Chapter 2: Bella Ragazza Nightclub

*NYPD break room—9:37 PM*

*

Daisy was sitting at the NYPD break room table. When the night shift comes, Daisy usually leaves the police station. Only once in a while, she stays at night to do some little extra work, which never lasts more than half an hour after nine.

What she was doing was greeting her fellow workers, who requested the Chief to stay a little more to commemorate Daisy’s catch. Now that the last one left, Daisy drank what was left of her cup of coffee.

“Got like five extra pounds today with just coffee,” Daisy said, yawning while caressing her stomach. “Tonight will be a bummer to sleep…”

Daisy went to the sink, washed her hands, and threw her cup in the trash can. She stopped, looked out of one door, out of the other door, looked around with the corner of her eyes, and… left out a small burp!

“Ah, and two pounds are out!” Daisy giggled as she left the room.

*

*New York City, somewhere in Manhattan—Almost 10 PM*

*

Daisy was not tired. The coffee was kicking in. The newest NYC’s second lieutenant wasn’t exploding in caffeine energy. Her pace was fast, sure, but she was already used to it. New York was a very unpredictable city, so you always have got to have a fast pace and a third eye on your nape.

Daisy, however, knew how to handle herself. While she knew how to use a bazooka, Daisy stated multiple times that she only needed pepper spray and, only in very urgent emergency cases, a lighter.

Daisy still had a lot of energy, courtesy of coffee. So, before she went home, which was only half an hour away from where she was, she started to waddle around Manhattan’s busy streets. She went about some streets that she could not remember. Daisy was waddling, fearlessly. At her job, the lady dealt with the most different of situations. Maybe even handling a naked crackhead or a rabid raccoon.

The streets were quite lightened up, considering how late at night it was. A sore to the eyes, indeed, Daisy thought to herself. The coffee energy was slowly starting to fade out. Her walking pace was slowing down gradually. Daisy stretched herself and huffed. Then she heard glass breaking sounds.

They came from an alley. The only signs of life in the alley were a few cats by a trash bin and a failing lamp above a door. Daisy could hear violent yelling mixed with loud techno music.

“Idlers’ cave…” Daisy mumbled, nodding her head negatively.

More glass-breaking sounds and yelling later, the door opened in a quarter of a second, with a bump sound that scared the cats away. Out of the door, a big man with a bald head, practically a hairless gorilla, threw a skinny tall guy in the trash bin. He looked so slender that even Daisy could lift him up.

“And remember to bring money to pay next time, little f*cker!” The gorilla man exclaimed, killing the deadbeat stickman with his eyes, hidden behind sunglasses, before closing the door as fast as he opened it.

This whole sequence, from the door opening to its closing, lasted not more than twenty seconds. Daisy was made curious by that. She heard about these alleyway nightclubs but has never been to one. Curiosity was whispering to her “Go for it sis’, working overtime might get you another promotion”.

Daisy looked quickly at her phone, it was 10:08 PM.

“Eh, why not,” she sighed.

Daisy went near the slender deadbeat.

“Are you okay?”, She asked.

The deadbeat didn’t say anything, just groaned in pain. Daisy just said “tsk, tsk, tsk”. She stopped by the door. Thanks to advice given by colleagues who were frequent in nightclubs, both in free time or undercover work, she knew how to get in. To test her knowledge, she knocked at the door.

“Passcode?” The voice from the gorilla man thundered from inside.

“New York Police Department, I’m doing some undercover business,” Daisy declared, pulling her police badge out of her bag, a much bigger one than the one she used to capture Quote-on-Quote Honey.

A small door, what seemed like the peephole, opened up. The gorilla man’s eye, without sunglasses, peeked out. The blackness of his eye stared at Daisy up and down. He looked at the badge. The peephole closed, and the door opened up again. The gorilla man probably was two Daisies tall. He, after taking Daisy’s badge, took a glance at the trash bin.

The deadbeat was still there, trying to stand up, but limping, when he looked up and the gorilla man was there. The gorilla man frowned and puffed. The deadbeat got scared and ran away, still limping. Daisy did a “tsk, tsk, tsk” sound again.

“Who sent you?” The gorilla man asked, firmly staring at Daisy.

Daisy got closer to him, with the most serious face she could make.

“Doug from the golf club,” she said.

The gorilla man puffed and got closer to Daisy. Then…

“Ah, Dougy, my man!” The gorilla man laughed. “What a guy, hehe. ‘Kay lady, come in.”

Daisy smiled and entered the place. As she placed her feet inside, the gorilla man got in and closed the door, turning his back against it, as security guards do.

*

*Bella Ragazza nightclub—10:10 PM*

*

Daisy had visions of what a nightclub was, and she was sort of right: loud music, drunk people, occasional verbal and physical fights, a little bar desk, and indecency. Sweet heavens, the indecency! Daisy used her charms and, once in a while, her body to get what she wanted, but at least she is contributing to society by putting bad people in jail. The poor ladies in there didn’t have a bright future, Daisy thought.

But now that she was here, maybe she could get a drink or just a pack of bubblegum. When she ordered her bubblegum and paid for it, Daisy heard the music stopping.

“Ayo guys!” The DJ announced. “Just a quick warning that our host’s comin’! Make way for our buddy from the Ricci clan, and New York’s finest women’s man, Marco!”

People started clapping and cheering. Daisy was admired, she would see a mafia lord in person. The Ricci family was on good terms with the police, so she wasn’t nervous at all. So she kept chewing her bubblegum, as the guy Marco came by the front door.

There he was, Marco Ricci. He was tall and had a nice figure, not plumpy and not skinny, and also had a few muscles to be admired. He had a buzz cut to follow darkish-brown hair. His eyes were also darkish-brown, and he had a balbo beard.

“Good night, my people,” Marco said, in a soothingly deep voice. “The drink’s on me tonight!”

Everyone cheered, and the music resumed playing. As Marco entered and went around the room, he greeted the presents, especially the ladies:

“Hey there, good to see ya, hey hun, how you doin’? What’s up, babe? Hey, chick!”

Daisy cringed upon seeing this, so she turned to the cashier’s desk. After about thirty seconds, curiosity hit her, so she looked back to see if she could see Marco. There was no sign of him… She glanced back to the cashier's desk and heard someone sitting next to her. Daisy was quite surprised when she looked from the corner of her eye to the other side and saw Marco sitting next to her, looking at her, with his fingers twiddled.