"I -" silence floated over the table, beer bottles hovering as the group waited for the red-head to continue. "I really wanted to fight you." Gavin's finger jabbed into the aquanaut's chest with utter dejection. "Gah, Seth! Just this once, man!"
"Sorry, Gav," the smaller man grinned, entirely not sorry. "Better luck next time, right? Or maybe after some trainin'. Gettin' a bit slow, old man."
There was a growl of warning and Gordon took the opportunity to intercede before anything came of the banter, "I know I could use some training." He gestured to the bruise over his jaw before reapplying the ice pack Virgil had sent with him. "Think I got lucky on that last one."
"You kiddin' me?" Gavin stared at him like he'd lost his mind. The neck of the bottle in the man's hand tilted towards him for emphasis, "You took down a fighter twice your size in one blow! Not many out here can do that!"
No one out here had trained with Kayo. "That is true," and he might have thrown a knowing look at the red-head before taking a sip of his one and only beer. An opening made itself available and he let the question pass his lips, "So what now? Just gonna stay and watch?"
"Wouldn't miss it! I'm gonna need you to show Seth, here, a thing or two." A toothy grin aimed at the other fighter who just laughed, whether at the obsurdity of Gordon winning or the dig from his friend, the aquanaut couldn't tell. It was jovial, at least.
"Well, I heard Janus already left," Seth informed them and Gordon felt slightly confused and concerned. Janus had been his final opponent. If he'd left for medical reasons, it would be the iR members fault.
"Heard, where? The ladies' lockers?" A sly smile from Gavin told of mischief that only seemed to embarrass the man.
"Y'know she'll tear your head off for that kinda talk," Seth warned. "You know she can."
"Who?" Gordon asked, intrigued.
"Kris Bower, his girlfriend," and also the woman Kayo had easily taken out of the tournament.
Gordon had the courtesy to look worried, "Sorry about that. Mai is pretty skilled."
"No worries, mate," Seth waved him off. "Comes with the territory. Your friend is a bit scary, though."
"Got that right," he took a sip, fully aware that Kayo was listening in. His family hadn't been about to send him out on his own. If he missed something, they would be ready to pick up on it and direct him onto the necessary path.
A calm, cool voice filled his ear, "Probing questions, Gordon. You've obviously made friends." There was a smile mingling into Penelope's request.
The bottle tapped on the wooden surface and he was more than happy to comply, "So how long have you two been competing?"
"Mmm -" he'd caught Seth mid sip before he laughed and gestured to the red-head. "Old man over there's been in it since he was sixteen!" Which was saying something since Gavin's bio had informed him that he was currently twenty-seven - same as Virgil. His older brother hadn't even been a part of international rescue at sixteen and it was difficult to imagine anyone fighting for that length of time.
"Don't let 'im fool ya," Gavin interjected. "That's just when I started gettin' into real fights. Street brawls and the like. Still just as much fun, mind you!"
"Impressive," Gordon leaned against the table. "Where do you get the drive? I've only been doing this a couple years and I can't imagine my body'll last that long." The ice pack left his face to prove his point.
"All depends on how often you get broken," the smaller man offered, stretching his arm over his chest. "The more you train, hone your skill, you won't have to worry about wearin' yourself down. Just don't get hit."
The ache in his ribs was encouragement enough to take the advice, "That's what Mai tries to teach me - not an easy feat."
"So that explains it," a laugh as Gavin pinned him with a knowing grin. For a moment, Gordon wondered if he'd said something wrong and alerted them to his real purpose for meeting them for drinks, but the amusement on his friend's face calmed the worry. "You two fight the same - she's better, of course. I'd love to know how you two can get knockout blows so easily."
His laugh was accompanied by Kayo's soft chuckle, "Trust me, it ain't easy. She tends to make you learn through experience. Can't tell you how many times I woke up with a headache and a face full of mat." A cocky grin spread over his face as he realized, "Hey, I can probably show Seth tomorrow!"
Gavin found that epiphany quite amusing as he let out an excited yip, "Now, that I'd pay good money to see!"
Gordon's brow lifted as Seth added his own form of excitement, "You willin' to lose that cash, eh?"
A laugh, deep and mocking, "A hundred on the kid knockin' you on yer arse!"
"Oh, you're own, Gavvie-boy," a hand thrust out and the red-head accepted it with a hearty shake. It all happened so quickly, the aquanaut hadn't had time to stop it.
But that didn't mean he couldn't question the bet, "Whoa whoa, I thought gambling on the fights was illegal?"
"Frowned upon," Seth clarified. "Now, if we were bettin' through a bookie, big money, then yes, but this is just a friendly wager."
"Yep, nothin' to worry about," Gavin took a sip of his drink, finishing it off. "You boys want another?" Gordon waved him off, his bottle still mostly full. As he left, Penelope's voice was back in the aquanaut's ear.
"They're hiding something," she sounded entirely too pleased and whether it was aimed towards him or the information he was gathering, it still sent a flutter through his chest. "Keep talking to them about gambling."
Gordon turned his focus to Seth, figuring he might be more forthcoming on his own, "There's gotta be some kind of gambling in the shadows, right? I'm sure that alone was what kept our town alive."
"Well," it was offered with a hint of hesitation. "There's always gonna be the bets in small groups." Seth's gaze shifted slightly before he leaned closer to Gordon in order to whisper. "Truth is, there are a couple rumors goin' around that some of the fighters might be betting on themselves. Idiots."
Gordon's nose scrunched at the idea, sending a dull spike across the bridge. More than likely, fighters were betting on their opponents and going down in order to gain from their loss. It was easy enough to pull off. Make a few matches appear like you're likely to be the top fighter, bets would be placed on you winning only for the gamblers to lose. The pot would be much higher if one bet against themselves in that case.
"They'd risk getting disqualified?" He didn't have to fake the confusion and awe that people would be that reckless.
"Money's a motivator if you don't think you'll make it to the final round for a chance at the belt and payout. In this case, ya might start off lookin' like you can barely handle an easy fight. Get a couple o' those and then, when you go up against the big dogs, everyone'll bet against ya. Easy money if ya got the skill." He had a good point. "Bloke's likely to make more placing an underhanded bet in the end."
Gavin returned with a glass of dark liquid and a basket of pretzels, "You two haven't been gossipin' behind my back have ya?"
"What's there to tell? Just planning your retirement party and finding the best old folks' home to ship ya off to," Seth ducked a salt-coated projectile and Gordon couldn't help but chuckle. They'd gotten some information and he was happy to observe the banter. The smaller fighter didn't seem willing to offer anything else with Gavin around, making Gordon think there might be a bit of mistrust between the two.
The rest of the evening fell into much of the same dialogue. They discussed their past fights - or what Gordon had decided was an exciting story for his persona - trying not to make anything sound too over the top. Gavin and Seth had been more than happy to take the rest of the evening talking about other tournament locations and which had been their favorite. The tournament they were currently competing in was not their favorite, but had offered new challenges with the multiple fights in a day. Apparently, this was the only competition doing that and it was picking up interest.
"I gotta call it, guys," Gordon relented as his watch buzzed a warning from his brother.
"Already?" Gavin groaned.
"I'm lucky my doc even let me out," he gave his friend's an apologetic smile. "But I'll see you guys tomorrow."
"You best believe you will," there was a warning in Seth's voice as he continued. "Get some sleep, Sammie. I'm expectin' a challenge!"
"Oh, you'll get one!" If not for how much these two seemed to enjoy the fights, Gordon might have felt worse than he already did about having to compete against either of them. He knew what Kayo's strikes felt like and he wasn't thrilled about using one on Seth. Maybe they would get lucky and find the bad guys before their fight started. That would make things far less complicated.
Gordon offered his farwells before heading for the door. Like clockwork, Virgil and Parker were waiting in the car.
"Have fun?" His brother asked as he carefully climbed into the back, his body still angry with him.
"You think Scott would be mad if I quit iR to follow my new friends around the country?" He grinned at the laugh that pulled from Virgil. "Thought as much."
"Hey, nothing's stopping you from just hanging out on occasion," this time there was sincerity of someone who understood the need for an outside life from their day job.
"That's if they still want to talk to me when this is all over," and not for the first time, he felt the guilt of deceiving people.
Virgil was sat across from him, dark brown eyes pinning him with concern. How many times had those eyes found him in his moments of vulnerability and worked to dig free the root cause? Tonight was no different, "I'm sure if they know you're doing this to rescue fighters who've gone missing, they'd be more than understanding."
Gordon couldn't help the small laugh that bubbled up as Gavin's voice filled his head with exclamations about them being members of international rescue. They were the good guys after all. "Guess we'll just have to wait and see."
Their ride was a short one as they pulled up to the hotel lobby and made their way up to the room. Kayo was waiting in her workout gear, not a good sign for the aquanaut as she threw his gear to him.
"Aw, do we have to?" Gordon recognized the mistake immediately, but he was tired and sore, which she easily played on.
"If you think you can take another blow to your ribs tomorrow, we can skip it?" A smile tugged at the corner of her lips, fully aware that another blow would mean a broken rib. There was no way he could progress with that kind of impairment.
"Fine, gimme a minute," he took the clothes and headed for the bathroom in their suite. Once inside, his shirt came off and he got his first good look at the bruising over his side. He knew they were only bruises, but that didn't lessen how angry they looked.
When he re-emerged, he found everyone in the living room, the chairs and tables pushed aside or moved to another area in order to make room for their sparring match. Lady Penelope had taken up a spot in the corner, an array of files before her. Gordon wanted to ask, but the look on his sister's face said any further delays wouldn't be tolerated.
"We'll work on your blocking," Kayo informed as she dropped into an attack stance. Gordon followed and waited for the lesson. "Since the matches are shorter than usual, most fighters are going to go in fast and hard."
He was well aware of how the hits he'd received had made it through their original strategies, "So move with the hits and keep out of their reach."
"This time you'll need to get close and stay close," she corrected, much to his confusion. "This next group is going to be far more skilled. If you can stay close, you won't take strong hits and you'll have access to the pressure points."
That still didn't sound ideal, but he would trust Kayo with his life, "Alright, hugs and hitting. Sounds fun."
"Come at me and I'll demonstrate," and she was smiling.
He groaned, but complied with a quick rush forward to aim a blow to her head. There was no reason to worry about hitting her. His fist met air as he felt her arms wrap around his back, her hands pressing into his shoulder blades. A moment where his fists came down was negated as she jammed a knee into his gut. It wasn't hard enough to cause damage, but it left him slightly staggered and sucking in a lost breath.
"So, hugs and hitting," she concluded with amusement.
"Got it," a thumbs up and Gordon straightened. He watched Kayo gesture to Virgil and his mood suddenly lifted.
"Uh, I think he's got it," his elder brother tried, well versed in his role of test dummy back on the island.
"I need to see," mischief that rivaled his own was hidden behind the actual necessity of measuring Gordon's skills.
"I'll be gentle," the aquanaut mused. He wasn't going to admit how exhausted he was and how easily Virgil could counter his attempts. With a sigh, he watched his brother take his place across from him. At the security officer's word, the engineer rushed forward. The expectation was for Gordon to mimic Kayo's move, but that would be too simple. Instead, he dodged the fist aimed for his face, wrapping his arms around his brother's chest and jamming his elbows out. The move created an instant opening for Gordon to duck under an arm and swing around grabbing the larger man's ankles, pushing him off balance and crashing to the floor. In a split second, the aquanaut moved, landing on top of the prone engineer to lock him in place.
"Ow - really?" Virgil whined from his new place on the floor.
Loosening his grasp, Gordon decided his brother made a perfectly suitable bed, "K, I'm done." It was difficult to tell if he was informing Virgil or Kayo, but with his energy from the day quickly draining, he hoped she would allow him some reprieve.
"Good, again," his tormentor ordered, but it was Virgil that stood first, Gordon clinging to his back before being lowered to his feet. "This time, let Virgil take you to the ground and I want you to get out of it."
A sympathetic look from his brother preceded him grappling the tired aquanaut and there might have been some payback motivating the controlled fall to the carpeted floor. For a brief second, the air left his lungs, but training kicked in and he had his arm up and under Virgil's chest, keeping close as he leveraged the larger man off, allowing Gordon to shift his legs around and lock his brother in place, effectively changing their positions so that the engineer fell into the floor. The move was over once he was pinned and a balled up fist touched the spot that would knock his opponent out.
"Can I sleep now?" Gordon rolled onto his back to stare up at the ceiling.
"Do you think you can do that in the ring tomorrow?" Kayo asked in all seriousness.
He wanted to say yes, a hundred percent, sure thing, but this was all still new. "I'll do what I've gotta. There're lives on the line."
She smiled at his answer, offering a hand to help pull him up. He took it, wobbling slightly.
And then he was spinning, her arms wrapping around his throat in a lock, "You want a break, get out of this and I'll let you go to bed."
The pressure wasn't enough to knock him out, but in his exhausted state of mind, he reacted with trained muscles. He bent forward, pulling her with him and stepped back, twisting out of her grip enough to hook his arm under her legs and sweep her off the floor. In one quick move, he placed her in the closest location that involved the least movement - Virgil's arms.
He missed the startled look on both faces as he turned, content to have achieved his goal.
"Good night," he called over his shoulder - his very achy, tired shoulders - before closing the door to his and Virgil's room and collapsing on the bed.