A lone figure rested dejectedly against the building in the pale light of the morning. Steam rose from the grate nearby hiding the man at times as it swirled about his body. Connor Murphy rested one arm on his knee as his hand holds his head up slightly. He can be heard muttering to himself as he thinks back to the last time he was outside of this building.
Flashback:
After the supercard, Connor moved towards the doorway of the Staggs Dungeon where he is stopped just before he enters the door. The woman whose hand lands hard into his chest has a determined look on her face.
“Where do you think you are going eh?” says Vixen with a glare at the cocky Connor Murphy who smiles and attempts to move around the hand.
“I think that I am here to train,” answers Connor. “I think that I should get back to work...”
Vixen shakes her head as her fingers curl into the shirt of Connor to hold him in front of her. She leans towards him and her voice lowers. “What did I tell you when you came back? You started out great but then you let it get to your head…” Vixen states as her other hand comes up and with a finger, she taps against the forehead of the Irishman. “I warned you that you only had one chance with me ostie and you had it. Get a couple of wins and the world owed you nothing huh? You got cocky Connor and it is going to cost you.”
“Come on Vix…I lost the title match. Don’t you think that it was punishment enough?” exclaims Connor as he tries to pull away from the fistful of cloth in Vixen’s hand. “Let’s just start again. I promise that I…”
Vixen interrupts him angrily. “That is what you think we can do? Connor, I put my name on the line when I told you that I would train you for your return and for the first few weeks back, you were the man that I was training to win. You were the one that I put my faith in and I gave you what you needed until you didn’t think you needed anymore,” said Vixen as she pulls away and releases the handful of shirt. “I thought you had changed Connor…I really did. But all that got me was someone that fell back into thinking that you had it under control. And look at you now.”
Connor looks down at the hand as it drops. “What are you saying Vix?” he asks in a small voice realizing that maybe he had went to far.
Vixen turns and moves to the door of the gym before turning back to Connor. “I am saying that I am done Connor. C’est fini! It is like you think that you are ten feet tall and bulletproof. You lost respect for me when you decided that you were back and winning. Given how you have been acting, you don’t need me which means I don’t need to be there for you.” Vixen slowly shakes her head. “Good luck Connor,” she adds before she opens the door to the Dungeon and walks inside of the building leaving a stunned Connor standing outside of the building.
Connor growls angrily as he slams a hand against the concrete. He pulls his leg up and then begins to pull himself upward by pushing against the wall. He is standing as he hears the roar of a car that is approaching the building. Looking up, a haunted look on his face, Connor sees the vehicle stop to reveal Vixen looking out of the windshield.
Connor doesn’t move but watches as Vixen slowly gets out of the car and slam the car door shut after pulling her bag out of the back. She slowly walks forward as Connor moves to stand in front of her.
“Vix…” he begins but stops, choking slightly as his voice breaks.
“Connor,” she replies as she walks towards the door. “To what do I owe this visit by the great Connor Murphy?”
Murphy winces at the sarcasm in her voice. “I deserve that,” he admits. “I am here to find out if I had burned all my bridges with my fave fox.” He offers a half hearted grin at Vixen who rolls her eyes and moves around Connor.
“What do you think hmmm?” she counters.
“Would it help if I apologized?” he asks. He once more winces as Vixen shoots him a glare. “He holds up his hands and nods. “Guess not. But honestly, I don’t blame you at all. It was hard to hear Vix but thinking about what you had said, you were completely right.” Connor runs a hand along his stubble covered jaw. “So, I am not here to ask you to train me anymore. I am just here to say that I am sorry I let you down.”
Connor steps back and then turns slowly to head away from the building. He doesn’t see Vixen’s face change but he hears the stream of curse words in French. No cocky smile breaks across his face as he takes a slow breath and begins to walk away.
“Ostie Connor,” exclaims Vixen as she looks away from him. “You are your own worse mistake. You realized too late that I was serious. Well I will tell you this. You need to know that I am not going to help you fail but I am not going to train you anymore without you proving yourself. So as it stands, you can have the run of the Dungeon but I won’t be training you until you show me the respect that I have earned.”
“How do I do that?” he asks without turning back.
“Take your return to wrestling seriously,” she replies. “When you begin to pay more attention to getting in that ring and proving that you aren’t a one hit wonder, then we will talk.”
Connor turns and his lip curls into a grin. “So you are telling me that I have a chance…”
“Don’t get cocky Murphy,” admonishes Vixen as she fights a slight smile. “You still have a lot to learn.” She opens the door to the gym and then steps inside leaving Connor to grin as he backs away from the building.
“I’ll learn…oh boy will I learn,” he mutters as he walks away.
~*~*~*~*~
Connor Murphy is standing in the open doorway of a room. Dressed in a pair of jeans with his hair hanging damp around his ears and the stubble of his jaw a dark shadown, he has a serious look on his face.
“I pooched it badly at the supercard didn’t I?” he says to the camera that is filming him. “I got ahead of my skis thinking that I was ready to be a champion because I won a couple of matches. And do you know what I did…I fucked up.”
He looks upward, angry at himself.
“I failed to win the match and I failed my friend who had been training me. It took me losing that training opportunity to realize that I am not as good as I seem to be. I don’t know if you know it but that really sticks in my craw,” he states as his hand taps on his chest. “I realize that I probably had given everyone the idea that I am not worth it anymore and that I should be running away from this return. I will be honest, I was thinking the same thing. But this Connor Murphy isn’t a quitter so I am grabbing my bootstraps and putting on my big boy pants and getting real.”
“Seems that Mark Ward and Christian Underwood still think I can stay in the company and decided to give me a challenge this week when I face HB Carter. And considering that he was recently a champion, that means he is one helluva wrestler,” says Connor before smiling. “See what I did there huh?”
“Seriously, he is someone that when you face him, he will make you work for a win. And the fact this is a match that is main eventing Climax Control. It is a lot to put on my plate but now that I have been given that chance…I find that I am so hungry for this opportunity. It is a qualifier for an elimination chamber match and I am going to take this to heart and I am going to fight for the chance to get into the chamber.”
“The only roadblock for me is Carter and I know that he will be tough to beat. But I also know that he has been in situations lately that have put him in harms way and he’s battered and bruised. But that doesn’t mean that I can take it easily. I do want him to know that I am coming for him and I also want him to know that I am not underestimating him. But I can be man enough to say good luck to him as I face him. I will see you Sunday Carter, may the best man win..”
With that, Connor moves to leave the doorway and disappears as the door closes.
