Cold-Blooded Barista

THE FIRST STEP

Ucok kept pacing inside the coffee shop, the soles of his sneakers screeching against the wooden floor. His breathing was heavy, and every now and then, he exhaled fuuuuh, as if hoping to blow away the problem in front of them.

At the table, Rizal sat still. His fingers tapped the wooden surface with a tick-tick-tick rhythm, staring at the envelope as if it might explode at any moment.

"Zal, if you take this job, you’ll be stepping back into your old world," Ucok finally said, his voice tense.

Rizal raised an eyebrow. "You think I don’t know that?"

Ucok let out a long sigh and sat across from Rizal. His chair creaked creeaak under his weight. "You fought so hard to get out. Now, Pak Haris comes with one offer, and you waver just like that?"

Rizal smirked slightly. "Waver? I never said I was taking the job."

"But you also didn’t say no right away," Ucok shot back.

Rizal picked up one of the photos from the envelope. Adi Sutrisno. The man in the picture was laughing, dressed in a black suit, with a fancy restaurant in the background. A man who was enjoying life. Unlike Rizal, who just wanted to brew coffee and forget his past.

Rizal’s hand clenched into a fist, his knuckles cracking crack.

"Togar won’t stop," Rizal said quietly. "If I don’t move first, it’s only a matter of time before someone comes for me."

Ucok rubbed his face with both hands. "Why does it have to be like this?"

Rizal slid the photo back into the envelope and stood up. His chair scraped against the floor with a screech. "I need more information. I’m not going in blind."

Ucok glared. "So you really are doing this?"

Rizal looked at him. "I want to know who’s behind Pak Haris. I’m not killing someone just because I’m told to."

Ucok exhaled sharply. "Then where do we start?"

Rizal grabbed his jacket, shaking off a bit of dust fshhh. "We start with the biggest gossip in this city."

That night, Bang Manurung’s Palm Wine Bar was packed with people unwinding after a long day. Cigarette smoke drifted in the air sruut… pffhh, mixing with the scent of palm wine and fried snacks. Glasses clinked together clank-clank, drunken laughter echoed hahaha, creating the usual rowdy atmosphere of a commoner's drinking spot—where working men and mid-level thugs alike gathered.

In one corner, a chubby man wearing a batik shirt and a gold bracelet laughed loudly GWAHAHA!, surrounded by a few men who were clearly not just drinking buddies.

Ucok whispered to Rizal, "Are you sure he’ll talk?"

Rizal smirked. "Everyone talks if given the right reason."

The man was Herman Sitompul, an informant known for having ears everywhere. He wasn’t part of any gang, but he had connections with nearly every group in Medan.

Rizal walked up and pulled out a chair across from Herman without waiting for an invitation. The chair scraped against the floor with a sharp screeech.

Herman raised an eyebrow, then smiled. "Well, well, if it isn’t Rizal, the infamous cold-blooded executioner. How’s life, my friend?"

"Good," Rizal answered flatly.

Herman glanced at Ucok, then back at Rizal. "I heard there was a little incident at your coffee shop this morning. Looks like Bang Togar is paying attention to you again, huh?"

Rizal didn’t respond, just stared at Herman with his cold eyes.

Herman chuckled huhuhu, then took a long sip of his palm wine glug-glug-glug. He placed his glass back on the table with a thud.

"Alright, I get it. You’re not here for small talk. You need information, right?"

"Pak Haris made me an offer," Rizal said. "I want to know who sent him."

Herman whistled softly fiuuuuh. "That’s an expensive question, Rizal."

Rizal pulled out a hundred-thousand-rupiah bill and placed it on the table. The paper rustled flap as the air caught it. "This is money to make you talk."

Herman smiled and took the money with his thick fingers. The bill crinkled crack as he slipped it into his pocket. "Alright. I heard a big-shot from Jakarta wants Adi Sutrisno dead."

Rizal narrowed his eyes. "Someone from Jakarta?"

Herman nodded. "They say he’s a wealthy businessman, but I don’t know his name. What I do know is he has enough money and influence to hire someone like Pak Haris to find the right executioner."

Ucok shifted uncomfortably, tapping his foot against the floor tap-tap-tap.

"Do you know where Adi is now?" Rizal asked.

Herman nodded. "Tonight, he’s at the Maharaja Hotel, VIP floor. He usually hangs out at the hotel bar every night."

Rizal stored that information in his mind.

Ucok interjected, "Hold on, we’re not actually agreeing to kill someone, right?"

Rizal turned to him. "I just want to see the situation."

Herman chuckled hehehe, then tapped his glass with his fingertip tuk-tuk-tuk. "I’d be careful if I were you, Rizal. Adi isn’t like your past targets. He’s smarter, trickier. And he definitely knows someone is after him."

Rizal stood up. "Thanks for the info."

Herman raised his glass. "Hope you don’t die first, my friend."

Ucok was still grumbling as they walked out of the palm wine bar. The sound of passing motorcycles filled the street vroom-vroom, mixing with their footsteps against the asphalt tap-tap-tap.

"This is a bad idea, Zal. You know that, right?"

Rizal just gave a small smile. "You don’t have to come if you’re scared."

Ucok glared at him. "That’s not the point! I don’t want to see you go back to your old ways. We can find another way!"

Rizal stopped, looking at his friend. "Ucok, you know I don’t enjoy living like this. But if I don’t act now, I’ll be the next target."

Ucok let out a deep breath huffff, scratching his head srak-srak. "So what’s the plan now?"

"We’re going to the Maharaja Hotel," Rizal said. "I want to see what Adi is really like now."

Ucok still looked hesitant, but eventually, he nodded. "Fine. But if things start to go south, we leave immediately."

Rizal smiled. "You’re always my voice of reason, aren’t you?"

Ucok clicked his tongue. "If I’m your voice of reason, why do you never listen?"

Rizal chuckled hehe, then patted his friend on the shoulder.

The night was still young, and the road to the Maharaja Hotel had just begun.