Page 34 of Reaper
The guards backed up a step at my tone, but Pete just shook his head.“Come on,” he said, turning around.“We gotta go see the Boss.Again.”
I guess I was in trouble for getting in a fight at the fight club.Doesn’t seem fair, does it?
26
Mr.James, you are very quickly becoming a pain in my ass,” the Boss said as Pete escorted me back into his office.I felt a little like the naughty kid getting dragged into the principal’s office yet again, except in my case it was the headmaster’s office, but no matter which side of the pond I was on, it always ended up the same—the naughty boy got bent over the desk and his ass swatted with a paddle.Good thing I’m no longer what anyone would consider a naughty “boy.”
“Yeah, I have that effect on people,” I said, plopping down in one of the chairs in front of the big desk.I figured I’d go ahead and sit down, in case somebody got any bright ideas about paddling.Some people are into that, but it’s never been my particular kink, and I sure as fuck wasn’t interested in any of the dudes in that office.
“I didn’t say you could sit,” the Boss said, his tone icy.
“I didn’t ask,” I replied, my tone not giving a shit.I was getting frustrated.I’d been here two weeks, and I didn’t feel any closer to figuring out who was behind all this than before I ever set foot on the Colosseum sand.Part of me didn’t care, because that part of me was enjoying all the violence, but the reasonable parts of me missed Becks, missed my life, and missed knowing that the people I was beating the shit out of were the bad guys, at least as much as my bent-to-fuck moral compass could define a “bad guy.”
“Look,” I said, leaning forward and putting my elbows on my knees, “you and I both know that you’re not calling all the shots in this operation.You might be the Boss in this building, but you’re a middle manager at best.You don’t get to execute me, at least not without approval from someone higher up the food chain than you, and you haven’t had time to get that approval.So you didn’t bring me in here to put a bullet in my skull.You brought me in here to bitch.Well, pal, I’ve been bitched out by better men, andwaybetter women, so let’s just put that shit on the back burner, pour a couple glasses of that fine Irish whisky I know you’ve got tucked away in one of those desk drawers, and have ourselves a wee dram before you get on with what you really want to say to me.”
The Boss stared at me for a long moment, before bursting out in laughter.“Now I know why you never walk sideways, Murray James!You couldn’t stand the clanging as those colossal brass danglers you got between your legs slam together!”He did indeed pull a bottle of whisky out of a drawer, set two glasses on his desk, and pour two fingers of amber liquid into each of them.I reached for one, and his hand snaked out lightning-quick to wrap fingers tough as steel cables around my wrist.
“You’re right, lad.I can’t kill you without permission from the owner of this here fine establishment, but that doesn’t mean I can’t make it so you die in your next match.You’ve proved yourself the master of handicap matches, winning a couple of those already, but let me tell you this, and know I tell you true—you put one more fucking foot wrong with me, you do another goddamned thing to make my life more difficult, and I will make sure you end up as the first man into a battle royal this weekend that will makeThe Hunger Gameslook like a Ping Pong tournament.Do we have a fucking understanding?”
The look he gave me wasn’t even a little bit angry; that was what made it scary.In fact, the grin never left his face, but it never touched his eyes.This was a man who never met a rule he couldn’t twist to his own devices, and one who was very willing to sacrifice me and anyone else on the pyre of his own self-interest.And that, not his authority, was what made him dangerous.This guy had the intelligence to manipulate the rules to fit his needs, and the moral flexibility to not feel even the least bit bad about it.That is not a man to fuck with unless you know you’re the one doing the fucking.
I held his gaze, and it was like staring into the eyes of a cobra.He looked deep into my soul and didn’t flinch, which is not something many mortals can manage.After a long stare, I nodded.“We have an understanding.”
He let go of my wrist, leaned back in his chair, and sipped his whisky.“Good.Glad to hear it.Now what the fuck am I supposed to do for my fights on Wednesday?You just put most of Tier Two in the hospital with your little stunt.”
“Well, Boss, if they weren’t ready for the champ, they shouldn’t have stepped in the ring,” I said, sipping my own drink.It had a nice burn to it, going down smooth as glass and setting a nice little campfire in my belly.The Irish make good liquor, but most of the best booze comes from the UK, if I’m being honest.And I try never to lie about alcohol.Except tequila.But all good tequila is laced with magic, so it doesn’t really count.
The Boss laughed and poured himself another drink, then put the bottle back in his drawer before I could help myself to one.Asshole.
“Be that as it may, I now have to shuffle some things around for the midweek fights.Normally I would have you tangle with one of the Tier Three fighters as a tune-up for your first Tier Four fight this weekend, giving the audience a look at your skills to determine how much to wager on or against you.Unfortunately, you just took out most of the Tier Three fighters I would have paired you with, so I must adjust the fight card accordingly.So I will give you a choice.”
I raised an eyebrow.“A choice?I didn’t think this place was much on democracy.”
“It isn’t, but as I mentioned, you are becoming a pain in my ass, so it behooves me to keep you at least moderately happy with your lot in life here.So I will give you a choice.You can participate in a first-blood Battle Royal against all the unpaired fighters in Tiers Two and Three, where you will have plenty of opportunity to showcase your skills, albeit against less challenging opponents, or we can offer the crowd something they may actually be interested in seeing—a rematch.”
There it was.He assumed that I’d want to kick Tony’s ass to get some of my own back after being embarrassed last week.And if I was somebody who actually gave a shit about building a reputation in his little club, I would want exactly that.Problem was, I kindalikedTony, and now that I knew his deal, I also knew that he might be the most dangerous opponent in the entire place.Not just because faerie knights are incredibly strong, fast, and well-trained, but also because I liked him.And since I liked him, I would be inclined to pull my punches, which would get me dropped on my ass again and sent back to Tier Three.That wouldn’t get me any closer to the top of the heap and wouldn’t get me home to Becks any faster.This little ass-kicking summer camp was fun, but two weeks away from my fiancée was starting to wear on me.I missed my cat, too.
“How about a different idea?”I asked.
“What do you have in mind?”
“Who’s your Main Event guy for this weekend?”
“Myguyfor this weekend isn’t a guy.This weekend’s Main Event will be one of you top-tier fighters squaring off against Eleanor.This will be her fifth Main Event.If she wins this Saturday, she retires as a Grand Champion.”
“But you haven’t decided who gets a shot at her yet?”
“Not yet, no.”
“Then let us fight for it,” I said.I started ticking off names on my fingers.“Me, Janik, Steven, and Anthony square off, and the last one standing gets the shot at the baddest chick in town.Don’t do any other bouts with top-tier fighters, just a four-way dance to see who gets a shot at the brass ring.It’ll probably go a lot longer than most of your one-on-one fights because people will make and break alliances mid-match, so you can get the same excitement from the crowd with fewer fights, and probably even more betting, because the line on who wins a four-way brawl will be tighter than a solo bout.”
Bossman closed his eyes for a moment, considering my proposal, then nodded.“Not a bad idea, Mr.James.Not a bad idea at all.Yes, I think a Number One Contender’s Match seems like exactly the way to fill out the card, and build excitement for this weekend.But I think we may need to insert an element of randomness into the match.”
I didn’t say anything, letting him cook on whatever idea he had in his twisted little noggin.A small smile flickered across his face, and he leaned forward, his arms on his desk.
“Yes, Mr.James, we’ll have a Battle of the Contenders.But every two minutes, an additional wild cryptid or paranormal creature will be set loose in the arena.So you won’t just have to vanquish other fighters, you’ll also have to defend against monsters.Very hungry monsters, who find human flesh to be something of a delicacy.”
Great.Not only did I talk myself into a fight against not one, but three incredibly dangerous pit fighters, this sadistic assclown just added monsters into the mix.And not a Bubba in sight.With my luck, I was going to be the one with my hands full of Sasquatch schlong by the time all was said and done.
