Of Kings and Aces

46| Fight Night

JACOB's Point of View

I paced on one corner outside of the cage while waiting for my fight. I have never prayed so hard in my life. There was a foreboding feeling that scared me. I was usually confident before my bouts, and I should have felt that way too because I've beaten Torpedo once before. I knew his fighting style. I knew his dirty tricks. 

If only Jaxx were here to help. He has been out of reach for the past few days, and I didn't want to walk into JAB when there was a chance of seeing Ace.

This game was supposed to have been done last Wednesday, but they moved it due to some technical issues with Torpedo. It gave me more time to practice, but the anxiety was killing me.

After Ace's crash, I did not want to risk his life. It was me they were after. I was the witness they wanted dead. They've already succeeded in murdering the dealer, Greggy, and made it look like suicide. They've put Carlo behind bars, and from what I've heard, they've been beating him up almost on a daily basis, just waiting for him to give up hope and kill himself too.

This is for Ace, and for everyone's safety, I reminded myself. If I win this, Beau gave his word he'd stop following Ace and he won't hurt him again.

In exchange, I would leave JAB and work for them in hacking the information wanted. They were going to put my hacking skills to their advantage until they've succeeded in undermining the CFG Group. Then they were going to let me go alive.

At least that was what Beau said. It was too good to be true, which made me doubt they would keep me alive even for a day. Hell, I wasn't even sure if they'd keep their promise about Ace, but it was worth a shot.

Brigs, the only guy I trusted with honest information, was gone. They found out about him and captured him. Was he still alive? I hoped so. 

We started out as vicious enemies until he found out that Beau and the admiral used the information he was giving them to kill off the remaining witnesses. He realized I was one of those witnesses, and when the information he told them almost caused his friend's death, he quickly turned into a traitor and worked with me to protect our common interest: Ace.

I never expected things to turn out this way. It was just a poker night. I just wanted a game. Then suddenly, I was caught in the middle of a homicide. And ever since then, I've been getting threats. I knew I was being followed, and it would be a matter of time before they'd find my weakness.

Then they found out about Ace. They've used me to get what they wanted and needed since then. They bet heavily on my fights and hung Ace's safety over my head to make sure I won every damn match, even if it meant playing dirty. Nobody knew about the quandary I got myself into until Brigs, of all people, got wind of it.

At first, I did not believe him when he said he was willing to work with me. But I realized that Ace meant a lot to him, too. I admit, my jealousy blinded me at the start, but Sofia, that girl who offered me to smoke out with her, talked sense into me. She was Brigs' friend and colleague who was also a private eye. If my weakness was Ace, hers was Brigs, even though she knew who the guy wanted.

"And now, the fight we've been waiting for!" The announcement of the unavoidable was made. I just pray the admiral would hold his end of the bargain. There was nothing else I could offer.

"The King!" 

I stepped into the cage with my heart racing and cold sweat forming. There it was again, that horrible presentiment that I could not get rid of. I bounced a couple of times, shook my limbs, and tried to loosen my neck and traps. I placed both hands on the nylon net, bowed down, and stretched my legs as far as I could.