Prelude To Mayhem, Part I: Rehearsal

The following was posted at wfwa-online.com on October 18, 2005

After failing to win the tag titles at Summer Games, the WhirlyBirdz Vehicular hit squad held a team meeting, and, after much soul-searching and deliberation, decided that the time of their greatness in the World Wrestling Alliance had come and gone. Quietly, the Birdz signed their release from TSW, sold Sixmile Plantation, and returned home to Indianapolis to begin anew.

So where is everybody now?

Its epilogue time.

After spending a weekend in Florida at the Richard Petty Driving School, Terrence apparently turned some heads with his performance, and is currently in negotiations to race for a team in the American Late Model Series, a touring circuit deemed one level below NASCAR's Craftsman Truck Series. Until then, Terrence is content to work with his Uncle Steve in the family auto shop.

Wendy has returned to her original love: the theater. Not only has she become the new director of operations of the Marion County Community Theater, she has also been been cast as the Ghost of Christmas Past in an upcoming local production of A Christmas Carol, and has recently been named to the starring role of Nora in the Indianapolis Municipal Theater's presentation of Henrik Ibsen's "A Doll House".

Both of their daily routines are currently on hiatus however, as both are in Maui celebrating their honeymoon. Terrence Thompson and Wendy Briese-Thompson became officially married on October 15. Rumors that Terrence muttered "finally" as the priest pronounced them man and wife remain unsubstantiated.

Dan Pollaski has returned to Seattle, where he still takes great interest in wrestling, and more, importantly, in the amount of dollars that can be made off of wrestling. His recent attempts to start his own federation have seemed to be less than successful, however, as Dan recently drove off one potential investor by informing his wife that as good as she looked in that dress, it would look better on his floor.

A recent informant only known as "Bull" has told us that Gus T. Briese is alive and well inside the penitentary in Joliette, Illinois. Bull says that Gus has adapted well to prison life, and seems content in his place. He added that Gus "does this one thing that makes you feel real special", but we decided not to inquire what exactly he meant by that.

And thus ends the story of the WhirlyBirdz. Will they ever appear in a wrestling ring again? Only time will tell, but for now fate has directed them away from this path. Both believe it was a fun ride, while it lasted, and both wish all the remaining talent in the WWA, from former allies to former rivals the best of luck.

But for now, all good things must come to an end. And this one... has.

The End.

One simple moment. That's all it takes.

In one simple moment, the WhirlyBirdz lost their shot at the tag titles at Summer Games VI. In one simple moment, Terrence, Wendy, and I felt that after nearly four years of nonstop touring in this business, our time had passed. In one simple moment, one of the greatest tag teams in wrestling history retired- vanished without a trace.

And... five years later... in one simple moment, a desperate alliance president makes a desperate phone call to a forgotten, obscure 27-year old former manager. Did anyone know that one simple moment would trigger a chain of events culminating in the return of the WhirlyBirdz?

I don't know. But I'll admit I was sure as hell hoping.

My name is Daniel Pollaski. You might have heard of the WhirlyBirdz Vehicular Hit Squad before. You might not have. But I will guarantee one thing.

You will never ever forget us.



PRELUDE TO MAYHEM PART I: REHEARSAL

01.26.2010
MARION COUNTY COMMUNITY THEATER
INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA
7:54 PM EASTERN STANDARD TIME

"Everyone, find a seat please! And settle down!"

Wendy Briese-Thompson stood on the stage and waited patiently as the fifty or so people out in the audience followed her instructions. Finally, after nearly a minute more of commotion, the theater had finally quieted enough. Wendy brushed a single strand of red hair from her face, and smiled as she stepped forward.

"Well done, everyone! Much better than yesterday! Now, there are a few things we need to go over before we go home. First, if anyone has any issues with their costumes, you need to see Martha as soon as possible! I don't want a repeat of the King and I!"

A boy in the front row, David, turned beet red as the rest of the theater laughed. Wendy smiled, remembering the commotion it had caused when her King of Siam's pants burst in the middle of the children introduction scene. Poor David had been forced to finish the evening in a pair of sweats, which hardly did anything to help the authenticity to the performance.

"Second, dress rehearsal is Saturday and Sunday, 9am sharp. And we will NOT be going home until we do a perfect run-through!"

The actors groaned, knowing that Wendy would be true to her word. Wendy smiled at the grumbles. She didn't like being a dictator, but she expected nothing less than maximum effort. "Annie Get Your Gun" would only be running for four performances, but she wanted to make sure each performance was something her cast would be proud of.

She wanted to be proud of them too.

These four shows were likely her last as director of MCCT.

"I will see you all Thursday, at 5:00! Megan, a word please?"

As the bulk of the crowd got up and began making their way out of the auditorium, Wendy watched as a tall brunette girl climbed up the stairs. Megan Cerotta was a senior at nearby Pike Township High, and was Wendy's Annie in the upcoming production.

She also had the potential to be the best actress Wendy had ever seen, including all of her parent's old Broadway friends. If only she could realize that potential.

"Is everything alright at home again?" Wendy asked quietly, looking around to make sure no one but Megan could hear her.

"Yeah," Megan answered. "Why?"

Wendy knew the girl was lying, but she didn't press the issue. "You were flat on almost every song today," she scolded quietly.

Megan nodded. "I know. I'm trying, Mrs. Thompson, really. They're just too-"

"I don't want to ever hear you say a song is too hard again!" Wendy snapped. When Megan recoiled, hurt, she softened her voice. "Megan, you nailed every song in Grease flawlessly. These aren't any harder."

Megan bowed her head, but didn't say anything, so Wendy continued on. "You have a phenomenal talent, Megan. But you lack so much confidence. You just need to let yourself go!"

Megan shook her head. "But what if I mess up?"

"Then you look foolish for a second, get over it, and move on." Wendy said simply. "Look, who are you playing in this production?"

"Annie Oakley"

"Think on that. You're playing a woman who walks up to the best shooter in the west, and calls him out, knowing full well she'll be laughed at. If that's not confidence, I don't know what is."

"Says the woman who picked fights with guys twice her size." Megan blurted without thinking.

Wendy stared at Megan several seconds, before bursting into laughter. "I suppose you could say that," she admitted. "But I didn't exactly pick the fights. And it wasn't like I was brimming with confidence myself. Most matches, I was a nervous wreck."

"Still," Megan chided, "You're like a modern version of Annie Oakley"

"Perhaps," Wendy smiled. "If anything, the WWA Promo Channel was like an endless version of 'Anything You Can Do, I Can Do Better', but without any semblance of musical talent." She grinned. "But we're getting off track here. You just need to have fun, Megan. Just let it go this time, and take every performance like it might be your last." Wendy's smile disappeared completely. "It very well might be. At least here."

Megan suddenly looked alarmed. "What do you mean by that?"

"Mr. Cassidy called me just before rehearsals. I have a meeting with him tomorrow." She paused. "I don't think its going to be good news."

"They're going to shut us down." Megan said softly.

Wendy looked at her protégé, before nodding. She needed to tell someone, and Megan could keep a secret. "That's what I'm afraid of. We were barely kept off the list last year when the Rec Department made cuts. I don't think there's anything to save us this time"

Megan paused, obviously on the verge of tears. Wendy stepped forward, and hugged the girl. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have told you that."

"No... it’s fine. But... I really loved it here."

"I did too. A lot of people put a lot of time and energy into this place. But I'm not worried about you, Megan. If acting is what you want to do, you'll have no problem. Speaking of which, have you heard back from Stanford, yet?"

Megan shook her head.

"Well, don't get discouraged. It can take a few weeks. But we better get going. It's almost Theresa's bedtime, and I want to say goodnight."

Megan nodded and the two women climbed down the stairs, heading out of the theater. Wendy paused though, when at the theater doors, a large man appeared. He wasn’t particularly tall, but he was definitely heavyset. Megan walked by him, staring at him, but the man paid no attention to her. He continued to look right at Wendy, his form silhouetted in the contrasting light of the dark theater and the bright lobby beyond.

She didn't even need to see the Hawaiian shirt to know that Daniel Pollaski was standing in front of her.

With a smile, Wendy ran forward, embracing the portly gentleman. Even though Pollaski had spent the better part of four years annoying her every chance he got, Wendy had grown to like the man. Pollaski, for his part, returned the hug only half-heartedly, probably stunned by her reaction to seeing him.

Finally, she broke away. Dan had aged well. His chubby face was definitely a little more aged, and she could see a gray hair or two on his scalp, but considering that his father was full salt-n-pepper by his twenty-third birthday, Dan probably considered two gray hairs at twenty-seven a blessing. And that same impish sense of humor shown from behind his eyes. He also didnt seem to have gained TOO much weight in the year or so since she'd last seen him

"You look good," she commented.

"You look better," Pollaski replied. Since she had left the ring nearly five years ago, Wendy hadn't changed too much. Her vivid green eyes still held the same spark of determination, and her hair still held the vibrant shade of red. After her pregnancy, Wendy had undertaken a similar, albeit less intensive, exercise regime as she had while she competed, so she still stood close to the five-eight, one-thirty frame she had in her ring days.

"Thanks. Wendy commented. "But what are you doing here? I thought you were going straight to the House. "

"I forgot where you lived. When I called for directions, Terrence said you were still here, and I should follow you home."

Wendy nodded. "That works for me. But I need to grab a few things from my office, first."

Dan nodded, and the two began walking through the lobby, towards a small hallway off one side.

"So I hear you're back with the Alliance, then." Wendy commented."

"Yeah," Pollaski shook his head. "I couldn't believe it when Mr. Wolfington called and asked me to write a column. I still can't believe I agreed."

"Why did you?"

"Money," Dan said, "At least at first. Then I started watching the shows... and it started to hit me. I remembered the hours we'd spend going over match tapes, analyzing, planning..."

"Making stupid jokes," Wendy interrupted. She couldn't even begin to guess how many times she'd told Pollaski off for making an off-color remark.

Pollaski grinned, that same grin he had whenever one of his evil schemes was about to play out. "I had to have my fun. Besides, most of them deserved it."

Wendy shook her head, but found herself thinking it was too good to see Pollaski again to start another argument. "So you miss it?"

"Don't you?"

Wendy paused, thinking back to the conversation she had with Megan. "I... don't know. I guess I miss the traveling, the adventure, the thrill of the competition, and of course the thousands of people cheering me on. But I don't miss the bumps, the bruises, the nights in the hospital. The individuals who felt that it was more worthwhile to try and break me mentally than face me on a level field."

Pollaski knew exactly who she was referring to.

Mandrake.

Ronin.

Dane.

At the thought of the new boss of Defiance, the retired legend he had been taking potshots at in his column for the past month, Pollaski felt a sudden wave of trepidation. He had a feeling that sooner or later, his inflammatory comments were going to get him in some trouble.

Wendy noticed her former manager had fallen silent. "What is it?"

Pollaski started at the question, almost as if he had forgotten Wendy's existence. Finally he looked at her. "Eric Dane is running Defiance. He's trying to take over the whole damned Alliance."

"That bastard." Wendy rarely ever resorted to name calling, and she uttered words that could even remotely be counted as swear words even less, so those two words held as much venom as a rattlesnake.

"Yeah. I remember the last time we were in the ring with him. I was sent to the hospital, and you..."

"Don't remind me," Wendy shuddered. She didn't need a reminder of the horrible, awful night when Dane and his cronies handcuffed her to a turnbuckle, sprayed her down with soda-pop, and sicced half a dozen horny midgets on her in a gang-dryhumping. All within minutes of her phenomenal nine-month Louisiana State Championship run coming to an end in a ladder match.

December 27, 2004 had been one of the worst nights of her life. And that was with her now-husband Terrence winning the World Title.

They had reached Wendy's office, and the former three time cruiserweight champion quickly began gathering things to take home in a bag. Pollaski leaned against the doorway, watching her work.

"So, did you hear I was on television last night?"

"I saw" Wendy smiled, glancing at Pollaski for just a second before grabbing a stack of manila folders and stuffing them in the bag.

"You guys brought the PWX show?" Dan was surprised.

"We did after hearing you were going to be there. Terrence thought you were boring."

"Well, sorry. But I figured fireworks or pouring cat piss on t-shirts probably wouldn't have sent a good 'welcome to the alliance' message."

Wendy laughed. "I thought it was a good show. I was really impressed with that girl in the six-way."

"Valerie Belmont? Yeah, she wrestled one hell of a match. Kind of reminded me of you."

"She reminds me of me, too." Wendy paused, thinking. But I never could do a 630 with regularity..."

"Nah, but you did well enough." Dan smiled. "Sides, your Vortexinator was one of the most out-of-the-blue moves anyone had ever seen..."

"... Even if it did have a stupid name." Wendy finished with a laugh. What was with that fifteen minutes of dead air, though? Terrence was furious."

"Stretcher match. JPO was furious when he found out it didn't air. Shame too, cause that thing was SICK." Dan shook his head, reliving the brutal memories.

Wendy shuddered. She always detested the more hardcore style matches, but she held a special loathing for the stretcher match. The last one she'd seen, it had been Terrence being rolled off to the hospital while she had been forced to go on a date with...

She felt emotion almost overwhelm her. It still hurt to think about Rick. She had cried for nearly four hours when the word of his suicide had reached her.

She noticed Pollaski was staring at her, waiting for her to respond, and she pushed the thoughts of Ulfric from her mind.

"Then I don't mind" She said softly. "That inferno match was bad enough."

Pollaski laughed. He didn't know all the thoughts that had ran through her mind, but he could guess.

"Let's go," Wendy said, picking up the bag. She shut off the light, locked her office door, and steered Dan back towards the lobby.

"So, uh... when does your play run" Dan asked as the two emerged into the lobby.

"February fourth thru eighth. We dress-rehearse Saturday and.." Wendy stopped as she noticed Pollaski was staring at her like she was nuts. "What?"

"You're running a play. In Indianapolis. On February Seventh. Are you fucking nuts?"

"No!" Wendy exclaimed, laughing. "We're taking the seventh off. Even if the Colts hadn't made it, my cast and crew would have mutinied if I scheduled a play for Super Bowl Sunday."

"Not to mention Terrence would probably divorce you," Dan teased as they finally exited the building into the cold night.

Only two cars remained in the parking lot. Wendy knew the first, her emerald-green Ford Focus. To her shock, the other car was a sparkling red 2010 Chevrolet Camaro. "Is that yours?"

Dan grinned. "Kinda. Its a rental. I figured if the WWA wa going make me leave the Northwest, they might as well let me travel in style."

"Does Mr. Wolfington know?"

Pollaski shrugged. "He will when he gets the expense reports. Course, I had to bail out this kid out of jail the other day after he got arrested at the Defiance show, so I guess this trip is starting to add up."

"You're going to get in trouble"

"Bah. The WWA needs people like me too much, now. I'm not worried. Now lets get out of here. You leading?"

"Aye," Wendy agreed, as she walked over to her car. Soon, both she and Dan were driving off into the night, leaving the theater parking lot empty.