Cage (5) - Click

The dead silence had been interrupted only by the occasional held breath of the whole audience at the same time, or the random people deciding they'd seen enough and leaving. Broken also by her screams, that every few minutes pierced the silence, tearing it to shreds -- a reflection of her soul, of mine too.

She was in quite bad shape. Nothing that actually required a stay at the hospital --no broken bones, no real blood loss--, but a visit wouldn't have been a bad idea. But her mind --the sharp mind of a fighter, used to deal with adrenaline and pain--, her mind was shattered to pieces. She'd had the strength of never asking me to stop, but I knew well that the only reason for it was she knew well I wouldn't -- I couldn't.

My earpiece beeped yet again. "Finish it, Sandy."

I got her down -- back on her feet. I had no clue on how to remove fishing hooks without causing major damage, so I let them there, dangling from her skin. She was obviously pale and lightheaded, so I made her sit on the floor. I wasn't going to risk her fainting and pulling from the hooks -- or falling on top of them.

"Okay, time to end this." I pulled out the revolver.

"Oh, god, no, please..."

"Say, do you believe in fate? Should I leave it all to chance?" I spun the cylinder carelessly. I knew I could trust Andrei on this. "This is your only way out. So, say, wanna play Russian roulette?"

She froze, tears lazily trailing down her cheeks in complete silence. Her eyes begging for a chance.

I smiled at her. "Okay, I'll go first." Without a second thought, I placed the barrel against my temple, took a deep breath, and pulled the trigger.

Click.

"See? Not that hard, is it?" I handed her the revolver. "Now it's your turn."

She grabbed onto it for her dear life and pointed it at me, her hands shaking badly. "You've made a mistake."

"One in five. Give it a try. Chances are it's not there, anyway. And then I get two shots at you. So, go ahead."

She froze, her eyes staring but not really seeing. Realizing cheating wasn't such a good idea. She dragged her hand --the revolver-- to her temple, and again stared at me, pleading for a chance.

I smiled at her. "This is your best chance to get out, my dear."

Click.

She lowered the gun with a sigh of relief. Poor thing.

I grabbed it again without hesitation. "Well, one in four... let's hope for the best, huh?"

Click.

I handed it to her yet again. She didn't reach for it as angrily. She just took it carelessly, and again pointed it at me. Her eyes full of determination this time. Poor fool.

I smiled at her again. "I won't stop you, but then the last two are for you, so you better pray it's there."

She seemed to realize something. "You know where it is."

"Do I?" I couldn't hide a smirk.

She stared at me, thinking. Chances. Did I know what I was doing? Had I planned this? I saw her eyes squint a split second before she pulled the trigger.

Click.

I sighed in relief too. Even when you know your chances... there's always the chance of something going wrong, isn't it?

I grabbed it before she could try again, kneeling just before her. "Sorry, gal. I told you."

She started sobbing unintelligibly as I placed the barrel against her temple. "Oh, god, please..."

Click.

I grabbed her chin and made her look into my eyes. I couldn't help smiling. "See you in hell."

...

Click.

She looked at me in pure confusion, her eyes a window to her soul. Wasn't she supposed to be dead? ... Was she dead somehow? "...What..."

I grinned at her. "You don't get to die and forget what you've just gone through -- no, you'll have to live with it." I got up and called the guys to open the cage.

Cage (4) - Trust

I went to the waiting room. The girl was relaxing, alone, taking long gulps from a bottle of vodka that was already half-empty.

"... You sure that's a good idea?" I greeted her, pointing at the bottle.

"Look, to do what I'm about to do, one must be either crazy or drunk. ... So I thought, why not both."

I sat beside her. "I guess you're right. Anyway. Look, I... I know how this ends."

"There are rules."

"I wouldn't bet anything on them."

"He's an honest man, you know."

I couldn't hide a sad smile. "I wouldn't be so sure about that. Look, don't do this. It's not worth it."

"I've been in hell, for years. How bad can half an hour be?"

"What's the worse you've been through."

She pointed at the barcode on her wrist. "Can't get worse than this."

"You're underestimating him," I said, Andrei's words resonating in my mind. Show her what hell is, make her realize that we're worse, make sure she can't ever forget. "There's a reason so many people think he's the Devil."

"I won't change my mind. It's a lot of money, and he's right, this is my best chance at a new life."

"Then do a few normal fights. In a couple weeks you could have just as much. This is something else."

She locked her eyes on mine. "He's sent you to fight me, hasn't he?"

"Yeah."

She smirked. "Well, the good news is you're not him."

"And now you're underestimating me." I sighed loudly. "I'll do anything he asks."

"You sure you can?"

Yes, you fool. "Don't do it. It's not worth it."

She took another long gulp from the bottle and got up. "Let's get this over with."

She took the lead to talk to the commentator about the match. I was going to follow her when I almost crashed into Andrei, who, as usual, had appeared out of nowhere. "So?"

I froze in place. Shit. I had to remind myself to take a breath.

He casually put his hand on my shoulder, a friendly pat to anyone who didn't know him -- it sent a chill down my spine. "I told you you could change your mind. What are you going to do?"

"Will you at least tell me what to do?"

"Just ask."

I sighed. "That's exactly what I'm doing."

"Does it include a 'Hurry up Sandy, people are waiting for you to get into the cage'?"

"I guess." I couldn't help smiling at his bad joke.

- - -

I hurried to the cage -- the girl was already waiting, doing a light warming up. I was climbing the steps when my comms chip beeped. "Check your inner pocket. This is not a fight. Take control as soon as the bell rings."

I discreetly checked it, only to find Andrei's revolver. He must have put it there, without me noticing, during the last bit of our conversation. As always. Shit.

The commentator did the presentations much less enthusiastically than before. The girl kept looking at me, ready to put up a fight -- a good show. She surely knew this wasn't an ordinary fight -- but she couldn't possibly imagine what was coming up for her.

Everybody was cheering at us in a deafening cacophony when a loud electronic bell rang, well above their voices. I looked at her, the voices surrounding us slowly but steadily decreasing in volume. She got ready for the fight. If it hadn't been clear from her previous match, now it was -- she had quite some experience in this.

My comms chip beeped again. "Sandy, don't take any risks. That's an order."

"Are you going to stand there like a dummy?" She yelled right before lunging at me, trying to score a hit. Okay, she was good, but not nearly fast enough.

I grabbed her wrist and twisted her arm around her, hugging her from her back a split second after I pulled the gun out of its hiding place. Before she could react, I let the barrel rest against her temple. "Told you not to do this, my dear. Say, did you really think this was going to be a fair fight?"

If the voices had been a loud murmur 'till then, now there was an uneasy, dead silence echoing around. She cursed under her breath out of shock. This was not what she was expecting, at all. "You can't do that." She finally said.

I couldn't help smiling as I whispered in her ear. "Told you not to trust him, didn't I?" I dragged her to the center of the cage, right below the dangling chains and ropes, and raised my voice so the audience could hear. "This is not a fight, my dear, this is a show. Don't try to fight me -- you'll only get hurt."

The eerie silence kept ringing in my ears as one of the chains rattled downwards, the final foot split in two, a huge fishing hook dangling from each tip. Shit.

Cage (3) - Black

Andrei locked the door after she left, and looked at me, beaming. Again the Void showing up in his glistening eyes.

"Why do this."

"It's not my fault if she's crazy enough to agree, is it?" He walked up to me, 'till he was awkwardly close. "Say, Sandy... would you do me a favor? Huh?"

SHIT. "Don't. Don't ask me this. I won't."

He grabbed my hands in a friendly gesture, his tone slightly condescending. "Sandy, don't be like that. I'm only asking for a favor. Okay? ... I'm being nice."

"Stop it. That's--"

In a split second, he got all serious -- ice-cold. "Don't you dare to tell me what to say. You don't want to do it? ... That's fine. But don't forget who you work for. You don't get to tell me to 'stop it', boy."

I sighed. Sometimes he could be like trying to walk through a minefield -- no wonder why happened what happened with Key. She was like a pogo-stick.

He grinned again. "Sandy, You don't have to. But I'm asking you a favor. I'd love to see what you can actually do, you know. Who you really are. Without all that prejudices nonsense. Please." Shit, he was trying hard.

"Don't do this."

"Let me see what you're made of, Sandy. Do that for me." He was now definitely hugging me, gently, softly.

Damn. "Will you... help with suggestions?"

"Only if you want."

I sighed yet again. "Let me talk to her."

He smirked at my suggestion. "No, this is what's going to happen. First, you say yes. Then you can go talk to her, and then you can change your mind if you want. But in that order."

"Fine."

"Say it."

"I'll do it."

"What's it."

Shit. "... I'll do whatever you ask."

He'd been in front of me all the time, but suddenly he was right behind me, hugging me like there was nothing else to do. "That's my boy."

I let my mind drift. Shit, I knew how this would end, I knew it. I knew it too damn well. Shit. His warm hug wasn't enough anymore. Or was it? I let it drown me, take my soul for a split second. "What do you want me to do, anyway."

"Break her. Not literally. But, you know. Show her what hell is. Make her realize we're worse than her past. Make sure she can't possibly forget you. That sort of thing. Oh, and trust me on this, don't try to convince her to stop it. ... You can change your mind, but she won't."

Shit. "... Then what's the whole point of talking to her, huh?"

"I guess you do have a point." He smiled, softly, warmly. "Oh, one more thing." He opened a small locker and took a clothes bag out of it. "Just so you don't have to come back, this is for you."

I opened it. A black suit, with a matching shirt. Shit. And then he'd say I've always had a choice. Yeah, the choice of a train without brakes going downhill. To keep going forward -- speeding down towards hell. I put the thing on.

He smirked. "I have to admit, black suits you, Sandy."

Cage (2) - Winner

Five minutes later, someone knocked on the door. Andrei left me and unlocked it. "Come in." He was beaming. "Close the door, darling."

The winner girl was there. She was quite wary -- I would have guessed she knew him. "I've come for the money." In the semi-darkness of the VIP room, she looked older -- I'd say in her early twenties. She was much prettier from up close -- her dark skin and curly, short hair made her an exotic beauty.

Andrei quickly wrote her a check. "Here, this is yours." He pointed at me with his head. "Now, before you go, I think my friend here would like to talk to you."

No, I didn't. ... But I did. I looked at her.

She was obviously uneasy about this. "What do you want."

"I'm... I guess I'm just curious. Why do this."

"Pays well."

I walked up to her, and softly caressed the scar on her cheek. "Is this...? ... Do you work at the club?" The club was a curious place, if by curious you mean sick and twisted. Never mind the basement cage fights -- what happened upstairs was even worse. Being a club worker, the mark on the cheek meant she'd do special clients. So, yeah, she had seen everything.

"Used to. This pays better. A night a month, and that's about all the money I ever need."

"... Is it worth it? I mean, why not, like, leave this hell? ... Could you?"

"Why would I? ... It pays well enough to keep coming."

"And if you lose?"

"I try again. I have nothing to lose, anyway."

"The other girl wouldn't say the same."

"I don't know how much do you know him, but..." She brushed my cheek --the ever healing wound-- with her fingertips. "Someone like you should know that, once you get to know him, you realize there's nothing to lose. You realize you've already lost everything."

"I know him quite well, actually. That's why I'm asking."

"You ever been, you know, on the other side?"

I smiled at her. "You don't get to know him without giving up your very soul, don't you think?"

"Then why are you here. How can you be here."

I shrugged. "Beats me. But what about you. How did you end up in this place."

She finally smiled. "I was just an idiot of a kid. I fell in love with an older guy, and run away from home to be with him. Except he wasn't the nice guy I had thought, he worked for the mob. He made me work in a brothel." She showed me her wrist, a crudely done barcode tattoo. I had heard of those. "That was hell, I'll tell you. Then..." She pointed at Andrei with her head. "He rescued all of us. Offered us a job. Not nice, but definitely better. And I've been here ever since."

Same old story. It always made me sick, knowing well that he could have offered them a real chance at a new life, and instead... he never did.

She turned around to leave, but Andrei was leaning against the closed door, smiling creepily. "Darling, before you go... Say, how much have you made tonight?"

"Enough." She was back to cold indifference, trying in vain to hide the fear.

"Andrei..." I muttered.

"Shut up, Sandy." He kept talking to her, his usual sick grin showing up in his eyes. "Give me a number."

"About ten in bets. Plus the special prize."

"So... twenty thousand, huh? Okay, so, what do you say if I offer you another twenty, huh? Just a private show, if you follow me."

Shit. No, you bastard, she's had enough... hasn't she? ... I didn't say a word -- I knew he wouldn't listen anyway.

"I've made enough for today. Now, let me go."

He sighed. "Okay, okay. Let me make you another offer, huh? A hundred. Down there. A fight against me."

She seemed to realize that it wouldn't be that easy to get out of there. Plus he'd risen the money bar a lot and a half -- now saying no wasn't so easy. "... What happens if I say no."

"Nothing, really. But, think of it, it's a lot of money. You could get a nice vacation, forget about this place for a while. Or disappear and never come back, for all I care."

She looked at him. The fool was thinking making a deal with the devil could be a good idea. "Double it. Two hundred."

Andrei grinned. "Are you sure about that? ... More money means putting more of a show."

"So, how bad can -- what, half an hour?... How bad can it be?"

"Hell." He wasn't even trying to convince her. Shit. He knew exactly what he was doing.

"... Why should I, then?"

He sighed, apparently frustrated. Though I could clearly see through his mask. He opened the door. "Fine. Then go. I won't insist anymore."

She stepped out, apparently sure of herself. Andrei was closing the door when she turned around. "Wait. Two hundred and fifty. Thousand." She offered her hand to seal the deal.

"I won't try to trick you, darling." He shook her hand. "Go to the waiting room, get ready. ... Place some bets if you want, just know that you won't win, okay? I'll be down in a moment."

Cage (1) - Glass

Andrei had told me to pay him a visit before leaving work that day, so there I went. He took me to one of his clubs. I just followed him into the imposing building, in complete silence. Don't know what I was expecting, but definitely not what I was about to see. He was just softly pulling me by my hand, a warm reminder. ... Not too sure of what.

I was surprised when he led me downstairs -- to the basement. Straight to the VIP room. The thick glass muted the roaring people outside and provided a nice view of what they were screaming about. Cage fights. ... Told you I wasn't expecting that -- not from what was essentially a brothel, anyway.

I looked at him, nervous. Knowing well that he was behind it all. That he was the devil himself, and didn't bother with a disguise anymore. I didn't want to look at what was happening in the cage. Two young girls, more interested in giving off a good show --to the other's dismay-- than anything else. A special challenge, Andrei told me. The winner gets an extra ten thousand -- out of his pocket, of course.

I leaned my back against the glass, my eyes glued on him. Knowing what was happening just a handful of feet behind me made me sick. Knowing that he was the one behind it... Shit.

"Why did you brought me here."

"I thought you'd like it." He smiled. Softly. Trying hard to be nice. It only made it hurt more.

"So, how much do they earn," I asked, knowing well leaving wasn't an option.

"It's all bets. Depends on what they're willing to risk. Some guys have gotten out of drowning debts in a night. Some others do it for the thrill of the fight." He kept inching ever closer to me.

"... How much do you get out of it."

"No commissions, though I do have guys placing bets. ... Sometimes they win, sometimes they lose. It's all fair."

"... They're not rigged?"

"Not unless I have a serious reason to, and then I'm most likely to step in myself." He grinned -- no need to explain. "Are you afraid of watching?" He grabbed me and turned me around like a puppet, forcing me to face the glass -- the cage. He hugged me from the back, his arms gripping me steadily, making sure I wouldn't turn around.

"Why do this." I closed my eyes. I couldn't look.

He let his chin rest comfortably on my shoulder. "It's not my fault if they're stupid enough to get in there. If they're greedy enough to take the risk."

"Risk?"

His voice was eerily soft -- yet far from his usual creepy whisper. "Well... there's one rule -- nobody dies. But some do end up quite badly beaten up. And as you can see... most of the time is more about pride than about money or pain."

No, I couldn't see 'cause I still had my eyes closed. But I had had a couple flashes of it at first. It was truly sickening. And keep in mind I've seen about everything.

There was an obvious smile in the way he was talking. "Open your eyes, Sandy. Watch it. Have fun. It's not your fault, you can enjoy the show."

"I hate this. You know." I opened my eyes. I'll spare you the details of what was happening in the cage.

"Why do you care so much about everything, Sandy."

I simply sighed. I guess he could never understand what it is to understand.

The commentator soon announced a winner, and opened the cage to give her the first part of the special prize -- a bucket of paint, so she could wreck every last bit of the other girl's pride. The crowd cheered wildly at her. I couldn't help to close my eyes as I felt Andrei's grin in my ear.

"That was unnecessary." I muttered.

"I don't think she'd agree with you."