BOOM (8 page)

When she was gone, he grabbed
a small book of matches from one of the shelves and lit the $100 note. He threw
it on the workbench and watch it burn down to ash, leaving a small black scorch
mark on the rough wood.

He grabbed his tool kit and
headed back upstairs.

The least he could do is turn
down their money. No matter how much he needed it.

*****

It took three hours to
complete the last job. The O-rings had gone out but the pipe was also old and
rusted and he ended up replacing the whole works. It was a job he could usually
finish in half the time but his mind kept slipping back to the suite upstairs
and the crying girl.

Now he got off the elevator,
wet and tired, and slowly getting pissed off to boot. He slammed the tool belt
back onto the table and went to the small fridge sitting in the corner. He
grabbed a bottle of water and chugged it, then went into the small apartment.

The girl was sitting on his
bed.

Punchy felt his jaw drop and
froze. The girl’s eyes were red and swollen from crying and her bottom lip was
fat and busted from where someone had slapped her. He closed the door behind
him and knelt on the floor of the room before the cot.

She was talking now, too fast
for him to make out what she was saying. He motioned for her to stop and
grabbed the card from his pocket. He felt foolish as she read it and more tears
slid down her cheeks. She gave the card back to him and he slid it back into
his pocket.

“They’re looking for me,” she
said. “Please. You have to help me. They kidnapped me. I think they’re going
to…to sell me to someone.” She looked off into the corner. “They…they hurt me…”
Punchy shushed her and nodded that he understood. “I ran down the stairs but
they saw me. One of them was in the lobby and…and I’m just so scared.”

Punchy patted the girl’s knee
and frowned.

Suddenly the girl’s eyes grew
large with fear and her mouth formed a sold O. He looked at her puzzled.

“The elevator. The doors just
dinged open.”

Punchy summed it all up
quickly in his mind. She needed help. They were looking for her. They were here
now.

He held one finger to his
lips.
Stay quiet.
The girl showed she understood. Quickly the handyman
turned and walked out of the apartment. He shut the door closed behind him.

Russell and Billy were
searching the storage side of the basement. He watched them for a few seconds,
kicking over decorations and calling out. He stepped around the corner and
showed himself.

Russell noticed him
immediately and motioned to Billy. They walked over to where Punchy stood. He
watched their lips move.

“Hey Billy. It’s the retard.”
Russell stepped forward and moved close to Punchy. “Hey there, big guy, have
you seen a hot little piece of ass running around…” Punchy sent a sharp jab
into Russell’s face. He felt his fist connect with the man’s nose, felt the
crunch of the cartilage and the give of the bone as it slid back into Russell’s
head.

A small gurgle escaped from
Russell’s lips as blood exploded from his nose. He slumped quickly to the
floor, dead.

Billy stood shocked. Then he
began to move. He ran at Punchy and delivered a huge haymaker aimed at the
bigger man’s head. Billy put all he had into the punch and Punchy knew that
this was a mistake. He moved back slightly, and the off balance blow glanced
off the side of his head.

Punchy had hardly gotten the
full brunt of the attack but it still hurt like hell. His cheek went numb, but
Billy had too much momentum and began to pitch forward. Punchy landed two hard
hits to the back of the man’s head and Billy skidded along the floor.

Billy slowly got to his hands
and knees, shaking the cobwebs from his head. He looked up at Punchy who began
to dance and weave around the youth.

“You fucking nancy ass.
You’re dead.” Billy got to his feet. Punchy sent two jabs to the side of the
man’s face. Billy’s head rocked with each shot. He staggered forward and Punchy
ducked down and swung upward with a massive uppercut.

Billy was knocked off his
feet and his head bounced off the concrete floor. Punchy stood over him, fists
raised, waiting for the man to move. He didn’t.

Punchy stepped over the prone
body and opened the apartment. The girl stood inside and he motioned for her to
come out. She looked at the still bodies of her captors and turned back to
Punchy. He pointed upstairs and she nodded. They moved to the elevator.

Once inside, Punchy hit the
button for the first floor. He could feel the girl’s eyes on him and he tried
to look at everything else, the ceiling, the glowing button, the sealed doors.
It had been quite a while since he was so close to a female before. He was
nervous and the adrenaline from downstairs was beginning to wear off.

Now with the girl, they could
call the police. They would go to the manager’s office and report what had
happened. If they could make it that far, he was sure the girl would be safe.

The doors slid open at the
first floor lobby. Crow stood before them. No one moved, too surprised to
react.

The girl hit the button for
the top floor but before the doors could close Crow leapt at Punchy. He hit the
handyman twice and stars exploded in Punchy’s vision.

The doors slid closed and the
men began to grapple as the girl dodged to one side. Punchy hit Crow in the
stomach but the assailant shrugged it off. Crow had both hands behind Punchy’s
neck and he pulled down and head butted the former boxer. Sharp pain radiated
inside Punchy’s skull. It was a familiar pain and his mind flashbacked to
Svenson dancing before him, shocking him with those quick sharp jabs.

Crow jumped back and hit
Punchy in the nose. Blood squirted and Punchy realized his nose was broken
again. But he found himself strangely satisfied. Crow backed away and got ready
to swing in again but stopped. Punchy was smiling at him.

Unlike the two punks
downstairs, this kid could fight.

Punchy beckoned Crow to come
on. Crow ducked in but was met with a hook to the side of the face he staggered
against the side wall of the elevator. The doors slid open.

They were on the third floor.
An old woman holding a small Yorkshire got ready to enter the car then stopped.
She glanced at the two bloody men beating each other senseless.

The old lady screamed.

The girl moved to leave the
elevator but Crow pushed her back into the corner. Punchy smacked him against
the wall but Crow spun and Punchy found himself being flung through the
elevator doors.

The doors slid closed on
Punchy’s body then re-opened again.

The old lady let out a second
scream.

Punchy leapt back into the
car and slammed into Crow. He unleashed a flurry of blows working inside of
Crow’s hands and punishing the body. Crow wheezed and tried to circle away.
Punchy met him with another hook to the side of the face.

The girl punched the button
to keep the doors open. She waited for a chance to escape but none came. The
old woman was disappearing down the hallway, the dog slung over one shoulder
watching the fight with interest.

Crow kicked out and his foot
landed in Punchy’s stomach. All of the air left his body and he staggered back.
Crow punched him in the face and Punchy flew back through the open elevator
doors and landed in the hallway.

He stared up through blurred
vision and saw the girl looking helplessly down at him. Crow pushed her back
against the corner and hit the elevator button. The doors closed.

*****

Punchy staggered to his feet.
His head was ringing and his vision was fogging in and out. He spat a mouthful
of blood onto the hallway carpet. Eyes peeked out from behind doors as the 3
^rd
floor guests peered out at the beaten man.

Punchy wiped his eyes clear
with one hand and headed for the stairs. He knocked the heavy door open and
staggered up the two flights to the 5
^th
floor hallway. He stumbled
down the hall, heading for room 532.

He rounded to corner just in
time to see Crow push the girl through the suite’s doorway. Crow glanced back
and saw Punchy coming. He called something into the suite and pulled the door
closed.

Crow ran at Punchy with his
hands up. He connected with a straight right. Punchy absorbed the blow. Another
right followed by a left pushed Punchy back a few steps, but the boxer regained
his composure quickly and pushed forward.

He ducked a hook from Crow
and again started to work the body. Left right left right left right. Crow
staggered back into the wall. Punchy sent two right jabs into the man’s face,
making his eyes water. Then followed with a left cross and a right uppercut.
Crow rocked back against the wall.

Punchy threw another round of
jabs. Crow’s head ricocheted back and forth. Punchy kneed him in the stomach
doubling the man over. He clasped both hands together and delivered a powerful
ax handle blow across the back of Crow’s neck.

Crow went down.

Punchy sucked deep lungfuls
of air. Everything hurt. His knuckles were split open and bleeding heavily and
bells rang in his head louder than ever.

He shook the fog away. It
took a bit longer to clear this time.

He went to the suite door and
kicked it in.

They were in the living room.
Weston still sat as before, watching attentively as Punchy entered the room.
The girl was nowhere to be seen. Punchy assumed she was in the bedroom.

Hayden stood by the windows.
He flicked open the butterfly knife and pointed the blade at the new arrival.

“The handyman is here,
Hayden,” Weston spoke. “Do we have something that needs to be repaired?”

“No, boss.” Hayden stepped
from the windows and now stood between Punchy and Weston.

“Shame,” Weston replied.
Punchy could barely make out what they were saying through his blurred vision.
“What do you need if you are not here to fix something, sir?”

Punchy motioned to the
bedroom.

Weston smiled. “Oh, you want
the girl. Heh, I understand. She is a delightful young thing. The boys were
telling me earlier how lovely she was.” He leaned forward. “How juicy.” Punchy
glared at the man.

“Unfortunately, she is not
mine to give.” Weston picked up his drink and took a sip. “She has just been
paid for. Just within the past hour. Otherwise, we could have worked out a
deal. But it seems she is destined to go on a little trip. To fulfill a special
destiny.”

Hayden flicked the knife
closed, then back open again. Weston leaned back in the chair.

“So you should just leave. We
will let bygones be bygones. I’ll forgive the trespasses made on my other
associates. They were……expendable.”

Punchy stepped forward and
Hayden stiffened. The blade glinted under the suite’s lights. He pointed at the
bedroom door again, staring daggers at Weston.

“Not going to leave, huh?
Okay. Suit yourself.” Weston straightened one of the cuffs on his perfect suit.
“Kill him, Hayden.”

Hayden struck out with the
knife and Punchy ducked back into the hallway. Hayden sliced outwards and this
time the blade nicked Punchy’s arm. He grimaced at the visceral stinging that
now radiated there. He swung a hook at Hayden’s head which connected solidly.
The goon stumbled back and then approached slowly with the blade held out in
front.

Punchy turned and Hayden
followed with the blade. The handyman dodged back into the kitchen area. He
swung the fridge door open as Hayden lunged again and the knife bounced off the
plastic frame of the door. Punchy threw two jabs at Hayden’s head but he was
too far away to connect.

Hayden sliced at Punchy again
and the boxer ducked backwards. He reached in and grabbed Hayden’s wrist and
twisted. There was a cracking sound and Hayden yowled in pain, dropping the
blade to the floor.

Hayden kneed Punchy in the
gut as they fell grappling. Punchy took the blow and answered with an elbow to
Hayden’s temple. They rolled back into the hallway, a few feet from the knife.

Punchy rolled on top of
Hayden just as the young man reached out and grabbed the blade. As Hayden
thrust the knife up at Punchy’s face, the handyman stuck his arm inside of
Hayden’s elbow causing the goon’s arm to bend quickly the other way. With his
other hand he caught the knife hand and thrust downward hard, putting all his
weight behind the attack. The blade lodged into Hayden’s forehead with a THUNK.

Punchy rose to his knees and
pulled the knife from Hayden’s head. Bits of blood and brain flicked from the
blade and landed on the hallway carpet.

He stood up and turned to
face Weston. Instantly, pain shot through his stomach and back. He fell against
the wall and slid slowly into the living area. He looked down and saw blood
flowing from a small round hole.

Weston was standing now,
still pointing the handgun at Punchy. He was talking but Punchy could not make
out what he was saying. His vision blurred and he slumped down to the floor,
leaning against the wall. Blackness faded in and out across his eyes. His pants
were soaked and he realized it was from blood.