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1031 Words
The leader only took his eyes off Felix long enough to nod slightly at Matt in acknowledgment.
Turning back at Felix, the man spat at his feet. “You two-timing f**k! Are you not in the least bit guilty over what you did?!”
Felix sagged, just looking tired. “I had no idea she was your girl, Grady. Honest. She came onto me at a bar, and I went with the flow. While I couldn’t have known better, though, Deb definitely did. Blame her for starting trouble not me.”
Realizing what was going on, Matt sighed and stepped back, letting the drama play out.
Apparently, Felix had met up with the other team as they traveled into the city, and they had become decently friendly. Last night, they had split off, and Grady’s long-term girlfriend had arrived at the city with her own team.
That night, the pair had supposedly gotten separated. Deb ended up meeting Felix at a pub while wandering around on her own. One thing led to another, and they’d found their way back to Felix’s apartment for some fun.
Based on how the event was described, she hadn’t been blackout drunk. In all likelihood, she had deliberately chosen Felix to try and start a fight.
Said woman arrived upon the scene, and Matt’s hunch was only confirmed when she immediately sidled up against Felix and tried to hang off him despite his repeated attempts to shrug her off. All the while, she side-eyed Grady. Matt could admit that Deb was attractive enough, but her attitude was extremely off-putting.
At times like this, he was overjoyed to be happily taken by Liz.
Being in a committed relationship let him avoid all this drama.
Digging through his spatial backpack, he extracted a foldable chair and a beer and sat back to watch as the juicy drama unfolded.
The city guards arrived not long after, while Grady was still screaming at Felix. Their response wasn’t what Matt expected.
“All right lads. You’ve made enough of a racket for one day. Are you going to break it up or do you need to settle this ugliness with a fight?”
Felix looked resigned to the outcome as Grady eagerly accepted the guard’s offer and roared, “Felix, you rotten s**t! Meet me in the ring so I can beat your ass properly.”
Felix just let out a long breath. “I think you’re a good dude, Grady, but you’re getting played by your girl. I’m not going to stand there and let you pummel me. But, fine, I’ll humor you…I suppose.”
Seeing a consensus between the two parties, one of the guards withdrew a small glass orb and tossed it between the two of them.
The instant the orb hit the ground, the two of them were sucked inside. After the orb settled, it rocketed into the sky and grew rapidly.
With its expansion, a massive projection of their fight took over the sky between the skyscrapers.
Matt leaned back in his chair to watch the duel.
Felix and Grady appeared in a seemingly perfect replica of the market, just without the crowds of people, and quickly charged at each other.
The fight wasn’t nearly as entertaining as Matt had hoped.
While Grady summoned a spear and shield from a storage device, Felix simply flicked a dagger that shot forward copies of itself in an undulating, wave-like pattern. One of the blades slipped under Grady’s shield and sunk deep into his chest before flickering out of existence and leaving a gaping wound behind.
In just seconds, the fight finished. The aggressor lay on the ground bleeding out.
As Grady failed to rise after a ten count, the orb dropped, and both of the fighters plopped back in their original positions.
Grady, in contrast to his dying figure, was perfectly fine, but he rubbed his chest in shock.
Deb tried to simper to Felix, but the shorter man just shouldered past her.
Matt slung his chair back into his backpack and grumbled, “You could have at least made the fight more interesting.”
Felix just smiled. “I thought about it, but since I didn’t have time to put money on the outcome, I decided not to bother. If I’m putting on a show, I want to be paid for my performance. Unlike that i***t. To think d**k-for-brains over there actually started monologuing before the fight. A fight he started no less. Who does that?”
Matt side-eyed Felix, who caught the look and questioned, “What?”
Matt quirked an eyebrow. “That’s not what we saw. At all.”
With a mental tug, he forwarded the man the AI recording of what the spectators witnessed.
Felix snorted and reciprocated, sending his own view of the duel.
The real fight proceeded differently than what they had seen.
Where Matt had watched both fighters immediately start and end the fight in near unison, Felix had to listen to Grady ramble as a countdown happened.
As the number hit zero, he withdrew that same dagger in one hand but, in the other, hurled a throwing knife that split while it flew.
Those knives all speared into Grady’s chest the instant before he was able to pull out his spear and shield.
“Huh.” That was all Matt could say. Checking the local PatherNet for recent uploads, he found that everyone had seen a slight variation of the truth.
Pondering what it could mean, he sent the links back to Felix. “Apparently, everyone saw something different. Or at least different regarding the details. The outcome was always the same.”
“Maybe they’re hiding our abilities before the start of the actual fights?” Felix offered.
Noting where he was going, Matt asked, “You think the chick was trying to find out your abilities and skills?”
Slowly, Felix nodded. “It would seem that way. I can’t say it’s a bad idea. I know I already tried looking up some of the more impressive Pathers.”
Matt asked, “Who’s your information broker? I’m looking to get a copy of those records myself.”
- Writer
