Cut and Run 3 - Fish and Chips

he was just one twist short of a slinky.
    He was wearing a white shirt with a picture of a scarecrow on it accompanied by the words “out standing in his field.” Not one of the watching agents gave it a second glance. It was, they all knew, his favorite shirt.
    Ty looked up at his partner and snarled at him, seemingly unaware of the people watching and now placing bets on who would be the winner. He rolled his shoulders and began to circle again, taped fists up and close to his face. Zane moved in a mirror image, watching Ty intently.
    “There’s no way Garrett can stay in too long with Grady,” Alston predicted. It wasn’t that he didn’t like Zane. He seemed like an okay guy. Maybe a little dull and straight-laced. But it was Ty he was fighting. The former Marine was on a short fuse on the best of days. When he lost his temper, there was never any telling what would be rigged to blow by the end of the workday.
    “He’s been in there twenty minutes already,” Clancy said, arms crossed as she watched.
    “Yeah, but it didn’t get serious until a few minutes ago,” another agent told them.
    “Garrett may surprise you,” Fred Perrimore said as he joined them. While he was built heavy and barrel-chested, Alston stood three inches taller than him at six feet, and they both towered over Clancy’s petite frame. “He’s got some moves.”
    “Having ‘moves’ and being trained to kill by the government are not the same thing,” Alston said with a derisive laugh.
    As if to emphasize his point, Ty moved in a graceful series of feints, jabs, and an arcing roundhouse kick to send Zane to the mat with a resounding thump. He danced away lightly before Zane could touch him.
    “Hands ain’t the only things that hit, Garrett,” Ty said in a low voice, a slight smirk curling his lips.
    Zane rolled into a crouch and twisted as he stood, his heel connecting with the back of Ty’s knee, forcing it to collapse as he punched Ty in the kidney.
    Clancy winced. “I’m thinking Garrett can kick ass just fine,” she murmured.
    They watched as Ty fell to his knees with a grunt of anger and pain, and then he just as quickly rolled and struck out, taking Zane’s legs out from under him, catching Zane’s knees between his two calves like a pair of scissors. The crowd groaned when Zane hit the mat a second time, and Ty pounced on him, getting an arm around his neck and rolling him up between his knees, trying to immobilize him.
    “Should we stop this before Ty snaps his neck?” Clancy asked in morbid amusement. She and Alston shared a look, Alston privately thinking that he wouldn’t put it past Ty to do it. They shrugged at each other negligently, but then both winced when Zane somehow rocked forward and pulled Ty half over his shoulder before shoving him off to one side. Ty rolled away nimbly and sprang to his feet almost instantly.
    “We need walls, partner,” Zane sniped as he got to his feet. “Something for you to splat against.”
    Ty shook his head and reached up to the strap of the protective headgear required in the ring. He yanked at it and ripped the padded helmet off, tossing it over the ropes to land at the feet of several of the agents watching. He didn’t say anything to Zane, just held out one taped hand and gestured for him to bring it.
    “Oh fuck, we’re going to have to fill out paperwork about this too,” Alston muttered to himself.
    Zane’s eyes narrowed, and he cocked his head to one side before doing the same, pulling off his own helmet and sending it skidding off the mat to thunk to the floor. “What’s wrong, Grady?” he asked ruefully, raising his fists. “Cat got your tongue?”
    Everyone watching groaned at the verbal jab. They’d all heard the story of what had happened to Ty and Zane in the mountains of West Virginia. Ty merely smirked without attacking. One of the fists he held up and ready was badly scarred from the cougar bite he’d received several weeks ago and the two subsequent surgeries he’d undergone to fix the damage. Zane’s taunt was a low blow.
    Without warning, Zane lunged, leading with his left shoulder to shove all his weight into Ty, propelling him toward the ropes. It seemed to be what Ty had been waiting for, though, because he planted a foot and used Zane’s momentum to lift him completely off his feet and slam him down into the mat. The entire ring shook again, and a loud groan rippled through the audience.
    This time when Zane was down, Ty