I’d been working on my ground game against Devon and Jesse. My improvement impressed them enough they actually thought I could take Rankin. Tommy watched with interest but still had his doubts. We were all having so much fun with the new business, Tommy began hinting maybe it was time to give up on my fight career. I didn’t think so and Denny definitely wanted the fights to go on. He nearly had all the alterations ready on the boat he supposedly gave to his goon squad: Lucas, Casey, and me. We’d heard talk of another UFC in the United Arab Emirates next May which would work out really well for Denny to launch his secret pirate war with us and our boat as bait. The UAE was very close to suspected pirate haunts.
Anyway, Baatar ran his mouth off before the fight while Jack Korlos checked us both out, saying I’d never fight again when he got done with me. The crowd and Tommy loved it. The crowd because it was fashionable to hate me, and Tommy because we were getting two to one odds in spite of my destroying Rankin. Lora followed Tommy around, getting introduced to the Oakland hierarchy attending our pickup fights. I didn’t take offense at my new agitator. He was either going to get his mouth shut or I’d be dead or unconscious.
When Jack gave us the go ahead, Big O came out blasting. He rocked my arms and shoulders pretty good before I launched one of my thigh kicks. If I catch you right with one of those roundhouse beauties the fight’s over. I nearly ended the Big O. His leg gave out. In a split second I smashed a forearm into his face when he went to a knee and followed him to the dirty mat in a full mount position. For the next five minutes, I introduced Big O to my elbows while varying my position from full mount to half guard and back again. We don’t have time limits. Big O’s stamina threatened to turn off the now very quiet crowd.
I let it seem like he nailed me in the side so I could let him escape. He lumbered to his feet wheezing like a freight train. He wasn’t talkin’ no more, saving his breath to throw punches. Tommy had screamed at me not to let him up but I wanted to hurt this punk. Did I claim none of those mean things the Big O said to me didn’t bother me – of course not. Tommy rightly feared me getting my bell rung but fighting wasn’t something I do, fighting’s what I am. The Big O landed a few good shots as I kept my head in the game plan I had worked out. When Big O grinned a little as he felt better about himself, I gave him another roundhouse shot right where I landed before.
He didn’t just go to a knee. Big O dropped like I’d used a lead pipe on his leg. I went with him. Before Jack stopped me I pounded Big O until I didn’t figure his own mama would know him for a few months. I heard Jack calling me off while tapping my shoulder. The red haze receded before he had to sap me. When I got off him, Big O was snorin’ and the crowd was booin’. Jack raised my arm.
The ending didn’t seem to make anyone happy but my corner crew. Tommy took Lora around with him in his casually elegant manner of collection. Bonasera and Alexander smartly stuck to business, avoiding the mistake of betting against me. With a corner crew, I cleaned up immediately, leaving Devon and Jesse to watch out for our collectors. Jafar knew the drill from Tommy, handing me first peroxide wet towels, then clean ones, and finally my clothes. We did it all that night. We made a bundle. We made enemies. We stepped solidly in line for a UFC slot with Rankin. The fight went up on YouTube and to the UFC. We were riding high. Then came Thanksgiving.
I’d never had an actual family so Thanksgiving when I was a kid consisted of my Pa getting wasted in front of the TV. When we had food it was usually canned goods and bread. As an adult Tommy asked me over many times for the holidays but I liked spending my holidays alone. This year with Lora, I’d already had a preview with Halloween. I escorted her and Alice around ‘Trick or Treating’. It was fun. I dressed up like Darth Vader and scared the hell out of the adults we passed without even doing my voice act. For Thanksgiving, however, Tess and her Mom flew out to spend the holidays with Lora and Alice. On top of that, Tess was married to a lawyer at the new firm she worked for. Needless to say, he came with her. Tess did not like me being in the equation at all. I picked them up at Oakland airport in the business’s new limo. That’s when I found out Lora hadn’t told Tess or her Mom we were together. Awkward now has new meaning for me.
Tess saw me get out of the limo and begin throwing their suitcases into the trunk from the curb pickup while Lora and Alice jumped out to hug the Boston visitors. The conversation did not go well.
Tess stepped around Lora and strutted up in my face with her new hubby looking on in confusion. “What the hell are you doing here, John? I’m married.”
“Congratulations, Tess. I-”
Lora rushed over to intervene, knowing I was just as confused as Tess’s husband. “John and I are together now. My new job I mentioned over the phone is at his business.”
I continued packing the limo while Tess and her Mom gave me looks usually reserved for serial killers. I quickly finished my curb service and held out a hand to the husband. He was a well dressed, handsome looking attorney around six feet tall with stylish blonde hair. I liked his smiling bemused look.
“Hi, I’m John Harding.”
“Ah…” Hubby looked at Tess and his Mother-in-Law for guidance but they were still shooting killer eye darts at me. He shook my hand finally. “I…I’m Cal Underwood.”
“Pleased to meet you. Help your ladies into the car and I’ll take you all to Lora’s house.”
I winked at the giggling Alice and ran around to get in the driver’s seat. There were some heated words exchanged I couldn’t quite make out but they all did get in so I had figured we’d at least be arriving at Lora’s house as a group. Alice insisted on sitting up next to me in spite of Grandma trying to persuade her otherwise. Lora attempted conversation as I drove out of the airport, but it didn’t go over well, so it was very quiet back there.
“Are you in trouble, John?” Alice had whispered over at me. “I thought Aunt Tess liked you.”
“I think your Mom may have saved me as a surprise and it was a little too much of a surprise for your Aunt Tess and Grandma,” I had whispered back. The separator had been pulled closed between the driver’s compartment and the back passenger area, but I didn’t want to take any chances of getting Alice in trouble. She rightly sensed something wrong with the adults.
“Will you still be coming over for Thanksgiving?”
That was only two days away and I didn’t think at the time it was possible. I wasn’t mad at Lora because I knew my future in-laws were all going back to Boston. Like I mentioned before, she kind of owned me in that I was hooked for the first time. I loved her and Alice. It didn’t seem like a big deal if the relatives were a little standoffish.
“I’m not sure, Al. It may not be such a good idea if your Mom can’t convince them what a great guy I am.”
Alice giggled. “I want you to come. You promised. I’ll make them understand.”
“My advice would be to let your Mom handle it. Maybe it won’t be so bad.” Then we reached Lora’s house. Boy, was I wrong.
I unloaded all the bags while Lora urged her guests inside. I let Alice take a small bag to help and Cal grabbed a couple on the way in. Minutes later, we were all standing in Lora’s living room listening to Alice fill her Grandma in on how her second grade year at school was doing. Grandma, who was an older, slightly heavier version of her daughters, alternated between smiles at Alice’s school update and frowns up at me. Tess could not wait any longer to launch at her sister.
“Are you insane? You know what Harding is. How could-”
“He’s a government employee, Marine Corps reservist, and a business owner,” Lora cut her off. “I needed a job and he pays me very well. I love the work, and I’ll be getting my law degree soon. I’m already paying Mom back again.”
Tess’s face went from angry to apoplectic. “He’s a leg-breaker and a killer. I was kidnapped and taken hostage twice because of him!”
“Yet here you are, Sis, big mouth and all. It’s done. I’m with John. Alice loves him. I love him. Get o
ver it.” Lora turned to her Mom because she had straightened from her talk with Alice and had a stunned look on her face topped off with mouth hanging open in disbelief. “Mom, I’m working doing what I’ve always wanted to do. I’ll be paying my debt off to you in no time. I didn’t get a chance to introduce you before. This is John Harding, my employer, and fiancé. John, this is my Mom, Marion Connagher.”
Lora held up her hand with the diamond engagement ring I’d given her. Oh… did I mention I had fallen hard and fast.
I stuck my hand out once again. “Pleased to meet you, Ms. Connagher.”
She shook my hand after only a moment’s hesitation. Some color came back to her face. The color never faded from Tess’s face. Tess looked about ready to explode. Cal kept silent, standing next to Tess with a neutral attentive look on his face. I could tell he was less than happy with the first few minutes of his visit. And yes, I did notice I’d been called a leg-breaker and a killer. Since I’d absorbed many more colorful epithets it didn’t really bother me. Tess could have catalogued the number of times I saved her life but no use beatin’ a dead horse. Grandma did admire the diamond ring.
I decided to break the ice. “Cal, would you like a drink?”
“Sure. Bourbon straight up if you have it.”
Tess didn’t like that at all. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
Cal patted her shoulder. “Believe me. It really is.” He held his hand out to me. “Congratulations, John.”
I shook his hand gratefully. “Thank you. I’ll get your drink. Anyone else?”
“I’ll have a double,” Grandma accepted, ignoring Tess’s open mouthed stare of shock.
Alice raised her hand. “I’ll have a double too, John.”
I thought, what the hell, I’ll bring out the Dark Lord I’d been entertaining Lora and Alice with for the last couple months. “The Dark Lord does not serve liquor to underage pixies!”
Alice immediately giggled and clapped her hands. Lora busted out laughing because by now I had the Dark Lord down pat – voice, attitude, and scowl. I pulled him out sparingly but with very good results. Tommy hated him. He warned me already he’d cap my ass the next time I channeled the Dark Lord. I got mixed reviews from the rest of my crew depending on my timing. Apparently, there weren’t many Star Wars fans other than Lora and Alice in this group either. Cal laughed but shut up immediately when he got a Tess death stare burst.
I went to get the drinks. I returned with a tray - sodas for Alice and me, doubles on ice for the other adults. Alice was regaling her audience with my Darth Vader act from Halloween. I had danced the robot in costume when we drew a crowd outside Porky’s Pizza on the way by. I had kids trying to follow me home. Alice got appreciative laughter from everyone. Even Tess couldn’t resist chuckling at Alice’s imitation of me. She had the robot down pretty well. I passed out the drinks. Tess took hers reluctantly. We toasted to good health. The next question of course ruined the new feel good vibe real quick.
“He’s not staying here… is he?” Tess asked.
I wasn’t, but Lora immediately went on the defensive. “What business is it of yours?”
There were an immediate jumble of voices as Grandma and the two sisters began jawing at the same time. I decided maybe it was time for the Dark Lord to vacate the premises.
I moved into the middle. “Hold on. Hold on. I’m not staying here. Everyone calm down. I’m going to take the limo back. Dev and Jesse have a gig in a couple hours. It was nice seeing you, Tess. Good to meet you, Cal. Nice meeting you, Ms. Connagher.”
My leaving silenced everyone as I waved and walked toward the door. Alice followed. She gave me a hug and whispered she’d fix things. Good, now I needed an eight-year-old little girl to have my back. Lora looked a little fearful when I straightened from my Alice hug. She wrapped her arms around me with Alice watching for signs of ill will.
“I’m sorry I chickened out on telling them. Every time I talked to them on the phone I was going to say something, but I lost my nerve. Please forgive me, Dark Lord.”
Alice giggled of course.
I reassured her because…well… like I said, I’m hooked. “No blood, no foul. As long as you’re not kicking me to the curb, I’ll survive.”
“I’d kick them to the curb first. I love you.”
I kissed her and turned to the door. “I love you too. Call me if it’s not good for me to show up on Thanksgiving. You’re officially off work until next Tuesday. Don’t fight the whole week. If you need a referee, I’ll send Jafar over.”
“Very funny.”
“Alice, I expect you to fill in for the Dark Lord if there’s any more fighting.”
Alice immediately bowed her head. “Yes, Dark Lord.”
I shut the door behind me, breathed a sigh of relief, and took the limo in to work. For the next couple days I endured complaints about my business skills without Lora, but with Thanksgiving holiday we mostly increased our limo/escort calls. Lora felt we should limit bond enforcement to me and Tommy like before so our regular clients would always know who was handling the skip. Tommy agreed so Dev, Jesse, and Jafar worked the limo/escort part with Jafar handling customer relations. I came in only if my language skills required it.
The fights Tommy contracted we handled as a team for practice so my crew would be ready when the Dubai UFC fight came around. Tommy had contracted another fight for Wednesday night we didn’t let Lora in on. It was a sweet payday with Bonasera and Alexander giving us our upfront fee. Because of my notoriety on YouTube we’d been getting fight challenges from all over. Most offers were freebies looking for a name with no backing.
Bonasera offered this one to Tommy because the guy had backing and was actually fronting our fee to Bonasera who tacked on an extra thousand to the guaranteed five. His backers wanted their fight fast tracked into UFC and figured a win over me would be just the match to do it. They had a cute gimmick too. The fighter’s cage name was Abdul the Terrible, The Syrian Slayer. We couldn’t find anything on him because supposedly he fought in Europe for big money. This would be his first fight in the states. They wanted the fight in New York but Tommy told them to take a hike. After I added to my status with the YouTube video fight with The Big O, the New Yorkers offered to come to Oakland. Tommy didn’t like not knowing what I was up against. They had offered it on real short notice but I told Tommy to take it and I’d come up with something the guy probably hadn’t seen yet from me.
Chapter Nineteen
The Slayer
Submission chokes were one of my specialties but I’d never showed off my other skills. Jujitsu holds on the hands, arms, wrists, and legs will submit a fighter just as efficiently as knocking them out. We had taken the fight two weeks prior. For those two weeks Dev and Jesse worked with me on my submission holds. I taught them some of the techniques I’d learned in Krav Maga classes with Mossad trainers overseas. Although geared to keep you off the ground, Krav Maga stresses striking and various holds such as arm bars, triangle chokes, and the guillotine. I’m mostly a striker, but I’m open-minded when it comes to winning.
So that brings me to the present: fight night Wednesday. Lora called wanting me to come over for a drink when I was in the middle of gearing up for my earlier fight time. I had a little trouble declining without letting her know about the fight. The New Yorkers planned live telecasts back East and overseas for the Slayer fans that wanted to see Abdul fight without coming to a dirty warehouse in Oakland. I figured it couldn’t be bad publicity. Apparently Oakland’s political powers sanctioned our illegal set to because Tommy told me Earl, Enrique, and Jeff were all on the payroll for security. Bonasera and Alexander had wisely cut Alexi Fiialkov in for a taste.
Jafar drove me to the fight where we’d be meeting the rest of our crew. He’d been going with me on the hard takedowns for Government Inc. Lucas and Casey had adopted him. Because he had language skills we all felt having him along on the pirate bait plan would be a plus. Denny agreed because he wanted Jafar
trained for bigger things. Jafar wanted it all, but mostly he wanted Samira. She had returned home with her Father after speaking for several weeks to various Afghan groups. Jafar’s proposal for Samira’s hand in marriage was very well done. I thought he’d made a good impression on Badee Karim. We were waiting to hear about his final decision. Yeah, I know these two lovebirds were too young, but life is short. Besides, I missed Naji.
“Why hasn’t Mr. Karim called, John?” Jafar asked me for about the hundredth time.
“Why don’t we concentrate on how I’m going to survive the Syrian Slayer instead of popping off questions you already know I don’t have a clue how to answer?”
“I’ve seen you working out with Dev and Jesse. Abdul’s in trouble.”
The kid’s optimistic for a change. “Like always, maybe yes, maybe no. As to your pre-nuptial negotiations, I gave you a stellar recommendation to Badee. Samira’s in love with you and Badee isn’t the honor killing type so I like your chances.”
“When I asked him for her hand in marriage he looked at me like my next destination would be my knees, a bag over my head, and a dull knife at my throat.”
I chuckle. Yeah, he did. “Told you. Be patient. Let Samira work him over.”
Hell on Earth Page 57
