Smiling is a big part of my game, a warm smile puts people at ease around you, which is a big plus in the game we're in. Trying to get people to trust you with a smile, means they part with what you want a little bit easier and quicker than most. In a game like ours where we need to get what we want pretty sharpish, that smile can make all the difference, but I ain't gonna lie, I ain't been smiling too often at this point, the smile has been wiped clean off my face because some bloke has been badgering me about joining the wrestling world, joining London Underground on the camera. That man is my close friend, Nick George. I like Nick, we grew up together, we worked together for donkey's years, but he never made it up to my level, he never rose the ranks and has accepted that, he's good for that, but now he wants to be part of the group on the screen, doing the SCW thing.
There's a couple of things that scream out no to me. One, he just got a promotion to run the casino a little more hands on, and two, his temperament to manage our wrestling career ain't all there. He sees wrestling management as general management, but it's not, yet he won't ease up.
I've avoided having the conversation with him because he bugged the daylights out of me. He's doing it for the wrong reasons, he wants to punch a ginger bloke. He could do that without being involved in wrestling but knows he can get away with it if it's for the entertainment of others.
Anyway, I thought I'd avoided him well, swerving his offer to hang out at his place. It had been a long day so home felt like a good place to be...
... How wrong was I?
Tiredness covers Daniel Morgan's face as he puts the key in the door to the home he shares with the rest of London Underground. The rest of the group opting to be elsewhere for the night, but sleep was very much on Daniel's mind. A quick turn of the key allows him to push the door open to the home and walks in. Daniel walks directly to the living room, taking his jacket off from his back and hangs it on a nearby coat rack. Without turning his back, he rolls his eyes before closing them.
"What are you doing here?" Daniel asks "And more to the point, how did you even get in here?"
Daniel turns around to see Nick George sitting on his U shaped sofa, his feet up.
"And get your plates off me sofa." Daniel tells Nick.
Nick takes his feet off the sofa and looks at Daniel, Daniel staring right back at him.
"So?" Daniel asks as he moves towards. "What's with the breaking and entering act?"
Nick puts his hands up as he looks at Daniel.
"Not breaking and entering." Nick tells Daniel with a calm smile. "More pick pocketing when Os leaves his keys unprotected in his pocket."
Daniel moves around, sitting at another part of the sofa.
"So spill." Daniel tells him.
"Well, Dani said you couldn't swing by our place for a little presentation that I worked so hard on." Nick tells Daniel. "So if Muhammad wouldn't go to the mountain, the mountain comes to him."
Nick reaches to the floor, picking up a laptop and hitting a button, causing Daniel's television to light up with the words "Why Nick is already a better manager than every manager in SCW."
"I could do without this." Daniel mutters to himself.
"Why Nick is already a better manager than every manager in SCW." Nick says proudly. "Catchy eh?"
"As catchy as an STD in Thailand." Daniel replies plainly.
Nick clicks a button on the laptop and a picture of Alanah O'Connell appears.
"Now I took these people from the managers page because it was easier" Nick says as he clicks a button again on the laptop, showing the word who on the screen. "Who indeed, I mean she's listed as a manager, her profile says manager, but I don't think she's ever really been around, certainly not the shows I've seen. Now I would show up more, making me already a better manager than her."
Nick clicks another button and Aron Baltassarson appears on the screen. Nick clicks on again and a picture of a doormat is seen.
"Doormat Daniel, a doormat." Nick tells him. "He's basically a glorified Alfred to his master Batman. He does whatever his bro tells him to do, he doesn't have an independent thought in his nut. Just a follower, nothing else. Since Ty West came along, he ain't really needed other than being a butler. See, I ain't a follower, I get things done, I am a man of action, a man who doesn't have to pick up laundry or wear noise cancelling earphones because me brother has no respect for me being in the house as long as he's playing hide the sausage with some batty boy. I command respect, therefore, already a better manager than Aron long name."
Daniel lets out a long yawn as he closes his eyes, but Nick continues. Clicking a button to show the twins of Cassie and Gene Banton Jr. He clicks again with the word repetitive on the screen.
"Yes, repetitive." Nick says pointing at the screen. "They also force the commentator to say the same old line about bringing his pyro from home, I mean come on, get a new line or two. I mean, she don't do sod all but walk to the ring, but giving him the mic is about as bright as a match in a hurricane. If brains were dynamite, he wouldn't have enough to blow his own nose. See, already a better manager."
Nick looks towards Daniel, seeing his eyes already closed and shakes his head.
"Ok, I'll skip a couple, wake up." Nick says as he frantically clicks on the buttons.
Daniel opens his eyes and tries to focus on the screen. He waits as Nick gets up a picture of Spencer Gosling. He grits his teeth and clicks again with the words ginger twat on the screen.
"Stupid cartoon look alike, ginger twat son of a orange tree." Nick says through gritted teeth. "Strangest looking human being on the face of the earth, looks like a drawing, and needs a good punch in the damn face. I mean look at the fucking ginger tosser Daniel! Look at him! He belongs in South Park! You can't tell me I'm not a better manager than him already?"
"Wouldn't have a clue, rarely shows up." Daniel says with another yawn. "Let me ask you this Nicky. Do you know what a wrestling manager does?"
"Stands at ringside, punches people." Nick fires back pretty quickly.
"No, traditional managers are there to talk for someone." Daniel tells him. "They never made it as a wrestler but got the talking side down. Problem is in this game, every wrestler can actually talk, they don't need a mouthpiece."
"Os don't talk, he needs a mouthpiece." Nick says waving his finger at Daniel, a wide smile on his face.
"You may have me on that, but I ain't just gonna click me fingers and make you a manager Nick, ain't gonna work that way." Daniel tells Nick, his eyes half open. "We had to bust our arses to get a foot in here at great expense, you just can't walk up to someone and be their wrestling manager."
"That ginger bollocks must have done. Look at him!" Nick says shaking his head. "He probably used to get beat up by his little sister every day, little sister 5 years younger than him, and he has a really annoying fucking name too."
"He musta done something that puts him ahead of you." Daniel says, half poking the bear.
Nick grits his teeth as he looks at Daniel, knowing Daniel may have a point but not too quick to admit it.
"So what do I have to do?" Nick asks.
"Maybe this is tiredness talking and I ain't gonna be feeling this one tomorrow, but be here at 9am tomorrow and we'll go sort something out where you can get started." Daniel says through a yawn. "Till then, piss off for a while."
A smile crosses Nick's face as he stands up to leave.
"You're not gonna regret this." He says with a grin.
"I already am." Daniel says with a nod.
As Nick walks past him, Daniel reaches in to his pocket. He pulls out a phone and quickly hits a few buttons, holding it up to his ear and waits.
"Charley." Daniel says talking to Charlotte. "Tomorrow, can you and Kenz deal with that delivery? I need to go do something.... No nothing major, just need to show Nick it ain't easy doing what we do...."
And he showed up when I told him to, not knowing what to expect, but I do. We're off to a OG Gym, ran by the people who trained us, Gabriel and Odette Stevens.
Yes, I called ahead to get permission for this. Gabriel and Odette don't run a public gym, you need permission to bring an outsider there, no matter who you are. Gabriel was fuming when Courtney Pierce and Ty West were taken there without permission by Fenris, I mean proper fuming to the point it nearly cost Fenris his privileges there. Their gym was their gym, not many outsiders have seen the inside of those walls and if I rolled up there with Nick, without asking Gabriel AND Odette, chances are we'd be told to sling our hook. It's just not what you do.
Osbourne stops the car outside the gym, turning off the engine. Daniel opens the passenger side door and steps out while Nick steps out of the back of the car. Nick looks up at the building and to Daniel.
"Is this that gym no one but special people can train at?" Nick asks Daniel.
Daniel nods his head up and down as Osbourne joins them and looks at the building.
"Yeah, and you're arsehole lucky to be allowed to be stepping through that door." Daniel tells him firmly "Because not many people get the chance to do this, so enjoy it while you can."
"What am I even doing here, I thought only chosen wres...." Nick stops in his tracks. "Oh..."
Daniel and Osbourne smile towards Nick as they start to walk to the door. Daniel presses a buzzer outside and the door opens. Daniel and Osbourne walk in to the building, Nick following them slowly. They walk towards the reception desk, to see the stuffed teddy bear, owned by Despayre, Angel sitting on a raised chair behind the desk.
"Morning Angel." Daniel says with a nod, much to Nick's confusion.
"Are you telling me that teddy bear just buzzed us in?" Nick mutters, not believing what he just said.
Daniel looks at him, trying to put on his best serious face.
"This place is slightly magic." Daniel says as he pushes a door open and walks in to the main gym area.
Before Daniel can move too far in to the gym, Lucas Stevens, son of Gabriel and Odette runs towards him. Out of instinct, Daniel reaches down and picks the young boy in the air.
"Alright pal." Daniel says with a smile. "You alright?"
"I'm good." He tells Daniel, but his eyes drift towards Nick. "Who's he?"
Daniel looks behind him.
"That's Nick, he's come to get beat up today." Daniel says with a grin.
"I could take him." Lucas says, looking at a confused Nick, even getting a smile out of Osbourne.
Osbourne looks at Nick and nods at him.
"Aw shut up." Nick says firmly. "You talk too much Os."
Daniel puts Lucas back on to the ground, the young man running off and in to the gym as Gabriel approaches the trio. Gabriel nods towards Daniel.
"Well, I was surprised to get the call asking for this." Gabriel says with a smile.
"What's this?" Nick asks confused. "No one's told me shit."
Daniel turns towards Nick and looks at him seriously.
"You want to be a manager, you want to do what we do, then you're gonna train for it." Daniel tells him firmly. "You're gonna learn the ins and outs of this thing."
"To be a manager?" Nick says with a sceptical tone. "The guy with the clap is a manager, I don't see him training."
Daniel, Osbourne and Gabriel look around each other.
"Who's got the clap now?" Gabriel asks.
"Dunno, but you can get antibiotics for that." Daniel tells him.
"The clap." Nick says again. "You know the Viking things all those Icelandic people did after knocking England out of the Euros."
A look of relief crosses Daniel and Gabriel's face.
"THAT clap." Daniel says holding back a laugh. "You mean Aron?"
"Yeah, you don't see him here." Nick says with a smirk.
Behind Nick's back, a shirtless Aron walks past him, Daniel nods towards him.
"Morning A." Daniel say with a nod, but Nick smirks.
"I ain't falling for that." Nick says with another smirk. "Gotta get up earlier to catch me out like that."
"Morning Daniel, Osbourne." Aron says warmly before putting his hand on Nick's shoulder. "Nick."
A frown crosses Nick's face.
"Well shit." He says slowly.
Aron walks past the group to continue his work out as Nick slowly shakes his head.
"Aron is here five times a week at least." Gabriel tells Nick "He works out with Fenris every day he can. If shows are in Vegas, there's times he's here for two weeks straight. He may not be a wrestler but someday he might be, so he puts the effort in as much as anyone else here."
"I only want to be a manager." Nick says with a shrug. "Then I can put words in the big fella's gob for him."
Nick points a thumb towards the much larger Osbourne and nods his head just once firmly.
"And what's wrong with learning all aspects?" Daniel asks him. "The better you learn the entire business, the better you can be at it, more success you have. Your missus can do it, she went through this all. Do you wanna give her your trousers now?"
Nick looks across at the ring and back to Daniel and across to Gabriel.
"How had can it be?" Nick ponders. "It can't be that hard to learn."
"You know you can't actually punch people." Gabriel mentions with a frown.
Nick frowns back at Gabriel.
"Then I quit." Nick says, turning on his heels, but Osbourne stands in front of him.
"The ginger cartoon character one." Daniel starts "Nick the I'm so tough and macho man zero. Proper own goal there son because now you know deep down in your heart, ginger bloke is better at something than you."
Daniel smiles behind Nick's back as Nick grinds his teeth.
"And I mean if you give up that easy, not sure you're the right man to even be in a position of power at the casino." Daniel says, trying not to laugh. "I mean we can send you back to London to work under David, or maybe you can be the guy who picks up the empty glasses at the casino, working with that college kid or something."
Nick closes his eyes and turns back to face Daniel. He waves a finger at Daniel, the words trying to come out of his mouth, but Daniel raises both eyebrows as no words comes past his lips. Daniel points at the ring as Nick sighs and starts to walk towards it. Gabriel walks towards the ring and Daniel moves to one side, picking up a nearby chair and places it outside the ring and watches on as Nick and Gabriel get in to the ring. The camera focuses on Daniel as he watches the ring.
"AAAAWWWWWW" Nick can be heard yelling out.
THUMP!
The sound of body meeting canvas can be heard. Daniel winces as he watches on.
"God fucking damn..." Nick can be heard yelling.
THUMP!
Daniel looks back towards Osbourne behind him.
"He's gonna feel that in the morning." Daniel tells him before turning his attention back to the ring. "Gonna feel that a hell of a lot. Better book him off work tomorrow Os cause he ain't gonna make it."
Osbourne nods his head but Daniel turns his head towards the camera.
"And while you're here." Daniel starts. "Might as well have a little chat about Lachlan Kane while I got the chance."
Daniel waves his fingers towards the camera.
"I gotta admit Lachlan, you've had a few distractions lately." Daniel says. "I can relate, I got a brother who's a pain in the arse too, always trying to undermine what you do and yeah, it's a right bark but I choose to focus on the tasks at hand, such as this upcoming match where you will be in the ring against me or Os. It's a daunting prospect, and I know in your melon, you think you're already one half of the best team there is out there, but I don't think that's really the case, do you? I mean you've gone off the boil something chronic lately and it ain't too much to say it's easy to see why. You're sitting there with some chunky bird looking at all those cameraman up close shots of ya junk wanting a part of that eggplant, and just when you shake her off, you have the strangest looking ex military flamer trying to get a grope, so I get why ya pretty distracted when it comes to the in ring stuff, it would explain why these outside distractions are pissing with ya mind, when all you want is to stop being treated like you're a prime steak. Unfortunately, that's always gonna be there while Christian Underwood is your boss, so you're always gonna be a little distracted. Every time you walk to that ring, you're gonna sit there and wonder if Christian's told that cameraman to get a little too close, that feeling you're gonna have of feeling like nothing but a piece of meat is pretty much always gonna be there. Eventually, it's gonna mess with ya head to the point where you are set to go on a long losing streak."
Daniel pauses for breath for a second.
"I honestly thought it would start up last week, not gonna lie to ya mate." Daniel says with a cool, calm tone to his voice. "I mean you couldn't shake them two off a couple of weeks ago and I thought that, that fella's mind games might have got to ya too much last week to give it a go. I thought he was gonna get under your skin, but you have nothing to worry about with mind games this week."
Daniel shakes his head.
"I don't do the mind games bollocks." Daniel says honestly. "I'm more blatant and on the nose with what I say, and I couldn't give a monkeys if you was a little fat bloke or a hundred percent muscle. I couldn't give a damn if you have a chunk after ya, or a very effeminate bloke wanting ya, doesn't change what's gonna happen in that ring. I don't need to play mind games when I got the talent that I have, I don't have to play them on Os' behalf because the man is a bit of a monster, utter brute force. I don't need to throw you off your game because between now and the last time we met, we have got better and better and you've let things slide a bit. You've sat there and seemingly give up, almost flushing a good start down the bog. This is why I'm predicting Lachlan that you're about to go on a long losing streak, starting on Sunday at Climax Control 245. I'm predicting that it's time for us to get one over on you two and this is the beginning of your slip in to obscurity."
Daniel leans back a little in the chair.
"Fucks sake." Nick's voice can be heard saying off the camera.
THUMP!
Daniel winces as he looks in the ring.
"Ouch." Daniel says with a shake of the head. "Anyway Lachlan, I think you know that you've gotta be at the top of your game to beat us. You know you've gonna do better than you have done lately because let's face it, choking a Roulette title match has done bugger all for your confidence here, getting a draw with two people you should be defeating and getting through last week cause they didn't exactly put in the effort to make a difference. Your upcoming loss against us should put you in a slump."
"NO NO NO NO!" Nick can be heard shouting.
THUMP!
Daniel ignores it to continue.
"I know Hot Stuff right now is handing out incentives so maybe when we're done with ya, he'll give ya something to aim for. I mean you show up every week to talk to the fans, so you've earned it, right?" Daniel says tapping his chin. "Ah nevermind, he still might give you something decent to do to relight the fire you had when you first showed up because believe me, you're gonna have to rediscover that form somehow cause your dream of recapturing the mixed tag team titles end on Sunday. We have the same dream of getting those belts and being on the Summer XXXTreme VI show with something meaningful on the line and it doesn't matter who we face, the facts remain in place that this is the end of the line for you Lachlan. This is the stop you get off at."
THUMP!
Daniel gives two thumbs up to the ring in front of him.
"I respect what you've done so far Lachlan, even if you have gone off the boil." Daniel starts "I respect that fact that you and Sierra has the same goals as us by lifting this division to the next level and getting rid of the titles from those vermin that is Gamer Inc, but I ain't gonna be happy, Os ain't gonna be happy, the girls ain't gonna be happy until those titles come back to us. It's been the goal from day one. Us and those tag belts go together pretty damn well Lachlan and we are not gonna stop until we get those belts back again. Thanks for trying to push the division but it's time those belts came back with us. This is where the dream ends for you."
"ENOUGH!" Shouts Nick's voice.
THUMP!
"And if you know anything about me, you'll know I don't do bullshit." Daniel says looking down the camera. "I only deal in facts."
The camera moves to the ring to show Nick crawling towards the outside towards Daniel.
"All he keeps doing is throwing me in the fucking air." Nick complains.
"Aw, you'll get used to it in a few days." Daniel says with a smirk.
"The fuck?" Nick fires back.
Daniel stands up as the camera fades out.
