Closing the door behind him, Laurenté turns to the others.
"Well, now we wait."
Standing up, Alexei slightly fixes his tie before grabbing Miracle's hand.
"After I drop Miracle and her mother off, we need to have a discussion about Khristina's safety."
Dréy raises a brow and turns to his younger brother.
"You tryin' to say she ain't safe around me? Since when have I put the girl in danger?"
"Multiple times, Andréy. Multiple times. Doing doughnuts in your car, June 23rd around 4:51 P.M. of the year 2017 when we spent the summer with father's family in New Orleans and tonight are some of the few examples. She isn't guaranteed to be safe with anyone, but I'd like to talk to you in private about the matter."
Dréy shakes his head and stands up.
"Nah, ain't no talkin' in private. Whatever you gotta say to me, you can say right here."
"The little ones are around, Andréy. I'm-
"MANE, SHUT UP! SHUT THE FUCK UP! I JUST GOT SHOT AND YOU STARTIN' ALL THIS BULL?! LOOK AT ME, ZAY; DO IT LOOK LIKE I GIVE A FUCK?! DO IT?!"
"Alright. Since you're so demanding with it, I'm going to give you this, Andréy."
Reaching into his suit pocket, the law student takes out a handgun and places it in the palm of his brother's hand.
"Why the hell would you give me this in front-
"You clearly just made a scene saying whatever needed to be discussed can be discussed in public." Alexei interrupts. "It's too late to go back on your word."
"You know, I'll drop Miracle and her mother off." Laurenté says, grabbing Miracle's hand. "Why don't you come along, Khrissy?"
"But Dréy's sad! And I wanna stay with him!"
Khristina quickly runs over to Dréy, who wraps an protective arm around her.
"Khristina, I think your brothers are trying to have an adult conversation." Kazimir says with a smile. "There's no fun in adult conversations."
The small girl stomps her foot in anger.
"I'm not going anywhere! My brother needs me!"
"Khristina, your brother and I really need to have this conversation." Alexei says, squatting down to his little sister's height. "Please just go with Laurenté or Mr. Cizetto."
"But why can't I be in it? I'm your sibling too!"
"Well, this is an important conversation Andréy and I need to have right now. We're just going to talk about some things that you won't quite fully understand yet."
Tears filling her eyes, Khristina begins to cry, throwing herself down onto the floor.
"I want mama!"
"Khristina, get up and-
"Just let her stay, Zay." Dréy says, giving the young girl a hug. "You can stay, Khrissy."
"I'm out. I'll call you in the morning, Dréy." Pierre says, giving him a hug. "Sleep tight."
"A'ight, night mane."
"Guess I should head home, too. I'll see you all later." Kazimir says, following Pierre.
"Wait, Mr. Kazimir!" Khristina says, running after the young man.
Giving Kazimir a hug, the small girl looks up at him.
"I hope you don't hate me for not going with you. I just want to be around Dréy right now."
"Khristina, I don't hate you." Kazimir replies, hugging the small girl back. "He's your brother, so I completely understand."
The small girl smiles and gives the young detective one more hug, before running back over to her brother.
"Who do you think Khristina is safer with?" Pierre asks, watching Kazimir close the door behind him.
"I don't know, that isn't even any of my business."
"Honestly, she'd be better off with Dréy. Alexei and Laurenté have too much going on behind the scenes. And besides, Dréy's been doing doughnuts since we were kids, so he's basically certified at that."
"Even professionals are human, Pierre." Kazimir says, rolling his eyes.
"Then tell me who do you think is the better choice? It can't be Laurenté and Alexei, can it?"
"Did I say they were?"
"No, but that's what you're most likely going to say."
Kazimir looks up at the moonlit sky, a small breeze of wind ruffling his hair.
"I'd say myself."
Pierre blinks a couple of times and raises a brow.
"You?"
"Yes, me. One is a constant target for bad omens and the other two kill people as a side hobby. When have I ever put Khristina's life in danger?"
"Yeah, 'cause it's not like Kazimir Cizetto isn't the hidden face of the department's murders."
"That's different, Pierre. I'm helping to rid of all the corrupt law officers in this city. Corrupt law officers only make the city a more dangerous place to live in. Should I as her guardian really allow this danger to keep running rampant throughout Claiza City?"
Pierre chuckles and shakes his head.
"You are the last person that needs to be watching over anyone; hell, ANYTHING."
"And I could say the same for you, your drug dealing business, and your children." Kazimir says. "Dréy is your best friend, I get that you want to defend him. But let's look at this situation from a broader horizon, Pierre; I'm their only reasonable option."
The older detective sighs and looks over at his car.
"Maybe she should just move to the States. I mean, if they all really care that much about her safety."
"That is the stupidest shit I've heard all day." Kazimir replies.
"You aren't even related to the child, man. If you want a kid so badly, go start a family."
"She may not be my child, but I've been watching her for about a month now; that has to make me some sort of guardian."
Pierre watches as his younger coworker gets into his car and starts it.
"Aye, Kash!"
Looking out of his car's window, Kazimir watches as Dréy runs over, little Khristina struggling to follow him.
"Turns out she wants to go with you after all."
Opening the passenger door, Kazimir watches as the little girl happily climbs in.
"Can we stop for ice cream?"
"It's kinda late for ice cream, Khristina." Kazimir replies. "But I'll make it up to you by making hot chocolate in the morning."
"Can I take some to school too?"
"As long as you don't brag about having it to the other kids."
The small girl puts a finger to her lips, mimicking a "shhh" pose.
"I promise I won't!"
"Alright, you can take some with you to school." Kazimir says, smiling.
After staying silent for about three minutes, Khristina turns to the young man.
"Mr. Kazimir, are you gonna find out who hurt my brother?"
"Of course I am."
"Are you sure the person won't ever be found out? Just like whoever killed my mama and my papa?"
Coming to a smooth stop at a red light, Kazimir blankly stares into the distance. He knew Khristina was close with Brent Domonkos. He also knew she shouldn't be hanging around a dangerous man. If he was to tell her the long-time family friend was the actual killer, would she actually believe it?
"I promise, Khristina, I'm going to find out who killed your parents as well."
Maybe it was best if the young detective discussed that with her brothers first.
"I hope so. I wanna ask the person who killed mama and papa for a reason why. Did you know that papa was actually gonna start spending more time with us? He was gonna re, uhhh-
"Resign?" Kazimir asks, pressing the gas pedal as the light turns green.
"Yeah, that's the word! He said he wanted to focus on making sure I had a good childhood. Papa was planning to put in a good word for Mr. Brent and tell everyone that he should take over the company!"
"Where'd you hear the last part from, Khristina?"
"I heard him talking on the phone one night."
Driving a few more miles, the young detective's mind begins to swarm with thoughts.
"Fuck it, she's going to find out one day. Why not make it today?"
Pulling into an empty parking lot, Kazimir puts the car in park and turns to the young girl.
"Your brothers are probably going to resent me for this, but I want to tell you something. Dréy may not know it yet, but Alexei certainly does. Honestly, I'm really surprised he hasn't told you yet."
"Told me what? Is it a surprise? Am I getting a unicorn?!"
"Khristina, it's not a good surprise and I wouldn't consider this a surprise at all."
"So then tell me!" Khristina says, banging her fists on the glovebox.
"Mr. Brent isn't your friend, he's the one who killed your parents."
The small girl gives Kazimir a "huh?" look and shakes her head.
"No, Mr. Kazimir! Mr. Brent didn't kill my parents!"
"My bad, were you secretly assigned to the case and have someone else in mind?"
"No, but I know you're telling a fib 'cause Mr. Brent would never ever do something like that!"
Kazimir pinches the bridge of his nose and shakes his head.
"Khristina, I have the papers that are literally fucking proof in my briefcase."
"I don't care what you have! Mr. Brent wasn't the one who killed mama and papa!" Khristina screams.
"You know, the world isn't all glitter, sprinkles, and ice cream, Khristina. There are people out there who don't give half a damn if they make your life a living hell and fucking Brent Domonkos is one of them!"
The small girl shakes her head and kicks her feet.
"LIAR!"
"And you can believe I'm lying but once word gets out to the public, then there's nothing you can do to change that! There's nothing anyone can do!"
"Well I'm not believing it until Mr. Brent says it himself!"
Placing his head on the horn, Kazimir lets out a deep chuckle.
"Khristina, who in their right mind is confessing to killing somebody? That's like you telling me you didn't take a cookie from the cookie jar even though I could've sat there and watched you do it."
"I'm still not believing it!"
"Khristina, I don't want to believe that my sister's boyfriend left her out for dead. The two of us used to get along really well before Camille's death. I know he's a close friend and all, but are you seriously going to take his side over your own flesh and blood that actually cared about you? Think about it, if that man were to kill you, would you want Dréy and Alexei trying to protect his name?"
Eyes filling with tears, the little girl begins to silently cry and looks out of the window.
"I wanna go to Laurenté's house!"
"Khris-
"TAKE ME TO LAURENTÉ'S HOUSE!"
Sighing, Kazimir pulls out of the parking lot, heading down the fairly lit street.
"I changed my mind, Mr. Kazimir." Khristina says after a few minutes of silence. "Can we go home instead? And once we get home, can you read me a bedtime story?"
"Sure."
Looking over at the passenger seat, Kazimir watches as Khristina begins to fall asleep. Truth be told, he kind of felt a little guilty about telling the young child about her parents real killer. On the other hand, he knew it was best that she found out now than hold a grudge against everyone later on in life.
—- the next day —-
"Feels so nice to finally stretch a little."
Cracking his knuckles, Lucien places a folder on the table in front of him, before making himself a cup of coffee.
"You must be the new guy, Lucien." a male detective says, taking a seat. "Mr. Niserratè says you're working on your first case. How's it going so far?"
"Pretty easy I'd say."
Sitting down in front of his laptop, the new detective lightly smiles.
"May I ask you a question, sir?"
"Go for it, kid."
"Say you have two close friends and one was to suddenly die." Lucien says, fixing his shirt sleeves. "A few years later, you found out your other close friend was the murderer. On a scale of 1-10, how furious would you be?"
"Ten of course!" the man says as he takes a bite out of a croissant. "We were all supposed to be buddies and now our other supposed "friend" just had to ruin that."
"Exactly."
"I'm assuming this ties into your current case somewhat."
Pouring a teaspoon of sugar into his coffee cup, Lucien shrugs.
"Somewhat."