Page 24 of One Step Sideways

I also registered thequincunx, or the five dots just visible on his right hand between the thumb and forefinger showing he’d done time, and the five-point star on his bare chest that I knew designated his affiliation with a huge gang out of Chicago.

Fuck. No way could this kid fight him, unable to use any talent, not and be able to live. “I’ll fight him,” I said, my heart pounding in time to the noise around me.

“Wait your turn,” the man said and put a pile of cash down on the desk.

“Wait, I already paid.” I said, but the guy taking the cash shook his head.

“Champion calls dibs but it’s up to the kid.” He looked at Shae. “You want the enhanced or Karlo? He’s a seven times undefeated champion.” Karlo got out another pile of bills from his back pocket and put them down.

Shae’s eyes widened, but he didn’t even look at me. “I’ll fight Karlo.”

I opened my mouth a second time, but Ringo yanked me back and got in my face. “You cause trouble and they’ll throw you out.”

I walked away with him. “This is fucked up and you know it.”

Ringo nodded. “He must have something going on.”

But strength and speed? I glanced at Shae, who was now in the ring, no gloves. Karlo was offered a face protector, and he shook his head. Then Shae was offered the same and Karlo laughed, muttering something I couldn’t hear. Shae’s eyes narrowed, and he refused, and I absolutely knew Karlo had goaded him into it.

A crowd had gathered, and I saw Ringo talking to an older man by his side, but then he turned to me. “Theyneverget enhanced and regular fights. No oneever wants to risk it. This is going to make a ton of money for the gym that Ricky can’t turn down.”

I glanced at them in sheer exasperation as Shae and Karlo warmed up. “Well, I hope like fuck Shae’s got something because he isn’t going to last the first ten seconds, if not.”

A moment later, we all knew what.

It was speed.

Shae practically danced out of every one of Karlo’s fists. Sure the guy was smart and guessed the direction Shae dodged in, but the glancing blows were nothing. A split lip, a few bruises. Shae took one to his side that probably hurt, but the bell went before Karlo could inflict any real damage.

And Karlo was pissed. He growled and stormed back to his corner.

“It’s the first fight he’s had that has lasted more than the first round,” Ringo told me, but all my focus was on the fight. I saw the corner-man bend and whisper something to Karlo, who nodded, leaned over, and tightened his laces.

I frowned. That was odd. It seemed a nervous habit more than anything because the corner-man—a thin older Latino guy—had already checked them. It drew my attention.

His sneakers were expensive. I’d seen these particular Air Jordan’s inside on one of the gang leaders and knew they retailed at over twenty thousand dollars. I also knew the sole width for a man of Karlo’s size was 320mm because I’d paid attention, even if he bought a bigger shoe. The shoes he was wearing were over an inch thicker.

The bell dinged for the start of round two and it went the same way for a minute. Karlo not really connecting, but Shae couldn’t just keep avoiding his fists. At some point something had to happen.

Then it did.

Karlo glanced at his corner-man, and then feigned with his left, as he brought his right foot up to catch Shae on his right side. The direction of the kick was oddly deliberate and in that second I absolutely knew the shoe contained something other than Karlo’s foot.

“Knife!” I screamed and leaped for the ring.

It was enough for Karlo to pull his kick a little out of surprise, but the blood still bloomed on Shae’s skin and Shae went down hard. Everyone rushed in and for the too-many-long-seconds it took Ringo and me to get to Shae, he was surrounded.

I rammed into the crowd and moved them, then elbowed my way in as one of the corner -men bent and pressed a rag to Shae’s side, shouting for medical attention and an ambulance. I bent down and Shae’s pain-filled eyes met mine. He shook his head minutely. “No cops.”

I nodded and despite a sudden shout of protests, hooked both my arms under Shae’s body, hefted him, and ran. We were out of the gym and in Ringo’s truck by the time everyone had gotten over the shock enough to try to stop us.

“I hope you know what you’re fucking doing,” Ringo bit out. But my mind played back the length of the blade, the speed, and the direction of the injury. I knew it hadn’t hit a major organ. “Let’s get him home.”

Ringo grunted. “Danny can sew him up.”

I cradled Shae as we peeled away from the gym and wondered what mess I had gotten myself into now.

Chapter Ten

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