Tuesday December 10, 2002
Terrence Thompson’s RV- Main Cabin
Rest Area near Hamden, Connecticut
9:32 AM Local Time
“I told you that was a bad idea.”
Daniel Pollaski looked up from his Game Boy at his client’s snide comment, looking at the man who had made it. “Seriously?”
“She shouldn’t compete, I said. She’s been through a lot, I said. This could only end in disaster, I said...” Terrence continued his griping, his back to his manager as he toiled over an electric skillet, making breakfast.
“And I don’t recall disagreeing with you,” Pollaski replied sharply, rising from his chair, and walking towards Terrence. “In fact, I didn’t see YOU making any effort to stop her, Mr. Clairvoyant-”. He paused, looking down in the skillet. “Dude, you’re getting shells in with the eggs.”
“Hunh? Oh, fucking hell.” Terrence replied, grabbing a fork and picking a piece of the shell out. “I hate cooking.”
“There’s more... there... and there...” Pollaski continued, pointing.
Terrence squinted at the skillet. “Those are whites.”
“No, they’re shells.”
“Whites.”
“Shells!”
“Whites. I know what I’m doing here.” Terrence responded hotly. “Unlike you seem to.”
“Oh, so THAT’S how this is!” Pollaski replied, walking towards the front of the RV’s cabin, and grabbing his coat. “Fine. I’m not going to stand here and listen to your crap and eat your shitty cooking. I’m going to Perkins!”
“We’re at a rest stop, idiot. Where the hell is there a Perkins?”
Pollaski shrugged as he put on his shoes. “I’ll find one.”
“With what?” Terrence demanded. “Not with my car...”
“Well, then learn to fucking cook,” Pollaski growled, turning away from the skillet, and flinging open a cabinet. “Where the hell are the Lucky Charms?”
“We’re out.”
“Mother... hey look who’s up!” The conversation took a quick swerve as Pollaski looked over and saw the bedroom door opening up, Wendy stepping out. She was hadly in her most photogenic mode, her eyes red from sleep and emotion, her flame-red hair straggling unkempt about her head. Even though she had slept for almost nine hours the night before, it didn’t look like it had been nearly enough.
“Ungh,” was all the reply Wendy gave as she walked into the room, going straight for the table and plopping down in a chair at the RV’s small table.. She held her head in her hands, staring at the wood.
“How are you feeling, hon?” Terrence asked, using a spatula to stir the eggs.
“I’m okay,” Wendy murmred, rubbing her eyes, and stifling a yawn. “You ready for our match tonight?”
There was a long pause, as Dan and Terrence exchanged glances with each other. Finally, Terrence spoke. “Um... the match was last night, hon.”
“Wh...what?” Wendy looked stunned by this, her eyes going back and forth between Terrence and Pollaski. “Last night... what... how...”
“Well, we lost. By disqualification, so at least we got to keep the titles.” Terrence said simply. “Although they’re getting another shot next week.”
“What... disqual...” Wendy turned an accusing glare at her manager. “What did you do?!”
Pollaski burst out laughing, which earned him a rather nasty glare from Terrence. “Well, you see, we uh... got disqualified... because... of you.”
Wendy glared at Pollaski, disbelief on her features. “Dan, be serious.”
“I am serious! You honestly don’t remember anything?”
Wendy paused, wracking her brain. She found she could barely remember yesterday at all, nor the day before that, or the day before that. Everything seemed so muddled, like a dream. The last thing she remembered clearly was Saturday night in Missouri, getting ready for her match against... “Oh, God. Keiler... I hit him too.”
“Jackass had it coming.” Terrence mumbled.
“Yeah,” Pollaski sighed, not unsympathetically. “James got a bit too grabby with you, so... well, you kinda went a bit... insane.”
Vaguely the dreamlike fog in Wendy’s memory began to clear, as things began coming back to her. Two matches in two seperate companies... two disqualifications thanks to chair shots on her behalf. “I hit three people with a chair.” She whispered, then looked up at Pollaski, panic in her eyes. “I can’t believe I...”
She broke off as Pollaski and Terrence exchanged nervous glances. “What?” She finally asked.
“Um...” Terrence hesitated, looking to Pollaski, who could only shrug in response. “It was fourteen. Between Saturday and yesterday, you hit fourteen people with a chair.”
“What?” Wendy was incredulous.
“Actually, it was eleven with a chair,” Pollaski corrected. “The first three last night were with a kendo stick.”
Wendy swallowed hard, blinking her eyes rapidly as she ran her hand through her hair. She tried taking a few deep breaths to steady herself. Then she lunged at Pollaski, cupping his throat around her hands as she tackled him. “THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!”
“ACK! WHA?” Was all Pollaski could get out before he started gagging, falling over in shock. Wendy sat atop him, hands around his throat, wringing him back and forth so his head bounced off the floor.
“Whoah! WHOAH!” Terrence exclaimed, abandoning the eggs, and running to pry his girlfriend off of his manager. “Wendy! Stop! Wendy! COME ON!”
It took a lot of effort, but he finally managed to pry Wendy off the cowering Pollaski, but not before Wendy managed to land a few kicks to him for good boot. “WHY DIDN’T YOU TELL ME ABOUT MY DAD, YOU IDIOT?!” she screamed.
“What...? How...?” Rubbing his throat, Pollaski turned an accusing glare at Terrence, who only shook his head in denial.
“I HEARD YOU TELL TERRENCE THROUGH THE DOOR! WHY DIDNT YOU TELL ME?!” Wendy screamed, trying to kick Pollaski again, although this time she missed, Terrence having pried her too far away. “I HAD A RIGHT TO KNOW!”
“BECAUSE I’D THOUGHT YOU’D FLY OFF THE GODDAMN HANDLE!” Pollaski responded, getting to his feet. “Not sure where I’d get THAT idea...”
“Get off me, Terry!” Wendy snarled, elbowing her fiancee away. She began to pace back and forth, her head in her hands. “Fourteen people... fourteen...”
“Okay, just calm down, hon...” Terrence began.
“Calm down? CALM DOWN?! THEYRE GOING TO KILL ME, TERRENCE! You don’t hit fourteen people in professional wrestling and not expect consequences!”
“Might be good to just let her get it out of her system.” Pollaski muttered to Terrence, and although Terrence nodded he didn’t look convinced.
But the outburst had already worn Wendy out, and she plopped back into the chair, looking ahead bleakly. “I didn’t mean to...” she whimpered. “Well, obviously I did, but...”
“You’ve had a rough couple of weeks, and we never should have let you in the ring last night, not after what happened Saturday.” Terrence said softly, bending over and giving his distraught girlfriend a hug. “Look, we’ll worry about everything else later. The important thing is that you take a couple of weeks, and get your head on straight.”
Wendy shook her head. “No. I’m fine. I just need to quit focusing on this whole deal with my family, and get back in the...”
“No... that’s not what you-” Terrence began, but Pollaski cut him off.
“You’re not getting a choice on the matter.” Pollaski said crisply. “You’ve been suspended for a week.”
Wendy looked over at him. “Suspended?”
“Yeah...” Pollaski muttered. “Without pay. They told me last night as I was leaving. Sorry.” Although he hardly looked apologetic- more relieved.
Wendy sank lower in her chair. Attacking people... disqualifications, suspensions. All of this was just too much. She swallowed hard, trying to keep from either crying or screaming. She couldn’t tell which. “But... you said that we were defending our tag titles again...”
“We are.” Terrence said. “Well, at least... I am.”
“By yourself?” Wendy was aghast.
“Uh, no.” Pollaski said quietly, cringing. This was the part he was REALLY dreading telling her. “He’s gonna have a temporary partner.”
“Who...?” Wendy’s eyes went wide as she realized the truth. “Oh no... not you..”
“Sorry,” Pollaski commented. “I guess this was part of the punishment.”
Wendy slunk even lower in her chair, utterly defeated. The worst thing about all this, she knew, is that she had brought it upon herself. Both Terrence and Pollaski had been hesitant for her to get back in the ring so soon after her mother’s death, but she always figured they just feared whether she could compete at a high level with so many distractions. She certainly didn’t think that... THIS would have happened.
“Oh, hon. Cheer up. Pollaski and I will think of something, and we’ll still be the champions by the time you’re reinstated. I promise you.”
Wendy tried to smile, but only half-accomplished the feat. “I’m so sorry, Terry. I should have listened to you. I should have-”
“Eggs are burning.”
Both Terrence and Wendy turned to regard the electric skllet, which was now smoking. With a curse, Terrence flew across the RV, unplugging the skillet and looking glumly down into it. “Shit...”
Pollaski chortled with a sudden bout of glee. “Guess it’s Perkins after all.”
“Yeah. Just let me... fuck it. Prepare to move out.” Terrence said, scraping the eggs into the garbage, and throwing the skillet into the sink. “You know what we’re gonna do today? We’re gonna get a tree. A big, motherfucking Christmas tree that we’re gonna stick right here in the RV. That should get everyone’s minds off this bullshit for a bit.”
Wendy grimaced. At the moment, she wanted nothing more than to just curl up into a ball of misery and go back to sleep, and pretend as if the last few days had never happened. But it probably wouldn’t do her much good. She forced a smile. “I... I think that’d be nice, Terrence.”
As Pollaski quickly grabbed his coat and went outside to begin preparations for leaving, Terrence smiled, then reached down, and jerked Wendy out of her chair, spinning her around to face him. He locked her in a huge embrace, planting a kiss on her nose. “Look, I don’t know what the future’s going to hold,” he whispered “But I promise you this... whatever happens, I’ll be here with you. And everything is going to be alright in the end.”
“Thank you, Terry,” she replied, hugging him back.
She didn’t particularily believe it... but at least it was a nice thing to hope for.
=======================================
Monday December 16, 2002
Terrence Thompson’s RV - main cabin
Providence, Rhode Island
11:02 PM Local Time
It wasn’t something Wendy ever thought she’d find herself thinking, but thank God for outside interference.
With a sigh of relief, Wendy reached up, and shut off the television. The show had just concluded, and while her replacement had performed better than she had hoped, it was obvious that Terrence and Pollaski had been in an uphill battle. At least, until every other team in the division decided that it’d be a great time to run in and create mayhem. So in the midst of the chaos, a no contest was declared, and the WhirlyBirdz would continue to hold onto the belts.
She felt guilty about being happy with such a skewed ending, but at the same time, it grated on her that she might actually lose the belts without even being in the ring. At least this gave them a chance to get in and face all the teams vying for their titles on a level playing field.
Her heart still racing, Wendy paced back and forth, trying to calm herself down. The parking lot the Birdz had parked the RV in was only about a twelve minute drive from the arena, so it wouldn’t be long until Terrence and Pollaski returned home. Knowing her boyfriend and manager, they’d want to go out and have a late night dinner, celebrating their not-so triumphant no contest retention.
She paused, taking a deep breath, and looking at the Christmas tree. It wasn’t very big.. maybe five feet at the most, and it took up more space in the cramped RV than was probably feasible. But Wendy loved it. The three of them had spent several hours putting lights, ornaments, garland, and tinsel on, and while Pollaski and Wendy constantly bickered over placement (her manager was far less meticulous than Wendy wanted him to be), it had turned into a great afternoon.
In fact, the whole week had gone nicely, save for the stress of the upcoming tag match. The pain of losing her mother stll hurt, as did the knowledge of her father’s indiscretions, but she began to feel that Terrence was right. Things were going to be okay.
*KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK*
Wendy nearly jumped a mile at the sound. Who would be knocking on their door this late at night. They had cleared their presence with the manager of the grocery store who’s lot they parked in, and Terrence wouldn’t bother knocking so...
Shrugging... Wendy walked to the door, opening it, and squinting out into the night. “Hello?”
*WHAM*
A massive fist came flying in from the side, catching her in the head. Wendy fell backwards with a bleat, both in pain and shock. She looked up, and her jaw dropped.
The man in front of her was bigger than anything she had ever seen before, and she had seen enough big guys in her line of work. He was over seven feet, and weighed as much as Pollaski, although this was all due to height and muscle. But mostly odd, was that he was dressed entirely in a hazmat suit, his body completely covered so that Wendy could only see his eyes.
“Who are...” Wendy began lamely, before she was cut off with the man grabbing her by the throat, lifting her up. Wendy kicked feebly, pried at his hands, couldn’t get them off. With a roar, the monster threw her sideways- right into the Christmas tree.
Wendy grunted as she hit hard, knocking the tree over, the sound of breaking ornaments filling the room. She winced in pain, feeling the needles clawing at her skin. She tried to scramble to her feet, but the giant was on top of her, grabbing her, and throwing her into the kitchen counter. Wendy shrieked in pain, tried to fight back, but found herself being lifted bodily into the air, and slammed onto the counter. The man’s hand found her throat, and Wendy’s kicked feebly again, trying to dislodge it. Already she was starting to panic, finding herself unable to breath.
“ZUBYENKA!”
The word and language were unfamiliar, but the voice was not. The grip on her throat loosened, and Wendy managed to tilt her head slightly. Augustus Briese stood in the RV, looking impassively at her.
With the hold loosened, Wendy was gasping for breath, and it was several seconds before she could find her voice. “D...daddy?”
“Hello, Gwendolyn,” Gus replied, his voice quiet, as he walked towards her. He stood looking down at her. Then with out any warning, he backhanded her across the face.
Scared, confused, and wracked with pain, Wendy began to cry. It was embarrassing, but this man was going to kill her, and somehow, someway her father had something to do with it.
“Shut her up.” Gus said, turning away again. The hand tightened its grip, and Wendy again found herself unable to breathe. The hold only lasted a few more minutes, and again, Wendy was half-gasping for breath, half sobbing.
“Wendy, I would like you to meet somebody,” Gus continued, his voice cold as ice. “This is Yuri, although the rest of the world will know him as Chernobyl, soon enough. He’s going to be signing a contract with your wrestling company tomorrow.”
Wendy turned her head slightly, looking up at the man. He stunk of sweat, from being in that suffocating suit, but what struck Wendy the most was his eyes. They had never left her face, and even now, they were narrowed in the utmost hatred. Who was...
“Today’s Yuri’s twenty-second birthday,” Gus continued, in that same calm voice. “And the only present he wanted was to meet his sister.”
“S...sis...ter?” Wendy managed to gasp out.
“Well, half-sister, really.” Gus replied. “See, my... indiscretions. Unfortunately, they did come with some consequences, this young man being one of them. You wouldn’t believe how much money I spent making sure that you and Gayle never found out about him. Regretful, really. He’s turned out to be a much more filial child than you’ve been.”
Wide-eyed, Wendy looked back and forth between the two men. Everything was happening too fast for her. She had a brother? And why... dear God, WHY did he hate her so much? They’d never met before!”
Gus leaned over her, and glared down at her. “There’s another present, you should know about. I changed my will today. A simple matter, really. I just replaced your name with his. For everything.”
“Y..you’re d...dis..disow..”
“Disowning you, yes,” Gus replied irritably. “Yuri, loosen your grip a bit. If she’s going to talk, I’d rather she not take all night.” He looked back at Wendy. “You made me do this, Wendy. You and your ingratitude. I spent twenty years of my life preparing you to follow in my footsteps, and in just a little over a year, you’ve thrown it all away. And now.. you’ve killed your mother.”
“Me?” Wendy was aghast. “You said she was drunk and stumbled..”
“And why do you think she was drunk?” Gus retorted. “Because of YOU. Because you spit in her face because of what? Because she fucked another man? Because she was trying to do what was BEST for you? She may have been drunk, and that semi may have hit her... but you might as well have put a gun up to her fucking head.”
Gus turned away, taking a deep breath, trying to calm himself. “You took everything from me, Wendy. My wife. My hopes and dreams. The child born to me sequestered in the Ukraine, where he was doused with radiation and left to die because I focused all my attention on YOU. So now, I return the favor. I could have Yuri kill you right now, and be done with it, but where’s the fun in that?”
“I want him to leave you broken in front of the whole world. To make everyone realize that everything you have is a lie. You’re not a wrestler, Wendy.... you’re an actress playing one on television. And exposing you for the little fake you are is only the beginning of what you deserve. But just remember one thing, through all of this. You. Brought. This. On. Yourself.”
Gus turned away, walking towards the door. “Come Yuri. Leave your sister to ponder her sins, so that she might repent before she meets her maker.”
“Yes, father.” Yuri replied. But instead of walking away, he lifted Wendy off the table, into the air, his hand wrapped again around her throat. Wendy kicked and clawed, to no avail, until she was dazed by her head hitting the ceiling, so high she was suspended. Then she felt the rushing of wind as Yuri threw her, as hard as he could, down, angling again so she’d land in the overturned Christmas tree.
A snapping of branches, the tinkle of breaking ornaments, and then a heavy thud as her body slammed into the ground, and Wendy’s world went black.
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