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	#Post#: 2868--------------------------------------------------
	Haunted by the Past - Chapter 03 - A Friend Indeed
	By: RampageSports Date: February 6, 2016, 1:28 pm
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	Haunted by the Past - Chapter 3 - A Friend Indeed
	I'm not sure how long I sat like that. I only know it was long
	enough for Danni to look pretty concerned when I came out of it.
	When the wheels in my mind started to turn again, I found her
	squatting next to me, with her hand gently squeezing my knee.
	She realized I was back before I even said anything.
	"What was that all about?" she asked.
	I looked away and focused my attention on the stapler sitting on
	my desk as I considered just how much of the story I was going
	to tell her.
	As little as possible, I thought to myself.
	There were just some secrets that needed to stay that way.
	First things first, I realized I needed to finish making that
	phone call. I needed help even more now than I had earlier, and
	the man that could give it to me was the same one I'd started to
	tell Danni about.
	I knew he could help me because he'd done it before.
	"I have to make a call," I said to her. "I'll come over when
	I'm done."
	I turned and reached for the phone, again. How it got back in
	the cradle, I hadn't a clue.
	Danni took her hand away and looked at me.
	"No," she said calmly.
	A little sliver of anger pierced through my malaise. I was in
	no mood to have her demanding answers from me at that very
	moment.
	She stood and walked back to the guest chairs.
	"I'm not leaving," she said as she sat down.
	I could feel my anger growing by the second. I threw her a
	look, but she was unmoved.
	"Make all the faces you want," she said. "I'm not leaving you
	here like this."
	Just like that the anger was gone, evaporating as quickly as it
	had risen as I realized I had misjudged my friend.
	Danni wasn't demanding anything. She was worried about me.
	Just as I had been worried about her only moments before.
	I set the receiver back down.
	In that moment, I accepted that I had lied to myself a moment
	ago.
	A piece of my past had come back to get me. I'd been worried
	this might happen. For a long time, I had waited for it, fully
	expecting the inevitable. As time went on, I allowed myself to
	believe I might have been wrong. That maybe I was clear of it
	forever. But that was just a cruel joke.
	Now, it was back... my worst fears realized. Except, it was
	far worse than I ever could have expected. For reasons I
	couldn't understand, Danni had gotten sucked into it.
	How could this be happening?
	I brought a hand up and covered my mouth � unconsciously pulling
	at my lower lip as I tried to sort the thoughts racing through
	my mind. My eyes wandered aimlessly, seeing nothing until they
	finally came to rest on Danni. I watched her study me with an
	apprehensive eye. Despite her own troubles, it was concern for
	me that was now etched on her face.
	She and I had been through so much... and we had proven
	ourselves to each other time and time again. She had earned my
	trust, and I felt confident that I had hers. I would not betray
	that now, despite what it would cost me. She deserved to know
	what we were dealing with.
	So, I wasn't going to tell her as little as possible. I was
	going to tell her everything.
	"I got myself in trouble a while back," I began. "A lot of
	trouble."
	"How long ago are we talking?" she asked.
	"About ten years ago."
	"What kind of trouble?"
	"Well, back then, I was trouble," I said, "and that's how it
	started, I suppose."
	She grinned at me.
	"I don't know exactly what to call my, uh... combative
	experience," I said. "Calling it a career sort of legitimizes
	the whole thing, but I guess that's what we'll go with."
	I grabbed the blue rubber ball off my desk and started to roll
	it between my fingers.
	"The thing is, maybe I do legitimize it, to a degree," I
	continued. "It was all there was back then, and it had more
	structure to it than you'd think. It wasn't like the UMMA, but
	there was a network of venues... sort of an unofficial league.
	You just had to know the right people, and you were in."
	"And you found the right people?" she asked.
	"If you were good, the right people found you," I said.
	"And..."
	"I was good," I said with a nod. "I was very good."
	She smiled.
	"Of course you were," she said.
	I spread my hands in front of me.
	"We all have to be good at something, I guess."
	She smiled some more, but she didn't need to pursue the subject
	any further. She and I have recently taken to some private
	sparring after hours. So, we each know what the other can do.
	"Then what?" she asked.
	"Then, the money got serious," I said. "Twenty thousand a
	fight, just to show up. More, if you won."
	She wrinkled her nose. That wasn't much, compared to what the
	more experienced women of the UMMA made. In salary alone, Danni
	made nearly a million dollars a year. That was more than fifty
	thousand dollars for a normal event, and even more for
	tournaments.
	"Hey, that was big money," I said. "You gotta remember... this
	was totally illegal. So, the people in charge were not exactly
	upstanding citizens. They kept most of the money for
	themselves. For them to be willing to pay a fighter that much,
	she had to draw a crowd."
	"And, of course, you did."
	"I made a name for myself," I said with a shrug. "I would have
	been bigger if I'd been willing to put on a better show."
	"A better show?" she asked.
	I blew out a sigh. This conversation was going to get ugly,
	fast.
	"It was common for the better fighters to sort of..."
	I groped for a euphemism, but nothing came to me.
	"...punish their opponents."
	"What does that mean?" she asked.
	"They would try to hurt them," I said. "Make an example of them
	for daring to get in the ring with them."
	I waited a moment and let her digest that little tidbit.
	"Did they ever..."
	Now it was her turn to search for a word. But, I knew where she
	was going.
	"Yes," I said softly. "People died."
	This was the first time Danni and I had really talked about my
	past. We'd referenced it a few times. To some degree it had
	taken on a mythical quality, like I had some glorious history
	that helped connect me to the women of RSI.
	There was no glory in the gritty details, though.
	"They ever try to hurt you?" she asked.
	There was a flash of anger in her eyes that I found curious.
	Whatever had or hadn't happened to me, it had been years ago.
	Yet, Danni looked as though she might go on a quest to even old
	scores.
	All I had to do was say the word.
	"I think that's enough background," I said, "don't you?"
	The look on her face said she didn't, but she nodded anyway.
	"So, where does this King guy come in?" she asked.
	"King Powers," I said. "He ran one of the fight venues."
	"Where?"
	"Boston," I said. "He was a local crime boss, and the fights
	were a big part of his operation."
	She didn't show much reaction, but I heard the soft click of her
	tongue as she pressed it to the back of her teeth.
	"Crime boss?" she said. "Are we talking mafia, here?"
	"Something like that," I said.
	"Jesus."
	"I know," I said. "I'm sorry. It's my fault you're caught up in
	this."
	She opened her mouth to protest, but then she hesitated. That
	hesitation was not hard to understand. She wanted to believe in
	me... to believe this wasn't my fault. Yet, here I was, telling
	her tales of a Richelle she knew nothing about. How could she
	decide how much blame I deserved when she didn't even know the
	story?
	More importantly, how could I break it to her that I deserved
	all of the blame?
	"So, what happened?" she asked.
	I closed my eyes and massaged the bridge of my nose between my
	thumb and forefinger. Danni waited patiently, recognizing that
	what was coming was difficult for me.
	"I got pulled into something," I said. "Something bad."
	[hr]
	Character Reference
	https://aade768506dacb303a01a361d3dc0d27209a5ec4.googledrive.com/host/0Bz8YsEjM…
	Name: Richelle Winterfeld
	Nickname(s):
	Background: Owner of the RSI stable, former underground fighter
	https://aade768506dacb303a01a361d3dc0d27209a5ec4.googledrive.com/host/0Bz8YsEjM…
	Name: Danneel Harris
	Nickname(s): Danni
	Background: RSI stable leader, reigning DEF welterweight
	champion
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