[Courtney Pierce]

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Favors
Jet City South - SAN DIEGO
20 FEBRUARY 2023
OFF-Camera



Getting asked up to the big office isn’t a common occurrence to me. I mean maybe it happened a little more often when Kris was the one running things, but not really anymore. When Coby took over, a lot about Jet City changed. I got promoted. Obviously that was the most important change. Kate and I basically have a full run of things on the floor. We are the ones actually handling the students. That doesn’t usually get me an invite upstairs though, so I was more suspicious than curious about why Coby wanted to see me. The door at the top of the stairs was open, and I could hear him talking to someone as I came up. His desk was out of view from the doorway, but I knew he saw me headed this way from the office window that overlooks the gym floor. I couldn’t catch who he was talking to, but the voice did sound familiar. Unfortunately, he ended the conversation just as I crossed the threshold, and looked up in my direction.

Court: You wanted to see me?

The office was a whole lot different than it had been back when he and Kris shared it. At one point, it had been split down the center during an argument between the two. Half of it was the controlled chaos that was Kris, with papers and folders scattered across every surface, and even wedged into the spaces between the cushions of the couch that lined the wall. The other half was plain by comparison, but totally spotless with everything organized in its proper place. This time last year it had become a combination of their clashing styles with chairs comfortable enough to fall asleep in, and framed posters of events that Jet City students and trainers had main evented lining the walls. The two had built a display case dedicated to all of the championships won by anyone under the Jet City umbrella that had actually starting to look pretty respectable. Of course, that all changed last summer when Coby took over entirely. The office I walked into was nothing like I last remembered. It was plain. The walls were bare. The only furniture in the room was his desk, his chair, and the two chairs on the opposite side facing him. There was a closed laptop on the desk, and the screen of his phone was still lit up from the call he had just ended.

Coby: Yeah, have a seat….

I didn’t like the tone of his voice. He sounded like he was about to give me bad news, further confirming my suspicion of the meeting. First it was the feeling downstairs, then the plain hellscape of an office, and now his voice sounding like his grandmother just died. It all made me feel uneasy just being in the room.

Court: I hate what you’ve done with the place by the way…

I tried my best to deliver the bad news with a playful tone and a smile on my face so that he wouldn’t take it too personally. He had to know that it was at least a little off-putting though.

Coby: An office shouldn’t feel like something you want to spend a lot of time in. Now everything about it makes me want to get everything done and go home. It was easier that way.

That wasn’t the only thing that had changed about him in the last year though either, so I shouldn’t have been surprised by his answer. He pretty much cut all ties with anything but the numbers and paperwork of actually running a gym. It was hard enough trying to keep the place going after it became a crime scene, harder to do without a best friend, and even more so when he had to be the one to convince everyone to stay. Especially since I know that all he wanted to do himself was never step foot in this building again.

Court: I mean you’re never out on the floor anymore and you clearly don’t want to be up here. Why do you even stay?

I didn’t even really expect an answer, but he had one.

Coby: Because I have to.

They were the most matter-of-fact words ever spoken. There wasn’t joy in them, at least not like there used to be. This used to be his dream career, and now it just seemed like any other job. That was hard to see on his face, so I didn’t press the subject any further.

Court: Well, what do you need from me?

If he wanted an office designed for leaving, I was more than happy to oblige by getting to the point so that I could get the hell out of there. He opened a drawer on the left side of the desk and flipped through a few things before pulling a file out and opening it. He looked down at it and sighed heavily.

Coby: I know that you are loving things as one of the head trainers here, but…

His eyes fell to the papers in front of him, and mine followed his down. There was a giant Sin City Wrestling logo at the top of the page. It wasn’t hard to put together from there. Everything kind of snapped together once I had all of the pieces of the puzzle. I had already seen a whole bunch of the recruitment on social media. Shit, I had even had to participate in it as the person behind the Jet City account. We already had two students headed into the tournament, but his whole negative attitude meant one thing.

Court: Oh, come on! I have already won it once. All I can do is fuck up….

I knew that he had already foreseen this argument. It wasn’t the first time that we had this conversation. Last year he had all but begged me to be the entrant for the gym, even though the Jaycee kid was the clear and obvious choice. I had been right about the kid’s talent, but none of us could have ever known how it was all going to play out.

Coby: I just got off the phone with Christian. They asked if we wanted another spot.

Now it made even more sense. Mark and Christian were always happy to give our students a foot in the door, but they made no effort to hide that they liked it when the people with recognizable names showed up. In the past, Kris had always done that when the phone rang. He left Sin City and came back more than anyone else I had ever seen with the company. He never wanted to let them down though. That is likely the reason that Coby felt obligated. Without Kris he was forced into this position at Jet City, and with that came the ties to Sin City. There was no way he was going to get in the ring himself anymore. Still, I didn’t see why I needed to be the next logical choice.

Court: We already have Mikah’s girl Eiley, and that one mouthy kid Oz--

He nodded, like I was making his point for him before cutting me off.

Coby: Which is why I think we should send someone that has been in the tournament and knows what that is like with them. Someone that knows what it takes to win the whole thing…

There was really only one key to winning the whole thing, and everyone knew it. It always comes down to the random draw that kicks off the tournament.

Court: ...I can’t teach them how to get paired with a good partner.

He wasn't letting me get away with the excuse that every first round loser uses every year.

Coby: It isn’t about getting a good partner. It is about being a good partner. It is about making that team work. If those two had gotten paired together, maybe they would have a chance. As they are now, they are going to stubbornly be the reason that both of their teams fail. You can go show them how to make those random pairings work to your advantage. You’ve done that. Arguably, you cracked that outer shell of Fenris before others.

It wasn’t like that ever amounted to much though. I got hurt. I blew my chance to win it big in Sin City at every turn. Sure, people remember that I won the Blast from the Past once, but I am equally known for my epic losing streak and colossal title match failures. I couldn’t even win the Queen for a Day.

Court: I could always just go keep an eye on them. I don’t need to compete myself. Give it to one of the other students.

He wasn’t having that either.

Coby: There is nobody else on the floor that is ready.

If he wasn’t going to cave in and give it to someone that actually wanted it, I wasn’t going to make it easy for him.

Court: How would you know? You don’t ever go down there and see for yourself.

I thought that the comment would bother him, but he didn’t even pause to consider it before boldly telling me I was wrong.

Coby: I see enough.

Maybe he did, but that didn’t really feel like the reason that he wanted me to join the tournament. Why have this argument about it when there are others that would jump at the chance to fill the spot? It didn’t seem to add all the way up, no matter how he tried to sell it to me.

Court: You’re going to have to do better than that.

He shrugged, without any sense of fear or anxiety that this conversation would end any other way than what he wanted. There was confidence somewhere under the plain expression he was wearing. I think the real Coby was still buried in there somewhere, even if the last year had gotten pretty dark.

Coby: Call it a favor.

I shrugged back at him, and stood my ground.

Court: I don’t owe you any.

For a second, I thought I saw a slight smirk appear in the right corner of his mouth, but it vanished quickly.

Coby: I didn’t say that you did, or even that I was the one asking it.

He flipped the contract around on the desk and took a pen out of the cup next to it.

Court: I just don’t understand---

He cut me off again, holding out the pen for me to take.

Coby: Would I ever ask you to do anything without a good reason? I know you and Ruby have your safe little corner of life now. I know that you’re enjoying not dealing with the pressure or the spotlights. I know that you’re probably scared of going out there and not measuring up. All of it.

He paused, and I finished the thought for him.

Court: ...but you’re still asking, so that must make it pretty important.

He nodded, and softened a little bit.

Coby: You know me. Unlike others that have run this place, I wouldn’t have even brought you up here if it wasn’t the only real option.

I couldn’t deny any of it. Coby wouldn’t willfully lead me astray even though oftentimes, Kris would do exactly that to make his point. Those days were long gone though, I guess best summed up by the crummy, unwelcoming state of the office we sat in.

Court: Fine, but before I step foot in the ring you better let me know what I am actually doing there…

I flipped through a few of the pages in the folder on the desk before finding the one that actually required my signature. I had never actually read one of these things, so I wasn’t about to start now. The checks had always cleared. I had always gotten to compete. What more was there to even know to justify all the paperwork? I signed quickly and flipped it closed before dropping the pen down on top of it.

Coby: Thank you.

He looked relieved, which only added to the weirdness of all of it.

Court: Even if this favor isn’t for you, you owe me one.

Coby: Add it to my tab.

He didn’t miss a beat, even though the words that came out of his mouth weren’t his own. He seemed as surprised to have said them as I was to hear them come out of his mouth. It appeared to have happened before he could stop himself from saying it. It did give me a little more insight into what was on his mind though. We only knew one annoyance that would spout phrase commonly.

Court: No more tabs. The last guy never closed his out and left me hanging.

I didn’t look back to see his reaction to the words, and left him there. He had gotten what he wanted, and didn’t even tell me why he wanted it so bad. There was more to figure out, but first I had to figure out how to tell my wife that I was getting back into the ring.



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>COURTside

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I feel like we’ve been here before…

Court comes into center frame as the video starts. She winks to the viewers, and then tosses the camera into the air as always. It doesn’t fall, and starts to hover from the point of view of the viewers. We zoom out, showing Court standing on rocky ground despite the trees surrounding her. We can faintly see her breath hanging in the air, and she is bundled tightly in a jacket and scarf. She doesn’t take her eyes off the camera, even as the beauty of the landscape around her comes into frame.

I didn’t think that making a comeback to my favorite tournament in all of wrestling would bring me all the way to Canada. I am proudly from southern California. The cold isn’t really my thing, but I’ll be damned if I am going to be spending all my time up here locked away in some hotel room waiting for Climax Control to arrive. I figured if this is where Blast from the Past is starting, this is where I belonged. And if I have to bring myself all the way up to Kelowna, I may as well take in some of the sights while I wait for Sunday. That is what brings me to Black Mountain…

The camera backs up a little bit more to show the drop off, and spectacular view behind where Court stands. Above the treeline, viewers can see down the mountain back towards the city. The orchards and vineyards below look great from afar, but we are far enough away not to see the individuals toiling away.

I figured if I was going to be attempting to make my way up to the top of Sin City through this tournament, maybe I should find an easier mountain to hike up first, you know? Set tiny goals on the way to accomplishing the big one. A few thousand steps here today in order to bring me one step closer to the top of the metaphorical Sin City mountain on Sunday. Plus, it’s not a bad way to kill a day when you really don’t want to spend it around either of your gym’s other competitors.

The camera comes back down, drawing attention away from her surroundings and back to Court herself.

...and I know there are going to be a lot of people saying that there is no reason for me to be back. There are more that are going to say there is no need for me to be in this tournament. I know this, because for the last few years, I have been one of them. I've been no stranger to saying that I didn’t need to prove myself by winning this tournament again. I have done it once, and within my first five professional matches. There is no way to do it better than I have already done it. It seemed like even trying was going to result in another failure for people to try to pin to me.

She shook her head, unwilling to let that narrative even start, let alone take hold in the locker room.

...but that is a loser’s mentality. That is an excuse. That is a way to paralyze myself into inaction. If the bar is so high that I can’t reach it, good. I am the one that put it there. And the version of me that set that bar so high wasn’t as well-rounded in the ring as I am now. That person was naive about what it was going to take to stay focused, and work with your partner to make it through to the end of this thing. That person didn’t know what she was in for back then, and she managed to prove everyone wrong. If all of you want to know why I am back now, then look no further. If I was that good back then, why can’t I be that good now? I am far from old, or past my prime. I am just as physically gifted as I have ever been. Why not do something bold like reach for Sin City’s biggest and best prize? If I have done it once before, nobody can say it is impossible for me to do it again, and I am not ready to give up on that.

Court starts to walk down the path in front of her and the camera zips out of her way before hovering on her right side. There is only a slight incline in the trail, and viewers can spot specks of snow on the ground behind her. Down at sea level, the ground had been soggy and wet from rain. The day itself hadn’t been cold, but as she had ascended, the running water cascading down the mountain had slowed to a frozen stop, and the ground got more solid. Trees still lined the area but seemed to thin out as she went.

...and my partner this time? I can honestly say that I was hoping for someone more like Goth or Mac, but not just because they are more talented than some of the others, that goes without saying. At least I have some kind of familiarity with the two. Mac even won the whole thing with Mikah, who trained me in this business. The fit would have been there, and we already have a foundation to build from. Even Alexander Raven or Teddy would have been okay, because at least we have crossed paths with one another in the back. J2H might not give a single fuck about who I am, but at least he has some amount of respect for the gym that I come out of. At least I got to avoid all around assholes like Calvin Harris or Jack Washington. I could even add the new guy from Jet City to that list. Like always, there are going to be a lot of people feeling like the random draw could have gone better. I am here to say that mine certainly could have gone worse.

She seems like she is trying hard to check her own personal attitude and feelings about her partner in an attempt to look at the brightside.

”Godly” Ken Davison and I are going to have our fair share of differences. In any other circumstance, I am not sure that you would spot the two of us standing on the same side of any issue, let alone a ring. We have very different outlooks on life, but there is one very important thing that we have in common: we are willing to do whatever is necessary to make sure that we advance in this tournament. Even better, neither of us have failed to back up those kinds of claims in the past. Ken was a World Champion in Sin City until very recently. I have already won this tournament once already. On paper, that feels like a match in my book. That seems like something that we can build on. In fact, it is something of an advantage that many of the other teams won't have. We might clash a little bit personally, but luckily, we don’t have to be friends. We just have to be on the same page when we step inside the ring together. Right now, we are little more than strangers, but we share the same goal. I’ll take a motivated stranger over a friend that I would have to carry through the tournament any day of the week. When it comes down to it, all that matters is the results that we get, and I think we can get some good ones.

The trail bends a little and the camera whips around behind her before coming up the opposite side. The trees behind her shrink the further away that they get and the drop off opens up around a lake that appears crystal clear, even from this distance.

...but that is exactly the kind of thing that Seleana Zdunich and Peter Vaughn are going to be showing up to make sure doesn’t happen. They are going to be the first of several teams that are going to stand directly opposite of our goal. To beat us, they’re going to have to figure out how to work together, and I am not so certain that they’re strengths are going to add up to a win. I would say that Peter is more of the wildcard in this one, because he hasn’t been around long enough for anyone to really be able to tell what he is made of, but Seleana is definitely their team’s weak link. She's well on her way to becoming the next Mercedes Verges. She wins only half as much as she loses, especially in the ones where it really matters.

Fans could tell that this was the part of it that Court had always really gotten a kick out of. Her body language appears a little more confident and a genuine smile crosses her face. As much as she enjoyed competing in the ring, the people that trained her had always emphasized the right choice of words to get inside your opponent’s head. That was one of the most enjoyable parts of the whole dance of the match. Only some of which was because it was the only part that didn’t hurt, at least not for Court.

It must suck a little bit for Seleana to have put in work in over one hundred Sin City matches only to have her most noticeable quality being the fact that she’s married to the resident crazy person. I mean, her lone Bombshell Championship reign happened about as long ago as me winning this tournament, and anyone would tell you that’s old news. It’s even the second time in Blast from the Past for both of us, but nobody even remembers her first, unlike mine. Why? Because to win it, you have to be able to come up big in the big moments… and she can’t.

She pauses, and taps her chin a few times while she tries to think back for a couple of examples.

Like say… I don’t know… number one contenders matches that you should obviously win…

Clearly poking fun at Seleana’s Blaze of Glory failure brings Court a small amount of amusement, but does remind her of a bigger flop.

Or… any of the other chances you have had to win any and all championships in this company in the years since you were a subpar Roulette Champion…

She laughs, having honestly missed this part of all of the action.

Seleana, you can’t escape the fact that your wife trained you and brought you into Sin City. You can’t stop the comparisons between the two of you and you are most definitely guilty by association. That is why everyone lampoons you for the things that she does, especially when she changes her last name every few days. Kudos to you for trying to find the bright side. I applaud you for trying to flip that narrative on its head because yes, you were trained and groomed for this company by one of the most decorated bombshells in the company...

She pauses just long enough for people to gather that there was a big -but- about to be attached to the end of that statement.

...but see, Crystal's resume in this company isn't nearly as impressive when you place it next to say… Mikah's. You may have been brought in by someone with more championships than just about anyone, but I was brought in by the greatest bombshell of all time. You won the Bombshell Championship long ago, and I won this tournament around the same time. I know that I have been mostly nonexistent since, but I'll take that over being mostly irrelevant despite having matches week-after-week. At least the people that have written me off did so because I was gone. Everyone wrote you off to your face. Harsh.

The trees start to get fewer and fewer as she continues her climb. The ground around her starts to look more icy as she picks her steps more carefully. It takes her attention away from the camera for a moment, but she manages to look back up with a shrug.

I know that you'll probably take it as me underestimating you, but that's not it. If anything, I am perfectly estimating you based on what we have all seen in the ring. Maybe I am even giving you more credit than you deserve because I am taking this match seriously despite the fact that you are in it. If you find that insulting, then look in the mirror and blame that bitch, not this one. Maybe you'll rise to this occasion, but nobody has seen that happen in such a long time. Don't blame us for the level you're at. Use it as motivation, or keep putting in half-effort and getting made fun of. Either way, you're only a victim of what you've done to yourself, not what everyone says about you. To tell you the truth, the only person that can even possibly be underestimated in this match is your partner.

Although, that was hardly a stretch of the truth being that he was easily the most unknown person in the match. Viewers could tell that wasn’t exactly what Court meant though.

Nobody should be excited by someone formerly known as wrestling's friendliest janitor….

Sure, she was jabbing at the easy laugh, but there was a bigger point.

...and nobody that has ever gone by that moniker should ever turn so hard, so dark, and become so underhanded all because he….

She reaches into the left pocket of her jacket and produces a small piece of paper in her hand. Her eyes scan it and the tone of her voice changes slightly while she is quoting him.

”...is underestimated and not taken seriously….”

She shakes her head and pockets the note with a roll of her eyes.

Seriously?

The look of confusion comes back to her face as she tries to work her way through the logic.

I mean he hasn't been wrestling for Sin City long but am I missing something here? He kicked around a few companies as a person of no consequence, but gets mad about people thinking he is some curtain-jerker that doesn't matter? He called himself the best janitor in the business and gets bent out of shape about shitty jokes?

She winks at the camera.

Pun definitely intended.

It was another easy laugh, but she keeps it moving.

...and I get it. The guy has really picked it up before making a splash in his first few matches here. He is a real feel good story. He went from janitor, to show opener, to winning championships in other companies that the people here in Sin City just couldn’t bother to give a shit about. I understand that he has to have done something worthwhile in order to snag one of these valuable tournament spots. I saw him beat Jack Washington. I get it.

She shakes her head and turns to face the camera, it pulls back from her slightly to show she has actually reached the top of Black Mountain, and can look down on both the city to her right and natures untouched beauty to her left.

Nothing in this tournament is going to come as easily as anyone hopes. If it was a walk in the park to get to the finals, everyone could do it.

She shakes her head.

But they don’t. Because they can’t. Yet, little old me did it on my first try. What do you think I have planned for my second go around?

She holds out her hand and the camera swoops down, dropping into her palm so that she can bring it up to her face.

I can’t wait to be back in that six-sided ring… See you Sunday!

She leans in and plants a kiss on the lens with her lip gloss leaving a print on the screen as she pulls back from it with a smile. The frame lingers on her for just a moment before fading to black.