4-1: The Cobra Gang
It was 10:30 p.m. The University of Indonesia campus was getting quiet. Night-class students were heading home, either riding⅝ motorbikes, driving cars, or walking if they lived nearby.
Two young women in matching pink leather jackets strolled along the sidewalk toward their apartment.
It was the same street they had walked earlier in the evening—when they beat up four local thugs.
They chatted about the class they had just attended, but often their talk wandered into jokes and lighthearted stories. Occasionally, their laughter echoed in the night.
They were Rani and Rina.
Rani: "Rina, look up ahead."
Rina lifted her gaze toward where Rani was pointing.
Near the gates of Seroja Indah Apartments, a group of about twelve young men stood clustered together, smoking and talking. The faint smell of tobacco mixed with alcohol drifted through the air.
Some held wooden clubs or empty beer bottles. Their stance looked suspicious.
Rina: "What do you think they want?"
Rani: "They're waiting for us."
Rina: "What do you mean?"
Rani: "See that guy over there? The one who ran away when we took down his three friends earlier?"
Rina: "Misno."
Rani: "Exactly."
They exchanged a glance.
Rina: "Are you scared, Rani?"
Rani: "Are you scared, Rina?"
They both smirked, then laughed lightly. Without the slightest hint of fear, they continued walking toward the apartment.
Their fingers brushed the inside of their jackets, where small, lightweight, razor-sharp knives were tucked away.
In the distance, Misno—the only one who had escaped the earlier brawl—watched them tensely.
Misno: "That's them! They're the ones who smashed Misnan, Martoyo, and Gendon!"
The other eleven turned their heads toward the twins.
A thin young man stepped forward. His eyes were mismatched—one wide open, the other narrowed as if something had gotten in it. A thick mustache covered his lips, stained dark from years of smoking. His hair was thick, curly, and unkempt. A cobra tattoo coiled around his neck.
He gripped a heavy wooden club. His name was Darko.
***
4-2 Beating the Thugs
Darko: "So you're the ones who smacked Gendon and tossed Martoyo around."
Next to Darko stood a short, wiry man—barely shoulder height to Rani. His long hair framed eyes that darted around constantly. His gaze wandered everywhere, not just to pretty girls. In fact, it had been restless since birth. A cobra tattoo wound around his forearm.
Despite his size, his expression was fierce. His name was Kodir.
Kodir: "And the ones who twisted Misnan's arm!"
On Kodir's other side stood a lanky teenager, still in puberty. His face was clean-shaven, his eyes slightly wide, and a cobra tattoo marked his neck. He yawned as if bored. His name was Kariman.
Kariman: "Wow, they're gorgeous! Forget choosing, I'll just take one of them!"
The rest of the gang just watched. Some admired the twins' beauty, others didn't care, a few grinned to themselves, and—of course—Misno just stared and swallowed hard.
Glegh!
Wooden clubs and empty beer bottles glinted in their hands.
The twins stayed indifferent.
Darko: "How dare you beat up my boys!"
Kodir: "Let's just smash them now, Ko!"
Kariman: "Don't be too rough, Dir."
Kodir: "Ha! You've got a crush, huh, Man? Always defending them!"
Kariman grinned sheepishly.
Darko: "You're going to pay for this!"
Kodir: "Serve us!"
Darko: "Or we'll turn you into perkedel—Indonesian fried potato patties!"
The twins still didn't flinch.
Kariman: "Better be my girlfriend instead—beats becoming perkedel, right?"
The others chuckled or stayed silent.
But Misno? Still staring. Still swallowing.
Glegh!
Darko, gripping the empty beer bottle, finally began to lose his patience.
***
4-3 Beating the Thugs – Part 2
Darko: "Surrender now—voluntarily."
Rani and Rina stayed indifferent but alert. Both shifted into a fighting stance.
Kodir, already out of patience after being ignored for so long, stepped toward them and raised his wooden club.
Kariman, still smitten, stayed where he was.
Misno swallowed hard, eyes wide, already picturing the twins turning into perkedel—Indonesian fried potato patties.
The rest of the gang began to advance as well.
The short Kodir swung his club at Rani, clearly aiming to knock her down with a single blow.
But Rani moved fast. Before the club could land, her hands shot left and right—slapping Kodir's cheeks in quick succession.
Smack! Slap! Smack! Slap!
Kodir: "Ouch! Mercy!"
The small man staggered backward, both cheeks swelling up like he'd been stung by ten hornets. His wooden club flew off to who-knows-where.
Darko's eyes widened as he glanced at the groaning Kodir.
Kariman froze. Lucky for him, he hadn't rushed in.
Misno stared harder, swallowing again and again.
The rest of the gang, seeing Kodir's puffy cheeks, grew angrier.
Misno, remembering how Gendon had been taken down earlier, suddenly lost his nerve again.
Kariman didn't move either—after all, if a slap could do that to Kodir's face, what could it do to his?
Though shocked, Darko's anger outweighed his fear. He brandished the beer bottle in his hand.
***
4-4 Darko Goes to the Hospital
Darko: "Today, the hospital's waiting for you!"
This time, Rina stepped forward to face him.
Several swings of the beer bottle were easily dodged.
It didn't take long. Rina moved like lightning—her upward kick connecting with Darko's jaw.
Thump!
Darko's body lifted off the ground before crashing onto his back. His jaw swelled instantly and shifted out of place—he'd need a doctor right away.
The beer bottle rolled away into the dark.
Misno's eyes bulged so far they looked ready to pop out. Kariman quietly stepped back toward him.
The rest of the gang, furious at seeing Darko fall, surged forward, surrounding Rani and Rina, swinging wooden clubs and beer bottles.
They clearly intended to leave the twins battered and bruised.
Rani: "What do you think?"
Rina: "I'm thinking the same as you."
Rani and Rina reached inside their pink jackets, pulled out small knives, and slid them between their fingers.
They were ready to throw.
***
4-5: Flying Knives vs. The Thugs
The thugs surrounding Rani and Rina kept pressing forward, shouting nonsense.
Thug 1: "Finish these women!"
Thug 2: "Let's make perkedel out of them!"
Thug 3: "No—make them ikan pepes!" (Indonesian grilled fish in banana leaves)
Thug 4: "Let's beat them up together!"
Their noisy shouts filled the night air.
Off to the side, Kariman and Misno exchanged glances—their courage had completely evaporated.
Meanwhile, Rani and Rina only smiled faintly.
The moment the gang moved in, the twins' knives flew.
Their matched set of throwing knives shot forward.
Rani leaped upward, aiming for anything from the neck up.
Rina stayed low, aiming from the waist down.
Swish!
Swish!
Knives whirled through the air in all directions.
"Ow! My cheek got nicked!"
"Ow! My leg!"
"Ow! My head!"
"Ow! My hand!"
Cries of pain erupted everywhere.
The thugs stumbled, clutching bleeding cuts from the twin sisters' blades.
***
4-6: Misno Runs Away – Part 2
In the middle of the chaos, Kariman and Misno locked eyes again.
Kariman: "No…"
Misno: "Man…"
Their courage was gone, their faces pale as paper.
Hands and knees shook uncontrollably.
Misno swallowed hard, eyes wide, searching for Kariman.
Misno: "Where are you, Man?"
He looked around—Kariman was nowhere in sight.
Turns out Kariman had already bolted from the scene!
Misno let out a pitiful, weak shout:
Misno: "Don't leave me, Man!"
Without another thought, Misno took off at full speed, chasing after Kariman.
Meanwhile, Rani glanced at the thugs still standing.
Rani: "Anyone still want perkedel?"
Rina: "Or maybe ikan pepes?"
The thugs hunched over in pain, eyes full of fear and panic.
Fortunately for them, Rani and Rina were only toying around—they never intended to kill.
Without sparing the wounded thugs another glance, the twins strolled casually toward the apartment gate.
They smiled faintly.
Then burst out laughing.
End of chapter 4
To be continued chapter 5