I Died And Swapped Souls With A Mafia Heir

The Lyon

It took almost a week, but Jay had been right in his guess that Zac would be sent to the Maze by the boss. The Maze turned out to be an illegal street fighting syndicate. It was named the Maze because they changed locations frequently, so tracing them was like wandering through a real maze. Participation was on a need-to-know basis, mainly for people whose pockets were deep enough to afford the costs of admittance.

This time, when Jay picked him up to start his training, he didn’t have a blindfold on. He met with the boss first, and his initiation rite was to get a tattoo of the Kings Mafia family crest on any body part of his choice, and in any size he chose. He picked somewhere that could easily be covered up since Zachary’s body didn’t have any prison tattoos. It was done at his back, on the left side. Not low enough to be seen if he happened to lift his shirt.

“Welcome to the family.”

He trained like his ass was on fire for three days, because that was how long he had till the next match, and Zac was required to fight.

He was in the changing room with some of the other fighters, but the roar of the crowd still penetrated through the walls. They were deep underground, in a basement arena that had been built for this purpose. He wondered how they were able to construct the place without law enforcement being suspicious of its purpose, but with money, a lot of things were possible. The policemen were probably on the boss’ payrolls. And they must have spent a fortune to soundproof the place, because no noise could be heard from the surface at all.

There were about two hundred spectators, mostly men and some women with enough money to waste on seeing people beat themselves to a pulp. He was told that there were even death matches on some special days in the month where the fight was only over when one of the fighters was dead. That was usually reserved for debtors, who chose a life or death match to pay off what they owed, or traitors given a chance to fight for their lives. If a debtor won, his debt was automatically cancelled. If a traitor won, he would be allowed to live, but demoted to the lowest positions.

The main fighting area was on the lowest floor and a metal cage separated it from the sitting areas. The closer you sat to the fight, the more expensive the seat ticket and the more prestige you claimed. The main bosses were on the first row closest to the cage in plush leather seats. The next rows were a step up and the remaining rows followed in that order. There was an escalator on one side that only the bosses were allowed access to while the others used the steps at the corners of each row of seats.

Jay said maximum capacity was usually on death match days and special fights no matter the location. Half-naked men and women paraded up and down with drinks to serve the clientele, and service them however they wanted. There were private rooms in case the patrons wanted to be serviced, especially by whomever they picked and paid for the night. He wondered if the servers were here of their own free will or if they had been trafficked, but in the end, it was none of his business. They didn’t look forced though. They looked like they willingly worked there. Asking questions would only get him killed, so he had to play by the rules.

Tonight was his first fight and he was already pumped with adrenaline.

“Yo, man, you’re up next.” Jay said as he walked into the changing room.

“Any hidden rules I should know about?” Zac asked.

“Apart from the usual which I’ve already briefed you on? Nah. I’ll run through it one more time. No weapons are allowed in this match. The matches with weapons will come last tonight since there are no death matches arranged for today. No rules in the ring, take down your opponent whichever way you can get your hands on them. Don’t let anyone get too close to break your bones; It’s allowed, and healing from that would be a b***h. You have three fights lined up for tonight. If you win three out of three, you won't start at level one with other rookies. You’ll start at level two. The more you win, the higher you go and the more you get paid. Level nines and tens are the boss’ favs, and they get amazing perks.”

“I’ll win all three fights tonight.” Zac said, and Jay chuckled.

“You better. For tonight, you’re a free agent, so you can do you. If you succeed in getting to level two tonight, you’ll have to be taking orders from the boss while in the ring. Not direct orders, subtle cues from his expression or gesture, you’ll be taught those later. He may want you to break a leg, or an arm, or put your opponent in a headlock or c***k a spine. The more accurately you follow his command, the more money he makes. All the bosses make bets on what moves the players will make before the game starts, so the fighters are like their puppets.” Jay explained further.

“Won’t that be a distraction? Having to take my eyes off my opponent to look at the boss.” Zac asked.

“You just have to manage it. Make the boss happy, make him a lot of money, and you’ll be a step closer to your revenge. I should warn you though, OD is one of the best fighters here. You’re going to have to fight him eventually, so be prepared, or he will kill you.” Jay warned him.

“I wish he could fight him today. Out of the ring, I’m just a newbie. But in the ring, we’re equals and I can pound the s**t out of him.” Zac replied.

“Don’t be so sure, he’s a force to be reckoned with.” Jay shook his head.

“So am I.” Zac replied with a smirk.

“Don’t make any fancy moves in this fight. The more you delay, the more chances to lose. Once you get the upper hand, take out your opponent. It gives you a better chance of winning all three. You need to focus on winning this first time. Showing off can come later.”

“Thanks for your help, Jay. I really appreciate it.” He said and Jay sighed.

“Just win, or I’ll look like a fool for recommending you and singing your praises.”

The announcer began to call for the fighters. Soon it was Zac’s turn.

“Now, ladies and gentlemen, we know how much you like fresh blood. This next round, The Ripper is fighting his third tonight. If he wins, he will be officially added to the fighter's board on level two.”

The fighter named Ripper walked past Zac with a sneer on his face as he spat on the ground close.

“You’re dead meat.”

“We’ll see about that.” Zac muttered underneath his breath.

A loud cheer erupted as Ripper walked out of the changing room to the announcer’s raised platform near the cage.

“And, coming out for his first fight tonight to challenge the Ripper, Give it up for Lyonnnnnnn.”

Zac walked out, but instead of cheers, the crowd booed. It seemed that the Ripper was a crowd favourite. He ignored the boos. They would be chanting his name soon. He chose Lyon because it was pronounced Lion, and was a word play on his real name, Leon. This way, he could be Zachary, and still be Leon. His two identities. They both walked into the metal cage, and it was locked. The bell that signalled the start of the match went off.