The ‘plan’ she had thought of and disclosed to the dwarf was simple yet very effective. She would at times, first appear to lose a fight, exactly as she had done with Lin so that the crowd would bet against her. Suddenly, she would turn the tide and defeat her opponent in quick time, giving the people little chance of changing their bets. Sometimes, when the stakes were totally for her, she would even deliberately lose the fight. But she would again come back next week and win it again, upsetting the stakes. She made a huge killing that way, which no one ever suspected.
That fateful fight night changed Estella’s life in more ways than one. She now not only had a good source of income, but also found a good means to discharge the anger and frustration built up inside her. She could now focus more on her store job in the weekdays and release her anger on fight night at weekends in the ring. Where once she had been contemplating suicide, life was suddenly going good. She brought a house and a car along with various other small luxuries with the money she made in the fights. Life couldn’t have been better.
But fate one again had different things in store for her. It was just another fight night as usual in the ring. But what Estella didn’t know was that this night would turn her life in a new direction altogether. The dwarf announced her name to a thunderous applause to which she was now getting used to as she made her entry in the ring. She was wearing her usual white sports bra and blue jeans, showing off her well-toned abs. As she waved to the crowd, she saw in a corner, a pretty woman wearing a well-made blue ladies suit watching her intently. ‘Now what is a nice lady like that doing in this place.’ , Estella thought. She however dismissed it and focussed again back to the fight in the ring.
“Ladies and gentlemen, our reigning champion in fight night, Estella Gomez.”, the dwarf announced, accompanied by shrieks, whistles and cat-calls.
“And presenting our challenger tonight, Sonali Gupta.”, the dwarf said. Estella was astonished to see a teenager of Asian Indian origin walk up into the centre of the ring. ‘What the fuck, she’s just a kid.’, Estella thought. Her opponent was a pretty girl wearing a black two-piece string bikini with black hair but fair facial features. She was looking nervous and jumpy to start with and the attitude of the crowd, who booed her when her name was announced, didn’t help her much either.
The dwarf explained the rules to her(Sonali) and stepped out. The fight was underway. Estella walked over to her opponent and looked at her sizing her up. Though she (Sonali) tried hard not to show it, the fear was writ large upon her face. Estella guessed that she might not be a regular fighter, and some desperation had prompted her to enter the fight tonight. She knew it would be a one-sided fight. She thought maybe a little bit of fear and taunting would probably make her see sense.
“Look kid, I get the feeling that you’re not used to this.’, Estella said to her opponent. “My advice would be to walk out of the arena now while you’re still standing on your feet. I’m not responsible for what happens to you otherwise.”
Sonali’s eyes grew wide in apprehension. But she recovered and said, “Threats don’t work on me. Stop talking crap and fight.”, she replied aggressively.
Estella felt a sudden pang of pity for her opponent. She guessed that Sonali would probably be in dire need of instant money. Her attitude (Sonali’s) reminded Estella of her own struggles in her childhood, where she took many a beating just to keep her stomach full.
The noise of the crowd brought back Estella to the ring. The crowd was booing waiting for the fight to start.
“Very well. Don’t say I did not warn you.” Estella replied and faced her opponent in a fighting stance. Sonali charged in and started throwing punches left and right. To Estella, this was child’s play. She easily blocked and evaded the punches, then countered with a punch to Sonali’s mid-riff. The air rushed out of Sonali in a painful gasp as she bent over in pain clutching her stomach. Her breasts presented an inviting target as Estella kneed them with vicious intensity. Sonali shrieked in pain and backed off, covering her breasts.
“I told you, this is not your cup of tea. Surrender and bring an end to this.”, Estella told Sonali.
A surge of pride and anger came up on Sonali’s face as she did not reply but instead charged into Estella. Estella waited till the last moment, side-stepped and drover her fist into the charging Sonali’s lower belly. The speed of Sonali’s charge combined with the intensity of Estella’s punch made a big impact as a loud “thud” sound was heard. Sonali stopped dead in her tracks. Her eyes bulged wide open and a loud moan of agony escaped her lips. She buckled on her knees and bent over, both hands clutching her injured lower abdomen, her head facing down on the floor of the ring.
The crowd cheered wildly as Estella grabbed Sonali by her hair and dragged her to the side bars of the ring. She pushed Sonali towards, the bars, her back impacting with force. A loud painful cry escaped Sonali’s lips. In her eyes, Estella saw a plea for mercy but a stubborn pride prevented her from saying so, much like herself when she was young. But she ignored it completely and caught hold of Sonali’s wrists and pinned them above her head with her left hand. Her firm grip ensured that breakaway and escape of any form was impossible.
“You should have walked away when you had the chance”, Estella said to Sonali. She then drove her right fist into Sonali’s belly. “OOOOOOUUMPPHHHHH”, the air rushed out of Sonali. Estella did not give her time to recover as she followed up her assault with more punches to the belly. Sonali was left gasping for breath at the end of the assault. The crowd grew wild with each blow and cheered madly. As Estella paused for breath, a section of the crowd started chanting “Low blow, low blow..”. Soon this was picked up by the rest until the entire ring was filled with cries of “Low blow”. Sonali’s eyes opened wide in fear and she was about to cry out when she was stopped mid-way by Estella’s knee which was now driven into her crotch with sickening force. Her eyes bulged wide open and a moan of agony escaped her lips. Estella did not relent however, and began kneeing her in the groin with ferocious intensity. “Two, three, Four…..” the crowd joined in the act as successive knees were driven into the unfortunate Sonali’s crotch. After the tenth blow, Estella let go causing Sonali to fall in a heap, her hands wedged in between her privates, moaning softly. The fight was over. Estella walked over to the dwarf to collect her winnings while Sonali was unceremoniously carried away by attendants and dumped outside the ring. As she was collecting her money, Estella once again noticed the pretty and sophisticated woman in the suit she had seen earlier before the start of the fight. Her eyes were intently focussed on her(Estella) and she seemed to be making a mental note of some kind.
Slightly puzzled, Estella soon dismissed her from her mind and walked over to her car. As she was about to enter, she noticed Sonali being escorted by a black woman walking away in the distance. Sonali’s left hand was on her crotch while the right hand was slung across her friends’ shoulder. Estella walked over to them. Sonali gave a gasp of fear on seeing Estella. Her friend shouted, “Let her go. You’ve done enough damage to her already. If you attack her any further I’m gonna call the cops.”
“Relax, the fight is over.”, Estella said in a friendly tone, putting both at ease. “I knew the first time I saw you that you did not belong here kid. What gives?” she asked Sonali.
“Well…… it’s kind of personal.” Sonali replied hesitantly.
“Go on…. You can tell me.”, Estella replied soothingly. Sonali kept mum, refusing to answer.
“Well Sonali’s folks back at home in India are in need of some money.”, the black woman replied. Sonali motioned for her to keep shut, but she ignored it and continued. “We were desperate. Tried all avenues but none helped. In the end Sonali found out about this and came in, despite my warnings.”
“Wait here.”, Estella told them and walked back to her car. When she returned she had a check book with her. She tore of a page and entered six thousand dollars in it as both watched her wide eyed.
“Keep this”, she told Sonali handing her the cheque. “And don’t do anything foolish like this in the future. Hope there’s enough in here to treat your injuries and help your folks back home.”
Sonali looked hesitant at first and then suddenly broke into tears. Estella walked over to them and hugged them both, comforting and soothing Sonali.
The lady in the formal suit was watching all this from a distance from her while luxury Mercedes Benz. “So she has a heart of gold too”, she said aloud to herself. She watched as Estella waved to them, walked over to her car and drove off. She then started her car and followed Estella’s car from a distance.
The one thing that really kept Estella alive when she was a Cop was her instinct. And right now that very instinct rightly told her that she was being followed by a while coloured Mercedes Benz. However much the Benz driver kept distance between them, it just wasn’t enough for Estella. She drove a few miles to confirm her suspicions and soon enough saw the white car tailing her from a distance trying not to look inconspicuous. Estella let the car tail her for a few more miles then made an abrupt stop near an alley. She got down and walked into the alley neither looking back or sideways, giving the impression that she was going to meet someone and that she had no idea that she was being followed, an old trick she had learnt while she was on the beat. She walked into the alley, turned around and watched the road, hidden from view. The surroundings were deserted save for a few birds fluttering. Sure enough, the white Mercedes stopped a distance away. Estella was in no hurry as she waited and watched from the alley. After about ten minutes, the Merc door opened and Estella saw with some surprise the well-dressed woman in the suit, whom she had noticed earlier in the ring. From close quarters, she saw that the woman was good looking, somewhat in her mid-twenties with shiny red hair. She looked to be more at home in a corporate setting than in a set-up like these. She had come alone, without any support, which meant that she was on a secret errand of some kind which none of her friends were aware of. The more she thought about it, the more mysterious it all seemed. Estella decided to wait however and let the woman come to her. Sure enough, after some time the woman got impatient and walked over to the alley.
Estella watched her coming and stuck behind a trash can, waiting for the right moment to strike. She watched as the woman walked a few steps into the alley and noticed that it was a dead end. Her eyes widened a bit suspecting a trap, but before she could do anything further Estella charged from the side and slammed into the woman’s body. A grunt of pain escaped from the woman as the force of the charge pushed her towards the opposing wall of the alley and her back impacted the wall with considerable force. Estella pounced on her and gave a quick punch to the woman’s breasts. The red-headed woman gave a cry of pain as she moved her hands above to cup her injured mammaries. Estella gave her no time to react and slammed her right knee in the woman’s groin. The woman’s eyes bulged open in pain and she had just opened her mind to cry out but was stopped short by another knee crashing into her privates. An agonised moan escaped the woman’s lips as she slowly moved her hands towards her injured privates. Estella however, was quick on the draw and grabbed them. She held the woman’s hands with her left hand over the woman’s head while she reached out with her right hand and grabbed the woman’s crotch. An expression of intense agony formed the woman’s face. Estella looked her straight in the eye and simply said, “Talk”.
“Please don’t hurt me. I’m a friend”, the woman said in between breaths of agony.
Estella removed her right hand from the woman’s crotch, rammed her right knee in her privates and again grabbed her crotch, all in one fluid motion. The huge gasp of agonised breath escaped the woman’s mouth.
“Friends don’t follow friends about in cars. More important, friends have names”, Estella replied and intensified hand pressure on the woman’s crotch.
“Oh please, let me go…. I can’t take this any longer”, the woman cried. Seeing the woman’s predicament, instinct again told Estella that the woman was harmless. She let her go. The woman dropped onto her knees on the pavement and started vomiting. Estella noticed a shiny visiting card on the pavement and guessed in belonged to the woman. She picked it up and was startled when she saw the name on it. The name of the card read ‘Elizabeth G. Matthews’ and beneath the name was printed ‘CEO, Global Corp Inc.’ in smaller print. The woman she had just now brutally beaten down was a multi-billionaire, a business tycoon and practically owned half the city. She(the woman) had finished vomiting and was now dry retching violently on the pavement.
“Don’t tell me you are the Elizabeth Matthews of Global Corp, the woman who owns half the city?”
“The same”, the woman replied between gasps of painful breaths, looking at her somewhat antagonistically.
Do you mind telling me what this is all about?”, Estella asked after the woman had sufficiently recovered from the assault.
“We can talk this over in my car”, Elizabeth replied. She was still in bad shape. Her eyes were tear- stained and swollen and her hands were cupping her crotch. “Don’t worry. As I said earlier, I’m a friend”, she added despite her condition. Estella decided that there wouldn’t be any harm if she played along. Besides she was burning with curiosity as to why this woman was following her.
Estella helped her up and supported her as they walked back to her car. By the time they had walked back to the Merc, Elizabeth had recovered somewhat. She even paid Estella a compliment about her previous fight with the Indian girl. Despite her apprehensions, Estella couldn’t help smiling a bit.
As soon as she helped Elizabeth into the car, she got in herself from another door. Finally losing her patience, Estella shouted out “Okay Rich Bitch, now skip all formalities and tell me what the fuck is going on here. Why have you been following me? If this is a trap, you’re dead meat”.
“Relax, I told you I’m a friend. Besides, I wouldn’t wanna face your fists again. Once is enough”, Elizabeth replied ruefully still nursing her crotch. “By the way, you can call me Beth”, she added.
“Okay Beth,” Estella said, looking curiously at her new found ‘friend’. “Let’s start at the beginning. I’m all ears.”
Smiling, Beth began her story.
To be continued .........
