[Jack Washington]

Prologue:

Jack had done it. He was now the SCW World Heavyweight champion. He had accomplished his goal and he was damn proud of himself and what he had achieved. He walked through the curtain after the match and although he was applauded by the crew and the folks running the show. Jack only shook a couple of hands, those of Mark Ward and Christian Underwood. They ran the show so it was only fitting to shake their hands. To everyone else, he was almost snubbing them, but he did give a subtle nod before he walked right back to the locker room and he packed his stuff. He was about to leave, just like that, but he was informed that he needed to take his new championship promotional photos, there were name plates that needed to be changed. New videos and 8x10’s that needed him there. Jack did as he was told as he knew the hard work was just beginning. He was the champion now, so as much as it pained him to be a public figure like this, it was what he was facing now. He stayed behind after the show was over, interviews and podcasters already wanted him. He changed into his regular clothes and did the SCW Post show press conference before he was finally allowed to head back, finish getting everything signed off on and all the annoying new things he would have to do as champion. Finally, he gathered his bag, he went back to the hotel and spent his first night as champion. Now, he needed to prepare for what lay ahead next inside the ring.

Outside the ring, Jack knew that with what was going to go down of the Grand Flamingo, bringing Benny in on the deal would be beneficial but would also come with a cost. And Benny could not know about the deal Jack had with the Mexicans. But Jack was smart enough to know that Benny had experience with running an operation and he would be able to keep it running far smoother than Jack would. Jack reasoned they needed each other to stay in business. Now the only question was whether or not Benny would actually take the deal. He walked away from Jack originally, needing time to think. Once he arrived, he saw the size of Jack’s operation, and realized it was his best shot at getting back into the gaming world, and not be left behind in the outdated bookie operation. Jack made the offer, and Benny, once he was given what he really wanted, which was power, continued to give thought to Jack’s deal. Jack knew that if something happened he needed to be simply a background player to the public. The only thing that would be public was the fact that Jack bought the building. This would give Jack the out he was looking for, the golden parachute as it were. If anything went down, Jack was simply the owner and would have no knowledge of what really takes place. He wanted to be a public figurehead, but in essence, he was setting Benny up as the fall guy in case things went sour.

Jack learned from a young age… always have an escape plan.

But now, Jack would shoulder a different responsibility.


--

Saxon Hotel
Las Vegas, NV.
Three Weeks Ago


Jack returned to his hotel room. By this point, most of the wrestlers were now moving a lot more freely but Jack was still taking his time in moving out of the hotel. Why spend the money if he didn’t have to? Jack knew eventually he would need to leave and find some place to stay, but now, he could do that. Championship money. That was his phrase for it. And now… it wasn’t just a possibility or even a probability, it was and inevitability.

Jack tossed his gear back on the ground and unzipped it to pull out the SCW World championship. He closed his eyes as he lifted the belt from the bag and held it in his hands. It almost felt surreal to him. He kept his eyes closed, thinking that when he opened them again, he would wake up from a dream or something. He would not be the world champion and this wasn’t real. Jack continued to hold the title at eye level, and then his eyes opened. It wasn’t a dream. He was the world champion and he made it happen. He smiled to himself and gently laid the championship on his bed. He stood back and admired it. He looked on it from different angles he stood on the bed and looked down at it. He propped it up to face forward and he stared at it in reverence. For a good amount of time, Jack simply stared at the title. He would look at his phone and he would quickly glance over to the title, as if it had gotten up or sprouted legs and ran away. Once he finally was threw with his social media tasks, he opened the balcony door and stood on the outside. He wanted to laugh. He was like a little kid. He looked back, picked the championship up from the bed and walked back outside. He raised it high over his head and he screamed.

It was a yell of joy. A release of the emotion he felt and how much it meant to him. He screamed until he had no breath. He felt nauseous for a brief moment. He dry heaved as all the emotion came out. But as quickly as it was there, it was bad the feeling of joy. He raised the title once again high over his head with one hand, and with the other pointed to himself.

Jack: IT’S FUCKING MINE! ALL MINE!

Jack screamed at the top of his lungs. He was as proud as a peacock as they say. He wanted the whole world to know that this championship was his and his alone. He grunted and pumped his fists knowing his hard work had paid off. He walked back into the room and closed the balcony door swinging the championship around his head and once he finished he headbutted the title itself. He then kissed it. He didn’t know what he was really doing, just that it felt right at the time.

Finally, when it was all over, all the adrenaline wore off and the emotions weren’t raw… he gently laid the title on his gear bag and looked at it once again.

Jack: I did it.

He said it softly to himself. All the outbursts of emotion were done and he took his sore body and laid in the bed and took the good night’s sleep.

He had earned it for himself.

--

Grand Flamingo Plaza
Las Vegas, NV.



--

Jack arrived days after winning the SCW title, to the Grand Flamingo. He was actually carrying the championship with him, it gave him that much pride and he wanted to show it off, as any champion would. But the sight of a grown man carrying a championship belt with him is a little silly, even Jack acknowledged this. Jack stood staring out the glass window of his office, championship slung over his shoulder and back to the door. Jack loved seeing the casino portion nearly complete. The slot machine and card and dice tables were there. He was on his way, but it wasn’t quite there yet.

After a few moments, Brian walked in the door, a sly smile on his face.

Brian: Good going, Stick.

Jack: I know.

Brian: Big time now, huh?

Jack: You could say that I guess.

Brian: Gotta be pretty big time if you’re carrying it around.

Jack: This is… this important to me, Brian. It really is. I worked my ass off for this. It’s… it’s the first thing I really did on my own without anyone helping me or looking out for me. Sure, I won some title before, but not a world title. I mean, I can say right now that I am the fucking best at something, and I did it all on my own.

Brian: I know, Stick, I’m just messing with ya. I mean, you ain’t gonna carry that thing everywhere, are ya?

Jack: I don’t know, man. I mean, I like this thing. I want to have it forever. I want this feeling to last forever. But I know it can’t. I’m just… trying to enjoy it while I can.

Brian: They do say nothing lasts forever, Stick. I get ya.

Jack: And it’s another reason I need Benny to look after this place.

Brian: You know he still ain’t on board. If he takes too much longer we ain’t gonna have anybody here and we’re going to start losing real money.

Jack: I know, but I know what he’s thinking, and so do you.

Brian: What’s the catch?

Jack: Exactly. He’s trying to find an angle. He’s trying to figure out how I’m double crossing him. Something to give him the idea not to take the deal.

Brian: But you are double crossing him.

Jack: Not quite. The point is with all the media and shit I’m going to have to do now as the champion, I don’t know how much time I’m going to be able to spend here. I have a lot of obligations now, so I was hoping to get this done sooner rather than later.

Brian: Well, Benny never was fast about anything. Except with his ex-wife.

Jack: Dorothy…

Brian: Yeah, too bad about her. Pretty girl.

Jack: If you say so.

Brian: She was. She was. But seriously Stick, what’s going to happen with the Mexican’s if Benny finds out?

Jack: I don’t know. Still working on that.
 
Brian: And what am I supposed to do if you ain’t here?

Jack: Keep an eye on the money. Watch out for Benny. You and I both know he’ll rip us off if he thinks he can get away with it. He’s a snake like that.

Brian: But you wanna hire him…

Jack: Better the devil you know than the devil you don’t, right?

Brian: I suppose, still think it’s a shit idea.

Jack: We’re pretty much out of options. You ain’t gonna run this place.

Brian heads to the mini fridge to get another glass of whiskey

Brian: Might rip you off though.

Jack smirks.

Jack: I’m well aware of that.

Brian feigns heartbreak.

Brian: You really think that about me?

Jack: Of course I do. I just said Devil’s you know, right?

Brian finished pouring his shot, when there was knock at the door.

Jack: Come in.

Jack kept eye on the door as it opened. Never knew if something was going down. Brian also took a tactical step towards the mini-fridge, prepared to use it as cover. But, at this point, there was no need.

Benny: Easy, kid.

Jack: Benny.

Benny: Yeah.

Benny slowly made his way in, flanked by his two bodyguards. He sat down in front of Jack’s desk, legs crossed ankle over knee. He turned to Brian.

Benny: Pour another one will ya?

Brian looked at Jack, which caused Benny to look at Jack.

Benny: If you don’t mind, that is.

Jack nodded, motioning for Brian to pour the drink.

Jack: Well Benny, I’ve explained this before, what do you think? Are you in, or not?

Benny: I’m still trying to figure out something.

Jack: Alright, what are you trying to figure out?

Benny: What’s in this … for you? I get to run the casino, put my people in here, run it the way I want. And you just get to be the figure head.

Jack: Is there a problem with that?

Benny: Yeah, it’s too good for me. Too good on my end. Why do you get nothing real big out of it?

Jack: I do, Benny. This is in my name. You work for me. This is an accomplishment for me. Something I did, on my own. Much like this title I won.

Benny: Yeah, nice new belt you got there. What’s it worth, couple, two, three grand?

Jack sighed.

Jack: We’re not discussing that. I’m not pawning this thing. It’s mine and I need it. Which, again, presents a problem for me. I need to be out there, doing everything a world champ does, and I won’t be able to run this place 24/7. Neither would Brian.

Benny: I still don’t see how this works for you.

Jack: You got the people and connections I don’t. We went over this. This helps you, and it helps me. You can’t compete with Sonny, and right now, neither can I. But together, there’s a future.

Brian finally delivered the shot glass to Benny and Benny downed his drink. He turned back to Jack after staring at the glass for a few moments.

Jack: Deal?

Jack stuck his hand out. Benny looked at it for a moment, and then stood up, shaking Jack’s hand.

Benny: Deal.

Jack: Alright. Like  I said before, we can make this place special. You are my guy Benny, as, as the champion of the company based here… I can get you those wrestling fans into the casinos too. I’m already working on getting some dual exposure for that.

Benny: No shit?

Jack: No shit.

Benny: Well hot damn kid, looks like we’re going to be in a great business together.

Jack: That’s right. Now, I need your guys here, and we need some new guys here. We’ve got applicants from the website that are going to work in food, and do some security.

Benny: I’ve have my boys training them and we’ll be ready in no time.

Jack: Good. I need you on this Benny. You get your boys over here, and trust me, we can start making some real money. And uh… we also have a good thing going with the commissioners guy. We just need to keep him in a place where he can’t fuck anything up, and they’ll be off our backs for the foreseeable future.

Benny actually smiled and chuckled slighty.

Benny: You’re… you’re alright, Kid.

Jack: I’ll have some paperwork drawn up and we can make the official announcement and all that.

Benny: You got it.

Jack: Alright, pleasure doing business with you Benny.

Jack escorted Benny out of the room, where Bobby was there to escort Benny and his body guards out of the room.  Jack closed the door and his smile faded. He marched back the desk and sat down.

Brian: Happy now?

Jack: He’s going to rip us off. Just, remember to keep an eye on this guy. I don’t need him fucking anything up. And if you could, keep an eye on the commish’s guy. You know Benny will do something stupid like fire him if he fucks up.

Brian: Look at you, thinking like a boss.

Jack: Yeah, don’t tell anybody, I don’t wanna be mistaken for you OR Benny.

Jack poured himself a shot of whiskey and quickly tossed it back. He put the glass down and stood up, walking over to the mirror on the wall and checking himself out for a moment.

Brian: And where are you going looking all spiffy and shit?

Jack smirked in the mirror turned back to Brian.

Jack: I got champion business to take care of.

With that, Jack walked out of the office.

--

On Camera:

Click

We are in complete blackness. Then Jack’s face is illuminated by a flashlight under her chin.

Jack: Do you people want to hear a scary story?  It is Halloween season, so what’s wrong with a little ghost story right? Ahem, Once upon a time, there was a man, known to be a greedy, conniving, asshole and just an all-around shitbag person. He would scare the townspeople when he would make his presence known and everyone would be leery of this horrible man with his terrible attitude. He was rude and unpleasant to everyone he met. He would take all the gold he could get his hands on from the townspeople and never share it with anyone else. And when he was done he would retreat to his old run down cabin. Some of the townspeople went after him and tried to get their gold back, but he would run them off with his army of dogs that were just as nasty as he was. Some of them would bite and kill some of the townspeople. But the man would always claim that these men trespassed on his property, so the authorities couldn’t do anything about it. They say at night you could hear him counting the gold and laughing at how much he had. He had done this several times before and amassed hundreds of pounds of gold, threatening all the townspeople from afar like the coward he was. He was hell-bent of making everyone’s lives as miserable as possible because all he cared about was gold.

And then one day, a young, handsome man saw all this happening and he decided that he would take the gold back. He watched as every day at the old man took from the townspeople. And so, he followed him deep into the woods. He arrived at the run down cabin and saw all the guard dogs. If they saw him no doubt they would tear him to pieces, but he was resourceful. He carried pieces of meat with him and used them to distract the dogs. He snuck into the house and was met with a powerful stench of old, rotting meat. The young man saw the old man’s book of insults directed at the townspeople to use. He saw all the gold the old man had amassed and realized how this man needed to be stopped.

But the old man woke up before the young man could gather all the gold. There was mighty struggle and the young man eventually escaped the house, having beaten down the old man and taken his gold. He beat the old man nearly to death and pretty much crippled him. The young man returned rich, and the townspeople were ecstatic to have their gold in good hands. And even happier to have the old man finally dealt with.

But the old man swore revenge, he screamed at night about how he would come back and take the gold again, but the young man shouted back that if the old man showed his face again, the young man would kill him for good.

And to this day, if you listen closely on a full moon, you can still hear Alex Jones bitching about it.


Jack turns off the flashlight and turns the light on, a smug look on his face, and the SCW world championship draped over his shoulder.

Jack: I know, that was scary there for a while, but the greedy old man has been dealt with, and I am the SCW world heavyweight champion. You don’t have to fear Alex Jones coming back for the title anymore. At this point, the old man’s bitching is just pathetic at this point. Dude, you lost, let it go and move on with life.

Anyway, how the hell are you, Sin City Wrestling? Doesn’t it feel better, haven’t the past 3 weeks just been… better? Isn’t it so refreshing that we can finally start moving forward instead of backward with our champions? I mean, well… not all champions I guess, but still, things are almost better now. Things are just so close to being better than you can taste it. I lifted the black cloud that was hovering over this championship by putting Alex Jones in his place and sending him back to the cabin in the woods or whatever. The fact is Alex Jones could not compete with me and at Violent Conduct I made that clear to the whole world. I beat him, right in the middle of the ring. All Alex was doing was holding onto my title until I took it from him. There’s a word for that kind of champion… I think they call it… transitional or something like that. Yeah, that was Alex Jones was. And now, old scary dog Austin James Mercer is getting a championship match at High Stakes. Good for you, Austin. Maybe you can work on trying to not be the human equivalent of a pumpkin spice latte next. You won your little contendership match and that’s all well and good. It will not change the fact that at High Stakes, you’re going to lose like your boy Alex Jones did.

But oh shit, I’m getting ahead of myself and looking past the guy I’m actually facing this week in my first title defense. Well, if nothing else, I have to be better than wolfsliar and not lose it here, otherwise I’d be a transitional champion. So, let’s move on past the Bed, Bath & Beyond crew and talk about the racecar driver.


Jack scoffs before continuing.

Jack: Agostino Romano. Didn’t you just lose to Austin James Mercer? Didn’t he just whoop your ass, and some other dudes ass and now you’re getting the chance to dance with the champ this week? Big time title match, main event of Climax Control. Good for you man. I’m not going to hate of you for getting this shot. Nah, there’s no need to. As the champion, I don’t determine who’s worthy of a shot or not. I don’t really care who they put in front of me. You are just like Alex Jones, and every other opponent I’ve faced. Only one word comes to mind to describe you:

Next.

That’s what you are man. Just the next guy in line. You aren’t special. You know why? Because if everyone is special, that nobody is. There’s only one guy in this company who is special, and that’s me. My talent had me rising to the top from day one. While somebody like you Romano, has toiled in mediocrity since the day I first laid eyes on you. You allowed yourself to become a joke. Because you care about what people think about you.  You want to have the fans on your side and yadda yadda. Here’s the problem with that Romano, it will never be enough. Not until you are old and broken down and then the people who you think give a shit, will boo you and tell you to retire and walk away. I would think, that before that time comes, that you would want to be something special. But you have instead let them drive you into the ground. You’ve hit the wall, Agostino. You’re done and you don’t even know it yet.


Jack laughs at his own joke, but stops and shakes his head.

Jack: I would say it’s sad, but it’s not. It’s just how this works. In life, there are winners, and there are losers. And you, are a loser. At this point right now, before you get the biggest chance of your life, you have to know that it’s going to end in failure right? You have to know that I’m going to run through you like a hot knife through butter. You have to know that you have no chance. Has it actually dawned on you yet that you have no chance? I’d actually give you credit for taking one ass whooping from me and coming back for a second, but you don’t really want to face me again, do you? No, I didn’t think so. You just want what’s around my waist. And you know what? Good for you. But, that’s the problem isn’t it? You can want in one hand and shit in the other and we both know which hand is going to get filled up first.


Jack’s tone becomes deathly serious.

Jack: You are trying to take something from me that I worked really fucking hard to get, and when I wasn’t the champion, I used you to cement my contender status. But don’t mistake that with me owing you anything Agostino. If you thought it was a rough night when I wasn’t the champion, and only had that little piece to fight for… can you imagine what I’m willing to do to keep this championship now that I have it? You will have to be a killer, an animal to take this from me. And that’s not you, kid. That’s not you at all. And you know that, don’t you? You know deep down that you aren’t man enough to take this from me. Because you aren’t willing to go to the lengths that I am. Not in this lifetime, son. If I have to take you completely out of this business to keep this championship around my waist, I will do it. No questions asked, no regrets, no remorse. You are jumping feet first into the World championship ocean son, and you already look like you’re bleeding. You already look like you’ve got wounds, and you’re trying to swim with the sharks. It’s not going to end well for you.

But trust me, I’m not looking past you, not by a long shot. This championship means the world to me and I’m not about to sleep on anybody that is even trying to sniff a championship match. You’re here, so you are my focus this week. You are right now, the guy in my direct line of sight. And you trying to take this championship from me, makes you a threat. And I don’t take kindly to threats Agostino. I don’t take them lightly either. Yeah, you can say I’m paranoid. When it comes to this championship, I’m a paranoid mother fucker, man. Everyone is enemy to me. But then again, you know right now that I’ve made plenty of enemies. It makes it easier for me. I don’t think I will ever have to worry about people trying to watch my back or be my friend. Don’t need them. I keep everyone on the same side, and I treat them all the same: Like dirt. It’s a life lesson more people in this business need to figure out. You let somebody in, and they will undoubtedly one day stab you in the back. That’s the whole reason they get close to you. You can look at history and find that out. Many of the greatest civilizations crumbled from within. So do yourself a favor and ditch those hangers on, if you ever want to crawl out of the hole you’re already in.

And in addition to the fact that you are getting this championship match, I have an even more solid reason to beat your ass. You failed last week to stop Austin James Mercer from getting a championship match. I mean, the last thing ANY of us need if Wolfslair getting any more championship matches, and you failed. I mean Jesus Christ you can’t seem to do anything right these days. So, because of that failure, I’m going to have to punish you even more. So this won’t even just be a normal beating like at Summer XXXtreme. Oh no, you deserve a more prolonged, example setting beating for this failure. You will learn in the most painful, harsh beating I can think of. I will beat you like a dusty rug at spring cleaning. I will make it so you won’t even have to wear a mask at Halloween, you’ve already be ugly enough as it is. I-


Jack stops himself mid-sentence, as if something of great importance has crossed his mind.

Jack: You know what? I won’t do that. But I actually see the genius in what you actually did. You’ve given me a great gift, my dude. You really have. I didn’t realize it until just now, but you’ve done something pretty fucking good. By losing last week, you’ve given me the chance to finally kill Wolfslair once and for all. Or at least have another one of them crying like a bitch. So, you know what, I’m not going to really really hurt you Agostino. No, I’m going to whoop your ass like I normally would, beat you, retain my championship, and that will be all. All you’ve have to do then is serve as an example of what Austin Mercer has to look forward to.

So no, Agostino, you will NOT be winning on Sunday. I’m once again going to use you as a stepping stone. I did it once, and I will do it again. I know that you’re thinking I can’t get any higher than I am already, but you’d be wrong. I am not stopping at simply winning this championship. Oh no, I will not stop until I am the greatest champion in SCW HISTORY. And that… starting with beating you. If nothing else, you will be a footnote in my hall of fame highlight package. You’re welcome.


Jack puts the SCW world title directly in front of the camera, blocking us from seeing him, but he continues.

Jack: I want you to get used to seeing that sight. I want you all get used to hearing my voice and seeing the SCW world championship grace your screens whenever you see me. That’s what I am now. I am YOUR champion. And if you don’t like it, there’s always something you can do about it. You can man up and try and take it from me, or you can be a bitch and cry foul like some ex-champions seem to be doing right now.

You better talk to your old master, Austin. I will snatch his other ACL. I will render him useless, well, even more useless and then he gets the Lassie treatment. Ah, what the hell do I care? Bark all you want. Because I’m the SCW world heavyweight champion and you’re not.

Get used to it.


Jack then turns the camera off and we cut to black on that.

Click.

THE. CHAMP. HAS. SPOKEN.

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