"Have a good day, Khristina. And remember what I told you."
Nodding, the young girl runs into the school building as Kazimir watches from afar.
"GOT YOU!"
The young detective grabs the back of his hair and turns around.
"Prince, what did I tell you about grabbing other people's hair?"
The small boy smiles.
"That it's not nice, mommy! But papi told me that's how you can tell if someone is strong enough to survive a zombie apocalypse 'cause if the person falls down then the zombies will eat their face and kill them!"
The woman rolls her eyes and puts Prince down, before turning to Kazimir.
"I'm very sorry, sir. My son here is just constantly being fed nonsense by his father."
Kazimir chuckles.
"I believe it."
"Mommy, can papi pick me up after school? I like being with him 'cause you don't let me go anywhere!" Prince exclaims, tugging on his mother's shirt.
"No, it's a school night. He can pick you up Friday. Now, please stay out of drama and learn something academically new today. I want to hear all about it when I come back to get you. Love you, sweetie."
Prince smiles, kissing his mother's cheek.
"Love you too, mommy!"
The two watch as the little boy runs through the large doors, carrying his phone in his hand.
"You work with Pierre, right?" the woman asks, turning to Kazimir.
"Yeah. My name's Kazimir."
She shakes his hand.
"I'm Celeste. Once again, I apologize for my son. I understand it's crucial for his proper mental development, but I don't want him being around his father. He has a horrible influence on Prince."
Kazimir softly laughs.
"I see where you're coming from. But if you don't mind me asking, how'd you two meet?"
Celeste sits down on a bench and Kazimir takes a seat next to her.
"We first met during our freshman year of high school. Almost every girl on the hall had a crush on him because he was widely known for participating in gang activity, which we idiotically found to be cute. Pierre was a player, but he was sweet; seemed to be brought up to make a good husband in the future. However, out of all the girls he flirted with, I believe he favored me the most."
She sighs and continues.
"After his mother died during his sophomore year, he started to hang around me more and more each day, showering me with all sorts of expensive gifts. He'd constantly talk about dropping out and I'd try to stop him, but I failed. Nevertheless, we still met up with each other and I fell for him really hard. Next thing I knew, I was pregnant with Prince. My parents kicked me out and I stayed with Pierre, eventually giving birth to our son during the summer of my junior year. He waited until I finished high school, before moving us all to France."
Kazimir raises a brow.
"He didn't tell me all of that when I met him. Only his mother's death and his visit back to France."
Celeste shakes her head.
"That's Pierre. That man loves leaving out important details. Anyway, he got a job and bought a penthouse for us to stay and raise our Prince in. After three years passed, I found out his "job" was transporting illegal drugs across 67 different countries and I called our relationship off. He brought in tons of money, but I didn't think it was honest work for a child to be raised by. Not even a year after he left France, he had the legal system get involved in our situation for child custody. I fought to keep him away, but I grew tired and gave up. So, here we are; Prince and I moved to this city about a month ago."
Taking a sip from her coffee cup, Celeste puts it down at her side.
"If you ask me, I believe Pierre turned out that way because he didn't really have a proper father figure to guide him throughout his teen years. He told me about his biological father's death and how he felt guilty about it. He wanted to be the "man of the house" to take care of his mother since his stepfather wasn't cutting it. Hopefully, he'll mature a bit before Prince at least becomes a teen."
Kazimir nods, looking down at his hands.
"That makes a lot more sense now."
Getting up from the bench, Celeste puts her coffee in her bag.
"Yes, thank you for listening. Also, if you know any girls that Pierre may tend to favor, please warn them about him. See you."
Kazimir waves at the young woman, before getting up himself and heading to work.
He couldn't say he felt bad for burning Pierre's previous car, but he did feel a small bit of sympathy for him.
Walking through the doors of the Special Forces Department, Kazimir signs in and makes his way down the hall, to the break room, to fix a cup of coffee.
"Damn, about time you showed up!"
Walking over to the coffee machine, Kazimir grabs a cup, pouring some of the liquid in. He takes a sip, before turning to Pierre.
"Aren't you supposed to be with the drug team?"
The older male groans, leaning his chair back.
"Can't a guy enjoy his coffee in peace? Besides, how's my Kika holding up?"
The young detective sighs and takes a seat in front of Pierre.
"I want to apologize for storming out on your podcast the other day. If only I'd known earlier."
Pierre laughs and raises a brow.
"If you'd known earlier? Fuck are you talking about?"
"Your child's mother told me everything." Kazimir replies, crossing his arms.
"Celeste? She's known to lie, don't believe her."
Kazimir shakes his head in denial.
"There's no use in hiding it anymore, Pierre. It seems like you once wanted to be a family man-
Suddenly, the older detective stands up, throwing the rest of his coffee in the trash.
"Stay the hell out of my business."
Watching as he walked out of the room, the young detective sighs and finishes his coffee, before heading over to the room where his team sat.
Taking a seat, Kazimir begins to scan the DNA of multiple clothing items, writing down a few notes from time to time.
A couple hours later, he gets up and grabs his lunch, heading back over to the break room.
Taking a bite of his sandwich, Kazimir sighs. It seemed as if almost everyone around him lives were slowly falling apart.
"Are you on the crime team with Caio?"
Snapping out of his thoughts, the young man looks up at Dayne.
"Uh, yeah."
"Has there seemed to be anything off with him lately?" Dayne asks, crossing his arms.
Kazimir shrugs.
"No. Well, I do think he's in love with the new girl, Nia."
Dayne nods.
"Thank you for your time."
Kazimir watches as he leaves the room and shrugs.
"Wonder what's that about."
--- 3:27 P.M. ---
"Hey, Khristina. Had a good day at school?"
The little girl nods.
"Today was more funner than the others 'cause we got to make s'mores! Can you and me make s'mores?"
"How about Friday? We can even make it a movie night." Kazimir replies, picking the small girl up.
Khristina happily cheers, before pointing a finger to her teacher.
"Look, Mr. Kazimir! That's my cousin Laurenté! He told me to tell you that he wants to meet you!"
Kazimir nods and walks over to a tall, white-haired male who was waving to a group of kids who were boarding the school bus.
"Cousin Laurenté!" Khristina screams. "This is Mr. Kazimir!"
The older teacher turns and smiles.
"It's nice to finally meet you, Mr. Cizetto. I'm Laurenté La'rine."
Kazimir shakes the man's hand.
"It's a pleasure meeting you, Mr. La'rine."
"So, how's my little cousin treating you? I hope she isn't too much of a hassle."
The young detective chuckles.
"Khristina's an optimistic and funny little girl; whenever I'm feeling down, she's always there to brighten up my day. She's a little joy to have around."
Khristina smiles.
"Laurenté, doesn't Mr. Kazimir look like a prince from another country?"
The teacher turns to Kazimir and chuckles.
"Who knows? He might be. Anyway, this work isn't going to grade itself. Have a wonderful afternoon."
Kazimir and Khristina wave as the man heads back into the building.
"Mr. Kazimir, when we get home, can we host a tea party with my dolls and stuffed animals?"
The young man smiles and turns to Khristina.
"As long as you complete your homework first."
-------
*CLINK*
"This tea is very splendid, Madame Khristina. If it isn't a bother, may I have the recipe?" Kazimir asks, with a smile.
Khristina nods.
"Of course, Mr. Kazimir! It's quite easy to make, too!"
Sighing, she puts her teacup down and Kazimir frowns.
"Oh, it's perfectly fine if you'd prefer not to share the recipe."
The small girl shakes her head.
"No, Mr. Kazimir, this isn't about the tea party."
He watches as her eyes begin to water.
"Khristina, what's wrong?"
She looks up at the older man, running over to his side of the room to give him a hug.
"I don't wanna tell you this because you could get killed!"
Kazimir raises a brow, hugging the small girl back.
"Khristina, I'll be fine. That's a promise. Now, tell me what's going on."
She sniffles into the young detective's shirt before looking up at him.
"Remember when I told you and Alexei about the piece of trash Mr. Brookstone gave me?"
Kazimir nods and Khristina continues.
"He said that if I told anyone about it, he'd kill you and Alexei would die too, but I didn't think he was serious and gave you two the trash anyway! I'm sorry if you die, Mr. Kazimir! Please don't be mad!"
"Awwww, it's okay, Khristina. I'm not mad at all, I'm very happy you told me." the young man responds, patting her back.
Khristina sniffles, wiping her nose with her dress sleeve.
"Really?"
Kazimir gives her a reassuring smile.
"Yes, really. As a matter of fact, Mr. Brookstone is no longer on Earth anymore."
"He died?!" Khristina asks.
The young man nods, wiping a tear from Khristina's eye.
"Do you think my papa is beating him up for trying to kill you and Alexei?"
Kazimir chuckles.
"And for being mean to you; yes, I'm very certain. It seems as if karma sure has a funny way of turning the tables, doesn't it?"