Disappointed-It is for the Better
Darcy accelerated her black sports bike through the cool evening air, the rhythmic hum of the engine provided a momentary escape from her life.
She went for a ride for some peace of mind as she felt stuffy inside for some reason.
However, the peace that riding her bike gave to her was busted as her sharp eyes caught sight of a menacing group of thugs, carrying baseball bats, brazenly entering the Rollingspin Café.
She knew that the police in her area were a shitty bunch of assholes, slaves of the rich and strong, and extortion was a big thing.
But a few years ago, she had taken things under control, and, to her knowledge, no more extortion was going on but the way things were looking, those thug-looking people were indeed looking to extort from the new café.
"What the f*ck is going on in my area!" Darcy growled, her frustration palpable. She would not have allowed it even if the owner was some stranger but the owner of that specific café this time was the poor innocent Cayden, whose worry surged through her instantly.
Her grip tightened on the bike handles as she glared in the direction of Rollingspin Café. Questions like what if he was scared or, worse, considered abandoning the café came into her head immediately. It appeared to be unacceptable to her; she hated the notion of it.
Today, someone was going to have very bad luck.
Darcy smoothly yet sharply turned her bike, parking it right in front of the café, conveniently choosing the non-parking area.
As she walked inside, resentment towards the police simmered in her mind once again. They were, in her eyes, a bunch of foolheads incapable of ensuring public safety. The audacity of those thugs wielding baseball bats, eight in total, in a public place filled with civilians, without attracting the attention of the authorities, only fueled her contempt.
"I said I want to talk to YOUR BOSS!" Darcy heard the leader of the thugs screaming at Rose, who stood behind the counter. Customers scattered, desperate to save themselves from the chaos.
"Si--sir, I'm not--" Rose attempted to explain, but her words were cut off when the pantry door swung open, revealing both Jack and Cayden, drawn by the commotion.
"What is going on here?" Cayden inquired, his concern evident, while the leader of the thugs chuckled arrogantly.
"Now, this is what I was talking about. Man to man. Come here, boy, we have come to talk business with you," the leader announced, accompanied by the foolish laughter of his men.
Cayden, maintaining his composure, glanced at his employees and reassured them with a smile that he would handle the situation.
"Look, sir. We sell coffee here, so unless you want to order, you can leave--" Cayden's attempt to defuse the situation was abruptly cut off as the thug seized him by the collar, dragging him over the counter. The poor Cayden was on the verge of being pulled to the other side when the thug began shouting in his face.
"Do I look like a joke to you? Huh! Everyone in this area knows me and simply follows my rules to stay out of trouble, so you better--" The thug's threats came to an abrupt halt, leaving Cayden's collar, a pained expression replacing his aggression.
Darcy, who had used her fist with precision, stood behind him, leaving the thug writhing in pain on the floor, clutching his head.
"What were you talking about just now? Everyone in this area follows your rules, huh?" With her jaw clenched, Darcy glared at the man on the floor like the lioness she was.
"Who the fuck are you? Do you not love your life?" Another thug shouted at Darcy. Cayden and his two employees looked on, a mix of worry and awe on their faces. They were struck by how easily Darcy had subdued the big man.
Darcy reassured Cayden with a smile, but the worry lingered in his eyes. He was about to move to come to her side but Darcy raised her hand in mid-air, stopping him in his place.
"Have you heard of Darcy? Darcy Raven?" she said nonchalantly. The thugs, now aware of the gravity of the situation, exchanged uneasy glances. They knew that if Darcy Raven, the notorious Raven discovered their extortion activities in her territory, they would be in deep trouble.
It was immensely satisfying for Darcy to watch the color drain from their faces at the mere mention of her name.
"So what if we have heard her name? You bitch, you dared to hit me!" The man on the ground protested, still nursing the throbbing part of his head where Darcy's fist had landed. Darcy couldn't help but chuckle at his feeble attempt to salvage his wounded pride.
"This bitch is fucking crazy. You must really have a death wish, huh!" The man seethed, clearly angered by Darcy's apparent mockery, which, to her satisfaction, was exactly what she intended.
"Please, please. Let's settle this in a civil way," Cayden interjected, attempting to diffuse the tension. He stepped outside the counter, and Darcy felt the urge to kick him in the butt for not staying put as she had instructed.
"No! There is no more civil way out of this. One of you is walking dead out of here today," declared the thug leader, his words dripping with menace, and Darcy clenched her fist in annoyance, feeling the mockery directed at Cayden.
"Yeah, sure, but I bet the one walking dead out of here would be you and your pathetic hoodlums," Darcy retorted, using her sharp tongue to needle the man. The thugs, incensed by her confidence, were visibly agitated.
In a fit of rage, one of the thugs raised his bat, attempting to strike Darcy in the head. However, he underestimated her completely. Before he could land the blow, Darcy deftly stopped his bat with her leg mid-air and kicked it to the ground.
Simultaneously, she pushed Cayden aside who was standing in her way, leaving him stunned by the sudden push.
"Don't you dare walk near me!" Darcy warned Cayden, her tone sharp as a blade. He halted, casting her a look filled with worry and teary softness that tugged at Darcy's emotions, unsettling her.
Meanwhile, another thug approached her with a bat, attempting to knock her out. Unfazed, Darcy effortlessly grabbed the other end of the bat in her fist, rendering the thug's attempt futile. He struggled to pull the bat away, but her grip was unyielding.
"And don't look at me with those eyes either!" Darcy shot a glare at Cayden, who felt helpless in such a situation.
Finally, with a swift motion, Darcy pulled the bat away and swung it, connecting with the thug's face and sending him collapsing to the ground.
She smirked, savoring the uncertainty etched on the faces of the remaining thugs. "I know I might not look like my old man since I take after my mother, but hello, guys. My name is Darcy Raven, and you have walked into the pathway of death today," she revealed with a smirk, her green siren eyes reflecting a manic glow.
Gulps echoed among the thugs as the reality of their trouble sank in. "You thought Darcy was a fool, that she wasn't paying attention to us because she couldn't handle us, right?" She mocked them, seeking their reactions.
Cayden finally approached Darcy, nudging her arm with concern. In a hushed tone, he pleaded in a whisper, "Please stop. They look like bad people. We should just give them some money and call the police after this."
At first, Darcy was annoyed since he would not listen to her but Cayden's genuine worry tinged at Darcy's heart. She appreciated how he wasn't attempting to take charge of the situation as a man was supposed to. Instead, he was genuinely concerned for everyone's safety.
"Don't worry, they are pesky little dust in front of me," Darcy reassured him, though Cayden remained confused about why she would willingly put herself in harm's way.
Returning her attention to the thugs, Darcy continued, "Yeah, so where were we? Oh, yes. Keep in mind that it's not that I can't handle you. It's just that you are so insignificant to me that I would consider it a waste of my important time." Darcy's biting words successfully provoked the thugs, further escalating the tension.
As the saying goes, 'men will be men,' the thugs, disregarding the evident danger that Darcy would kill them right then and there, attempted to approach Darcy all at once.
Unfazed, she swiftly dealt with each one, leaving them sprawled on the café floor, unconscious while taking care of Cayden who kept getting approached by the thugs.
Cayden and his employees saw Darcy with admiration and stupefaction etched on their faces at the same time.
"You guys don't need to worry. My people will come here and take care of them. Here, this is my number," Darcy said, handing her business card to Rose, who gazed at her with dreamy eyes. "Contact me if something like this happens again; the police here are particularly useless."
To Rose, Darcy appeared like the cool elder sister she had never had.
Turning to face Cayden, Darcy was met with a look of disappointment. She wanted to tell him that he needed not to worry about her but she chose not to. She assumed he disapproved of her true nature and felt let down by her actions. Maybe it was for the better--was what she thought about it as she had no intention of treating an innocent guy like Cayden as a toy, neither she was going to involve him in her world.
However, she left without realizing that Cayden was actually disappointed because she had given her contact information to Rose and not to him. He actually had been waiting for her to come to the café.