Fang was starting to drop his front, but I could see him fighting to keep the mask on as long as he could. The creepy clown smile was gone, replaced by an angry man gritting his teeth as he pushed his opponent back.
“You can’t fight me,” he taunted. “You’ve had so many chances tonight to take me out, Cole, and I think I know why you haven’t taken a single one.”
“Why’s that, Fang?” I asked.
“I define you,” he said, pushing me away. He let go of me and stood his ground as I tumbled backwards. He adjusted his tie while he waited for me to respond or come back.
“You don’t know me,” I growled.
“Sure I do,” he said confidently. “You are so hell-bent on taking me out that you can’t actually do it, because you know that as soon as I’m out of the picture, you won’t have anything else to work towards, and I think that scares you.”
“Nothing about you scares me, Fang,” I told him.
He just laughed.
“Then come on,” he challenged me. “I’m right here. I’m unarmed. Let’s do this. One of us isn’t walking away tonight. Let’s go ahead and figure out who that is so I can go home and get some sleep.”
I still wasn’t sure if I wanted to shoot him or just kick his ass and then shoot him, so I charged at him with the gun in my hands still. I grabbed the barrel and swung it at him like a baseball bat.
He dodged it beautifully, contorting his body so that there was no way I could have hit him.
“Is that all you’ve got, Cole?” he asked. “I figured by your reputation that this was your thing. I heard you were one hell of a fighter, not just some punk who relied on guns to handle his business. So far tonight, though, I’ve only seen you shoot a couple of guys. I haven’t seen you actually fight. Put the gun down.”
He turned to the side and assumed a martial arts stance. I had never been so wrong about anyone before in my life. I should have shot him the first time I had the chance. Tonight would have ended long ago, and most of the Overlords would be headed back to HQ with no more threat of Fang or his men hanging over our heads.
Now, I was about to be stuck in a fight with a jackass who only looked like he didn’t know what he was doing. It was becoming pretty obvious that he knew exactly what he was doing when it came to fighting.
“Put the gun down, Cole. If you want to fight, then let’s fight.” His voice was calm and smooth again.
I had already figured out how he’d created the almost mythical legend of himself on the street with his smooth tongue and his creepy smile. He played right into everyone’s perception of him, so it wasn’t as unnerving anymore. What was unnerving was realizing I’d talked a bigger game than I was prepared to back up with him.
One thing was still for certain, though. There was no way in hell I was talking things over with him to try to work out a deal. He wasn’t going to walk away from here. He wasn’t going home from this one.
I glanced at Dante and Sasha, and I realized that it was starting to get brighter outside again. We weren’t too far from sunrise, it seemed. Traffic would be picking up soon, and people would have to see the outcome of what happened overnight here on the side of the highway. I hoped Dante had the good sense to call a cleaner while I finished off Fang so we could get the hell out of here.
“What are you waiting on?” His voice tormented me. Every time he spoke, it shook me a little more and made it harder for me to focus on what I came here to do tonight.
“Come on, Cole, handle your business.”
I was beginning to see red. I charged him again with the gun.
“You know,” he said, catching the gun with both hands, “for someone who believes so much in hand-to-hand combat, I haven’t seen you put this fucking gun down.” He pushed the gun against me again.
“You know, Fang, I’ve learned something about you tonight,” I responded.
“What did you learn?” he asked me.
“You talk way too damn much. That’s all you are,” I told him.
“I’m glad you noticed,” he said with a smirk spreading across his face.
He pushed me back with my rifle and tucked a foot behind one of mine, tripping me and pushing me down onto the ground.
I fell hard onto my back, almost knocking the wind out of my chest. He pressed the rifle against my throat as he straddled me.
“Part of what they teach you in martial arts, is how to use leverage. You learn how to use a combination of gravity, your weight, and the other person’s weight against your opponent. See, even though you’re a bigger man than I am, I’ve got you on your back, and I’ve got this gun pressed against your throat. There’s nothing you can do about it, either, because I’m using my weight against you. If you’d like, maybe I can show you how to do this sometime. You’re coming to work for me after tonight, right?” he asked with a chuckle.