Tuesday 13th January 2009, 22:16.
New Jersey,
Gotham City,
Location Unknown.
His breathing was heavy.
His heartbeat pounded in his ears.
His blood was pumping throughout his body as adrenaline filled every cell of his body.
Sweat and blood fell from his body as he moved on pure instinct.
This was who he was; this was what he lived for.
The rush one gained as they fought against a strong opponent.
Esau ducked underneath a wild hook and parried numerous jabs and crosses from his opponent with practised ease. His blonde hair was displaced by the air produced by the force of each punch of his opponent, his blonde eyes alight with childlike excitement and a confident smirk on his face as he easily responded with a straight thrust to his opponent's solar plexus. However, his opponent swiped at him, the blow going high, but still forcing Esau to retreat.
Hopping backwards to put some space between him and his opponent, Esau calmly bounced on his toes. Never once stopping to catch his breath as he allowed the adrenaline to keep him standing.
His opponent on the other hand – a large bulky man with some measure of skill and fighting experience from his boxing background – stumbled backwards, almost dry heaving as a result of Esau's devastating strike. While the fight had lasted no longer than ten minutes, it had mostly consisted of Esau on the defensive, allowing his opponent to exhaust himself and occasionally responding with devastating counter-attacks.
It showed.
Esau besides the sweat and blood – his opponents, not his own – was completely unharmed. His opponent on the other hand was equally sweaty with a busted lip, broken nose, swollen left eye and bruises forming around his stomach.
Despite, the man's experience and background in boxing, Esau had taken numerous moves he had seen from videos on YouTube and the instincts he had honed from his many fights to create a unique style. It was wild and unpredictable, with no set pattern making it very difficult to defend and counter against. That, plus Esau's greater speed and stamina compared to his opponent's strength gave Esau the ultimate fighting edge. Since he had truly started committing to his training in preparation for future fights, Esau had gone on a winning streak that still stood to this day. Over three years, fighting three sometimes four times a month and not a single loss within that frame of time.
His losses, in the beginning, had been all the motivation he needed to hone his instincts and begin training his body. Money hadn't been easy to come by though and so, without proper equipment, Esau had needed to find other ways to work out. The internet and all the videos on there helped him to adapt and grow till he became a dominant fighter in the Underground Fighting Rings. But it wasn't just skill and physicality that made one a dominant fighter, it was also the certain mental edge required to go above and beyond if necessary that most fighters needed to survive let alone thrive.
It was an edge that his opponent didn't possess.
The fight had ended before it even began, just like every fight Esau took part in. His opponent, someone with experience only came here for some quick cash, expecting his skills would give him all the edge he would need to win. But he was used to rules, to their being limitations imposed upon each fighter that made the contest fair. However, he didn't know what these fights were really like and the first eye gouge Esau landed shook him mentally. Esau had been fighting in these for years, he knew his limitations and while limited by things around him, constantly strove to improve and get better.
Sometimes, that meant fighting in cheap and dirty ways.
It had gotten to the point where it was a struggle to make money, the crop had grown stale and small as Esau fought every challenger he could. But without any current supervillain activity, Batman and especially, Batgirl had been cracking down upon the Underground Fighting Rings hard recently. Not just these last few weeks, but for years now, Batgirl being the main culprit for the current problems the UFR had been facing. She had been determined and pursued these establishments doggedly, he was curious to know what it would be like to fight a member of the infamous Batfamily.
He had never come across an opponent that was like him.
Someone who fought for a living and it made him extremely interested in testing himself against the likes of Batman, Batgirl and Robin to see how he stacked and how far he had to go. But he wouldn't, it was stupid as neither of the three would spare the time to fight a fan and the only way to get them to fight him would be to commit a crime big enough to warrant their attention. Esau wasn't really going to go out of his way to do anything that would gain their attention, not when it could jeopardise his life more than his current actions already were.
His opponent charged forward, and Esau would give him props for his self-control, it was obvious he was getting annoyed by the blonde's smirk and nonchalant defence, yet he never let his anger cloud his judgement.
"And Tony charges in once more!" The crowd cheered loudly, but Esau paid them nor the commentator any mind. "What will our champion do against this never-ending onslaught by the newcomer?"
Esau's smirk widened as he reached his opponent and this time, instead of repeating his defensive stance, he instead leapt into the air. Caught off guard by this sudden change in the pattern by the blonde, his opponent only managed to raise a hasty guard that broke easily under the powerful roundhouse kick that slammed into it.
The force behind it not only broke the guard but sent Tony to the floor. However, he masterfully rolled to his feet, mitigating the damage he took and allowing him to quickly prepare to defend or counterattack. This was for nought as Esau was upon him in an instant with a fast and dangerous onslaught of punches and kicks. There were no fancy flips, just straight-up powerful punches and kicks that tore down every defence Tony could put up and dealt ever-increasing amounts of damage to the burly boxer's body before he eventually was sent careening to the ground unconscious.
"And there we have it!" The commentator screamed into his microphone. "While the newcomer put up a good fight, it was not enough to overcome our undefeated champion, Esau!" He could hear the cheers of those who had no doubt bet on him to win and even see a few grumblings as they had no doubt bet against him. But Esau cared very little, he was getting paid either way.
-X-
Tuesday 13th January 2009, 22:45
New Jersey
Gotham City
Location Unknown.
Rolling his shoulder, Esau walked out of his changing rooms in a pair of jogging pants and a plain, white t-shirt, with a bag slung over his shoulder. His blonde hair was still wet and not as wild as it usually was, it still drying from the shower he had just taken.
He passed a few of the female servers, scantily clad as part of tonight's additional entertainment. He ignored the way their eyes roamed over his figure as even though some of them were old enough to be his mother and he was only sixteen, it was nothing more than a number to them. He could argue back that jail was only a room, especially in Gotham. But Esau liked to think that he was strong in the face of temptation.
Especially with women like Batgirl, Poison Ivy, Harley Quinn, Catwoman and the list went on.
"Esau!" The young boy in question, looked up to see the owner/commentator for Gotham's Underground Fighting Arena. "How are you, my boy?" He was a sleazy-looking man in his forty with his black hair already greying in places, it slicked by an ungodly amount of gel. The guy had also been the cause of a number of his money troubles as while he was not the reason for his debt, he hadn't made it easier to resolve it either. Unlike most fighters who were allowed to bet on themselves to win with what little they had, an incentive to keep coming back and fighting, Esau was not allowed to do the same.
"I'm doing good, John," Esau replied shortly, never really liking the man for the way he had a habit of picking young and helpless girls off the streets and forcing them into prostitution.
The thought made him remember the threat the two thugs had made towards Barbara earlier and it made him clench his fists in anger.
"Good, good." He pulled out an envelope and held it out for Esau to take. "Five thousand, for your most impressive showing tonight." Just as Esau went to take the envelope, John pulled it away. "You know, I would be willing to double, no triple this amount every time you fought if you would work for me, even allow you to start making bets on yourself. It'd be far more profitable for both of us and far more stable for you."
Esau stared at the man who was trying his best to convince him for what must be the hundredth time and with the same offer as always. However, whereas in the past, when he was young and desperate, Esau would have given in easily, he knew now that it was just a trap. Though in the beginning, his situation would improve, eventually he would end up like everyone else who agreed to it, dead in a gutter, stripped of everything valuable once they had served their purpose. "I'm honoured and thank you for the offer, but I'm gonna have to decline." While John frowned, he nonetheless handed him the envelope again and this time when Esau went to take it, John didn't pull it away.
After a quick check of the envelope's contents, Esau smiled at John. "Pleasure doing business with ya', John." He said before walking out of the building.
"As long as you keep winning me money, kid!" John called back and Esau raised his hand in a short wave, never looking over his shoulder.
-X-
Tuesday 13th January 2009, 23:30.
New Jersey,
Gotham City,
East End.
The walk to his apartment was short and not many people were out. No doubt due to the Joker and Harley Quinn currently on the loose with Batman hot on their tail, they had just performed a daring escape from Arkham Asylum mere hours prior. Everyone was waiting for something to happen, even the criminals and gangs kept their heads bowed down when the Joker was on the loose. There was a reason he was called the Clown Prince of Crime, everyone, even the hardest and most terrifying criminals were scared of the unpredictable element that was the Joker.
He had come onto the scene in a way no one had expected and quickly shook the board, knocking over all the pieces and leaving them scrambling. A process that repeated itself constantly, no one able to tell where or when he would strike next. Even men like Carmine Falcone, once a ruler of the Gotham underworld wisely kept their heads down, as if avoiding eye contact would make them appear less threatening and less likely of a target.
Quickly making it to his apartment, Esau pulled out his key and as he tried to slot it into the keyhole, only for the door to open on its own.
Looking up and down the corridor, Esau turned back to the door and pushed it open. It was dark, no surprise the sun hardly ever got into his room. "Barb, you in there?" Esau called out, cautiously stepping into his apartment. "Barbara if this is a joke it ain't funny." He put his bag down on where he knew his kitchen counter would be and clenched his fists. "Seriously Barbara, I swear to god if you're gonna jump out at me, I'm gonna be pissed."
"I can assure you, I'm not your little girlfriend." A deep, masculine voice calmly responded.
Esau reached out to his light switch and flicked it on, his eyes squinting at the sudden light, but it did not stop him from seeing the figure sitting in his chair like he owned the place. He was a tall man, with a muscular figure wearing a well-tailored suit designed to fit him snugly. But the more surprising thing about him was that where his head should be, was a black skull.
"Black Mask," Esau whispered, fear evident in his voice as he took a step back. Esau feared very few things, but Black Mask was one such thing. Ever since his father died when he was seven, leaving just him and his mother, Black Mask would constantly come around. The things he said, the things he did, forced Esau to watch and later what Esau had learned from people around him about who Black Mask was, had left a deep-rooted fear in Esau as a child. It was something that Esau thought had lessened over time, that by becoming stronger and better thanks to the UFR, just this moment had made it clear to him that Black Mask would always be someone he was scared of.
"Hello, Esau." Black Mask said calmly, never once moving from his seated position. "Why don't we have a little chat like old times?" Before Esau could do anything, he felt a bat collide with the backs of his knees sending him to the ground before something else hit his head.
For a second, he saw stars as he collapsed to the ground, his head spinning, barely registering the kicks that collided with his ribs. Meanwhile, Black Mask watched the beating unfold before his eyes with calm indifference, the men in suits that surrounded Esau wearing animal masks all crowding around him. Their bats swung down, the metallic thud and ringing filling the air, joining with his grunts and cries of pain.
"That's enough boys, we don't want to kill him." Instantly the beating stopped as Esau moaned pitifully on the ground, slowly rolling onto his side as he clutched his ribs in pain.
"Now." Getting out of his chair, Black Mask walked towards Esau and with his foot, rolled the blonde onto his back. "You've disobeyed me, Esau. I'm usually quite lenient with you because I've known you ever since you were a little kid, but you've forgotten the fact that I own you."
Esau groaned in pain as he felt his ribs protest under the pressure Black Mask's foot applied to them.
"But you see, I'm getting quite annoyed with you constantly being late on your payment. At first, you were always on time, but recently it's been a constant thing with you, and I can't understand why?" Black Mask looked to his thugs. "Can you tell me why?"
"No, boss." One of them replied.
"See." Black Mask leaned down. "I own you Esau and it's all because your parents incurred quite a lot of debt from me, especially your mother after your father died. Now I was quite happy to pay off the debt when your dear old mummy was alive if she did me a few...favours." The drawl he used when saying 'favours' left no doubt in anyone's mind about what he meant. "But she didn't, she stayed loyal to her dead, useless of a husband's memory and as a result died, leaving you to pay off their debt."
"Now I like you, kid. You got some serious fucking balls on you." Black Mask chuckled. "Hard as fucking nails as well, I don't know many people who can take a beating like you just did and still stay conscious."
Esau said nothing, just glaring into Black Mask's eyes, the hatred he felt for the crime lord even thinking about touching his mother far outweighed his fear. He knew, that even without proof, it was Black Mask that had been behind his father being unable to land a job, constantly forcing him to find new ways to make ends meet and just like him, coming back to Black Mask. Esau knew it was all his doing that his family had been torn apart and why he suffered like this, but there was nothing he could do.
After Carmine was toppled from his seat of power at the top and the Clown Prince of Crime rose to the top, there had been someone who worked quietly in the background. First by removing his father, Richard Sionis, the founder of the False Face Society and then slowly expanding his influence while the Clown Prince of Crime battled the Dark Knight. When the Dark Knight emerged victorious, locking up the Joker away in Arkham, Black Mask rose and took over, taking the place at the top. Despite having been taken down by Batman many a time, Black Mask always got up and once again, took over Gotham's underworld in a way that not even the Joker or Carmine had ever been able to do.
Out of all the crime lords and supervillains Gotham had produced, none had been as effective or as influential as Roman Sionis.
"But my patience has run out." His foot lashed out and kicked Esau in the face sending it whipping to the side, blood splattering across the ground. "You have not only been late on your payments for the last six months but then you have the fucking balls to kill one of my men." Black Mask snarled out, his hand pulling out a Bowie knife. "Now, mind you they were out of line threatening our dear old Commissioners 'daughter' and I can understand that you felt the need to protect your girlfriend." His voice was almost gentle and understanding, Black Mask's thugs looked at one another in confusion about where their boss was going with this.
That changed when Black Mask drove the Bowie knife through one of Esau's hands, pinning him to the ground. A scream of pain tore from Esau's lips, tears piling at the corners of his eyes, but it did not stop him from lashing out at his attacker.
Black Mask stumbled back into two of his thugs, who caught their boss as a result of a punch that collided against his face.
Rubbing his face, Black Mask chuckled as he watched his three other thugs kicking the downed Esau, occasionally swinging their bats down onto him. "That's enough." He ordered sternly. "I tell you what, kid. You've got one mean right hook." He chuckled once more. "But you won't do that again or I'll kill you," Esau said nothing, just curling back into a ball to try and protect himself once more. "You gotta earn my forgiveness, triple the monthly rate by next month. That's forty-five thousand the next exact month after you get out of the hospital. You fail, my thugs come back here beat you up and then we rape your little girlfriend in front of you, Commissioner's daughter or not. You don't fuck." He kicked Esau in the stomach once more. "With Black Mask."
Stepping back, and readjusting his blazer, Black Mask looked down at Esau. "Boys, teach him a lesson." Walking towards the kitchen counter, Black Mask opened Esau's bag and pulled out the cash inside, handing it to one of the thugs who followed him. Then the two left the apartment, not even paying attention to the sounds of the beating going on behind them.
-X-
Wednesday 14th January 2009, 00:45.
New Jersey,
Gotham City,
Gotham City Hospital.
Commissioner James Gordon entered the hospital room with a weary heart. The wrinkles he had developed over his long and stressful life became all the more pronounced as he took in the state of the two occupants.
The first and worst was Esau Jacobson, the child of his friend Bill Jacobson and his wife Joan Jacobson. He had watched the boy grow up into the young man he was and had on numerous occasions tried to take custody of the boy, but for someone to always put a stop to it for reasons unknown to him.
'Bill, Joan.' He thought sorrowfully of his two deceased friends as he watched their son cling to life in a hospital bed with the repetitive beeping of the heart monitor filling the room. 'If only I had thought harder for custody of your son, this could have been avoided, I could have done something.' Now usually, James was a man who was in great control of his emotions, he had to be due to his job and his unorthodox ally, Batman. But seeing a young man he viewed as a son in this state filled him with an all-consuming rage.
This rage was only fanned by the memory of what Barbara had been like when she had seen and heard of Esau's state. She had been inconsolable, crying until she had no tears to spend and eventually falling asleep clutching his hand. He had stood to one side, unable to do anything to help ease his nieces, a girl that he viewed as not only his foster daughter but truly his daughter and the boy he saw as a son suffering.
Pulling out his phone he dialled a number, waiting for the person on the other end to pick up. "Bullock," James said shortly. "I need you to run a background check on Esau Jacobson, Bill Jacobson and Joan Jacobson. I want to know everyone they had contact and dealings with. Use your underground contacts if need be, but I want to know everything." He didn't wait for confirmation or the questions that would surely be asked and hung up.
Sighing, James rubbed his eyes tiredly and moved towards his sleeping daughter who was fast asleep. Taking off his jacket, he wrapped it around Barbara's shoulders who mumbled in her sleep.