Page 42 (1/1)

But he wasn’t fast enough

I tilted ht just as his punch whooshed past my ear His hand snapped back i rapidly He hadn’t expected to miss He had expected, no doubt, to knock uy

He stepped back, cracked his neck a little and did a little dance to loosen up his liain, curious

I didn’t hter’s stance I said, "During an exhibition fight teeks before Caesar Marquez’s death in the ring, you delivered what ht was a cheap shot"

Andre said nothing With his aura crackling a neon green, he lashed out again This ti my head; instead, I brushed off the punch with a swipe of my hand My counter-block had been fast Supernaturally fast, and it sent Andre’s forward momentuained his balance

"It was supposed to be an exhibition," I said, watching hiht stuff Easy-to-block stuff Entertain the crowd Great photo ops Three rounds of laughter and fun and good ti on his feet now, bouncing and kind of circling rim determination I had seen the sa me like an opponent I felt honored

"But in the last twenty seconds of the third round, you punched Caesar Marquez Hard For no apparent reason, and against protocol So else"

Andre Fine turned into a cornered wild cat, unleashing a ferocious onslaught of kicks and punches and spinning ju out with elbows and knees and fists and feet It was a pretty display I had seen hi histhose matches, one orhis opponent to thea winner out of Andre Fine A five-time champion, in fact

But here in the spacious area between the foot of his bed and his adjoining bathroo dresser had sat but was now conveniently moved across the room, I blocked punch after punch, kick after kick Sometimes, I didn’t block, but simply moved my head a fraction of an inch At one point he tried a helluva fancy kick, jack-knifing his body splendidly, swinging his foot around so fast that, had I been mortal, I was certain h, so I saw the kick coht his ankle and spun him around like a ballerina

We did this dance a fewfor, and delivered a straight punch Nothing fancy Just a straight shot delivered fro backwards where he collided into his footboard, which he held onto briefly, before sinking down to the floor

I walked over to hier and said, "Noe’re going to talk"