She stands there trying to look unaffected by my threatening words but she can’t hide the fear in her eyes and the shaking of her toned body. God, I want to kick her ass right here but number one rule prevents that; no fights outside of the octagon.
She takes a step back with a smirk full of false bravado as she sweeps her hand out gesturing for me to lead the way.
“Gino, make sure the Fightmaster keeps the ring clear. I have an announcement to make.”
I push past Mila and make my way to ground level. Once Jefa and I step into the ring I grab the Fightmaster’s mic.
“Good evening ladies and fellas!” I say as cheers and whistles go up around me. “I hope you all are enjoying yourselves tonight but pay attention because I have a special announcement to make.”
I wait until the cheers quiet down again before nodding my head for Mila to be brought into the ring. I watch her hesitate a second before stepping in and leaning up against the gate, as far from me as the cage will allow. Coward. She knows that technically I can attack her now that we stand in the octagon, but I’m no punk so I don’t pull punk moves. I’ll let her train for the fight.
Smirking at her fear, I turn and continue my announcement. “As you all know Barbarity is mine and Jefa’s pride and joy but we’ve been thinking about bringing you more competition and more entertainment! What better way to do that than to start an annual battle of the beasts? So, starting tonight two men and two women, from each category, that have the most wins by this day next year will be entered into... Barbaric Night!” The audience is riveted on my words as a wave of anticipation and bloodlust flows through each of them.
I don’t wait for them to calm down as I continue speaking. “In three hundred and sixty five days we will watch the best of the best compete for titles, but that’s not all. The final fight of that evening will be the biggest fight of them all.” I pause a moment and let the anticipation build. “I’ve been challenged by Princess Popov.” I grandly gesture to Mila who sneers at the name I’ve just given her.
“But…” I stop and turn to her as I say my next line. “Loser never shows her face here again while the winner will be declared the Queen of Barbarity.” The audience is suddenly shocked into silence as I hold my hand out to Mila. Even she looks pale. After all, it’s not everyday that I put up my reputation for betting but I’m confident in my skill in the ring.
Jefa smiles and walks over to us and takes the mic from me. “What do you say Princess? Not backing out now are you?” Her lip curls as she holds the mic up to Mila’s fake lips.
“I look forward to dethroning you, Silver.” Popov grasps my hand in what I’m sure she thinks is a firm grip until I squeeze it at just the right spot to dislocate her index finger. Jefa still has the mic to Mila’s mouth so I give her a serene smile when we hear her muffled grunt.
As we part and exit the ring, the audience begins to chant, “Sil-ver! Sil-ver! Sil-ver!”
I make my way through the crowd and accept hand shakes and well wishes. I’m sure everyone will enjoy the big event once it arrives, it’s exactly what Jefa and I discussed and worked on before the ring’s doors were even opened. It may seem like I just made up Barbaric Night on the spot but in actuality, a lot of thought and calculations went into this event. Mila was just the opening I needed to announce it.
Once I get to the bar and accept a drink from Gino, my phone pings with a message. I swipe the screen and see a text from my mother’s nurse. She knows not to text unless it’s life-threatening.
I tense and slam my drink down onto the bar-top but then deliberately slow myself down so as not to show weakness in front of these people. I am amongst all the important people within the criminal world and they smell weakness the way sharks smell blood. I pull out a pink cigarette and light it up as I snap my fingers to get my Gino’s attention.
“Yes boss?”
“Get the car out front now.” I don’t wait for him to reply, I know my demands will be heeded. I turn and find Jefa walking over to me after speaking with some guests. Her smile morphs into concern as she sees the dread in my eyes.
“¿Qué esta pasando? What’s happening, Silver?”
“There’s an emergency at the hospital, I need to get there immediately. You’re in charge tonight, make sure no one walks on you, Jefa.”
She tilts her head down and taps her chest twice. It’s a little sign we made up and it says you have my word.
I know she won’t disappoint me but I can’t keep the threat out of my tone. She knows I’ll lose my shit if she messes up.
Cartel or not, this is my house and in my house, I’m the Boss.
I whistle for my enforcers to lead the way as I walk out of the ring with my head held high while my heart cracks.
One year later
I’m sitting on my opponent, Martin’s chest as he foolishly punches me in the ribs leaving the left side of his face exposed. The misstep allows my elbow to slam against his cheekbone, widening the cut I gave him earlier. I take advantage of the daze my elbow caused him and grab his wrist. I fall to Martin’s side, wrap my legs around his bicep and lock my ankles at his pec and begin pulling and twisting until he comes out of his daze and starts punching my thighs with his free hand, but it’s futile.
He tries to twist out of my hold but with my lower legs across his chest, he’s not going anywhere.
He bellows as his elbow pops out of place and bends backwards just as I see the ref running over to stop me. Before he gets there though, I twist my body and lift my pelvis up causing his forearm to bend back much further than would have been allowed had this been a legal fight. The ref pulls me up off the warehouse floor and declares me the winner while Martin screams at his oddly angled elbow.
Martin walked into the ring with a cocky smirk on his ugly mug but someone failed to warn him; getting into the ring with me is equivalent to free swimming with hungry sharks.
Oh well, I’m the winner tonight and the winnings are enough to get me where I need to go.
It’s been one year since I moved into Lopez’s house and three months since she moved to the assisted living facility for the elderly. She had another stroke so her doctor thought it’d be best for her to have professional care around the clock. Lopez seems to be doing great which makes me less worried about her and she seems happy with the choices I’ve made so far as well. I’ve put the house up for sale with a reliable realtor who came highly recommended and I’ve made arrangements to move to New York. I wanted to get moving as soon as possible but I needed to earn some more cash so I’ve picked up a lot more fights lately.
Tonight’s fight will be my last here in Cali and it seems I’ve caught the eye of Diego Blanca, boss of the Blanca cartel in La Paz, Mexico. It’s a piece of his crew that runs the ring here and in a few other states. I heard him trying to get my attention by yelling out my name but like always I ignore the congratulatory shouts and dodge the pats on the back.
I don’t fight for the spotlight, at least not in this small time ring. I fight for the money and the outlet. For the rush of feeling my opponent break under my hands. I do it to let my demons out for a while before they build up to a point that I kill someone.