Blood in the water
“Holding a grudge doesn’t make you strong; it makes you bitter. Forgiving doesn’t make you weak; it sets you free.” — Dave Willis
{The Soft Intro}
So much has happened in the last few weeks as we edge closer and closer to the end of the year. My friend Vivian was in trouble because of her past, but I had to give Despy and Angel props for letting me know. So I had that to deal with, in addition to the Masque problem. Now, I’ve always been proud of my ability to shrug off manipulation, but Masque had gotten to me in a way as well. She knows there is no reason for Amber to come back to active competition if she doesn't force her hand. So, now the die has been cast, what will this week bring to the Bane family?
{Vivian’s place - Las Vegas NV - “Reliving The Past”}
There had been no sitings of the three men in days, and so I sat near the back door and balcony exit in Vivian’s apartment. As I drank my coffee I listened to Vivian talk about the past, and my brain was screaming at me, There has to be more than what she was revealing. I waited until she was done talking and silence engulfed the room like a cold wet blanket. I sighed, then clearing my throat I began to speak. “Vivian, I love ya like a sister but there’s holes in your story, things that don’t add up. Can we start over again and tell the whole story?” Her husband Grey started to say something, but she shushed him before he could say anything. “He’s right Grey, there’s a lot that happened that I didn’t mention. He deserves to know the truth, all of it.” I looked over at the pair and nodded, “Take your time Viv.” She nodded her head, “Where this all began had nothing to do with Puerto Rico or Frank Spatharos. This all started in Khandahar” I studied her a moment, “I was there with you, wasn’t I?” She nodded again, “Yes, but you joined us later than what I’m talking about.”
The following is told from Vivian’s POV
The scene shimmers and fades to a time of strife in the middle east, which is kinda vague because it has always seemed to be that way.
I looked in the mirror, admiring my own reflection, “Yes girl you are fine as hell.” I said to myself because there were not many people around. I had to check in soon, even though the rest of my squad wouldn’t be here for a couple of weeks. I turned to grab my gear to go and I saw three men there, they were all eyeballing me like a piece of meat. The tallest and by far most muscular of the three leered at me, “Well, what do we have here? A sailor with a smoking body is what we have.” There was something about them that screamed danger, so I played along. “Really? Do you think so? That is so kind, but I have to go report in.” They moved out of the way and as I passed them, I felt a hand on my ass, so I stopped. “We don’t know each other like that, be careful you don’t draw back a fucking nub.” He immediately snatched his hand back like it was on fire. Once I had stepped outside I was motioned over by another girl. She whispered to me, “Don’t ever let yourself be alone in a room with those three again, girl, they are dangerous.” I nodded to the young girl, she was about my age and had a scar along her jawline. “They do that to you,” I asked. She shook her head, “Nah, shrapnel from a mortar did that,” she responded with that familiar Lousiana accent. An accent that bordered on being Texan.
“Thanks for the warning, girl, I’m on my way to HQ now to check in.” Making sure I had my orders, I grabbed them out of my seabag. “How do you know those three?” She motioned me to be quiet and quickly stepped into the shadows of the building as I hoisted my seabag in place. I set off at a brisk pace. I knew I’d see her again and she could fill me in on what I’d gotten myself into. My focus now was meeting specific people and studying the lay of the land so to speak. Our Commanding Officer, Jeff Castello needed information on what was out there. You know, so he wouldn’t walk into a bad situation like I apparently had. Castello wasn’t a bad commanding officer he was a bit of an asshole at times. Times like these, but as he told me, “Petty Officer if I didn’t think you were capable, I wouldn’t send you.” I had been selected and promoted to Petty Officer shortly after boot camp. They say it’s about being in the right place at the right time, and that was certainly true. I had been lucky enough to save a young girl six or seven years old. I was in Biloxi Mississippi for training, my shipmates and I had gone to the beach for some fun and some rest before survival training was to start.
We were all in the water playing around and acting like the children that we were like we hadn’t just been through eight weeks of hell that should have taught us to act right. Anyway, there was this kid that was swimming around close by. That’s when my friend Jon McDermit spotted the fin in the water not far away. People started to scramble out of the water. The shark was headed straight for that poor kid. She seemed oblivious to the danger and kept moving around on her bodyboard and laughing. I would come to find out later that this little girl, Chelsea, was autistic and sadly had some MR to go along with it. So, while everyone else was trying to get out of the water, I raced towards Chelsea. I snatched her off the bodyboard just as a ten-foot bull shark took a chomp out of her board. I raced as fast as I could, which I admit wasn’t very fast considering how hard it is to run in knee-high water. Just as we reached the wet sand, I collapsed with the little girl. She was crying and screaming, scared out of her mind. She wasn’t bleeding or anything, so that was a relief.
Her mom and dad showed up on the scene almost the instant that we collapsed on the beach. Her mother was this stunning woman with alabaster skin, perfect tits, and the best smile that money can buy. Her father, the man was the epitome of what a man should be. Well over six feet tall, muscular and tan, and smelled like angels cried on him. He never freaked out, keeping his composure like a professional. That’s when I realized that he was part of the command structure at the school. He recognized me as well, “Amazing,” was all he said. “Who would have thought that my daughter would have been saved by another sailor.” He left it at that as he and his wife gathered their daughter up and decided to call it a day. After they had thanked me and made their way away from where we were, my friend Jon scrambled over to me. “Are you okay?” I nodded in return, “Mostly,” I quipped. “Girl, do you know who that was? The child you just pulled from the jaws of death?” I nodded, “Rear Admiral Upper Half, Julian Gomez,” I said without hesitation. He nodded and then wordlessly plopped down next to me with a corona. “Yeah”
That was how I got promoted so early into my Naval career. Field promotion for what I had done that day at the beach. “Sometimes, it’s a good thing to be a good human being,” I muttered to myself as I approached HQ. The marines stationed there reviewed my orders and got clearance for me to enter. I was directed to a specific office and when I got there, the name on the door, I swear it warmed my heart. J. Gomez Admiral SpecOps. Based on the rating that was on the sailor I just met, this was his commanding officer, that was good to know if Gomez was anything like he’d been back then.
feeling the tug of the present, I come back to Mac and Grey listening intently.
I look over at Viv who is clearly becoming tired. “Take a break Viv, we can continue this later,” She smiled and nodded, “You’re a good man and a better friend, Mac.” I kissed her on her forehead, “You are too kind, my dear.” Vivian was a lot of things, a stunning beauty, with a high level of intelligence and a passion for helping people. I went out on the balcony to have a cigarette, with my son, Jimmy hot on my heels. “Pops, this is vendetta…” he said allowing the rest of his sentence to trail off as his mind was now in overdrive. Before I could respond, my phone started going off. The caller i.d. showed as unavailable and the number didn’t show up either. Well, it’s either a spam call or someone who doesn’t want to be tracked. I slid the bar over to accept the call. “Petty Officer Bane, it’s been a while,” the voice said to me. I smiled, “Spaz, what can I help you with today?” I said to the voice that I knew was Frank Spatharos, my former Assistant Officer In Charge in too many places to name. I could hear him sigh, he hated that I called him that. “Sorry Frank, I hear you have an appointment coming up soon, congratulations.” It always made me sick to my stomach to lie, even to him. The truth is that there are not many people that could ever rival his level of assholery. “Thank you, Bane. Hey, can we meet somewhere and talk candidly?”
Fade.
{Unnamed Diner - Somewhere in Las Vegas - “The Conversation.”}
I was walking into the proverbial bear trap and I knew it. There are not a lot of people in this world that would willingly walk into a dragon’s lair knowing that the dragon was very awake and very frightened by your very existence. There were many problems with this scenario, first and foremost, I didn’t have any backup, no plan B, nothing…I was fucking winging it. It was both stupid and high risk, but then again, that was me. So, my headstone would likely read, here lies Mac, he died because he was stupid. I knew this place, it was a dive bar often visited by bikers. So, I rode in on my vrod to see who was paying attention. Once I put the kickstand down and killed the motor, there was a small crowd that gathered nearby. “Man, that is one hell of a refurb on that 06.” The compliments kept coming and I acknowledged them all as I smoked a cigarette. Couldn’t smoke inside which was bullshit but it’s whatever. I was hoping to not be here for long and get out with my hide still intact. I thanked them all for the compliments and made sure they knew that I appreciated it.
I stepped into the bar alone and it didn’t take long before I spotted Frank. Smug motherfucker sitting there in a bomber jacket, showing his rank, yes the rank he had yet to achieve. It wasn’t all that difficult to spot his hired thugs either. He typically didn’t use sailors for this kind of thing. He preferred to use the local talent that was desperate for cash. I approached his booth and the two men both started to approach me. Frank’s voice was clear, “Oh, sit the fuck down.” I chuckled as I approached Frank, “The always congenial Frank Spatharos,” I chided him. “Then again, it’s probably a kindness, they don’t look very tough to me. Better than the last bunch you sent my way, I’ll give you that.” He glared at me, but his face softened as he spread his arms, “What can I say, I try to work on the cheap.” I nodded at him, “That’s fair.” We were both pretty decent actors, this is someone that has receipts that are long overdue. Right now though, he was about as untouchable as they come. His tied to the current administration were well-documented and publicized. His face had been all over the news for his service to his country. Instead of sitting, I leaned against the post that was part of the booth.
He smiled at me, “Please sit, Mr. Bane. I didn’t invite you here to inflict harm on you or anyone else tonight. Let’s call this our parlay, shall we? No insults, weapons, or threats, just a conversation.” I gave him a sweeping bow and took a seat opposite him. I had kept my jacket on to keep my pistol and the flak jacket underneath out of site. I knew he was assuredly armed as well as I grasped the handle of the sawed-off shotgun, that was hidden within the folds of my duster. If he so much as breathed wrong, he’d be dead before anyone else was hurt.
“Violence is not always the answer, Mac,” He said over the salted rim of the cup.” I nodded and smiled, “It certainly doesn’t have to be. Salty Dog?” He looked confused for a moment, “Yeah, I got hooked on these damn things a long time ago. Slow gin, grapefruit juice, and salt.” I smiled, “The more things change the more they remain the same,” I said in jest. “Now then, Frank, why did you call me out here? We’ve not spoken in such a long time, and we obviously didn’t part on good terms.” He studied me for a moment which left the conversation in awkward silence. A waitress approached, “You two good over here?” I nodded, “I’m good.” This brought an arched eyebrow from Spatharos. He waved her off and she left. I gave him a hard look, “Why have Kratos taken out? That guy was harmless as fuck.” I shook my head is disgust. “Mostly because he’s not crazy, it was a good act but like others, he knows where the bodies are buried.” I nodded, “I figured it was something like that. Is that why you wanted to talk to me? Get me out in the open, and finish me off?” I shook his head, “No, I got your message, why would you be so willing to keep my secrets?”
Fade
{In-Studio - The Bane House - “Forgiveness”}
In the studio, I was preparing to start my promo and then the song, “I told you I was mean”, by Elle King. That song always made me chuckle. I stood under the boom mic, staring at it as the blinking red light off to the side continued to blink in time with my pulse. The match I was prepping for was not the most important match I’d had in Sin City but It was significant. Vinnie had never beaten me, we had a lot of history because of a short-lived feud between me and him. Part of that was because of the influence of Bill B. and his wife Bea.
It’s funny how time changes things, isn’t it? Last year about this time, I brought The Saviors together in response to the formation of Vinnie and Bill as a team along with Bea. She really likes spraying shit in people’s faces for whatever reason. Maybe it makes her feel better about who she is as a person. I won’t speculate and leave that right there. Our disagreements were short-lived, mostly due to the fact that I brought more firepower to bear than you guys were ready for. I’ll never regret the formation of this stable. We’ve done some good things for this company, and that was exactly what was intended. My methods? Sure you can cast shade on that all you want but we got the job done. So, this for Vinnie and me is kind of a full-circle thing. The man has come a long way in my opinion, making amends with Fenris and Aaron for one. That was huge in my opinion.
I remove the black stetson slowly and carefully and place it on a nearby hat rack.
I both lost and won the world title, only to lose it again. Matt Knox “retired” as it were, just prior to my winning it back from him. Now he’s back again, for reasons only known to him. I’ve not spoken to him so I don’t know what his intentions are at this point. I’m sure though that he will make that crystal clear in the weeks ahead.
Removing my hairband, I allow it to drop and cascade across my shoulders.
Masque has been a thorn in my side, the entire time she’s been here. She damn near killed my wife. They made a deal that she quickly managed to break recently. That has forced Amber’s hand to come back. Many won’t think this has anything to do with the task at hand. Bear with me, as it all has ties to what’s going to happen in our future.
I scrub my face with my hands, sweeping my hair back.
I’ve tried to be a better person, and people continue to poke the bear. Masque is not alone in that. There are others who have been critical of me and my time as champion here. So, I think it’s safe to say that I’ll no longer turn the other cheek. There are a number of people who I owe receipts and they’ll get what’s coming to them. The real fun is about to begin in Sin City. I go from being the hunted to the hunter once again. You’ll know when I’ve been on a tear by the body count I leave behind.
I rip the buttondown shirt wide open to reveal a much more defined body, I’m proud of the work I’ve put in and I’m showing it off.
This was the path that I asked for from our management team. To start at the bottom and start working my way back. I wanted to climb that ladder back to the top to prove to myself that I still could. I lost that match to Jack Washington and it was a wake-up call. It told me that I wasn’t quite ready yet and that I needed to double up on how I prepared for my matches. The approach inside and outside the ring.
I finish taking my shirt off.
I’d become lazy and complacent due to my success. Since day one in this company, my name was on everyone’s lips. I took this company by storm because no one knew who I was or what I could do. Do you remember when I told you all that I was a catalyst for change? I’ve fucking proved that every step of the way. I was and still am the man to beat in this company. I don’t care who you are, that’s what you need to know. Whelon better hope that Ken takes that title back from him in that rematch, you won’t like who’s coming for you next.
Glaring at the camera lens, with nostrils flared and adrenaline pumping.
Vinnie, I know you’ve tried to redeem yourself with Aaron and Fenris. Good for you man.
I shake my head in pure disgust.
Good for you.
I seem to tremble just a bit from my anger and outrage.
You’ve never beaten me.
Now I start to pace as my pulse elevates
Will the next time be your chance to break thru?
Then I stop, looking down, and I laugh the fakest laugh ever.
If you beat the former three-time Sin City World Champion, it will be your name on everyone's lips. You will be the one that everyone is expecting to be the next to challenge whoever the champion is.
Breathing heavily, and looking manic I continue, my voice takes on a much lighter tone, almost a whisper.
No, Senor Vinnie.
My eyes take on a sparkle, a light inside them, a smile….
No
I catch myself, my composure returning to a more normal state.
No, not at my expense Vinnie
I pick up my shirt and put it back on.
That world title, waits for my return, or its return to a more deserving owner. Whelan, Davison, or whoever claims it next needs to understand that.
Taking up a hand towel, I wipe away the sweat.
Don’t worry y’all, I haven’t lost my mind. My passion for this company and this industry, sometimes causes me to become a little overzealous.
That dangerous glint in my eye and the feral smile on my face tells a different story. I know what this is and I’m just not speaking of it out loud quite yet. A shark can smell blood in the water from a great distance. I could feel the storm about to begin and I was preparing myself for what was to become.
I’ll say this in closing, Vinnie I have great respect for your skills. As a competitor, I wish you luck in our match because you’ll fucking need it. Unlike you, I’m on a mission to reclaim what was lost. While you are out there trying to please the fans, I’m out there to win a fight. You wanna placate the crowd and I want to feed my hunger for blood. Yours…mine…doesn’t matter to me. I’m a betting man, so I’m betting that it will mostly be yours.
Fade
