After dropping the two men off, I went on about my life for a few weeks.
The world slowly went back to normal.
Masks were still a thing but more and more, people just went back to doing things the way they used to. Stores opened up and people went back to living life.
I kept driving for Uber and the fares were always good. It helped Levi and I just settle down for a little bit. We were waiting for maybe Raphael to have something else for us to do, but we hadn’t heard anything. It was a long time after we first met that we did that job, so it was fine to wait.
Let any heat die down.
Come to think of it, Levi and I were pretty successful criminals at this point. We have done 8 home invasions, robbed and stole things, and had an actual body count. But at this point, we were as normal as people could be.
We lived in a house.
We worked in our yard.
We mowed the lawn.
Just… things people do. Normal people.
It was at this point, I got back into wrestling. I hadn’t watched since I was in High school and had a TV to watch regularly. It was at this point that Amber Ryan was SCW Bombshell’s champion. I realized my favorite was still going, and still doing all the things she wanted to do that I wished I could do. She talked and spoke about things that fascinated me. I was again hooked.
Flipping through channels I found Jason Cashe again too, still doing all the crazy shit I wanted to do, and that I was kind of doing, except he was getting paid and I would be in prison for.
My idols.
Now I was watching and learning from them, as well as my own experiences. I figured that should some circumstances come my way, I would attempt to do that. Wrestling just looked fun.
But it had to wait because being an Uber driver got me some amazing perks.
I was parked just waiting for fares when I got a text from my boss. It said that two men personally requested that I pick them up from Watts. “They asked for you, April.”
I hadn’t given much thought to the conversation I had with those two guys I saved after they burned down a store, but it came rushing back when the pickup location was listed as Grape street in Watts. Then it clicked.
I drove there and the same two guys were waiting. They opened the door and I recognized them, so there was no need for the usual formalities. They knew I was there for them, and I knew I was there for them.
“Boys.”
“Sup? Yo, where you been at?”
“Driving around. Getting by. You know how it is. Come on”
“They got in the back seat and I drove.”
“Where we going?”
“Inglewood. Our peoples wanna meet you.”
“Your boss?”
“Yeah.”
“Cool.”
We drove to the spot in Inglewood. It wasn’t a house, it was a mansion. Like holy shit it was massive. Unlike Raphael, there wasn’t security and dudes with guns everywhere. No, this was just a luxurious house. Like… man it was huge. We got out and I was hesitant to follow, just a gut feeling at that point. One of the men saw me and turned back.
“You good?”
“You gonna shoot me now and take my car?”
“Nah, this is 100. No cap. We got you.”
I followed, still reluctant, and we went in.
The inside was even better than the outside. It was decorated with all kinds of fancy shit that I would never be able to afford.
I followed the two men through massive hallways and into a room that was guarded. There was a massive guy who had muscles bigger than my head. He frisked me despite the guys saying I was cool, and then opened the door.
“Yo, twins.”
I walked in and there were two people sitting on a fancy couch. Both had wild hairstyles with chunky brains and dreads. They were identical twins.
Minkah and Mikah Jackson.
Mikah turned and stood up walking towards me rubbing his hands together.
“You helped my boys here out, right?”
“I did.”
“Good looking out, I appreciate you.”
He offered his hand and we did that cool slap-up thing that I got on the first try, so I felt better about myself.
“Walk with me.”
“We walked to the couch, and I sat in a love seat near them. Mikah sat down next to Minkah. Minkah hadn’t moved or said anything. She wasn’t even looking at me. Her face was buried in her phone. I couldn’t help but look at her, waiting for something to happen.”
“Don’t worry about my sister. She doesn’t get down on the same stuff I do. She’s got her own thing, Model and all that.”
I sat in silence, Minkah didn’t even respond to her name being mentioned.
“Look, you helped my boys out, and I got the money I needed and nobody went to jail, because you were there. I like that. I appreciate that. So, I want to extend to you, one time deal, you know what I’m sayin’? You can come work for me, and I will take care of you like I do everybody else. Or, you can leave, and we’re square and we never met.”
“What kind of work?” Was my only question.
“Odd jobs.” He said with a chuckle.
“I got some work before like that. For another guy, paid me a lot.”
We were both being incredibly vague, and that suited the both of us just fine. Minkah blew a bubble from her gum, but that’s the most she did the entire conversation.
“I like that you have work experience. But by the time you do one job for me, you will have more money than you ever had in your life. That is what we do. We give people the money the achieve their goals. You got goals, right?”
“Still trying to figure that out.”
“But you work with me, and then, you’ll have all the time in the world to figure it out. I can tell you don’t mind getting your hands dirty, but I try not to have anybody get dirty if they don’t have to.”
“Where’s the fun in that?” I asked.
Mikah laughed.
“I like that. I like that. But, unlike a lot of “gangs” or whatever around here, we move in silence, we do things efficiently and professionally. If nobody knows, then nobody can mess it up. I wanna show my appreciation for your efforts and let you get some of the benefits if you know what I mean.”
“I do. But… I have a boyfriend.”
“Nah, not like that. I’m talking about this money.”
At the sound of me mentioning a boyfriend, Minkah actually looked up at me. Glanced really. For like a half a second, and then back to her phone.
“In that case… can I bring him on board too?”
“I don’t know him. He’s cool?”
“We work together. On… odd jobs.”
Mikah nodded, understanding what I meant.
“Yeah. cool then. Bring him on.”
This was going to go against Raphael. I didn’t know how he would react to that.
“My other employer said he’d have some work for me as well. Is that a problem?”
“Depends on who he is.”
“A man named Raphael. I don’t know his last name.”
Mikah pondered this for a moment, but shrugged.
“How long ago was the last job?”
“About a month ago.”
“We can keep a flexible schedule.”
Well shit. Let’s go.
…
“When do we start?”
Bella, I told you how the ladder match would end.
And it played out that way.
Now, I didn’t need a bunch of interference on my behalf, and all the nonsense that comes with Cassie Wolfe and all her problems.
But I was damn sure able to take advantage of them.
That’s the difference between me and you. I will gladly use any and every advantage to my benefit. Even ones by mistake. You tried but you failed. I succeeded. That’s also a difference between us, isn’t it.
I can hear it now. You were only the champion for X number of days, and nobody cares and you didn’t change anything! You’re full of shit! You’ve done nothing.
I have climbed the mountain you haven’t Bella.
I did it before you.
Every time you get even close to the summit, you slip, and fall down. And then you have a crisis and need to take time away to re-think things. You keep confusing real change with just trying from a different angle.
You wanted to be hardcore, you wanted to be nice, you wanted to be anything, but you.
People can call me two-faced and a liar and gas-lighter. But hey, I can admit it.
I’ve lied, and threatened and freaked out and screamed and yelled and manipulated everyone to get where I need to go. The end will always justify the means.
You only succeed in gaslighting yourself into thinking just trying a little harder will get you somewhere. It hasn’t worked yet. I told you my gameplan, I told you exactly what would happen and I made it happen. And now what? Now where do you go, Bella?
I do this, because I have a vision. A vision and a destiny. One I haven’t been able to completely make a reality just yet, but I know what I have to do. You’re still struggling with consistency. Once you have a goal, then you must stop at nothing to get it. You must take every advantage or path given to you, and obviously, the shortest path is the best.
It is my goal and destiny to be the SCW Bombshell’s champion again. And re-shape this company and make it better for people like you. People who need a little help getting started. I’m going to even the playing field for people like you. And yet, you oppose me. You think I’m some sort of devil or a bad person.
Okay, I am a bad person. But that shouldn’t stop you from seeing what I see.
A world where you, Bella Madison can actually climb the ladder and achieve something great. You can do that. An SCW that isn’t having people like Crystal, or Mikah, or anybody else old continuing to hog the spotlight. A chance for you to step out of your mother’s shadow and actually find out who you are.
That’s the world that can be. It’s a lot better than where you are now.
Spinning your wheels and hoping against hope that you find something consistent to hang on to until you ultimately lose and have to go back to the drawing board.
Is that what you want, Bella? Is that the type of career you wish to have?
I realize I could have made all this happen two weeks ago and I failed.
I did, I won’t lie or complain about it.
It happened and I will learn from it, and be back yet again.
And most likely before you even get started Bella.
Because this week it’s us. In the ring, yet again. And when you lose, yet again, just understand that there is a plan to make you better. You just have to…
Trust me.
I'll show you the way.
