Chapter 72

"CONGRATULATIONS!"

Streamers fly and whistles blow as Kazimir walks through the doors of the Claiza City Police and Special Forces Department. Both new and old co-workers congratulate the young detective on his court trial win.

"Uh, thanks."

"I baked cookies for you, honey!" a woman says, shoving one into his mouth. "Everyone, well most of us here, decided that what you had to do was self-defense!"

"Yeah, I'd say so." Kazimir says, taking the cookie from his mouth. "If you'll all excuse me, I'd just like a cup of hot chocolate. I'll save the food for later."

Walking into the break room, the young man turns on the lights, a piece of rope immediately being tied around his neck.

Choking a little, Kazimir kicks the person with the back of his shoe, causing the rope to be loosened a bit. With every ounce of his quickly fading strength, he snatches the rope from the person's hands causing them to flee.

"Where'd that motherfucker go?!"

Running to the door frame, he looks down the hallway and sighs at the sight of not one person.

"What a warm welcome."

Going back into the break room, he starts a cup of hot chocolate, taking a seat at the table.

Hearing the door to the break room swing open, Kazimir looks up and watches as Caio pours a cup of coffee grounds into a coffee filter.

Another woman enters the room and begins to talk with the man.

"Miss, I already told you, I'm not having a good morning today." Caio says, putting his hand up to stop the woman from doing anymore talking.

"You've said that every morning since I've met you!" the woman replies. "Aren't you at least gonna tell me what's wrong? We're supposed to be work partners, but I can't get any work done if you keep acting like this!"

"No, bit- woman! Will you leave me the hell alone?!"

Sighing, she walks out of the break room and slams the door behind her.

"Hey, you."

Kazimir looks up as Caio takes a seat in front of him.

"Have you spoken to Nia since you came back?"

"I just got back, how the-

"I didn't ask for Kazimir's rant of the morning, all I asked was have you spoken to Nia?" Caio interrupts, rolling his eyes.

"No. Is she in danger?"

"She could be now that she has her own house."

Kazimir takes a sip of his hot chocolate.

"That? That's why you're mad? You were acting kinda possessive of the lady. Maybe she wanted to get away from you, but didn't have the guts to tell you."

Caio raises a brow and points a finger at himself.

"Get away from me? You've got it wrong; I've bought that woman clothes, hair products, paid for her nails even though she tried to put up a fight about not needing that, and I took her out to dinner multiple times. The hell is she going to get out of trying to distance herself from me?"

"I don't know." Kazimir replies. "Maybe if she likes you enough she'll come back."

"And I suppose you've been in a relationship to be so certain?" Caio asks.

"No, so I don't understand why you're even asking me in the first place."

The door opens and both men watch as Dayne walks over to the microwave.

"Dayne, I need some help." Caio says, walking over to his brother.

"You want to move back in with me?"

"No, it's about Nia."

"Jeez, Caio. Back the fuck off of this woman already. She told you she didn't want to live with you anymore, the hell is so hard to get?"

"She never told me that!" Caio says.

"Alright. She never told you in those words, but she wants space. I mean really, her husband held her captive and you were acting as if you were planning to as well."

"And I suppose she told you all of that?"

Dayne opens the microwave, taking out his blueberry muffin.

"No. But even a blind man can see that the girl needs space."

He sits down and takes a piece of paper from his pocket.

"More blueprints?" Caio asks. "Let me guess, you still haven't given up on building birdhouses."

Dayne nods.

"Just like you still haven't give up on Nia. As a matter of fact, this one is for her. She told me she wanted one, so I thought with her having a new house, this would be a nice addition."

"She never told me about wanting a birdhouse." Caio says, frowning.

"Then maybe you should've listened to her more."

The door swings open and in walks Nia.

"Oh, Kazimir! It's finally so good to see you after all this time!"

Giving the young man a hug, she hands him a small box.

"Those are some cupcakes I made for you winning your trial! Congratulations!"

"Thanks, Nia."

"You're welcome. Good morning, Caio! Good morning, Dayne!"

"Morning." Dayne replies.

"Hey." Caio says.

Nia raises a brow and puts a hand on Caio's shoulder.

"Caio, what's wrong? What's bothering you? Would you like to talk about it up on the rooftop?"

Looking down at his twin, Caio sighs and shakes his head.

"No, I'll be fine. I just need to realize that a man can't have everything he wants in life."

"Oh, okay." Nia replies. "Well, if you'd ever like to talk, you have my number. Anyway, it's a good thing I've found you all in the same place!"

"Why's that?" Kazimir asks, eating a cupcake.

"Mr. Uzini has paired us all together! He said he's testing out a small group that focuses on infiltrating one-man groups; you know, the rising number of law enforcement officials turning up dead, pyramid schemes, dealers, things like that."

"So we're all getting a chance to work together again?" Caio asks.

The young woman happily nods.

"That's right! I'm glad it's with people I can trust. Anyway, the first thing on the list is the amount of illegal contraband going around Claiza City. And it doesn't just amount to drugs, but fake currency and supposedly guns as well."

"There's been a rising number in gun-related deaths since I've left, huh?" Kazimir asks, pouring himself a cup of hot chocolate. "That's unusual for Claiza City."

"Oh no, the number hasn't been rising, Kazimir." Nia says. "Mr. Uzini just said more and more people have been found with illegal possession of a weapon. Not to mention the number of drug-related deaths are higher than ever."

"Why don't we start with keeping closer tabs on Pierre Richano? He was the leader of the drug team and ever since then, nothing has seemed to be improving."

Kazimir, Nia, and Caio all look at each other, before turning to Dayne.

"That's actually a good suspicion, Dayne." Nia says, nodding. "I'll go have a warrant issued for us to monitor any large transfers from his bank account."

"And I can follow his car as long as you'd all like me to." Caio says. "Place little cameras around in areas he may frequently stop at."

"Hey, I may hate that clown as much as the next guy, but are you positive we have the right man?" Kazimir asks. "I mean, he's already got this job, as well as some children to look after."

"I know." Dayne says. "But most of the criminals around here has either held or currently holds a exactly job like this."

Kazimir shrugs and watches as Nia begins to move onto the next thing on the list.

"Alright, Captain Uzini would like us to target someone who's circulating fake currency."

"I mean these days, I can understand." Kazimir says with a chuckle. "Maybe we should check with the homeless, first. They might be able to give us a description of anyone who has recently given them money."

"We also should check car dealerships and clothing stores." Caio adds. "If they're making copies and blending it with real currency, they're definitely making larger purchases than just a bag of McDonald's for the man on the side of the street."

Dayne nods.

"That's a big assumption, but maybe asking at smaller businesses could do us some good, too."

"I'll get a list of businesses that has been hit by the fake currency scam." Nia says. "And now the last thing Uzini wants us to focus on today is the rising amount of law enforcement killings."

Kazimir sighs and looks down at his mug.

"Maybe the illegal weapons and the police killings could be linked."

Nia nods and writes Kazimir's assumption on the paper.

"That's a good theory."

"Or maybe it's someone who works for the government who's doing the killings." Caio says, looking around the room.

Dayne shrugs and clasps his hands together.

"Caio's right. We're all working for the government, so it could be someone here in law enforcement. Think about it, what average citizen has enough smarts to track down the time schedules of policemen?"

"Well, there are the ones who may have used to work for law enforcement." Nia replies. "There's also the citizens who may hold a grudge against the department."

"What about the one who killed that one police officer with rat poison?" Caio asks. "He was described as a tall, Caucasian-looking male having white hair and red contacts by the receptionist of the former police department. And there's only one other person I know who fits that description."

Looking up at Kazimir, Caio gives him a smirk.

"Me? You think I'm responsible for killing all of these law enforcement officials?"

"Well since you've joined the force last year, the numbers have mysteriously risen." Dayne says. "How'd it go from about five deaths each year to over 66 so far since July of last year?"

Kazimir chuckles, slamming his mug down.

"I don't believe this. You all really think I'm the one doing this?! First of all, I was busy with school up until last month, not to mention I have Khristina-Bella La'rine to take care of! Some bastard could've been using a fucking disguise for abnormalities so that he'd be harder to find!"

Nia nods, turning to the two twins.

"Kazimir's right, I honestly don't think it is him. Why don't we check any stores that sell things for costumes? See if anyone made a purchase of white wigs and red eye contacts?"

"Exactly and now that the bastard who killed that officer was dressed in a similar fashion like me, I'm the one who has-

"Kazimir, honey, just sit down and take a deep breath." Nia interrupts. "Dayne and Caio were just making assumptions, you don't think they'd actually thought it was you?"

"Well, middle name being Luìs has recently discovered a newfound hate for me."

Caio's brows furrow and he points toward Kazimir.

"I have never done anything make you assume that I hate you, fucking bastard. But maybe this right here will."

"Well then maybe you shouldn't have assumed I was the one who was going around and doing the killings."

"It wasn't me who had the assumption first." Caio replies. "Dayne and I already discussed this some days ago; he's the one who you should be checking out."