Nothing In The 'Verse
Episode 24: Gladiator
Persephone. Lux system.
Keith.
There were times, Keith mused to himself, when life could be pretty gorram good. The Fortune's Favour had finished the current run, and the crew had a day or so off while waiting on the next shipment to be loaded. His wonderful wife, Jess, was spending time with the other girls watching some sappy Earth-That-Was romantic comedy, bonding with Dani's girlfriend Lori.
And he had the night free to blow off a little steam.
He hadn't been to a bar in some time, drinking with buddies. He also hadn't gotten really good and drunk in some time. And maybe this would help, perhaps just a little, ease some of the rage that still roiled around in his core whenever he thought about how his sister was taken and abused. He could rationalize all he wanted to about how he couldn't have protected her, how he had done every gorram thing in his power to get her back, and he did get her back. But a little part of him, the part that clung to the family he had now, was disappointed as diyu (hell) in himself.
None of that mattered right now. He was in a seedy bar in Eavesdown Docks, and he was getting nice and drunk off of cheap, shiong mao niao (panda piss) beer. Twelve of them, to be precise.
"Got no idea how ya c'n drink that gou se (shit/crap)," his drinking buddy and brother-in-law, Mike, mumbled around his glass of whiskey.
Keith grunted. "Like that swill isn't a step above engine cleaner?"
His relationship with Mike was brought about by odd circumstances. He was his sister's dead wife's brother. Keith had never even met him while Beth was still alive. And yet, here they were, sharing drinks and joking about like old comrades.
Now all that was missing was a decent brawl to make the night ideal.
As if summoned, a towering hun dan (bastard) of a man strode through the door, to the adoring cheers of the crowd. He had intricate tattoos spiraling across his entire body. Keith was rather impressed with that bit. Not so much the arrogant way he strut in like he owned the whole gorram planet.
Perfect, Keith thought.
"Mike, huoban (buddy), hold my drink for me. Gotta take a xiaobian (piss)."
The bulky mechanic gave a snort, and replied, "Sure, an' it have nothin' to do with the large ugly piyan (asshole) tha' walked in, eh?"
Keith barked a laugh, patted him on the shoulder, and walked with an exaggerated stumble towards the general direction of the restrooms. Which, of course, took him near his target.
He timed his path so that he ended up directly in front of the big hun dan (bastard). He had to look up a bit to see his beady little eyes that glowered above a nose that has been poorly set after a breakage.
"Move aside, little man," the towering lump of muscle grunted.
Keith smirked, hand held loosely at his sides, and made his first mistake of the evening.
"Make me."
The man in front of him smirked back, and looked around at his friends with his eyebrows raised, as if asking for the feedback of his worshipping fans. Which, of course, was enthusiastically given. He gave a nod, and turned back to Keith with a grin.
It was at that point that Keith realized this wasn't some high-speed hover-cycle jockey, or a local celebrity vid star, or even a gang leader.
This hun dan (bastard) was a fighter.
Keith knew he couldn't completely blame the alcohol in his brain for his inability to anticipate his opponents speed. Truth was, he underestimated him, which he had a tendency to do sometimes, and that was his second mistake. When you're usually the big dog, it's hard to remember there are often bigger dogs lurking around the corner. This odd thought crossed his mind as he went sailing across the bar to land on a table, breaking the legs of it clean off on impact.
He was momentarily stunned on impact, and that's when his training kicked in and he made mistake number three by not simply extracting himself from the situation. Truth was, he was shengqi (pissed) as diyu (hell). So he got up and launched himself at the towering hun dan (bastard), not holding back.
When the red haze cleared from his vision, and the animalistic rage within had been satisfied, Keith found himself standing over the unconscious shattered remains of a man. Still breathing, but all four of his limbs were sticking out at weird angles. The room had gone entirely silent, every patron staring at him with an unreadable expression on their face. Mike was standing next to him, pulling on his arm urgently. "Keith, huoban (buddy), we gotta split, pronto!"
Keith let himself be led outside, and back to the ship. His mind was still clouded by the cheap, but apparently very potent, beer he had consumed.
Fortune's Favour. Eavesdown Docks. Persephone.
Keith.
Keith woke with a hangover, something he hadn't done in quite some time. The side of the bed was empty, Jess must have gotten up already. Then the cause of his awakening intruded into his consciousness as another round of kicking sounded against the hatch to their bunk.
"Keith!" Dani shouted from above. "Get yer pigu (ass) out in the cargo bay, now!"
"Alright!" he barked back irritably. Gorram girl couldn't let him have an extra...
His thoughts trailed off as he recalled, fuzzily, the previous night's experience. How he left that big hun dan (bastard) lying broken on the floor. "Cao (fuck)," he swore, as he got up and pulled some clothes on.
He climbed out of his bunk and headed down to the bay, where it seemed most of the crew had assembled. His mind immediately sharpened as he noted the tenseness in them. Lori was up on the catwalk in the back of the cargo bay, nonchalantly holding the sniper-configured Callahan in a ready position. She nodded grimly to him as he descended the steps to where most of the others waited.
Dani was in front, arms crossed and feet spread like she was about to weather a storm, her Ares holstered at her hip. Next to her were Jess and Mike, both cradling the other Callahans but not pointing them at anybody yet. Gorramit, nobody told me there was a required dress code for this little party, shoulda come armed.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, Keith noticed that standing in front of his sister was Sara, who had been hidden from view before he moved past the crowd gathered. Her hands were clenching and unclenching, whether in stress or anticipation he couldn't tell.
And then there were the objects of their aggression. Standing at the edge of the ramp was a muscular, refined-looking man of Asian descent, dressed in a sharp black Core-tailored suit. He wore a deep green tie over a crisp white shirt, and his head was shaved bald. Perhaps the most defining feature was the emerald tattoo of a dragon winding its way up the side of his face to cradle his left eye.
Arrayed behind the man were a half dozen others, similarly-dressed and with facial tattoos of their own, and cradling deadly little machine pistols.
Keith let out a sigh. Tong. And sure enough, this was the fallout from last night.
"Ah, and the main attraction joins us. Mr. Grant, it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance. You may call me Mr. Ho," the dragon-tattooed man said in a silky voice.
Keith grunted and gave him a nod. "Apologies, but got a bit of a hangover. What can I do for you?"
"Oh, to be sure, last night's fun would have left anyone with a headache," he smiled back darkly. "It is the last evening's activities that I wish to discuss with you, in fact."
Mike shifted a bit restlessly, perhaps anticipating the trouble that last evening caused.
Keith moved forward, so that he was in between his crew and the Tong members. "I understand. This has nothing to do with my crew, so we can go elsewhere to discuss it."
"Oh, but it does, Mr. Grant!" Ho replied with a small laugh. "You see, they should bear witness to our discussion, as it will affect them as well!"
Rubbing his left hand over his shaved scalp, Keith grumbled, "Right then, let's get on with it."
"Very well," the sharp-dressed man replied, nodding. "The gentleman you disabled last night, permanently, was my best pit fighter. It's a big business here on Persephone, and I had a lot of money riding on him. I will lose tremendous face if I cannot place a contender in the next fight this evening. You," he pointed a finely manicured nail at Keith's chest, "will participate in his stead."
Well that didn't sound so bad. "Just the one fight?"
"Oh, no my new pengyou (friend). You must understand how much money you have cost me. You will participate in my fights until I release you, when I believe you have settled your debt to me."
Okay,maybe that was a little bad. "When you decide?" Keith asked in a quiet baritone. "And what if I refuse your terms?"
"Well, then," Ho said casually. "I will extract payment from your crew. In blood."
Keith heard a little growl sound from behind him, and then Sara was stalking forward, shivs in hand and moving slowly towards Ho, who was watching with incredulous eyes. "Sara!" he barked in an authoritative voice.
Sara stopped, trembling, but did not put her shivs away or back down. Dani moved up behind her and slowly wrapped her arms around her daughter's shoulders, whispering soothingly in her ear, until Sara relaxed and replaced her shivs back up her sleeves. Dani took her hand and led the two of them back behind Keith.
"You have a very protective crew, Mr. Grant. I would hope you are as fond of them, and we can avoid any unpleasantries," Ho said with a twinkle in his eye.
Keith gave a sigh. "Right, I'll go with you." Turning back around, he said apologetically, "Duibuqi jie-jie (I'm sorry older sister). I fucked up last night, and now I gotta make it right. Why don't you kick on, no reason to stay around here." He pointedly avoided looking at his wife Jess.
Dani just snorted. "I'm not gonna sit here an' call you all manner of piyan (asshole), 'cause I imagine yer wife is storing up plenty of steam herself. But we're not goin' anywhere. You watch yer pigu (ass), alright didi (little brother)?"
Keith nodded, and then turned to his wife. Ai ya, huai le (shit on my head), I don't believe I've ever seen her this shengqi (pissed).
He opened his mouth to speak, but Jess just held up her hand. "Don't," she said, eyes blazing. "Just don't. We're gonna have words later, but you'd better come back to me to have them, or I will hunt your bendan (idiot) self down and hurt you. Badly."
Keith snickered. "I love you too, baby." He leaned in and gave her a fierce kiss which she returned with passion. Nodding to the rest of the crew, he departed the Favour with Mr. Ho and his Tong brethren.
House of Pain. Tangrenjie. Persephone.
Keith.
Keith was escorted into a nice-sized room. It had two benches, one against the left wall and the other parallel to it in the middle of the room. There was a small bed against the right wall, and bathroom facilities in the rear.
"Your Quarters, Mr. Grant. Will you be needing anything before the fight?" Ho asked courteously.
"Yeah, couple of things," Keith rumbled. "Aspirin. Wrapping tape for my hands. Workout shorts of some type in my size. And protein."
Mr. Ho nodded to one of his bodyguards who left immediately. Turning back to Keith, he said, "I do want to make something clear to you, Mr. Grant. As you may have guessed, we are members of the Tong." He reached into his right pocket and withdrew a round coin, the size of a platinum piece but with raised edges and a square hole cut in the center. Keith could see that there was old Mandarin writing around the worn sides.
"Do you know what this is?" Ho asked. Keith just shook his head mutely.
"This is the symbol of my station within the Tong. It says that I am fairly high up in the ranks, as it were. I won't bore you with the details, but please believe me when I say I am not a man to be yu xingjiao (fucked with). Dong ma (understand)?"
Keith nodded again without comment. Ho exited with a smile, to be replaced by another hulking man who walked in with a limp. He seemed to be cut in the same mold as the hun dan (bastard) from last night, though not of Asian descent.
The newcomer limped over and shook Keith's hand. "Name's Burt. Used to be a pit fighter, now I'm a trainer."
Nodding, he returned the greeting curtly. "Keith."
Sighing, Burt sat on the bench against the wall. "Hope you already got training, 'cause there's not much I can do to keep you alive before the match."
Keith smirked. "Yeah, I can handle myself."
"Hmm," Burt grunted. "Heard you took down Big Jet last night at a bar, that true?"
"Big hun dan (bastard), lotta tattoos, now with all his limbs broken?" Burt nodded back warily. "Yep, that was me."
"Ching-wah tsao duh liou mahng (frog-humping son of a bitch), guess you can handle yerself just fine then, pengyou (friend). Made some enemies, though," Burt mused. "But I think you'll have the advantage the first time, as nobody's seen you fight, 'cept maybe for the guys in the bar."
There was a knock at the door, and several servants passed through in a whirlwind, leaving behind the items Keith requested, including a decanter of water and a glass. He also had a large steak prepared for him.
Keith laughed in amusement. "Well, I did ask for protein..." First thing he did was take the aspirin, dry-swallowing them down. Then he pulled the dinner cart over to him, and sat on the middle bench, facing Burt. "So," he said, cutting into his meal. "What can you tell me about the fights?"
"Some of 'em are fixed," Burt began. "But not too many or they'd never get enough suckers to place bets. It's a very popular night out on the town here. No-holds-barred. Only thing not allowed are weapons of any sort. Anybody tosses somethin' in, the fight is called while the offender is thrown into the ring and torn apart by both fighters."
Burt sighed heavily. "Course, here on the border, there ain't much other entertainment and a lot of the fights are to the death. Or until your arms get ripped off, whichever comes first."
Keith chuckled. "Dismemberments are my favorite thing."
An hour later saw him in what they all called 'The Pit', rather unimaginatively so far as Keith was concerned. He stood on one side of the circular arena listening with only half an ear to the announcer up in the stands describing the feats of the two contenders. Completely made up in his case, which was fine. He'd have one shot at this, take this guy down quick while he was still an unknown, and then rest up for the next one. Make it dirty and fast.
His gaze travelled around the ring to scope out the territory. Packed-dirt floor, raised concrete walls about two meters high, easy enough to vault. Not that he'd be doing that tonight. Two access doors on either end, both could only be opened from outside the ring.
Up in the stands, he could see Dani and Lori sitting close together, smiling at him encouragingly. Jess was there as well, much to his surprise, though her pretty face was set in a scowl. On the end was Mike, giving him a thumbs-up. And in the middle of the group was Sara, jumping up and down, squealing his name excitedly. All he could catch was "Destroy that fay fay duh pee-yen (baboon's asshole)!" Made him chuckle darkly.
Finally he examined his opponent, saving him for last because he knew the other would think him a complete rookie for waiting this long to notice him. The hulking brute was a carbon copy of both Jet and Burt, though his skin was a dark cocoa color, and his face seemed to be set in a permanent sneer. Focusing in, he noticed a little scar tissue on the right knee. Excellent.
Thinking that instead of a quick takedown, perhaps a little flamboyant action could be entertained, Keith planned his attack carefully. Then, as the announcer signaled the start of the fight, he moved in quickly on light but sure feet.
First, distract target. Quick feint with the right hand got him to turn and block, allowing the left to snake out and club him hard on his ear, partially deafening him. Target stunned.
Second point of attack, knife-edged right hand to the throat. Paralyse the vocal cords, stop his screaming.
Third, hard left jab into ribcage. Two ribs broken. Follow-up right hand strike to the jaw, breaking it.
Last, kick out his left leg. While on one knee, fist to the kneecap at site of previous surgery. Complete shattering of the patella. Target immobilized.
Total fight time, ten seconds. Not too gorram bad, Keith smirked to himself as he stood up, turning his back on the collapsed fighter and walking back to his corner.
The entire stadium was silent for another ten seconds before erupting in thunderous cheers. Even still, over the noise he could hear Sara screaming "Wo kao (well fuck me / holy shit)!"
Back in his temporary quarters, Keith stretched his arms above his head in his room, loosening his muscles after the fight. It had gone extraordinarily well, mostly because he was underestimated as a newcomer.
A soft knock sounded on the door, and Dani peeked in. "You decent didi (little brother)?"
Keith laughed. "Sure, c'mon in jie-jie (older sister). I appreciate the encouragement from the stands. Surprised to see Jess out there, though."
"Well, just don't expect her to walk in here anytime soon," Dani smirked. She came inside, followed by Lori who was holding her hand. Even with all the gou se (shit/crap) going on, it made his heart swell with elation to see his sister happy again. With a start, he realized that he had already unconsciously added Lori to the list of people he would kill to protect, to die for if need be. Dani's happiness is that important to me.
As she sat down on the bench across from him, Lori grinned. "Those were some niubi (fucking awesome) moves back there, Keith."
Dani laughed, sitting down next to her, hands still clasped together. "Told ya he was huaidan (badass)," she snickered.
Sighing, Keith abandoned his efforts to unlimber, and sat down as well, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees. "Dani, duibuqi (I'm sorry). For all of this. And for making you stick around. You're losing money just by staying parked here."
Both Dani and Lori giggled in unison, which made Keith awfully suspicious. "No worries there, didi (little brother)," Dani said jovially. "Our enterprising brother-in-law Mike has been busy scaring up bets for yer fights. He raked in enuff fer us on yer first fight to cover at least three cargo runs, Core to Rim an' back."
"Wo kao (well fuck me / holy shit)!" Keith exclaimed, echoing Sara's sentiment from earlier. "Well then," he continued, grinning. "Guess I better keep winning, eh?"
The next night was another large hun dan (bastard) spoiling for a brawl, instead of a methodical fighter such as himself. Eventually, he thought, they'll learn and send the types up against me that I'll have to work for. As it was he planned on taking a little more time with this one to make the lesson stick.
His opponent was perhaps a bit smaller than the last, maybe a bit stupider, as he hurled insults at Keith the whole time they stood there waiting for the announcer to finish. Maybe he thinks he can rattle me? Pathetic. He grinned to himself as he knelt down to check his foot wraps, scraping a little dirt into his hand. He stood up as the announcer began the fight.
Working in the same methodical manner as before, he took his opponent apart.
First, distraction. Handful of dirt into his eyes. Block the blind jab. Counter with cross to left cheek.
Discombobulate. Both hands to ears this time. Target dazed. Employ elbow block as he attempted a wild haymaker with his right.
Body shot, two ribs cracked. Block return punch from left. Weaken jaw with left elbow. Fracture jaw with follow-up left punch.
Rapid one-two punch breaks the cracked ribs and traumatizes the solar plexus. Dislocate jaw entirely with right fist.
Finish with flying kick to diaphragm, now ruptured and hemorrhaging.
"Should put him out of fighting for the next six weeks at least," Keith murmured to himself, turning his back on the defeated combatant now slumped against the wall. Granted, psychological recovery could take six months. In any case, he thought to himself as he walked off to the thunderous cheering of the crowd, I won't see him in the ring again.
Keith spent the next few evenings fighting, though each one got progressively stronger and smarter. He had become the new local favorite, and Ho was beyond pleased with the winnings he was raking in.
A total of six nights of fights after his first, Keith lounged against the wall in his quarters, eyes closed and breathing deeply. The last fight had been especially draining, fast little wang ba (son of a bitch) like that was always tricky to get ahold of. And once you thought they were pinned, they slipped away and knocked your feet out from under you. Trick was to wait for an opening and hit hard enough to cause an injury to a leg, slowing them down. Which, of course, was what I did, he smirked to himself.
A noise from the hallway made his eyes pop open. He tensed to rise, but relaxed when he saw the grinning face of Dani poke in. "Hey there, xiong jiao (handsome hero)," she joked. "How's the champ?"
Sara followed her in this time, and they sat across from him on the other bench.
Keith gave a weary laugh. "I don't know how long I can do this. Not a kid anymore, and these young pups I'm going up against are all stronger, faster... Eventually my experience won't be enough." He looked his sister in the eye. "Jess still won't come see me?"
Dani just smiled gently at him. "Not just yet. She's still powerful mad, and also a lil' scared. I think she knows already what you just described."
Leaning forward on the edge of the bench, Sara grinned excitedly. "It's okay though, Uncle Keith, 'cause we got a plan!"
Dani laughed and patted her daughter on the back. "It's all this little mastermind's idea, really. And she's gonna hafta be the one to pull it off."
"Alright," Keith groaned, sitting up. "Let's hear it, wai sheng nu (niece, sister's daughter)."
Beaming, Sara began to unveil her plan. "Alright, so you 'member I used to run with the Tong here, right?" Keith nodded, and she continued. "So, this Mr. Ho is part of the Green Dragon Triad, a very nasty group. Made all the other Tongs jing kuangwang (scared shitless)."
She stood up, pacing slightly and waving her hands around animatedly. "Here's the thing though, the Green Dragons are really, really big on standin' and rank. They'll do anythin' to avoid losin' face, within their own people 'specially. So, here's what I need to know from you, Uncle Keith." She stopped in front of him, arms crossed, smirking. "All the Green Dragon Triad big-shots carry some sort of token, somethin' that shows who they are and how high up the ladder they are. I dunno what it is though. D'you?"
Keith smiled evilly. "Oh yes I do, little Sara, and I see exactly where you're going with this. Pinch his token, and trade it back for my freedom, yeah?"
Sara jumped up and down a little, clapping her hands, then whirled towards Dani. "See? I knew he'd go for it!" Turning back to Keith, she asked, "So what is it?"
Keith described the small coin with a square hole to his niece, commenting that Ho usually carried it in his right front trouser pocket.
Before the trio could go any further into the planning, the door opened again, this time revealing Ho and two of his bodyguards. "Ah, my champion! And some of his lovely attendants as well. Have you been enjoying our fights?"
"Well," Dani said, smirking, "I enjoy seeing my brother kick pigu (ass)."
Ho laughed jovially, clapping his hands. "Yes, yes he has been quite amusing, and has made me a decent amount of money. I have decided, however," he turned to Keith, "to let you go after the next fight. Your debt to me is repaid, providing, of course, you lose."
Keith waited a beat for that to sink in in case he heard incorrectly. "You want me to throw the next fight?"
"Oh yes, not just lose but put up a very good fight, and then lose spectacularly. It will be a very specific loss, as I need you to last at least five minutes. I will give you a signal, by removing the white handkerchief from my coat pocket and wiping my brow. And then, you will lose." He gave a wide, dangerous smile. "Dong ma (understand)?"
Keith nodded. Oh yeah, I got it alright. Fucker was setting me up to get killed. "Shi a (yes, affirmative)."
Still smiling, Ho and his bodyguards moved to exit the room. "One request, though," Keith's voice stopped him. Ho looked back over his shoulder curiously.
"Can I have until the next fight to spend with my wife, on my ship? I swear to you we will not run."
Ho laughed again. "Oh I know you won't, Mr. Grant. I will have your ship landlocked and then yes I will give you your time with your lovely wife." His eyes glinted evilly. "And remember what will happen to her if you double-cross me in any way." With that, he left, closing the door behind him.
"Uncle Keith..." Sara spoke up, falteringly.
"I know, kiddo," Keith growled. "He's planning on killing me. We'll just have to enact your plan first." He looked up at his sister and niece. "It's a ground op, so I'll be along to supervise. We'll hit him in the afternoon when he walks to get his dinner before the fight. Then I'll show up, and let him know the new deal."
He finished wiping the sweat off, and grabbed his clothes. "For now, though, I have a much more dangerous mission."
Dani giggled, walking towards the door with Sara. "And I don' envy you one bit, didi (little brother)."
Keith sighed, shaking his head. Time to face Jess and get this over with. He almost preferred to fight in the pit.
Fortune's Favour. Eavesdown Docks. Persephone.
Keith.
Keith dropped down into his bunk, closing the hatch behind him and ready for confrontation. What he found was his wife, sitting in the stuffed chair that she liked to read in, legs crossed tightly and foot tapping angrily. Her arms were wrapped firmly around her middle, and her face was set into hard lines, mouth a thin slash of fury. She was dressed in her usual shipboard casual wear, which consisted of black athletic shorts and a baggy shirt of bright cerulean blue.
Figuring the best defense was a good offense, he spoke up first. "You got every right to be shengqi (pissed). I was a complete bendan (idiot). I made several mistakes that night, and they landed me in a whole mess of trouble, and that got the rest of the family dragged in. Duibuqi, wo de ai (I'm sorry, my love)."
Jess continued to glare for a second or two, then leaped from her chair and into his face with a speed that actually startled him. Her hands were clenched into fists and held stiffly at her sides, and her loose halo of black hair streamed behind her.
"You qiang bao hou-zi de, qing wa kao de liu mang (monkey raping, frog humping son of a bitch)! How dare you? How go tsao de (dog fucking) dare you? I've been working this up for a good half hour, and you waltz in here and undercut me like that?" She was screaming so hard her face was turning purple. "Cao ni zuzong shiba dai (fuck your ancestors to the eighteenth generation)!"
A younger and more incautious Keith would have smiled or laughed in relief upon finding out what she was really mad about now. However, the older and far wiser Keith standing there, having weathered many tirades such as this from his beloved wife, simply cradled her furious face in his hands, murmuring "Love it when you talk dirty," and gave her a hard kiss.
Jess broke the contact briefly, mumbling against his lips, "Si pi yan (damned asshole)," before she jumped up and wrapped her arms and legs tightly around him.
Then he did chuckle, deep in his chest, and lowered them onto their bed.
Keith woke up near noon local time, feeling well-rested for the first time in a week. He nudged his naked wife with his elbow. "Time to rise, sleepyhead."
Under the mass of silky black hair, a noise came out that might have been a request for more sleep time. That, or a request for breakfast in bed, though he was betting on the former. "Nope, let's go hon, got some crime to do, remember?" he rumbled as he nudged her again.
A hand emerged from the covers, pulling apart the hair like a curtain, and one eye peeked out. "We get to use the shiny new comms?" a sleepy voice asked.
"Yep," he grunted with humor. The promise of new toys to play with finally got her moving.
Streets of Tangrenjie. Persephone.
Keith.
The streets in downtown Tangrenjie were a cluttered mess of low-rise buildings and narrow alleyways, bordered by high skyscrapers more commonly seen in the other cities of Persephone. In some ways it seemed run-down, but everything was clean and well-maintained. Noodle shops and curio outlets rubbed shoulders with electronic boutiques and nail salons. It was a dizzying array of storefronts.
Any other time Keith would have been entranced. Now, though, in the late-afternoon sun, he was overseeing a mission. He couldn't let his face be seen, so he was on overwatch across the street from Lori, both concealed on the roofs of the buildings.
"Two, you have a visual yet?" Keith whispered into his mike. This was their first actual operation with the five of them, including Lori, and he was a bit nervous.
"Nothin' yet, One," came back Dani's voice. She was sitting in a cafe on the north end of the narrow street, watching out the window and reading a news flimsi.
"You know, One, you should relax a little. I thought I took care of that earlier for you," Jess snarked from her station at the other end of the street. She was sipping tea on the patio of a noodle shop.
Keith rolled his eyes at his wife's voice. "Thank you, Three, for the reminder. Now keep the line clear."
"You want any tips, Three, you let me know," came Lori's murmur over the comms. "I know all sorts of ways to get a Grant pleasured."
"Don't think it'd help, Five, but thanks. I don't mind hearing about your escapades, though. The whole ship knows by now that she's a screamer," Jess giggled.
"Got that right," Lori giggled right back.
"Still right here, folks," Dani murmured back crossly. "And Five, yer just as much a screamer as I am. Especially when-"
Keith cut them off abruptly. "Does operational integrity mean nothing to you people?"
"Oh for the love of Buddha, please get 'em to shut up, One. Not that I'd mind normally, but I'm really tryin' to work here," Sara whispered.
"Thank you, Four," Keith grumbled quietly. "How is it the youngest member of the group is the most professional of you lot?"
There was blessed silence for maybe a minute or two. Then Dani spoke up again.
"Hey, Five."
"Yeah, Two?"
"Whatcha wearin' under yer fatigues?"
Keith groaned at the giggles that came over the comms. He knew that the women were just joking around to keep things loose, but he had a hard time doing so on an operation of this sort.
Before he could complain out loud, or Lori answer her, Dani came back in an excited whisper. "One, I have visual, comin' around the corner. Target is in lead, four friends behind. No visible armament."
"Confirm that, Two. I have eyes on target," Lori murmured.
Keith swung his scoped rifle around, and started tracking Ho's movement. "Alright, Four, get ready. He's entering the target area." He saw Ho talking animatedly with several people on the street, smiling and greeting them. A group of laughing children ran by, chasing each other. Ho kept walking, stopping every few meters to greet another shopkeeper or pedestrian. One old woman in particular was holding his attention when she tried to push a bouquet of flowers upon him.
He still didn't see Sara, she should have been close to him by now. "Four, are you in position? He's moving out of the target zone."
"Already done, One."
Keith almost dropped his rifle in surprise. He tracked the scope over to the other end of the street, where Dani now stood outside the cafe and Sara stood next to her. His niece was rolling the coin-shaped token across her knuckles, grinning up at him.
"Ta ma de (fuck me blind)," Keith murmured. "You were in the group of children?"
Sara gave a smug little wink and moved off, hand-in-hand with her mother.
Keith chuckled, and spoke one more time. "Alright people, nicely done all around. Move off, rendezvous back at home." He kept chuckling to himself as he broke down his rifle for transport and put it into his carry bag. Girl was all sorts of sneaky fun. Hope Dani gives the idea of bigger jobs some serious thought, because this group was ready for the big leagues.
House of Pain. Tangrenjie. Persephone.
Keith.
Keith was back in his room and preparing for his final bout, when Ho entered angrily by himself, thrusting a common platinum piece into the former spec force trooper's face.
"Where is it?" the flustered Tong screamed.
"Now, now, Ho," Keith calmly answered, finishing the wrappings on his hands. "It's safe enough right now. And you'll get it back, just as soon as we do a little renegotiation."
"You si pi yan (damned asshole), do you want me to take one of your crew and-"
He was cut off when Keith suddenly loomed in his face, the dark look of promised violence causing him to shut his mouth immediately. "Mi you ling (listen closely), Mr. Ho. I'm only going to say this once," Keith growled.
"I do not take kindly to threats against my family. Last guy who did, ended up very painfully dead. You happen to know a hun dan (bastard) who went by the name of Yuri the Shark?" Ho's eyes widened slightly, and Keith continued. "Thought you might. Our work. I've gone along with your little game so far, to satisfy honor, yours and mine. I fucked up, and I paid the price. But you and I both know you mean for me to die out there tonight." Keith gave a confident smirk. "Not gonna happen."
Keith stepped back and sat down again to wrap up his feet. "Now, I know you already got money down on this fight. Still got time to change those bets on the sly, right before the fight. I'm sure everyone already noticed your change of tune in who you were betting on to win, and placed their bets accordingly." He looked up at Ho, who was working his jaw furiously. "You'll still make good coin. I'm out after tonight, and you never come back at me or mine, otherwise you find out just what kind of vengeance Yuri faced. Dong ma (understand)?"
Ho nodded, his eyes still furious. "Well, go get your bets changed, cutoff is in fifteen minutes," Keith reminded him.
As Ho stalked off, Keith spoke up again. "One more thing, Ho. Just in case you rethink our new agreement, we do have vid evidence of our possession of your token. And it will certainly get back to your Green Dragon Triad buddies if you ta ma de gen women (fuck with us)."
Slamming the door as he departed, Ho declined to answer. Keith would just have to assume the message was retained. If not, I got plenty more lessons to teach...
Walking into the ring for what would be his final fight, one way or another, he immediately sized up his opponent. This time, he mused, no theatrics. The other combatant was of Asian descent but was heavily muscled and clad in bright red shorts. He had a mop of dark hair on his head and no visible tattoos whatsoever, which threw Keith for a second. Must not be a local fighter. Great.
His pectoral muscles rippled in the light, and he paced on powerful legs. Even though he was a few centimeters shorter than Keith, this man was every bit the killer. It showed in how he moved, how he looked.
As the announcer signaled the start of the fight, his opponent sneered, and Keith caught his words of "I will break you." How cliche, he thought wryly as they stalked cautiously towards each other.
Keith struck first, a swift kick into the face that made the other man stumble back a step. He tried to follow-up with another kick but was easily blocked. For his troubles, Keith received a glancing blow to his muscled abdomen. Gorramit, this guy is fast and powerful.
His next blow was blocked as well, and the other fighter slipped in two quick punches, one to Keith's midsection again (that's gonna leave a bruise) and the other straight to the jaw, which sent him spinning to the floor. He quickly regained his feet and resumed a defensive position, looking for weaknesses in his opponent.
Keith tried for a lightning jab with his right that should have cracked a rib, but it was blocked by an iron grip around his fist. He couldn't bring his left around in time to block the knee he took to the other side of his abdomen. Ai ya, huai le (shit on my head) if I didn't twist at the last second that would have popped a rib easily.
He brought up his left hand instead to strike at the arm holding onto his right, but his opponent spun out of the way and sent Keith stumbling off-balance. A lesser fighter would have been left wide open for another attack, but Keith managed to use the spin to gain some distance. He was starting to get a little worried now.
Keith did a quick feint with his hands, as he figured most of the fighters who had watched him would expect such an attack, but instead sent another high kick to the other man's head, stunning him somewhat and stumbling him back a step or two. Before Keith could press his advantage, though, he had already recovered his equilibrium.
Noticing that he still seemed a little bit dazed, Keith renewed his attack with a flurry of punches. While his opponent was busy blocking and readying a counter-strike kick, he sent one of his own into the other fighter's ribcage. There. Two ribs cracked. I have him now.
Keith blocked the counter-strike that was slow in coming, and sent several punches into the other's solar plexus, then a rapid jab to the already-cracked ribs to break them entirely. Instead of blocking the wild roundhouse punch that was thrown, Keith simply ducked it and sent an elbow into the other fighter's left kneecap, almost buckling it. Temporarily immobilized but still on his feet, the other man could not move out of the way of the uppercut that Keith executed when rising back up.
The other fighter was lifted a few centimeters up on his toes, and as his eyes rolled up in his head, he collapsed like a sack of flour.
Breathing heavily, Keith looked around to see where his family stood among the rest of the howling audience. Spotting them, he ran up and vaulted himself over the railing to give and receive many enthusiastic hugs.
Later, as the crowd began to thin out, Keith was still up in the stands, his left arm linked with a gleeful Jess and the other cradling his painful abdomen. Dani and Lori were standing together with them grinning madly. Finally Mike walked up from the betting counter. "We raked it in, guys," he chortled. "Made as much as we did the first fight. You ever wanna take this up as a career huoban (buddy), you let me know an' I'll be yer manager!"
Keith laughed deeply while shaking his head and wincing in pain, but broke it off as Ho stalked towards him. "Mr. Grant," he hissed, "I demand the return of my item!" The dragon tattoo on his head seemed to twist with a life of its own in the dim light up in the stands.
Keith smirked, looking over Ho's shoulder and seeing the back of a small girl's curly brown head as it moved away. "Check your pocket Ho, you should be set." And he walked off with his family, laughing at the Tong's incredulous face.
He did, however, resolve not to set foot on the surface of Persephone again anytime soon.
NOTES: Fight scene credits to the Sherlock Holmes (2009, 2011) movies and the classic Bloodsport. Sorta. Well, close enough, gorramit.
