The Captain escaped.
So now we start over.
That's fine. I've had to do that plenty of times.
And I will be back at the top in no time.
Queen for A Day will turn into Queen of the revolution.
Trust me.
We headed back to California.
This time with a destination in mind. The drive always feels shorter when you’re coming back to a place rather than leaving it. Have you ever noticed that? It’s weird, right? It’s not just me?
“You uh… you okay?” Levi asked me as I looked out the window mindlessly. He broke me from a spaced out haze.
“Hmm?”
“I said are you okay?”
“Yeah, why?”
“Babe, you know you killed a guy, right?”
“Yeah.” I said, shrugging only slightly “He was going to arrest us, or worse, kill both of us. I didn’t have much of a choice.”
“Alright. Just making sure.” He answered, continuing to drive.
That was the end of the conversation and really anything else on the matter.
I didn’t know what I felt at the moment that it happened. Adrenaline filled my body, and I knew I needed to do something. Fight or flight instincts kicked in. That was all. I didn’t really feel anything about killing that cop. I wanted to be done with it and now it was done. I’m sure he was probably a nice guy, and he had a wife and some kids and I took that all away from them.
Was it so different from me? I had a family. But they seemingly wanted nothing to do with me. They pretty much killed me off, didn’t they? I feel like I owed the world one for that. I knew what I did and I had resigned to that fact fairly quickly. I processed it all and at the end… I moved on.
We arrived in Laguna beach and there was the house. Surrounded by a gate, which was taller than most people. You would have to be pretty athletic to even try and jump in or out of the property. We parked outside and waited.
“Mal said beep the horn three times.” I reminded Levi.
Apparently, Raphael was also very suspicious of people. We had to hope he didn’t have the same type of illness as Mal.
Levi beeped the horn and the gate slowly opened and a man in a suit walked up to the car.
“Who are you? What are you doing here?”
“We’re here to see Raphael. My uncle Mal sent me.”
The guy was clearly a guard. Talking into his earpiece. Like shit out of a movie.
“Pull in.”
We followed the instructions and pulled in. Once we got out, 5 more guards walked out, guns in hand.
“Just follow the guards.”
We were surrounded and marched in. It was like we were either meeting the President or about to die. Maybe both.
We were ushered into a room with a tiny man, smiling as he looked like he was dusting or cleaning the place.
“Ah, guests.” He said with a smile, standing and leaning against a desk.
“Frisk them.”
We were patted down, pretty thoroughly. We both had guns and they were taken away.
“Armed guests.” He said with an arch of his eyebrow.
“So, were you here to kill me?”
“No. My uncle Mal said…”
Raphael held up a hand to silence Levi.
“Malachai told you to find me? Why?”
Levi looked at me and I finally stammered out.
“Work.”
Raphael rubbed his face, and chuckled, almost laughing out loud at us.
“Malachai is a fool. But he must know something that you can do or you did do. Otherwise he would not have said you here. Or, he sent you to kill me.”
“It would be pretty dumb to send us to kill you when he told us how to meet you.” I said with a shrug.
“Oh, it would be.” Raphael said.
“But, I know Malachai will. He would not send you in unprepared. So, you want work? Let me see what I need done.”
Raphael walked behind his desk, sat down and started combing through things. Then he threw his hands up.
“Looks like I don’t need anything done right now. But, if you stay close, maybe I’ll have something later. For now, leave. Go find something to do. It’s Los Angeles. There’s always something to do.
“But…” Levi said before I cut him off.
“We’ve done a lot here already.”
“Really?”
“Those 8 robberies and home invasions a few months back? That was us.”
“Ah. Good to know. Don’t steal anything on your way out. Good day.”
“We killed a cop in Arizona.”
Raphael’s eyes looked up from his desk. He pulled out a cigar and lit it.
“Impressive. Again, if I need you, I will find you. Good. Day.”
I wasn’t about to argue and I eyed Levi and he got the message. We were escorted out and they gave us our guns back surprisingly. We got in the car and left.
“Well, that was a fucking bust.” Levi said, slapping the wheel in frustration.
“I think your uncle may have believed Raphael was his friend, but… I don’t think so. But he did tell us to wait. So… maybe there’s something. We’re okay for now but we might just have to give it some time.”
“Why did you tell him all that stuff?”
“I was trying to keep us alive, Levi!”
“But now he could report us to the cops.”
“Did you see that place?
“Yeah.”
“He’s not going to report us.”
Levi sat for a moment and realized what I was getting at.
“He’s doing something illegal. Drugs? Weapons. Something like that.”
“Nobody who lives in a house like that with guards works at fucking Target.”
“Well….What do we do in the meantime?”
“Well… We’re gonna have to work while we wait.”
“... Fuck.”
I haven’t had to say a word on SCW television, but people are beginning to understand what I’m trying to change.
You all saw it first hand. You saw how despite losing a Japanese Death match… Crystal was set to receive a random, unearned championship match. And don’t give me the bullshit about “Crystal’s a former champion!” Those days should end. How can we usher in the next generation, how can we give people a chance, if we just keep going back to old, safe choices?
This company is living in the past.
And finally, people are starting to grow restless. They see what I see.
And then you have Christian Underwood hilariously blaming the GM he hired for booking the match.
“Don’t blame me, I just run this place! It’s not my fault, it’s the person that I hired! It’s their fault.”
He is either incompetent or hired an incompetent GM.
Or, they are just doing what you tell them. Because this is a pure Christian Underwood move.
Be safe.
Go with what you know.
Because neither he or Gwendolyn can justify this. No one can. Because it’s fucking stupid.
I am not a fan of old lady Mercedes Vargas, but holy shit she should probably be charging a fee. And for that matter, so did Victoria Lyons. You can’t put them in a contender’s match, and then give Crystal a fucking title shot. It’s a minor miracle that a public revolt basically cancelled the match.
This is what needs to happen. This is what I’ve been saying to all the other bombshells, for basically a year. You cannot rely on Christian Underwood to remember to give you things, even if you earn them. You have to take that shit, and call him out on his bullshit. Stand up, and fight for yourself. That’s how change is going to happen.
This has been my goal since day one. Change. To even out this playing field. To ensure that we stop handing out random championship matches to undeserving relics. I am desperately trying to move this company to a better place. And again, it has slipped through my fingers.
The Captain, as I said… escaped. She won because I made a mistake. Funny how this has happened twice and she has won, and when I didn’t make a mistake, I beat her. But hey, it happened, it’s in the past. Just stating the facts of the matter. I am at the bottom. I don’t ask for nor do I deserve special treatment. I had my chance, and I lost. That’s okay. I will fight my way back up and hopefully this time, it won’t be a cakewalk like it has been the past two times.
I am at the bottom, and that means I have to face Bea Barnhart.
Although I guess I’m not truly at the bottom because this is Queen for A Day qualifying match.
I know they think they’re throwing me a bone and I should be grateful, but at this point, this doesn’t have the pizzazz it once had. I mean, Queen for A Day means you decide some matches and if you’re smart, you give yourself a championship match. But then again, who knows how many people, and probably people who didn’t even qualify for the ladder match, will just jump ahead of you and get a random title match anyway?!
But you know what this really is? Another chance to give you all a small preview of what could be, and what should be.
But we’ll get to that in due time.
First, I have to take care of Bea.
Listen, Bea… I know that you always go out there and talk a lot of trash and some of it is funny. But when push comes to shove, you have never, and I mean ever managed to back it up. You consistently run your mouth, and then nothing comes of it. I will commend you for continuing to talk trash to everyone despite this, but that’s about when anything worthwhile ends with you.
You are a little tiny barking dog, Bea. You yap-yap-yap-yap all the time and it means nothing. The threats are empty and hollow. You are the bottom of the barrel. I would be sad and empathize with you, but at the same time, it’s been this way for a long time. You have made no effort to improve yourself. I would normally want something more for you, but this is the place you’ve become accustomed to. You’re comfortable here.
So, this is where I will leave you.
This isn’t fun for me, Bea. This isn’t something I want to relish in the grand scheme of things. I take no pleasure in having to pummel you to get where I need to go. You don’t belong in this match, but then again, neither did Seleana, and she got it, so it is what it is. You’re here, you’re my opponent, and I will be taking you down and moving on. And then that will be it. The only time I will see you again, is if they decide to send me down yet again, to see you to fight my way back up.
I’ve done so 3 times already and now, I will do it again, and you’re just a speed bump on my road. You stand no chance, and you know you stand no chance. This is what you do.
I have bigger goals. I have bigger dreams. And I was right there at the top just a few short months ago. I never really had an idea for you then, because why would I uproot you from this spot? You haven’t done anything besides be around. You shouldn’t be rewarded for this. Part of me wants to, but at the same time, why would I bother.
I almost hate to say it, but there’s no reason to change you for the better. That really starts with wanting to change yourself. And you have never taken the initiative to do so. You’re wasting my time and everyone else’s time even thinking you’re going to move up in the world.
You are a lost cause.
After this is all over, and we are in the new era as we should be, with me leading the way, you can rest assured that your role isn’t going to change. No, it’ll be exactly the same. You will forever be the stepping stone for other people to start with. The measuring stick of mediocrity. That’s the role you were born for.
I will use you as everyone else does and I will leave you to wallow in your own complacency.
The only thing I ask of you is that you don’t try and make this more than what it is. Don’t get those thoughts in your head of moving up and finally pulling off something worth talking about when it comes to you. I don’t want to have to hurt you more than I already am. I don’t want to have to beat you mercilessly because you thought you really had a chance.
So, don’t bother with those things. It’s only going to get you hurt.
Trust me.
