New World: Nick Smith Book one (Nick Smith Series 1)

by Stephen Birch

  Nick had also seen the latrines and he knew that this would start causing the community health problems before long. There were just too many people in one place here, and it was another reason why he would not stay here any longer than he had to. David had tried to talk Nick into joining their growing community, but Nick had politely declined. He had offered the option to the others but they had told him that they would prefer to stay together and with him. They wanted to find their own place somewhere. He had pretended indifference but inside he was strangely happy about their decision.

  On the Wednesday morning Brett had sauntered down to the hotel’s main conference room. Up until now it had just been used as a large store room, but there was manic activity going on in there now. All the stored equipment was being moved out and the community’s carpenters were busy building a boxing ring in the centre. Brett stopped near the doorway and watched for a little while. Hundreds of chairs were being laid out. It looked like the whole community would be watching. The smile on his face dropped a little and a slightly worried look started to take its place as he began to realise that if things went wrong for him tomorrow night his reputation would be completely ruined.

  He had been involved in too many bar fights to count and he had also won a lot of money in the unlicensed ring. He had not always come out the winner though. Anything could happen in a fight. A weaker opponent could win with just one lucky punch. It hadn't really mattered in those days though, if you lost a fight you could always regain your reputation and your money in the next one. It suddenly dawned on him that this would be no ordinary fight. It wasn’t about throwing drunks around or making some extra money. If he lost this fight there would be no next one. He wasn’t sharp enough to realise that he had been manipulated into it so he just mentally kicked himself for building the whole thing up so much. He turned and made his way back to his room, his mind troubled slightly with the thought of what would happen if he actually lost.

  The evening of the scheduled fight finally arrived. By now the kids had found out from the other residents what was happening, but any worry they felt for Nick was washed away in the buzzing excitement. They had obviously not been told how important the fight was.

  There had been very little to entertain these people in their lives since the flu pandemic. For the first few weeks life had been full of fear, and after that their time had been taken up by hard work and going without. Even so, as David sat in one of the chairs set up on a specially raised platform, he was surprised to see that most of the community had turned out to watch the fight. He knew that most of them had a healthy distaste for violence, so he watched in amazement as the chairs began to fill up. He was also amused to see that everyone seemed to be happy. It was the first time since the beginning that he had seen all of them gathered together in one place and he felt a huge sense of pride watching his people smiling and chatting to each other after all they had been through. If everything went well tonight he resolved to himself that he would find more ways in the future to bring them all together. This was exactly what a community needed to help them bond.

  The fight was scheduled to start at 9 and by 8.45 the room was full. All of the seats were taken and there were even people standing around the walls. Speakers had been placed around the room and music was playing loudly as they all waited for the stars of the performance to show up.

  It had been brought to David’s attention that Brett had been seen running up and down the stairs and lifting weights in the small hotel gym over the last couple of days in preparation for the fight. He had also heard that Nick had spent most of the time lying on his bed asleep.

  His thoughts were interrupted as the music suddenly changed from a fairly quiet background tune to a loud theme tune from an old Rocky film. As the speakers started blasting out a song called the eye of the tiger David felt an unusual thrill of excitement. The referee chosen by David climbed up onto the ring platform, then Brett came out of a small room on one side of the hall. He was followed closely by Mervin who was acting as his corner man for the fight.

  Brett had gone down and released Mervin from the basement yesterday morning. It didn’t matter what had happened at the pier any longer though. Everything was now hinged on what happened tonight.

  Brett was wearing a pair of bright blue shorts and nothing else. David looked at the huge muscles on his massive upper body. They rippled and bulged as he bounced down the gap that led towards the ring. It made him realise just what all of this was about. His excitement turned to worry as he began to think about what could happen if Brett actually won. The man was huge and extremely fit. He also looked completely confident, dangerous, and in his element.

  Brett reached the raised platform of the ring and jumped up onto it. He bent down to slip between the ropes and then started to jump up and down, throwing out a flurry of fast punches. He was showboating to the gathered community, and they loved it. David knew that most of the people here tonight didn’t care much for Brett. They were simply enjoying the rare night of entertainment as they whooped and cheered him on. He looked over to the door that Nick was supposed to be coming through but it was still closed. His worry deepened then a horrible thought struck him. What if he had been played all along? Nick had spent the last few days completely unconcerned about the upcoming fight. He had actually been asleep for most of the time. Also with the entire community gathered here tonight. All of the patrols were in. Almost everybody had wanted to watch the fight. Whether it was to see Brett humbled or to see one of their own beat the dangerous outsider, he wasn’t sure, but he started to panic. It was just possible that Nick had been playing him. It would be the perfect time for him and his friends to just slip away and disappear. David turned to look at Andrew sitting next to him. They were both on a raised seating platform along with the other team leaders. He leant in towards him.

  ‘Have you seen Nick at all tonight?’ he had to shout into his ear to be heard above the loud music.

  Andrew frowned for a second then looked at the large clock on the hall wall. The clock was showing a minute after 9. ‘I saw him earlier,’ he shouted back. ‘He seemed fine.’

  ‘That’s just what I’m concerned about,’ David shouted as he began to search the crowd for Nick’s friends.

  Andrew leant towards David. Why? Do you think he’s not going to show up?’ He also started to search the gathered people. He could see that nearly everyone there was now looking towards Nick’s changing room. The ‘eye of the tiger’ song then come to an end and the earlier cheers started to change to the low hum of quietly concerned people. Andrew couldn’t see any of Nick’s friends in the crowd. He also realised that they could all be miles away by now.

  A lot of heads in the gathered crowd then started to turn towards the raised seating area and the worried hum had started to get louder. David started to feel a sharp pain begin behind his eyes and he had a sick feeling in his stomach. He looked over at Brett. He had stopped his showboating now and he was looking around as well. He was also smiling broadly. If Nick didn’t show tonight Brett’s reputation would be massively enhanced and David’s own reputation would be ruined. Brett’s influence would increase and the people in the community would turn on each other.

  David had just started to curse himself and wonder how he could he have been so stupid when all the conversation in the large room stopped. There was suddenly complete silence as the door to Nick’s changing room opened.

  Nick then walked out into the hall and David almost feinted with relief. He pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped the sweat from his forehead. Nick was followed out by his friend Bill. The giant man dwarfed Nick as he followed him up to the ring. The person in charge of the music quickly started replaying the eye of the tiger and the people watched as Nick walked slowly down the gap between the chairs. He was smiling at the crowd and looked like he was just out for a late evening stroll. He was wearing black shorts and a hooded top. He seemed completely unconcerned by the impending fight, and when he
reached the ring he climbed up slowly and slipped through the ropes to stand still in his corner. His quiet and dignified manner now made Brett’s earlier showboating look tacky. Like he’d been showing off. It reminded everyone what Brett was really like.

  David smiled and as the music stopped he leant across to Andrew again and whispered in his ear. ‘Now that’s what I call an entrance,’ He said. ‘Whatever else he is Andrew, this man is no fool. He has already started to win most of the people over.’

  Andrew leant towards David. ‘I know,’ he whispered back. ‘I feel it to, but I’m not sure why?’

  ‘He has made Brett look like the bully he is,’ David told him. ‘It’s genius! Waiting and coming out like that. I wish I had thought of it.’

  But Nick hadn’t thought of it either. He and Bill had spent the last ten minutes in his changing room trying to calm Beth down. She was distraught. The kids were in there with them but they had stayed quiet as Beth argued with Nick.

  ‘He is going to try and kill you Nick!’ Beth yelled. ‘He could really hurt you! He’s an animal,’ she had told him. ‘You really don’t need to do this. We could just leave. We could go now.’ She was sitting on a chair with her head in her hands. ‘You have nothing to gain by doing this,’ she said. ‘And everything to lose.’

  ‘Thanks for the pep talk Beth,’ Nick said smiling at her. ‘It’s working wonders for my confidence.’

  ‘God but you are an arrogant bastard!’ she shouted, standing up. ‘What about us? What happens to us if you lose?’

  ‘That’s better,’ he said, smiling at her. ‘Give me something to fight for.’

  ‘Please Nick! Please don’t go through with this.’

  ‘I made a deal Beth.’ Nick stopped smiling. ‘So please sit back down and stop worrying.’

  ‘He’s right Beth,’ Bill added. ‘He has to do this now.’ Bill was looking much better now and he was wearing some new clothes. After the last few days of rest and some good food inside him he was almost back to his full strength.

  ‘Oh what would you know Bill? You’ll be fine without him, but what about the kids?’ She pointed at the girls and Dan. They were just standing near the corner of the small room, being quiet and looking worried. Beth slumped back down onto a chair.

  Bill frowned at her as she sat down. ‘I know I might not be Nick Beth, but if anything ever happens to him you will always have me,’ he told her quietly. ‘What do you think I’ll do?’

  She looked up at him. ‘Oh I know Bill.’ Beth put her head in her hands. ‘I’m sorry. I didn’t mean what I said. I just don’t want him to risk himself for nothing.’

  ‘I don't think he’d do it for nothing Beth. He’s doing this for us.’ Bill looked at Nick. ‘I have a feeling that if it wasn’t for us, Nick would have been long gone from here by now.’

  Beth looked from Bill to Nick and shook her head. ‘Will it ever be easy for us do you think?’

  ‘I don’t know Beth,’ Nick said then sat down in a chair next to her. ‘There are no promises in life. All we can do is try hard, give everything our best shot and stay true to ourselves. If that doesn’t work then at least we will know that we did at least try to do the right thing.’

  Beth looked at him. ‘I’m not going to be able to stop you from doing this am I?’

  Nick slowly shook his head. ‘No. I’m sorry Beth. I have to do it,’ he said quietly. ‘And I really do have to go out there now. I’m already late.’

  ‘Ok then you idiot,’ Beth stood up once again. ‘Well you go out there then, but just make sure you beat the shit out of him!’ She then pulled him into her and kissed him.

  Chapter twenty eight

  The crowd stayed relatively quiet. There was just the low rumble of muted comments now as Nick pulled the hooded sweatshirt off and threw it down to Bill. Although he didn’t have the huge muscles that Brett had, his body was lean and hard. It was the first time David had seen him without a shirt on and he was surprised by the black tattoos on his upper arms, back and chest.

  There were some whistles and shouts from the crowd as the referee called the two men into the middle of the ring. At six feet four inches Brett looked like a giant compared to Nick. The top of Nick’s head barely reached Brett’s shoulders and David started to sweat again, worrying about what would happen if Nick didn’t beat Brett tonight. He had to admit that if he was a betting man he would have put everything he had on Brett right at this moment. He was well aware that he had done just the opposite. He fidgeted in his seat a little, wiped his forehead again and then tried to relax. It was too late to change things now. The wheel was spinning and he just had to wait and see where the ball would land.

  Nick touched his right fist against Brett’s huge right fist and then he stepped back. There were no boxing gloves in this fight and not many rules either. Each round would last for three minutes, with a minutes rest in between. There was supposed to be no gouging or biting but that was about it. Brett was jumping up and down and the ring was bouncing with his weight. Nick just stood still though, watching Brett with a slight smile on his face.

  ‘I’m gonna make you suffer you little fucker!’ Brett leant in close and sneered at him.

  ‘You’re making me suffer already Brett,’ Nick told him. ‘Your breath smells like a month old corpse?’ He smiled wider as he watched Brett’s face turn red, happy to watch the big man waste a lot of energy.

  They both then went back to their corners and the bell rang, the referee moved out of the way just in time as Brett moved straight in. He was incredibly fast for a big man. Faster than Nick had anticipated. He threw two left jabs and a right cross. Nick only just managed to slip all three punches but then he got caught by a massive punch just above his ear. He rode with it a little and managed to stay on his feet but his head was ringing. He moved backwards and away from two more wild punches until his back was on the ropes, then he shook his head, trying to clear it. Brett came at him once more and tried the same combination of punches again. Nick got caught slightly with a jab but this time he was expecting the huge left. He ducked under it and hammered his right fist into Brett’s stomach. Air whooshed from between Brett’s teeth as Nick moved forward under Brett’s arm. He spun around then backed off to give himself some breathing space, watching Brett closely as the big man turned around to face him.

  ‘Is that all you’ve got little man?’ Brett sneered at him again, but he was clearly out of breath now and panting.

  Nick just nodded to him. He was still waiting for his head to clear. That first punch had almost finished him. The big man was pretty good.

  A part of Nick could hear the crowd shouting and screaming, but they seemed a long way off now. It was always like that in the ring. You were aware on some level that hundreds of people were watching your every move, but whether they were cheering for you or booing against you, it made no difference. When you were inside that ring all of your attention was focussed on your opponent.

  Nick was focussed on Brett now and he had a problem. His job here tonight wasn’t just to beat Brett. He knew that he had to kill the man. Brett was a vicious killer and rapist. There were no laws now to stop people like him. If Brett was left alive after this fight he would just carry on killing and raping and Nick couldn’t allow that. His problem wasn’t about how to kill Brett though. He could have done that already in the first few seconds of the fight. Nick had done his fair share of ring fighting over the years and he knew that he was good, but it wasn’t those skills that would end Brett’s life tonight. It was the skills that he had learnt outside the ring that he needed for this job. Nick knew that he wouldn't have a problem killing Brett. His problem was how to keep Brett alive long enough to please the screaming crowd and then make killing him look like an accident. It was also about being able to stay alive long enough himself to achieve both of those things.

  He watched as Brett took a few deep breaths before charging at him again. He stepped back to avoid the two fast left jabs. He slipped his head to avoi
d the huge right cross then he ducked to slip under the massive left hook. He smiled then as he once more caught Brett in the stomach with a hard right punch before slipping passed him and turning once again.

  Is that all you’ve got big man? He thought. If Brett just had that one combination of punches then maybe he could carry this off. He smiled again. Brett saw the smile and this time he charged in with a fast flurry of wild punches. Each one was slipped or blocked by Nick then he slipped inside Brett’s guard and landed a neat uppercut to the big man’s chin. Brett’s mouth had been open as he fought for breath and Nick heard his teeth smash together. He could have ended it then but he stepped back as if he was out of breath and watched as Brett’s face sagged. Brett was out on his feet. Nick waited a few more seconds for the bell to ring, signalling the end of the first round. He then turned and walked back to his corner. Bill had put a chair there for him. He sat down on it and accepted a cup of water, taking a few small sips before handing it back to Bill.

  ‘I counted two times that you could have finished him in that round Nick,’ Bill told him handing him a towel.

  ‘It was four,’ Nick replied wiping his face and handing the towel back. ‘I just hope nobody else noticed.’ He looked out into the shouting and screaming faces of the crowd. It didn’t appear that any of them had.

  ‘Remind me never to get into a fight with you.’ Bill climbed back out of the ring and Nick stood up as the bell sounded for the second round. Bill lifted the chair back out and Nick moved to the centre of the ring again. He held his fist out again but Brett just looked at it and sneered.

  ‘I’m gonna finish you now fuck head,’ he said stepping back and raising his arms.

  ‘Thanks for letting me know that Brrett,’ Nick replied stretching Brett’s name out to wind him up, as he had when they first met. He also smiled at Brett again. He wanted him really angry now.