Coffee

Either one of them had to go. It had been a very long game of manipulation—where one was powerful, the other resourceful. Gone were the days when there was a duel for a fair chance to stand at the end, where the other became the victim of their slowness.

Spencer had been waiting for a while now. He started off with a light breakfast, his men surrounding him, and occupying every single seat in the café. Three hours went by, and it was lunchtime. He called the waiter for the lunch menu. It was unlike him; he ordered two portions of a seven-course meal for himself and began to eat when it arrived. He was on his fourth course when a limousine stopped outside the café across the road.

A woman stepped out of the car and glanced at him. He acknowledged her with a chin flick, and she nodded in return.

Her name was Dakota. Her men emptied the café as well and secured every seat.

Spencer and Dakota faced each other—he was eating his food with his hands like they do in prison, while Dakota sat poised, waiting for him to finish. Not once did they take their eyes off each other. Their men were prepared to charge.

The silence around them was enough to put up a sign that read: We are closed.

After Spencer finished his food, he ordered himself a cup of coffee. Dakota imitated the gesture. Looking at Dakota, he put two packs of sugar in his coffee, while Dakota put only one. One of his men grabbed the tray and walked towards Dakota, and her man did the same. At the intersection, they exchanged trays and brought them back to Spencer and Dakota.

They gazed at each other for hours; the coffee had gone cold, all the staff members of the cafe locked themselves in the kitchen.

Dakota couldn’t take it any longer and ordered one of her men to drink the coffee. He was scared, but what option did he have? He finished it in one go. It was then that Spencer drank his coffee himself, he kept looking at her, slowly his eyes turning red, and he vomited blood. His men put him inside his car and left.

Her entire team shouted in triumph, but it sent Dakota into silence. A layer of tears formed in her eyes, hidden beneath her shades.

“Congratulations. What no one could ever do, you did it, ma’am.”

And she left the cafe in fear, she whispered, “What have I done? What now…?”