(Wolves) X/V
Jun 10, 2020 9:43:33 GMT -5
via mobile
Ms Anicka Swan and Blair Buchannan-Stylez like this
Post by somethingwicked on Jun 10, 2020 9:43:33 GMT -5
-had to combine two rps due to work. Forgive me-
A heavily tattooed hand slaps a photo against a whiteboard as we fade in. We see the face of male, spanish, about 30 years of age. It is a mug shot. He is smiling. We pan away and see John Rancor, sitting on the corner of a desk, looking over a wall of photos as the other man, a large and viking looking chap, identifies the men and women in the photos with the kind of info you’d expect only their family and friends would know.
“And finally, we have the man known as Aldo Diamond, AKA Karats AKA Dusty Diamonds AKA...This goes on for awhile. Nicknames be damned, his role in this organization was as a double for Xavier. Not in the sense that he would be confused for him, but in the way that if Diamond showed up, you were expected to behave as if Xavier had.”
“How do these guys tie in with Stylez?”
“Oh, they do not. Stylez had no idea they existed. Xavier ran this group in the shadows, using them to achieve things he needed without Stylez knowing about. This wasn’t the business. This was personal.”
“So why are we interested in them?”
“Because if we get one of them, perhaps we can get them to spill on Xavier. If we can get Xavier, we can get Johnny. That is what you want, no?”
“Yea. sure.” John says, looking at the board.
“I get it. You’ve spent so much time on this case, you’ve put so much of yourself. You need to close it on someone. But the closer you get, the more people are involved. It’s...Troubling.”
“I put my ass..my name..on the line. If I don’t close this...I’m done.”
“When I got wind of this case, I thought...I could take this. My team could take this and work it. But I’ve just gotten the go ahead to operate. And I don’t want to start by making enemies. Everyone in this office is my responsibility. I step on the wrong foot, I get their toes broken as well. So we help each other. You make your case, I get partial credit and prove my usefulness. Win-win, yes?”
“Like the sound of that. Now how?”
“That is complicated, but simple. It all comes down to this one.” The man points to a photo and as we zoom in, we see that it is the face of Spitz, X’s cronie ex-meth head. The photo quickly moves, and the face of Spitz crashes against a red floor violently. Panning back, we see that it is actually the mat of a full sized ring. Standing over him is Nez, Xavier’s other hand, and the more skilled of the two. She smiles at Spitz through her mouthguard, actually proud that he was able to stay conscious after what she just did.
“What you did wrong…” Xavier begins to explain.
“..Was getting into the ring to begin with..” Spitz says, pulling out his mouth guard. The group laugh, and Nez helps Spitz to his feet, which are not solidly beneath him. Nez walks him to the corner, and lets him lean, his air still not returning to his lungs, seemingly on vacation with the strength of his legs and the ability to keep his eyes open.
“Your mistake was broadcasting what you were doing. Every move we make in that ring, tells the other person something. Example, when you went to throw, you leaned. She saw that, took full advantage of it.”
“Also you put your hand down as you threw. If you’re gonna throw like that, you better either keep your block up or learn to take a jab.”
“All good pieces of info. Can we maybe wait until I’m not about to pass out to share anymore? Just a suggestion.”
“Go walk it off, Pussy.”
Spitz tries to exit the ring, and falls to the ground with a loud thump. Nez and X choke back their laughter, and wait for him to be out of earshot before chuckling.
“Wow. He’s doing...so good.” Nez says taking a drink of water.
“Can you go easy on him? He’s still not out of the woods.”
“I barely touched him! Detoxing doesn’t make you a pussy. Life did that. I’m just trying to correct it.”
“That really was barely a punch.”
“In the interest of time, you hear from everyone?”
“All but one.”
“Who?”
“Not the one you’d want to ignore the call.”
“Fuck.”
“He’s prolly still not over what you did to his sister.”
“Well he fucking should be!”
“I’ll keep trying, but from what I gathered, he’s either not interested, too busy, or both.”
“Fuck it. We’ll do it without ‘em. Aldo? He’s in?”
“Yes, but we can tell him to stay in Mexico. If you want.”
“I know. I know. But the guys like a brother. He is to Max what I am to Kal. We’ve been through hell together. I can’t just not include him. Besides, you don’t throw away a wild card.”
“When your plan is this fucking tight you do!” Taking a sip of water, she looks to X with concern. “You do know this is gonna be difficult to pull off, right?”
“Difficult is my middle name.”
“I thought your middle name was Jack?”
“It is. But Jack is difficult, so…First things first, we find out where it’s stashed. That’s gonna be easy. I thought he’d have unloaded it, but he confirmed he’s still got it. Once we know where, we can obtain and redistribute as needed.”
“Why don’t we just lead them to where it is? Take him out once and for all?”
“This is business, Nez. That’s personal. And I don’t give a fuck about personal. Now let’s get back to it, I gotta get ready for this.”
“This chick, she’s decent?”
Xavier drops his hands to his sides. He tilts his head to the left and blinks in rapid succession. It is abundantly clear that what she just said assaulted him in all of his senses.
“You ever get a cat into a bag?”
“...Is this a euphemism for pussy?”
“No. You ever pick up a cat, and put them into a bag? Because if you ever did, you’d know tthe fight that cat puts up, to not go into that bag is tremendous. They’ll bite, and scratch, and wriggle with all of their being to get away from you, and that bag. And they won’t stop until they do. Even if they're in the bag, they’re still gonna fight. What do you think happens when you let that cat out? Anicka is that cat, and the cat happens to be a fucking tiger.”
“...So this is about pussy.” Nez says with a wink. “You finna fuck or fight tho?”
“I tell ya, Having done both, I can’t say which I’d rather do. Both are so fucking dangerous.”
The sound of roaring motorcycles interrupts our boy, and he turns his attention to the entrance. Chattering and yelling begins to grow louder as the doors swing open, and in pour the dead. Aldo Diamond, a Mexican wrestler, protoge to the infamous Max Burden. Behind him is a group of eclectic and odd individuals. All looking to Xavier, all with their heads held high, and all with their cuts on. Black leather with dark green lettering reading ‘Undead’.
“What up, Boss? Long time no see.” Aldo says, his arms extended as if asking for a hug.
“Good to see you. How’s taco town?”
“Don’t talk about my mother that way.”
The two men embrace, and the rest of the group take their turn. Finally, Xavier goes back to the ring, and takes a seat on the apron, as the rest take a seat in on the equipment littered about.
“First off, I wanna thank you for coming. I know it’s been a few years, and I know you’re all probably involved in some shit one way or another. So you coming in, it's huge. Won’t say it aint.”
“If this works, it’ll be worth it.” One of the crew says, with the rest. “But what about ya fight game?”
“Don’t worry you’re pretty little face. You guys handle your assignments, I’ll keep my ends up, and we’ll all be golden. Aldo will fill you in, and if you’ve got doubts, see ya. And by the way, good to see ya.”
The crew look at each other and walk away. Aldo sticks around for a second, and smiles. Xavier turns away at the sight of it.
“So Anicka, huh? How’s she doing?”
“She’s in a relationship, ‘do. WIth a guy who you can’t touch.”
“No? Why not?”
“Nope. Because he can fight, and you can’t.”
Aldo laughs and picks up his pace to catch up to the rest of the crew, as Xavier walks back to the middle of the ring, and begins to spar with Nez once more.
“Since when you lead like this?” She asks, ducking and weaving between his punches, while offering up her mit as a target here and there, and watching as he nails it each time.
“When I first started working with Johnny…”
“For Johnny?” she says, angering him enough to make him miss the target.
“Fuck. I had to get shit done but needed people I could count on. One’s he couldn’t buy. So I scalped my friends for recruits. Took on Aldo, as he’s my boy. Took on the others as they came up. Most were drop outs of CCC, to be honest.”
CCC, Coming Correct Champions, the fight school once owned and operated by Kal X Wolf. The school had many students and almost no graduates. It’s high standards led to its defeat and Kal stepped away from it after only a few years. But in Xavier’s mind, you didnt have to be the best fighter, you just had to know how to take a beating.
“They’re all good people. I trust them with my life.”
“Obviously.”
“...let me tell you a story. One time, Anicka went along with the family to a mall. It was Vin and Voo, and the kids. Well, Ciara and Rose were playing on the escalator. Going down the up. Being kids. This overweight fuckface sees them, and picks up pace. He’s mad that they’d use the escalator that way. Vin didn’t notice. Voo was comforting Cally, since he was barely born at that point. When all of a sudden, Anicka leaps over the railing, drops down in front of the guy, but between him and the girl, and kicks him so hard in the chest he goes airborn. This dude was like 300 pounds. I still have the footage somewhere I’m sure. Or not. Vin prolly threw all my shit out. Point being, Is Anicka is very fucking good at recognizing threats. She’s even better at putting them down as fast as possible. That day, she not only earned the love of those kids, but she actually got Vin to like her, which was not something any of us ever thought he would. So when I tell you that you need to try to hit me, I mean you gotta try. Otherwise I’m not practicing for a fight against the fucking champion of the world. I’m just getting sweaty.”
“Understood. Understood.”
As Xavier and Nez dance back and forth, we pan away slowly. Reaching a certain distance, the colors go from vibrant colors to grainy black and white. Further panning back we see that we are looking into a tv screen. Panning back further, we see we are doing so over someones shoulder. Going back even more, we see it belongs to the one and only PHREEQ MEGA, Vincent ‘Black’ Wolf. His eyes bounce around the image, as he clicks through several cameras and finds what appears to be a war room of sorts. A very large table with folders with individual names written in black marker, along with small piles of cash. Its in this moment that Vincent wishes he’d been able to wire for sound instead of just getting in on the video feed. He also wished he could ask Angelique to read his lips. But beggars can’t be choosers. And spies can’t be desperate.
“Dad? Dad?” says a small voice, coming from outside the room. Vincent stands, and opens the door, finding his son Callan holding a remote control car in one hand, and the controller in the other. His face lights up when he sees him, and rushes to him.
“Mom said you were back. Can we play with the new track yet?”
“I don’t think its ready yet, Pup. But tell ya what, why don’t we switch out the tires on the bad boy, take it down to the sand.”
“I thought we weren’t supposed to bring these on the sand?”
“That’s what they said. Let’s go find out why.”
Callan smiles large and follows his father to the work area in the room adjacent. On a large table are tools of various kinds. He uses a special allen key to remove the tires, and pulls out different ones from the drawer.
“What kind are those?”
“These are off-road tires. Kinda like the ones we have on the truck. The treads they have make it easier to drive on dirt, sand, and other surfaces. See, everything has a use. But some things have a special use. Like this...This is an Hexagonal wrench, or Allen key. You’re gonna use this a lot in your life. This one is actually different than most as it’s got a star pattern..see?” Vin shows the boy the tip, which comes to a point unlike normal ones. “When I was a kid, I was obsessed with taking things apart. Seeing what they did. How they worked. If I moved a piece from here to there, what would happen. It was my first hobby. In many ways, it still is.”
“..How?”
“Well, you know dad has gone back to wrestling, right? Well, my job isn’t just to hurt someone, or hit them. My job is to take apart the people I face bit by bit. See how they work. See what happens when I rearrange them a little. Like what we’re doing with this truck.”
The sound of footprints hitting the stairs interrupts, and a small female voice calls out.
“Cally! Ed’s gonna take us fishing, you wanna come?”
Callan looked up at his father, sorry that he suddenly wants to do something else.
“Go on, boy. We can do this tomorrow. Be with your cousins.”
“Love you, dad.” Callan says, rushing out of the room and up the stairs. Vincent continues to switch out the tire, examining each small part as he does so.
“Welcome to my work area, John. One of them, anyway. This one is where I bring things that need to be put back in order. Some parts of them are broken, aren't working properly, and need to be corrected. Much like you, John. Only there is no fixing what’s wrong with you. There’s only the need to break it further. And it’s a need you’ve been broadcasting the desperation for, for far too long.”
“Most of us, those of us with pride, and intelligence, do not step on the toes of giants, and we do not tug on superman’s cape. There’s quite a few Supermen here. And you’re doing an awful lot of tugging. Damon Riggs, Roger Wright, Anicka Swan, and of course, me. I don’t know what the end game you’ve got in mind in, John. I don’t know what makes you think it’ll be favorable. I am not even sure why you think you’ll be fucking alive to see it. I do know it’s my job, and my absolute honor, to be the one to prove you wrong.”
“Bring your buddies, and I’ll bring mine. Bring your army, and I’ll show you why you need one. Bring your fucking wishlist, and an empty hand. And I’ll shit on both to bring you back to reality. Reality, John. You know, the place where your dreams don’t work. And where, if I get my way, neither will your legs and mouth.”
“Because like all of these tools, This tool before you has a very specific use. I’m what is known as the credit tester. The gut check you don’t see coming. You say one thing, I prove the other. I am not a legend in this business because of my dick size...well. Not just. Time and time again I’ve stepped up to the invincibile, and made the self made gods bleed. I come from a long line of those. And you’re one in a long line of...Am I repeating myself? Have I said this before? Because I admit, it feels like I’ve said nothing else for the last ten years. I’ll tell you what, John. No more fucking talking.”
Vin’s hand curls into a white knuckle fist, and slams against the desk before him. The camera shakes and suddenly the hand is gloved, and attached to the body of Xavier Marke. He spins around a wooden practice dummy and punches it as hard as he can. His longtime on again/ off again friend/sponser/lacky/friend Nez watches and sips off a bottle of water, her face a mask of impression.
“Anicka Swan is a woman I’ve known well, in every possible way. We’ve been a part of each other's lives for years. We’ve been apart of each other a few times over those years. Back then, we didn’t consider ourselves capable of actual love. To us, Sex was a dance. And we liked to dance. So dance we did. With whomever and whatever kinda music. But as time as gone on, it seems we both were proved wrong. And I am sure Anicka will agree. It has not made us soft. But in fact, far more dangerous. Because a dog with nothing to guard goes to sleep. We’ve got shit to lose now. And that makes all the difference.”
“I wish it bothered me that it was you I was facing, Ani. I wish I could say that I’d like to take that belt off of anyone else...But truth be known, I’m glad its you. Not because I want to deny you of something. I’ve been a fan of you since day one. Unlike my shitty brother who couldn’t handle your connection with his wife, I saw your worth the minute I met you. Voo doesn’t suffer fools. And you are no fool. You’re brutal, smart, and well versed in the proper way to execute things. But enough about your sexual skills. I am glad to take that belt off you, because there is no one else here I respect more. Damon Riggs is an overconfident asshole who relies on his past to make up for his current lack of clout. My brother still feels he’s a threat when in reality he’s barely an issue. And those are the only other two I’d even bother to mention. I would bring up Miss Michele but I think I signed an NDA about that shitty blowjob she gave me. So i won’t be talking about that. You and I, we’re the top of the heap in this hellhole Johnny’s built. And when it comes down to it, If I can’t have it, I’d be okay with you keeping it. But, You ain’t fucking keeping it.”
“Just like your anal virginity, your time as champ is gonna be short lived. Because I didn’t become who I am, and shake off years of shit to shine, just to be number 2. Wolves don’t take second place. And while you may be a breed of us, you ain’t the best of us. That would be me, and me the fuck alone.”
“So forgive me for being so mean to you, as I do consider you to be a friend. And forgive me for disrespecting you, as I do consider you more family than most family. And do forgive me for possibly getting an erection during this fight, because we both know what we’re into. But also forgive me for taking you down, and taking what I want, Because I’ve done this time and time again. And my time has come again. I love you Ani. Despite what’s about to happen.”
A hand slams into the wooden dummy, and all light sinks from the room. We listen to a laugh as we slowly fade away into the darkness. The darkness from which we came.
A heavily tattooed hand slaps a photo against a whiteboard as we fade in. We see the face of male, spanish, about 30 years of age. It is a mug shot. He is smiling. We pan away and see John Rancor, sitting on the corner of a desk, looking over a wall of photos as the other man, a large and viking looking chap, identifies the men and women in the photos with the kind of info you’d expect only their family and friends would know.
“And finally, we have the man known as Aldo Diamond, AKA Karats AKA Dusty Diamonds AKA...This goes on for awhile. Nicknames be damned, his role in this organization was as a double for Xavier. Not in the sense that he would be confused for him, but in the way that if Diamond showed up, you were expected to behave as if Xavier had.”
“How do these guys tie in with Stylez?”
“Oh, they do not. Stylez had no idea they existed. Xavier ran this group in the shadows, using them to achieve things he needed without Stylez knowing about. This wasn’t the business. This was personal.”
“So why are we interested in them?”
“Because if we get one of them, perhaps we can get them to spill on Xavier. If we can get Xavier, we can get Johnny. That is what you want, no?”
“Yea. sure.” John says, looking at the board.
“I get it. You’ve spent so much time on this case, you’ve put so much of yourself. You need to close it on someone. But the closer you get, the more people are involved. It’s...Troubling.”
“I put my ass..my name..on the line. If I don’t close this...I’m done.”
“When I got wind of this case, I thought...I could take this. My team could take this and work it. But I’ve just gotten the go ahead to operate. And I don’t want to start by making enemies. Everyone in this office is my responsibility. I step on the wrong foot, I get their toes broken as well. So we help each other. You make your case, I get partial credit and prove my usefulness. Win-win, yes?”
“Like the sound of that. Now how?”
“That is complicated, but simple. It all comes down to this one.” The man points to a photo and as we zoom in, we see that it is the face of Spitz, X’s cronie ex-meth head. The photo quickly moves, and the face of Spitz crashes against a red floor violently. Panning back, we see that it is actually the mat of a full sized ring. Standing over him is Nez, Xavier’s other hand, and the more skilled of the two. She smiles at Spitz through her mouthguard, actually proud that he was able to stay conscious after what she just did.
“What you did wrong…” Xavier begins to explain.
“..Was getting into the ring to begin with..” Spitz says, pulling out his mouth guard. The group laugh, and Nez helps Spitz to his feet, which are not solidly beneath him. Nez walks him to the corner, and lets him lean, his air still not returning to his lungs, seemingly on vacation with the strength of his legs and the ability to keep his eyes open.
“Your mistake was broadcasting what you were doing. Every move we make in that ring, tells the other person something. Example, when you went to throw, you leaned. She saw that, took full advantage of it.”
“Also you put your hand down as you threw. If you’re gonna throw like that, you better either keep your block up or learn to take a jab.”
“All good pieces of info. Can we maybe wait until I’m not about to pass out to share anymore? Just a suggestion.”
“Go walk it off, Pussy.”
Spitz tries to exit the ring, and falls to the ground with a loud thump. Nez and X choke back their laughter, and wait for him to be out of earshot before chuckling.
“Wow. He’s doing...so good.” Nez says taking a drink of water.
“Can you go easy on him? He’s still not out of the woods.”
“I barely touched him! Detoxing doesn’t make you a pussy. Life did that. I’m just trying to correct it.”
“That really was barely a punch.”
“In the interest of time, you hear from everyone?”
“All but one.”
“Who?”
“Not the one you’d want to ignore the call.”
“Fuck.”
“He’s prolly still not over what you did to his sister.”
“Well he fucking should be!”
“I’ll keep trying, but from what I gathered, he’s either not interested, too busy, or both.”
“Fuck it. We’ll do it without ‘em. Aldo? He’s in?”
“Yes, but we can tell him to stay in Mexico. If you want.”
“I know. I know. But the guys like a brother. He is to Max what I am to Kal. We’ve been through hell together. I can’t just not include him. Besides, you don’t throw away a wild card.”
“When your plan is this fucking tight you do!” Taking a sip of water, she looks to X with concern. “You do know this is gonna be difficult to pull off, right?”
“Difficult is my middle name.”
“I thought your middle name was Jack?”
“It is. But Jack is difficult, so…First things first, we find out where it’s stashed. That’s gonna be easy. I thought he’d have unloaded it, but he confirmed he’s still got it. Once we know where, we can obtain and redistribute as needed.”
“Why don’t we just lead them to where it is? Take him out once and for all?”
“This is business, Nez. That’s personal. And I don’t give a fuck about personal. Now let’s get back to it, I gotta get ready for this.”
“This chick, she’s decent?”
Xavier drops his hands to his sides. He tilts his head to the left and blinks in rapid succession. It is abundantly clear that what she just said assaulted him in all of his senses.
“You ever get a cat into a bag?”
“...Is this a euphemism for pussy?”
“No. You ever pick up a cat, and put them into a bag? Because if you ever did, you’d know tthe fight that cat puts up, to not go into that bag is tremendous. They’ll bite, and scratch, and wriggle with all of their being to get away from you, and that bag. And they won’t stop until they do. Even if they're in the bag, they’re still gonna fight. What do you think happens when you let that cat out? Anicka is that cat, and the cat happens to be a fucking tiger.”
“...So this is about pussy.” Nez says with a wink. “You finna fuck or fight tho?”
“I tell ya, Having done both, I can’t say which I’d rather do. Both are so fucking dangerous.”
The sound of roaring motorcycles interrupts our boy, and he turns his attention to the entrance. Chattering and yelling begins to grow louder as the doors swing open, and in pour the dead. Aldo Diamond, a Mexican wrestler, protoge to the infamous Max Burden. Behind him is a group of eclectic and odd individuals. All looking to Xavier, all with their heads held high, and all with their cuts on. Black leather with dark green lettering reading ‘Undead’.
“What up, Boss? Long time no see.” Aldo says, his arms extended as if asking for a hug.
“Good to see you. How’s taco town?”
“Don’t talk about my mother that way.”
The two men embrace, and the rest of the group take their turn. Finally, Xavier goes back to the ring, and takes a seat on the apron, as the rest take a seat in on the equipment littered about.
“First off, I wanna thank you for coming. I know it’s been a few years, and I know you’re all probably involved in some shit one way or another. So you coming in, it's huge. Won’t say it aint.”
“If this works, it’ll be worth it.” One of the crew says, with the rest. “But what about ya fight game?”
“Don’t worry you’re pretty little face. You guys handle your assignments, I’ll keep my ends up, and we’ll all be golden. Aldo will fill you in, and if you’ve got doubts, see ya. And by the way, good to see ya.”
The crew look at each other and walk away. Aldo sticks around for a second, and smiles. Xavier turns away at the sight of it.
“So Anicka, huh? How’s she doing?”
“She’s in a relationship, ‘do. WIth a guy who you can’t touch.”
“No? Why not?”
“Nope. Because he can fight, and you can’t.”
Aldo laughs and picks up his pace to catch up to the rest of the crew, as Xavier walks back to the middle of the ring, and begins to spar with Nez once more.
“Since when you lead like this?” She asks, ducking and weaving between his punches, while offering up her mit as a target here and there, and watching as he nails it each time.
“When I first started working with Johnny…”
“For Johnny?” she says, angering him enough to make him miss the target.
“Fuck. I had to get shit done but needed people I could count on. One’s he couldn’t buy. So I scalped my friends for recruits. Took on Aldo, as he’s my boy. Took on the others as they came up. Most were drop outs of CCC, to be honest.”
CCC, Coming Correct Champions, the fight school once owned and operated by Kal X Wolf. The school had many students and almost no graduates. It’s high standards led to its defeat and Kal stepped away from it after only a few years. But in Xavier’s mind, you didnt have to be the best fighter, you just had to know how to take a beating.
“They’re all good people. I trust them with my life.”
“Obviously.”
“...let me tell you a story. One time, Anicka went along with the family to a mall. It was Vin and Voo, and the kids. Well, Ciara and Rose were playing on the escalator. Going down the up. Being kids. This overweight fuckface sees them, and picks up pace. He’s mad that they’d use the escalator that way. Vin didn’t notice. Voo was comforting Cally, since he was barely born at that point. When all of a sudden, Anicka leaps over the railing, drops down in front of the guy, but between him and the girl, and kicks him so hard in the chest he goes airborn. This dude was like 300 pounds. I still have the footage somewhere I’m sure. Or not. Vin prolly threw all my shit out. Point being, Is Anicka is very fucking good at recognizing threats. She’s even better at putting them down as fast as possible. That day, she not only earned the love of those kids, but she actually got Vin to like her, which was not something any of us ever thought he would. So when I tell you that you need to try to hit me, I mean you gotta try. Otherwise I’m not practicing for a fight against the fucking champion of the world. I’m just getting sweaty.”
“Understood. Understood.”
As Xavier and Nez dance back and forth, we pan away slowly. Reaching a certain distance, the colors go from vibrant colors to grainy black and white. Further panning back we see that we are looking into a tv screen. Panning back further, we see we are doing so over someones shoulder. Going back even more, we see it belongs to the one and only PHREEQ MEGA, Vincent ‘Black’ Wolf. His eyes bounce around the image, as he clicks through several cameras and finds what appears to be a war room of sorts. A very large table with folders with individual names written in black marker, along with small piles of cash. Its in this moment that Vincent wishes he’d been able to wire for sound instead of just getting in on the video feed. He also wished he could ask Angelique to read his lips. But beggars can’t be choosers. And spies can’t be desperate.
“Dad? Dad?” says a small voice, coming from outside the room. Vincent stands, and opens the door, finding his son Callan holding a remote control car in one hand, and the controller in the other. His face lights up when he sees him, and rushes to him.
“Mom said you were back. Can we play with the new track yet?”
“I don’t think its ready yet, Pup. But tell ya what, why don’t we switch out the tires on the bad boy, take it down to the sand.”
“I thought we weren’t supposed to bring these on the sand?”
“That’s what they said. Let’s go find out why.”
Callan smiles large and follows his father to the work area in the room adjacent. On a large table are tools of various kinds. He uses a special allen key to remove the tires, and pulls out different ones from the drawer.
“What kind are those?”
“These are off-road tires. Kinda like the ones we have on the truck. The treads they have make it easier to drive on dirt, sand, and other surfaces. See, everything has a use. But some things have a special use. Like this...This is an Hexagonal wrench, or Allen key. You’re gonna use this a lot in your life. This one is actually different than most as it’s got a star pattern..see?” Vin shows the boy the tip, which comes to a point unlike normal ones. “When I was a kid, I was obsessed with taking things apart. Seeing what they did. How they worked. If I moved a piece from here to there, what would happen. It was my first hobby. In many ways, it still is.”
“..How?”
“Well, you know dad has gone back to wrestling, right? Well, my job isn’t just to hurt someone, or hit them. My job is to take apart the people I face bit by bit. See how they work. See what happens when I rearrange them a little. Like what we’re doing with this truck.”
The sound of footprints hitting the stairs interrupts, and a small female voice calls out.
“Cally! Ed’s gonna take us fishing, you wanna come?”
Callan looked up at his father, sorry that he suddenly wants to do something else.
“Go on, boy. We can do this tomorrow. Be with your cousins.”
“Love you, dad.” Callan says, rushing out of the room and up the stairs. Vincent continues to switch out the tire, examining each small part as he does so.
“Welcome to my work area, John. One of them, anyway. This one is where I bring things that need to be put back in order. Some parts of them are broken, aren't working properly, and need to be corrected. Much like you, John. Only there is no fixing what’s wrong with you. There’s only the need to break it further. And it’s a need you’ve been broadcasting the desperation for, for far too long.”
“Most of us, those of us with pride, and intelligence, do not step on the toes of giants, and we do not tug on superman’s cape. There’s quite a few Supermen here. And you’re doing an awful lot of tugging. Damon Riggs, Roger Wright, Anicka Swan, and of course, me. I don’t know what the end game you’ve got in mind in, John. I don’t know what makes you think it’ll be favorable. I am not even sure why you think you’ll be fucking alive to see it. I do know it’s my job, and my absolute honor, to be the one to prove you wrong.”
“Bring your buddies, and I’ll bring mine. Bring your army, and I’ll show you why you need one. Bring your fucking wishlist, and an empty hand. And I’ll shit on both to bring you back to reality. Reality, John. You know, the place where your dreams don’t work. And where, if I get my way, neither will your legs and mouth.”
“Because like all of these tools, This tool before you has a very specific use. I’m what is known as the credit tester. The gut check you don’t see coming. You say one thing, I prove the other. I am not a legend in this business because of my dick size...well. Not just. Time and time again I’ve stepped up to the invincibile, and made the self made gods bleed. I come from a long line of those. And you’re one in a long line of...Am I repeating myself? Have I said this before? Because I admit, it feels like I’ve said nothing else for the last ten years. I’ll tell you what, John. No more fucking talking.”
Vin’s hand curls into a white knuckle fist, and slams against the desk before him. The camera shakes and suddenly the hand is gloved, and attached to the body of Xavier Marke. He spins around a wooden practice dummy and punches it as hard as he can. His longtime on again/ off again friend/sponser/lacky/friend Nez watches and sips off a bottle of water, her face a mask of impression.
“Anicka Swan is a woman I’ve known well, in every possible way. We’ve been a part of each other's lives for years. We’ve been apart of each other a few times over those years. Back then, we didn’t consider ourselves capable of actual love. To us, Sex was a dance. And we liked to dance. So dance we did. With whomever and whatever kinda music. But as time as gone on, it seems we both were proved wrong. And I am sure Anicka will agree. It has not made us soft. But in fact, far more dangerous. Because a dog with nothing to guard goes to sleep. We’ve got shit to lose now. And that makes all the difference.”
“I wish it bothered me that it was you I was facing, Ani. I wish I could say that I’d like to take that belt off of anyone else...But truth be known, I’m glad its you. Not because I want to deny you of something. I’ve been a fan of you since day one. Unlike my shitty brother who couldn’t handle your connection with his wife, I saw your worth the minute I met you. Voo doesn’t suffer fools. And you are no fool. You’re brutal, smart, and well versed in the proper way to execute things. But enough about your sexual skills. I am glad to take that belt off you, because there is no one else here I respect more. Damon Riggs is an overconfident asshole who relies on his past to make up for his current lack of clout. My brother still feels he’s a threat when in reality he’s barely an issue. And those are the only other two I’d even bother to mention. I would bring up Miss Michele but I think I signed an NDA about that shitty blowjob she gave me. So i won’t be talking about that. You and I, we’re the top of the heap in this hellhole Johnny’s built. And when it comes down to it, If I can’t have it, I’d be okay with you keeping it. But, You ain’t fucking keeping it.”
“Just like your anal virginity, your time as champ is gonna be short lived. Because I didn’t become who I am, and shake off years of shit to shine, just to be number 2. Wolves don’t take second place. And while you may be a breed of us, you ain’t the best of us. That would be me, and me the fuck alone.”
“So forgive me for being so mean to you, as I do consider you to be a friend. And forgive me for disrespecting you, as I do consider you more family than most family. And do forgive me for possibly getting an erection during this fight, because we both know what we’re into. But also forgive me for taking you down, and taking what I want, Because I’ve done this time and time again. And my time has come again. I love you Ani. Despite what’s about to happen.”
A hand slams into the wooden dummy, and all light sinks from the room. We listen to a laugh as we slowly fade away into the darkness. The darkness from which we came.