Authors: Fiona Knightingale
“I just don’t want to see you become one of those fatalities. I know that there are rules and I’ve seen the referees, but they are pretty lax on when they should step in and put an end to it. I think that they’ve been told to give a wide Berth. They’re there just in case things go a little too far. The third fighter that you took on was a maniac. I could’ve sworn that she was on something, but I actually talked to the Dr. in charge and he showed me her toxicology reports. She was cleared for the fight, but she really did come at you with everything she had. Those two kicks that she leveled at the side of your head almost did you in.”
“I think I was just surprised that she was able to reach her legs up that far. I was just lucky that she decided to try something out of the ordinary. When she had her legs wrapped around my head, I lifted her and slammed her down onto the mat with such force that it actually blew the wind out of her. When she finally stood, I noticed that she was staggering slightly and I used that to my advantage. I stepped into her space, leveled a blow to her kidneys and then followed that up with a right cross to her jaw. After that, the win was in my grasp and all I had to do was wait her out and watch as she made more mistakes that I could capitalize on.”
I had my hands on the back of this makeshift punching bag. I leveled one knee after another, getting close physical contact with it and making sure that there was no way that my opponent was going to slip out of the attack. It was something that I had seen on television and I was going to put it to good use tonight.
“It looks like it’s about that time. I’m going to be there with you tonight, because my shift ended early.” I grabbed my black hoodie, zipped it up and put it over my head. I felt like a real fighter, but I wasn’t making the kind of money that I would hope for.
I think that she was nervous getting on my motorcycle. It was one of my prize possessions that my father had bought me, as a gift for graduating high school. It wasn’t in great shape at the time, but we worked on it together whenever we had a spare moment. I think that was the best times of my life. Grease stains and standing there with my father laughing his ass off, as we tried to put this thing back together with our own bare hands was one of the best times of my life. What we didn’t know, we learned on the fly with tutorials on the Internet and even manuals that he had gotten from work.
He was a machinist and next door was this mechanic shop that didn’t mind him borrowing these books. When we finally had it running, we were, so happy that he actually allowed me to have my first drink. I was sick as a dog, but it was worth it to see that smile on his face. It was soon after that that we found out that he had cancer. I thought that it would be a long time, until he finally expired, but it was only three months after the diagnosis. I guess it was a good thing, because he didn’t suffer much and I gave him my blessing to go off to join my mother. It didn’t really know her and my father had done his best to raise a young lady.
“I will never get used to getting on this thing. It’s a death trap in the making. Do you know how many accidents I’ve seen that consisted of motorcycle drivers that didn’t know what they were doing? Not all of them were like that and some drivers don’t consider that a motorcycle is basically two wheels and one wrong move like trying to cut them off can cause a terrible accident.” She always says this and it was like a broken record over and over again. The only way to shut her up was to gun the engine loud enough to drown out her voice and then take off into the night.
I was only tempted to sell it once, but it would be a cold day in hell, before I let anybody get their hands on this machine.
We arrived at the destination and this time it was outdoors with a slight drizzle overhead that would make things a little more interesting in the ring. The spectators were crowded around the steel cage, shaking it and making a spectacle of themselves. It was time to get my game face on. I unzipped my hoodie, pulled it back from my head and then I pulled out the tribal war paint that made me feel like I was going into war. I applied it to my face, giving me that animal out of a cage look.
I waited and started to move with more experience than I had. Maria wasn’t wrong and I was lucky on a couple of occasions. I couldn’t always rely on that and the only way to make it, so that it didn’t matter was to get some real training.
“Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to welcome you to the 200
th
fight of the underground circuit. As always, there is no flash topography and video is prohibited. If for any reason that my men find out that you are doing any of that, then you’ll be taken from the scene and banned from any further fights. Our first competitor comes to us from parts unknown. Unfortunately, the scheduled performer was unavoidably delayed. As we all know, it doesn’t mean that we just close up shop and go home tonight. The show must go on. In her place, we have Helen Joy and she’ll be taking on the defending champion Naomi “no mercy” Waters.”
I wasn’t even the one that came up with my nickname. It was chosen for me by the owner of this establishment. I knew that he was raking in the money and everybody here that was in attendance was paying for the right to be here. He also had an Internet connection for those that couldn’t be, branching out to international countries like the European markets.
The lights overhead snapped on and immediately I shielded my eyes, before finally getting a look at my competitor. She was big boned and she smiled and made me feel like I was 2 feet tall.
The referee was this skinny kid and the shirt that he wore was a little bit too big for his frame. He motioned for us to come forward and then he gave the necessary search for illegal weapons of any kind. He finally gave his blessing, pushing us back away from each other, even though I could see that Helen was definitely ready to go.
This was bare knuckles and there were no gloves, except for any kind of tape that you put on to protect yourself to some degree. The bell rang and suddenly, she was on me with three rapid punches to my stomach. I had to flex in order to make sure that I wasn’t going to lose my breath.
“Naomi, wrap your hand around her neck and put her in a guillotine. I had no idea how Maria could possibly know what that term was. I grimaced slightly, but I did realize that it wasn’t her voice talking to me. It was a man’s voice and I turned slightly to see this handsome long dark haired white man cheering me on. “Just put your hand underneath her when she charges you and then lift up, while at the same time using your knee to strike into the fear of her.” He was guiding me, but at first it didn’t seem necessary. I was up against the fence and she was trying to get her hands into my armpit, so that she could turn me and put me to the ground with ease. I pushed away from her with my feet and my back still against the chain. No doubt that there was an imprint of those chains on my skin, but I had other things to worry about than temporary markings.
“I don’t know who the hell you are, but maybe you should stay out of my business.” I danced to my own tune, leveling one strike against her shoulder, which was supposed to hit her jaw. She moved at the last second, causing my aim to be a little off.
“If you don’t listen to me, then you’re not going to win this fight. Just wait for the right moment and do exactly what I told you. There’s no reason to be stubborn and I’m trying to help.” I figured the worst that would happen was that I would lose or at least come close to it, before I got my second wind.
Her foot came up and this time I moved to avoid it, coming around and grabbing her ankle and pushing her off balance. If I’d known I had to do an ankle lock, I would’ve been able to draw her down to the ground and wrap my legs around hers and pull back, until she was tapping out like a little girl. Instead, I had to use what I had, which was very little against somebody with her experience. I didn’t get a chance to research or to look at her moves on the Internet, which definitely put me at a disadvantage.
If I was going to have the moniker of no mercy, then I was going to have to live up to it. I growled and this caught her off guard. It was a psychological play that was going to work in my favor. She was about 6’1 and I was only 5’4, but that wasn’t going to play into this.
“I think that you should listen to him. Then again, it really doesn’t matter and I’m just playing with you like a cat does with a mouse.” I thought that she was kidding me, but then she hit me with an elbow that knocked out the teeth plate that I had put in there to protect me from dental damage. “You have promise, but you’re missing the fundamentals. If you don’t get them, then you’re going to be pretty much dead in the water from the moment that you step in here with people like me.” This was the first time that I had seen somebody like this and everybody else had an amateur status that was basically my speed.
When she came forward this time, she lowered her head and that was when I saw my opening and decided to try this move that that guy had described to me. It was hard to get a grip and she was slippery and made even more so by the light drizzle that was soaking us to the skin. Our clothes were almost see through, but that did not deter the crowd from coming out to watch this blood lust between two competitors.
I finally was able to lock my fingers underneath her and when she tried to escape, the hold got even tighter. I think she panicked a little when she realized what I was trying to do. She was trying to back pedal out of it, but was having very little luck.
“That’s it, pull back and for god sakes get those knees up. You need to make her think of something else, until the oxygen has been depleted. She will either tap out or pass out.” I followed the voice command and leveled a knee up underneath her, lifting her off her feet for a second, before coming back down. I heard the outtake of air and her arms went slack. The referee was right there to watch the proceedings and when he saw her go limp, he called an end to it, before things went any further.
I’d finished off my opponent, but it wasn’t easy and I was feeling the effects of those kicks to my head and that one shot that she had leveled at my kidneys. I was wheezing slightly, but I had this feeling that nothing was broken. I was declared the winner. I looked over to see the guy in question and he was smiling. There couldn’t be a more beautiful sight.
Chapter three
“That was amazing and did I not tell you that you needed to learn those things before you get yourself hurt?” Maria was using that glue like substance to close the cut above my eye. I didn’t even know it was there, but it must have happened when she hit me with those kicks. “It appears that this underground circuit is getting into a little of the martial arts. They already were in some degree, but I think that the owner has decided to branch out and invite all sorts of competitors with various degrees of experience underneath their belt.”
“I’m going to have to have a talk… OWWWWW… Watch what you’re doing.” She was taping the area where I was feeling the most pain. “I know that it’s most likely going to be a bruise, but it really does hurt.”
“Of course it did, because you didn’t know how to deflect the attack, before it happened. I may be retired, but I do know my way around the ring. You’re a novice and reckless, but there is potential and something that I would like to cultivate. If you’re up for it, I would like you to join me at my training center. I have a personal trainer named Miguel Rodriguez that knows his way around the octagon. If we’re lucky, we can make you a force to be reckoned with. I’m sure that you would like to keep your nickname. I have to admit that I was impressed by the fact that you wouldn’t give up. She hit you with a few shots that you didn’t even see coming.” He was wearing a pair of blue jeans and a tee shirt with a strategic rip in the middle.
That brief peek at his abdominals made me sigh with a sort of anticipation for things to come. I haven’t had a boyfriend and sometimes sex was relegated to some well placed toys. “I might be interested to speak to you, but I really don’t know what you expect in return.” I was kind of hoping that he was going to propose a physical transaction. I could definitely see myself giving it up for him, if for no other reason other than to see him naked. “This can’t be out of the goodness of your heart. Nobody does anything for anybody without getting something in return.” Once again, I was envisioning him in various positions that didn’t include being in the ring.
“I’m always looking for new talent to promote and make a name for them. It’s not just for you and this is a relationship that is built on trust and the necessary need for monetary gain. I think that you have a gift, but you’re not going to realize it, unless you have somebody to bring it out in you. I haven’t stepped into the ring in sometime, but for you I will make the exception. I will be your sparring partner. Believe me; you really shouldn’t take that lightly, because I haven’t even contemplated doing such a thing for anybody else.”
“What makes me, so special?” He reached out and touched my caramel skin and the feel of his pale hand grazing against my cheek was enough to get my attention in a big way. I knew that I was having these urges and just looking below his waist confirmed that he was thinking along the same lines.
I heard the incessant buzzing and looked over to see that Maria had gotten a call. “I’m afraid that I’m going to have to make this a short night. There was a five car pileup and they need all hands on deck. I’m sure that you can find your own way home. I’m going to need to use the motorcycle, even though I’m not comfortable driving it at all.” I tossed her the keys and if I could trust anybody with my baby, then it would be her.
“It appears that you are available. If you’re not too tired, I’ll take you over to the training center and show you the facilities. It’s has nothing, but the best and we just inked a deal to have some of the best fighters train there. Technology has taking a leap, but there is something to say for using the old methods.” I followed him to his black Lincoln Town car and as I got in, I felt a hard swat my ass. It didn’t jiggle, because I was a hard body and you had to be in this profession. “That’s very nice.” I don’t know why that compliment went right to my head, but I felt that my knees were wobbly and my chest was flushed with excitement.