"You barely had any sugar left, so your coffee is probably bitter as hell."
Handing him a mug, Pierre sits down across from Kazimir and watches as the younger man holds his head down.
"Miracle saved you some brownies from earlier, ya know. I thought they were gonna taste like shit, but they're pretty good."
He tosses a plastic bag filled with the chocolate dessert next to where his co-worker sat. Still, no flinching or any type of movement of that sort.
"Okay, maybe the 11:00 news will make you react a bit."
After turning the television on, Pierre walks back into Kazimir's small kitchen to put a little more coffee creamer in his drink.
"Good evening, Claiza City. We want to begin tonight's top story with breaking news; a total of 11 police officers have been found dead at an abandoned supermarket and at a popular restaurant."
Pausing for a minute, Pierre raises a brow before hearing the apartment's front door slam shut.
"So that's where you ran off to."
—————-
*KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!*
Opening the door, Laurenté gives Kazimir a warm smile before frowning.
"Good evening, Kazimir. If you don't mind me asking, is everything alright?"
"I'm going to Vancouver to find the bastard who murdered my entire family yesterday."
"Goodness me. I'm very sorry to hear that."
"Yeah and I need your help." the detective says, holding up a box of three machine guns. "I want to trade these in for a Javelin."
"A Javelin?" Laurenté says, looking in the box. "Unfortunately, I've never gotten my hands on that one. You're better off asking Alexei."
"Okay."
"Oh, you won't be able to call him on his regular number about that."
Turning around, Kazimir watches as Laurenté reaches on a shelf, taking a business card from it.
"He has a custom cell tower made just for him and his gun-dealing related calls. You'll have to use this number if you'd like to request any weapons."
"Thanks." the younger male says, picking up a machine gun. "Here, take one."
"Well, these aren't made for the general public. As a matter of fact, these are extremely hard to come across unless one has connections to a military base. Where'd you get these-
Looking up from examining the large gun, Laurenté sighs as he watches Kazimir speed off.
"That boy."
After driving a couple of miles, Kazimir pulls over to the side of the road and dials the number on the business card.
"Hello. What can I do for you?"
"Do you happen to do trade-ins?"
"Depends on the rarity and power of the weapon you'd like to trade in, Mr. Cizetto."
"A fully-automatic AR-15 for a Javelin."
"Fully-automatic? Please, message me a picture."
Taking a picture, Kazimir sends it to Alexei who smirks and sits up.
"My, my, my. Even I have to admit, I'd usually have to wait around a few weeks before I can get my hands on one of these. Plus, it's one of the recently made models. Yes, a trade-in will certainly do. I'll send you a one-time only link to where you'll be directed to my website to pick out your Javelin. And may I ask, what do you even need-
Hearing the line go dead, Alexei shakes his head as he sends Kazimir's number the link.
"That boy."
As he scrolls through his phone, Kazimir hears the rumble of a car behind his and looks up at the rearview mirror.
It was too dark for him to see anything, but he didn't care. If whoever it was wanted to fight, he'd be okay with it.
"The hell are you doing out here in the middle of nowhere?"
Looking up, Kazimir groans as Pierre tries to peek into the tinted car.
"Where's Khristina and Miracle?"
"Sleeping at the apartment."
Shaking his head in disappointment, Kazimir puts his car in gear and Pierre gets in front of it.
"Move, you fucking dumbass!"
"I wanna help you, rude bastard!" Pierre yells. "You may not be my best friend or even my friend at all, but I know what it's like to feel alone. Feel like no one notices you. No one cares for you. Just let me do something to help!"
Tapping his fingers on the steering wheel, Kazimir looks down at his dashboard.
"Watch Khristina and Miracle for me while I'm gone. And don't ask me how long I'll be gone, I'm not coming back until whoever did this shit is dead!"
—————
"Who in the world is at my door this early?"
Tying her robe together, Nia peeks out of the window and raises a brow.
"Who am I speaking to?"
"It's Kazimir, Nia."
Recognizing the young detective's voice, Nia opens the door and slightly tilts her head.
"You dyed your hair black and have brown contacts in. What's all this about?"
"I know this is your day off but I need a favor. I need you to create a fake passport for me as well as a fake Canadian border patrol ID for me. I don't care how much it costs, just make it as realistic and believable as possible."
"You know I don't make people close to me pay for things, Kazimir."
The young man gives her a small smile as she motions for him to come inside.
"First, I'll need to take your picture. Just stand against that wall right there and look straight at the camera."
Standing against the wall, Kazimir watches as the young woman snaps his photo.
"Okay, perfect! Just help yourself to anything in the refrigerator while I work on your ID cards."
"Thank you, Nia. I really appreciate your help. I hope mama won't be too disappointed with me."
"Goodness, are you smuggling things across the border?"
The young man shrugs as he lays down on the chair next to Nia.
"Just a few weapons."
Rubbing his fingers together, he begins to feel a ping of anger.
"About two days ago…someone killed my only remaining family. From what I found out, they were all gathered together to celebrate my parent's wedding anniversary and the person found their location. I still can't fully process this shit, Nia. It just doesn't feel real."
Feeling a hug against his torso, Kazimir looks down to see Nia's head laying against his chest.
"I am so sorry that you had to have this happen to you, Kazimir. Is there anything further that I can do for you?"
"Not as of now. Oh, wait. Could I have some onigiri for my flight? Please?"
"What time is your flight?"
"8:00 tonight."
"Okay, I have plenty of time. What do you want your new name to be?"
"Ryushi Hill." Kazimir replies, as he walks into Nia's kitchen. "Your blueberry muffins are about to be finished, by the way."
"You can take them out once the timer ends. Also, I received the details about Merderae's meeting in Dubai. It'll be held in about a week from yesterday. I know you'll still be on your trip, so I guess it'll be just me and Alexei."
"Alright, but I would like to know some details, too." Kazimir says, taking a muffin out of the pan. "Just call or text me about what you two find. Let's see what else goes good with blueberry muffins."
"Will do."
"Does almond milk go good with blueberry muffins? Or do you drink it with regular milk?"
"I usually like my muffins with tea." Nia replies.
Taking out a pan, Kazimir places it on the stove as he opens an egg carton.
"Sounds very Britain-like. Glad I got the day off, I'm tired from yesterday."
"And where were you at around the time of 7:00-9:45 P.M. yesterday?" Nia asks, crossing her arms.
"Damn, you stay up that late to watch the news, too?"
"Kazimir, you can't just go around recklessly killing people like that."
"It's for a good cause, Nia."
"Yes. One that will land you in prison one day if you keep pulling those risky stunts."
"Well, to be fair, I was the only one at the supermarket besides the other three officers. I mean, they easily could've killed me. Do you have bacon here because I didn't see any in the refrigerator."
"Clearly, you aren't taking anything I'm saying serious."
"I am." Kazimir says, turning towards her. "I'm not getting caught and I'm not showing sympathy for any of those bastards just because they may have a family back at home."
He opens her freezer and takes out a pack of bacon, placing a few slices in the pan next to the eggs.
"I think you must not care for your life the way you claim you do. I think you're secretly passive-suicidal."
The young man chuckles and shakes his head.
"Now what the hell made you say that?"
"Because it doesn't make sense on how you're taking in Khristina and killing all of these policemen without thinking about their families back at home. I mean, not all of them are bad people. There are a few good ones trying to change how the citizens view the department."
"Well, it's not enough. Shouldn't have to be pulled over every two weeks because one of them can't mind his business with me doing 70 in a 55."
"Kazimir, you know- nevermind. Men. I really don't understand men."
Flipping over a strip of bacon, Kazimir looks over at the woman.
"I get what you're saying Nia, but those men are automatically labeled as heroes. If they die, they get a plaque saying "died in the line of duty", even if the officer was an absolute tyrant. That's why I don't believe there's any "good cops"; they're all just trying to see who's better than the other. Who can get more famous by being so-called "good." Who can become more popular and liked by the citizens by being "good.""
Turning the stove off, he grabs a plate from Nia's dish rack and begins to place some of the breakfast on it.
"People always say "actions speak louder than words", but there are people out there who cover there true actions with false actions. That's why it's better to trust none than trust one."
"I suppose no matter which way we put it, one side is always going to be or she is doing the right thing." Nia replies, picking up a blueberry muffin. "That's the scary part, though; each person has his or her own beliefs he or she finds valid."
—————
"And this is Haru signing off! Goodnight, Sun Clan!"
Waving goodbye to the gaming stream, Haruki Feliano turns off his camera and stands up to stretch.
"Haruki!"
"Up here, Milette!"
"WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?!"
Popping open a soda can, Haruki shrugs.
"Wish I knew too."
"WHY DID YOU DO THAT TO HIS FAMILY?!"
"The fuck are you talking about Milette?"
"You know! Kazimir!"
Groaning, Haruki shakes his head.
"Not this bastard. The hell happened to him?"
"His whole family's dead! Stop playing stupid!" Milette yells, holding her head in frustration.
"Damn. That's gotta be hard. But I didn't do jack shit to the kid."
"Haruki, I'm telling you-
Grabbing his cousin's arm, the gamer slowly scratches his nails into her flesh.
"STOP ITTTT!" the young woman screams out in pain.
"So then you stop accusing me of murdering that motherfucker's family. And whoever did so needs to be congratulated."
Shoving Milette onto the floor, Haruki sighs as he looks into her eyes.
"The next time you accuse me of something I didn't do that's related to that bitch boy, I'll make sure to put a bullet through your head so that you'll be able to tell his family hello."
Smiling, the young man pokes the middle of his younger cousin's forehead before pulling out his phone.
"Alrighty now; what do you want for dinner?"