by P. S. Power
Anthony made a bit of a face, then nodded.
“I see. Stop that now? I can’t go into a fight all beaten up or people will think that it influenced how I did.” That made sense to him, plus the fact that he didn’t want to be hurt constantly, if possible.
“This will be enough, I’m certain. Poor Ralph won’t be working for a while, I don’t think. He makes a decent punching coach, but… Well, eggs must be broken, if you want omelets.” Then, as if they were finished talking, the man just walked off.
Rick seemed upset, but Tony just snorted and shook his head.
“That was random. I kind of thought… Well. This went fairly well. A bit hard on Mark. I hope he doesn’t let this get him down.”
That got a nod, then a pat on the back.
“I know. It’s one of the risks of being a fighter. Sometimes you lose. Even when you didn’t. The trick will be in helping him see this as a reason to try harder and get back in the ring as soon as it’s possible. Discouraged fighters don’t do well. Pretty much ever.”
That made sense. Honestly, it reminded him of something, though he hadn’t thought of it for a while.
“Missy Holms. Have you heard anything from her people?”
Oddly, as they walked away, his uncle nodded.
“She’s going to be coming to stay in town with us, like you suggested. She wanted to wait, so she wouldn’t get in the way of your training. It… She doesn’t seem to be doing well. Her people kept her really close and had for years. Now… Everyone is abandoning her. I don’t think she’s been back to real training yet, either. Why think of that now? The discouraged fighter thing?”
He nodded, his face a bit grim.
“That one. I want to help people though, you know? Fighting… I’m not sure I love this world. I mean, what kind of person has a fifteen-year-old attacked for ratings?” He wasn’t upset with Don Teevan over it, but it was a real point.
Really, he was a bit sad about the whole thing. Tired of it, already.
Rick grunted.
“He did say that he only capitalized on what had happened…” Meaning Don, of course.
The words got Anthony to laugh, if gently, as they got out of the building to the back parking lot. There was more than one bus waiting there for people, but theirs said Winters Gym on the side. It looked sharp.
“He did say that. I’m not certain I buy it. There’s no reason for him to have been coming for me like that. Maybe posturing and threatening me in the parking lot later, but going for me on camera? That sounds kind of specific to me. Really, even the very first meeting we had he acted strange toward me. It makes me wonder if the whole thing wasn’t a set up. If so… Well, then Sally got kind of screwed in it, didn’t she?”
The woman might recover from the blow, but losing a spot on a training team like that at her level was sort of a big deal. That wasn’t his problem now, but he still felt a bit… Really, like it was. Like the whole world was a thing that he should at least try to help with, if he could.
His uncle nodded at him and touched his back as they climbed up on the transport.
“That she did, if it happened that way. Well… I hear you. It’s been taking me some time, since I always wanted to be a fighter first, but… That doesn’t have to be what you want. Just helping others is useful. Maybe more so. Fighters… We’re basically entertainers first. It’s a hard life and most don’t really make it. Being a doctor, or even a trainer, those things help people more, in the end. I just… I know that you’re really trying to be what everyone expects. That’s not a bad thing. Be what you are, Tony.”
He took a deep breath and then shrugged.
“Still, I have a fight coming up. I promised everyone that I’d do my best and I will. I just… It’s a bit like what Ashley is facing with Fox Rends, really.” He waited for a bit, for his uncle to ask what he meant.
Instead the man smiled and nodded.
“I can see that. Except that Fox… She really can’t learn to be much better than she is right now. Ashley is the weaker person, but the superior fighter. With Hodder…”
Tony nodded, then took a very deep breath.
“Yeah. He’s stronger than I am, but better.”
That got his uncle to slap him on the arm.
“Nope. He’s good. No lie there. The man isn’t actually better than you are, Tony. He’s stronger, faster and as good. That’s going to be hard to defeat. The question will be, can you get better than you are in three weeks? I think you might, if you keep working the problem. You’re kind of gifted that way. More than anyone I’ve ever seen. I think you can do it.” He was trying to be positive seeming on the issue.
Maybe it wasn’t even a lie. What he’d said was sort of important. That Tony had a chance and needed to do everything he could to grab hold of it.
No one questioned him as they rode back home in the dark.
He’d never been able to sleep on a moving vehicle, so just sat there, thinking for a very long time.
Working through the past months and thinking about what the right thing to do really was. He didn’t have to be a fighter, but he was going to be fighting, soon. Even if he couldn’t win, he could do his best and not let anything stop him.
Nodding to himself, he started planning then. Working out how to win. How to move from being Tony, a pretty good guy, to The Unstoppable Tony Winters.
After all, if everyone deserved to have him try to be Tony, a good person that wanted to help everyone and do the right thing, then he deserved to be more than that.
That in mind, he focused and tried to come up with a new plan. One that would let him win a fight that he probably couldn’t. Because that was the kind of person he was.
A winner.