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chapter 2 : lucky nine

Jesper and Liv shot each other a short, mischievous glance as they approached the wooden stairs in front of them, uncertain fate awaiting them as they approached their leader, his glaring gaze unrelenting; unmoving as they approached, like a hawk waiting on its prey.

"See you on the other side, partner," Jesper muttered, mocking a salute, before taking the lead and making his way over to the predator himself.

"Hey, my man, how are you doing this fine evening," Jesper cheered as he made his way up the stairs, two steps at a time, Liv following shortly after, trying to hide slightly behind his larger frame to attempt to dodge Kaz' scolding gaze.

Instead of replying to Jesper's words, Kaz opted to ignore him altogether, turning to the blonde that appeared at Jesper's side, "I thought I told you that you should be back by sundown."

Liv looked up to meet his icy glare for a second, a sheepish smile on her youthful features, "I'm sorry. I kind of lost track of time."

That was a lie. She just wanted some time for herself, instead of being confined to the loudness of The Crow Club for the entire night.

Kaz probably knew that too, but decided to let it slide, "Follow me."

And so, the three found themselves in Dirtyhands' office, Kaz sitting in his chair on one side, and Jesper and Liv sitting on the other.

Liv never liked Kaz Brekker's nickname, although, she had to admit, it was an apt one. For a man that never showed his hands, and seemed to have a stark aversion against touch, he sure did a lot of dirty work.

She had heard rumours about Dirtyhands as she had roamed the streets. Some had suggested that he wore his black gloves to hide the fact that his hands were permanently stained red by the blood of the people he had killed. Others suggested that he wore the gloves to hide his disfigured hands, littered with scars of his past. Liv knew better, as she knew that he simply did not want to touch anything.

She can't even think of the last time the two had physically touched. She knew it was not personal, however. The way he would recoil at the closeness of other people, and the slight hardening of his jaw whenever he had to shake hands for a business deal, was enough information for Liv. For now at least.

"Why is your face bruised?" Kaz asked sharply, snapping Liv back out of her thoughts.

Jesper chuckled dryly, and Liv looked off to stare out of the window, much to Kaz's dismay, who just continued to glare. Sometimes Liv wondered if it was his natural face.

"Funny you should mention that," Jesper started, another awkward chuckle leaving his throat, "I was just having fun, just the usual, you know, playing a few cards, making a few bets, until—completely unfounded by the way—one of these pricks started to accuse me of cheating!"

Liv had a difficult time trying to stifle a chuckle for herself at the brunet's explanation.

Kaz didn't reply verbally, his only tell of understanding a slight tilt of his head, which made him look even more agitated than normal.

Jesper saw it as a sign to continue, "And–, I kind of had to be bailed out by Liv."

Kaz's blue eyes met her own, "Bailed out?"

Liv couldn't contain the chuckle this time. Of course, Kaz's biggest verbal reaction to all of this was the potential loss of revenue.

"I had to pay the guys off with some of the money I collected today." Liv said calmly, and as Kaz looked like he immediately wanted to scold her for it, she continued quickly, "Don't worry, the coins were fake."

"What kind?" Kaz asked, his glare faltering slightly.

"Zemeni," Liv continued, "down from Lucky Nine."

Jesper looked surprised, and rather relieved at the revelation that the money was fake.

Kaz huffed, "Bastards. I knew it. Guess they will have a visit from the Stadwatch soon."

Liv chuckled, as she had thought the exact same thing earlier.

Her reaction earned her a small frown from the brunet in front of her, before he turned his gaze back to Jesper, "Alright, well you can guard the door for the rest of the night."

Jesper groaned, but stood up regardless, making his way to the door, but stopped for a second, turning around, "I'm gonna let in cheaters now."

Kaz rolled his eyes, and Jesper left, leaving Liv to sit on her own with the brunet in front of her.

"Is the map ready?" Kaz asked after a moment, folding his gloved hands over each other.

Liv hummed, "Almost. I have the basics. I just need to work out the last details and then it should be good to go."

"Can I see them?", he asked, his previously sharp gaze having softened at the departure of the Zemeni boy.

The blonde nodded, relieved at his mellower tone.

She reached into her bag, retrieving one of two parchments and reaching over the wooden desk.

Kaz's gloved hand reached over as well, taking over the parchment from Liv's almost identical gloved one, their hands brushing against each other ever so slightly.

That slight tensing of the brunet's jaw didn't go unnoticed by the blonde. Oh, what she would give to find out the reason why.

Kaz unrolled the parchment and looked at the map she had sketched earlier, taking in every detail.

"It looks decent."

Liv huffed, crossing her arms across her chest, "Decent? It's flawless."

A raised eyebrow and a quick glance were all she got as an answer before he continued studying the map.

Liv let her blue eyes wander around the office as she waited. Nothing seemed to be out of place in the small space. Every book, parchment, envelope and label seemed to be neatly ordered and categorised. It almost looked fake.

The rustling of paper brought back her gaze to the boy in front of her, watching him as he rolled up the parchment.

"I want you back before sundown tomorrow."

Liv frowned, her mouth opening in slight disbelief at the sudden words, scrambling for a response, "What, come on-, I'm fine."

A slight roll of the eyes, "I do not care. It was not a question."

"Saints, Kaz, I can handle myself, you know?"

Liv folded her arms across her chest once more, glaring at the brunet in front of her.

Said brunet copied her gesture, his gaze even icier than hers, "I do not care. Jesper has noticed lingering eyes on you, and you've said so yourself that both Tante Heleen and the Dime Lions have been after you."

He sighed, before continuing, "We made a deal, you would come work for me, and I would keep you out of their hands. So I want you back before sundown."

Liv's tense shoulders faltered slightly, the blue eyes that stared straight into her soul were softer now, and she couldn't make herself make use of this rare sliver of vulnerability presented to her, so instead, it was now her turn to sigh.

"Fine," the blonde said after a moment of silence, the anger she previously felt subsiding slowly. She couldn't be too mad at him after all, as he was mostly correct.

For weeks now, Liv could swear that she was being followed. Eyes lingering too long on her blonde hair, moving figures in the shadows as she passed by. It was rather obvious why they wanted her, even though both groups had different reasons for stalking her down.

Firstly, the Dime Lions were after her secrets. She knew almost everything about the Crow Club and, more importantly, a lot of things about Dirtyhands himself, that's what they thought at least. And secondly, for Tante Heleen and the Menagerie, the reason was more sinister. Liv's distinguishable features made her desirable in the eyes of Tante Heleen and she wanted her in her pleasure house for years now. Liv has had run-ins with the blonde woman before, but always managed to escape her manicured claws.

An involuntary shudder ran down her spine.

Liv reached over into her bag once more, this time retrieving a second piece of parchment.

She hesitated for a moment, before handing it over as well.

The smaller parchment was bound together by a black string, the same that was placed in her hair.

Kaz took the object in his hands, eying the girl in front of him curiously, "What's this?"

Liv shrugged, "Open up."

For one of those rare instances, the brunet did as he was told without a rebuttal, removing the string, and unrolling the parchment, which revealed an almost perfect recreation of the entrance of The Crow Club itself, something Liv had been working on for the last few weeks.

The smallest ghost of a smile tugged at Kaz's lips, which in turn made Liv smile meekly, "Do you like it?"

Kaz nodded slowly, eying the details of the sketch closely, "Why did you do this?"

The blonde shrugged, "I was bored, I guess."

Kaz looked up from the parchment, meeting Liv's gaze. He squinted slightly, quiet for a moment, before opening his mouth, "Thank you."

Liv's smile grew wider, "You're welcome."

She moved to close her bag again, and stood up, "I'm going to sleep. I have errands to run in the morning."

An almost inaudible hum was all she got as a reply, as his shark eyes darted around the sketch again, almost seeming oblivious to the fact that Liv had stood up and had moved to the door, at least that was what the girl herself thought.

But as she opened the door, he spoke up again, "Goodnight."

Liv's lips curled up once more, "Goodnight."

With that, she left.

—

For once, Liv had done as she was told, she had come back before sundown, and once again found herself in Kaz's office. He wasn't there this time though. Instead, Liv sat in front of the small fireplace that lined one of the walls of the small office, which doubled as his personal living quarters.

She had discarded her left glove, having placed it neatly over the armrest of the chair she found herself on. The pair had been a gift from Kaz. An exact copy of his own leather gloves he had given her after her incident, protecting her scarred hand. The piece was Fabrikator made, making it far more comfortable and bendable than any other pair of ordinary gloves, perfect for pickpocketing, but more importantly, to Liv at least, it gave her the ability to still be able to play her instruments.

That said, the wooden guitar in her hands still felt clumsy. She had only recently purchased it as she had always wanted to learn how to play the guitar, but never had the time to do so. She knew her way around the piano and violin, but her scarred hands left her unable to wield the mighty instruments.

A flash of memories passed behind her eyes; she cringed.

Curiosity tugged at her mind, and slowly, she reached over and removed the glove that still hugged her right hand.

Liv made sure not to hit any sore spots as she lifted the leather from her skin. Once more she cringed, this time at the sight of her broken hand. Blisters and thick pink lines bloomed across the back of her hand, her gaze even seemed to hurt her hand as she could feel the veins beginning to throb underneath the maimed skin.

A mix of fury, anxiety and utter sadness bubbled in her stomach like a swarm of angry bees, and she had to avert her gaze, lifting up her broken hand and fiddling with the golden locket of her necklace.

Another painful memory.

Another memory she did not want to think about.

A sigh escaped her dry lips and she readjusted herself in her seat, picking up the guitar again, placing her fingers on the right frets, and slowly beginning to strum along to a complicated rhythm that formed in her head.

The sounds that erupted were slow, perhaps a bit clumsy, but they were a comfort to her sore ears.

A good memory at last.

The melodies of a distant tune reached Liv's ears, and she dashed down the stairs, following the music with the eagerness only a young child could have.

The source of the beautiful sounds came into view as a man, way too young to be so grey, sat in a small room, another girl, even younger than Liv herself, listening intently to the soft melodies.

Liv's small body joined the others, their features almost identical, as she listened.

Giggles, dancing, singing-,

"Liv?"

The sudden noise made her mess up her flow, a false note the last tone that left the chambers of the wooden guitar.

She looked up to see Kaz standing in the doorframe, dressed in his usual sharply tailored black suit, looking as cheerful as ever.

"How long have you been there?" Liv questioned, setting the guitar to the side.

"Long enough to know you're probably not gonna make it to a grand stage."

Liv scoffed, offence radiating from the glare she sent in his direction, "You're a miserable little man, you know that?"

"Miserable enough to speak the truth."

Liv didn't miss the mischievous tone intertwined within the vowels that left his tongue, why did he know so well how to get a rise out of her?

She stood up, "What do you want, Dirtyhands?"

Kaz lowered his hands again, placing them over his crow-headed cane, and moving over to his desk, "Shouldn't I be asking you that? You're in my office after all."

"It's too noisy in my room, besides, I was cold so I wanted to sit by the fire," Liv replied calmly, picking up the other glove from the sofa and placing it back on her hand.

Kaz didn't give a verbal reply, only a curt hum and a tilt of his head, an indication for Liv to sit down in front of him. She obliged.

"I have a job for you."

A small smile tugged upon the blonde's lips, "Oh, do tell."

—

And so, Liv found herself tucked away in a corner of the Lucky Nine Casino down to the south side of the Barrel.

She found herself sitting on one of the many stools that lined a long wooden bar, her back turned to the casino hall behind her, her view of the scene carefully hidden behind the blonde strands of hair that framed her face.

She should've brought something to tie her hair up.

Turning her head to her right, she could see the long-limbed Zemeni boy sitting at one of the gambling tables, his taller frame towering above his fellow players, all hunched over and crooked.

Jesper met her gaze and sent her a wink. Liv rolled her eyes and turned back to the glass that was placed in front of her, taking a sip of the wine.

She scrunched her nose up in disgust, the wine clearly had been diluted with water, cheap bastards.

The job that Kaz had given Liv was fairly simple, theoretically at least: Jesper would cause a distraction, Liv would go into the back rooms and find a hidden safe containing the fake Zemeni coins Liv had discovered earlier when she had come in to collect her debts, take the coins, and get out through a window.

On paper, it had been simple. In reality, it was a bit trickier. Liv's first task had been to charm one of the bartenders into giving away the location of the safe, which had taken a few nights of heavy drinking, and subtle flirting, but she succeeded wonderfully. The young bartender had swooned at her bubbly laughs and gently touched his arms and hands, his boyish face having turned red every time she did so.

Even now, she could feel the eyes of the boy on her, but she didn't spare him a glance, instead taking another sip of the red wine in her hands.

The buzz of sounds and voices gradually grew louder, more hostile as the laughter decreased, making way for grunts and angry shouts, and Liv knew this was her time to act.

Taking a last, large swig of her wine, she stood up, and moved to the side of the door that led to the back rooms and offices, carefully eying the scene that played out in front of her.

Jesper was being shouted at, accusatory words sent in his direction, and him rebutting every argument that was being swung his way with grand gestures until one of the men that yelled at him came a bit too close, to which Jesper drew his gun.

A wave of shouts erupted, and Liv took the moment to make her way to the door.

She drew a pin from her gloved hand and picked the lock of the door swiftly, before moving inside, closing the door behind her.

Quiet steps echoed through the hallway as she tried to find the office that contained the safe. She thought back about what the bartender had sat the night before, as he sluggishly leaned against her.

"They had me guarding the stupid thing all day-, all night! And all I could watch was that stupid fish circling and circling and circling around that stupid little bowl."

"Gotcha," the blonde whispered almost inaudibly, as she walked past an office that contained a single fish bowl on its desk.

She quickly moved into the room, and immediately started to search the office for any sign of a secret safe.

It didn't take too long, as she quickly discovered a scratched mark on the floor, indicating a secret ledge.

She moved over to the bookcase that lined the back wall of the office, a grand wooden piece, lines from top to bottom in books and rolls of parchment.

Squatting down, she let her hands trail over a few of the books until she found a piece that did not feel like a real one.

It seemed like it was her lucky day.

She reached further into the bookcase and pulled the books towards her, and instead of the books falling out of their place, they opened like a hatch, revealing a metal safe.

Not wasting time, Liv went to work, pulling a set of small stones out of her pocket. Kaz had given them to her earlier, telling her to hold them against the lock of the safe. Liv reckoned they were Fabrikator made.

It only took a few seconds before a click was heard and the safe swung open, and Liv could only think about how smoothly everything was going, perhaps too smoothly.

She shook her head quickly, ridding herself of her doubts. They were dangerous in a situation like this.

The open safe revealed a small fortune in Zemeni coins if they had been authentic at least, and a smirk tugged at Liv's lips.

She reached for the bag that hung over her shoulder and placed a considerable amount of coins into it.

After she was sure she had enough, she closed the safe and latch again, any evidence of her presence faltering by the second, before she moved out of the office once more.

She continued down the hallways as quietly as she could, trying to find her point of exit.

A small window came into view on her left side and she moved toward it immediately, wanting to get out of this place as quickly as she could.

That was until a man stepped out of one of the offices in front of her on the right.

Liv froze.

His back was to her as he fiddled with a set of papers in his hands before he slowly turned around.

"Make sure you're not noticed."

Kaz's instructions rang through Liv's mind and on instinct, she darted forward, punching the man in his left temple as hard as she could.

He fell over to the side, his knees buckling out from underneath him; unconscious.

Liv smirked, stroking her, now throbbing, fist, before moving closer to the window and jumping out of it without a second thought.

She was happy that she was on the first floor, making her drop a lot more pleasant. She landed on the ground rather elegantly.

A hum left her lips as she dusted off the blue skirt she wore, before moving to the front of the building, like an unsuspecting passerby.

There she was just in time to see Jesper being pushed out of the establishment, shoved down to the ground harshly.

"I did not cheat!" Jesper shouted at the retreating men, before standing up again, noticing the approaching blonde.

His dark eyes widened in curiosity, "How'd go? Has my banishment been worth it?"

Liv just grinned in return, gesturing to the bag placed in her hands.

Jesper clasped his hands together, a smile forming on his face as well, "Fabulous. Were you spotted?"

Shouts from inside the casino were enough of an answer, and the two teens quickly disappeared into the maze of alleyways that were so characteristic of the Barrel.

When they felt safe once more, Jesper spoke up again, "What did Kaz need the fake money for anyway, I did not take him for a cheat of that kind."

Before Liv could reply, Jesper continued, "No, never mind. He definitely is that kind of cheat."

The blonde chuckled, raising her shoulders.

She had no idea what Kaz needed it for either. He was never one to explain the entirety of his plans, always keeping his fellow crows in the dark. Whether he did it on purpose or didn't have a full plan thought out, Liv was unsure. She only knew that she could trust Dirtyhand's mind enough to know that their plans always panned out well, through one way or another.