Black Market Merchant

Everything was perfectly neat and orderly!

The inside of the green rusted walls looked like she had walked into some resort or private neighborhood. Not at all what she had expected to see from a gang’s headquarters. Lisa expected to see a dirty set of rundown buildings, with hookers, beer, and cigar products everywhere. However, it was a total opposite experience.

The three main buildings that she could see were the National Bank, a multifloored office building and a large open-air warehouse. All three were freshly painted and had no signs of disrepair. The road had been dug up and replaced with white stone blocks that were laid out in a decorative slanted pattern. In the middle of the road, in front of the three main buildings, was a fully functioning black marble water fountain. The water coming out of the fountain’s animal themed art work display was crystal clear. Planted around the fountain and white brick pathway were neatly trimmed hedges and gorgeous vibrant flowers arrayed in pleasing patters.

The grassy areas, pathways between buildings, and outdoor rest areas were completely trash free. Walking further inside Lisa felt as if she wasn't in some long-forgotten town anymore, but rather, in a small modern downtown park. As they walked closer Lisa could see that the buildings had electricity and lights were running.

"How is that possible?" Lisa thought to herself.

She should have been the only one to have access to electricity. Yet from the looks of things here, she needed to reevaluate her approach for dealing with this gang. Originally, she intended to dazzle them with the chance to have electricity once again, but they already had it. So, its appeal had already dropped and her plans dashed.

Putting aside these thoughts for now, Lisa went back to surveying her surroundings. One thing she noticed right away was that the gangsters themselves looked the same as she'd expected them too. They wore loose and gang related attire, with the logo of the dog snarling. As well as flashy jewelry, sunglasses and they proudly displayed their weapons on their person. Most of them were also heavily tattooed and seemed rather well off compared to the gangsters she had seen outside the compound.

"Somethings never seem to change, even after hundreds of years." Lisa thought to herself looking at a group of gangsters laughing on the bank’s steps. "Though there does seem to be some sort of hierarchy and the gangsters outside the wall are definitely lower ranked. Perhaps I could use that?"

Her thoughts were interrupted as Jerry turned and headed towards the large warehouse and Lisa eagerly followed close behind. The warehouse walls stretched high into the air and Lisa estimated that it had to be nearly one hundred meters high. It almost seemed unreasonable to call this building a warehouse, except that it was written as such on the wall outside: Warehouse Arena. There were lots of richly dressed people coming from and going into the building, with many hired carriers in tow. Once inside, she immediately understood why there were carriers, inside was some kind of modern style market area.

Several dozen people were buying and selling products of all types. The display areas were organized, clean and oddly not cluttered with objects to sell. Yet there were so many options available, from paper to electronic devices, or unique vegetables to high quality beef, and even guns to raw materials were being sold. Powered revolving holo-kiosks were everywhere displaying products and images of people related to fights or businesses. There was even an out of town merchant claiming on a loudspeaker that he could sell an electric sports car to someone in the town.

The buyers appeared to be just as extravagant. They looked nothing like the poor townspeople living in The Damn. The people here were well dressed, washed and shaven. Almost everyone had on what could be considered the latest fashion trends. Looking down at her faded jeans, thin shoes and simple shirt, Lisa felt completely poor and she hated that feeling.

"Where did all these people come from?" Lisa asked Jerry pushing her self-loathing thoughts aside.

Jerry was nervously leading the way, like he was ready to break out into a run at any second, but he managed to give a calm reply. "They are mostly from out of town mayors, tycoons, merchants or investors. I have no clue why they are interested in this particular place. My boss, Jackson, can explain that much better than I can. We are getting closer now."

Lisa continued to follow Jerry around the main area of the market area to avoid the crowd. Though seeing only glimpses of what was being offered, she wanted to explore more, but that was for another time. Reaching the far side of the room Jerry started down a wide marble floored hallway. Lisa even noticed that this hallway was lit up by electricity. It seemed that with every step she had greatly underestimated the Mad Dog gang power. Nearly every idea she had originally thought of to take over the gang and coax the men to follow her, now seemed utterly stupid. The low-level gangsters she had dealt with outside of the walls seemed to her now to have been a front.

"I better keep my guard up." Lisa though to herself. "There's no telling what else I'll find here."

The Arena took up well over half of the entire warehouse. In fact, Lisa had seemed to have greatly underestimated the sheer size of this building too. The so called 'market area' seemed more like a lobby for a hotel if you are to be comparing sizes. Around the stage the polished black tile flooring was also a surprising feature that seemed out of place compared to the dingy town.

"Jackson oversees a lot of the financial issues for the gang, especially for the Arena." Jerry started to explain as they entered this long downward sloping hallway leading into the Arena.

As they entered the ground level of the Arena a huge number of red seated stands could be seen towering above the stage at its center. The stage was a round cage like structure, with a chain link metal fence surrounding the whole thing. It's arena like concrete floor was tan in color, but areas were splattered with bits of red. Seeing this, Lisa asked Jerry about it, as they headed for the far side of the stage.

"Oh, the Arena is where our Match Fighters compete with each other or outside competition. Like the patrons and fans that we passed before are considered outside competition." Jerry said pointing a thumb over his shoulder.

"So, the red on the floor is from all the fighting?" Lisa asked though the answer was obvious.

"Yes. A lot of the fighters end up unfortunately fighting to the death." Jerry replied shaking his head.

"Hmm, I see." Lisa said while thinking. "Do the normal match rules still apply here?"

"As far as I know, yes. The rules are well known and often strictly upheld." Jerry replied turning down another much smaller hallway.

This hallway was different than the other one from before. There were multiple doors leading under the stands. The first few door had been labeled as waiting rooms or lockers. Likely for those prepping for upcoming fights. Then they came to the end of the hall where there were four gangsters with guns standing guard. They snapped into defense mode as the two approached them. There were clearly well trained and experienced. They only relaxed slightly seeing that Jerry was one of their own. They, however, eyed Lisa warily.

"Is she the one meeting Jackson?" One of guards asked Jerry. He was a dark-skinned man with a bald head and sunglasses on. He looked like a standard bodyguard celebrity's used.

"Yes, this is Queen." Jerry said giving a nod.

The guard gave a grunt of approval and opened the door for them. Lisa and Jerry then stepped inside and two of the guards followed them in as well. They took position on either side of the door and continued to watch Lisa carefully.

Coming inside Lisa found that it was a very spacious and meticulously organized office room. On the right of the room was a large window overlooking what appeared to be a residential area next to the river. Judging from the people milling about outside those buildings, it was for the gangsters to live in. There had to be hundreds of Mad Dog gangsters, judging from the number of apartments alone. Lisa didn't have time to look at this though. A posh male voice drew her attention back to the back of the room.

"Ah, nice to see you again, Queen." The voice belonged to Jackson. He was dressed just as neatly and professionally as before. However, this time he wore a matching white suite and pants.

"So, let us get right to business. You want to fight my Boss, Martinez. Why?" Jackson asked with a stern tone.

Lisa couldn't come outright and say it was to avenge Hanna's parents’ murders, though she wanted too. She would immediately be attacked by the armed guards. Additionally, now that she knew the gang had electricity, they more than likely had cameras in place and would be alerted if she attacked.

"Two reasons." Lisa replied casually. "The first is simple, I want money. What better way to earn it than to fight with the boss of the Mad Dogs? Secondly, because your boss is supposed to be the strongest and I am dying to fight someone worth my skills." Saying this Lisa let out a big vicious looking grin. It was the soldier coming out of her.

Jackson shifted uncomfortably in his seat upon hearing this. "I see. Though it is possible for you to fight him, you must prove yourself in the Arena first. As for making money, if you got money to bet, then you have come to the right place. Bet on any of the Matches or even yourself and hope for the best."

"Is that why there are so many rich types out in that market area?" Lisa asked. "Because of the fights?"

"Yes and no. Here in this town the law is, how should I say, not very well enforced here." Jackson said thoughtfully. "Things that are illegal in the civilized world are easy to find in places like here and we are the best for hundreds of miles. Even better than Moab City if I do say so myself."

Lisa was excited upon hearing this. Easy money and a shot to help Hanna. If the Match Fighters were anything like those she had fought before in town this would be a cake walk.

"However, the Fighters here are nothing compared to the ones we take outside the complex." Jackson replied almost seeming like he could read her mind. "Those that fight outside are trying to prove that they are strong enough to compete here. I definitely think you qualify from what I have seen."

"That's great to hear." Lisa said indifferently. "It makes no difference who you put me up against. I'll still win."

"Ha ha, that's good to know." Jackson replied. Then he gave a serious look and leaned forward onto the desk in front of him. "How about a quick fight in the Arena then?"

Lisa raised an eyebrow, "Now? Don't you want an audience to make something off this fight?"

"Oh, that's not an issue. We have a PA (public address) System set up all throughout the complex. All we need to do is announce that there is going to be a fight, and everyone will show. The Arena makes enough from bets, so we don't bother with tickets. It's a first come first serve environment" Jackson said as he stood up and walked out from behind the desk. He then headed to a door on the left side of the room and halfway opened it. "If you are ready, go on back to the Arena and prep for the fight. I'll go notify your opponent."

Lisa was unprepared for the sudden chance to be in a fight, but she didn't show it as she spoke. "Alright, I guess I can do one fight." She suddenly then had an idea. "However, how about a bet?"

"Let's hear it." Jackson said still with his hand on the doorknob.

Lisa's excited soldier grin reappeared as she spoke, "If I can beat anyone and everyone you put me up against, you are going to have to work for me!"