Chapter sixteen

Fake

Jimmy clenched and unclenched his fists. Why was he so nervous? It was nothing but a fight, something he'd done so many times before. And this time it was even possible to get an unskilled adversary. He could do this. It's just another competition. And first price was staying alive. Maybe.

But he couldn't stop the shiver going down his spine when Snitch Gravel walked towards them surrounded by his goons. He tried to count the men, but gave up. It wouldn't improve his state of mind to know exactly how outnumbered they were.

"He's right on time," Sam mumbled on Jimmy's right.

Jimmy gritted his teeth. "Whoopee."

"Good day to you, brats," Snitch Gravel said. With a flick of the wrist he dispatched his men. They rushed away obediently, forming a large circle around what would be the battlefield. Five men remained by Snitch Gravel's side.

Sam imitated his movement. Only Jerry, Jimmy and Sam didn't move from their position. The others mingled with Snitch Gravel's men.

"How many?" Jimmy whispered, leaning towards Jerry.

"Thirty-one, I think. Including Snitch Gravel and Von Crooken. So I guess twenty-nine actual fighters."

Jimmy's muscles relaxed. "That's not too bad." Yeah, just a three-to-one average.

"You're forgetting that four of us can't fight," Jerry said, still sounding worried.

"Did you count yourself?"

Jerry sighed. "Okay, five of us can't fight."

Sam was terrible and he wouldn't count Angie either, though she tried her best. Trying to distract himself from bleak calculations, Jimmy scanned the crowd around Snitch Gravel, wondering which one of them would be his opponent. He doubted it would be Von Crooken or Eye Patch so that left three random men.

"So, one of you three will be doing the fighting?" Snitch Gravel asked as if they were on a picnic, trying to decide on Hors d'œuvres.

"Yep," Sam said, giving Jimmy a nudge forward.

"Why am I not surprised?" Snitch Gravel clapped his hands. "Very well, then. Let's get this on."

"Wait a minute!" Sam raised one hand. "First, I want your men to lay their guns down near that tree." He pointed to a tree at the edge of the fighting ring. "Then, I want to see the ruby."

Snitch Gravel looked at Sam through narrowed eyes. He searched the inner pocket of his jacket and took out the ruby. "See? I have it." He then waved his hands and his men formed a neat line to leave their guns.

Jimmy had to admire their discipline.

Sam stepped away from Jimmy, next to a big boulder. "Put the ruby here." He patted the rock's surface.

Snitch Gravel seemed a bit annoyed, but he put the ruby on the rock nonetheless. He and Sam both returned to their groups. Snitch Gravel turned his attention back to Jimmy and rubbed his hands.

"Now that procedure is out of the way, I'm guessing you're anxious to meet your opponent."

Jimmy nodded curtly, clenching his fists again. Okay, this was it.

"What do you mean Billy's getting the rifles?" Jerry whispered angrily behind Jimmy's back. "He could drop them and blow the whole plan."

"I don't know why you don't trust Billy. He's not that much of a klutz," Sam answered.

"Shut up, both of you," Jimmy said, annoyed. "I need to concentrate here." Deep breath. Zen. He needed a clear head for the fight, not to get distracted by petty details.

"Let the games begin!" Snitch Gravel said. With an excessive bow, he stepped out of the way.

His men also broke ranks to reveal a girl. She clutched a guitar case tightly to her chest, a rucksack on her back. She stared at Jimmy with wide eyes as green as the canopy of vegetation above them.

Jimmy's jaw dropped all concentration going down in flames. "You're kidding! You're making me fight a girl?"

"Brilliant, isn't it?" Snitch Gravel replied.

The girl scowled. Shit! He looked at her apprehensively. Her curly, orange hair fell to her waist and clashed marvelously with her eyes. Jimmy took in another deep breath trying to concentrate on the upcoming fight again. So what if she was drop-dead beautiful? She was working for Snitch Gravel, so she was just as bad as the rest of his goons.

Frown still in place, the girl walked in the opposite direction from Snitch Gravel and dropped her guitar case and the rucksack. She straightened, clenched her fists and stared at Jimmy as though she wanted to drill a hole in his head.

The slight pout of her full lips was adorable. Jimmy swallowed before he started drooling on the ground like the big idiot he was.

Sam snapped his fingers in front of his eyes. "Yo, Jimmy, focus! You have to fight her, not fu—"

"Sam!" Jerry snapped, obviously guessing what was about to come out of Sam's mouth. Jimmy guessed too, and it painted a very unwanted mental image. "Watch your language!"

"You two are annoying me," Snitch Gravel said. "Pull back or I'll bring two extra men into the ring to tackle you."

"Stall as much as possible," Sam whispered before he and Jerry backed away.

Jimmy nodded curtly and stared at the girl. Focus, you moron! She bent her knees and raised her fists, watching him. Jimmy remained standing, biting his lower lip. He felt like a total waste of space, but this counted as stalling, so he didn't move.

"Any day now," Snitch Gravel called out.

The girl groaned and took a few steps towards Jimmy. He assumed combat position as well and mirrored her moves. They circled each other. Jimmy tried to catch sounds from the background. Snitch Gravel's men seemed to be talking amongst themselves. One of them even yawned. Crap, he was supposed to be distracting them.

Jimmy broke the circle and charged the girl. She jumped out of the way, her face screwed up in concentration. She struck back, throwing punch after punch in his direction. Jimmy dodged every hit. Her speed was impressive, he had to give her that. From the sidelines, Snitch Gravel's cronies cheered and placed bets.

Adrenaline started pumping through Jimmy. It got harder and harder not to hit back, take the fight seriously. He threw a halfhearted punch at her. The girl ducked around his outstretched fist and punched him in the stomach. Hard! No one had ever hit him that hard before except for Kyle. Before he could straighten up, she punched him in the ribs a couple of times. A kick to the chest sent him to the ground. He rolled away just as she wanted to kick his side.

"You don't hit your opponent when he's down," Jimmy said between his teeth as he rolled to his feet.

"Yeah, like you're fighting fair, you sexist bastard. What was that? A hit for the girls?" she replied, charging at him again.

Jimmy caught her fist and twisted her arm behind her back. "I'm not sexist. This isn't fair."

The girl kicked him in the shins and escaped his grip. "You're not that much of a challenge."

She attacked again. Jimmy dodged and struck back. She dodged as well. The girl had a point. He didn't have to go soft. She was good enough to give him a proper fight.

He caught both her fists. She tried to knee him, but he blocked. "I can't fight properly. I don't want to hurt you." The last phrase came out before he could stop it. But it was true. He saw it as a sparring session. It didn't have to end with someone getting hurt, especially her.

The girl stopped struggling to escape. She looked up at him questioningly. Jimmy half smiled and loosened his grip on her.

She shook her head, annoyed. "Not this easily." She headbutted him and tore out of his grip.

Jimmy stepped back, holding on to his nose, cursing under his breath. If she wanted a war, she'd get one. He shot forward. She aimed a punch at him, but he dodged around her and caught her in a full nelson. She struggled to escape, but he tightened his hold on her. Her body slammed against his and she stopped moving, panting. Heat rushed through him like a waterfall. This wasn't good.

Jimmy let her go and pushed her forward. He had to stall as much as possible, not finish her off. Plus, he hated his stupid body for not being able to tell she was the enemy.

The girl stared at him for a second, probably wondering why he let her go, then attacked again. Jimmy grabbed her shoulders. She did the same. He squeezed. She winced and leaned back. He followed her movement. Jimmy frowned, wondering why she was falling so fast. He wasn't squeezing her that hard. She suddenly tugged at him and let herself drop completely. Jimmy fell forward too, but didn't get to land on top of her. She put her feet in between them and pushed, throwing him over her.

Okay, where the hell did she pull that move from? Jimmy rolled face up. Snitch Gravel was hovering over him, a wide grin on his face.

"Did I mention the three strike rule?" he asked pleasantly.

Jimmy blinked. "No. What's that?"

"She's standing, you're not. Strike two. Strike three, you're out."

Awesome. This meant he didn't actually have to beat her to death to win. Snitch Gravel backed off and the girl came charging towards him again. Jimmy got to his knees and dodged her kick.

"Get up! You're losing," she hissed low.

Jimmy kicked at her legs, but she jumped over his leg. This girl was really something. "What's it to you?" he whispered back.

"Just finish her off," Sam called out.

Jimmy grinned. Finally. Before the girl could answer, he wrapped his arms around her knees and tackled her to the ground. She struggled to break loose, but he pinned her wrists above her head and tightened his knees around her thighs, completely immobilizing her.

"I'm backup," she mumbled.

"Yeah, we'll see about that." Jimmy released her wrists and hit her on the sides of the neck with both hands. She remained unmoving.

A groan of disappointment rose from the crowd around him. Jimmy got up, brushing the dead everything off his clothes. He wished he could brush off the guilt as well. But he had other things to worry about now, like the real fight he was sure would follow.

*

Sam turned to Snitch Gravel, but before he could open his mouth to speak, Snitch Gravel snatched the ruby. Sam's eyes narrowed. It wasn't as if he hadn't expected that. He pulled out his gun and pointed it at Snitch Gravel's head.

"Drop it!"

Snitch Gravel grinned. "You're not going to shoot me."

Sam cocked the pistol. "Drop it."

Snitch Gravel's grin disappeared. He studied Sam carefully. Sam didn't care at that point. He had to coordinate perfectly. "You two clowns." Sam nodded towards Von Crooken and Eye Patch. "Drop your weapons unless you want your boss sprayed all over the place."

The two men complied and stepped away from their weapons. Sam returned his gaze to Snitch Gravel. He was smirking, his hands half raised, mockingly, still holding the ruby. An echoing clicking noise coming from behind him let Sam know that Snitch Gravel's men were pointing their rifles at him.

"You should lower your weapon. If you want any part of you to remain intact, that is." Snitch Gravel lowered his arms.

Sam swallowed the knot in his throat. He concentrated on keeping his hand steady, aware he could be killed in a matter of seconds. But he wasn't about to give up. He trusted his brothers enough to lay his life in their hands.

Sam tightened his grip on the gun. "Give me the ruby. Now."

"You're not going to shoot me. We both know—"

Sam raised the gun above Snitch Gravel's head and fired. The sound echoed in the silence and birds flew out of the nearby trees. Sam lowered his hand back to level with Snitch Gravel's face. More clicking noises came from behind Sam; then a shot and the sounds of a struggle. Snitch Gravel nodded towards Von Crooken and Eye Patch; the two darted forward, leaving Sam's line of sight.

"Finish him off!" Von Crooken yelled. The sounds of a fight filled the air.

Sam stared at Snitch Gravel, wishing he could see what was going on behind him. He motioned with the gun for Snitch Gravel to move. He grinned and complied. The two kept the distance between them, but exchanged the side of the boulder they stood around, bringing Snitch Gravel with his back to the fight.

Sam squinted, but he could make nothing out through the massive dog-pile. The only one of his brothers he could see was Jerry. He'd grabbed Jimmy's former opponent and pulled her away, to avoid anyone stepping on her. Sam expected him to drop the girl and start fighting too, but Jerry did no such thing. Instead, he stared at something, his eyes becoming ever wider.

"Kyle, behind you!" he yelled all of a sudden.

Sam had to concentrate with all his might not to run towards the battle. He heard Kyle cursing furiously, Kay crying with rage and the pile of men shifted. Sam saw her making her way to the other side of the fight. A man grabbed her by the waist and hoisted her off the ground. Jimmy charged her attacker, freeing her. He was immediately surrounded. Kyle came into view, yanking a knife's blade out of his forearm. Blood spluttered his white t-shirt.

They wouldn't make it. There were too many of Snitch Gravel's goons. Sam turned his attention back to Snitch Gravel who was grinning in his face, the ruby still clenched in his fist.

"Call them off," Sam said.

"I don't think I will," Snitch Gravel answered causally.

Sam cocked the pistol again. "Call them off."

Snitch Gravel gritted his teeth. "It's either that or the ruby."

"You're in no position to make requests."

"Neither are you."

Sam looked beyond Snitch Gravel, but he couldn't make out anything. One of the girls screamed, he couldn't tell which. His hand started shaking. The plan was to trust his brothers, but he wouldn't risk their safety, not for a stupid rock.

"Fine. Keep the ruby. Call your men back."

Snitch Gravel shook his head with pity, but raised his hand. The following second, Eye Patch whistled loudly, and the men started pulling out of the fight. "I thought you had more cold blood in you."

Sam lowered his gun and holstered it. He jumped over the boulder and snatched the ruby out of Snitch Gravel's hand. Before the latter could make a grab for him, Sam climbed on top of the boulder, holding the ruby above his head.

For a fraction of a second he looked at it. And at that moment, it was like divine revelation. The jewels of jewels; everlasting, huge, heavy and sturdy – made by the gods, fit for the kings. The legendary powers it holds – it has the power to repel the gods themselves. Extracts from the old document swam in front of Sam's eyes like a movie. He had taken it all to be a cute, exaggerated legend, but it was the actual description of the ruby. Repel the gods.

"The sun..." Sam mumbled. Mayans, like many of the old civilizations were sun-worshipers.

"Get down from there, you treacherous brat!" Snitch Gravel's voice barely reached Sam.

He raised the ruby and stared at the sun through it. The light went straight through the colorful glass. It didn't repel crap. His hunch was right. This pathetic imitation could hardly be what that conquistador had died for. What they had been so close to dying for.

"This is my final warning!"

Sam looked down at Snitch Gravel who was pointing his gun at him. He had no idea how come he hadn't been tackled off that rock yet.

"Drop the ruby," Snitch Gravel said slowly, as though he suspected Sam was too underdeveloped to understand proper English.

Sam looked at the shiny stone in his hand and couldn't suppress a smirk. He let it slide out of his hand. It hit the boulder and smashed into pieces.

"Oops," Sam said, cheerfully. He hopped off the boulder and landed next to Snitch Gravel. "I brokeded it."

Snitch Gravel gazed at him, his eyes narrowed. "You knew about this. You knew it was a fake all along."

"I can't say I knew all along. If I had, I would've moved much faster." Sam shrugged. "But I did figure it out eventually."

"Do you know where the real one is?"

"I have a hunch."

Snitch Gravel grinned maliciously and lowered his gun. "Great. It means I still need you alive."

"Why don't you just kill us and get the ruby yourself?"

"And waste my men instead of you? Besides, I don't have your magic map. If it were ready, I'd steal it right now. But I believe it's not."

Sam's mouth fell open. "You know about the map?" He felt like hitting himself. He should have pretended he had no idea what Snitch Gravel was talking about.

"At least you didn't bother to lie. Yes, I know about it. Gina held more valuable information than I thought. Obviously, than you thought." Snitch Gravel holstered his gun and raised his hand. His men gathered up behind him. They formed a wall in front of Sam. "We will meet again. I'm not saying when. I'd rather it be a surprise. And you were right about one thing. You're not leaving here alive."

"That's what you think," Sam mumbled.

"That'sthe attitude I like to see." Snitch Gravel pushed past Sam and he and his men disappeared through the trees.

🔷🔷🔷

Does anyone actually still trust me with anything? People, stones, their first born sons?

But anyway.  Jimmy pov. How did it feel? Did you enjoy it? What do you think will happen now?

thanks so much for reading and don't forget to vote and comment.