To Catch an Hombre – Part Two
by Stephen M. Wolterstorff
There was a moment of silence. El Hombre de Silla and Buff Mysterio Jr. stared at each other, neither wanting to blink and give each other the edge. Slowly they walked towards each other, preparing to collide. All eyes were upon them, anticipating the action to follow. Well, almost all eyes were upon them as Lori decided to take advantage of the distraction to untie Ric. She slipped up behind him and started working on the knots. "Hello?" Ric asked softly.
"Hello," Lori responded.
Ric exhaled. "Good, I was hoping it was you. Sitting in this chair was getting boring."
"I have a funny hunch that things are going to get very interesting very soon."
"I don't need a hunch on this one."
"I suppose not. I think I've got this almost done."
"Good."
"We're fighting our way out of here."
"Yup."
"Ready?"
"Yup."
"Here we go." Ric exploded out of the chair, drawing attention back to himself. He and Lori stood back to back, moving into their forms and stances, preparing themselves for battle.
It was on.
* * *
Lori sighed as Panthra approached her. "Is this fight really necessary?"
Panthra delivered a wide-eyed stare of disbelief. "Well, let's see. You and your friend invade our turf in an attempt to mess up our plans. Hmm, gee, ya think?"
"Well, you kidnapped my friend."
"You stuck your nose where it didn't belong."
"Well you . . ." Lori trailed off. "No, you weren't there then, were you?" Panthra shook her head no. "I tried to talk you out of it. If it must happen, then it must."
"Oh, it must." Panthra threw a punch which Lori sidestepped. Halfheartedly Lori threw a punch back which Panthra easily dodged. Apart from her desire to free Ric, why was she fighting this woman again? The first time they'd fought, she was defending herself because Panthra had attacked her. This time it felt very awkward to be fighting. She had no real anger towards Panthra, just a sense of . . . Lori's thoughts were disrupted by a punch to the face that she had been too distracted to block. She staggered back a few steps until the shock wore off. Lori's eyes shone with pain and anger. She no longer questioned her reasons for fighting.
Lori stepped forward suddenly. Panthra attempted another punch out of surprise more than anything else, but Lori slid around it. Before Panthra could retract her arm, Lori connected with a palm strike to the chest. Considering Lori's emotional state, she did not pull her attack in any way. All the fury she could manage at the moment was focused into the palm that collided with Panthra's chest.
It was Panthra's turn to stagger back. She wheezed slightly, the wind knocked from her, stunned by the ferocity of Lori's attack. As she regained her senses, she saw Lori darting forward, her right foot flying towards her. Panthra barely raised her hand to deflect some of the blow to her head. Lori flung another palm strike and connected with Panthra. This one was less angry and Panthra was more braced for this one than the first one but it hit in the same area as the first. Now she knew the blow had left a mark because it stung.
Lori's next kick took out Panthra's right knee causing her to drop. Lori attempted a punch to Panthra's head but Panthra managed to block it, swatting the hand away. Panthra bounded to her feet, ignoring the weakness in her knee and blocked another punch.
Lori tried a kick to Panthra's side. Panthra caught the oncoming foot and flung it away. Before Lori could regain her balance, Panthra charged and tackled Lori to the cold hard cement. The violence of the impact surprised her for a moment but the fact that Panthra was still atop her forced her to focus. She raised her hands to cover her face. Panthra rained down blow after blow to Lori's head, working to get through her defenses. Lori managed to block the majority of each impact, but not all of it. Slowly but surely she was being beat up and needed to change the situation promptly.
Quickly, Lori shifted her weight to the side, trying to throw Panthra's balance off. Panthra's eyes displayed her surprise. While she maintained her position and balance, she was also forced to stop punching at Lori. When Panthra went to resume her attack, Lori grabbed the attacking fist and shifted her weight again, rolling to the side while still grappling with Panthra.
They rolled back and forth, fighting for dominance, looking for that extra bit of leverage over their opponent. While they rolled, Lori jerked Panthra's arm to the side, banging her elbow into the concrete. Panthra pulled the arm back instinctively and Lori rolled atop her, pinning her to the ground.
For just a moment, Lori paused. She took a deep breath. She pulled her hair back from her face. Unfortunately for her, this moment was all Panthra needed to recuperate as well. Panthra leaned up and punched Lori solidly in the stomach. With a loud 'whoosh' all the air escaped Lori's body. By the time she'd regained some of it, Panthra had rolled her over and Lori once again had her back to the concrete.
Panthra fired a punch straight down at Lori's face. Lori pulled her head sharply to the side and managed to avoid the punch entirely. There was no time to attempt to pull the punch back. Panthra's punch connected with the unforgiving concrete floor.
Clutching her hand in pain, Panthra rolled away, off of Lori. It seemed likely that she'd broken something. Panthra fought through the pain and started dragging herself back up. She climbed to her knees, her damaged hand tucked defensively to her side and saw Lori standing before her. Lori's foot sped towards her head on the side with the damaged hand. Panthra could do nothing to block or avoid the kick. It connected with the side of Panthra's head and she fell back to the concrete, unconscious.
* * *
El Titanico smiled as Ric approached. "Hey Kung Fu, back for more, huh?"
Ric raised his eyebrows at the comment. "Evidentally wrestle dork."
"Wrestle dork?" El Titanico questioned.
Ric shrugged. "I don't watch wrestling so I don't know any good wrestling related insults."
"I see. I'm sure I can come up with a few more martial arts insults."
"Oh really?"
"Sure. How's your back doing Bruce Li?"
Ric winced. "I see your point. That was pretty low. So, what does your hair look like when you take that mask off?"
El Titanico sputtered. "Hey, shut up!"
"Why? Because I mentioned your hair?" Ric's expression remained as innocent as possible but inside he was grinning. He could smell the blood on the water now.
They started circling each other. "Nevermind that Chang Cheh. You just worry about yourself."
"First off, I'm not worried about myself, I'm worried about what I might do to you." El Titanico made the 'oh, I'm scaried' noise in return. "Secondly, what you seem to have forgotten is that Chang Cheh was a director so . . ." Ric stopped talking. He had distracted himself with his trash talking to such a degree that he had neglected to pay sufficient attention to his locale. In short, he wasn't looking where he was going and tripped.
That brief stumble was all the opening that El Titanico needed. He pounced on Ric, sledging him in the back with both fists. Ric stumbled further but didn't fall. El Titanico continued to attack, pounding on Ric's already injured back with punches and forearms until a particularly well directed forearm blow knocked Ric to the ground.
Ric lay there and panted for a moment, surprised that he had this moment to rest but very grateful for it all the same. The muscles in his back were starting to tighten up. That was not good. El Titanico grabbed him by the hair and dragged him to his feet. Still stunned, Ric made no effort to resist when El Titanico picked him up. The motion only further disorientated him as he seemed to be upside down, then not again and then maybe was again. He became reorientated only when his back impacted into the cement after El Titanico slammed him down.
El Titanico strutted a bit while he watched Ric writhe in pain on the ground. This would be over in a heartbeat. He continued to watch as Ric worked to regain his feet, taunting him onward and upward. Casually he moved in on Ric, only to be blasted by a palm thrust to the chest. El Titanico staggered back from the impact of Ric's instinctive move.
This gave Ric a chance to focus his mind and energy. When El Titanico turned back around, Ric was there with a jumping snap kick that caught El Titanico in the chest. The only thing that saved El Titanico from catching it in the chin was his height. Ric couldn't jump that high even when uninjured.
Ric kept on the attack. Once El Titanico's footing stabilized, Ric was waiting for him with a thrust to the throat. Choking, El Titanico grabbed at his throat and barely avoided a kick to the side. He didn't avoid another chop which caught him in the chest. El Titanico stepped back. Ric kicked El Titanico in the knee, making him drop in pain. Now El Titanico was no longer quite so tall. Ric focused briefly, channeled his energy and directed an enzigiri kick to the back of El Titanico's neck. El Titanico took this opportunity to fall to the ground.
It was now El Titanico's turn to lay there in surprise on the ground, desperately working to regain his breath. Unfortunately for him Ric was not taunting him and giving him a chance to recuperate. Ric was running at him, then jumping at him, working on a flying stomp to El Titanico's chest. El Titanico yelped and managed to roll out of the way. He spun to his feet and walked into a knife edge chop to the chest from Ric. This staggered El Titanico slightly but not enough where he couldn't retailiate with a chest chop of his own. Ric half stepped back from the force of the blow and then stepped forward, blasting away with another chest chop. El Titanico winced. His chest throbbed from the chops. He could feel every finger printed onto his chest. He focused and returned fire.
Ric spun and staggered back from the force of the blow. He looked dazed. El Titanico saw his opportunity and charged. As he snatched at him, Ric spun like a matador avoiding a bull. Ric kicked El Titanico in the back of the knee, forcing him to lower his position so that Ric could reach his throat. Ric slapped a choke hold onto El Titanico. The hold put pressure on the wound Ric had generated with the enzigiri kick earlier and that pressure caused El Titanico great pain. He thrashed, his mind blinded by the pain, quickly using up his remaining oxygen. A minute later Ric released the hold and lowered El Titanico to the ground unconscious.
* * *
El Hombre de Silla and Buff Mysterio Jr crashed together in the traditional wrestling collar and elbow tieup. They pushed and shoved at each other, trying to get a feel for the condition of their opponent.
El Hombre sensed a slight advantage and decided to go with it. He pushed off of Buff and then grabbed him back in a side headlock.The hold gave him a chance to think about the situation and plan while inconviencing Buff. El Hombre's left arm surrounded Buff's head as his right hand pulled his left arm tight.
Buff smacked at El Hombre's back until he found his positioning relative to El Hombre. He maneuvered himself to maximize his leverage and pushed away El Hombre. Feeling his hold give, El Hombre let go and continued moving away from Buff a few steps rather than fall down. He regained his footing and turned to face Buff again. His eyes lit up in surprise at the sight that met him and he quickly ducked underneath Buff's oncoming arm.
Buff staggered a few extra steps after missing the clothsline. Agitated, Buff pulled himself to his full height and flexed his many muscles. El Hombre had seen this move before. He remained unphased. They stalked each other in a circle for a moment before returning to the collar and elbow tieup.
With a push and a shove it was Buff's turn to slap a side headlock onto El Hombre. El Hombre grunted as he felt for his positioning. He shoved Buff free from the headlock. Buff stumbled forward and spun around, hoping to turn before El Hombre could ready himself. He was too slow. El Hombre was waiting for him and quickly fired off a chop to Buff's chest. While the move knocked the air from him, Buff refused to allow the blow to knock him back. El Hombre fired off another chest chop and connected. He prepared for a third, but Buff retorted with a chest chop of his own. The impact knocked El Hombre back a step. Buff took advantage of the opening to deliver another chop. El Hombre stepped back again.
Buff smiled, feeling the momentum had turned his way. He stepped forward and received a punch in the stomach for his overconfidence. El Hombre slapped on another side headlock and ground it in tight.
Buff was annoyed at being in the side headlock. He shoved at El Hombre but the headlock was locked in so tight that they both just staggered forward. El Hombre ground the headlock in even tighter after this, as tight as he was able. Buff didn't care for this at all. Through the pain he managed to shift his position in the hold. He was able to open the gap between them slightly, just enough to swing a forearm into El Hombre's back. When El Hombre refused to let go, Buff hit him again. After the third forearm El Hombre de Silla let go of the hold. Both men took a moment to massage the pain from their system before returning to the collar and elbow tieup.
Once again the collar and elbow tieup ended with Buff angry on the losing end of a side headlock. This time he quickly moved to shove El Hombre off and succeeded as he shoved before El Hombre could lock the hold in tightly. El Hombre staggered away, ducked the oncoming clothsline and spun to face Buff. This time he was a step too slow. Buff had already turned and chopped at El Hombre's chest. He staggered back, searching for breath, as the blows continued. After four such blows to the chest, Buff felt the time was finally right. He charged again, arm raised at chest level. The clothsline connected and El Hombre was knocked to the cold concrete below with only his instincts preventing his head from cracking on the floor.
Even without his head bouncing off the concrete, there was still a moment when El Hombre couldn't move. The shock of impacting with the ground had jolted through his body, stunning it. He fought through it and started to roll over, to climb to his feet. Buff's foot stomping into his chest stopped that idea. The air exploded out of him again in a loud 'whooomph'. The stomping continued.
Instinct kicked in again. Blinded by pain and lack of air, El Hombre wasn't sure how he caught Buff's foot before it impacted with his chest again but he was thankful for the reflexs that had allowed him to do so. Buff teetered, now off balance. El Hombre flung the foot from him with all the energy his leverage allowed. Buff tumbled to the ground. By the time he'd leapt to his feet, El Hombre was also back up and ready to go.
El Hombre reached out for the collar and elbow tieup but was topped by a kick to the stomach that his instincts didn't block. Once again air escaped him in a hurry, forcing him to dip into energy reserves early rather than pacing his energy out slowly. Buff took his forearm and clubbed El Hombre solidly in the back. Once El Hombre began to stand up straight again, Buff went to kick him in the stomach again. This time El Hombre caught the foot. Buff hopped for a moment, regained his balance and then jumped, rotated and directed an enziguri kick towards the back of El Hombre's head. El Hombre ducked, but held onto Buff's foot. Since Buff was already facing the ground, El Hombre shifted his centre of gravity and began twisting Buff's ankle. Buff yipped in surprise and quickly realized he wasn't balanced with any kind of leverage that might help him extract himself from the hold. He was stuck.
Once the shock of the initial pain had worn off, Buff found it easier to think about his situation. The pressure on his ankle was painful but he could endure it for awhile. The concern he had was how it would feel if he couldn't extract himself from the hold soon, how his ankle would hold up if he tried to pick up El Hombre for a power move. He would not let this fight end here. It wouldn't let it be this quick, this easy.
Buff raised himself up, as if he was doing a push-up and swung all his weight to the right, trying to pull El Hombre off balance. El Hombre leaned with him and pulled him back to balanced. Buff tried to quickly throw his weight to the left. El Hombre pulled him back from that as well. Buff grew frustrated. He did his best to look at where El Hombre's feet were to guess where the rest of him was located. He kicked at El Hombre with his free left foot and caught El Hombre on his left elbow. El Hombre's arm went numb. He dropped the ankle lock. Buff worked to massage life back into his ankle while El Hombre rubbed his aching elbow.
El Hombre watched as Buff hopped to his feet and did his best to pretend that his ankle didn't hurt at all. He shifted his weight ever so slightly off the injured ankle. That little give was the truth. He knew he couldn't match Buff for strength but he could stop him. He had to return the attack to the ankle.
He aimed a chop at Buff's chest and connected when Buff couldn't get out of the way in time. El Hombre fired off another and then another, staggering Buff back. As El Hombre stepped forward to continue his attack, Buff clumsily kicked at him with the bad foot. Eagerly El Hombre went to block the move and grab hold of that damaged ankle again. As soon as he committed himself to the action, Buff snapped the foot back. El Hombre had been over eager, like a simple minded rookie. He knew it would cost him.
The thought repeated in his brain and overwhelmed it as Buff punched him in the head. He tried to shake it off but Buff repeated the action. Groggy, he was unable to dodge when Buff jumped in the air in front of him. El Hombre saw the dropkick coming and managed to block some of it with his left arm but that only made it tingle again and it didn't block much. The impact still sent him staggering back into the wooden boxes that surrounded their fighting area. Crashing into the side of the box hurt him more than the drop kick had done. After he examined his side, he realized why this had caused more pain: the impact had ripped his wound back open and he was bleeding again, worse than previously.
It was now his turn to stand back up and act as if nothing had happened. Buff was rushing at him, needing to follow up his successful strike with another to fully swing the momentum his way. Buff tried to punch him, but El Hombre blocked every attempt. Buff chopped at his chest but El Hombre matched him chop for chop. Buff tried kicks but El Hombre was ready to grab his foot every time and Buff pulled back.
They returned to the collar and elbow tie-up. El Hombre struggled for dominance but the hold pulled at his wounded side and Buff soon had the better of him with a side headlock. He pulled El Hombre off balance and drove a knee into his belly. Gasping, El Hombre was unable to stand up once Buff released the headlock. Buff leaned over, threw El Hombre's right arm over his own neck, grabbed one of El Hombre's belt loops, grunted and hoisted El Hombre up. For a brief moment, all the blood rushed to El Hombre's head, further disorientating him. Then he felt the familiar dropping sensation as Buff fell back, completing the suplex manuever. While both men fell on their backs, Buff was able to control the fall making El Hombre take the brunt of the impact.
El Hombre lay motionless, stunned by the impact, while Buff climbed to his feet. He lay there, staring at the ceiling for a moment while he checked on his body. Everything seemed to be checking in correctly. A boot to the chest focused his attention again. He rolled to the side and climbed back to his feet. A large circle of sweat and blood marked his former position. That secret was out now, Buff had to know he was wounded. Did he know where?
Buff flew at him, running towards the nearby boxes, springboarding off of one and leaping crossbody style at El Hombre. For his part, El Hombre was not prepared for this action and collapsed as Buff crashed into his chest. El Hombre's head spun. Buff pulled El Hombre to his feet, looking to dole out more punishment. Buff wrapped his arms around El Hombre, as if hugging him, lifted him slightly, spun and flung himself to the ground with El Hombre inbetween himself and the ground. At the last possible second, he pulled his hands out of the way so that they landed on El Hombre's back, not Buff's hands.
Once again El Hombre found himself staring at the warehouse ceiling. He didn't care for the view. He admitted to himself that part of the reason for his dislike could be due to the fact that he couldn't see it very well. Everything seemed hazy and dark. He felt the tug on his mask pulling him up. He went with it, following his instincts if nothing else. His arm was flung over Buff's neck again, but he didn't fight it. Buff hoisted El Hombre into the air but then El Hombre moved, twisted and spun his weight so that, instead of Buff slamming him to the ground again, El Hombre was able to land on his feet behind Buff. Quickly, before Buff could turn around, El Hombre wrapped his left arm around the underside of Buff's chin. He braced his left arm on his right arm, which he'd pressed to the right side of Buff's head.
This hold, the sleeper hold, did a number of things at once. It restricted the blood flow to the carodid artery which impacted the amount of oxygen that could reach Buff's brain and would eventually put him to sleep. At the same time, the hold required very little energy on El Hombre's part to maintain it if Buff did not struggle against it properly. This would allow El Hombre to have a moment to catch his breath and let his head clear. If Buff did find a way to exit the hold before it put him to sleep, it might also weaken him to the point that El Hombre could return his attack to Buff's damaged ankle with less resistance on Buff's part.
Buff did not immediately escape the sleeper hold. The combination of El Hombre's escape from the suplex and the application of the sleeper hold had sufficently stunned him so that his strategic designs as well as his instincts were unable to assist. By the time conscious thought was once again available to him, he was starting to fade from loss of oxygen. Already winded, he lashed out, driving an elbow back into El Hombre's wounded side. El Hombre released the hold but resisted the urge to grab the source of his pain. Both he and Buff were hunched opver, gasping for breath.
El Hombre forced himself to move first, driving his clenched fists into Buff's back, knocking him to the ground. He grabbed for Buff's foot but Buff was coherent enough to roll away from him. Buff hopped up to his feet but did so too fast. He was still fighting the effects of the sleeper hold and the sudden rise to his feet had pushed the blood in his body to all the wrong places. Buff staggered. El Hombre noticed. He ran at Buff and knocked him down with a forearm smash. As quickly as he could manage, El Hombre returned to Buff, dragged him off the ground, picked him up to his side, parallel to the ground, and drove him down in a side slam move.
Once again El Hombre went for Buff's foot. Buff managed to kick him away. As El Hombre moved back in towards Buff, Buff clambered back to his feet. El Hombre went to kick Buff in the stomach but Buff grabbed his foot. For a moment El Hombre hopped, trying to regain his balance. Buff dropped El Hombre's foot and sped towards him. Before El Hombre's foot could reach the ground, Buff had clothslined him to the ground.
Buff breathed deeply for a moment and then scooped El Hombre up and bodyslammed him back down. While El Hombre lay there, working to get his body to respond to requests, Buff scampered up the nearby stack of crates until he was three crates high, about twelve feet in the air. He acted quickly, aware of the fact that El Hombre could recover at any moment. Buff lined himself up and then launched himself into the air, his right leg extended to impact into El Hombre's upper chest. El Hombre was unable to move and could only watch as the leg drew closer and closer. Buff's aim was perfect. His leg impacted with El Hombre's chest forceably driving the air from his lungs. Buff rolled to the side, clutching his lower back. While he had directed most of his weight onto the leg he dropped onto El Hombre, the impact had still jarred his spine. He rolled around in pain for a moment and then slowly dragged himself to his feet. Buff smiled. It was over, that move had to had finished El Hombre de Silla. He turned around in order to view the fruit of his labour.
El Hombre had rolled onto his stomach. Slowly, showing signs of pain, he was lifting himself up to all fours.
Buff's jaw dropped slightly. How could that not have finished him? His jaw stiffened with rage. Fine. If he was too stupid to stay down after his guillotine leg drop, then he had something that would definitely put him away. He stomped over to El Hombre and trapped El Hombre's head between his legs. Buff reached down and wrapped him arms around El Hombre's midsection, locking his hands together. In one swift and smooth motion he lifted El Hombre into the air, flipping him over as he did so. For a moment El Hombre hovered there, about eye height with Buff, his back parallel with the ground, until Buff flung him down, back first onto the concrete. This time Buff was right. The powerbomb knocked El Hombre unconscious. Apart from the gentle rise and fall of his chest, El Hombre was motionless.
Buff looked down on his handiwork and smiled. He inhaled and exhaled deeply, working to regain the oxygen and energy he had lost while fighting. He glanced in the direction of Lori and Ric. He got the impression that they were going to come at him next. He did not have a problem with this concept and was willing to express it. "You two are next huh? Fine by me. One on one, two on one, it makes no difference to me. It's nothing I haven't seen and dealt with before. When the dust finally settles, it'll be Buff Mysterio, standing tall, like always."
The sound of clapping echoed down from the staircase. "Wonderful, wonderful," a man enthused. Buff relaxed his pose. He recognized the voice. He was willing to see what his employer wished him to do next.
He was a stocky man, full of muscle. His deep blue suit was carefully tailored around him. His dark hair was precisely combed. His beard was nearly trimmed. As he neared Buff, the clapping ceased and his hands were put to the use of holding the cigar that had previously been clamped between his teeth. "I watched everything from the security monitors. He never had a chance. Just wonderful."
"You should have expected no less Mr. Ravenheart."
Surprise briefly flickered across his face. "I was unaware that you had been told my identity. In fact, they were told to not express my identity to you until your tasks were complete."
"No one told me your identity but I was able to figure it out all the same. Just because the mission appeals to me doesn't mean I'm not going to figure out who the mission is for."
Ravenheart laughed enthusicatically. "I like you more and more. I can see that we will have a long and properous relationship."
"I'm glad you think so Mr. Ravenheart."
"Please, we are friends now. Call me Nikolas."
"Okay Nikolas, what task do you have for your well paid assistant?" He gestured towards Lori and Ric. "Do you need me to 'subdue' them?"
"Perhaps, but not yet. First I need you to complete your first task." Buff stared at him blankly. "Deal with El Hombre de Silla."
Buff still looked confused. "El Hombre is all sorts of dealt with." To prove his point, he nudged El Hombre with his foot. El Hombre didn't stir. "See? He's down for a ten-count easy. I'm not sure how much more dealt with he can get."
"I require the permanent sort of dealt with. I was under the understanding that this had been communicated to you."
Buff just stared. "What?"
Ravenheart grew tired of the delay. "What, what, what?!?" he parroted. "I do not understand the problem. This man is your sworn enemy, why do you hesitate to destroy him?"
Buff shook his head and sighed. "Why is it that you guys dislike doing your homework? You don't know me. First, I'm no killer. Second, just because I enjoying beating the crap outta him on a regular basis doesn't mean I want him dead. If I killed him, I wouldn't be able to beat the crap outta him anymore. What you thought was communicated to me was not. I appreciate the opportunity you gave me to beat up El Hombre de Silla and the money you gave me to do it but our relationship ends here. Bye." He started to walk away.
Ravenheart stopped him. "You will not kill him but you will leave him here with me who will have him killed. I do not understand this either."
Buff grinned back at him. "Better men than you have tried to kill him and failed. Feel free to try. You won't succeed." Buff stormed off and out of the building.
Nikolas Ravenheart shrugged his shoulders. Unwilling to talk to himself but needing to vent his thoughts aloud, he spoke to Lori and Ric. They were slowly edging closer to him anyway, hoping he hadn't noticed. He had. "It is the same all over, hmm? It is difficult to find good help these days. Here I am, doing my best to keep my hands clean and he puts me in this position. I will get him back, don't worry about that." Casually he went into his suit coat pocket and pulled out a large knife with a decorative hilt. "Now if you will excuse me for a moment while I deal with this situation, I will be right with you." He raised the knife, judged his position relative to El Hombre's chest and proceeded to stab.
Ric flew at him, timing his leap perfectly to kick Ravenheart in the hand as he'd lowered it towards El Hombre. The knife flew away and embedded itself into a nearby box.
Ravenheart turned towards Ric, his good humour gone. "You are this impatient? If you wish to die first, so be it!" He lunged at Ric. Ric dodged backward, but stumbled over El Hombre. Ravenheart's hands closed around Ric's throat, eagerly choking the life from him.
Lori pounded on Ravenheart's massive back, desperately trying to get him to break the hold. Neither her punches nor her kicks seemed to phase him. Ric was quickly turning purple. She had to become more direct. Lori rotated to the side and directed a spinning side kick to Ravenheart's right elbow. He yelped and dropped Ric, who noisely began sucking in air again.
Ravenheart now turned on Lori. She immediately began backing away while she looked for an opening to attack. He said nothing as he stalked towards her, merely staring at her with murder in his eyes. Lori backed into a box. She had to attack now, she could retreat no further. Ravenheart closed in on her.
A tap on his shoulder made Ravenheart pause. Instinctively, he turned to face the tapper and caught a double fisted uppercut to the jaw. He staggered back, clutching at his jaw only to be kicked in the upper back by Lori. He blinked, working to clear his vision. He got a visual impression of Lori scurrying away from him. He blinked again and saw El Hombre de Silla facing him. Once the surprise of seeing El Hombre standing again faded, he realized that El Hombre wasn't standing easily. He was unsteady, staggering, barely conscious. Ravenheart smirked. El Hombre was a step from dead. He ignored El Hombre and headed directly for Lori.
As soon as Ravenheart was within arm's reach, El Hombre swung again, slugging Ravenheart in the ear. Roaring in frustration, Ravenheart just shoved El Hombre away, watching him stagger and slide off to the side where he could be dealt with later. He returned his attention to Lori.
Ric now interrupted his path. He faked a karate style chop to Ravenheart's shoulder. When Ravenheart committed himself to blocking it, he twisted his hand flat, pulled it back and then darted it forward, jabbing Ravenheart in the throat. Choking, Ravenheart staggered backwards. He bent over slightly, holding his throat and gagging. Ric charged at him, directing a leaping kick at Ravenheart's head.
Unfortunately, Ravenheart dodged the blow. Ric recovered, landing on his feet, but in the moment it took him to turn around, Ravenheart was waiting for him. He wrapped a mighty arm around Ric's chest, picked him up and slammed him, back first, onto the concrete. Moving any time soon was not likely.
Meanwhile, coherency was returning in bursts for El Hombre de Silla. He wasn't standing. He was sitting, leaning against something. It was the chair Ric had been tied to when he and Lori had arrived. It wasn't just any sort of chair, it was a metal folding chair. A burst of adrenaline shot through his body. He used the chair to help drag himself back to his feet. Then he picked up the chair, looked it over for a moment and folded it up. The weight felt good in his hands. He gave it a quick practice swing. El Hombre smiled and made a beeline for Ravenheart. El Hombre finally had a Silla.
Ravenheart was toying with Lori, casually swatting away the kicks she threw his way. He chuckled as he backed her slowly into a corner. The moment of panic leapt into her eyes again and he reveled in it. Seeing that look on a regular basis was his destiny. He would see it in the eyes of people of power just before they bowed to him as their superior. This city, this moment, was just the beginning!
There was another tap on his shoulder. He spun, angry that this moment should be interrupted. "What?!?"
Wham! There was a loud metallic echoing ring as the metal folding chair crashed into his skull. Ravenheart staggered, blinked and worked to recover. El Hombre supported himself with the chair and watched. This had not been enough.
Wham! The chair called out its song of pain again. Ravenheart's knees weakened but they did not collapse. El Hombre watched again as Ravenheart fought to shake off the effects of the chairshots. He could see that Ravenheart was succeeding in his efforts. So be it.
Wham! A third time the chair ran out. The third time was the charm. Nikolas Ravenheart collasped, unconscious.
Coughing and sputtering, Ric stepped up behind El Hombre. "Dude, remind me to never tick you off."
"Duly noted," El Hombre responded. His voice was soft and weak. The chair was once again functioning as a brace to keep him propped up.
Lori emerged from her corner, concern evident on her face. "Are you okay?"
His feet were numb. His arms felt distant. Still, El Hombre pulled himself up to his full height. His vision grew dim."Never better." Everything blurred and faded to black.
* * *
Gray. Blue. Grayish blue. It occurred to him that he was looking up at a ceiling. It didn't look like the ceiling of the warehouse.
Coherency came in a rush. El Hombre's hands jumped to his face. The mask was still attached to him. He sighed and relaxed. Now that he had settled that, where was he?
The room wasn't that large. It was shaped like a cube. All the walls were painted the same grayish blue colour that he had awoken to seeing on the ceiling. The bedsheet covering him was the same colour, just a shinier version. A machine next to the bed beeped at him. The only furniture in the room apart from the bed was a wooden chair tucked into a corner.
The door clicked as it opened and a face popped itself into the room. "Ah, you are awake." The body attached to the face followed it into the room. He was an older looking man, in his fifties or sixties by the look of him, with a head of gray hair. He looked healthy, strong, not afflicted by his age in any way. He was dressed simply, but well, wearing a cream coloured dress shirt and a pair of black slacks. "How are you feeling?"
"Okay I guess. A little confused at the moment. Have we met?"
He grinned slightly. "Perhaps in passing, ages ago. The name most know me by is Matthew Jackson. My young friends have taken to calling me 'the Traveler'."
"I am El Hombre de Silla." He extended his hand in greeting.
It was taken and shaken. "I know, but thank you all the same."
"I have the feeling that I've missed a little something or other since I fell asleep."
"You've missed a few things actually. I expected that you would have questions. Do you mind if I sit?" El Hombre shook his head no. Matthew pulled the chair from the corner and sit in it. "Now, what would you like to know first?"
"What happened after I passed out?"
"Lori and Ric contacted the police on your behalf. El Titanico, Panthra and Mr Ravenheart were arrested and charged with criminal conspiracy or something to that effect."
"Okay, good. What happened to me?"
"Blood loss from the wound in your side coupled with the trauma from the fight and exhaustion. Nothing terribly serious, you just ran out of gas. All I really did was rehydrate you and give you a few compounds to heal your more lingering problems."
"I'm sorry? What do you mean by that?"
"The wound on your side, something to strengthen your joints, something to strengthen your bones, that sort of thing. I didn't meddle with your scars because I didn't know if you considered them badges of honour or just scars."
"Thank you." Idly he fiddled with his mask.
"And we never removed your mask. I was able to check you for head trauma with it on. Whatever brains you have are still tucked away in your head," Matthew noted with a grin.
El Hombre de Silla exhaled loudly and visbly relaxed at this. "I appreciate that."
"Glad to help." There was a pause in the conversation. "Isn't there one more question?"
El Hombre blinked at him in confusion. "Such as?"
"'Where am I?' perhaps."
"A hospital probably. I was actually wondering about something else. How did you know my address?"
Matthew's expression had gone through a few changes during El Hombre's comment. He had gone from smug to disappointed to confused to controlled. "Ah, yes. Hmm. The only way I can answer that now is to say that you will understand at some point." El Hombre just looked at him. "In the future."
"Okay. I guess I can accept that for now. So, am I healed enough to leave?"
"Everything looks good."
"Excellent. I promised your friends beer earlier and I want to pay up. After this, I think I owe you as well. Keen on a trip to a tavern?"
"Sounds grand." He stood up and fidgeted as El Hombre climbed out of bed and started looking for his shoes. "Can I at least give you a quick tour of the Ship before we go?"
"Ship? What Ship?"
"The one that we're in right now."
El Hombre just looked at him and blinked. "Okay, explain that to me in a minute. I'm going to worry about my shoes right now." Matthew just sulked at his lack of excitement. He could really be no fun at times.
* * *
"That was fun!" Ric enthused as they left the tavern.
Lori brightened visibly. "I know, I know! That was so much fun." She turned and smiled at the Traveler. "Can we do that again?"
The Traveler smiled at her. "Certainly. We will definitely do this again someday. Until then, we walk it off. Back to the Ship!" He charged ahead, walking with determination. Ric grinned and kept pace with him, wrapped up in the Traveler's enthusiam.
For his part, El Hombre kept an eye on Lori. She walked with a certain energy, but not in a particularly straight manner. Besides all that, he had something to discuss with her. "Lori?"
"Yes?" Lori beamed at him due to the fact that she was full of love for life.
"I have something I should . . . no, I have something I need to tell you." She looked up at him as they walked, curiosity and innocense in her eyes. Politely, El Hombre took her arm, hoping this would assist her to walk in a manner which would prevent her from continously bumping into him. "I . . . misrepresented myself to you earlier. I should not have done so." He glanced around to see if anyone was near and then leaned in closer. "My original first name is Steve."
Lori smiled again at him. "Ooooh, that's so nice of you." Rather suddenly she leaned in and hugged him. Although mildly uncomfortable with the suddeness of the situation, he returned the hug. Finally she slid away from him and they continued on their way to the Ship.
El Hombre felt good. He liked Lori. He respected Lori for her abilities. It felt good to tell her the truth about his name.
It also occurred to him that Lori was currently so drunk that she'd likely already forgotten his name. That was beside the point. The point was that he had done the right thing.
And it felt good.
-Fin-
