Black Market Merchant

"What!" Benny exclaimed in surprise. Instinctively he reached for his gun tucked in its holster on the back of his belt. He didn't pull it out right away, he wanted to though. "Are you sure that big guy is the right one?"

Hanna's outstretched finger quivered as she nodded a voiceless ‘yes’.

Hearing Benny's voice Lisa turned around to see the small group behind her. "Hold on a second, I'll be back. Sadie, go ahead and work out the fight details." Lisa said to the two managers and turning to meet with the new arrivals.

"Well, this is a surprise. What are you all doing here?" Lisa asked casually walking towards them.

Benny also closed the distance between them, never taking his eyes off the motionless giant of a man standing at the other gate. Then in a low voice he spoke to Lisa. "What's going on? Who are they?"

Sensing something was off Lisa also lowered her voice. "The big guy is a Match Fighter and that's his manager. Is something the matter?" Then she noticed Hanna's complexion, it was as pale as paper.

"Hanna said that the big man over there is one of the men responsible for the murders." Benny replied almost in a growl.

"Seriously?" Lisa murmured and glanced at the big guy. "Then this is a lucky break. I was just getting ready to fight him. Once I beat him, I can kill him without causing too much of a scene."

"I would rather just put a bullet in him right now." Benny grumbled.

"No, not yet." Lisa replied holding up her hands motioning to wait. "We need to get the rest responsible to show themselves and shooting him now might make things worse. I got a plan, so just wait for now."

"Queen. We came to terms for the fight. You ready?" Sadie called towards the two adults talking.

Lisa turned around giving a thumbs up. The turning back to Benny she whispered, "Keep Hanna calm for now. If I am about to lose or something crazy happens, shoot. I trust you can handle it?"

"Naturally." Benny said relaxing his grip on the gun handle. "I'll make sure Hanna is alright."

Lisa then left to go back over to Sadie and the other manager. There was a faint smirk lingering on the managers face. So far, the entire time they were talking the big man looming in the back didn't budge, like he was like a massive robot waiting for its commands.

"So, I'll cut to the chase." The manager spoke first once Lisa was closer. "If you can last five minutes against my Match Fighter, we will call for a temporary break. Then in one week we can finish this in the Arena for all to see. I'm sure it won't come to that though."

"What if I beat him before that time. After all I'm now not in the mood to play nice." Lisa replied with a stiff expression.

"Ha-ha, good one! This Mammoth of a man is no ordinary fighter. He is Golem, a personal bodyguard of the Mad Dogs boss Joe Swanson.” The manager explained while suppressing his mirth. “He's a full nearly a full League ahead of you and is about to be in the Mountain League. He has a record of Tier Two with four wins zero losses. There is no way you’re capable of beating him from the fights I've seen you do.”

Lisa couldn't help but feel annoyed. She hated being underestimated, especially by jerk men like him. She had barely shown her potential in fights past and now might be a chance to really cut loose. However, she knew better. This was the chance to have Hanna be able to identify her parent’s killers. The deal to fight in a week if she lasted five minutes worked in their favor.

"Pfft, I only need to hold back for five minutes?" Lisa scoffed. "Tell me the rest of the terms and let's get this over with. Me still being in Tier Twenty means nothing to the skills I have."

It was Sadie's turn to give her input. "We agreed to a one-on-one fight, with free weapons choice. Additionally, there is a special bet he wished to add."

"Indeed. I had confirmed that you might be staying here, as for why, I could care less. However, I took the liberty of looking in our National Bank and found the deed to this dam. If you win, I'll give it to you." The manager said breaking out into another cocky smile. "But when you lose, and if you're still alive, Miss Sadie and you will have to work entirely under me."

Lisa didn't appear the least bit perturbed by his words. This went totally against her personal goals and didn't want to be under someone else's control. Also, this special bet was an exciting revelation! Getting the legitimate deed to the dams building would cement her authority to generate the electricity.

Without hesitation Lisa replied, "Deal!" And the two shook hands.

"Shall we start in a few moments?" The manager replied while typing something into his own tabloid.

"Sure, let me just get my weapon ready and I'll be right back." Lisa replied turning to go back towards Benny and the girls.

Hanna hadn't calmed down at all and was still staring blankly at her parent’s killer, the Golem. Her breathing was heavy and sweat had appeared on her brow. The others had tried to calm her down but hadn't been all to successful.

Lisa walked carefully up to the terrified girl and knelt next to her on one knee. She had seen this reaction before, the shock of seeing someone related to a death of someone close to yourself was unfortunately common when in war. She had seen many of her comrades driven into blind anger seeing their comrade’s killer and many died rushing headlong into battle trying to get revenge.

"Hanna, please look at me." Lisa spoke softly to the little girl. Then grabbing her chin gently Lisa forced Hanna to look at her. Her cool gray eyes looked tender as she talked to the little trembling girl. "Don't worry about that man. I am here now. You can trust me, and I will help you get rid of him."

This seemed to do the trick. Hanna's terrified glazed over green eyes softened, and tears started to spill. Clair and Rachel, also feeling Hanna's pain, both embraced her in a hug.

Lisa got up and headed for the Powerhouse to retrieve her sword. The tenderness in her eyes was gone now, only the cold grey of winter remained. "I cannot stand seeing someone so young suffer like that. I need to hurry this up. Besides, it will help me too." Lisa thought to herself.

Lisa climbed the metal stairs quickly and the sound of her rushing footsteps woke Zane up. He had been able to fall asleep for a short time while enduring the pain. He grimaced heavily as he sat up from the mattress. He saw Lisa walk past the window and into the other room. Pressing a hand against the wall he tried getting up and though it felt as if his side was tearing in half, yet he managed to stand.

Lisa was just then coming back from grabbing her sword from her coffin when she noticed Zane staggering towards the office door. She opened it and spoke to Zane. "Seems like you’re toughing it out, but don't push yourself to much. You really need to stay still."

"I know." Zane grumbled. "I got to pee again."

Lisa sighed. "Fine, and while you're down there I have a special treat for you. As your boss I will show you what I really am capable of. A Match Fighter has challenged me and is waiting just outside."

"Match Fighter?!" Zane thought surprised. "I'll get a chance to see if she really is as tough as she makes herself out to be."

"That sounds interesting. I'll watch." Zane replied still holding his side. Now that he was awake, he found that a painful vibration happened every time he spoke.

"Take your time. Oh, and pee where others won't notice. There are kids outside." Lisa said walking out of the room and headed for the stairs.

Zane did as he was told. Taking the stairs one at a time and holding faithfully onto the railing, he made it down to ground level with out to much overpowering discomfort. Shuffling towards the exit he saw the kids Lisa mentioned. The three girls looked sad as they clung to each other. They were looking somewhere out of Zane's vision. An older tough looking man was with them, along with Miss Sadie.

He decided to go towards around the far side of the maintenance building to relieve himself. He was halfway across the parking lot when he glanced towards where Lisa was now standing. When he did, he completely forgot about going pee. The sight of her opponent stopped him dead in his tracks. The man was an absolute giant!

…

"Alright now Joe, all you need to do is fight that woman right there." Joe’s manager, Saul, said pointing at Lisa. "She is very quick with that long black sword of hers, so be careful of it. Other than that, she's not that special."

Joe, the Golem, grunted and looked at his opponent. He gave a nasty smile seeing that it was just some lanky looking woman.

At a young age Joe hadn't been able to speak due to an accident. As a result, he was often bullied, however, he kept growing bigger and bigger. If anyone even slightly messed around with him, he reacted violently, as physical reactions were the only way he knew how to communicate. Eventually no one messed with him. Then Martinez met him one day and hired him as a bodyguard. Eventually, Joe learned that all the violence he saw and did with the gang was enjoyable. Now that he had also become a Match Fighter, he knew that violence was his only path.

Joe had been wearing a large duffel bag over one shoulder and he took it off. Unzipping it quickly, he revealed a lot of large metal plates inside. He fiddled around inside for a few moments before extracting them one by one.

Lisa was watching cautiously as he did from only a few meters away. To her surprise she saw that he was putting on those metal plates. They were parts of armor!

"Interesting, you can actually put-on body armor. I guess as long as it doesn't technically break the rules it's fair game." Lisa thought to herself. "Noted."

After a few moments, the outrageously big man had finished putting on the massive amount of armor onto himself. His appearance reminded her of Juggernaut Armor from Spiderman comics. He had every part of his body covered, except for his face and hands, with the faded black and military green painted armor. Then one last time, he reached inside of the oversized duffel bag. Pulling out, he revealed his weapons, they were a pair of large thick metal fingered gloves.

If his hand had been considered large before, they definitely were now. It was safe to assume that his hands were now each nearly one meter in size! Judging from the size and shape, Lisa could tell that there was some trick added to the metal gloves.

"All done getting ready?" Lisa called out in a mocking tone. "I don't have all day to play dress up with you."

"Grrr." Joe grunted sounding annoyed. He pounded a fist into his other hand trying to intimidate her. The loud clanking sound of the heavy metal gloves echoed off of the building walls.

"I will start the timer for five minutes. At the sound of the alarm, you both will stop." Saul announced aloud to everyone present. "The fight between Queen verses Golem is ready. Now let the match begin!"