[Thatcher Rex]

 


Madelyne McTaggert leaned against the doorway as Thatcher inspected the latest card. She was tense, apprehension evident in her expression. She’d already seen the decisions, and she knew that Thatcher was not going to like it.

“Are you serious?!”

Nope, not one bit.

He turned to Madelyne, one finger pointed at her like a weapon.

“This is your fault, McTaggert.”

“My fault? In what way is it my fault?!”

“You jinxed it! You had to say it, and it happened!”

He was of course referring to her little jibe, from but a few days ago. She had jokingly suggested that he’d be tagged with Misty. If Madelyne were honest with herself, she’d find the entire situation hilarious; she liked Misty, found the woman to be a breath of fresh air. Power, cunning, and so on… had Maddie still been in the business of wrestling, she’d approach the raven-haired competitor about an alliance. But Thatcher… he was one of the good guys, as he put it. Not a nice one, by any stretch; she’d seen him do terrible things in the ring, powerful, decimating things. But he was all about fair play and sportsmanship, and that was not her style.

“Oh come on, Thatcher… this could be fun!”

“In what way does fun factor into this, Madelyne? In what conceivable way could this turn out alright?”

“Well… you could win.”

Rex rolled his eyes, turning away from the buxom blonde. He began to pace the room.

“Thatcher, you know she’s good. Very good. The girl can fight, and she knows how to win.”

“She knows how to cheat. She doesn’t understand the meaning of winning under your own steam, your own strength. She likes to win at the cost of her dignity, though she pretends otherwise. Nothing is beneath her. Winning with that is not winning at all.”

Madelyne bit her lip. To her, a win was a win. Misty displayed cunning that few could match, but Thatcher didn’t appreciate cunning. He respected honesty. Madelyne was more inclined to be in Misty’s camp, but she was here for Thatcher… she had to try and at least aid him, even if she did think he was misguided.

“What about… what about making her win on your terms? You’re a strong guy, after all. You know how to handle shady people; you’ve dealt with many of them.”

Rex arched his brow in her direction; she was one of those shady people. He had no illusions otherwise.

“So why don’t you steer her instead of letting her try to steer you? Make her play your game. I’ve seen you do it before, you know.”

“I know. But I’d rather have a partner that I could trust.”

Madelyne gave a sigh.

“We don’t always get what we want, Thatcher. Sometimes, we just have to play with the cards dealt to us.”


*  *  *


It’s been a very long time since I last participated in a tournament. Even then, it was a singles competition. A Tag Tournament is something that I have never been a part of, and the prospect of going the distance with one partner is quite daunting. Especially if you consider the individual I have been saddled with. Like as not, she’s about as unhappy as I am; Misty has never been too fond of me, nor I of her. We’re polar opposites if ever there were any. She’s built around herself an entourage of sycophants, of yes-men and suck-ups. She enjoys their adulations, their praise, and she soaks it up like a sponge. The fact that she deserves none of this doesn’t even factor into her thought process; she’s done nothing to earn anything but scorn, but she still holds herself in the highest esteem. To me, this is despicable. Pathetic, even. And here she is, my partner for the duration of this tournament.

A tournament which, despite my misgivings, I intend to win.

I intend to win right, however. I’m no cheat. As the fans and roster of SCW alike has borne witness to these past weeks, I win my matches without resorting to underhanded tactics. I’m shrewd, and I can be mean… but I’m also fair. I will be ensuring that Misty does the same; her little group won’t be sticking their noses into any match that I’m a part of. Not unless they want those noses kicked through the back of their heads. I won’t stand for that kind of crap, Misty, and I’ll expect you to abide by the rules of the game. The only way to win this tournament in any way that matters is by doing it clean. We earn it, or we taste defeat. As it is, I have yet to taste true defeat in SCW; not a single person has pinned me since my arrival, and it is my intent to keep that record growing. If you are to be the reason it ends, Misty, I will be very… upset.

So are we going to act as a team? My gut says that it’s not likely. I don’t trust you, Misty. I don’t believe for one instant that you’ll put yourself on the line for anyone else, and that makes me wonder exactly how much punishment I’m going to take in this tournament. It makes me ponder sabotage and expect betrayal.

I would have loved to step into the spotlight this week and do nothing but praise my partner. I would have loved to brag about her… but all I can do is shake my head. You’re one of the most hated individuals in all of SCW, Misty, and all because you want to drag one of its most beloved stars into the darkness. You want to bring Odette Ryder down to your level, and have been doing nothing but pushing her buttons at every opportunity. And why? Because she’s happy all of the time? Because she has a smile on her face for the majority of the day? She’s loved by the company and fans alike, and you hold that against her. I don’t know why, and frankly, I don’t care. All I see of you is the selfish child that wants to take away another child’s toy.

I don’t like you, Misty. I don’t trust you. You know that you can trust me to fight hard for this tournament, to put my body on the line, but I cannot expect the same effort from you. In point of fact, I don’t know what I can expect from you. You’re unpredictable and, therefore, a danger to everyone, even your partner.

Those of you tuning into this are probably wondering at the rage and anger in my words. And you’re right; I do have anger against Misty. She reminds me of past enemies, of people who had no compunctions about stepping on each and every person that stood in their way. As far as I’m concerned, she’s no better than Kris Keebler. But there is an upside, as loathe as I am to admit it.

People like Misty want to win.

They don’t want to jeopardize their chances of attaining more glory. And Misty, you are hungry for glory. You have to be. Your way hasn’t been working so well in SCW, has it? You haven’t met much success, so we’ll be doing things my way.


But I’m not the only one facing such a situation, am I?

Rage, you may be my opponent, but you have my sympathies. We’re in the same boat, you and I; stuck with people that we’d rather not share a building with, let alone rely on as a tag team partner. But that was the risk we took when we signed up for this thing, isn’t it?

I realize that you have a history with Misty. I won’t pretend to be clear on the details, but from what I understand, you have ample reason to hold a grudge. This match, to you, is about evening a score. Given who is involved, I would normally say, “Man, go get her.” But unfortunately, these are not normal circumstances, Rage. These are not times in which you have free reign to do as you wish. Because a loss for Misty is a loss for Thatcher Rex, and by God, that is not going to happen. In the short time that I’ve been here, I’ve become Number One Contender for the Roulette Title. I’ve beaten a contender for the Heavyweight Championship. I have steamrolled virtually everyone that has set foot in that squared circle, and I will for damn sure continue to do so. I came back to wrestling to prove that I still had it, and I’ve proven to myself, to the people, to everyone that I do, in fact, have it.

So now that I’ve proven that, where would the next logical step be? Where does the Tyrant King go next? I’ll tell you. He goes on to win a tournament the likes of which he has never participated in. The Tag Team Tournament of Sin City Wrestling. You have a grudge, Rage, but I have a dream. I dream of standing among the greats, being entered in the Hall of Fame, and truly becoming a legend within the eyes of all who call themselves fans of wrestling. Winning this tournament will be a big step in that direction, my friend, and I’m sure you realize it. I’m sure you’re just as hungry for that coveted spot as I am. But you’ll have to settle for something else, because on Sunday, you will be eliminated, terminated, cast out of this tournament.

And don’t think I’ve forgotten about you, Angel Kash. Little Miss Moneybags, the spoiled rich kid. Spoiled rich kid, as if there is any other type of rich kid in existence. Well listen here, Daddy’s Girl. Nobody is handing you a damn thing on any kind of platter in this place. Nobody is going to cater to you. You can’t buy your way to the top in Sin City, sweetheart, no. No no no. You’re going to have to do something that your manicured ass has never, ever done. You’re going to have to do something that is absolutely one hundred percent foreign to you.

You’re going to have to earn it.

Oh yeah, you’re a bad bitch. You’re the baddest bitch on the block. You’re beautiful, you’re dirty, you’re rich. Well let me tell you something, sweetcheeks; when you step into the ring on Sunday, you’re going to find out exactly what bad is. I’m not allowed to lay a hand on you, for which I thank the SCW management, because God knows how many damn STDs you have. Everything from herpes to gonorrhea. Yeah, you got the dirty part right; a guy could get warts by just looking at you. But no, you don’t step in with me… you get to step into the ring with Misty, and as much as I dislike her, I know for a fact that she can tear you apart, limb from limb. See, she ain’t like you. She hasn’t had everything handed to her. She’s a cheating, conniving bitch, but she has the killer instinct, the determination, and the sheer ferocity to drag your Jugs of Jello to the ground and beyond.

This ain’t high school, Kash. You can’t buy people like me, and you can’t hide from people like Misty. You’re not top dog around here.

You’re practice.

You’re the warm-up.

Because make no mistake, Misty and I will progress through this tournament all the way to the top. It’s not what we were born to do, it’s not what we’re destined to do.

It’s what we want to do.