Wonder-Kid! - The Agents of the Underworld

Chapter 14

"Aarrghh! Get away!"

Kid was in for a shock.

The mutant yellow eyes looked reptilian and predatory, while saliva poured off its mouth, as if signaling its intention to cause great harm to its prey.

It was keeping its eyes on the helpless Kid, ready to use its sharp claws to great effect. However, Raul stopped him in the nick of time.
"Back off," he said. "The boy is mine."

The monster obediently retreated to a corner to join another one, the two looking on with their scary-looking eyes.
Raul's hands were occupied with correcting his hat and coat, but his eyes were focused on Kid.

"Little one," he continued. "I can finish you off easily, for you are in a position to lose everything at this moment."

"Then...why you do not do it?" Kid asked.

"Unfortunately," Raul looked to his crew of gangsters before turning back to Kid, "that will not make things sweet. There is no...pride."

Kid did not fully understand. "Err...what do you want to do with me?"

"I would like to battle you...to the death."

Kid gulped. Raul removed his hat, but this did not reveal his face, for it was covered by a black mask. Then, he took off his thick jacket, revealing his muscular arms and tough build.
Kid gulped again. "This is not looking great..."

Then, his hands were untied from the ropes, and he was set free. Still, he was far from fit. He was still nursing a slight back pain.

And so it became a battle of sorts. Using all he had, Kid dodged Raul's initial strikes, which were done in a hurry and looked strong. He tried to deflect one of his strikes afterwards, but that did not work, for Kid was grabbed by his costume and thrown down.

Kid got back up; trying to straighten his back. It proved challenging because of his injury, not helped when facing a quick opponent. Whatever it was, Kid knew he had to give it his all, for his and, to a lesser extent, Cindy's sake.

His colleague was regaining consciousness; slowly but surely pressing against the ground to catch her breath. She could see the fight just a few meters away. From what she saw, Kid seemed to be struggling.

Raul's strikes became more frequent, and stronger. He was like a trained boxer, swinging his knuckles back and forth with little sign of slowing down. Kid almost panicked; his weaknesses highlighted by the mysterious Raul. Kid was then thrown face and body first towards the wall nearby.

Kid was down, leaning against the brick wall. His right hand was holding his hurting stomach. He was not out, but Raul was inching closer, having stopped for a moment to catch his breath. He sure was excited, but Kid was not.

Then Melvin appeared in Kid's ears.

"Kid, remember what I taught you..."

It was not Melvin speaking, actually, but Kid was reminded of his previous lessons, one of them in which Kid was taught to fight criminals in general. In the boy's mind, he was trying to relive his training, putting together the pieces so that he could do something, even if it was little, with less than a minute before he might meet his fate.

"Use your environment...take this wall for example. An enemy may have weapons of all sorts, but you use the things around you, including their weapons, to your advantage...that will no doubt give you the upper hand and possibly victory..."

That is it!

Kid's eyes widened. Raul was getting ever closer...
Suddenly; Kid jumped away, leaving Raul a little surprised.