As the sun starts to fade on the desert expanse around Vegas, a beat down tour bus pushes along an unmarked road. Long patches of red and purple light stretch across the landscape. The bus use to be a tour bus for some hair metal band that was falling apart but now it belongs to Alexsei Koji. It has been painted black with purple letters on it. PARTY HORDE FOREVER! The door to the bus opens up and out walks Aleksei. He wears torn jeans and his trademark patchwork coat, complete with the new additions from Mark Ward’s wardrobe. He holds a bottle of rum in one hand and says something in Romanian to the driver.
Aleksei: I had my first fight when I was seven. It was back in the old country. My pa’s caravan had picked up some new families and one of the new kids was a stupid runt named Victor. His older brothers convinced him to do it. He shoved me outside my uncle’s camper and then the punches started to fly. I bloodied his lip and little Victory went crawling home to his family.
Aleksei shrugs and takes a sip of his rum. He then starts to walk up the dusty hill turned red with the fading light.
Aleksei: You know that kid kind of reminds me of Tom Dudley..da he was kind of goofy looking like Tom was. And just like Tom he traveled with crowd much bigger than he. See Victor’s brothers were tough, I should know I kicked all of there asses in the years to follow but Victor was always the weak link. Tom you’re that weak link. Your team knows it and so does ours. I know that all we have to do is bloody your lip and you will go running behind the other three. Your a weak man...and a coward. You...nah I am not very concerned with you.
He walks up the hill to reveal more rock and dust. A larger hill looms in the distance and Aleksei turns back to the bus. He motions for the vehicle to go further and he starts walking.
Aleksei: Now my first real fight was when I was fourteen. No big surprise here, it was over a girl. A lovely girl with big tits and she was mine. We’d make out behind school or back at the camper when my ma was working. Then this prick named Lucian stole her away using tricks, lies and the fact that he could drive. I use to watch that bastard drive around in his broken little car, one hand on the wheel and the other on MY girl.
Aleksei stops a moment and looks out past the horizon.
Aleksei: If I think hard enough I can still remember how her boobs felt....though to be honest I can’t remember her name. But I remember what happened to Lucian. One night I have to much to drink and I start to break his car. Da...I slash his tires and break the glass. Then Lucian sees me and charges at me. We end up fighting all over that car of his. I slammed his head into the sides, made a dent with his head and broke his hand. After that he did not look too pretty and that lovely girl...she even came back to me. Last I heard Lucian ended up getting shanked in a poker game gone bad....I don’t think he will be missed.
Aleksei laughs and keeps on walking as he takes a long drink from the bottle. The light continues to fade casting more reddish tones on the rocks.
Aleksei: Goth is kind of like that bastard Lucian. He took the Roulette Title from me like some thief and even though I had much bigger issues at the time it still always bothered me. I mean I look at that sorry excuse for a human and it makes me sick to think he got that title away from me. It doesn’t even matter that he lost it, does it? I don’t even mind that the brat prince has the belt for now though I hope my good friend Gianni ends up on top of that fight.
Just like Lucian you walk around like your better than everyone else but just like Lucian its all an act. All he had to impress the world was a broke down car and all you have is broke down career. You’re never going to amount to much are you?....but you walk around big and tall. Just like Lucian I am going to enjoy brawling with you again. I am glad you got added to this match. It makes this whole thing that much better.
Aleksei reaches a pile of rocks and leaps up on one and then leaps on to the other with a big smile.
Aleksei: Oh it is going to be so glorious. A match to beat all matches. The return of a wrestling legend...
Aleksei looks at the camera and grins. He gives the audience of knowing wink.
Aleksei: Okay well maybe not a legend yet...but a charming guy none the less.
The Romanian sits on one of the rock and takes a drink.
Aleksei: You look back at my life and it is just a history of violence. I mark the periods of my life based on the fights I have had. I guess thats why I find myself looking back on the fights I have had as I get ready for one of the biggest fights of my life. All of Mark’s goons take pride in being big shots, but none of them are special. All of them remind me of a dozen other men that thought they were too big to fall. But any traveler will tell you that the path you walk on is built on fallen empires. And those empires were build by fools who thought they were bigshots.
He takes another drink and gets up heading towards the rise again.
Aleksei: Guys like Jordan WIlliams and Nick Jones walk around like they are big men, and maybe at one point they were. I mean both have worn gold. Hell Nick has a little gang of lesser goons all his own. But look at you two now...you have worked so hard to become these icons only to choose to be Mark Ward’s lackeys.
Aleksei stops there and puts his hand through his hair. He looks at the camera with a smile.
Aleksei: I knew these two guys in prison. One was a big son a bitch named Sean Troy. He had anger issues and liked to past his time bashing in guys skulls. Then there was Smooth Reggie who was a pretty boy that liked to play the angels. Now I was only in prison for a little while but these guys were life time scum and both men thought they ran the prison. But both men had their run of things because of a friendship with an old man named Raffa. Raffa was old, and Romani like me. You know us gypsy’s are tricky lot. Raffa let the big boys knock things around but he pulled the strings. Before I left Smooth Reggie had Sean Troy stabbed in the back...and poor old Reggie ended up working for that old gypsy bastard his whole little life...both men tried to break me while I was there, but I outlasted them. So did Raffa...
The big Romani then gets quiet and thoughtful as he keeps on walking. He starts to climb the mound and we quickly discover it is a largish crater. Aleksei looks out at the blasted land with a smile and throws his bottle out into it.
Aleksei: Jordan and Nick are just like those guys. You think being one of Mark’s guys is just a powerful alliance but it is something simpler. You two guys work for him. You knock around who he says and you take your hits because of his decision. Hell he is not even going to be in the cage with you guys. He will play you until you break and then he will find some other power hungry punk to take your place. The midcard thugs are already circling like sharks for the opportunity to take orders. But that is not my problem, we will fight regardless of how stupid you two are. I will fight Tom even if he is not important to anyone and I will break Goth for what he took from me...but that won’t be enough. Not even victory in this amazing match will be enough to make things even.
Aleksei pulls out a piece of paper with four names written on them and none of them have been crossed off. He smiles but behind the smile is an intensity that is not often seen on the party boys face.
Aleksei: That man Raffa, tried to kill me a few months back. He beat me and left me for dead in a burning flop house in Singapore or some place like it. You know what funny thing is? I thought about this wrestling that I do and knew that I would miss it. I will be honest I started to become wrestler so I could hide out for a while but I have ended up loving it. I worked my ass off to get back to Sin City and on my return I was ambushed by men that had no issue with me. It was a cowardly move and one that each of those men will regret. Us travelers have a saying, it is that if you try to fight a traveler you better leave him dead. If the four of you were going to make your move on me you should have made it so that I never could fight again, because now I will not stop until all of you are broken. I don’t mark a single name of this list until that happens.
Aleksei starts to walk down the gentle slope of the crater as he sees his tour bus come up over the rise. It begins to drive down towards the bottom of the crater. Aleksei follows it.
Aleksei: I know that many see me as joke. They see the booze in hand and the silly jacket, they think me a clown. I don’t mind that because the truth is life is pretty fucking funny. But sometimes there are no jokes to be told. Sometimes it is not just about having a good time. Sometimes you have to go to war and that is just what I am going to do.
Aleksei pulls out his cell phone and makes a call. We overhear what he is saying.
Aleksei: Da I will send you directions but I need you to spread the word. Da adulanti tribuli. I mean everyone you can find. I am going to war my brother.
The big Romani reaches his bus and goes inside. The camera starts to zoom out as we see a small but steady trickle of vehicles heading to where the tour bus is.
