She found it in the form of a small, thin man in a cheap, wrinkled suit with flint chips for eyes and a mustache that kept twitching like something was living inside it. He was standing in the hallway right off where the fight had taken place. An unlit cigarette dangled from his lips like an afterthought. The crowd was gone. It might just be her and him, and Cain wanted this over as soon as possible. A man, a woman, and money to be given, all in solitary isolation, was always complicated.
She held out her hand. “Let’s have it, Sam. I got an early morning.”
He lifted a worn envelope from his inside coat pocket and held it up tauntingly. “You suckered her pretty good, El. But she’s smart. She’ll figure it out. Unlike you, she’s going places.”
Cain didn’t take the bait for the simple fact that she didn’t care. “Right now the only place she’s going is the hospital for a concussion check and to have her jaw wired. If she’s really smart she’ll take a coding class and leave you and this shit behind.”
She dropped her duffel, grabbed the envelope, and opened it.
“It’s all there,” said Sam. “You think I’d cheat you?”
“Yeah, I do, because yeah, you have.”
“That was before.”
“Before what?” She caught him looking at her Glock. Cain said, “Hallelujah for open carry and no background checks. All a girl needs not to get screwed by jerks like you.”
“Right,” he sneered. “You have trouble passing a background check, El?”
She finished counting the cash and put it in her duffel. “I’d pass it as easy as you would, Sam.”
“You made a few folks a ton of money tonight. Most bet against you.”
“Yeah, well stupid them.”
“You’re past your prime. Maybe if you’d taken it seriously ten years ago. You got a lucky kick in tonight. She would’ve decisioned you easy, and she almost knocked you out. She was ahead in the first two rounds, and in the third, when your bum shoulder locked up, she was kicking the shit out of you. She’s just better, admit it.”
“How would you know anything about it, Sam? You’ve never been in the ring, have you? See, that takes a bunch of things you’ll never have.” She glanced at his crotch. “Starting with balls bigger than peanuts.”
He didn’t seem to be listening to Cain. He gave her the once-over. “You know, if you fixed yourself up, got all that damn shit on your skin taken care of, wore some decent clothes now and then, didn’t shave your scalp like some dopey skinhead, and for a few hours acted like a girl instead of an attack dog, you could be attractive to a guy. You do that, maybe you and me could have some fun. I can be fun, with the right gal.” He stroked her arm.
The next moment he was thrown against the wall, with the muzzle of Cain’s drawn Glock pressed against his cheek.
“You ever try to lay another hand on me . . . ” She racked the gun’s slide to chamber a round and pressed the muzzle so far into his skin, it rode up against his cheekbone.
“You’re batshit crazy, bitch,” cried out a terrified Sam.
“And don’t ever forget that.” Cain stepped back, holstered the Glock, grabbed her duffel, and walked off.
She signed a few autographs for some stragglers in the parking lot who were probably too shit-faced to even know who she was. After that Cain climbed into her dented 1990s-era two-door Honda Civic hatchback, with enough miles on it to have circumnavigated the world nearly ten times. Off and on over the years this car had also served as her home as she crisscrossed the country.
Great old car, thought Cain as she started the engine. What would I do without you? She patted the dash like it was an old friend. And when you didn’t have many friends, sometimes a car would do just fine.