Work (narrative)
Following the failed hunt with Cas and Jo, Piotr was more determined than ever to find something that would make him feel like he was doing something with his life. He went to the docks before the sun even started to rise, and ended up with a job fifteen minutes after that. The foreman admitted that he’d hired the Russian based on size alone, but it didn’t take very long at all for Piotr to prove that he had actual muscle behind the look.
He worked all day without tiring. It felt good, getting his hands dirty. That wasn’t just euphemism, either. Piotr was completely filthy by the end of the work day, hauling boxes from the ship to the dock and vice versa. There was no sweat, however, which impressed the foremen and some of the other guys as well.
Very carefully, he’d said almost nothing all day, using physical movements to indicate his answers as much as he could. And when that didn’t work, one word answers took over. Piotr could say yes and no with very little of his accent coming through. Longer words betrayed him slightly, but most didn’t seem to care.
After his third day, Piotr was approached after his shift by a group of men who seemed to be more excited than the average beer-post-work crowd. They cornered him, and he wondered very briefly if they were going to try to bring him down with violence. Perhaps somebody had finally taken ill to his nationality.
It was made clear very quickly, however, that they wanted something else. More than one of them started jabbering away at once, and Piotr had to get them to slow down. Eventually it was expressed that they wanted him to join a bare knuckle boxing ring. Underground kinds of stuff. Maybe not truly illegal in these times, but the kinds of things that would be eventually. Immediately, he agreed to it.
Maybe it was cheating, having his training, his size, and his invulnerability when his steel was present. But that last one wouldn’t be used at all in these endeavors. It was still an incredible advantage. He wasn’t going to let that information out, however. He was just going to get in the ring, bet for himself, and rake in the cash. He even found a fellow who was willing to make these bets so nobody else would know about them, for a very reasonable cut, at that.
Piotr’s first match went well. He let the guy get in a couple of hits, then took him down with a few of his own. After he went through half a dozen men with no signs of slowing or tiring, they pulled him out of the rest of the fights, deciding that they needed to find somebody worthy of standing against him. He became the one to beat. He became the monster under the bed, the myth that circled through the city’s lower classes.
More importantly, he made money.
He moved Rayne to a much nicer place, renting a hotel suite for the both of them, giving him a way to make sure that she was safe while allowing her a private room at the same time. And he began to save money to not only pay Rob back, but take him out on the date that he’d promised. The way he was going gave him hope that it would all go much faster than he had anticipated. Especially considering he kept the day job for appearances.