Post by Rated R on Mar 23, 2015 14:33:26 GMT -5
Fathers of all Kinds
The Truth of a Revolution; Part 5
Callahan’s
March 14th 2015
Trace Demon: Forgive me father, for I have sinned.
You might not know this about me, but I’m a religious man. I believe in God, I believe in the afterlife, I’m a Catholic born and bred and I fully believe there’s a man in the sky looking down on me and protecting me from Lucifer himself.
Danny Braun: Are you kidding me Trace? Does this sh*t never get old?
Just kidding, I’m just an bunghole who likes to take the piss.
Trace Demon: What? Confession is good for the soul.
Danny Braun: You ain’t got no soul Trace, and I ain’t no priest. Not anymore.
Bit rude saying I don’t have a soul. I’ve got one, I just don’t let it get in the way is all. Totally different.
Trace Demon: Just because you’re not a priest doesn’t mean you’re not still a man of god padre.
Danny Braun: No, but being an alcoholic who doesn’t believe in God kind of does. Why do you keep coming here man, aren’t you sick of torturing yourself?
He’s right, this isn’t the best place for me and if I was a sensible man I’d high tail it right now. But I’ve never been one to turn down a little bit of torture if it gets the required results. It doesn’t matter though, Callahan’s was never my kind of bar, it’s neither grotty nor crawling with the king of girl you go home with at three in the morning. Still, alcohol is alcohol and temptation is temptation. But I would not be Trace Demon if I didn’t take stupid risks every now and then.
Trace Demon: Kicked the habit twice now, don’t intend on having to do it a third and it seems to me like I’m not exactly the tortured one here. Besides, I made a promise to your sister and believe it or not I’m going to keep it even if it does keep bringing me back here to check in on your sorry ass.
Danny Braun’s sister was my closest friend growing up back in Hamilton. Katie… believe it or not I miss the girl. We grew up together, she was the only one from back home I kept it contact with when I left. When she heard she had cancer a couple of years after I left I was too drugged up to be of much support, but when it became terminal I found the stones to go back home and see her. Seeing her like that… that’s the only image of my entire life that haunts me. I would have done anything she asked in that moment.
She asked only one thing.
To keep an eye on her older brother, though I didn’t much know what she meant given he’d gone the religious route and all. Thought he’d handle grief better than most, a better place and all that. Shows what I know about devotion to a so called higher power.
Danny Braun: You don’t owe me anything.
Trace Demon: Nah but I owe your sister a sh*t-ton, and I pay my debts.
Danny spiralled when she died, lost his faith, lost his will to work for the big man upstairs, lost pretty much everything. Found the bottle though, drink doesn’t tend to hide all that well when everything else is vanishing. Just places itself right there in plain sight. Stronger men that Danny here have fallen prey to drink when times get tough.
Danny Braun: There’s nothing you can do for me. How long we been playing this game Trace, three years now? And what have you done for me except pull me out of the gutter and bail me out of jail. How do you think you’re helping, you ain’t never even tried to force me into rehab, what kind of help are you meant to be handing out?
Trace Demon: You think forcing you to go cold turkey is gonna work, eh? See I’ve been there Danny, where you’re at right now, it’s familiar territory. Let me tell you there was nothing anybody was gonna do that could get me to quit. The only person who could convince me to do that was me, and if you haven’t noticed I’m a stubborn son of a b*tch that doesn’t listen to anybody. Imagine having to convince me to quit the drinking, the drugs, everything. That is one conversation I don’t plan on having again, not with myself, not with you, not with anybody. But especially not with myself.
Danny Braun: You got a point or are you just here to bore me to sobriety?
Trying to reason with an alcoholic isn’t a pleasurable task; don’t envy all the poor bastards who had to try and reason with me all those times. It isn’t that they’re simply aggressive or defensive about it; god knows Danny wouldn’t hurt a fly no matter how much he drank; they just don’t want to listen to anybody. Doesn’t matter what you say or how you say it, they just don’t listen.
Trace Demon: Point is you can say I’m not doing anything, but I’m doing the only thing I can. I’m making sure you know you’ve got somebody when you’re finally ready to start living your life instead of throwing it away. The same way Kate once made sure I knew I had the same. One day, maybe soon… maybe not, you’ll decide to stop being such a **** and start accepting what happened.
Seems like I do a new speech every damn day, but I don’t do real life speeches. I do propaganda, I hype people up, I get their blood boiling, I make people think whatever I want them to think, but I don’t do real life. That’s not who I am.
Danny Braun: My sister died.
Trace Demon: Oh who gives a crap. She died, she was my best friend and she died, she waa your sister and she died, but guess what Dan, she’s dead and she’s not coming back. And it doesn’t matter what you think, God didn’t kill your sister, cancer killed your sister, just like it killed my mother, just like it’ll kill millions of others. It’s tragic, it doesn’t make much sense but that’s the way it is. I’m not sitting here to deal out false hope, no point in doing that because hope don’t mean sh*t in the long run. I’m here to tell you that despite what’s happened you’re alive and sure, right now you’re looking pretty f*****g pathetic, but the great thing about life is that there’s usually another day after this one, and you don’t have to be such a damn failure tomorrow.
He stares at the bottle on the bar, a response every single alcoholic has used at least once. Denial, plain and simple.
Trace Demon: We all get knocked down, even me; difference is I plan on getting back up again.
He’s not responding, just takes another swig from the bottle and keeps staring straight on ahead at the back of the bar. I’ve seen this from him before, he’s locked down, isn’t saying another thing to me, not today. Pretty pathetic if you ask me. I pat him on the back and head for the door. He might not be getting back on up today, but I sure as hell intend too.
After all, I’ve got plans to make. I am a king after all, and putting your hands on royalty is treason.
And treason has to be dealt with.
< *** >
WFWF Headquarters
March 14th 2015
Jason Anders: Treason! What the hell do you mean treason?
Emma Rayes: That’s what Mr. Demon said. He said that you committed treason and that you aren’t welcome in his, ahem, kingdom as a result.
Jason Anders: This is ridiculous, I work here, my office is in this building!
Not that I’ve been here in weeks. Ever since that night when Joe took out Trace I was put on “paid compassionate leave”, which is just their way of saying don’t turn up for work until it all blows over. I’ve spent that time trying to talk to Trace but he’s avoiding me at every turn. He won’t return my calls, he won’t let me near him at the shows and now… now this bullsh*t.
Emma Rayes: According to our files you’re still on compassionate leave Mr. Anders. For the time being you don’t actually work here.
Jason Anders: Well now I’m ending that leave, whatever excuse they used in that file to explain my absence-
Emma Rayes: Apparently your cat is really il.
Jason Anders: I don’t own a cat!
Emma Rayes: It says here you-
Jason Anders: I don’t care what it says there. Read my lips. I… don’t… own… a… cat!
I’m trying to contain my temper, this young lass hasn’t done anything wrong. She doesn’t deserve any crap, just trying to do her job. But even that long blonde hair, those deep blue eyes and the freckles on her twenty year old face isn’t enough to calm me right now. This is just plain ridiculous.
Jason Anders: Listen to me very carefully, I’m going to get in the lift, take it all the way up to Trace’s office and I’m going to speak to my boss like a man. You understand me?
If Trace doesn’t want to come to me I’ll go to him. He’s got to understand I had no idea what Bishop was planning, that was all him. I knew he was unhappy, I knew he had his doubts but never for a second did I think he had the balls to do what he did. I thought he was just a kid, a follower who wouldn’t doubt Trace for a second. I was wrong, but that doesn’t mean I should have to pay for his stupidity. I know that Trace is my best bet for getting what I want and I know I’m not going to get it if I can’t get in there and explain myself.
Emma Rayes: I’m under pretty strict instructions to buzz security if you step over that line.
She leans over the desk and points to a literal white line that’s been taped over the carpet. That really wasn’t needed.
Jason Anders: Well they’ll have to be down here pretty quick won’t they.
I move way before she can ‘buzz’ for any security. I head straight for the stairs, it’s a long climb but it’s going to be a lot easier to avoid security that a lift would be. I open the door and… oh crap.
Big Zeus: Knew you’d go for the stairs.
This guy, again?
Jason Anders: Seriously are you stalking me or something?
Big Zeus: A dude’s got to have a day job, just so happens mine gets to include me kicking your ass out of the building.
Jason Anders: Come on, I just need to speak to Trace, what’s it going to take?
Big Zeus: You think you can pay me more than the boss does? Unless you’re planning on selling a kidney I can’t see it man.
Can’t bride the guy, sure as hell can’t fight him. He’s got to be nigh on seven foot, his arms are bigger than my waistline and I reckon he’s got hands so big he could wrap them around my head and squeeze it like a watermelon. Really, where did Trace find this guy, the bloody circus.
Big Zeus: Now you can march on out of here or I can carry you out, up to you little man.
Of f*ck it, I’ve got once chance to run past him and I’m going to take it. I go to charge and- he’s got me. Course he does, one arm around my waist and suddenly I’m hoisted up onto his shoulder.
Jason Anders: Let go of me you son of a b*tch, I’m not some nobody you can just carry about, I work here damn it, I’m a grown ass man, let go of me!
He doesn’t say a word despite my roars, just carries me out of the lobby and humiliatingly past that cute little thing at the desk. How could this get any worse?
Emma Rayes: Hope your cat feels better soon.
Right, it can’t. F*ck.
< *** >
The Demon Residence
March 15th 2015
Alexa Munroe: You have to talk to that girl.
I know that tone and instantly close the laptop, just about had enough of scouting out these nobodies anyway.
Trace Demon: Which one?
Alexa Munroe: Caitlyn.
Knew this was coming eventually. The girl’s been off-beat ever since her mother’s boyfriend turned up on my very literal doorstep. The bunghole tried to blackmail me, wanted cash or he’d drag her back with him. Didn’t end too well for him after… well, that’s neither here nor there right now.
Trace Demon: What has she done now?
Alexa Munroe: Nothing, that’s the problem. A month and I’ve not had one problem with the girl, she’s been quiet as a mouse.
Trace Demon: That’s a good thing, isn’t it?
Alexa Munroe: No, she went from being an absolute pain in the ass to being rebellious but likeable to being absolutely solemn. That is not how teenage girls work Trace, trust me.
Probably not an appropriate time to say that I know how teenage girls work.
Trace Demon: And why am I the one who has to talk to her, she’s a girl I found in the middle of the desert who we’re letting live with us while she gets her life in order. She’s a lost little girl I took pity on but it’s not like I’m her father. I’ve already got one daughter and she’s enough of a handful and she’s only three. A three year old is giving me the run-around on a daily basis and you want me to talk to a fully grown girl? Are you mad?
Alexa Munroe: You and I both know that whatever that girls problem is it’s got something to do with you and whatever you did to that ass of a stepfather or whatever he was to her.
Trace Demon: Who said I did anything to him?
Alexa Munroe: The fact you can’t tell me you didn’t.
That’s the problem with Alexa, she’s the one person I can’t lie to, she gave me a second chance and let me back into her life at a time when I really didn’t deserve it and, in return, I don’t tell her a single lie. Well, the odd one about not leaving the toilet seat up but y’know, nothing important.
Trace Demon: Never told you I did either.
Alexa Munroe: We both know how you and I work Trace, you might not tell me exactly what happened that night you went to meet him but the fact you can’t tell me you didn’t do anything to him means you did something.
True, that’s exactly how it works. Might not tell her any lies but that doesn’t mean I’m always forthcoming with the truth with things she doesn’t need to know about. She doesn’t want any part of the murkier sides of my life and I’m happy to keep her out of all of that business.
Alexa Munroe: Listen to me Trace, we both know that I don’t care what you do outside of these four walls as long as you keep clean, you stay faithful and you keep any of that business far away from this family. I love you but I know you’re not exactly the calm and civilized type. I don’t care about any of that stuff-
Trace Demon: That makes you almost as crazy as me you know.
Alexa Munroe: Almost, but not quite. Trace, your business is affecting Caitlyn and she might not be part of this family but she is living under this roof, which means it’s affecting me and Emily and your daughter. So you need to sort it out, understand?
The one thing people don’t quite grasp about Alexa is that she is not a weak woman. As long as I’ve known her she’s been more than capable of handling herself, she doesn’t scare one bit and if she’s got a problem she’ll solve it. She is not exactly the calm and civilized type herself, considerably more so than me quite frankly but that don’t mean much when you think about who you’re talking to. But the big difference is she solves problems, she doesn’t cause them, she’s strong but that’s because she wants to protect people, not hurt them.
So when she asks me if I understand I know that she’s serious. And if she’s serious then that means there really is a problem. And right now with everything going on with Bishop and Sleater I can’t afford to have any more problems.
Trace Demon: I’ll deal with it.
She nods, smiles and gives me a small kiss to show her thanks. She understands that if I didn’t want to do anything then nothing she could say would make me, which means she appreciates whenever I decide to actually act on what she tells me.
As I walk towards her room, she’s either been in there or out of the house with Emily for the past month, I try to figure out how I’m meant to do this. How do I tell her, how do I explain. And then as I know I decide I do none of that, not here. There’s no point telling her anything.
Trace Demon: Caitlyn, open the door, I’ve got something I need to show you.
< *** >
Kaiser Permanente Los Angeles Medical Center
March 15th 2015
Caitlyn Lucia: Why did you bring me here?
Got to admit it wasn’t easy getting Caitlyn to speak to me, let alone getting her to leave the house. But I am nothing if not convincing, it often helps to have a silver tongue and a way with words.
Trace Demon: You want answers and you deserve them, that’s why we’re here.
I’ve spent so much time in this hospital getting treated for injuries that nobody bats an eye when they see a crimson haired lunatic walking down their hallway. Says more about their mental state than mine I reckon.
Caitlyn Lucia: I don’t want to-
Trace Demon: Quiet.
I nod at Doc Brown as we reach the right room. He wears a look of a troubled man, that is of little surprise given the circumstances.
Trace Demon: Doc, cheers again.
Doc Brown: Starting to worry this is becoming a habit Trace, I don’t want any part of this when it all blows up in your face.
Trace Demon: It’s not going to blow up in anybody’s face, we good to go in?
He reluctantly nods and leads us in through the door, closing it behind us when he’s sure nobody is paying any attention. None of the nurses on this ward get paid anywhere near enough to care anyway. As the door closes I take note of Caitlyn’s stunned expression. Yeah, that’s about what I was expecting.
Caitlyn Lucia: That’s…
Trace Demon: Yeah, it’s him.
She just stares at the hospital bed where Alan, her estranged mother’s bunghole of a boyfriend, lies unconscious. Well, comatose I think is the better word. The bruising’s cleared up, the external stuff that is, and if it wasn’t for the whole hospital thing then you’d just guess this guy really liked his sleep.
Caitlyn Lucia: You didn’t kill him.
Trace Demon: No, I didn’t. Could have done, but I’ve got some impulse control.
She takes a single step forward, still somewhat shell shocked by the whole situation. I get it, the first time you see someone you know half-way to death in a hospital dead you can kind of get thrown for a loop. No shame in that, if you’re lucky you avoid the sight for as long as you can.
Caitlyn Lucia: But you… did this.
Trace Demon: Wasn’t my intention, didn’t go out there to hurt anyone, just to scare him. He’d been drinking, didn’t like it all that much when I refused to give him a dime as if he deserved anything in the first place, so he came at me. Instincts kicked in and here we are.
Caitlyn Lucia: Instincts?
Trace Demon: I don’t take too kindly to people attacking me.
Caitlyn Lucia: Does my mom know?
Trace Demon: Police haven’t identified him, turns out when you’ve got a bit of money you can make just about anyone lose interest.
Caitlyn Lucia: So she has no idea.
The tone damn near breaks my heart. She might have run away from home but she’s just a nineteen year old girl who still loves her mom, even if her mom does have a few issues with injecting s**t into her veins. Drugs my friends, they’re everywhere.
Trace Demon: I was going to send her some money, anonymous of course, but I was a bit concerned about what she’d do with it y’know. Big pot of money falls into your lap it’s hard not to spend it all on your vices.
She’s quiet for a moment, contemplating her next move maybe. Maybe she’s just taking it all in, hard to say.
Caitlyn Lucia: Is he going to make it?
Trace Demon: Don’t know, Doc Brown doesn’t reckon he’s got much going on upstairs, turns out I hit pretty hard. Either way it won’t come back to me, official ruling is that he took a bad fall down some stairs while drunk. A real shame that.
Again, more silence. She’s just stood there staring. Then her face hardens.
Caitlyn Lucia: Good. Can we leave now? This place stinks.
Trace Demon: After you.
Caitlyn Lucia: Oh, and Trace.
Trace Demon: What?
Caitlyn Lucia: Thank you.
Trace Demon: Caitlyn, my girl, you’re very, very welcome.
< *** >
Failure.
That’s the term Joe Bishop is throwing about, that’s the reason he’s giving for turning his back on me. Failure, incapable, self-obsessed. None of those terms truly describe me. Joe Bishop claims that my failure to win the WFWF World Heavyweight Championship means I am incapable of leading this revolution to its final destination. He claims I’m not able to topple Lila Sleater and as such he took it upon himself to oust me from the fray. Did he think I would not come back? Did he think I’d sit at home and let him my revolution and my message into the ground? No, only a fool would think that. Only a fool would think I would not seek retribution.
Then again Joe Bishop is a fool.
Joe Bishop is a child, a scared petulant child who finally throwing his toys out of the pram and rebelling against his father. See ever since Joe Bishop came to the WFWF he has shown the world of potential but never truly done anything with it. All Joe had to show for all his hard work was a few National Championship reigns. He’d tried for more but every time he fell flat because he could not guide himself to where he had to be. Joe Bishop was a child with no focus and no aim, a teenager without any idea of the real world. He needed guidance, he needed a steady hand to right the ship that was his career. He found one.
He found the best.
Joe Bishop came to me because he knew that I was the only man who could get this job done. Not just the revolution, but the only man who could save him from himself. He needed my experience, he needed my expertise and he needed my help. And I gave it to him. I helped him to a level he’s never seen before but just like every child he was ungrateful. Just like every child the moment he stopped being the centre of attention he lashed out at the man who was only trying to help him. I targeted the World Heavyweight Championship and Joe didn’t like it. He realized that when this revolution was over, when we stood tall, that I would leave him to his own devices and go back to the top of the mountain where I belong.
So he turned his back on me. Disappointing.
Now Joe, this isn’t the day that you learn your lesson, no, not yet. That comes very, very soon. What you get here is a taster, a little teaser so you go into End Game knowing exactly what your rash and foolish actions have gotten you. Now you might think you’re safe with Shapiro at your side, you might think you can throw him to the dogs and let me beat on him but that isn’t the way this goes down, not anymore. I don’t need to beat Shapiro into a bloody mess to make a point, everybody knows what I’m capable of, everybody knows what I can do. There’s no glory in ending the career of a bright spark like Shapiro. The kid’s trying to do some good; he’s trying to deal out hope. No point in ending the career of a kid like that just to make a point when I can end the career of the kid I turned into a monster.
And Axel, I don’t much care about you either. You and Shapiro, you’re props, makeshift names used to create a makeshift tag match. I’m not stepping in that ring to end Shapiro’s career but neither am I in there to make yours. The two of you are just names on a booking sheet to me, bodies offered up by Lila Sleater to satiate her blood lust. But I will not offer any blood to her, yours or mine. Joe Bishop is my sole interest, teaching that spoiled child a lesson is the only thing that matters. If the two of you are smart you stay out of my way and let me do that.
If you’re not smart… well, if I’m already dealing out punishment a little more can’t hurt.
The Truth of a Revolution; Part 5
Callahan’s
March 14th 2015
Trace Demon: Forgive me father, for I have sinned.
You might not know this about me, but I’m a religious man. I believe in God, I believe in the afterlife, I’m a Catholic born and bred and I fully believe there’s a man in the sky looking down on me and protecting me from Lucifer himself.
Danny Braun: Are you kidding me Trace? Does this sh*t never get old?
Just kidding, I’m just an bunghole who likes to take the piss.
Trace Demon: What? Confession is good for the soul.
Danny Braun: You ain’t got no soul Trace, and I ain’t no priest. Not anymore.
Bit rude saying I don’t have a soul. I’ve got one, I just don’t let it get in the way is all. Totally different.
Trace Demon: Just because you’re not a priest doesn’t mean you’re not still a man of god padre.
Danny Braun: No, but being an alcoholic who doesn’t believe in God kind of does. Why do you keep coming here man, aren’t you sick of torturing yourself?
He’s right, this isn’t the best place for me and if I was a sensible man I’d high tail it right now. But I’ve never been one to turn down a little bit of torture if it gets the required results. It doesn’t matter though, Callahan’s was never my kind of bar, it’s neither grotty nor crawling with the king of girl you go home with at three in the morning. Still, alcohol is alcohol and temptation is temptation. But I would not be Trace Demon if I didn’t take stupid risks every now and then.
Trace Demon: Kicked the habit twice now, don’t intend on having to do it a third and it seems to me like I’m not exactly the tortured one here. Besides, I made a promise to your sister and believe it or not I’m going to keep it even if it does keep bringing me back here to check in on your sorry ass.
Danny Braun’s sister was my closest friend growing up back in Hamilton. Katie… believe it or not I miss the girl. We grew up together, she was the only one from back home I kept it contact with when I left. When she heard she had cancer a couple of years after I left I was too drugged up to be of much support, but when it became terminal I found the stones to go back home and see her. Seeing her like that… that’s the only image of my entire life that haunts me. I would have done anything she asked in that moment.
She asked only one thing.
To keep an eye on her older brother, though I didn’t much know what she meant given he’d gone the religious route and all. Thought he’d handle grief better than most, a better place and all that. Shows what I know about devotion to a so called higher power.
Danny Braun: You don’t owe me anything.
Trace Demon: Nah but I owe your sister a sh*t-ton, and I pay my debts.
Danny spiralled when she died, lost his faith, lost his will to work for the big man upstairs, lost pretty much everything. Found the bottle though, drink doesn’t tend to hide all that well when everything else is vanishing. Just places itself right there in plain sight. Stronger men that Danny here have fallen prey to drink when times get tough.
Danny Braun: There’s nothing you can do for me. How long we been playing this game Trace, three years now? And what have you done for me except pull me out of the gutter and bail me out of jail. How do you think you’re helping, you ain’t never even tried to force me into rehab, what kind of help are you meant to be handing out?
Trace Demon: You think forcing you to go cold turkey is gonna work, eh? See I’ve been there Danny, where you’re at right now, it’s familiar territory. Let me tell you there was nothing anybody was gonna do that could get me to quit. The only person who could convince me to do that was me, and if you haven’t noticed I’m a stubborn son of a b*tch that doesn’t listen to anybody. Imagine having to convince me to quit the drinking, the drugs, everything. That is one conversation I don’t plan on having again, not with myself, not with you, not with anybody. But especially not with myself.
Danny Braun: You got a point or are you just here to bore me to sobriety?
Trying to reason with an alcoholic isn’t a pleasurable task; don’t envy all the poor bastards who had to try and reason with me all those times. It isn’t that they’re simply aggressive or defensive about it; god knows Danny wouldn’t hurt a fly no matter how much he drank; they just don’t want to listen to anybody. Doesn’t matter what you say or how you say it, they just don’t listen.
Trace Demon: Point is you can say I’m not doing anything, but I’m doing the only thing I can. I’m making sure you know you’ve got somebody when you’re finally ready to start living your life instead of throwing it away. The same way Kate once made sure I knew I had the same. One day, maybe soon… maybe not, you’ll decide to stop being such a **** and start accepting what happened.
Seems like I do a new speech every damn day, but I don’t do real life speeches. I do propaganda, I hype people up, I get their blood boiling, I make people think whatever I want them to think, but I don’t do real life. That’s not who I am.
Danny Braun: My sister died.
Trace Demon: Oh who gives a crap. She died, she was my best friend and she died, she waa your sister and she died, but guess what Dan, she’s dead and she’s not coming back. And it doesn’t matter what you think, God didn’t kill your sister, cancer killed your sister, just like it killed my mother, just like it’ll kill millions of others. It’s tragic, it doesn’t make much sense but that’s the way it is. I’m not sitting here to deal out false hope, no point in doing that because hope don’t mean sh*t in the long run. I’m here to tell you that despite what’s happened you’re alive and sure, right now you’re looking pretty f*****g pathetic, but the great thing about life is that there’s usually another day after this one, and you don’t have to be such a damn failure tomorrow.
He stares at the bottle on the bar, a response every single alcoholic has used at least once. Denial, plain and simple.
Trace Demon: We all get knocked down, even me; difference is I plan on getting back up again.
He’s not responding, just takes another swig from the bottle and keeps staring straight on ahead at the back of the bar. I’ve seen this from him before, he’s locked down, isn’t saying another thing to me, not today. Pretty pathetic if you ask me. I pat him on the back and head for the door. He might not be getting back on up today, but I sure as hell intend too.
After all, I’ve got plans to make. I am a king after all, and putting your hands on royalty is treason.
And treason has to be dealt with.
< *** >
WFWF Headquarters
March 14th 2015
Jason Anders: Treason! What the hell do you mean treason?
Emma Rayes: That’s what Mr. Demon said. He said that you committed treason and that you aren’t welcome in his, ahem, kingdom as a result.
Jason Anders: This is ridiculous, I work here, my office is in this building!
Not that I’ve been here in weeks. Ever since that night when Joe took out Trace I was put on “paid compassionate leave”, which is just their way of saying don’t turn up for work until it all blows over. I’ve spent that time trying to talk to Trace but he’s avoiding me at every turn. He won’t return my calls, he won’t let me near him at the shows and now… now this bullsh*t.
Emma Rayes: According to our files you’re still on compassionate leave Mr. Anders. For the time being you don’t actually work here.
Jason Anders: Well now I’m ending that leave, whatever excuse they used in that file to explain my absence-
Emma Rayes: Apparently your cat is really il.
Jason Anders: I don’t own a cat!
Emma Rayes: It says here you-
Jason Anders: I don’t care what it says there. Read my lips. I… don’t… own… a… cat!
I’m trying to contain my temper, this young lass hasn’t done anything wrong. She doesn’t deserve any crap, just trying to do her job. But even that long blonde hair, those deep blue eyes and the freckles on her twenty year old face isn’t enough to calm me right now. This is just plain ridiculous.
Jason Anders: Listen to me very carefully, I’m going to get in the lift, take it all the way up to Trace’s office and I’m going to speak to my boss like a man. You understand me?
If Trace doesn’t want to come to me I’ll go to him. He’s got to understand I had no idea what Bishop was planning, that was all him. I knew he was unhappy, I knew he had his doubts but never for a second did I think he had the balls to do what he did. I thought he was just a kid, a follower who wouldn’t doubt Trace for a second. I was wrong, but that doesn’t mean I should have to pay for his stupidity. I know that Trace is my best bet for getting what I want and I know I’m not going to get it if I can’t get in there and explain myself.
Emma Rayes: I’m under pretty strict instructions to buzz security if you step over that line.
She leans over the desk and points to a literal white line that’s been taped over the carpet. That really wasn’t needed.
Jason Anders: Well they’ll have to be down here pretty quick won’t they.
I move way before she can ‘buzz’ for any security. I head straight for the stairs, it’s a long climb but it’s going to be a lot easier to avoid security that a lift would be. I open the door and… oh crap.
Big Zeus: Knew you’d go for the stairs.
This guy, again?
Jason Anders: Seriously are you stalking me or something?
Big Zeus: A dude’s got to have a day job, just so happens mine gets to include me kicking your ass out of the building.
Jason Anders: Come on, I just need to speak to Trace, what’s it going to take?
Big Zeus: You think you can pay me more than the boss does? Unless you’re planning on selling a kidney I can’t see it man.
Can’t bride the guy, sure as hell can’t fight him. He’s got to be nigh on seven foot, his arms are bigger than my waistline and I reckon he’s got hands so big he could wrap them around my head and squeeze it like a watermelon. Really, where did Trace find this guy, the bloody circus.
Big Zeus: Now you can march on out of here or I can carry you out, up to you little man.
Of f*ck it, I’ve got once chance to run past him and I’m going to take it. I go to charge and- he’s got me. Course he does, one arm around my waist and suddenly I’m hoisted up onto his shoulder.
Jason Anders: Let go of me you son of a b*tch, I’m not some nobody you can just carry about, I work here damn it, I’m a grown ass man, let go of me!
He doesn’t say a word despite my roars, just carries me out of the lobby and humiliatingly past that cute little thing at the desk. How could this get any worse?
Emma Rayes: Hope your cat feels better soon.
Right, it can’t. F*ck.
< *** >
The Demon Residence
March 15th 2015
Alexa Munroe: You have to talk to that girl.
I know that tone and instantly close the laptop, just about had enough of scouting out these nobodies anyway.
Trace Demon: Which one?
Alexa Munroe: Caitlyn.
Knew this was coming eventually. The girl’s been off-beat ever since her mother’s boyfriend turned up on my very literal doorstep. The bunghole tried to blackmail me, wanted cash or he’d drag her back with him. Didn’t end too well for him after… well, that’s neither here nor there right now.
Trace Demon: What has she done now?
Alexa Munroe: Nothing, that’s the problem. A month and I’ve not had one problem with the girl, she’s been quiet as a mouse.
Trace Demon: That’s a good thing, isn’t it?
Alexa Munroe: No, she went from being an absolute pain in the ass to being rebellious but likeable to being absolutely solemn. That is not how teenage girls work Trace, trust me.
Probably not an appropriate time to say that I know how teenage girls work.
Trace Demon: And why am I the one who has to talk to her, she’s a girl I found in the middle of the desert who we’re letting live with us while she gets her life in order. She’s a lost little girl I took pity on but it’s not like I’m her father. I’ve already got one daughter and she’s enough of a handful and she’s only three. A three year old is giving me the run-around on a daily basis and you want me to talk to a fully grown girl? Are you mad?
Alexa Munroe: You and I both know that whatever that girls problem is it’s got something to do with you and whatever you did to that ass of a stepfather or whatever he was to her.
Trace Demon: Who said I did anything to him?
Alexa Munroe: The fact you can’t tell me you didn’t.
That’s the problem with Alexa, she’s the one person I can’t lie to, she gave me a second chance and let me back into her life at a time when I really didn’t deserve it and, in return, I don’t tell her a single lie. Well, the odd one about not leaving the toilet seat up but y’know, nothing important.
Trace Demon: Never told you I did either.
Alexa Munroe: We both know how you and I work Trace, you might not tell me exactly what happened that night you went to meet him but the fact you can’t tell me you didn’t do anything to him means you did something.
True, that’s exactly how it works. Might not tell her any lies but that doesn’t mean I’m always forthcoming with the truth with things she doesn’t need to know about. She doesn’t want any part of the murkier sides of my life and I’m happy to keep her out of all of that business.
Alexa Munroe: Listen to me Trace, we both know that I don’t care what you do outside of these four walls as long as you keep clean, you stay faithful and you keep any of that business far away from this family. I love you but I know you’re not exactly the calm and civilized type. I don’t care about any of that stuff-
Trace Demon: That makes you almost as crazy as me you know.
Alexa Munroe: Almost, but not quite. Trace, your business is affecting Caitlyn and she might not be part of this family but she is living under this roof, which means it’s affecting me and Emily and your daughter. So you need to sort it out, understand?
The one thing people don’t quite grasp about Alexa is that she is not a weak woman. As long as I’ve known her she’s been more than capable of handling herself, she doesn’t scare one bit and if she’s got a problem she’ll solve it. She is not exactly the calm and civilized type herself, considerably more so than me quite frankly but that don’t mean much when you think about who you’re talking to. But the big difference is she solves problems, she doesn’t cause them, she’s strong but that’s because she wants to protect people, not hurt them.
So when she asks me if I understand I know that she’s serious. And if she’s serious then that means there really is a problem. And right now with everything going on with Bishop and Sleater I can’t afford to have any more problems.
Trace Demon: I’ll deal with it.
She nods, smiles and gives me a small kiss to show her thanks. She understands that if I didn’t want to do anything then nothing she could say would make me, which means she appreciates whenever I decide to actually act on what she tells me.
As I walk towards her room, she’s either been in there or out of the house with Emily for the past month, I try to figure out how I’m meant to do this. How do I tell her, how do I explain. And then as I know I decide I do none of that, not here. There’s no point telling her anything.
Trace Demon: Caitlyn, open the door, I’ve got something I need to show you.
< *** >
Kaiser Permanente Los Angeles Medical Center
March 15th 2015
Caitlyn Lucia: Why did you bring me here?
Got to admit it wasn’t easy getting Caitlyn to speak to me, let alone getting her to leave the house. But I am nothing if not convincing, it often helps to have a silver tongue and a way with words.
Trace Demon: You want answers and you deserve them, that’s why we’re here.
I’ve spent so much time in this hospital getting treated for injuries that nobody bats an eye when they see a crimson haired lunatic walking down their hallway. Says more about their mental state than mine I reckon.
Caitlyn Lucia: I don’t want to-
Trace Demon: Quiet.
I nod at Doc Brown as we reach the right room. He wears a look of a troubled man, that is of little surprise given the circumstances.
Trace Demon: Doc, cheers again.
Doc Brown: Starting to worry this is becoming a habit Trace, I don’t want any part of this when it all blows up in your face.
Trace Demon: It’s not going to blow up in anybody’s face, we good to go in?
He reluctantly nods and leads us in through the door, closing it behind us when he’s sure nobody is paying any attention. None of the nurses on this ward get paid anywhere near enough to care anyway. As the door closes I take note of Caitlyn’s stunned expression. Yeah, that’s about what I was expecting.
Caitlyn Lucia: That’s…
Trace Demon: Yeah, it’s him.
She just stares at the hospital bed where Alan, her estranged mother’s bunghole of a boyfriend, lies unconscious. Well, comatose I think is the better word. The bruising’s cleared up, the external stuff that is, and if it wasn’t for the whole hospital thing then you’d just guess this guy really liked his sleep.
Caitlyn Lucia: You didn’t kill him.
Trace Demon: No, I didn’t. Could have done, but I’ve got some impulse control.
She takes a single step forward, still somewhat shell shocked by the whole situation. I get it, the first time you see someone you know half-way to death in a hospital dead you can kind of get thrown for a loop. No shame in that, if you’re lucky you avoid the sight for as long as you can.
Caitlyn Lucia: But you… did this.
Trace Demon: Wasn’t my intention, didn’t go out there to hurt anyone, just to scare him. He’d been drinking, didn’t like it all that much when I refused to give him a dime as if he deserved anything in the first place, so he came at me. Instincts kicked in and here we are.
Caitlyn Lucia: Instincts?
Trace Demon: I don’t take too kindly to people attacking me.
Caitlyn Lucia: Does my mom know?
Trace Demon: Police haven’t identified him, turns out when you’ve got a bit of money you can make just about anyone lose interest.
Caitlyn Lucia: So she has no idea.
The tone damn near breaks my heart. She might have run away from home but she’s just a nineteen year old girl who still loves her mom, even if her mom does have a few issues with injecting s**t into her veins. Drugs my friends, they’re everywhere.
Trace Demon: I was going to send her some money, anonymous of course, but I was a bit concerned about what she’d do with it y’know. Big pot of money falls into your lap it’s hard not to spend it all on your vices.
She’s quiet for a moment, contemplating her next move maybe. Maybe she’s just taking it all in, hard to say.
Caitlyn Lucia: Is he going to make it?
Trace Demon: Don’t know, Doc Brown doesn’t reckon he’s got much going on upstairs, turns out I hit pretty hard. Either way it won’t come back to me, official ruling is that he took a bad fall down some stairs while drunk. A real shame that.
Again, more silence. She’s just stood there staring. Then her face hardens.
Caitlyn Lucia: Good. Can we leave now? This place stinks.
Trace Demon: After you.
Caitlyn Lucia: Oh, and Trace.
Trace Demon: What?
Caitlyn Lucia: Thank you.
Trace Demon: Caitlyn, my girl, you’re very, very welcome.
< *** >
Failure.
That’s the term Joe Bishop is throwing about, that’s the reason he’s giving for turning his back on me. Failure, incapable, self-obsessed. None of those terms truly describe me. Joe Bishop claims that my failure to win the WFWF World Heavyweight Championship means I am incapable of leading this revolution to its final destination. He claims I’m not able to topple Lila Sleater and as such he took it upon himself to oust me from the fray. Did he think I would not come back? Did he think I’d sit at home and let him my revolution and my message into the ground? No, only a fool would think that. Only a fool would think I would not seek retribution.
Then again Joe Bishop is a fool.
Joe Bishop is a child, a scared petulant child who finally throwing his toys out of the pram and rebelling against his father. See ever since Joe Bishop came to the WFWF he has shown the world of potential but never truly done anything with it. All Joe had to show for all his hard work was a few National Championship reigns. He’d tried for more but every time he fell flat because he could not guide himself to where he had to be. Joe Bishop was a child with no focus and no aim, a teenager without any idea of the real world. He needed guidance, he needed a steady hand to right the ship that was his career. He found one.
He found the best.
Joe Bishop came to me because he knew that I was the only man who could get this job done. Not just the revolution, but the only man who could save him from himself. He needed my experience, he needed my expertise and he needed my help. And I gave it to him. I helped him to a level he’s never seen before but just like every child he was ungrateful. Just like every child the moment he stopped being the centre of attention he lashed out at the man who was only trying to help him. I targeted the World Heavyweight Championship and Joe didn’t like it. He realized that when this revolution was over, when we stood tall, that I would leave him to his own devices and go back to the top of the mountain where I belong.
So he turned his back on me. Disappointing.
Now Joe, this isn’t the day that you learn your lesson, no, not yet. That comes very, very soon. What you get here is a taster, a little teaser so you go into End Game knowing exactly what your rash and foolish actions have gotten you. Now you might think you’re safe with Shapiro at your side, you might think you can throw him to the dogs and let me beat on him but that isn’t the way this goes down, not anymore. I don’t need to beat Shapiro into a bloody mess to make a point, everybody knows what I’m capable of, everybody knows what I can do. There’s no glory in ending the career of a bright spark like Shapiro. The kid’s trying to do some good; he’s trying to deal out hope. No point in ending the career of a kid like that just to make a point when I can end the career of the kid I turned into a monster.
And Axel, I don’t much care about you either. You and Shapiro, you’re props, makeshift names used to create a makeshift tag match. I’m not stepping in that ring to end Shapiro’s career but neither am I in there to make yours. The two of you are just names on a booking sheet to me, bodies offered up by Lila Sleater to satiate her blood lust. But I will not offer any blood to her, yours or mine. Joe Bishop is my sole interest, teaching that spoiled child a lesson is the only thing that matters. If the two of you are smart you stay out of my way and let me do that.
If you’re not smart… well, if I’m already dealing out punishment a little more can’t hurt.