The car slowly and as delicately as a well-programmed machine parked in front of a three-story building. With Lazaro smiling coldly to his side and Lila nervously opening the door to the car. "I-It's just, it takes more than a day, and you don't have a license to drive, you'd be thrown in jail..."
Lazaro just turned walked straight to the store.
'How much do I have to show so these little girls can trust me?'
"W-Wait I'm sorry!"
He stopped and waited, when she came sheepishly to his side Lazaro felt and urge seeing her tight short.
Slap!
He felt her perkiness.
"Hya!" She held her buttcheek with a reddening face and neck!
"Your punishment."
She swallowed the shame and the giggle of the onlookers.
There was a hundred different type of clothing ahead, Lazaro held his forehead, he thought his exhaustion went away with some sleep but it was overloaded just by the sight of it.
"Which ones do you want? Pants, shorts? Maybe formal clothing? Which type? This brand or that brand?" Larissa yapped nonstop.
Lazaro felt the need to activate the overload state on his body. Otherwise, he wouldn't be able to go on, He very solemnly he held her shoulder and spoke looking straight into her eyes.
"A couple of simple pants shirts and shoes will do, no drawings, only single color pieces. Got nuts."
He said but her eyes started to tear up... "Are you bored with me? Is that why you want me to do it alone?" She looked up and spoke softly
His heart ached "I-I" He mumbled and scratched his head impatiently.
"Haaaa, okay, but let's find some clothes for you, mine can be simple anyway."
"Great!" She yelled and ran to the feminine clothing like she was never hurt.
Lazaro facepalmed and pulled his cheeks down. All he wanted was to rest, the sudden fat thief threw him in another world full of wonder, but in the next instant, he was filled with responsibilities and enemies.
Then he saw his reflection on the mirror of the store. He was smiling.
unknowingly to him, his cheap grin turned into a sincere smile.
He sighed and let his agitation calm down.
A flash of light shone on the corner of his eyes, like an animal he jumped back and pulled a row of clothing in front of him.
six or more eyes turned to him, but the only thing that happened was that the clothe son his hands fell down.
The people around gazed at him as if he was a weirdo, Lazaro looked again, the flash of light was merely the light reflected from the cars passing on the street. His breathing went erratic with sweat on his hands..
Lazaro took two more deep breaths and calmed himself. 'Have I been cursed, Lina? I'm not allowed to be in peace?' He thought. His illness is advancing unceasingly.
A hand landed on his arm... He threw Lila the usual cheap grin. "Did you take some skimpy delicacies?" For a moment her expression was one of worry, but she smiled right after.
She proceeded to wear twenty different dresses with different complications, the weird thing was; Lazaro always analyzed her clothes' with care making her heart bleed with sweetness.
They left when it was one in the afternoon, with two men to load the dozen of bags on the car.
Lazaro approached one of the two. "Brother, how do I turn off the autopilot on this thing?" He said and gestured to the car with his chin.
The man gazed at Lazaro as if he lived on aisle.. "... There's a small button with a robot wearing a seatbelt on the panel."
"...Seatbelt... robot... What are those?" Lazaro asked trying to imagine such things. The man squinted he looked around jus tin case there was a camera, He thought it was a prank
Larissa did everything to hold in her laugh as the man did his job as a store attendant and explained that robots were, in fact, similar to drones, and seat belts were the rope that held him back on the car.
"Isn't she the whore that abandoned the Popov family for some weird guy?"
Two voices reached her ear and took her good mood away.
"Well after she was taken off the rank of police chief because of substance abuse I don't doubt anything more."
She felt rage built up inside of her.
"Even if she's the black sheep, she still a Popov, having one of them as Police chief is absurd in itself, what they expect it'd happen? Haha."
Lila, for the first time in her life, pretended not to hear an insult, she was with Lazaro today, but the future is uncertain, she read in a lot of novels the cliche of the heroine separating from the hero and only appearing to be pretty, although she does not consider herself a heroine, their situation was still complicated enough that it was a possibility. To compensate for the uncertain future, she wanted the moment to be perfect, so she ignored the voices.
But to her dismay, Lazaro was staring back at her, with an amused face."Why are you holding back? Sink their mouths into their skull." He said.
'How the hell did he heard that?' She thought.
The street is busy and crowded, the couple that spoke were five meters behind her.
He walked up to her, "Are you afraid of them?" Lazaro asked.
She gazed up at him and this time genuinely had red-rimmed eyes. "L-let just goes on, how about we eat in a restaurant now?"
In that second he understood her insecurity. He leaned down and kissed her on the forehead. He smiled and pulled her along, "You're right, just go and choose our table, I want meat or something with a strong taste. I'll help those guys to load the car and will be there in a second."
She looked at him and smiled sweetly.
After she walked away, Lazaro heard the couple chuckling and entering the clothes store they were just in.
His smile faded. He wanted to let her have a good day, but he needs to send a message, otherwise, those things will only continue.
****
"Yo really never had pizza before?" Lila was impressed by Lazaro's seventh' piece of pizza.
"No, and I curse everything that did not allow the creation of this dish in my homeworld!!"
Lila smiled as he did not bother to clean the oil on his chin.
"I saw that, earlier." She said.
He looked at her while chewing the thick cheese.
She carefully measured her words.
"There are medics.. For that."
He looked at her completely confused.
Larissa decided to begin with the end and bit her lips. " I worked as the chief of police, and my sister went into the military, we saw a lot of cases of it. PTSD."
Realizing Lazaro still had no clue of what she was talking about she continued.
'PTSD is a disease that affects a lot of soldiers, mainly those who went directly in action, although rarer, cases of a police officer developing it after a stressful incident also happen. some of them hear the trigger of a gun in the ticking clock, others get nervous and anxious when an airplane pass above them. It manifests in different ways depending on the incident and the level o trauma."
She looked at him in the eyes. "Some cant ever is free of it but the advances on therapy and psychology are healing a good amount of people a year."
Lazaro stopped moving and swallowed what on his mouth. He was genuinely impressed, he expected some people to notice, but not Lila.
"I-I was a good cop." She said as if reading his mind.
He understands her reasons and was intrigued by it but he shook his head.
"What I have is an illness of the mind, pills or concocted potions won't have any effect besides numbing."
She stared back at him and for the first time wondered where he came from."There are methods here-"
"Lazaro of Superbiam The Special military brigade need to investigate a matter, and you're the main suspect."
Lazaro blinked and turned around.
"Lê!" Lila screamed with a smile and ran to the uniformed woman. Eleanor was wearing a thick black uniform full of pockets. Her hair was tied in a bun with a military beret to the side. But when Lila came running she smiled and welcomed with open arms.
While embracing Lila, Eleonor saw Lazaro getting up after cleaning his mouth and heading over.
The man who pushed her sister over the edge. Making her go completely astray.
She distanced herself from Lila and locked on him like a hound looking at meat.
She presented two photos. One of a young couple passed out inside the store's clothes proving cabinet. They both had a bloodied mouth full of broken teeth and an obviously broken jaw. Another was of Lazaro exiting their area alone with a smile.
"Do you have anything to say?"
"I look handsome in that picture."
"..."
Lila saw the photo and although she did not recognize the couple, she knew what happened right then.
He didn't think the police would work so fast, maybe they are like this to every person? He thought but threw the notion away.
Lazaro just gave Eleonor a card "This is Gerald Fonseca's number, call him about this matter. "
"He's merely an indicator for you to be a teacher, even if you're denying the crime, you have to answer to this investigation back in the police department."
"Who says I'm denying it?" Lazaro smiled.
Lila stepped in front of Eleonor then. "Lazaro was with me in the store, he went back to see if I forgot a piece of clothing on the proving cabinet. It's a mere coincidence he was there."
Eleonor was surprised but frowned. "The victims gave his description and he just admitted himself."
"They were found on a proving cabinet passed out with broken teeth and dislocated jaws, their judgment cannot be trusted now, you'll have to wait at least forty-eight hours before they are stable and trauma-free. Only then their testimony can be taken seriously."
Lila spoke calmly and cordially she was her sister after all.
Eleonor felt the rage inside of her spill through her throat.
"He's messing with your head! Can't you see? He even got you to accuse dad of trying to murder you! You did that shameful thing in front of cameras too! And it didn't even pass a few days and you're already throwing yourself as his shield?
"Accuse?" Lila questioned. She examined her older sister's expression and noticed something that make her sigh with sadness..
"I know you have reasons to not believe me sis, but just check the drone's serial number on the general database, the order must still be there. Well, or father erased it, but that'll be at least enough for you to believe me a little." She said in a low tone and turned away.