Lovers

Ch. 25: Swish

Swish- Mike Stud

"What up, dog, I'm the alpha, so you better watch out bruh. And that goes for anyone around us."

Jake POV

Knuckle fucking heads. I swear if they answer the door with only three knocks, I'm going to kill them both. Grayson and Tame are forever in the dog house with JC. They were his minions, and since they turned their back on him, they are now officially mat cleaners. He replaced them with Twindledee and Twindledumb, or was it SpongeBob and Patsack? Oh, wait, Rick and Morty. Even there too good for them.

Sure enough, one of the goons looks through the peephole, and they see it's me. Within seconds they open the door. "Good afternoon, Jake-" Rick starts, but before either of them can speak, I hold them both by their necks and push against the back wall.

"What the fuck did I say about protocol. Just because you see my face doesn't mean I'm safe to let entry. Ask for my fucking knocks, or I'll knock your mother fucking teeth out, Rick."

"Sir, his names Evan..." Morty squeals.

I look to him, "and your name?"

"It's-"

"I don't care," I swear I'm not this much of a dick, but this is the third time they've done this. "Ask Tame and Grayson for tips; next time I come in, there better be a smile on my face, understood?"

"Yes." They say at the same time.

Ronnie appears at the end of the hallway with his arms crossed and a smile exhaustive and annoying to look at, "You are a tyrant," he snickers.

"Shut up," I gruff, "these guys continue to fuck up, and after a while, they need a spanking from ol' me.

"Please never refer to yourself as ol', or I'll have to give you my ID."

"Dude," I chuckle, "but you don't look a day over 25. You look younger than Terry."

"How is that asshole anyway,"

"A piece of shit," I say simply. "What's the report?" I start toward JC's office.

"Personal matches was last week; Salazar won all of his. He almost beat your record." He jabs, and I crack a smile. "Donahue steady, but he lost to Leonardo and Salazar. We're doing Cross-Underground cross tonight."

Cross-Underground was always entertaining and thrilling. We fought from opposing Undergrounds, which meant rivalry-- which ultimately meant higher bets, higher percentages. Besides, it could get boring if you always fought the same chumps over and over.

"Who's fighting?" I ask.

Ronnie side-eyes me, "You're not going to like it."

"What?"

"Salazar wants Cohuna, from Luce's Grounds."

"Cohuna... I barely beat him, and Salazar is a rookie. JC approved the match?"

"Yes... Salazar wouldn't take no for an answer; he wanted the match."

"He isn't ready, and it shows." I turn down the hall approaching JC's office. As I enter, the fighters waiting for approval for their upcoming fights stand tall. I nod my head in approval. I didn't teach them that. But that's where you earn respect, then just expecting it.

The Approving process used to be easier. There used to be people for this—the Approvals. They would set up fights based on strength, numbers, and matches. They consisted of fighter legends from Ledger's era, but they left when he went or died during the shootout; Martinez left me in the dark with that one.