Dark Horse (5 page)

I stared at him. He held his arms out to the side and smiled at me.

“What do you say, man? There’s a lot more money to be made. And we’re talking about just one night of work. You’ll get half of everything I make. And I’ll do everything I can to get everybody to bet against you.”

I was still reluctant about doing it. This wasn
’t some desk job. There was no organization or building I had to report to. All I had was this sneaky little guy’s word that I could trust him. His smile belied the fact that he was trying to take advantage of me. That much was obvious. But when I looked down at the convenience store application, I didn’t have much of a choice.

“
Okay. You get me the fights and I’ll try and win them. Let’s get this cash.”

“
Yeah, that’s what I’m talking about, Homicide!”

“
And stop calling me Homicide.”

“
Yeah, sure, whatever you want. You don’t really look like a Homicide anyway. What should we call you then?”

“
How about Henry?”

“
Henry? We’ll think of something better. Sounds like some magician or something…”

I walked with Maxwell down the sidewalk and headed toward our next destinati
on. The night was still young and it was calling out to me. It was time for me to respond.

Chapter 6 - Henry

I didn’t know how late I’d stayed up last night but I knew that it was longer than usual. My bones and muscles ached from simply lying there in bed. When I opened my eyes, the sun was glaring and practically blinding me. My head throbbed but I wasn’t sure if it was from any punches I took or the residual effects of the two beers I had. I put my hand up to my forehead and rubbed it to try and make the pain go away.

I didn
’t know what time it was but without a job or anything else on the agenda, that didn’t matter. But it was time to get up. I pushed myself up out of bed and went into the bathroom. When I turned on the sink to splash some water on my face, I noticed my hands. My knuckles were swollen. There were traces of red along the bone. When I balled my fist, I remembered how many times I’d used it last night. It didn’t matter whether it was a man’s skull or his jaw. Bone was never meant to crash against bone at high speeds. I was somewhat relieved when I washed some of the blood away and there were no abrasions on my hands.

I stood underneath the showerhead and let the water pour over me. I sighed a deep breath as I felt all of the filth from
last night pour down the drain. I had worked harder than I intended last night but it wasn’t in the way I was expecting. Maxwell was a man of his word. We walked around the seediest parts of the city—there were more of them than I expected—and managed to get people to bet against me. I was never in any serious danger but I didn’t enjoy beating the men up. I had to do it though. I hadn’t made a dollar in months.

When I got out of the shower, there was a knock at the door. I wasn
’t expecting anybody so I ignored it. There was another knock. I wrapped a towel around myself and made my way front.

“
Hold on, just a minute.”

When I opened the door, I saw my landlord Charlie standing there. The old man and I looked curiously at one another.

“Are you here for the rent?” I asked. “I’ve—”

“
No, no. It’s not that. How are you doing?” he asked me.

“
I’m… I’m fine,” I said. “Why are you asking?”

“
I noticed that you came home pretty late last night. You kind of made a bit of a ruckus. I just wanted to make sure that you were okay.”

“
Oh… I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to alarm anybody. I’m fine. Really. I just had a long night, that’s all.”

“
I see…”

“
Actually, I was working. I found some guy who needed some help moving some stuff. He gave me a good deal. Let me see…”

I made my way back into my apartment. I looked around for everything I had worked for last night. It was the one thing I remembered. I saw the stack of money on my table. I grabbed some of the bills and headed back to Charlie.

“Here,” I said as I handed him the money. “This is the rent. I know I was late on it but I told you that I would get it to you.”

“
I knew you would, Henry.”

He looked down at the crumpled bills in his hand then back at me.

“Are you sure you’re okay, Henry?”

“
Yeah. I’m fine. I couldn’t be better.”

I smiled at him and he did the same to me. I watched him as he slowly started to walk away, counting the bills in his hand. I closed the door and looked at all of the money that was still on the table. Even though I had just paid Charlie off, t
here was still a considerable amount on the table. I took a seat on the couch in front of the table and straightened out all of the money. It was mostly five-dollar bills but there were a lot of them. I had given most of the twenties to Charlie. But when it was all counted and organized into a neat little pile, it was more than I would have made in a night working for minimum wage at all of the places I was looking for work.

I looked at the money and let out a deep sigh of relief. Next to the money, I saw E
lsa’s smiling face in her picture. I couldn’t help but smile back at her, some of the pressure finally being relieved. This money wasn’t going to last me forever but it was enough to get Nina off my back for a little while. I leaned back in my seat and enjoyed the simple peace of the moment. It was the first time in a long time I actually felt successful.

My moment of peace was interrupted when I heard another knock at the door. I stared at the door, wondering if I had given Charlie the wrong amount. There
was another knock. I slowly got up off of my sofa and went up to the door. I opened it up and Maxwell was standing there.

“
Hey, what’s up, man?” he said. “Damn, look at you! You’re looking jacked in nothing but a towel. You trying to seduce me? Nah, I’m just kidding.”

“
What do you want, Maxwell?”

“
I’m just here to check in on the best fighter in the city, Homicide.”

“
I said don’t call me that.”

“
All right, all right, all right. Can I come in?”

“
What for?”

“
I’m here to talk a little business. You didn’t find a job in the last twelve hours, did you?”

Maxwell looked at me with the trademark smile on his face. Despite the amount of money I
’d made for him last night, his leather jacket still looked cheap and fake. The chain around his neck was a lot more stained underneath the sunlight. I wasn’t sure if I should let him in but I reluctantly took a few steps back and allowed him to pass.

“
All right,” I said. “Just don’t touch anything.”

“
Yeah, yeah, I know.”

Maxwell stepped inside and immediately started look
ing around.

“
It’s pretty cozy in here,” he said.

“
Yeah, well, I live by myself so it should be.”

Maxwell took a seat on my sofa in front of the table where I had all of the money counted. I made my way back into my room to throw some clothes on.

“I counted that money,” I shouted. “There had better not be a single dollar missing from it.”

“
Hey, I’m not here to take,” he shouted back. “I’m only here to help you out.”

I put on a pair of jeans and an old t-shirt. When I got back, Maxwell had his feet up on the table. He was holding the picture of Elsa in his hands.

“Cute kid,” he said.

I didn
’t say anything. I just took the picture from him and put it back on the table.

“
Ahem,” I coughed as I pointed at his feet.

“
Right, right.”

He took his feet off of the table and leaned back in his seat. I sat in a chair just across from him and waited for him to say what he was going to say.

“So?” I asked.

“
You hungry, man?”

“
What?”

“
You hungry? You want something to eat? What do you say we go get some lunch or something?”

“
Lunch? I just woke up.”

“
Or breakfast. It doesn’t matter to me. Food is food.”

I stared at him and he held his arms out to the side with a smile on his face. The wa
y he looked at me made it obvious that he had something up his sleeve.

“
What do you want?” I asked him.

“
Right now? I want to have some lunch. Or breakfast. You know—”

“
I mean what do you want from me. You didn’t come here to ask me out to eat.”

“
What if I did, Homicide?”

“
Well, you didn’t, so it doesn’t matter.”

“
Right… Well, you’re dressed. So let’s go. Come on. Let’s just go get something to eat.”

I sighed as I got up out of my chair. Maxwell and I walked out of my apartment and headed to the diner just
down the street. He sat across from me and rubbed his hands as he looked down at the menu.

“
Let me see here,” he said to the waitress. “Let me get a burger and some fries. And my man over here will have a couple of eggs, a short stack and some bacon on the side. What do you want to drink? Yeah, he’ll just have some water and I’ll have a cup of coffee.”

The waitress quickly wrote down the order and walked away before I even had the chance to speak.

“So you’re ordering for me now?” I asked.

“
Hey, I know what’s best for you, baby. You know what I’m saying? I gotta look out for my number one fighter.”

“
You have other fighters?”

“
Well… not exactly. But you’re still number one. And I’m still looking out for you.”

“
One, you don’t have to pretend that you’re looking out for me. You’re in this for the money. That’s fine. And two, I’m not your fighter. I’m not anybody’s fighter. That was just a one-time deal.”

“
One-time deal? You just kicked six dudes’ asses last night and you’re saying it’s only a one-time thing.”

The rest of the people in the diner turned and looked at Maxwell after he raised his voice. He sheepishly looked down at the cup of coffee that the waitress had brought to him and started pouring packets of sugar into it.

“I’m not into this,” I said to him. “I’m not interested in fighting any more. I just needed the money to pay my rent.”

“
You needed money to pay the rent? For that little place? Man, you’re struggling worse than I thought.”

“
Look, I don’t care what you think about my place. I’m not a fighter.”

“
Are you sure about that?”

“
Yes, I’m sure. I just needed the money until I find a real job.”

“
And what if you don’t get a real job?”

I sighed because I knew that it was a real possibility. But I didn
’t want to give Maxwell the satisfaction of knowing that I was hard up for cash.

“
You sure you live by yourself? Who’s that little girl in the picture?”

“
None of your business.”

“
Okay, okay… I’m just trying to be friendly.”

“
I don’t care how friendly you are. I’m not interested in any more fights.”

The waitress returned with our food. I looked down at the breakfast Maxwell ordered for me as he ravenously wolfed down his hamburger.

“What are you doing, man?” he said to me. “Go ahead and eat it. You’re gonna need your energy and strength. I’m sure you’re kind of tired after those beatings you handed out last night.”

“
It was that bad, huh?”

“
What? You don’t remember? Man… I don’t remember the last time I’d seen someone fight like that. I don’t think I ever had. Everybody was surprised. I kind of like it though. People are shocked as shit when they’re handing me their money. I don’t know why you don’t want to fight when you’re so good at it.”

“
I get no joy from beating another man. I’m not some thug on the street. I’d prefer not to get my hands dirty. What I did last night, I did because I had to. I didn’t get any excitement from it and I’m not going to cheer for it like all of those people were when they were surrounding me. It’s all pointless violence.”

“
Pointless? Do you know how much money you made last night? If making big dollars doesn’t have a point, then nothing in this world does.”

“
I think you’ve got everything backwards, Maxwell.”

“
No, I don’t, Homicide. I just know how the world works.”

I sighed as he smiled back at me, his mouth full of foo
d. I silently ate my breakfast with Maxwell. The two of us didn’t say anything to one another. Despite his obvious intentions, I didn’t mind his company. He was completely harmless and there wasn’t any problem in having him around. He was just like Bruno said he was. There wasn’t a drop of alcohol in my blood to influence my thoughts and I could focus solely on the knowledge that I would have a few more days to find a job.

I was hungrier than I thought. I finished my food quickly. The waitress returned and
placed the check down on the table. I reached out for it when suddenly Maxwell pulled it from me.

“
It’s okay,” he said. “I take care of my fighters.”

“
I said I’m not your fighter.”

He took his hand away from the check. I reached over for it when he held hi
s hand out and stopped me.

“
All right, listen,” he said. “I know that you’ve made up your mind. You’re not cool with getting into this business. All I’m saying is this. You did it before. You can do it again. It ain’t the greatest thing in the world. I’ve knocked a guy out before. Hell, I’ve been knocked out myself. It’s the worst feeling in the world if you can remember it. But sometimes you’ve got to make a few sacrifices. You’ve got to get your hands dirty.