Monster Man (Fight Card) by Jack Tunney

Author:Jack Tunney [Tunney, Jack]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Tags: Mystery, Thrillers & Suspense, Thriller & Suspense, Crime Fiction, Crime, Sports, Genre Fiction, Literature & Fiction, Mystery; Thriller & Suspense
Amazon: B00K7UI3MA
Publisher: Fight Card Books
Published: 2014-05-07T12:00:00+00:00

ROUND 10

“Are you kidding me? Look at the thing. That’s got to be broken. You got to fight tonight!”

They were standing in the library, the applied psychology section. Pete reached for Ben’s right. Ben yanked it away. “It’s fine. It’s not broken.”

“The hell it’s not.” Pete nodded at Ben’s harsh expression and lowered his voice. “Your fingers are purple.”

“That’s just because the wrap is tight.” Ben held up his elastic-bandaged hand. He glanced out from the psychology texts at the rest of the library. No one in sight. “Look, it’s not broken. See?” He wiggled his fingers as much as the messy wrap would allow.

Pete’s face twisted. “That doesn’t mean it ain’t broke. Just that your fingers ain’t.” He pressed his head back against the stacks, eyes closed. “And all over some broad.”

Ben shook his head, stared at the floor. “How’d you know?”

“Joe saw you leave with her and asked around.” Pete crossed his arms. “The betting line’s changed. Less action now.”

Ben’s chin was a slow pendulum. “He’s favored?”

“Yep.”

Ben looked at Pete through his eyebrows. “More for us when I win then.”

Pete just stared at him. “Who is she?”

“Don’t worry about it.” Ben stared at the books on the shelf behind Pete’s legs. “She’s no one.”

“Great.” Pete rolled his eyes. “So you ruined this whole thing over no one.” He straightened. “Well, I’ll tell you, I hope no one was a good lay.”

Ben’s left curled into Pete’s shirt and lifted before either of them realized it. They stood that way, Pete on his toes, Ben staring into Pete’s slack face with a clenched jaw, then eased back to their original positions and stared at the carpet between their shoes.

“I’ll still win,” Ben finally said.

“You have to.”

They left the library, first Ben, then Pete. Each without a glance at the other.

***

That night, Ahab Northrop’s overhand left caught Ben flush on the cheek and he flopped backward into the corner.

Gonna have to fight now.

He’d spent the first round circling left, looking for opportunities to work the right side of Northrop’s face and body, but Ahab’s footwork and guard were solid and he was able to keep his exposure to Ben’s probing punches to a minimum.

The word was out on Ben’s injured right hand, of course. Ahab angled his punches to come over, or come through, the right side of Ben’s guard from the opening bell. Ahab, whose craggy face and pointed beard made him look like a warrior goat, attacked with some abandoned with his left while using his right to keep Ben’s left at bay.

Ben kept his right guard up enough to keep from getting hurt, while his circling and attacking to the left had the added effect of delivering him from Ahab’s most powerful shots.

The dance produced little real offense, little real damage and little real reaction from the crowd. Round one ended with a smattering of boos.

But things changed in the second round. Ahab made an adjustment. He refused to stray from the center of the ring and, when

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.