Later That Night

After spending five hours recovering from the lashing Walker got himself ready to fight. Even though his back was on fire he had to push the pain aside in order to focus on his new opponent. According to Hound, Michael or "Bulldog" as he was known around here was one of the best fighters and only attacked people's weaknesses. Which in Walker's case was the open wounds on his back.

Once Walker had his shorts on he walked out of the small changing room and into a narrow hallway. Hound quickly waved him over to a chair where he will wrap Walker's hands before putting on the MMA gloves.

Hound shook his head. "Still can't believe the guys lashed you before your fight." He weaved the boxing wrap in-between Walker's fingers making sure to cover the knuckles. "Bulldog will attack your back. Are you ready?" Walker nodded. "Good. Okay, you will see that Bulldog is about your size, but he is a brawler."

Walker intensely listened to the man as he listed off the pros and cons of fighting Bulldog. Though Hound was his guard, he was also his coach and protector. This made for a unique friendship one mixed with fear and respect.

"All right, I would wrap your torso but that could lead to infection." He pulled a pill bottle out from his jacket. "Take these, they're pain meds." Walker quickly shook his head. "0535, you can trust me." Walker took one of the pills and swallowed it down. "Okay, that will help a bit. Just try to watch your back, literally." Hound patted Walker's shoulder. "All right, let's go."

The fighting arena was small since there was never an audience, just some cameras. Walker made his way to the center where Bulldog already stood with his arms crossed. The man's build was near identical to Walker's, maybe a bit heavier. Bulldog gave Walker a smirk then pounded his fists together.

"Hope your ready for some pain." Bulldog rotated his neck as he stepped up to Walker. "You seem like an easy fight. Let's see what you can do." His attention went to a man standing in the shadows. "Come on, ref! Lets fight already!"

A loud bell signaled the start of the fight and Bulldog wasted no time in attacking Walker. He lunged out with a punch which Walker easily avoided with a block. Unfortunately this put Bulldog on his left side and as Walker turned to get a better view, a hit in the ribs took his breath away.

"My friends told me you're blind in the left eye." He bounced back into Walker's vision with a huge grin on his face. "And I see the guards had punished you as well." He let out a guttural yell and tackled Walker's legs.

Right before Walker's body slammed against the floor, he brought his arms out for a break fall. Though his arms took most of the force, his back still slapped against the dirty floor. Before he could recover Bulldog slammed his fist into Walker's left eye twice, cutting open the skin on the eyebrow.

Walker brought his hands to his face then with gritted teeth slid himself against the floor. He let out a harsh scream as the movement opened up all the wounds on his back. It took all he had mentally to keep his mind focused on Bulldog.

"That was it! What kind of scream was that!" Bulldog quickly stood to his feet and waved for Walker to do the same. "Come on, old timer! What does it take to get you angry at me?" He cupped his hand around his right ear. "I can't hear you."

Blood began to drip off of Walker's back and the pain was excruciating, but he had to push it aside. He took several deep breathes then got back into his fighting stance. The pain slowly ebbed away till it was only a dull throb. He rotated his neck, pounded his fists together then waved for Bulldog to come forward.

Bulldog let out a chuckle. "Spunky old man."

He came at Walker with another punch, but this time when Walker went in for the block he hooked the man's arm and swung downward. When Bulldog's balance was off, Walker swung his leg out, tripping the man to the ground.

"That is all you got!" Bulldog laughed out. "Come on!"

Walker raised his fist high into the air then brought it down with such force he knew Bulldog's jaw would break. Sure enough, as his fist made contact he heard the satisfying crack of bone. Bulldog let out a scream of pain and tried to kick out with his legs. As he did this Walker mentally took note that the man had no technique, he was just flailing around.

Quickly Walker reached down and took hold of the man's right leg. Once he got a good grip he dropped to his back, snapping the knee at an awkward angle. Bulldog let out a howl so terrifyingly loud Walker knew he will be hearing it in his sleep.

Walker slowly stood up, not letting his guard down once knowing the man could possibly get back up. Sure enough the man pulled himself to his good leg and shook his head.

"You just made me mad." Bulldog let out a ear splitting whistle. "I call for weapons!"

Fort Worth, Texas

It had actually been a good night for Trivette, but something was troubling him about Jaxon. While playing a quick game of catch he noticed Jaxon being a bit distant. Wonder what was on his mind? He patted Tavon's shoulder then made his way into the kitchen to see Erica at the stove.

"Mmmm….What's for dinner?"

Erica turned and gave him a kiss. "It's spaghetti night."

"Excellent." He took a deep breath then patted his wife's shoulder. "Have you gotten the mail yet?"

"No, been too busy." She slid the spaghetti noodles into the water and put the lid on. "Jimmy, I'm worried about Jaxon."

Trivette nodded. "Same here." He began to chew on his lips. "Let me get the mail then we can talk about him while the food is cooking."

As he walked through the living room his attention went to Tavon who had gotten himself comfortable on the floor in front of the television. As for Jaxon, he was nowhere to be found which could only mean one thing. He shook his head, got the mail then headed up stairs hoping he wouldn't find his son hacking.

He quickly sifted through the mail and stopped dead in his tracks. "Jaxon Walker Trivette!"

The boy's bedroom door quickly opened as Jaxon came running out. "Yeah dad?" His eyes fell upon the mail in Trivette's hands. "Ut oh."

Trivette ripped open the school envelope, read what it said then pointed to the room. Jaxon's shoulders slumped forward as he obeyed Trivette's silent order. Once inside the bedroom he closed the door then sat down on the desk chair.

"I thought you were doing well in school." He waved the letter at Jaxon, his voice showing disappointment. "What is this about a parent and teacher conference?"

Jaxon began to chew on his bottom lip. "It's my grades…."

This caused Trivette's heart to sink. "Jaxon, why?"

"Because I want you home!" His son's voice showed his anger. "If Uncle Walker is back then you can spend more time with me and Tavon!"

"Jaxon! They are accusing you of hacking into the school's main computer! This isn't going to be a simple slap on the wrist!" Jaxon quickly bowed his head. "No more computer. If you need it for class, you will do your homework in front of me or your mom." A loud beep brought his attention to the laptop. "What was that?"

Jaxon's head quickly snapped up. "Somebody actually responded?" He was about to get up then thought better of it and sat back down. "Go ahead dad, see what it is."

Trivette ran his finger across the thumb pad to bring the screen back to life. Here, he could see a small pop-up window with the words: Are you there? Trivette took a look at Jaxon to see his eyes were really wide.

Curious as to what was going on Trivette typed in: Yes, who are you?

I am the man that can tell you about your uncle. Came the reply.

"Jaxon, what is going on here?"

"I sent a note through several different sources about the missing men. I knew with the way the fights were shown on the internet a hacker had to have set up the program." Jaxon got up and leaned on the desk. "Wonder if it's legit?"

Trivette was actually rather impressed by his son. "Are you sure your ten?" He cracked his knuckles then typed: What do you know about him?

Give me some information about him. Came the reply.

He is a quiet man, reddish hair, and has possible eye injury. Typed Trivette.

I know who you are talking about. He is number, 0535. Unfortunately he is no longer here, but got moved to much bigger location.

Trivette's heart began to flutter as he thought about what to say next. After all he didn't want to appear too eager or it could scare whoever it was away. Unfortunately, if he wasn't blunt he may not get an answer.

Do you know where they took him?

It took several seconds to finally get a response. I cannot say exactly where. However, I will tell you this: He is alive and well living in a forest. With that the pop-up disappeared.

Montana

The fight had turned into an all out brawl which worried Walker as he dodged yet another attack from Bulldog. Though the man's right knee was possibly damaged, he still fought very hard, but he was clumsy. However he did manage to land a few hits on Walker's right arm making it throb and hard to move. Thankfully the metal pipe was light enough that it didn't do any real damage.

Bulldog let out an inhuman growl as he began to limp around Walker. "You do know that one of us has to die!" He rotated his neck then lunged once again with the pipe. Walker easily avoided the attack and managed to slam his own weapon into the man's back. "Come on! Is that all you got!"

Walker took a deep breath as his eyes drifted to the timer on the wall. When he brought his attention back to Bulldog he saw the man had propped himself up by using his weapon. According to the rules here, if a fighter called for weapons he gave up his life. In the last several weeks Walker has not yet encountered a death match and the idea of killing another man made him sick to his stomach.

"Fine, if you won't do it, I will!" Bulldog let out a primal scream as he tried to charge at Walker. "Come on and fight!"

With his sluggish movements Walker was able to attack before Bulldog could. He slammed his pipe against the man's right arm then backed away. There was no way Walker could kill this man, he had no real reason to do so.

"0535, you need to fight or your family will suffer!" Came a voice through a speaker. "If you don't kill him, we will kill your daughter!"

Walker shook his head then gripped the pipe even tighter. He knew he had no choice now but to obey and after taking several deep breaths he now knew what he had to do. He had plenty of practice with Escrima sticks and he will use this knowledge to attack Bulldog.

He twirled the pipe around in his hand then whipped it out in time to hit the man's ribcage. Bulldog doubled over with the hit allowing Walker to slam the pipe into the back of the his head. Walker quickly pulled the pipe back up fearing he had just killed the man.

A guard quickly ran into the ring, checked Bulldog's pulse then shook his head. "Bulldog is dead. 0535 is the winner."

The pipe dropped from Walker's hand as his whole world began to spin around him. He couldn't believe he just killed a man with his own hands. Just the thought started to make him shake and it took all that Walker had left not to pass out from exhaustion.

As the guard ran towards Walker the lights in the room came on, illuminating the entire area. "Excellent work, 0535! You will be rewarded very well for this fight." He helped Walker to stand then led him past the prone body of Bulldog. "Your punishment has been lifted and Doctor Boyd will check up on you in an hour."

Walker put one foot in front of the other, his mind right now on autopilot. Though he should be feeling pain, all he felt at the moment was a slight sting in his back. How could he ever forgive himself for killing Bulldog? What if the man had a family back home? What if he just killed somebody's father or bother?

The guard gently patted Walker's shoulder. "0535, you gained a lot of respect today. Not many men would have done what you did." He gave Walker a bottle of water. "Let's get you back to your cabin. Your roommates will be very happy with you."

Fort Worth

Even though his son had broken the law, Trivette couldn't help but to be excited. They had finally gotten some information and Walker could be alive. All around him FBI agents milled around, most with cups of coffee in their hands. It will be a very long night as Brodie tried to follow the "breadcrumbs" left by Jaxon. Somehow his son had found someone who had a direct connection with the fight ring. All Brodie had to do now was figure out how he did so by hacking into Jaxon's laptop.

Brodie popped his back on his chair then shook his head. "Your son is a genius, Trivette." He sipped at his cappuccino and began typing once again. "Need to coral that boy though, or he'll go down the wrong path."

Carter came into the room appearing half asleep. "Hey guys." One of the agents handed him a cup of coffee which he graciously accepted. "Think it's legit?"

An agent named, Larry Vesper shrugged. "Who knows. Sounds like it though." His cell phone began to chirp and he quickly answered it. "Vesper. Yeah, really? Bring him here." He flipped it closed with a huge smile on his face. "Boys and girls, a man just turned himself in at Plano PD. Says he use to be a custodian in a fight ring. Agents are currently on their way here right now."

Another agent, this one Trivette only knew as Moening stepped up with a frown. "Another fighter was found dead. Truman Weaver was shot to death on a street in New Orleans. He had his tattoo removed three days ago." He shook his head. "Why kill them? What is the meaning behind it?"

"It's to send a message." Trivette sipped at his lukewarm coffee, his mind going to Gage. "Possibly to show that whoever was in charge of the ring is still watching over the fighters."

Carter shook his head. "That is sick." He leaned over Brodie's shoulder to look at the computer screen. "Anything yet?"

Brodie nodded. "Your boy is smart, Trivette. He left a good trail, I'm actually almost there." He typed on a few more keys then whistled. "Man, Jaxon got in pretty deep."

A loud commotion brought Trivette's attention to the back of the room. Here, he could see a small man, about sixty years old being escorted by four FBI agents. He appeared scared, his eyes wide as he scanned all the men and women in the room.

"I just cleaner!" Shouted the man.

The man's broken English quickly told Trivette he was possibly an illegal immigrant. Then why did he turn himself in? By doing so gave the man a one way ticket back to Mexico.

Trivette ran up to the man and held his hand up. "Take him to the interrogation room." He turned to Carter with a shake of his head. "Have your men guard him at all times. Don't let anybody near him."