Loretta turned on Demon, shaming him. “Bad, Bluto!”
“You haven’t seen bad yet, kid. You show up with a problem, we solve it, and suddenly you’re ready to move in. Calm down, have some wine, and wait until the big dog gets back. He’ll be here just as he promised.”
Demon’s no frills statement surprised Loretta. She backed away from Mike. “Okay… dog… I’ll be here when you all get back. I don’t think you should be talking for Mike.”
The Muttley snicker sounded. “Tell her what would happen if I ripped Loretta’s lovely throat out, Mike.”
“Mongo and I would dispose of your body,” Mike answered truthfully.
Loretta’s gasping cringe into the wall caused massive hilarity. “What… you… that was a gag?”
“No.” Mike moved into Loretta. “This isn’t a game we play. Demon would only rip your throat out because you posed a threat. Mongo and I would dispose of your body. The three of us and Sandy are locked together in mutated DNA. We can sense what each other feels.”
Sandy and Nazer, who had joined them in time to hear the gambit by Demon, both began a sentence, ending with Nazer motioning Sandy to speak. “We carry Haunt DNA, Ms. Kincaid. When allowed, we can hear each other’s inner thoughts. You are not part of it. D never errs in what he does. If he suddenly ripped your throat out, I’d open a portal into the Radalia dimension and make you disappear. My Nazer knows all. He accepts us and the possibilities of disasters beyond his comprehension. Mike allows us to speak for him sometimes, because the one being spoken to doesn’t understand the basics of Demon Inc.”
“I’m beginning to,” Loretta replied. “I admit it. Even after the incident with Mary and I conjuring the Haunt dimension, I dismissed it as some kind of group madness. I need to get over my initial shielding from the event. I still feel the residue of the Haunt Mike exorcised from me. I…I understand this is not some clubhouse for recalcitrant teens. I’m drawn here by some connection I don’t understand, other than my attraction to Mike.”
“I need to change,” Mike stated. “Stay or go, Lore. We will not harm you. That, I promise… unless, of course, if Demon the Magnificent rips your throat out.”
Mike was out of sight by the time hilarity subsided. Loretta shrugged. “May I have some wine, Mongo?”
“Of course, Lore.” Mongo unlocked the liquor cabinet, pouring the only wine they kept in stock. He handed Loretta a glass.
“Pour us a snort too, Mongo. We’re not working out,” Demon said.
Mongo hesitated, thought it through, and poured the shots. “I’m on it, dog.”
“Give me a beer chaser too, brother.”
Mongo smiled, pouring beer chasers for both of them. Mongo set down the separate bowls for Demon. He sipped both of his drinks, seeing the uneasiness in Loretta’s eyes. “You don’t like us, Loretta. Did you begin coming here because your friend Mary stopped?”
“Partially,” Loretta admitted. “I…I was jealous of Mary beginning to see Mike. I knew Mary liked Mike before being exposed to the pheromones he exuded, while gaining control of his power. I didn’t even know Mike before Mary and I were Haunt possessed. His continuing mutations really freaked her out. When she told me her feelings for Mike changed, I thought it would be a good time to explore why I’m so attracted to him.”
“That makes sense,” Sandy said. “It may well be the pheromones still working on you. Mike avoids using his power on a woman, because even though he has control, some residual effect remains sometimes. Denny made lemon iced tea with holy water/colloidal silver mix. If Mike’s helping you before left some residual Haunt presence behind, Denny’s mixture will get rid of it, right Denny?”
Denny retrieved his container of holy water/colloidal silver laced iced tea, shaking it thoroughly. He poured it into a regular glass and handed it to Loretta. “Drink this, Ms. Kincaid. It will work as Sandy explained.”
Loretta set her wine glass down. She hesitated only a moment before drinking the entire glass. “It tastes like regular lemon iced tea.”
“Colloidal silver is tasteless,” Denny replied. “There’s enough mixed in to counteract anything left from Mike’s exorcising the Haunt inside you. I didn’t use a strong enough formula before, and I didn’t mix in holy water.”
Loretta smiled. “So now I’m immune to Mike?”
“If it’s the pheromones,” Denny answered.
“I’ll go home before Mike comes back. Thank you.”
“Good luck, kid,” Demon called out after her. “My money says she assaults the gate tonight.”
“Between the holy water/colloidal silver mix, and you threatening to rip her throat out, I believe she will pass on returning, D.”
Demon head butted Nazer. “Mark my words, Naz. She’ll be back. Loretta needed to know Demon Inc’s dark side. Loretta didn’t scream and run for the door.”
Mongo chuckled. “I bet she thought about it.”
Mike entered the kitchen a moment later. “No Loretta, huh?”
“You scared her off, Bad Seed,” Demon told him.
Denny explained the situation and giving her the holy water/colloidal silver mix. “Ms. Kincaid wanted to leave without seeing you and test the effects of my mix.”
“I hope it works for her. Are you going tonight, Naz?”
“Yes, and Sandy would like to attend too.”
“Let’s go. Derek and Carl will be glad to have a couple more paying customers. Demon Inc will pay for it.”
* * *
The MMA class began with basic exercises as a warmup, combining strikes, kicks, and movements. The owners of the dojo, Carl Jenkins and Derek Patterson, split the class after warmup. Carl worked with beginning students while Derek helped the advanced students. At the end of the practice, Derek refereed matches by weight division in the ring. Mike watched Denny in a tough match with a young man one weight class over Denny. As the first round ended, a huge man with shaved head entered the dojo, dressed for a match, with three other men wearing suits.
Derek stopped the bout as Carl hurried over to shake the lead man’s hand. “Butch! How are you, brother?”
“Doin’ fine, Carl. Hey, blood, good to see you,” Butch shook Derek’s hand. He looked around admiringly. “I like what you did with the place.”
“Thanks. It’s been almost two years since you stopped by. I read you’re getting a title shot.”
“It’s in the works. I see you have class going on. Rumor has it one of your students kicked Sultan Maloof’s ass and broke his leg. I’d like to meet him.”
“Ah… sure,” Derek agreed uneasily. “Mike!”
Mike walked over with Demon and Mongo at his side. “Yes, Sir.”
“You let dogs in the dojo?”
“Demon’s special,” Derek answered. “Mike… this is Butch Gashi. Butch… Mike Rawlins. Butch is a good friend of ours from the old days.”
Mike shook Butch’s hand. “Great meeting you, Sir. I’ve seen many of your fights. The Albanian Assassin! You’ll be fighting for the title soon, right?”
“Yes. Very soon. You fought Sultan Maloof here at the dojo.”
Mike’s smile disappeared.
“Uh oh,” Demon projected. “You picking up anything, Mongo?”
“No. I sense nothing.”
“I did fight him here at his insistence, Sir,” Mike answered Gashi. “It did not end well.”
“No… you broke his leg. Maloof being beaten by a boy fighting from a back-alley dojo made him a laughing stock in the UFC. You destroyed a guy named Adam Chouhan too. I wanted to meet the kid who did all that.”
“You wouldn’t be tied in with C.A.I.R., would you Mr. Gashi?”
Gashi frowned. “How would you know such a thing?”
“Sultan told me the Council knew my whereabouts at all times because of my run-ins with the Death Cult. They sent Sultan here to maim me.”
“What’s this all about, Butch? You were never into Islam.”
“I converted to Islam after the last time
we got together. I have embraced the Sharia and I actively spread the message of Islam and the Prophet.”
“Is Mike right? Did you come here on orders from C.A.I.R. or not,” Carl asked. “Derek and I don’t like being middlemen for Islam’s puppets in the Council. Our back-alley dojo supports Mike and his special group at Demon Inc. They do incredible good there.”
“The Council asked me to challenge the young man. I told them such a thing would be meaningless. There will always be unbelievers wishing to insult Islam. They showed me the mysterious happenings to true believers, protesting the actions of this entity called Demon Inc. Many were hurt by what the Council believes involved dark magic. The Council thinks this boy used dark magic against Maloof and Chouhan.”
“He used a straight punch to the head and a knife-hand strike to the knee joint,” Derek said. “I didn’t see any dark magic. I did see Maloof try to cheap shot Mike when Mike tried to help him to his feet. What’s the Council’s beef? All the King’s horses and all the King’s men couldn’t put Humpty Dumpty Maloof back together again.”
After some stifled amusement at Derek’s remark, Mike answered truthfully. “I told Sultan it would be a mistake to fight me. I have enhanced strength and quickness. I didn’t use any dark magic on him. I lost my temper when he tried to kick me in the head while I attempted to help him up.”
“If you have this enhanced strength, why not fight in the UFC for the championship? That makes no sense.”
“Maybe not to you,” Mike replied. “I don’t want to kill a fighter in the octagon. If I fight in a halfway fashion, it could be me getting killed, so I choose to train and improve my skill.”
“Fight me, boy. I can take a pounding,” Gashi insisted. “If you beat me, perhaps the Council will leave you alone. I agree with you, it is not right for them to follow you. They know you stopped the protestors in some dark way with your mind. They know of this dark magic organization you run called Demon Inc.”
“If they really knew Demon Inc, they would never bother me again. If you force me into a match, you may get hurt and lose your chance at the title, Sir.”
“I saw the YouTube video of the fight with Sultan. He was overconfident. You did not look special to me. If you beat me, I will give you my word I will intercede on your behalf with the Council, despite your blaspheming of Islam.”
Mike turned to Derek and Carl. “I’ll do it, if it’s okay with you guys. It’s your dojo.”
“You, beating Maloof, put us on the map, Mike,” Carl said. “We tripled our members since that fight. If you want to give Butch a match, we’ll let you use our ring. Derek can referee. I’ll keep track of the rounds.”
“Thank you. Okay, Mr. Gashi, let’s get started.” Mike walked to the ring and vaulted over the ropes. He checked his MMA gloves, making sure they were on tightly, and put in his mouthpiece.
Gashi climbed into the ring, noting the ease in which Mike nearly flew into the fight venue. “I see you are very agile. If you fight as well as you leap, I will be in trouble.”
“It’s not too late, Sir. We don’t have to fight. The decision is yours. I don’t want to hurt you, but I will if we fight.”
“We will fight, boy. I will not let you hurt me, but I will surely hurt you.”
Mike shrugged at Derek Patterson. “He wants it, Coach. If I can get the Council of domestic and foreign terrorists off my back, I’ll take the chance here in the ring.”
Derek stared at Butch for a moment. “You’re making a mistake, Butch. You know me and Carl. We wouldn’t lie to you… ever! Mike will clean your clock. His friend Denny will record it, and your career could be in jeopardy over an order by a bunch of-”
Gashi gestured with his gloved hand. “Do not say anymore! Start the match. I will avenge the insults made upon Islam by this boy.”
Mike felt like he was in a time warp. “No… you won’t. Give us the signal, Coach.”
Derek slammed his hands together. “Fight!”
Gashi rushed Mike, throwing combinations with blinding speed, except to Mike. With hands slapping away every blow without retreating, Mike held position. He didn’t phone it in. Mike concentrated on defense, without an offensive strike for the first full minute. He then hit Butch with the same shot between the eyes as he had against Sultan Maloof, landing Gashi on the flat of his back. Mike didn’t drop on him with killer punches. He offered his hand.
“It’s a training match, Sir. Give me your hand.”
Gashi reluctantly allowed Mike to pull him to his feet effortlessly. “You have power, boy.”
“You didn’t cheap shot me, so we’re good. Want to end this now, Sir?”
“No!” Gashi looked at Derek, who waved the two into fight mode.
Butch tried everything in his expertise. No punch landed. Mike picked off every strike and kick. Gashi went for the takedown, hoping for a better result with ground and pound. Mike bashed him to the canvas with a devastating downward forearm blow. Mike dropped down after the strike, attaining surrender holds with rear naked choke, guillotine choke, triangle choke, and a variety of Kimura surrender combinations. After attaining each one with Gashi fighting full out against him, Mike straightened to a standing position, and helped Gashi to his feet amidst wild applause from his classmates.
“Call it a day, Sir,” Mike urged. “I knew I could keep you in control during the last sequence. I could have ended the match with your surrender at any time. If you quit now, I will have my friend Denny delete his upload for YouTube. If you continue on, the match goes to YouTube for my friends’ dojo.”
“Time,” Carl called out for the first round.
“Do as Mike advises, Butch! I’m your friend. This kid can wipe the floor with you and not break a sweat. He has power you cannot match.”
“I have him now, Derek. Go away. I will end this in the next round, one way or another,” Butch muttered cryptically.
“If you’re figuring on doing something hinky, Mike has friends here you don’t want to mess with. They won’t submit you. They will rip your throat out or tear you apart limb from limb.”
Derek saw the fear flash across Butch’s features. “Ah… no… stop whatever you’re thinking, brother. This will-”
Demon ripped one of the suits to the floor by his weapon reaching hand, snapping it with a vicious twist. Mongo briefly flashed across the two other suits, slashing them from shoulder to groin before they could do anything in defense, instantly changing back to his human form.
“They meant to kill you, Ripper,” Demon said, head butting his screaming adversary into the floor.
“I have the other two, El Capitan Darkness,” Mongo said. “If they move again, they die. Sandy and Nazer will restrain them if you wish.”
“Take their weapons away, brother, and watch them until we conclude this. Confiscate their IDs too. Nazer can scan the IDs and return them.”
“Will do, El Capitan.”
Mike joined Derek and Butch at center of the ring. “I see the Council owns your honor, poser. Did you wish to continue with this farce?”
Rage obliterated common sense inside Gashi’s head. He had never been handled so ignominiously… as if he were an ant on a doorstep. “I will crush you, boy! You will submit. Allahu Akbar!”
Mike shook his head at Derek. “I’m all in, Coach. This gets recorded for the dojo.”
“I tried to warn him, Mike. Let’s get this done. Butch… I never thought you’d do anything as stupidly dishonorable as this.”
“That is because you do not understand the money involved in getting a shot at the top rung,” Butch replied. “Open your eyes! You and Carl running a rats’ nest dojo in the middle of nowhere. This is the top of the world for you?”
“It’s one hundred percent honorable,” Derek told him between clenched teeth. “Are you ready?”
In answer, Butch rushed Mike, attempting a head butt. Instead, Mike smashed a forearm blow to the side of Butch’s head with such force, Gashi rebounded off the ring ropes and lande
d face first on the matted surface. He recovered slowly with Mike waiting. Gashi regained his feet, turned, and began boxing, throwing rapid combinations in a desperate flurry. This time, each of Gashi’s strikes drew a counter strike from Mike. It ended when Mike threw a left hook to Gashi’s temple. Derek waved his hands over Butch. There was no need to count him out.
Carl entered the ring with a wet towel. Five minutes later, Gashi regained consciousness, shaking his head, eyes blinking in confusion. “Why…why am I here?”
“You were directed by C.A.I.R. to maim or kill me,” Mike answered. He lifted Butch to his feet easily. “Your men will need a doctor. Take them and go find one.”
“Never return to our dojo,” Carl stated. “You’re a disgrace. When the video hits YouTube, it will go viral within an hour. Your shot at the title may be a thing of the past.”
“I will kill him if it is posted on YouTube!”
Mike grinned and glanced at Denny.
“Already playing, Mike. It has a thousand hits already,” Denny said. Laughter and jeers from the audience of MMA students greeted his announcement.
“There you have it, Butch. Go now, while you still can. The weapons my friends took from your guys will not be returned. I saw they had many spare magazines. We’ll give the weapons to the police along with the identities of the men who own them. They can retrieve the weapons from the police. I’m sure they’ll be interested in your story.”
“We will kill you for what you have done!”
“More likely, you’ll die trying. Go on and get out of here.”
Butch reached for Mike’s throat, only to have his wrist snatched in an unbreakable hold. Mike forced him to his knees, on the verge of breaking his wrist. “You’re a slow learner, Butch. Want a broken wrist as a final lesson?”
“No! Do not… break it.”
Mike released him. Butch scrambled away to his feet and out of the ring. Gashi and his men left immediately, favoring wounds which would require medical attention.
“Butch was a great kid when he started out,” Derek said. “He learned with natural instinct for the discipline. Carl and I gave him extra instruction because he had the drive and talent. You sure gave us some great publicity with tonight’s strangeness.”
Demon VII: Disciples of Darkness (Mike Rawlins and Demon the Dog Book 7) Page 17