There was a new guy meeting us at the elevator this time. He was dressed in a casual military uniform of a black t-shirt with black cargo pants, a silver chain hung around his neck. His short black hair and brown eyes reminded me of a younger version of Hatmanu. They must be related.
"Hello, Pui, I'm Sasha. I'll be filling in for my brother Niko for a while. Let's get you to Mr. Singer," the man said with a cocky smile.
"Call my Pui one more time and I can promise you that it will be the last time you open your mouth," I growled. That name was really starting to get to me. First Viktor, then Lucas, and now this Sasha kid?!
Mike put his hand on my arm and gently pulled me towards him. "Everything okay Nads? You know you can't say stuff like that in public."
He seems to be asking me if I was okay a lot lately. "This isn't the public... but yeah, sorry, I'm just getting tired of being called Cub."
"Pui means cub?"
"Yes, and no one else is to call you that," came the deep voice from the opened office door.
Sasha visibly gulped as he straightened his back and put a serious expression on his face, the happy college kid turned into a Knight in less than a second. "My apologies, Detective Sokol, please follow me. Mr. Singer is ready for you."
I nodded and without waiting for him, I walked towards the office and the man that was waiting for me there.
"If you don't want anyone else calling me Pui, you might want to have a talk with Lucas," I said, taking a seat and putting my feet up on his desk. I wiggled down into a more comfortable position and made myself at home.
I figured how I woke up this morning, I had taken enough liberties with THE Van Helsing that I pretty much had nothing to worry about now. At least when I died (again) I could say that annoying the straight-laced Hunter was well worth it.
"How did you end up seeing Lucas?" Viktor asked.
"He showed up at the police station to talk about the Central Park case. He said you sent him?" I said, not caring that Mike was there and I had been discussing an ongoing case with a 'civilian'. I was pretty sure that Viktor knew more about what was going on with that case than I ever did.
Viktor didn't say anything, only smiled that secretive smile of his and turned his attention to Mike, who had just entered the room behind me.
"You seem to be different than the last one. Are you her new partner?" Viktor asked as he invited Mike to sit down beside me.
"No. In the most technical sense, I would be their supervisor," replied Mike, taking a seat. He too had a smile on his face.
I shivered. Apparently, it was like the south, the more you smiled the bigger predator you were. And the bigger the smile, the more you were saying: 'bless your heart'. Unfortunately for everyone, Viktor was at the top of the food chain.
"Ah, so you were the one that sent Detective Kowalski to visit me last night? I will tell you the same thing as I told him: try to get a court order for my records, but it will not help you. The security clearances needed to see those documents can only be given by the President of the United States. If you want the records of sale for the other countries that I deal with, you will have to ask them directly."
Mike turned to look at me after Viktor had finished talking.
"You are right, he is too rich to bother with someone like The Specialist. There is no money motive with that partnership."
"No, I said that he had more money than God, and The Specialist was a criminal and he would have nothing to do with criminals," I corrected, folding my hands over my stomach. I wonder if I could get a blanket? I guess didn't get as much sleep as I needed last night.
Silently, Viktor stood up and left his office. He came back minutes later with a blanket and a cup of coffee. He put the coffee on the table and took a step towards me.
"Can you read minds?" I asked stunned and reached out for the blanket.
He dodged my hands and put the blanket on me himself.
"I don't need to be able to read your mind. It was perfectly clear what you wanted, Pui."
I ignored him and got more comfortable, giving Mike a sleepy smile.
"Give me five minutes, Bossman," I smiled at the man beside me. "El este ca tatăl meu, tratează-l ca atare," I warned, my attention turning to the man sitting across the desk from us. My eyes slowly closed as I buried deeper into the warmth.
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"What did she say?" Asked Mike as he looked at the small girl beside him.
"She said that you were like a father to her and I should treat you as such," replied Viktor, also looking at the Little Cub.
"She claimed that your families went way back and that you felt protective of her. You two only met two days ago, how protective of her can you be?"
"It might have been two days, but our families have known each other for centuries. It is the responsibility of the Singers to protect and not ask questions, she fell under that blanket as soon as she walked into my office."
Mike nodded and took a sip of his coffee, his face blank.
"She might consider me like a father, but I think of her as my daughter. Don't do something that you will regret. I might be a police officer, but working for 30 years in a city like this, you make connections. Do you understand?" Mike said as he placed his empty cup on Viktor's desk.
"Yes, Sir," replied Viktor with a serious face. "And if you are her father, then that has you falling under the same umbrella as her. Feel free to contact me if you have any issues." He handed Mike his business card with his personal number written in pen on the back.
Mike nodded and took the card as the two men fell into silence, waiting for the little girl to wake up.