Chapter Text
It's a cool day in the Bay, and another boring one for Victoria Chase. It's no different than the past four years she's spent here, but it's at least not all bad; she's made good friends, led the Vortex Club, really made a difference in the school, she even has a cute girlfriend who's into photography just as much as she is. Still, the town is really good at emanating that folksy boredom she's gotten used to.
Little did she know however, action was coming right her way.
Sitting at a table in the Two Whales has been soothing, especially when it's at peak hours like it is right now, though the rumbling of her hungry stomach wasn't. Neither is that sinking feeling in her gut - and it's not just the munchies - that something bad is about to happen.
And just as fate would have it, in walks four slender men with snow white suits and hockey masks emblazoned with one of four symbols: Diamond, Spade, Club, Heart. Diamond, the leader of the bunch, sits opposite Victoria and glares at her. Worried, she asks him, "Who are you supposed to be?"
"Doesn't matter who we are. What matters is who you are, Victoria Chase. Word on the street is that you've got lotsa cash."
"I don't mean to brag", Victoria says with a soft laugh.
"Then don't, we're not trying to make a scene", threatens Club as he leans in next to Diamond. "Hand over your stuff. Jewelry, cash, card, whatever."
Victoria sighs, looking around at her bare wrists, fingers, neck. She wasn't too interested in getting all glammed up for lunch. "I don't really have anything on me. You boys wanna try another time?"
"Enough games. We can still do things the easy way..." Slowly, Club opens his jacket and displays his hidden holstered revolver. "Or the hard way. Give us the gold."
Noticing the situation, head waitress Joyce Price walks over and asks, "Excuse me, is there a problem?"
Spade and Heart step in front of her, hoping to keep things quiet. Diamond looks over and explains, "We don't want any trouble. If she starts any... that's on her."
A grin grows on Victoria's face as the challenge dawns upon her. "Fine." She quickly pulls out a dollar bill of unknown quantity and slides it over to Diamond. "Here's some cash. That's all I've got."
Diamond picks it up and asks, "You think we're just looking for a measly-" He pauses, the mesmerizing green in his grasp. What he holds is a one hundred dollar bill, and its power feels gratifying. Dropping the hard act, he asks her, "Do you have any more? Credit card?"
Victoria shakes her head. "All my stuff's back at the Dorms."
"Then let's you and these two go for a walk." Diamond pockets the cash before pointing to Club and Spade. "I'll stay here. You two, get the job done..."
With the two Cards gone, escorting Victoria out the front door, Diamond rises from his seat and points Heart to the front counter. Spotting Joyce giving him a death glare, he ignores it and asks a question: "Can we order some food?"
"You just robbed one of my customers... Right in front of me."
Diamond and Heart share a chuckle. "Yeah, but lookie-here." He pulls out the hundred dollar bill and waves it around.
"That doesn't change what you did."
Diamond shakes, angry at her unwavering attitude. "Listen, doll, I'm just hungry. We left super early, we didn't get breakfast. Plus I heard you make the best burgers in town... Are you hearing me?"
Reluctantly, Joyce grabs the bill and pulls out both a small notepad and a pen. "What do you want on your burger?"
Diamond thinks on it for a few seconds. "First of all, my change please. Besides that... onions. Lettuce. Some American cheese-" POP. POP POP. POP POP POP. Diamond goes down, howling in pain as he lands on his wounded back.
In shock, Heart turns around and sees Victoria standing in the front door, holding one of their revolvers and clutching her right arm. She pulls the trigger: KLIK. "Come on!", Victoria shouts at the gun.
Seeing Heart run in her direction prompts her to throw the gun at him, though he quickly smacks it away. He then tackles her to the ground, and the two begin punching each other as much as they can in a desperate bid for victory.
The bystanders fret over whether to help or not and how. One trucker, having ordered a plate of beans earlier, calls out to Victoria, "Kid, catch!", as he tosses his plate over to her. She catches it and smashes it against Heart's head, knocking him out. After punching him in the face a few more times just for good measure, she shoves him away and sits upright.
Looking down at Diamond, Joyce asks Victoria, "Is he dead?"
Victoria takes a second to catch her breath before answering, "None of them are." After getting back up on her feet, she unloads the clip, revealing that it didn't store bullets, but pellets: "BB gun. Found out the hard way."
As Joyce nods her head, Diamond groans in pain. "Owwwwww..."
Victoria takes Diamond's seat at the front counter and lays down on it, letting out a sigh of relief. However, upon feeling the warmth of her blood drip from her nostril, she grumbles to herself before plugging her nose.
"Shame you had to go through all that.", Joyce says.
Wiping away some of the blood, Victoria tells her, "Could have been worse. Napkins?" Joyce pushes over a tissue dispenser, which Victoria gladly takes from. "Thanks." As she sticks the napkin up her nostril, she comes face-to-face with her hundred dollar bill, now held by Joyce.
Seeing Victoria's confused face, she explains, "He wanted to get a burger. Used your money."
Victoria keeps her eyes on it before shaking her head. "Keep it."
From the look on Joyce's face, she wasn't expecting that answer. "A-all of it?"
Victoria nods her head with a wobbly grin. "Uh huh." Joyce turns to walk away, but Victoria must ask her: "One thing: can you call Max for me? Tell her I'm gonna be back at the Dorms later than usual."
Joyce lets out a chuckle and tells her, "Sure thing, hon."