by J. G. Martin
Waiting near the security door, Rora could feel the vibrations and hear the roar from the crowd. Derek must be putting on a good show to have the crowd so worked up that she could feel and hear all the way out here. Finally, a security guard exited the door and Rora slid through behind him before the door closed. He was so distracted looking at the tablet in his hand that he wouldn’t have noticed her even if she had walked in front of him.
She quickly walked through the maze of corridors to the security office door. She had memorized a floor plan that the Voice had discovered from before the Collapse. They had hoped it was still correct, but had counted on the fact that no one would spend money changing non customer facing areas. That proved to be correct and she was there in no time. Luckily she didn’t encounter anyone else in the hallways. It must be one hell of a fight that everyone was paying such rapt attention to it.
Just before she got to the entrance to the control room, she dropped the pills into the drinks. They dissolved rapidly until there was no evidence the drinks were drugged. According to Derek they would take effect relatively quickly and render the guards completely helpless. They also had an added benefit of creating short term amnesia, which meant they wouldn’t even remember she had been there.
The door was solid steel set in a reinforced concrete frame. There was no way she was going to get in unless they let her. She sighed and adjusted her outfit to display the most skin. Not that it could really display more skin; it was generous to consider it an outfit. It was more like a wisp of cloth held together by a prayer. She was glad she didn’t have to wear something like this every day and she would be glad to get out if it and back into her real clothes. But, it would provide a distraction for the guards inside. The World After was pretty sexist and borderline misogynistic. That would change when she ushered in the New Dawn.
She knocked on the door and smiled for the camera. “What?” A voice snapped from a speaker above the door.
“I have some drinks for you, Jonas felt bad that you had to work during the fight.” She said sweetly.
“Hold on.” The voice said distractedly.
A guard opened the door without giving her a second glance. The entire time he was trying to keep watching the fight taking place on the monitors. The other three guards were so enthralled by the fight they didn’t even look over as she entered. She could see Derek and the champion furiously exchanging blows in the center of the cage. Even in the security room she could feel the vibrations from the crowd’s frenetic cheering.
Placing the tray on a table, Rora served all four men the drugged drinks. They took them almost absent mindedly and drank them without hesitation. Never once did they take their attention off the action on their screens. She probably could have just hacked the system while they sat there they were so distracted. But she waited until the drug took effect and all four men slumped over.
She shoved one of them out of their chair and sat down in front of the main terminal. Retrieving Derek’s phone from inside her outfit, she inserted the earbud in her ear.
“Okay, I’m ready.” She informed the Voice.
“Hack past the firewall.” He instructed.
She did as asked and she was past the firewall in a few minutes. “I’m in.”
“Good. Now open port 227 and plug me into the USB port on the terminal.” The Voice said calmly.
She opened the port and plugged the phone into the terminal. Numbers began streaming across the screen in front of her and video began flashing on another screen. It moved so quickly that even Rora couldn’t follow it. So she sat back and waited for him to search the video archives for the hacker. While she waited, she looked at the monitors and watched Derek battle in the cage.
Derek glanced up at the clock on the scoreboard hanging over the cage. Unlike before the Collapse, the clock counted up instead of down showing how long the fight had lasted. They were approaching the nine minute mark, which was an eternity inside the cage. He wasn’t feeling fatigued at all, and he was pretty sure his opponent wasn’t either. The champ’s smile mirrored his own, and had become a maniacal grin as the fight had gone on. Neither of them had participated in a fight that had lasted this long before, and both of them were thoroughly enjoying it.
The crowd noise had subsided somewhat as many people had already lost their voices. Some were just staring in awe as they watched what would probably be the greatest fight they would ever see. No one had ever pushed their champion this far or given him such a challenge. Everyone was in the stands or the boxes, no one dared to go take a bathroom break. This fight would be talked about for years and they were all determined not to miss a second of it.
The two men finally broke apart and circled each other. They took a moment to size up their opponents and do a quick check on themselves. Both men were bleeding from slight cuts on their faces, and they had bruises all over. Neither man was breathing hard and both had just barely begun to sweat. They were very evenly matched and Derek knew he could make this fight last a while longer. He just hoped he could finish it when it was time to leave.
“I have waited for this day Storm.” The champ suddenly said. “Beating up chumps was fun at first, but it got old. I needed a challenge, someone to really test me, to let me know if I was as good as I thought I was. This fight will be my legacy. After I beat you, no one will ever want to fight me again.”
“I’m glad I could be of service.” Derek replied sarcastically. “How did you know I was like you?”
“A man told me you would be coming to Vegas. I’ve been waiting for you. If you hadn’t challenged me I would have challenged you.”
“What man? When?” Derek asked insistently.
“You’ll have to beat me to find out.” The champ said with a smile.
With that he launched a superman punch at Derek, hoping to catch him off guard. Derek dodged to one side and countered with a spinning back fist. The champ ducked under it and grappled with Derek. The struggled across the cage, each man trying to gain a better grip on the other. But they were too evenly matched. When one would gain a momentary advantage, the other would quickly counter it. They ended up pressed up against the cage, face to face.
“How did you get enhanced?” Derek asked the champ.
“Just like you I assume.” He replied softly. “I had a near fatal combat injury and I woke up one day almost fully healed.”
“How did you find out you were improved?”
“They didn’t tell you? Oh that’s rich.” The champ replied. “The scientists told me when I woke up. They wanted to make sure I knew about my abilities before I went on my first mission.”
“What scientists?” Derek asked eagerly.
“You ask a lot of questions…” The champ said as he broke the clinch and pushed away.
On the screen, Rora could see that Derek and his opponent were talking, but she could only make out what Derek was saying since she could read his lips. It looked like the champ was telling him something about the SuPERHUMAAN project. That was interesting; even she didn’t know anything about the actual facility where Derek had been altered. She only knew about the work itself and its effects. Finding the facility and learning exactly how the process worked would be amazing.
“He is good.” The Voice said, interrupting her thoughts.
“Who?”
“The hacker. I cannot find any trace of him.” The Voice said with a hint of admiration.
“That’s impossible; there must be some trace of him. What about the vault footage?” She asked.
“Nothing, it’s like he doesn’t exist. Similar to the effects of the device.” The Voice informed her.
“Hmmm…Wait, we can use that.” Rora exclaimed excitedly. “Look for the blank spots in the data. The files should be slightly smaller because the bits containing his image were removed.”
“That is a brilliant idea.” The Voice agreed. “Give me a few minutes.”
“We need to hurry up, I’m not sure how long Derek can go. It’s a
lready been fourteen minutes.” Rora said worriedly.
“He should be fine. His abilities give him a huge advantage.”
“I think the other fighter is SuPERHUMAAN too.” Rora explained.
“That is an interesting wrinkle. As far as I knew, Derek was the only one.” The Voice mused.
“Me too, but apparently not.”
“Then we better finish this up fast.” The Voice agreed.
When the fight broke the twenty minute mark, Derek could see that the champ was getting frustrated. He wanted an epic fight, but he also wanted a big finish. The longer the fight went, the less impressive he seemed. The crowd had really quieted and was watching with hushed amazement at the strength and endurance of the two men in the cage. At ringside, the security head was watching the fight carefully and he still had a look of concern on his face.
The champ noticed Derek’s slight distraction and he surged towards him fists flying. Derek blocked the blows and fired off a counter, but the champ surprised him by dropping down for a double leg takedown. Derek suddenly found himself on his back with the other man on top of him. The crowd roared in appreciation as the two gladiators hit the ground. They engaged in a wild scramble on the ground and ended up with the champ on top of Derek. Derek swiveled his hips to gain the guard position, his legs wrapped around the other man’s waist and his hands grabbing the champ’s wrists.
They struggled for a minute as the champ tried to posture up and rain elbows down on Derek’s head. He moved his head rapidly to avoid the blows and he could see the frustration grow on the man’s face. The champ then shifted to try to obtain a submission hold on Derek. He ducked under Derek’s arm and tried to reach around his head to secure a triangle choke, but Derek squirmed free. Then the champ grabbed his arm in a figure four hold and attempted an Americana, attempting to bend Derek’s arm backwards ninety degrees the wrong way. But again, Derek squirmed free.
While the champ was trying for the holds, Derek had slowly worked them backwards until they were against the cage. With a burst of strength he was able to push himself back up the cage and carry them to their feet. His opponent snarled and backed away throwing punches as he went. Derek dodged them and pushed off the cage. They circled again in the center of the cage. Until now, Derek had done nothing to attempt to end the fight. Eventually people would begin to get suspicious.
It might already be too late. The casino head of security was standing up and looking up at the owner’s box while talking animatedly into his walkie talkie. Derek assumed he was asking someone if Rora was there. The answer angered the security head and he gave Derek a dirty glare before storming out of the arena while screaming into the radio. Time was up. Derek looked directly into a camera and made a few quick hand gestures. He hoped Rora would see them and know what they meant. It was up to her now; all he could do was to finish the fight and get the heck out of here.
“Uh oh.” The Voice suddenly told Rora.
“What? You can’t find blank spots?” She replied quickly.
“No, I found plenty of blank spots. I have tracked him from the airport to the casino and down to the vault. The Major was right, he did enter the vault. I have him tracked back out of the casino and back to the visitor center.” The Voice told her.
“So what’s the problem?”
“The Major just signaled us.” The Voice said as he flashed a replay of the gestures Derek had just made onto the screen.
“What is he saying?” Rora snapped.
“It’s Special Forces hand signals to hurry up, your cover is blown.” The Voice replied calmly. “Here, on this screen.”
The screen changed again to show the head of security racing up stairs and heading towards their location. Armed guards were rushing down a hallway and she assumed they were coming for her. How could they be sure she was in the security room though? That was when she noticed the radios on the guards belts were buzzing. They must have turned down the volume so they could listen to the fight. When Jonas couldn’t reach them, he realized Rora must be there. Now everyone available was on their way to the office.
“We have to go!” Rora said urgently.
“I almost have it. One more minute.” The Voice replied calmly, and infuriatingly.
“We don’t have a minute…”
“Okay, I’ve got it. Unplug me and let’s go. Turn right when you leave the office.”
“Why? That’s a dead end.” Rora asked as she unplugged the phone.
“I can alter the video too.” The Voice assured her. “Once they get in here and see the video, they will be off on a wild goose chase. If you just go down the hallway and wait in a side room, they will all race off to another part of the casino and you can just walk out.”
“Not in this thing I can’t” Rora said as she fingered the cocktail waitress outfit.
“We can collect your clothes along the way.” The Voice said with a hint of amusement. “I’m more worried about Derek finishing the fight and getting out.”
The minute Derek saw the security head run of, he knew he had to finish the fight and get out of the casino. There was no way he could beat his opponent in a straight up brawl, they were too evenly matched. Even if he somehow managed it, it would take too long and he would sustain too much damage. He needed to end this with a submission. But his opponent was obviously very skilled and very well trained, there was no way he would fall for a regular submission. It was time to pull out something so old school and rare that the champ wouldn’t even have heard of it.
So Derek rushed towards his opponent and dropped his head like he was attempting a double leg takedown. The champ seized the opportunity and wrapped his arm around Derek’s neck looking for the guillotine choke. Then he jumped up on Derek and dragged him to the ground, trying to wrap his legs around Derek into the guard position as they fell. This was exactly what Derek wanted him to do. The crowd leapt to their feet and began cheering as the smelled blood. They expected the fight to end as the challenger was choked out by their champion.
To their surprise and the surprise of the champ, Derek didn’t fight the choke. Instead he shifted his position as they fell and landed to the side, his head still gripped by the champ. Derek quickly wrapped his arms around the champ’s neck and surged forward levering the arm around his neck up against the champ’s neck. Unaware that he was in real danger the champ responded by trying to tighten his grip on Derek’s neck. The crowd continued to scream as they were unaware of what Derek was doing.
By the time the champ realized he was in trouble it was too late. Derek used his superior position and leverage to press the champ’s own arm against his neck and squeeze him unconscious. A perfectly executed Von Flue choke. Being a longtime student of mixed martial arts had just paid off in a big way.
Derek didn’t waste any time gloating or celebrating, instead he rushed from the cage and headed for the locker room. He passed by several stunned security guards who still weren’t sure what they had seen. It took them a minute; but when the crowd realized their champion had been defeated and all the money wagered on him lost, they started rioting. The security guards rapidly became too busy to chase Derek.
He rushed into the locker room and quickly changed his clothes and laced up his boots. The room was empty, all the fighters having been cageside to watch the fight. But a brief cough snapped Derek’s attention to a man entering the room. It was the fight manager, Charles Slidell. He walked over to confront Derek.
“Nice choke.” Slidell said smugly. “Very old school.”
“Yeah, I figured it was old school enough the champ wouldn’t have even heard of it.” Derek replied. “It’s something I learned a while ago.”
“Now I know you.” The fight manager said with a slight smile. “You fought under the nickname Hailstorm. You fought on the underground circuit a long time ago; so no one would recognize you now, but I remember you.”
Derek nodded. “I remember you too; you were a legend on the big stage back then. But that was a long t
ime ago.”
“It was. That’s why I’m wondering how you still look so young?” Slidell asked congenially.
“Living right I suppose.” Derek replied.
“No, you’re just like the champ. You had something done to you to make you better.” Slidell insisted.
“What do you want?” Derek hissed.
The fight manager laughed. “Are you kidding? Nothing. You already made me a pile of money. I bet big on you and you were a massive long shot. I don’t know how I’m going to top this fight night though…You better get out of here. Jonas is looking for you. He seems pretty angry. Go out through the main entrance, the crowds have overwhelmed the guards. There is an entrance to the casino floor just down the hall.”
“Thanks.” Derek said in surprise.
“No problem. And hey, if you every want another fight. You know where to find me.” Slidell said as he stuck out his hand.
Derek took the offered hand and nodded. No more words needed to be said, it was one warrior to another. He exited the locker room without a look back and made his way onto the main floor of the casino. Slidell had been right; the casino was a mob scene. Crazed fans were fighting with security and each other. Gamblers were tipping over slot machines and grabbing for chips on tables. Dealers and floor staff had run for cover, but he could also see a few getting in on the looting. Security was completely overwhelmed.
The main entrance was just ahead and Derek hustled to the front doors. Across the street he could see Rora waiting. He was almost out the doors when a hand grabbed him by the shoulder and spun him around. He found the angry face of the security head, Jonas Blackmon, right in front of him. The man’s face was bright red and he had a few slight bruises and his suit was torn. He had a Glock 23 pistol in his hand and it was aimed at Derek.
“I don’t know how you managed it, but I want to know what you took.” Jonas demanded, literally spitting as he spoke, he was so mad.
“I’m just a fighter; I don’t know what you are talking about.” Derek lied.
