After getting into the car, Ron started driving while DK rested in the back seat with his eyes closed. When the car stopped at their destination's parking lot, it was eight-ten in the evening.

Without opening his eyes, DK asked, "Did we reach?"

"Hmm," Ron uttered in reply.

"Let's change clothes," DK said, opening his eyes and grabbing the sling bag. He took out the denim jacket and tossed it to his roommate.

Ron was surprised and looked at his roomie with a questioning gaze.

"I'm a very kind person, which is why I'm giving you a chance to look better in front of our prey. Even though you're an expert at flirting with any girl, remember one thing: this time, I'll be the winner. I'll make her weak in front of my handsomeness," DK, brimming with confidence, spoke while swapping shirts.

Ron shook his head in disbelief after seeing his colleague's over-confidence about himself. He wore the denim jacket without saying a single word. After that, he uttered in a serious voice, "Let's go inside.''

"Hmm," DK replied.

They got out of the car confidently and started walking toward 'THE HEAVEN' nightclub after locking the car doors.

                                   ***

After entering the nightclub, their eyes began searching for Maria, the right hand of the infamous international drug-dealing gang, 'FLAME'.

DK went to the bar counter first and ordered a light drink for himself. The bartender nodded, giving him a welcoming smile, and began preparing the drink.
     
DK smiled back and took a seat, patiently awaiting his drink. He started swaying his head to the rhythm of the sultry music, all the while scanning the room with busy eyes, searching for his target.                 

Meanwhile, Ron was busy searching for Maria on the dance floor. All of a sudden, an unknown girl approached him, placing both hands seductively on his shoulders. He responded with a forced smile and placed his hands on her slim waist. They began moving their bodies to the rhythm of the music.

"He's already starting to apply his flirting skills to random girls! Well, that's good for me. I might just catch her alone," DK thought to himself proudly.

After a couple of minutes, the bartender cleared his throat to get the attention of his new customer, and DK looked at him in response.

With a respectful gesture, the bartender gave the glass to his customer and said, "Sir, your drink is ready."

"Thanks," DK said with a smile as he took the glass from the bartender. Just as he was about to take a sip, he spotted his target after a long chase: Maria stood before him, holding a glass of wine in her right hand, her gaze fixed on their next potential victim. She wore a blue hot pant with a black crop top and had recently dyed her hair from grey to purple.

                                  ***

On the other hand, Ron found himself dancing with a girl on the dance floor against his will, yet his eyes kept searching for Maria in the dimly lit room. All of a sudden, he caught a familiar fragrance in the air—the scent of 'DARK ROSE' perfume, which Maria wore whenever she was on the prowl, as Ron had learned from his secret informant.

"Excuse me," Ron whispered to the girl in a husky voice, "I'll come back in a few seconds." With a bashful expression, the girl nodded in reply.

Then he began to follow the girl who was wearing that dark rose perfume. She passed by all the people on the dance floor, each deeply engrossed in their partners. She was walking at a gentle pace when she stumbled on her right foot, almost falling. Before she could hit the floor, two strong arms caught her from behind, gripping her waist.

Ron looked at her with concern and asked, "Are you alright?"

The girl nodded in response and tried to stand up properly, but she groaned in pain, "Ouch!"

"Did you get hurt on your leg? Let me see," he asked her with a lot of worry in his voice.

The girl slowly stood up, holding onto Ron's biceps, and turned to see the face of the person who had saved her moments before. It was then that Ron found himself lost in the unfamiliar person's deep blue eyes. He forgot everything, including their reason for being at the nightclub. Yet, his heart clenched with indescribable pain when he noticed tears welling in her eyes. It seemed she had so much to convey through her gaze, as if she sought to express her anguish wordlessly. They continued to stare at each other, neither blinking.

                                 ***

"Calm yourself down!" DK said to himself, trying to control his excitement. Without wasting a second, he shifted his gaze to the dance floor, looking for his roommate/colleague. But he was forced to widen his eyes in shock when he saw his roomie flirting with another girl, holding her waist and looking straight into her eyes.

"What the hell is he doing with that girl? Did he come here to hook up with random girls? If we lose Maria today, I'll beat him badly! Mark my words!" DK murmured to himself in anger. Then he concentrated his stare on their prey.

                                 ***

"Thanks," the girl uttered in a soft voice, which brought Ron back to his senses. Without wasting a second, he withdrew his hands from her waist and asked with concern, "Did you get hurt badly?"

"No, I'm fine. Please leave me alone," the girl replied, which caused Ron to feel sad for an unknown reason.

"Okay. Take care of yourself," Ron said, giving her a sad, awkward smile.

The girl nodded in response, her eyes teary, and began limping toward the bar counter.

Unknowingly, Ron's eyes started to follow her as if he were mesmerized. However, he snapped back to reality when he met his roommate's sharp gaze, filled with anger toward him.

"Fuck! What am I doing?" Ron mumbled to himself in irritation as he shook his head and let out a deep sigh of disappointment. Then he glanced back at the bar counter and noticed their target was staring at that girl with hungry eyes. She wore an evil smirk on the left corner of her lips, signaling that she had finally found her prey for the night.

"I won't let you ruin anyone else's life. Today, I won't spare you or allow you to escape!" Ron whispered through gritted teeth, seething with anger. After muttering those words, he grabbed a glass of whisky from a passing waiter and settled into a corner couch. From there, he could easily observe their target without drawing attention to himself.

                                ***

On the other side, DK noticed a beautiful girl approaching them, limping slightly. She wore a black long skirt, slit open on the right side up to her knee, paired with a red sleeveless top. Her long, thick, silky black hair cascaded down to her waist, complemented by striking blue eyes resembling the ocean, and she balanced on red high heels.

He took a sip of his drink, then noticed Maria looking at a girl with a smirk. He understood the girl was about to be her next target. "I have to save her at any cost," he thought to himself. With that determination in mind, he resumed moving his head to the rhythm of the music, taking another sip of his drink.

The girl came and sat beside DK, causing him to look at her with fake hungry eyes so that no one would suspect him.

"Please, give me a 'DARK PARADISE'!" the girl spoke in a soft voice, yet sadness was evident in her tone.

"Sure, ma'am," the bartender replied as usual, giving her a welcoming smile.

"Dark paradise? Hey beautiful, why do you need it? It's a very strong drink for you. I'm afraid your delicate body might not handle it well. Are you by any chance heartbroken?" DK asked her several questions simultaneously, leaning on her left shoulder. Yet, he made sure to keep a minimum distance between them.

In response, the girl looked at him with teary eyes, causing DK to move his face a little farther from her shoulder so that she would not feel uncomfortable.

"Ma'am, here is your drink," the bartender said. The girl shifted her gaze from DK, took her drink, and stood up slowly.

"Hey honey, where are you going?" DK asked in a stuttering voice, thinking perhaps the girl felt uncomfortable with their unwanted closeness.

The girl ignored his question and started to walk, limping while holding her drink. She stumbled again, causing her drink to fall to the floor, but she was once more saved by someone. This time, her savior was none other than her predator, Maria.

With a false show of worry, Maria inquired, "Are you alright, dear?"

"Yes, thank you," The girl's reply was filled with sadness and vulnerability.

"Would you like to sit with me there?" Maria asked, pointing her index finger toward the left corner of the club where some fancy couches were placed, amidst numerous couples engaged in intimate moments.

After a couple of seconds of thinking, the girl uttered a soft "Hmm" in response to her question.

"Let me take you there," Maria said, holding her waist with her left hand while the girl wrapped her arm around Maria's neck with her right hand. This caused Ron to tighten his grip on his glass of whisky in anger as they walked toward the couch.

After sitting on the couch, Maria placed her wine glass on the center table. She then gently took the girl's right hand in both of hers. The girl, who had been sitting beside her looking down, seemed like she wanted to hide her tears from everyone.

Then Maria, with a sweet manner and loving expression, said, "I don't know why a cloud of sadness is floating into your beautiful ocean eyes, and I'm not going to ask about it until you're ready to share. I just want you to know that if you want to lighten your heart's burden, I'm here to help."

After hearing her sugar-coated words, the girl lifted her face toward Maria, looked straight into her eyes, and burst into tears.

After seeing her tears, Maria wasted no time in pulling her into a tight embrace.

"Oh dear, don't cry. I'm here with you and I'll stay with you forever. Shhh, please don't cry," Maria spoke in a soft voice, an evil smirk on her lips as she patted her back to calm her down.

In a whispering tone, the girl said, "I want to forget her! Please help me!" as she sobbed, she clutched Maria's waist with both hands.

"Oh, dear, who are you talking about? Could you please tell me who is the reason behind your sadness?" Maria posed the question with a calming and inquisitive manner.

"Jinia, my girlfriend, cheated on me. A year ago, I caught her red-handed with another woman in the same bed where she used to love me!" the girl's voice cracked as she cried, causing a satisfying smirk to appear on Maria's face.

"Please, do something. I want to forget her. I can't tolerate this pain anymore," she uttered her feelings through tears, her words reflecting the deep sorrow of a shattered heart.

"Everything will be fine, please don't cry, babe," Maria whispered into her ear in a seductive tone, aiming to comfort her, and placed a soft kiss on her shoulder.

                                  ***

"Does she know her? They seem to have known each other for a long time. The girl didn't want to talk to me earlier, but now she's hugging Maria and crying on her shoulder too. Is she another member of the Flame group, or one of its top customers? But how is that possible? Maria had been looking at her with a predatory gaze earlier, indicating that the girl was her target. Does this mean Maria is playing with her prey before striking? Only God knows what is happening between them. They appear very close and comfortable with each other. And here I was feeling bad after seeing tears in her eyes. Ronald Whitley, you fool, you'll never understand what's going on in a girl's mind!" Ron scolded himself for being nice to her earlier and rolled his eyes in irritation.

After a few minutes of crying, the girl pulled away from the hug, and Maria wiped her tears away with her right hand. The girl weakly smiled in response.

Maria asked her in a casual tone, "Why did you come here?" to gather more information about her.

"After our breakup, I used to frequent several bars to try and forget my pain and our beautiful moments together. However, I couldn't shake her from my mind. Two days ago, I saw a poster at 'RED' nightclub that read, 'If you want to drown your sorrows, come to 'THE HEAVEN' nightclub and taste 'DARK PARADISE'. So, I came here hoping that  the special drink would help me forget about her. But it turned out to be my bad luck—I stumbled, and my precious drink ended up kissing the floor instead of my lips," she answered absentmindedly, her gaze drifting to other couples deeply engaged in each other's company.
  
Maria asked in a seductive yet soothing tone, "If I say I can make you forget your pain, will you give me a chance to prove my point?"

In response, the girl glanced at her with curiosity in her ocean-like eyes.
 
Without wasting a second, Maria held the girl's neck with her right hand and pressed her lips against hers, closing her eyes. The girl reciprocated by closing her eyes too, and they began kissing each other passionately. This sight caused Ron to drop his jaw in shock, and DK's drink spilled from his mouth in astonishment.

"What the fuck! What am I seeing? Maria is into girls, and here I was, all morning, worrying about what to wear in front of her. I wanted to look more handsome than DK and hoped to seduce her. What an idiot I am," Ron muttered to himself, placing his right palm on his face in disappointment.

Meanwhile, DK mumbled to himself in frustration, "Oh, that's why she didn't bother answering my questions—because she likes girls. How foolish of her. The person she's kissing isn't even a girl; she's a python who could swallow her in the next few minutes or hours, after using her for her own ends. What a shame. Today, I yelled at Ron for no reason about not packing my new shirt into his bag. Unknowingly, he did me a favor by leaving it behind; otherwise, it would've been a waste. I can save it for another occasion."

"Today, we have to save the girl and catch Maria at any cost!" Ron and DK both thought firmly at the same time.

                                   ***

On the other hand, Maria was busy kissing her new prey passionately. After a long kissing session, they had to break apart due to lack of oxygen.

Maria asked her while taking heavy breaths, "Are you feeling better now?"

The girl nodded shyly in reply and started to catch her breath.

After a couple of minutes, she looked at Maria with sad eyes and asked directly, her voice filled with pain, "If you want a one-night stand with me, please tell me now. I can't bear to have my feelings played with it anymore."

"Bebe, I'll never break your heart, I promise! I'm not going to tell you I love you now because we need time to get to know each other. But I can say that I liked you from our first meeting. Let's explore everything about ourselves together. Let's start a new journey by holding each other's hands tightly," Maria said while caressing the girl's left cheek. In response, the girl gave her a broad smile for the first time since entering the nightclub.

"By the way, we haven't introduced ourselves yet. Even though we don't know each other's names," Maria spoke, and both of them laughed.

"Hi, I'm Skyler Taylor. I'm a medical student at NYM University in Cardiology!" the girl introduced herself while extending her right hand for a handshake toward Maria. Happiness, excitement, and thrill were evident in her eyes and facial expressions.

The predator extended her hand without wasting a second and replied to her prey with a wide smile on her face, "Hello, I'm Maria Cullen, the owner of the heaven nightclub. Nice to meet you, Bebe."

"Oh My God! Really? Then I guess in the future, I won't need to pay for any drinks?" the girl asked in a mocking tone and winked at Maria.

"Sure, Bebe, you don't need to pay a single penny for drinks here. Everything is free for you. By the way, it's quite crowded here. Would you like to spend some time alone with me so we can get to know each other better?" Maria asked her would-be victim in a seductive voice, while tracing her index finger along the prey's neck.

The girl smiled and started to lean on her. Then, in a shy tone, she replied while rubbing her nose against Maria's, "Yes, it would be my pleasure to get to know you in private."

Ron and DK noticed Maria smirking and getting up from the sofa. She then extended her hand toward the girl, who grabbed it happily, excitement evident in her ocean-like eyes. They both stood up slowly and began to walk upstairs, where couples typically went to hook up.

When they entered the room and closed the door, Ron looked at his colleague and signaled for him to follow. DK nodded in agreement, his head moving rhythmically. They both got up from their seats and started walking upstairs. However, they had to stop midway when four bouncers stood in front of them, arms crossed over their chests.

"What the hell! Why are you blocking our way?" DK's irritation was evident as he asked.

"Sorry Sir, you can't go upstairs," one of them answered to them in a gentle tone.

"How da..." DK began to scold him, but was interrupted by his colleague.

Ron asked them in a calm yet curious manner, "Can you please explain why we can't go upstairs?" His eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"Only couples are allowed to go upstairs," one of the bouncers replied politely.

After hearing his answer, DK smirked and replied with a positive attitude and confidence on his face, "Who told you that we are not a couple?" His response left Ron looking at him with a shocked gaze.

"Do you think we are fools who would believe your imaginary story? Leave from here without causing a scene, or else both of you might find yourselves watching tomorrow's sunrise from hospital beds!" threatened one of the bouncers, glaring angrily at them.

"Really? Is that the only way you know to welcome your guests?" Ron asked in a sarcastic tone.

"No, we know many ways to welcome our unwanted guests!" the bouncer threatened again.

Ron glanced at his partner to signal that it was the right time to use their secret weapon. DK smiled, and they turned back together. They took a few steps forward, retrieving a hidden liquid from their special belts. Pouring it into their palms, they stopped walking.

Then they turned back to the bouncers, who were looking at them with fire in their eyes, hands raised as if about to strike. Before they could react, everyone froze like statues for a second upon hearing a loud gunshot from the closed room upstairs.

After hearing the gunshot, customers hurriedly ran toward the exit door, screaming in fear to save their lives.

Meanwhile, the bouncers were preparing to go upstairs, but Ron and DK swiftly tackled them, pressing their palms over their noses like hungry beasts. Within seconds, the bouncers became unconscious upon inhaling the special liquid.

"We have to save that girl's life!" DK exclaimed to Ron, and they both ran toward the closed room. While running, he pressed the emergency button on his wristwatch to summon help from the nearest police station.

                                  ***

After reaching upstairs, they began slamming on the door repeatedly in an attempt to break it down. After several attempts, they finally succeeded.

However, upon opening the door, they were forced to widen their eyes in shock as they saw the floor drenched in blood.

===================================