Does Kaz Brekker End Up With Inej
Su Strawderman
Born Kaz Rietveld, he was raised on a farm near Lij with his father and older brother Jordie Rietveld. When Kaz was nine, their father died in a plough accident. Jordie sold the farm and took Kaz to Ketterdam, where he intended for Kaz to attend school. Several days after their arrival in the city, Kaz and Jordie went to the East Stave to watch street magicians and met a boy named Filip selling wind-up dogs. Filip introduced Jordie to a minor mercher called Jakob Hertzoon, who employed them as runners while Kaz remained at Hertzoon's coffeehouse, practicing magic tricks. Kaz also met Hertzoon's wife Margit, who served them hutspot, and their daughter Saskia, who gave him her red ribbon.
Hertzoon encouraged the boys to invest in sugar stocks, resulting in a large payout. A few days later, he had Jordie invest heavily in the jurda crop, using all of the funds from the sale of their father's farm. Kaz and Jordie spent the next week in comfort, but when it was time to reconvene at the coffeehouse, they found it empty. They realized that Jakob Hertzoon and his "family" had been running a con, taking all their money and leaving them penniless.[2] The boys were evicted from their boarding house and forced to sleep on the streets, coming into conflict with the stadwatch and the Razorgulls.
When the Queen's Lady Plague swept through the city, Jordie developed a fever from the firepox and Kaz followed two days later. Presumed dead, the brothers were ferried onto a sickboat to the Reaper's Barge at sea. Though Jordie had died, Kaz survived the firepox. Barely alive and too weak to swim on his own, Kaz used his brother's body as a float to swim back to Ketterdam's harbor, vowing to take vengeance on Hertzoon.[3] The experience left Kaz unable to bear contact with another person's skin, and after a severe panic attack Kaz purchased a pair of gloves, never removing them except in private.[4]
Kaz adopted the surname Brekker, cutting ties with the Rietveld identity and remaking himself as a ruthless fighter. He worked at gambling dens on East Stave, learned to steal, was sent to jail twice, was courted by numerous gangs in the Barrel, and earned the nickname "Dirtyhands". He was soon banned from playing in any gambling hall on the Stave thanks to his gift for cards. He saw Jakob Hertzoon for the first time since the con, only to learn that Hertzoon was really Pekka Rollins, leader of the Dime Lions. The next day, Kaz joined the Dregs.[5]
He began as a grunt, but quickly rose through the ranks, becoming an official member at age twelve[6] and a lieutenant several years later, known for his precise ruthlessness as Dirtyhands. At age fourteen, Kaz was caught when the stadwatch rousted a gambling hall, resulting in his sixth and final arrest.[6] While working at the spring prize fights for the gang, Kaz met Imogen and developed a crush on her, though he was unable to overcome his touch aversion and pursue a relationship.[4] The same year, Kaz put together a crew to rob the bank that had helped Hertzoon con him and Jordie, but broke his leg dropping down from the bank rooftop.[7]
The Dregs' power and reputation grew thanks to Kaz. He helped the Crow Club, one of the main sources of income for the Dregs, grow profitably,[8] with Kaz as the floor boss for more than two years.[6] Fifth Harbor had been useless and abandoned by the city before Kaz developed it, mortgaging the Crow Club to provide the funds. Thanks to the success of Fifth Harbor, the Dregs became a major gang in Ketterdam.[8] Kaz recruited numerous young people into the gang, members who were loyal to him and viewed him as the true leader of the Dregs rather than Per Haskell.
Kaz meets the Black Tips at the Exchange for a parley between their gangs. He reveals a member of the Dregs, Big Bolliger, to be a double agent and has him shot and left to bleed out slowly to his death for his betrayal. Kaz successfully destroys the Black Tips by threatening to slowly burn alive Geel's innocent girlfriend Elise - due to Kaz's reputation as Dirtyhands, Geels believes Kaz and backs off. Afterwards, the Dregs celebrate their victory and Kaz leaves to wander the streets, but is kidnapped by Jan Van Eck, an upstanding mercher, who makes an offer. The offer suggests that if Kaz and his crew successfully complete an impossible heist, he will receive thirty million kruge: Break into the Ice Court of Fjerda and rescue Bo Yul-Bayur. Kaz, unable to resist the offer of thirty million kruge, accepts, gathering a team. His crew consists of Inej Ghafa (his Wraith and spy), Nina Zenik (a Heartrender), Jesper Fahey (a sharpshooter and loyal member of the Dregs - also a Fabrikator), Wylan Van Eck (demo and hostage), Matthias Helvar (Fjerdan and former drskelle), and, of course, himself.
After rescuing Matthias from Hellgate prison, where he was previously held, the crew makes their way to the Ice Court. The journey is long and difficult, involving a great deal of planning and a few dangerous situations, yet finally, the crew arrives at the Ice Court. Each member has their own job, and eventually, the group discovers the man, Bo Yul-Bayur, has died. They had intended to kidnap him because he was the creator of jurda parem, but instead take his son, Kuwei Yul-Bo, only to discover that the entire heist was a trick set up by Jan Van Eck, Wylan's father. Van Eck had set up the quest in the first place to help expand his trading empire by selling and manufacturing more jurda parem.
Kaz manages to anticipate something like this and has swapped Wylan and Kuwei without Van Eck noticing. He then reveals this to Van Eck after Van Eck reveals that he had tricked Kaz. Kaz insists that if Van Eck wants Kuwei, he will need to give up the thirty million kruge. Van Eck, however, notices the way Kaz looked at Inej and instead kidnaps Inej herself, insisting that Kaz will be able to get his Wraith back if he gave up Kuwei.
Kaz plays the role of a card dealer at Club Cumulus to occupy lawyer Cornelis Smeet before breaking into his house with Wylan. Matthias rows them back to Black Veil Island and the Crows discuss their plan to steal back Inej and their money from Van Eck. Nina, Matthias, and Kuwei try to discuss Kuwei's future, but Kaz makes it clear that he is in charge of Kuwei's fate - and that of everyone.
When Jesper and Wylan go to meet with Colm Fahey at the University of Ketterdam, Kaz and Matthias follow them, anticipating a trap. Indeed, Jesper, Wylan, and Colm are ambushed, and everyone runs back to Black Veil. Kaz helps Jesper construct a lie to his father to explain his situation in Ketterdam, using some of Kaz's own experience being swindled. Kaz begins to form a plan to use Colm in his scheme to discredit Van Eck, to Jesper's frustration, but reveals no details to his crew and reserves a room at the Geldrenner Hotel for Colm.
Kaz writes a ransom note to Van Eck requesting a hostage exchange between his pregnant wife, Alys Van Eck, and Inej, then has the Crows set up several distractions, anticipating a messy response from Van Eck. As they complete the exchange, Van Eck calls in the stadwatch, claiming Kaz has stolen his son as well. Kaz quickly unlocks Inej's shackles and the two jump off Goedmedbridge, land on a flower boat where they don Mister Crimson disguises, and reemerge unrecognizable in the chaos. However, an explosion at the House of the White Rose leads him and Inej to quickly leave West Stave. Kaz hides Inej at a safehouse in the warehouse district, investigates Van Eck's sugar silos, then brings Inej to Black Veil.
Kaz explains his plan to discredit Van Eck by destroying the sugar in his silos and using the stock market to earn money from the subsequent rise in sugar prices. Nina, backed by Inej, forces Kaz to include smuggling Ketterdam's Grisha safely to Ravka in his plan. At night, Inej accompanies Kaz into the city. First, Kaz intercepts his boss Per Haskell and reassures him of their actions and future money. Then, they climb the Church of Barter to do reconnaissance on Van Eck's house. On the way back, Inej confesses she was uncertain Kaz would rescue her from Van Eck, and he admits that he would care for her even if she was no longer his spy, the Wraith.
Kaz's plan goes wrong, and the group reconvenes with Jesper's father. Their plight seems hopeless, as the entire city is out looking for them, and even Kaz's gang, the Dregs, have turned on them. Kaz decides that he will stage an auction with Kuwei Yul-Bo as the "prize", in the hope of using the money to fund his team's own plans for the future. He also has a scene where he reveals his true feelings for Inej - almost kissing her neck before his panic takes hold. He then reveals that he has paid off her indenture himself, selling every asset he owns to set her free. Kaz breaks into the Dregs' stronghold and stages an impromptu single-handed coup, fighting off at least ten of the members loyal to Per Haskell, and overthrowing the old man. Then he sets up Colm Fahey as "Johannus Rietveld", an alias using his and Jordie's old name, to swindle money from the Merchant Council and Jan Van Eck. He meets with the Grisha Triumvirate and strikes a deal with Sturmhond the privateer, on behalf of the Ravkan crown. At the auction, it looks like everything is going south - the Ravkans can't afford the price that is being offered for Kuwei, and the Council of Tides shows up to declare the auction a sham. It also seems that Kaz has been betrayed by Wylan Van Eck, who was captured by his own father just before the auction. However, Kaz has been two or three steps ahead the whole time and he slowly reveals his plot to discredit Jan Van Eck and steal the thirty million kruge that Van Eck owes. He later reveals that he siphoned thirty million kruge of the council's money into the Dregs' accounts, to be divided among his team. He also uses some of his share to buy Inej a ship and finally, he reveals her parents disembarking from a ship that he asked Sturmhond to send looking for them.
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