At four in the afternoon, Darnell was on the verge of tears.
He left the Vertex, and Cesar and his three companions followed. Darnell took the subway, and they followed him onto the train.
Darnell ran, they ran. Darnell jumped, they jumped. Wherever Darnell went, Cesar and his crew were right behind him.
With simple bandages on their wounds, Cesar and his group had lost their initial arrogance. Now, they wore sheepish grins and tried to please him.
Cesar seemed to have absolute authority over Harry and the others. His decisions were followed without question, so when Harry saw Darnell looking at him, he smiled and nodded respectfully.
No matter how Darnell threatened them with a brick or shouted at them, the four kept a respectful distance while following him.
Faced with Cesar’s determination to become his follower, Darnell felt like his head was about to explode.
However, there was nothing he could do. The streets didn’t belong to him alone. He couldn’t stop Cesar and his crew from walking there. Trying to shake them off was futile. They stuck to him like police dogs. Darnell even avoided driving his Porsche, hoping to lose them by using various public transportation methods, but it was all in vain.
After two hours of this cat-and-mouse game, Darnell got off one stop before Woodsea. Cesar and his crew followed happily.
“Damn it!”
Darnell couldn’t hold back any longer. He dragged the four of them into the Friendly Diner nearby, slammed his hand on a table, and snapped, “What do you guys want?”
Cesar quickly sent Harry and the others to buy ice cream, soda, and chicken wings. Placing them in front of Darnell with a big grin, he said,
“Darnell, no, Mr. Halford, don’t be angry. You’ve been traveling for two hours. Have something to eat and drink first. Do you like these chicken wings?”
“How about this ice cream? Or this soda? It’s chilled.”
Darnell was indeed a bit thirsty. He took a sip of cola, feeling slightly less angry. “What exactly do you want?”
“I’m just a salesman with no money, no house, no background. What future do you see in following me?”
Cesar kept smiling. “We admire you. We just want to follow you. I have a feeling you’re destined for great things.”
Cesar might look brawny, but he wasn’t dumb. No one had ever outsmarted him as Darnell did. Even champions in underworld boxing couldn’t match Darnell’s cleverness. He believed following Darnell was the right choice.
“If you follow me, you’ll starve.”
Darnell bit into a chicken wing. “I can’t afford to support you.”
“Boss, we don’t need your support.”
Cesar seemed determined. “We haven’t achieved much in the boxing ring, but we’ve earned some money. We can’t afford luxury meals, but we can handle daily expenses.”
“We can cover our own costs for food and lodging. We can even work if necessary.”
The other three nodded in agreement. “Yes, we don’t need you to support us, boss.”
“No way. I haven’t played the role of ‘boss’ for years.”
Despite their persistence and their disclosed financial situation, Darnell remained resistant. He looked at the sly Cesar and snorted,
“You’re just like a man chasing a woman, making all sorts of promises.”
“If I take you in, you’ll definitely eat my food and stay at my place every day.”
“And you definitely won’t work. If you were willing to work, you wouldn’t be smoking ten-dollar packs of cigarettes, or rather, bumming cigarettes.”
“Don’t think I don’t know. During these two hours with me, you’ve bummed eight cigarettes, two bottles of water, and three pieces of candy from supermarkets.”
Darnell chuckled, “So your real plan is to freeload off me.”
Cesar jumped up, retorting, “Boss, I’m not that kind of person! I’m diligent. It’s just that free stuff is hard to pass up.”
Darnell sighed, “Even if I don’t have to support you guys, what would taking you in accomplish? What would you do with me?”
“I’m not part of any gang. I don’t plan on becoming one either. I have no territory or operations, no underground boxing matches either.”
Darnell pleaded, “Guys, please leave me alone. How about I acknowledge you as my boss instead?”
Cesar laughed, “I’ve acknowledged you as my boss. How can we mess up the hierarchy now?”
Darnell spat out a chicken bone. “The problem is if I’m your boss, I have nothing for you to do. Are you going to follow me around selling stuff?”
Hearing this, Cesar and his crew responded without hesitation, “If you need us to sell stuff too, that’s fine.”
Cesar continued persuasively, “Boss, taking us in has its benefits. You travel around for business. It’s not just about signing contracts, right?”
“Sometimes, you’ll encounter deadbeats who won’t pay up. If you take us in, even if we don’t follow your business trips, we can help collect debts.”
“With the four of us around, won’t those deadbeats think twice?”
Cesar grinned, “With that, you won’t have to handle everything personally, which will greatly reduce your workload.”
That seemed somewhat reasonable.
Darnell paused mid-bite but quickly shook his head again. “I’m used to being alone. Having followers is too much trouble.”
Having followers meant more responsibilities. Darnell preferred freedom, and besides, he planned on staying in Whiteville for only a year or so.
Seeing that words weren’t working anymore, Cesar and his crew looked pitifully at Darnell. “Boss, are you really not taking us in?”
Darnell shook his head firmly. “No way. I’m not being your boss.”
Cesar’s expression changed. “If that’s how it is, we’ll have to use our last resort.”
Darnell grew wary. “Another fight?”
Cesar signaled Harry, and they all dropped to their knees, hugging Darnell’s legs while crying pitifully.
“Boss, please take us in. We promise we’ll obey every command!”
Cesar miraculously squeezed out tears, smearing them onto Darnell’s legs. “Boss, you can’t go back on your word. You said it yourself in the restroom!”
“You said whoever wins becomes boss. You won, so you’re our boss. You can’t deny it now!”
Harry and the others wailed loudly as well. “Boss, you can’t abandon us!”
Damn it! Not so clingy!
Seeing many people looking over, thick-skinned as he was, even Darnell blushed, desperately wanting to kick them away, but they held so freaking tight!
“Let go!”
“Get up!”
“A real man doesn’t let go once he decides.”
Cesar showed his gold teeth, a sorrowful look on his face. “Unless you agree to be our boss, we won’t get up.”
Countless eyes were on them. People whispered among themselves, and many women giggled as they watched the drama unfold.
Darnell cursed silently.
“Everyone, listen up!”
Cesar cried, wiping his tears away. “He promised to be our boss, but after eating chicken wings and drinking the soda, he’s going back on his word. That’s how he treats his admirers!”
Harry joined in wailing loudly too.
Shit!
Looking at the soda and chicken wings, for once, Darnell wanted to kick himself.
“Fine, I give up!”
Facing such shamelessness, Darnell had no choice but to defuse the situation first. “I’ll be your boss.”
“Boss!”
Cesar hugged Darnell tightly, with tears of joy streaming down, thinking the long-term meal ticket was finally secured.
In his frustration, Darnell felt like roaring. Damn it. He was finished, with four more freeloaders around.
As he glanced outside the window, a familiar figure caught his eye. It was Bailee.
Behind her, a middle-aged couple and further back, five tattooed thugs followed closely.
“Time for action.”
Darnell patted Cesar’s shoulder. “Fatty, it’s work time.”
Cesar looked completely bewildered.