Deep in the bowels of an old parking garage distant roars and cheers of a crowd echoed throughout the different levels. Towards the lower levels the roar of the crowd grew louder and louder. At the lowest level the cheers were near deafening. A large crowd gathered around an equally large caged arena. Two heavily built men grappling and punching, kicking and kneeing, slamming and throwing each other around like ragdolls. The slightly larger of the two stood from a surprise takedown. The second fighter rushed in for another takedown but caught a knee straight to the face, followed by a solid left hook knocking him out cold. The bell rang and the ref rushed in to announce the victor.<br/><br/>â€œJeff â€˜SteamRollerâ€™ Banks still holds his title. Someone get in here and mop this poor sucker up!â€ The ref pointed down to the unconscious fighter. A couple of bouncers ran in and dragged him out of the ring. As they reached the end of the crowd, an all black custom sport bike pulled up and the rider looked on as the bouncers hauled away the loser. Flicking the kickstand down and settling the bike, the rider swung his leg around and approached the small betting table. The cashier, busy counting the earnings of the last fight slowly looked up as the rider stood over the table, blocking the light.<br/><br/>â€œAh, Lucian. Come to collect?â€ the small man pushed up his thin glasses and sat back in his chair.<br/><br/>â€œYup. You know the drill. Give me half the earnings from tonight so I can deliver them to McCalisterâ€ Lucianâ€™s voice was deep and intimidating as usual. It was his usual run tonight. He went around to all the underground fighting spots to collect for a man who funded these unsavory events. Lucian was the only man McCalister ever trusted with this sort of task and tonight was to be no different.<br/><br/>The cashier reached under the table and pulled out a large jar full to the brim with cash. After a couple minutes of counting it he slid half the stack over to Lucian.<br/><br/>â€œThatâ€™s ten gâ€™s right there. Most weâ€™ve made all month actually. But there yaâ€™ go, thatâ€™s it.â€ Lucian looked over the cash carefully then placed it into an envelope, then into the inside of his jacket pocket. He began walking back towards his bike until a voice over the loudspeaker stopped him.<br/><br/>â€œHey chicken shit! I heard you havenâ€™t fought in a long time. Whaddaya say, want a shot at my title?â€ Jeff, the large fighter from the previous fight, stood at the entrance of the caged ring holding the refâ€™s microphone. Lucian turned and dipped his sunglasses down his nose, his deep blue eyes piercing over the top rim. The crowd looked on in silence. It was true though, it had been almost a year since Lucian participated in any of the fights he ran earnings for. But tonight he was feeling froggy.<br/><br/>Lucian calmly made his way through the crowd and stepped up into the ring. The crowd still in dead silence. Before the bell even rang, Jeff lunged forward with a fast right hook, but it wasnâ€™t fast enough. Lucian had already ducked underneath it and positioned himself behind him. The crowd suddenly jumped up with excitement and the cheers were deafening. The ref ran over and closed the ring entrance on his way out. Lucian took this time to remove his glasses and put them in the other inside pocket of his jacket.<br/><br/>Jeff shot forward with another swing and a miss, followed by another, and another. His grunts of frustration brought a smile to Lucianâ€™s face.<br/><br/>â€œThis is where I put you down and make you look like a bitchâ€ Lucian let his arms hang down loosely at his sides and took a couple steps back, enticing his opponent to approach with another attack, and he did. A failed left hook followed by a lazy straight kick, then as he stepped forward with one final right straight jab, Lucian sprung into action grabbing the inside of Jeffâ€™s wrist with his left hand and drove his elbow straight up underneath his chin. The impact was so hard and loud, it shattered Jeffâ€™s teeth. All at the once the entire crowd groaned and cringed at the sickening sound, but Lucian was far from finished and quickly he pulled down on the manâ€™s shoulder and launched a knee straight into the center of Jeff's torso. The impact caused the him to spit out a large sum of blood and teeth across the ring. Lucian slowly lowered his leg and Jeff sank to his knees, bloodied and beaten in two moves. Lucian held him up steady by his throat and just looked at him. Suddenly Lucianâ€™s vision started to blur and go double. He looked back at the fighterâ€™s face and it slowly began to focus but he wasnâ€™t looking at a man. A blurry visage of a woman appeared on the throat Lucian held.<br/><br/>â€œ<span style="font-style: italic">Chosenâ€¦Lucian the chosen must gatherâ€¦the circle must be completeâ€¦the circle Lucianâ€¦</span>â€ Lucian closed his eyes and shook his head. After opening them he saw that he still held the defeated fighter in his hand. Almost as if the strange vision had never appeared, Lucian tightened his grip then stepped to the side with his right hand reaching back. With a big step forward Lucian unleashed the most vicious punch witnessed in this underground scene. The collision of Lucianâ€™s fist smashing through the side of Jeff's face was loud and truly horrifying. But to Lucian, it was just another victory he didnâ€™t care about. Wasting no time he made his way out of the ring and back to the betting table.<br/><br/>â€œIâ€™ll take my money nowâ€ he spoke softly but there was something in his voice that struck terror in the cashier, who nervously handed him his winnings.<br/><br/>â€œTh..th..thaâ€¦thatâ€™s three gâ€™s manâ€ his hand shook almost uncontrollably as his brought his hand back under the table.<br/><br/>â€œPreciate itâ€ Lucian turned and made his way to his bike. The engine revved and he took off. The pillars of the garage went wizzing by and Lucianâ€™s mind wandered. The sound of the engine faded and all he could hear in his head was the strange femaleâ€™s voice echoing.<br/><br/>â€œ<span style="font-style: italic">The Chosenâ€¦</span>â€ Lucian shook it off again and continued his route to McCalister.