Operation:Tasmanian Devil
It was a strange time at the home of Aiden Reynolds and Kallie Reznik. Kallie wasn’t currently working, she was staying at home looking after their young son Dax. Meanwhile, Aiden was working in two different places and doing all he could to become a star. He was the roulette champion in Sin City wrestling and in PWS apex he had just become the number one contender for a championship. Everything professionally is coming up so well for him.
And at home? He had a beautiful wife and an adorable son. He had friends and family all around him. In fact, if you looked at his life, it looked perfect. And to top it all off he was happy. But, the problem with a happy man like Aiden is that he’s always looking for something else. Something to do that is wild and in some ways incredibly stupid.
He humped to himself looking at his iPad screen and tilting his head before putting his fingers on it and zooming in on something. At his feet, we hear some grunting and shuffling. He looks down with a small smile at Willow, his wombat. That he “liberated” from the San Diego Zoo. ”Oi, I ain’t here to hear that kind of negativity.”
Willow snorted and sat down before scratching behind her ear with her rear right leg. Aiden shook his head and sighed S he kept looking at the iPad. He was so focused that he didn’t hear Dickie Watson step in and move from the kitchen to the lounge room where he was standing. ”The hell is that? The map for Cheyenne Mountain Zoo?” Aiden jumped and turned. ”Why would yo-“
”Hey I’m just doing research. I might want to take Dax to the zoo.”
Dickie wasn’t buying it. Not only did he know his best friend better than anyone else on the planet. He also knew when Aiden was planning something. ”Do I look stupid to you?”
Aiden raised his eyebrow. ”Well, with that haircut…”
”Ok, one, fuck you, and two, I know you are up to something I can see it in your eyes and I can see it the way you jumped when I walked in the room”
Aiden sighed and came to the realization that he wasn’t going to be able to lie to Dickie or deflect what he was really doing. So instead he took a deep breath and pushed the iPad sideways so Dickie could get a better look. ”So, I figured that Dax needs a protector. So I decided that I was going to liberate a little fuzzy friend for him. A Tasmanian devil.”
Dickie stuttered and had a look on his face that said his brain was struggling to retain the information that he was just given as well as having to do a hard reset ”Can’t you just get a fucking dog?”
Aiden smirked ”Nah mate…dogs get fleas..” Dickie broke again having no idea what to say to his friend. Aiden continued. ”So you in or out?”
Dickie shook his head and threw his hands in the air before sighing. ”Yeah…but there’s just one problem..”
”What?”
Dickie rolls his eyes and pulls up the map display list showing where all of the animals are and what kind of exhibits they have. He raises an eyebrow and motions his hand across the entire map. ”They haven’t got Tasmanian devils”
Aiden looks at Dickie, then at the iPad, then back at Dickie, he then takes the iPad and does it again looking at the iPad and then back at Dickie before shaking his head and putting it back on the bench ”Ok, uh no problem. We’ll just go to Denver.” Aidan switches the map to the Denver one and slides it back to Dickie with an arrogant smirk.
Dickie blinks a few times and then has a look at the same list ”None at Denver either…..”
”Fuck!”
Dickie takes the iPad and flicks through it. ”You know what zoo does have them?...San Diego….”
Aiden swallows hard and shakes his head with a sigh. ”I can’t go back there, they have me picture up all over the place. They’ll spot me in about five seconds…” Aidan takes the iPad and starts to search. He then nods slowly and looks over at Dickie with a smile. ”I got it” He slides the iPad over ”Toledo…”
”Why Toledo?”
Aiden smirks again and nods. ”Cause mate…nothin good ever comes out of Ohio…”
Oh Canada
”Sometimes it just isn’t your time.”
Aiden swallowed and cracked his neck before continuing.
”For instance, right now it isn’t my time to be going after the world heavyweight championship. I had an opportunity. I could’ve got into the elimination chamber and then I would’ve been fighting for my chance and my shot. I could be getting ready to face the likes of Carter, Miles, J2H, Jayden Harris, Bill Barnhart, Senor Vinnie…. I could be fighting all of those guys for an opportunity to face whoever wins out of Finn and Alex. But, it wasn’t my time. Instead, Eddie Lyons was able to get into that match, and truth be told he deserves it.”
“Eddie had a shot at Finn and came close. Closer than most people do. I have also faced Finn. And I pushed him to his limits and I’ve beaten Eddie. So I know that my time will come. I know that I’m not completely inept and that I’m never going to reach those heights. But as I said, this just isn’t my time. Unfortunately sometimes it just never happens for people. The sad fact is not everyone can be a world champion and not everyone can be a roulette champion or an Internet champion. Sometimes you hold one of those champions and you can never get back to that same height and get them back.”
“The sad truth is that there’s only a handful of people in this business who can become stars and keep going at a high level. There are a few people who know what it’s like to become a champion. Fewer still to become a world champion, and even less you become multiple-time world champions.”
“This business is cruel, sadistic, and sometimes as much as you love it it simply does not love you back. Now I have been very privileged in my career. I have won a world championship. One. I’m a multiple-time tag team champion, I’ve won all sorts of other titles. Including this roulette championship which I have now held twice. With that being said now is my time. But, do you know whose time it isn’t?”
He pauses for dramatic effect sitting back and putting his hands on his knees.
”Connor Murphy.”
He laughed to himself and shook his head before offering up a shrug.
”Thing is, I don’t have anything against Connor. At the end of the day, he’s just a bloke trying to live his best life and reach the same height that I have. He’s not even a bad bloke. Sometimes I come up against people and I get criticized because the people who I’m facing in these matches can be complete dick heads, and I’m still somewhat positive towards. That’s just the kind of guy I am. I can’t help myself. I joke around I make smart-ass comments but at the end of the day, I’m not here to be a complete prick. I’ll leave that up to other people.”
“Ya know who I’m talking about. I’d put Finn in there, I’d put Alex in there, anyone with the last name Harris…”
“All them…”
“I wouldn’t put Connor in there. I know that Connor doesn’t like to talk shit, he’s similar to me. He likes to run his mouth and be a bit of a smartass. But he’s not a prick or a dickhead. He’s just a guy who likes to fight and is trying to be the best. However, it feels a little bit disrespectful that before inception I was the only one who was giving a shit about the roulette title match. I went into that match as the champion and I was putting it on the line against Daniel Morgan and you Connor. And you said nothing.”
Aiden shakes his head and sits back.
”You had a chance to get so many people‘s attention. To get eyes on our match. To make people care about the roulette championship. And you didn’t. Both you and Daniel said nothing. You did nothing. So tell me, if two men who are fighting for this championship, don’t care about it then why should anyone else? I’ll tell you who does care about it. Me. I care about it. I care about the roulette championship and I care about how it’s perceived. I want people to fight for it. I’m hoping this time you’ll give a shit, I want you to turn up and throw everything at me. I want you to try everything in your power to try and beat me.”
“To prove me wrong. Because as I said, in my eyes it simply isn’t your time. It’s not your time to be the roulette champion. It’s not your time to beat me. It’s not your time to walk out of blaze of glory, the biggest shelf of the year with your hand raised. It’s not your time, it’s my time. And you need to prove me wrong. You need to beat me. And you also now have the problem of being viewed as someone who simply doesn’t care. I know that isn’t necessarily true. I know that you want to be a champion. Thing is, you need to show it. Show me that passion, show me that file. The same kind of passionate guy that I have that I show. I still like to joke around and be funny but over the last few months I have been forced to take my career more seriously and as a result, I’ve been a champion.”
“I might just be one of the best athletes to come out of Australia. Ever. And I understand that that might not exactly be a very long list.”
“But I’m up there…”
“Now to give you a bit of motivation Connor I’m going to remind you of who you have to be to become the greatest athlete to come out of Canada. Hold on a moment.”
Aiden turns and rummages through his things, he moves his phone to the side, one of those pillows that you use on a flight to relax your neck, his wallet, the Roulette championship, and a stuffed unicorn for some reason, he then stops and smiles grabbing hold of a picture before turning it toward us.
”This is Wayne Gretzky. The greatest hockey player of all time, the greatest athlete to ever come out of Canada, and someone who many considered to be a Canadian hero. This is who you need to be like Connor. Did Wayne quit when he moved from the Oilers to the Kings? No of course not. Did he quit later on in his career when he ended up with the New York Rangers? No of course not. He still went out onto that Ice and he tried his heart out. You need to be like Wayne.”
There is a clearing of someone’s throat to the side. Aidan looks over and raises an eyebrow before leaning over. We see a female hand move and shield her face as there are a few whispers happening.
”Wait…what? Really?, TRUMP?…e
Right…..ok”
As the woman draws back, a woman that we can safely assume was his wife Kallie, Aiden clears his throat and slowly puts the picture down.
”On second thought maybe you should just be yourself Connor. Come at me with everything that you can and see if you can leave blaze of glory as the new roulette champion. Because I’m going to throw everything I am at you. And when the dust settles, I’m going to be the only one standing”
