by Newbiel
"I can understand that." Scott said with a pensive expression. "Too bad they can't know that we are working for the government, that would have swayed them quite a lot in their decision making."
"We are not. We are working with the President, this is an important distinction to make Scott. It means that we don't take orders from them, the President is our client nothing more." Nathaniel explained.
"Yeah, I still have a hard time getting my head around that, it goes against everything I was taught in the army. I can't believe you manage to get a deal like that, there are a lot of defense private companies who spend millions of dollars each year lobbying to get that form the DOD. You should still have made a better speech than that to get them to sign with you."
"That wouldn't have worked, these guys are army veteran, they dislike nonsense like commercial speech even more than political talk. I would have lost their respect trying it." Nathaniel shook his head.
"You are right about that but I still believe you should have done more to convince them to join. So, where are we going next Boss?"
"San Antonio, Texas." Nathaniel answers, calling a taxi and hoping for it.
Inside the pub, there was silence around the table as everyone was thinking to themselves about the job offer.
"That kid is not normal." One of them said, shocking his friends out of their thoughts.
"Well, he's confident, I can at least give him that." Ethan said in amusement, triggering a few chuckles from his friend.
"There is more than that. Did you notice the fact that he didn't even have a reaction when Morgan shouted at him? He wasn't even startled and definitely not afraid considering the fact that Morgan is at least forty pound heavier and five inches taller than him." One of the others named Seth interject.
"He's just arrogant like any youth." Morgan said with a laugh, taking a gulp of his glass of whiskey. "How old is he by the way Keith?"
"I'm not an expert in young pop culture you know." Keith frowned at him.
"Yes but you are the only one here who knows him." Ethan steps in to avoid a confrontation between the two.
"I know him because my daughter always talks about him and I happen to remember a thing or two. I believe it is sixteen or seventeen, let me check on my phone. Yeah, he just turned seventeen a couple of weeks ago."
"Is his family involved in defense?" Ethan asked.
"What? I don't think so. They are just a label company, an impressive wealthy and influential one but no, they are not involved in defense. Why?"
"I'm just trying to know how he could be aware of the accident in Panama. Morgan was right, this is confidential information. Nobody should know about this and certainly not a kid still wet behind the ears. He also said that he knows everything about us and I'm inclined to believe him on that one."
"He's telling the truth." Keith said, looking at the album with a trouble expression on his face.
"What's going on Keith?" Ethan is curious about his squadmate expression.
"The message that he left on the back of his album, he put my daughter's first and middle name on it. He also knew that my daughter was a fan of his before coming in." He said letting that sink into the mind of everyone around the table.
"You are missing the obvious here. We saw him fight and I believe we all recognized the choke hold he used at the end. It was SEAL training, it was our training." Seth said.
"Maybe he saw it on TV or something?" One of them offers.
"No, you saw how fluid he was with his movement. No, I believe he was trained, intensely trained in fact." Seth rebuked.
"And who would have trained him? Not the military, his way too young for that. Especially considering that SEALs only took seasoned soldiers before training them." Ethan added.
"Maybe the CIA or another organisation in the government?"
"No, nobody is crazy enough to do something like that and even if they were, the kid does not qualify as a spy. We all know that the CIA prefers their agents without any family and coming from the working class. That Lyndon kid is the opposite to that."
"Who cares really? He just has a special trainer hired by his grandpa's money. This is not a big deal." Morgan says annoyed. "Let's talk about something much more important, how much does he want to pay us?"
Used to his legendary attitude, the whole squad laughed, one of them taking the files that Nathaniel had left behind. Looking at the number on it, he whistled appreciatively.
"That much?" Morgan said hopefully. "Give it to me, I want to see!"
Passing the papers to all of his squadmates, the man started to look at the other piece of papers on the table curiously. Taking hold of one of the contracts, it was Morgan's turn to whistle.
"I'm starting to like this arrogant and annoying kid."
"I did know that the private sector was paying quite well but this almost seems too much." One of the others said admiratingly.
"Guys, you should look at this. This is what would be expected of us if we accept the contract." He said, passing the other stack of papers around the table.
Taking one, all of them started to read through them. Once they were done, they were all exchanging confused and intrigued stare between them. It was not at all what they were expecting to do.
"That kid is not normal." The same man repeated.
Chapter 164: :
San Antonio, Texas. 15/12/2012. 16:00.
"Are you sure she's there?" Scott asked, looking at the warehouse complex that had seen better days a long time ago.
"Yeah, Lina tracked down her cellphone to this place."
"It looks like it's abandoned for a while now." Scott said dubiously.
"Keep your eyes open, try to find something out of place." Nathaniel said, looking around him with attention, Scott doing the same.
"Sir." Scott called not long after.
"Yes, you found something?"
"I believe so, look at the security camera outside. they look fairly new compared to the warehouse itself and everything around it."
"Hum, good catch Scott." Nathaniel nodded appreciatively. "You are right, this model of camera is very recent, there is also a new parabolic antenna on the roof. It's not the tell tale sign of an empty building, quite the contrary in fact."
"What do you want to do?"
"One of the cameras is looking down on this side door. Let's knock and see what happens." Nathaniel said.
Shrugging, Scott took the lead for security purposes as he didn't know where they were going. Knocking on the metallic door with his fist, it didn't have to wait long before someone opened it. The man was in his late twenties with an impressive musculature and a lot of tattoos on his face and neck. He also had a shotgun in hands.
"Do you have an invitation?"
"I have money." Nathaniel answered succinctly.
"It's a thousand dollars to enter if you don't have an invite. Give it now or get the fu** out of here." He barks.
Fishing the money that was asked of him, Nathaniel put it in the man hand without saying anything else.
"You better behave inside or you will be forcefully removed from the building with a beating. Your watchdog is not going to save you if you screw with us." He threatened before making way for them to enter.
"Don't worry, I pride myself to be a rule abiding citizen." Nathaniel smiles, getting inside.
Entering, Nathaniel could see three more men in the lobby with guns keeping a close eye on them. After sending back a lady wearing revealing clothes who wanted to take their vest which they refused, they kept walking in the corridor, a loud noise starting to echo in it. Opening the door, they were met with smoke and loud noise coming from people busy yelling and someone talking in a speaker.
There were more than fifty people here busy yelling, drinking and smoking. In that giant space, in the center was sitting a huge cage at least five feet in width and seven feet in length. Inside were two impressive looking men hitting and punching each other under the cheer of the crowd.
"What the hell is happening here?" Scott asked with a disgusted expression.
"This is a clandestine combat ring, Scott." Nathaniel smiles excitedly, looking at the two people fighting each other.
"What? You are liking this?" Scott said with a flabbergasted expression.
"You know that this kind of place has existed since the first day that we became a country so it's a long lived tradition coming from our European cousin. I'm also very conscious of the fact that there are a couple of people watching us with attention near the front and back door and camera strain on us so let's play along until we find our target, alright?"
"Oh, I see. You are right, let's try to not make any wave for once." Scott answered, not even looking at the place that Nathaniel mentioned.
"It's okay, you can keep your disgusted expression on your face, it goes well with your bodyguard part. Moreover these two are disappointing, they have no plan beside trying to overpower the other using brute force. It looks impressive for the mass but it's really boring to watch, it's like watching two dogs going at each other without knowing what they are doing." Nathaniel said, still keeping his excited smile on his face.
Looking at the two boxers in the ring, Scott had to agree with Nathaniel's assessment. These two were not soldiers and definitely not fighters but brawlers at best. Their movement was lacking form and training and every punch or kick they were making was not optimised. It was actually so bad that just watching was making Scott angry. He decided to focus on the people around them, the ones who were busy watching the match or the people working, serving drinks and taking bets on the match result.
"Do you see her?" Nathaniel asked.
"Not so far. Are we really sure she's there? What someone like her would be doing in a place like this?"
"I'm sure she has a reason. On a positive note, that fight is finally over."
Not a second after he said this, the man failed to block a punch and got knocked to the floor. Not letting him take a rest, he then starts to kick him in the head to make him lose consciousness. In fact he kicked him so hard that Nathaniel was sure that the man's jaw was broken as blood started to spill from his mouth, the crowd going wild. In that moment, Nathaniel almost lost his composure and had to refrain himself from going into that cage to beat the man down the exact same way. He could have easily used another way to knock out the man than kicking him in the head, that was pure cruelty on his part.
Looking around, Nathaniel could see that he was the only one who was disgusted by this, the others patrons busy shooting in anger or joy depending on who they had bet on. The speaker entered the ring and shot the name of the man who had won, lifting his hand in the air in a sign of victory. Nathaniel decides to memorise the man face in the chance he would run into him later before putting the matter to the side.
Leaving the stage with an arrogant attitude, the man saluted before entering one of the side doors. The other on the other hand was carried outside by two of the mens that were working as security, he did not look fine at all. The speaker was announcing another match while two young women wearing very little on them were cleaning the stage of the blood staining it.
"And now we have a very special fight for you guys! One you are going to like quite a lot!" The speaker shouted, triggering cheer from the audience. "On the right side, I'm going to call our house champion, The Destructor!"
The door near the stage opens and a mountain of men exit through. He was at least 6"5 and was weighing around two hundred and sixty pound with veins jutting from his impressive muscle. Bold with cruel eyes and wearing nothing but a short to show off his muscle, he was the crows favorite based on the cheer he received compared to the previous fight. Nathaniel and Scott on their hands were not really impressed. The man had the body of a bodybuilder but not one of a fighter.
"Facing him today is a new contender! Not a man this time but a woman wants to take on the destructor! But not any woman, a month ago she was still a proud member of the SWAT! I present you Lola!"
The door opened, this time it was a beautiful hispanic woman who passed the door. She was looking nothing like our opponent. She was 5"4 at best and weighed less than two times her adversary but she had a determined look on her face that forced everyone to not look down on her. Wearing a short short and a tank top showing partially her abs, everybody could see that not once of fat was on her and more than a couple of people started leering at her without even hiding themselves, her opponent doing the same thing with a beatific smile.
"This is her." Scott said with an astonished expression.
Chapter 165: :
"Indeed it is her." Nathaniel answered with an authentic, excited smile on his face this time.
"What do you want to do? We need to get her out of here."
"And why is that?" Nathaniel asked, cocking his head to the side, looking at him strangely.
"Well, I know she can fight, I read her personal files like you certainly did but just look at him. If he were to touch her even once, it would end really bad for her. There is also a huge difference in reach considering her height, she will fight an uphill battle all the way."
"Hum valid point but if you know this so should her. Look at her eyes and her whole demeanor. What do you see Scott?"
Doing what was asked of him, Scott looked at her while she was making her way to the ring and started picking some sign.
"I can see determination, confidence and hate?" He said the last one with hesitation.
"Very good. I'm willing to guess that these two have a history and she's here seeking retribution and if I learn anything in my life, it's to never get in the middle of a woman that is angry and the source of that anger." He said seriously.
"So, we are just going to stand here and watch?"
"Not exactly." Nathaniel answers and then turns to an employee taking a bet from the crowd. "Excuse me, what are the odds for Lola winning the match?"
"Three to one against Lola winning but this is never going to happen, The Destructor never lost here." He answers succinctly before taking the bet of someone else.
"Twenty thousand dollars on Lola then." Nathaniel said, gathering a lot of attention from the people around him.
"This is your funeral. You need to give us the money before the fight starts or it will not be valid."
"Not a problem." Nathaniel answered, fishing the cash from his vest and putting it in the hand of the bookmaker.
Getting over his surprise, the man started to count the cash quickly before putting it in the bag of the security man beside him who was in charge of guarding the money. Writing a receipt for the bet, the bookmaker handed it to Nathaniel before taking the bet of someone else. The match was going to start soon and all of the people here were anxious to put their bet.
"Don't lose your receipt or the bet will not be valid anymore." The bookmaker warn
"We were not supposed to blend in and not make any waves?" Scott asked with an eyebrow raised.
"Three against one odds is almost too good to be true, especially considering what we know. If you have some cash on you, you shouldn't hesitate to bet. Moreover, since everyone here is betting, I'm actually blending in."
Thinking about it, Scott walked to the bookie who had moved away to place a bet before coming back with a receipt in hand.
"How much did you bet?"
"Five hundred dollars, it was all I had on me and it was the minimum amount I was allowed to bet by the bookmaker." He said with a somewhat painful expression.
"It just means you are going to win more, their loss. Oh, it's starting, you were just on time."
The speaker was just leaving the stage, the cage closing behind him, only the two fighters remaining inside. Staying on each side of the ring, they were both waiting for the speaker to launch the fight, keeping a close eye on each other.
"I'm going to enjoy breaking you in half shorty and then I'm going to repeat that tonight." The Destructor said in a booming voice making the crowd laugh. Lola chose to not respo
nd but Nathaniel could see that she was even more pissed off now.
"Oh, this is going to be fun." Nathaniel said, smiling.
The speaker then launched the match and the two fighters did not lose time before running to each other. The Destructor being taller had the advantage in terms of range and so launched a powerful right punch to Lola who sidestep it before punching his elbow and kicking him in the gut. It was at this moment that another punch arrived at her and she had no choice but to roll away to avoid it.
Nathaniel was also surprised to see that The Destructor was swifter than what he thought he could consider his impressive build. It was going even harder than he thought considering the fact that he did not even grunt when she hit him just now. The combat started to repeat itself at this time, Lola using a hit and run tactic since she could not afford to be hit by her opponent. The Destructor on his side was getting increasingly angry and was starting to run out of patience as he was not able to hit her.
Feeling ashamed to be good like that in front of the audience, he threw everything away and just launched himself trying to run her down. He was not stupid, he knew as well as her that if he were to take hold of her just once he could destroy her easily. Seeing him trying to run her down, Lola let a smile appear on her beautiful face for the first time since she appeared. Using his force against him, Lola dodge to the side before swiping his feet from under him. Unable to stop himself, The Destructor fell hard on the ground, his head hitting one of the bars of the cage. Using the fact that he was sprawled on the floor, Lola made an almost gymnastic front flip before landing on his back with her knee.
Yelling in pain, The Destructor rolled on the side to try to lift her off of him. Rolling with him, Lola managed to sneak her leg beneath his neck. Back to the metal bar of the cage and behind The Destructor, Lola starts to squeeze her leg around his neck, choking him, her right arm keeping her leg in place. With her other arm, she starts elbowing him on the head repeatedly to make him lose consciousness. Thrashing and trying to claw her out of him, it took almost a minute of being repeatedly smashed in the head for him to finally stop struggling.