I invite you to dive into the second book of my new universe, modestly titled Scott Melanie's Universe.

I decided to take a short break from the story of Michael Silver and delve into the fate of his half-brother. This book will be about just that.

I thought readers would be interested in learning about the history of his younger brother. What was he like before he joined the Silver family? How did his relationship with his birth family work out, how did he live with George and Mariana after Michael left? And finally, how did he get involved in the story that he and Michael had worked out in the first book, Mercenary at Heart.

This book will tell the story of Theodore's personal and athletic achievements and failures, and the struggles he faced during his childhood and adolescence, from family relationships to his interactions with his peers. The book will tell you how the boy came to this ruthless sport called boxing, and how in his own way he decided to go against the accepted system. You will see that despite the fact that the brothers are not blood relatives, they are united by an unbreakable bond, the desire for honesty and justice. Both, they stand up for their own right to choose in this big and dangerous world.

762. Theodore sat on a bench in the men's locker room, waiting to be invited into the ring. He was dressed in blue boxer shorts, his hands wrapped in bandages, fixing the damaged joints of his fingers and hands. The guy closed his eyes and started actively rubbing the hair on his head, as if toning and mentally preparing himself for the fight. 1/8 finals of the city tournament, which the young man had been through quite a few times during his current sports career. In essence, nothing unusual, but internally, Ted felt that this fight would change his life.

His trainer entered the locker room along with another black man. Both of them seemed to be from other worlds. One in a worn blue tracksuit. The other in a white business suit, tailored by the best tailor in town. The latter, Theodore knew well, because he was Dries, the bookmaker who co-owned his sports club and had recently been appointed general manager. In fact, this was the man who paid the guy's salary. He set the rules here: he said who should lie down and at what moment. This was his business, in which the man was perfectly able to shovel money, not leaving his companions in debt. Yes, and athletes competed in his tournaments not for prestige or glory, but more often than not to make money.

People like Dries were destroying the sport from the inside, but unfortunately no one, on a serious level, objected, because all the people Dries needed remained in a solid profit, including himself. The only people who lost money were the gamblers who lost hundreds and thousands of eurodollars month after month at the bookmaker's club. Poor people counted on luck, and thought that they were well versed in the sport, without knowing its kitchen from the inside.

Among the businessman's clients were not only ordinary citizens from a small town, but also unsuspecting businessmen and politicians from various localities.

The men sat on either side of the athlete and stared at him. The black-skinned businessman smiled at the boxer with his full mouth white smile. He took out a twisted wad of money from his inside pocket and handed it to the trainer. The latter instantly tucked the received amount into his tracksuit pocket.

Dries: ‘Well, how is our fighter doing? Ready for the fight?

Theodore: ‘As always.’

Dries (laughed loudly): ‘Ahahahaha. I like working with you. You're a very bright guy and you understand the business. So here's the deal, you're gonna lay down in round three tonight. Pretend you're exhausted and miss a few punches. Derek's been warned. He's not gonna hit you hard. But don't forget, you have to go down like he hit you really hard!’

Theodore: ‘I'm not giving in today. If I win, I win.’

Dries put his hand on the boxer's shoulder and smiled again: ‘Bargaining? Good. I'll throw another five per cent on you. Consider me in a good mood tonight, so I gave you a concession. In return, I expect you to lose in the ring to Derek tonight.’

Theodore: ‘No. I've been in this sport my whole life not to constantly leak contractual agreements. I only plan on adding to it so I can break through to city major competitions at the gold level and beyond.’

Coach: ‘Tedi, that's no way to do business. Stop fooling around! I've already taken the money. These are his requirements, his rules, and it's not for us to tell him what's right or wrong with them.’

Dries rose from his seat and pointed his index finger at the coach, pretending that the athlete needed to heed his advice.

Theodore: ‘I've said it all. Tired of being a punching bag already. I deserve better than that. I'm not you. For tonight's fight, I didn't take any extra money, and I'm not going to.’

The accompanying manager looked into the locker room, ‘Theodore Silver, you're being announced. It's time!’

The sportsman got up from the bench and headed for the locker room exit. He was blocked by Dries and with a serious expression said: ‘Don't mess this up, kid! You and I are in the same boat. If you try to jump out of it, I will personally drown you. I'll drown you myself, believe me!’

Theodore silently walked round the broad man from the side. Then Dries turned to his trainer, ‘You make sure, Sebastian, that the agreement between us is honoured. Otherwise, you'll get it too. It's your job to keep an eye on the kid. There's a lot of money at stake. I didn't come here personally for nothing…’

Coach: ‘I'll do my best, Dries. I'll do my best.’

The announcer solemnly introduced Theodore to the crowd. To the general buzz of the stands, Theodore, his accompanying manager and trainer made their way down the red carpet to the ring. Dries took his seat on the bleachers, took out a cigar, lit it and tensely began to watch the preparations for the upcoming fight.

Theodore climbed over the ropes and put gloves on his hands to greet the audience. He looked into the stands and saw Dries smoking his cigar. The announcer announced Theodore's opponent. A few dozen seconds after that, a large and aggressive fighter appeared from the other side of the ring, looking like a young, angry bull, raring to fight. The referee took his place in the centre of the ring. Both fighters approached him.

Judge: ‘I expect you both to fight fair. No holds barred. Only boxing.’

The referee simultaneously gestured and blew his whistle to start the fight. Both fighters rushed into the fight from the first seconds, hoping for a quick and legitimate victory.

According to the new chronology, the year was 735. Gai was a relatively small settlement, where no more than 20,000 people lived and worked. Mostly people were engaged in agriculture and crafts. There were a couple of schools and a couple of kindergartens for children. Most of the townspeople still couldn't understand why rural children needed an education, as they were taught the craft of farmers and artisans by their own parents based on their years of experience. Despite the small population, the traffic on the country roads was quite busy. Every now and then, there were lorries and trucks travelling around delivering food to other settlements.

After borrowing money from his parents, Lars had moved here with his wife about five years ago, hoping to find peace and escape the hustle and bustle of the city. Although he had lived in Lockfood City before that, where he learnt the trade of a chef. The man was not a bad cook, and also knew most of all about the quality and freshness of the products needed for cooking. So, one day, he caught himself thinking that he would not be engaged in the manufacture of these products. In order to do so, he needed to get his own farm and cattle. He also needed to hire a few workers who knew how to care for and keep the animals.