An alien experiment involving bare-knuckle fighters draws Cade Foster and an old prison friend to enter a boxing competition. – – –

I went to Atlanta, a city built on the ashes of the Civil War, to check out the world of bare-knuckle fighting and seek an ally in my fight against the Gua.

Passed a wanted poster on my way into town and the face staring back was my own. Desperate times call for desperate measures.

Time to take off the gloves.

Omar Healy was a prize-fighter in a world without the Vegas showgirls and limelight. 35, and with a prison record, Healy had been disqualified by the Olympic committee for drug use – turned out to be a bum rap, since the drugs were over-the-counter migraine medication.

Healy and I knew each other from our days locked up together, he accused me of being a bad guy who turned good and then back again. Told him I was innocent and needed his help. Then I told him I wanted to call in an old debt.

Needed Healy to help me gain entry into the Human Genome P