by Sam Ferguson
“Why is that?” the enforcer asked with a chuckle.
Kai pointed an accusing hand at him and gestured toward his clothing. “You come in here with your silk clothes and your gold sword and take the barkeep’s money. What service do you provide any of us?”
“I maintain order in an otherwise chaotic part of town,” the enforcer replied. “You would do well to shut your mouth before someone cuts out your insolent tongue.” The enforcer slowly reached down and gave his sword a slight tug, showing he could draw it free from the scabbard at any moment.
Kai scoffed. “The bouncer can provide security. You are redundant.”
The enforcer set the sack of coins down and pushed them back toward the barkeep. “My patience is growing thin, stranger,” he said. “I am Calhoun, one of the finest swordsmen in Blundfish. I provide a kind of security that the bouncer cannot. I also dabble in gutting annoying guttersnipes when they make the mistake of pestering me beyond my tolerance.”
A few patrons laughed and raised mugs into the air. “Aye, slice him up, Calhoun!” a trio of drunks toasted.
Calhoun nodded and sneered. “Perhaps I should.”
Kai sat quietly and tucked a large spoonful of stew into his mouth.
Calhoun laughed again and shook his head. “No, I think the snipe has learned to keep his mouth shut. I am in a generous mood tonight, so I will let you live as long as you leave through that door, right now.” Calhoun pointed to the door and grinned slyly.
Kai smiled and started to speak through his full mouth. “Nope,” he sputtered through bits of flying food. Kai shook his head, and wiped his mouth on his sleeve before washing the food down with his ale and rising from the table. “Sorry, how rude of me to speak with a full mouth,” he offered. The barmaid sniggered and put her hand to her mouth.
“You should leave, stranger,” the barkeep put in.
“Listen to him, mate, or you will end up sleeping with the worms tonight,” Calhoun swore.
Kai smiled back. “I will tell you what,” he began as he drew his cloak back to reveal his own sword. Out of his peripheral he saw the bouncer tense up. “As we both can’t occupy this tavern, let’s settle our differences outside, like men.”
“You want to duel with me?” Calhoun mocked.
Kai shook his head. “No, I am afraid I would put you to shame if we drew swords against each other.” Kai pointed to the door. “I thought it might give you a sporting chance if we had an old-fashioned fist fight. No swords, no knives, just two men finishing an argument.”
Calhoun nodded. “Alright, but let’s up the ante,” he said. “One hundred gold pieces, if you have the coin. Winner gets the gold, and the right to stay.”
Kai thought for a moment.
“What’s the matter, snipe? Haven’t you got the coin?” Calhoun mocked.
Kai reached for his coin purse and set it on the table next to him. “I am a bit short, but I am willing to wager all I have.”
Calhoun shook his head. “You aren’t worth my time for anything less than one hundred gold.” Calhoun turned to look at the bouncer. “Get that snipe out of here, and take those coins from him as an ‘annoyance tax’ for the trouble he has caused here tonight,” Calhoun instructed.
Kai nodded and held his arms up. “Who here wants to keep giving their money to that louse?” Kai turned and pointed to the pair of men sitting at the table closest to him. “Surely you would spare a few coins to see a good fight tonight, am I right?” The men shifted in their chairs, glancing nervously to each other and then to Calhoun. “Come on,” Kai continued. “If I win, this man will not return to this establishment ever again. If I lose, well then I can at least promise you a few minutes’ worth of entertainment. What do you all say? Can I get a few coins to meet this rat’s wager?”
“They don’t want you around,” Calhoun groused.
“When I win, those who help me will have their money doubled,” Kai offered.
“I have five gold that says the stranger whoops Calhoun into the ground,” an old man with an eye-patch said from across the tavern. The man dug into his pocket and tossed his coins in front of him onto the table.
“What are you doing? Put that away!” Calhoun instructed.
“Alright, his five plus my twenty makes twenty five. Who else will pool with us? If I win, I will split Calhoun’s hundred gold with you. Every creditor will receive one gold for every coin he throws in!” Kai promised. He then removed his cloak and drew his black tunic up over his head. His hard, bulging muscles clinched the deal.
“I’m in for three,” someone shouted.
“We’re in for ten,” the pair of men nearest to Kai pledged.
“I’m in for twelve!” an old woman said.
“Half way there!” Kai announced.
“Three here,” another person shouted.
A drunk stood up and emptied his pockets onto the table in front of him. “Put me down for two! If I win, that’s four bottles of the good stuff now,” he said pointing to the barkeep.
“We’re in for seven,” shouted a young woman at a table with several men.
“We have eight,” a group of merchants announced as they set a bag on the counter.
Calhoun fumed. A vein in his forehead throbbed visibly as he spun around looking at all of the people betting against him. “Louts, the lot of you!” he shouted. The tavern grew quiet again. He wheeled back on Kai. “You are still short!” he exclaimed.
“No,” the barkeep said in a wobbly voice. “I am in for thirty.” The barkeep pulled a wooden box up from behind the bar and plunked it down in front of him.
“You said this was everything!” Calhoun growled as he thumbed the bag of coins he had taken already.
“Let’s go,” Kai said. “My entry fee has been paid, and now it is time to take out the rubbish.”
Calhoun turned and drew his sword.
“NO!” the bouncer yelled in a thunderous voice. “You agreed to his challenge, no swords. Now, take it outside and finish it.” The large man readied his mace and glowered at Calhoun.
“You dare speak to me like that?” Calhoun hissed. “When I am finished with him, I am coming for you next, and we will settle this with steel.”
All of the patrons sat motionless. They kept looking back and forth between Calhoun, Kai, and the bouncer.
Kai removed his sword belt and made a show of thumping it on his table. “I am ready when you are.”
Calhoun seethed and drew in heavy, heated breaths. “Very well then, let us settle this in the street. There I will lay you in the gutter like the rat you are!”
Kai was the first to exit. Calhoun walked several yards behind him, and set his sword belt on a wooden barrel outside in the street. Then as if there had been a fire inside the tavern, all of the patrons exited quickly behind them to see the fight. Calhoun stood in the center of the street. He glared at Kai through angry eyes as the crowd encircled them. Kai strolled confidently to the center of the street and stopped only three yards away from Calhoun. Kai could hear side bets being wagered as the crowd sized up the two fighters.
“First man to fall loses,” Kai said.
Calhoun shook his head. “Pit rules,” Calhoun countered.
The crowd grew quiet for a moment and waited for Kai’s response.
“As you wish,” Kai said with a shrug. The crowd cheered and betting rose to a frenzy. Someone procured a length of cord and approached the two fighters.
“You both understand the rules?” he asked as he held the cord out in his hands. Kai and Calhoun nodded somberly. “Alright, then I will tie you and announce the start of the fight.”
Kai waited and rolled his shoulders and neck while the man tied the cord to the front of Calhoun’s belt first, and then attached the other end to the front of Kai’s belt. Kai stepped back and drew the cord taught, checking to see whether Calhoun would resist. Calhoun responded by jerking his hips back and tugging Kai forward a step.
“Mind your balance,” Calhoun taun
ted.
Kai smiled and gave a mock salute with his middle finger.
The man in the middle stepped back and raised his right hand. “Calhoun, are you ready?”
Calhoun nodded and smiled.
The man turned to address Kai. “Are you ready, stranger?”
Kai responded with a short, quick nod.
The man stretched up as tall as his limbs could reach. He glanced to each fighter and held his hand up for a moment. The crowd hushed.
Calhoun lunged forward with a sucker punch before the fight started. Kai took it in the jaw and then quickly threw a blocking side-arm out before Calhoun landed a kick to his side. The self-appointed referee tried to step in and restart the fight as the crowd booed and heckled Calhoun, but Calhoun knocked him back with a quick back-fist to the nose.
The man scrambled back to the crowd, holding his bloodied face. There was no stopping the fight now.
Calhoun drew his right fist back and launched a savage punch. Kai easily ducked under it, stepping back to take up the slack in the cord and then he made his counter attack by pulling the cord with his left hand and slamming Calhoun in the jaw with a savage elbow strike.
“You shouldn’t give away your strikes. Take your time,” Kai coached.
Calhoun hissed and rushed forward, grappling with Kai and trying to take him to the ground. Kai responded with a series of knee strikes that battered Calhoun’s forward leaning torso before dropping several elbow strikes on the back of Calhoun’s neck and spine from above.
Calhoun jerked and twitched as his body absorbed each of the blows. Finally he turned his head and bit Kai’s bare side, just above the hip. Kai thrust both of his arms down, ripping Calhoun away from him. Calhoun fell downward, catching on the length of the cord and dragging Kai down to his knees. Calhoun groped around the ground until his fingers closed around a rock and he immediately swung up, aiming for Kai’s head. Kai reflexively grabbed Calhoun’s wrist with his left hand, pulled Calhoun’s arm straight and then slammed into the meaty portion of Calhoun’s forearm with a knuckle strike. This sent Calhoun’s arm into a spasm and Kai was able to shake the stone free from Calhoun’s grasp.
Kai reached out and grabbed Calhoun’s neck with his right hand and pushed up with his legs, yanking Calhoun to his feet and exposing his body again. Calhoun tried to close up, but Kai still held his wrist and pummeled his abdomen with his right fist, snaking around Calhoun’s free arm as he frantically tried to block. Four strikes and Calhoun’s knees started to give out. Two more put him down on the ground. The cord again snapped taught, but this time Kai stood firm and was unmoved. The crowd cheered wildly. Calhoun coughed and wheezed as he rocked back to his haunches.
“It’s over,” Kai announced. “You lose.”
Calhoun looked up and locked eyes with Kai. Much of the strength was gone from him, but the fire still burned in his gaze. Calhoun shook his head and held up his left hand. “No,” he muttered. His right hand slid alongside his boot and grasped the short brass handle of a push-blade. He pulled it free and lunged at Kai.
Kai stepped to his right, peddling back and to the side for every forward step Calhoun took. Calhoun swung out with the push-blade just as Kai dropped to his back and shot his foot up into Calhoun’s groin. Calhoun was lifted into the air several inches before doubling over. The crowd collectively gasped as men winced and looked away for just a moment. Kai’s left hand went out again to catch Calhoun’s wrist, but this time he turned it backward and brought his right hand in to force Calhoun’s fist over the locked joint until it snapped and both bone and ligament broke free from their correct holdings.
Calhoun screamed in pain and fell over to the side. The push-blade fell out of his hand. Kai rolled over for leverage and bolted back upright, roughly pulling Calhoun from the ground again. Kai finished the duel with a savage right cross that shattered Calhoun’s jaw and forced him back until the cord was completely taught, and then Kai sent a devastating front kick to Calhoun’s chest that snapped the binding cord and launched Calhoun several feet into the air before he crashed on the street.
“I said, you lost,” Kai repeated.
The crowd erupted into cheers and curses as the bets came due. The fight was over. Kai smiled and turned for the tavern. He gave the push-blade a slight kick with his right foot and shook his head. “Momma always said that cheaters never prosper,” he quoted with a wink at the barmaid. Kai looked for the barkeep and pointed at him. The crowd parted a bit so there could be an uninterrupted line of sight. “I trust you and your bouncer can handle divvying up the spoils from the bet?”
“Aye, we can manage that,” the barkeep replied. “What about you?” The barkeep pointed to Calhoun. “He has friends.”
Kai nodded. “I’m counting on it,” he said. “I’ll just collect my coins and clothes and then I will take this louse here and we’ll be on our way.”
*****
“He is starting to wake up,” Redbeard said.
Kai rubbed a tired hand over his face and yawned. “Good, let’s see whether he is willing to cooperate.”
Redbeard scoffed. “He ain’t gonna be talkin’ with a broken jaw.”
Kai stood from the cot he had been laying on and stretched his arms. “You should just be happy he is still breathing,” Kai shot back. “He came at me with a push-blade, what was I supposed to do?”
Redbeard shrugged. “Doesn’t help that you snapped his wrist either,” the dwarf added. “I don’t know how well he will be able to scribble with his left hand.”
Kai sighed. “Alright, next time you get to be in charge of kidnapping the target.”
Redbeard shook his head so quickly that his beard waggled beneath his chain. “Not gonna happen.”
Pinhead strolled up and slapped Redbeard on the back. “Don’t let him give you a hard time,” he said. “Ol’ Redbeard here would have caved the man’s skull in had he been in yer shoes.”
“Shut yer hole,” Redbeard spat.
Kai shook his head and walked by them both. “Let’s go,” Kai said quietly. Kai surveyed Calhoun as he opened the door to the dilapidated room they had him in. His arms were tied to a low hanging beam from an exposed joist. Calhoun’s broken wrist hung limply, swollen and purple. His face was no better. The left side was red and blue, with the jaw line puffy and crooked. Calhoun’s left eye was swollen shut, and a bit of drool and blood had pooled at the right corner of his mouth.
“You have certainly had better days,” Kai said.
Calhoun grunted and slowly angled his good eye to watch Kai.
“Here,” Redbeard said from behind. Kai turned and took the proffered pencil and paper. Then he motioned for the dwarf to exit the room and closed the door after he left.
“I am willing to give you a deal,” Kai began as he dragged a chair over to the middle of the room. He sat down backwards in the chair and crossed his massive forearms over the back so Calhoun could see the paper and pencil. “I am going to ask you for the name of your employer, and his location. You will write that information down on this paper and I will let you live.”
Calhoun extended his middle finger on his good hand.
Kai sniggered and waved the gesture off. “Let me make this clear, so you understand exactly what I am willing to do. My sister was kidnapped by a group of thugs in Rasselin. I killed a score of them by my own sword in rescuing her. I will not hesitate to gut you like a pig right here in this hovel. Refuse to cooperate and there will be no trial for you. I am the judge and executioner today. Do you understand?”
Calhoun stiffly moved his head up and down.
Kai held a finger up in the air and looked off to the side as he rose from the chair and took a couple steps toward Calhoun. “I found a letter addressed to a man named Boots. The letter stated that my sister was being transferred here, to him, for him to use as he saw fit.” Kai circled around Calhoun’s back and moved in close to his ear. “So, here I am. I have come to deal with Boots, and anyone who is working with him.”
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Calhoun whimpered softly and tried to mumble something.
Kai moved around to face Calhoun. “Quick question before we begin.” Kai fixed his gaze on Calhoun’s good eye. “Have you ever been involved in kidnapping women?”
Calhoun struggled to move his head, but his neck was too stiff. He tried to speak, but the words never made it past his throat.
“Just wink your good eye once for ‘yes’ and twice for ‘no’ to answer the question,” Kai instructed.
Calhoun winked twice.
“Are you sure?”
Calhoun winked twice again, emphatically exaggerating each movement.
Kai nodded and stroked his chin. He could hear Calhoun’s breath quickening. It was obvious the enforcer knew he was trapped. Kai placed a strong hand on Calhoun’s shoulder and squeezed tight. “I believe you, but you must listen very carefully and do as I ask, or I will kill you all the same for trying to protect Boots. Do I make myself clear?”
Calhoun winked once.
“I have been here for a few days, tracking down leads. When I discovered your connection with Boots I targeted you because you were close enough to know where I could find him, but rumor was that you were only an enforcer, working a protection racket within Blundfish. This made you a good target because if you go missing Boots will not suspect that it has anything to do with the operation in Rasselin. He will think that a merchant or barkeep finally put a knife in your back. You see, you are expendable to him.” Kai released Calhoun’s shoulder and stepped back. He took a breath and folded his arms across his chest. “I am explaining this to you so you understand that Boots will not come looking for you, regardless of what happens here today. If I kill you, he will replace you with another low level enforcer ambitious and eager enough to jump at the opportunity to fill your position.” Kai cocked his head to the side and almost gave Calhoun a smile. He wanted his prisoner to feel desperate, but he also wanted to show him the way out.
“If, on the other hand, you help me and I have my associates smuggle you out of the city, Boots will be none the wiser and will still have your position filled. The mere fact that you are expendable, will guarantee your freedom and safety so long as you meet my demands. Now do you fully understand?”