by P. S. Power
On the good side that meant he got to see a slightly sleepy looking Lexi that day, on her way into work.
“Oh! Hey, Lex. I’m gone for three days, to help with some sparring? You should try to get out for at least a four mile run tomorrow, then take a break day and do a four or five after that, depending on how you feel? I’ll call for updates, so really do it, or you’ll feel ridiculous.” He meant it too and had her number memorized, since Denny had suggested they both get that down.
The blonde girl rolled her eyes.
“I see how you are. Even when you aren’t here, you insist we all be super-human. Fine. I can do that I think. Anything else?”
He nearly said no, then shrugged and turned to Rick.
“Do the instructors here get free classes?”
The man tilted his head back and forth.
“Discounted. Why?”
He grinned.
“I can’t make the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu classes for a while, so there should be a spot left open? Lexi could use the ground work and Denny is in training. So…” Asking for things was hard, but Rick just smiled then.
“Done. If you want, Lexi? Work that out with Chase. Tell him that I okayed it.”
She actually seemed pleased enough by the idea and put her hand on Anthony’s arm. She was just being nice though, not trying to get his attention.
“Thanks. I’ll do that. See you in a few days?”
“Like you won’t hear form me tomorrow? I wasn’t kidding. There will be a call. Unless there are no phones where I’m going. In that case… Telepathy.” He held his right index finger to his head leaning in, like it would do something. It got a giggle, just as a tall man walked in, along with a fairly fit seeming woman that had nice curly black hair and thick glasses. She also had a dorky beanie style hat on that was blue. Her shirt was tight, white and see through enough to be interesting. That was over red shorts, running shoes and tiny ankle socks that had little fluff balls on the back. Those were red, to match the shorts.
She wasn’t huge, being about his own size. A bit shorter. Her right hand came out instantly however, to shake. With him first.
“Tony? I’m Sally Laird. We’ve come to take you away. Ha-ha!”
She sounded a bit insane, but Anthony could deal with that. Whatever was going to happen, it would at least be interesting.
Chapter six
Several things were different than Anthony had expected, as soon as they got to the car. Rick, Jen and Lexi all followed them out. The women were both making covert faces at Sally, too. She was wild, playful, flirting with him already and of course, high as a freaking kite.
No one else seemed to understand that part of things, but it was true. What she was on seemed to be something like amphetamines. Her eyes darted constantly, behind her thick glasses. She jittered a bit, even dancing in place as she climbed into the vehicle as the others spoke. That part was a bit weird too, since, trying to be friendly, Tony climbed into the back seat of the smaller car that had been brought. It was nice, but meant to hold no more than four people. Anthony had expected a van, to be honest. That was just him making assumptions however, not a problem.
It was a shiny red thing, that had obviously cost a lot of money to get.
The other problem was that Sally climbed into the back with him, first thing, leaning back against him from the start.
Rick glanced at her, but said nothing. Dan gave his fighter a slightly hard look, his lips going thin, as Sally started to sing. She was not good at it, but it sounded fun enough for a car ride.
Jen started to glare.
“Maybe we should…” What she wanted to add wasn’t said out loud, since Rick started shaking hands with Dan, speaking calmly.
“You’ll be gone for three days? Tony is on a pretty strict diet. Other than sparring with Sally, he needs to be resting right now. That works for you?” It sounded firm, as if the man had come to do something wrong with Tony. Forcing him to spar with other people or something like that.
Sally put an arm around his shoulder.
“Don’t worry, I’ll take care of him. We’ll have fun. I brought some movies? You like porn, right Tony?” The woman laughed, clearly getting that others weren’t going to like that line of thought too much. Lexi was actually turning red for some reason.
Probably not about her little boyfriend being stolen away by the evil goofy lady, either. Except, of course, that she really was. She’d have told the world that it was about her being worried for Anthony, since he was so young, but the fact was, the woman had a sense of ownership over him. They worked together, which meant this other woman was coming to take her property away. Jen was acting like his mother, which was probably a bit similar that way. There was no thought toward either of them wanting him, of course. Not like an adult woman might. A grown woman flirting with him would still be a threat to them he bet. Except that she wasn’t really.
Anthony had dealt with women like that before, after all. What she was really doing was trying to win him over, from the start. It was a bit of a subconscious thing, no doubt. Sally was trying to set things up so that she wouldn’t be hurt when they worked together. The thing there was that he couldn’t do that, since his job was to help her train, not be worn down. Also, he couldn’t coddle her. Not because of the Diego Valdis fight.
No, due to the fact that she was clearly setting up for a long term professional fighting career. Being easy on her, past what was needed for learning and safety, wasn’t going to help her.
The scene was a bit uneasy as he put his belt on, his brown canvas bag in the trunk. Interestingly it was Rick that sent them off, smiling.
“All right, you need to be going or the drive will take the whole day. Tony, we expect calls.” Then he tapped the top of the car, gently.
That let them pull out and get on the road. It had taken nearly twenty minutes, which was strange. He did turn and wave, to see everyone standing there, looking at them driving into the distance. At least until they turned the corner.
Then Anthony tried to work out what he needed to do. Tony wise. Being friendly came to mind, but it was kind of clear that Sally was going to be all over him for hours if he didn’t put his foot down early.
So he sighed and smiled at her.
“That won’t work.” He spoke loudly enough that Dan, up in the driver’s seat made a small questioning noise.
“Sorry?” It was the man that spoke and he sounded concerned.
Sally just grinned, sitting back a bit.
“Oh, I was just telling Sally that pawing me and trying to get my hormones going so that I won’t work with her as hard won’t work. Also, what’s with the drugs? Speed, right? Are you using it to cut weight?” Amphetamines dampened appetite a lot, after all.
It was a thing that wasn’t lost on Dan however. Not once it was mentioned.
Sally just stuck her tongue out and then licked her lips. Because they were dry, not trying to be sexy about it.
“Damn. That was quick. So, I suppose that I get a lecture now? Or are you going to refuse to work with me? It isn’t addictive and yeah, I need to drop a few pounds. It works, so why not?” She was suddenly defensive, though acting play sullen, instead of angry.
Anthony shrugged.
“Nope. I don’t get an opinion on that. You have to do you, right? For my part, I have to get ready to help you spar. I get the basic idea, but you won’t have three days to get Diego to like you before your fight. He’s a Catholic, too, so coming on too strong in public will probably work against you. Maybe not, but you shouldn’t risk it.”
That got her to make a silly sound at him, blowing raspberries.
“You do know that this isn’t a real fight, right? The guy is just coming to get a free trip and some souvenirs. Half of the people I know figure that he’ll just jump to the ground and tap out instantly.”
Dan cleared his throat and shook his head then. His eyes didn’t leave the road. There were no words for a bit, so Tony nodded.
&n
bsp; “That’s about ten percent of what might happen. If so, you win, instantly. We don’t even really have to train for that. What we have to go over is the most likely fight you’re facing and then the special cases. Valdis is from Lima, which means that if he wants to get training in grappling he can. Most likely Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. I’ve been setting up a plan for that as well. I agree that the most likely scenario is that he’ll come in after not really preparing much, figuring that it will be an easy win for him.”
Sally nodded, happily, as Dan sat up a bit straighter up front.
Anthony grimaced then.
“Or and I figure this one as being almost as likely, he’s going to come out and try to rip your head off instantly. He’s a better boxer than anyone you’ve ever faced. Even if he hits you at half power, you have to be ready for that. If he comes at you full power, so that he doesn’t get his, butt kicked by a girl in public, then you have to be prepared. Doing anything else will mean being hurt, not just losing.”
He was trying to be dramatic about it all. Playing up the danger, to get her attention. She just stretched, her medium sized breasts pushing against her shirt front. Thrusting toward him, which meant angling her body. It was possible that she was just that kind of woman and not trying to distract him on purpose. It happened after all. A lot of his mother’s friends had been like that over the years.
Friendly with him on a level that seemed odd, now that he thought about it.
Dan took a deep breath and spoke through clenched teeth.
“That’s not wrong. You say you have a sparring plan for that, Mr. Winters?” The use of his last name seemed to be on purpose, so Tony didn’t correct him.
“Yes. For all the most likely possibilities. I should be able to approximate what Diego will be doing in different situations. I’ve been studying his tapes for three weeks. Yours too, Sally.” It was true, but the woman gave him a funny look then.
“Why?”
Anthony blinked, wondering if the woman next to him was a bit slow. Possibly just too into drugs for her own good. She was chipper and friendly, which were good things. Even cute, in a nerdy way. That was the silly blue hat and her glasses though, nothing else.
All things that weren’t going to help her in the ring.
Dan, who was a tall man with light colored hair, who looked a bit like a Viking, hunched over so much that it was visible from the back seat.
“Why what? Why get ready for the fight? Or why study your tapes? The reason is the same for both. I studied Diego to fake his style for you and you so that I could tell what he’s going to be thinking about you, if he sees the same things.” It was common sense, but she seemed baffled.
“I haven’t watched his stuff. That’s why I have a team, right?”
Tony nodded then, tightening his face and wondering if he’d made a mistake coming to try and help at all.
“You’re facing a real fight. If you don’t take it seriously, the other guy is going to walk into that cage with you and stuff you into a little ball. If you aren’t planning to win, then what are you doing here?” The words just popped out, which shocked him a bit. He sounded kind of pissed off.
Enough that the woman moved back, away from him. Worried that he was going to become violent. It was early for that however. They were just having a conversation.
“I want to win. It just isn’t… Look, this is a gimmick, you know? It doesn’t matter if I win or lose. It will either be him throwing the fight, or me just…” She seemed flustered and spread her hands.
Then she pulled at the front of her top, letting it snap back a bit.
Anthony nodded.
“Sure. It is just a way to get attention for you. But you need to win. This isn’t about the one fight, it’s also about you building up a base for a pro career. Both as a fighter and a public figure. I’ll admit that your wacky nerd girl thing kind of works that way, but if you can’t back that in the ring, no one will care.”
She went silent and seemed a bit upset. Not ready to cry or anything, just like she’d expected him to be different somehow.
From the front, Dan spoke, conversationally.
“Like I’ve been saying, Sally. Ashley Lancaster recommended Tony to us because he helped her get ready for a major fight. That wasn’t done by playing patty-cake, or him getting head in the back room. Rick sent me the training video on those matches… It was intense. That’s why we got him in for you. Look at his face… I don’t know what happened there, but that isn’t the kind of thing you get by going gently.” There was a bit of a question in the words, without demanding anything.
“Sparring with Steve Lopez yesterday. Rick sent the fight along. I have it in my stuff. We can go over that later, if you want?”
That got a pleasant sound from the front. Sally looked at him and shook her head.
“I… Don’t know who that is. Lopez? Is he UFC?”
Dan laughed then.
“Pro boxer. He did the commentary for the Winters-Saka fight? I showed you that one, so you’d know who Tony was.”
She looked blank for a bit, then nodded.
“Him? Okay, got it now. You spar with professional boxers? I thought you were MMA?” She sounded confused.
It was probably the drugs.
“I do both. It’s useful.” He meant that it was part of the family business. That his job was to help people get better.
Dan chuckled.
“Yeah, it is. Anyway, Tony, do you have any fights coming up? I know that you said you weren’t planning a pro career, but…”
He sighed and leaned toward Sally a bit, staying about two feet away. She looked at him then and smiled, since it had to be clear he wasn’t angry with her or anything.
“Yeah. A Pay-Per-View thing? I start training in a week. Erlander Hodder? Ashley has the Fox Rends rematch that same night. Nick is fighting someone. You heard about that?” He waited, since it might not have been that big of a deal in the other man’s life.
Sally made a strange sound then.
“Nick Fields? You know him? That’s wild. I couldn’t believe it when he came out like that the other day. It’s all anyone was talking about practically.”
Anthony nodded.
“He’s a good guy. A decent fighter too. Anyway, I don’t know who he’ll be going up against that night. I was tacked on for the show of it.”
Dan nodded.
“Hodder is good. A strong fighter, too. Do you have a plan for that?”
“Nope. Not yet. I need to get to the review on that soon. I had this to do first. It should be really interesting, from what I hear. There’s no way I can match his strength, which probably means he’ll be faster, too.” Saying more than the obvious wouldn’t be a good plan, really.
The trip after that was strange. Sally sang. Bopped around with a wicked amount of fake energy and had to stop every two hours to use the restroom. She was entertaining and did a lot of wacky voices, as well as live up to the geek persona by discussing science-fiction shows that he’d barely even heard of. It wasn’t hard to listen to her. She spoke well and seemed smart enough, about the topics that she was interested in.
Which made him wonder why she wasn’t getting how serious any fight was. Anthony thought he got the idea though, after a while. She expected every man in her world to more or less treat her like a lady. To her mind the idea that any man wouldn’t be doing that just didn’t scan for her. It was a constant in her life. Worse, she was probably more or less correct.
Unless something else happened, like Diego Valdis freaking out and realizing that his career was probably over if he got beaten by a woman in public. Even boxers that would fight him just to pad a record might not want to bother, if he could be taken out by a woman. Sure, maybe that wouldn’t happen. Perhaps he was just getting ready to retire and this was his last fight…
There was no way for them to prove that.
Tony formed a plan then. It meant taking Sally’s hands off of him, several times. Smiling while he did
it. After all, he wasn’t trying to make an enemy, just let her know that he wasn’t going to be swayed by her outside of the ring.
They rode for about six hours, but there had been some real speeding involved to get them into place. Where they ended up was dry, surrounded by golden grass and flat. Open, but there was nothing around that he could see, accept for what was probably a farm house on the horizon in one direction. The place seemed to be a large farm house, with several outbuildings. There were no animals around, but the thing looked like a farm. At least to his uneducated eye.
Dan parked next to several other vehicles, in a small lot that seemed to be made of dirt and gravel. It was away from the large white house, which had brown shutters by the windows. The man waved at it.
“The rooms, kitchen and all that are in here. We have six fighters training here right now. You’re all right staying here? We have a bed for you. We could set you up in town if you’d rather? We’re a bit isolated here. On purpose. We do have phones.” The large blond man smiled, trying to seem friendly about it all.
“This is fine. I kind of thought that I’d be curling up on the corner of the mat, to be honest. This place is nice. Big.”
Sally nodded, jumped out and got his bag for him. She almost danced in place. It had shifted from cute and slightly hyper to seeming a bit like a crack whore. At least she had nice teeth however, which most people that smoked crack didn’t, after a while. It kind of ate at the teeth.
What was really happening was that the woman was about to crash. Probably in an hour or two, unless she took more drugs.
Her voice was happy.
“The fight center is great too. We should go and look at it, after you get your room?”
He nodded, then looked at Dan.
“We need to set up the first sparring session? Call it an hour? Unless there is a different plan?”
That got Dan to smile. He laughed a bit too, as Sally went wide eyed.
