When Ten Became Five

Ray quickly got hold of the situation : someone slapped a girl and she fell into his arms. Simple as that.

Ray looked up and saw an angry man walking up to him. The man pulled the girl's hair and wanted to give her another slap. Although Ray did not know what the fuss was about, he just could not let such violence being imposed on a girl in front of his eyes. So, he took action. He grabbed the man's hand before he hit the girl.

"Hey, just be cool. She is just a girl." He calmly advised the angry man.

The man was a bearded guy in his late thirties. He stared at Ray and yelled loudly, "This is none of your fucking business! Just get out of my way!"

He was definitely not aware that Ray was not someone that could be easily threatened. So, he was more annoyed and angry when he saw Ray did not back off. "Fuck off now!" He shouted.

"Or else?" Ray asked with a smile.

The bearded guy was obviously someone who liked to use violence to resolve issues. He did not reply anymore and struck Ray right away. He was fast but Ray was even faster. He moved a step backwards and the man's fist missed the target. Ray kicked the bearded guy's shin, tripping him to the floor. 

Ray pulled the girl away while saying to the angry man, "Hey, I'm not here looking for a fight. I don't care what is going on between two you. Just leave her alone and we are cool."

The bearded guy was getting mad. He got up from the floor, grabbed a beer bottle and smashed it. He then used the shattered edge to attack Ray.

"This is definitely not cool." Ray shook his head while handling the angry bearded guy. He dodged to the aside and then punched the guy's stomach. It was a strong punch and made the bearded guy bend down immediately. Ray added another punch on his chin, making him fall onto the floor once again. This time, the guy could not get up anymore.

Seeing the threat was gone, Ray made an announcement, "Hi everybody! I don't mean to spoil the party! Please continue partying!" 

"Alright!" The crowd cheered, the band continued on with the Van Halen song and a waiter carried the fainted bearded guy away. Everything was back to what it was before the fight. 

Ray sat at the bar and ordered a beer. He was a little surprised when the girl that he helped just now handed him his beer.

"Hi, I'm Ana." She introduced herself. "Thank you so much for what you did just now."

"I'm Ray. I hope everything is alright for you." Ray took a good look at Ana while introducing himself. She was a young sweet looking girl in black T-shirt and white jeans, probably just twenty. Her body was slender and tanned, an indication that she loved outdoor sports.

"I'm waitressing part-time while auditioning for small roles. He is a regular here. Has been hassling me for quite some time. I rejected him again just now and he got mad." Ana explained.

"Great. A budding actress." Ray took a sip of his beer. "I'm here looking for someone. Maybe you can help me out?"

"Sure. Give me the name." Ana was more than happy to help.

"Bob Marvin. Do you know him?"

Ana burst out in laughter upon hearing the name. "You have just met him!"

"Okay. He is that guy. Got it." Ray never knew he had such good luck, meeting and punching Bob Marvin upon entering Stitch Bar. "Now tell me where he is now."

"Tommy had probably put him back into his truck. You should check the parking lot. His is a black Ford." Ana gave him the information he required.

It was not difficult to find the black Ford truck in parking lot. The difficult part was Bob Marvin had regained consciousness and there were two other men with him. Two nasty looking guys.

"Whoever brings me his head gets five grand!" Bob Marvin gave a nasty order to them.

The two guys acknowledged and pulled out switch blades. The first guy attacked Ray right away. He was pretty good at switch blade and Ray got a cut on his shoulder. As an experienced fighter, Ray knew he needed to change his strategy. While dodging the switch blade, Ray removed his belt and used it to wrap the attacker's arm. Ray then dragged the attacker over and welcomed him with a punch on the nose, followed by another kick on the stomach. 

While the first guy was still dizzling, Ray snatched the switch blade from him and hurled it to the second guy who was coming to help his partner. The second definitely did not see this coming and his thigh was stabbed by his partner's switch blade. Before he could make the next move, Ray was already in front of him and gave him a punch on the noise. Both guys received exactly the same faith, with blood all over their faces.

Bob Marvin was totally shocked when he saw two of his best men were defeated within a minute. He tried to get into his truck but was stopped by Ray. Ray grabbed his hand and put in on the edge of the car door. Then, he slammed the door and smashed his hand.

"What the fuck…!" Bob Marvin screamed as the pain ran over his body.

That was not all. Ray grabbed his hair and banged his face on the car window, causing splashes of blood from his head. 

"Bob oh Bob... Do you know what make me angry?" Ray pulled the injured man over and looked into his eyes.

Bob shook his head.

"The price of my head was ten grand. How could you reduce it to just five?"

Bob's eyes were wide open upon hearing this. He knew who he was messing with now although it was too late already.

"Tell me where to find Frank Geldof and you still have a hand to wank yourself. I hope I have made myself crystal clear." Ray said it coldly.

Bob Marvin nodded and gave him an address. "This is his working place. I don't fucking know where he lives." And Ray was glad that it was not Ellen's law firm. He really did not want to cause a scene at Ellen's office.

"One last question. How do you know where I stay?"

"It was from Frank. He probably had informed the motels nearby to call let him know if you check in."

"Thank you." Ray had finally got what he required. But he did not let Bob Marvin go. He smashed Bob's head on the car several times until Bob passed out. Then, he put Bob inside the trunk of his truck. He did the same to the other two guys. He had no choice. He could not afford to let them inform Frank Geldof that he would come over. Killing them would be another option but Ray was not a ruthless murderer.

Having done all these, he walked back to his Kia which was parked just in front of Stitch Bar. To his surprise, Ana was waiting for him there.

"You are bleeding!" She was obviously concerned about Ray.

"This is nothing. I'm alright."

"Look, my apartment is just five minutes away. Why don't you let me bandage you?" 

Ray looked at her beautiful face for a second and changed his mind. "Get inside my car then."