Once Michael had everything prepared, he returned back to McTony's to settle his unfinished business. Specifically, he wanted to talk to Tony and the others about customers being able to take out their order and eat it on-the-go.
He appeared once again during the night, at the peak hours of the restaurant. Tony, Remy, and all the chefs were busy serving out chicken after chicken without any pause.
But at least now, they seem prepared to handle this many customers. After that day when they reached full capacity of customers, the next several days continued to be like that as well, giving them time to adjust to the workload.
Michael looked out the counter and still saw some people entering the restaurant and leaving disappointed once they saw they had no seat left to sit in.
"We need to talk about ordering take-out," Michael said. "There's a lot of wasted business once people leave without being able to eat a single thing."
Tony was able to find some downtime as the chicken cooked in the pan. "Take-out? What's that?"
But before Michael could say anything to him, a shadow emerged in front of him, with an Orc appearing right in the middle of the kitchen floor.
"Boss," the Orcanine Orc said, kneeling. "The bandits have finally reached this part of the Golden Road. They are currently targeting this restaurant as we speak."
That finally got Tony's attention. "Bandits?! They're coming here?"
Michael waved off Tony's concerns. "We have it under control," he said nonchalantly. "As I was saying, I think it's time we implement a take-out system for customers that can't sit inside the restaurant. I'll have some Rebornians create take-out boxes—"
"What are you talking about right now?! Don't we have to worry about the bandits?"
It was at that moment when the door to the restaurant was busted wide open, with a bunch of roughly dressed individuals walking inside with swagger in their steps. They did nothing to hide the sharp weapons holstered in their waists and even proudly displayed it to everyone who wanted to see.
The customers frowned at the entrance of these new people. The fact that they didn't line up at the counter to take their order meant that they were not here for the chicken. They were here for something else entirely.
The ten or so Bandits spread themselves around the restaurant, covering every corner, window, and exit. They leaned into these escape routes casually, but it was clear that they would not hesitate to resort to violence if one wanted to get past them.
The bandit with the bandana on his forehead walked on top of a table, never minding the fact that there was still chicken on the plate.
"Okay, don't panic, people. This is a robbery," he announced.
The customers all froze in their seats as the other bandits reached out for their knives and presented its sharp blades to the crowd.
"Don't move from your seats if you don't want something bad to happen. If you try to run, we have more people waiting outside," he said, pointing his knife at the windows showing more bandits leaning on the glass.
"Just do as I say, and no one gets hurt, understand?"
The customers had no other choice but to nod their heads and comply with the bandits.
Meanwhile, Tony was able to witness as the bandits took the entire restaurant hostage. The whole place was surrounded by bandits.
"Oh no…Remy, hide!" Tony said to his son, who was hiding behind his legs.
"Michael. Just please ensure that my son is safe from them!"
The Dogfolk assistant chef approached Tony with a reassuring smile. "There's no need to worry, Tony. You're a new Rebornian so you don't understand, but the safest place in the entire world is right next to where our boss is. There's nothing to worry about."
Tony looked at all of them and saw no sign of distress in their faces. The Rebornian chefs continued to cook chicken as if nothing was happening and Michael was still talking about the take-out system even during this entire situation.
"We have been preparing for their arrival for a few days now," explained the Shadow Orc. "This is within our estimations."
"And besides," Michael said, pointing at the two particular customers sitting at the tables. "I have someone there that I trust completely. They'll take care of it. Now, let's talk about the take-out wrappers…"
Tony didn't know if he should be awed or worried at Michael's nonchalance to the whole situation.
…
Back to the hostage situation in the restaurant, the bandana bandit silently signalled the other bandits to take out their large rucksack bags.
"I want everybody to take out all your jewelry, your coin pouches, and everything valuable on your bodies. Set them down at your table and put your heads down. If you do, then our bandits will not attack you as we collect the money."
There was no hesitation for some customers. They hurriedly took out their coin pouches and put it on the table, with its hefty kaching ringing out on the table. These were the people who valued their lives more than some gold coins.
But for other people, they were less than inclined to give up their life savings to the bandits.
To quell any ideas of rebellion, the bandana bandit stabbed his knife on the table, just missing the reluctant man's hands.
At that point, everybody was convinced to give up their possessions in exchange for their safety.
"Okay, put your heads down!" the bandit commanded.
Everyone did. They buried their heads on the table and hoped that this whole thing would be over fast.
The bandits began collecting all the jewelry and valuables on the table.
However, it was only now in the silence of the room did the bandits notice that there was a table who didn't comply with their rules.
Two people were sitting facing a wall, with their heads still clearly up, and with no valuables on the table. Not only that, but the two of them had the audacity to continue eating fried chicken without a single care in the world.
"Hmmm…this is so good bro. I can't believe bro Mike has been hiding this restaurant from us!"
"Yeah. I want this everyday."
The Bandits looked at the two demi-humans and didn't recognize their species. Their bodies were full of scales like a snake, yet their heads were more like that of a lizard than anything else.
"Didn't you hear what I said?" questioned the bandana bandit, brandishing his knife near the dark blue-scaled demi-human's neck. "Lower your heads or I'll cut your necks!"
But in response to that threat, the two of them kept munching on their fried chickens as if the bandit was even less than wind.
In the silence, the crunch of the chicken resounded out through the restaurant, confusing all the bandits.
These people must be wrong in the head for acting like this in a robbery.
"I want to finish this quickly so that I can order one again," said Zion, wiping his mouth filled with sauce.
"Alright," Jaku replied while stretching. "I'll take this first one, you do the others."
The bandana bandit finally had enough. "I warned you!" he shouted, thrusting his knife towards Jaku.