—- 6:00 P.M. —-
"Liyusk, can't we wait inside your car? It's getting cold out here."
"You can, but I'm waiting to see my homeboy. It's been months, Naydine."
Hearing the sound of a car engine rumbling, both Naydine and Liyusk peek over the apartment's balcony, watching as a black Camaro backs into a parking space. The two silently watch as their beloved friend steps out and walks over to the side stairs.
"He's coming, he's coming!" Naydine whisper yells. "You hide behind that wall and I'll hide behind this potted plant."
Hearing footsteps, Naydine looks down and happily smiles. She was excited that the three could all finally catch up.
*CRAAACK!*
Opening her eyes, she notices the broken plant pot and looks up to see her red-eyed detective friend.
"You shouldn't do shit like this, Naydine. You either, Liyusk."
The young woman gives Kazimir a funny look as she gently places the gift bag to her side.
"Shouldn't do shit like this? Kazimir, I'm your friend! We're both your friends! You talk as if we're out to get you."
"BRRRRRRTTTTT!*
The three quickly duck and Naydine lets out a short yet high-pitched scream as gunshots ring throughout the air.
Hearing the cracking of glass, Kazimir sighs and looks up at his broken window.
"I just got that thing fixed two days ago."
"Man, what the hell is going on?!" Liyusk says, crawling over to his other two friends. "Naydine, you didn't mention that Kazimir's neighborhood was this bad!"
"She didn't know, Liyusk. Listen, we have about a minute to get out of here before the other tenants start to question us. I'll explain everything in the car."
————
*BRRRRIIINNNG!*
Rolling a piece of chalk in his glove, Laurenté La'rine takes his phone from his pocket and answers it.
"My favorite cousin!"
"Who do you want killed, Alexei?"
"My, can I not just compliment you?"
"Alexei, I'm in the middle of signing my artwork. You have about five seconds to finish asking me what you called for."
"I have a 2 day, 1 night round trip flight to the States available for you."
Laurenté raises a brow as he places the piece of chalk into his pocket.
"Who's over there?"
"No one that you'd know." Alexei replies. "Do you accept?"
"What state?"
"Dirty South; Georgia."
Laurenté lets out a disappointed sigh and Alexei raises a brow.
"Why don't you or anyone else who asks for a request never have anything useful in mind?"
"What do you mean by that?"
"I was hoping I could pose as a member of that racist group the States has a problem getting rid of. I'd pay to see the looks on their faces once I take off the mask and start firing. I think I'll consider doing that on my next trip over there."
"I mean, they're not the smartest, Laurenté. Even Khristina can kill them from a mile away. Besides, they don't keep security on them 24/7, so that'll be an easy kill."
"You want me to go after a celebrity?"
"Jovanni Richardson. A music producer."
"No." the elementary teacher replies.
"Why not? We're family, Laurenté; we're supposed to help each other."
"That's Miracle's biological father, Alexei. She needs that-
"Cut it. You go on missions all the time, killing random people you don't even know. I'm sure one of those people were someone's father or mother."
"Actually, I tell my clients that I don't do killings if the target has any offspring. You know that rule, little cousin. And I'm not making any exceptions just because we're related."
The law student groans and shakes his head.
"I really can't believe that you're making me pause my law classes to do something that doesn't even take 30 seconds for you to carry out."
"And I can't believe you're willing to pause law classes just to kill someone so you can have the man's former-
Hanging up, Alexei throws the phone onto his bed and begins to circle the room.
"Unusual for him to turn down an offer. He must be scared. Oh well, I need to sharpen my skills somehow."
*KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!*
"Alexei! Please open this door right now!"
Hearing Nyelle's voice, the young man quickly fixes his hair before opening the door to the distraught woman.
"Nyelle? What's wrong?"
"I'm just letting you know that I'm packing my bags as we speak to go back to Claiza City. Someone broke into my house and stole my important documents from where I kept them hidden. I even called the town hall and they claim they don't even have a record of the deed to my house!"
"And I'll tag along with you to force it out of the people up at the town hall."
"No, no. You finish up your business trip with Nia. I just want this person caught. l am not letting all those sleepless nights and picking up extra shifts just to afford to finish school go to waste."
Alexei goes silent and nods.
"At least let me make it somewhat easier and pay for your-
"Alexei, thank you, but I can-
"Nyelle, listen to me. I don't know what other boys may you've been dealing with, but I was brought up to never watch a woman struggle. You all were placed on this earth to be an equal to us men and comfort us when times get rough; I'm just failing to see how some guys can take that for granted. Now, I understand you want me to stay behind with Nia, but I'm not going to have you stand here and pay for a pricey flight when I already have the funds to do so. That should be common human decency, love. Something those people could learn."
Nyelle looks into the younger man's eyes for a few seconds before nodding.
"Okay, if you insist. It's just that every time a man asks to pay for something, he's always expecting to sleep with me in return, then gets mad when I tell him no."
"Unfortunately, there are a lot of immature guys out there like that who will never experience the joy of having a family and will most likely die alone. A special woman like you needs a real man to lead, protect, and provide."
Grabbing her hand, the law student plants a small kiss on top.
"I'll show you what it's like to actually be taken care of. Even if we don't work out in the end at least you'll know how to distinguish between real leaders in comparison to weak little boys."
—————
"Welcome to Denny's! What can I get for you today?"
"Oooh, she sounds cute." Liyusk says, as he looks at the menu.
"One moment, miss." Kazimir replies. "Naydine, what do you want?"
"To get to some damn safety! What if that crazy person is following us?!"
Looking down at his watch, Kazimir shrugs.
"No, I found out from a little birdie that he had to work a night shift. He shouldn't be back until around 3 in the morning."
"I want a bacon cheeseburger with onion rings and a large strawberry milkshake." Liyusk says.
"What about you, Naydine?"
"I'm too nervous to eat."
"Okay, I'll take the bacon cheeseburger with onion rings and a large strawberry milkshake, a Nashville melt with seasoned fries and a Coke, and a sirloin steak dinner, cheesecake and a Coke as well."
"Alright, is that all?" the young woman's voice asks.
"Yeah, that's it." Kazimir replies.
"$35.70 at the first window."
Pulling up behind another car, the detective takes his card from his wallet and taps it on the car's center console.
"One of the guys on my team drives this exact same model." Liyusk says, looking at the car's registration information. "I want a Beamer, but I heard they're always in the shop and a Mustang is just too small for me."
Pulling forward to the window, Kazimir rolls the car window down to hand the woman the card and turns back to Liyusk.
"Get a truck."
"That's what mom told me, but I don't know which brand. I do know that I don't want a Ram."
"Chev-
"Oh! Hi, Kazimir!"
Turning to the window, the young man raises his brows and smiles.
"Zaira? What're you doing here? I thought you worked at the cheesesteak place?"
"I was right; she's pretty as hell." Liyusk whispers.
"I quit around a week ago after someone pulled up to the restaurant and threatened to shoot it up."
"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that. How do you like it here so far?"
"I mean, it's no different than my other job. Unfortunately, working drive-thru is the worst; you have people talking to you however they please."
"I can work beside you to put them in their place."
Zaira looks over at Liyusk and giggles.
"You look like a player!"
"Only thing I play is basketball, ma'am. May I have your number?"
"Only if you promise to visit me every once in a while."
Liyusk pretends to bow and extends his hand out to take her phone.
"I'll visit you everyday if I could."
Zaira smiles and hands Liyusk her phone to enter his number.
"Now, I'm guessing your other friend in the back is an introvert."
"Nah, she just had an argument with Kazimir, that's all. Other than that, Naydine's quite the talker."
"Naydine, don't let Kazimir bother you like that!"
"But he's just sitting there acting all chill as if we all didn't just get shot at!"
"Shot at? What in the world?"
"Someone killed my remaining family and now he's after me." Kazimir says, sighing.
"WHAT?!" Naydine, Zaira, and Liyusk all yell in unison.
"None of you know him, but I already have an idea of why he's targeting me. Just don't understand why go after my family."
"If you give me his description, I'll keep an eye out for him incase he comes here to stop for something to eat." Zaira says, handing Kazimir the bag of food.
"No, no. I don't want any of you getting involved. He's probably crazy enough to go after you three and I'm not risking that."
"Did you at least tell your boss?" Liyusk asks.
"No. I haven't even been to work since the guy killed my family."
"Well, what about little Khristina?" Naydine asks, leaning forward.
"She's been staying with Pierre since I've been traveling back and forth to Vancouver. That's where the murders happened."
Handing the bag to Naydine, Kazimir turns back to Zaira.
"I don't wanna hold your line up, so I'll get going. I'll call or text you later."
"Okay, be safe."
Giving her a nod, Kazimir drives off and comes to a slow stop at a red light.
"I'll drop you two off at your houses and then I need to go check on Khristina."
Liyusk and Naydine both continue to stay quiet as Kazimir drives through the large city, eventually turning into Naydine's neighborhood.
"Kazimir, are you sure you're going to be alright? Usually, I'd stay mad at you, but your life is in literal danger as we speak."
"I'm gonna be fine, Nay. Just take your food and share the cheesecake with Kale and Layla. I'll message you once I get home."
Shaking her head, Naydine grabs her food from the bag and climbs through the passenger seat of the Camaro to get out.
"Maybe you can try talking some sense into him, Liyusk."
After watching Naydine get into the house safely, the young detective pulls out of her driveway and begins to drive to Liyusk's place.
"So how's the States treating you?"
"Pretty good." Liyusk replies as he eats an onion ring. "They have great food over there."
"Yeah I tried a bit when I went down to Louisiana and Las Vegas. Kinda addicting."
Pulling over to the side of the road, Kazimir puts the car in park and turns to his friend.
"I'm getting tired of driving, so you can take over for the time being."
The two quickly switch sides and Liyusk pulls off.
"So how long have you know Zaira?"
"About two or three weeks. I met her when I went to order cheesesteaks for Nia and I."
"And she's calling me a player." Liyusks says, rolling his eyes. "Who's Nia?"
"A girl I work with."
"You like her, don't you, Kazimir?"
"Why do you say that?"
Kazimir's friend sucks his teeth and taps on the steering wheel.
"Because you're not sharing anymore details about the woman, that's why. And you don't tend to overshare when you like a girl. Remember Carmen, Imani, and Yesenia in 6th grade? And Nylah in 4th?"
"I just thought they were cute, that's all." the young detective quickly replies.
"Last time I checked, fighting other boys that liked Imani is not just thinking she's cute, Kazimir."
"Won't lie, she was my favorite. And not to brag or anything, but she even gave me a kiss on the cheek on the last day of 6th grade, too."
Liyusk chuckles and shakes his head.
"At least I got Yesenia's number. Now tell me more about this Nia girl."
"I can't. I'm a little stingy over her. She cooks perfectly, though."
Liyusk licks his lips as he reaches into the bag for another onion ring.
"Can I come over for a plate?"
"How long will you be here in Claiza City?"
"About a week and a half."
Checking the date on his phone, Kazimir shrugs.
"She comes back in two days, so yeah, I'll pick you up."
A few minutes of silence pass by before the basketball player speaks up again.
"Why didn't you call and tell me what was going on?"
"I mean, it's kinda hard to when you have to stay alert 24/7."
"But Naydine's right, Kazimir. We're your friends, we want to help you every step of the way. You don't have to-
"Liyusk, cut that feminine shit; this is something that happened to me, that I need to handle. I don't want anyone else getting involved in trying to go after this guy. Clearly he doesn't care about who is around me to just shoot out in public like he's doing."
Turning into his parents' driveway, Liyusk puts the car in park and turns to his friend.
"Kazimir, come on. We've been best friends since preschool, don't do this dumb shit."
"What dumb shit, Liyusk? I'm trying to keep you safe."
"No, you're not!"
Raising a brow, the detective watches as his friend slams his fist on the steering wheel.
"If I had to run through those bullets just to save your life, I would. I don't care how much you try to convince me that you can handle this on your own, I know you can't. I know you need someone to talk to; a shoulder to cry on. Bro, I'm your boy; I'm here for you, man."
He gives Kazimir a hug before dapping him up and getting out of the car.
"Call me when you get home, alright?"
"Sure, Liyusk."