Railroad! Collection 1 (The Three Volume Omnibus) by Brown Tonia

Author:Brown, Tonia [Brown, Tonia]
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Science Fiction
Published: 2012-01-16T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter Seven

Smackdown in the Gap

In which Dodger fights the good fight.

Fully dressed, Bulldog Butch made for a disturbing image with his impressive bulk straining every seam of his clothes. But the sight of him as he strode across the camp, barefoot and shirtless and grinding one hammy fist into the opposite palm, well, it left Dodger a tad vexed. Under a thin layer of fur, the man was a bundle of muscle. Triceps bulged opposite biceps. Pectorals flexed over rows of iron abdominals. Thick ropes of veins stood out from his arms and neck, pulsating with a special kind of rage. Anger reserved for the little man waiting in the ring.

Dodger followed the man’s example by removing his own shirt, though he left his undershirt in place. It was bad enough when his own crew gawked at his scars; he didn’t need a whole regiment of dog-men to make a big deal about it. He flexed his fists, though smaller than his foe’s, and cracked his knuckles, the sound of which was much less impressive than the tree-trunk-shattering noise of Butch’s cracks. Still, it put him in the mindset for a fight and set the tone that he was just as ready for this as the big dog.

Trailing a few feet behind Butch was Thaddeus, a worried look haunting the tall man’s harrowed face. He creased his brow at Dodger, begging in silence for him to drop the challenge. Dodger shook his head, managing a smile and a wink as he did.

“What you grinning about?” Butch asked as he took to the ring.

“I always greet my opponents with a smile,” Dodger said. “It’s good manners.”

Butch sized him up with an air of caution. “You’re a strange man.”

“Thank you. I’ll take that as a compliment, if you don’t mind.”

“You think you being strange bothers me? Makes me scared? Makes me jumpy? Well it don’t. It just makes me madder. And I was already pretty mad to begin with.”

The bulldog cracked his knuckles again, and Dodger winced. At that particular moment in time, for some reason he couldn’t quite put his finger on, the noise reminded him of the distinct snap of a broken bone. A nose, for instance. Or a couple of ribs. Or his own thick skull. Dodger shook off the idea as Thaddeus stepped into the ring, moved between the fighters and cleared his throat.

“The opponent, Rodger Dodger, has openly challenged Butch Hollister’s authority. In accordance with Pack law, they have brought their disagreement to the ring. The first man down for a clean count of ten will lose the fight, and his opponent will be declared winner and new Pack Leader.”

The crowd rumbled with excitement. Dodger, on the other hand, reeled in shock.

“What do you mean, Pack Leader?” he asked. “I don’t want to be leader, I just wanted-”

Thad shouldered Dodger to one side of the ring, where he said in a low voice, “I thought you understood what you were doing when you challenged his authority.”

“I don’t want to be your leader.

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