BFTP vs. Shakesfear, and Fexxfield.
“A good act does not wash out the bad, nor a bad act the good. Each should have its own reward.” ― George R.R. Martin, A Clash of Kings
Foreword:
[on-camera]
The staccato of boot heels on wood flooring echoes as the camera records. The door opens and swings open almost silently as I step into the room. I swing the door back closed and it latches with an almost audible click. I smile at how effective the sound dampening works in our home studio. I take the “Texan” bandanna off and place it on the nearby desk, pulling the sleeves of the cotton sweatshirt back down. I notice the stray red hair on the sleeve and smile, because I know it came from the head of my wife. I now stand in front of the microphone and get ready to address my competition and to kind of recap what’s led to this match.
The last time anyone saw me in action, I was in the process of losing the SCW title. I hope that Michael Harris doesn’t believe this shit is over. This will not end well, I can guarantee that.
Pulling the rubberband from my hair, I let my hair fall loosely around my shoulders. I lean forward ever so slightly so that my hair can frame my face slightly.
The truth is, Mikey, we’re just getting started. Know this, if I see you in the hallways, I’ll do everything in my power to make sure you cannot compete against anyone until after the Blast From The Past tournament is over. No one will need to guess who’s attacking you, it will be me, time after time until you’ve paid for your transgressions.
I allow the feeling that is being projected to me to enter, I feel the cold, the rage, the answer. I wouldn’t have to watch this again later, I know that my eyes have taken on a black color. Not just my pupils but the entirety of my eyeballs. I knew they would see two black voids staring back at them.
What happened to Harris at the hands of AJM and Miles is mild compared to what a true predator is capable of. I am at my best and worst when I am hunting, friends, allies and enemies all look the same through the black eyes of a killer.
I allow that feeling to fade away and know that my eyes have returned to their normal color and I smile.
Both Chris and Peter were eliminated from the tournament under dubious circumstances. A referee’s miss? Perhaps, I’d like to think our referee’s are good but considering the circumstances, I’m starting to think that it’s an anti saviors sentiment around here.
The smile remains but my serious expression remains.
The Blast From The Past has always been a special event here. This will be my third, and likely my last. It’s another goal, only one man has been to the finals twice, just as I have. A third time would be a new record for Sin City. Yet another record on the verge of being broken by yours truly. It’s become so commonplace that it’s almost passed these days.
I shrug my shoulders as if it doesn’t matter.
Another year and another really good partner, I’m a lucky guy. Or maybe, just maybe they are the lucky ones.
A wink and a smile.
I think it’s both personally. Time will of course tell the tale. The esteemed Mrs. Phoenix is my partner this year and I think she can help me achieve this goal.
{Unknown Beach - Barbados - “Coming Clean”}
[Off Camera]
A warm morning on the island, a light breeze blowing into the bungalow, made me smile. The sea is where I get my calm from when things are bad. The task in front of me today was simple. I had to explain to Kat and Kim why the man known as William Broome would attack Kim. Whether she would believe me or not was beyond my control and the answer was far more simple than you could imagine. I could hear the crunching of shoes on sandl as someone made their way down the path as I took a sip of coffee. I took another drag from my cigarette, and it was actually the footfalls of two people. I exhale straight upward so as to not blow smoke in the direction of my guests. I said out loud, “It’s unlocked,” as the door swung inward. Kat and Kim both entered the threshold and I smiled and stood up. Kim’s fist was balled up and she unloaded on me with it. A straight punch to the gut, I grunted as the pain radiated outward. “Feel better?” Then without warning, I embraced them both in a warm hug. “Please have a seat,” I said to them both and they sat down on the glider. I, in turn, also sat down on the chair I had been in previously.
“I found out some things about your attacker,” I began as Kim squirmed in her seat a bit. “His attack on you was mistaken identity,” I began and she raised her hand to say something. I forestalled her statement, “Let me finish, “ and she stopped in what was about to be a rant. The look on her face, it was obvious. “I’ve seen the pictures of you and his dead ex-wife side by side and the resemblance is remarkable.” I paused to pour them both a cup of coffee, since it was the courteous thing to do. “There is a strange part to this, even more strange than someone wanting to attack you at random.” Kim looked up at me, I could tell she was still shaken about this. “I know this man, I served with him.” I looked down and grabbed another cigarette and lit it, when I looked back up her mouth was hanging open. “Careful sis, your face will stick like that,” I said lightly. She shook off the shock of what I just told her and glared at me. “Mistaken Identity?! You knew him?!” She started to stand up, but Kat grabbed her hand to forestall her next move. I held up my hands in mock surrender. “Look, both of you, he wouldn’t have recognized me even if he was told what I look like, this is not what you think it is.” Kim seemed to relax a little as I took a long drag from my cigarette before finally crushing it out.
Kat looked at me in a sympathetic way, “Spill,” she said calmly. I nodded my head in acceptance of my fate with these two. “What I’ve told you is true, it was a case of mistaken identity. I was there the day that Billy got the “Dear John” letter from his wife. We were in Afghanistan at the time.” I paused there but only for a moment, “The next day, command was notified of her death. Have you ever seen a man completely lose himself in his own grief while on foreign soil?” I looked at them in all sincerity, but neither said anything. “He was never the same after that, and I couldn’t say for certain that I would have behaved any differently.” I sighed at the memory of him losing his mind. “Like me, he was always very family centric. His wife was his world.” I pause again. “The details around her death were murky to say the least, and that made matters worse.”
Kim, “She was murdered,” she said softly. I nodded in response, “It wasn’t so much that she was murdered, I mean that was tragic, don’t get me wrong. It was more about who did it.” Kim’s eyebrow shot up. “Family member?” I shook my head, “No, it was ordered by our command, after they found out what she had done to him. A certain rear admiral was responsible for the hit on her. Unknown to me and our commanding officer, they had been grooming him for a while. He was being groomed to be an assassin. Her death was carried out by private contractors, all former military. All current or former associates of the admiral.” I paused there for a moment, taking another sip of coffee, only to find that the cup was empty. I refill it from the carafe and then get another sip. “This is all part of a much bigger puzzle that I’ve been working on with Amber.” I light another cigarette, inhaling deeply and a quiet exhale. “I’m not even going to drag yall into this, what I’m doing is very dangerous for me and for her. That same admiral is being blackmailed and we are trying to figure out the who and the why. It’s being done for….lack of a better term is a benefactor of sorts.” Kat snorted and shook her head. “When they find out we are related,my brother we will probably be dragged in regardless.. But now we will be ready for it.” She spoke solemnly. I shook my head, “not if I can help it, you won’t be. This whole thing is going to be more ugly than anything I’ve done in a long time.”
These were stubborn women I was dealing with, but I would do whatever I could to protect them from this, even though I knew that I couldn’t protect them at all times. What Whisper had shared with me and I with her, had driven me to take over as the man of the house as far as the Hell’s Gate bunch were concerned. Over time I had mastered the ability to support them all through our shared bond. I don’t know if you would call it magic or some kind of psychic link, since Whisper had never fully explained it to me. On my back was a tattoo of a defiant ArchAngel with his flaming sword jammed into the ground. Whisper called me her ArchAngel of Violence for a reason. I had every intention of inflicting as much violence on people as I could, Harris would be a target, no doubt about that. There were others that needed humbling as well. Especially after the continued attacks by Mercer on our little friend, Carter. He was special and important to the ladies of Hell’s Gate and that made him family as far as I was concerned. They both looked up and smiled at me as I thought it. “Heh, I was projecting again, sorry about that.” They both laughed. A voice behind me and off to the right came through just then, “You all need some beach time,” said Whisper as she rounded the corner.
I barked a laugh, “Ha! I know that’s right.” She nodded, “Especially you, Mac. That fight you had with Bam Miller was a tough one.” I nodded in response, “that it was,” I said because arguing with her was pointless. It obviously wasn’t an argument I could win, I knew it and so did she. My relationship with these women was not complicated, I loved them all like they were my blood sisters, and that was that. They were known to Amber, especially Kat, they went way back. They were at times more family than my own ever were. My mother and fathers relatives were not exactly full of kindness or caring. They were hard people and it took me a long time to realize that and get past it. I shrugged, “Let’s go then,” I said as I grabbed a small bag and a beach towel. This bunch would need looking after three amazingly hot women on the beach. A beach full of vultures on the hunt as well. Not that they actually needed my protection, these ladies could handle anything that came their way, but still, when you love people you do your best to look out for their best interests.
I was no hero, not even close. I wasn’t even someone that would be considered a good human being. The shit I had done in my time in the military would make the strongest man cringe. Some of the things I’d done since then would likely make my wife divorce me. The unspoken question by these ladies was how did it come to this? That was an answer that was complicated and almost tragic…almost but not quite. I enjoyed what I did, the things I’ve done for the alphabet boys and for my friend Jeff were necessary. I’d always joked about the United States and the black ops having black ops was all too accurate. I stopped just then and I motioned for them to sit back down. I quickly and quietly move the coffee table out of the way. “Bring your chairs in and I’ll share with you what Whisper already knows about my past, who and what I’ve been. Brace yourselves, it’s not rainbows and unicorns.” I brought their heads close to my own, and pressed my forehead to theirs. With our eyes closed, I could hear them gasp and I could feel the tears as they ran across my thumbs. Kat was the first to pull away and then Kim. “I’m sorry, but you needed to understand.” They both nodded, “Booze is in the cabinet under the bar.” Kat went inside to collect the booze and I sat back wondering how much damage I’d done to the relationship with my family. Whisper smiled and laid a hand on my shoulder, “You did the right thing, Mac, they needed to know.” I nodded because I knew it was true but it didn’t lessen the knot in my gut.
Kat soon returned with 2 bottles of whisky and my bottle of scotch. She sat them down on the table and wrapped her arms around my neck and hugged me. Kim was next and hugged me tight. Then Whisper, even though she already knew my story. “You’re a good man, Mac, no one can ever convince me otherwise.” We drank a single shot and saluted victories over our past.
Fade…
{unknown beach - somewhere in Barbados - “JJ&E”}
[on-camera]
I sat in the sand allowing the waves to lap against my feet, I had told the camera crew noon sharp and as usual they were late. It didn’t matter really, I could take out my phone and do it myself but why use my bandwidth for that? It was a “beach hair, I don’t care” kind of day anyway. I looked out to the sea, my heart missed sailing, maybe I’ll buy a boat one day I thought to myself. I mean, I have a great friend who lives in Australia. She'd love to meet my wife one day. The shadow of someone behind me fell across my legs and I looked up to see a nerdy little cameraman, pocket protector and all that shit. “I’m sorry I’m late Mr. Bane,” he said with complete sincerity. “Aww hell kid, that’s okay, I was enjoying the surf anyway.” He nodded in that quick jerky motion that always made me grin, “I…I…can come back later if you want me to?” I smiled at his nervousness, “you scared?” He seemed to go from slightly tanned to a deathly shade of pale. He didn’t respond, he just nodded his head really quickly, giving him an almost bobblehead quality. “You should be,” I replied calmly and in a gravelly voice. “You’re in luck though, kid, you have no idea how lucky your are. I looked to my left where my bottle of scotch and an ice bucket sat. “Day drinking is a lovely thing, don’t you think?” Without pausing I said, “Rhetorical question, never mind kid, it doesn’t matter what you think anyway.”
“Get over there somewhere and let me know when you’re ready to begin.” After he was a good thirty feet away, I looked at him and laughed. I shake my head, “Well?” He gave me a thumbs up. I picked up my phone and hit the record button just in case the genius fucked this up.
Fexxfield and Wilma….what a curious pairing that is. What was her last- name….Shakesfear…that’s funny as hell. God I hope that’s not your real name, I’d say that your parents must have hated you. Maybe they consider it karma and you were that mistake that the coat hanger missed. You’re not my problem though, that is for my partner in crime for this event, Laura Phoenix to deal with. I would say more about you but I don’t give a fuck about you. I just had to make sure I at least mentioned you, I wouldn’t want to be accused of a lack of focus….again.
Terryl Fexxfield, one of the people in this company that I would have willingly called a friend. We did some things together to help Amber and then you disappeared from the face of the earth…again. Maybe you and Masque finally managed to kill each other, or maybe you gave up and went back into hiding. I would hope not because that’s a coward’s way and I never would have thought that of you. But, here we are. No word, no sign of life, no narrative to continue. Trust me when I say that I won’t be looking forward to this match. I will not be wanting to beat your ass like I would for someone like either one of the Harris brothers but this only ends one way and that’s with you being defeated, soundly. I’ll do my best to not end your career, although it already appears to be dead to be honest. Like I said, I’ll try to be merciful but I can’t promise that. You see, old man, it’s like this. Someone recently woke up something inside me that I thought was long dead. Unfortunately for this company, that beast is alive and well and mercy doesn’t seem within my reach right now.
The Gentleman Wolf is what my brother Ken has called me for years. He’s not wrong, depending on which one you feed, that’s what you get from me. This past year, this company has been feeding the wolf. Fucking me over time after time. Some asshole is now wearing a world title belt that he didn’t earn and after I’m done running through this tournament, I’m going to destroy whatever is left of his soul. If he still has the title when we’re done. Laura and I are going to leave nothing but bodies in our wake, well I shouldn’t speak for her. Every opponent that I face will be left in a pool of their own blood, I will not stop until vengeance has been delivered to those who deserve it most. Sin City, you fed the wolf and now you get to reap the rewards of that. No more saving the helpless from attacks, this will only end when the wolf is satisfied.
I know that some of the friends I’ve made over this last year won't be happy about this. All I can say to that is that you should make sure you stay out of my fucking way. Focus on your own things and don’t be worried about mine.
Focus….that’s a fun word isn’t it? When I was in the military it was one of many acronyms we used. It stood for, fuck off ‘cause you’re stupid.
This begins the era of JJ&E, if you’re not familiar with it, it means.
Judge
Jury
And Executioner.
It doesn’t matter who you are, which company you represent in this tournament or who you fucking think you are. You will all be treated with an equal amount of disdain.
Fade.
