​     Valtair stood just off the stage, ready to grab Adam the second​ Goldbody finished with him. Adam and Goldbody faced each other, bowed, then went into their respective fighting stances. Their eyes locked. They feinted, withdrew, feinted, withdrew, getting a sense of each other's speed and prowess. Then...attack! 

​     It was like their feet were in a fight all their own. They jumped at each other, their feet, then jumped at each other again until their toes almost touched. Then the entire leg would twist in a, so far, futile attempt to trip the other person up. Then,  

​     BAM! Gideon got Adam in the mouth with a hard left. Ouch! He tried to follow it up with an equally hard right, but Adam jerked his head in time and avoided it. Then, WHAM, Goldbody came at him with a second left, and this one caught Adam right in the jaw, snapping his head back. Adam had to do kind of a backward dance to get away from that one. Gideon almost laughed out loud. And here he'd heard so much about the mighty Adam Forwarder, someone who could supposedly take on an entire army only to emerge victorious with nothing more than a cut on his cheek. Gideon was going to really enjoy crippling this man in front of everybody, in front of the world, really. Oh, he'd make it look like a tragic accident, paralyzing Forwarder for life but...

     then...

​     NO!

     Adam recovered much faster than he should have. Goldbody went after him to finish him off, snap his neck or crush his vertebrae, but then Adam kicked out with his left leg, catching Goldbody in the thigh and knocking him back. Before Goldbody could reposition himself, Adam came at him with a volley of body blows, and now it was Goldbody's turn to retreat. Never in his life had he been put on the defensive. Now both men threw punches so quickly and so furiously the spectators could no longer follow them. It was like their fists were a blur.

​     Goldbody finally had no choice but to back away, panting, furious. He took a single full breath, then came at Adam again, fists flailing, aiming for Adam's face, his gut, his balls. But he couldn't land a single blow. Adam was just too good at fending them off. Then,

     BAP!

     "Aaarrghhh!"

​     Adam had managed to break through Gideon's defenses to give him a good, hard bap on the nose. Damn, that hurt! It made Gideon's eyes water so that he could no longer see what he was doing. How could this be? He was Gideon Goldbody! He was the most superior physical specimen in the...

     "Aaarrghhh!" 

​     Adam bopped him on the nose a second time! Unbelievable! Now Gideon really pummeled Adam. He swung on Adam harder and faster than at anything or anyone he'd ever swung at before. Nothing really landed, though. Adam was just too damned quick. He kept evading Goldbody's punches. 

     Then, Adam punched up under Goldbody's armpit, paralyzing Gideon's arm for, like, three seconds, more than enough time for Adam to grab his left arm to give it a good, sharp twist. Just like that, both of Gideon Goldbody's arms were out of commission. Adam concentrated on the man's face and torso. Gideon Goldbody became Adam's private punching bag until Gideon stumbled away, defenseless, almost cowering. No! Goldbody couldn't believe what was happening. How could this be?

​     "Stop him!" he found himself bellowing. "Stop him before he..."

     That's all it took. Before Adam could make another move, he felt a vice-like grip on his arm. Valtair. Adam was his now.

​     "Hey! Hey!" Adam protested. "This was supposed to be fun, right?"

​     "Nobody attacks me like that!" Gideon roared. "I'll kill the man who..." And then he stopped, realizing, suddenly, that his temper had gotten the best of him. When you intend the rule the world, you can't just lose your temper like that. He took a quick look around at the crowd. Everyone seemed in shock. A few people even looked like they were about ready to pass out. Gideon saw several guests heading for their rooms. This wasn't the way he'd planned things at all. He figured he should be receiving a thundering standing ovation by this time. 

     "Wait!" he called out after those leaving. "Wait! Please! You're..."

END OF CHAPTER FOUR

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