“The Beast” is a short story that shows how Emilia Cruz became the first female police detective in Acapulco. Previously featured in Huffpost’s Fiction50 showcase curated by Rita Wilson, as well as in MADE IN ACAPULCO, a collection of Detective Emilia Cruz short stories available as ebook, paperback and audiobook.
“The Beast” part 1
Her opponent’s flailing hand connected with the bridge of her nose and Emilia Cruz Encinos heard the snap before she felt the pain. Her eyes watered and her muscles screamed as she twisted far enough to protect her face by pushing it into the mat.
Montez was at least 20 kilos heavier than Emilia but he carried too much of it in his middle. She knew he was tired and desperate. They’d each had four fights that day, slowly eliminating the other competitors. It was simple hand-to-hand fighting with few rules except to make the opponent tap the mat in surrender. Montez had opened the fight by trying to pull off her shirt, as had another male competitor earlier in the day. Both had been defeated by a combination of rubbery fabric, her heavy sports bra, and Emilia’s fist.
Emilia and Montez were both slippery with sweat. He arched his body, trying to break her chokehold or shake off the legs wrapped around his. Somehow Emilia managed to crank up the pressure on his throat while keeping his lower half pinned.
I’m a beast. A beast. The words circled inside her head. The voice of the referee and the shouts of the other cops in the gymnasium merged into an indistinguishable background roar.
Montez’s hand slapped wildly, trying to find Emilia’s face again. For a scary moment she thought he’d latched onto her hair, which was tightly pulled into a single braid and clamped to her head with a steel barrette, but he only succeeded in banging her head against the mat. Bloody snot gushed out of her nose and Emilia heard herself gasp for air around her mouth guard.
The crook of her elbow remained a vice around his neck, cranked ever tighter by the leverage of her other hand. Montez jerked hard then rolled sideways, trying to break her hold with dead weight. Emilia held on. Her whole world was this moment, this stinking mat, this iron beast that she’d become.
But her vision was beginning to darken, there wasn’t enough air and the roaring was a wave threatening to pull her under. It surged with hot hands, prying her arms apart but she was a beast, a fucking beast and she was going to―.
“Prima, let go.” Her cousin Alvaro’s voice cut through the wave and the roar and the mantra in her head. “You’re killing him!”
Hands dragged her upright. Emilia stumbled like a drunken borracho, leg muscles quivering.
Alvaro grabbed her around the waist. The ring was full of people, including Alvaro who’d acted as her coach and Montez’s friend who been in his corner all day. The police doctor and two other men she didn’t recognize were bent over Montez lying prone on the mat. Beyond the ropes, at least 100 cops filled the gymnasium in Acapulco’s central police building, most of them on their feet and shouting.
“You couldn’t just let him tap out, prima?” Alvaro asked, his mouth close to her ear. He shoved a wet cloth against her face as he pulled her to a corner of the ring. “You had to choke him out?”
Emilia wiped her face, then spit her mouth guard into her hand. Red saliva clung to the bloody tape that protected both hands. She rinsed her mouth and spat into a bucket. The referee motioned her to the middle of the canvas. Montez was on his feet. Sweat ran down his bare chest. He looked dazed.
The gymnasium quieted.
“The winner of the final elimination round in the Acapulco police detective competition.” The referee sounded more than a little stunned. He grabbed Emilia’s wrist and lifted her arm over her head. “By a knockout. Cruz Encinos.”
There was a smattering of applause.
And then there was silence.
I hope you enjoyed meeting Emilia Cruz. More of this story is on the way.
If you don’t want to wait, check out all the Detective Emilia Cruz books on Amazon.
All the best, Carmen
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