Meanwhile, Ulsio the Rat was being thrown against the wall as he wailed: "Okay, okay man I'll tell you whatever you want to know but please don't hit me anymore okay?" Francis Gage, 'Gage' to his friends, chuckled and said: "Why are you looking at me? Tell it to her." This said as he pointed at his partner Sydney Cooke, 'Syd' to her friends, as she said: "Don't you ever touch me again rat-boy, or I'll do more than give you a bloody nose. Where is the next fight being held at?"
Sydney and Gage walked into the Texas Ranger office and stood in front of Walker's desk as they gave their report: "Ulsio says the next fight is in the warehouse district in one week. Number 94 I think, right Gage?" Gage said: "That's right Syd. This is supposed to be a big one too. High rollers and big money, the kind of things we got into the Rangers to put an end to." Walker sat back in his chair and mulled it over. Looking over to Trivette's desk he said: "Anything on the internet yet?" Trivette looked up from his screen and said: "Yeah. I've made a few hits and misses. It will be covered live on-line with bets starting at $1000 just to ante up and going higher from there. Why do people do this kind of thing Walker?"
Walker said: "Fighting or betting on fighting?" "Both", Trivette clarified. Walker smiled and said: "Well the fighting has any number of reasons behind it. Making money of course is the main one. Others do it because that's the only life they know, some for the reputation they can get for winning, others just to prove something. The people who bet on that kind of thing do it to again, make money, but also for the visceral thrill they get from it." Here's what we'll do, Sydney and Gage, I want you both to go in undercover. You can decide who will be what, manager, fighter or spectator. Get inside and start noting times, places and dates if you can."
Gage thought a moment and said: "Wouldn't be easier to go in as fighters?" Walker grimaced a little and said: "Only as a last resort. I don't want either of you getting busted up or worse." Gage smiled and said: "Us? Get busted up? Not likely." All four had a laugh and then went to their respective desks to start the operation rolling.
One week later saw Sydney and Gage in a limousine with tinted windows so dark that they couldn't see out. The fights, as it turned out were by invitation only, so Gage, under cover as a manager, in a custom cut suit that made him look truly handsome in Sydney's eyes was saying: "I'm telling you Syd, I've got a bad feeling about this, maybe we shouldn't do it."
Sydney on the other hand, as the fighter was in a pair of spandex cycling pants with a matching top and sport bra underneath with her hair tied up into buns. She said: "We've been over this before Gage; I won the toss so I get to go in as the fighter." Gage, still remembered the way the wind had been knocked out of him after she threw him to the training mat back at Ranger headquarters said: "It's not your fighting that bothers me. It's the details that Trivette found out about this particular fighting circuit. How the two best fighters finish out with the highest of the high rollers deciding if the loser lives or dies. That's why the Rangers are even in on this case, because of the deaths that have been showing up in metro's in-basket." Sydney said: "I know Gage. I know. I'm touched at your concern for me but if I get to the finals, you can hit the panic button that Trivette gave you and that will bring in the S.W.A.T. team before the fight can even begin."
Sydney and Gage both knew that they could speak so plainly because the surveillance division had cleared the limo of any listening devices before they left for the fight, but even that reassurance had not truly satisfied Gage's misgivings. Finally, the limo came to a stop and as they got ready to get out, Gage said it again: "Just be careful Syd." She smiled and gave him a peck on the cheek as an answer as the door opened.
The fights had been going on for a little over two hours and the pack was thinning out. Gage had used the "flash-money" that had been given to him to spread around to help build his and Sydney's cover. The remaining fighters were the usual assortment of street scum, boxers, loan-shark enforcers, actual martial artists trying to prove themselves and more than a few down-on-there-lucks just trying to get enough money to cover rent and food.
There was one person there though that stood out to Gage besides his partner. He had been introduced as "Ryu" to the onlookers before his fights. Gage had watched him closely. While his stance seemed open, his torso at an oblique angle to his opponent, his legs shoulder width or so and his front arm low at the waist with his opposite hand held high close to his head, in reality, it turned out that his defense was practically impenetrable.
His first few fights didn't last long, nor did he waste time by showing off anything more than what he needed to finish the fight. At the moment, Gage was wishing he had won the toss so he could fight this Ryu fellow but Sydney had won the toss and her turn was up to face him. Sydney was one of only four women who had entered; the other three had already been eliminated. The first by Sydney herself, the second by a hulking bruiser and the third had left after her second fight due to injuries.
Of those fights, only the second had really grated on Gage's nerves. All his life he had been taught never to hit a woman except in legitimate self-defense or a sanctioned and controlled training environment. God knew that Sydney had gotten a few bruises training with him but she always got back up and congratulated him on a good shot. The bruiser had dominated the fight from the beginning. Slapping her silly and insulting her the whole time with all manner of female slurs. Gage had nearly lost his cool but the event bouncers got into it and pulled him off of the poor woman. She had left on her own but still it nagged at him. Gage was forced to remember that she had stepped into the ring on her own so must've known the risks. Sydney's fights till now had been pretty good. She'd only been hit once and the black eye was only now appearing, but her opponent, Ryu, hadn't been touched yet. This promised to be a good fight.