Part 2

It was a fast and furious round. Magoon came out swinging from the bell. I felt my legs go wobbly. I was driven back into the ropes. I took a lot of punishment around the head and upper body. Then Magoon shifted his attack to the waist. I came in over it with a flurry of my own at his face. He backed up. I followed him. He caught me with a looping right coming in and I went down to one knee. I rested there, taking a count of nine. I felt almost like a pro now. And if this Magoon had an unblemished record, I found myself thinking quite calmly, it was because other guys had gone into the tank for him. Oh, he was competent enough, but he wasn't another Marciano. Or even close.

I got up at nine. Magoon thought he had me. He came in with his hands low, ready to bring them up from his belt and finish me. The crowd was silent, waiting. I blocked a vicious right cross with my left glove. I swung my own right and it hit Magoon below the ear. I hooked my left at his other cheek. I brought the left down low, striking just under Magoon's heart. He spit his mouthpiece out. I hooked my left again and crossed my right. He swung back at me feebly. The crowd was roaring. I brought my right uppercutting at his jaw. His feet left the canvas and his whole body sank down on it, not falling, but slowly as if it were being lowered on strings.

* * * * *

He was counted out. The crowd screamed. The tired-looking manager held up my hand. He said nothing. We went back to the dressing room through throngs of well-wishers. They let little Sally come with us.

The door of the dressing room closed behind us. Two grim-looking characters were in there. They jerked their thumbs toward the door as if they were a team. The manager gulped and got out. I looked at Sally. Sally looked at me.

"You crossed us, Angel," one of the men said.

Martell had crossed them, all right. I could get out of this and leave Martell to take his medicine. But they'd beat him to a pulp before he knew what was happening. He was a rat, I thought, and he deserved what he got, but the least I could do was give him a little head start. Then he could take it from there.

They came at me with blackjacks. Sally screamed. I brought up my forearm and one of the blackjacks blurred down toward it. My arm went numb. There was no pain. It just went suddenly dead.

The second blackjack numbed my other arm. They were very good at it, all right. They knew where to strike. I was a boxer without any arms to use....

A blackjack came down. I bobbed out of the way. The other guy was behind me, raising his own blackjack. The first one hit him accidentally, crushing his shoulder. He screamed. I butted my head at the guy in front of me. It took the wind out of him. As he slumped I leaned over him and brought up my knee and it made a loud clicking sound as it struck his jaw and drove his teeth together. He fell down and he lay there.

The second guy was better now. He came at me with the blackjack. I backed off toward the rubdown table. My arms were beginning to tingle. I thought I might be able to use them if I had to. I leaned back on the rubdown table getting set to meet the blow. He lunged at me and I brought up my foot, smashing it against his chest. He staggered back. Sally stood to one side, her face white, her hand at her throat.

I followed the guy with the blackjack. He swung at me. He looked scared now. I ducked inside the blow and brought up my tingling right fist in a short, chopping blow. It threw his head back. He turned with a little whimper and got the hell out of there. His friend was still unconscious.

"Well, Mrs. Xlptl," I said, "shall we go?"

"I--I guess so. You were so strong! Even stronger than the real Martell. You were wonderful, really you were." She was small but very pretty. She had a funny look in her eyes. "That's what I like about Earthmen," she said. "They're so strong. They're so virile...."

She took my hand. We concentrated on getting out of there.

* * * * *

When I saw Mrs. Xlptl again, she wasn't little Sally. She was a shoulderless almost-human, penguin-like creature from somewhere. "So strong, so virile ..." she said again. That look was in her new eyes.

It was a living room. I wished to hell Xlptl would come. I didn't like that look. I knew what she wanted. I wasn't buying now. I'd had enough for one day with almost scrubbing beautiful backs and watching strippers perform and almost getting clobbered and then having Mrs. Xlptl look at me that way, her eyes saying she wanted one final fling on Earth, in the person of a private eye named Brody.

And she wasn't going to give up easily. She moved toward me, then stopped and looked down at herself. "It wouldn't be much fun with this--me--" She made a hopeless gesture.

I wanted to be polite. "But it was fun while it lasted."

"Yes. Maybe there's some way we could do it again--just once more before I go back--"

Her offer was tempting. I had to admit that. But things were different now. What was over was over and she had to understand. "No--no," I said. "You'll be happy back where you belong."

Her eyes flashed anger. "I belong here! With you! We can do it again!"

"Xlptl!" I called. "Hey, Xl--"

He came in. He went over to his wife. She sighed, looking disappointed.

"You're going back now?" I asked Xlptl as he paid me.

"Yes. And I have a souvenir."

I went outside. In the hall were two valises and something else. Xlptl had the right idea. He'd be able to keep his wife happy at home henceforth.

The something else was a set of barbells.

THE END