"I ain't dead yet..." [ Betrayal of Body Saga ]
Jan 11, 2021 3:14:44 GMT -5
ARP, Roger Wright, and 4 more like this
Post by HavoK on Jan 11, 2021 3:14:44 GMT -5
Weight: 275 pounds
Height: 6 feet, 4 inches
Hometown: San Gregorio, CA
Theme Song: Shock [Fear Factory]
Marital Status: Married to Jenna Riggs
Trademark Move: Ravager [Urinagi Suplex]
Desperation Finish: Sudden Impact [Superkick]
Signature Finish: Black Out [Split-Legged Pedigree]
Submission Finish: Sweet Dreams [Million Dollar Dream w/Body Scissors]
Combo Finish: R.D.S. [Punch Flurry/Gut Kick/Flowing DDT/Guillotine Choke]
THEN
After my match with Stratford had ended, I needed help from the EMTs to get back to my locker room. One of the EMTs gave me a once over, cleaning the gash on my head, and ensuring that I hadn’t suffered a concussion during the match.
OPW EMT
“You’re good to go Mr. Riggs, just make sure that you are icing frequently, and have your wife help you replace those bandages every day.”
DAMON RIGGS
“Will do. Thanks man, I appreciate you looking me over.”
OPW EMT
“My pleasure, and thank you for the autographs.”
DAMON RIGGS
“No problem, it was the least I could do.”
Just as the EMT is heading out the door, I see Madisin Ivy’s slimy ass squeezes by him as she heads straight for me. Without so much as a hello, Madisin nearly shoves her microphone up my prominent nose.
MADISIN IVY
“Ooh, Damon, you don’t look so good. Tell me, after that excruciating loss, are you in any shape to take on Joe Montuori next?”
DAMON RIGGS
“Well, hello there Madisin. Nice to see you…”
MADISIN IVY
“Errrm, oooookay, nice to see you too, I guess. Are you going to answer my question though?”
DAMON RIGGS
“Sure, but first, let me pose a question to you.”
MADISIN IVY
“Okay…but can we move this along? I have places I need to be...”
DAMON RIGGS
“Did you even bother watching my match with Stratford, or are you just forming your questions based on the fact that I wasn’t declared the winner of the match?”
MADISIN IVY
“I, um, I saw bits and pieces. Listen, I’m a very busy woman, I have to interview the winner of your match after this, so…”
Without a thought or a care I stood up and snatched the microphone from her.
MADISIN IVY
“Hey!”
DAMON RIGGS
“Hey yourself! Stratford and I nearly killed ourselves out there. Do you have any idea how much blood we both poured into that match? No, you are too scared to break a nail getting into the ring. You don’t have a fucking clue, do you? I’ve got one helluva SNITCH for you, BITCH! This one’s hot off the presses too. Ladies and gentlemen, what you all just witnessed was the culmination of a war that has been raging, quietly might I add, in Stratford’s heart for the last 15 or so years. This wasn’t some dark match, and it wasn’t JUST a Main Event bout on Showcase. This was two of the most respected men in our industry going at it like fucking savages, and the better man won out. That’s right Stephen, you are the better man. Tonight. But I want you to know one thing, after tonight’s battle, you have further seared your name into my memory as one of my most memorable rivals. Guys like Chris Champion, The Game, Jerome, Josh Manhunt - at his prime, Dave Mitchels, Sean Galen, in the almost 30 years I’ve been doing this, you have edged your way into that list of names that I will never forget standing across the ring from. You have more than earned my respect, which I should have extended to you years ago. If we don’t go toe to toe one more time before I bow out, I’m more than satisfied with the show we put on for the fans. My only hope is that I have earned your respect, but most of all, your forgiveness. The last thing I want to do is leave this industry with anyone soured by name or my actions.”
I gently tossed the mic in Madisin’s direction, which she fumbled before catching, which surprised me. Then I pointed to the door without another word from either of us. But I could tell that she was fuming. After taking a shower, carefully so as to not disturb the bandages on my head, Jenna and Jason came in to check on me.
JENNA RIGGS
“Baby, how much longer are you going to keep doing this to yourself?”
DAMON RIGGS
“I think I’ve got three, maybe four more matches left in me, then I’m done.”
JASON RIGGS
“I hope so big bro, that was a fucking brutal match to watch. You two nearly killed each other out there.”
DAMON RIGGS
“Speaking of nearly getting killed, has anyone spoken to Allison? What’s Dane’s condition?”
JENNA RIGGS
“His shoulder was reinjured when they slammed him through the table, and he suffered a pretty bad concussion when Moore was punching him repeatedly in the head and face. Allison said the doctors are confident that he’ll recover relatively quickly, she and Bella got him on the flight back home to the Compound. But it’ll be awhile before he’s going to be back to 100%.”
JASON RIGGS
“We need to fuck DubDub up hard…”
DAMON RIGGS
“Please don’t call those clowns that, you’re only encouraging them…”
JASON RIGGS
“I get it, I get it. But we can’t let those FoCuS knuckle-draggers get one over on our family like that…”
JENNA RIGGS
“How about neither of you worry about those clowns, hmm? Baby, let’s get you back to the hotel and run a nice, hot bath? I think we could both use one. Jason, I’m sure you can manage finding your way home?”
JASON RIGGS
“Yeeeeeeeeah, you guys do that. I’ve got places to be anyway. Shit to do… Hey bro, what’s up with Sahara, think she would be down to go party with me?”
DAMON RIGGS
“I wouldn’t advise it, besides she’d probably kick your ass instead.”
There’s an old saying that implies that we’re better off not knowing when we’re going to die, because we’ll wind up spending the rest of our lives in anticipation of that day, not living our lives to the fullest. I’m not dying, that’s not the point, but my in-ring career is soon coming to an end. One could argue that is a form of death. After the war I went through with Stephen Stratford, I can honestly say I don’t have much more of those kinds of fights left in me. My body is a trainwreck. I’m doing my damned best to make it the only one I have.
LATER
I’ve tried to keep my professional life in order my entire life. I came from nothing and I don’t foresee myself enjoying the trip back to it. So I invest my money and have it make me more. Keeping myself in check in this business is easy. People expect to be punched when they upset you. In all of my other businesses, it is a bit different. And a lot harder. Punching a rival businessman in the mouth is frowned upon.
I went to check in on one of my gyms that I hadn’t visited since I renovated it. I am not ashamed to say that it was an impulse buy. I can’t say if it was boredom or the displeasure that the place brought me upon entering. I can say that it pleased me to fix it up and bring it into the current century. Fixing broken things, namely broken people, it’s one of my hidden talents. Where the snack bar sold rice krispy treats, I put in a state of the art smoothie bar. Where there was a vending machine that offered sodas, I put in an ABB Performance cooler and a protein bar vending machine.
Imagine my surprise when I return a year later to find it an absolute wreck. Less so than the career of a Montuori, but far more fixable. Upon entering the lobby, I don’t see a single employee anywhere. I search the building for soon to be ex-employees. I find one trying his best to break a toilet by plunging it like a FoCuS fan on too much sugar. His face when he sees me goes through the range of every emotion. From confusion, through shock, to the final one I was intent to ever see him make, realization.
DAMON RIGGS
“What in the hell is going on here? Where is everyone? Why are you working by yourself? Well?”
The kid looked at me as if he expected me to read his mind. If I could read minds I’d start with someone far more interesting. Or at the very least, useful.
DAMON RIGGS
“This place is a wreck. The towel bins are overflowing, the garbage bins are worse andI find you plunging the employee toilet!?! Which of these is most important for customer satisfaction?”
I looked for his name tag, as luck would have it, he’s not wearing one. Again I tell myself; in this business, hitting people is frowned upon and is not met with cash prizes. In this business, hitting the wrong person can cost you everything.
DAMON RIGGS
“Where is your name tag? What in the hell is going on here? Do you have any idea how hard I worked to bring this place back to life? And you...you...”
My vision went fuzzy then blurry, and then it goes completely. When I open my eyes I find myself sitting in the office, a cold towel on my head, and my hands are being bandaged by my daughter, Allison Riggs-Preston. She looks up at me concerned as my son-in-law Dane Preston stands in the doorway watching. A small sheepish woman cowers behind him desperate to both gain my attention while avoiding my gaze. I steel myself. I know I’ve done something I shouldn’t have, I just know it. That much is obvious. I take a deep breath when I’m ready to know just what.
DAMON RIGGS
“What happened?”
ALLISON RIGGS-PRESTON
“Apparently, you were very upset at the toilet, Dad. Your employee says you ripped it out of the floor and threw it out a window.”
DAMON RIGGS
“Was he hurt?”
ALLISON RIGGS-PRESTON
“No, Dad. He’s fine, not for your lack of trying.”
DAMON RIGGS
“Damn. More bad news.” No one laughs at my obvious joke. Considering that one of them is bandaging my hand, the other is my son in law who has seen the sum of my anger before, and the other is a stranger, I shouldn’t be surprised. “Did you guys come just for this or was there an alternate reason?”
ALLISON RIGGS-PRESTON
“You asked us to meet you, remember? Said you wanted to work out together. I didn’t know that meant my nursing skills. Seriously though Daddy, the front desk kid is still a bit shaken up by you reading him the riot act. What were you thinking? You pay other people to go around and do this kind of work.”
I try not to think about all of the things Allie could have been had this business not gotten its hooks into her. Nurse could have been one thing. Doctor another. The way she drove she could’ve been a really good race car driver. Or an even better getaway driver. I almost laugh to myself at the thought. I’ve actually daydreamed about my child being out of this business and into crime. That’s where I’m at. Damon Riggs. Disillusioned. Pleased to meet you.
DAMON RIGGS
“Well we still can.”
ALLISON RIGGS-PRESTON
“Yeah? You think this hand is going to be of any use to you? The porcelain won, dad.”
DAMON RIGGS
“The hell it did!”
I pull my hand away from her and stand up and charge out into the hall. The three of them in tow. Allison tries to catch up to me, but I’ve already hoisted the weight into the air by the time she does. I don’t know how much it weighs, but I feel it. I don’t care how long I hold it, because I don’t feel it. She looks into my eyes and then at my hand. I assume I'm bleeding through the bandage because the feeling of a warm line running down my arm tells me all I need to know. I drop the bar and look at my palm. It’s a mess of crimson bandages and white knuckles. I close my fist tight and let the blood drip out the bottom of my fist and I yell at the top of my lungs.
DAMON RIGGS
“WHY IS THIS HAPPENING TO ME?!?”
ALLISON RIGGS-PRESTON
“DAD!”
DAMON RIGGS
“DO NOT DAD ME! If you can’t handle me right now, I suggest you leave. I love you, Princess, but now is not the time…”
She rushes out of the room and into the back, most likely to check on the employee, who if he hasn’t quit yet, I will most certainly be firing.
DAMON RIGGS
“You should go after her, Dane.”
DANE PRESTON
“I can’t. I need to introduce you to someone first.”
Dane steps aside and I get a better look at the tame little lady standing behind him. She’s cute but plain. Stylish but reserved. She reminds me of someone.
DANE PRESTON
“This is Lorainne Lapaglia, she’s your new assistant at the agency.”
DAMON RIGGS
“What happened to Betty?”
DANE PRESTON
“Who?”
LORRAINE LAPAGLIA
“Betty G. She was your former assistant. She’s currently covering for Darren, who is covering for Harry and Tate, who are both covering for Mitch, Rebecca and Steve, who are covering for Sarah.”
DAMON RIGGS
“Thank you. I was unaware of all of that. Why are you here?”
LORRAINE LAPAGLIA
“Well, the board thinks you should make a statement. Miss Wolf was a rather large part of the agency and with the nature of her charges, they are calling on you to put some distance between the agency and Miss Wolf. We need you to put things in line for us. Usually Sarah would be the one to handle this sort of thing, but...”
DAMON RIGGS
“Fine. Understood. Dane. Get OPW eyes as well. I want to make a comment about Montuori as well, based on what our contact told me.”
DANE PRESTON
“That Velvetdeer dude??”
DAMON RIGGS
“Belv- you know what, don’t worry about it. Just get it started. And make sure it gets attention.”
DANE PRESTON
“I think I got an idea. I wish Sarah was here, she’d love this.”
DAMON RIGGS
“Just get it done.”
I sometimes feel bad about being so short with the kid. I like him. He’s a good man and a better husband. He’s not without his issues, but who isn’t. I go to work cleaning the place up and before I know it the car is outside.
NOW
Before I’m aware that I’m even in the car, I’m stepping out of it and walking onto a gravel driveway where a podium is placed in front of a garage door with my logo pasted all over it.
DAMON RIGGS
“What is this?”
DANE PRESTON
“This,” he gestured grandly, “is Royal Botany Supply. It’s a flower and gardening store.”
DAMON RIGGS
“Why in the fuck would I do my press conference here?”
DANE PRESTON
“That’s precisely what everyone is going to be asking, while they watch it on all of the channels.”
DAMON RIGGS
“I miss Sarah.”
DANE PRESTON
“You and me both, but I miss Murph more though.”
My son in law has a point that this will gain media attention like I wanted and requested. He’s actually pretty smart, but he’s also concussed at the moment. I’m honestly not sure which caused this idea. I walk up the driveway and find a reporter from every major channel as well as a few from the magazines that the digital age haven’t killed yet. Also a few that it has but made the move successfully. The photographers begin their barrage of lights and it hits me all at once. I stand at the podium well aware that this is one of the last times I’m going to do this. And it’s at a gardening store.
HAVOK
“Thank you all for joining me here at Royal Botany Supply. While this is a questionable location for me to address you, I assure you that the subject matter is not. First and foremost, I would like to comment on my business relationship with Sarah Wolf, who I believe to be innocent of the charges against her. I’ve been told that we should separate ourselves from her. Put distance between ourselves both personally and professionally. I will not be doing that. Sarah Wolf is like a sister to me, and in this family we stick by one another through the good times AND the bad. I truly believe Sarah will be found innocent of that which she has been accused of. I encourage any and all of those watching to write to their congressman or senator and request that she be given the bail that she has up until this point been denied. Beyond that, I would like to take this opportunity to address my opponent in my upcoming OPW bout. Joe Montuori. A man who has been a name in this business for as long as most can remember. I’d like to make this clear as I can to Joe. Your memory has failed you. It’s time for me to remind him, but more importantly for me to remind the rest of you as well...”
“DON’T CALL IT A COMEBACK!”
“I’ve been here for YEARS!”
“Joe Montuori wants to make you believe that he is the savior of this business. That without his contributions, this business simply would not exist. I ask anyone who has the free time to do the due diligence and tell me; what contributions has he made exactly? What has he brought to this business that doesn’t fade the moment he walks away, AGAIN? His brother Paul? He can’t take credit for Paul’s success any more than I can take credit for Shane, Jason, or Allie, or Dane’s respective successes. You see, we help those who we care for as much as we can but their victories are ultimately their own. Now, while my body may be out to get me, I’ve got a healthy enough mind to see what Joe Montuori does not. I know Joe well, too well in fact. And right now he’s sending his thoughts and prayers to everyone of his FoCuS compatriots, so that they‘ll continue to be successful, so they won't see him for what he truly is, what he’s always been.”
“A FLASH IN THE PAN…”
“...that no one even gives a DAMN about!”
“I can’t stress this enough to all of you, but Joe Montouri is NOT now, nor has he ever been my rival or my nemesis. He likes to think that he’s on my level, my equal. The truth of the matter is that he’s NEVER been on my level. All he’s doing is wasting what precious little time I have left in this business. Joe has nothing worth taking, and the name power he once had faded away almost 20 years ago. The only thing that I’ll achieve from beating him at this point in time is to temporarily shut his mouth. Thankfully for the fans of OPW, and anyone within earshot of his brand of stupidity, that’s more than enough. Guys like him look at this business and see it as if there is some sort of war, some sort of battle that has been ongoing. That could not be further from the truth. If this was a war, Joe Montouri would not be the general of FoCuS. He’d be a deserter, nothing more. Because Joe Montouri has come and gone from this business more times than I care to count. Showing up and leaving at his whim.”
“WHILE I’VE BEEN HERE THE WHOLE DAMN TIME!”
“I have been here in every capacity possible. From helping the new guys get a foothold, to helping the older guys plan for the day when they decide to hang ‘em up. I have woken up every day asking what I can do for this business, while Joe Montouri has done the exact opposite. He has only ever taken from this business and from the people in it. He has co-opted their fame, their names and their accomplishments by making sure his name was illuminated on the same sign as theirs. It’s on the same sign as mine right now, and that chaps my ass to no end. I realize that there are people in the world who leave their business of choice only to return to it later more skilled and better than they were before they left. Take Dave Chapelle for instance. He returned to a business who wanted him the least, but needed him the most. Joe Montuori is not Dave Chapelle. Dave Chapelle knows he’s funny. Joe Montuori thinks we take him seriously, yeah about as serious as Dave Chapelle takes Carlos Mencia. Joe seriously wants the world to think that he’s on the level of yours truly, Damon HavoK Riggs?”
“SOMEBODY CALL TOM CRUISE!”
“I think we just found the next impossible mission.”
“Joe has spent most of his career stagnating at the bottom of the barrel while trying to convince the rest of us that he was really at the top and that WE were the ones who needed to reorient ourselves. That WE were the ones who couldn’t see straight. Joe, we can see just fine. The problem is that you’re just too far down for all of us up here to get a good look at. I’d offer you some advice on how to get out of that career pit you’ve been in for longer than you'd ever admit to, but honestly I’ve NEVER been that far down. You see Joe, unlike you...”
“I’VE NEVER BEEN AT THE BOTTOM OF THE BARREL...”
“…but I HAVE buried a couple of your FRIENDS beneath it…”
JASON JARRETT ✔
COREY BRADLEY ✔
“There have been many names and faces that have come for me, only for their carcasses to be left behind in my wake. Truthfully, I am the one most people come back to get a crack at, people like you, Joe. Do you know why? It’s because I am a constant and consistent in this business. I am here forever and Joe is here for now. Joe who still looks at this business as if it was 2001. As if the same ideals and the same behavior is going to do something other than make those who know better shake their head in disgust or shake their belly from laughter. Sometimes in life, we have to try new things. Like being competent in our profession. You see, you and your kind are the ones chasing at MY coattails, nipping at my heels in a desperate attempt to garner attention. You know what you don’t see Joe? You will never see me chasing after other people. But you lack the brainpower to deduce that for yourself. Just like you lack the ability to comprehend the various complexities of what’s expected of us in this business. It might be too late for him but to those of you who are watching, let Joe be an example. ”
“YOU CAN THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX...”
“...or I can bury your career in one!”
“Feel free to give Josh Manhunt a call, ask him how well his career fared after I buried him in a pine box and drained myself all over it. You see Joe, I’m not even going to dignify entertaining your ego. Nah, see, I’ve made a career out of destroying your faction. Sure, one, maybe two of your ragtag group of misfits may have bested me ONCE in their miserable and pathetic for careers. But the fact is, you NEVER have Joe, and you NEVER will. You wanna know something funny Joe? I’ll tell ya anyway. You may think you’re the leader of FoCuS, but the rest of the world, they KNOW that the REAL leader is Brandon Moore. And I know that fact doesn’t escape you Joe, I know you’re smart enough to acknowledge when there’s trouble in paradise. You just weren’t smart ENOUGH not to do business with Brandon Moore. After I’m done with you, we’ll see how much usefulness you have left for Brandon and my sister to exploit, before they stab you in the back and sell your punk ass upriver to the highest bidder. Now if you’ll excuse me, ladies and gentlemen, I thank you for your time. Now, I’m going to go buy a vegetable plant, like the one I’m going to turn the man known as JMONT into.”
The crowd laughs and I’m not sure why. It wasn’t that funny. They’re being kind, I tell myself. The word of my illness has traveled through every facet of the media and has been divisive in nature for almost everyone. I hope they come to a decision on how I should behave about what could kill me sooner than later. Dane comes toward me, his thumbs up and a smile on his face.
DANE PRESTON
“Shit man, the live stream was huge. Even OPW hosted it on the site as well.”
DAMON RIGGS
“Get in touch with Kal. Reiterate that anything he needs, anything at all, is at his disposal.”
DANE PRESTON
“Actually, that's what I meant to tell you next. Vin called. He said he needs to speak to you about just that.”
DAMON RIGGS
“Get the jet ready.”
DANE PRESTON
“Done and done.”
LORRAINE LAPAGLIA
“Sir, shall I accompany you?”
DAMON RIGGS
“If you value your job, you will.”
DANE PRESTON
“Jesus, Damon, calm down.”
Dane, Lorraine and I head to the airport. I am unaware of what to expect upon landing back at Parts Unknown. Vincent and I have been at odds a lot lately. Him mad at me for not telling him about the cancer, and I upset at him for not telling me about his feelings for Vhodka. They say that nothing unites like a common enemy but nothing really unites like a common friend or family member. For Sarah Wolf we will all put our differences aside if not to rest forever.
END