xxxxix. fight club

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xxxxix. FIGHT CLUB

Ace lunges at Xavier with full force, throwing a punch at Daniel, who tried to stop him. Xavier steps out of the way. Ace's chest is heaving, and Chase has to physically hold the agent. The outburst leaves the area around us whispering and staring. I step in front of Ace before he does something else instinctive. His gaze flickers to me then sulks away.

"You're fucking kidding me, right?" Ace spits, crossing his leather jacket.

"Don't worry Blackwell," Xavier smiles. "I needed to get a fight out of my system. I'm entering."

"Don't be stupid," Daniel frowns. "Don't fight whoever the champion is. You could get seriously hurt. I'll do it. If we are somehow exposed, an Interpol agent will get off the easiest."

"Well now I need to get a fight out of my system," Ace grumbles. "To be honest, anyone could do it except Octavia."

"Shut the hell up you dildo," Octavia says.

"Opposites really do attract. In your case, I hope you find someone who is smart and witty."

"Put a sock in it you Party city party hat."

"Let me," Chase tightens his fist. "Trust me, none of you know the rules of illegal fight scenes like I do."

"There are rules to these things?" I raise an eyebrow.

Suddenly, the wrestling bell rings again. All of us turn to face the gated ring—someone had already entered during our dispute. All we could do now was hope that whoever the challenger knew how to fight.

"Wait... where's Skye?" I state. She was nowhere to be found.

Seconds later, Skye steps onto the ring. Chase's eyes go wide. People were jeering loudly from the sidelines. The four men beside me shove through the crowd to reach the front as Ace yanks me with him. Skye's eyes were hard with determination as she sized up her opponent. That was the thing about the thief—she was always observing.

She tightened her hijab into her sweater. The reigning champion was a buff but pretty chubby guy. He was incredibly well built, at least 200 pounds, and well-versed in the rules of illegal boxing. Tattoos of scales covered much of his upper chest. Everyone rushed to the booths to place bets against the tiny girl in comparison.

I don't speak Mandarin or Cantonese, but it seems from the whispers and laughing that people clearly thought that this would be an easy bet. Hell were they wrong.

"Does she know the rules?" I whisper. "Could she win against that Pillsbury dough boy?"

Xavier chuckles. "She's been here before. I wouldn't worry about it."

"Go double our bet," Daniel whispers. "Now is our chance to make tenfold."

Chase nods vigorously. Pretty soon, our bet was at two hundred thousand yuan. The commentators started to announce the rules once again. Ace started to translate all the rules. Skye's opponent (the human equivalent of the chubby bunny challenge) wears a clear smirk. They shake hands, and the bell rings. The match begins.

Skye's eyes narrow. They circle one another, and her opponent immediately throws the first punch. Her movements were like a running stream; she put her hands behind her back. Skye doesn't even attempt to fight back. Not yet, at least.

The marshmallow of a man's grin grows. He was enjoying this game. For now, he still believed he was in control. Skye has a calm look over her features. Time passes, and tension is growing. The champion becomes frustrated at his lack of success. His punches become more uncalculated, more impulsive.

"加油, 加油!" Everyone shouts frantically. The sound of shouting paired with the glaring lights was surreal.

It's now that a small smirk grows on Skye's face.

When the Pillsbury dough boy throws one last punch with all his might, she immediately spins around and pins his shoulder between his back. Skye then kicks the back of his knee, sending him face planting on the floor. The sound echoes into the awestruck room. He tries to get up but he's stuck.

Two bell sounds ring. The match was over without any bloodshed.

The crowd around us is silent with shock. Ace reacts quickly, grabbing my hand and hurriedly leaving out before any animosity breaks out. Skye too slips out the back before any action could be taken. Xavier swoops by the booth with the punchcard. Skye just made us millionaires.

~

Four hours, twelve bottles, and 162 tiles later, we all sat on a round table playing mahjong. We sat in the upstairs floor with snacks scattered across the room. There were four teams playing: Skye, Xavier, and Ace on their own, and Daniel, Chase, and I working as a team. The three of us were inebriated to the point where we barely made up one person.

We were celebrating Skye's win too hard. "Why are you even a thief? You could make so much more money by being a fucking fighter!" I mumble.

She smiles. "Well that's because you haven't seen me steal yet."

Ace deadpans us.

"Hit me!" I yell.

"This isn't black jack Cupcake," The spy sighs.

Skye, Xavier, and Ace had each won one. The forth mahajan game was tension filled. The three somewhat sober people were all laser focused on the tiles in front of them. The other three were preoccupied with trying to teach me mandarin on the tiles.

"But... but why are there pictures?" I blub. "Drawings don't belong in words. Chinese is too confusing. This is more confusing than learning calculus online from a summer school taught by Jake Peralta."

"I don't know... it's like... it's like how the man who invented garbage bags literally sold us garbage," Chase concentrates.

"I'm gonna go take a nap," Daniel says, slipping in his chair.

Xavier immediately stands up. "Let's all go to bed for tonight. I'll help you."

We all fold the game. Ace steadies me by my waist as we get up. I hang on to his athletic frame as we slowly hobble around. I saw Skye's phone still lying on the table that she forgot. "Wait," I giggle. "I'll go get the phone Skye to. I mean I'll get the Skye to the phone. I mean Skye's phone to her I'll get Banana Bread."

The strength of the maotai provided a sense of warmth as I knocked on Skye's door. When there was no response, I pushed open the door, unwelcomed. Hey, it was better to ask for forgiveness than for permission.

There was no one in her room. A gentle breeze drifted in from the open window. Drunk me was determined to scale the shit out of the roof with my half empty bottle of maotai despite the fact that I was mentally and physically impaired.

To be fair there was never much physical strength to be impaired.

I looked outside at the Port of Hong Kong in the mouth of the South China Sea. For a moment, I was almost jealous of Xavier for growing up in such a vibrant city. Skye sat in the distance where the roof jutted out. Soft fabric from her headscarf flowed out, carried by the wind, and marked her silhouette.

I drunkenly crawl to sit by her on the roof. Taking a big swig of the liquor, I pass it to her, which she promptly shakes her head at. We both look at the bright glow of light from the other side of the harbour.

"Can I ask you something?" I hiccup as I hand her her phone.

Skye grins. "Sure, but tomorrow morning you're probably not going to remember any of this."

I mirror her smile. Seeing her smile made me smile. "Tell me. How does one go from being a princess to a thief?"

Skye stiffens. She looks momentarily stunned. "We don't have to talk about it," I continue.

She loosens her headscarf so that some of the rose fabric falls to her shoulders. "I think it might be healthy for me to finally let it out. And yes... I'm part of the Al Nahyan royal family in the Emirates."

I take another swig. The strong taste of the liquor eventually becomes so pungent that I have to put it away. "Shit man. Why then..."

Skye chuckles humorlessly. "To be emphatic, it was love and freedom. My parents didn't approve of who I wanted to marry, Asim, so I chose to leave. It wasn't just him, of course. There were just certain pressures my family put on me that I felt were unfair."

When Skye talked about Asim, there was a glimmer in her eyes. I didn't want it to be real. The heartbreak, the struggle, the hardship—she was unbelievably strong.

"And Asim... Do you guys still speak to one another?" I lay my head on her shoulder.

"He died covering the Yemeni Civil War as a journalist. He was my Habibi. Asim means defender, and he defended me and my country until the end."

We sit in comfortable silence for a bit, just observing the city. It was insane that she had to go through something as tragic as that. Skye's gaze flickered to me. "And what about Ace? I want the truth, Octavia. It's like you're afraid to admit that there could be something between you two."

I look down at the now empty bottle. "I've only ever had one boyfriend in my life. Looking back he... he became emotionally abusive. I suppose that's why, in a way, I don't want to get close to anyone again."

Skye lets out a low whistle. Everything starts to become blurred from the alcohol. I lay my head on her shoulder, just staring out at the city. "Talk about it with him, when you're ready."

"How do I know when I'm ready?"

"You won't question yourself," Skye states. "You'll know with him."

Skye: "Vote if you think Octavia should talk to Ace."

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