Chapter 98

"Finally! You're back!" Nia says as she watches Kazimir close the door. "The meeting starts in five minutes and I have the microphone disabled, the camera is shut off, and I've even found a way to hide our screen from actually being in the meeting."

Placing the food bag on top of a dresser, Kazimir takes out the two sandwiches.

"The department doesn't deserve you, that's for sure. Anyway, I picked up two sandwiches; one is a spicy and the other is a Philly Deluxe. There's a few sides in the bag too, but we can share those. So, which one would you like?"

Closing her eyes, Nia sticks out her hands.

"Just surprise me."

Placing one of the sandwiches in the young woman's hands, Kazimir places the sides onto a small bedside table.

"Fries, macaroni and cheese, and a salad are for the sides."

Sitting on the bed beside Nia, the young detective slides his shoes off and looks over at the her.

"So how are things going between you and Caio? Or the twins in general?"

"Alright. If I'm being honest, I just don't see myself in a relationship with either one of them, though. No matter how hard I try to force it, I just can't get myself to be romantically attracted to them."

"Well you can't force something that you've never had an interest in to begin with." Kazimir says as he dips a French fry in ketchup.

"That's true. Oh! I think the meeting is starting!"

Positioning the laptop in the middle of the bed, Nia lays on her stomach as she continues to eat.

"It's good to see you all here!"

A middle-aged man pops up into view and clasps his hands together as he stares into the camera.

"First, I'd like to thank you all for attending even if you had something else planned. Now, I'd like to start off by announcing that Merderaé has made a revision to their recruitment strategy."

"What're you doing?" Kazimir asks as he picks up another French fry.

Nia smiles as she moves her phone up and down in front of the laptop screen.

"I'm snapping photos of every single person in this video call. When this thing and its evils finally gets exposed, then I'll publish the photos and everyone who joined will regret it."

"Makes sense."

Opening her briefcase, Nia slides a notebook and an ink pen over to Kazimir.

"And you can take some notes on things that're said that you may find important. Don't worry, I'll be taking important notes of my own as well."

"I could just audio record with my phone."

"I already have the laptop set to both screen and audio record." Nia says, smiling. "I really hope you didn't choose this hotel as a way to get comfortable, lay on your back while eating food all night, and not expect to do any work."

"Maybe, but why're you taking pictures if the laptop is screen recording?"

"Well, what if the footage somehow gets lost or deleted? That's why you should always have multiple backup plans, Kazimir. Now, will you please get started on some note taking?"

"Okay, okay. But, I'm still hungry."

"My goodness, you are a stubborn little boy, yes?"

The young detective shrugs.

"I'm listening and taking notes, don't stress. I just think we need more food. How does pizza sound?"

"With extra ham?" Nia asks, as she taps her pen on the laptop's keyboard.

"With extra ham."

"Alright, you can order a pizza."

The young man shakes his head as he scrolls through his phone, taking a look at the list of restaurants nearby.

"Nah, I think pizza is too generic. We should try something new, something different."

"Kazimir, just order something for heaven's sake."

"What about Caribbean? I actually tried some when I was hanging out with Khristina and Dréy once and I have to say I really liked it. Oh, there's a Cajun restaurant nearby too."

Grabbing the phone from his hand, Nia places it on the other side of her.

"Until you 100% decide on something, then you can get your phone back."

"Okay, so then what do you want?"

"I want you to stop acting like a toddler and focus."

Sighing, the young woman shakes her head.

"On the other hand, I guess this newfound side of yours means you've grown more comfortable in my presence, hmm?"

"Yes and it also means you shouldn't stress so much about work. The computer is already recording and I highly doubt with you as the owner that the video file will go missing in the future." Kazimir replies. "It's okay to take a break once in a while."

"I know but if I do, I feel like I may miss something important."

"If you do, it'll eventually get revealed sooner or later."

"What's the exciting thing you said you were gonna tell us, Mr. Jovan?!"

Immediately going quiet, Nia and Kazimir turn back to the laptop.

"We have some new members joining. They'll be formally introduced to you all at a dinner party in Dubai. I'll mail the information to everyone here about two days from now."

"So now we have to find out-

"This is interesting." Nia interrupts as she sits up. "I've pinpointed the Mr. Jovan guy's address thanks to his cheap VPN service and found out where he's hosting this meeting. Kazimir, the man is somewhere in this hotel with us."

"Then let's disguise as room service until we find his face."

"Yeah, but what everyone else who's watching? Wouldn't they recognize us?"

"Not if we keep our heads down." Kazimir replies as he walks towards the door. "Let's go find out where this place keeps their uniforms."

Locking the door behind her, Nia follows Kazimir to the front desk.

"I'll distract the receptionist while you search the maintenance room."

Waiting until Nia fully grasped the receptionist's attention, the young man quickly enters the maintenance room and begins to look around.

Kicking a box to the side, he watches as a lizard scurries to the other side of the room.

"Jeez, this is a mess for a maintenance room."

Looking up at a shelf, Kazimir notices a plastic container labeled "uniforms" and quickly reaches for it.

Grabbing two shirts and two pairs of pants, he places the container back onto the shelf before cracking the door open.

Quickly walking out of the dark room, Kazimir gives Nia a thumbs up.

"These clothes are kinda small, don't you think?"

"That's because the room was dark and I could barely see anything. Look, even this shirt barely fits me."

Shrugging, Nia quickly changes into the clothes before following Kazimir out of the door.

"We need one of those rolling carts. Maybe there's some in the kitchen?"

"Yeah, but where is the kitchen?"

"I'll ask that man over there." Nia says.

"Nia, you can't just ask where the kitchen is and you're supposed to work for this place."

"I was going to tell him today is my first day, Kazimir."

"Oh. I guess that makes sense."

The young detective watches from the shadows as his coworker begins to chat with a random hotel worker before motioning for him to follow her.

After going down a flight of stairs, the pair burst through the double doors that led to a large kitchen.

"There's only one other person in here." Nia whispers as she grabs an empty cart from the side.

"Good."

"Hey! You with the white hair!"

Walking over to Kazimir, a short man hands him a rolling pin.

"Finish rolling that dough over there. And hurry it up m, we have a plethora of high paying customers waiting!"

*CLUNK!*

Watching as the short male fell to the ground, Kazimir puts the rolling pin onto the counter and Nia squats down to check the man's pulse.

"I hope you didn't knock him out too hard. He was only trying to do his job."

"Who cares? He could've been nicer with his tone. Now where do they keep their wine glasses?"

"Shouldn't we finish making the pizza? I mean, we can't just let those people out there go hungry. If so, they'll eventually report it to someone and then we'll get found out."

The younger male shrugs as he places a pitcher of orange juice on his cart.

"Then you finish the pizza while I prepare the carts. Tell me when you're done, too."

Nia walks over to where the dough sat and quickly notices something that caught her eye.

"Would you look at that? A pizza already prepared."

Taking the dish out of the oven, the young woman notifies Kazimir before exiting the kitchen and mentally gasps as a group of hungry people turn towards her.

Tapping a microphone set up on a podium, Kazimir clears his throat and takes the pizza pan from Nia.

"Free pizza for everyone who can run up here and get it. First come, first serve."

The two watch as a large group of people began to make their way to the front before going back into the kitchen.

"Bunch of greedy bastards out there. Anyway, I found this clipboard with a list of names while I was looking through the cabinets." Kazimir says, handing it over to Nia. "Pretty sure it's everyone who preferred to have their food delivered to them. The Jovan dude's name is on the 2nd page and it looks like he's staying on the 2nd floor as well."

The pair walk out of the kitchen doors and make their way to a back hallway where Kazimir presses an elevator button.

Looking up at him, Nia subtly tilts her head. The once eager and hungry young man had now been replaced with his original personality.

*DING!*

The elevator opens and the two step out, making their way over to room 6.

*KNOCK! KNOCK!*

"Room service!" Nia yells.

"Took you guys long enough." the slightly angry man says. "Place my food on that dresser and make it quick; I'm in a very important meeting."

*SLAM!*

Turning around, Jovan points a finger towards Kazimir.

"Excuse you, you little bas-

*BANG!*

Nia quickly turns around and watches as Kazimir squats down in front of the dead body before getting back up and making his way over to the computer.

*BANG!*

Shooting the screen, Kazimir watches as it cracks and goes dark before placing the gun on a dresser.

"Well that was smart! Now those people know what we look like and where we're staying, too!"

"Calm down, Nia." the young man says, dragging the body onto a bed. "Chances are this man probably didn't tell anyone where the meeting was being held. And besides, even if they do know, they're going to be looking for us here and we don't even work here."

"Still, I think someone's going to find us out."

"Sheesh, you're one of the most worrisome people I've met." Kazimir replies, wiping the gun off. "Come on, let's put these uniforms back. The camera room is also located in a small corner of the maintenance room as well so I'll just clear the footage while we're in there."

After looking back at the dead body for a final time, the young woman turns to her coworker.

"Do you ever feel a sense of guilt when you kill someone? I mean, after I shot a man who tried to put his hands on me, I felt extremely low. I didn't mean to kill him but I had no other choice."

Kazimir sighs as he presses the elevator button.

"Why would I feel guilty about killing someone who's actively participating in evil activities? I mean I am doing the world a favor."

"Then maybe I'm just a little more sensitive." Nia says, watching Kazimir blankly stare at the elevator doors in front of him. "I like to see the good in others and everyone deserves second chances, but equivalent to your previous statement; some people are just evilly selfish."