Chapter 9

“Are you alright Penny?” Harry Burns was concerned as he saw the worried look on Penny’s face early one Thursday morning.

“Yes, Harry. Just a bit worried - it’s probably nothing. Just that my cat wasn’t waiting for me last night when I got home and that’s not like him. He’ll turn up soon enough, I expect!”

She tried to busy herself with her work, but the tears would not be banished, unlike when she had been painfully and soundly thrashed by Miranda on many an occasion and remained bravely dry eyed throughout. She was so awfully fond of that silly infuriating animal! The phone rang. Probably that disgusting Patrice again. Couldn’t that creep ever learn to take “No” for an answer?

She was far too busy of late to be able to go to his gymnasium every day, and he had been in the habit of ringing her at work. He wanted her to take part in another fight, damn the fellow! She was beginning to think that his introducing her to Miranda had all been part of some deep-laid scheme of his.

She picked the phone up.

“Yes”

“Penny my love. I have this fight arranged for you tonight. You will be there, my sweet and get the shit knocked out of you! I have a few friends of yours who want to see it!”

“Get lost!”

“Penny! You’d like to see that pretty Russian Blue cat again - alive and well?”

She froze at this. A rage took over her, such as she had never known before, not even when Miranda had been pounding her nose into her face with such vigor.

“You hurt my cat, and I’ll kill you. That’s no idle threat, either, you bastard! I’d spend the rest of my life in jail just for the pleasure of killing you, and don’t think I’m joking. Just try me!”

“Won’t do Pussy any good, when he’s dead and dead in a not very nice way! I want you at the Kenning ton Community center at 6 O’clock tonight to take part in a very special fight. You can’t win it, sweetheart, but you’d better put up the show of your life, or else! Stay on your feet for ten rounds before your opponent puts you down and you get your feline friend back alive and well. Otherwise, it’s bye Puss Cat!”

The phone went silent. A distressed Penny could not think what to do. Then she remembered Miranda, whom she had not seen for weeks, since their last fight, when her tutor had punished her savagely for being beaten the night before by a very low-grade opponent. Miranda would help! She knew Patrice and all his dirty ways. She would surely help! There was no answer from her number, and she kept trying all morning and all afternoon with no result.

The poor distressed girl hardly noticed anything for the rest of the morning and just sat in her room, tears pouring down her face. She did notice Tom Brewster once or twice and it occurred to her that he had a rather satisfied smirk on his flabby chinless face. Realizing that tears would not rescue Mr. Smith, she managed to regain some kind of hold on her emotions and forced herself to carry on for the rest of the day.

She was at the appointed place at the time specified. What else could she do? She would go to any lengths to rescue her beloved companion. A burly looking bouncer admitted her to the changing area.

From the auditorium she heard a growling barrage of noise. The spectators were obviously delighting in something! A seedy little man came into the changing cubicle.

“You should be on in about twenty minutes; the way things are going. Only girl fight on the bill! You’re the one who gets massacred, I’m afraid darling. I hope you think the money’s worth it! That pretty face won’t be so nice to look at for a very long time after that other cow has done with it!”

Penny asked the man what he meant and he explained that she would enter the ring naked against an opponent gloved and booted with metal strips and with a body well-padded to protect her from any blows. Only the face and head of her opponent would be unprotected. She was going to be bloody well slaughtered and the crowd would love it! She nodded her head. So be it, she thought. “Just as long as Mr. Smith is returned safe and well, they can do what they like to me! I’m tough enough by this time, after all said and done!”

A roar of sadistic cheers announced the end of the current fight and Penny was ushered naked into the arena. She climbed into the ring, with easy practiced skill and looked across at her well armored opponent. It was Miranda! Her friend!

Miranda looked every bit as surprised as she! She did not look as if she relished what she was going to be asked to do, and Penny began to suspect something. It would have to wait until after, though. She had a cat to rescue.