Night fell. The orange sun was now gone, and the sky had turned completely dark blue. The group of people paid no attention to the shifting sky. Their gaze was fixed entirely on several sportbikes tearing down the track at speeds exceeding 100 km/h.
They cheered wildly as a red Ducati crossed the finish line on the final lap.
"RED EAGLE! RED EAGLE!" The crowd kept chanting the name Red Eagle, the moniker of the Black Panther gang's prize racer who had just won the race, Dev Bentlee.
Dev took off his helmet, and all the Black Panther members crowded around him, singing his praises.
"We won again! WHOOHOOOO!" shouted a man with long hair, wearing a bomber jacket with a black panther logo on the back.
"Go home, you f*cking losers!" another Black Panther member yelled at the opposing side.
The rival gang looked disgruntled, but they didn't look for trouble. They tossed a plastic bag filled with the prize money that had been agreed upon by both sides before the race. A Black Panther member picked up the money and brought it to the gang leader and Dev.
"Hey, where's the other stake?" shouted the long-haired man, who was Abbas, the gang leader.
"Drop it, Bro. No need to collect the other one," Dev told the leader.
"Whoa, no can do, Dev. A bet is a bet. It has to match the initial agreement."
A man from the rival gang looked furious and shoved a woman toward the Black Panther gang.
"Oh, nice! The girl is playing shy. Dev, you like this type, don't you?" chimed in a heavy-set gang member.
Dev didn't answer and let out a harsh sigh. The woman looked terrified.
"Go home. What are you doing here with that kind of chicken attitude!" Dev said coldly to her.
"Really? I can leave? Thank you, Red Eagle!" The girl immediately ran away, leaving the group of men who indeed looked physically intimidating to a girl as innocent-looking as her.
"Aw, come on, Dev! If you didn't want her, you could've given her to me. Why did you tell her to leave?" the heavy-set man protested again.
"Didn't you see how small she was? If you used her, Mon, she'd turn into a pancake!" Abbas joked, followed by cheers from the rest of the gang.
"Screw you guys!" grumbled the heavy-set man, whose name was Mondi.
Amidst the joyful banter, the roaring sound of a Ninja motorcycle could be heard from a distance, approaching them rapidly.
"Who's that?" Mondi asked.
"Crazy bike, Bro! That's a Kawasaki Ninja H2!" exclaimed a gang member with multiple facial piercings.
Dev closely observed the rider of the expensive sportbike.
"It's a girl riding it," Dev said.
"Whoa, you're right," Abbas said, beginning to realize it too.
The woman riding the bike stopped right in front of the Black Panther gang members, keeping her full-face helmet on. She was a total head-turner. She wore a black leather jacket over a black t-shirt, paired with distressed denim hot pants that revealed her smooth thighs. She also wore pink Adidas sneakers with purple stripes on the sides.
With a dramatic flourish, she removed her full-face helmet. She shook her head side to side, letting her beautiful hair whip elegantly through the air, hypnotizing everyone watching.
Dev was stunned. The woman who had kissed him the other day was standing right in front of him. Dev wondered in his mind, Why is she here? Was she actually serious about what she said last time about wanting to get close to him and marry him?
"Holy crap, it's Bella Ratu Xander!" Mondi gasped excitedly.
"You know her?" Dev asked.
"She's incredibly famous! She's the granddaughter of the Xander Corp tycoon—the conglomerate that's always on TV! They own TV stations, banks, retail, property! How could you not know! She's called the Goddess of the Streets because she's so good at racing. She hasn't been seen in a long time, and now she's right in front of my eyes! Am I dreaming?!" Mondi slapped his own cheeks.
"Thanks for the introduction," Bella said to Mondi. She stood tall in front of the Black Panther gang members. Her eyes were locked on Dev.
Dev, who was still sitting on his bike, turned his face away.
"I assume you all know who I am since your friend already recognized me. I want to challenge the Black Panther gang to a race," Bella challenged.
Several of them couldn't hold back their mocking laughter. Bella ignored their dismissive attitude. She threw a plastic-wrapped booklet at Abbas.
"You're the gang leader, right? That's the vehicle registration document (BPKB) for this bike," Bella said, gesturing with her chin toward the Kawasaki Ninja H2 she had just ridden.
Abbas and his crew fell silent, processing the meaning behind Bella throwing the document at him.
"If you win, you get this bike. If I win, I want one of you for me to use tonight," Bella said, locking eyes with the gang members with her hypnotizing gaze.
"Dev, you have to win this time! That Kawasaki Ninja H2 can be ours!" Mondi urged excitedly.
"Even if we lose, it's fine, Bro. We get to have some fun with Bella all night long," another gang member chimed in.
"No. Dev can't race against me," Bella stated.
"Why, are you afraid to face him?" Abbas asked mockingly.
"Because the guy I want to win over and have accompany me tonight is him. Since he is the stake, it makes no sense for him to be my opponent." Bella pointed directly at Dev.
Instantly, all the Black Panther members exchanged glances and then turned their eyes toward Dev.
"Dev, do you know Bella?!" Mondi asked.
Dev let out a heavy sigh. He got off his motorcycle and approached Bella.
"What do you mean by making me the stake?" Dev was furious. His pride was wounded.
"I told you, I'm going to make you mine. Now step aside and wait at the edge of the track. I'll take you with me after I win this race," Bella said with her usual arrogance.
Bella walked back to her bike, put her helmet back on, and lined up on the track.
"Come on, which one of you wants to face me?" Bella challenged.
Not a single one of them responded.
"What, are you all scared? If there's no race, I win by default. Works for me, saves me the trouble. Dev, come with me right now."
"Hey, wait a minute. That's not fair, Bel," Abbas said.
"Then what do you want? None of you want to face me, right?"
Abbas looked over at Dev. Dev was still stewing in anger, staring blankly in another direction.
"Okay. In that case, Mondi will race you," Abbas declared.
"Why me?!" Mondi gasped, shocked that he was the one chosen to face Bella.
"Weren't you the one most excited about getting the bike earlier?"
The Black Panther gang members began to cheer Mondi on. With no other choice, Mondi quickly put on his helmet and brought his CBR motorcycle to the track.
"You have to win, Mon! Remember, that Kawasaki Ninja H2 becomes ours!" Abbas cheered.
"Are you selling me out?" Dev said angrily to Abbas, his best friend.
"Sorry, Bro. Let's look on the bright side. Even if we lose, it's a win for you. You get to hook up with Bella, Bro!" Abbas said, putting his arm around Dev's shoulders, but an annoyed Dev brushed Abbas's arm away from his neck.
Mondi and Bella got into position to launch their bikes. A female Black Panther member stood on the track between Bella and Mondi, ready to drop a white glove with a black pattern. Both motorcycles immediately roared to life, tearing through the night wind. The battle was fierce, until the final lap when Mondi ended up trailing about a meter behind Bella.
Everyone groaned in disappointment, except Dev. Dev ran a hand through his hair, feeling completely frustrated. Bella parked her bike and walked up to Abbas.
"I won. But since your friend raced fairly and didn't hold back against me at all, I'm giving the bike to you guys anyway," Bella remarked, tossing the motorcycle keys to Abbas.
"Are you serious, Bel?!" Abbas asked in disbelief, now holding the keys to a bike worth hundreds of millions of rupiah.
"I'm serious. Now, I'm taking him." Bella reached out and grabbed Dev's hand.
Resigned to his fate, Dev let Bella lead him by the hand. The two of them rode off on Dev's motorcycle, leaving behind the Black Panther members who kept cheering to send Bella and Dev on their way.
"Where are we going?" Dev asked mid-ride.
"To a hotel, obviously. Why do you even need to ask," Bella replied with a victorious smirk on her lips.