Page 10 - Unlikely Stories 2

El Asesino

parking lot. A nondescript rental car carried them south and east into
the city’s Latino neighborhood. The professor had never ventured
that far from his home territory. He glanced at the inspector, placidly
navigating through areas manifesting cultural activity with which the
cloistered scholar was completely unfamiliar: life on the streets.
Women selling food and beverages from carts. Small groups of men
sitting outside run-down apartment buildings. Children at play on all
sides, dodging traffic on skateboards and throwing balls on the
sidewalk, all unsupervised. Blaring loudspeakers, garish murals,
pungent aromas.
Finally the car stopped outside a warehouse on a side street. “We
are going to be back-row spectators here for a while. Don’t worry: I
have friends on the force. There will be no raid today. And tomorrow
the venue will be elsewhere.”
They entered a cavernous space lit only by a skylight. Men
surrounded a central ring, shouting and waving money. Dr. Rabette
strained to see what was going on. Two men on opposite sides of the
ring crouched, each holding a hooded rooster. It was a cockfight.
Cries of “Conquistador!” and “El Asesino!” echoed off the rafters, as
bets were laid. El Asesino appeared to be the favorite.
“Watch carefully,” said Flacket in a low voice. “Your assistant,
Guerrero, had financial problems. He owed money to some very
unforgiving people. After he left the university he no longer had
those difficulties. He now drives a late-model car and dresses like a
pimp.”
The professor began to suspect the worst. It was soon confirmed:
with a roar of the crowd, the hoods came off the gamecocks. They
spotted each other and attacked. It was over in ten seconds. El
Asesino was larger, stronger, faster and more vicious than his rival.
Conquistador lay broken and bleeding. Its owner, shaking his head,
slowly advanced to pick up the bird.
The man in charge of the winner stepped into the ring to collect
his undefeated champion. He lifted his head to acknowledge the
cheers of the crowd: “El Asesino!” “El Asesino!” The overhead light
illuminated his features.
“Alfredo!” The professor forgot his pledge to stay in the
background. He pushed through the crowd, yelling loudly. “Alfredo
Guerrero! What have you done?!”
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