EPISODE 18: Photograph

JUNE 12, 2010
MARIOTT HOTEL- ROOM 512
DALLAS, TEXAS
8:32 PM LOCAL TIME

Wendy Briese-Thompson lay on her hotel bed and sighed. Outside, the sun was going down, marking the twilight of the twelfth of June. Tomorrow would be the thirteenth.

Summer Games.

For the thousandth time since she had shut the door to the taxi, leaving her husband behind in the Nest, Wendy wondered if she had done the right thing. She had essentially walked out of her marriage for her career. She had put a wrestling tournament before not just her husband, but her daughter as well.

It was the exact same thing her parents would have done, and Wendy found her hating herself for it.

She kept telling herself that it was just for a week. One temporary week to get away from it all, to get her head clear for the biggest tournament of her life. But one week or forever, what difference did it make? This was the third time in two months she had left Terrence to pursue her career. How many more times could she do it before there was no Terrence for her to come back to?

No more, she told herself. After this week, she and her family were to be inseperable. No more would she wake in the morning without her husband's warm body lying next to her. No more would her morning routine fail to consist of a peek into her daughter's room.

She almost broke right then, and picked up her cellphone, setting it to dial her husband, to tell her where she was so he could come pick her up. She knew he was in Dallas; she had seen Adrenaline and saw him on the PWX Video screen. One phone call, one word 'Marriott', and Terrence would be on his way, and they would be a family again.

But she stayed her hand, and set the phone down without having actually dialed. Six days she had been away from her husband here in Dallas, six days of her life she would never get back. If she folded now, those six days would have been for nothing. She couldn't let the sacrifice she had forced herself, her husband, and her daughter to make be for nothing. Tomorrow night, at this time, she would be back in her husband's arms, and hopefully she would be carrying a trophy as well.

Instead, Wendy grabbed a picture frame she had sat on the end table of her hotel room. It was a picture of her family, taken last year when the Thompsons had visited Connor Prairie, an interactive history park located about an hour outside of Indianapolis, that depicted what life had been like for the the first European settlers of the Hoosier State. For a small fee, visitors could get a photograph of them wearing pioneer clothing. She had remembered the heavy cotton dress she had put on was sweltering in the Indiana summer heat, but the picture had turned out perfect. Wendy stood smiling in her dress and apron, her bright red hair poking out from under a sunbonnet. Theresa was similarily dressed, but had been to fidgety for a bonnet, and so her hair had been left uncovered. And her husband looked absolutely wonderful in the cotton shirt and breeches he had procured. He had protested the picture, but, as usual, had caved into Wendy's insistence.

A single tear ran down her cheek as Wendy stared at the photograph, and she wiped it away.

"Looks like those were some pretty happy years," a voice said fro over her shoulder.

Predictably, Wendy jumped nearly a mile from her prone position, emitting a bloodcurdling shriek and falling off the bed. Quickly rolling to her feet and preparing to defend herself, Wendy looked around the room for her assailant.

There was no assailant, just a misty form sitting on the edge of the bed, green eyes twinkling and a bright smile at her reaction.

"Stop doing that!" Wendy snarled at the ghost of Rick Logan sitting on her bed. Originally, Rick Logan and his brother Michael Lennox had been one of her and Terrence's fiercest rivals, until the blue haired wrestler had taken to fancying her. Although Wendy had initially denied his advances, after he relented to just being friends, the two became just that, and had even won a pair of tag titles together.

Over the years after her initial retirement, Wendy and Ulfric (as his ring name had been) had grown apart, but she had still counted him a friend. Until the day he put a pistol into his mouth and pulled the trigger.

Like anyone, Wendy grieved his death, and did her best to move on. At least until the week before, when after nearly paralyzing a rookie in a training match, and fighting with her husband, the ghost of her dead friend had appeared to her, setting her back on the right path.

Now, apparently, as she lay looking at her photo, he was back to set her straight again.

"Doing what?" the ghost said innocently. "You know, I should be glad I'm just smoke and mist, or you'd prolly have thrown me into the wall."

Wendy didn't laugh, but the corner of her mouth did twitch. "If I recall, you generally remembered the common courtesy of knocking when you were alive."

The ghost chuckled, leaned over, and tried to knock on the wall, there was no sound as his hand passed cleanly through it.

"Not really an option anymore.'' he quipped.

"Still, I don't like it," Wendy responded, annoyed. "You could just show up at anytime, regardless of what I'm doing."

"Well, I promise to stay out of your shower, though I have to admit, I have been tempted to peek a time or two." he said, still grinning.

Wendy sputterred at her dead friend, her face having gone immediiately red. "How.... dare..."

He burst out laughing at her response.

"Relax, I'm just teasing, you looked so serious, I figured I'd lighten the mood." he said.

"I'm sorry," Wendy said with a sigh. "I've just been... thinking."

"You're worried," he commented, I was watching that frown line in the center of your forehead get deeper and deeper the more you looked at those photos, "I figure's I'd better say something before it froze that way."

"Well, that's good of you," Wendy quipped. "Considering this was YOUR idea." She beckoned around the hotel room, referencing her conversation the previous week, when Rick had suggested she be alone before Summer Games.

"But see, I didn't mean for you to come here and worry, you've got to stop doing so much of that Wendy and focus, you've come to far to toss it away worrying." he told her.

"How can I not?" Wendy demanded. "I just walked out on my husband and daughter over a stupid wrestling tournament. What does THAT say about my priorities."

"It says that your tired of playing second fiddle to your husband." he said. "why should he go for the glory while you sit back and be the dutiful wife. If he thought it would give him a world title, Terry pwould walk out to focus in a heartbeat."

"Terrence has never held me down," Wendy replied indignantly. "And I had my chance to surpass him, and I failed."

"And how did you fail, only because he came down and blasted your partner in the head with a chair, that's real damned supportive right, that's not holding you down is it!" he told her.

"I meant my match against him." Wendy said quietly. "When I hit Terrence with practically every move I knew, and he still won."

"That was before you found the killer instinct we've all been wishing for you to find for all these years." he pointed out.

Wendy shrugged. "Even so, he proved himself the victor. I don't begrudge him for that. If a rematch comes along, then I will gladly take it. Until then, I have to live with it."

"What you need to do is put it out of your mind, you weren't supposed to come here to dwell on all that negative, you were supposed to come here and focus," he told her. "Your not helping yourself, you know. You're just getting yourself all messed up in the head, and that isn't going to do anything but get you hurt."

"Yeah, well its not exactly easy," Wendy said crossly. "It's not like you've ever been married, so I wouldn't expect you to understand."

"Really," he said. "Never married. You're wrong, you know, I married Atayla, we had a little girl and a little boy together. I know how much you two hated one another, which sucked, I would have liked to have invited you to the wedding."

Wendy turned away. "I guess we're even on that accord."

"Yeah," he said softly. "There was a fire, on Christmas eve, I'd gone out to pick up some things I'd forgotten to bring home and by the time I got there, it was too late, she and the kids, Rayven, my niece and my nephew had died."

"I'm sorry." Wendy said sadly. "But you get to be with them now, right?"

He shook his head.

"Not for awhile yet." he said. "My kid brother's on the same path I was, If i don't act as his guardian angel, then he's gonna end up here with me long before his time."

Wendy grimaced. "If there's anything I can do to help."

"He could probably use some dropping in now and again, if you have time, about a week ago he nearly rammed his car into a tree." he said.

Wendy shook her head and sighed. "Is it true he'll be at Summer Games?"

"He's gonna be there," Rick told her "and I'm going to be hovering round him, he's taking some risky chances with his health and well being and I don't like leaving him unwatched for long."

Wendy chuckled sadly. "Well right now I've got to keep Terrence and Victor from killing each other, the entire Defiance region from killing me, and then I face this Uriah Thomas the very next day. I'm going to be worried about my own health and well being for the next seventy-two hours."

He chuckled.

"If Terry and Victor go at it after the match, let um get it out of their systems." he said. "As for Defiance, watch your back, and don't trust anyone to do it for ya."

Wendy nodded and smiled. "And any sage wisdom on Uriah Thomas?"

"Never heard of the guy, care to tell me a bit about him?" he asked.

Wendy shrugged. "I've never really seen him before in my life," she confessed. "I think that's why I'm so nervous about it. All I know about him is that hes got about a hundred forty pounds on me, he's a powerhouse brawler, and his brother sets new standards for the term 'obnoxious.'

The ghost hovered, looking thoughtful.

"Keep him on his back or his knees, never stand still, don't even go flat footed, keep on your toes, circle him fast, change directions often. Wait for him to be gassed before you try to fly, hit from all sides and move after evey hit, don't use a technique early that is going to leave you a moment of vulnerabilty, that includes dropkicks, use standing kicks instead, knees and ribs in particular, target the weak side, so whichever hand he is not primarily using." the ghost said.

"You talk like I've never done this before," Wendy remarked, rolling her eyes.

"Hey you asked for sage advice, that's my advice," he said with a chuckle, "besides, I've been in the ring with you, I know that in the heat of things, you get this look in your eyes and you stop moving and start just trying to battle things out, besides, I could have said hit him over the head with a chair till he passes out."

He winked when he said it.

"That won't be happening," Wendy affirmed with a sneer.

"I've missed these conversations with you, at least now I can jokingly say such a think about the chair without finding myself on the recieving end of a lecture as to why that kind of behavior is ruining the sport." He said. 'It is, I agreed with you then too, even if I didn't want to admit it."

"It's not just ruining the sport," Wendy said fiercely. "Its ruining lives. Just look at what happened to you."

"I know." He said softly. "I never though, when I was a rookie, younger than Jake is now, that I'd have found myself damn near crippled before I was thirty. when you're young, you never consider that future, and I just remember being that kid that wanted to impress so badly, so when they said, barbed wire scaffold, I climbed it even though I was scared shitless of heights."

"It's happening here too." Wendy said bitterly. "A young man, Sami Jacobs, isn't content until he gets himself killed, and John Ojeda keeps forcing people into these absolute barbaric 'contests'." She snorted in disdain. "They've even begun the King of the Death Match tournament. Don't these people see they're only killing themselves?"

"No," he said. "Some see it as a chance at glory, for others that's all they know. It has to stop at the level of the promoters first, before the wrestlers will stop. I had a manager hold my contract in his hands one night, and told me, if I didn't get in the ring for a barbed wire broken glass inferno match that I was done with the company. Well, I went out there, and a broken arm, 116 stitches and a cuncussion later I managed to hold onto my job for 2 more months, then the company folded."

Wendy shook her head in disgust. "I suppose its really none of my business, so long as no one is dumb enough to involve me in one. But it doesn't mean I have to like it."

"It doesn't mean that everyone who does it likes it." he said. "I didn't, I learned to accept it, embrace it, and as I was noticed for it, to like the attention, but, that job and that attention wasn't worth the fact that it because all people thought I cold do, and led to not being able to doing much of anything. Maybe i just was bad at it, I mean, not everyone gets as torn up as I did, but most that I've seen have."

Wendy nodded silently, and looked out the window. It was dark. She had two enormous days ahead of her, and she needed to get some sleep.

"Rick, I'm sorry, but I'm tired," Wendy said. "Do you mind... going elsewhere? I need to sleep."

"Sure," Rick said with a smile, as he began to fade. "I better go make sure Jake isn't getting himself into trouble anyways. I'll see you soon, Wendy."

Wendy nodded, and looked around the now empty room. She set the picture frame back on her nightstand, and smiled at it. Somehow, the conversation made her feel better. Humming a bouncy tune, she began the walk to the bathroom, preparing to change into her nightgown.

And froze.

She needed to send in a promotional video to PWX, as her contract required... and she would have no time to do so tomorrow.

She needed a camera. And quick.









JUNE 12, 2010
MARIOTT HOTEL- ROOM 512
DALLAS, TEXAS
11:15 PM LOCAL TIME

[Twas the night before Summer Games, and all through the hotel room, a certain flame haired WhirlyBird realized that immediately after the WFWA PPV, she had a match back in Indiana the very next day that she had yet to cut a promo for.]

[Whoops]

[Luckily, Wendy had managed to procure a camera, and set it up on a tripod, for her impromptu interview. So Wendy's sitting on the bed of her hotel room as the scene opens, smiling softly into the camera, her red hair left loose behind her.]

Wendy- "I guess it's been a while since I did one of these for the PWX."

[Considering that she was relegated to the role of a special Guest referee for Full Throttle, then had the last week off for Summer Games preparations, this is true.]

Wendy- "I guess before I get into this week, I have some things I need to get off my chest about Full Throttle. First of all, I want to congratulate our new Grand Prix champion, Jacob Wright, on his victory over my husband. It was a hard fought match, and you deserve to be the champion."

[Wendy's smile suddenly disappears.]

Wendy- "But I want to make one thing very clear to you, Jacob. I have never been mistreated by my husband, and I don't care if you're rying to get inside his head or not, the next time you make an unfounded accusation against any member of my family, you will answer to me, if Terry does not get to you first."

[Wendy shakes her head in disgust. Obviously, she and her husband have had their struggles over the past few weeks, but the last thing she needs is someone else trying to throw fuel on the fire.]

Wendy- "Now, onto other unpleasant matters. First of all... I feel an apology is in order to Jay Price. Jay, what Brian Hollywood and Chris Stern did to you at Full Throttle was a disgrace to you, me, and the entire wrestling industry as a whole. Had that chain not been wrapped around my neck, I would not have made the ten count, and I'm sorry that I allowed myself to be put into a position where I had no choice but to screw you over. I hope you will forgive me, Jay."

[Wendy closes her eyes and breathes a deep sigh, trying to calm herself down. She's still pretty angry about how the Last Man Standing match she had agreed to officiate ended.]

Wendy- "As for you, Chris Stern, you are a coward. I don't know what problem you had against Jay Price, or why you have decided to make yourself Brian Hollywood's lackey, and I honestly don't care. Not only did you coerce me into ruling a match in your 'master's' favor, you jeopardized the sanctity of this sport with your interference. I guarantee you that if I ever discover myself in the same building as you again, there will be a reckoning."

[Wendy's looking pretty angry now, her eyes narrowed.]

Wendy- "As for Brian Hollywood... congratulations Brian. Once again, you managed to escape a loss through your cowardice and reliance on others. You can act smug that you got away with one at Full Throttle, but I know different. I remember you screaming in pain in that hallway at Adrenaline 33, Brian, crying in pain and begging me to let go. You weren't such a big man then, Hollywood, and the next time you and I come face to face, I will remind you just how weak you truly are."
[Wendy sighs. Obviously, she doesn't like threatening people, but considering the actions of Chris Stern and Brian Hollywood, she feels this is pretty justified.]

Wendy- "Now, onto this week, where I face Uriah Thomas in singles competition. Uriah, I'm told that not only are you a newcomer to the PWX, but are a rookie as well, despite your family's longstanding ties to the sport. I welcome you to the PWX, and wish you the best of luck in your career."

[Wendy gives an attempt at a warm smile.]

Wendy- "Unfortunately, you being so new means that there is precious little for me to know about you. But I do know that you are apparently the complete opposite personality-wise of your brother, Xander. This is probably a good thing for you, because, after just one week here, Xander's pretty much gone and established himself as an annoying loudmouth who needs to be shut down, if the events of last week are any indication. I also know that you're a former soldier, who served several tours of duty in Iraq, so I should thank you for your service to your country."

[Another attempt at a warm smile.]

Wendy- "But enough of the pleasantries. You are my opponent for this week, and considering that I haven't competed in the PWX for almost three weeks now, I could use a big win. So let me give you some advice, Uriah. You're going to get in the ring, preparing for your singles debut, and across from you will step a girl that doesn't even carry half your mass."

[Wendy cracks a big- almost devilish grin.]

Wendy- "I'm sorry Uriah, but you'll be losing to her."

[A small chuckle from the young woman.]

Wendy- "I've been told that you are a man who relies on sheer power. Being someone who has little, I can tell you power is a good thing. But the "Future Endeavors" fileboxes of wrestling promotions are littered with men who could bench press twice their weight, and do little else. You see, Uriah, all the power in the world means nothing if you are unable to do anything with it. You need speed, you need technique, and you need experience."

"I have all three. Your hand to hand combat skills may be exceptional, but I'm not the type who is going to 'stand and bang' with my opponent. You will not hurt me, Uriah, because you will not catch me. I recently spent a week training with a man named Victor Mandrake, who dwarfs even you in his sheer magnitude. I spent the entire week learning how best to neutralize my size disadvantage, and I'm prepared to use my newfound training on you."

"It might take a while, Uriah, but I WILL wear you down. My kicks will wear your legs out, and my holds will tire your muscles. You will be tired, exhausted, and barely able to stand. And that's when I'll strike. I don't know yet if it will be with the Vortexinator, the Emerald Cyclone, or the Banshee, but sooner or later, you will be out on the mat, and it will be over."

[Wendy shrugs, as if she knew that was the inevitable result all along.]

Wendy- "But Uriah, I do hope that you are nothing like your brother. Xander's ego and brash actions have set himself on a course for destruction, whether at the hands of Jeremiah Belmont or someone else. From watching your trial match against Punch and Pie, I can tell that you have talent, and a bright future ahead of you, if you keep your head on straight."

[Wendy stands up, and begins to walk towards the camera.]

Wendy- "I'll see you on Monday, Uriah. Even though I'm confident about the match, don't think I'm going to do any of this nonsense about overlooking you or taking it easy. Anyone who knows me knows that's not my style. But if you do lose, please try to learn from it. Wrestling has enough pigheaded muscle-men who are too thick to ever take anything but excuses away from their defeats. Don't let yourself join them."

[One final small smile, and Wendy reaches out to shut off the camera, and we fade.]