It was over too quickly. Bonecrusher Rocco destroyed Leftie Louie with a combination of blows to the body, then head. Finally, in the dressing room, after the smelling salts, Louie came to…
“Let’s get this over with, Mel.”
Mel was Louie’s manager. He signaled for Stan, the corner man.
“Take it easy, Louie.”
“Easy? I’m never easy… C’mon, let’s go.”
“I’ve got some bad news.”
The confused fighter shook his head.
“What?… Is Rocco trying to back out, Mel?”
“That’s not it, Louie.”
“Don’t tell me he’s not even gonna show? I figured he’d chicken out at the end.”
Louie realized now that the Bonecrusher was a phony, despite his massive head, thick neck, huge biceps, and overwhelming odds.
Mel signaled for more salts. He didn’t like the way Leftie’s eyes still rolled in different directions.
“Maybe we should forget the bad news?”
“Just tell Rocco I’m not even going to give him a rematch.”
“That’s a little more like, well, what I was about to say, Louie… Now when it comes to fighting Rocco again…”
Louie looked from Mel to Stan, reaching for the bandages.
“Again, Mel?…”
David Sydney is a physician. He writes fiction in and out of the EHR (Electronic Health Record).