The rest of the fighters agreed, and two of the martial artists went out to spar with Ryder and Marco.
Every move was perfect, and they were much better than David's elite team. David nodded repeatedly as he watched them fight, satisfied with their abilities.
As soon as the men had finished fighting, two others stood up. One of them, Damian, looked very ordinary and seemed confident. The other, Rick, looked really rough and gave the impression of being cunning.
Damian introduced himself to David, and then he turned to the two men who would be fighting with them. "Forgive me if I damage you too badly," he said in a loud voice.
Everyone was shocked by Damian's arrogance.
The two fighters snorted. "Quit flapping your gums and get on with it!" one of them called.
Rick sneered at the two men. "Don't say we didn't warn you," he said.
Damian and Rick burst into action. Having studied martial arts for years, they were highly skilled, and they had made a fortune by providing security for powerful families.
Unfortunately, they had spent all their money and no longer had enough to live on. They had heard that the Drake family in Washington, D.C., was looking for martial arts experts to act as security guards. The salary had been reported to be extremely generous, so they had rushed here to apply for the position.
Damian and Rick battled vigorously, and their skills were obvious. They fought well together, forming an impressive team, and right from the beginning, they were in control.
The other two men were beaten easily.
Rick punched his opponent, who fell to the ground, gasping for breath.
At the same time, Damian defeated his opponent.
The whole fight had taken less than 2 minutes.
Everyone watched, knowing that they were no match for Damian and Rick.
"Does anyone else want to challenge us?" Rick asked, looking around.
No one spoke. Although none of them liked Ryder and Marco, they knew they couldn't beat them, so they didn't dare say anything.
David walked over to Damian and Rick. "Clearly, these two men have outstanding skills," he said. "So I am offering them a place in my security team." He turned to the two men. "Will you accept?"
"As long as the money is good," said Rick, shrugging. "If you pay us well enough, we'll work for you."
Someone coughed loudly, drawing attention.
A middle-aged, slightly plump man stepped forward.
Rick looked him up and down, clearly unimpressed. "Do you have a problem?" he asked. "Are you challenging me?"
The man nodded, a small smile playing around his lips.
Everyone gaped at him in surprise. Did the man have a death wish? Rick could kill him with a single blow!
Rick stared at him. "Since you're so determined to die, then I'll grant your wish," he said.
He clenched his fist and rubbed it against the palm of his other hand. Then he stepped forward, raised his hand, and swung at the man's face.
The man simply stood there, smiling, and he didn't even try to move out of the way.
But before Rick's fist could make contact, Rick screamed and dropped to the ground.
Everyone had been watching Rick's hand as it flew toward the man's face, so they hadn't seen the man kick out at Rick's leg. Rick lay on the ground, clutching at his knee. He lifted his head and looked at the man.
"It's you!" Rick exclaimed, looking horrified.
"Ah, so you do remember me?" the man said. "I thought you might have forgotten."
**
Four years ago, Damian and Rick had arrived in a new city. No one had been able to match their fighting abilities, and they had been filled with pride.
One day, they had visited a brothel, looking for a little fun, and they had burst into a room, disturbing the occupants. The man had then stood up, turned his back on them, and hurriedly gotten dressed.
Damian and Rick had spotted the man's uniform and had realized that he was a security guard for one of the important families, who would not have approved of their employees visiting such a place.
They had attacked the man, intending to beat him, but they hadn't expected him to be so skilled in martial arts. They hadn't been able to defeat him, and the man had injured them quite badly.
The man had kept his face hidden from them, afraid that exposure would destroy his reputation.
Once he had dealt with Rick and Damian, the man had turned around to leave.
But then the prostitute had called out, "Cliff Munson, you haven't paid me!"
The man had scowled, annoyed that his name had been revealed. He had taken out a stack of money and thrown it at her.
Without turning around, Cliff had spoken to Damian and Rick. "If you even think about telling people about this, I will make you pay."
With that, he had walked out of the room.
Damian and Rick had never been defeated before they had met Cliff, and they had been in awe of him.
**
Rick stared at Cliff. "Mr. Munson," he said. "I'm sorry. If I'd known it was you, I would never have offended you."
Damian also apologized. "Please forgive us. We didn't mean to disrespect you."
Some of the others recognized Cliff's name, and they were surprised to see him here. They stared at him in amazement, knowing they could never match his strength.
Cliff smiled. "Since you've admitted your mistakes, I'll let it go," he said, taking a small jar out of his pocket and throwing it to Rick. "Use this. It'll help with the bruising."
Damian helped Rick up, keeping an eye on Cliff.
David shook Cliff's hand and said, "I think you've shown that you have superior fighting skills, and my family would be pleased to have you work for us."
He was aware of Cliff's reputation, and he had been impressed when he had taken Rick down so easily.
Cliff nodded to David. "Thank you, Mr. Drake," he said. "My previous employers let me go, so I've been looking for a new position. If I am treated well, then I'm willing to commit myself to the safety of your family."
Everyone was shocked that anyone would fire someone as experienced as Cliff.
But six months ago, Cliff's secret trips to the brothel had been revealed, and the head of the family he had worked for had told him to leave.
He had wandered aimlessly for a while, and then, when he had learned of David's intention to hire more security, he had decided to come to Washington, D.C.
David was thrilled. "I promise that, for as long as you work for the Drake family, you will have a comfortable life. I will need to speak with my father to determine the specific salary, but do we have an agreement?"
Cliff was satisfied. "That sounds good," he said, nodding. "I will work for the Drake family."
David clapped his hands and said, "Well, that's settled." He turned to the other martial artists. "I was also impressed by your abilities, so there are positions here for you, if you want them." He paused. "Of course, your salary will be lower than Cliff's."
The martial artists had all come to Washington, D.C., to seek employment, so they nodded their agreement.
David looked around at his new security guards. Their first order would be to deal with that loser, Alex. David was busy with his upcoming wedding, but when that was over, it would be time to get rid of Alex once and for all.