In a small cafeteria, a few people were eating because it wasn't lunchtime at that time. A woman in a black hoodie, ripped jeans, and rubber shoes entered and went quietly to the pot of dishes. Then she sat down in a corner, put the hood of her jacket back on her head, and put her hand in the jacket pocket.
While she was waiting for the cafeteria staff to put her chosen dishes and rice in front of her, she caught sight of a man and the owner herself, who seemed to be having a bad conversation. "Why haven't I paid yet? It took me a while to choose what to eat!" the man shouted with strength.
The cafeteria owner calmly answered him. "We don't take payment until the customer has finished eating. Only after the customer has eaten will we take the payment, so how do you say you already gave it? "
"I just gave you the payment earlier. You were so talkative that you didn't notice!"
"I have other staff here, and they are the ones who check who has paid or who has not paid. Now you are done eating, it's your turn to pay for what you ate. "
The man dropped his hand on top of the table, causing even more noise in their place, so the other customers were slightly scared, especially because of the size of the man's body and because he looked drunk. "As long as I said I paid, I paid!"
"If you don't want to pay, we will be forced to file a complaint with the police," the owner said calmly, even though the person she was talking to was not showing good behavior.
He looked angrily at the owner and was about to overturn the table towards the woman when a hand stopped him.
"You are already in arrears for not paying for what you ate. Then now you try to destroy their property." She grinned even though that man couldn't see her face, only her lips. "It's unfair, right?" she looked up at the man, a blank expression on her face.
The man tried to remove her hand, but he couldn't do it. "What do you know? Can you please stay out of this?"
Adira looked at the owner and saw that she was also tired because she often ate there. This is also the one who cooks what she sells, and then some people are brave enough not to pay when they have already eaten what she worked so hard to cook.
"Just pay, then it's over," she calmly said.
He grinned. "The owner of this cafeteria is just stupid, so they didn't notice that I paid."
"Ms., is what he said true?" she asked the lady.
The owner shook her head a few times, and her face showed that she wasn't lying.
"No, if I'm the one who made the mistake, I won't be tough with him like this."
She turned back to the man. "So you're the liar here?"
The man got out of her grip and tried to push her, so she tried to avoid it, and he quickly fell to the floor. The man stood up again and tried to hit her with his fist, but she just calmly moved my body as if something were being avoided based on her movements, and thought that she was just playing. His fist was going to hit her in the face, but she immediately moved and hit the man's stomach with her fist, and he almost vomited from the force of the punch. She took her two wooden sticks from her back that were hidden inside the jacket with only 2 inches sticking out.
She put it in front of the man's face. "Whether you pay or not, you will go home with your feet crippled. Your body is capable of working, but you are here to cause trouble. "
He was stubborn, so she let out a hit on his knee, causing it to immediately fall on the floor. From the look on the man's face, he had been hurt by a strong hit from a woman. "Okay—I'll pay," he said in a strained voice.
"You want to be hurt before you admit it," she said as she strapped the two wooden sticks to her back.
The man stood up and quickly paid the owner, who looked like he had not changed, but the man left in a hurry.
"Are you all right?" she asked.
The woman nodded. "Thank you. You, are you alright?"
"Don't worry about me; I can take care of myself."
The owner apologized to the few customers who were eating. "Sorry for the little mess. You can continue eating. " They returned to the table near where the man was sitting a minute ago.
The owner looked at a table on the side. "You can take your seat. I'll just send you whatever you want to eat. Thank you again. " She held her hand before leaving and returned to her table earlier.
She is Adira, a gangster known to everyone in that area, but the man she met earlier seems to be a stranger, so he tried to hurt her fearlessly. A gangster who rarely shows emotion; she only frowns and grins at other people, especially her opponents. The moment her name was heard, no one wanted to fight with her, except for the novice gangsters in their area. The moment she took out her two wooden sticks, she seemed to be a different person. But it is still a big mystery why everyone is so afraid of her, even though she is alone and a woman.
A cafeteria worker put down her food. "Thank you." She began eating because she needed to get home as soon as possible.
After eating, she just dropped the payment on the table and looked at the owner's place. They saw her, and she just nodded before leaving. She was already familiar with them because she's been eating at their cafeteria for a long time, so by the time she stood up and looked at the owner's place, they already knew that her payment for the meal was already on the table.
She is walking home, and her eyes are only looking at the road. They can't see her whole face because she's wearing a hoodie. As she was walking, a man spoke from behind her. "Hold on!"
She stopped walking. "Do you know what happens when you pass through my territory?"
"No," she replied.
"They don't get home without blood on their bodies anymore." she heard his slight laugh.
"Do you also know what will happen to you if you don't let me pass through your so-called territory?"
"How dare you! You look like you don't know who you're talking to!"
"You don't seem to be either." And she faced the man behind her: "Know that I can break a bone in your body in just a few seconds." She grinned, and at that point, the man retreated slightly because he seemed to recognize who he threatened.
He smiled hesitantly. "It's you, Adira." It can also be seen how its appearance has changed. It used to look brave, but now it looks like a gentle sheep.
"Yes, it's me. Try to scare passersby again. No matter where you go, I can still find you. So when I count to three, you should be gone!"
Her mouth was just about to open, but he was running fast. She frowned. "Tsk, man, but a coward." She shook her head and continued walking home.
She was near the warehouse where she lives when someone greeted her while walking. "Adira, where have you been?" he asked Adira, and by the looks of it, he was already 60 years old.
"Just over there, eat."
"Is that so?" He took an envelope from his pants pocket. "New client, study her problem carefully if you want to do what is written on the envelope."
She took it and started walking again, but she raised her left hand, which meant she was leaving.
Simon, the man's name, simply shook his head. Adira is always with him whenever someone wants to take her services, but she can't just say yes because she has a condition whenever someone wants to take her services. The client must first provide details on the problem and how Adira will solve it. But if Adira doesn't like it, she won't accept it, even if she is offered a lot of money. It's not because she's a gangster that she doesn't have a heart when the client wants to do something too brutal to someone. Her answer is always no, and she tears up the envelope Simon gives her when the client requests it.
While Simon was watching Adira walk away, his phone suddenly rang, signaling that someone was calling, and he knew it was a client because only Adira's clients call his phone often. "Hello! What mission do you want to do?" Simon replied immediately, but the other line didn't answer. He wondered and looked at the phone screen again, but the caller still didn't hang up, so he spoke again. "Hello! Are you a client? If not, maybe you called the wrong number!" Simon was about to hang up when the person on the other line spoke.
Simon frowned at what the caller was saying. He just listened and didn't speak at first, but after a few minutes, the caller seemed to say something, so Simon answered, "I'm not sure if she'll accept your offer, but if you want to, you can't talk to her. You can only talk to me, and I'll just tell her what you want; talking to her is impossible." Simon stopped for a moment and sighed at what the person on the other line said. "Okay, I'll find a way." He ended the call and looked again at the road leading to Adira's house.
She has already returned to her house, which is a warehouse. It is an old warehouse, so she just decided to live here. She only covered one part of the warehouse because it was too big. The small space for the bedroom and kitchen is perfect for her. She has a decent house to go home to, but she can't live there anymore because her sister always has a grudge against her, and she doesn't know why. Even though their father and mother are still alive, they can't get along since they are of the same bloodline. It's just what flows through their veins. She can't imagine that it might be jealousy because their parents love them so much, and she can't quite figure out why. When their parents were buried a few days ago, her sister's anger towards her got worse, and sometimes she even ended up with injuries because her sister almost pushed her, tweaked her, and even tried to kill her during those times. She knew how to fight back then because Simon was starting to teach her, but she still chose not to retaliate because her sister was older than her and also her sister, so she just left our house and lived alone. She hasn't heard from her sister anymore because since she left home, she has focused her time and mind on training to become a full-fledged gangster and accepting missions that she could earn money on, but the missions she accepts are not violations of the law and only those that can be discussed; if she has to fight, she uses the two wooden sticks that are always on her back.
She shook her head and tried to forget the past that happened to her and just entertain herself because the night was still a long time coming.
That night, Adira went to bed early, and she was exhausted at that moment, so she did not feel the mysterious people entering her house.