SPLASH!
Watching as the men coughed their way back to consciousness, Kazimir places the bucket of half filled water aside and makes his way over to them.
"I've already gotten each of your IDs. Which bastard from Merderaé sent you all?"
"Never seen the guy before."
"Describe him."
"I don't know—medium height, light brown hair, dark blue eyes." one of the guys reply.
Kazimir nods as he stands up and walks over to a table with a single drawer.
"I don't know anyone by that description either. Must be new."
The four tied up men look at each other, before one speaks up.
"You know someone from Merderaé?
"A couple of people actually." the young detective replies, as he places a suppressor on his .19. "I've been keeping tabs on you guys for awhile now."
"Really? So we'll see you at the meeting next Thursday? Gonna be interesting; we're going to discuss the state of the city's police department. It's going downhill rapidly and some of our top members want to make a deal with the superiors of the force."
"Why the hell would a criminal organization want to work with the police? No, don't tell me; you guys have officers in that organization, huh?"
"And they're scared to get killed by the crazy asshole who's terrorizing the city." a tied up man answers.
"What makes you call him crazy?"
"He's going around ruthlessly killing people! I can't wait until someone finds and captures his ass. There's rumor that once he's caught, the firing squad will be used for him."
Letting out a loud laugh, Kazimir holds his stomach in slight pain and the four men watch him strangely.
"And if he kills the firing squad?"
"It's a firing squad, man. How is he gonna get away with killing the firing squad?"
"Like this."
BANG!
The remaining men gasp in fear as their friend fell to the floor with a single bullet wound to the head.
"Hey man, I gotta admit, that was a pretty good shot. Could you teach me how to shoot game like that?"
The young man shakes his head.
"Hell no, but I can teach you how to join your friend."
Shooting the talkative man in the chest, Kazimir watches as he falls against his dead partner, before turning to the other two men.
"If wr agree to help you, would you let us go?" A frightened man speaks up.
Looking up at the ceiling, the young man lets out a deep sigh.
"Hmm…I might consider it. Actually, tell me the names of every law enforcement officer that'll be there."
"We don't know, but there's a list online via a private link that has all the attendees. If you grab my phone out of my pocket, it should be placed in the notepad app."
Taking the man's phone, Kazimir opens it and nods.
"Hella useful link."
"Can I ask you a question?"
Looking up at the shorter male, the young detective nods as he continues to look through the provided list.
"Are you the one who's been committing the police killings?"
"What do you think?" Kazimir rhetorically asks, leaning down to look the man in his eyes. "If the bastards hadn't disrespected my sister, this city wouldn't be in this mess."
BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!
——————
"That shit looks good, won't lie to you."
The young detective watches as Pierre takes a French fry from his napkin.
"You should eat what you ordered."
"Problem is, if I do, this sandwich'll be gone in two bites."
"Then order another one." Kazimir replies, pulling his napkin closer to him. "Hell, might as well just order the whole cow."
"Your jokes are so terrible it makes me wanna donate to you. No wonder Nia isn't moving your way."
"So what? I'm not gonna control her or force her to do anything."
Pierre chuckles as he takes a bite from his sandwich.
"Awww, has little red riding eyes turnt over a new leaf?"
"I'm just saying she's a human being."
"What the fuck happened for real? You were just screaming your head off at me and the other kid."
"I know." Kazimir says, nodding. "And I apologize for that. I don't know, man. I think something's wrong with me."
"Yeah, I highly agree."
"No, I mean my attraction isn't as strong as it once was. Now don't get me wrong—she's a beautiful woman and all, but it's like…it's like her personality and life views are what's stopping me from fully liking her. I just don't get that part, though. I didn't mind her personality or life views."
Laughing before heavily sighing, Pierre takes another fry from Kazimir's napkin.
"I've heard this one time and time again. That new broad has caught your attention."
"You're right. She shares my views and she actually kills. She actually kills with me, Pierre."
"So then ask her out or something."
"Not this fast, man. I want to get her under my wing some more before that. Turn her into a miniature version of me."
"Definitely don't need that happening. I don't blame you though, a female that bad and she's following your lead? Not something you see everyday."
"She doesn't follow my lead all the time. I just wish I could've protected her more from getting shot."
"How'd she get shot?" The older man asks, picking up his soda cup.
"She wanted to shoot alongside me and then it escalated from there. I told her it wasn't safe, but she didn't listen."
"They never do until some shit goes left. She'll listen next time."
"Can't lie, I kinda like the fact that she doesn't listen all the time. Her little feisty side; it's like a challenge. She told me that if we ever got caught, I'd have to take full blame."
"Female nature as usual."
Kazimir shakes his head as he takes another bite of his sandwich.
"Nah, listen; this means I get to train her how I want. She'll learn from me and know almost all my tricks, not every single one of them. It means I get to be her guidance and protect her when something's up. Doesn't that make you feel a certain way? Guiding and protecting a soon-to-be mini version of yourself?"
"Of course, it's called control. It's mainly found in men, stupid. Why do you think the majority of us men are running companies?"
"Control sounds harsh. More like just teaching her."
"Hey, you should create a lesson to find out how that mouth of hers works. Is it just as good as blowing as it is talking?"
Kazimir rolls his eyes as Pierre chuckles.
"Anyway, since we're already here in the mall, I want to buy her something special for joining me."
"A dress. Or some new underwear. That's what Celeste likes."
"What about Aria?"
"Taking my money and spending it on whatever."
"Well, Xolani and Celeste are two different people." Kazimir says. "I think something like a necklace and flowers will be fine."
"And that's your problem right there, bro. You just go out and buy shit for the girl instead of finding out what she likes."
"Most girls like flowers and jewelry."
"You'll get farther in romantic terms when you actually look like you care about her."
Thinking a bit, the young detective shrugs.
"I guess that has a bit of truth to it."
"It's the whole truth, man. Now let's go, I'm about to fall asleep sitting here."
"Before we head back to the station, we should stop by her house and see how she's doing. Nia, too."
Pierre pats Kazimir's back and gives him a smile.
"Yessir, keep them in rotation."
"I'd rather deal with one girl at a time."
"Trust and believe, it's more fun to play with multiple women. Anyway, I gotta head back to the department for a meeting so I won't be able to come with you."
Walking out the exit, Pierre and Kazimir enter their cars and quickly pull out of the parking lot. Heading onto the highway, the two men playfully race each other, a couple of other cars joining in as well.
Making a sharp right, Kazimir takes his exit and head towards Xolani's house.
Backing in a driveway, he puts his car in park and steps out, walking up the porch and ringing the doorbell.
"Hi, Xolani. I just wanted to check up on you and see how you were doing. I brought you Chinese, too."
"Come in, come in."
The young man enters and places the bag on the coffee table.
"I wish I would've reacted differently." Kazimir says, watching as she slowly sat down. "I knew I should've—
"Stop. You were right and I was wrong. I should've listened to someone who clearly has more experience than me. It's all my fault and I got what I deserved. Now, what's our next task gonna be?"
Staring into the distance, Kazimir shakes his head.
"Xolani, I really don't know if you should join in on actual shootings with me. Not this soon, at least."
"But it's fun!"
The young male raises a brow and gives her a funny look.
"Fun? This isn't supposed to be fun, it's supposed to be a revolution."
"So we can't have fun on revolutions anymore? Come on, Kazimir! Teach me something new! Like really exciting! Actually, what's your favorite gun? And where do you buy them anyway? I've been looking for some since this city is getting a little wild."
Kazimir takes Xolani's hand and sits her down on the sofa beside him.
"How about I make a deal with you? Once your leg heals, and I mean fully heals, I can start training you."
Slightly rolling her eyes, the young woman sighs.
"Fine."
"Good. Oh, sunflowers…
Gently feeling the petals, Kazimir sadly smiles as he recalls his family taking a photo shoot in a small sunflower field located near a riverside in Kyoto, Japan.
"Are they your favorite?"
"They were my sister's. Are sunflowers your favorite?"
Xolani giggles as she adjusts a picture frame on her side table.
"No, my cousin's. She gave them to me as a gift. My actual favorite are roses. I know it sounds stereotypical but they're just so pretty."
"Yeah, that was Camille's second favorite."
BOOOM!
Peeking through the curtains, Kazimir watches as a bolt of lightning crackles through the sky.
"This must be my que to go."
"And risk getting struck by lightning? Why not stay here until the storm passes?"
"Yeah, I'm sure I can use Pierre as an alibi someway, somehow."
Xolani smiles as she takes the tray of food from out of the bag.
"Alright, tell me a little bit more about your past. And feel free to share this with me, too."
—————-
DING DONG!
"Who is visiting during this terrible storm?"
Looking through the peephole, Nia gasps as she notices a familiar blacked out CT4.
"Oh my—
Opening the door, she immediately gives the taller man a hug and breaks down into his chest.
"Well, hello to you too."
"But—how?!"
"The bullet barely fractured a part of my skull. My father always said I had a head made of concrete."
Dragging him over to the sofa, she climbs onto his lap and lays her head on his shoulder.
"You scared me. I thought you were buried off in an unmarked grave somewhere."
"No. After that bastard shot me, he dragged me down the sidewalk and into the road. And as he dragged me, I played dead until he was gone. That's when I tore off part of my sleeve and held it against the wound until I arrived at the hospital."
"And you drove there?"
"Yes, but enough about me. Aren't you going to at least acknowledge the flowers I got you?"
Looking down at the daisies, Nia faintly smiles.
"They're beautiful."
"I could hear your voice right as I walked over to them."
"I thank you a million, but don't ever scare me like that again. I really thought you were gone."
"I couldn't leave my love all by herself, could I? Thank you for leaving the sweet notes on my door, I really did appreciate reading them over and over."
He leans in and gives her a kiss.
"And besides, I promised you a quaint house out in the grassy hills."
"Where our children can run along." Nia says in a whisper-like tone. "Speaking of kids, I want a baby boy and a baby girl. You know, our son can protect our daughter."
The slightly older man softly chuckles as he plays with her hair.
"Maybe they'll be twins. Just like my brother and I."