Reacher struck first. A straight right meant to crush bone. Ray slipped sideways and punched at Reacher's wrist. The hit was hard enough to numb the tendons, forcing Reacher's hand to open for a second, but he kept rushing in for attack.
The big man closed the distance with a straight advance that made smaller fighters panic. Ray did not panic. Reacher threw a heavy jab meant to test distance. Ray deflected it with the side of his wrist, redirected the force downward and shifted his weight to the next step.
Reacher followed with a hook.
Ray leaned back just enough to dodge it by an inch. He pushed forward and hammered a palm strike into Reacher's sternum. The shot was short and tight.
"Arg!" Reacher grunted and slid one step back. But he recovered fast.
He dropped low and tried to sweep Ray's ankle. Ray jumped the sweep, landed on the next step up, and struck downward at Reacher's shoulder with a pinpoint chop that hit a pressure point under the collarbone.
Reacher sucked in a breath through clenched teeth. "Tch."
They circled each other in the narrow stairwell.
Reacher lunged and grabbed for a clinch, using his size to push Ray toward the railing. Ray slipped the grab, pivoted under the arm, and hammered an elbow deep into Reacher's ribs.
Reacher let out a rough groan. "Ghh." He quickly shoved him back with raw power. Ray planted a hand on the railing and used the momentum to swing forward like an acrobat. His knee crashed into Reacher's thigh.
"Fuck!" Reacher cursed.
He blocked the follow-up elbow and countered with a heavy hook. The punch clipped Ray's jaw. Ray's head snapped sideways as he stumbled down one step, breathing hard once. "Not bad." He smiled at Reacher.
Reacher charged.
Ray caught the railing, swung back up, and drove a rising kick into Reacher's forearm.
Reacher's arm went numb. "Hnn."
He powered through the pain and wrapped his arms around Ray's torso, locking him in a crushing bear hug. Ray felt the crushing strength lock in. His ribs compressed. Air punched out of him in a strained gasp. "Kh…!"
Ray tucked his chin and drove two brutal short punches into Reacher's kidney area.
Reacher's body jerked. "Ungh…!"
His grip weakened. Ray tore free.
Ray spun behind Reacher and locked an arm across the big man's throat.
Reacher dropped his weight instantly, dragging Ray down. Ray held for half a second before Reacher rammed him backward into the wall.
Baam!
Concrete blasted pain through Ray's shoulders. "Ghh…!"
Ray lost the choke. Reacher turned.
Ray answered with a pinpoint strike to Reacher's tricep. The arm shook and partially collapsed. Ray jabbed twice at the hollow of Reacher's throat with fast, sharp fingertip strikes.
Reacher choked and coughed, grabbing at his neck. "Kh…! Hh…!"
He swung blindly with his left.
Ray ducked and came up with three compact punches into Reacher's abdomen.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
Reacher folded slightly with each hit and let out a forced grunt each time. "Nngh…! Ghh..! Hh!"
Ray stepped behind him, hooked a leg behind Reacher's knee, and shoved his shoulder.
Reacher fell to one knee with a deep groan. "Ungh."
He braced himself on the railing, chest heaving.
Ray took a deep breath and stepped back. He sat on the stairs.
Reacher pushed up to his feet slowly, wiping sweat from his brow. "You hit like a truck. Cough! Cough!" His voice was hoarse from the earlier damage.
He tried to straighten fully, but the moment he put weight on his legs, both of them betrayed him. His knees buckled like they had been struck with a hammer, and he crashed to the floor with a hard thud that echoed through the stairwell.
A sharp rush of pain shot through his limbs. He sucked air through his teeth, slow and ragged, and finally noticed the dark blotches spreading beneath the skin of his arms. Thick patches of blood were pooling under the surface, forming ugly clusters of swelling where Ray had struck him. The pressure point attacks had gone straight through muscle and left his nerves screaming.
Reacher lifted one arm and winced. It felt like someone had pumped wet cement into his veins. Every hit Ray had landed felt like a bullet. He had been hit by trained fighters before, but nothing like this. Nothing that stripped his strength so quickly and left him fighting to breathe.
His chest rose and fell in uneven pulls as he coughed again. His throat was throbbing. The pain traveled all the way down to his lungs. He stared at Ray with something he rarely felt. Shock. He had known Ray's reputation. He had heard the stories whispered by people who operated in brutal corners of the world. But seeing Ray in action was different. It finally made sense why they called him Ghost. No normal man can move or hit like that without breaking a sweat.
Reacher sighed and lowered his head for a moment. "You held back, huh?" His voice was hoarse and strained, the words breaking on the damaged muscles in his neck.
Ray studied him with a cold stare.
"Yes. If I had gone all out, you would be dead by now. I always wanted to fight you, but never got the chance. After facing you today, I am disappointed. You got too rusty. The old Reacher's punch would have shattered my jaw."
He stood up and walked up the next step. He reached for his jacket on the railing, shook off the dust, and slipped it on.
Reacher tried to shift his weight again. His legs did not respond. He pushed an elbow against the floor and hissed as another sharp ache shot through him. His vision pulsed for a moment.
Ray glanced back at him with a detached look. "You will be able to walk in ten or fifteen minutes. Oh, I've ruptured your nerves. So, get to a hospital, or you will lose your right arm and left leg within twenty-four hours."
He adjusted the collar of his jacket and turned his attention to Dixon. "I am not apologizing this time. Whatever happened here was your choice. Next time, don't get in my way... please."
With that, Ray left.
...
[Back to Amy] [Suite]
Amy sat on the chair, the puzzle box cracked open in front of her like defeated prey. She had solved it in under ten minutes. The last sliding piece clicked into place with a little snap that felt almost anticlimactic. Hidden in the hollow center was a single microchip sealed in a thin plastic sleeve.
She had just set it on the table when a sudden knock hit the door.
Amy stood up.
She slid her hand to her gun, grabbed it, and moved silently toward the door. She checked the spy hole and sighed in relief when she saw Ray standing there looking scuffed but alive.
She yanked the door open and hugged him hard.
'Wow! Okay,' He patted her back.
"Are you alright?" she asked, pulling away.
"Yeah. I'm good." Ray stepped inside, closing the door behind him. His eyes immediately went to the open puzzle box on the table. "You cracked it."
"Of course I did," Amy said. Her voice was steady, but her hands were still shaking from the scare. There was an explosive in that box, and she only had one chance, and to make things worse, she had to leave Ray to fight that giant man. She knew his skills, but still, that Reacher guy was a giant. "There was a microchip inside."
Ray walked over and picked it up carefully, examining the tiny device with suspicion. He pulled out his phone and looked at the shattered screen. "Ah! There goes my custom phone."
Amy pulled out her phone. "We can use mine."
Ray shook his head. "Bad idea. If this thing is encrypted or booby-trapped, a regular phone will set off every digital alarm in the tri-state area. We take it to Holt. Let the cyber team deal with it."
Amy nodded. "So that's it. Mission complete. Stopped human trafficking, found evidence of Travis's drug cartel, his informants, locations, identified the dealer woman, and found the chip."
"Yeah," Ray said. He slipped the chip back into its sleeve. "Time to call Holt. Can you keep the Reacher part out of the report?"
"Okay," She nodded.
Amy dialed Holt while Ray watched her pace once across the room. The call connected faster than she expected. "Captain Holt, we completed the objective..."
She explained everything to Holt, keeping the Reacher part out.
There was a brief pause on the line, the kind where Holt processed everything with that quiet, judgy brilliance of his. "Good job, Santiago," He said. His tone was flat, but Amy knew him well enough to hear the approval buried in the syllables. For Holt, that was basically a parade.
Amy lit up like someone had injected caffeine directly into her bloodstream.
"Thank you, sir," she said, trying not to sound like she was beaming.
"Return to the precinct for a full report. I want the microchip in our evidence chain immediately."
"Yes, sir," Amy replied. She ended the call, her grin refusing to fade.
Ray raised a brow. "He praised you. You look like you just won an award."
"Ray, Holt said, 'Good job.' That is the highest honor a human can receive," she said matter-of-factly. "There are Nobel Prize winners who have never achieved that."
Ray shook his head, but there was a faint hint of amusement. 'Classic Amy.' He looked at the puzzle box again. 'To think she opened it under that much pressure. Great job, Detective.' He took a deep breath. 'Can't wait to hug Rosa. She'll probably be mad for not replying to her text. Oh, boy. Rage sex? But before that..."
He looked at Amy, who was packing her suitcase.
"So, think this is the right time to have that talk?"
Amy froze, hearing Ray's words. She knew it was coming, but what the hell was she going to say?
---
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