Chapter 5
When he arrived at the club an hour later, Ace felt an odd sense of dread fill within him. He wasn’t used to the feeling and he tried to push it out of his mind, but it persisted. The club was his livelihood, but he was gradually feeling more and more smothered.
It had a dingy atmosphere, even now, when it couldn’t have been past twelve. Ace felt nausea in his stomach but he shook it off. There was no time for that.
Ace had been working there for years, since he was legally allowed to do so, and probably even before that. It was, put simply, an underground fighting ring. Fights that people would watch and pay good money to see. Fights that were bet on with heavy outcomes and thousands of dollars on the line.
Big money was traded down here and it rested on the shoulders of the guys in the ring. You were paid good money to lose the right fight at the right time, and paid good money if you won others. The fights were hard and brutal and would make most people feel sick. Ace had lost track of how many broken bones had been exchanged in that ring, how many times his skin had split open and left him bleeding and in pain.
Ace was a fighter and he’d been a fighter since his younger days. He’d never done well at school and with the alcoholic of a father that he had, he had to find a way to make money somehow and quick. He started by cleaning up after the others who were in the ring, but when the boss saw his potential as a fighter, he suggested he give it a try.
And that’s where he had stayed ever since. Now, years later, he was one of the best fighters in the underground. He won almost every fight and he got paid well to do it. He got paid even more on the rare few fights he inexplicably lost. Big money, after all.
Everyone bet on him winning. If the tables turned on a strategic bet, you’d be cashing in big time. It was all rigged and Ace knew that it wasn’t legal, but his boss handled it all: the medical insurance, the penthouse suite that he lived in, and the flashy lifestyle.
All Ace had to do was fight, lose when he was told, and save up his money for the day he was knocked out of the ring for good. He sighed and looked around. The boss wasn’t there yet and the place was almost deserted.
Ace stared into the distance, taking in the place that he had called home, more than anywhere else, for the last ten years of his life. He felt a sense of dissatisfaction lately. He remembered when he had once planned to attend university, succeed and get a real job. It all seemed like a pipe-dream now.
Even if he had the money saved to both study and live, it would be a stretch, especially at his age and what he’d gone through. He frowned and shook his head. If he threw two more fights, and didn’t spend a dime, he’d probably be set. It would be rough, but he’d had it worse.
Still, leaving the club wouldn’t be the easiest decision. They paid for everything, after all, so not only would he lose all of the perks but he knew for a fact they would insist that he didn’t spill any trade secrets. It seemed like so much to lose and Ace began to consider all of his options.
The thought of spending the rest of his life fighting until he was no longer the golden boy, and kicked out on the street with nothing to his name made him sick. Thankfully, he didn’t have much longer to dwell on it as his boss finally arrived.
“Hey Cruz.”
Cruz grunted and pushed some paperwork across the table, “Your next big fight.”
Ace looked over the paperwork, skimming the words to find the dollar amount he was fighting for. It was a lot of money. Predictable, easy money he thought to himself. He nodded.
“Got it. Is this what you wanted to discuss?”
Cruz shook his head, “Of course not. This is the one you need to gear up for.” Cruz pushed paperwork into Ace’s hands. He took it and scanned it, feeling a strange mix of dread in his gut. It was a big fight, one of the biggest of the season and he was rigged to lose it.
Ace could live on that money for quite some time. He felt sick, an uncomfortable guilt rising within him. All he could think of was Christie, with her beautiful blue eyes, and how she had looked at him.
Was he the kind of man that would take a women like her to bed and then cheat on a fight this important? He’d never had to make the choice before. He pushed thoughts of her out of his mind and nodded.
“I understand.”
“Good.” Cruz lit up a cigarette and gave Ace a hard look, “Because there’s a lot riding on this one, you know. If you mess this up, it'll cost us big money.” Cruz frowned, “In fact, if you mess this up, you’re done.”
Ace felt the gravity of his words swirl in his head. Yes, it had always been high stakes, but this was different. If he messed this up and won this fight, he’d be down on his luck, with no job and nothing to get him through the madness that was life.
“And make sure that you win the one coming up. Make it look easy, Ace. We need people to bet on you for the next fight.”
Ace nodded again and Cruz stood up, “The first fight is in a few weeks. The next one is a month or so after that. I want to see you training.”
“You got it, Cruz.”
And with that Cruz was gone, leaving Ace alone with his thoughts. It had seemed so simple when he started. It had been the only choice for him to make. Now, he wasn’t so sure if he was making the right one anymore.
Ace sighed and decided he’d work through this later. He glanced at the clock. It was past twelve and he needed a drink.