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Kaz heard Inej gasp and he whipped his head in her direction, already starting to move towards her.

"Virgil's gone." She said, glancing at his approach. Kaz felt everything stop. The voices around him became muffled and he could hear nothing over the roaring in his head. Kaz had let this happen. He told them he would protect them and then he didn't.

He had been too busy working on the plan to notice anything amiss. And now Virgil was gone. Worst of all, it was Kaz's fault. Breaking through the roaring in Kaz's head was a horrible sound.

A flinch worthy sound that made the hairs on Kaz's arms stand straight up. Kaz coming back into the world, looked around the room looking for what had made the sound. He instantly found it when he saw Wylan sitting on the bar, while Jesper poured Alcohol on his wound. Kaz ran over to see Wylan tearing up a bit but seeming to fight it back.

Not knowing what to do, but wanting to help one of the people that he saw as a son to him, put his hand on Wylan's shoulder. Wylan glanced at Kaz with an unsure look in his eyes.

"Stop acting like that doesn't hurt like hell. We've all been there. And it's okay to cry when it hurts. You're only human Wy." Kaz told him gently.

Wylan sagged sideways and into Kaz's shoulder. Rubbing his back, Kaz patted one of his kids until his sobs subsided. Sitting back up Wylan sat up rubbing the tears away and whispered a quiet 'thanks'.

Nodding his head, Kaz headed over to Inej who had her small arms wrapped around a crying Damian. That was Kaz's fault too. Kaz kneeled down to Damian's level and tapped him on the arm. Damian turned around trying to hide the tears from Kaz's sight. Kaz just opened his arms for the small boy.

Damian in his haste, fell into Kaz's arms a little hard, using almost enough force to push Kaz over. Kaz rubbed Damian's back, just like he did with Wylan. The touching thing was becoming easier the more he did it. It helped that no part of him was bare, that was actually touching Damian. But if it was Kaz would have dealt with it, if only for the weeping child that had fistfulls of Kaz's shirt.

"We're gonna get him back." Kaz whispered to Damian. He felt him nod into his chest. Kaz pulled Damian away from himself and wiped the tears from the boy's cheeks and chin.

"We're gonna get him back." Kaz repeated. "And we're going to make the people that took him pay. We're going to burn them alive while they scream. I will rip the flesh from their bones while their friends watch so they know not to mess with us." Despite the violent picture that he had just painted, it made Damian stop sniffling.

Damian was listening very intently to what he was saying. It seemed that even though Virgil was outwardly more protective over his older brother, Damian had a quieter protective side towards his sibling. And possibly a more violent and calculating one.

"I said I would protect you 2 and I meant it. Now you have 2 options as of now. You can get a drink and take a nap because this has been a stressful day, or you can sit with me in my office, while I adjust the plan a bit."

There was a moment of silence before Damian spoke,"I would like the second option." Kaz nodded and looked at his wraith. She knew what he was asking without him having to say it and she nodded.

Kaz took Damian's hand and led him back into his office.

The look that Kaz had given her was heavy with meaning. He wanted her to go hunting. She quickly gave Wylan and Jesper a look, making sure that they had the place covered. A nod was all she needed before she started snooping around the room looking for what had caused the explosion or dust or whatever had happened.

One look told her that whatever it was it had to do with the pool table...Because it was no longer there. However bits of wood and green velvet were spread around the room which meant that it had been an explosion. A smoke bomb wouldn't have blown up the pool table. Whatever it was had either been strapped to the underside of the table or in one of the pockets.

On closer inspection she found tiny pieces of copper wire. So it was probably a pipe bomb then and a small one at that if it only did this much damage.

😂

Inej knew that if the motive was kidnapping as it appeared to be, that weird pool table guy and whoever he's working for wouldn't risk the life of the victim. Which in this case was Virgil. Inej grabbing her gear and putting it on, then motioned for Anika to clean up the floor and headed out into the street.

Weird pool table guy had not been in the least bit discreet, which meant he went for speed instead of stealth. Knowing that it would do her no good if she came across the out of breath and tired, she went after the trail at a quick jog.

If she could intercept them then there was no need to change the plan as it was, but if she couldn't they were going to storm the place. Already having a feeling where they would be headed she paid less attention to the trail and more attention on the alleys and streets. She just had to be very careful to not cross into anyone else's territory without being secretive about it.

She glanced down every now and then to make sure they hadn't made any detours from the path that she was following in her head. People were crossing the street to get away from her as soon as they saw her face and weapons.

They knew the Wraith was on Duty and that was not a good thing.

Right before she was about to hit Dime Lion territory, Inej heard a faint scream coming from an alley. Inej whipped her head towards the noise and sprinted into the alley. And what she saw was not what she had expected to see.

There was a young woman who couldn't have been over the age of 15 being held against the wall by a man. A sleazy, gross man. The girl was crying and trying to kick out at the man. Inej didn't let herself think, she let the knife fly. She didn't even remember grabbing the knife, but somehow she had and it was now lodged into the skull of the sleazy guy. There was a gurgling sound and then he was on the ground. Dead. The young girl who now found herself free, turned to Inej.

The girl's eyes widened and she stuttered out,"You-You're the Wraith." Inej picked her way through the alley until she was standing in front of her.

"Yes, I am. And let it be known that Dirtyhands does not condone what just happened and that The Wraith does NOT let scum like that piece of shit live. I was on a hunt when I heard your scream." Inej looked down at the body before looking back up.

"Are you okay?"

If possible the girl's eyes widened even more as she slowly nodded.

"Do you have a place to stay?" Inej asked while eyeing the girl.

The girl nodded and said,"My mom's house."

Inej nodded and motioned for her to leave. The girl nodded her thanks and scampered off.

Inej grabbed her knife from the body and climbed up the building. If she was headed into Dime Lion territory, she was going to have to be sneaky. Once she was safely up she started to follow the trail, and surprise surprise it led to the Emerald Palace.

Sighing heavily, Inej watched the windows seeing whether there was any sign of Virgil. She waited for about 10 minutes before she decided to give up and head back. She knew where they took him, it was just easier if she knew with 100% surety that he was still there.

And there she saw it.

Pekka was showing Virgil to where he would be staying. Virgil seemed to be under his own control. Were they betrayed by a 10 year old? OOOH Kaz was gonna be pissed.

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