Mark (Two of Five)

I'm gonna try not to make these too long. I got respect for those people with the fancy sheepskins on their wall that write enough to kill a forest. Me, I'm just another PI loaded with six shots of bourbon, and no cases to go on. Well, there's Miz Becca in 3-B, and her lost cat. Every week for a year now, she asks me if I found Fluffers, and every week I gotta break her heart. Dames. There's also Von Braun, the super. Asked me if I found last month's rent. Funny guy. I told him I should pay him extra for the comedy act.

The name on my door says Tracy Lowell, but only my mom and my secretary call me that. You can call me Trace. Everyone gets one warning. Last guy called me Tracy a second time, he's got a scar on his knuckle where his fist met my teeth, and twitches when he lifts his beer. I ain't saying I'm a great fighter, just that you won't make that mistake again.

Mom meant well. She didn't want to name me James, after my deadbeat dad ran out on her two weeks before she gave birth, so she named me after her granddad. It's fine, but kids got no respect for history. Or girl's names. I can count on one hand the times I came home from elementary school without bleeding. What could mom do? Go to school and tell the slacker principal? Bullies get a week's detention, come at me twice as hard when the week's up.

Can't blame them. I woulda done the same if I was them.

I joined the Silver Gloves soon as I turned ten. Hoofed it an hour after school to get to the gym, then hitched rides back home. Sometimes I worked so hard I'd throw up all over the place. It hurt worse than the beatings in the ring, but I had to keep going. Bullies weren't gonna let up until I showed them I wouldn't back down, and even then. By that point, it was more like brothers; I hated them, they hated me, but damned if we couldn't be apart. Guess that's why I get along so well with people after fights.

Golden Gloves wasn't too much better, but at least I knew how to take a punch by now, which is more than a lot of them had. I held my own, and it got me ready for the academy. I don't want to talk about the academy too much, but let's just say we weren't like brothers.