Bonus Chapter - Christmas Eve
On Christmas Eve, snowflakes silently covered the woods not far from the west coast of the United States.
The home of Keegan and Elaine was filled with the warm aroma of roast turkey, pine, and mulled wine. In the living room, the Christmas tree twinkled with lights, and beautifully wrapped gifts were piled beneath it.
Elara, dressed in a red velvet dress, circled the tree like an excited little sparrow. Liam, on the other hand, was far more interested in the wrapping paper than the gift itself, and was diligently sticking a bow into his hair.
The peaceful and warm atmosphere was brutally shattered by a deep, roaring black muscle car. It rolled across the pristine snow in front of the door, stopping arrogantly and precisely, as if it weren't there for the holiday, but to carry out a capture mission. The door opened, and Kruger stepped out. His camouflage tactical uniform had been replaced by a sharply tailored black turtleneck sweater and trousers, topped with an expensive-looking black cashmere coat—he looked like he was attending a funeral, not a Christmas party. The camouflage netting he always wore was replaced by a sleek black silk mask.
He carried a mismatched burgundy gift bag tied with a ribbon, and his eyes held the same unchanging sarcasm and impatience. Keegan opened the door, and the two exchanged a glance in the doorway; an invisible, crackling tension instantly filled the air.
“You’ve come to the wrong place. The funeral is on the next street.” Keegan’s voice was calm, but he still stepped aside to let him in.
"Ha, Russ, your sense of humor is as stiff as your tactics." Kruger chuckled, stepping into the warm room without any ceremony. His eyes scanned the entire space like a scanner, assessing the environment, exits, and potential threats—it was an instinct ingrained in his bones.
Elaine came out of the kitchen, wiping her hands, with a slightly helpless smile on her face: "Kruger, it's great that you could come."
“Yes, it’s a cause for celebration,” Kruger said dryly, shoving the gift bag at her like trash. “Here you go. It’s supposed to help alleviate the pain of having your IQ dragged down to the level of a housewife.” Inside the bag were two extremely expensive bottles of aged Scotch whisky.
Then his gaze fell on the two little ones. Elara immediately hid behind her father's legs, only her big eyes peeking out as she warily and curiously sized up this strange uncle dressed all in black who didn't look "Christmas" at all. Liam, on the other hand, showed no fear, wobbling as he walked up to Kruger, holding up the crumpled bow, and mumbled a sound: "Tap!"
Kruger lowered his head, his green eyes scrutinizing the tiny figure, barely reaching his knees, with the cold-blooded gaze of a cold-blooded animal. After a long, suffocating few seconds, he crouched down extremely slowly, meeting Liam's gaze. "What's this? A miniature adhesive IED (simple explosive device). Strong adhesion, difficult to remove, could explode at any moment (crying)?" he commented, but unusually, there was little malice in his tone.
Liam, drawn by his voice, giggled and slapped the bow tie directly onto Kruger's expensive trousers. Kruger's eyebrows shot up for a moment.
The atmosphere grew even more awkward at dinner. Kruger assessed the roasting of Keegan's turkey with anatomical precision ("65% juice retention, skin too charred, a failure") and the texture of the mashed potatoes ("Not thoroughly mashed, structural defects"). He showed only "reluctant" acceptance of Elaine's Panatoni ("At least there's something for people to eat").
Elaine maintained a polite smile, while Keegan continued cutting meat expressionlessly, seemingly oblivious to her surroundings. It wasn't until Elaine mustered her courage and whispered, "Uncle in black, are you Santa's helper? Why aren't you wearing red?"
Kruger put down his knife with a crisp sound. He looked at the little girl, a wicked smile playing on his lips. "No, little one. I'm the one who keeps the list. I tell Santa which kids stay up all night and talk too much, and they'll be collecting cinders next year."
Elara's mouth instantly opened into an "O" shape, not out of fear, but filled with a strange sense of awe.
After the meal, Liam stubbornly tried to climb onto Kruger's shiny leather shoes, as if he were some kind of novel, large climbing frame. Kruger's body was as stiff as a stone; he neither pushed him away nor helped him, but simply stared at the "hanging ornament" on his knee with an expression that was a mixture of shock and extreme discomfort.
"Get him out of here, Russ. Otherwise, I can't guarantee I won't have to use him to test the strength of the window glass."
Finally, when distributing the gifts, the burgundy bag Kruger brought contained, besides the wine for Elaine, two small items haphazardly stuffed into the bottom: for Elaine, an extremely intricate miniature metal model that could be completely disassembled and reassembled ("to develop your obviously desperately needy brain cells"); and for Liam, an incredibly soft wolf doll wearing a small black cloak ("a silencing tool, hold it and don't make a sound").
It was late at night. Kruger stood at the door, ready to leave, his black figure almost blending into the darkness outside. He glanced back into the house: Elaine was clearing away the dishes, Keegan was playing with the metal model, Elara was asleep on the sofa with her new toy, and Liam was curled up beside her, tightly hugging the black-cloaked wolf.
“The worst night of the year,” Kruger announced, pulling open the car door. “Next time I get an invitation like this, I’ll just wipe the satellite signal off the road forever.” The engines roared away.
Keegan closed the door and returned to the warm living room. He picked up the wolf doll and noticed that the lining of the cloak was embroidered with the letters "E&K" in cursive script in extremely fine silver thread.
Elaine walked over and gently leaned against him. "He actually likes it quite a bit," she said softly, looking at the children's sleeping profiles, "it's just that the way he expresses it... is very Kruger-like."
Keegan paused for a moment, placed the doll back next to her son, and gave a very soft hum, the tone of which was neither clear as agreement nor disagreement.
Outside the window, the snow is still falling. For some people, warmth is never an embrace, but rather allowing you to step into their cold territory and leaving you with an awkward gift bearing their unique mark.
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