——–continued from The News Division: Match 7——-

The News Division: Match 8

(Team Championship)

Carter flexed his sun kissed, sweat and sand covered muscles, milking his decisive victory over Chris to win the championship match. Carter began to walk back to the steps leading up the side of the cliff.  The other four newsboys walked out onto the sand.  When Rob reached Carter, he planted his palms into Carter’s chest and shoved him backward.  The newly minted champion fell to his ass.  Immediately, Richard walked up behind Rob and kicked him in the back of the knees, dropping him to the sand.  Thomas and Sam separated the three of them.  “Cool it!” Thomas barked at Rob, holding him by the shoulder as he came to his feet, fists clenched.  Sam walked up behind Richard and stretched his arm across his shoulder, pulling him backward with his palm pressed against Richard’s chest.  “Your boy is exhausted,” Sam whispered in Richard’s ear.  “You don’t want to do this right now.”

Shrugging away from Sam, Richard walked over to Carter and helped him to his feet.  Leaning on Richard’s shoulder, Carter made his way past the other newsboys and began climbing the steep stairs to the house.  Sam, Rob and Thomas made their way out to join Chris, who had rolled over to his side.  His face was caked in blood and sand, and his nose and eyes were swollen and dark blue.  Rob and Thomas gently pulled Chris up and draped him between them, hanging from their shoulders.  The four men slowly made their way back to the steps and up the steep climb to the house.

Hours later, Carter and Chris were showered and rested.  Chris’ face was badly bruised, and his nose was sharply deviated and swollen.  He lay back on the couch with a bag of ice across his face, Rob and Thomas sitting on either side of him protectively.  Sam, Carter and Richard were laughing loudly and chattering on the back deck overlooking the ocean, stretched out across chaises with margaritas in hand.  When they heard Eli’s voice coming from inside the house, the three of them hopped up and came inside.

“Gentlemen!”  Eli was saying, “All I can say is, ‘Wow!’  I don’t mind telling you, Chris, that you have severely disappointed some bookies.  You were favored 2 to 1 going into that bout.”  Rob placed his hand consolingly on Chris’ shoulder.  “But Carter, you have earned the title of champion.  Your performance was as masterful as it was unexpected by so many of Chris’ fans.”  Richard slapped Carter’s knee and squeezed, smiling broadly.  “None of you should be ashamed of our performances thus far.  You’ve created quite the sensation across the bandwidth.”

“Thus far?” Rob asked, incredulous.  “This is done.  You just declared Carter the champion.  We’re out of here.”

“There’s one more bout,” Eli corrected him.  “We have a singles champion.  But before you leave, we need to crown ta championship team.  We’ll be using a single bout format.  A submission eliminates you from the field of play.  The team of the last man standing will be our winner.”

“We’re in no shape to fight again!” Rob complained, glancing quickly at Chris, his head leaned back with the bag of ice still resting across his face.

“Agreed,” Eli said.  “In fact, I’d say Chris is pretty fucked up right now,” Eli chuckled.  “That’s why you’ll all have three days to recuperate.”

“Three days isn’t enough,” Thomas said flatly.

“Whatever shape you’re in in three days, there will be a fight.  The winning team will get the lead anchor desk in prime time.”  All six newsboys sat silently, taking in the implications.  None of them were headlining anchors.  This would be a major promotion for any one of them.

Sam cleared his throat, then said, “Who are the teams?”

The other five men looked at him in surprise.  It hadn’t occurred to any of them that they would be teamed up with anyone other than the colleagues they worked with.  Carter and Richard didn’t come in as partners, but they’d clearly developed a solid bond since the start of the competition 8 days earlier.

Eli smirked, “You’ll dance with the dates you brought,” he said simply.  “To keep things in order, there will be a guest referee to make certain that defeated fighters leave the beach.  Three days, gentlemen.  Noon.  The beach.”

————————————————–

Three days later, the six men walked onto the beach.  Team members wore matching trunks.  Chris, his face still darkly bruised and swollen, and Sam wore red trunks.  Carter and Richard were dressed in matching yellow trunks.  Rob and Thomas wore black trunks.

The beach was deserted other than the guest referee.  Standing in a tank top and tropical print board shorts, Anderson Cooper waited for the newsboys.  Once all six fighters had gathered in a circle around Anderson, Sam complained, “This isn’t exactly fair.  You work with Rob and Thomas.”

Anderson smirked, “Stop your bitching.  Let the fight begin!”  Anderson stepped backward out of the circle.

No one moved for a few seconds as eyes darted back and forth from face to face.  Finally, slowly, Rob, Thomas and Chris began to walk toward Carter threateningly.  Richard began to move to join his partner, but Sam snuck up and cinched a tight full nelson from behind.  “Sorry, dude,” Sam spoke in Richard’s ear.  “This was inevitable.”  Richard squirmed and flexed trying to break free, but Sam simply held him tightly in his control as the triple team approached Carter.

Carter held up his hands defensively, backing away slowly.  “Look guys,” Carter said anxiously, “it’s nothing personal.  Let’s fight fair now.”  Chris and Thomas lunged forward and each man grabbed Carter’s wrists.  They twisted Carter’s wrists behind his back, and Chris took hold of both wrists, pinning them high up Carter’s back.  Thomas dropped to his knees, wrapping his arms around Carter’s ankles, immobilizing his legs.

Rob planted his feet wide directly in front of Carter.  “This IS personal, bitch!” Rob spat.  He swung his right fist into Carter’s abs.  Carter flexed defensively, but a groan of pain escaped his lips on impact.  Rob took half a step backward, paused, then lunged forward again.  Once again, he drove his right fist into Carter’s abs.  Carter’s abs flexed, protecting himself from the blow, but again Carter groaned.  Rob grabbed Carter’s chin in his left hand, pressing Carter’s head backward.  “You know what I really enjoy is watching a big man suffer,” Rob growled.  “But I’ll settle for watching a bitch like you suffer!”  Rob began landing alternating left and right fists, back and forth, into Carter’s abs.  Carter’s head drooped, his abs desperately tensed under the onslaught.  After a minute of the barrage, Carter’s abs began to quiver, bright red from the beating.  Gradually they grew softer, and Rob’s blows pounded deeper and deeper.  Carter was moaning steadily in anguish.

Rob stopped and stepped backward.  “Spread his legs!” he shouted at Thomas.  Thomas looked up at his partner for a moment, before Rob shouted again maniacally, “Spread him wide!!!”  Thomas spread open Carter’s legs while Chris maintained his tight control over Carter’s arms wrenched behind his back.  Rob placed his hands on Carter’s shoulders, shifted his weight to his left foot, and drove his right knee upward into Carter’s crotch.  Carter gasped and grunted.  Again and again, Rob drove his knee into Carter’s balls.  Carter began to drop to his knees, and Rob screamed at Chris, “Keep him on his feet!!!”  Chris lifted Carter by his hammerlocked wrists.  Carter’s knees wobbled weakly.

After a half a dozen blows, Rob again paused, stepped back, and looked at his victim.  Rob’s chest was heaving, his face was red, and his breath quivered with rage.  He reached forward and grasped Carter’s balls through the yellow speedo in his right hand.  Squeezing tightly, Rob twisted them painfully.  Carter screamed out in pain, a tear rolling down his right cheek.  Chris growled in Carter’s ear, “Give it up now!”

“No!!!” Rob screamed.  Still holding onto Carter’s balls with his right hand, Rob shoved his left hand into Carter’s face, pressing his jaw upward, shutting his mouth with a loud crack.  “We’re far from done with you!!!”  Carter tried to wrench his head side to side to escape Rob’s hand, but Rob kept his hand tightly clamped on Carter’s face.  Releasing Carter’s balls, he grabbed Carter’s left nipple and pinched it tightly.  “You get your rocks off by humiliating people?” Rob asked rhetorically.  “But how do you like it when the tables are turned, bitch!?”  Carter groaned and twisted, but couldn’t break free from any of his tormentors.  After several seconds of nipple torture, Rob brought his right hand up to join his left hand secured across Carter’s face.  Holding Carter’s face between his hands, Rob leaned close, looking down into Carter’s eyes fiercely.  “I could bite your fucking nose off!”  Rob screamed.

“No!” Thomas shouted, releasing Carter’s ankles and standing next to Rob.  “Let him submit!  That’s enough.”

Rob glanced briefly at Thomas.  “I’ll decide what’s enough,” he growled angrily.  Looking back into Carter’s eyes, Rob shook Carter’s head sharply, then leaned forward, planting his lips across Carter’s mouth.

“Hey!” Thomas said, surprised.  He reached forward, pushing Rob away from Carter gently.  Rob shoved Thomas away with his right hand, maintaining his lip lock on Carter.  Rob dropped his hands to Carter’s sides, wrapping his arms around his waist.  Grabbing hold of Carter’s ass in his hands, Rob pulled Carter’s pelvis forward, grinding their crotches together.  Carter’s groans were muffled by Rob’s mouth clamped forcefully over his.  From behind, maintaining his arm lock, Chris leaned forward and placed his face next to the side of Carter’s face.  Chris’ lips lightly touched Carter’s left ear, just inches away from where Carter and Rob’s mouths were locked together.  Chris whispered softly in Carter’s ear, “Now you’re going to get what’s coming to you, you sadistic fuck.”

While all of this unfolded, Richard was struggling in Sam’s nelson.  Although Sam enjoyed a height advantage, Richard was stronger.  Richard twisted and flexed desperately trying to shake free, and both men stumbled awkwardly across the sand, locked together.  After a couple of minutes of this struggle, they both lost their balance and dropped to their sides on the sand.  The impact broke Sam’s grip, and Richard immediately spun around and climbed on top of Sam, pinning his back to the beach.  “Look!” Sam said quietly but desperately, “the big guys are going to tire themselves out on your partner.  If we conserve our strength and work together, we can take them all out together.”

Richard paused, considering Sam’s proposal.  He looked up in time to see Rob shoving Thomas away, his lips locked on Carter’s mouth with Chris holding Carter in place.  When Rob reached down and grabbed Carter’s ass, grinding their crotches together, Richard couldn’t stand it any longer. He hopped to his feet and began to come to his partner’s aid.  As he walked away from Sam, though, Sam spun to his stomach and reached out his right arm, grasping Richard’s left ankle.  Pulling sharply, Sam dropped Richard to the sand again.  With a grunt, Sam dove on top of Richard’s back.  Hooking his right arm in front of Richard’s neck, Sam squeezed tightly, cutting off Richard’s blood supply to his brain.  Sam growled at the back of Richard’s head, “I really wanted this to go down differently.  This could’ve been a lot more fun.  But you had to be the loyal sidekick, didn’t you?”  Richard was clawing and beating at Sam’s arm choking him, but Sam maintained complete control, allowing his own body weight to keep his opponent from being able to generate any momentum to free himself.  After about thirty seconds of struggle, Richard’s arms began to go limp, and his eyes rolled up into the back of his head.  Anderson Cooper was watching carefully, stepping close to the action to shout at Richard, “Do you submit!?”  Richard didn’t answer, but his face was blanching white, with dark red spots forming around his neck.  Richard’s hands slowly dropped to the sand, motionless.  Anderson shouted again at Richard, “Are you still conscious!?”  There was no response.  Anderson tapped Sam on the shoulder and demanded, “Get off of him!  His out!”

Sam released his chokehold and threw Richard’s head to the sand contemptuously.  Anderson began gently slapping Richard’s cheeks, rousing him and helping him to his feet.  Slowly, Richard wobbled unsteadily and in a daze toward the cliffside.  Climbing to his feet slowly, breathing deeply from the exertion, Sam assessed the situation among the other fighters.

Rob maintained his liplock on Carter, but his hands now slid underneath the top of the back of Carter’s yellow speedo.  Kneading Carter’s ass, Rob’s eyes were closed in concentration.  Slowly, his hands slid around to the sides of Carter’s hips, still underneath the fabric of the speedo.  Rob grabbed hold of the sides of the yellow trunks in both hands, then suddenly dropped to his knees, yanking Carter’s speedo down to his ankles.  Looking up from his kneeling position, Rob found himself at eye-level with Carter’s fully erect cock.

Thomas had been hovering to the side, growing concerned with how far his colleague was planning on going to exact revenge on their common foe.  Finally Thomas charged forward, shoving Rob to his side.  “That’s enough!  You’re going to blow this match for both of us,” Thomas growled at Rob.  Turning to Carter, Thomas grabbed the back of Carter’s head by the hair, pulling his face up.  With his other hand, Thomas grabbed hold of Carter’s naked balls, squeezing them tightly.  “Submit now, fucker!”  Thomas screamed into Carter’s face.

Rob yelled, “No!” just as Carter gasped, “I submit!”  Anderson was on the spot, tapping Chris on the shoulder.  “Let him go!  He’s got to get off the beach now.”

Furious, Rob lunged at Thomas, tackling him to the sand.  Anderson, pulled Carter to his feet and sent him stumbling toward the cliff.  Sam and Chris made eye contact for just a moment, then nodded to one another.  Sam walked up behind Rob, who was obliviously punching at Thomas’ face.  Wrapping his arm around Rob’s throat from behind, Sam jerked Rob backward.  Falling to his back, Sam pulled the larger man down on top of him, wrapping his legs tightly around Rob’s midsection while choking him savagely.  Rob squirmed and arched his back frantically, but Sam maintained tight control.  For nearly two minutes, Sam squeezed his forearm across Rob’s throat, while Rob’s resistance grew weaker and weaker.  Rob weakly pulled at Sam’s forearm, aimlessly kicking his feet, nearing unconsciousness.

“Nighty-night,” Sam gloated in Rob’s ear.  With a last surge of adrenaline, Rob’s eyes flashed open wide.  He bridged fiercely, pulling Sam off the sand, still clinging to his back.  Kicking up and backward with his feet, Rob launched himself into the air, dropping the force of his bodyweight down on his opponent, crashing into the beach.  The air came rushing involuntarily out of Sam’s lungs, and for just an instant he lost his grip on Rob’s throat.  The instant was just enough for Rob to squeeze his hands between his throat and Sam’s forearm, and slowly pry Sam’s arm away.

It was an incredible test of strength and tenacity.  Rob was seconds away from being knocked out, but was finding the reserves to peel away his fresher opponent mounted on his back.  Sam’s eyes grew wide in surprise, feeling his opponent’s powerful muscles straining and slowly overcoming Sam’s own dominant position.  Sam suddenly realized he had a tiger by the tail, and he desperately released his scissors from around Rob’s waist and began to try to push himself away from his rallying opponent.

Freed, Rob spun around belly-to-belly with Sam and pinned his shoulders to the beach.  Gasping for fresh air, Rob managed to position his heavier body high over Sam’s, preventing Sam from escaping.  Rob was covered in sheets of sweat and sand, his face slowly paling from the ugly scarlet shade that emerged under Sam’s chokehold.  A deep, primal growl began to grow in Rob’s chest.  Finally emerging as a maniacal scream, Rob swung his free right hand from behind his shoulder, plowing a vicious roundhouse punch into the side of Sam’s face.  Sam’s head whipped violently to the side, and his body went instantly limp.  He was knocked out with one punch.

Anderson Cooper was immediately on the spot, slapping Rob on the shoulder and insisting that he get off of Sam’s body.  “He’s done with!  Let him go!”  Slowly, Rob climbed off of Sam and stepped back, watching Anderson kneel next to Sam and slap him harshly on the face.  After a half minute, Sam roused, and Anderson sent him crawling off the beach, defeated.

When Sam had first pulled Rob off of Thomas, Chris had wasted no time taking Rob’s place.  He mounted Thomas, who was still stunned by his teammate’s attack.  Pulling Thomas’ left arm across his upper chest, Chris reached his right hand around the back of Thomas’ neck and grabbed hold of Thomas’ left wrist.  Pulling sharply, Chris tied Thomas up tightly, using Thomas’ own arm to apply a partial choke.  Thomas’ right arm pushed at Chris’ midsection defensively, but Chris easily corralled that appendage and trapped it underneath his left knee.  With his left arm free, Chris began jackhammering punches into the exposed chest of his trapped opponent.  Thomas’ right pec grew red, then a dark purple under the methodical attack, as he gasped and wheezed for a full breath.

After a couple of minutes of total domination, Chris realized that he had done as much damage as he was going to from this position, and Thomas was not ready to submit yet.  Releasing Thomas’ left arm, Chris quickly recaptured it again in front of Thomas’ chest, pinning it to the sand beneath his right knee.  With both hands now free, Chris dug his fingertips into the bottom of Thomas’ impressive pecs, driving his thumbs into the meat of the muscles and prying two massive handfuls away from Thomas’ ribcage.  Thomas’ neck arched backward as he screamed in pain.  Chris leaned forward, leveraging his bodyweight to help dig deeper into the torturing hold.

Feeling Chris’ weight shifting, Thomas planted his feet in the sand and drove his pelvis upward, arching his back suddenly.  Chris quickly lost his balance and slid forward in the sand above Thomas’ head, sprawling face first.  Thomas rapidly spun to his stomach and launched himself on top of Chris’ back.  Wrapping his arms underneath Chris’ armpits, Thomas laced his fingertips behind Chris’ neck, securing an iron-tight full nelson.  Wrapping his legs around Chris’ midsection, Thomas rolled over to his back, pulling Chris’ over on top of him, immobilized.  Chris grunted and yelled in pain and frustration, but Thomas was stronger and better positioned, and there was no way Chris was going to escape.  It was only a matter of time before the full nelson pulled Chris apart at the shoulders.

By this time, Rob had dispatched Sam and slowly caught his breath and gathered his wits about him.  No longer running on pure adrenaline, Rob surveyed the other battle from a slight distance, considering his next move.  Thomas mounted Chris from behind and captured him in a nelson, rolling over to his back, just as Rob approached the battle.

“This match is ours, partner,” Thomas grunted to Rob as he approached.  “He’s completely vulnerable.  Fuck him up now and let’s claim our prize.”

Rob smiled and nodded at Thomas.  Positioning himself next to the two men locked together in the sand, Rob stood still for a moment looking down.  He lifted his right foot, positioning himself directly over Chris’ black and blue face, his nose still clearly broken and swollen from his fight with Carter.  “Do it!” Thomas screamed at Rob.  Rob took a deep breath, then drove his right heel downward across Thomas’ nose.

Stunned, Thomas released Chris and threw him to the side.  Rolling over onto his side, Thomas cupped his nose, now broken and spurting blood.  “What the fuck!?” Thomas garbled through the blood pooling in his throat.

Rob’s upper lip pulled away from his teeth in disgust and rage.  “You mother fucker!” he screamed at Thomas.  “You humiliated me to start this week off.  Now it’s time to make things even.”  Rob dropped to his knees, pulling Thomas flat on his back, and climbing over top of him to straddle his chest.  Glaring down into Thomas swelling face, Rob snarled, “So you get your rocks off on hurting people?  All you ever wanted was to hear me scream in pain?  Let’s see if that turns me on, too?”  Sliding his body down, Rob positioned himself across Thomas’ pelvis.  Rob grabbed hold of both of Thomas’ nipples and pinched them tightly.  Thomas groaned, his eyes closed tightly.

Chris had pulled himself to his feet by this time.  Still panting, his back covered in sand and sweat, he walked up to stand in front of Rob, just over Thomas’ head.  Rob looked up fiercely, gripping Chris with an assessing gaze.  After a moment, Chris nodded sharply, silently, and then grinned sideways.  Without any further communication, Rob looked back down at his colleague trapped beneath him.  Rob slid himself still farther down Thomas’ body, straddling Thomas’ knees, as Chris knelt directly over Thomas’ head.  Chris placed his knees directly in the meat of Thomas’ round shoulders, pinning him to the sand.  Then Chris sat back, planting his red clad ass onto Thomas’ injured face.  Thomas’ screams of pain were muffled by Chris’ solid ass straddling his nose.

In the meantime, Rob yanked Thomas’ black speedo down to his knees, leaving his long, semi-erect cock exposed and vulnerable.  Rob reached down and wrapped his large right hand around the base of Thomas’ balls. Squeezing sharply, Rob pried Thomas’ sac away from his body.  Thomas’ muffled screams grew louder, as he frantically tapped both hands in the sand, signaling his submission.

Anderson stepped in immediately and slapped Chris on the back.  “That’s it!  He’s done with.  Let him go!”  Chris slowly rose to his feet, standing straddling Thomas’ head.  Chris looked down domineeringly at Thomas for a few seconds before turning and walking away a few feet.  Rob had not yet released his torturous ball claw.  Anderson shoved Rob’s shoulder to break him from his sadistic reverie.  “YOUR PARTNER submitted!” Anderson shouted.  “Release him!”

Rob let go of Thomas’ balls and rose up on his knees.  Instead of climbing off, though, he walked his hands forward, stretching his body parallel to Thomas’ body.  Finally planked directly overtop of his colleague, Rob’s hands planted just above Thomas’ shoulders, Rob dipped low, bringing his crotch to press directly into Thomas’ crotch.  Pushing up, Rob said firmly, “One.”  Dipping again, Rob pressed his crotch into Thomas’ and swiveled his hips, grinding his hardening cock into Thomas’ tented speedo.  Pushing up again, Rob said, “Two.”  Dipping one final time, Rob dropped his body entirely onto Thomas’ body, chest-to-chest, crotch-to-crotch. Placing his lips next to Thomas’ right ear, Rob said quietly, “You were right.”  Then breathlessly, he whispered, “This is hot.”

Anderson shouted at Rob’s back, “Get off of him!  He’s got to leave the beach now!”  Pulling Rob up by one shoulder, Anderson pushed him off of Thomas and began helping the beaten man to roll over to one side.  As Anderson managed to get Thomas to his feet and heading off of the beach, Chris and Rob faced one another.

“Nice work,” Chris said with a smile.

“You’ve had my back the whole way, haven’t you?” Rob said affectionately.

“Absolutely,” Chris nodded.  He walked up to Rob with his hands held open at his sides, non-threateningly.  “I’m on your side,” Chris said reassuringly, reaching his arms around Rob’s shoulders in a congratulatory hug.

Rob returned the embrace, wrapping his arms around Chris’ lower back.  “It’s been good working with you,” Rob said quietly.

Suddenly, Rob laced his fingers together around the small of Chris’ back. Cinching his arms tightly, Rob lifted Chris off his feet.  Chris cried out in pain and surprise, his eyes snapped open wide.  Squeezing a ferocious bearhug on his opponent, Rob growled deeply.  With a sudden grunt, Rob twisted his body, driving Chris back-first into the sand.  Chris gasped in pain, the breath forced from his lungs.  Rob paused a moment, kneeling between Chris’ bent knees, then hopped to his feet.  Stepping over Chris’ body, Rob came to stand next to Chris’ head.  “I like you,” Rob said, looking down at Chris.  “But this is business.”  Rob carefully placed his left foot across the broken, swollen bridge of Chris’ nose and stepped down.  Fresh blood came pouring out down Chris’ cheeks.  He screamed in pain, desperately trying to pry Rob’s foot from his face.  After a half a minute of the torture, tears pouring down his blood soaked face, Chris screamed, “I give!!!”

Anderson stepped forward and touched Rob’s shoulder.  “That’s the match!  You’ve won!”  Rob looked down at his final opponent, maintaining the pressure across Chris’ damaged face a few more gratuitous seconds as Chris screamed and wept.  Finally he lifted his bloody foot away from Chris’ face and planted it with a thud on Chris’ chest.  Pumping both fists in the air, Rob stood dripping in sheets of sweat, covered in white sand, and with his sizable cock fully erect and stretching his black speedo to its limit.