A new Journey

The sound has become addictive and as familiar as the sound of birds chirping outside her window.

The feeling, as tender and calming as a lover’s touch or a parent’s hug.

And the end result?

Something that she could look at and realize was horrid. Her own decisions, her own life, all of these we are going to be part of the story. Things that she could look at and remember specific times in her life. Specific feelings, smells, tastes, touches. The separate feelings that had forged her into the person that she was today. The needle broke her skin, the familiar sting that she had gone through so many times over the last few years. She took in a sharp breath, holding it for a moment as the thin needle moved along the line, she swallowed hard and released the breath as he stopped and moved the cloth along her skin. The excess ink being washed away.

Johanna was in heaven. As close to her idea of heaven right now as she could find. Everything that used to matter in her life, everything that used to make her feel like herself had been revealed to be a lie. A facade of that was moved in front of her eyes for so many years. Years that she now felt she’d wasted.

The last few years has been about discovering herself. Moving away from Europe, coming to the United States. Working as a bodyguard while also using the money that she learned to train and become a professional wrestler. It had been hard work, getting up at 5 am, going for a run, making sure she ate healthy and often. She had gotten herself into amazing shape, physically she was stronger than she had ever been as a police officer.

But something, something was missing.

Johanna had been working hard, hustling and traveling all around the United States and down through Mexico. Even on excursions to Japan and back to Europe but for some reason she had failed to make an impact. She had failed to break through and become the star that she wanted to be.

And now she found herself in Dallas Texas. A hotbed of great independent wrestling. And after being here so many times and enjoying the culture and the fans she decided to honor her visit with a trip to the tattooist. She turned and smiled looking at what was being permanently placed on her skin. With the influences here she got herself a Cinco de Mayo mask.

She let out a relieved breath has he finished up. Slowly rubbing antiseptic cream over it, wrapping it carefully in plastic wrap. She got to her feet, shook his head and gave him a nod. Getting ready to leave. Getting ready to fly back to what had become her homebase in Florida. This trip had been both a success and a curse. Having a match that many people applauded and enjoyed, selling some homemade merch out of the small suitcase that she had brought with her.

She had failed to get any attention from anyone there who had ties to larger organizations. No one who had television deals or streaming licenses.

She was still independent.

She paid for the tattoo, turning and going through the door out onto the street as the heat hit her in the face. Coming from inside the heavily air-conditioned tattoo studio out into the hot Texan summer was obviously going to be a shock. Even more so for a woman who had grown up in Europe. She popped the handle of her bag, walking down the street towards her hotel. Ready to call a cab to go to the airport and go home.

Then she heard it, a voice.

”Johanna? Johanna Krieger?” she turned to see where it was coming from, down the street was Alex Jones. A man who she recognized from seeing him on television, a former world champion, a man who had probably forgotten more about the business than a lot of people knew.

Johanna folded her arms over her chest, curious as to what the Texas native had to say. ”Yes?…”

He jogged over stopping in front of her with a smile. Holding out his hand. She looks down taking it firmly as Alex gave her a warm smile ”Im glad I caught you..” He looked down motioning towards her suitcase.”I saw you work last night. I wanted to say I was impressed. I went to find you after a friends match. But you’d gone…” she swallowed and gave him a small nod. Johanna didn’t usually leave shows before the end.

In fact she usually made it a habit to stay back and talk to everyone. To make connections, to show that she loved this business. ”Oh? Why? I can’t imagine Alex Jones needs to resort to booking people like me for shows?” she used to self depreciating tone, the last few months had weighed heavily upon her. The grind of being a professional or starting to come down upon her shoulders. It held her down, but she was underwater and couldn’t breathe.

Alex gave her a small grin, he had seen that look before and so many people. He knew what it meant, he knew how close she was to just giving up. And he was having none of it. ”Shows? Those will come. But I’ve just started a gym. I’m looking for some of the best to join. I think you’d fit..”

She was shocked, she had no idea what to say for a moment everything flooding out of her head. ”I..yes…but it might take me some time to move to Texas..”

Alex gave her a wry smile, he pulled a business card out from his pocket and handed it to her with a laugh. ”Not Texas…” he turned and moved back down the street throwing his hand up to say goodbye as Johanna looked down at the card. She raised an eyebrow reading it out loud.

”Wolfslair…New York..”

”Ain’t no grave…”

It was pitch black, the cool breeze floated along the grass. The sound of crickets chirping in the distance was the only thing that broke the silence. That is until we heard the sound of a shovel going into the dirt. Over and over again the metal going into the earth, being pulled up on the earth being dumped onto the ground. Then we come across a figure in the darkness. Wearing a leather jacket, jeans, black biker boots. And a long blonde hair tied back.

And then a voice, a German accent cutting through what little silence there is left.

”This grave isn’t for my career. This isn’t even for Violet Amelia Holts career. Even after I warned her and warned you all that I needed to make a statement you didn’t listen. So when I walked into the ring, and I looked into her eyes, I saw defiance. I saw a woman who even though she continuously fails time and time again, didn’t believe that I could beat her. She didn’t believe that I was going to destroy her like I said I was going to. But, when that bell rang and she and I grabbed one another, the first time I hit her during that match the look in her eyes changed.”

“The realisation hit her. It smacked her in the face as hard as my fist did, she looked at me and in that moment she knew she fucked up. She knew that getting in that bring with me was going to end any chance she had of being able to call herself a winner. I turned up that night to remind the world what Johanna Krieger can do.”

“And truth be told, I burned that memory into Violets brain.”

“And that win has given me something unexpected. I have been included in a match for the Sun city wrestling Roukette championship. My old friend. The first singles championship that I was able to get my hands on. But, that match is not only against the champion, it is against three other challenges. Not just that but it is a graveyard match. I suppose that you know why I’m standing here right?”

“No one has ever accused me of being subtle.”

She pauses for a moment, looking around for the dim light of the two floodlights that sit on either side of her she leans on the end of the shovel digging into the ground.

”However, it seems as if not even the company believes that a new champion is going to be crowned. See, at high stakes Krystal Wolfe is scheduled to defend the roulette championship against Char Kwan. Now, first off I don’t appreciate the fact they are advertising a match that may not happen during a championship opportunity that I have. And second? Really?”

“Char Kwan?”

“The four women challenging for the roulette championship in this match are all more qualified to get a one-on-one opportunity at the biggest show of the year than her. I know that people are not used to hearing me say positive things about opponents, let alone people who I’m actually going to be getting in the ring with. But I believe that this is a special circumstance.”

“Bella Madison, week in and week out she gets into that ring and she puts her heart and soul on the line. She will take a punch to the face and keep on moving forward because that’s what people who have love for this business do. She doesn’t have the best win loss record, but she always gets into that room and tries her hardest and that has to count for something.”

Johanna shrugs.

”I have seen her get into the ring with opponents who many people say she didn’t even stand a chance against and take them to their limit and in some cases beat them. Not just here but in other companies. Trust me when I say this Bella Madison is not a joke. Bella Madison deserves this championship opportunity more than Char Kawn…”

“Just like I do and just like Seleana Zdunich does. See, she is someone who my fellow Wolfslair stablemate has constantly given respect to. Recently that may have been altered a little, but the fact remains she is a former world champion, she has held other championships in this company and to be honest with you she is always someone who put her best foot forward.”

“Seleana Zdunich is a fucking warrior.”

“Both of those women will go into this match and they will do everything in their power to walk away as the Roulette champion. That is what you want in your challengers, you want people who will push you to be better and be a better champion. I will do that, Bella will do that, Seleana will do that and Bea Barnhart..”

“…exists”

Johanna lets go of the shovel and simply shrugs.

”Yes, this is the part where you all see the usual personality that I grace you with. Bea is a joke. But not a funny joke. Not one that you get told and give an amazing belly laugh to that makes you feel good and releases endorphins. No, she and her fat husband are the kind of jokes that get told by that member of your family that you go out of your way to avoid. The member of your family that only turn up to family reunions because any other time they simply are not invited.”

“Bea doesn’t deserve this. She won those tagteam championships with her husband, and did nothing with them. Thank God that Austin and Tempest won them and have been able to limit the amount of damage those two did to them. And now you all want to give her an opportunity to do that same damage to the roulette championship? Are you completely insane?”

“I held that championship and tried to be the best champion I could. Bella and Seleana, I believe would do the same.”

“But, One person who took that challenge, who decided that she wanted to be the best champion that the roulette title had ever seen is the current champion. Krystal Wolfe.”

She takes a long deep breath, holding her arms over her chest looking directly into the camera.

”What can I say? She has proved everyone wrong. When she first became the champion I was one of her biggest critics. I was a detractor, I told the world that Krystal was not worthy of being the roulette champion. I told the world that she was going to lose that championship and she was just going to make it look horrible. That she was going to take everything that every other champion had done before her and she was going to flush it down the toilet.”

“I was wrong.”

“Krystal has taken that championship and defended it against anyone who came in at her. She has proudly worn it into battle and she has made it a prize worth holding. She should be proud of the championship reign she has had and proud of what she has been able to accomplish. But all championship reigns come to an end.”

“And Krystal is facing huge odds.”

She looks around, various tombstones, headstones and plaques.

”Five women, one graveyard and one championship. We will beat the hell out of each other and whoever emerges victorious gets to call herself a champion. I will do everything in my power to walk away as a three time roullette champion. I will do everything I can to beat the dominant champion and to make sure none of the other challengers out work me. Because that’s what I do. Rest In Peace..”

Johanna laughs to herself and bends down picking up the shovel moving away as we pull out to reveal an open grave marking Krystal Wolfes title reign.

The Photo

The file burned in her hand. A manilla envelope, filled with a photograph designed to scare and intimidate, that could also lead to salvation and burial. Johanna shook her head and sighed heavily as she sat in the driver's seat of her car. She’d been there for what seemed like hours. In reality it had only been about twenty minutes. But that time moved slow. Seconds ticked, minutes moved at a snails pace and in the end Johanna had to force herself out of the car, the door shutting behind her as a gust of cold wind hit her right in the face. Her eyes moving up from the pavement and towards the house. Following the winding path to the door.

She moved towards it and sighed heavily before turning the knob and walking inside, the smell of cooking food hit her immediately along with the heat from the fireplace. She gave a small smile before breathing in deeply and stepping into the kitchen.

Gustav smiled and gave her a wink as he finished adding salt into his sauce, tasting it for seasoning. He hummed to himself muttering under his breath adding a little more salt and tasting it further with a smile. Johanna shook her head and leaned against the wall. Gustav moved over to her wiping his hands on a tea towel. He leaned over giving her a kiss on the cheek and a wink. Johanna smiled back, weakly. He raised an eyebrow and shook his head.

”What is it?” He knew something was wrong, or on her mind. That’s what happens after a while, you learn to read people. It’s a skill that many officers and investigators know and have. And Gustav was very good at his job.

Johanna swallowed hard and moved over to the kitchen bench, she opened the envelope pulling out the picture, her thumb moving over it, down Gustav and across his daughters face. She was innocent in all this, a victim of the corruption from within and her fathers willingness to fight it. But, Johannas father was in too deep, and he was going to be found out. She inhaled sharply and turned holding the photo up, Gustavs smile faded, his eyes went down and to the side.

Johanna tried to stay stone faced, unsure of what to do. But this, well, this would end it. ”So, that’s a message? To step away? Threatening my kid? It’s...effective no?”

She felt horrible, her heart sinking down into her stomach before offering a meek reply. ”I’m sorry Gustav...I-” He put his hand up and turned away with a deep breath shaking his head as he looked down at the bench, the food and everything in front of him.

His hands gripped the corners, he straightened his back and stayed facing away from her. ”I understand Jo, he’s your father. It’s only right you want to protect him.”

She shook his head moving forward, her hand grabbing his arm lightly to turn him around. ”That isn’t it at all. I’m, I’m doing this for you.” He narrowed his eyes, furrowed his brow and stepped away from her. ”This has gone to far Gustav. It’s time to end it, this is your way out, a way to justify walking away.” Gustav shook his head again and ground his teeth together. Johanna swallowed and sighed heavily. She knew he wouldn’t see it that way. At all.

”Walk away? Let them continue to manipulate, threaten and profit off of a job that is meant to protect people. Benefit society? That’s what I should do?” His voice started off powerful, but ended as it faded to a whisper. His hands moved up to his head running through his wavy brown hair.

Johanna reached up bringing his hands down into hers. ”I’ll leave too. We can just go, find something else to do, go anywhere, do anything. I’ll stay with you.” Her eyes welled with tears. She didn’t realise how tired she was, how much she wanted this to be done. The investigations, the late nights, finding out things about her father and other officers she once respected. It had broken her.

”You could do that? Just drop it all? Walk away? Knowing what they’ve done and quill continue to do Jo?” She closed her eyes and turned she knew what he was about to say. ”I can’t do that Jo, no matter how much I want to. I need to get my daughter away…..” Tears rolled down Johannas cheek, she looked down at the photograph, the file behind it. She needed to take this back to her father. With Gustavs answer. But she stopped mid step, her hand shaking like a leaf. She turned and held the photo out to him, he looked down at it, reaching out to take it. ”Jo…..you know what this means...your father”

”I know what it means for you...and us…” She paused a moment and looked up at him. ”This will never be over. My father made his choice and now...so have you.”

”I’m sorry Jo….if there was another way I-”

”There was, I gave it to you. But, I get it. Believe me I do.” She put her hands on her hips and gave him a small smirk and a nod. ”I’m still behind you….I promise.” He smiled back, stepping forward to pull UJohanna into a kiss, she put her hand on his chest and laughed, maybe this was for the best. ”Gustav.”

”Hmm?”

”The sauce is burning”

It’s better to burn out, than to fade away

”Facing legends…”

Her german accent shines through, not as heavy as many people think it would be. Her black painted lips twisting into a grin as Johanna shakes her head.

”It’s something I have made a point of since stepping foot in this company. Sam Marlowe, legend of the Rolette division, Keira and Roxi, legends in their own ways, and even my opponent this week, Mercedes Vargas. And they have all fallen to me at different times. In fact there was a time last year where it looked like I should have been the next big thing in SCW and the bombshells division. That I, not Alicia Lukas was going to be the lead female from Wolfslair. But, lately it seems as if I have stumbled and fallen. This year has not been kind to me and now after a draw with Sam I find myself at a crossroads. An impasse of confidence. And, I could do what so many others have done and simply quit, become complacent with my place in the world and just be happy to collect a paycheck and a take a spot in the division.”

“A position that many feel all too happy to take. And I don’t even need to say their names for you to know who I mean. But that has never been my attitude, it has never been an option for me.”

“The cold hard truth is, that if the time comes where I look in the mirror and believe I cannot come back, that I cannot redeem myself or improve, then I will pack my shit and head for the door. If there is no way forward then why stay? Why continue to fail when you don’t even have hope of making a return or living up to that potential? Luckily I am far, far from that yet. See I may have lost a few matches this year but each one of them was a match I was in, I haven’t been destroyed, I have always been competitive. And that tells me that I can come back, and get back on the path I started walking when I first came into this company at the end of 2019.”

“Hard to believe I’ve been here a year and a half…”

She scoffs and sneers, turning her upper lip and fluttering her bright blue eyes.

”Twenty months, three title reigns. Wins over some of the best in this company. Truth is I should have become Internet or Bombshells champion by now, I should have become a huge star, the face of the company or at the very least the bombshells division. I obviously have the talent and potential to do it. But for whatever reason I have just not been able to break through. And, honestly I have no one to blame nut myself. It was my fault I was unable to win those matches, to continue climbing the ladder, to get noticed and earn a bombshells title shot or to capitalize and beat Myra for the Internet when she was in the middle of her reign of terror…”

“It was on me, no one else. I have never and will never be one to put the blame on others and ignore my own failures and shortcomings. If you do that, then how will you ever learn? If you can’t look inside and admit to yourself when things are going wrong and be willing to change, then you will keep spiraling down.”

“Now.”

“That is my story, my moments and my admission of self reflection and doubt. So why oh why have I mentioned all of this when I am about to face Mercedes Vargas in a one on one match? Well, simple. Mercedes Vargas is someone who is far more guilty of the sins I have just mentioned than I am. The sin or arrogance and the sin of pride, all wrapped into one package.”

Johanna holds up a finger and shakes her head with a deep sigh.

”Mercedes Vargas is a name in SCW. A big one. A name that still carries weight and respect in some circles. A long and distinguished career in not just this company but many others. From IWF to LAW to WWH to here. Mercedes is someone who has thrown down with the best, beaten many of them and has been a world champion. But that record and that respect has its limits. And this is something you have struggled with Mercedes. See, you believe your place in the history books and your spot on the top of the mountain is secure. That nothing you do now, in the future or over the past few years can tarnish that or remove you from there…”

“That isn’t how the world works.”

“And yes, I can almost see your eyes rolling Mercedes.”

“Not another person commenting on your abysmal win loss record. Not another person pointing out how you haven’t been a champion in a long time and haven’t been in any position to become one. Not another person commenting on your age and your diminishing skill set that was once impressive and now, by comparison to others, seems pedestrian and painfully outdated. And I understand that side of it to. Everyone seems to say the same things to you. But how about instead of simply dismissing it, instead of rolling your eyes like the arrogant self righteous bitch you are, and proudly wear as a badge...you listen…”

Johanna pauses and laughs under her breath.

”I just got done telling you how I own my losses, my mistakes, I don’t just bury them or blame others, I own them and realise I need to change, resurrect myself or step aside. And the issue with you Mercedes, is your ego won’t allow you to do either..”

Johanna shrugs and then folds her arms over her chest.

”You have been doing the same old song and dance for so long that you can’t change. You can’t stop. It’s the repeated thing with you like a punk band that recycles the same three chord progression in each song. You are so set in your ways you won’t change and that is honestly doing you more harm than good. I mean, I could stand here, despite all my losses this year and my average performances and promise that I’m going to destroy you, but that would hold no weight...much like your same old song and dance. And, you also won’t just stop and leave. And that is for an even sadder reason. You have nothing else.”

“What are you without wrestling Mercedes? What are you without a ring to stand in? Nothing. You won’t change, you won’t evolve and you won’t walk away. You refuse to look inside and see your problems and issues….but me?...I refuse to become like you, I refuse to be that blind, that ignorant and that delusional...so I will see you in the ring Mercedes...I will call my shot, go further in this tournament for the Internet championship…...may the best woman win…”

The wire

Have you ever had to do something that went against your moral code? Yet it really was for the good of everyone and everything? Could you look past the personal cost and possible pain associated with the actions? Johanna had been in hell for the last week. A moral question hanging over her head, she had barely slept, her heart stayed down in the pit of her stomach. She paced back and forth looking at her phone over and over again to check the time. Gustav and some of the others said to meet them here.

What she was about to do felt wrong. It was going to help Gustav and herself, it was going to help the investigation but at the same time, this could ruin her father, her families legacy, her family as a whole. All of it could come crashing down. But what else was at stake? Gustavs life, reputation and his daughter. And what's worse, she loved him. She had realised it when she heard his predicament. Her first instinct wasn’t anger, it wasn’t to lash out or even defend her father. It was concern. Concern for him, his daughter and his life. She put him and his feelings over her own, and her fathers.

It was a spark and a lightbulb in her mind knowing how she felt and why.

But was it leading her to do the wrong thing for the right reasons? Or the right thing for the wrong reasons? She didn’t know, and thats what hurt and frustrated her. For years she had always been so sure of everything she had done and everything she wanted to do. But this was different.

She paced back and forth, dressed in black jeans, converse and a black hoodie with the hood pulled up over her head. She waited in the cold, each minute feeling like ten as time slowly went by. She sighed heavily and looked up as she saw lights, a van, it drove slowly down the side ally and came to a stop, Johanna moved down and behind a wall, waiting to see who it was. But, in the front seat she saw him. Gustav. He gave her a small nod and Johanna moved from the alleyway, the door opened and she got in the back to find two young rookies. She was startled as she looked at Gustav with a furrowed brow.

”Why are they here?” She didn’t mean to sound cold or arrogant. But she was just surprised, out of everyone in the office, everyone they worked with, it was two young kids he chose.

Gustav sighed and shook his head driving up and around the corner coming to a stop. ”We needed help with the equipment, and they are too new to have been corrupted.” Johanna sighed heavily and shook her head again. She pulled her hoodie off and lifted her shift letting them tape a wire to her, moving the microphone near her tattoos and pulling the cable down to the battery pack strapped to her lower back. She pulled her shirt down and she sat sadly in the back.”You know what you need to do Jo?”

She groaned and snarled ”I know, doesn’t mean I’m happy about it. She folded her arms over her chest.

”I understand. I’m also very grateful that you’re doing this.” Johanna nodded slowly and gave him a small smile. She understood, she did. But right now she didn’t feel it. They came to a stop outside Johannas parents next door neighbours. ”We’ll be listening….thanks Jo.” The door opened, she smiled weakly and slide out to the sidewalk looking over to her parents home.

She moved around closer. Stopping in front of her parents' front door knocking. It opened and Johannas father raised an eyebrow ”Jo? What are you doing here?”

She stepped in and put her hands in her pockets leaning back against a wall and smiling. ”I just needed to see you Dad.” He shook his head and turned into the living room sitting down. Johanna walked in and smiled putting on a mask. ”How have you been?. He shrugged and started writing down information in a book.

”Well, now I’m back at work it’s stressful.” He sighed and closed the book getting to his feet.

Her heart beat faster, she turned and sat down across from him. ”I could help you with that.” Her father tilted his head. ”You asked me, if I could help. I may have information on Gustav.” His eyes lit up, he leaned back and folded his arms over his chest. ”You still need it?...cause if you don’t...forget I said anything.”

She went to stand up, her father put his hands out. ”Wait...I….I meant it when I asked you for help….Gustav needs to be silenced Jo….” She swallowed hard and sat down. He clasped his hands together. ”I know you have never felt good about this. But, it really is for the good of the force and area Jo. And Gustav is fucking that all up. He needs to be stopped….I have already started with him..”

He slid a piece of paper towards Johanna, she picked it up, a surveillance photo of Gustav and his daughter, a file watermark, her fathers officer number. This was the evidence she needed. She swallowed and put it back down, she needed to take it but had to stay calm. ”What do you need from me?”

”I need you to deliver this photo to him...remind him of what we can accomplish if he would back off…” She bit her lip and nodded. He hand moving over to it sliding it towards her. ”Just show him...then bring it back to me.” Johanna gave him a nod and got to her feet turning to the door. She had what she needed, but could she give it to him?

Such a waste

Johanna opened her eyes, a smile coming across her face as she moved back and forth, excited about her match, her future and actually being booked.

”I’m back bitches.”

It was a simple statement. The smile still on her face as she paced back and forth and her hands in a triangle.

”Did you miss me?. It’s been a while. The last time any of you saw me I had a one on one match with Myra Rivers for the Internet title. I failed. This happens. In life and wrestling sometimes you take a loss and you need to learn from it. I didn’t want to take time off, I didn’t even need to. But the fact is the company decided it needed to happen. I needed to take some time off. So, I did. And the last month I have trained, I have been calm, I have rebuilt. And I can admit, Myra was the better woman that night. She did everything she could and came out victorious. She should be celebrated for that.”

“Celebrated for her accomplishments and accolades. She had been an incredible champion and I wish I could have been good enough to unseat her. I feel like I would have been a great champion and could have kept the standard set.”

“But, now I’m back and SCW seem to be ready to let me fly. To let me grow. Cause right now, I feel like I’ve been handcuffed.”

“All of my past victories. The roulette wins, the mixed tag title ones and me facing and beating former Bombshells champions seem to be forgotten. All of it. And instead I’m looked at as just a name on a list. Just shuffled in with people like Courtney Pierce, Jesse Salco and others. Instead of me being allowed to shine. But that has changed. With this coming Climax Control. I’m back and I’m ready to show you the Johanna Krieger you all deserve and that I deserve. And I get to do it against another former Bombshells champion. Keira Fischer Johnson.”

Johanna smiles, her teeth almost resemble fangs as they shine out from their black lipstick frame.

”What can I say about Keira? The feelgood fairytale story of 2020. In a year that was horrible for most she got to have a bright shiny end to it. She finally got to become the SCW Bombshells champion. Beating my fellow Wolfslair member and three time champion Alicia Lukas. And as that show came to an end and she had her tearful moment in the sun the question was asked, just how high could this new Keira go? How long would her reign be and how many challengers could she put down?”

“Well, the answer was disappointing wasn’t it Keira? In fact the only reason your title reign was that long is because of the break SCW has around the holiday season. All that talk, all that bluster and all that confidence, flushed down the toilet because you couldn’t keep it up.”

“I have been locked in the Chaos of the roulette division, losing a match to a joke in a mask, but you Keira. You lost the Bombshells title to a woman who had fallen even further than you. And when you were presented with an opportunity to make it right, when you had a chance to be in a match to literally insert yourself back into that title picture, well, you turned it down. The queen for a day match was a huge opportunity, one I didn’t even get a look in for, and you turned it down and walked away. Because you’re a quitter Keira. You’re a quitter and you don’t deserve to be looked at as one of the best.”

“You deserve to have your head kicked in.”

She snarls, clearly in anger.

”Women like you set the women's side of professional wrestling back years with your actions or attitude. Not that you aren’t horrible in the ring Keira, because you’re not, you’re, average. And you have been able to rise up above your station, congratulations. But, the focus is never really on your professional wrestling career is it? The problem I have with you is that soon, in a few months, the fact you were a bombshells champion will be forgotten. It will fade away into someone's memory and it will be one of those strange facts people randomly bring up and are met with slow wondering stares before people whip out their smart phones and goggle it.”

“See what most people know you for is your relationship. And I get it, it’s a common complaint and you’ll no doubt roll your eyes and flutter it away with the tired old “So unoriginal” tag. But here’s the problem Keira. You, and your bonehead wife, do not do anything to change it. A look at your promos, segments and social media show us all we need to know.”

“Oh look they’re a same sex couple with a child and they love each other so much but flirt with literally everyone else aren’t they so cute? Oh hey look thot pics and pictures of them together at varying ages despite the fact they haven’t been together for as long as people think….”

“Oh they also wrestle...occasionally…”

“What do people know about me Keira? What do people see when they look at me? They see a woman who has friends in the wrestling business. They have no idea about my personal life, but they know I wrestle for SCW, I’m a member of Wolfslair, I am a two time roulette champion and a mixed tag team champion. They know I’m a wrestler, and one look in the past shows I have beaten your wife one on one, I have beaten other former bombshells champions and I am the future of SCW. That’s what they know, thats what they feel. It has never been about my personal life, it’s about my wrestling life. And the saddest part is, I get why you do it.”

“When your wrestling life is filled with failures like your SCW Bombshells title run, you need to take your wins in other places. But against me Keira, there is no hiding, there is no shuffling the wrestling under the rug in place of family bliss….I’m going to get in the ring with you...and kick your fucking head in.”

Betrayal

Guilt. It’s a horrible feeling. A tickle in the pit of your stomach that grows and aches. It makes your heart sink, it makes you feel sick. But it’s a necessary feeling. Johanna felt it in the pit of her stomach as she moved down the pathway. She was suspicious, and she was following Gustav. A simple phone call changed it all, overhearing everything. She went from trusting him, falling in love with him, to doubting and following him. Almost as if she was stalking him. In fact, she was stalking him. And that is what bothered her.

She had been down this road before. Told to watch everything he did.

Only to find out her father was the one who was suspicious and needed to know. But that had been in the past, she had been in a relationship with him now. She should have trusted him. Something seemed off. No matter how she tried to shake it and believe him, there was a horrible voice in the back of her mind telling her that her guard shouldn’t be lowered. And it had come to a head earlier today.

He received a phone call, he said he would meet at the “usual” place. So, Johanna followed him. Using all her skills to stay back far enough to not be seen, but close enough not to lose him. Moving in between people in the street, moving behind walls, around corners. She wore a black hooded sweatshirt and jeans, pulling the hood up over her head. Her long blond hair tied back in a bun, Gustav seemed confident that no one was following. Confident his deception had worked. He turned down an alleyway towards a bar in the center of town, moving to the back door.

Johanna took in a long deep breath and moved to the front stepping in, at the back in a corner booth Gustav sat down across from another man. Johannas blood froze in her body, a chill going up her spine.

Father?

Her voice was a whisper, just a breath escaping her lips. She turned quickly sitting down over the other side of the bar, her hood being kept up as she shook her head in disbelief and anger. She leaned to the side trying to listen to them talk. ”No, she went to the office. Didn’t even question it..”

She could feel the anger rising. Johanna knew damn well who Gustav was talking about. It was her.

”You must have won her over. Johanna is not the type to be so blind.” Blind? Johanna sneered, it took all her willpower not to jump up and yell at them, scream at them. But that would be playing her hand too soon. She needed to learn more. What was all this?. ”But, she will understand Frederick. In time. She had to learn that her ideals are all well and good in theory. But in practise? She needs to grow up.”

Her father laughed to himself, Gustav seemed to not agree, the look on his face betrayed what he should have felt.

Gustav leaned forward, his hands clasped together with a shake of his head. ”I wish I could believe like her sir.” He trailed off for a moment and took a deep breath in and then back out looking up at the ceiling and then back at Johannas father. ”She thinks she can make a difference and clean it all up. She actually sounds like she’s inspired by the thought of it. I don’t want to...break her heart.” Johanna shook her head, tears welling up in her eyes. He did care, they both did. But they were also trying to shield her, and make excuses as to why they needed to keep secrets.

She made fists with her hands, turning her head to look sideways at them both. ”You don’t want to, but you have to. She will keep chasing her tail and you have to keep her that way.” Her eyes lit up, her ears twitched. What was this? ”I knew when she came to me, she would never let this go. I need you to keep her on the hook. Until the deal is done...can you do that?”

There was a pause, Gustav sighed heavily and threw his arms up. ”Do I really have a choice Krieger?”

He sounded defeated, he sounded as if there was something there that stopped him from doing what he wanted or felt was right. ”Truthfully? Yes. But, is it really much of a choice, Frederick?” There was an awkward pause, the two men stared across the table at one another, Gustav got to his feet and shook his head turning on his heels to go back out through the back door. Johanna stood up and moved towards the front door, her feet moving faster as her father collected his things to leave to.

She moved from the bar, walking away from the Ally that Gustav appeared from, she got to a doorway, leaning against it breathing heavily. She was angry, she was upset. But there was nothing she could do right now. This answered some questions, but unfortunately for Johanna…

It asked a whole load more..

Holding Court.

Tap.Tap.Tap.

Johanna Kriegers black painted fingernails moved across the table, rattling in order as she stared ahead. In her make up, her eyes lined in black and red, her lips painted black as well as she sneered and laughed to herself.

”Did you all miss me?”

A simple question, her german accent being familiar to the fans watching her promo, her white teeth shining under the light above with her bright blue eyes as well.

”This time of year is always interesting. Returning stars in the blast from the past, members of our roster who should get title shots being pushed back in the pecking order for people who would leave the company again when their match was over and they lost. Meanwhile, people like me, full time Sin city wrestling performers are hidden away and forgotten about. I get it, that tournament needs to be done, it’s a tradition. But keep in mind, when you hold back talent who love to fight, then finally unleash them when the tournament is said and done. People get hurt.”

“That is what I plan to fucking do. Hurt people. And not because I have to, not because it is right or just. It’s because I simply want to. I want to get in the ring with the best this company has to offer and send them out on their backs. Look at this company. Look at the women's champions. You have Myra Rivers parading around the Internet title like it was a crown jewel despite the fact anyone with real talent went after the Roulette or the World Bombshells title. And now her mouth has cashed a cheque that her talent will have trouble cashing as some of the best in this company will be fighting it out in a gauntlet to face her.”

“You have the Roulette title being held by someone who honestly doesn’t deserve it. And I get it, that it sounds like sour grapes but I tried to make that title mean something only for it to be won by a goddamn loudmouthed reject from SCU who fools all of you by talking for twenty minutes but never actually SAYING anything.”

“And before anyone says anything, no I don’t want my “rematch” for that piece of shit. I won it twice, I have no desire to try and match Samantha Marlowe for numbered reigns because she wasn’t good enough to climb to the top of the division.”

Johanna sneers and growls to herself under her breath.

”And then, there’s ther Bombshells title. A championship now in the hands of a woman so many of you are afraid to face or say a fucking word about. And I get it, she’s intimidating and a champion, but while Alicia and I are prepared to face Amber Ryan, the rest of you shake in your boots and step back. And Amber has an uphill battle, restoring the honor, integrity and lineage of a title that in the last few months has faded away.”

“The bombshells title used to be the most important one in the company.”

“But lackluster champions in Keira and Christina made sure to take shine off of it. I hope Amber can be the champion our division needs and resorts the championship to it’s former glory, but with that being said. This division needs me.”

“Sin city wrestling needs women like me who will be prepared to go the extra mile and set the world on fire.”

“A woman who is dominant. And part of the most dominant gym and group in the recent history of this company. And no, I’m not talking about Jet City. And to think, last time any of you saw me I was destroying and beating little miss Violet. That is something you all need to look at and realise. I am one of the most dominant Bombshells on the roster and despite the fact I lost that damn Roulette title twice I have stayed that way.”

She shakes her head, obviously annoyed. But then again, when isn’t she?

”And now I enter into a match that is being billed as Jet City versus Wolfslair. And hey, Jet City has produced champions. Especially in Sin city. But Wolfslair is a fucking global entity. We have dominant champions and members in other companies, not just Sin city. So, we can take that out of it, because when the bell rings and Courtney and I are face to face, it will ne one on one. She won’t have anyone behind her, nor will I have Alicia, Kallie or Charlie behind me. None of the other female members of Wolfslair, whether they are in this company or outside of it will have my back in that ring…”

“It’s one on one…”

“And I crave that, I crave that fight, I crave that action after sitting my ass on the sidelines. And Courtney Pierce seems like a good opponent to face. A woman who has finally been able to step forward and break a losing streak. And not just that, but you also have reminded the world and most importantly Mark Ward that you never got your Bombshells title shot from back in 2018….”

“When you won that ridiculous tournament.”

“Now, I know what you’re thinking. I’m about to go off about how you don’t deserve a shot from a tournament that was three years ago, that you didn’t come back sooner to take it so why should you get special treatment?. But, the truth might surprise you. After our match Courtney, you should take that shot. You should go be Amber’s first opponent. Because it will wake so many people up to the real truth, that people like you are not the ones to lead the Bombshells division anywhere…”

“Women like you, Candy, Violet….you’re all not good enough to reach that next level. And women like Christina, Roxi, Keira, Mikah, Jesse Salco, Sam Marlowe...Mercedes Vargas...they’re all clutching onto a past that no longer exists. And a future that isn’t made for them. It’s made for me, and women like me. I’m done being a bit player here, I’m done being a mixed tag team champion or roulette champion, I’m done with beating “legends” like Roxi Johnson and then it being swept under the rub all because the queen bitches ego can’t take it and GOD FORBID she would actually accept her fucking losses the way she crows about her wins.”

“I wonder Courtney….is that how you’ll be?...after I beat you this Sunday?...I guess we’ll see…”

“Won’t we?”

I smell a rat

Have you ever had a sick feeling in your stomach that refuses to go away? A sinking queasy spot that keeps going deeper down into the pit of your gut?. Imagine that feeling there because you have guilt and sadness constantly on your mind. Because you believe you are doing the right thing but there is still a small nugget of doubt that over the days has grown. That is where we find Johanna Krieger. A few days after meeting her father and taking the information against the leader of her own taskforce she was standing in her apartment. Her arms crossed over her chest as her eyes darted back and forth across a corkboard. Pictures had been pinned there, various sticky notes and pieces of string to tie it all together.

There were pictures of Gustav, of a mysterious man, and other members of the task force. Johanna closed her eyes and shook her head bringing a cup of coffee to her lips.

The last few days had been a mess. She had tried to act natural, to just go about her business as she had been for the year prior. But she had avoided Gustav. Anytime he asked to talk to her she thought up an excuse. Most of them poorly worded. She stumbled and stuttered forcing smiles with the same sick feeling behind them. And today was no different, a text message lighting up her phone as soon as she woke up. She told him she was ill, she would not be in today.

It took Agent Gustav half an hour to get back to her. To hope that she felt better and other empty general platitudes. In truth, she needed the day away. She needed to gather herself and her thoughts. To try and make sense of the evidence she had been given from her father, the evidence she had collected herself. So many questions. The what, where, why, who and hows. She took another sip of her coffee, her eyes darting back and forth before she leaned in closer, noticing something in Gustavs' hand on one of the pictures in his meeting with the mystery man. His cell phone.

Was he...recording his conversation?

Johanna grabbed a magnifying glass, looking closer and going up Gustav's arm to his open jacket, the handle of a standard-issue semi-automatic nine millimeter hung out ever so slightly. He was armed, recording the conversation. Her mind started going deeper down the rabbit hole before the buzzing sound of her apartment's intercom startled her out of it. She moved towards it and reached forward pressing the button. ”Hello?”.

”Johanna? It’s Gustav...can I come up?” She swallowed hard, fear coming over her, washing like a wave. She stuttered for a moment and stayed silent.

She realized it would seem suspicious before pressing the button again. ”Yes come on up I’ll buzz you in” She pressed her thumb on the unlock button allowing Gustav to walk through, the second she heard the door close she turned and moved fast, she pulled the corkboard forward and flipped it over to the opposite side showing the other half of her work, the hunt for the “mole” in the taskforce. She looked around for anything else that might betray her work and position but before she could do a proper sweep there was a knock at the door.

She took a few more deep breaths before walking over and undoing the chain and the lock opening the door, Agent Gustav on the other side, his brown hair slicked back, he wore a suit and a large black overcoat. ”Come on in…” Johanna moved to the side, Gustav gave a small nod stepping through into her apartment, he moved his hand up to his forehead rubbing it slowly. ”What can I do for you?” Johanna tried not to seem nervous, she tried to act as naturally as possible.

Gustav looked around, the corkboard catching his eye making Johanna swallow hard and sweat a little, he turned to her and gave a nod. ”I came to check on you, how are you feeling?”

It hit her, she was meant to be ill, she sighed and raised her eyebrows. ”I am just exhausted, I needed a day to decompress, high pressure, I’m sure you understand.” She shot a small smile at him, he gave her an understanding nod in return moving to her kitchen bench sitting on one of the stools next to the bench.

His demeanor changed, from a small understanding grin to a serious look as his eyes trailed down. ”Johanna...we have another spy….but this time it’s from our own side...people I thought trusted us.” Her heart started to race, she held her breath and folded her arms over her chest as Gustav continued. ”I have a friend, he transferred from special tactics to the federal administration. He came across some paperwork regarding an informant in our task force.”

Fuck Dad really?

Gustav slowly got to his feet with a sigh stepping forward, he looked up at Johanna, she thought maybe Gustavb noticed something was off. He gave a nod again and slowly opened his coat, a shock of fear went right up Joahnnas spine as she remembered the picture, the gun, and what Gustav was capable of. He pulled out a manilla envelope, her heart released and she could breathe again, he stepped forward handing her the envelope with a shake of his head. ”Those are names, people I have narrowed down for the first case, but….the other one, the informant sent to watch me, I don’t want you interfering with their work if you find them.”

What the fuck?”

Her eyes shot up to Gustav as he stood near the corkboard looking over the information on who Johanna believed was working for the criminal element. He clasped his hands behind his back and turned with a smile looking at Jo, right in her bright blue eyes. ”I have nothing to hide, so whoever is working for the national group...they can do their job….but, I have kept you long enough.” He moved forward and passed her to the door grabbing the handle and opening it. ”Keep up the good work Officer Krieger, and please….feel better yeah?”

She smiled warmly and gave a nod. ”I will see you tomorrow Agent Gustav.”

He couldn’t help but laugh as he started to close the door. ”I think it’s about time you called me Frederick, Jo.”

She smiled again and gave a nod motioning to say goodbye as he shut the door, a huge sigh of relief escaping her lips as she collapsed on the couch. But now she was more confused than ever. Did he know? Was he playing with her? Or was that a direct order?. So many questions. Johanna felt lost. Now more than ever.

A legendary scalp

”Have you noticed that I have made a habit of collecting former Bombshells champions?”

Johanna’s voice rings out through the silence, her face slowly blurring into view. A Completely black background behind her as her face seems to light up. Her long blonde hair tied back up and high, a few black strands intertwined with the blonde as it hung down. Her accent shining through but still speaking perfect English.

”Last time you all saw me, I defended this….against Samantha Marlowe.”

Johanna slowly lifts the SCW Roulette title up to see, she smiles showing her pearly white teeth made even whiter by her black lipstick. Her eyes were made to shine with black eyeliner and her black warpaint across her nose. She positions the title belt over her shoulder and holds it close with a smirk.

”A woman who has held the SCW bombshells title before, along with Seleana and Roxi, two other names that I added to my list. But, more than that, Samantha Marlowe is, without a doubt the greatest Bombshells roulette champion this company has ever seen. Beating her validates my reign, it validates everything I have been saying. Yet still, I struggle to get any respect in this company. Or maybe, I’m overthinking things and peoples silence is a respect all its own. See, I look at all the other Bombshells in this company, including my own stablemate Alicia Lukas, and you are all loudmouthed squabbling children. Calling each other out and running your mouths trying to get a step up with mind games.”

“But, me?. The only person to come after me was Jesse Salco. And aside from her fluking a win over me she has been my bitch. She took the roulette title from me, I won it right back and then after she ran her mouth I told her she could have another shot and she promptly fell silent.”

“Do you people know why? Does my opponent this week, Mikah know or care?”

“Let me enlighten you people to a few facts that may have escaped you. It’s something I already mentioned on Twitter just to use social media for my own promotional work. But, I’ll repeat it here. I have been in Sin City Wrestling for a year. Before that I had been to Union Battleground and NFW. Both places I found success, I was one half of the NFW tag team champions and I won Union Battlegrounds Warhorse medallion. Since joining Wolfslair, since coming to America I have been dominant. Quietly destroying people in different companies before landing here.”

“And it hasn’t changed…”

She can’t help but snarl, her nose turning up as Johanna takes a deep breath clutching the Bombshells roulette title over her black leather jacket and Children of Bodom t-shirt(RIP Alexi Laiho).

”In the year that I have been in Sin City Wrestling I have been a mixed tag team champion, I have beaten former Bombshells champions like it’s going out of fashion and I am a two time Roulette champion. I have one of the best winning percentages in this company and I have been quietly carving a path towards glory. And because I have not been as vocal about my success as some others I haven’t been taken seriously. Roxi Johnson didn’t take me seriously, I beat her and yet, she was able to challenge her wife for the Bombshells title. Jesse Salco and Char Kwan didn’t take me seriously. And I kicked Char back into obscurity and beat Jesse Salco back to being a laughable curtain jerker. So, the question I have to ask...is Mikah going to take me seriously?”

“All evidence points to no…”

“And hey, why should she right? This is the GREAT MIKAH. Longest total days as Bombshells champion, she beat everyone when she was destroying the division. She made her return to SCW with Kris Ryans by her side and won the mixed tag titles and was undefeated all year. She has one of the best records of all time and is a bonafide hall of fame star. So why should this legend of the SCW ring worry about little ol me eh?. Why should this returning goddess of the Bombshells division look at Johanna Krieger with any type of fear and trepidation?”

“Well, it’s simple. Mikah has never faced someone like me.”

She can’t help but laugh again under her breath, Johanna paces back and forth holding the title on her shoulder before taking it off and looking at it. She sighs and shakes her head.

”It’s a shame the title isn’t on the line and we aren’t in a roulette rules match. See, I thrive on mayhem, and that is what this title represents. You never know what kind of carnage you are about to go into. But, with that being said, in just a one on one wrestling match, I’m just as dangerous. See Miks, and I can call you Miks right?, I am a rare mix of power, speed and skill. No one hits like me, no one can break you down like I can. And the truth is going into this match against someone like you, I have nothing to lose and everything to gain.”

“And you doing your usual spiel will just help me out in that regard. See, I lose to you and I have just lost to an undefeated former bombshells champion and one of the most dominant wrestlers this company has ever seen. No shame in it, I will nod, shrug and go on to face whoever wins that number one contenders match earlier in the night.”

“But...what happens if I beat you Mikah?”

“See, I know your type, you are someone incapable of showing respect to anyone because you think yourself so above everyone. I have respect for anyone willing to step in the ring, even more for anyone willing to do it against me, and that includes you, for all your accomplishments and coming back to SCW in the way you have. Hell I won’t even go the route others have and say Kris has carried you, because I had heard the same bullshit about Alex apparently carrying me. But, as I said...I get your usual spiel…”

“Your nose in the air arrogance that many say you've earned…”

“You and Kris are the power couple of SCW and you both have earned everything you have, but the fact is that you are going to dig yourself into a hole and there’s no way you can escape it, cause if you were to look at what I have done in this company and look into why the company itself calls me a “force of nature” then you will have to show me some respect and that is so off-brand for an arrogant bitch like you that it will be viewed as a weakness...whereas with me? I might be tough, dangerous and cocky...but I’m also a warrior, not a wannabe royal who expects everyone to kiss her ass.”

She sneers again and moves around before placing the bombshell's roulette title down and placing her hand on it with a sense of pride.

”Hell, I saw it against Seleana, that woman has been winning titles in your absence and has had to put up with her wifes stupidity, she deserves respect but instead of giving her that you had to tear her apart and put her down. You treated her like I treat Jesse and Char, and that speaks volumes about where your mind is at and what kind of person you truly are. So if you can’t do that for Sel, what hope does little old me have?. So you’ll go through your regular “I’m better than you” crap we’ve heard for the last five or six years, and if you beat me I can shrug it off...but...I beat you, end your little 2020 undefeated streak...which...is only the second worst thing about 2020…”

“Then what Mikah?”

“What will you do? What will you say? How will you react?. There needs to be a passing of the torch and the bombshells division needs more of the newer names to stand up to the “old guard:” and that is what I plan to do. I plan on walking down to that ring and beating the hell out of you until you give up. And I mean that...with all the respect in the world…”

Everyone has a price

The last few weeks had been moving so fast. Johanna and Gustav has set up the new forward operations base. A large warehouse in downtown Berlin had been bought, set up and decked out in all the latest equipment. As well as manpower. Johanna smiles, her heart was full of hope. This was a younger Johanna, a woman who had not yet lost that sparkle in her eyes, who believed in the police department and everything they were doing. She had officially transferred to the STF, working under Gustav. She saw the budget, the shiny new toys. And the back up. A few weeks ago there was no one else. It was just the two of them. Now the warehouse was full. Lines of men and women going over intel, watching live limiters. Doing patrols.

This is what Johanna had wanted. All those months ago when she started looking into the cracks that had formed in her mind when it came to the conduct of her fellow officers and superiors. And now she had it at her fingertips. But the last week or so, Gustav had been acting different. He was disinterested and quiet. Others had taken over. It confused Johanna, he had been the other driving force of this. And now he seemed to have pulled back.

Johanna folded her arms over her chest and moved across the main floor, she weaved in between the lines of monitors and recording devices. Her blue eyes looked up at the main office. The one she and Gustav shared. She moved up the stairs as quietly as she could. Her hand reaching out to the long silver door handle. She moved in and closed the door lightly behind her. Gustav sat at his desk, a hand up holding his cheek while the other flipped through a page of reports. Jo shook her head moving to the window next to her desk. It looked down onto the parking lot, she moved her head to the side as the sun caught something in the building across the way.

A camera. And it was facing the office. Johanna took a sharp breath in but kept calm. She tried to act natural and slowly turned looking over at Gustav. ”Sargeant. We are being watched.” Gustav looked up, he tilted his head looking unsurprised. It caught Johanna off guard. Gustav got to his feet and sighed heavily.

”I know. I asked them to.” Johanna shook her head trying to comprehend what he just said. She stuttered and stammered. Before she could get out a word Gustav moved around his desk sitting on the edge folding his arms over his chest. ”We have a leak Jo. A bad one” Her heart sank, why was this happening? Why can’t people feel the way she does? She moved over to the other side of the office looking down at the others. ”I don’t know who they are yet. There’s few people I can trust. I need footage and pictures of anyone in this office…”

Johanna stayed quiet. Her eyes darting between the columns of officers. She felt the paranoia raise up. What if they got information out of her?. What if she was inadvertently responsible? How did you find out?” Ge sighed heavily. She knew it was bad. His body language, his tone. All of it.

Gustav turned his laptop around. On it was I formation, pictures, documents. Johannas eyes widened. Gustav looked down and his hands placed flat on his desk, either side of the laptop. ”Last week, cybercrimes flagged these. They were se t from an unprotected server, these are pictures of documents only found in this office…” Johanna took a sharp breath in, her hands shook with anger as she tried to keep her voice down.

”That is my desk! My handwriting in the margins!. My files” Sge growled in anger. She paced back and forth before storming towards the door. Gustav stopped in front of her. Blocking her from the door down to the pit. ”Sargeant I-“ Ge put his hand up and shook his head slowly.

His hand over to her shoulder. Johanna started to calm down, Gustav shook his head and looked around before pulling her into a hug. ”I get it kid. I do.” His voice softened, it calmed Jo down. Her heart stopped racing and her body stopped being so tense. She stepped back and turned looking at her desk. ”I wanted to wait to tell you till I was sure…” Sure?

Her eyebrows furrowed down, she turned back to him looking sideways. ”Sure of what? That I wasn’t the leak?” She moved forward, angry again. Her head tilted sideways. ”You think I would do that? Turn on you and us?” She hissed the words, she was furious Gustav put his hands up and sighed.

”No….” He stepped forward, his head shook from side to side. ”Constable, you have put your heart into this. I just, I wanted to be sure we had a leak do I wasn’t hurting you.” It hit her, but she understood. She was in deep. She didn’t do anything else. She came to work, looked over files, went home, slept, and then woke up to do it all again. She turned back again and leaned in the table grinding her teeth before looking up and out the window again.

”Tell me how to find them...tell me you have a plan..”

Fluke

It has been a rough few weeks. Losses happen in wrestling. Everyone feels the sting of disappointment. But it was a rare feeling for the members of Wolfslair in SCW. Johanna took a long deep breath, she was covered in sweat from working out and was taking moments to reflect on everything.

”Three weeks ago, I stepped in the ring for a match that I should have won. And I know, so many of you will talk shit about me and say that it’s simply sour grapes or me being a sore loser. But serious question, who likes losing?.hmm?. Who likes losing in an industry that rewards winners? Where did this gracious loser bullshit come from? I mean, I can take a loss. I can take being beaten in snatch by someone with skills who in the light was better than me. And losses like that are a learning experience that I can handle and I can say that Iearned that loss.”

“But that match, three weeks ago against Jessie Salco, Johanna Krieger should have walked out of that match as the Roulette champion. That isn’t arrogance or sour grapes. That is a fact. But, I’m going to give Jessie a little bit of respect. Or Atleast I would have. Until she opened her fucking mouth.”

“You see, I was going to talk about how Jessie thought that everything that she wanted and was able to take advantage of the fact no one thought she was going to win, to win. She caught me off guard with how tough she actually was and despite the fact I punched her in the face over and over again, despite the fact that I tried to break every single bone in her body, she kept coming. Jessie Salco is tougher than I gave her credit for and on that night, Climax Control 282, on the 18th of October she created a goddamn miracle.”

“Jessie Salco beat Johanna Krieger.”

“And the world rejoiced. Well, some did. But these people were not sharing and celebrating because they wanted to see you win. No Jessie. They were celebrating because they were happy to see me lose. Because the group that I’m in, the excellence that we hold ourselves to, it makes people so sick. They hate us, they want us to fail and to fall. And for a brief moment you were able to make all their little dreams come true.”

Johanna smiles and shakes her head with a small sigh under her breath before clasping her hands together.

”Three weeks ago, you sealed your fate. I was always going to come back after that championship. From the second I lost it, I wanted it back. And before I get into how the world now sees you and how you’ve been able to flip the script, let me just point out a few things. When my stablemate Alicia Lukas lost the bombshells championship both times, she healed from her injuries picked herself up and came back with a renewed sense of vigor and respect. She wanted that title back, and she did the best she could do it. And she did, she showed how tenacious she could be.”

“But…”

“That isn’t what I’m about.“

“I’m not about simply coming back as a better version of myself, not in this instance. That’s how I felt against song, and when I beat RoxI. No Jessie. Against you it’s about making a statement. I took you to easily last time because I thought I was gonna breeze over you and I underestimated you. I underestimated your toughness, I underestimated your luck, and I underestimated the fact that my own hubris was going to get me in some serious shit. But this time? This time it’s about causing you as much pain as I physically can in the amount of time that I’m given until you either quit, okay no longer continue, all the referee thinks he’s seen enough.”

“That is what you have this time. That is what you have to face this time. And before you start to talk about it being an empty threat, realise who you are talking to. If you go back and watch that match we beat me Jessie, I was causing you serious pain, and I was going easy on you. I felt bad for you. And in the end, that is what allows you to beat me. That is why I call it a fluke.”

Johanna paces back and forth as she grows angrier her accent seems to get stronger.

”And that had been my plan all along. Right up until two weeks ago. When you took issue with me getting a rematch. Saying I should EARN it. And then, last week you doubled down. You ran your mouth, and I felt the need to come out and get in your face. Now, you pointed out Seleana didn’t get a rematch. . and at that point, well I realise that you did have a good point. She didn’t get a rematch, but if she wanted one, she would’ve got one. But she didn’t. She didn’t come to me and ask for one, she didn’t go to Marcal Christian and ask for one, she dropped back. And there’s many different reasons why that could’ve happened but the main one is that she didn’t want to go up against me again. She did not want me to destroy her again, the other reason is personal, she’s been looking after her wife who got completely annihilated.”

“So while it may have been a good point to you, and while you may have thought you were pointing out a reason why I shouldn’t get a rematch, what you were really doing is reminding everyone that I beat a former bombshells champion so bad that she didn’t want any more of me.“

“And all you were doing, was pissing me off. You beg and played for championship opportunities and title shots and matches all the time, I’m wondering how many times you have called for a championship match, got the opportunity and lost. How many times have you been put in a match that you have lost. You have the worst record of any active bombshell on the goddamn roster. But, you end up winning a few matches and think that suddenly you can dictate what we do and don’t do? You beat Maki, then me and suddenly the world bends to Jessie Salco?. All those people, the ones who are happy about you beating me. After they heard what you had to say, and they saw how you acted, a lot of those voices suddenly went silent. Congratulations, you made me, one of the most unlikable bitches in this company, seem more sympathetic than you the perennial under dog. Good work bonehead.”

“But he is the worst part about all of it..”

She pauses, shaking her head slowly before calming herself down.

”I understand.”

She nods and shrugs before holding her arms over her chest with a deep breath.

”For you this is probably the best it’s going to get. At this point in your career with how everyone has treated you and the joke that you have actually become through your own and net actions and stupidity, this is the best chance you have to make a lasting impression on the fans and everyone backstage. This is your last chance to claw back any type of credibility that you think you deserve. So you are milking it for all it is worth my running your mouth any chance you can get. The compulsion is there Jessie I understand I really do. With that being said, just because I understand and I can see where you are coming from and why you’re doing this, it doesn’t mean a dam thing when I get in that ring with you this week. I was never gonna go easy on you, I was never going to give you a break, I was always going to try and beat you and take that championship and make you suffer. But your actions, your words, your incessant whining and not even understanding what a real champion is?”

“That is damaging to yourself, the championship, and the company. Why do you think Fenris gave me praise for straightaway challenging you?. Because that is the definition of real recognising real. And no one recognises you was real Jessie.. Because everything about you is fake. Fake confidence,, fake attitude, fake friends. All of it. In fact the only thing real about you is the fact that you can take a beating, and that’s not even something that you actually care about. Because instead of focusing on the fact that you keep coming and you keep trying and telling everyone about heart you have, you promised wins upon wins. So when you eventually do get on people don’t care because they hate what you’ve become. And you are going to hate what I do to you this week when I take back my title. Good luck because you were going to need it…”

What are you doing Johanna?

The words ran through her brain. Every single breath she took seemed rushed. She swallowed hard and closed her eyes, misting rain keeping the air damp and cold around her. It was the end of winter, coming into the beginning of spring. The rains had eased up but they were still wearing their ugly head when it was time for her to go out and investigate.

It had been two months since she has been here. Last time she was sitting in the back of the van, slowly staring up and down at different monitors from different cameras. It was the night that everything changed. The night when her faith in her job and her department had become shaken. Her father had told her to let it go, he told her why gave her reasons and even begged her.

She couldn’t.

She didn’t even know who she could trust. She couldn’t trust Jonas, she couldn’t trust her superintendent, clearly. There were so many friends she had in the department, so many people who she thought were good people, good offices. People who like her believed in justice and the righteous work that she was supposed to do. In Johannas mind there was a thin blue line separating what she did and what criminals did.

But now she questioned who had stepped over that line?.

So, she went out alone. It was just past 8 pm, and here she was down on one knee, her head slowly peeking around the old brick walls corner facing the warehouse door. Earlier that day she had done something that many would consider to be unethical bordering on illegal. She had gone in to a colleague‘s office, she had opened his desk and looked at local information. Intelligence on a rumored meeting at this warehouse. She should have got back up. She should have told someone she was going to be here. The paranoia had gotten to her, she looked at her phone she had flicked through names people who she had known for years, people who she trained with. People who at one point or another had her life in their hands.

It was terrifying.

She took a sharp breath in, a van slowly pulling up out the front of the warehouse. The light stayed on and then flickered three times in a distinct pattern. Johanna jumped another van that she is not even her drive up behind her flash the lights in a similar pattern. She moved backwards behind the wall, her hand shaking as she touched the brick. She was wearing a tight fitting black hoodie, the hood up over her head. Black bandanna tied around her face and tucked into the top and black jeans. She hoped this makeshift outfit would help keep her hidden.

Three men got out of the first van while two men got out of the other. She recognised one of them. She swallowed hard and shook her head so hard dropping down to the bottom of her stomach. She tried to keep down the anger, she tried to keep down the frustration. It was Jonas. Three men got out of the first van while two men got out of the second. She recognised one of them. She swallowed hard and shook her head and heart dropping down to the bottom of her stomach. She tried to keep down the anger, she tried to kick down the frustration. It was Jonas.

Officer Jonas Shultz. A man who had volunteered to team with Johanna. The man who was sitting next to her when they had seen another fellow officer at this very warehouse. He was in on it all along. She knew there was something, she knew there was a chance he was involved. But this broke her heart. They moved through the small entrance across the path and up into the warehouse the second the door closed Johanna made her move.

She moved along the grass, keeping low under the window and stepping lightly. She heard them move from the first room pushing the door open to follow, moving along the floor to stop right under the Foreman's window and listen in. “Do you have the customs paperwork?” It was Jonas speaking, stepping forward and holding out his hand.

Another man, the one who was driving the second van stepped forward and pulled out some paperwork handing it to him. “Here. I signed off on it. When the truck rolls in next week we can unload and wave through.”

Jonas smiled flicking through the first few pages before coming to the end seeing the signature. “Good. The merchandise will get out to where we need it. We need one pallet marked. We need an arrest...so we flipped a coin.” He laughed, so did the others. Johanna felt like she was going to throw up. She moved back and turned to slide out the door closing it behind her. She moved back behind the warehouse sitting on the grass outside the hand shaking she brought them up to her mouth.

She felt horrible, members of her division, of her unit, they were bringing in something illegal. Something big. And they were preparing to make an arrest through everyone else of the Trail. This was corruption at the highest level. Everything she fought against everything she hated. Tears welled up in her eyes, she pulled out her wallet looking at her badge, her fingertips slowly going over the lettering. Over her picture.

She remembered the day it was taken. How happy she was. How proud her father was. But now it meant nothing. She couldn’t trust anyone, she couldn’t go to anyone. She had already been attacked once. Everything she knew, everything she loved, was now dead to her.

But it was going to get so much worse…

Spin the wheel.

“Well that is more like it.“

Johanna Krieger steps forward. Her arms folded over her chest and head tilt slightly to the side with a smirk twisted on her black painted lips.

“After beating Johnson, I thought maybe my career would start to take an upswing. I thought that I would stop being noticed and recognised. That I would get a little bit of respect around here and maybe even some fear. And make no mistake ladies all of you who are in the bombshells division need to fear me. So, after going through that match with Johnson I ended up being overlooked for the bombshell battle royal. It pissed me off, it made me want to punch someone. But I suppose I understand. Since city wrestling needed other great names in that match like… Jesse Salco…”

As she says Jessie‘s name it hisses through her teeth. Joanna shakes her head taking a few breaths to calm down before she explodes.

“I make my feelings known, and Austin and I end up teaming together against the black sheep. And even though that match didn’t go the way we wanted it, and Ryans is a cheating douche bag. It was still an opportunity. Because we were facing people who held the highest championships in this company who are still relevant . That’s all I ever wanted, an opportunity to match the effort that I have clearly put into this company. I got it against Johnson, I got it against the black sheep, and now I’m getting it in this match.”

“You see the winner, gets to go onto violent conduct and face the roulette champion.“

“And Seleana Zdunich. Well she is a scalp worthy of a challenge. A former bombshells champion. The current roulette champion and someone who I believe is criminally underrated. The opposite to one of my opponents in this match. Mercedes Vargas. But, The roulette championship seems to be something that is right up my alley. It’s a championship where the rules are not properly defined until before the match with use of a freaking wheel. Its total chaos.”

“And I do love chaos“

Johanna can’t help but give a small laugh and her breath as she unfollowed her arms, her hand sliding to the front pockets of her torn black jeans.

“My opponents though, they could not be more different. Not just different from me but different from each other. And out of the three of us, I will say that mine is the promotional material that you should really be listening to. My words should carry weight, what I say and what I do will shape the future of the bombshells division in sin city wrestling. And I’m gonna save you all about 20 minutes. 20 minutes that you can do something else with in your lives. 20 minutes to read a book, catch up on your favourite television show, listen to some music. Do whatever you like but I’m going to give you 20 minutes right now. “

“You see, if you wait around for Mercedes Vegas to finally say something about this match and put any promotional material out on social media you are going to be waiting for a long time. Because Mercedes Vargas  likes to take as much time as she can to put out the same thing week in and week out. She will sort it in with her over inflated ego talking about all of the great things that she has done in the past. Letting us all know about the bombshells championship rains, the roulette championship rains, the fact that she has the most wins in the company and all the other stuff that she’s been able to build up over the exorbitant amount of time that she has been taking up a roster spot in this company.”

“I’m not gonna lie and say that Mercedes Vegas is not a good professional wrestler because she is. She might be one of the best ever. But she also happens to be an egotistical moron.”

“Case in point, she wants to talk shit about Jesse Salco and her losing streak in sin city. Hell I like to do that. But has Mercedes been setting the world on fire lately? A few wins here and there yes but has she been able to get herself into contention for anything? Here she is with another championship match opportunity. She beats myself and Barnhart and she gets to go to the roulette title. Right after she had her chance at getting a bombshells title shot in that battle royal that I wasn’t even in.”

“Yet she wants to accuse sin city wrestling of having favouritism towards Alicia. Pot meet kettle. And I don’t just mean because of the connotation Mercedes, it’s also because you’re dumb as a lump of iron….”

She can’t help but scoff and shake her head. But her nostrils flare as she turns back to the camera thinking about the other part of this match.

”Now, I saved you a little bit of boredom from Mercedes and her usual self aggrandising bullshit. Now we go to Bea Barnhart. If you want to go and watch one of her promos then you can go right ahead. I’m sure you’ll all enjoy Bill and Bea Barnhart's cavalcade of bad comedy and bullshit political takes that no one cares about.”

“And I would say that maybe they both need to focus more on what they are good at but wrestling is definitely not what they are good at. Hell Bea was another one of those women who got a shot in the battle royal and failed miserably after promising she was going to be declared the winner. So here’s another spoiler on what you’re going to see from the Barnharts and her stupid promo this week. I’m gonna save you another 20 minutes, that means you all owe me 40.”

“You are going to see bad comedy, followed by a lot of promises that she cannot possibly keep. With veiled threats. And that is what she does, her stupid, fat headed, ugly husband is going to be floating around somewhere in there. Along with the dog which probably has way better personal hygiene. And then on climax control both of them are going to get in the ring with me, Mercedes with her outdated skill set and ego that needed to be checked at the door so she actually could be anything more than a joke. And Bea Barnhart with her unfocused stupidity where she doesn’t even know where she is half the time. And I’m gonna beat the hell out of both of them, I’m going to go onto violent conduct, and I am going to face Seleana for the roulette championship. And claim my first, and definitely not last singles championship.”

et it go

It hurt. The back of her heads, it throbbed in pain. She was able to drive, barely. But she probably shouldn’t have. The street lights above looking blurry causing her eyes to hurt and her brain to flare. Johanna needed to get to her parents houser. Talk to her father. Tell him what happened. Truth be told she should have gone to the hospital. She should have called people she trusted ands given a statement. She knew the procedures, she knew she could go to internal affairs. But, there was part of Johanna that now trusted no one. That now hated the process.

She turned her car down her parents street pulling up out the front, Everything felt off, her moto functions labored, her legs didn’t want to moe or cooperate. But she did it, she was able to take her keys from the ignition, open the door and stand up.

She took a step forward and almost stumbled. She could hear her footsteps rattling in her mind as her heavy black boots hit the concrete, she could feel her heart beating faster as her body reacted to the stress of what was obviously now a concussion. She could hear her own breathing become labored along with her heart. Johanna could feel consciousness slipping, she could see the black curtain rolling down over her eyes. Gravity was not her friend, and for a split second she felt as if she was going to fall forward.

Something stopped her.

The will to keep going. Each step, each movement was agony. She was able to get to the door reaching out and turning it. She moved into the main hallway, she could hear her mother and father talking in the kitchen, they heard the door close and the voices lowered, suddenly becoming like whispers. Johanna was confused, she had no idea why. Her hands finding the wall as she heard her mothers voice. [color-pink]”Johanna, is that you dear?”[/color] She couldn’t muster much of an answer. English escaped her.

”Ja, mutter” It barely made it out of her mouth. It must have sounded wrong, she could hear her father's footsteps from the tiles, the door swinging open. His face looking pale as a ghost as Johanna couldn't stay upright anymore. She slid forward, her father caught her.”Thank you….I will be alright.” Her words struggled. Her father shook his head and looked over at his wife who just swallowed hard looking horrified. She could hear their voices, she knew they were asking her questions. But for some reason, Johanna couldn’t understand or answer.

She felt herself being carried, moved through the house to the couch in her fathers den. There was more talking, arguing. Johannas eyes fluttered open. ”She needs a doctor, and we should call her partner’ Her mothers voices was louder than her fathers, he was speaking in a lower register, her mother threw her hands up, exasperated and angry storming out of the room. Johanna looked up and the vision started to clear, her father sat down next to her shaking his head.

”What happened?”

She shook it off and cleared here throat thinking back to a few hours before. The attack, the shot to the back of her head, the kick. All of it flooded in, the words, the voice. ”I was leaving, I was near my car and then...I got hit..I..” Her voice trailed off as she let out a groan and sat up, her father helping her by gripping her arm and handing her a glass of water. ”He told me to stop looking, he threatened me...this has something to do with the warehouse…” It all came back, Johanna went from confused to angry, her blood boiling as she reached for her cellphone, her father raising an eyebrow.

”Jo, what are you doing?” She dialled the number, he looked down recognising it. Suddenly her father reached forward snatching the phone from her hand. Johanna looked up, confused, turning her head. ”Think this through my girl. They already attacked you once, you need to wait till you can think clearly” Part of that made sense, but her father always wanted to do what was right, something seemed off…

Johanna swallowed hard and turned her legs from the couch putting them onto the hardwood floor, her hands moving to her knees as she set the water down on the small table beside her. ”I need to report this, I need to tell the superintendent, he should-”

”No” His volume startled her. Johannas father had always been measured and calm. But this was an undue and out of character outburst. Johanna swallowed as he got to his feet and paced back and forth holding her phone in his hand backspacing the numbers. He took a deep breath and swallowed hard. ”You need to let this go Johanna.”

His voice had calmed down, it was now its regular register. But Johanna couldn’t believe what she was hearing. To let go something that was clearly a corruption and an inside job, something was wrong. Her heart sank. Her father knew, he had to. ”Let it go? You know what’s going on, don’t you?” He stayed turned away from her. Johanna shook her head ands slumped back against the couch. She felt defeated, deflated, like her whole world had been a lie. Her father set her phone down on the table and sighed heavily.

His voice was how a whisper and she didn’t need to see it, but his lip had trembled. ”They...they took my pension Johanna…” Her jaw dropped, she had no idea what to say. His pension, his lifeblood. ”They said, if I could convince you to just leave it be...it would be reinstated...I had no idea they would…” His voice trailed off. Johanna stood up and finished his sentence.

”Attack me?”

There was a little more venom than she had planned, more force. Her father sighed and slowly turned around, his eyes were filled with sadness and remorse, he gave her a small nod and sat back against the edge of his desk. Johanna stepped forward and swallowed hard. ”I told them I was going to take care of it tonight...they obviously got impatient”

She ground her teeth together, her stomach, her heart, her brain, everything burned and boiled with anger. How could anyone do this? Treat her like this, her father like this? And how could he stand of it? ”Who is they?” Her eyes blazed, her father shook his head and reached down sliding her phone closer to her.

”It doesn’t matter Jo…..in the end...nothing does…”

A matter of time.

Her fingers gripped the green glass bottle. A trademark of the Heineken brand. Johanna lifted it to her lips taking a small sip, her black lipstick leaving a small smudge on the top of the bottle as she set it back down on the bench in front of her.Her fingertips danced along the bottle moving some of the concentration away.

”What is that old saying? No use crying over spilled milk?” Losing a championship isn’t exactly like spilled milk, but the point still stands. There is no point in crying over losing something, instead you should celebrate what you did with it and that you were actually able to become something greater than yourself. That’s how I feel about the mixed tag team championships that Alex and I won. We came into the company as a team and we were able to take those championships and make them mean something again. We didn’t let them fall into mediocrity like all the teams have done before us.“

“ he and I set out to do three things. To defend the championships more than anyone else, to hold those championships longer than anyone else, and to introduce the professional wrestling world at large to what I could do. Other companies had seen me, used me and put me out there. But Sin City was going to be the glorious place of my birth of dominance. We definitely accomplished one of those things having four defences. One more then Sierra and Lachlan”

“Unfortunately we were just over a week away from being able to say that we held the championships longer than anyone else, we came so close unfortunately we were just over a week away from being able to say that we held the championships longer than anyone else we came so close. but, if you remember through all of this, every single time I sat in front of a camera and I had the chance to share my thoughts and my feelings with the fans of sin city as well as the other women employed I told them what my plans were. I’ve never hidden them I’ve always been completely honest and completely transparent with what I want to do.”

She smiles and takes another sip of her beer, a small size escaping her lips as she puts the bottle back down on the bench. She gets to her feet and slowly moves her long blonde hair behind her ears, her bright blue eyes shining as she tilts her head slightly to the side.

”I want to become one of the greatest professional wrestlers on this planet, I want to show the world what I can do. Everyone wants to be able to be the best, everyone wants to be able to say that they’re the best. But very few people can prove it. Will I be able to? Who knows that’s what I’m here to find out. For the last few years I’ve sat back and I’ve trained and I’ve studied, I didn’t want to rush myself into anything, I didn’t want to join any large companies I was happy being in the smaller ones and paying my dues. But when Alex came to me and wanted me to join sincerely I jumped at the chance. I wanted to come here because I looked at the bombshells division and knew that not only could I be competitive, not only would I be tested, but I could be one of the best. When people think of wolfslair they think of Alicia as the best female in the gym. And the group.”

“And I won’t deny it, Alicia Lucas is one of the best professional wrestlers on this planet. But, is she the best in the group in the company? Just how good am I when it comes to all of that? Well, now is my time to prove it and to show just how good I can be.“

“Now is my chance to get in the ring with the best of the best, out of the confines and limitations of the mixed tag team division.“

“Now is my time to prove my worth, to see where I fit in this division. To earn my way up to any of the championships in this company. Whether that be the Internet, roulette, or the crown jewel of the bombshells division and sin city wrestling as a whole. And that path but I need to walk starts this week. And what a start it is, you say I’m not just facing some random name on the roster. I’m facing a bonafide legend.

Johanna laughs to herself shaking her head from side to side.

” I get to get in the ring against Roxi Johnson. A former bombshells champion, a woman who is known around the world for being one of the best professional wrestlers on the planet. A woman who will push you and test you and make you question whether or not you should even be in the same room as her. There are a lot of people in this company who would love to face Roxi, and there are some people in this company that would do everything they could to avoid facing Roxi. Now me? I’m in the first category I love the idea of being able to get in the ring with a woman like her. I may be cocky, I may be arrogant,I may think I can beat anyone in this company or any company.”

But, I also know when someone could beat me. And I am keenly aware that Roxi Could be me, and walk away smiling. I am fully aware of how good she is. Recently she was able to recapture the bombshells championship, it’s no easy feat, but she did it. And she’s always at the top of her card and always at the top of her game and truth be told there is always a certain amount of intimidation when you get in the ring with someone like her. But then again, with me you have the question of the unknown don’t you Roxi?”

“Sure, you’ve studied me, you’ve seen me tagging with Alex, you’ve seen me in a few singles matches against people like Bella Madison. But there’s always that question nagging at the back of your head, just how good is this woman?. Can she go? Or is she just talking blaster like some other women who have come into this company and phased out, fizzled and been gone?“

“Climax control, the question gets answered.“

“What does it mean for sin city? You see if I beat you Roxi, I get bragging rights and a new star is born. If I can prove that I am better than you on this night then suddenly a shudder goes up the spine of the entire division and they realise that there is a brand-new horror show coming for them. But if you beat me, and I put up a fight, then I just lost to a legend but show the world what I can do. I do respect you Roxi I hope you realise that, and I’m smart enough to know that as a veteran you know that I’ll be coming for you and that there is a large Target on your back, whether you are the champion or not your scalp is worth a hell of a lot.“

“But this is win/win for me. And I am looking forward to showing you and the entire world what I am capable of. Good luck Roxi, because trust me, you are going to need it.”