Courting The Champion

14 - Message For Traitors!

Wayne is one of my people. You don't wanna mess with my people. The fact that Smith said all that filth about Wayne without even knowing him pisses me off. I decide to go to the dinner. I need all the information I can get on that bastard.

Wayne opens his door and takes a long look at me before realizing it's me. He drags me inside and locks the door. I help him shut the blinds.

He hits me lightly on the chest. “What's up with the disguise man?” he questions.

“Man you have no idea. We're in serious shit man,” I tell him and he widens his eyes and motions for me to follow him to his living area.

“I talked to Arabelle yesterday,” I say and he nods.

“She's a law student and she recognized at first glance of the company's records that these boys are running a serious money laundering scheme. Billions and billions of dollars man,” I say in a loud whisper and he puts his hand over his mouth.

“Are you serious man? That's messed up bro. If we keep quiet we'll go down with them as accomplices, you know that right?” he questions and I nod. “Yeah.”

“I got a family man. We got to get solid hard evidence on these guys man, asap!” he exclaims harshly. “Arabelle already did. She got hundreds of incriminating records. She's making copies. Apparently that Frankie is the infamous personal assistant to Smith,” I say and he laughs as he gets up.

“Man for real? We got evidence? That's great news man. So when we telling on them?” he questions and I take a second to think.

“Man I don't know. As soon as Arabelle finishes the task. Which is making the copies and returning the originals without arousing suspicions. And the only way for her to do that is to actually do the job Frank asked her to do, recording the documents to the computer. It'll take about a month.”

“Alright man I guess it's set. No money is worth losing my family man,” he says and I nod.

“Yeah and Smith said a lot of bull about you. I was in his office just recently. He really hates you. And he was also like he wants me to join him and his boys and become part of the family,” I say and Wayne raises his brow and shakes his head in disgust.

“The guy's a serious prick that needs to be taken out.” I nod and agree with him.

“He asked me to come to a dinner tonight with him and his boys. He wants me to miss your fight,” I say and Wayne cracks up in bitter laughter.

“Pathetic. He's really pathetic. I wonder what he'll do if I don't show up at all to the fight. I got nothing except my fame to lose. And if I walk away now, he got nothing on me,” he says bitterly.

“I told him I'd be there.. But now... I realise if I show up, I'm automatically part of it. The feds won't want any excuse about me playing undercover. What if this is Smith's way of trapping me? Once I show up, I'm in. No way out,” I say voicing out my fears and Wayne looks at me in thought.

“I didn't even think bout that man. So what you gonna do?” he questions and I shrug.

“I think you should go to your fight tonight. You worked hard to make it this far. I'll see what I'll do tonight. I think I might just take the risk and show up,” I tell him as I get up. He stands up and opens the door for me.

I put my black hoodie and shades back on, and hurry off his house with my hand on my baseball cap, lowering it to cover the upper half of my face.

Just as I walk back to the empty street, a black van with spray paint tinted windows screeches its wheels and a bunch of guys dressed in black with their faces covered jump out before it even reaches its full halt.

I notice some holding baseball bats and  just as I'm about to decipher what's going on, two big guys grab my arms from behind me.

Another masked thug bashes me on the side of my face with the wooden baseball bat which breaks into pieces on impact and delivers a hard kick to my stomach with his shoe, a huge ball of sputum and blood bursts out of my chest and I cough, choking on my own blood.

Blood is gushing from the side of my face and a fist connects with my nose and the next thing all I'm feeling is blows in every area of my body.

“HEY!” Wayne yells, running out of his house. The guys unhand me and jump back into the black van.

“Message for traitors!” one yells from inside the car window just as the car screeches off.

Wayne attempts to run after the car but it speeds out of sight just as I use the ground for balance as I get up.

“You okay man? That was definitely Smith's. Son of a bitch!” he exclaims. I cough and try to speak but my voice comes out hoarse.

“I think they followed me here,” I say and groan. He helps me back inside.

Smith has just declared war on me. And there's no way I'm going back on my plan now. I'm going to bring that man down on his knees.

“The fact that he ordered those guys to jump you means there's something that he thinks we know. I doubt it's the money laundering. He knows we're onto him somehow,” Wayne says pacing in front of me.

“We need to get in touch with Arabelle. There's no use in waiting. We have all we need to lock him up behind bars,” I say harshly and sit up straight with my hand clutching my stomach.

I struggle to reach for the glass of water and Wayne hands it to me.

In that moment the house phone goes off.

Wayne and I look at each other then shift our focus back on the phone.

Wayne gets up, and I instinctively muster the strength to get off the couch and hurry after him just as reaches for the phone.

He stays quiet until I'm next to him.

“What do you want?” he questions as if he already knows who it is. We both hear a familiar voice on the line.

It's Trevor, not Smith.

“Wayne Wayne Wayne. Look what you did to your dear friend. Did you really think you could take me down?” he chuckles.

“Give up Trevor. The FBI already know you're the one who's really behind this. A ring leader disguised as a trainer, very original,” Wayne responds bitterly. I look at Wayne cluelessly.

Trevor laughs coldly.

“I know all about your plan to infiltrate me, special agent Neil Rogers.” I look at Wayne in confusion. Wayne clenches his teeth.

“Guess my surprise when I found out today that you have no so called family, and that you've bugged my entire company?” he pauses and I harden my stare on Wayne. Or Neil.

Trevor continues his mockery.

“You have nothing on me. Linear Impact Co. is now nothing but bits of traces, ambers and ashes. No evidence, no records!”

Beep.

And just like that, the line goes dead.