Six

Scott and Jimmy sat at the bar, each had their three drinks lined up to hit one after the other and were getting a read on the room.

“Is there a way of knowing everything that’s going each day, like a flyer?” asked Jimmy. He was already three quarters down his first drink and felt the courage start to creep up his spine.

“Nah. Things here change too often. Sickness, death, arrests.”

“Arrests?” Jimmy began to quake on his stool.

“Aw come on, you didn’t think this was all legal, did you?” guffawed Scott. He slapped Jimmy like a bat to a fly, and Jimmy dropped his glass. “Don’t worry about that mate, they’ll be onto that faster tha-”. Before he could finish, someone had already come in and cleaned the mess.

“How often do people get arrested?” Jimmy grabbed his second beer and took a nervous sip.

“Eh, not too often, if you can believe it. Depending on the mood, most coppers get in on the action instead and then walk back out again. As long as it doesn’t boil out onto the streets, should be right as rain.”

“Oh, good.”

“Though, there is Thomerson. He’s a righto prick that one. He’ll come in at random times with a squad and arrest a few of us. Most of the time, it doesn’t really go anywhere though, there’s a judge just up there.” Scott pointed to the most well-dressed man Jimmy had ever seen in his life.

“So, what should I bet on then, what’s going?”

“Hmm, its hard to see everything with the crowds. Hey mate, mind telling me what we’ve got going right now? My friend here is a little unsure of what he should do.” Scott asked a young man in cheap clothes as he walked by.

“Yeah, right. Well, right now, we got Rhys versus Tristan over there. Bare-knuckle boxing match that one. There’s Pinchy Pathways, that one’s always a lotta fun, ya know. Oh, and Iron Finger. That one gets pretty brutal. I don’t know what’s up next though.” Scott handed the kid a coin and gave him a thumbs up. The kid walked off with a spring in his step.

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“Well, which one fancies ya?” chimed Scott. He had just finished his second and was quietly surprised to see Jimmy had finished all three.

“I don’t understand what two of them are, so I don’t know.”

“You’ll just have to go over there and find out.”

“Nope. I’d rather know what they all are before I commit any of my money to anything. You’re an old hat, I’m sure you know what everything is.”

“Sure. Pinchy Pathways sounds a bit dumb, and that’s because it is. But its lots of fun to watch. People have to walk to the end of a path before the end of a set time limit.”

“Where’s the challenge?”

“Challengers are barefoot and all along the path are mad, crazy crabs. I’ve never won that one. I can take a hit, but there’s something about me toes getting mangled I just can’t stand. I’ve tried three times.”

“Does it pay well?” Jimmy thumbed through his money again.

“That sort of stuff really comes down to what you’re willing to bet. Pay outs are always between people, not the ones that run the joint.”

“What’s the other one, Iron Finger?” A strange grin played out over Scott’s face.

“That one’s a riot. Come over from Germany. Over there it’s called Fingerhakeln. Get this right, two people hook a finger into a leather strap and try and yank each other across the table. Sounds simple, but fuck does it hurt. Remember when I had this finger here dislocated? That was it. There’s blood and broken bones man. Should’ve seen the German that got us all into it. His finger was as fat as one of them sausages they eat over there. Nuts.”

“Do you compete yourself very often?”

“Normally if I’m really drunk. That’s when I bet big. I get this confidence boost ya know, like, I earned that money myself.”

“How about I bet on you? You seem like you compete in most things.”

“Nah, I don’t reckon so. Because if I lose, then you’d blame me for the loss of your money.”

“No, I wouldn’t.”

“Ah, it would be one of them subconscious thingies. Look, we’re best friends and all, but I don’t want to be personally responsible for you making or losing money. I won’t even offer advice or insight.”

“Fair enough. Hmm, I’m really torn between two of them. Pinchy Pathways and Iron Finger. I’ve seen boxing before, even bare-knuckle. Those other two sound pretty crazy.”

“Yeah, those are the ones I normally like to bet on. The crazier the better for me. Will you be the one to compete though? Or will you just bet on others?”

“I haven’t decided yet. I’m kinda worried if I fail at whatever I’m doing, then its on me. So I’ll just get mad at myself.”

“Yeah, I hear ya.”