Chapter 32

Nia gives the young man a hug, before walking out of the restroom.

"Why are women so complicated?" Kazimir rhetorically asks with a sigh.

He walks out of the restroom and to his workroom, taking a seat.

"What about a nice vacation to take your mind off of all this?"

Looking up from his notebook, Kazimir watches as Caio and Nia walk into the room.

"Caio, I really do thank you, but I don't need a vacation at this moment."

The older male chuckles, pulling a chair out for the young woman.

"Ah, you're just saying that. Lots of people take vacations to get over different types of sadness. Listen, I'll book us a one week stay in the Bahamas; just you and me along with one of those massage treatments."

Nia gives him a warm smile.

"I suppose you're right. Can Dayne come along too?"

Caio's smile quickly fades.

"Can Day- I'm sure Dayne wouldn't want to feel like an extra."

"He won't be an extra." Nia says, shaking her head. "He told me he wants to travel, so we can all go as friends!"

Lightly groaning, Caio runs his hands over his face.

"I'll go get him and we can see what his opinion is."

Walking out of the room, the older twin heads over to where his brother was, motioning for him to step out of the room.

"What is it?" Dayne asks, walking alongside his brother.

Caio smiles.

"Nia and I are planning to go on a one week vacation to the Bahamas. I'd like for us to spend some time alone, so that's why I need you to tell her that you don't like seasides and you don't want to come along."

"How about you just let her grieve first?" Dayne asks, rolling his eyes.

"She doesn't need to, Dayne. She already has me. She doesn't even have any other friends so I'll make sure that I'll be her only source of comfort from now on."

Walking back into his workroom, Caio smiles and turns to his brother.

"Dayne, Nia and I were discussing a one week trip to the Bahamas. Would you like to come along?"

The younger twin shakes his head.

"No, thank you. I'm not really interested."

Nia frowns, before smiling again.

"Then why don't we go somewhere that we can all enjoy? How about-

"Or Caio could just give you some space until you feel comfortable taking the trip with him." Dayne interrupts.

The young woman nods.

"Caio, Dayne has a point; I'd like to calm myself first and once I do, then maybe the three of us can take the trip!"

Caio sighs and smiles.

"Alright, that sounds nice. Dayne, you're free to go now. I'm getting a cup of coffee, I'll be back."

The two brothers walk out of the room and Kazimir chuckles, Nia turning to him.

"Caio's a nice man, but I wish he'd listen to me some more." the young woman says, sighing. "On the other hand, I'd hate to come off as rude and brush off his nice offers."

She looks up at Kazimir, giving him a smile.

"Um, Kazimir, if you don't mind, would you ask your friend Pierre to find some things out about Dayne? Things like what he eats for lunch and how he interacts with the rest of the drug team? I don't really know much about him, but I'd like to."

The young detective nods.

"Well, we're not actually friends, but sure; I don't mind."

Nia smiles.

"Thank you so much, Kazimir. You're like a little brother I can always count on when needed."

The young detective nods.

"Yeah, don't mention it."

Opening her laptop, Nia looks up at Kazimir.

"How's the littlest La'rine sibling doing? Since the death of her parents and her brothers being away for school, I believe it must be a confusing time for her."

"Khristina's doing pretty good, actually. I mean, she has her ups and downs from time to time, but other than that, I'd say she's alright." Kazimir replies, swabbing the bottom of a sneaker. "As a matter of fact, she actually told a few days ago that she'd like to meet you. She thinks you're a princess."

Nia softly laughs.

"She sounds so adorable! Oh, I do think we can actually make that come true! I can dress up as a princess and the three of us can have a picnic altogether!"

Kazimir nods.

"That sounds nice. Khristina and I can make sandwiches, cookies, and throw in some chips and apples as well. What day works best for you?"

The young woman looks up at the ceiling.

"Sunday sounds perfect. I can use that as a rest day after dealing with the upcoming documents pertaining to Stephen's death."

Looking down at the laptop, Nia clicks on a webpage and softly smiles.

"Do you remember the other day when I told you and Alexei that there was a possibility of an international group tied to Merderaé?"

The young detective nods.

"Well, I haven't exactly found a name, but they go by the letter H. Turns out that Brent Domonkos is another prominent figure in this group. However, there's really no certain way to track this H group down, unless you're an exclusive member of Merderaé. And to be an exclusive member, we'd need a card with Merderaé's logo stamped with the date it was given to us."

Putting the sneaker back in the plastic bag, Kazimir groans.

"That's gonna be pretty hard considering we don't really know anyone associated with Merderaé."

Nia nods.

"You're absolutely right, Kazimir. On the other hand, I now have a full list of all 276 members. Upon looking through all of the names, I noticed quite a few looked familiar, such as Lyndall Forest."

"The secretary of Claiza City's Police Department." the young detective says. "He must make a lot of money."

"Yes, according to his tax reports, his yearly income is estimated to be around $2.2 million. Nia replies, pushing her glasses up. "Most of it is just donation money from the city's citizens."

The young detective rolls his eyes.

"What a surprise."

Nia giggles and nods.

"However, I do have somewhat of a plan to get closer to Mr. Forest."

Kazimir raises a brow.

"Do you?"

"Yes. Under the guise of a realistic but CGI modeled social media influencer, I'll convince Mr. Forest to send me money but in cryptocurrency. Afterwards, I'll wire that money to a second account, cash it, put it in a third account, and then make a request to the Claiza City Police Department to let me own a small percentage of their department. All while doing that, I can get closer to Mr. Forest and convince him to let me join Merderaé."

She sighs.

"Unfortunately, that means he'll eventually have to kill me when I take the card, pretend that I'm thinking about joining, and then tell him after a few days that I don't actually plan to."

"Your plan sounds carefully detailed, but you needn't to worry, Nia." Kazimir says, smiling. "Just focus on getting the card, you'll be protected."

"Why thank you, Kazimir." Nia replies, shaking the young detective's hand. "Then I guess it's time for me to get to work."

Watching as the young woman starts to create the fake account, Kazimir stands up and excuses himself to refill his cup of coffee.

*THUD!*

Hitting the back of the bathroom wall, the young detective rubs the back of his head, coming face to face with Caio.

"What did I tell you about getting in my way of Nia?"

Rolling his eyes, Kazimir sighs.

"Well smartass, she just told me she'd prefer if you leave her alone for a bit."

Raising a brow, Caio shakes his head.

"Leave her alone? Nia must not understand that I'll always be there for her."

"I mean, you don't have to always follow her like a little puppy." Kazimir replies, crossing his arms. "I'm certain she already knows that you're someone she can count on."

Caio sighs and shakes his head in disbelief.

"First off, I don't think you- the hell am I telling you for, you're not Nia."

Walking out of the restroom, Caio makes his way to the work room, Kazimir following.

Stopping, he turns around to the younger male.

"Stop following me and go get your damn coffee! Have you never heard of privacy?!"

Rolling his eyes, Kazimir makes his way to the break room, noticing Pierre scrolling through his phone.

"Hey. Kazimir."

The young man mentally scowls.

"Shut the hell up."

Pierre sighs.

"Nah, you might wanna hear this one out. Your friend Naydine was recently went missing after she went to the store to pick up some medicine for her younger brother."

Pierre winces as heavy glass shattered onto the floor and the younger detective grabs the phone from his hands.

Kazimir reads the text messages exchanged from Aria to Pierre, before putting the phone on the table, squatting down and putting his head in his hands.

"You good, man?"

Turning around, Kazimir gives his co-worker a "get out" look.

"I mean, I was here first. I'm sorry for your friend's sudden death and all, but I'm not leaving." Pierre says, shaking his head.

*WHAM!*

Holding the side of his cheek, Pierre looks up as Kazimir puts his fist down.

"You want to know something? I actually felt bad for you, I really did. Now I've come to realize that every choice you ever made in life was by your own doing. You've never had any problems through your childhood years until YOU started them. You're the same person who got your own biological father killed and couldn't even get a decent job to take care of your mother! All you'll ever be is a narcissistic, psychotic, fucking piece of shit who doesn't give a damn about anyone but himself!"

Pierre chuckles, standing up from his seat.

"Well, Kazimir. You think anyone else in this city gives a fuck about your friend's death? No. All they'll do is hit you with a "my apologies" and happily move on with their own life. You have any other friends? Trust and believe they don't really give a damn, either. Some people will play dumb, have you wrapped around their finger, and then literally kill you in one second. I won't get into too much since you're still young and being brainwashed by mommy and daddy's words of encouragement, but I'm gonna let you find out the hard way that this world is a survival game and only 1 out of 2 players make it out alive. With your current mentality, you won't last an hour. Ask your sister, she should know a thing or two."

The older male waves and walks out of the room, Kazimir gritting his teeth, punching the tabletop below him.

Walking out of the room, the angry and confused male exits the building, unlocking his car door and getting inside.

He rests his head on the steering wheel and closes his eyes, taking a deep breath.

"Hell of a life I'm living."