34(S3E8)- She-devil

34

(Season 3, Episode 8)

She-devil

Jim Creegan climbed the stairs somewhere around 4:00 am.  The Bent Elbow’s last call was at 2:00 am but, by the time the stragglers were out and the cleaning was done, it was always this late.  Creegan always made sure to stay until close.  He liked to make sure that Paul got home okay.

After everything Paul had done for him, it was the least he could do.

Creegan’s key hit the lock and he opened the door, ready to hit the sack.  Jim fought the night before which meant he was not allowed to fight for another week.  Such a rule seemed silly when you considered that it was an illegal pit fighting ring, but the rules were there so no one got killed in the fights.  This was not out of concern for the fighters’ wellbeing at all.  Death brought cops, and no one wanted cops involved.

Creegan peeled off his shirts and pants, sticky from the sweat and spilled beer, and forced himself to shower.  He had been in no shape for such a luxury the night before and now he felt two days’ worth of filth wash off of him and down the drain.

He made sure the shower was long then checked his healing face in the mirror before throwing on sweats and dropping onto the mattress and box springs on the floor that he called a bed.  He closed his eyes and prepared for the sweet embrace of a good night’s sleep.

It did not come.

His cell phone began to ring and, fighting the urge to silent it, he instead checked the I.D.  It read ‘Harry’ his fight promoter for the pit fighting.

He clicked the call accept button and put the phone to his ear.  “Harry, what do you want?  You know I can’t fight today.”

“Yeah, of course I know that.”  The man’s weasely voice replied, “You need to come down here as a spectator.”

Creegan shook his head even though Harry couldn’t see him.  “Not a chance.  I’m getting some sleep tonight.”

“Don’t be a pussy,” Harry responded.  “You are gonna want to see the fight they have for the main event.”

Creegan had just about enough of the conversation.  “Good night, Harry,”

“Suit yourself,” Harry started.  “But one of the fighters is a girl.”

Creegan was in the process of hanging up when Harry spoke this last part, then stopped.  “Wait, did you say, a girl?”

“Oh, I got your attention now, do I?” Harry said sarcastically.

Creegan scowled to himself.  “Yes, you do.  Now get to the point.”

“Yes, a girl is fighting in the main event.  I don’t know how she got the organizers to let her do it but she’s in.” Harry answered excited.

Creegan had a sneaking suspicion.  “If it is who I think it is, they would be hard pressed to keep her out of the ring.  Do you know her name?”

“That’s the strange thing,” Harry said.  “They haven’t said.  All we could get is that she’s a girl and she’s fighting Dickson.”

Creegan thought about that.  Dickson was a lean, middleweight black guy with insanely fast hands.  If Creegan was right and the woman was Patti, then she would have a hard time with his speed.  While on the flip side, his lighter weight would make it possible for her to do some real damage.

Jim cursed to himself.  She had gotten him.  “Where’s the fight?”

****

The fight was at an old closed down YMCA on the east side.  The crowd was gathered in what used to be the swim room, around an old pool that had been drained of all its water.  As Creegan walked in, he could tell that the crowd was already hungry for a fight, placing their bids.  Harry caught Jim and turned to meet him.

“Hey Jim, you never gonna believe this!” Harry began to explain.

“Where is she?” Jim asked, cutting him off.

He looked confused.  “The fighter? She’s in the pool.  It’s about to start.”

Creegan pushed past Harry and into the crowd amidst complaints from the blood thirsty onlookers. When he got to the front, he saw her.  She had her hands and forearms tightly taped up.  She wore a white tank top over a restrictive sports bra with blue jeans on her bottoms.  Creegan couldn’t help but admire her.  She was like no one he had ever met.  She was hippy and stout but had big arms and swollen knuckles from all the fighting she had done in her life.  She was by no means conventionally attractive but there was an amazon quality that peaked Jim’s curiosity; the beast inside of him.  The one he had locked in a cage deep down, that he only let out to fight, howled every time he saw her.  He was unsure whether it was hate or something else.

At the same moment she seemed to catch his eye and she grinned like a wolf grins when it spots a sheep.  Creegan had originally come here to stop her from getting hurt, or at least that’s what he had told himself.  That changed suddenly.  It was at that moment he knew everyone in the room, including him, should be afraid of her.

“NO MORE BETS!” The fight promoter screamed and everyone hushed for just a moment.  It was the calm before the storm.

“FIGHT!” He screamed and the crowd roared as the two warriors approached one another.

Patti stepped in and threw a giant overhead haymaker.  While strong and powerful, it was a weak first move and Dickson easily ducked it, launching his own counter attack and landing two fierce body shots to her ribs as she past.  Dickson bounced away, his advantage was the speed and he was using it to its fullest.

Patti staggered slightly and Dickson moved in, snapping two quick right hand jabs to her nose.  She staggered back against the wall and Dickson kept up the pressure, advancing.  Patti launched herself back and caught Dickson’s chin with a weak left.

Dickson staggered slightly just out of surprise but not damage.  He moved in and landed a brutal right hook to Patti’s left boob.

The entire crowd ‘ooh’d’ in sympathy pain, which Creegan found comical since the crowd consisted entirely men.

Patti staggered and fell to one knee and Dickson chuckled.  “Come on girl, I don’t want to beat on a girl, so just stay down,”

While it was true that Patti seemed to be losing, Creegan noticed there was a look in Patti’s eye that was the opposite of defeat.

Patti held he breast.  “Punch to the boob is a low blow mate.”

Dickson suddenly looked confused, unable to understand Patti through her heavy accent.  “Munch the tube, what?”

Patti stood, took two steps forward and Punted Dickson in the groin.

The crowd again felt the fighter’s pain and Patti moved in her heavy right hand smashing into Dickson’s jaw.  Creegan had never liked to punch because of how breakable knuckles are.  Patti did not share this practice.

Dickson staggered and tried to bring his guard up, but Creegan knew it was over already.  After all, he knew what it was like to get punched by Patti.

She brought another heavy left up and this caught Dickson in the eye, cutting his eyebrow open and showering Patti with blood.  She grabbed Dickson’s head with her left and now began to pummel his face with her right.  She roared as she did.

Dickson’s legs crumbled after the third blow and Patti followed him down, hitting his face another two times before letting him hit the pool floor, his face a blood covered, broken shadow of what it had been.

Patti was already climbing out of the pool before the promoter counted to five.  She knew it was over. The crowd watched, stunned.

She pushed past Creegan and began to unwrap the tape from her hands.  Creegan turned and grabbed her arm, turning her back to face him.

“What the hell are you doing?!” Jim yelled.

Patti’s eyes narrowed.  “This again?  Who the fuck are you?  What happened to the guy who beat me to a pulp, then helped me bring down Elmo, eh?”

Creegan’s beast started to growl.  “Fuck you, bitch.  Can’t you just leave me alone?!”

Patti looked disgusted.  “Leave you alone?!  You fucking coward, aren’t you mad?”

Jim shook his head and the beast inside him roared.  “No, no I’m just trying to-”

She cut him off.  “Just trying to live your fucking life?!  You know your girlfriend, love of your life, used you to steal money then shot you and left you for dead, right?  She is out there running a fucking cartel! And you are working in some second rate pub and pit fighting… in Cleveland, of all places!”

Jim didn’t have an answer, but his monster demanded release.

Patti continued.  “You know what?  Forget waking you up, I want to fight you because I can’t accept that some fairy, coward beat me!”

Creegan’s monster freed itself and he decked her.  A hard right cross and she went down.  The crowd roared outrage and Harry grabbed his man.  “What the hell are you doing, buddy?”

“Book the fight, Harry.  Me and her.  Tomorrow night.” Creegan said, without breaking eye contact with a grinning Patti.

Harrry frowned.  “You can’t fight a girl!  No matter what, you come out a loser!”

Creegan spun toward Harry.  “It’s not about that shit Harry.  Book the fucking fight!”

Creegan stormed off.