Our scene opens on Mercedes entering into her apartment carrying a basket of laundry. Her brother, Jorge, doesn't hear her come in, either because he was too immmensed watching TV from the armchair or probably didn't care either way.
Mercedes sits her basket of laundry down.
Mercedes: And hello to you, too.
Jorge: How was Utah?
Mercedes: Well, I was invited by the LDS?
He turns briefly from the TV.
Jorge: Really, they had you try LSD?
Mercedes shakes her head.
Mercedes: No! Not LSD, stupid. LDS. Latter-Day Saints? Honestly, I'm surprised I survived the entire weekend. And on top of that, I lost my steel cage match the Monday after.
Jorge: Bummer.
Jorge turns back to the TV.
Jorge: So, where you're off too next, Carmen Sandiego?
Mercedes: I told you, I'm going to Africa for a show on the twentieth. Did you get my tickets for Egypt yet?
Jorge: Took care of it.
Cut scene to two days ago. Jorge is seen walking down the block, though he appears apprehensive. He looks around nervously before turning the corner, where a complete stranger meets him.
Jorge: OK, it's like we agreed to over the phone. You got this, right?
Stranger: I do got this.
In a silent trade off, he hands the tickets to the stranger who in turn hands Jorge 100 dollars. After exchanging nods, they turn and go their separate ways.
Jorge: Well, glad that's over. Call of Duty, here I come!
And we're back.
Mercedes: I can't wait to visit Africa. It's been almost two years since my last visit.
Jorge: I'm sure you'll have a great time.
APRIL 16, 2014
WEEK 16 • Day 108
It's no secret that everybody is going to be telling you how they need to win this battle royal, and if they're not, then they're lying through their teeth.
Do I think I deserve to be in this match? No. Why? Well, let me drop some history on you. When I was holding the championship, Necra Kane, yes the same Necra who is also in this match, climbed a ladder to retrieve the title. You heard right. In that TLC match on the fifth Climax Control of 2014 in San Francisco, Necra climbed a ladder. She didn't beat me, she didn't make me tap, she climbed a ladder, unhooked the championship from the harbinger and, lo and behold, was once again the Bombshell Roulette Champion.
Now, granted, Amy Marshall, who I defeated on the first Climax Control of 2014 to start my second reign, was entitled to a rematch against me, but things somehow got in the way after my loss to Necra, and then there was my brief reign with Traci with the Bombshell Tag Titles. My point is, while Amy never got her rematch, she got the next best thing and beat Karina Koji to become the undisputed number one contender, and I'm not taking anything away from Amy, she deserved it. The thing is, something is a little kosher here. While Vixen is the undisputed Bombshell and Roulette Champion, Necra has a claim to a rematch. You know who else has a claim to a rematch? No, go ahead. I'll wait.
*Cue Jeopardy theme*
Yeah, me. I never got my rematch with Necra, so that should tell you that I shouldn't be in this cluster. But you know what, the more I think about it, I mean the more I really think about it, I never was one to take the easy way out. I like to be challenged, so I'm going to take this match, this battle royal, and I'm going to make the best of it.
• • •
The scene is now at a travel agency where we finds Mercedes passing the time listlessly turning the pages of a brochure about Minnesota. All the pertinent details are there – glossy photos, a few interesting trivia, nightlife. She always had a rule about taking brochures with a grain of salt. They're not always the price of admission. She looks up from her reading as a family of four is given assurance that their trip was all set before they take their leave. Mercedes watches them from where she is sitting then walks up to the counter. The agent, having finished jotting down something, looks up at her with a smile.
Agent: Can I help you?
Mercedes: Yes, I booked a cruise that's set to sail on the 17th, and I was told to come in.
Agent: OK, let me see about that for you. (turning towards a computer) Mercedes Vargas, right?
Mercedes: That's me.
Agent: OK, I have some good news and some bad news. We found your tickets, but they haven't come in yet.
Mercedes: What's the good news?
Agent: That was the good news. The bad news is your flight leaves in the next six hours.
Mercedes stares at the agent blankly before hitting her hand to her forehead. If she ever made it to her destination, she vowed that when she got back, she knew she would be going to jail for fraticide.
11 HOURS LATER...
A plane chases the sunset.
Inside the plane, Mercedes wakes up from her afternoon nap and looks outside her window seat. The pyramids of Giza were best viewed at daytime, but seemed even more majestic under the orange glaze that settled behind the.historic landmarks. A man walks his camels over the desert sand dunes to wherever he was going.
Welcome to Egypt.
• • •
Friday, April 18, 2014 ● 2 days until Climax Control
Cairo, Egypt
7:15 PM Local Time
With “Streets of Cairo” as the background, we find crowds of people walking, the incredible throng of traffic honking constantly and creating lanes where there are none in total organized chaos, is the first striking impression of downtown Cairo. This is an everyday occurrence here, but for Mercedes, she was more amazed at the strong military presence. Police and military are practically everywhere with rifles, generally nonchalant, leaning against walls, seemingly not caring about what is going on. Passerbys step to the sidewalk to watch her, others peep through windows. People riding bicycles pass by on the left of Mercedes, looking back at her before going about their daily business.
A quick montage of Mercedes's day: She joins a large group of tourists as their English-speaking guide, a middle-aged woman, leads them to visit a few of Egypt's most renounced sights. The guide stops just outside the Mosque of Muhammad Ali – not the boxer, mind you, the military commander – before they are led inside. Mercedes couldn't keep her eyes off of the architecture above her. Next was visiting the alabaster courtyard, then the clock tower, and finally back inside the mosque to view the very tomb of the Ottoman leader.
A little later, Mercedes visited a bazaars, which made it more bizarre for the locals watching her every move, though the shop owners were always generous when she was ready to make her purchases. She smiles nervously, hands occupied with two shopping bags worth of souvenirs.
There were much more to do and explore, but she couldn't forget the reason why she was here. In 48 hours, she was in for perhaps a chance of making history once again in SCW.
• • •
“The land of pharaohs and kings. The river Nile. Deserts. The blue waters of the Red Sea. And the Sinai. Egypt...”
Mercedes enters the shot. We peel back to show her holding the reigns as she is on a camel. The owner of the animal is offscreen, though he keeps a watchful eye over the proceedings.
“Now, while I didn't get to be on the first stop last Climax Control show in Morocco, this week totally makes up for it. I think we've just about tired ourselves all this week talking about this match Sunday night. We've said all that needed to be said and now we're just resting on pins and needles until Climax Control 80, and I'm sure the fans will be watching and waiting and wondering who is going to win this battle royal and, perhaps more importantly, who will be leaving Cairo making history as the final Bombshell Roulette Champion. People know that I love to talk, but when it came to this match, I didn't know what to say. So when I was asked about submitted my video, I didn't to take a different approach. After all, this is more of a numbers game than anything else. So, let's go by the numbers, shall we?
The owner shouts a command and the camel lowers itself as Mercedes climbs off. She pats its head before turning back to the camera.
“Ten. The number of girls I have to beat in order to challenge Amy Marshall in the main event for the Bombshell Roulette Championship.
“Nine. The number of months that I went unpinned and unsubmitted since I set foot in Sin City Wrestling, going back to June 2, 2013. Can any of my opponents say the same? Yeah, I didn't think so. Nine months! You know what you can do in nine months? Some kid nine month ago just celebrated their first birthday. In nine months, you could grow four and a half inches of hair. You could watch the Lord of the Rings Trilogy 532 times. You could get an average night's rest of nine hours 672 times. You could learn to play the guitar. Lose 30 pounds. Learn to drive manual transmission. You could even read the Harry Potter series 168 times. Whatever you were doing for those 280-plus days, I was in the ring competing in the ring, and there wasn't a single girl that could touch me. They fell like dominoes at my feet.
"Eight. The number of girls, including myself, who has already submitted something for this match. I haven't had time to view them all, but it's almost certain that I'm going to have a fight on my hand, and that I'm one of the favorites to win. Talk about big time pressure. I sure hope I won't let them down.
“Seven. Only seven Bombshells have held both the Roulette and Tag Team Championships. I, of course, being that lucky number seven on the night I won the tag titles with Traci Patterson. I like to say I joined elite company that night.
"Six. The number of girls who are likely to be a favorite in this match, myself included.
"Five. The number of girls who have yet to submit their video submissions. And Veronica, Traci, Karina, Lizzie, and Cynthia, it doesn't matter what you say, because in the end, neither of you are going to having their hand raiseed in victory.
“Four. The number of pinfall victories I have over Amy Marshall. She's never beaten me – in a decisive match, that is. And if the stars align in Cairo, Egypt, don't be surprised if I pin her again and win the title – at her expense.
“Three. The number of years the rivalry between myself and Amy Marshall has lasted. Shocking, I know. It's not like she hasn't realized that she just isn't up to my caliber...OK, it's exactly that. When will she learn?
“Two. The number of weeks between losing the Roulette Championship to Necra and winning the Bombshell Tag Team Titles, which makes me the fastest Bombshell to win two titles that quickly. Becky Jones, eat your heart out. Also, two-time, two-time Bombshell Roulette Champion, and the second Bombshell to hold the title twice.
“But all of this...All of our accomplishments and keeping score and who did what when won't matter. Win-loss records won't matter. Streaks won't matter. But what will matter is who will stand alone with their hand raised not once, but twice in one night and realize their dream of becoming Bombshell Roulette Champion. Oh, I see the talent. I see future stars in the Bombshell Division. I see former champions. I see familiar faces from other places – Hiya, Cynthia! I see a hometown girl who wants to win at all costs and who will probably think she has this match in the bag when we all know this is a crapshoot. This match is fair game, and it's anyone's to lose – or win. And that's what I'm going to do.All of our accolades and accomplishments means nothing because in the end...
Mercedes holds up her index finger.
There can only be one Bombshell Roulette Champion. And on 4/20, it's going to be me. I can see it now.
Mercedes spreads her hands apart in the air visualizing the scene.
"Justin Decent announcing my name to the crowd packing out the Cairo Military Academy Stadium, the referee handing me the Roulette Championship and raising my hand in victory, and then there's me, the three-time and final Bombshell Roulette Champion. People will line up backstage asking for my autograph. I'll trade funny lines with Steven Colbert – sad that David Letterman is calling it quits, but what can you do?
"Amy Marshall, before the night is through, you will know who you will be facing in the main event at Climax Control 80, and you know as well as I do that if anyone else wins this battle royal other than myself or the hometown girl, Necra, you're going home with gold around your waist. Well, let me tell you something, Amelia. If either myself or Necra wins this match, you can kiss your dreams of holding that title for a second time goodbye, because it won't happen as long as either of us wins this match, and you especially don't want me to win it.
"You especially don't want to stand across from me in the main event in Cairo, Egypt with the title on the line. No, Amy, you don't. Because if that happens, you're done, you're finished. So you might as well prepare for the failure coming your way. Just accept it. Embrace it. Make it a reality.
"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. In my eyes, this is not a battle royal, this is an invitation for ten people to get their names added to my checklist. Now, there are a few people who has this already happened before. They know who they are, so I won't even bother with the mentions. The question is, who do I have to worry about in this match? The simple answer is nobody.
"There isn't a single girl in this match that poses a threat to me. I don't care if you're a newcomer, someone looking to make a name for yourself, a cagey veteran, or the hometown girl, all of you will be stepping in the ring with the only threat in this match.
"As far as Necra goes, she better takes in the sights and sounds of her home country, because as good as she is, as much as her hometown fans would like to see her raise the Bombshell Roulette Championship one last time, they are going to be in for a disappointment. Let's face it, Necra has never earned a title in her life. She and Amy were thrown in a Lethal Lottery to win the Tag Titles, she won her first Bombshell Roulette Championship by climbing up and over a cage in a tag team steel cage match, and she defended her title against me in first meeting in a ladder match, and then earned her second reign by, yup, you guessed it, climbing a ladder. Now tell me if that isn't the luckiest Bombshell you've ever seen?”
Raising her sunglasses, she shields her eyes from the sun beating down on her.
"Amy, if you know any prayers, you better start saying them right now. Because I promise you, if it's you and me, me and you, in the main event, on the biggest stage, with the entire world watching, you won't have a prayer."
Fade
