Layla ' A Boxing Story By Steely Dan, steelydan1923@yahoo.com Layla becomes the star attraction of the Extreme Boxing Circuit, but at a price. The noise from the occasional crowd roar cascaded down to the bottom of Madison Square Garden, down to where the dressing rooms in the historic arena were located. But Layla paid no attention ' except to realize the volume level was higher than normal. "Must be all this concrete down here," Layla said to herself, but it was only a momentary distraction. She continued her own private preparations, just as she'd done every fight night of her life. Of course, the circumstances had changed greatly over the past two years, since she became part of the EBC ' the Extreme Boxing Circuit. Part of the EBC? She was the reigning champion ' not to mention the circuit's most popular fighter among a fan base that had grown from a cult following to a nation-wide movement. About the only place she wasn't popular was within the EBC itself ' and more exactly, within a small group of fighters and the lead promoter. The public was charmed by Layla's background, and it was a source of pride for her also although she never tried to use those circumstances for her own benefit. When she began her boxing career in the swamps of south Florida, fighting on every two-bit card she could wrangle out of promoters, she was far from a polished fighter and her more experienced opponents regularly took her to school. Ice packs on her swollen face, chest and abs became her closest friends after she was roughed up in those early bouts. But her heart was never in question, and ironically it was Layla's heart and her dedication to the sport that eventually took the ultimate price. She had come from those humble beginnings and scratched and clawed ' and punched, don't forget about punched ' her way to the top of the world's fastest-growing sports franchise. Her career record wasn't great, mostly because of her being on the wrong end of those knockouts and TKO's early in her career, but once she joined the EBC in its early stages she and her record had both improved. Now, with her at the top of her game, those losses were becoming increasingly rare despite her 130-pound size. And, her impressive improvement over those years paralleled the growth of the EBC. It was only three summers earlier that promoters, guys who had seen the runaway success of mixed martial arts as a hugely profitable franchise, had the idea for a whole new brand of boxing show. This one would feature male and female fighters, occasionally meeting within their own gender but more often pairing up for mixed matches. Few thought it would work. The skeptics figured that the boxing would be less than championship quality, and that the females wouldn't be able to hold their own with males that had any pugilistic background. Besides, New York City sports audiences are among the most difficult to please, and they and the New York media would let you know quickly if you had an inferior product. But the promoters had two things going for them. They planned from the start to conduct all the matches topless, something no other above-board athletic promotion could offer, thanks to a master stroke by the promoters. The problem of "exposure" was handled by not allowing anyone under age 21 to attend, making the weekly bout cards more attractive for the twenty-something and thirty-something age group which the promoters so desired. They didn't have to share the night with an age-immature crowd, and they had disposable income to handle the ticket prices that increased as the circuit grew more popular. Exposing breasts in public was still frowned on by city fathers, even in New York, but the promoters were quick to line the pockets of those dedicated public servants and get venerable Madison Square Garden classified as an "adult club" for one night each week. As long as the fighters kept their trunks on, there were few problems. The circuit started in the smoker clubs around New York's five boroughs, but as it outgrew the gyms, clubs and smaller arenas, promoters made the giant step to book Madison Square for one of its better cards and convinced a cable operator to make the event available on pay-per-view TV. That proved to be a master stroke. The event sold out and was a cash cow for the television producers, and not long after the EBC became a weekly event both at the Garden and on pay-per-view, which gave the circuit exposure across the country. And on that first night in Madison Square Garden, Layla became a sensation. ++++++ The Extreme Boxing Circuit wanted to make a big splash in its first night in the most famous athletic arena in the world. The EBC did that in a big way, with perhaps its best-ever fight card ' but the circuit got its most notoriety from one of the preliminary bouts, and in only a few minutes Layla became the organization's best-known boxer. Layla was in one of the night's mixed bouts against a bigger but slower male foe, and she made it a memorable one. She came back from being hurt early by body shots and a maybe-accidental, maybe-not tit shot from her opponent, and eventually left him writhing in pain on the canvas after a seemingly- endless series of uppercuts to the body. The television replay of the bout's last 15 seconds ' during which time Layla's hands were a blur as they beat into her defenseless opponent's body ' was shown over and over every time there was a break in the action that evening. All the national sports shows also picked up the replay. A New York Times photographer captured a photo of Layla standing over her beaten rival and shooting her gloves toward the Garden ceiling, and that photo ran in the Times the next morning above even the results of the main events. The resulting publicity and the promoters' greedy desire to cash in on her success meant a move up in the circuit's "pecking" order. Layla started getting better and better fights, higher on the card, and by now she was involved almost exclusively in the mixed matches which were infinitely more popular to the fans. She started receiving fan mail by the bagful ' more than any other fighter on the circuit. These seemingly small items planted the seeds of jealousy that would eventually grow to a tragic end, but nobody knew that at the time, and to Layla it didn't matter. She was winning, and that was the most important thing to her. Undoubtedly, some of her early success, once she moved into the mixed matches, was a result of the male fighters' distraction. After all, she was a stunner ' an athletic body finely toned by relentless training but one not overly muscular, long auburn hair that on fight nights she pulled back into a single ponytail and which on other nights framed a perfectly-formed face and large brown eyes. And since she fought topless, she was able to show off a pair of perfectly-formed orbs that were the envy of every female on the circuit ' not just any pair of tits that drew wolf whistles from the male fans. She always hid those assets under her flowing red robe in her slow but confident walk to the ring. Once she got there and her handlers pulled off the robe (almost with a flair), there was an audible reaction even from the regular fans. Her reputation was growing, and so was her skill level. Gone were the early days where she often wound up dazed and hanging onto the ropes, beaten into oblivion by more experienced fighters. Now, she was the one gaining the experience and she seemed to improve with each bout. All those workouts were having a positive effect. Her hands were becoming so quick that they often became a blur and at the same time kept her protected ' lesser quality men could rarely hit her with a clean punch because her fast hands would bat many of their blows away. She was content early to pepper her opponent with an array of left jabs and right crosses that frustrated the men and let her set up her improving power shots. When they tried to clinch, Layla was small enough and strong enough to handle it, getting in body shots to back them up. Eventually with her conditioning, she would be the one trapping her male foes on the ropes ' or even worse, trapping them in a corner and unloading vicious hooks just below the ribs and to the sides of the head. The "ooompphs" coming from their mouths as she beat the breath from their bodies was audible throughout the arena, and it didn't take a lot of those left hooks digging into ribs and overhand rights clipping those now-exposed chins to put her opponents dazed and languishing on the ropes. That's when she'd go to the uppercuts, her favorites. Over and over, just below the sternum, until the weakened males collapsed on the brightly-painted EBC canvas. Obviously, her bouts with the circuit's better fighters weren't as one-sided, but Layla still held her own and pulled off enough wins that a shot at the main event and the EBC title became necessary. This didn't please the promoters much, since they saw Layla as a threat to their total control of the circuit. But they couldn't argue with the dollars and the publicity that her bouts brought to the organization. They had to put her in a title fight. ++++++ Because of her growing number of wins and her growing popularity in the Extreme Boxing Circuit, Layla didn't have to wait long for her title shot. Fittingly, that came on a special July 4 card that drew a huge pay-per-view audience. Rick, who held the title, was easily the circuit's most popular male fighter due to his golden-boy looks, a Chippendale-style body and his straight-arrow, Boy Scout background. Matching him and Layla in an Independence Day main event ' despite Rick's 30-pound weight advantage -- was like minting money for the promoters. What Rick's appearance masked was the fact that he was only a slightly-above-average fighter, one that had been matched against a series of unimpressive foes to build his own stature. Layla had heard the same whispers, and did some planning of her own in case the bout went as she hoped/expected. During her rise through the EBC ranks, Layla had befriended two of the circuit's established female fighters ' ones that weren't jealous of her success. Both were still young but now retired ' they likely saw Layla as the future of the organization and figured their days as headliners were numbered ' but they remained close to their favorite fighter and often served as cornerwomen and cutwomen for Layla's important bouts. Layla lined them up to be in her corner for the title fight, and had a surprise for both in mind. While they worked her in the dressing room prior to the fight, letting her punch the mitts, get all the muscles loose and reaching a state of arousal. The latter happened often before her biggest bouts ' she often had to take care not to stain her trunks before she headed to the ring. But those trunks, not being as tight a fit as the bikini bottoms used by most of the female fighters, kept her pre-fight "excitement" covered from the world. Before they headed to the ring, Layla told her friends to reach into her bag. There they found a pair of squirting strapons, which were quickly put to good use. They sat on opposite sides of the massage table, and Layla took turns going from one side of the table to the other, giving both what was likely the best boxing-gloved blow jobs they ever received. In between, she used the impressive dildos as miniature heavy bags, using her gloves to punch them from side to side and creating a bouncing effect ' much like the blow-up punching dolls she had as a young child, blow-ups that probably helped create her interest in boxing in the first place. After a while, Layla's cutwoman put a towel in the middle of the table, and the second grabbed Layla's mouthpiece from her bag and laid it in the middle. It gave them both a target, and they "finished" at just about the time the circuit officials knocked on the dressing room door, indicating it was time to come to the ring. Their desires satisfied, they headed out of the dressing room and toward the ring in the middle of the arena, and few noticed that all three wore big smiles. Normally, fighters are at their most serious when they first approach the ring, and Layla was like that for most of her bouts. But this time, she had a smile on her face, and TV cameras actually picked up a perceptible glow from her body. It came as little surprise that a well-satisfied Layla outboxed Rick for 10 rounds, knocking him down once in the eighth round with a perfect left hook to the ribs that drew a loud "uuuuunnnnhhhh" from Rick's suddenly-air-depleted body. A final flurry of Layla's signature uppercuts came right at the bell that ended the 10th and final round, and Layla immediately shot her gloves skyward and played to the fans until the decision was announced. She won all but one round on the judges' cards, and the promoters placed the EBC belt around her waist. Her friends and corner mates celebrated with her ' a perfect evening, and since Layla didn't take a lot of punishment, there was still more of the night to "enjoy." But the promoters weren't smiling after the fight. Few people, Layla included, had noticed, but their jealousy of her success was just about to boil over. Nikki was at ringside, and was already plotting to get rid of Layla for good. ++++++ Nikki had just watched Layla dominate Rick for 10 rounds, and she was seething. She was sitting at ringside, in a spot reserved for recent Extreme Boxing Circuit titleholders. She had held that crown until just over a month ago. But Nikki, herself a solid fighter and at 140 a good 10 pounds heavier and taller than Layla, had gotten careless in her first title defense and lost in a mild upset to Rick. Not thinking that Rick posed a serious challenge, Nikki did not prepare accordingly and was tagged by Rick with an overhand right that knocked her out for almost a full minute. That third- round knockout gave Rick the title, and infuriated Nikki enough for her to demand a rematch in a hurry. That never happened because of the promoters' Independence Day brainstorm, and while Layla posed for photographers with her championship belt after her win over Rick, Nikki's eyes watched Layla like lasers. She was already plotting a plan ' one that involved not just beating Layla, but getting her out of the EBC for good. She convinced the promoters that Layla was bad for the organization, and that the EBC was bigger than just one fighter, no matter how popular Layla was. The promoters, scared that her popularity and her newly-won title would allow her to start dictating policy, became part of what would eventually be a lethal conspiracy. Layla won her first three title defenses, despite the fact that Nikki served as referee in two and openly allowed her male opponents to get away with questionable and illegal tactics ' elbows, punches behind the head and quite a few tit shots. Once, her opponent let loose with a hook that had bad intentions and landed cleanly into Layla's crotch, sending her convulsing to the canvas for her first knockdown in almost a dozen fights. But she dragged herself to her feet, survived the round and eventually won by decision ' and Nikki ground her teeth and bit her lip to the point that blood flowed as she placed the championship belt back around Layla's sore waist. It wasn't the only time Nikki had to undergo that embarrassment. Two weeks later, Layla was struggling in a bout with Karl, a German with the nickname "Hands of Stone" in his native country. Karl lived up to his nickname and hurt Layla repeatedly with big body shots, putting her on her back twice, but Layla hit him with an overhand right out of nowhere in the 10th round to score a knockdown herself and was on the winning end of a close split decision that infuriated Nikki even more. During that time, plans were set in motion for a Labor Day extravaganza where Layla would defend the belt against a new and unknown EBC fighter ' his identity shrouded in secrecy, but the publicists made it well known that the mystery fighter was someone from Layla's past, back when she was just starting her fighting career, and someone that had beaten her badly by knockout in the finals of her high school boxing tournament. The promoters had gone in search of this man, who now went by the name of Hulk, and found him in Attica, the New York State prison. He had wound up there after killing a man with his bare hands in a bar fight, and even the warden and guards at the prison wanted nothing to do with him. They were more than happy to convince the parole board that Hulk had been "rehabilitated" and that he deserved to be released as a "model prisoner." What they didn't know was Hulk still harbored a grudge against Layla even after his high-school win, because Layla was popular and he was ' well, he was hulky, crude and ugly. After his bar altercation, he was convicted mostly on the testimony of two women who watched the savage beating, and during his solitary prison time his hatred for all females grew. Layla just became the symbol, the target of that hatred. During that prison time, with nothing else to do except to watch his anger fester, he worked out constantly, hours and hours every day on the prison's primitive weight equipment. Already a big man, he grew to monstrous size ' 6-foot-4 and at least 260 pounds, the rapid gains aided by the illegal steroids that he forced prison guards to obtain for him, lest he take out his anger on them. Hulk had been waiting, hoping such an opportunity would come. When the EBC found him, he was ready, and there were no limits to what he was capable of doing. ++++++ The promoters picked him up at the Attica gates when he was released two days before the Labor Day bouts, sequestered him in a downtown New York hotel and lavished him with food and drink and promises that he'd get more if he fulfilled his part of the bargain ' to beat Layla so badly that it would end her career. To top off their plan, and to make doubly sure that nothing unexpected would happen, the promoters arranged for one of their staffers to wrap Hulk's hands ' and add some fast-setting mortar to those wraps before the gloves went on. With the EBC not coming under any boxing sanctioning body, there were no commissioners to check the wraps before the fighters gloved up, and by the time Hulk got to the arena the things at the end of his arms were more bricks than hands. Of course, Layla had no idea what was happening with the EBC's back-room deals, and was instead focusing on retaining her title and the benefits that came from it. One of those benefits was the private dressing room in the Garden's basement, where she went early on that Labor Day evening to prepare for what she thought would be just another title defense. The dressing room was a plush one, one reserved for the headline music acts and other performers that played the Garden -- a plush palace with a comfy couch, big padded chairs, and a flat-screen TV that showed the preliminary bouts as they happened. The physical comforts were nice, but Layla wasn't the type to be distracted from the task at hand since she still carried the memories of the beatings she endured early in her career ' not knowing that one of those beatings was about to be front and center in her life in less than an hour. Hers was always a solo preparation, except when her two old friends and corner mates were involved. Nobody else came in, except when absolutely necessary to glove up. First, she made sure she had one of her favorite pairs of trunks, the red ones with the white trim that matched her gloves and robe ' the ones that weren't cut too short (after all, this isn't foxy boxing) but still high enough to show just enough of those tanned and terrific legs that she developed from endless road work. Next, it was getting the laces on her high-cut white boxing boots just right, powdering and wrapping her own hands which she had done since her first forays into the ring when she was barely out of high school, and then slipping into the red triple-cuff-style that felt sooooooo sexy on her hands. They were 10 oz. gloves, but with at least a couple of ounces built into that extended cuff, they were just as effective as the more puncher-friendly 8 oz. variety ' and Layla was definitely a puncher, as her recent opponents found out. By then, she had expected her friends to show, and their absence was starting to worry her. She really didn't need them to get ready, and she knew the circuit would have someone ringside in case she came out alone. Her warm-ups always included plenty of stretching and shadow-boxing, and even by herself she worked up a good sweat before donning her red robe ' the one with "Hot Knockout" stenciled in white letters across the back. It was her experience that told her when it was time, and almost simultaneously to her donning and tying off the hooded robe a knock at the door came. "It's time, Knockout," said one of the tour organizers. The prelim bouts were over, and it was time for her to take center stage. Little did show know, it would be the last time she would ever take that long walk to the ring, and hear the crowd roaring upon her arrival. As she walked out of the dressing room, she saw her two friends running down the hall toward her. Both had worried looks on their faces. They still had "inside" people at the EBC, and heard enough whispers about the "plan" for the bout to put the pieces together ' and realize that Layla was in trouble and didn't even know it. They were there not only to work Layla's corner, but to warn her. "Child, you don't know what you're getting yourself into," one said. Layla eyed her with a questioning look, and she then heard the whole story just as she was about to make that slow walk through the crowd and into the ring. She figured out quickly that the last roar she heard, just when she closed her dressing room door, was one that greeted the massive Hulk when he entered the ring. Her friends implored her to back out, telling her that people would understand, they would know that she'd been set up. The two of them threatened to go public with that knowledge. Layla declined. She was not only that confident in her talent and ability, but also figured that the worst that could happen was that she would lose her title, and would have ample opportunity to win it back ' especially if (more likely when) Hulk reverted to his pre-prison ways and got in trouble once again. Led by her friends and seconds, the group headed into the main arena and was met by a deafening roar. She was still the circuit's most popular fighter, and tonight she looked even more the part. There was almost a glow about her, a glow that nearly sent her male fans into a frenzy. As she approached the ring, she spotted the Hulk, unrobed and wearing solid black trunks that made him look even more physically imposing ' Mike Tyson-like. And she also saw Nikki, once again wearing the referee's shirt, and that made her even more upset. Layla went through her usual pre-bout routine in the ring, staying loose and pounding her gloves together with an audible "thhhappp." Hulk never moved from his corner and only eyed every step Layla took, until Nikki called the fighters to the center of the ring. While she gave what limited instructions were needed, the crowd got its first opportunity to see the immense size difference between the fighters. Layla, no wallflower at a solid and athletic-looking 130 pounds, was almost blocked from sight by the Hulk's huge body mass, and the gargantuan male towered over Layla during the instructions, never muttering a sound or taking his eyes off her. When she returned to her corner to await the bell, Layla tried to stay loose, but when the seconds left the ring, it gave the first opportunity for fear ' real fear ' to hover over her corner like a cloud. She tried to shake it, but never really accomplished that by the time the bell rang for Round 1. Layla was normally a straight-ahead fighter, but given the circumstances she quickly decided that a side- to-side shuffle was the proper course of action. She started doing that, while throwing some cautious left jabs and right crosses at the big man's body to gauge his speed and defense. She ducked under a big left hook, the first time that Hulk had thrown a punch, and set herself perfectly for her signature punch ' that digging uppercut to the body that had hurt so many men and women previously. It landed square under the Hulk's rib cage ' and he never flinched. In fact, the heavy punch brought a smile to his face, and fear immediately leaped into Layla's head. She realized she had to stay away, and hope she could wear the big man down just by continually moving, making him chase her and trying as she could to pepper him with as many outside punches as she could. With her tremendous conditioning and her legendary fast hands, she felt she could keep up a heavy punching pace as long as it took. It worked for a couple of minutes, but with 30 seconds left in Round 1 Hulk grabbed her arm on one of those punches and threw her into one of the corner turnbuckles. The shot stunned Layla, and she waited for the referee to back Hulk off and probably penalize him. Of course, in the stress of the situation she had forgotten that Nikki was again the referee, and Nikki only watched as Hulk pinned her in the corner. The next 25 seconds were as brutal as anything the fans had ever seen. Hulk, knowing that none of Layla's punches could hurt him, threw defense aside and brutally pounded Layla with overhand lefts and rights to the head. The force of those punches knocked Layla's defenses aside, and opened her now- vulnerable head for an onslaught. By the time the bell rang ' and by the time seconds could pull Hulk off Layla while Nikki only watched and smiled ' the champion was a mess. Her nose was broken and blood spewed out, one ear was partially ripped from the side of her head, a large laceration was over her right eye and she had two teeth missing. Those mortar-laced gloves were doing their job. It was all her seconds could do to get her on her feet for Round 2, and that turned into more of the same. This time, though, Hulk was not in as big a hurry, apparently drawing pleasure from stretching out Layla's pain. At one point, he again trapped Layla in a corner, but this time he hung her over the top rope by her arms and proceeded to throw haymaker punches deep into her gut. The pain was more than Layla had ever endured ' she could take a punch with the best of them, but the combination of the Hulk's size and the loaded gloves would have been too much for any human. The punches were obviously doing internal damage as blood gushed from her mouth and from a large cut in her side. The white trim on her trunks was starting to become indistinguishable from the red of the trunks itself, with the blood slowly turning her trunks a deep maroon. The only respite she got in Round 2 was the three times she went to the canvas, and only her heart enabled her to rise after a break of only eight or nine seconds. Since there was no three-knockdown rule in the EBC, Nikki ordered the fight to continue each time. With her as referee, there would be no "referee stops contest" this night. Just before the end of the round, the Hulk backed off one step and swung a big right hand that hit Layla well below the belt, right in the crotch of her now-damp trunks. As she went to her knees again, all eyes in the arena ' including Hulk's ' went to Nikki, who only smiled. Hulk saw this, and also broke into a big grin. The bell sounded seconds later to end Round 2, and her seconds literally had to drag Layla back to the corner. Her cut woman did her best to push Vaseline into the deepest cuts to try to slow the bleeding, and eventually layered the grease thick all over Layla's body in hopes at least some blows would slip by. It wasn't legal, but then again little else had been this night. Her partner doubled up on the smelling salts and eventually doused her with cups of water. Under normal circumstances, the combination of oil and water covering Layla's supple body would have made her fans even more aroused, but not this time. Most fans were in shock at the brutality of the event ' and it would only get worse. Layla was actually revived slightly by the water bath, and was off her stool when the bell sounded for Round 3. Her hulking opponent was already at mid-ring, and advanced on her with determined steps. Layla quickly went back to shuffling sideways to avoid a head-on encounter, but she was not nearly as fast after the early abuse. Hulk stalked his quarry, but was patient and waited for an opportunity to corner his weakening adversary and inflict more punishment. Layla did her best to keep the big man off with jabs and crosses aimed at the head, but they had little steam. It didn't take long for Hulk to cut off part of the ring and work Layla into a corner again. This time, he ducked down, threw a left hook that caught Layla on the right side and followed with a sweeping right uppercut to Layla's exposed left breast. The pain was excruciating, and Hulk saw that on Layla's face and proceeded to maul her tits with uppercuts that came from under Layla's attempts to guard her body. The Hulk was apparently enjoying himself with this tactic and was in no hurry for it to stop. Every time Layla appeared to be slumping to the canvas, Hulk would grab her under one breast and keep her from going down, while using the other hand to continue the abuse to the other tit. The bell finally rang to end Round 3, and the Hulk released Layla and walked to his corner. Layla was in no condition to walk, and was sitting on the canvas with one arm over the middle rope until her handlers came to rescue her. She was all but unconscious, and there was no way she could continue ' that is, before EBC officials came to ringside and informed the judges that a title fight could not be stopped by the referee or anyone else. Her friends did everything they could in what would be the last abuse-free 60 seconds of Layla's life, and when the bell rang for Round 4 she rose from her stool and stood there in her own corner. She didn't have the physical ability to move, and her brain was sending all sorts of mixed signals that her body couldn't understand. It took Hulk a full 15 seconds to walk across the ring, enjoying every step and playing to the now- horrified crowd that was yelling for police on hand to stop the barbarian show. The EBC folks had thought of that, too ' they had arena security surrounding the ring area, hundreds of them in bright yellow T-shirts, prohibiting anyone from getting into ' or getting out of ' the ring area. The onslaught continued, with Hulk alternating between more deadly body shots and roundhouse lefts and rights that sent Layla's head flying. Eventually, she staggered into another corner, and the Hulk grabbed Layla's gloves and hung them over the top rope, leaving her hanging like a scarecrow and turning her into a human punching bag. Hulk worked Layla like the heavy bag she had now become, and Layla was totally unconscious and non- responsive. Eventually, the Hulk wound up one more overhand right, and it was heard and felt by everyone in the arena. The loud "crrrrraaaackkk" was Layla's jaw being broken, and her mouthpiece flew almost completely to the other side of the ring. Her head lolled to the side in a sickening manner that made several ringside observers vomit, and she slumped unconscious to the canvas for what would be the last time. Her corner partners screamed and jumped through the ropes to get to their friend and fighter (who was going to stop them at this point?), trying to revive her. Nikki ignored the two of them and proceeded to count slowly, "1 '. 2 '. 3 '.," dragging out the count for her own enjoyment while the Hulk leaned against the ropes in his own corner, admiring his destruction of another hated female. The look on her handlers' faces was one of horror, and there was only a murmur from the capacity crowd. Fans in the high seats may not have known, but those close to ringside had an idea they'd just seen someone killed in the ring. The ring quickly filled with people, and EBC promoters quickly called for a stretcher, and while that was brought in those same promoters quickly gathered with worried looks on their faces. Their plan had worked, at least partially ' they had definitely put Layla out of commission, but they did not think it would get to the point where they had a fatality on their hands. That would be very bad for business. One promoter screamed at Nikki, who only winked and slipped through the ropes. Other EBC officials escorted the Hulk from the arena, as fans who realized what had happened pelted him with bottles and cups. They immediately jumped into vehicles, not speaking to anyone, and headed for a secret location they'd worked out in advance. Her handlers loaded Layla onto the stretcher, red gloves and all, and covered her with her robe ' ironically, the "Hot Knockout" lettering on the robe was pointed straight toward the Garden ceiling. The only thing visible was her head, lolled to the side, but in her foggy and dream-like state Layla's only remaining good eye landed at an angle where she could see the EBC championship belt on a ringside table. Somewhere deep in her mind, she remembered wearing that belt, but she couldn't remember any other details. And she marveled at how shiny it was ' before the blackness took over. Her handlers worked the stetcher through the ropes and fought their way through the enraged crowd back to her dressing room. Medical personnel were right behind, but by the time they arrived to check on her, Layla had no pulse and was not breathing. A frantic attempt at CPR was of no use, and later tests at a hospital confirmed that Layla's brain activity had ceased even before she was hauled from the ring. ++++++ All of the next day's newspapers and television newscasts were devoted to the previous night's tragic bout, and the press and public had a field day in condemning the EBC. One reporter in particular had the foresight to follow Layla's handlers to the hospital and spoke at length to the two women while they made arrangements for the handling of Layla's body. The women told that reporter everything they knew ' the circuit's plan to get rid of Layla, the bribes to get Hulk out of prison, the involvement of Nikki and the upper echelon of EBC administration. One day later, that story came out and called for a complete dismantling of the EBC. Law enforcement raided their offices that morning, arresting everyone in sight on conspiracy charges and taking Nikki and the promoters in on accessory to murder charges. The Hulk? Turns out that he had given the EBC officials in charge of keeping him bottled away the slip, went out that very night and celebrated by getting shit-faced drunk, busting up the bar and beating up several people in the process. He was picked up and shipped back to prison, and the public outcry forced state officials to make sure he would never leave that facility again. It also turned out that fans, despite the ugly situation of that one night, still needed and wanted the EBC, and clamored for the group to somehow reorganize and rebuild itself. The city fathers, fearing a repeat of that ugly night, appointed a committee to look into that reconstruction and see what could be done to prevent repeat offenses while providing the public with the entertainment the circuit had provided. When that committee gave its report a few weeks later, it recommended no changes to the EBC -- except to its personnel. Out the door went everybody associated with the group ' except for the fighters, who had all gathered for Layla's funeral and banded together to make sure her life was celebrated and honored, and that her death would have meaning. And, in a surprise move, the committee appointed Layla's two handlers ' the women who had befriended her at the very start, who had nurtured her career and who had helped her and tried to stop her at the end ' as the new top officials of the EBC. Their word was to be final, and they had the power to revise and change anything about the entire circuit if they so chose. They didn't change much, and the EBC went on. Eventually ' never underestimate the shortness of the public's attention span ' it returned to its previous popularity, and remains such to this day. But every time those EBC fighters walk out to the arena, they pass next to a large trophy case that nearly blocks the hall. In that trophy case hangs only one item ' a solitary robe, red with darker patches of deep-crimson stain, but with the letters "Hot Knockout" still a bright white.