Damovotsk, Molkovia, Earth.

Demian's P.O.V.

Cocking his eyebrow, he questioned. “Who?” While taking her smartphone from her handbag, she replied. “An old acquaintance.” Her words stoked his curiosity, however, he kept his questions to himself since he understood that it was not the right time. Instead, he focused on the conversation that was sure to happen.

After searching for a brief moment, Adeliya finally found the number she was looking for and immediately pressed the call button. Two ringings later, a masculine voice sounded from the phone. “Dr. Mikhailov? To what do I owe the pleasure?”

“Good evening, Mr. Yakovich. I'm calling about a... 'delicate' situation. I've got some troublesome 'packages' I want to get rid of. That and a useless 'carriage'.” “I see. And you'd like to engage my company's services, am I correct?” The man asked in a frighteningly calm voice as if his Aunt had not just asked him for help in getting rid of several corpses and a very suspicious car.

'Aunty knows some really scary people. I'm getting more and more curious about what she's hiding.' He thought while keeping his mouth shut. “That's correct.” The mature redhead replied. “Very well. Since it's a request from you, I will abstain from charging you full price for the removal.” Pausing for a second, he added. “May you perhaps need our moving service?” “No need. We'll bring everything ourselves.”

“Noted. Would our house cleaning service interest you, as well? The cleaning includes the removal of any video, photo, and other unwanted recordings going against our client's privacy.” His words made her chuckle, after which she replied in a light-hearted tone. “I see you're very thorough.”

To which he responded in the same deadpan tone he used since the beginning of the conversation. “We pride ourselves on being meticulous. After all, being the best in our line of work comes with a high demand for quality.” Pausing for a second, the man then continued. “In any case, you haven't yet answered my previous question. Would you be interested in our house cleaning services?”

Looking slightly hesitant, the mature woman gazed toward Demian, the latter nodding his head to let her know his opinion. He knew the risks of his decision, but it seemed to be the best (Or less bad?) one to make. What's more, his Aunt seemed to 'trust' the guy enough to call him to deal with the current situation, so it should be fine.

Noting the understanding in her eyes, he was not surprised at her reaction, which was to respond. “Alright, I'll take your house cleaning services.” “Wonderful. Send the address to this number and we should be done quickly. In the meantime, I will send you the two addresses where you will need to respectively bring your packages and carriage. The bill will be sent to your Office. Cash only, obviously.”

“Obviously.” She repeated. “I thank you Dr. Mikhailov for using the Yakovich Cleaning Company and hope you will think of us the next time you face a... 'delicate' situation shall we say.” Nodding her head, she replied. “I will. Goodnight Mr. Yakovich.” “I bid you a wonderful night as well, Dr. Mikhailov.”

After disconnecting the call, the strong-willed woman let out a tired sigh before her hands moved to type their address into one of the messaging apps on her phone, one that had message encryption. Once the information was sent, she turned toward Demian and said hesitantly. “We'll talk about everything later if you don't mind. I... I'm exhausted right now.”

A brief ringtone sounded from her phone, drawing her gaze to it, after which she checked the message, which, from the young man's point of view, turned out to be the two addresses they needed to go to. “Alright, I know where those places are. So, you'll follow me with the Rav4. Also, don't forget to turn your phone off in case they're used to track us.”

Noting her fatigue, her nephew suddenly embraced her in his arms, the hug tight enough to transmit the care and gratitude he felt for everything she had done so far. “You don't have to shoulder everything alone, Aunty. You can also rely on me.” Freezing for a second at his abrupt display of affection, she however quickly returned the hug, keeping silent for a moment, while the both of them enjoyed the warm moment.

After an unknown amount of time, the two separated, while the mature redhead lifted her hand to briefly caress the young man's cheek, a peaceful smile adorning her charming visage. “Thank you, Dem.” Smiling back at her, he simply replied. “You're welcome.” Pausing for a second, he added. “Shall we go?”

Nodding her head, she then started walking toward the goons' SUV while Demian moved to their own vehicle, quickly getting in and sitting himself in the driver's seat. “Everything's ready?” Looking at his attractive cousin, he responded. “Yep! Aunty contacted someone to help us deal with the bodies and the car. We only need to follow her to the locations.”

At his words, the burgundy-haired woman seemed relieved, before her lips switched to a cheerful smile. “This is great. I was worried we wouldn't be able to deal with everything, but if someone can deal with it for us, then it's perfect.” As if her smile was contagious, a similar one appeared on the young man's face as his mind registered her words.

While the two were chatting softly, Demian started to follow the car in front of him. The two vehicles then cruised through Damovotsk at a moderate pace, while the brown-haired young man's driving skills seemed to return to him until he was as proficient as two decades prior, making it easy for the group to avoid any unwanted attention due to driving mistakes.

The two Toyota kept moving from the Seafront in the North of the city, then reached the bypass toward the Eastern side of the city. Twenty minutes of smooth driving later, Demian spotted the discreet building they were supposed to arrive at. It was not that he had been there before, but because of the glaringly huge sign in front.

'Yakovich Crematorium? I don't know if I should be surprised or impressed by how bold the guy is.' He thought wryly before informing Sera that they were almost there. “Dem, how does it look like?” Thanks to the two chatting along the way, the young woman seemed to have calmed down, letting her natural curiosity come out.

“It looks like a normal crematorium. Not that I've seen one before, but it looks like what I imagine a crematorium would look like.” Nodding her head, she replied with some excitement. “I still can't believe what's going on. It's like we're spies or something. Like James Bond or John Wick.”

Cocking his eyebrow, Demian questioned with some hesitation. “Wasn't Wick a contracted killer?” Waving her hand to dismiss his words, she retorted. “Potato, potato. They're both cool and that's what's important.” Shaking his head at her childish reasoning, he responded. “Whatever floats your boat, Sis.”

Following the vehicle in front, he entered the Crematorium premises and parked behind the building, where a voluminous staff entrance was located. From the latter came out a man wearing a staff uniform with the Yakovich Cleaning Company logo on it. “Wait for me inside, Sis. I'll go help Aunty deal with the bodies.”

After seeing her nodding, he exited the car, noticing that the mature redhead was faster than him, already talking to the employee. As he went closer, their conversation caught his attention. “Yes, Ma'am. Everything's taken care of. You only need to use those special carts to transport your packages through that door.”

“Then, dump them inside the machine. Once all of them are inside, close the hatch and push the red button, and voila! No more inconvenient packages!” Pausing for a second, the man asked her. “By the way, do you need help moving them?” Shaking her head, the mature woman retorted. “No need. The two of us will be enough.”

The man's eyes briefly turned toward him, the curious glint in them obvious to Demian. He was nonetheless impressed by the lack of questioning. 'No wonder they're the best in their field.' He thought, weirdly amused by the man's macabre professionalism.

“Very well, then. I'll be in my office if you need anything. Do not forget to inform me once you're done so that I can close behind you.” Nodding her head, Adeliya replied curtly. “Will do.” “I'll go get the cart.” Demian informed her, before walking toward the wide-open entrance and grabbing one of the well-kept carts on the right side of the corridor.

While going back to the car, he noticed the male employee entering an office room on the opposite side of the carts. Seeing the unknown man responsible for helping them get rid of the corpses, he could not help but be slightly worried.

He understood that their jobs relied completely on their reputation, but some uneasiness still remained inside his heart, even if he knew that his opinion was clearly biased due to all the novels, TV series, and movies he read and watched in his previous and current life. To him, people from the underworld were not trustworthy.

Not that he was one to talk since he did just kill three people less than an hour ago and was trying to get rid of their corpses, but still... His face was most likely showing his inner doubts because his Aunt questioned him as soon as he reached her. “You're worried about that guy, aren't you?” Nodding his head, Demian explained himself.

“I'm worried about the whole cleaning company. I mean, they're literally helping us get away with murder. Doesn't it sound crazy to you? Or maybe it's just me...” Chuckling wryly, the redhead grabbed one end of one of the plastic 'rugs' and said. “Help me get the other side.” After he helped her put the corpse on the cart, she continued.

“You know, Mark Twain once said: 'Truth is stranger than fiction, but it is because Fiction is obliged to stick to possibilities; Truth isn't.' So you shouldn't be surprised by all of that.” Pausing for a second, she added. “To be honest, the underworld is not as lawless as you might think. As long as you don't threaten someone else's interest, no one will bother with you.”

Cocking his eyebrow, the young man started pushing the cart toward the incinerator while asking. “Did you make that quote up or is it real?” She shook her head before replying with an amused smile adorning her face. “It's real. I only knew the abridged version at first, but when I started to learn about the underworld myself, I looked it up and it stuck to my mind. I don't know why.”

Once in front of the opened hatch of the incinerator, they both lifted the wrapped-up body and dumped it inside, before walking the other way and resuming their conversation. “Joke aside, you're telling me to trust those guys, aren't you?” Shaking her head, the woman answered. “Of course not. Yakovich is a businessman and it's in his interest to keep our matter a secret. That much is a given.”

Halting for a second, she resumed her explanation. “But if someone offers him something valuable enough to make it worth staining his reputation, then he'd probably not hesitate to betray us.” Her words made him ponder the situation they were in, while they transported the other two bodies to the incinerator in silence.

Once the three were inside, Demian closed the hatch and commented with a teasing smile, while his hand motioned toward the red button. “Ladies first.” Giggling at the very not-suitable joke, his Aunt then replied in a tone mirroring his. “If you insist, my Lord Nephew.” Before pushing the button, which turned on the incinerator.

Laughing together for a few seconds, the two had a relaxed smile on their face as they were waiting for the machine in front of them to reduce the corpses to ashes. After observing for a few minutes, the two decided to leave since it would take more than an hour to burn the three bodies to cinder and they were not planning on staying there that long. In any case, it was not as if their presence was required for the whole process to finish.

Before leaving, they did not forget to inform the employee who closed the door behind them. As the two were walking leisurely toward their respective vehicles, Demian could not help but ask something that bothered him. “Aunty?” “Mmhh?” “Am I going crazy?” Looking at him with surprise coloring her face, she questioned.