[Mercedes Vargas]

 S|C|E|N|E| 001
[A M E N | B R E A K, P A R T V]
_____________________
5 DAYS UNTIL CLIMAX CONTROL 128   
PLAYA DELFINES, CANCUN, MEXICO
♦ ♦ ♦
1:35 PM | T U E S D A Y
09.29.15

MOVIE STUDIO.

[Our scene opens to a visual of a parish at the end of a boulevard, just at the break of dawn. Inside the large house of worship, the door opens a crack before opening all the way as a figure enters and takes a look around the otherwise empty sanctuary.]



[Mercedes is here waiting to speak to the priest. She sits in one of the pews and looks at the stain glass windows detailing a pastoral scene or a famous biblical one, the Lord's Supper or from the nativity.

The door opens again. A young boy with a mop of brown hair quietly enters. He is carrying a single daffodil in his hand. All this time, Mercedes has been praying. When she had expected the priest, she turns around to see the little boy who walks up to her.]



Mercedes:
¿Qué está haciendo aquí, pequeño?  Â¿Aren't you a little early for church service?
What are you doing here, little one? ¿No estás un poco para misa?

Boy:
Yo, mi hermana y mis padres siempre temprano para misa.
Me, my sister and my parents always come early for service.

[The priest walks in behind them.]

Priest:
¿Qué sorpresa. Nunca esperé aqui temprano esta mañana. ¿Ha traído consigo los inviernos por un casual?
This is quite a surprise. I never expected you to be here this early. Did you bring the weather with you, too?

Mercedes:
¿Eso qué quiere decir, padre?
Hey! What is THAT supposed to mean, Father?

[The conversation continues until there's an errant pause and Mercedes suddenly looks up in the sky and says “I forgot my line”. As soon as she said this, the camera peels back to reveal a film crew camped out within the church building. Ricardo looks nonplussed as he shakes his head in puzzlement and walks up to her.]

Ricardo: Come on, Mercy. Stay focus. Let's run that scene again. From the dialogue.

[Irma walks up with a traditional wooden slate clapperboard.]

Irma: Church scene, take 2 (uses clapperboard and claps it in front of Mercedes' face, who is seemingly annoyed.)

[Mercedes runs through the scene again, with minimum problems. After one last take. Ricardo, the movie director, finally calls it a day and everyone mostly is to themselves. Hugo, portraying the priest in the scene, is chatting up with the camera crew. Other members of the crew are just about ready to leave after a six hour day of filming. Mercedes is joined by Irma and Tomas, sporting an Mexican national team hat in support of the team's run in the Rugby World Cup.]

Mercedes: That went well.

Irma: Better than I expected, but yeah. So, I heard you were in Japan and Argentina over the weekend?

Mercedes: Yeah, it was fun. I won in my hometown and I came pretty close to winning in Japan. If it wasn't for you calling me on the hour, I don't think I would have made it for read through.

Irma: Well, you did pretty well until now. Probably just the jetlag kicking in.

Mercedes:It's not over yet. I've got another back-to-back set this weekend.

Irma: Oh yeah? Where are you going this time?

Mercedes: Colombia, can you believe it?

Tomas: (Excited, big smile… thinks for a second) The salsa, Shakira, the coffee. Do you think you can get me some?

(Irma sighs while shaking her head dismissively, but Mercedes turn to Tomas beaming at him with her kindly, slightly, bemused smile.

Mercedes: I'll see what I can do.

So, is anyone else hungry? I'm hungry.

[Fade]

~ ~ ~

S|C|E|N|E| 002
[¿O C T O B E R | S U R P R I S E?]
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3 DAYS UNTIL CLIMAX CONTROL 128    
SANTA MARTA, COLOMBIA
♦ ♦ ♦
11:35 AM COLOMBIA TIME | F R I D A Y
10.2.15

[REC•]

"So, this is it. The end of the road. The last goodbye. The final curtain..."

[The camera tilts upward, revealing Mercedes looking straight into the camera. There is a lot going on behind her as people walk up and down the busy streets in the foreground. This is one of the few that she has visited Colombia, just on more city to cross off her checklist of places visited in South America.]

Mercedes: "In less than 48 hours, Climax Control  is having its very last show before High Stakes, the go-home show before we head to Puerto Rico for the first time ever. Not only will the fans get to see some of the amazing matches, but it's also your favorite moment, and mine, the SCW End of the Year Awards. Last year, I was nominated for six awards and I was the runner-up for SCW Woman of the Year. Even though I'm not in the running for that category again this year, I still ended up nominated for two awards, even being named twice for one category  

“That being said, the very last show will see yours truly in the six-sided ring. But little did I know that this match would also be a another blast from the past. See, because, I'm facing Crystal Hilton, for the first ever. This – and I can't believe I'm actually admitting this – is something I did not see coming, but it had to happen eventually.”

[Mercedes points to her mouth.]

Mercedes: "You can't really tell right now, but there is a smile on my face when I found out this bit of news on the internet. The hype for this match sums it all: I've been on a roll lately and I even pinned Alexis Edwards in my hometown three weeks ago. I'm getting this close to another title opportunity and I keep that momentum going, but the only thing standing in my way from that is you, Crystal.

“But you probably already knew that.”

[Her smile fades into a serious expression.]

Mercedes: "It's ironic that we're actually going to be facing each other again one week after we we had a match in Tokyo last week. Don't know about you, but being a part of a six-way steel cage elimination match really takes a lot of me. That explains why I couldn't drag myself out of bed for most of the week. What's more, Crystal, we're not strangers to one another.  Out of all the people on the roster, you and I know each other very well. There is history between us and we share a lot in common. Not only are we former Bombshell Roulette Champions, but even before setting foot in an SCW ring, we've had a lot of success in our careers, championships and accomplishments aside. And I don't need to go on a laundry list of your achievements; those who follow your career know what you've done, and they know what I've done.

“We've been up and down the road together. We've been friends, we've been enemies, we've been frienemies. That's why facing you this Sunday doesn't get any easier.”  

[Mercedes brushes away a few strands of her hair from her eyes.]

Mercedes: “I wish I could tell you that when you and I step into that six-sided ring together we'll see who the better woman between the of us truly is. I wish I could tell you that when the dust clears, win, lose or draw, I'll still shake your hand no matter what happens out there. I wish I could tell you may the best Latina win.

“But then we'd both be lying.”

[And who has time for that? Honesty, after all, is the best policy, and Mercedes was never one to hide behind pretenses, or mince words.]

Mercedes: “Let's face it, we both need to win this week because SCW will be looking for their next contender for a shot at any of the Bombshell singles titles out there. After Candy and Amy has their turn at the Roulette and Internet Championships at High Stakes, they're going to take a hard look at our performance out there. And when we go out into that ring Sunday night, when we give it our all, when we lay it out on the line, we represent our countries. And this is out of respect. But, uh, come Climax Control 128, Crystal, I hope you know what you're in for. Sunday, 10/4, Santa Marta, Colombia. We're Latina. You know how we do.”

[Mercedes goes quiet for a moment as she lowers her head. She lets out a sigh before raising her head again.]

Mercedes: “I'm not going to tell you 2015 will be my year. All of you have seen it for yourselves. If my night starts out with winning some hardware, great. If not, that's okay, too. At the end of the night, I'm planning on walking out of Climax Control with my hand raise, Crystal, and I hope you can understand that. You're talented enough to contend for singles titles, we both know it. But that night won't happen Sunday.”

[Mercedes turns away from the camera before looking back again.]

Mercedes: “October surprise, maybe. But then again, maybe this was just meant to be."

[A pause is met.]

Mercedes: "And Crystal? Just like what happened to Raynin and Alexis, I'm going to be one standing over you..."

[Fade]