No act

Bret opens his eyes, having dozed off on the couch, and quickly gets up, hearing the knock at the door. “Coming, coming,” he calls.

Undoing the deadbolt, he opens the door and looks out at Charlotte. He offers her a smile even though he doesn’t feel like it. “Hi. Come on in to the cave of wallowing.”


Jason laughs at Misty and shakes his head. “I certainly hope we’re going to win. Otherwise I’ll be spending a lot of time in that infirmary or yours.”

Heading to Katie, he grins. “Alright…we’re out of here to meet up with my contact. He’s going to take us to the right place. Now…Katie…I got a choice for you….you can either stay here, or go down to the station now. You may know when I need help, but the problem is, no one knows where we’ll be. So…I’m counting on you to be able to find me, and I know you can as long as my brain is active. You’ll have to lead the cops to the right place.”

He gives her a wink. “Between the three of us, we’ll get this mob yet.”


Within minutes, Jason and Misty are outside, getting on his bike. Jason makes sure Misty is settled before taking off out of the parking lot and speeding through town to meet Terry. It doesn’t take long, and all too soon, they’re following the car down to the far end of town in a place Jason recognized as one where not many people hung out at anymore….


…Jason wraps his hands tight and flexes his fingers, hearing the crowd shouting and stomping in the main room. He and Misty had made it inside, fought the mob to get through, and taken directions from Terry. They’d already witnessed one fight where one fighter had been taken out unconscious. There were rules about dress and weapons – no shoes, no chains, no belts and no weapons. But otherwise, it was basically a free-for-all. Now they were waiting Jason’s turn.

The man named Dane grins a little at him. “You think you can handle this?”

Jason looks at him with disgust. “Do I look scared?”

“No sire.” Dane shakes his head and give a laugh. “You sure don’t. I’m glad it’s not me in there with you, but lemme tell you, Eagle’s good. If he don’t lose, he’s got hisself a contract to stay on, and there ain’t no guys here who wanna fight him right now. You just be glad we got a doc in the house.”

“Thanks for your vote of confidence,” Jason retorts with sarcasm. “I’m here to get some quick cash, not shake in my boots.”

“Heard you took down two guys at Kelley’s.”

“So?”

“So maybe you got somethin’ to ya.”

Jason’s eyes narrow. “You wanna find out?”

Dane raises his hands. “Hey, I’m just the escort, man. I tell you where to get ready and push you out that door when the…”

A knock sounds and the head man, Terry, pokes his head in. “Ace. You’re on.”

Jason swallows any nervousness and retains his cocky air. “Great.” Slinging his arm around Misty again, he makes his way out the door into the crowd. A strobe light was flashing, making it hard to see, and the cement floor felt cold on Jason’s bare feet. His mind worked overtime, but he dared not let it get the best of him, or he’d tip off Katie too soon.

Getting to the front row, Jason releases Misty to an empty space between other shouting men and women, and heads into the caged ring. He paces a little, waiting, anticipating. He only hoped his skills would pay off.

A voice comes over the sound system, just loud enough to be heard over the shouts. “First fighter in the ring is our daring newcomer Ace!”

The audience boos at Jason, already having their favorites.

“And defending his three-week reign of house champion with a record winning streak of twelve and 0, it’s Eagle!”

The crowd gets louder with cheers and whistles, proving their like and loyalty to this fighter.

Carson can’t see much as he walks down from the other side of the room. He hated fighting someone he hadn’t seen before, but it wasn’t like he had a choice. If he won this one, he’d get to stick around for more. If not, his reputation would be on the line, putting his high position in jeopardy.

Entering the ring, he sees a tall figure in the other corner with his back turned, and tries to size him up despite the flashing lights.

Finally the room becomes dark, before the spotlights shine in the ring. Thunderous shouts, calls and jeers break forth as the two fighters come into full view.

Jason turns around.

Everything seems to stop.

Carson’s blood runs cold and he freezes, staring Jason in the eye. He knew instantly. This was the case. This was the case Jason had talked about. And now he was right in the middle of it.

Jason’s eyes widen, for a moment forgetting his undercover role.

The shouts of the onlookers taunt them, booing them for not starting the fight. Trying to stay on top of things, Jason’s mind reels. How could this be happening. Carson? His friend and fellow Elite teammate? Was a favored fighter? Who had been here for weeks? Involved in this illegal ring of crime?!

Finally he moves to dance a bit around the ring, sparing off with Carson as if testing him out. He had to move or else suspicion would be raised.

Carson is finally able to get his feet functioning, and circles with Jason, his eyes remaining locked with his. What was going to happen now? Dread slowly creeps up on him. How could this have happened?

Jason throws a light punch, causing Carson to duck. “What in blazes do you think you’re doing?” he hisses.

Carson glares at him. “Fighting you, apparently.” He swings. He didn’t know what to do, but he couldn’t just stop the match. Not only was his own identity on the line, but so was Jason’s, and this mob would eat a lawman alive.

Jason ducks out of the way. “Are you crazy?!”

Suddenly, the two men stop again, in the center of the ring, face to face. Jason looks down at him. “You lying, traitor. I cannot believe you’ve been involved in this!”

Carson glares at him, his anger starting to take over his dread. “Throw this match, Jase or you’re going to be sorry.”

“You mean to tell me that you’re just gonna treat me like any other guy whose brains you’ve busted out?”

“Look, get out of here while you still can,” Carson warns. “I am not playing a game. Walk away and you never saw me.”

From the outside, the crowd was too loud to hear anything that was being said inside the ring, and anyone would think they were simply slinging trash talk back and forth.

Jason’s eyes widen. “How dare you call yourself a law enforcer! How dare you, Carson Banks!”

“Don’t push me, Jason!”

Jason’s anger boils. How could Carson have done this…how….it was just…. Pushed over the top, Jason gives Carson’s chest a shove. “Do you realize what you’ve done?!”

Carson stumbles a step, and grits his teeth. He didn’t want to fight Jason. But he didn’t have a choice. He needed money, and Jason was undercover. Each had something to lose. Stepping forward, he takes a swing.

Jason ducks once more and comes up with a quick right so hard that it knocks Carson off his feet.

And to those watching who held undercover secrets…the hard truth is known… this was no act.

Carson slams onto the ring floor, dazed by the strong fist to his jaw. Trying to pick himself up, his eyes gaze out at the crowd, and in one horrific moment, he sees the woman he’s kept this from so well. His eyes instantly lock with hers, the only message conveyed is that of being stunned.

Before he can react, Jason is on top of him, and the brawl begins.