Hollywood Zenith

" Who- Allie, what are you doing here?" The man sounded a little fearful upon her arrival.

" Of course, I am here to bring your lunch, but what the hell are you doing here?" the woman asked.

" Stay out of it, woman! These brats are here to cause trouble. I am only teaching them a lesson!"

" Teaching a lesson? All I could see here is that you are chasing out valuable customers."

" Mom, I said the same thing, but the father is adamant they are connected to that group." The man's daughter was sure that they were not connected.

" Sir, I am already telling you that it is a misunderstanding. I don't like this group you have been discussing, but if you want us to leave, we will do that." Samuel didn't want to get sucked into their mess.

" Silence; I know you will just come back with more men. Do you think I am dumb?" He gripped the pistols tightly. As it was, it would be better to nip the bud now before it grew sinister.

" This stubborn man! Of course, you are a fool. Look at them; their clothes alone could buy our whole store! Are you really going senile this early?" Allie did not have it. It was already hard to keep the business afloat, but now her husband was chasing away potential customers.

They would have to close the shop if it went on like this.

" What did you say? You two are really easy to trick. Don't get blinded by his looks; I know the type this man is not simple." He pointed toward Samuel. To think that he could guess Samuel was a fighter was surprising, but the most significant blow was dealt to Darren, who was being completely ignored.

" He is right. There is something off about him." Allie thought.

" Now that I think about it. People would hide or run away if someone pointed a gun at them, but how come to this boy was unfazed by it. Who is he?" The girl also became interested in Samuel.

" Forget it. Let's go." Samuel asked.

" We are leaving just like that! At least let me ask her name." Darren was still reluctant to, even after all this.

​ " Fuck! It seems you are really due a beating." Samuel dragged him toward the exit.

" Where do you think you are going?" the man exclaimed. Did these brats not fear his gun? He had no intention to severely harm them, but he had to do something or else they would think he was a pushover!

"Old man, I am in a good mood today. Don't make me do something you would regret. It's fine that you don't want us in your store, but first, insulting and then accusing us of something ridiculous was already enough. Now you are pointing a gun at us; better shut your trap if you don't want to die a dog's death." Samuel was sick of their play.

" You brat!" The man was furious. He was beginning to lose his reasoning due to it.

" Do you think I am joking?" With Samuel's one stare, the room seemed to freeze; he directed a small killing intent toward the old man, enough for him to drop his firearms. He didn't know what had happened, but a sudden lack of strength made him fall to the ground.

" Father!"

Both mother and daughter rushed toward the old man. Seeing him suddenly collapse, they were distraught.

" I am fine, but I have offended someone big." The old man was feeling regret. Being a man of the Army led him to believe he could take on few brats, but the sense of dread he felt from those cold eyes was something he had never experienced.

He had never felt such fear, even on the battlefield where life and death were uncertain. It was as if he had made even the tiniest movement, he would have died. He was genuinely foolish to point his guns at such a person.

" Don't worry; we will get through this." Allie never thought it would get this worse. For now, she could only pray they didn't hold any grudges.

....

....

....

" That was scary. I thought we were gonna die." Darren took a sigh of relief as soon as they exited the store.

" Really? You were showing such brave expressions."

" It was just for show. You can't expect me to embarrass myself before a lady, now do you. But that crazy old man, I can't believe he is running a store like this."

" They must have their reasons. Besides, as long as I am here, I will not let anything happen to you!" Samuel gave him a wink.

" Fuck! It's gross, don't ever do that." Darren was repulsed by his 'friendliness'.

" Why? Did that make you skip a heartbeat?" He did it again, this time with an added thumbs-up sign for a more potent effect.

" Fuck you!"

" Boss! That's them!" Someone yelled. They failed to notice, but the crowd was gathered where they parked the car. But these were not ordinary civilians; they looked like local mobsters from their appearance.

" Oh, so these bitches were the ones who were after my Rosaline."A creepy-looking buff dude came forward, followed by a few underlings. They looked like hardened criminals, and their appearance made the typical crowd back away.

" Bro, they are definitely bad news!" Darren whispered. He could guess their affiliation by the insignia stitched on their overcoats. Anyone in this city could recognize those two ominous digits.

" Are you brats deaf? Why aren't you kneeling down and apologizing?" One of the underlings spoke as he showed his side piece.

" I don't know who this Rosaline person is, but I am starting to get really pissed off today for some reason. Why is everyone asking to die today?" Samuel said nonchalantly while shaking his head.

" What did you tell you, little shit? Boss, let me do it!" the underling was surprised by his calm demeanour. Are they not frightening enough?

" Wait! How can we let her miss such a fun show? It would be good if she came to me voluntarily." The boss wanted to make a statement.

" ROSALINE! COME OUT! LOOK HOW I MESS UP YOUR BOY TOY!" He roared.