107 Chapter 105
"Goodness, it looks worse than how I imagined it."
Knocking at Kazimir's apartment door, Milette takes a step back and shakes her head.
"Of course he wouldn't be home, Milette."
"The hell are you doing here, Milette?"
Turning around, the young woman watches as Kazimir walks up next to her and gives him a melancholic smile.
"I heard what happened to you and your apartment and wanted to make sure you and Khristina were okay."
"We're fine." Kazimir says, unlocking his door.
"If you want, I'd be happy to help you in finding the person who did this."
"I'm finding the person myself."
"And if he has multiple people working for him? You can't just put your-
"I can do whatever the hell I feel like with my life, Milette. And I don't need you, Nia, Pierre, or anyone else for that matter to tell me otherwise."
"So you'd rather get yourself killed and risk never seeing Khristina again?" Milette asks.
"I'm not risking getting killed but if I was to take up anyone else's advice, I would be. I know what I'm doing and I'll need you all to trust me as well."
"Then you're just going to stay here? Honestly, I thought you would change but Kenneth was right; males are the most stubborn sex on this earth! I assumed you had a big heart, but it just looks like you're a selfish little boy who's never growing up and only wants Khristina-
*BANG! BANG! BANG!*
Pushing Milette on the ground, Kazimir runs out of the front door and looks around.
No one.
Lifting his shirt, the young man pulls out his gun which was tucked under.
*BANG!*
"Shit!"
Quickly ducking onto the ground, Kazimir covers his head as a flurry of bullets flew over him, breaking the window pane.
Remembering Milette, he lifts his gun and begins to fire back as the other person suddenly stops.
"So he's hidden somewhere across from me."
Crawling down the stairs, the young detective sprints over to his car, hearing a loud screech and watching a black car drive off.
Opening his car door, Kazimir starts it and quickly pulls out of the parking lot to follow the other car.
He watches as the car proceeds to head onto a two lane road and speeds up, now a few feet away from whoever he was chasing.
"What a smart motherfucker. Bastard took off his fucking car model's symbol."
Slamming his car into the rear of the other, Kazimir watches as the person in front loses control and rolls over into some woods.
Stepping out of his car, the young man begins to run over to the partially destroyed car and it immediately bursts into flames. Throwing his gun down in anger, Kazimir bangs his fist against his car's trunk as he watches the flames grow higher.
"FUCK YOU!"
—————
"MR. KAZIMIR SHOULD GET THE FIRST COOKIE!" Khristina screams as Nia takes the pan from out of the oven.
"No touching, Khristina." Nia replies. "The cookies are extremely hot and will need a few minutes to cool. For now, why don't you set out a couple of glasses and fill them with milk?"
"Alright!"
"Kids." Pierre says with a chuckle as he reaches for a cookie.
Slapping his hand away, Nia shakes her head.
"Did you not hear what I just said? Go tell Kazimir to-
Hearing the front door shut, Nia and Pierre turn to each other before walking into the living room.
"Kazimir? Where did you go?" Nia asks, sighing. "I thought I-
"I killed him."
"Good job!" Pierre says, clapping his hands.
"I just wish I could've talked to the guy first before his car burst into flames."
"So what? Wouldn't have changed how you felt about him. Anyway, we got cookies in the kitchen."
"Kazimir, you know you can always talk to me if you need to. I don't think someone offing people back to back is a healthy coping mechanism." Nia says as she unties her apron.
The young man stares into the distance and slowly nods.
"Thanks."
Walking into the kitchen, he watches as Khristina reaches for his hand and picks up a glass of milk.
"You can have a glass of milk, but Ms. Nia said the cookies have to cool first before we can eat them."
"Thank you, Khristina."
"I can make a mustache!" Prince says, gulping down his milk. "See?!"
"But it isn't real." Miracle replies, using a napkin to wipe the milk from her friend's face.
After a couple of hours of laughing, chatting and eating, both Pierre and Prince head home for the evening.
"You've been quiet this whole time." Nia says, taking a seat beside Kazimir.
"I don't know, I just have this feeling that the guy isn't really dead. It should've burst into flames when it first hit the trees, but it didn't."
"Then you, Khristina, and Miracle are going to be staying a while longer."
"That's the problem; I can't-
*KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!*
"Hold that thought."
Peeking out the window, Nia laughs and shakes her head before answering the door.
"Nia."
"Caio."
"I just got off the plane from my mission with Dayne."
"How'd it go? Oh, please, come inside."
"All I can say is that it's completed. I wish I could come inside, but-
Noticing Kazimir sitting on the couch, Caio points towards him.
"What's he doing here?"
"I don't think I'm the right person to tell someone else's-
"My entire family was murdered and my apartment got shot up because someone's trying to kill me, that's why I'm here."
"Oh." Caio says, going quiet. "Anyway, I can't stay long. I have a flight to catch in the morning as I was assigned to another mission in Spain."
"Have you taken a rest?" Nia asks, tilting her head.
"I've had a few naps here and there, but it's kinda hard when you constantly have someone trying to find your location before you can find theirs. Don't worry, I'll get a goodnight's rest tonight, though."
The older man hands Nia a gift bag and she peeks inside.
"It's a necklace that I noticed in a store window as I was passing by."
"It's very beautiful." the woman replies as she holds it up. "But Caio, I want you to be less worried about me and more worried about your health. You seriously look like you're about to pass out."
"Goodness, Nia. I just heard the same statement from Dayne. Money doesn't grow on trees, you know."
"I know, I know. Just get plenty of rest tonight, okay?"
"Okay."
"I'm being serious, Caio." she says, giving him a hug. "I'll see you after your next mission."
"Cizetto."
Looking up, Kazimir watches as Caio dangles a pair of keys on his fingers.
"If you want, you can stay at my place for the time being. I have a couple of plants that'll need to be watered while I'm gone. Sorry about your family."
"That's alright. I already have a few houses that I'm planning on taking a look at tomorrow."
"No, you do not!" Nia says. "That's the problem with guys; you all don't listen unless it's something you want to hear!"
"Like I said, money doesn't grow on trees."
"Caio, just get some sleep."
Watching as he smiles and walks off, Nia closes the door and walks back over to Kazimir.
"Now, where did we leave off?"
"I don't want to put yours, Miracle's, or Khristina's life in danger, so maybe I should just stay by myself until I catch this person."
"But-
"Nia, please don't find some way to counteract with that. Even you know that's reasonable logic."
Nia sighs and looks down at the gift bag.
"At least wait until after our trip to Dubai."
Getting up, Nia kisses Kazimir's cheek and gives him a hug.
"I'll see you in the morning."
—— the next day ——
"Damn, what you'd do? Tussle with a bear?"
Looking at the front bumper of Kazimir's car, the mechanic lets out a deep sigh and scratches his chin.
"It'll take around 5 days for the new bumper to be delivered and another 2 for me to replace this."
"And how much will that be?" Kazimir asks, stopping Khristina from touching one of the other cars.
"My personal fees? $500. The bumper and the lights on the other hand? $7,500."
"Damn."
"Mr. Kazimir said he was tight on mon-
"Just go ahead and fix it." Kazimir interrupts as he takes out his debit card.
"Then can I get the new chef Barbie doll?!"
"Khristina, you want a Barbie doll, but I need a car to drive you to the store to get the Barbie doll."
"So can I get it after your car is fixed?" the little girl asks, following the young man outside.
"I don't know."
"You could always rob a bank if you don't have enough!"
"I'm really not the type of person that likes to rob others."
Skipping in front of Kazimir, Khristina gives him a wide smile.
"Then we could start a lemonade stand! We can call it "Khristina's and Mr. Kazimir's Lemonade!" I can get Dréy to help us build it!"
"All that for one Barbie doll is a little too much, Khristina."
"No, it's not! You're just being lazy 'cause you wanna spend all day playing video games!"
"My PS4 was lost in the house fire, Khristina."
"Then you just wanna spend all day doing detectivey stuff!"
"That's how I make money to buy you your Barbie dolls, Khristina. That's work, that's a necessity."
"Necessity, cessity, dessity, gessi-
"Look, Nia is here. She's going to take us to the car rental place so I can pick out a temporary car."
"Can I help?!"
"Sure."
About 15 minutes later, the small group arrives at a car dealership and Khristina runs out of the car.
"You should get this one! It's very small and cute!"
Kazimir sighs as Khristina looks inside the pink Fiat.
"I'm looking for something that's a little more manly."
"Then what about that big truck?!"
"Okay, Khristina has a point." Nia says, touching the hood.
"It's a nice truck, but I'm really not a truck guy."
Khristina huffs as she walks up to another car.
"You're very picky, Mr. Kazimir. Look at this one, you can't even see the inside! I don't like this one!"
"I think I'll get this one."
Kazimir waves a salesman over and Nia raises a brow.
"We leave for Dubai in two days. Why can't you just save your money?"
"Because I'm not going to Dubai. I'm going back to Vancouver to finish what I started. I'll just take this car on a ferry with me."
"I see." Nia replies. "I do hope everything goes well and you catch this guy for good."
"Can I come with you too?!" Khristina asks, tugging on Kazimir's sleeve.
"Sorry, Khristina but this is something that I have to do on my own. Don't worry, I'll try to call you as much as possible."
He gives the girl a hug and she cries.
"It's alright, Khristina. I'll be back. I promise."
