Patterson’s smile dropped when he reached his friend’s side. Grabbing Mike’s chin roughly, he turned it while checking out the whitened line closely. “How the hell did you get something like this on Saturday and have it healed up into an old white scar this fast?”
“Holy water, boss,” Denny answered as the rest of their fellow trainees gathered around them. “It closed up the slash, but left the mark.”
“It’s fine, Sir. There’s no pain, and the girls all still love me.”
Mike’s reply drew laughter even from the two coaches. Patterson released him and stepped back. “Do you need to postpone Saturday’s match?”
Mike shook his head for emphasis. “No, Sir. I’m good to go.”
“Holy water?” Jenkins ran a rough hand over the scar. “If it worked how come the mark didn’t disappear? I have to say, this ghost business is hard to absorb. When I saw your clips over the weekend, it looked like special effects from a movie. Now you’re telling me holy water healed the gash that thing gave you?”
Mike shifted around uneasily, knowing without taking his audience with him in person, nothing he said could explain the reality of it. “Mostly, Coach. Can’t we just stick with the fight gig, and put the ghost bustin’ subject aside?”
Jenkins nodded. “Sure, Mike. Since you have the supernatural goin’ on, maybe you can explain to Pat and me why the hell you agreed to fight that hulk from Walnut Creek, Ira Fenton. He has over twenty bouts under his belt and he has an inch and twenty pounds on you. His ground game is brutal, and he hits like a jackhammer.”
“I have to agree with Carl,” Patterson added. “It’s too soon after the Santana bout. You could have matched up with one of the guys from here, and did a credible bout.”
“Fenton’s manager called me personally. He-”
“Fenton has a manager?”
“Mike’s right, Pat,” Jenkins said. “Fenton’s getting looked at from UFC. I think UFC was hoping for a bout between Santana and Fenton with the winner getting a UFC match.”
“Fenton’s manager explained it just like that,” Mike went on. “There won’t be any UFC tryout if I win because I don’t have enough bouts, but I will get noticed. Fenton’s manager figures I’ll give him a good enough match to still get the UFC tryout.”
“No use standin’ around jawin’.” Patterson clapped his hands. “Let’s get to it. I think since Mike here thinks he’s ready to take on Godzilla, he’ll be able to give the rest of you a good workout. By the time we get through with him, maybe Mike will be able to not embarrass our club. Think you’re up to a little non-stop action, Rawlins?”
“I guess I better be.” Mike grinned as the friendly catcalls began about ending his career now. He had his sweats on already so Mike stripped off his sweatshirt and put on his gloves. Jenkins fitted him with headgear as Patterson readied his first opponent, one of the heavyweights who trained there.
* * *
Half an hour later Denny stood next to his two stunned coaches noting you could hear a pin drop in the gym. Mike had gone through everyone in his weight class without rest or letup. He worked the body and multiple submissions during takedowns in the ring with such ease that Denny could tell from Patterson and Jenkins’ faces they were shocked. Mike was helping up his last opponent he’d submitted with a triangle choke.
“Damn, Rawlins, maybe you can fight Fenton,” Jenkins joked. “What do you guys think?”
There was a roar of approval from Mike’s cohorts. Patterson walked over to their makeshift ring as Mike emerged, holding the ropes for his opponent. “You been juicin’ or something, Mike? I’ve never seen you move like that, even in the match with Santana.”
“Thanks. I feel great tonight. That’s all. Maybe it’s great coaching. Hey, did Denny tell you about ‘Fitzing’ a big drugged out guy in class? The guy tried to sucker punch him and Denny used a right hand wrist strike to bat it away and then ‘Fitzed’ him dead center. End of fight.”
The guys within hearing immediately began roughing up the smiling Denny, who had become increasingly popular with the other fighters. He was the smallest teen there, but never complained about matchups or rough encounters. Jenkins put an arm around his shoulders.
“Congrats, Den. You have that solar plexus punch down pat, huh? I think since your partner worked out our large sized crew, we’ll have you work out the ones that are only twice your size.”
“Gee, thanks boss.”
* * *
“Oh my God!” Joanie gasped as she ran toward the smiling Denny. “What did you do?”
“I punched Tim Neely right in the elbow with my eye.” Denny caught Joanie’s hands. “Don’t. I’m okay. It’ll be colorful for a while I guess.”
“Yeah, it will,” Mike agreed.
Dan and Jenny Rawlins came over to survey the damage with differing views of it. Jenny looked the swelling black eye over with concerned know how. “C’mon, Denny, let’s get ice on this before Mike takes you home. It’s nearly ten. Have you called your folks?”
“I told them I’d be home around eleven. Maybe icing it would be a good idea so in case they waited up. Thanks, Ms. Rawlins.”
“He submitted Tim with an arm bar. Denny took the elbow during the takedown,” Mike explained. “It was a great match.”
Denny spun around from Joanie leading him to the kitchen. “Mike took on our whole heavyweight crew one after another and beat them all. Even the coaches didn’t believe it. They thought Mike was on something.”
Mike saw the looks he received from his parents and sister. “Hey, I had a good night. What’s the big deal? Get Denny’s face iced. Can I have a beer, Dad?”
“Sure, I’ll-”
“No, you can’t have a beer, Michael Rawlins!”
“Jenny… listen. The boys had a rough night. I’ll drive Denny home. Let them have a beer. It sounds like they had a very good night.”
Jenny tried to look outraged, but giggled instead. “Okay… okay, one beer. What about Denny? Shouldn’t we make him call his folks?”
“I’ll tell them it was for medicinal purposes,” Denny chimed in right away. “Since Mike and I are ghost bustin’ phenoms who would never abuse our bodies, maybe we could get a little shotsky to go along with it?”
Even Mike laughed at Denny’s audacity. “That would be nice if it’s okay with you, Dad.”
Dan looked the two over. “Well, I guess we could list this as a minor celebration. All of Demon Inc has called in over the warnings issued concerning the entrapment plot. I believe they have the paranoid part going in high gear now.”
“Good. Where’s D?”
“Up in the Joanie/Laura sitting room watching ‘Family Guy’ with Laura,” Jenny answered. “She’s a little pumped about the secretary story, and decided on enlisting Demon on her side to tear you a new one with a ‘Family Guy’ bribe. Besides, I think she’s hooked on that show with our canine family member. She gets a kick out of the way D reacts when his hero Brian makes a funny.”
“What’s he do?”
“Oh Mike, he snorts and his shoulders shake. It is so cute,” Joanie answered. “Can I have a beer and a shot too, Dad?”
“See what you’ve done, Mr. Enabler?” Jenny shook her finger in Dan’s face comically. “If you don’t get your Bacchanalian impulse under control, you’ll turn all of teenage Demon Inc into lushes.”
Dan chuckled. “You know what I see? I see teens being treated as adults coming of age, and my acting as a teacher by explaining alcohol must be handled in the strictest of fashion. Never drink and drive – ever. Never overindulge under any circumstances. Always have concerned friends around to make sure neither of the first items mentioned happen. They do have to learn before they’re out of our control.”
“Remember the Rave out in Livermore, Mom,” Mike added.
Jenny immediately turned on her daughter. “Oh, believe me, I have not forgotten how you and D had to buzz off and rescue all of Demon Inc from a drunken hazing with little Miss ‘give me
a shot and a beer too’ as the star.”
“It means I need more practice drinking responsibly so I’m not tempted to the ‘Dark Side’,” Joanie replied.
“Oh, you little…” Jenny gestured with thumb and forefinger on her right hand held a micro inch apart. “You are this close to a beat down.”
“C’mon, Mom. I will never do that Rave thing again. It was the most scared I’ve ever been. I was stupid and I let my friends talk me into something I knew was wrong. Luckily, I have an ‘Old Geezer’ brother who never does anything wrong, and a paranormal pit-bull of a dog when I made my one and only ‘Dark Side’ misstep.”
Jenny put an arm around Joanie’s shoulders. “Good Lord, I’m glad you know how dangerous that mistake was. No matter how great it seems at the time, those gambles never turn out well. Unlike the movies making teen drunk parties cool, they normally end in disaster. You’ve been exemplary at school, thanks to Denny. I’ll let you have one with the boys tonight.”
“Thanks to Denny!” Joanie caught on immediately as her companions all started laughing. “Now… I need a shot. Good one, Mom.”
Chapter Eight
New Mission Parameters
In the kitchen, sitting around the table together, the teens sipped their shot distastefully before following it with an equally distasteful look chasing it with a sip from their beers. After two attempts at it, Joanie pushed hers away.
“I forgot how bad the beer tasted at the Rave,” Joanie admitted, although feeling a light headed buzz almost immediately. She looked at her brother. “Mike, what about the matches tonight?”
Mike paused in mid sip to return his sister’s glance. “What about them? I felt strong tonight. That’s all. Every move I made worked. Denny’s comeback from the elbow to a submission was more impressive than my showing.”
“Crapolla!” Denny took a gulp from his beer, noting it tasted better. He held the ice pack tighter as he leaned forward. “You were like a machine tonight. You should have seen the coaches’ faces while you were doing it. The guys all knew too. I’m wondering if maybe you picked up something from that ghost slime when it raked you, brother.”
Silence reined for a moment with everyone looking at Mike. He shrugged. “I thought of that. I felt stronger than I ever have tonight. It might seem scary to all of you like I may be morphing into some kind of freak. I like to think all these Haunt upgrades work to sharpen my skills rather than making me into a mutant.”
“Denny’s not saying you’re turning into a freak, Mike,” Dan said. “I think he’s trying to make sure you’re keeping this paranormal part in mind when anything unusual shows up.”
“No way I’m calling you a mutant, Mike! I-”
“I know… I know, Den.” Mike grinned while interrupting with a gesture. “I’ll keep it in mind. How about us just thinking maybe I’m improving my skills for now rather than I’m getting a ghost DNA upgrade?”
Dan gestured for Mike to move into a seat next to him with his arm held up in arm wrestling form. Jenny, who had been sitting there, stood away from her seat pointing at Mike.
“Come over here and take on your Dad.”
Mike moved into her seat reluctantly. “I don’t see what this proves. Maybe I’ll put Dad down because I’ve been working at my strength quotient.”
“I’ll factor that in, boy. Let’s see what you got here.”
Mike gripped his Dad’s hand in arm wrestling fashion as he had for many years, testing himself against his Dad. He’d given him a good fight two years ago, but had grown out of the need to compete with Dan. Jenny gripped their hands, ready to start them as she had many times.
“Ready, set… go!” Jenny released them.
It was obvious a few minutes later that Dan could not move Mike’s hand let alone force it down. Mike slowly forced Dan’s hand down to the table top.
“Okay, you’re a mutant. Now what?”
Mike chuckled. “I’m not a mutant, Dad. I’m just stronger than you. It was bound to happen someday. It didn’t feel like I could just slap your hand down. Can I finish my beer?”
“Yeah, go ahead, kid. C’mon Jen, let’s watch a show we have recorded before I have to take the drunk home.”
“That’s not very nice, Mr. Rawlins,” Denny complained, as everyone laughed at Dan’s pronouncement. “Just because your mutant target Mike didn’t work out, you didn’t have to switch targets.”
This brought more laughter with Dan slapping Denny’s shoulder appreciatively. “You’re okay, kid. Just yell when it’s time to pour you into the Equinox.”
“Will do, Sir.” Denny saluted, losing his balance as he came up to attention, causing another bout of laughter at his expense. He sat back down. “I am such a lightweight. Can I have your shot, Joanie?”
“What? You can’t even stand up. Sip the rest of your beer and keep the icepack on, lightweight.” Joanie patted his hand. “Don’t think I didn’t know Mike put you up to that flirt fest you performed at our tutorial get together before you got your face rearranged.”
Denny immediately took on an outraged persona. “I beg your pardon. I did not do anything besides answer legitimate questions. As I remember, even in my accused inebriated state, you sat seething and quiet instead of participating in what was an enlightened learning experience.”
“Enlightened… enlightened! You… you-”
“Did you or did you not nearly attack Mandy when she asked me an astute question?”
“Oh yeah, she asked you a question while stroking your thigh like she was making a wish from a magic lamp, and you just sat there with that goofy look on your face. I… what are you two hyenas laughing at?”
Mike and Denny were unable to answer for a moment while trying to recover from Joanie’s magic lamp remark. Denny was the first to speak. “She did not.”
Mike finished off his beer, and picked up Joanie’s remaining shot, toasting her and then drinking it down. “Thanks, Sis, I needed that.”
“Let me see your eye now, Don Juan Denny.”
Denny removed the ice pack so Joanie could see the damage. She stroked both sides of his face, feeling for differences in swelling. “My advice. Just spit it out when you get home. You won’t be hiding this one. It’s not bad right now for swelling, but the color’s already started.”
“Meaning I will look like a raccoon by morning?”
“Yep.”
Denny clasped Joanie’s hands. “Thanks. I think Mandy, Danielle, and Melissa were playing you. They know you’re in love with me.”
Joanie’s immediate startled yank away from Denny had her brother howling again in laughter. “Not funny! You are such a tool!”
Mike clapped Denny on the back. “That was an ace, brother… oh, look who’s here.”
Demon had padded into the kitchen, sniffing the air, with Laura right behind him. He sat down in front of Mike, tilting his head, with a grim questioning look. Mike met his stare with a smile. “Beer?”
The snarl that Mike’s questioning word elicited provoked more merriment, including Joanie, who knelt to clasp Demon around the neck. “Best get hoppin’, brother. D knows who’s the star in all operations of Demon Inc.”
Mike fetched a beer in Demon’s bowl as directed. “He hums when he gets a beer. Maybe Jan’s right D. You’re getting a little too attached to-”
Demon looked up and snarled, interrupting Mike’s observation.
“Just sayin’.” Mike backed away and returned to drinking Joanie’s unwanted beer. “You should demand a drink more often, Sis. That way, I get two.”
“I’ll make a note… lush.”
“I can see by Denny’s colorful face you guys had a good time at ‘Fight Club’,” Laura said, as she walked over to grip Denny’s chin, turning it from side to side with interest. “Joanie explained the plans for a real oracle type observation post from a command center at Demon Inc. I like it. Will it be in place for the next encounter?”
“For sure, Laura,” Denny answered, as he was releas
ed. “I’ll have it up and running before week’s end. I have to shop around for what I want in monitors on-line before I present my recommendations to Mr. Corbett.”
“He goes along with anything you say now. Demon Inc looks like it houses a mad scientist in your lab.”
“I’m going to clean all that up. I was rushed with making some modifications for Saturday. Did Joanie tell you about backing us up with tomorrow’s sting operation?”
“Joanie and I will be in place ready to follow your romantic antics, Den,” Laura answered. “She also told me Mike will be enlisting Gail to go along for backup. I have a feeling Ms. Ansel isn’t in on this entrapment business. She’s had the hots for Mike since he was a sophomore bad boy.”
“A sophomore bad boy?”
“Yeah, Mike,” Laura replied. “When you were in the office so much straightening out your problem with the football players, rumor had it at the time Ms. Ansel wanted to give you the benefit of her older years. Now you have the neat scar, and she can’t resist.”
“He’s a mutant too,” Joanie piled on as Mike took Laura’s proffered Ansel rumor with a grin and another sip of Joanie’s beer. “He beat all the heavyweights at ‘Fight Club’ without a rest and then came out and beat my Dad arm wrestling. We figure he’s gone over to the ‘Haunts’ since that one slashed him.”
Demon finished his beer, burped, and came over to sniff Mike as if checking Joanie’s accusation out. He shook his head.
“Ha… ha. Thanks D. Ms. Ansel has never even given me a second look until today.”
“Laura might be right, Mike,” Denny said. “Ms. Ansel didn’t try to initiate an immediate after school project like Kincaid did to me. She only slipped you a ‘Friends with Benefits’ note.”
“She what?” Laura put her hand out to Mike. “Nobody said anything about a love note. Let me see it.”
“No… Denny?”
A moment later the ‘Wicked Witch of the West’ theme played from Denny’s iPad.
Laura grabbed Denny’s chin again. “Why you little sock puppet!”
Demon Inc (The Mike Rawlins Series Book 2) Page 10