Eli opened the door and stepped out slowly, his eyes on the man in front of him.
"Who are you?" he asked, pushing the door shut behind him.
James Lee smiled and walked toward him.
"Eli Jang. Big Daddy of Hostel. Legend of Gangdong. The man acknowledged by Gun Park. The man behind the four major crews. The man who betrayed the Workers." James stopped in front of him. "One man, so many titles. But I didn't come here for any of that."
Eli looked up at him. "What do you want?"
James looked down at him with a faint smile. "I can't let you take Eugene."
Eli's eyes caught a faint green. "And if I do?"
The wind pushed James's pink hair to one side. "I'll make sure you can't."
Eli moved. He drove his fist at James's face and closed the distance in an instant. James tilted his head and the punch missed by a margin. Eli followed immediately, hooking his hand toward James's shirt. James stepped back and Eli's fingers caught nothing. Eli threw a low kick at James's knee. James lifted his leg and let it pass under, then brought his foot down onto Eli's thigh. The impact buckled Eli's leg and he stumbled back a step.
James stood where he was, hands in his pockets. "Is that all?"
Eli came at him again. He threw a straight punch and James rolled off it, letting Eli's fist pass his shoulder. Eli grabbed for his arm. James turned his body and stepped clear. Eli swung his elbow at James's head. James ducked under it without taking his hands out. Eli's knee came up toward his face. James leaned back and kicked him in the chest. Eli slid back across the muddy ground, his feet cutting lines through it.
He straightened up and coughed. His chest hurt. He looked at James, who hadn't shifted from his spot.
"You need to do better," James said.
Eli rushed in. He feinted high and went for a low tackle. James read it and stepped aside, bringing his knee up into Eli's stomach as he came through. The air left Eli's lungs and he went down to one knee.
James walked around him slowly. "Eugene is coming with me."
Eli pushed himself up. Blood was in his mouth. He wiped it off the back of his hand and went again. He threw a jab, a cross, a hook in quick succession. James moved his head through all three without taking a step, hands still in his pockets. Eli reached down, grabbed a fistful of mud, and threw it at James's face. The mud caught his cheek. Eli lunged into the opening.
James's foot came up into his ribs. Eli heard something crack and went sideways, crashing into the car. The door buckled inward and the window cracked. Eli slid down to the ground against it.
He looked up. James was wiping the mud from his cheek with his shoulder.
"Oh, right," James said. "Successor of the Fighting Prodigy."
Eli grabbed the side mirror, tore it loose, and flung it at James's head. James moved and it sailed past him, cracking into a pile of construction materials. Metal pipes rang out and rolled across the ground.
Eli picked one up and swung it at James's head. James ducked under it, hands in his pockets. Eli reversed the swing and brought it back from the other side. James jumped back. The pipe hit a concrete pillar and the impact rattled up through Eli's arms. A chunk of concrete broke off and fell.
James stepped in while Eli was off-balance. His kick came up from below and caught Eli's hand. The pipe flew loose. His follow-up kick hit Eli's shoulder and spun him into a stacked pallet of bricks. The pallet went over and bricks scattered in every direction.
Eli got up breathing hard. His shoulder throbbed and every breath pulled at his ribs. He looked at James across the debris. James stood with his hands in his pockets and hadn't broken a sweat.
"You can't win," James said.
The green in Eli's eyes deepened. His breathing grew uneven and his posture dropped lower. Something shifted in how he was holding himself.
Animal Instinct.
He moved. His speed jumped and he closed the distance before James had time to reset. His hand came at James's face from an odd angle, fingers spread and aimed at his eyes. James leaned back and the fingers grazed past his face. Eli dropped immediately and swept at his legs. James jumped over it. While he was still in the air Eli grabbed a loose brick from the ground and threw it at him. James twisted mid-air and the brick flew past, crashing into a steel beam behind him with a loud clang.
Eli had already moved on to the chain hanging from a section of debris nearby. He grabbed it and swung at James as he landed. James ducked and the chain wrapped around a metal support beam. Eli yanked it free and came from a different angle. James kicked it mid-swing and it flew wide, wrapping around a concrete pillar. Eli pulled it loose and swung low. James jumped over it and the chain smashed into a row of metal barrels. They toppled and rolled.
Eli dropped it and charged. His movements had gone loose and unpredictable, coming from angles that didn't follow any pattern. He threw a punch at James's stomach. James brought his knee up and blocked it. Eli's other hand shot for his eyes. James tilted his head back. Eli got both hands on James's jacket and pulled him forward, going for a headbutt. James kicked his leg out from under him. Eli's head missed and he went down. He rolled, grabbed a handful of loose nails from the ground, and threw them at James's face. James kicked them aside in the air and the nails scattered. Eli was already back on his feet and came in again, one hand gripping James's collar and the other going for his eyes.
James's kick came up between them and knocked Eli's hand off course, but Eli held onto the collar. He yanked James toward him and went for his throat with his teeth. James kicked him in the stomach. Eli's grip went loose. James's spinning kick caught the side of Eli's head and sent him into a stack of wooden planks. The planks broke apart around him.
Eli pulled himself out of the wood. Blood was running down his face. He picked up a plank with nails still driven through it and swung it at James. James kicked it out of his hands before it arrived. The plank flew into the window of an unfinished building and glass came down.
Eli kept coming. He grabbed a handful of sand and threw it at James's eyes. James turned his head and kicked Eli's leg. Eli stumbled and his hand found James's necklace, a plain chain. He grabbed it and pulled hard. The chain bit into James's neck. James's eyes shifted as Eli used it to drag him sideways and off-balance.
"Who told you to wear a necklace to a fight?" Eli said.
James swept Eli's feet. Eli went down but kept his grip and pulled them both with him. The chain cut deeper into James's neck as Eli hauled back with both hands. James twisted and kicked him in the ribs. Eli held on. James kicked the same spot again. Then a third time. Eli's hand opened and the chain snapped and hit the ground.
James rolled clear and stood up. There was a red line across his neck where the chain had been. He looked at Eli differently than he had a moment ago.
He pulled his right hand out of his pocket.
"You're better than I thought," he said.
Eli charged again. James met him this time and the difference was immediate. His palm strike came from Eli's blind side and hit his temple. Eli's vision went white at the edges. A kick followed into his stomach and Eli doubled over. James got hold of his collar and threw him. Eli went through a wooden frame structure and hit the ground in the middle of the splinters, dust rising around him.
He got back out of the wreckage. His instincts were still pushing him forward and he grabbed another plank and came in again. James kicked it away. Before Eli could follow up James's palm hit his solar plexus and emptied his lungs. A kick came from the side, invisible until it landed on his ribs. He gasped. Another caught his leg from a different blind spot and his leg buckled. James grabbed his head and pulled it down onto his knee. Blood came from Eli's nose. James's kick sent him back and he crashed through a stack of pallets. The wood exploded and his back hit a concrete pillar. The pillar cracked. Eli came down in a heap among the broken pieces.
He tried to get up. His arms shook and his legs wouldn't take his weight. The green in his eyes flickered and went out. The pain hit him all at once.
James walked toward him and put his right hand back in his pocket. He wasn't breathing hard. His white clothes were dirty and there was a red mark on his neck and a bruise coming up on his forehead, but that was all.
"It's over," James said.
He walked past Eli toward the car. Eugene was still in the back seat, unconscious. James opened the door and started pulling him out.
"Stop."
James turned around.
A man was standing at the edge of the construction site. Red hair. His clothes were torn and dark with blood.
His eyes found James and stayed there.
"I've been looking forward to this for a long time, James Lee."
James's smile was gone. He let go of Eugene and turned to face him fully.
The red-haired man stepped forward into the light.
It was Baki Hanma.