The Routine
Ever since that successful dine-and-dash at the Cantonese place, Leo had pretty much made it a habit.
Every day: eat, dash, get chased like a maniac.
And every day, it was someone new running after him—chefs, waiters, security guards. He’d hop fences, dodge baby strollers, squeeze between parked cars. He was starting to get good at this.
But the one thing that really stuck in his head?
That guy.
He’d see him now and then—sometimes mid-chase, sometimes just out on the street. The guy would come flying out of some random restaurant, full speed, running on all fours like some kind of urban werewolf.
Hands and feet on the ground. No shoes. Just tearing through the street like a dog riding on the wind. And sometimes, he had a full roasted lamb shank clamped in his mouth like it was no big deal.
Getting Stronger
One day, Leo ran out of a fancy steakhouse. Behind him, a few waiters in tuxedos tried to keep up, but they were quickly left far behind—way too far to keep chasing. Within seconds, he’d slipped completely out of their sight.
Leo stopped running. He knew they weren’t coming after him anymore. He barely even broke a sweat.
Lately, he’d noticed he was way faster. His stamina had leveled up without him even realizing.
Just a week ago, he would’ve been hunched over, wheezing like some old geezer after two blocks.
But now? He barely felt it. No sweat. All those dine-and-dash runs were basically training. His speed and endurance were getting a serious upgrade with every escape.
The Blur
All of a sudden, a scooter came flying down the sidewalk. The delivery guy was staring at his phone, typing away. Leo casually sidestepped, dodging it without even trying. The scooter zipped past and crashed into an old lady a few steps ahead. The guy, the scooter, and the grandma all slid across the pavement like bowling pins.
Leo shook his head. “These delivery guys are out of control,” he muttered. “Can’t they just drive on the damn road like normal people?”
Then it happened again.
A blur shot past him, fast and low to the ground. A strong gust followed, ruffling his hair—and flipping up a girl’s skirt a few feet away. It was the guy again. All fours. Moving like a dog, fast as a bullet train. And just like that, he sprinted straight up the wall of a five-story apartment building like it was nothing.
Leo stood there, stunned. “He’s not climbing. He’s running up the wall.”
Less than a few seconds later, he was already up on the rooftop. He sat at the edge, legs dangling off the side, and casually started chewing on that lamb shank like nothing happened.
Chasing Answers
He stood there for a few seconds, trying to wrap his head around what he just saw. He’d always been curious about the guy—how was he that fast? And seriously, who the hell runs up a wall? Without overthinking it, Leo decided to follow him.
He ran into the building, took the elevator up, walked onto the rooftop—and there he was. The guy had already noticed the footsteps. He turned his head, still munching.
“Oh hey,” he said with a mouthful of lamb, like they’d known each other for a long time. “Didn’t expect to see you up here. What brings you?”
Leo scratched the back of his head. “Honestly… just wanted to ask you something. You kinda blew my mind back there.”
The guy took another bite of lamb. “Fair enough. But first—what’s your name?”
“Oh, right. Leo. I, uh… recently passed the gangster entrance exam. Still waiting on official status.”
The guy grinned. “Nice. Well, congrats. Hope it works out. I’m Norman. No job, no plans. I eat, sleep, chill, take dumps, and watch over the city from up here. I like seeing people come and go. I just sit in the sun and enjoy the breeze.”
Leo nodded, smiling. “Sounds like freedom.”
Norman smirked. “It is.”
The Secret
Then Leo cleared his throat. “So… how do you run like that? On all fours, like a damn animal. And that speed—how fast are you, exactly?”
Norman wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “Top speed? I’ve clocked about 150 kilometers an hour.”
Leo froze. “What?!”
Everything made sense now. Every time Norman passed him, it felt like being overtaken by a bullet train.
“How’s that even possible?” Leo asked. “Is it training? Genetics?”
Norman tilted his head, then looked off toward the skyline. “Honestly… probably neither. Not something I trained for, not something I was born with.”
He paused.
“If we get to know each other more, maybe I’ll tell you the full story. But for now—let’s just say I spent a few years living out in the wild. With a pack of stray dogs. At some point… I guess I became one of them.”
Then, without saying much else, Norman held out his half-eaten lamb shank.
“As a gesture of friendship,” he said. “You’re the first guy I’ve talked to in a while. So… here.”
The First Bite
Leo stared at it. The thing had bite marks all over it. Not the most hygienic offering in the world. He hesitated. “Uh… is this okay to eat? I mean, germs and all?”
Norman just laughed. “Germs are overrated. Food was a scarce resource in the wild. We ate whatever we could find—sometimes even rotten animals or carcasses. We never worried about hygiene. See? I’m still alive, right? So no need to stress about it.”
He pushed the lamb into Leo’s hand.
Leo had never eaten someone else’s leftovers before, but… he took a bite. And yeah—it was good. Juicy, crispy, messy, but good. In a few minutes, he’d gnawed it down to the bone.
And that’s when their friendship officially started.
Partners
After that day, Norman and Leo were almost always seen together. They’d meet up, pick a random restaurant, eat until they couldn’t anymore… and then bolt.
Norman would disappear up a wall like Spider-Man. Leo would get chased for twenty blocks by angry staff, sometimes for an hour.
But it worked. They weren’t just friends now.
They were partners in crime.