Elite (41 page)

Of course he had only fought the bouncers in self-defense, although there would have been no cause for it had he just left when the owner asked him to. He did not fire first, but he might as well have.

The momentary distraction from losing Norma the fight had provided him was now gone, and he still had to live with the pain of knowing that she was gone forever.

Frank had gone home for the night when Daniel returned to the complex, so he had to use his key to go in through the back door. It was only the second time he had ever come back to the building after hours. The back door opened up to a narrow hallway which led to the main hallway on the first floor.

Daniel made his way down the hall, trying not to gather attention from anyone as he passed. He decided he would be less likely to run into anyone if he took the stairs rather than the elevator, so he turned into the fitness room. Before he could get to the stairwell however, he heard Richfield call for him.

“Daniel!” he yelled from the walkway outside of his office. “Get your ass up here!”

“What the hell were you thinking?” Richfield asked Daniel as they stepped into his office. “I just got a report from the police concerning four security guards at a bar who were taken out by one lunatic.”

“That’s crazy,” Daniel said
, his face covered in bruises and the dress clothes he had worn to the funeral tattered and torn.

“You do not use the abilities I gave you to engage civilians!” Richfield barked.

“They attacked me,” Daniel explained in an apathetic tone.

“Why?” Richfield demanded.

Daniel paused, knowing his reason why was not going to be good enough for Richfield.

“The bar owner was harassing some woman,” Daniel explained sheepishly. “I told him to stop.”

Richfield shook his head and took a deep breath.

“I know you’re real broken up about Norma,” he spoke. “But unfortunately there are rare occasions in this job when we lose people. The rest of these guys have been through that sort of thing so it’s easier for
them . But you’ve got to be more careful Daniel. You’ve got to know what you’re capable of and be able to control it.”

Daniel nodded silently, staring at the floor as though he should feel some form of shame for his actions.

“That being said, I am rather impressed.” Richfield added with a smirk. “They big guys, these bouncers?”

Daniel forced a half-smile in return.
“Three of ‘em. The fourth reminded me a lot of Jitters.”

Richfield released a quick burst of air in the form of a laugh before dismissing Daniel. As Daniel opened the door and started out of the office, he made a decision. He was unsure of where the notion had come from, as it was not in any way premeditated, but as soon as it came to him, he knew it was right.

“I challenge Titan for the top ranking,” he said sternly.

Richfield’s eyes widened in disbelief at the unprecedented challenge.

“Excuse me?” He asked, seemingly confused.

“I think I’m ready,” Daniel responded with full confidence.

“You’re not ready,” Richfield retorted. “Look at you – you’re all beat up.”

“This Saturday,” Daniel said, stepping to Richfield’s desk and reaching for a pen.

Richfield opened his mouth to say something else, but he had been around enough to know that Daniel wasn’t going to change his mind. He had decided, and if he wanted to commit suicide in four days’ time that was his right. Richfield pulled a challenge agreement form out of his file and set it on his desk in front of Daniel.

“You miss her so much you want to die yourself, is that it?” Richfield asked degradingly as Daniel filled out the form.

“This isn’t about her anymore,” Daniel countered succinctly. “I’m done living my life for other people. I’m doing this for me.”

After he finished filling out his portion of the form, Daniel turned abruptly and made his way for the door, taking the form and pen with him.

“Where are you going with that?” Richfield shouted through the doorway.

“To challenge my opponent,” Daniel called back.

Daniel made his way down to the first floor and over to the lounge where he knew he would find Titan with the other agents.

As he walked through the door, a hush came over the room as every agent he passed took notice of the rough shape he was in.

“Daniel!” Charlie shouted from a table in the back.

Daniel ignored the call and made a beeline for Titan who was standing at the bar,
chatting it up with Theodore and a couple of the other agents.

“What the hell happened to you?” Titan asked in a deep rumble as Daniel stopped in front of him.

“I’m challenging you Titan,” Daniel stated plainly – to everyone’s surprise without so much as blinking. “For the number one ranking.”

Daniel held the paper up to Titan, who suddenly had a very serious and threatening look on his face. Titan took the form from Daniel and the room slowly came to complete silence as word instantly spread of Daniel’s challenge.

It was like a sea otter challenging a Great White Shark.

Titan finished reading the form and glanced down at Daniel with a deep, dark stare.

“Are you sure you want to do this?” he asked, almost angrily.

Daniel responded by holding up the pen for Titan to sign with.

Titan slowly took the pen, setting the challenge form on the bar and signing his name to it. He then turned and handed both the form and the pen back to Daniel.

“I like you, Little Man,” Titan said after handing Daniel the form. Daniel didn’t know if Titan was paying him a compliment or if that was some form of backhanded trash talk. “But when we climb in that cage together, you will become my enemy and I will rip you to shreds.”

If Daniel had been capable of feeling any emotion he might have been frightened by Titan’s comments, but he didn’t give a damn about Titan’s size, strength, or freakish athletic ability right now. He was tired of being told that his best days were still in front of him. He was ready to be number one and Titan was the beast he had to slay to do it.

Daniel thought about attempting some witty comeback to prove he wasn’t intimidated, but he didn’t bother. Instead he turned around and strode silently out of the lounge.

It was on.

Chapter 21

Daniel sat on the cold metal table where he had waited for his first fight with Jitters, only this time there was no Robby there to psych him up. No, this time he was alone. There was no one in his corner. This was one mountain he was going to have to climb on his own.

If people were unsure of his chances against Jitters, they were absolutely certain of his chances against Titan. They were zero – there were
none. No one was giving him a shot. The other agents wouldn’t speak to him because they knew there were no words of encouragement they could give him. Even Charlie and Shifty had done nothing but beg him to back out of the fight. To everyone else he may as well have been a man on death row.

He went to Elise to ask her to help him prepare, and even she told him there was nothing she could do.

“For one,” she said, “you’re never going to hit me as hard as you will him.

“And two, Titan is bigger, stronger, and faster than I am,” she explained. “There is nothing I can do to prepare you for that.”

Daniel agreed that her logic made sense, and decided to spend his time preparing through meditation – or at least some form of it.

He spent hours exploring his brain, learning what each area did and how to control it. He tried to visualize his match with Titan, preparing himself to control different areas of his brain with only a split-second’s notice.

He had even tried to heal himself at an expedited pace by sending white blood cells and antibodies to the affected areas, but came to realize that the healing process was something that took time for a reason, and trying to force it to happen too quickly would risk improper healing.

Instead he spent his time working on abilities that would help him in the fight. He knew that whatever he was going to do, it needed to happen quickly. The longer he messed around with Titan the slimmer his chances of winning would become – that is, if he had any in the first place.

The door opened to the ready room opened sending a stream of bright light pouring in through the doorway. There was one man who still believed in him.

The day after Daniel had issued the challenge, Mr. Blank had sat with him to eat lunch. The two ate in complete silence for fifteen minutes before walking out of the cafeteria together.

Before parting ways Blank turned to Daniel and uttered the first words spoken between them, “You sure about this, Danny Boy?”

Daniel did not respond, rather just stared at Blank who was looking deeply into his eyes. After ten of the longest seconds in history, Blank finally found what he was looking for. He cracked a smile and patted Daniel twice on the cheek.

“You can do this kiddo,” he said.

Blank approached Daniel who sat alone in the ready room and helped him put on his gloves.

“It’s time,” he said.

Daniel stood up as the bright light pouring in through the door suddenly went black. He saw the white flicker of strobe lights as a loud instrumental anthem fit for a god began playing over the loud speakers.

He heard Richfield begin Titan’s introduction, but did not pay attention to the words. Instead he opened up his mind, taking control of every part of his brain that he could without losing his grasp on conscious thought. He increased his heart rate and released his hormones – preparing himself to unleash a power that even Titan had never before experienced.

Suddenly the music stopped, and the house lights came back on. Daniel stepped out of the ready room and started his walk toward the ring.

The arena was eerily silent but for the sound of Richfield’s voice over the loudspeakers and the murmur of individual conversations happening throughout the crowd. Daniel had told Richfield no loud music, and no flashy lights. This wasn’t about theater, it was about validation.

“And now the challenger,” Richfield announced. “If you didn’t know him before, you probably know him now, as the fool who challenged Titan.”

Richfield’s joke aroused a small laugh from the crowd, and even Daniel himself couldn’t help but crack a smile at the tension-easing remark.

“Currently the thirty-ninth ranked Elite Agent – the golden boy – Daniel Hart!”

The crowd delivered and overly polite round of applause as Daniel climbed up and into the cage.

The crowd was much smaller than it had been for his fight against Jitters. Most at the complex felt there was no need to watch the massacre that was sure to occur.

Titan stood tall in the middle of the ring, moving his mouth guard around in his mouth and directing a dastardly gaze in Daniel’s direction. Daniel walked toward him, testing each one of his internal body functions to make sure he had control, much like a pilot going through his pre-flight checklist.

“Still time to back out,” Titan growled in a more violent fashion than Daniel was used to hearing from the man. Richfield went over the rules while the two agents stood face to face in the center of the ring.

“Then how would I take the top spot?” Daniel responded, showing no signs of intimidation.

Neither man was listening to Richfield go over the rules, but when he finished they both looked over to him and nodded. They then bumped fists before going to their respective corners.

Titan had an entire entourage of trainers and Elite agents in his corner, while Mr. Blank stood as the lone soul in Daniel’s.

Daniel opened his mouth to receive a squirt of water from Blank before placing his mouth guard over his teeth.

“I have a feeling this thing is only lasting one round whichever way it goes,” Blank chuckled with surprising excitement in his voice. “Go get ‘em Danny Boy!”

With that Daniel’s biggest fan exited the cage and closed the door behind him.

Daniel turned and bounced his way toward his monstrous opponent in the center of the ring. The adrenaline surging through his body created a sensation similar to that of fear, but Daniel knew that he was not afraid – he was filled with a focused intensity. He knew what he needed to do and he was ready to execute.

The bell rang signaling the start of the first five minute round, and the two
fighters bumped fists one last time before getting into their combat stances and dancing around each other in the ring.

This fight had already proved vastly different from Daniel’s first. Previously, his gaze had been at a downward angle, focusing on the
shorter Jitters. Now he was craning upward to look at Titan, who stood a good five or six inches taller than him.

Titan was wearing black shorts with silver lightning bolts on them. Sweat glistened off his black skin making his colossal physique even more impressive.

Daniel’s body was visibly scarred and bruised from his recent barroom brawl. Even though that fight had been four-on-one, he knew that it was nothing compared to what he was about to face against Titan.

It seemed neither Titan nor Daniel felt the need to waste any time dancing around as they both came out of the gate swinging.

Just a few seconds into the round Titan took a quick left-handed jab at Daniel. Daniel was able to block it with his right hand, but the strength of Titan pushed Daniel’s blocking hand back into his own face, temporarily disorienting him.

Daniel recovered quickly, but not quick enough for the lightning fast Titan who delivered a strong right hook to the left side of Daniel’s face, connecting in the exact place the bouncer had four nights earlier.

Daniel felt a searing pain in his face as he was knocked to the ground by the vicious blow. The crowd gasped, expecting that the fight was over before it had even begun.

Titan followed up on his punch, ready to deliver another big blow with his right, but as he had at the bar Daniel threw a mule kick straight to Titan’s midsection. Unlike the chunky bouncer however, Titan’s stomach was rock solid. Daniel hadn’t taken the time to really focus his strength when he delivered the kick. The amount of contraction in his
quadricep was not enough to do any damage to Titan, but it did buy Daniel enough time to get to his feet.

It wouldn’t do him much good as Titan attempted to land another right hook before Daniel could fully establish balance. Daniel saw it
coming though, and was able to duck out of the way just in time. As Titan’s momentum carried his body over the top of Daniel, Daniel threw a right uppercut, focusing on the muscles in his abdomen, upper-arms and chest, creating the maximum amount of torque possible as he connected with Titan’s sternum.

Titan let out a burst of air, a bit surprised by the intensity of the blow. Daniel tried to follow up with a right hook to the head of Titan, again putting as much torque as he could into his delivery, but Titan was too fast and ducked out of the way.

Titan tried to use his current position to his advantage by slamming his shoulder into Daniel’s chest and trying to slam him into the ground.

Daniel recognized what was happening and was able to plant his feet into the ground, squeezing his thigh and calf muscles beyond their limits so that he couldn’t be knocked over.

Titan, realizing that he couldn’t push Daniel over, instead decided to just pick him up into the air and then slam him onto the mat.

The crowd roared, suddenly finding much more excitement in the matchup than they had ever dreamed possible.

Titan pinned Daniel’s left arm to the ground. He reared back with his left arm, and Daniel decided that instead of blocking the hit, he would take advantage of the opening by delivering a strike of his own.

From the ground Daniel had no way of using momentum to intensify his punch. He generated as much power as he could, contracting his bicep and
tricep so hard that it caused him physical pain.

As Daniel’s fist moved upward toward Titan’s face, Titan’s fist soared downward toward Daniel’s. Daniel turned his head, feeling the brute force of Titan’s fist squeezing his skull between his fist and the mat.

Daniel’s fist met Titan’s face at the exact same moment, causing Titan to recoil just slightly.

Daniel took the split second created by his jab to stop the hurting. He now simply felt pressure all over his body rather than pain.

He could not however keep himself from seeing stars after being hit by Titan. His vision was beginning to blur after that last hit, and he knew he could not survive another.

Titan was also aware of Daniel’s vulnerability as he reared back, ready to finish off his opponent.

This time Daniel went on the defensive, reaching up and grabbing Titan’s arm at its highest point. He squeezed his right upper body muscles with the same intensity he had used when he threw his last jab. Daniel could see the shock on Titan’s face when he found he was unable to overpower Daniel and deliver the blow.

Daniel cringed, his muscles in searing pain as he used up every bit of oxygenated blood and hormones available, contracting them to the amount necessary to keep Titan from breaking through.

Titan finally gave up and twisted his upper body in order to throw Daniel’s blocking arm to the side. The amount of leverage necessary to move Daniel’s arms aside caused Titan to roll off of Daniel, allowing Daniel to roll away to his left.

Daniel quickly got to his feet and took several quick steps away from his monstrous opponent. The crowd was now at a soft roar, wondering if Daniel could perhaps achieve the impossible.

What they should have realized is that Daniel was capable of doing things that until four months ago were impossible for any human.

Daniel’s heart began to strain as he gathered himself. He knew that he couldn’t maintain this pace any longer. Time was running out
on the first round and if he didn’t finish the job now he might not survive another five minutes.

So he took a risk. He cranked up his heart rate even faster, taking deep breaths to absorb as much oxygen as he possibly could.

He suddenly felt angry – and he felt powerful. He was the king of the jungle and he wasn’t going to let Titan hold that crown any longer.

Daniel was losing himself to the chemicals and hormones now saturating his brain, he knew, but he didn’t care – he liked it. He liked feeling powerful and he wanted to destroy.

Daniel lunged toward Titan, taking one big stride before leaping up into the air. He brought both knees up to his chest as he floated high in the air.

Titan instinctively threw his arms up to protect his face – Daniel had expected this.

Daniel waited a split second longer, until his legs were even with Titan’s chest. He let out a vicious cry as he contracted his leg muscles further and further, causing himself agonizing pain that he could not prevent as he thrust both legs forward into the chest of the mighty Titan.

Daniel felt ribs cracking beneath his bare feet as his kick sent Titan flying backwards and onto his back. Titan let out a monstrous moan of agony as he crashed to the ground.

Daniel landed on his back and quickly rolled over to see the result of his ferocious dropkick.

To his surprise, Titan was climbing right back up onto his feet. Daniel now understood the respect and admiration Titan had earned with the other agents.

Daniel quickly got back to his feet, ready for whatever Titan threw at him next. He knew that even the toughest man in the world had to be hurting after a sledgehammer to the chest like the one Daniel had delivered.