JUNE 3, 2010
PRIDE OF PIKE ESPRESSO & CAFÉ
INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA
10:56 AM LOCAL TIME
Wendy Briese-Thompson slowly looked up from her magazine as the brunette teenager walked into the coffee shop. Giving a short wave so she would be seen, Wendy closed her Redbook as the girl approached, sitting down at the table across from her. Since the morning Victor Mandrake had held a gun to the girl's head, she had seen her former pupil only a handful of times. Still, it was good to see Megan Cerotta again.
"Hello, Mrs. Thompson," Megan said quietly as she settled in her seat and picked up a menu.
Wendy laughed softly. "It's Wendy, Megan. I'm not your director anymore. Speaking of which... I heard you quit the MCCT?"
Megan nodded sadly. "I didn't really like the new director. She was kind of a bitch. And I just couldn't go on that stage anymore. Not after..." Megan's voice trailed off.
"I know," Wendy nodded sympathetically. She remembered that morning well. She had awoken to find a frantic voicemail from Megan pleading with her to come to the community theater she had once operated. There, she had found Megan, knocked unconscious and chained to a wall. Mandrake had appeared, holding a gun to Megan's head, threatening to kill her if Wendy did not agree to become his tag team partner. Victor had warned Megan to keep quiet about the incident, and even now, two months later, the girl still was too afraid to mention it.
"Besides," Megan said, putting on a brave smile. "Just two more months, and I'll be at Stanford."
"That reminds me," Wendy said as she reached in her purse, and pulled out an envelope. "Congrats, graduate."
Megan paused just long enough to order from the waitress, then tore the envelope open, reading the front of the greeting card. As she opened the card, a fifty dollar bill fluttered out, drawing a gasp from the young woman.
"Wow! Thank you Mrs. Th- Wendy!" Megan exclaimed, correcting herself.
"You're welcome," Wendy said warmly. "And the best wishes to you as you march off to conquer the Stanford Drama Department."
"Thanks," Megan said again, and she moved to put the money away in her purse, but then stopped. She looked over at Wendy, as if debating something quietly with herself, then set the money back on the table, much to Wendy's puzzlement.
"I saw the Summer Games line-up." Megan said quietly. "You're teaming with Mandrake again."
Wendy nodded slowly, not entirely sure where this was going.
"Why? I thought you lost the tag titles."
"Technically, we never had them," Wendy explained bitterly.
"But I thought that was your bind to him," Megan said.
"It was," Wendy explained. "Terrence and I have joined Mandrake of our own free will."
"What?" The question came out more as a retort, and Wendy immediately knew that what she said had offended Megan.
"It's for the best, Megan," Wendy began to explain.
"For the best?" Megan repeated in disbelief. "Wendy... do you remember what that man DID to me?"
"Of course I do," Wendy replied, a note of indignation creeping into her voice. "But there's too much at stake for me to think about revenge right now. I have to think about the greater good."
"The greater good? What the hell does that mean?" Megan demanded.
"It means that before I think of myself, I have to think of what's best for everyone, especially the wrestling industry." Wendy explained. "Punishing Victor for his actions only serves as a detriment to the main goal- the eradication of Defiance from the WWA. As long as Victor's goals and mine are the same, I will not raise a hand to him. If it is a all possible, when all is said and done, and the primary objective is completed, then I will move against Mandrake. But not before."
"Primary objective? Are you a goddamn robot now?" Megan demanded. "If you ask me, the best thing for your sport would be the removal of that man... not anyone else!"
To both women's surprise, Wendy actually laughed, and shook her head. "You're young, Megan. You haven't yet experienced the realities of the world. I will never approve of some of Victor's methods, but he is one of the best wrestlers this Alliance has ever seen. I would be foolish to turn down an opportunity to use him, and to learn from him."
"Learn from him?" Megan asked incredulously. "Four months ago, you hated this man so much you surrendered your job to avoid him, and now you're LEARNING from him?"
"Times change, Megan," Wendy said calmly. "My dislike of Victor hasn't lessened any. But he's really the lesser of two evils. Trust me on that."
"No!" Megan denied fiercely, tears welling in her eyes. "The Wendy Briese I knew wouldn't choose 'the lesser of two evils!' She'd choose NO evil! She'd fight evil, the odds be damned!"
"The Wendy Briese you knew never existed." Wendy said sadly. "I never claimed to be a saint. I'm just a woman who's tired of being taken advantage of."
"You're being taken advantage of right now!"
"Perhaps," Wendy conceded. "But everythings going to work out in the end. You will be avenged, Megan."
"Yeah, when you get around to it!" the teenager retorted angrily.
Wendy's expression hardened. "If it means that much to you, go and avenge yourself, you silly, selfish girl."
Megan visibly recoiled at Wendy's harsh words. "What? This... you can't talk to me... you're supposed to be..."
"Well, I'm sorry I don't live up to your expectations." Wendy said flatly
"No!" Megan said, standing up. "You're sorry because you don't live up to YOUR expectations, and you've come up with some bullshit 'greater good' rationale to justify it! You're selling yourself out, Wendy, and for what? So you can help one bastard win an idiotic power struggle over another bastard? You're being set up to be a casualty, Wendy, and you're the only one unable to see it!"
Wendy looked up at Megan, vaguely noticing that several others in the cafe were staring at them. "If I have to sacrifice myself for the greater good, then..."
"Oh, shut up!" Megan interrupted. "There is no 'greater good' in this! There's only 'lesser evil,' and you've admitted it. And I'm not going to sit here and listen to you delude yourself into destruction any more! Goodbye, Wendy."
Megan turned towards the exit, but stopped, and walked back to the table, dropping Wendy's graduation card on top of the fifty. "Thank you for the lovely graduation gift, Mrs. Thompson," she began in a shaky tone. "But I must regretfully decline it."
And then, tears streaming down her face, Megan Cerotta ran from the coffee shop.
"Megan!" Wendy belatedly called after her, stunned by this sudden turn of events. She made to rise from her table, and chase after the distraught girl, to make her understand.
But she knew she wouldn't. And, to her surprise, she found herself not really caring.
Trying to wipe the event from her mind, Wendy pulled her magazine back out, and turned her attention to finishing her coffee.
JUNE 3, 2010
THE NEST- LIVING ROOM
INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA
4:45 PM LOCAL TIME
[So it hasn't exactly been Wendy's best day.]
[After the blowup with Megan in the coffee shop, Wendy finished her cappuccino, and left the shop, hoping to head over to the gymnasium and get some extra training in. However, on the way, to the gym, a pigeon hit the jackpot, sending a bomb right into her helmet's visor as Wendy was cruising up Meridian Street. Wendy managed to avoid crashing her Vespa, but the task of cleaning bird crap off of her visor left Wendy in a less than pleasant mood.]
[And now she has to cut a Summer Games promo. This oughta be good.]
[Nonetheless, Wendy sits in The Nest’s living room, on the couch. She’s dressed in a bright red blouse to go with a pair of jeans, and she, as usual, sits fairly rigidly. The camera is, as usual, on a tripod about ten feet away. Wendy stares into the camera, her expression completely neutral]
Wendy- “Dallas, Texas”
[Oooh… good start]
Wendy- “It’s ironic that the eleventh Summer Games tournament is taking place in Dallas, considering that it is the exact same city Terrence and I made our return to professional wrestling two months ago. Terrence and I came to fight in a war. A war to end the tyranny and madness of Eric Dane, to liberate the World Wrestling Alliance from his attempt at an oppressive takeover.”
“That night, Defiance threw the worst they had at us. Eight people tried to destroy the WhirlyBirdz on March 30th, and they failed. On June 13th, again, eight people will again try to destroy not only me and Terrence, but the World Wrestling Alliance and all we hold dear. Again, they will fail.”
[It should be noted that when she says ‘eight, she’s not counting Kazuma Fujita or Christian Light as those with the intention of destroying the WWA]
Wendy- “The time has come for everything to come full circle. Terrence and I came to fight a war, and at Summer Games, we will finish that war in victory. With Victor Mandrake by our side, the plague that is Defiance, especially its craven, despicable leader, will be run from our alliance forever.”
“But alas, our initial battle is still not with our true enemies, but the remnants of the region most decimated by the attacks of Defiance. I have no doubt in my mind that John Kellerman, Chris Cannon, and Zortalk are all good people. I understand Zortalk’s reservations towards the spectacle that is Summer Games, and I’m proud that Chris Cannon has finally elected to face up to reality.”
“But this is no longer the fight of you three. Cannon and Zortalk, you two did well in wearing HYDRA out at the last Appalachian Wrestling show, gaining a victory, and giving Ronnie the breathing room he needed to defeat Cobra. But not one of you has shown that you can compete with as many as eight Defiance members on the grandest stage of them all.”
[Wendy pauses, and sighs sadly]
Wendy- “I’m sorry, but I were to allow you to advance to the finals, the World Wrestling Alliance will have fallen. For awaiting you in the finals will only be humiliation and defeat. And with so much riding on the line, defeat cannot be an option. So it is for your own good that Team AW must be defeated, and quickly. Cannon, Davenport, Kellerman, please don’t think of yourselves as victims to us. You are merely necessary sacrifices that must be made so that this Allaince may continue to survive.”
“And survive it will, for even now , the cracks in the foundation of Defiance are beginning to show. Eric Dane’s tolerance for greed and selfishness has been embodied in the warriors he has chosen to represent him. If we are fortunate, the Team of Aaron Vasquez, Bronson Box, and Cancer Jiles will implode in the first round. If that happens, and even one member of Cito Conarri’s team makes it through, the odds in the final battle will be evened considerably. And even if Team Defiance somehow manages to survive, the rift will be there. One mistake, one ego trip, one small factor could be all it takes for the fissure to rip wide open, and swallow our enemies whole.”
“And for Bronson Box, who seems convinced that there is no place for a woman in this tournament, let alone a wrestling ring, I will say this- ask your partner, Evan Hurley, how much I don’t belong.”
[She only has three wins over Hurley. No biggie]
Wendy- “As for the rest of Defiance, their judgment will be coming as well. Despite the piggish attitude of his manager and tag team partner, it will be a pity to have to vanquish Joe Drago. But Joe has made his choice on which side he is on, and unfortunately, it is the wrong one. It is a shame, a man like him could have been a great asset to this Alliance, but no more.”
[Slight pause]
Wendy- “And through it all, Heidi and Greer have remained silent.”
[Emerald eyes straight into the camera.]
Wendy- “Cowards”
“But it’s what I should have expected. Bravery is hardly one of the virtues of the HYDRA.”
[Wendy holds up both hands, showing all ten of her fingers.]
Wendy- “Ten days until Summer Games. Ten days until the threat of Defiance, the contagion that has gripped the WWA for the past six months, is finally eradicated. Ten days until the world of pro-wrestling is saved.”
[Wendy smiles, and stands up from the couch, heading over to turn off the camera]
Wendy- “For some of us, that’s ten days too long.”
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