Triad Death Match by Seth Harwood Read Free Book Online

he is, this'll be over fast."
    "We've got to stop it."
    "How?"
    "I don't know. I could– "
    "You run up onto that ring and you'll be mobbed, tackled, and hog-tied before you ever get to the matt. Who's that going to help?"
    Bolo made a slow move toward Chen, reaching out with a tentative jab as he stepped forward, measuring the space between them. Chen stood still.  
    Bolo leapt forward and backhanded Chen across the face. Chen spun and spit blood into the sand spread across the ring.  
    Bolo followed with a right hook into Chen's ribs that moved Chen back. His feet slid across the sand. When he stopped, he re-gathered himself into his stance.  
    "He's fucked."
    Chen dropped lower, bending his knees. He shook his head as if trying to clear it and made familiar motions with his arms, waving them into one of his routines.
    Bolo crossed quickly and made a sweeping kick into Chen's front leg. He followed it with a straight kick to Chen's chest. Again Chen slid back. Close to the edge of the ring now, he circled around Bolo. It was strange to see the two of them fighting at this speed, as if Bolo wanted to watch his craftsmanship, appreciate each blow in its own time.
    Bolo came at Chen now and scooped him up like a wrestler, held him at the shoulder and between his legs. Bolo turned and slammed Chen into the center of the ring. Chen bounced once in the sand and rose to his feet.
    The fight was like a cat playing with a mouse, Bolo casually fucking up Chen as he wished, doing damage in his own time. Chen had no answers. Finally the drums beat to signal the end of the round.
     
    The two fighters rested, Chen with his hands on his knees, breathing hard, and Bolo standing up straight, glaring across the ring. Chen looked like his nose was broken, and one cheek was cut. His front leg had been kicked enough times that he'd had to switch up to southpaw and alter his stance completely.  
    "I've got to do something to stop this," Jane said. She got up from her chair and walked out the door at the back of the stage. Jack glanced at Mr. Ruby, who simply looked nonplussed and turned back to the ring.
    "Jane, Jane, Jane," Jack said. "What are you getting us into now?"
    Jack thought about making some big proclamation, a verbal appeal for them to stop the fight. But he saw Ruby staring at him, and he could feel the two bigger fighters closing in on him from behind.  
    At that moment, Chen looked up and his eyes met Jack's. Then Chen nodded. Jack didn't know what Chen was telling him, but honor or no, there had to be something in Chen that didn't want to die.  
    The drum beat again, and Bolo advanced across the ring, fists ready.
    "Shit." Jack got up and followed Jane out the back exit from the stage. He ran down the dark corridor and found her alone in the dressing room, cell phone in hand. She was staring at the phone's screen, as if trying to decide who to call.
    "What the fuck are you going to do?" Jack asked.  
    "Fuck this," she said. "I'm calling in Dockery. There's enough going down here for us to bring in the troops and tear this shit down. I'm not just going to sit back and watch Chen die."
    She pushed a few buttons and raised the phone to her ear. "Doc," she said when someone answered. "We got big problems here."  
    But Jack knew there was no way the Feds could get enough soldiers through that thin alley, past the Zanzibar door and down into the arena, to do shit about the fight. Jane went on explaining, but Jack had another idea.
    He pulled out his own phone and scrolled through the names. It was a long shot, he knew, but maybe they would already be downtown, checking out the strippers at one of the clubs in North Beach, able to get here in time.
    He pushed enter when he got to Vlade's name and the phone started to dial. Vlade would be with Niki, and maybe the two of them could do enough to at least disrupt the situation.
    Vlade's phone rang, and Jack listened to the sound. He counted three rings. Jane was clearly still