Some of the boys nod.
“Got it?” Pierce says, raising his voice.
“Yes,” all the boys say together.
“Now go on, split off into pairs. Get into this leg lock,” he says, tapping the screen. “No strength, this is just practice. Work the angles, see how you can slip it. I’ll come by in a bit to check on you.”
He jerks his head, and the boys immediately get up, pair off, and then he walks toward me, his brow creased.
“Everything alright? I didn’t hear from you for a while.”
I nod at him. “Yeah, things got a bit crazy. Just been cooling down.”
He sticks two fists out, and I tap them. Fighter’s tradition.
“This fight got pretty hairy, eh?” he asks, looking back at the television.
“You know, I honestly thought I might lose that fight. I was a little off that night. When he got on my back… Where’d you get that video, anyway?”
“MMA-Underground dot com,” he says.
I grin. “Dan Peterson’s website.”
“Yeah, you know him?”
“Nah,” I say, shaking my head.
“Bullshit. I read the interview.”
“What did it say?”
“Usual fluff piece. Oversold you.”
I laugh, look around the gym, see brand new punching bags. “Doing well?”
“We just got a donation, actually.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. Anonymous, but it was enough to buy some new equipment for the boys.”
“It really helps them?” I look at the boys now all lying on mats, practicing – and mostly failing – to properly get out of a leg-lock. It’s a technique that takes weeks of practice to even perform semi-competently. Pierce is setting up long-term goals for these boys.
“They have a ways to come,” Pierce says, noticing their form with me. “But yes, it really does. Most of these boys came in scared, bullied at school. They didn’t know how to stand up for themselves. They didn’t believe that they had inherent worth. This helps them to build their confidence, and teach them the value of hard work. I’m sure your training helped you. It did me.”
I nod. “Yeah, of course.”
“So,” Pierce says. He looks me up and down. “Damn, you got pretty beat up. What’s that?” He points at my jaw.
“Got sliced by a knife. Stitches just came out a few days ago.”
“Fucking hell.”
“At least I wasn’t shot.”
He laughs. “I got a tattoo around that scar on my foot.”
“Yeah?”
“Only time I’ve ever had something go right through my body.”
I push my lips together. That’s definitely one way of looking at it.
“Scratch that off the bucket list, I guess,” I say.
“What is it, Duncan?” he asks after a moment. “Just tell me.”
“I came to say thanks, for helping out.”
“Didn’t do much.”
“Thanks, anyway. I appreciate it.”
I hear the sound of drilling, frown, look around.
“We’re expanding,” he says. “Onto the floor above.” He looks up. “Penny wants to get some girls in the gym, you know, girls like these boys.”
“Yeah?”
“Teach them fitness, good health, get them exercising, maybe even have me do some light fighting training with them. It’s going to be really cheap, she’s managed to get some sponsors, women’s organizations who will help out. We’ve got physical trainers who have volunteered to work with the girls for free, all women of course.”
“That sounds… really fucking good, Pierce.”
“We’re starting to make waves, man. People are donating in small amounts regularly. We’re doing a little light merchandising, selling sports drinks that aren’t all loaded with sugary crap, or stimulants like caffeine or yohimbine.”
“Fletcherade, huh?”
“That’s right.”
“Seems like you’re doing well. I’m glad.”
“You know, with the extra space upstairs, I’d love to take on more boys.”
“Yeah?”
I see the look in his eye, the smirk at his lips, return it.
“Guy like Duncan ‘Creature’ Malone would be a real attraction.”
“You think so?”
“Can’t pay you much, but I’m pretty sure you’ve got a lot tucked away from that thirty-three-to-nil streak you went on.”
“Good guess.”
“Interested?”
I look around. I could work with these boys. Help them, guide them. Give them something I never had enough of in my youth.
“It’s not just the fighting or the training,” Pierce says. “It’s more…. What’s the word Penny used? Wholesome?”