Finding Faded Light: New Eden Series:Rexall Cycle, #2

By Jarrett Rush

The government has collapsed, RomaCorp is rising in its place, and Weber Rexall threw the first punch in a fight with Roma that he and his friends weren't ready to finish. With Roma looking for him, he's fled New Eden for the Outer West, hoping to give his friends time to prepare for an inevitable second round. He just never expected that to take two years.

Scratching out a new life far from home, Rexall thought he had longer to stay out of Roma's reach. But with a hefty reward on his head, desperate thugs are eager to turn him in, and a relentless Roma security agent he knows all too well has come to bring him back.

Rexall could run again, but RomaCorp won't stop unless he can finish the fight he started. Yet to do that, he needs more help and resources than the Outer West can offer--and if he fails a second time, there won't be a third.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Six to One Books and Media
• Release date: Feb 19, 2015
• ISBN: 9781513083100

Book preview

For My Girls

They are my light and my life.

I

I DANCED ON MY TOES, my arms loose at my sides. I left the rookie an opening, daring him to swing at me. I worked my way in a wide circle, taunting him with everything good I could think of.

I saw the panic in his eyes and swung a quick left. My punch connected. Sweat sprayed the small crowd.

Challenge me! I shook sweat from my hands and glared at him. Make me work for it, kid. Don’t just hand me a victory.

The rookie shook his head and blinked himself back to seeing straight. His knees wobbled, and he took a couple of shaky steps before getting his feet back under him. I shouted again.

Come on!

The kid took a step toward me, both hands near his face. I hit him with a shot to the ribs that bent him crooked and then finished him with a blow to the chin that caught him square. He was out before he hit the floor, and I knew it. Dumb kid. More want to than able to.

I turned after the final blow connected and started making my way through the crowd, pushing myself past guys trying to get to the rookie and pick him up off the floor.

I felt like a bully on the schoolyard. I should have been picking on kids my own size. Instead, I was the kid from the upper grades who beat up younger students just to feel better about himself. At least that’s how it felt most nights.

Berger was watching the action from the corner. He was above the floor, standing on a crate.

How was he? Berger asked after I made my way to him.

Wasn’t it obvious?

Not worth inviting back?

No. Two men who worked for me and Berger tried to get the rookie to come back to this side of consciousness.  Pay him his money for tonight and thank him for his time.

Sounds good. Berger said.

But we need to find more guys who want to fight. I pulled tape off my hands and wiggled some circulation back into my fingers. We can’t keep going like this.

I’m aware of our need for talent. Berger turned to me. But there’s only so much I can do. I’ve got the word out that we could use a few more men.

Our little fight club wasn’t anything like what Raul had organized in New Eden. The pool of talent here was a lot shallower. I’d been laying kids like this across the concrete almost weekly since we started our operation. The Outer West – where we’d run to after we had to get out of New Eden – wasn’t near the size of home. It was more of a shiver-and-you’ll-miss-it outpost on the way out of town. Not much seemed to happen here, just a lot of waiting. Waiting for life to catch up with you. Waiting for anything to shake you out of your boredom.

Buildings didn’t scratch the sky like they did at home. Here they were a dozen stories, most of those unoccupied. The Outer West had space, but it didn’t have people. The people left when the jobs did. The jobs left when the government did. The same wave of DIY rule that had swept through New Eden crashed into the Outer West. And once the young people in charge stepped aside after everything fell apart, the people who called the Outer West home decided it was time to leave.

To hear the locals tell it, the desertion happened fast. It was like people had been waiting for an excuse to go. Their bags were packed, the car was running. They just needed their signal, and the government collapsing was it.

That rush of people out of town created a vacuum that was never filled. Life didn’t return to normal because life didn’t return. People who lived in the Outer West now fled there to get away from something or someone. They didn’t come to the Outer West for a fresh start unless they had no place else to go.

That’s why Berger and I were surprised we were having trouble finding guys to fight, or at least fight well. Finding a guy to take a punch for money isn’t hard. But guys who can do it believably were in short supply in the Outer West. It never occurred to us that if you came to the Outer West you were better off keeping your head down and finding a place to live, finding some way to pay for the necessities, keep your profile low. Getting beat up in front of a crowd, no matter how lucrative, ran counter to that.

There was another fight after mine. Two fighters who’d signed on just after Berger and I organized our fight club. One was Jim Black and the other was a guy we called Captain.

Berger made his way to the floor and out to the middle of the crowd.

This is it, gentlemen: the final fight of the night. Get ready for a battle. New school versus old school. Young versus old. The scrapper versus the strategist. It’s time for Jim Black to go against the Captain!

The men in the backroom of The Evergreen cheered.

Black stood a good foot taller than Captain and was already sweating when the two men stepped into the center of the floor.

Think you have what it takes to whip me? Captain asked as he ran his hands through his salty hair.

Think? Black took a quick swipe at his nose with his right hand. I know I can.

Then try, Captain said. His aging body was thick through the middle and his muscles defined. He dropped his hands from his face and let them hang at his side. Free shot. Give me everything you’ve got.

Black took two quick shuffle steps toward Captain and slammed a fist into the older man’s cheek. Captain stumbled and fell to a knee. He caught himself, shook his head, and stood. He smiled at Black.

That’s it? That’s all you got? Captain chuckled. Then he charged. The old man unloaded a flurry of shots to Black’s midsection. The younger guy doubled at the waist and covered his gut with his arms.

Captain stopped his assault. He stumbled into the old man and Black wrapped his arms around Captain’s neck. Both men caught their breath before Black took a couple steps back from Captain, set his feet, and brought his hands up in front of his face, ready to fight.

Okay, old man. He took a deep breath then let it out slow.  No more fooling around. Let’s do this. Let’s fight.

A grin spread across Captain’s face. It’s about time, he said.

I knew that feeling. It was a sudden nervous energy and bounce that you couldn’t control. It was a feeling I missed. I used to get it back home with Berger when Raul would pair us up. I knew the outcome, but I also knew that Berger would give me a challenge. He’d duck and dodge for a bit, making me think before letting me lay him out. I’m sure I’d smiled like Captain every time the wind up was over and we were about to start getting physical.

Black came at Captain with two shots to the body that bent Captain over. Black brought a hard right into Captain’s chin. The old man’s head snapped back, and he stumbled into the crowd. They pushed him back into the center of the circle.

His young opponent didn’t let him get settled. A right caught Captain just under the left eye. A left to the jaw and a right to Captain’s midsection wobbled the old man. A crushing blow to the chin put him on his back.

I felt that shot. Everyone did. It was a reminder that even though we were having a hard time finding enough good fighters – guys who could both win and lose – some people here still knew how to throw a punch.

The crowd cheered. Black stepped back from Captain and raised his arms in victory. Berger came back down to the middle of the floor to announce the victor.

And there’s our winner, gentlemen! Berger shouted above the cheering crowd. Big Jim Black. The crowd erupted again.

OK, guys, Berger said. That’s it for tonight. We’ll do this again next week so make sure you’re back.

One of the men who worked for us raised the large bay door along the wall of the back room, and the crowd poured out.