John Locke - Wish List

The damage I inflicted with that perfect kick is evident. Mike can barely stand up, and his next punch comes in at less than half power. On my turn I kick him again. He makes a pathetic attempt to kick me on his next turn, but he loses his balance and his foot barely grazes me.

My turn.

I fake the kick and Mike is so worried about it landing, he tries to jump out of the way. But his corner man holds him steady, and Mike’s face drops into perfect position and I strike his nose with all my might. And this time I draw blood.

When Mike’s bouncer releases his arms, Mike touches his nose. He’s got tears in his eyes and when he realizes his nose is broken, most of the fight in him has gone. He winds up and launches a roundhouse punch that takes so long to reach me, I’m able to duck my head, which means his punch lands on my skull. He screams in pain and I think his right hand might be broken. I try to land my final punch on his broken nose, but he gets it out of the way. I do manage to hit his eye flush, and figure that’s going to start swelling up before long.

In the corner, Gus finally has the opportunity to work on my eye. The referee announces the next round will be fought the normal way unless the action stops for fifteen seconds. I hear Rudy urging me to keep kicking Mike’s knees.

But I have a better idea.

Since I can’t punch hard enough to hurt him, and since my legs are in good shape and Mike’s are not, I decide to rush him. Not like he rushed me earlier, when trying to get in close enough to hit me, but to rush him and push him down. Mike attempts to land a big right hand, but I jump back in time to avoid it, and push him squarely in the chest with both hands. His bad knees give way and he falls to the floor. With his face an open target, I kick it until he brings his hands up to protect it, which leaves his ribs unprotected. I kick them until he brings his hands down, and then I kick his face again. Mike’s in bad shape and getting worse. I get myself in a zone and keep kicking him wherever I find an opening. I’m thinking about how Mike is fighting to win my wife, while I’m fighting to keep her. He’s got everything to gain, and I’ve got everything to lose. But while I cheated on Lissie, he raped her. And, like Perkins said, Lissie deserves better.

Chapter 34

I’m lying on the couch in the ladies’ room, while Gus patches me up. My ears are ringing and I’ve got double vision. Every part of my body is aching and sore, and I realize I’ve taken a much harder beating than I thought.

“Where’s Rudy?” I say.

“Collecting his money, I think.”

It’s just me and Gus in the dressing room.

“Thanks for your help,” I say.

“My pleasure.”

“Can I ask a favor?”

“You can ask. Don’t mean I’ll grant it.”

“Can I borrow your cell phone?”

He thinks about it. “Twenty bucks.”

“In my bag,” I say.

He hands me his cell phone and crosses the room to get my bag. I dial the number my sister made me memorize a year ago, and silently pray it’s still in service.

It rings several times, and finally he answers, saying, “Creed.”

“Mr. Creed, this is Buddy Pancake. I’m in trouble.”

I hear Creed say to someone, “Wait. You lost an earring.” Then I hear a woman scream. Then Creed says, “Buddy, you’re a pain in the ass.”

“Sorry, Mr. Creed.”

He pauses a moment, then says, “What kind of trouble have you gotten yourself into this time, Buddy?”

“The worst kind.”

He sighs. “Where are you?”

Part Two:

DONOVAN CREED

Chapter 1

Buddy Pancake was in Louisville, Kentucky, in an abandoned warehouse behind Standiford Airport, claiming he’d just beaten a man to death in a boxing match.

I said, “Get real.”

He said, “No, I’m serious.”

“No offense, Buddy,” I said, “but my jock strap could kick your ass.”

“Swear to God, Mr. Creed. They’re forcing me to kill people.”

“Who is?”

“There’s a website, Wishlist.bz. They grant wishes.”

“To dying children?”

“No, not like that. You get four wishes, anything you want. But then they start making you pay them back by digging graves and killing people.”

I frowned. “Buddy, your bullshit call ruined my perfect evening.”

Buddy lowered his voice to a whisper. “I can pay you a half million dollars to protect Lissie.”

“Who’s Lissie?”

“My wife.”

I didn’t need the money, but half a million dollars was a staggering amount to a guy like Buddy Pancake.

“I forgot where you work,” I said.

To someone on his end, Buddy said, “You can have all the money in my bag if you’ll give me two minutes alone.” There was a short pause, and then to me he said, “I’m a loan officer at Midwest Commercial Savings and Loan, here in town.”

“You embezzled how much altogether?”

“It’s not like that. The Wish List people gave me the money.”

“That was one of your wishes?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Bullshit.”

“No, I swear.”

“Buddy, I’m not in the mood.”

“What do you mean?”

“No one wishes for a half million dollars. You probably asked for a million.”

He paused before saying, “I was hoping to keep some of it.”

“Who are we dealing with?”

“You mean in the company? The Wish List people?”

“Yeah.”

“I only know a guy named Rudy, and a limo driver named Perkins. But this is an extremely powerful group of people, Mr. Creed.”

“Yeah, Perkins the limo driver sounds terrifying.”

“I’m serious, God damn it!”

He couldn’t be. “Give me a for instance, besides the money.”

“One of my wishes was to have sex with Jinny Kidwell.”

“The actress?”

“Yes, sir.”

“And did you?”

“Yes, sir.”

“No shit?”

“I swear. But then they made me kill this bastard ex-friend of mine in a fight tonight. He raped my wife and I killed him. They say I still owe them another payment for the wishes they granted. And they threatened my wife. You’re the only one I can turn to. You’ve got to help me.”

“Are you willing to part with the full million?”

He sighed. “If that’s what it takes.”

“Is your life in danger?”

“I’m pretty sure it is.”

“You had sex with Jinny Kidwell.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Where can we meet?”

“They’ve got cameras in my house, wiretaps on my phones.”

“The phone you’re using is tapped?”

“No. I’m using a stranger’s phone. But they’ll be back any minute.”

“I’ll be at your place by six a.m.”

“Let me give you my address.”

“Save your breath. I’ve got people. What were your other wishes?”

“They’re coming. I gotta go.”

Chapter 2

I try not to judge people. I really do try.

But if you’re recruiting a loser army, Buddy Pancake is the first guy you want. Still, I’m willing to protect him and his wife for two reasons:

The first is Buddy’s sister, Lauren.

Lauren Jeter had been a close friend for many years. She was an extraordinary hooker, whose client list included half of Cincinnati’s movers and shakers. When Governor Eliot Spitzer’s prostitution scandal broke in New York, certain Cincinnati lawmakers worried for their reputations. A few went so far as to threaten Lauren to keep her mouth shut in the event local news reporters decided to investigate the prostitution situation in Cincinnati. Concerned for her safety, Lauren told Buddy if anything ever happened to her, he should contact me.

Something did happen.