Chapter 1 The Lady Gangster

It wasn’t noon, so a tiny cafeteria was only partially occupied. A woman entered silently and went to the dishes wearing a dark sweatshirt, frayed trousers, and rubber shoes. She then sat in a nook, repositioned the hood of her jacket over her head, and placed her hand inside the pocket.

She saw a man and the owner herself, who appeared to be having the wrong conversation, while she waited for the cafeteria personnel to place her chosen food and rice in front of her. “Why am I still paying?” The man exclaimed loudly, “It took me a while to decide what to eat."

The cafeteria proprietor gently responded to him. “After the consumer has finished eating, we simply accept money. How can you say you’ve already given it? We only accept payment after the consumer has eaten."

“I simply give the money to you earlier. You were talking so much that you missed it."

“I have more workers here, and they are the ones who determine if someone has paid or not. You’ve finished eating; now it’s time for you to pay for it."

The other customers were a little startled by the man’s actions because of the size of his body and the fact that he appeared intoxicated. The man then dropped his hand on the table, making even more noise. “I paid as long as I said I would.”

The owner spoke calmly, even though the individual she was talking to was not acting well. “If you don’t want to pay, we will force you to file a complaint with the police,” she stated. When a hand intervened, he was about to tip the table toward the woman while glaring at the business owner.

"You already owe money because you didn’t pay for the food you consumed. You now attempt to damage the owner’s property." Even though that man could only see her lips, she grinned. “It’s unfair, am I right?” She gave the man a blank stare as she stared up at him.

The man attempted to take her hand but was unsuccessful. "What are you aware of? Please leave this alone."

Because she frequently ate there, Adira noticed the proprietor was exhausted. It is also the person who prepares the food she sells, and some customers dare to refuse to pay after enjoying what she labored so hard to prepare.

"Just pay, then done,” she stated firmly.

He smiled. "The cafeteria staff is clueless, so they missed the fact that I paid."

She addressed the woman, “Ms., is what he said true?”

The owner gave a couple of headshakes, but it was clear from her expression that she wasn’t lying.

"No, I wouldn’t treat him harshly like this if I were the one who erred."

She went back to face the man. “So you’re lying here, then?”

She wanted to avoid being pushed, so as the man slipped out of her grasp, he rapidly slid to the ground. She tiptoed as if something were avoiding her based on her movements, and the man assumed she was playing when he jumped up again and attempted to strike her with his fist. He was about to hit her in the face with his hand, but she moved quickly and punched him in the stomach, nearly making him throw up from the intensity of the blow. She took two sticks concealed with her garment, only two inches protruding from her back.

She placed it in the man’s line of sight. “Whether you pay or not, you’ll return home with crippled feet. Although your body can function, you are only here to cause trouble."

She smacked his knee, which immediately fell to the ground because he was demanding. Based on the look on his face, a woman had struck him hard. He sighed and replied in a strained voice, “Okay, I’ll pay.”

She laid the two wooden sticks on her back and stated, “You want harm before you accept it."

Once the man stood up, he quickly paid the owner, who didn’t appear to have changed but soon left.

She said, “Are you all right?”

She gave a nod. “I’m grateful. How are you doing?"

“I can take care of myself; don’t worry about me.”

The proprietor expressed regret to the few diners. “I apologize for the small mess. You may carry on eating." They went back to the table where the man had been seated before.

The owner turned to glance at a side table. “Please have a seat. Whatever you want to eat, I’ll send it to you. Again, many thanks." Before leaving and going back to her table earlier, the owner grasped her hand.

The man she met earlier appears to be a stranger, so he attacks her fearlessly even though she is Adira, a criminal well-known to everyone in that neighborhood. She only frowns and grins at other people, especially her adversaries, and is a mobster who rarely displays emotion. Only the local rookie gangsters were interested in fighting with her when she heard her name. She appeared to change when she pulled out her two wooden sticks. Though she is alone and a lady, it is still a central mystery why everyone is terrified of her.

A cafeteria employee set her meal down. She said, “Thank you.” She started eating because she had to get home right away.

After finishing her meal, she placed the payment on the table and turned to face the proprietor. She nodded as she walked away when she spotted them. Since she had been eating at their restaurant for a while, they were already accustomed to her and knew that when she rose and glanced at the owner’s home, her payment for the meal was already on the table.

She is on her way home when she focuses on the road, covered with a hoodie, so they can’t see her entire face. She was walking when a man spoke to her from behind. Say, “Hold on!”

She halted her progress. "What happens when you enter my zone, do you know?"

“No,” she answered.

“They no longer return home without having blood on their bodies.” She caught his fleeting chuckle.

"Do you also understand what will happen to you if I cannot pass through your alleged territory?"

“How rude of you! You have yet to learn to whom you are speaking."

"You also don’t seem to be." Adira turned to the man behind her and said, “Know that I can break a bone in your body in just a few seconds.” She smiled, and the man appeared to realize who he had threatened and backed off a little.

He gave a tentative smile. "You are here, Adira." Also apparent is how its appearance has altered. It used to appear courageous, but now it seems to be a kind sheep.

"Yes, that is me. Retry frightening onlookers. Wherever you go, I’ll still be able to find you. Consequently, it would be best if you left when I counted to three..." He was moving quickly as her mouth was ready to open. She grimaced. "Man, you’re a coward." She shook her head and carried on with her journey home.

She was strolling close to the warehouse where she resided when she greeted her. Simon asked Adira, “Adira, where have you been?” From his looks, he was already sixty years old.

"Just go eat over there.”

"Is that so?" He pulled a letter out of his jeans pocket. “New client, carefully study her problem if you want to do what’s on the envelope.”

She accepted it and recommenced her walk, signaling her departure by raising her left hand.

The man’s head shook as Simon Adira was always by his side whenever someone requested her services, but she could not simply accept them because of a condition. The client must first describe the problem and Adira’s proposed solution in detail. Even if Adira offers a large sum, she will only accept it if she likes it. She doesn’t lack compassion just because she’s a gangster when the client wants to be excessively cruel to someone. She consistently responds negatively and rips up the envelope Simon gives her when the client asks for it.

Simon was watching Adira leave when his phone suddenly rang, indicating a call had come in. He knew it was a client because only Adira’s clients frequently contacted him. “Hello! What task do you seek to accomplish?" Simon answered right away, but nobody else on the line responded. He pondered and looked at the phone screen, but the caller didn’t hang up, so he continued to speak. “Hello! Are you a customer? If not, you dialed the incorrect number." When the caller on the other didn't speak Simon was about to hang up.

Simon scowled in response to the caller’s remarks. "I don’t know if she’ll accept your offer, but you can’t talk to her if you want to." Simon initially just listened and remained silent, but after a few minutes, the caller seemed to say something. "Talking to her is impossible; you can only speak to me, and I’ll tell you what you want." When the person on the other end of the line finished speaking, Simon paused briefly and sighed. "Okay, I’ll find a solution." After hanging up, he glanced at the road to Adira’s home.

She had already made it back to her residence, a warehouse. She decided to move in because it was an old warehouse. She barely covered a small portion of the warehouse due to its size. She can fit perfectly in the little kitchen and bedroom. She has a decent home to return to but can no longer live there because her sister always harbors animosity toward her. They can’t get along because they share the same bloodline, even if their parents are still alive. It is what circulates in their veins. Because of how much their parents adore them, and she is unsure why, she cannot fathom that it may be envy. Her sister’s resentment toward her increased after their parents’ recent deaths, and at times she even ended up with bruises due to her sister practically pushing her, teasing her, or even attempting to kill her. Thanks to Simon, she was learning to fight at the time, but she decided not to use it against her older sister, so she left their home and lived alone. Since leaving their home to devote her time and attention to becoming a fully-fledged gangster and accepting jobs that could earn her money, she hasn’t heard from her sister anymore. The tasks she receives are not against the law, and only those she can discuss; she uses the two wooden sticks strapped to her back if she needs to fight.

The night was still a long way off, so she shook her head and tried to ignore what had happened to her in the past and find something to do.

Adira went to bed early that night since she was fatigued and didn’t feel the enigmatic visitors enter her home.