[Thomas Caine #1] Tokyo Black Read Online Free PDF Page B

had been freed from his leg irons. Lau must have paid the warden a pretty penny to arrange this hit.
    Caine popped up on the other side of the table. He slid back into his defensive position: hands raised, legs apart, one foot farther back for balance. He stared down his attackers. His emerald eyes were calm, and he did not blink.
    The two men split up, each moving around a different side of the table. Caine launched towards Lanky first, moving as fast as his leg chains would allow. He surprised his opponent with his reckless advance.
    Lanky bellowed and raised his weapon over his head. As the baton swung down, Caine used his left arm to divert the force of the blow. He swung his right arm and landed a vicious punch on Lanky’s jaw. Before the stunned man could retreat, Caine grabbed his wrist and yanked him forward. He wrenched the baton from the man’s weakened grasp.
    Stepping back, he swung the club up between Lanky’s legs. As the painful blow struck, he raised his elbow and dropped it with all his weight on the back of Lanky’s neck. The man hit the ground like a sack of flour.
    Caine dropped to his knees beside him, slamming the baton into the small of his back. Lanky’s eyes popped, but instead of a scream, only a hissing breath escaped his lips. His fingers clawed at the dirt. He dragged himself away from Caine an inch at a time. Caine let him go. He stood up and focused his attention on Scorpion.
    The big man charged towards him, his mouth open and rolling like a rabid animal. His meaty left fist launched forward in a punch. Caine stepped back, avoiding the powerful blow while rapping the man’s knuckles with his baton. The big man yelped and attempted a follow-up punch with his right hand. But the pain from Caine’s counterattack had thrown him off balance, and Caine dodged the clumsy strike with ease.
    Scorpion shifted his weight, and Caine saw the signs of another left-right combo. He didn’t have to plot his next move. It was like listening to music. He simply knew which notes should finish the tune.
    Sure enough, Scorpion launched forward again with his left fist. Caine whipped his left arm in front of him, knocking the blow wide and leaving his attacker open. Stepping forward, Caine slammed the baton into Scorpion’s gut. As the big man gasped and bent over, Caine clubbed him on the back of the neck and the giant crumpled to the ground.
     Caine hesitated for a second, staring at the now-defenseless inmate. Get it done! the voice in his head roared. If you don’t make him an example, these guys will never stop coming. He knew what to do, knew it was necessary. Still, he waited.
    Scorpion groaned and began to pick himself up. Caine blinked, and the voice in his head took control. He straddled Scorpion’s head. With a quick jerk of his ankle, Caine wrapped the chain between his legs around his enemy’s neck.
    Caine threw himself to the ground and pulled with his legs. Scorpion gasped as the chain grew taut around his bulging neck. He thrashed his body, struggling to loosen the chain. Caine threw all his weight into the stranglehold. Strong, fat fingers clawed at his ankles, but Caine grit his teeth and ignored the pain. After a few moments, the man stopped moving. Caine heard the death rattle leave his enemy’s throat, a last gasping wheeze.
    Caine relaxed his legs and let go. He staggered to his feet and surveyed the crowd that had gathered around him.
    The other prisoners were cheering. They exchanged money, cigarettes, and drugs as they paid off their bets on the fight. Judging by the amount of money changing hands, Caine guessed he had not been expected to win.
    He looked down at Scorpion’s bloated corpse. He thought of how different a dead body looked from its living, breathing incarnation. After a person died, the stillness of death became like a new state of reality. The memories of it walking, talking, and living were like echoes, whispers in the wind that grew fainter with every passing