"You think I had something to do with the shooting?"
Twisting the valve cap back onto the tire, Alexei shakes his head.
"Mr. Domonkos and I may not be on the best of terms, but I'd never put my older brother's life at risk."
"All I asked was were you there at the time of the shooting." Kazimir says, sliding out from underneath the SUV. "Where'd you get all that other shit from?"
"It is pretty obvious that's what you're referring to."
"You're saying that way too calmly for somebody that just tried to kill me."
"Of course I am. I'd hate to act like a wild boar in a public vicinity."
Standing up, Kazimir dusts his hands together and takes a step back to look at the vehicle.
"Well, I guess it should be alright now. I'll be back; I'm going to go wash off my hands."
"Mr. La'rine."
Looking up from adjusting his Patek Philippe on his wrist, Alexei watches as one of his truckers makes his way over to him.
"Is something wrong? Do you need to rest a little?"
"No, I'm fine. Unfortunately, we might-
*BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!*
Looking up at the wailing sirens, multiple people gather around.
"Attention, this is not a drill; an EF-4 tornado is headed for northwest Fairland. Please seek immediate shelter."
"Ah, that doesn't sound too good, hmm?" Alexei rhetorically asks as the siren continues to blare. "May I borrow the keys to the truck?"
Handing the keys to Alexei, the older trucker watches as the young law student walks over to the two large semi trucks.
"That doesn't sound too- wait, where'd he go?" Kazimir says, placing his hands in his pockets.
"If you're looking for our leader, he's over there about to make a double semi."
"You gotta be fucking joking."
Walking back over to his partner, Kazimir squats down next to the young man.
"Oh good, you've returned. Listen, I'm giving you two options; stay here with the other truckers and wait out the storm or you can come with me to complete the order."
"You're planning to still go on the road? What're you? Stupid?"
Alexei raises a brow.
"Mr. Cizetto, the only one here who is stupid would be you not believing in me. I've done this before plenty of times during some of my summers back in the States."
"We don't live in the States, Alexei. How do you know if there isn't any difference between the severities in the weather?"
The law student rolls his eyes and mutters a couple of curse words in Russian under his breath.
"Just give me a final answer, Kazimir. Which one is it?"
"Well, what you're doing isn't safe but I don't wanna let you travel by yourself."
Sighing, the young detective takes a look down at his phone.
"I guess it looks like we'll have a 30-minute head start."
"Good choice." Alexei says, giving Kazimir a pat on the shoulder. "I'll tighten this truck's ring hitch and then we'll be on our way."
"Do you even know how to drive this thing?"
"Certainly. Lennox instructed me on what to do. He actually got his CDL at the age of 15."
"Pretty impressive." Kazimir says, stretching his arms.
*CLING! CLING! CLANG!*
"Alright, that should be good for now. Here's the key to start the semi."
Taking the key, Kazimir opens the driver's door of the rig and climbs in, starting the large truck.
"Ah, it's kinda like my old car; a manual."
"So there isn't much for me to explain." Alexei says, chuckling. "Just make sure to stay 10 feet away from other vehicles and any turns that you'll make will need to be wide."
"Sounds good."
"Please don't hesitate to let me know if you're in need of anything. Drive safely."
Watching as the law student closes the door of the rig, Kazimir takes a quick look around.
"Blankets, food, water. Looks like that might come in handy tonight."
————-
"And that's 25 of you all."
Placing a checkmark on a sticky note, Laurenté La'rine sighs in relief as his class sat against a wall in the school's basement.
"This place scares me, Mr. Laurenté." a little boy says, bringing his knees up to his chest.
"You can't be a real man if you're scared of every little thing!" Prince adds, standing up. "I was scared of going to school, but papí said that if I continued to be scared then he would take my new Jordan 12s away from me!"
The class watches in awe as Prince proudly shows off his new sneakers in front of them.
"My brothers have those except they're black and white!" Khristina quickly points out. "Mama gave it to them for Christmas last year!"
"Settle down, everyone." Laurenté says, motioning for the children to keep still. "Prince, I'd like to point out that real men have fears too. It may not inherently be of the dark, but we still do have a fear of something."
"What're you scared of, Mr. La'rine?" Miracle asks, holding Khristina's hand.
The older male sighs and slightly smiles.
"I'm scared of having to see you all leave my class next school year. Every time it comes to mind, I feel a little sadness inside. I understand it's for the best, but I love you all more than you'll ever know."
"Please don't cry, Mr. La'rine!"
"We'll come visit your classroom!"
"I don't wanna leave you, Mr. Laurenté!"
Smiling, the part-time hitman quickly gives each of his students a hug.
"Thank you all for your concerns."
"Excuse me?"
Everyone turns as the door to the lone room in the basement creaks open.
"Is this Mr. La'rine's classroom?"
"Yes, it is." Laurenté replies, standing up. "You look familiar, have we met before?"
"Hi, Ms. Nia!" Khristina happily says, jumping up.
"Against the wall please, Khristina. Oh, you're the woman who works with Kazimir, correct?"
Nia smiles and nods, walking over to the rest of the students.
"Yes, that's me. Hello, everyone. My name is Nia Ellison and I'm here to assist your teacher in making sure you all stay safe."
"Are you Mr. Laurenté's girlfriend?" a little girl asks.
"Oh, no sweetie. I work as a detective and was sent here on-duty."
"My papí works as one of those things!" Prince yells, standing up. "And he's the best on the force too 'cause he has a million medals that says it!"
"Is his name Pierre?"
"Yeah! How'd you know?"
"You two both have the same personality and look very much alike." Nia replies.
"Mommy says that everyday!"
"Oh, I'm sure she does. I'd like for you all to excuse us, I need to discuss some things regarding the weather with your teacher."
Stepping to the other side of the room, Nia hands Laurenté a folder.
"These are emergency exit plans and details on how you should react after the storm passes."
"How's the case going with my uncle Elliot?" the older male asks, thumbing through the papers.
"A long process, but it's going as planned. Have you or the school been in active contact with the students' parents?"
"I have; can't speak for the school itself."
"Ms. Nia, is my papí going to show up here too?" Prince asks as he begins to tug on the woman's blouse.
"I don't think so. Your father is currently helping the public get to safety."
"Is he gonna be okay?"
Nia nods and gives the young boy a warm smile.
"Mr. Pierre is going to be just fine."
"Is being a detective really a dangerous job?"
"I believe it depends on what one is studying as a detective."
Prince yawns and rests his head against Nia's arm.
"That's why I love papí 'cause he does a job that other people are too scared to do. I hope I grow up to be just like him."
Nia quietly sighs as she looks down at the small boy who was now asleep.
"I hope you grow up to be your own person."
——————
"Alright, Uzini! Everyone's pulled over and the highway is-
Stopping mid-sentence, Pierre Richano chuckles as two large trucks make their way towards him.
"Hol' on a sec."
Giving the finger to Alexei, the professional detective walks over to Kazimir's truck, climbing up the side of the rig.
"Well, well. First, it was playing dress-up, now it's putting your life at stake! Why're you even helping that clown?"
"Because I'm a service to the public." Kazimir replies. "Helping is what I do."
"Good joke, good joke. Step out the truck for me, son."
*Ahem!*
Turning around, Pierre groans as Alexei stands behind him with crossed arms.
"Are you going to move the road blocks or do we have to plow through them?"
"I need you to shut the fuck up for a minute while I talk to your partner in crime."
"Every second I stand here, you're looking more and more like a yellow speed bump."
"Anyway, I'm going to need this young man to get out the vehicle." Pierre says, ignoring Alexei.
"For what?" Kazimir asks.
"So it looks like I'm doing my job."
"Can't you just check Alexei's truck?"
"Nope."
"Why not?"
"'Cause I know what he's carrying. But what're you?"
Kazimir grits his teeth as he turns to look at a smirking Pierre.
"The same thing, you stupid motherfucker."
"Doesn't matter, I still need ya out the thing!"
Giving both males an angry look, Alexei walks over to the two and crosses his arms.
"One of you need to cooperate. I'm on a tight schedule and so is the tornado."
"Kazimir's the one who needs to cooperate." Pierre says, playing with the truck's steering wheel.
*CRACK!"
Punching Pierre in the face, Kazimir opens the door of the truck to knock him off.
"Look, I'm out the truck now. Happy?"
"You bastard! Your stupid ass is paying my dry cleaning bill!"
"I'm not paying for shit, now leave me the hell alone." the younger detective replies as he climbs back in the vehicle.
"Perfect, both of you successfully cooperated." Alexei says, moving the road barriers.
Brushing himself off, Pierre walks over to the young law student.
"And what the hell do you think you're doing?!"
"Exactly what it looks like."
"Okay, so while you do that, then I'll do this."
Running over to the truck, Pierre quickly jumps in and starts it.
"YOU FUCKING PIECE OF SHIT!" Alexei screams, immediately dropping a road block sign.
Putting it in drive, Pierre crashes through a couple of the signs and continues forward.
"TAIL HIM, CIZETTO!"
"But what about-
"I SAID FOLLOW HIS ASS!"