The Hidden End
The clouds above looked menacing, grey and black mixed together coating the world in a void, muted color. The street was oddly quiet, odd for the middle of the day in New York, a few locals moved about with their lives, their jobs, eating and some even walking their dogs. But, in the middle of all this life, there was someone standing and unmoving. Someone standing still and stoic. A large man, covered in black jeans, a black leather jacket and a hoodie underneath with the hood pulled up and over his head.
At the far end of the street two cop cars turned and move down the street, coming to a stop across from where the quiet man is standing. The doors open and a few police officers pop out, including Detectives Solomon and Paloma. And out of the back of each car, a man is pulled out, hands cuffed behind their backs. Large protests of innocents beind screamed so loud everyone could hear them.
”I didn do nothin man c’mon”
”It wasn’t me! This is bullshit I didn’t know any Lisa Mercer’”
They were dragged from the street, pulled up the stairs and into the large precinct. Detective Paloma following in, but something out of the corner of his eye caused Slomon to stop at the top of the stairs, turning to look across, right into the eyes of the stoic man. He shook his head, maing his way back down and across the street, the man didn’t move. Solomon came up next to him letting out a long, deep sigh before pulling out a packet of cigarettes, popping one in his mouth and lighting it up.
”Well, if you’re waiting for an apology Mercer, you’re going to be waiting for a long time.” Austin scoffed and shook his head, looking up at the precinct, remembering the day they came for him. His children cried, his sister was confused and upset, he was dragged into a room, handcuffed and kept there for hours, he sneered and looked at Solomon. ”We need answers, and you’ll know more when we know.”
Solomon went to move, but stopped as Austins voice rang out. ”Did they do it?” Solomon swallowed hard and stayed silent, Austin closed his hands into fists and said it a second time, louder this time.”Did they do it?”
Solomon took a deep breath and shook his head. ”I don’t know….that’s what we’re going to find out. You need to go home Mr Mercer.”
”Mr Mercer…” Austin couldn’t help but chuckle, closing his eyes as more memories come flooding back, Solomon was so sure. ”You’re going to show me respect now huh?...you didn’t do that a few months ago.”
”I’m not doing this with you, I have work to do.”
He stormed into the street, moving away from Austin, he flipped his hood back and growled yelling out for everyone to hear. ”You had work to do when you dragged me into that room and accused me of murdering my wife!” His blood boiled, his veins filled to bursting as he breathed in and out faster, losing his composure as Solomon stopped and turned to face him, ”I told you, I told you and Paloma, you were wasting time with me and needed to focus on others. But you didn’t listen.”
Solomon stayed silent, he wanted to say something to apologize, to say he was wrong, instead he just shook his head, turning to go back inside. Austin growled and mumbled under his breath trying to calm down, a black card turned driving up next to Austin, he turned and popped the door sliding into the back seat next to his father. ”I take it that it didn’t go well?....” Austin rolled his eyes and scoffed ”Police, they have more pride than they deserve, and they will never admit their faults or mistakes…and they won’t admit to this one either…”
Austin gave a small nod and a sigh. ”I just thought maybe, just maybe he would see what he did to me, how he made me suffer and spat on Lisas memory.”
”Do you think they believe they have the right men? That they solved the case?” Austin shakes his head, his hands clasping together. ”That’s what I thought, they have no idea what they’re doing.”
Austin groaned and turned to his father. ”Do you? Do you know what we are about to do? What I have asked you to do?”
”Yes”
”Are you sure?
Austins father seems to contemplate the question for a moment and nods before answering. ”Yes, I’m sure.” The car slowly came to a stop, Austin went to get out, his father reached out and grabbed his arm. ”I know how to do these things, you know damn well what I have done in my past, and I’m telling you right now boy, it isn’t as easy as you seem to think it is. In fact, it was things like this that took everything away from me….and I have to ask you right here, right now….will it be worth it?”
”Worth it?” Austin shuffled and turned to his father, his eyes burning as his normal talking voice lowered. ”Let me ask you a question, if someone killed the woman you love, if someone reached into your chest and pulled out the last part of humanity that you had, wouldn’t you want them to be punished? Wouldn’t you want justice?”
Austins father cleared his throat and leaned across to get face to face with his son. ”That is what this is about right? Justice? Cause that look in your eye…it tells me you want revenge. And boy I can tell you right now, the right thing has to be done for the right reasons, not the wrong ones.”
”You, of all people, should never even try and grow a conscience. This needs to be done, if you are going to help, then get me the information I have asked for. If you’re not going to help?” Austin kicked open the door, stepping out of the car and turning around. ”Then stay out of my way.” He slammed the door and stormed back, toward his house.
Like rats from a sinking ship
”The landscape of wrestling, every single company, is always changing. The top of the mountain shifts constantly. The champions change, the paradigm shifts and you constantly need to reinvent yourself to stay relevant, or leave and come back later. Cause, how can we miss you if you ever leave Right? Well, due to personal issues I have been in and out of this company over the last year. And that has been hard, because Sin City Wrestling is home.”
Austin leans forward, the gradient is monochrome, his hair is dark as his black leather jacket, his eyes shine but the centers are even darker than any of the other black in the frame.
”Since I needed to take time off I’ve come back with this different outlook. This different way of thinking about everything. Whether its wrestling or life in general I have been approaching things from a different angle. And I have come to the conclusion that everyone in this company are so self centered and self absorbed that they have no idea the danger that awaits them, surrounds them and is right there in front of us. See, I have spent my time selectively facing and testing those I think could be worthy of taking SCW into the future.”
“I have held up a mirror, made these men look at themselves and forced them to see, accept and break away from their shortcomings. Like Alexander Raven, a man who I took to deep waters and forced him to see that insane ramblings are not enough to be successful, he took my lessons and has become a passable champion. And Mac Bane, a man who was already viewed as strong, tough and a champion, a man whk is now a four time SCW champion.”
“Even though that title has been passed around like a cheap two dollar whore at a bachelor party.”
“Everyone in that locker room needs to wake up and start doing things for the good of SCW, for the good of the company. A company that I love, that I respect and that I will always champion. And yes, my ultimate goal is to one day take that SCW world championship again and hold it over my head. But, not yet. See I know how often these things can be misconstrued and I am not going to go the Jessie Salco route and demand a title shot get handed to me.”
Austin scoffs and sits back looking like he is slowly relaxing.
”Nah, I want to earn it. To start from the bottom and work my way up. And the last few showings I’ve had? Well, I didn’t have mty heart in them. And when I was ready to get back in the ring, the SCW management team saw fit to offer me Miles Kasey at the supercard. And let me be very clear here, I respect Miles Kasey, I like the kid and he is great at wolfslair, he has an amazing future ahead of him if he gets out of his own way. However…”
“I have no desire to face Miles in a match…”
“No, see I have my eyes set on others, men who I believe in their very existence have wronged this company and those that wrestle in it. And last year, before the supercard was announced, hell before SCW went on it’s holiday break, I saw Chris Page ask who was next in the company for him, and I put my hand up and called him out publicly…only for him to stay silent. And trust me on this, silence can sometimes be deafening.”
“So, since Chris Page ran like a scolded dog that was freshly neutered and Kev Davison has disappeared I set my sights on another name coming into SCW. A ghost of SCWs past and a man who many don’t want here. Calvin Harris….”
“The mention of the name alone turns stomachs.”
“So, I went to Christian Underwood and I told him I wanted Calvin in a match and Christian was reluctant. And the one question he had was “why?” See, in Christians eyes a man of my past and history in SCW is beneath getting in the ring with a man like him, especially since Mr Harris has been gone so long but I simply countered with the questionable answer of “Because I asked”
He chuckled and shrugs, pushing up off his knees to stand up, sliding his hands into the pockets of his black jeans.
”Now, Calvin, I’m not going to lie here and say that your and your brothers arrivals didn’t catch me off guard, cause they did but now that you’re here I have to say I am perplexed as to why. Why you cameback, why you made that decision and what exactly it is you hope to accomplish by walking back into this company. But, before we get to my various theories on the hows and whys I need to get something out of the way first. See, I don’t believe this will, in any way whatsoever be an easy match for me.”
“I know and understand how good you are. Others might want to discount your accomplishments and forget your accomplishments but, I won’t. See, I could stand here and say that what you did before doesn’t matter and you have turned into a nobody while you’ve been gone, but that would do a disservice to you, your title wins, your history here and the lineage of the Sin City Wrestling world championship. A title that you and I have both held.”
“You claimed it in a battle royal, you lost it and then snatched it back. That tells me more than you know Calvin, see most people, if they lose a championship give up and walk away, but you decided to go back after it like a pitbull and get it back, holding up up until you ran into Tommy Crimson. And then, well then it seems like you disappeared. SCW shut down for a short time and when it came back…you were gone…”
“And in the lasy five years since you were gone so much has happened, others stepped in to fill the voids that were left when someone like you didn’t return or decided to take your balls and go home. Ben Jordan became the star we all knew he could be, Fenris was dominant, a kid by the name of Jack Washington upset and beat legends,Finn helan and his short but fruitful run, Mac Bane has brought his talents here and run roughshot over SCW Alex Jones and I came into SCW from Honor wrestling and along with the women of wolfslair we took over this company.”
“We kept SCW together, we all collectively made SCW a better place and now you….you come crawling back because you believe you can?. Like a little fuckin rat and come crawling back in looking for scraps?”
Austin pulls his front lips up, showing his front teeth and makes sniffing and clicking noises reminiscent of Javier Bardems James Bond villian Silva from Skyfall….
”Did you expect something different? Hmm? The truth is Calvin, I don’t care why you’re here or what you want. I care about what I want, I care about what I'm doing and my future. I care about SCW and keeping the company safe and on track, and if beating the shit out of you is going to help my goals and achieving them, then you better believe I’m going to do it. But, you also need to know something Calvin, this isn’t personal. See, I don’t know you, I don’t know who you are or what you’re about, when it comes to you Calcin Harris, all I know about you is on tape from older events, promos and reputation…”
“But the problem with all of that is, well, it’s unreliable. It’s third hand, it’s from the past, it isn’t representative of the man you are now or what you hope to accomplish, no, to find that out, I have to meet you in the ring and figure that out first hand…see you on Sunday”
