Taking Action

Belger sat in his wheelchair before everyone. For every member of Mad Gear who attended, they all stood with expressions of respect and fear. Although Mad Gear ran Metro City, with some members calling the shots for some groups and sets in various areas, this man was the true mastermind behind everything. Rolento, along with Holly Wood and El Gado stood nearby.

Horace Belger came from a wealthy upbringing but his father had always run his businesses in less-than-ethical ways. However, after he started financially backing Mad Gear from the beginning, he gained full control and ruled them with an iron fist.

There was no denying it. Retu and Sodom may be in control for a good portion of the gang. Damnd may have his own set of followers and run the slums. The same could be said about Philippe and his men running things in other parts of the city. But there was one man they all had to answer to, and the last thing anybody wanted to do was cross him.

Rolento was something of a consigliere or underboss to Belger. While he had own his own men to command, Belger often turned to him to keep the rest of the organization in line.

"Okay, ladies and gentleman," Belger said. "Now that you're all here, I want to address some issues we have had lately. It appears that we have had some problems in our organization. Metro City citizens are taking a stand against us. Mayor Haggar has made threats against the police department. Something must be done."

Every Mad Gear who was present looked at each other in confusion and fear. Although El Gado and Holly Wood stood adjacent to Belger, Holly Wood raised his hand.

"Yes?"

"How about we take out the mayor?"

Everyone looked up.

"Are you serious?" Belger said. "There would be too much suspicion on us. I have a reputation to uphold."

To the general public, Horace Belger was a well-respected philanthropist who wanted to make a difference in Metro City. Although he had provided new playground equipment at elementary schools and athletic equipment for high schools, one would wonder where he got the money from. Belger may be a wealthy man, but some of that money could also be received through illegal means. He had a hand in all those operations, after all.

Rolento cut in. "Sir, with all due respect, if the mayor has become a problem and allowing vigilantes to take a stand, then there has to be some way to deal with this."

"Do you have any ideas?"

"I think we might have some ideas."

Belger looked away and suddenly, it just hit him. He whispered to him, "we'll talk about this in private." Rolento nodded.

Belger looked around and noticed Damnd among his comrades such as Bred, Dug, Jake, and Simons, along with Joe, Schot, Bull, and Elijah. Belger rolled in his wheelchair towards them.

"Is there something you would like to share with us?"

Damnd and his crew turned their attentions towards their boss. They stood up straight and kept their mouths shut.

"No, boss," Damnd said. "Just something we're discussing ourselves."

"Care to enlighten me? From what I hear, you have some problems of your own."

"It's my business, I will take care of it."

"Okay, but you better or else we will have problems of our own. I don't want you to lose focus in more important matters we have here."

Damnd nodded. "Yes, sir." Damnd was certain his problem with Cody Travers would resolve itself eventually.

Rolento approached Belger and whispered in his ear. "Mr. Belger, our associates are here."

"Who?" Belger said.

"Marshal Black and some of his associates," Rolento said. "Some of our men are with them right now."

"Okay, let's go."

Rolento led Belger into another room on a different floor of the building. Inside, there was what looked like an operating table of some sort that could be boosted and reclined with restraints for arms and legs. There was also a chair with restraints on there as well, but at the center stood a man in his underwear with his arms raised and wrists tied with a rope, surrounded by four men. They all stood on top of what appeared to be a plastic mat. One was an overweight man named Elick, who wore a uniform for an electrical power plant and wielded two tuning forks with a battery on his belt. Another was a tall and muscular man with long purple hair and black goggles and had brass knuckles with spikes. This man was known as Stray. Won Wong stood nearby wielding a meat cleaver. Finally, the man who stood nearby overseeing this was a tall and muscular man in military garb not unlike Rolento's gear, except he had an eye-patch. He was known as Marshal Black, leader of the Skull Cross Gang, a subordinate gang to Mad Gear. They were allies, but Mad Gear had more influence on Skull Cross.

Stray punched the nearly-naked man in his chest and stomach. Blood drooped from the wounds down his torso. Some got onto his underwear with red stains being on display.

"Had enough?" Stray said.

The man looked down, dripped with sweat, breathed hard, trembled hard, and tears dropped down his face and onto his bare chest. "Please, no…"

"Sorry, that won't do." Elick said, rubbing the tuning forks together, electrical flashes emitting, and clasping both of them to his nipples.

BZZZZT! BZZZZZT!

The electrical current strolled from his flesh into his system causing him to tremble from the shock. After a few seconds, Elick let go. The man shook some more and breathed hard. All of that electricity was more than enough for him to submit and talk, but this kind of torture session wasn't an interrogation. No one asked him any questions. When he looked up, all he saw was a bald man with an Amish-like beard sitting in a wheelchair.

"Mister…Belger?" The way he paused showed he had been through enough pain.

"At your service, Keith. I see you've met some associates of mine. Say hello to Marshal Black, and I see you've already met Elick and Stray."

Keith could barely breathe and move his head from the shock. Although he saw who was in front of him, it was clear he was disoriented.

"What do you want from me?" Keith said.

"Hey! I ask the questions here, not you!" The way Belger shouted meant that he was not messing around here. "What I want to know is what's this I hear that you have my money?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"I thought you'd say that." Belger turned away. "Black, do the honors!"

Black slammed his baton to the palm of his left hand and rushed towards Keith and swung it right to his stomach.

"OHHHH!" Keith yelled.

"Does that jog your memory now?" Belger said.

"I don't have your fucking money!"

"Sure you don't."

"I'm serious! The other night some fucking pigs took it."

"I told you to stash it in a safe place before some of my men got it."

Keith continued to breathe hard. "Yeah, but some guys beat the shit out of me and the others first."

"I have been hearing a lot of stories like that lately."

"I am telling you. This guy and girl kicked our asses and tied us up with the money near us. Why would I fucking lie to you about this?"

Belger looked up and closed in on Keith's face. "And where did that guy and girl go?"

"How the fuck should I know?! They got the fuck out of there too quickly. It's like they're fucking ninjas!"

"Ninjas, huh?" Belger's remark sounded condescending. "I've been hearing a lot about ninjas lately. How do I know that you didn't just set it all up?"

"Like I told you…"

"Stop." Belger nodded towards Black, who then swung and whacked the baton right to Keith's left knee.

CRUNCH!

Keith let out a blood-curdling scream that would likely catch the attention of anybody standing outside the chamber if the walls weren't soundproof.

"I told you everything I know! What the fuck!"

Belger signaled to Won, who approached Keith to his opposite side and swung his meat cleaver to the ride of side of his bare waist, causing him to scream again. The man was battered, bruised, and bloodied some more when blood ran down from the long wound.

Panting from all of the pain, Keith said, "Why don't you just kill me while you're at it?"

"Who said I won't?" Belger pulled out a crossbow from the back of his wheelchair and loaded an arrow onto it.

Keith's eyes widened at the sight of the weapon. "Holy shit, I didn't mean that."

Rolento stood there and looked on at his boss torturing this man. He was no stranger to killing, whether it was on the battlefield or on the streets, though Metro City can be considered a war zone depending on the situation. He had a different outlook to his boss. His primary goal is to build a utopia-style military nation and wants to rule it. While he has hurt people, some of them were for business reasons, along with killing in combat and a contract killing to his boss's bidding. He would never kill an innocent bystander for pleasure, unlike some people in Mad Gear. Having witnessed some fellow soldiers die in combat, as well as innocent people get killed on the battlefield, he had his own code when it came to killing people.

Even his two loyal soldiers, El Gado and Holly Wood, while they have handled wet work before, it varied when it came to how they handled it. El Gado was more professional and expressed no emotion but Holly Wood sometimes expressed some pleasure out of it.

That man he killed in the Industrial Area, that was merely for business. That man stole money and was working with a rival gang. There was no tolerance for betrayal.

While this may have been a business reason, he knew Belger was ruthless and seemingly took pleasure out of this. He could have let him go, no matter how battered he was, but Belger had other ideas.

However, the other men in the room, Black and Stray, they were known for having more drastic methods than Mad Gear.

Belger held his crossbow in an aiming position. "Say goodnight, Keith." Belger pulled the trigger, releasing the arrow from the latch as it quickly rode along the flight groove when the arrow punctured Keith in the upper part of his stomach that bordered near his chest. The arrow broke through his back. Blood dripped from his front and back, as well as dripped from his mouth as Keith tried to breathe. A lot of the blood dripped onto the plastic on the floor. After a minute, Keith's head dropped down. Won cut the rope and Keith's lifeless body dropped to the floor.

"Wow, Mr. Belger," Black said. "You give a whole new meaning to the term 'drop cloth.'"

"Dispose of that trash, will you?" Belger said. "Thank you."

Rolento leaned in towards his boss. "Mr. Belger, are you sure that was necessary?"

"Keith fucked up and he paid the price."

"But sir…"

"No, he should have known what to do, but instead he fucked up. You should already know that."

Rolento's eyes shifted away a bit but nodded. No matter how much he disagreed with Belger's methods, he had a point.

"What about the mayor?"

"I'll see what I can do about him." Belger saw Black and Stray helping Elick and Won wrap up Keith's body. "Black, Stray, I have a proposition for you."

Black and Stray looked at each and approached Belger.

"What do you have in mind?" Black said.

"A favor, I'll pay you a lot for it."

A grin rose on Stray's face. Although there would be money involved, something told him that he would probably get to "take care" of a problem.

"Okay, what's the catch?" Stray said.

Cody had come home from another day at Tom's Gym. He took a shower and changed his clothes and sat down on the couch to relax. It was not long until Jessica had come home, accompanied by Carlos, as it was his day to be her bodyguard.

"Hi, babe." When Jessica got inside the apartment, she closed for a quick kiss on Cody's lips.

"Hey, Jess, how was your day?"

"Oh, it was hectic. I did a lot of a studying. I have an important exam coming up."

It then hit Cody. He was not in school like Jessica was. He had not had to take an exam in years up to that point, not since graduating high school. Hell, he barely managed to graduate. At least Jessica's father gave him some kind of motivation to study harder, but college was not his thing. However, Jessica told him that it's never too late to start.

"I hope you do good, baby."

"Thanks, Cody. I need to go study." Jessica gave him another peck before she walked away.

"Hey, Cody, can I talk to you?"

Cody looked up when he heard that voice. Carlos signaled to him. Cody followed him outside of the apartment.

"So, Carlos, what's up?"

"Are you coming on Friday?"

"Where?"

"To the fights."

Cody had remembered that Friday is fight night. Although Jessica knew about Cody taking part in a fight the previous week, he wondered if she should come along to watch this time. Also, the money could be good if he wanted to move to another area.

"Yeah, I'm coming."

"Great, also Guy and Maki are going to be there."

"Ooh, Maki!" Cody joked with him. "Are you trying to impress her?"

Carlos chuckled. "Actually, she wants to fight. I'm fighting, too. Besides, I have a little plan of my own if I win."

"Well, it looks like we got to prepare ourselves a bit." Cody then smiled. "Especially you." He had an idea what Carlos meant about a little plan.

"I train everyday, so I don't have to worry."

And so did Guy and Maki. Cody did the same thing. There was no way they weren't prepared.

"Okay, sounds like a plan." Cody shook his hand after that. "I'll call you soon about the fights."

"See you soon."

Right after Carlos left, Cody went back into his apartment.

"Hey, bro, can I ask you something?"

Cody heard a male voice. There was only one other guy living there and one person who would address him as "bro." He saw his younger brother at the kitchen table.

"Kyle, what's up?"

"I was thinking. Can you help get me and my friends a membership at Tom's Gym?"

"What?"

"I am serious. I was thinking maybe you could help get us."

"You're my brother and I can talk to Tom, but your friends…" There was something off about this to Cody. "…It's not up to me. They'll have to talk to their parents. Why do you want to go the gym all of a sudden?"

"I think maybe it would be good for my stress."

"Well, I'll talk to Tom about this, but only for you. Your friends got to do it themselves."

Kyle nodded. Cody went into the bedroom where Jessica was knee deep into a book and some notes she had scattered all over the bed.

"Hey, Jess, you need anything?"

"Nah, baby, I'm too wrapped up right now."

"Well, I might go for a walk. I need some time to think."

"I'll be here."

"I'll be back, Pretty Doll." Cody smiled and winked.

Jessica looked up, her eyes widened and a smile rose on her face when she heard that. She was called that during her father's time as a wrestler and she would accompany him to the ring, at least in the later years of his career. She chuckled at that remark.

"Don't be gone too long."

After Cody left the apartment, he saw the streets were empty. The citizens knew not to leave their homes after dark. It was also during the week. But what was he going to do? He went to a payphone and slid a quarter into the slot and punched in a number. It didn't take long until he heard a female voice say hello.

"Hello, Poison. I need to talk to you. About Friday. Okay, but we're only talking business. I'll be there soon."

Cody hung up the phone. He knew that this woman had a crush on him when they were younger, and judging from her behavior a couple of nights before, those feelings hadn't changed. The question on his mind was why he agreed to this. He just wanted to talk business, or so he believed.

Guy looked in the mirror in his apartment with so many thoughts going through his head. He knew how much he took his training seriously. Aside from any rest days, he spent a lot of time training. Whenever he taught his students at his dojo, he would somehow fit some of his personal training into it.

The thought of taking part in a fight for money never crossed his mind until sometime recently. It was likely that this was organized by criminals and Guy had his personal code – he must destroy evil.

What separated himself from his longtime friend and rival, who just so happened to be his girlfriend's sister, was that he was usually quiet about his skills. He didn't like boasting about it, unless he was in combat. But Maki also had a good point. A little extra money would never hurt. Plus, deep down, he wanted to find a good challenge himself.

Although he had been by next door earlier that evening to see Rena, he went and knocked on their door.

The door opened, there stood Rena. "Oh, Guy, you're back? You miss me already?"

"Of course." Despite Guy's often stoic demeanor, he gave Rena a hug. "But I want to know, is your father still awake?"

"Yes, he is," Rena said and turned to speak Japanese. ["Father, Guy wants to speak to you."]

It was not long until Genryusai walked out of a room while wearing red pajamas. All Guy did the moment he walked into the room was bow to him. Despite not being his master, Guy respected the man, as a ninja master and as his girlfriend's father. Even though Genryusai joked with Guy about beating him should he ever hurt Rena, Guy knew that he wouldn't dare cross him. Despite his age, he would likely take down Guy in a heartbeat. The man was a Bushinryu master, after all. He had taught Guy and Maki before Zeku took over as their master.

["Guy, what do you want to speak to me about?"] Genryusai said.

Rena turned to Guy and spoke in English. "I'll leave you two to talk. Goodnight, Guy."

"Goodnight, Rena." Guy leaned in for a quick peck on the lips before she walked away.

Now with the two Bushin ninjas in the living room, Guy let it out.

["Master Genryusai, when it comes you battle, have you ever sought out a fight just to look for a worthy opponent, even when there's money involved?"]

["What do you mean?"]

["Say if there is an opportunity to make money in fighting, do you agree or disagree with the method?"]

Genryusai nodded. ["I'm glad you came to me. You should always know not to seek out a fight just to fight. Whether it's for honor, justice, or self-defense, that is one thing. If you fight for money, there is nothing wrong with competition, but one should never fight because of boredom or because you want to hurt people. Looking for a worthy opponent could also be crucial to your training. I know this because I have been there."]

Guy nodded. Genryusai had a good point. Guy was conflicted about this but making some extra money should not be a big deal. He did want to take Rena on a vacation someday. Plus, he was likely going to face some criminals in these fights. It shouldn't be different from his act of vigilantism that he and Maki took part in the other night.

["Thank you, Master."] Guy nodded to him once again.

["You're welcome, and you're welcome to come to me for some advice."]

Guy let out a minor smile when he heard that. He had known this man for many years that he was almost a father-figure to him, if not completely. Genryusai was Guy's master at first, which was how Guy met Rena. He was close to that family already.

Now he just needed to train some more for the fights at the end of the week.

Author's note: That's it for this one. I have some ideas for the next one.

Yes, I incorporated the Skull Cross Gang but no, I won't include story elements from Final Fight 3 in it. I had read on a wiki about how they were a subordinate gang to Mad Gear. In other words, they were allies. So I thought why not.

Also, that "drop cloth" line was a reference to "Lethal Weapon 2." I wanted to do something like that to show how ruthless Belger can be.

I have some ideas to work with. Stay tuned.