As the first ding sounded through the air, the entire gym rose to its feet in applause. Mario dove out of the ring under the bottom rope. Better get away while the getting was good. He thought.
Doc climbed into the ring and lifted Mac up in the air. "Ya did it, kid! Great job! Now that's how you go out there and get a win!" The Martinets and Granny Louis came into the ring to celebrate.
"Never had a doubt about it!" Lou clapped.
Granny Louis gave him a hug. "Well done son, well done."
"That was amazing, the way you backed into the corner at the end, I just about had a heart attack!" Yoko said.
"Man, that kid's tough." Luigi, still on the outside of the ring looking in, heard someone say behind him.
"Tough? That's it? Just tough?" He looked back at the spectator incredulously. "Hold on If you were from, where he was from, you'd be fucking dead. This kid's from the South Bronx, buddy. It's been a dozen years since Cosell said the Bronx was burning, and the whole South Bronx still fucked up. And this kid, he lived through all of it. And I ain't talking before the fires. I'm talking during the fires, after the fires. This kid did see it all. He grew up in a war zone. And he made it out of there. This kid is tough as a two dollar steak, and even more likely to wreck your gut. He was ducking crib jobs and push-ins before he met Doc."
"Wait really? Fuck." The fan shook his head.
"This kid was never gonna lose." Luigi grinned as he looked up at Mac. "It was only a matter of time."
A reporter and several cameramen started carefully making their way into the ring, tangled up with the security who was furiously trying to get past them for something. The reporter brushed herself off and gave the guards a nasty look before turning to Doc and Mac. "Polly James, WPIX Manhattan, can we get a word with the winner?"
"Mac really isn't the kind of boy to talk with his mouth," Doc replied, stepping in-between the flashing cameras and Mac. "As you can see, he's done all the talking in the ring and I think that's enough for one night. Thank you, but I wanna run him to the clinic to get him checked out." He motioned for Mac to get out of the ring.
"Hold on a second son," Doc grabbed Mac's shoulder. "I do believe you got a little bit of business to take care of." His lips twisted into a smile. "Donnie! Hey-Hey Donnie!" He looked around the gym. Donnie King had just about reached the exit. "Where you going, Donnie? We ain't done yet! Why don't you come down here and sign this contract?!"
Donnie's eyes were blazing with rage. Doc could see the veins just about to pop out of his face. No doubt the crowd's raucous approval was biting at him even more. Good. Doc thought to himself. Just when he thought he could crawl away like the rat he was. No. Mac was getting what he came here and fought for. He would make sure of it.
"You look a little mad Donnie, what's wrong? You look like you about to have a heart attack? Can you have it after my guy signs them papers? You know, I couldn't help but notice your announcer made a mistake during our entrance. That whole 'Little Mac' thing. But honestly, I kinda like it! Little Mac with a lotta smack, hit ya mouth harder than 20 Tic Tacs! Yeah... sounds real nice!" He gave Mac a pat on the back. "Come on then, give the winner his prize!"
"Damn Mario, you were looking like Bo Jackson getting out of that ring!" Pauline's belly laugh filled the car as she came to a red light. "That bell rang one second and you were out of there the next!"
"You ain't see the guards chasing me on the way out?" Mario replied. "I thought they were gonna beat my ass. Lucky my ass slipped around so many bodies getting outta Dodge."
"Oh if they had gotten their hands on you, you would've gotten a beating." She chuckled. "I'm just kidding. As if I would let that happen to you."
"Thanks." Mario sat back and took in a sigh of relief. "Ugh. That shit was crazy. Did we really just rig a boxing match?"
"First of all, we didn't do anything. You rigged a boxing match." Pauline turned off the busy street onto another. Her red Ferrari 328 Twin Turbo purred nicely, definitely turning a few heads in the traffic. "You were the one in the ring. You were the one security is chasing. There is no we. There is you. There is me. But there ain't no we yet. Not until Donnie King can prove we were in on this together. But uh, I suggest you don't go outside for a few days. Maybe shave your mustache."
"Yeah, I plan on burning those ref clothes first chance I get." Mario looked down at the backseat. After changing into his ref disguise, Mario had slipped his overalls underneath the ring, quickly getting them as he left. He'd changed back once his getaway was finished. "But I ain't burning the 'stache."
"Your funeral," Pauline replied. "Man, I am so glad I came tonight instead of eating lobster with that snobby rich drip. This was ten times as fun and a thousand times more memorable. How in the fuck did you come up with Peter Cullen, of all names?"
"Honestly names were just transforming in my head at a million miles an hour until I picked one out." He let out a yawn. Man, pulling that stunt was more exhausting than I thought it would be. So, how we getting back to Brooklyn? FDR?"
She made a turn. "Yeah." Lemme put the roof down one second. I love this cold air." The roof retracted, allowing the December air to blow through the car. "It's so refreshing.
"Man, I can't wait to see Mac again. I'm so fucking proud of him. This is gonna be huge for his confidence. He's probably gonna train twice as hard now. He's getting a steady check too, I bet he's gonna be a totally different person after this!" Mario beamed. Twinkles shone in his eyes.
"Wish I could be there for a celebration," Pauline muttered. The bridge was coming up, just as soon as traffic got moving. "Mom and Dad are gonna be crawling up my ass once they hear about my date.
"H-Hey," Mario's expression went somber. "I'm sorry you can't make the party, but I want you to know, this wouldn't have been possible without you at all. I owe you more time."
"Ya know," A small grin emerged from her lips. "if you wanna make it up to me, you could spend the night at my place."
"R-R-Really?" Mario didn't see that one coming.
"I mean my parents are already gonna be pissed when they find out about tonight. Might as well make it worth it. So whaddy'a say?"
"Sure." Mario perked right back up. "Wanna stop for ice cream on the way?"
"Well, now that you said it, of course I do! It's ice cream!"
"I know a couple of places out the way with good ice cream, I'll you were to get once we get off FDR."
"With that gut, I'm not surprised."
"Hey don't be rude." He pointed a finger at her. "There's muscle under these overalls."
"Maybe mussel with pasta and garlic."
"Oh, so you're gonna be Ms. Comedian all night. I see how it is."
"Yep." She grinned. "Wouldn't have it any other way."
Mario put another spoonful in his mouth. "Mmmm, the holy trinity force of cherry, vanilla and bubble gum."
She was smiling, but she looked so...sad.
"Are you okay?" Mario put his spoon down. "Normally you shovel your strawberry banana sundae down, but you're not even halfway in yet."
"Maybe I just wanna savor it." She rested her chin in her palm. "This is gonna be the last time we do this, after all."
"Yeah, I guess you're right." He glanced over at the old couple behind the counter, getting ready to close shop for the night. "Let's finish this in the car."
"Did I say something wrong?" She asked. "I didn't mean to bother you."
"Nah, I just want to get up out of their hair." Mario left the table and walked to the counter, opening up his wallet. "Good ice cream. Have a nice night Mr. Aziz." He put a $20 bill next to the register.
The man looked up from the floor, putting his broom to the wall to shake Mario's hand. "Ah-ha! Sukran! Thank you very much, Mario! Have a nice night."
"As-salāmu ʿalaykum," Mario replied, before grabbing what was left of his ice cream and walking out the door.
He watched from the car as Pauline quickly fumbled around in her purse before walking up to the counter and putting down a few bills of her own. Mr. Aziz's expression seemed to grow more and more exuberant with every dollar that touched the counter. The woman emerged from the back to see what was going on. She looked down at the money and gasped. She quickly hugged Pauline before wiping tears from her eyes, and the couple pointed down, seemingly asking Pauline if she wanted any more ice cream. She declined, obviously flustered and embarrassed. The three spoke a little more before Pauline got her ice cream and hurried out, saying one last thing to them before she got into the car.
Mario popped another spoonful into his mouth. "How much you give them?"
"$500 in $50s" she replied. "What did you say to them?"
"As-salāmu ʿalaykum." He repeated. "It's Arabic."
"You know Arabic?"
"Yeah, I used to be friends with a bunch of black kids when I was little. One of my best friends was named Kwamé. His parents were always good to me. Had a display of stuff they got when they marched."
"What happened between you guys?"
"Couple of black people got stabbed on Arthur Avenue. Dad was hiding Mafia guys in the pizza shop and apparently, they were there the ones that did it. Ain't see much of Kwamé once word got out."
"Holy shit dude." Pauline gasped a little. "Honestly, I forget your dad did that. What was that like?"
"I don't remember too much of it actually. I was like three. I heard Mom and Dad talk about later and I guess they had a bag of money under our beds and a couple of guns under theirs, just in case we ever had to run. Dad doesn't like talking about it. I think he was expecting to get killed or locked up. Didn't want us to go with him."
"Sounds intense."
"Pretty sure it was. But I guess everything turned out fine. Mafia ain't killed us yet. Dad never got sent up the river. Never seen them collect from Dad so I guess they honored the deal."
He finished off the rest of his ice cream. "You know, there's a little spot around here a bit off road near a park. Ain't no lights. You get to just look up at the city. It's beautiful, I'm telling ya."
"Alright then Let's go." Pauline started up the engine, taking one last look at the couple in the shop. Tears were coming out of there eyes as they hugged.
"It's really nice," she smiled. "being able to make people so happy."
"Yeah." Mario replied. "Money can't buy happiness, but it can sure as hell by some peace of mind."
"Oh, it's here. It's here.
Pauline slowed the Twin Turbo as she approached the fork in the road. The left side broke out into a narrow dirt road surrounded by trees and bushes.
'You weren't kidding when you say no lights. Great place to mugged."
"Trust me, it's safe." Mario pressed a button and the roof of the car enveloped them. "Probably be a good idea to put the top up."
Pauline cut the headlights on and turned left. Mario thought about cutting the radio on. Ehh, probably shouldn't. Pauline might call it distracting. Just gonna play it when we're out of these trees. He'd never come here at night before, but he wasn't about to tell her that. He and Luigi used to ride bikes up here when they were kids. Afterwards, they'd play basketball in the park below the point. Luigi, with his bullshit jumpshot, normally won.
But tonight, the woodland was eerily quiet. Bare trees that had long since lost their last leaf, the area caked with heaps of snow all around. He was so used to the place teeming with life, the silence was honestly a little unsettling. No bugs chirping all around them. Mario always loved to tease Luigi with those sounds, wiggling his fingers against the back of his brother's neck to spook. Especially when Luigi won in basketball. Which he did. A lot.
As Pauline made started driving upward, Mario breathed a small sigh of relief as he heard an owl chronically hoot in the distance. Finally, some other form of life. Being alone with Pauline was never a bad thing. Still, maybe they should make this quick. If something happened to the car or the path back to the road, they'd be cut off from civilization in the freezing snow and the only outcomes to that would be bad, worse, and fucked.
"Well, here we are." Pauline put the 328 in Park and cut off the lights. She took a few moments to take in the vast view of the city. Mario was right. The myriad of lights was absolutely gorgeous. "Honestly once you get past the trees, it is a nice view."
"Yeah. It is." Mario replied. Snow softly descended around them, but the car's heater kept it nice and toasty inside. "You mind if I cut on the radio?"
"Honestly? Leave it off. I'd rather it just be us. One last time." She put a had on her face, wiping away a tear with her thumb. "Brooklyn is beautiful. I'm gonna miss it so much. I'm gonna miss you. I'm gonna miss everything."
"Woah woah woah woah woah." Mario grabbed her other hand. "What do you mean you're gonna miss Brooklyn? Pauline, what's wrong?"
"I...I-I've been...hiding this for a while now, Mario. But my parents... they're sending me out of Brooklyn."
"WHAT?!" Mario would've jumped out of his seat if his seat belt hadn't held him back. "Brooklyn's all you know! You've been here your whole life! Where would they put you?"
"They said I need a new start. In their firm in Beverly Hills."
Beverly Hills. Cali-fucking-fornia.
"The west coast. Of course." He pinched his nose.
She sighed, wiping away a few more tears. "There's not convincing them after what I did tonight, it's a done deal."
"After what you did tonight?"
"I was trying to convince my parents to let me stay in Brooklyn. I overheard my Dad say that if I got a boyfriend and set up some connections, he'd probably let me stay. That's why I went all out for my date. I want to stay here."
"And you hopped out on your date..." Mario slowly lowered his head, blankly staring down. "Oh fuck..."
"I don't regret my decision." She snapped. The coupled moved their head back, both surprised with the force she said that with.
"I...I don't." She repeated. "My date was a billionaire, but he wasn't a trillionth of the person you are. You're amazing, Mario. Besides, Mac had a fight tonight. And I ended up helping get him into the WVBA. He would have gotten cheated if it wasn't for the two of us, together. I threw away my chance to give him one. Now he's a guaranteed member of the WVBA. A guarantee is better than a chance, you know? Either way, I'm still way better off than him. He needed it more. I just wished it hadn't come to this."
She looked down at the luxurious interior of the Ferrari. "I'm sorry for telling you this all at once. I get it if you're pissed at me. I'd be mad at me too."
"How could I ever be mad when you've done so much for me? For my family?" He reached across the seat and hugged her. "Thank you so much. I know I keep saying it, but thank you. I could never repay you for what you've done."
A smirk. "Damn right you can't. I gave you 90 grand just a few weeks ago."
The two erupted in laughter, both wiping away a few tears.
"Hey, Mario, remember that time I went with your family to a Yankees' game?"
"You mean against the Mets? Yeah, I remember. Luigi wouldn't shut up about it when the bad guys won. Especially since they got a chip that year."
"Remember how Everyone was so into the game? You and your dad were arguing with Luigi if Darling could keep control, which team had the better R.B.I, everything. We spent hours on the edge of our seats with every pitch. We had stale chips and hot dogs, sang along, cheered and booed. It was just, fun, ya know? Being invested in something bigger than yourself."
"Yeah, I know." A grin eased through his face. "We couldn't go to a lot of Yankee games, but I'll never forget the times we did. I just wish the Yanks actually won when we went, damn it."
"I had such a fun time. Everything, everyone felt so alive. And we were just a few fans in the nosebleeds. When I went to a game last year with my parents, we were in the skybox. Gourmet food, gifts, couches, the works. And it felt like we were just... there. We were watching a game, not experiencing it. There wasn't the thrill of being with other people. Your family is just so tight-knit. I wish I felt that every day from my parents. but I don't. I really don't. And that just...bothers me? You know?"
"Yeah. I know."
"You can your family have taught me so much about what family could be. What it should be. The way you and your family... will just do anything for each other. I wish I had that. I know my parents love me. It's just that...I don't really feel it. And sometimes I wonder if they don't love me for who I am, but love me for who I could be. Does-does that make sense?"
"Trust me, I deal with them. I know what you mean. There's no love lost there. Still, I don't wanna come between you and your parents." Mario scrubbed his face. "But if you feel that way, you feel it for a reason. For what it's worth. I think your parents love you. They're just really bad at it. Not everyone can be a couple of witty, charming, Italian stallions."
"Don't make me even more jealous." She flicked him on the forehead. "You guy make me feel like I'm not alone. But now, I'm gonna be. But, while we are here, I did want to run something by you."
"Anything."
"I always wanted to open up an amusement park. Where kids and their parents can just come in on a Saturday afternoon and make memories that are gonna last years. If I'm in Beverly Hills, I might be able to start working on it. I need a name for it though. Never could come up with one."
"Hmmm... an amusement park name." Mario's eyes rolled around his head, racking in his brain in an effort to produce a solution. "Uhhhhhhhhhhh, how about Donk?"
"Donk?" Pauline looked at him incredulously. "What kind of a name is Donk?"
"I mean, it sounds like something out of a kid's book. Something childish. Fun."
"Huh... I guess you're right. Donk. I'll keep that in mind."
A flash of light appeared at the edge of the point. Mere steps away.
"What the-" Pauline stopped. "What is that?"
The light expanded in midair, blinking rapidly as waves of light cycled into the edges. Pauline and Mario shielded their eyes.
"Never seen anything like it." Mario learned forward, trying to peer at it. "You know, actually, it kind of reminds of a portal from He-Man-"
"OOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"
The monstrous sound enveloped the pair. Both pushed back into their seats as the noise blasted into their bodies, rocking their cores. A massive hand shot through the light, quickly becoming an arm sprawled in fur. Pauline and Mario were left breathless as they watched more and more mass come out of the light. In mere moments, the creature was completely upon them. A gargantuan gorilla, larger than any they'd ever seen.
The gorilla huffed and puff as it looked back at the light and watched it close. Wisps of smoke streamed from large bright red marks on its body. As the light dissipated, the ape took a deep breath and sat down. Several grunts erupted from its mouth, and the gorilla put a hand on its chest with a wince. It raised its feet off of the snow, seemingly just feeling the chill. It opened its fist, revealing a small rectangular object. The gorilla clenched down on the object, and a red glow surrounded its body. The marks that laced the primate healed rapidly. Getting back to a vertical base, the ape looked around its body to see all the damage fully negated, and that's when it noticed the car behind it.
Pauline barely breathed, arms trembling behind the steering wheel.
"Pauline," Mario didn't dare blink. "Reverse."
The gorilla took a step forward, bearing its massive teeth.
"REVERSE!"
The car roared to life as it shot backward. The pair jolted forward as the Twin Turbo hit a guardrail, the brake light smashing against metal. The gorilla grabbed the front hood of the 328 and lifted it off the ground. Pauline screamed and floored the gas. The gorilla crunched down on the car, chunks of metal flying as the ape defiantly pulling it to its body. Mario looked at the gear lever. He grabbed it and put it in Drive. The car rocketed into the gorilla's chest and sped forward, the gorilla falling on top of the windshield.
"STOP! STOP! STOP! THE EDGE!
Pauline floored the brake as the car reached the edge of the bluff. The ape fell off of the windshield but grabbed what was left of the hood. It legs dangled in the air over the bluff.
Pauline and Mario heard the car teeter over. The gorilla's weight would bring it over the edge for sure.
"HONK THE HORN!" Mario turned on the headlights, flashing the bright lights right into the ape's eyes. The ape took a hand off the car to shield its eyes, wrenching its head back away from the awful horn of the car, and that's when it looked down. Down at the ground so far away on this steep bluff.
"LET GO! LET GO!" Mario and Pauline shouted.
The gorilla swung its arm out, revealing the object once more. A hole opened up below the gorilla, right as the fell off the bluff.
And taking Mario and Pauline with it.
The morning is dead, and the day is too
There's nothing left here to lead me but the velvet moon
