"Why the hell do I have to do her tonight?" whined the mountain of a man
dressed in a Zorro-styled mask and a black latex body suit, which showed
off every well-toned muscle. He wasn't known to his friends and enemies as
Goliath without reason.
Henry set his teeth before he answered. He wanted to maintain control of the conversation and cornering a beast like this one would probably not help achieve that goal. He regarded the man before him with disinterest and mentally counted to five before he responded.
"She took down Sasquatch without taking one hit, Gol," Henry said in an even tone. "The crowd LOVES her. You know I don't like the idea of a chick in this business, but ticket sales are way up and I can't ignore that."
"You aren't seriously considering her for a champ match, are you?"
Henry raised his eyebrows mockingly. "You're kidding, right?"
Goliath shrugged. "She's got a shot at us, don't she?"
Henry snickered and shook his head. "A shot. That's all. Your job is to neutralize her tonight before she gets any further. Should you fail to do so ..."
Goliath bristled. "I NEVER fail, boss."
Henry lifted a shoulder nonchalantly. "Just in case you do, I'll send Beelz in to finish her off next time. I'm sure you'll inflict some damage tonight in any case."
Goliath glowered behind his mask. "Make it a cage match and consider her gone," he seethed, before slamming open the office door and disappearing through it.
Henry chuckled.
--------------------------------------
*The man chasing her finally grabbed her by the arm and threw her down. He began to beat her and rip at her clothing. "No, please!" she begged. "My baby!" Her captor's only response was a sharp punch to
the jaw.*
Rio woke from the short nap with a start. Her heart was racing and she was sweating profusely. It took several long minutes to orient herself to her surroundings. She was still in the small, dingy room she'd let for the night. The nightmares always left her feeling confused and vulnerable. She hated that feeling.
When she finally caught her bearings, she looked at the clock. It was time to get dressed and prepare for the fight. If she'd been indifferent to the match before, she was most definitely looking forward to it now. Jack had informed her that it would be a cage match. Goliath demanded it. There was nothing like a cocky, formidable opponent in a cage, Rio smiled to herself.
--------------------------------------
"This better be worth my time, Sean," Andrew said as he took his seat in the first row. "How'd you score front row tickets at the last minute, anyway?"
"They go for a lot more money than the rest," Sean shrugged. "Check out this crowd? Do they look like they can afford to pay for front row?"
Andrew glanced around him at the grimy faces of the village locals. They were only 30 miles from the US border, yet it felt like they'd traveled to another world. These people were poor but not destitute. They looked hungry, but not starving. He got the feeling they liked their entertainment rough and was glad he didn't work this circuit.
"Where's Billy?" he asked, turning back to Sean.
"He said he was bringing Chuck and Rico with him."
Billy materialized a few seconds later with Chuck and Rico following behind him.
"Great seats, man! Now we'll really be able to see her in action," Billy said as he clapped Sean on the shoulder. He and the other two men sat down.
The first three bouts were uneventful. As in professional wrestling, they were warm ups to whet the crowd's appetites. Andrew, Sean and Billy made a comment or two on the competitors' lack of originality. Chuck and Rico nodded agreement, but focused on the ring. The fourth match was more interesting, with the two opponents engaging in what was essentially a brutal street fight, complete with metal pipes. Both left the ring in bloody messes, which took the cleaning crew some time to wipe up. Andrew had finally conceded that the fighting was certainly real. No loser left the arena without at least one broken limb.
When the ring was cleared and a disembodied voice announced in Spanish that the next bout was to be a cage match, Andrew knew something interesting was about to happen. Suddenly the entire audience rose from the seats and began cheering loudly. Sean tapped his arm and nodded as a steel mesh cage was lowered over the ring.
A hard rock song blasted much too loudly though the sound system while a huge man clad completely in skin tight black latex and a black half mask slowly made his way down the ramp. He glared ominously at the crowd for a few seconds then went through the door of the cage and into the ring. He paced impatiently as he waited for his opponent.
When the hulking maniac's music ended, Duran Duran's *Rio* immediately replaced it. Andrew looked expectantly up the ramp to see a small silver figure with golden hair trot down to a spot by the ring near to where he and his friends stood. She stretched her arms out to her sides and leaned into a small bow.
"Hey, Rio!" Sean shouted and was rewarded by her glance.
She was very tiny, Andrew thought as he saw her mouth kick up in one corner. Although her eyes were hidden behind mirrored sunglasses, he could swear she was smiling at him. Then it was gone as her attention became consumed by the cage in front of her.
She stalked around it carefully, passing the door. Goliath smiled, undoubtedly thinking she feared him and was forfeiting the match. Suddenly Rio back flipped against the cage and held on to the wire. She climbed the rest of the way up and dropped herself into the ring from the top.
As Andrew watched the ring riveted he knew this was going to be worth the change in travel plans.
Henry set his teeth before he answered. He wanted to maintain control of the conversation and cornering a beast like this one would probably not help achieve that goal. He regarded the man before him with disinterest and mentally counted to five before he responded.
"She took down Sasquatch without taking one hit, Gol," Henry said in an even tone. "The crowd LOVES her. You know I don't like the idea of a chick in this business, but ticket sales are way up and I can't ignore that."
"You aren't seriously considering her for a champ match, are you?"
Henry raised his eyebrows mockingly. "You're kidding, right?"
Goliath shrugged. "She's got a shot at us, don't she?"
Henry snickered and shook his head. "A shot. That's all. Your job is to neutralize her tonight before she gets any further. Should you fail to do so ..."
Goliath bristled. "I NEVER fail, boss."
Henry lifted a shoulder nonchalantly. "Just in case you do, I'll send Beelz in to finish her off next time. I'm sure you'll inflict some damage tonight in any case."
Goliath glowered behind his mask. "Make it a cage match and consider her gone," he seethed, before slamming open the office door and disappearing through it.
Henry chuckled.
--------------------------------------
*The man chasing her finally grabbed her by the arm and threw her down. He began to beat her and rip at her clothing. "No, please!" she begged. "My baby!" Her captor's only response was a sharp punch to
the jaw.*
Rio woke from the short nap with a start. Her heart was racing and she was sweating profusely. It took several long minutes to orient herself to her surroundings. She was still in the small, dingy room she'd let for the night. The nightmares always left her feeling confused and vulnerable. She hated that feeling.
When she finally caught her bearings, she looked at the clock. It was time to get dressed and prepare for the fight. If she'd been indifferent to the match before, she was most definitely looking forward to it now. Jack had informed her that it would be a cage match. Goliath demanded it. There was nothing like a cocky, formidable opponent in a cage, Rio smiled to herself.
--------------------------------------
"This better be worth my time, Sean," Andrew said as he took his seat in the first row. "How'd you score front row tickets at the last minute, anyway?"
"They go for a lot more money than the rest," Sean shrugged. "Check out this crowd? Do they look like they can afford to pay for front row?"
Andrew glanced around him at the grimy faces of the village locals. They were only 30 miles from the US border, yet it felt like they'd traveled to another world. These people were poor but not destitute. They looked hungry, but not starving. He got the feeling they liked their entertainment rough and was glad he didn't work this circuit.
"Where's Billy?" he asked, turning back to Sean.
"He said he was bringing Chuck and Rico with him."
Billy materialized a few seconds later with Chuck and Rico following behind him.
"Great seats, man! Now we'll really be able to see her in action," Billy said as he clapped Sean on the shoulder. He and the other two men sat down.
The first three bouts were uneventful. As in professional wrestling, they were warm ups to whet the crowd's appetites. Andrew, Sean and Billy made a comment or two on the competitors' lack of originality. Chuck and Rico nodded agreement, but focused on the ring. The fourth match was more interesting, with the two opponents engaging in what was essentially a brutal street fight, complete with metal pipes. Both left the ring in bloody messes, which took the cleaning crew some time to wipe up. Andrew had finally conceded that the fighting was certainly real. No loser left the arena without at least one broken limb.
When the ring was cleared and a disembodied voice announced in Spanish that the next bout was to be a cage match, Andrew knew something interesting was about to happen. Suddenly the entire audience rose from the seats and began cheering loudly. Sean tapped his arm and nodded as a steel mesh cage was lowered over the ring.
A hard rock song blasted much too loudly though the sound system while a huge man clad completely in skin tight black latex and a black half mask slowly made his way down the ramp. He glared ominously at the crowd for a few seconds then went through the door of the cage and into the ring. He paced impatiently as he waited for his opponent.
When the hulking maniac's music ended, Duran Duran's *Rio* immediately replaced it. Andrew looked expectantly up the ramp to see a small silver figure with golden hair trot down to a spot by the ring near to where he and his friends stood. She stretched her arms out to her sides and leaned into a small bow.
"Hey, Rio!" Sean shouted and was rewarded by her glance.
She was very tiny, Andrew thought as he saw her mouth kick up in one corner. Although her eyes were hidden behind mirrored sunglasses, he could swear she was smiling at him. Then it was gone as her attention became consumed by the cage in front of her.
She stalked around it carefully, passing the door. Goliath smiled, undoubtedly thinking she feared him and was forfeiting the match. Suddenly Rio back flipped against the cage and held on to the wire. She climbed the rest of the way up and dropped herself into the ring from the top.
As Andrew watched the ring riveted he knew this was going to be worth the change in travel plans.