08.15.08
Orphan fighter, pt. 4
It’d be a pain to describe all the night’s action, so I’ll just point you to the results.
I won. Big. I went in with 2.5 G and walked out with 10 big ones. That’s the power of intuition, my friends. Of course, I wasn’t completely satisfied. For as much as I pulled in, the bozos running the show probably made double. They didn’t have to gamble, either. All they had to do was take a cut of the ticket sales.
As a man who always has his eye on bigger fish, I was itching to get in on that sweet little gig. So, while waiting in line to get my winning tickets cashed, I couldn’t help myself when I saw one of the dudes who I’d seen coming out of the euro cars earlier.
“Hi,” I said. I had the feeling that I was going to have to reel it in slowly with this guy.
“Why hello, sir, how can I help you?”
He seemed friendly enough, but there are only two kinds of people who would ask a question like that in a place like this. Either he was a big shot or he was a nobody, but I had a hunch that he was part of the food chain, and that was all I needed.
“I’m new here, so I was wondering how long it’ll be before they start cashing our tickets.” I showed him my winning tickets for added effect.
“My, you did quite well for yourself tonight, didn’t you?”
“I guess so,” I said, “but you can only make so much being a gambler.”
He gave me a knowing nod. “I know what you mean, friend.”
Hehe, I could feel the door opening already, so I pressed on.
“The name’s Jack,” I said, “could I ask you a question?”
“Dale,” he said, shaking my hand. “Let’s hear it.”
Actually, when I heard his name, I put two and two together and figured out who I was talking to. It was Dale from Dale’s House of Orphans. This was my big chance.
“How does a guy get a kid into the ring?”
I saw a look of surprise in his eye.
“As an owner, you mean.”
“Yeah, right.”
“Hmm, I tell you what, Jack. I can tell that you’ve got a good eye for the fighters, so I’ll humour you.”
“I appreciate it.”
“You say you want to get into the business side of the operation, and I respect that. But I can’t have you ending up on the other side of the table, if you know what I mean.”
“I think I do.”
“Good. So how about you come and work for me. We could use a guy like you to help us find good kids.”
I had a warm fuzzy feeling inside.
“Sounds interesting,” I told him.
“Here’s my card,” he said, pulling out a napkin and writing his number and address on it. I took half the napkin and did the same.
“Thanks,” I said. “I’ll give you a ring in a day or two.”
“Talk to you then, my man.”
We went our separate ways shortly thereafter. I got my cash eventually and left that place happy as a clam. I had a feeling things would be getting a lot more exciting over the next few days.