jesper tapped his fingers on the grips of his revolvers. “We need a miracle. And possibly a bottle of whiskey. Helps lubricate the brainpan.”

“No,” said Kaz slowly. “We need a ship. A ship that couldn’t possibly be suspect, that Van Eck and the stadwatch would never have cause to stop. We need one of his ships.”

Nina wriggled to the edge