“Give it up for Dez ‘The Destroyer’ De Santis!” the announcer shouted and the crowd went wild.
“And now, Bronze Black.” Once again, the crowd laughed, but it didn’t seem to faze Bronze in the slightest. Bronze kept his head down as he walked to the ring, surrounded by Copper, Judge, and Batta.
He climbed into the ring and started preparing for his fight. Just before the announcer called them to the center, Bronze glanced over his shoulder at us and winked. “Holy shit, does he—?”
“Yes, the fucker’s always doing stupid shit like that. He knows it’s not a good idea to wear contacts during a fight, but he says it’s part of his strategy or some shit,” Tiny explained.
I couldn’t help but laugh. Bronze was wearing red contacts that made him look like he was possessed by a demon.
After stating the rules, which were minimal at best, the bell rang and the fight began. When Bronze blinked up at his opponent, Dez paused for just a second, but it was enough for Bronze to get three solid hits in—two to the head and one to the body.
Bronze worked him over and ran him all over the ring. I’d never seen anyone fight as well as he did. He was quick and moved strategically. He didn’t waste energy on throwing punches he couldn’t land. Instead, he kept his opponent moving to wear them down and struck when an opportunity presented itself.
“Does he have professional training?” I asked Tiny.
“Not like you’re thinking. He was on the Marine Corps Boxing Team. That’s a whole different kind of training.”
I continued to watch in awe as Bronze wiped the floor with Dez round after round. It was during the fifth round when things went to shit. I guess Todd Russo realized his guy wasn’t going to win, and according to Tiny, that meant he would lose his gym to the Blackwings.
Suddenly, another fighter was entering the ring with Bronze and Dez.
“Fuck,” Tiny swore and got to his feet. “Keep an eye on Russo.” I was going to do one better than keeping an eye on him.
With everyone focused on the ring, I was able to go around the back side and come up behind Russo without anyone noticing. I pulled the blade from the horizontal sheath at my back and brought it up to his neck.
“Breathe wrong, motherfucker, and you’re dead,” I growled.
I glanced at the ring just in time to see Batta swing his bat at the unwelcomed contender’s leg resulting in a crack that echoed above the roar of the crowd.
I pressed the blade harder against Russo’s neck and wiggled it just enough for him to feel the sting of his skin being broken. “Keep that hand where I can see it, or I’ll pin it to your chest with my other knife.”
He held his shaky hands out in front of him where I could clearly see them. More sounds of flesh hitting flesh and wood breaking bone sounded from the ring.
The announcer had long since fled the ring, but the crowd eagerly watched the chaos unfolding before them. Bronze was still fighting Dez like there weren’t four other people in the ring with him. Batta was beating the fuck out of another fighter with his bat, and Tiny had some other guy in a chokehold. But Copper, Judge, and Coal had disappeared.
Moments later, Bronze threw one hell of a punch and Dez hit the floor. Apparently, that was the signal for the crowd to disperse. People immediately began making their way to the stairs and, within a few minutes, the basement was cleared out.
Judge appeared with Todd’s bodyguard in tow, and right behind them, Coal was frog-marching another man to the ring. We heard the distinct sound of a heavy door being closed and locked before Copper came down the stairs.
He clapped his hands together and grinned, “Well, looks like I just got myself a gym. Thanks, Todd. This was fun.”
“Fuck you,” Todd spat. “I’m not signing over my gym to you.”
Copper rubbed his chin and nodded. “Yeah, I thought that might be the case.” He paused before adding, “Good work, Savior. You can let him go.”
I released Todd and took a step back, but kept my knife in my hand in case things went south again.
Copper hooked his thumbs in his belt loops and rocked back on his heels. “Had my tech guy do a little digging into your records,” he said casually. “Want to take a guess at what he found?”
I watched Todd’s entire body stiffen. “Y-you didn’t find shit,” he stammered.
Copper grinned wickedly and held up his cell phone. “Wanna see if the Feds find shit? Got a buddy in the Bureau on speed dial.”
“Fuck,” Todd cursed and actually stomped his foot.
“Sign over the deed and get the fuck out,” Copper demanded. “Leave a forwarding address, and we’ll send your shit to you. And let me make one thing perfectly clear; you fuck with me and my club again, I’ll let my boys have some fun with you before we feed you to the wild pigs.”
We escorted Todd upstairs to his office, and he told us where we could find the deed. As soon as he signed it over, Batta and Judge escorted him out and locked the doors. “Judge, you and Tiny get started on the security install. Savior and Coal can help. I’m going to go check on Bronze and Batta,” Copper said.
