Thirty minutes later the lights flickered and as if on cue all of the girls in their tight dresses receded to the kitchen and Terrace took center stage in the middle of the living room. The men gathered around him as Chelsea hung in the back near one of the fires trying to blend in. She was the only woman left in the room.
“Gentleman,” Terrance said loudly as he took the floor. A hush fell over the crowd as Terrance looked at everyone he had assembled there. “I would like to thank each and every one of you for coming so far out into the woods tonight; however, I am sure you all appreciate the finer accommodations we’ve provided.” The men around him chuckled and nodded and Chelsea suddenly wished an asteroid would come and wipe them all from the face of the earth. “I would like to thank our sponsors for tonight, the boys from Detroit: Isaac and Amos Sonata. Please, let’s all raise a glass to their hospitality.”
The words “hear, hear” echoed around the rooms as various glasses were raised.
Chelsea, hidden in her corner didn’t move. Did Molly hear what Terrance had said? Did she know the fight was happening? Was she on her way? To her left the men who must have been Isaac and Amos Sonata stood up and gave quick half bows to the crowd before sitting back down. They were two totally ordinary looking men in neat business suits. They looked like insurance adjusters, not mobsters.
“So, without any more babble from me, let us descend to the basement.”
Chelsea pushed herself as far back as she could into her small little corner as the men in the room stood up and languidly made their way to the basement door. It was held open and in pairs of twos and threes the men descended the steps.
When they were all down, Chelsea followed. To her surprise neither of the men tried to stop her from going into the basement. In fact they barely glanced at her as she passed.
Where is Jamie? Chelsea thought as she walked into the basement. She passed through the wine cellar and through a door towards the back and descended into a basement with a dirt floor. The men were gathered around the ring, which was nothing more than a circle of chalk drawn in the dirt.
Chelsea looked around desperately. She didn’t want to be here; she didn’t want to watch this fight. She needed to find her sister and get her out of here before the fight started and before the FBI showed up, if they showed up at all. She was halfway down the stairs when she turned around and tried to go back up.
She had only taken two steps when the boys from Detroit and Terrance came walking slowly down the stairs.
“Isaac, Amos, this is Chelsea Riley. She’s Blue’s girl,” Terrance said. They all looked down at her as a shared smile crossed their faces.
“It’s bad luck for a woman to come to her man’s fight, don’t you know that?” one of the boys from Detroit asked.
“Blue doesn’t know she’s here. It’s just a secret between me and Chelsea,” Terrance said. “Where are you going, Chelsea? Don’t you want to see the fight? That is why you came, right?”
“Yeah,” Chelsea stammered. “It’s just a little hot and crowded down here. I was going to get some air.”
“Oh no,” Terrance said. “You’re here then you’re here. There’s no leaving until the fight is over.”
Chelsea nodded and turned around and slowly made her way down to the floor. Her heels gave her a good vantage of the fight, she could see the entire ring, but she still hung back, hoping she could sneak back up before the fight started. But her hope that she could leave was dashed when the two men who had guarded the door now took their place at the bottom of the stairs.
“We have an excellent match up tonight!” Terrance called out from the center of the ring. He had no microphone, but his voice echoed loudly through the basement. “Our first fighter is a local boy with a long history in the pits. He’s an underdog, but don’t count him out yet, boys. He’s a good fighter and he wants to win so in Red, we have Jimmy Dimaggio!”
Chelsea watched as Jimmy came down the stairs. He wore just a pair of loose fitting gym shorts. The men cheered as he came down the stairs and he raised his hand high above him as bookies shouted for bets. The crowd parted and Jimmy walked to the ring and waited.
“And now, the man you have all come here to see. He was raised in the pits and then he went to serve his country. He fought hard for years, honing his skill and now he is back by popular demand. I present to you, the best fighter any of us has ever seen, Blue DeMarco!”
The crowd screamed. It was obvious who the favorite was as the shouts got louder and louder. Then, Blue appeared at the top of the stairs. He was wearing the same loose shorts as Jimmy, but he was also wearing a boxer’s robe tied around his waist with the hood pulled over his head creating a shadow that hid his face. She could only make out the vague outline of his profile, but he looked stern and a little terrifying. Unlike Jimmy he didn’t seem to notice the crowd at all. The men were cheering for Blue, but his face remained frozen as he walked down the stairs.
Chelsea hid back in the corner; she didn’t want Blue to see her. She didn’t want him to worry about her. She didn’t want to distract him. But her heart broke for him as he walked to the ring. He looked like a man condemned, a man walking to the gallows.
The two men were in the pit. They didn’t shake hands. Blue removed his robe and Terrance left the ring and then a bell sounded and suddenly, the fight was on. Jimmy launched himself at Blue, but Blue was ready, his hands up and protecting his face as he took the hits. She could hear the sick crunch as Jimmy pounded Blue’s arms and chest. She could hear the crack of bones. Blue was being driven back and Chelsea wondered if he was waiting for the FBI, if he were trying to stall. But she understood how impossible that was. Jimmy wasn’t taking it easy; he was hitting Blue again and again and soon Blue would be out of the fight if he didn’t fight back.
Blue was pushed against the edge of the ring and the men around Chelsea were fighting and screaming for Blue to hit him. They were practically foaming at the mouth as they begged for the real violence.
Then Blue gave it to them. He took one last hit from Jimmy and then like a flash of lightning he hit Jimmy with an uppercut that sent the other man flying. Blue advanced on him and hit him twice in the stomach and again in the face. She could hear the crunch as Blue destroyed Jimmy’s nose and then it was over and Jimmy fell to the ground.
The crowd screamed and Chelsea strained to see and she sighed with relief as she saw that Jimmy was still moving. He was struggling to get to his feet. Cries of “finish him” and “end it” filled the basement and tears came to Chelsea’s eyes as Blue stood over the defeated but alive Jimmy. Jimmy was trying to stand he was on his hands and knees and struggling to get up, but he kept slipping in the dirt. It was tragic and wrong and Chelsea didn’t know how to stop it. Blue stood over Jimmy and watched the man struggle as the men in the basement screamed at Blue to kill his opponent.
“FBI! Get on the ground!”
Chelsea turned her head towards the stairs and watched as a wave of men dressed all in black came racing down the stairs. The men around her began to panic, but there was only one way out; they were all trapped. Chelsea hugged the wall and tried to get to Blue. She fought through the rushing crowd of men as they shoved and pushed past her. She was at the ring only steps from Blue. He was turned away from her and she reached for him, but suddenly someone had her arm.
“You!” Terrance hissed, as he pulled her close. “You ratted me out? I’m going to end you!”
Blue’s fist came out of nowhere. It connected with Terrance’s cheek and the man’ whole body rocked to the side as he fell to the floor.
“What are you doing here?” Blue demanded.
‘“Rescuing you,” Chelsea answered as the FBI corralled the fight goers and one by one they dropped to their knees in defeat.