Chapter Text
Oxana continued to hold Zurye’s tattooed forearm in what she hoped was a comforting grip as they watched the obnoxious Councilman stalk away. She hadn’t wanted her girlfriend to steal the air from Torben’s lungs, though he definitely deserved such a fate. They were standing across from the bar, close enough to hear the majority of the conversation between the mercher, Brekker, and the rest. Oxana had inched them closer when she’d seen Captain Ghafa glide by. Now, she asked Zurye, “Want to go check in?”
“Yes. Who was that… kupe ?”
Trying not to snicker at the Zemeni word for ‘tick’, quite apt for the man, Oxana quietly explained as they started moving towards the group in the corner. “That was Rikhard Torben, a member of the Merchant Council here.”
“He was abhorrent,” Zurye responded. The anger radiating off of the zowa woman had the perverse effect of making her even more attractive to Oxana.
“Definitely. Kind of surprised our captain didn’t stab him for that one comment about investments, honestly,” she muttered.
Zurye hummed in agreement. Oxana stole a sideways glance at her girlfriend. She really was stunning tonight, dressed in a sapphire blue gown that swirled around her lush body like waves. Her long braids were plated into an intricate updo, held with silver hair sticks. The blue swirled mask she’d chosen at Toren Leder accented her jawline, and currently framed her flashing eyes. Oxana wasn’t glad for the reason, but she did appreciate seeing her girlfriend fired up. Though tonight’s reason was better than the argument that had seen them both get heated that morning.
At least they’d mostly cleared the air on why Oxana was hesitant about spending too much time together. She’d mustered the courage to explain some of her fears about being overwhelming. Not wanting to be the one to smother a new relationship. Zurye had been far more understanding than Oxana expected. Maybe it was because the zowa woman was used to dealing with tempestuous winds and waves, but she seemed to have a good handle on dealing with Oxana’s moods, too.
As they approached, Brekker split off to go speak with some of his crow masked Dregs by the bar. Van Eck was addressing two large Kerch men in tailored suits and simple domino masks. Guards, from the looks of them. “…And escort my mother and Mistress Erkins for the rest of the evening, please.”
“Wylan, we’re fine, really…” The woman in the green dress replied. Oxana was fairly certain that it was Van Eck’s mother behind the flowered mask. She’d only met the woman once at the Van Eck mansion.
Jesper Fahey spoke then, his voice low and pleading, “Marya, Mina… I would personally appreciate knowing that Rafi and Josef were near you for the rest of tonight, okay?”
“Alright, Jes.” Marya’s gaze swept over the two guards, then to Wylan. “And don’t think I hadn’t already noticed them.”
Van Eck’s jaw tightened. “They weren’t exactly trying to hide, Mother…”
Inej spotted Oxana and Zurye, and waved them closer. In a voice pitched to carry, she said, “Ladies… We were just discussing taking advantage of some of the private stash of liquor that Mister Brekker was offering up. Would you care to join us?”
Oxana translated that to, ‘We’re going to have a private debrief.’ Surprised to be invited here in Brekker’s club, she nodded and played along. “Does that sound good, mpenzi ?”
The first time she’d used the Zemeni term of endearment, her girlfriend’s answering kiss had made her toes curl. It meant ‘sweetheart’ or ‘darling’, and it now made Zurye’s eyes flash with a different passion as she inclined her head first to Oxana and then to Inej. “Yes, that would be lovely.”
“Excellent. Follow me.” Inej padded off in the direction of Brekker. Van Eck and Fahey both gestured politely for them to proceed, and Oxana and Zurye took the middle of their little procession through the expansion gallery. Some of the crowd watched them, but many had shrugged and gone back to their gambling or discussions once the Councilman had left. There were still eyes on Brekker though. He was quite the figure tonight, like his own penny play character in the feathered crow skull mask. Oxana personally thought it was a little over the top, but she wasn’t about to say that out loud.
Brekker was finishing up telling the slim blond Dreg to deliver a message to Keeg when Inej got to his side. Oxana thought she recognized the scarred boy behind the mask as one of the runners that was frequently at the dock to meet The Wraith, and bring messages to their captain. Brekker tilted his head towards Inej, his voice low enough for only them to hear, “Mesa will join us in a few moments in the King suite.” Then he pivoted on one heel, cane clicking over the crowd noise as he led the way towards a back hallway and a private gambling room. Their gathering fit into the well appointed King suite with room to spare.
The moment the door was closed, Brekker opened a panel in the middle, and flipped a switch. Not sure what that was about. Didn’t look like a normal lock. Then, Oxana was astonished to watch Brekker reach out to Inej. He offered her his gloved hands, and she squeezed them tight. They leaned into each other for a moment. It felt nearly too intimate to watch for some reason.
“We’re going to take him down, Inej.” There was a deadly promise in the growled rasp.
Inej’s voice was fierce as she vowed, “We are, Kaz.”
Then Brekker addressed the room. “Does anyone actually want some of my private stash of liquor, or will water and lemonade suffice?”
Fahey piped up. “I could use a fucking shot. Seeing as I didn’t get to shoot that fucking skiv.”
“If he said ‘my boy’ one more time…” Van Eck groused. “Good fucking Ghezen. I wouldn’t mind something potent, either.”
Holding up a gloved hand, Brekker said, “Say no more.” He let go of Inej’s other hand with what appeared to be reluctance, and went to the door. The young blond boy was stationed outside. “Jeter, you still have my keys? Good. Go grab the fifty year Lefflinnach and the Ravkan brandy with the purple label from that cabinet in Keeg’s office.”
“Thanks, Kaz,” came Fahey’s sighed reply.
“ I want a drink after having to deal with that fuck.” Brekker slid his mask off, and laid it on the table in front of him before taking a seat. Each of the rest of them took it as a signal and followed suit. Oxana realized how much make up Inej was wearing under her mask and did a double take. Don’t know as I’ve ever seen her wearing lipstick. They all took a few moments, while they waited, to settle in. Brekker raked a gloved hand through his hair. Fahey reached out to massage Van Eck’s neck. Oxana rested her hand on Zurye’s thigh over the silky material of her dress. Zurye reached out and caressed her wrist. Inej shrugged her shoulders, releasing some tension. Then she grinned, and reached a hand into a pocket on her leather captain’s coat. She held that hand out to Brekker, and offered him something. He took it, glancing down with a snorted laugh. Oxana barely stopped herself from staring in astonishment. Brekker didn’t seem the type to laugh that easily, but for some reason, the gold object in his gloved hand had done it.
“When?” Brekker asked, now smiling directly at Inej.
“When you were manhandling his shoulder and everyone was looking there.”
“You get me the best gifts, my Wraith.” To Oxana’s astonished ears, it sounded a lot more like a sentimental comment than a sarcastic one. The possessive didn’t go unnoticed, either.
Van Eck questioned, “What did she get you?”
Brekker held up Rikhard Torben’s family crest pin that had been affixed to the mercher’s tie. The room broke out in various forms of mirth. When they’d recovered, Brekker let them know, “This room is currently soundproofed, by the way, so we can talk freely.”
“How many of the new suites did you do that for?” Inej inquired.
“The King and the Queen suite.” She smiled softly and shook her head in amusement at his response. Oxana was seeing a side of her captain she hadn’t expected tonight.
When a chiming knock came at the door, Fahey was the one who rose. He thanked Jeter, and put a laden tray on the table before closing the door again. There were multiple glasses on a sideboard, and he brought them to the table. “Who wants what?” Fahey proceeded to take drink requests, pouring out whiskey, brandy, lemonade, or water as requested. When everyone had a drink, he took his seat once more.
Inej took a slow sip of her dark maroon brandy. “Saints, that is good.”
“I’ve been meaning to have you try that one, actually,” Brekker murmured and raised his own glass of the brandy. Oxana stuffed down her need to goggle at his sweet tone and the fond look he shot Inej. She’d seen them hug at the dock, but she would have laid down substantial kruge that the man wouldn’t show affection like this in front of witnesses.
“No need to wait until Torben is in rare form, you know,” Inej replied tartly.
Fahey commented, “He was in exceedingly rare form tonight, wasn’t he?”
“Rikhard’s not usually that pompous, unless we make the mistake of going to one of his parties,” Van Eck added. “He behaves himself better at Schenck’s or Boreg’s, and won’t pull that kind of nasty shit around Radmakker. He was rather riled up tonight.”
“I have a few guesses about why,” Inej announced.
Another chiming knock came at the door. Fahey jumped up again. The man didn’t seem like the type who could sit still for long. He let in Mesa, who was slightly out of breath, and carried her crow mask.
“Get something to drink, Mesa,” Brekker ordered.
“Yes, boss.” The young spider poured herself a lemonade, taking a long sip. “Thanks, boss.”
“Report?”
Mesa took a quick look around the room, clocking everyone. “I gave your order to Roeder. Cory is continuing to watch all of our assignments for the time being. Yancy has switched off the ambassador to assist, and I can go back out if you’d like.”
Brekker studied the girl for a moment. “You did the right thing, having Jeter come get me and Captain Ghafa. Anything else I need to know from your perspective?”
“I saw Torben harassing Mister Van Eck and his party, and I was already thinking of alerting you when Mister Torben ordered me to get him a drink. Even though that’s not how the drinks were supposed to work tonight, I got him the whiskey. I just… uh… I put something in his drink when I poured it.”
Several pairs of eyebrows raised, including Oxana’s own. Brekker’s lips twitched as he asked, “What did you slip into his drink?”
“A laxative, boss. Hope that's okay.”
Fahey let out a loud laugh, several people chuckled, and Brekker snorted and smirked. Beside Oxana, Zurye whispered, “Well done, mwana. ”
Van Eck inquired, “Which laxative?”
“Senna oil,” Mesa declared. “It won’t hit him till tomorrow, but he's gonna need to spend the day near a bathroom.”
“Well, that explains the peaty comment. That’s definitely fine, Mesa,” Brekker told the girl with some humor evident. “Finish your lemonade, and then go back out. Check on how Ryo is doing, and then take up your assignment again so Yancy can get back to his. Understood?”
“Understood, boss.” Mesa downed the rest of her lemonade, slipped her crow mask back on, and headed out the door. Oxana found herself marveling at the girl’s pluck, and how Brekker had treated her. Has he gotten calmer because of dating the captain? I’ll be damned.
Brekker glanced at Inej. “Shall we compare guesses about Torben’s need to poke all of our buttons tonight?”
“Sure.” She took another slow sip of her brandy. “I’d lay odds it started because, as Wylan mentioned last week, Torben’s dead set against investments into Barrel businesses that undercut the slave trade. Like the Rogues Gallery, but especially Magpies & Makkers.”
Van Eck observed, “He was hammering at that point before you two showed up. What a bad long term investment Barrel casinos are. Like he wanted to be really loud in public about it in a room full of people that were considering such investments. Fortunately, half the young merchers already think he’s a windbag.” Next to him, Fahey was drumming his fingers on the table as he nodded in agreement.
“Next,” Inej continued, her eyes trained on Brekker. “Did you see the way he jumped when he saw your mask, and then mine? I don’t think it was just because they’re nightmare inducing. I think Torben personally got a report about our attack on The Nalaika.” She turned to Oxana. “Remember how the scuttlebutt in Weddle went out once the slavers started talking about the crow skull mask?”
Oxana nodded, as did Zurye beside her. It was actually Zurye who spoke. “Kunguru mzimu, they said.”
“Crow ghost,” Fahey translated. His fingers went still for a beat. “You made an impression,” he observed to Inej.
Brekker steepled his gloved hands in front him. “It shows a further possible tie between Torben and the slavers, possibly even Adayo Biashara, if he did specifically recognize the masks, but it doesn’t give us anything actionable.”
Inej pointed out, “He also reacted when you mentioned the problem with the rum shipment. Like he knew exactly which one you were talking about.”
“True. I threw that out as a test. Again, tentative proof, but we need more intel than riling him up gives us. I’ve got Roeder following him, just in case he decides to stop anywhere else before heading home. Maybe he’s off his game enough to slip up.”
“I think the rest was because of just how off kilter you both put him,” Van Eck put in. “Where did you get the tip about the Willow Switch, by the way? I thought he was going to pop a blood vessel.”
“Exactly as I said, actually,” Brekker remarked. “Domina Maeve decided she wanted to retire, and got word to me via one of my spiders. I bought out her contract in exchange for quite a load of intel, and she’s now living with a new name in the south with some young merch with too much kruge and a taste for whips.”
A strangled set of chuckles came from most of the table. Fahey asked, “Why didn’t the merch pay off her contract? And who was it?! Wylan, who’s gone missing lately?” Van Eck shrugged.
Brekker relaxed back into his chair, smugness radiating off of him. “The merch in question wasn’t in the Ketterdam set. He used to come up to visit her twice a month. I made the offer to buy out Maeve’s contract first. I’ve known Torben was one of her local clients for quite a while.”
“Well, you found the right button to slam on,” muttered Van Eck. “Torben’s an ass, but he usually isn’t that absolutely off putting in public.”
Zurye asked, “Does this Torben make comments like that… like the one about Novyi Zem… behind closed doors? Like in your Council meetings?”
Van Eck sighed. “Most of the older Council members have rather obnoxious opinions on Novyi Zem, Ravka, and any country that isn’t Kerch. They’re even worse about the Southern Colonies.”
Fahey grumbled, “Bunch of ignorant old skivs.”
“Vikaramba,” said Zurye in response.
The comment gained a harsh laugh from Fahey, who slapped his thigh and exclaimed, “Yes! Fucking geezers and dotards who need to die, or rot in Hellgate.”
Inej shot him a wicked smirk. “We’re working on it, Jes. Brick by brick.” She turned her gaze warmly to Brekker, and something unspoken passed between them.
“Speaking of bricks,” Brekker said, “If I could get my hands on the damn blueprints for Torben’s maze of a mansion, we’d be further along.”
“Still no luck on that?” Van Eck inquired.
“Every public and private record of them has been obliterated. Fire, flood, mold, or just plain missing. The architect is long dead. Inej can back me up here. There’s definitely hidden rooms, and we haven’t been able to figure out how to access them. It’s infuriating.”
“We will take him down, Kaz.” Inej promised once more.
Oxana threw her hat into the ring. “Would you like me to have a go at this mansion maze, Captain?”
With a thoughtful expression, Inej answered, “Maybe when The Wraith returns from Ravka, you and I can try together.”
Zurye’s hand was suddenly clutching at Oxana’s. Is she worried about me? Oxana tried to send a reassuring look to her girlfriend. Zurye knew what her job entailed, the kind of danger she put herself in, not just on the ship during battles, but as a spy too. However, their relationship was new enough that the zowa woman hadn’t seen Oxana actually putting herself in harm’s way yet.
“When we do finally take Torben down, I get to blow up his damned mansion,” Van Eck announced.
Inej chuckled. “Yes, Wy, we’ll just need to make it look like a gas explosion.”
“Can I help?” came Zurye’s voice. Oxana shot her girlfriend a sideways glance. Zurye squeezed her hand with a grin. Maybe they were both willing to put themselves in danger.
“Everyone can help,” Brekker stated. He lifted his glass in a toasting gesture. “To taking down Rikhard Torben, once and for all.” Each of them lifted their glass in salute.