“Well, mission accomplished, right?”
“Yup.”
“So who do you see yourself fighting next? A rematch with Coles maybe?”
Austin laughed again. “No. No, I don’t think that would be a healthy move for him.”
“So, who then?”
“Um…” Austin looked in my direction again. “Actually, I’ve decided that I’ve now done everything I could in the sport. I’ve beaten the best, and it’s time to move my life in a different direction. As of, let’s say, tomorrow, I am officially announcing my retirement from MMA.”
The cheering immediately went from rapturous cheering to stunned whispers, slowly building up to a cacophony again. Even the commentator did a goldfish impression for a while.
“But… but you’re only twenty-four…?”
Austin shrugged. “I’ve got some other work I need to do.”
The heavyweight champion walked over and helped his fallen opponent to his feet, before exiting the decagon and leaving a stunned crowd in his wake.
He’d just closed the door on a big chapter in our lives. Now it was time to concentrate on the next one.
*****
The corner of the room I’d been sitting in was cloaked in shadows. Gavino didn’t even know I was here. Yet.
He looked somewhat worse for wear. That was to be expected, considering the special attention Austin and Jace had been giving him for the past few weeks.
“You’re looking good, Gavino,” said Austin. “You been trying that paleo diet? You’ve got the jowls of a man twenty years your junior.”
Austin sank a fist into the former boss’ still-considerable gut, forcing all the air out of him along with a groan of pain.
“No more,” he pleaded. “I’ve told you everything I-”
“I don’t know,” said Jace. “On one hand, you’ve been very cooperative. After that first wild goose chase, you learned quick and stabbed pretty much everybody you know in the city in the back, they’re all dead or working with us now by the way, and given up all those stockpiles of cash, drugs, guns, whatever we wanted. I’m especially happy about the information. On the other hand, it sure was a pain in the ass to hunt you down for all those months. I don’t know how you got away from that house in the first place. It’s not even at the top of a hill, so I know you didn’t roll away, motherfucker.”
Jace struck Gavino just below the eye, and his head rocked to the side, dripping blood on his shoulder.
“I’m inclined to just keep on beating you until you’re nothing but a stain on the floor. But Austin here, he wants to let you go.”
“I’m a real nice guy,” said Austin.
I could see Gavino’s head turn from one man to the other and I could almost imagine the incredulous expression through the blood and bruises on his face.
“Please! Let me go! I’ll disappear! You’ll never hear-”
“Shut the fuck up,” said Jace. “We’ve decided we needed to call somebody in for a tie-breaker. It’s somebody you can answer one more question for.”
I stood and checked my gun. The safety was still on, just like Jace had taught me. Leave it on until you’re ready to use it. That time was soon.
Hearing my footsteps, Gavino struggled to crane his neck, but couldn’t get a good view of me. I looked down at the gun in my hands, and at the bump in my stomach, feeling my heart starting to pound.
I was a mother-to-be. I was going to bring life into the world. Could I also bring death?
I held the gun to the back of his head as the two brothers moved to the sides. “Are you shaking in fear?” I asked.
Gavino recognized my voice. “I’m sorry! It was just business! I’m… please don’t…”
“Where is my uncle’s body? Where is Malcolm Cross?” I asked.
“I don’t know!”
I flipped the safety.
“Wait! Wait! I don’t know because Enrico whacked him, not me, but I do know that Enrico put a lot of bodies in the same area. Maybe your uncle is there.”
“Where?”
“West end of the city. There’s an abandoned steel mill out there, uh… fuckin’… GFY Steel I think it was called. Behind that is a forest. A lot of people in that forest.”
I looked at Jace, who was checking it out on his phone. When he raised his head, he shrugged and nodded. It was plausible then, the abandoned steel mill did at least exist.
“You sure?” I asked, nudging him with the gun.
“What? No! But it’s all I got I swear! Let me go, please!”
“Do you remember what I promised you? Back in that room in your house?” I asked.