The roar of the crowd was a physical weight pressing against the chain-link fence. The sea of faces morphed into a single, screaming beast, hungry for more violence. On the mat, Razor was still writhing, clutching his right side as two burly men dragged him out by his armpits.
Jax didn't lower his guard. In the "Iron Cage" circuit, the bell didn't ring until the boss was entertained.
High above the grime and blood, the tinted glass of the VIP balcony remained dark. Silas Vance was up there. Jax could feel the billionaire's gaze dissecting him, calculating his worth. Vance had stripped Jax of his pro-league title, his money, and his reputation, framing him for a doping scandal he had nothing to do with. Vance wanted to own him. Jax was here to show him he couldn't be bought—only broken or killed.
The crackling PA system whined again. "Looks like the Anvil drops heavy tonight! But let's see how he handles a little more... weight. Enter: The Mute!"
The heavy steel door at the far end of the basement ground open. A man the size of a commercial refrigerator stepped into the dim light. He had a thick, scarred neck and arms like braided steel cables. He didn't speak, didn't posture. He just stared at Jax with dead, empty eyes and stepped into the cage.
The heavy lock clicked shut behind him.
The Mute didn't wait for a signal. He charged like a runaway freight train, boots thudding against the concrete. Jax knew instantly that a direct hit from this giant would snap his ribs like twigs.
Jax waited until the last possible fraction of a second, then pivoted sharply to his left. The Mute blew past him, but the giant was surprisingly agile. He threw out a massive arm, clotheslining Jax across the chest.
The impact lifted Jax off his feet. He hit the concrete hard, the breath exploding from his lungs. Before he could roll away, a boot the size of an anvil stomped down, barely missing his head and cracking the floor where his skull had been a millisecond before.
Get inside, Jax's instincts screamed. Take away his reach.
Jax scrambled up, lunging directly into the giant's chest. The Mute grunted, wrapping his massive arms around Jax's waist in a bear hug that threatened to pop his spine out of his skin. The pressure was immense. Jax's vision edged with black.
Gritting his teeth against the agonizing pressure, Jax brought both his arms up and drove a pair of vicious, downward elbows directly into the junction of the Mute's neck and collarbone.
Crack.
The giant roared, his grip loosening just enough. Jax dropped his center of gravity, grabbed the Mute's thick wrist, and twisted his hips. Using the giant's own forward momentum against him, Jax executed a flawless Judo throw.
The Mute crashed onto the concrete floor with a sound like a dropping wrecking ball. The floorboards visibly shuddered.
Before the giant could recover, Jax was on him. He delivered a brutal knee strike to the side of the Mute's jaw. The giant's eyes rolled back in his head, and his massive body went entirely limp.
Silence fell over the basement, broken only by Jax's ragged breathing. He stood up slowly, wiping a smear of blood from a cut above his left eyebrow. He looked up at the VIP balcony one more time. The tinted glass slid open just a fraction. A plume of expensive cigar smoke drifted out into the stale air.
Jax smiled grimly. He had Vance's attention.
The heavy steel door of the cage rattled open. Jax didn't wait for the announcer. He stepped out of the ring, pushing past the stunned crowd, and headed down a dark, narrow corridor toward the fighters' prep rooms.
The "clinic" was a damp storage closet smelling of iodine and bleach. Sitting on a metal stool was Ria. She had a stethoscope draped over her neck and a scowl that could curdle milk.
"Sit," she commanded, pointing to a rusty examination table.
Jax sat, wincing as the adrenaline began to fade, replaced by a dull, throbbing ache in his chest.
Ria grabbed a bottle of rubbing alcohol and a cotton swab. "You have a death wish, Carter. A normal fighter would have tapped when the Mute got a hold of them."
"I'm not here to be normal, Ria," Jax grunted as she pressed the alcohol to his cut. He hissed through his teeth. "I'm here to climb the ladder."
"Vance doesn't let people climb the ladder," Ria said quietly, her dark eyes locking onto his. "He lets them climb just high enough so the fall kills them. You're making too much noise. You survive the qualifiers, he's going to throw Kael at you. And Kael doesn't just knock people out. He puts them in the ground."
"Good," Jax said, staring at the concrete wall. "Then I won't have to go looking for him."