What have I done?
Johanna sat up straight, her hands holding her hat on her lap as she was dressed in her best formal uniform. The jacket done up to regulation. Her posture pushing her chest up and forward. She was nervous, her hands were steady but her eyes darted from side to side. The heavy wooden doors opened, her father stepped out and let out a large laugh. Next to him stood Superintendent Herstod Vakt. He was the one in charge of her division, her boss. The two men smiled and spoke a few words, an inside joke. Another laugh. Johanna swallowed hard and tried to calm herself.
She had only spoken to her Superintendent a handful of times. He was always so busy dealing with her direct superiors. Johanna, while a talented officer and worthy of a future in the force, was not that high on the totem pole. She swallowed again trying to stop her throat from feeling dry. Then her father saw her, he gave her a warm grin and motioned her to walk over. Jo pushed to her feet, her long blond hair was up and back in a bun, no strand was out of place, only basic and plain makeup, her leather shoes caught the glint of the light above. Not one scuff mark to be seen.
As she approached she kept her chest up and out, her back straight and her eyes on them both. She stopped and kept her feet together as her father made the introduction. ”I’m sure you remember my daughter Johanna old friend. She’s been working with your young sergeants.” He gave the Superintendent a wry grin, Superintendent Vakt looked her up and down and laughed under his breath.
His voice was calm and measured but with a small hint of favor. He was familiar with her. ”Yes of course. I’ve heard much about the young blond pitbull pup.” Johanna resisted the urge to crack a smile. Pitbull was her father's nickname in the force. To be thought of in the same way, even in passing filled her with hope.”Don’t be so stiff and tense Constable Krieger. Your father has informed me you have something important to discuss.”
Johanna swallowed again and her jaw fluttered. She had thought and assumed her father would tell him everything. She slowly looked at him, her father just gave her a small wink. ”I thought it appropriate you present it all.”
”Of course father.” The old friends looked at one another and Superintendent Vakt turned and led Johanna into his office, her father stayed outside. Johanna looked around, she saw his desk, the awards and photos. Including one of him and her father when they were younger, large mugs of beer in their hands. Johanna couldn’t help but smile.
Vakt’s voice startled her out of her gaze. ”That was the day after I got promoted.” He smiled and seemed to relax now they were out of the hallway, away from the other officers. Vakt sat at his desk and motioned for Johanna to take a seat across from him. ”Please” She gave a nod and moved across sitting down placing her hat in her lap, along with a file she had brought together. ”Now, what is it that you need to bring to my attention?”
Johanna took a long deep breath, she pulled the file up placing it on Vakt’s desk, she started to explain all of it. The stakeout, the warehouse, her superior acting strangely. All of it laid to bare with the evidence of a fellow officer entering the restricted and suspicious area. Vakt sat and listened. He said no his hand on his jaw, his glasses had been pulled over his eyes to read the evidence presented. When she finished there was an awkward silence. Vakt cleared his throat and got to his feet taking the file with him.
He removed his glasses and gave another smile, not as warm as before, but he was trying to make it seem that way. Johanna felt strange getting to her feet to meet him. ”Thank you. Thank you for bringing this to me. I will make sure it is looked into.Now, leave this with me and please ask your father to join me in my office.” The delivery of the words seemed off. Cold. The mood in the office had changed, the air was now heavy. Johanna backed away and gave a small nod.
She moved out from the large wooden doors, her father was waiting, he got to his feet to greet her. She smiled and he took her hands. ”He is going to look into it, but he has asked you to join him.” Her father laughed and gave her a nod. He gave her a small kiss on the forehead and walked towards the office, Johanna’s stomach feeling strange. She was worried. And had no idea why.
Third times a charm
Her eyes slowly opened. A deep blue framed by a dark black eyeliner. Her skin was pale white her cheeks had a black wall paint. Johanna Krieger was in full war garb. She smiled, but it was more of a sneer, her lips were covered in black lipstick making her teeth seem even sharper gleaming in the light from above.
” still the champions. Just like Alex and I told you we would be. The Trenton Tigers were never going to be a challenge for a team like us. People who are so delusional should never be allowed to challenge for championships, they should never be allowed to be prevalent on television. Yet for some odd reason management has a soft spot for them. They are cuddled, they are spoiled, they are favored.”
“But unfortunately best laid plans to make stars at our expense have failed. There is so much talk in the mixed tag team division about who the faces of the division are going to be. Who the leaders of the division of going to be. The Barnhardt are running their mouths, the Tigers still think they should be in the running, new challenges from faded legends in Kris Ryans and Mikah have now also entered the conversation. Alex and I have continued to be the shining lights of the division. We have taken the championships over and we have made them an even bigger prize and they were before. But that doesn’t fit the narrative that some in this company want to tell.”
She folded her arms over her chest. She tilted her head sideways as a few strands of blonde hair moved down across her face, the rest of her blonde dreads with different colours braided through came to rest on her leather jacket. She raised an eyebrow and continued
”But oh how interesting it is when on climax control I will be facing one half of the team who expects to take the championships off myself and Alex. The team of sass and bash. How adorable. And Little Miss Bella Madison, someone who seems to be so ready to shop the world and to keep pressing her own narrative. The one where she actually believes herself to be a world-class competitor and someone who belongs in the ring with me. The truth is for the last three years I have been professional wrestling’s best kept secret. It wasn’t until I moved to America and I started training with Alex and with Alicia that I started to get the recognition I deserved.”
“I traveled to many different companies, I took on the best of the best, and then after walking into sin city wrestling I became a champion in a very short amount of time. Others struggle, others crawl and scrape, others take so long to make any sort of impact in this business and in this company yet I did it so fast. And so many turn around and say that I hitched my wagon to Alex, of course others say that Alex is using people like myself and Austin and Alicia to keep himself relevant. It’s amazing how many people can’t keep the story straight so they will make excuses”
“The thing is though, Bella doesn’t make excuses. I may not like her attitude, I may not like how she is this smiley little girl. But I admire the guts and determination that she shows to get better.”
“I admire the fact that unlike teams like the trend Tigers Bella and Malachi have never demanded or asked for anything. All they have ever wanted is a chance. A chance that has been taken from them time and time again over the Trenton Tigers. Sass and bash never got a one on one shot they got inserted into a match and then the Tigers got a shot right afterwards and I have to question why?. Sass and bash beat them, we beat the Tigers in our triple threat match, yet somehow Bella and Malachi got overlooked.”
Johanna sneers and shakes her head pacing back and forth.
”But not now. Now Bella and Malachi have been positioned as challengers and while I personally believe they deserve to be here, I also have to point out that against me..Bella never looks strong. She and I have a past in our short careers here and every time. EVERY SINGLE TIME, she has come up short. And as we head into Climax Control she has a chance to prove everyone wrong and to “overcome” her failures. Something that she has said time and time again. And as I said, I admire the determination. But….”
“Words...are never enough.”
“Actions Bella, actions are what matter and this match is about more than just two professional wrestlers going toe to toe. I beat you and that will get in your head, and it will make it even harder for you and Malachi to come into Summer XXXtreme to challenge us. And how will you feel Bella...letting Malachi down...again?.I’m one of the best wrestlers on this planet Bella, and beating me is no easy thing to accomplish. And I have been hidden away in tag team matches and matches against people who don’t matter, like Song who came in and then disappeared after taking a shot at the mixed tag titles that she and her partner didn’t deserve.”
“So now, now you have a chance to prove you can overcome your failures and me?...I have a chance...to hurt you. And make no mistake Bella, I will fucking hurt you…”
