I Remember Love 10 The Thing About Small Packages.

Luke watched as the other man stepped into his punch, preparing to swing. As he extended his right fist toward him he could see the mans movements as though they were in slow motion. He did exactly as Charlie and his previous teacher taught him. Center your qi. Take a deep breath and clear your mind.

In that singular moment of focus it was as though Luke was watching the matrix playing in slow motion. All of his five senses were extended and indeed he could hear the mans movements before his eyes were even able to register their sight. He ducked low to the ground to dodge the punch his left leg sweeping low to take the mans legs out from beneath him,

Pivotting on his right foot in that moment using the momentum he allowed his weight to drop so that when he leaned forward his fist landed just inches from the mans face. The movement had been so smooth and fluid it was almost as though you were watching him dance. Luke tilted his head to the side with a grin. "Oh I'm sorry Mister!!" He mocked the man, "I must have lost my balance."

At this point the man was furious. Not only had he not landed a hit he was also knocked off his feet. The Boss had clearly said "The first person to land a hit wins" and yet he had not been able to land a single punch so far. In fact it was far worse, instead of scaring the kid, he had ended up embarra.s.sing himself and almost lost.

In reality he probably would have already lost except Luke wasn't done playing with him yet. He probably could have ended the fight the there but where was the fun in that? The older man watched the laughter and mockery dance across Luke's face which only made him become further enraged!! This young punk!!

The man rolled himself away from Luke as he lifted himself to his feet. He was on guard now. No matter how fast this kid was, he wasn't that fast. One way or another the he'd land a punch except this time he would not be gentle.

In the time it took his opponent to get to his feet Luke had already gone back to his stance. If you could call it that. Luke stood to the side, confident and relaxed. There was no defensive stance needed here. His opponents movements were slow enough that he could dodge them with ease leaving Luke the opportunity to go on the offensive. He waited for the man to take his next swing and once again, dodged while sending his left arm out to hit him between his ribs with enough force to once again send him back off his feet.

Boss had said first hit wins. He had never said Luke had to stop at the first hit. Luke turned his eyes in the direction of their Leader, already having considered this man his boss since he the initiation began and waited to see if he was going to stop them. When no signal came Luke grinned once more, his eyes going cold as he turned to his opponent. Each of his next words were punctuated by the resounding 'thud' of his hand hitting the man firmly in his chest effectively coming into contact with several of his key pressure points as he said. "You know what they say about small things right?"[1]

In a matter of moments the man was on the ground. Blood spilling from his nose and mouth. Charlie had been merciful. Luke on the other hand had given up on such a silly thing since long ago. It wasn't enough that he had broken several of the other mans ribs. Nor that he was probably suffering internal bleeding. He swung his right leg around high in the air, the inside of his foot making contact with his opponents left and right side of his face. As he landed that final hit, he couldn't help but lean over the man who was slowly losing consciousness to get one last jab in. "Oops I guess I got a little carried away. Boss did only say one hit right. My bad! As the other mans eyes dimmed the last thing he saw before the lights went out was Luke's foot coming down squarely on the bridge of his nose, pushing into his skull before his body went lifeless.

The room was painfully silent at this point, Charlie somewhere in the back sighing. Somehow he had known this was how it would go down. There was no point in trying to stop him though. That man had dug his own grave. As Luke walked toward his buddy silently, the men gathering around slowly began to part, not single one of them bothering to breathe or say a word. All of them in shock save for two people. Charlie and Hunter.

Hunter sat from his far corner watching Luke as walked toward his comrade. A slow smile curling his lips. This kid was a ton different then the other men in his crew. He was utterly ruthless. It wasn't even blood l.u.s.t that motivated him. It was something bigger, and darker. It attracted Hunter like a moth to the flame. Gesturing with his right hand he beckoned his second over while the fighting continued. "Those two. Bring them to me as soon as they are done."