Well, the return was a success for Mackenzie a couple of weeks ago and now it's my turn to continue the winning ways. Two weeks ago, people remembered who we was and this week, I get to show them what we could be, although it couldn't have come around at a worse time. It's my favourite month of the year, and it's hard to be a misery guts at this time of the year for me, cause it's all about giving. The whole of December is Christmas to me.
I'm not sure what it is about Christmas that gets me. I can't help but feel different through December. It's like I can do all those nasty things through the year and feel redeemed in December. This year is no different because it's time to give back a little. It's time to give back to the good people who have been here through the last two years of this mini Armageddon that we've lived through somehow, it's time to show appreciation and that leads me on to something. It leads me on to Sunday and Miles Kasey.
I mean a lot might sit there and say Miles has been a bit hit and miss, but I sit there and I appreciate the fact that he's one of those people on the roster who has put in the effort and has done it with a smile on his face. He's been in some mad matches and kept coming back. I can't actually hate that. He never complains, he never takes his problems to social media to shit stir or try and force something that makes him look like an utter dick or someone you really don't wanna work with. Miles is actually a decent guy, a hard working guy, a guy who takes everything in his stride, no chip on his shoulder, a straight up baby face who doesn't try to stir the pot and create problems that are not there. Guy has a good work ethic too, always shows up, never a problem. You'd think by the way I'm talking about him, you'd think he's perfect, but he's not, he's got a flaw.... He's from Manchester and there's not a Manc on earth who is perfect.
It's London Vs Manchester once again, the south Vs the north, pie and mash Vs chips and gravy, Blur Vs Oasis. Never a dull moment with north meets south and this won't be dull either. - DM
"You're cutting this a bit fine." Mackenzie's voice can be heard saying.
It was that time of the year again, it happens every year in The Golden Ring Casino. It was the time of the year employees loved, the Christmas Bonus address as Charlotte often called it.
"It's alright." Daniel says as he stands on the stage of the theatre in the casino. "We got time before we open."
The theatre was fairly full as every employee from cleaner to card dealer, to bar staff and food servers were packed in to the place, talking amongst themselves softly before Daniel approached the podium. His eyes shift back towards where Charlotte, Mackenzie and Os stand looking towards him. He stops before the microphone.
"Good morning everyone." Daniel says and the crowd immediately seem to hush a little. "We got a few things to get through and we open in about twenty minutes so we need to get through this a bit lively cause the entire staff of this place is here in this room."
Daniel clears his throat, his eyes moving around the room but not really focusing on anyone in particular.
"I know we usually have this meeting at the start of the month but we've been sidetracked." Daniel admits. "But that has been absolutely great for us because we've been busy again since we've been back on SCW television so this had to wait."
Once again his eyes move around but not focusing on any one person.
"So as you know, this is the meeting where we talk about opening times at Christmas and more importantly for you all, the profit share bonus." Daniel says to the crowd. "We put a certain percentage away every year from profits to reward you for your hard work, but most of you already knew that, you've been part of our crew for years. Now we didn't do too well profit wise this year because getting people through the door has been a bit of an issue, but that's changed a bit over the last couple of weeks and we're hitting pre covid numbers at this point so you will be getting at least a four figure bonus."
Daniel looks in to the sea of faces to see nods and general approval from people in the crowd. He looks back at Charlotte, Mackenzie and Osbourne who all nod at their boss.
"This will all be paid out by next Friday so you'll have some money in your pocket before pay day." Daniel assures them. "I know for a lot of you, it's just gonna fill a government created hole, but it means your end of the month pay doesn't have to join it."
Daniel clears his throat again, mostly to just pause for a few seconds.
"Now we've always put family first." Daniel starts with a look of conviction on his face. "So we're working up to ten on Christmas eve. Everyone gets to go home, no cleaning crews, nothing like that, go be with your family. Cleaning will be back the day before New Years Eve, we open New Years Eve as normal, till six in the morning and then we're closing down to the forth. You lot have worked hard all year in troubling times so have a break. You will be paid for the shifts you would have missed in that time, but family is family."
A positive response comes from the crowd as Daniel looks around.
"So that's pretty much it." He says firmly. "Work till Christmas Eve, get some money in the piggy bank and enjoy the holiday season."
Daniel glances back to Kenzie who is tapping her watch.
"Time to work." He tells them with a wave of his finger. "Have a good day everyone."
The crowd start to stand up as Daniel moves back towards Charlotte, Mackenzie and Osbourne.
"You wonder why we lose money when you pay people to sit at home." Mackenzie says dryly.
"Keeps them loyal." Charlotte explains. "Why would they want to be anywhere else when we're sharing the wealth."
"And looking great in the eyes of the authorities." Daniel adds. "Remember, no extra heat is needed now we can get back to regular operations and clean the money here now that profits are going up again. Play nice, give no one a reason to suspect."
"Mr. Morgan." A female voice can be heard calling from the edge of the stage.
Daniel, Mackenzie, Charlotte and Osbourne turn around to see forty two year old housekeeper Mara, an employee since day one of The Golden Ring Casino, standing and trying to get Daniel's attention. Daniel walks towards the edge of the stage towards Mara, casually sitting down and dangling his legs over the edge of the stage, with no regard for any kind of dirt touching his expensive looking suit.
"Morning Mara." Daniel says in a friendly tone, almost proud that he knows every employee by name. "Is there something I can do for you?"
Daniel looks at the woman, who is clearly very nervous in front of her boss.
"I... I..." She starts before composing herself. "I can work over the holiday's if you need me to."
Daniel looks back at the three behind him, sharing the same puzzled look on his face as they have while looking at him. Daniel turns back to her.
"Why would you want to do that?" Daniel asks.
"I have no plans for Christmas." She says with a sad tone. "So it will keep me busy."
"Don't you have a daughter?" Daniel says thinking back.
Mara sighs as he turns her head away from Daniel.
"I do." She says before turning back. "But she can't come home from university this year. Everyone has money problems and she lost her part time job so she can't come home. I thought I could pay it from the bonus, but I have house payments and car payments."
Daniel rubs his chin, knowing full well that he could tell truth from a lie within an instant, it was a gift he had and through the years, he had passed that on to his friends. He turned to look at his group who nodded, confirming his feelings that she was indeed being genuine, before turning back towards her.
"I'm not going to ask you to work between Christmas and New Year." Daniel tells her. "Family is important."
"Are you seeing your family this Christmas?" She asks.
"I've only got a brother back home and his idea of Christmas is an excuse to get plastered in one of the places we own, that are not open to the public, and look for a kebab shop." Daniel says with a smile. "These are my family."
Daniel points his thumb behind them.
"And it's Kenz turn to cook, so I'll be looking for a kebab shop too I suspect." Daniel says with a wink.
"Fuck you!" Mackenzie's voice can be heard behind Daniel. "I heard that!"
"Turkey dryer then the desert." He whispers.
"Fucking heard that too!" Mackenzie barks out.
Daniel can't help but smile
"But back to the point in hand." Daniel says. "You can't sit in doors on your own and I am not letting you work, and you really don't want to come round to ours for Kenz' cooking."
"I swear to God Daniel...." Mackenzie utters through gritted teeth.
Daniel smiles again, knowing he is intentionally annoying her.
"Anyway, here's what we're going to do." Daniel says to Mara. "Charley is going to make a couple of calls."
Daniel looks back quickly to see Charlotte nodding at him, before he turns back to Mara.
"And we're gonna sort that all out." Daniel says resting his hand on Mara's shoulder. "We're gonna have her picked up in a flashy car, and taken to the airport, flown here in a private plane, picked up and brought to you in an even flashier car. If I had the time, I'd go and get her myself, but sadly I don't, but this will all be taken care of and you will be with your daughter at Christmas."
A tear starts to roll down Mara's cheek, but Daniel waves his hand.
"Let's not have any of that." He says with a shake of his head.
"I just don't know how to thank you." she says teary eyed.
"You don't have to." Daniel tells her. "Just come and find Charley after work and it will all be taken care off. Better get a move on, work starts in five."
Mara nods and moves away, heading out the now empty theatre as Daniel stands up. Charlotte can't help but smile at him.
"You're a bit of a softy at heart." She says with a slight smile.
"You know." Daniel says looking around the group. "The rest of the year, we can be right bastards, and frankly, we are without people seeing. We're as bent as a nine bob note, we're villains, we're crooks, if people knew half the shit we did, it would be a long time before we saw daylight, but at Christmas, even a crook can have a heart. Remember the mantra, if you're good to us, we're good to you. These people that work for us are as good as gold. We worked hard to get in the right people, workers who don't ask questions and we got that. These are our people at the end of the day. It's like the people of the East End, if they show no threat, then we don't need to threaten and the people who work for us are like that, they don't threaten, they're our own and we look after our own. We can be bastards for the other eleven months, but December, we'll have the month off from that."
"Does that go for me as well?" Mackenzie asks.
"Well, you can try." Charlotte replies.
"Doesn't sound like fun." Mackenzie answer back.
"Anyway ladies, time to actually do some work." Daniel tells them. "Put your faces out there and keep drawing those people in. Remember to get them to post their selfies with you on social media and tagging us in it. Never know, bonuses might go up."
"One more thing." Mackenzie says to Daniel.
"Yes?" Daniel replies
"About my cooking..." Mackenzie says through gritted teeth.
"Ah, look at the time." Daniel says looking at his watch. "Off to work."
Mackenzie wags her finger at Daniel before walking away, just her voice can be heard.
"This so isn't over...."
Night has fallen and the air is getting more then crisp but that doesn't stop Daniel J Morgan from braving the cold on a terrace bar connected to The Golden Ring Casino. Other patrons sit around on other tables, admiring the view from up high, taking advantage of the heated area set up for winter months, but Daniel sits near the back, away from most of the people. In front of him sits a glass of whiskey and a freshly lit cigarette burns away in an ashtray in front of him. Daniel looks down at the rising smoke.
"It's really hard to sit and talk about a man like Miles Kasey." he starts. "The guy is pretty likeable when you look at it. People know how these things are meant to work. I meant to destroy him in a wrestling sense, I'm meant to verbally wipe the toilet floor with him when it comes to wrestling, I'm meant to make people interested and hate me all at the same time."
Daniel picks up the cigarette and takes a long puff before blowing the smoke out.
"But it's Miles Kasey." He says with thought. "The same Miles Kasey that is like one of those blow up clowns, you punch it in the face as hard as you can and it bounces back up with a smile on it's plastic face. This is a guy who Christian forced in to a match with flesh eating fish and still ended up smiling. Just can't get rid of that grin it seems."
Daniel flicks the ash from the cigarette and looks up.
"I think I know a way to do it Miles." He says with a smile. "I mean you're good, I'll give you that, you're resilient, I will give you that too. I've seen you end up on the wrong side of a beating and swung by the casino to sit in this very bar, but this is a little bit different. I haven't been in a long time mate, not under the lights, not under the pressure, not with those fans calling me all sorts of names, but when I was, I was pretty unstoppable. See that part of me, that hasn't changed, because I love that little bit of pressure that gets my heart racing and that's how I take away that smile from your face, by being who I was then and a little extra."
He takes another puff of the cigarette.
"A little extra you might ask." Daniel says as he lifts the glass. "No one goes in to anything major without a plan, without a few steps to follow. Two weeks ago, Kenz showed something to remind everyone who we were, who we used to be, the us lost in history, that was always step one. Step two is where you come in Miles, step two is about showing people that out of the ring or not, we've actually got so much better. As much as it might not have been planned with Kenz stepping up first, it was a master class on who she was, who we was as a group, but it's time to elevate that a little bit, lift it to a new level. You might be the absolute perfect person for me to demonstrate that on, because you're like one of those annoying little Jack Russell dogs, keep coming back to nip at someone's ankles. That's you Miles, you keep bouncing back against everyone and nip away until you can't do it anymore. This is where I show that I've improved, because I've seen you bounce back for a long time, you could make a match last an eternity, but I'm going to put you down quick and easy, the fastest I've ever beaten anyone."
Daniel takes a sip out of the glass
"That mate is gonna take the shine off those pearly whites of yours." He says slightly tilting his head. "I mean I don't mean you any harm and I hope you get through this relatively in one piece, but this isn't about you my old China. This was never about you, this was about what London Underground are going to do next year, but there's part of me that's glad it is you that I return against. When I found out about this one, I actually smiled, just like a big old Cheshire cat because I'd watched the shows, I've seen you doing those hard as nails Roulette matches, which means there's something about you, but I watched you get beat by a bloke who clearly lies about his age constantly."
Daniel slowly shakes his head.
"Give it up Bill, everyone knows you're at least sixty." Daniel says continuing his slow head shake. "Your anti aging cream stopped working years ago, give it up already."
He takes another puff from his cigarette before stubbing it out in the ashtray.
"But my point is, you constantly got your arse kicked by an old fella." Daniel says as he looks down the camera. "Beat down by a man who was at the last supper. Tough as you are, that fills me with a hell of a lot of confidence, because I'm streets ahead of the guy that uses song lyrics and calls it a promo, I'm so far ahead of the guy who gets less interest then his dog. Come to think of it, those dog barks are probably the highlight of the shit he does in and out of the ring. Now if you can't take care of him and put that Roulette championship around your waist, what makes you think you can stand up to a guy willing to take things to the next level? What makes you think you can stand up to me?"
Daniel picks up the glass and starts to swirl it around.
"I mean he's not even close to being as good as I am and you struggle against him." Daniel says smugly. "and I'm not saying that to be a dick or even get in to your head, I'm saying it because it's true and I only deal in facts."
Daniel breathes deeply.
"But it is the season of giving." Daniel says as he shrugs his shoulders. "So I'm gonna give you something Miles. I'm gonna give you the absolute match of your life, I'm gonna give you a match you're going to remember for the rest of your days, I'm going to give you something you'll be telling your little grand kids about in the future. I won't be holding back when I get in that ring and I know it's not in your nature to hold back either. This is my gift to you, to wrestling in general, the best damn match of your career."
Daniel lifts the glass and drains the rest of the whiskey.
"But make no mistake, London is gonna win this one my Manc mate." Daniel says with a snort. "Usually does to be fair and that ain't changing any time soon but I will wish you all the best. I just hope that we don't get a shitty match type where we end up looking like a pair of mongs. I want this one to be remembered for all the right reasons Miles, not some lousy match type, but whatever it may be, there is only gonna be one winner and it will be me."
Daniel stands up and adjusts his suit jacket.
"I'll see you Sunday." He says as he pulls on his collar. "Loser buys the first pint."
And with that, Daniel smiles before walking away.
