Dark Horse (4 page)

Chapter 5 - Henry

I decided not to take advantage of Bruno’s hospitality. After two beers, there was more than enough alcohol running through my blood to keep me warm. I stepped out of the bar and didn’t feel as cold as I did when I first started my search. I felt invigorated from the bartender’s kindness. If he were willing to look out for me, maybe someone else would.

I
’d never been in this part of the city before. All of the buildings were unfamiliar. Even the faces looked less friendly than I was used to. But I kept the blinders on and kept walking up the street, hoping for any sign of something to do.

I
’d picked the wrong night to go searching for work. Most of the shops and stores were closed. Their doors were locked and the iron shutters were pulled down over their windows. But I kept going. I wasn’t looking for a job at this point. I was just looking for a reason not to head home and wallow in my defeat.

As I walked through the city, I heard a lot
of noise coming from underneath a freeway overpass. I ignored it initially but the sound grew louder as I neared it. I turned my head and noticed that there was a large crowd gathering around something. I looked around for any sign of police but there was none.

Probably just some pointless scrap. Best to stay out of their way.

I got closer and listened to the sound of men cheering and shouting. There was no point in avoiding it any longer. The crowd was too large and the noise was too loud. My curiosity had to be satisfied. I made my way through the circle of men and there I saw it. Two men had their fists up and were engaged in a brawl.

Both of them resembled the nondescript homeless men I
’d seen around my neighborhood. They were already bloodied and bruised. Their bodies were hunched over as they gasped and tried to regain their strength.

I looked around and saw that everybody
’s focus was locked on the two men. There was a bloodlust in their eyes. They were shouting and hollering. Their balled fists were pumped in the air as they cheered for the two men trying to incapacitate one another.

Across the circle, there was the same man I
’d just seen in the bar earlier. Maxwell was standing there patiently, his arms crossed and his eyes focused. He was the only one that wasn’t yelling at the top of his lungs.

I didn
’t know what it was. It was a little disturbing to see these men going at one another with nobody trying to stop it. But I found myself compelled to see what was going to happen. This wasn’t just some ordinary scrap between two men who had a disagreement. That happened more often than I’d care to think about. This was something different. The crowd was into it like they had something at stake.

The bloodbath didn
’t stop. When one fist would connect with the other’s face, blood would stream onto the ground. The spots and splashes of red were a reminder that this was real. This was more than just a petty argument. This was more than just a fight.

The two combatants were now gasping for breath. They looked like
they were using every muscle in their legs to keep from falling over. With the sweat and blood dripping from his face, one man swung with all of his might. The fist connected on the top of the other man’s head and sent him crashing to the ground in a heap. He fell on top of him and began pounding in his skull relentlessly. Maxwell suddenly jumped in and pulled the man off.

“
That’s it!” he shouted. “It’s over. Your winner… Bonecrusher!”

Maxwell grabbed the arm of the man that was still conscious and raised
it into the air in triumph. Bonecrusher, though victorious, looked like he was going to pass out any moment. I didn’t know why he would bother putting himself at risk by going fist-to-fist with another man. But then Maxwell handed him a handful of cash. His face was bloodied and swollen but Bonecrusher managed to work a smile onto his face.

“
You want another fight?” Maxwell asked him. “You’re on a winning streak. You want to keep going?”

Bonecrusher shook his head as he stumbled out of the center and left.
The other man was barely regaining consciousness. He was helped out of the ring by several other men and Maxwell found himself standing in the center ring by himself.

“
Okay, two new fighters!” he shouted. “I need two new fighters! Who wants to win some money tonight? I got big bucks here for the taking.”

The crowd continued to chant and cheer as they looked around at one another.

“Anybody,” Maxwell said. “Anybody at all. If nobody wants to fight, we’re gonna have to close up shop and nobody’s going home with any money in their pocket.”

Everybody still looked hesitant to step into the ring. Maxwell was staring at each and every person surrounding him and they all shook their heads. Finally, his eyes fell upon me. He stared at me, a smile appearing on his face.

I can’t do this. This is wrong. Am I really that desperate?

Maxwell continued to look at me. I didn
’t want to consider this. But when my eyes lowered, I saw the amount of cash he was holding in his hand. I didn’t need any further motivation.

“
Who wants to fight?” Maxwell shouted.

I walked forward into the ring. Maxwell looked at me and raised one of his eyebrows.

“What do you want, man?” he asked me.

“
I’ll fight.”

The shouting of the crowd died down. The cheering turned into laughter. I looked around and saw the smiling faces of the people who just enjoyed the recent display of barbarism.

“You want to fight?” he asked me again.

“
Yeah. If I win, I get paid, right?”

“
That’s right. What’s your name?”

“
Henry.”

“
Henry?”

“
Yeah.”

“
Um… Henry… Let’s see… H… H… Homicide. Who wants to step up and fight Homicide Henry?”

The crowd looked around at one another. It didn
’t take very long to find me an opponent. An imposing figure I should have noticed stepped from between two men. He took off his jacket and I saw his massive physique. He walked forward to Maxwell and looked down at me. The man was bald with dark skin. There was a menacing look in his eyes. He didn’t say anything. He didn’t need to. I knew exactly what he was thinking just from the way he looked down at me.

“
Okay, looks like we got ourselves a fight!” Maxwell shouted. “I’m taking bets right now. Who wants to bet?”

Maxwell made his way around the crowd and took their mo
ney. I stood there in the center of the ring with the massive behemoth staring back at me.

You can beat this guy. All you have to do is focus, Henry. Don
’t let it get to your head. Remember your training.

“
No more bets!” Maxwell shouted. “No more bets.”

He
made his way back to the center of the ring. He got right up next to me and looked into my eyes.

“
Look at this, Homicide,” he said as he held up the wad of bills. “I’m the only one that’s betting on you. Everybody else thinks you’re going to get your ass kicked. You prove them wrong, you’re gonna be a rich man. You got it, Homicide?”

I nodded then turned my attention back to the man in front of me. Maxwell got out of our way and stood off to the side.

“All right, gentlemen,” he said. “You know what it is. First man to quit or go unconscious loses. It’s that simple, baby. Let’s go!”

The crowd erupted into cheers and I immediately put my fists up. I started to back up as the large man began to stalk me. He didn
’t waste any time in swinging at me. It was easy to duck underneath his punch because of how tall he was. I responded by cracking him in the ribs. He hunched over in pain and I quickly moved away from him.

But it was going to take more than one punch to put this guy away. He shook it off and once again b
egan to stalk me.

Just keep your guard up. Wait for him to attack. He
’s too big and too slow to hit you.

He swung again and I ducked out of the way. Another fist against his ribs sent him reeling in pain. The crowd cheered louder. Even though nobody had be
t on me, they were still enjoying every second of this.

My heart was thumping. My adrenaline was at its peak. The blood was rushing through my body and my instincts were up. I stood across the center of the ring away from the man. I could see the anger in
his eyes as he eyeballed me. The steam was rising off of his head.

He rushed at me. Without thinking, I raised my leg up. The momentum sent my foot up flying against his chin. The man had been knocked completely on his back. I breathed a sigh of relief as
I watched him fall to the floor. I looked upon him with everybody else and waited.

That still wasn
’t enough. The man made his way up to his feet. Blood was now streaming from one of his nostrils. There wasn’t any question that I had broken his nose. But regardless of what I’d done, he was still looking for more. I put my fists up and prepared for him.

One more shot, Henry. Just put him out of his misery.

He rushed at me again. I bent my knees and with all of my strength sent my fist flying upward. It collided with the bottom of his chin and sent his head reeling back. The rest of his body quickly followed. He crashed down onto the ground. The look in his eyes was gone.

“
That’s it!” Maxwell shouted as he waved his arms in the air. “It’s over! The winner of this fight… Homicide!”

He grabbed my arm and held it in the air. I looked at him and pulled my arm away. The crowd began to dissipate. A few of the men helped the man I had just finished off by picking him up.

I looked at the wad of cash Maxwell was holding as he counted out several bills.

“
All right,” he said. “Let’s see what we got here. Twenty, forty, sixty bucks. Here you go, man.”

He handed me sixty dollars. I looked at the rest of the money he was holding in his hands and took it
from him.

“
Hey, what the fuck are you doing?” he shouted at me.

I counted the rest of his money. There was at least a few hundred dollars. Deciding that I wouldn
’t be given this opportunity without him, I gave him half and took the rest of it.

“
You can’t do that,” he said to me. “I’m the one that bet on you.”

“
And I’m the one who won it for you. What are you going to do? Are you going to kick my ass?”

“
M-man…”

He shook his head at me and I turned around and walked away. I could still hearing him shouting a
fter me.

“
Hey, hey, hold up, man,” he said as he started to walk alongside me. “You fucked that guy up. I wasn’t even expecting it. Nobody was. That’s why I won so much money. You want to fight again?”

“
Not interested.”

“
Are you sure? You look like you know what you’re doing.”

“
Sorry.”

Maxwell was more persistent than he was in the bar. He kept walking alongside me while I continued to ignore everything he said. I looked around, trying to find a place that would give me a job. It was late but there were sti
ll a few spots open. I walked into a convenience store that was at the end of one corner and managed to walk out with a job application. When I got out, Maxwell was standing next to the door waiting for me.

“
You looking for a job, man? Listen, they’re not going to pay you shit. I can get you more money tonight than you’d make working there in months.”

I didn
’t like what he was telling me. I didn’t like having to render a man unconscious. But I had bills to pay. It was nice to have some money in my pocket. I was in no mood to turn down this kind of offer, especially when I was more than capable of doing it.

I sighed and looked back at Maxwell.

“You can get me more fights?” I asked him.

“
Shit yeah, man!”

“
And are they all going to be against guys as big as the last one?”

“
Nah, man. That guy’s a freak. I’ll get you more fights. Easy fights.”

“
And how do you know I can beat them?”

“
Because I watched you fight. I don’t know where you learned that shit. I don’t even care. But I know you ain’t some average punk. The guys who live in this part of town are just dying to get their asses kicked.”

“
What’s in it for you?”

“
What’s in it for me? What are you talking—”

“
How much money are you going to make off of me, Maxwell?”

He pause
d for a moment. He shifted his eyes back and forth as he searched for a number.

“
Since I’m the one getting the fights, you get half, man. Fifty-percent. That’s all I’m asking.”