“The hell I am!”
He looked at the man next to Blum and nodded. The man took out a serrated-edged knife and held it against Blum’s neck.
“If you don’t fight, your friend dies and then you both die, too. It’s up to you.”
Mercy stepped forward. “I killed your brother, not them. Let me fight one of your guys. Hell, I’ll fight all of them. But you don’t have to hurt my sister or Carol.”
Again, Buckley remained silent for a moment. “Are you finished?”
Mercy glanced at Pine but said nothing.
“Let me introduce you to your referee.”
From out of the shadows stepped Britt Spector. She was dressed in a striped hoodie with a kangaroo pouch, and black pants that hung loosely on her, with a knapsack over one shoulder. Her hair was tied back. She came to stand next to Buckley. Spector didn’t look at Pine or Mercy. Her gaze just stared out.
Buckley said, “Now for the rules. There will be four rounds. Five minutes each round. If, at any time, I feel that you are not fighting your hardest . . . ” He turned to the man next to Blum. “Jason over there will make an incision on your friend’s skin. Each subsequent incision will be deeper and draw more blood. The ending of this is easy to see. The more times I request the cuts, the more blood she loses. A tipping point will be reached and that will be that. But I will be fair in my calls.”
“Sure you will,” snapped Mercy.
“And how exactly does this end?” said Pine.
“If one of you wins by knockout, you live, as does Ms. Blum. And the other one dies. If neither of you clearly wins, you both die. Along with Ms. Blum.”
“And you expect us to believe that you’ll just let us walk out of here to tell the cops what happened?”
“I didn’t say the winner walks out of here. I said you get to live. I didn’t say where or how.”
An enraged Pine bolted toward Buckley, but two of the men tackled her before she could get to him.
She fell at his feet. He looked down at her and then nodded at the man next to Blum.
Pine saw this and screamed, “No, please, don’t hurt her.”
The man ripped open Blum’s sleeve with the knife and cut delicately into her skin. Blum jerked back as the blade sliced into her. She started to shake with pain.
Pine was hauled to her feet and was vibrating with fury, as Buckley looked at her in disappointment.
“I expected better from you,” he said. “And your sister is apparently a real killer in the cage. You better bring your A game.”
He jerked his head at his men. They force-marched the two women into the ring. Spector followed and then the door was closed behind them.
Spector finally looked at them. “Are you two ready?”
“What the fuck do you think?” snapped Pine.
“If you don’t fight hard, he will do exactly as he said he would to your friend.”
“And you really expect us to believe he’s not going to kill all three of us regardless of what happens in here?” said Pine.
“I don’t know what else to tell you,” said Spector, looking at the dirt.
“Great, thanks for the help,” said Mercy.
“I’m just doing my job.”
“Right, I’m sure he’s paying you plenty. Enjoy it along with the memory of a triple homicide,” barked Pine.
Spector led them over to the center of the ring. She pulled from the knapsack two pairs of UFC gloves and two mouthpieces. She helped the women get them on and then looked over at a man who was standing next to a large countdown clock set on a table and visible to all in the cage.
“Okay, I’m sure you both know the rules. Knockouts and armbar stops are in my sole judgment. Your level of fighting is up to him. And Carol is already bleeding some, so keep that in mind.”
Both women looked over at Blum to see her pained face and the swelling patch of blood leaching onto her torn sleeve.
Pine stared at her sister. Mercy looked back at her, with not a shred of hope on her features.
“Well,” said Pine. Her voice was garbled because of the mouthpiece. “He was right about this being something I’ve never faced before.”
Spector said, “Okay, step back and then commence fighting on the sound of the horn.”
Pine looked once more at Mercy and shook her head.
“Shit” was all she could think to say.
CHAPTER
71
WHEN THE HORN SOUNDED, they marched forward, and each assumed a defensive stance. Mercy looped a kick; Pine blocked it and then threw an awkward punch.
The scream froze them.
Blum’s gag had been removed. And the man standing next to her had made a large cut on her upper arm, where blood was streaming down.
“Carol!” screamed Pine.
Buckley called out, “I warned you. Now fight!”
Spector stepped between them and whispered. “Do it, ladies, or she’s dead. Just make contact and absorb the punishment. He’s not an expert in MMA. Come on. You can do this.”
Pine gave her a curious look as she stepped back.
Mercy eyed her sister and said, “Let’s give the asshole a show.” Pine launched a right hook at Mercy’s left oblique, and she fell back. As Pine charged forward Mercy pivoted and landed a side kick to Pine’s jaw. Had her sister unleashed her full power, Pine’s jaw would have been broken. It still hurt like hell.
Pine clinched and then pushed her sister off. They landed solid blows with their fists and feet. They kept doing so until the horn sounded and the round ended.
They retreated to separate sides, where a bottle of G2 with a squirt top was hanging from a hook on the fencing next to a white towel. Spector held the bottle to Pine’s mouth and let her suck on it. She wiped Pine’s face, arms, and legs off with the towel.
While she was doing that Spector said in a low voice, “Just keep doing what you’re doing.”
Pine eyed Spector curiously.
“Just hang in there,” said Spector. “And trust me.”
She went over to Mercy’s side to provide hydration and toweling off and relayed the exact same thing.
Buckley called through the fence. “Well done. Now keep it up. I want more!”
The horn sounded and the second round began.
They met in the middle of the ring and started kicking and slugging. During a clinch Pine mumbled, “So do we trust her?”
Mercy said, “Hell, do we have a choice?”
They heard another scream and both turned to see the man slice into Blum’s arm again. Then they both turned to Buckley, who was now standing at the chain-link fence. “Not a single knockdown yet?”
Pine looked at Mercy, who tapped her chest. A silent communication occurred. It was like they were kids again playing in the backyard in Georgia.
Pine stepped back and then exploded forward with a looping kick that slammed into the left side of Mercy’s head. Mercy staggered backward, impacted the fence, and went down to one knee, her taut belly sucking in and out.