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ChapterTwenty-Four
“So you’re sure I don’t have to fight this one? I don’t want to do anything that might result in the team forfeiting,” Law asks as he wraps my hands.
“No. I even had Sugar’s legal team go over the wording to see if there were any loopholes I wasn’t seeing. But they say we’re good. In fact, I imagine it will be a tactic others use so they can rest one of their fighters before the final showdown.”
“Good. This place is a lot different than the other venue, but I know the area. About half a mile from here is the bridge that Bill sleeps under. I’m going to head down there when the fighting starts and see if they have seen anything recently.”
“That’s a good idea. It’s been weeks now since Bill came by, and I feel like shit for having nothing new to tell him about his friend.”
“This isn’t on you, Mal. You’re doing the best you can. At least you care enough to try.”
“He’s right.” Blink sits beside me, checking out his own wrapped hands.
“It’s quieter here tonight than what we’re used to. Not sure if that’s a strategic thing,” he adds as an afterthought.
“This building used to be a slaughterhouse, so it’s not necessarily equipped to hold large crowds,” Law tells us as he finishes taping me off.
“Guess that explains the smell.” Blink scrunches up his nose, making me laugh.
“Yeah, the smell of blood has the ability to seep into the very fabric of a place if it’s not kept clean.”
“And you know this because?”
“Wild guess,” I say before standing and making my way to Graves and Vega, who are talking quietly to each other on the other side of the room.
Graves spots me first and lifts his arm for me to slip under. I do, leaning my head against his chest as they carry on their conversation.
“I’ve been thinking. I know it might sound odd, but hear me out. Do you think this Mr. T guy could be Titus?” Vega asks with his arms folded over his chest.
“He was the first person I thought of, given that his initial is T. But it doesn’t really jive with what we know about him. I’ve never heard of him mentioned as a loan shark, but that could be that nobody has made the connection between the two names. He’s beyond rich, so if he is doing it, it’s not really for the money.”
“Titus is all about power and control. I doubt money factors into it anymore.”
“But why the gym then?” I ask. “That’s what I don’t get. What the fuck would he want with the gym when he has the Colosseum?”
“Maybe it comes back to control like you said.” Graves’s chest rumbles under my ear as he speaks.
“Perhaps he targeted Mike because of his association with the gym. He needs fighters to compete, right? But let’s be honest, few are going to want to take part in a death match. Not unless they are just that good or that desperate.”
“So take the gym, shut it down, and then you have a bunch of talented fighters that are cast adrift from the one thing they excel at. And let’s be honest, for a lot of us, that gym and others like it saved our lives. Without it, I don’t want to think what would have happened.”
“We should get Law to ask his cop friends if they’ve heard anything. I’ll ask some of the local fighters from other gyms if they have heard of the owners having any issues or if they’ve been approached by potential buyers,” Vega replies as our names are called.
“And the plot thickens. Every time I think I have the answer to something, it turns out to just be a dozen more questions.”
“Hey, you ready?” Blink asks, walking over to us.
“Yeah, where’s Law?”
“He slipped out while it was quiet. He’s gonna meet us back at home later.”
“Well, Bill hasn’t been back, so I’m hoping that means nobody else has been taken. But I feel like we are just in limbo, waiting for the other shoe to drop.”
“I know. How about we go kick some ass and work out some of this built-up frustration you’ve got?”
I nod and let him tug me away from Graves so he can lead us down to the pit we’ll be fighting in.
“How many fights are on tonight?” Graves yells as the noise level picks up. It’s crowded down in this area, but like Law pointed out earlier, it’s nothing like the warehouse.
