Black Market Merchant

Chapter 84: Headless
Martinez Sanchez had come to watch his subordinates Match Fight. It had been a while since someone had made Saul mad enough to send Golem into a revenge match. His curiosity and boredom drew him to come here. Along with him were several of his lieutenants and special personnel that he counted on to keep the gangsters functioning as an organization. Jackson was one of them.

”So that’s the Queen that’s got you so worked up?” Martinez asked Jackson quizzically. They were seated in the most luxurious seats and booth in the entire Arena. The seats were from an old, abandoned movie theater nearer to the downtown area and they could recline back to a nearly prone position; they also came with cup holders and snack tray. ”She’s definitely better than I thought. Golem is having a hard time. All though, I think he’s going to win, she lacks the strength to take him down.”

”I don’t know about that. I thought the same during Owens fight.” Jackson replied focusing his attention on the fight going on below them.

”Eh, Owen is a pushover.” Another lieutenant said from behind them.

Jackson turned to see that it was Ernest that had spoken. Ernest was in charge of the gang’s western portion. That area of town was mostly just residential, with small businesses and dried out farmland, not very exciting. He mainly kept the residence submitted and collected food from the hunters that would come from the forested areas or badlands beyond.

”Shows how little you know. Owen could probably take you out.” Jackson scoffed.

”As if! He is all about showing off and crap. He’s about as bad as his superior.” Ernest said rolling his eyes.

”Once he’s fully recovered, how about you fight him then? Bet you won’t say that about him again.” Jackson said restraining himself, he was feeling quite annoyed by Ernest’s jab at him.

”Yo, guys, shut up! It’s getting to a good part.” Martinez yelled at them.

They glanced down to see the part when Queen suddenly started sumo pushing Golem back to the fence. Martinez whistled a drawn-out tone.

”That’s something you don’t see every day.” Martinez remarked. ”He’s got to weigh over a thousand pounds with that added armor and she’s actually pushing him back.”

Bong!

The sound of Queen knocking off Golems helmet reached them. Everyone in the booth immediately left their seats and gathered at the railing. They were all equally shocked at the sudden turn of events befalling their comrade.

”Get up Golem!” Jackson yelled.

”If you lose like this, you’re the worst bodyguard I ever employed!” Martinez shouted. Then he griped to himself, “Besides, I got a lot of money on this bet.”

As if Golem heard them, he grabbed Queen and smashed her on the fence.

”Woo! That’s more like it!” Martinez shouted and sat back down with a satisfied plop to keep watching.

”She totally had me going there, bro. Like, I was nearly put out watching.” The slow hipster voice of Branch, the gangs head technology nerd, replied to no one in particular.

Jackson glanced sideways at Branch, a rather unique individual. Branch was leaning up against the wall, smoking a large self-made cigarette. Whatever was in that thing was anyone’s guess. Branch had long brown hair that drooped down to brush his orange tinted sunglasses. His outdated fashion style was just as odd. He only wore a jean vest and ripped bellbottom pants; it was completely out of date in any sense of fashion.

Jackson didn’t care to much for the guy. It always seemed like he was a waist of space among the gangsters. However, his abilities with technology and understanding how they functioned was the best he had ever seen. Branch was hired to work for the Mad Dogs after the am AFR put a bounty on him for stealing codes to government security systems. So far, he had been useful hacking accounts and such.

”Come on!” Martinez and Ernest yelled in unison.

“Smash her head off!” Martinez continued to shout. “No, don’t let her get away you idiota!”

Jackson quickly turned back to the fight. Queen had just broken free of Golems grasp and was getting away. The fight was definitely not over yet.

…

Golem barreled down on Queen for the third time. He had every intention of crushing her. It had been so long since he had last fought someone capable enough to force him to use his Inducement. Not since his boss, Martinez Sanchez, last fought him seriously. That was the second time he ever lost.

Now that he was being put to the test again, he decided that he was going to go all out. Golem couldn’t help but smile into an even more terrifying grin. Every fiber of his body wanted to pound this cocky woman to dust and he was going to enjoy doing it! The smile on his face grew ever tighter in anticipation.

Rather than trying to land a punch on her like before, Golem switched his approach. Only just two meters away from her, Golem jumped. He quickly raised his legs up in front of his charging mass to form a front leg side kick!

Queen reacted quick as she could and raised her arms up to shield her face. Golems heavy body collided into her with such force that Queen was sent tumbling head over heels backwards. She rolled three times before she crashed into the fence behind her.

Somewhat stunned by the dizzying tumble, Queen looked up to see that Golem was following up for a second chance to ram her. Just as he jumped at her again, to perform a second front side kick, Queen tossed herself aside, narrowly avoiding the kick. Golems leading foot smashed hard into the fence, it’s metal links seemed to bend like putty as it faced the full brunt of the attack. Several of the links even snapped upon impact. If that kick had hit her, she might not have been able to recover.

Queen shot up off the stage floor and quickly dashed towards her sword. There was a sudden brush of air as she turned away from Golem. His massive, gloved hand missed grabbing her shoulder by a hair’s breath! She even caught a whiff of smoke from his glove at the same moment.

Grabbing the hilt of her sword she spun around, flicking it outwards to reach half its length and not a moment too late. Golems armored glove smashed into the raised blade and Queen braced herself to absorb the blow with her sword. Her black shin high boots squeaked loudly, leaving two black smudges on the stage, as the power from Golems punch sent her sliding back.

”It’s been fun.” Queen called out. ”But it’s time to finish this.” Though she was breathing heavily, the will to fight was still burning in her gray eyes. So much in fact that her grey eyes almost seemed to be glowing.

Golem activated his right glove, sending a jet of fire out from the back of it. The propulsion of his fist rocketed at Queen in a jab of power. Queen managed to make contact with the attack with her sword and it sheared off the blade and passed by harmlessly over her head. At that same moment Queen sent a kick out to hit Golems right leg.

Once again, the kick landed behind his knee, forcing him off balance. Using that moment Queen jumped off to one side, then in a blur of motion, she appeared on Golems left, sword raised for an execution swing. Golem reacted by throwing a swing at her, but he only hit air. Jumping up quickly he turned to see Queens dull black blade stab right into his left shoulder. The blade managed to slip right under his armor plating and sliced cleanly right out the other side of his arm.

Golem yelled in pain. He went to grasp the blade to stop her from pulling it out to attack again. Yet again he grabbed nothing. She had already removed the blade and disappeared from this sight. Glancing around himself in a panic, he couldn’t see her.

Suddenly, a burning pain shot through his right thigh. With a shout he looked down to see the blade tip was growing out from the front of his thigh. Meaning she was behind him at that moment.

In a fit of rage, he spun around to pound her with his right fist. The blow was nearly powerful enough to crush a car and when it hit the stage sizeable bits and pieces scattered in every direction. It looked like a grenade had blown up on stage and a hole had appeared right under his fist several meters in size. But Queen was not there.

”Whew, that was close.” Queens voiced called out from in front of him.

He angrily looked up from the hole he created to see Queen standing on the other side of the hole, unharmed. She gave him a quick smile, and in a fazing blur, she dashed away to his right, going around the hole.

Golem got up ready to take her on again, but she was too quick for him to follow. Somehow, she was moving at a ridiculous speed, that his eyes almost couldn’t keep up with. She kept moving towards him in a pattern of fake attacks and indiscriminate directions. He punched and swung at her, but only seemed to catch her after image.

”Over here!” Queen called to him. Golem would turn to punch at nothing as she moved out of reach. ”Try again.” She would say in another spot just out of sight.

He kept trying to react quick enough to her taunts, but it was useless. She was just too fast for him now. Every time she stopped; she would be in his blind spots. This only added all the more to his frustration and fury.

The cause of her enhanced speed was that her prosthetics had now finally warmed up. She had not used her Advanced Armaments: Stage One for several months, if not for over a year. The energy sources in the cores of her prosthetics only needed a few moments to get going properly. All she had been doing before was stalling for time. The power coursing through her was like a river flooded by the rain.

The Announcer’s voice was stammering as he was trying to keep up with what was happening. Though everyone could see what was happening on stage, it was difficult to keep track of. A battle of this scale hadn’t happened in so long, that many had forgotten that monstrous people like them existed!

This was how a Match Fight was meant to be!

Golem let out a shout of rage. Blood was dripping all over himself and the floor. Sweat was running everywhere and it was clear that his Inducement wasn’t going to last much longer. Then raising his balled fists up above his head, Golem activated the two of them at the same time. Red fire spewed out from them as he then sent them straight down onto the floor below him, dragging a black twin smoke trail in their wake.

”Ka-boom!”

His fists hit the stage like a bomb! A rippling shock wave effect blasted out around him. The stage cracked in every direction sending basketball sized chunks flying out in every which direction. People in the stands screamed and scrambled to dodge the oncoming debris as the chain link fence was unable to stop all the projectiles that had gone through and over the fence surrounding the stage.

Benny threw himself on top of Hanna and Sadie as a large chunk crash through the fence at them. It landed safely in front of them and stopped. Benny lifted his head to look up at the stage. What he saw next sent a shiver down his spine.

Queen was ”flying” above Golem!

Her sword raised up above her as she held on with both hands. She must have jumped at the same moment the blast hit the floor and launched her upward. There was a calm, but bloodthirsty smile on her face as she looked down at Golem below her.

Then she dropped down, traveling like a phantom through the thick dust that was billowing all around her. Light glinted off the dull black blade as it sliced downward at Golem. Its blade let out a soft whistle as it traveled arcing down towards her target. Golem looked up one last time to see this sight and knew it was over.

When Queen landed on the broken, crumbling stage, Golems head was already rolling away at her feet.

It was over. Queen had won!