A broken pack.
”What the fuck was that?”
It was the night of Inception IV. The golden ring casino in Las Vegas Nevada. The limited crowd in attendance was still making noise as Alex Jones stormed backstage. Sweat poured from his body after a hard fought match against Fenris. He was sore all over, tired and beaten up. But all of that was overruled by the burning feeling of anger that now raged in his veins. He moved down the hallway passed the production crew and all the officials standing around to keep the show moving. Alex turned down the hallway towards the locker rooms knowing that is where Austin was heading.
The six foot six former world champion had his back turned to Alex and wasn’t paying him any attention. Austin turned into a room and Alex followed. The door shut behind Austin and Alex stopped in front of it, his hands were shaking, his body looking ready for a fight. But then it entered his mind, the doubt. Austin was his friend, like a brother. The two of them bonding over a love of wrestling and what it meant to their lives. Alex had been there for Austin when his father died. He had been there for the birth of his two children to celebrate it.
Was this worth breaking that bond?
Alex took a deep breath and tried to calm himself before entering. There was no point in blowing this up, there was no future in it. He ran his hands through his hair before reaching under his wristband for an elastic hair tie. He pulled his black hair into a bun and cleared his throat before entering. Austin was there, in his street clothes, his left arm still in the black brace as he had them folded over his chest. Alex took a deep breath and grabbed a towel before sitting down next to Austin, he toweled himself off getting the sweat from his body before tossing the towel into his bag.
Austin shook his head, a sneer coming across his face as he looked away from Alex disgusted. His heart sank. He hated disappointing people, he hated the feeling of a friend slipping away and a bond being broken. Alex leaned forward on his knees, his hands together as he thought of what to say. ”I’m not happy with what happened out there.” That was an understatement. Alex was furious, setting underneath the calm exterior. Austin had got involved, trying to hand Alex a win he didn’t deserve. A win that was not going to be earned unless it was from Alex’s own actions.
Austin snarled and looked as if he was trying to keep his own anger in. He turned back to Alex tilting his head. His voice was deep but commanding, this was not the same Austin that walked into Wolfslair years ago. This was a different animal all together. ”We had him Alex, I handed you Fenris on a silver fucking platter. And you refused to take it. What the fuck is wrong with you?” The question and attitude rubbed Alex the wrong way and gave rise to a different emotion. Shame. Alex felt it there, his old mantra of win at any cost had disappeared and been replaced in recent months. Since his loss to Jack Washington. Since losing the SCW World title.
”Winning like that, what would it have accomplished? You shouldn’t of been out there….”
Austins head snapped to the side, he pushed up from the chair he was sitting on standing over Alex, his hands balled into fists,he pushed his chest out like an alpha animal trying to assert his dominance and look bigger than he was. Not that Austin needed to look any bigger than he naturally was. His two hundred and sixty five pound frame had not lost anything with his injury. Austin worked out, he kept himself ready for when he was going to be cleared. His injuries almost completely healed. ”It hurts me seeing the pathetic shell you’ve become. The old Alex would have jumped all over Fenris, got the win and then celebrated like a conquering king after. Not whined like a petulant child.”
A child?
Alex’s eyes lit up, he also got to his feet standing face to face with his former protege and friend. He could feel the anger rising up again, the shame slowly fading as he had to fight every single urge in his body to just strike out at Austin, he swallowed hard and pushed passed him, Alex needed to get out. He needed to just get away. ”Alex…” He stopped in his tracks in front of the door. Maybe Austin realised he went too far. Maybe he would apologise. ”I expect you to fall in line.” He growled the words, forcing them out as if he was in charge. It was like the new lion, beating down the old leader of the pack.
Alex slowly turned and shook his head. ”Fall in line? Who the fuck do you think you’re talking to?. Everything I have done was for the good of the Gym, for the good of the group. And now because I didn’t want or need your help you think you can dictate how I act?” There was a thickness that added into the air between them. The room felt smaller as their egos took up more space. Austin tilted his head again and stepped forward to Alex as they again got nose to nose. And then it happened.
crack
A hard right hand from Austin snapped Alex’s head sideways, he saw stars, or more accurately bright lights. He stumbled back into the door, Austin then ducked down and tackled Alex through it into the hallway, Alex hit the corner of a table, he regained his senses long enough to reach around and grab Austin in a front headlock to hold him in place. But in seconds they were surrounded. Mark and Christian were there with referees, officials and trainers as well as Alicia Lukas and Johanna Krieger. They pulled them apart. Austin put his hands up as Alex held his lower back. ”Get him the fuck out of here!” They pulled Austin away, Johanna followed Austin as Alicia looked over at Alex, before she could say anything Alex put his hand up to signal he was ok.
Alicia gave a small nod and followed Johanna and Austin. Alex went back into the locker room, he turned and sat back down on the bench letting out a deep breath while bringing his hands up to his face, his thumbs rubbing his temples as he felt a huge headache hit him like a ton of bricks. FUCK! He kicked his bag, he shook his head and couldn’t help but wonder.
Where do we go from here?
Luck of the Irish
”I don’t even know where to start here.”
His voice was deep and calm, but with a small solemn touch. There was sadness there being poorly hidden behind a smirking, arrogant face. His hair was tied back, his body covered in a tight fitting black shirt and bootcut jeans, his hands clasped together in front of him as he sat forward on a chair inside a nondescript room. He was alone. Very fitting.
”Failure, I guess that should be stamped on my headstone now when I eventually pass away right? The last few months have been one hit after another. One shot to the ego after another. As if my entire career has now been assassinated by someone up on the grassy knoll. I lost the SCW world title, I failed against Ben Jordan, I failed against Vinnie and then I lost to Fenris. Four matches against some of the biggest names in the company. Four matches against former world champions. And each time I felt a little more of myself slip away. With that being said I can’t really feel cheated or make excuses. I lost those matches off my own back.”
“Some people would say that Vinnie and Fenris were both ones I should have won. But I failed to see Vinnie using cheap tactics and I turned Austins help away. And that last one. That last one is a match that I feel proud of.”
“I know, weird right?”
“But hear me out. Fenris and I got thrown into the situation. We faced each other one on one in a match neither of us were prepared for mentally. Now I won’t say it was a match neither of us wanted because let's face it, we are competitors. Fenris and I have the same attitude. Anytime, anyplace, anywhere against anybody. We went toe to toe, Austin got involved and I refused to win that way. Maybe that makes me a sad old man, maybe that means I have finally got to the point in my career where winning right means more than simply winning. I don’t know.
He shrugs his shoulders and sighed heavily before looking up again.
”I’m sure a lot will be made about the rift in Wolfslair. The fact Austin and I are clearly not on the same page, and yeah that is playing on my mind. The feeling of a family fracturing and falling apart. But with that being said, I need to get my head back into the game. The Blast from the past is starting and this year I’m not taking part. This year I chose to sit it out, because I don’t want to be a liability to anyone who is in it. That doesn’t mean I won’t be in action however. As Mark and Cheristian decided to book myself and O’Malley one on one. And hey, what’s another highly competitive match for me against someone who could very well be an SCW world champion?”
“But let’s get it out of the way early. I don’t like O’Malley. I don’t like his attitude, I don’t like his face, I don’t like his stupid fucking accent.”
“I think O’Malley is an arrogant, self righteous prick. And hey, I can be that way too.. O’Malley and I are close to the same age, but unlike O’malley I have the pedigree and record to back up my moments of cocky arrogance. I have a history that most people seem content to ignore or, in Jack Washington's case, make fun of and misrepresent to a criminal degree. But O’Malley? O’Malley has had an up and down career in SCW and SCU, he’s won titles and has tried to make the best of it and the more I think about it the more alike he and I are sounding. It’s probably why I dislike him to be honest. Without going to deep into my own fucked up mental state at the moment, I don’t like looking in the mirror, so I sure as shit don’t like looking at fucking o’Malley”
He scoffs to himself and swallows hard before getting to his feet and moving around a little grabbing a bottle of water.
”With all that being said, just because I don’t like someone doesn’t mean I can’t respect them. The last few months o’Malley has upped his game. Being the number one guy in SCU, being the SCW roulette champion, he has shown that he can hang with the best of the best and despite my string of losses, despite the fact I have been beaten down to the point of obscurity I am not a nobody, I am still a former world champion, I am still a future hall of famer and I am still a threat in this company. But, will O’Malley recognise that?”
“Will he show me the respect I deserve or underestimate me?”
“Will he look at Alex Jones and think of bringing his A game or will he look at me like I am nothing but a washed up has been who can’t buy a fucking win to save his life?. That would be a mistake, cause in this business the only thing you can count on is yourself and I am not going to stop fighting. I want the SCW world title back, I want to be able to redeem myself after the arrogant prick I became and how I let myself get drawn in and beaten by Jack, I want to earn that respect back. And I’ll do that by getting in that ring and giving all the effort I can. I am not done by any means in wrestling or SCW. So whether I like you or not, I can admit this is a challenge. So lets dance…”
