There’s a wiping motion of a cloth over the lens, wiping away a thin film of ice, the picture seeming to vibrate for a moment as the cameraman tries to get his shivering under control and the well wrapped up frame of Scarlett Kincaid comes into focus, her breath hanging in the air as a cloud of mist for a moment, a smile appearing on her face.
Scarlett: Hey. You really should have come dressed a little bit more suitably for walking into a meat freezer. These really aren’t the warmest of places you know.
She shakes her head.
Scarlett: Anyway, I’m ecstatic that my tag team partner for this week, the one and only, extremely talented Wendy Briese could join me today...and I promise you Wendy, there’s no nefarious plot here, I’m not trying to get rid of a competitor through underhand methods or anything like that.
The girl smirks as she makes the joke.
Scarlett: Instead we’re here to talk about our opponents this week. Mika Demidov and Camilla Pazzini. And it’s not because we feel the need to do some Rocky-like demonstration of punching power to demonstrate that we can hang with Camilla. Nor is it because Mika Demidov is sometimes unfairly accused of having the personality of a slab of frozen beef.
Wendy: It’s because we’re redheads, and this is Los Angeles, and between sunburn and freezer burn, we’re taking the latter.
Wendy’s dressed almost as bundled as Scarlett, with a green hat and mittens, and a scarf wrapped around her, which she pulls down when she talks.. And of course a very heavy winter coat.
Wendy: After all, they say that the tag team that will freeze together will bring their opponents to their knees together!
Scarlett looks at her.
Scarlett: Do they really say that? Is it like some Inuit...eskimo...wrestling saying? Is it proven in their culture or….
Trailing off, the young girl smiles.
Scarlett: I’m getting off the point here aren’t I? We’re here to talk about a teaser for Ten Femme Chaos and to tell you why we’re the sure fire locks to walk out of the Staples Center with the victory and the momentum going into Chaos Theory.
A deep breath.
Scarlett: These matches of impromptu tag partners...the “Strange Bedfellow” matches always generate a lot of intrigue. Everyone starts to ask whether or not the teams can co-exist given the friction that has been created between partners. If all those comments made in the past will come back to bite them on the ass, the way it did the one I teamed with Isabella, or if they’ll be able to see past them to pull it together. Wendy happens to be something of a tag team expert...so I’m sure you’re all interested to hear her take on tonight’s spectacle.
Wendy shrugs.
Wendy: I’m not entirely sure I’m an expert on the matter, at least anymore. I haven’t consistently teamed with anyone in three years, and what limited experience I have in FFW has been met with equally limited success. I’ve always believed that chemistry matters to a team, and I still do. Even with a team that seems like a glaring exception- like Team Adonis, they still managed to work together as a unit once the match started.
Wendy glances over at her partner and rival.
Wendy: I think our team is going to work very well together. Scarlett and I have similar styles, and relatively similar mindsets. And even more importantly, we know that there’s a time and place for everything. Did we just face off in a very grueling match at One Night Stand? Of course. Did she take the FFW Championship from me? Yes. Do I want it back? Absolutely. Is that going to happen tonight… or anytime in the next month? Probably not. I, for one, am more than willing to put aside a rivalry for a fortnight if it means I get to work with someone I have a ton of respect for, and I think Scarlett has the same excitement over the prospect of teaming with me. I think that gives us an advantage, unless, Scarlett, you think Mika and Camilla are just as excited about teaming with each other as we are?
There’s a shrug of her shoulders.
Scarlett: You’re right. Time and a place for everything. Definitely a shared respect between us and most definitely similarities in our outlook on family and on this sport. I mean come on, we’ve got the woman who sticks about as rigidly as possible to the rule book as possible and me - a woman who spent most of last year as a bitch and never once broke the rules. I think there are those same similarities that are going to help Mika and Camilla put their differences aside. Listen to the pair of them talk. There are definitely ego’s at play. The Living Legend and Miss Undefeated, Unstoppable and Undisputed...who’s not really any of those things any more. There’s a lot to ignore too. Camilla’s downplaying of Mika’s title, referring to her as a dark horse, Mika calling Camilla immature and accusing her of not doing her best, of pulling the punch in their Femme For All match. I could be wrong though. You’ve already mentioned Team Adonis, but lets bring another name into this. Isabella Pazzini. The woman who has cast a shadow over her sister, who was never backward in creating her own hype and publicity. Maybe Camilla’s experience dealing with her will make her the perfect partner for Demidov with all that experience she has massaging and mollycoddling an oversized ego.
Wendy nods.
Wendy: And it’s not like having an ego is a bad thing in and of itself. I know I have one… I’m pretty sure you have one too, Scarlett. I don’t think it’s impossible NOT to have an ego… especially at this level, when you HAVE to have the belief that you’re capable of proving yourself the best. But at least we have perspective… and more importantly, at least we have a true sense of self-worth, and a true sense of accountability. Both Mika and Camilla lack that quality. Take Camilla and this whole ‘sick of being in the shadow’ CRAP she’s been spewing. It’s been since, what? AUGUST when she started this? When she pulled that stunt with Val that enabled Scarlett here and her sister to get the win in Val’s own hometown?. It was NOVEMBER when she jumped Val in my match against her, and DECEMBER when she went on a tirade about how I’m everything that’s wrong here.
Wendy rolls her eyes and shakes her head.
Wendy: It’s February now. Six months since she started down this stupid, childish route, and how much have things gotten better for her? Not one iota. She’s right at the same level she was when she got stupid in Scotland, if not even worse off. She’s been in one match since her rant, and can’t be bothered to show up anywhere near a TV show otherwise. Almost like she’d rather ruin an FFW Championship match than take the steps necessary to actually get one. It’s easier that way. It’s easier to blame other people, and to try to ruin things for them, than to take accountability and try to build yourself up.
Scarlett nods.
Scarlett: Maybe Camilla should be in here, hanging from a hook given how she feels like she’s been frozen out by management, held back and held down from achieving her potential, from following in Isabella’s footsteps and adding to the Pazzini legacy. It’s all bullshit of course. It’s nothing more than a sense of self-entitlement manifesting itself through a lack of heart...which is something she shares with Mika.
A grin appears on Scarlett face.
Scarlett: Yeah. Mika would like you all to believe that she’s the 2013 model of Scarlett Kincaid. That she knows adversity and she fights through it, that no matter the odds she keeps plugging on, she keeps on trying to move forward and will battle to get over any hurdles. Sadly reality doesn’t match the story she tells. Her reaction to adversity is to plunge head first into self-pity. Look back to November, she tied EVERYTHING, her entire identity into beating me, was happy to tell the world that Scarlett Kincaid versus Mika Demidov in the Femme For All final would define her entire career and when she came up short what did we get from her? Crying on Twitter, a deep deep deep depression claiming her career was all but over. A fear that she was frozen out. That she’d wasted her one and only chance to enter the Big Girls playground. Monday, we got a repeat of that as she related to Twitter that her new best friend was the porcelain telephone to God; that she’d spent Sunday night drowning her sorrows in Vodka.
Scarlett rolls her eyes.
Scarlett: My, how stereotypically Russian of you Mika. She talks a big game, she comes across as being so incredibly confident as to be overbearingly cocky and arrogant. Sadly it’s as brittle as cracked glass, a veneer of rice paper easily shattered, easily broken through. Just takes one single loss and we see she’s far from being “The Best” and just another young girl who whines
and throws a tantrum when things don’t go her way. I’m sure they could try and level that criticism at me - that last year my bad reaction was a temper tantrum. But I never once cried and whined about my position. I accepted it. I worked hard, bided my time and made sure to make the most of my opportunities.
Wendy nods grimly
Wendy: Mika could very easily be FFW Champion one day. There’s no denying her talent- either of their talent, for that matter. But you look at Mika, and the way she acts, and you can’t help but wonder if she won’t end up as one of FFW’s biggest collapses instead. Like Scarlett pointed out- Mika’s psyche is fragile. Very fragile. The constant need for attention. The constant necessity to make herself bigger and more important than she is- or anyone else could possibly be. The complete and utter lack of understanding of cause and effect- like her being clearly upset with the fans being happy she lost to Scarlett after she spent MONTHS antagonizing them. Her inability to cope with disappointment- Scarlett neglected to mention that Mika’s moping after losing to her lasted over a WEEK, and required nearly half the company to tell her she was still a good wrestler. And her tendency to lash out at those who are against her- which, thanks to her own doing, is a pretty sizeable contingent. Against Camilla the first time, it came off as being a plucky underdog, but now we’re to the point that its more ‘there she goes again,’ and you can’t help but roll your eyes. It reached the height of ridiculousness on Sunday…
Wendy glances back over at Scarlett, holding up a gloved finger before the clearly irritated Cajun can butt in, Scarlett letting out her breath with a sigh as she gets stopped before she can get going.
Wendy: The fact of the matter is, Mika has no idea how to deal with adversity, because Mika has yet to TRULY experience any, and the way she acts, God help her when and if she ever does. I’m talking about dealing with more than a lost match or a missed title shot. I’m talking about being contractually kicked OUT of the FFW Championship picture for over a year, like Scarlett was. I’m talking about being sidelined for six months with a fractured vertebrae, like I was. Or an injured leg like Caroline. Or knocked out for months thanks to injuries brought on by a SISTER, like Nicole Knight. And yet, she whined more over one little loss than all four of us COMBINED.
Scarlett: We’d probably never hear the end of it if she got an ingrowing toenail…
There’s a shake of Scarlett’s head before the Baton Rouge girl continues on.
Scarlett: It’s one of the reasons why we’re here inside a meat freezer. We both know what it’s like to get frozen out. To be forced off to one side, to suffer heartbreak and disappointment whether it be through accident or design, through overconfidence or hubris or a miscalculation. I’m pretty sure Wendy that you’ve heard the same cliches that I have - whether from the years spent around the ring, or from Terrence and Dan watching televised sport. The hallmarks of true champions are the way they bounce back, the way they never see any situation as truly hopeless and fight all the way to the end, that they always seem to grind out results, you always believe that they can come up with a way to snatch victory from the jaws of almost certain defeat. We’ve both done it. We’ve both heard the crowd get behind us when things look bleak; express their belief in us and our abilities. Can Mika or Camilla look themselves in the eye and say the same? We know Camilla is resilient, we’ve see the Ultraviolence matches, the punishment she’s taken in them...but she’s already admitted that her losses come when least expected, when she’s facing the dark horses like Mika Demidov, like Raven Wicked, like Casey Atherton at her delusional best. And we know Camilla’s on a skid...can she turn it around? Can she pull an iron out of the fire. Whilst Mika...she’s gone and gotten the tag as Isabella Pazzini’s chosen successor, supplanting Starla McCloud and sure, Demidov might have the talent and the desire to cheat, but she’s lacking the little something extra that set Izzy apart from all the rest who tried to take her crown.
Wendy glances over.
Wendy: Samantha Star doesn’t completely embrace her and endorse everything she does?
Scarlett glares a Wendy with a small smile forming at the sides of her lips.
Scarlett: Okay...Mika doesn’t have TWO things that Isabella had. Samantha’s unwavering support and that indefinable quality, that winning mentality, that Champions mentality I guess you can call it. Hard to describe...like an expectation of success, without diving into the deepest of abyss’ when things don’t go quite as planned.
Wendy smiles.
Wendy: It’s like the old saying. “A good wrestler makes a plan. A great wrestler knows when to chuck the plan through the ropes.”
Scarlett: I swear you just make all these “Old Sayings” up as you go along.
Wendy: I’m not that clever. If I was, I’d still have your belt!
Wendy gives Scarlett a small self-deprecating grin, and turns back to the camera.
Wendy: Anyways, I suppose we’d be remiss if we failed to drop the obligatory “we’re not overlooking you”, line. Because I can almost FEEL that card about to be played, especially after I made it very clear that I wanted Scarlett to win the Femme For All. The fact of the matter is, that statement wasn’t about who I thought would be the better challenge, and certainly not about who I thought would be the easier match. It was about getting a dream contest. About facing one of the women I respect more in this business than anyone, for the title that’s meant more to me than any other title in my career. And considering the show we put on at One Night Stand, I don’t think anyone can blame me for desiring that.
A small smile, although she does sigh.
Wendy: Camilla and Mika are great wrestlers when they want to be, and both are discarding some baggage- emotional and psychological- away from seriously contending for the FFW Championship. Heck, we saw what Camilla was capable of when she WASN’T feeling sorry for herself, when she beat her sister at the first When Worlds Collide. And Mika’s shown flashes of brilliance in between her false bravado and her frequent bouts of incapability to reap the seeds she’s sown with her words. And I know this is the kind of match both can get motivated for. Heck, Camilla said it herself- that at One Night Stand she and Mika would be fighting for the right to kick my butt. Well, it didn’t quite work out that way initially, but now they BOTH have a chance to do it. At once. And they can get the current FFW Champion as well in a package deal!
Scarlett nods her head in agreement.
Scarlett: Excuse me if I keep on bringing the cliches...though to be honest, I’m probably not going to the worst offender this week. Mika, for example has never met a cliche she didn’t like a repeat. Everything from being “A gift to wrestling” to “you’ll have to kill me to win.” Hi Shaelin.
A broad grin appears on Scarlett face as she carries on. For her part, Wendy cringes.
Scarlett: But, if you can’t get yourself motivated for a match like this. If you don’t come to a match with the reigning FFW Champion and one of the greatest wrestlers to ever walk the face of this earth...then maybe you’re in the wrong business. We aren’t overlooking either of you. Between us we’ve been in ring with and against you and multiple occasions, we’ve watched you compete every opportunity we’ve been able to. We know what you’re capable off. We know you’re achievements, including the incredible ones, like defending a title while your best friend is suspended above the ring in a shark cage - although surely it’s more an indictment of you that it was a stipulation even considered necessary in the first place.
Wendy: ...You are talking to a woman who mocked Todd Williams over HIS protests at being banned from ringside for David’s match, yet threw her own tantrum over Nessa and Leona being barred. Again- no sense of perspective.
Scarlett: Regardless, we’re not about to write them off and just discard them as nothing. And we’d expect you to do the same. In your angry, rage filled rant where you try to rip us apart and you at least acknowledge there’s a pretty good chance that you’re going to fail. Sunday night Mika, you asked to be shown a wrestler who’s gone undefeated as a singles wrestler in fourteen months or more...I’ll go you one better Mika. Thursday night, in Los Angeles, you’re going to be meeting a woman who last lost one on one when you were just a countdown on a website hyping your arrival. While my partner here...Well, I’ll let Wendy tell you about the tear she’s been on and about how long it’s been since she was last pinned.
Wendy smiles, blushing a little at the spot she got put in.
Wendy: Seventeen months. Sixteen since I tapped out in a deciding fall. Of course, I was injured for a bit of that, but… still. The thing is… it’s really not how long you go, or how many matches it is. Much of it is how you do it and how you carry yourself in the meantime. I daresay that trumpeting that the person who eventually ends your streak didn’t even deserve to be in the ring with you kind of sours everyone’s perception somewhat. But it’s not just me who has a streak… they come and go all the time. Heck, you yourself hasn’t taken a fall since last January either, Scarlett.
Scarlett: Even if we ignore the slightly less than legal method you pick up a couple of your victories, we’ve racked up these streaks against the cream of crop - champions and challengers - not by getting gimme’s from facing a middle-aged man who hasn’t won in years, who is out of his depth and lost to a guy with barely two months wrestling training under his belt. We’re not letting our performance level drop, professional pride won’t let us do anything but go all out in this match to secure the win, to have our hands raised in victory and leave both of our opponents out in the cold.
Wendy nods.
Wendy: So Mika… Camilla… as they say… come at us, sisters. You both wanted this match. You both want to hurt me, you both want to have a go at the champ. Here’s your chance. Just remember, the pressure’s on. You’re facing the current and former FFW Champion. The two women at the absolute top of this company, and you better bring your A-plus-plus game tonight. But just remember that as the storm sets in, and the pressure rises, and it’s all on the line- there’s a HUGE difference between being cool as ice in the face of adversity… and completely freezing up.
The scene begins to fade, and the audio cuts, but not before we hear the sound of three pairs off footsteps BOLTING for the freezer door.
Saturday, March 1, 2014
EPISODE 243: Stakeout (w/ Scarlett Kincaid)
“Don’t give me that look!” Wendy Briese snapped defensively as her fingernails picked at the snaps of the pink camo-designed box.
“No look here. Nope, not at all.” Scarlett smirked as she re-read the top of the box. “I’m just not sure this erm...operation is ready for the errr...’Fairy Princess Spy Kit’. It might be a little advanced, if any of it actually does what it says on the box. Still, I guess it’s got Theresa’s seal of approval right?”
“I don’t know,” Wendy said finally getting the case open and pulling out a child-size pair of pink binoculars. “Terrence got it for her birthday last year, she played with it for three hours, and then never touched it again.” She held the binoculars up to her eyes, and looked out the window of the car across the street, receiving a very blurry vision of the post office they were supposed to be monitoring. Frowning, she fingered the top of the binoculars, looking for the focus dial, and frowned in annoyance when a colored lens slid into place, so that now she was looking at a very blurry PINK post office. “Kidding me?” she sighed.
Reaching across Scarlett takes the binoculars and holds them up to her eyes. “Well...this is...different.” Repeating Wendy’s actions, Scarlett rolls the dial back the other way, taking off the pink lens, leaving it merely blurry. “Three whole hours you say? Did she then spend the rest of the day complaining about a migraine?” She lowers the binoculars. “You think they’d put more care into making these wouldn’t you? I mean...a child is going to play with these after all.”
“I think that other dial there is probably the focus,” Wendy said, digging into the box again, and pulling out two magic wands. “These are our… ah, magic… communication… devices… should we get separated.” She handed one to Scarlett and stared at the wand. “I should have gone to Pollaski…”
“You both know that if you’d gone to Pollaski we’d be sat in the back of a drafty old van, he’d be calling it his ‘Command Center’ and claiming he’d hacked into an NSA satellite when he was just dragging up Google Maps on his laptop.” The FFW Champion shakes her head. “No, if you’d gone to him this would have turned into a ‘scheme’ and become over complicated. He might even have brought Scarborough Fair along.” A shudder goes down her spine. “Then we’d either end up babysitting or posting bail for somebody.” She looks at the magic wand. “I think our cell phones might be better.”
“I don’t even think we’ll need them,” Wendy said, peering at the post office unaided. “I mean, the plan’s pretty simple, right? We wait until Natalie shows up, follow her inside, and inform her that her blackmailing days are over, at least where the Kincaid family’s concerned, right?”
Scarlett nods her head in agreement. “Pretty much. We’ve got a pretty good view of the entrance from here…so we should definitely see her go in no matter which direction she comes from.” Using her head she nods towards the row of shops nearest to them. “And if it turns into a long day we’ve got a sandwich shop right there for food, drink and….facilities. Hopefully it would come to that and she’s pretty desperate for the money but...you never know.”
“This is kind of exciting.” Wendy said, turning her attention back to the post office. “I don’t think I’ve ever coerced anyone before. I mean… not to the point that I actually had faith they’d listen, at least…”
This brings a smile to the other occupant of the car. “Coercion really doesn’t seem to be your style. Maybe - and I don’t mean any offence by this - but you maybe come across as being a little bit more...preachy perhaps? I don’t mean in the fire and brimstone sort of way. Sometimes, some people just aren’t receptive to that, in fact sometimes they are simply allergic to it altogether. Just a thought.” Scarlett lapses into silence for a very short moment. “In fact it can be a good thing. Maybe. Sometimes it seems like you talk to people the way a mom would - or at least the way my Grandmother would from time to time.”
Wendy sighed. “I know. And I’m working on that, honestly. But I see things… and its like so OBVIOUS and I want to smack people over the head…” she sighed. “If I actually smacked everyone I felt like… I’d probably be worse than Mileena Savage. So I kinda just… give unsolicited advice instead, so at least I feel like I did SOMETHING.”
“I know. You pretty much said you wanted to smack me over the head last year. Maybe you should have done it.” Scarlett looks a little embarrassed as she looks out of the window for a moment. “Who knows what effect it might have had.” She shakes her head. “Besides, it’s not always a bad thing, sounding like a mother, especially not given how some of the people we have to deal with act like children. Perhaps that’s the best way to approach it? Treat the vast majority like teenagers until they can prove they’re more mature.”
“Well, I’ve been trying for three years, and…” Wendy gestured out. “Honestly, Scarlett… I kind of worry about the future. There’s exceptions of course… but as a whole, wrestlers seem to be getting either more sadistic or more self-centered, or both. And I know I can’t stop it… I can’t save the world… even the wrestling world. But that doesn’t mean I should give up, right?”
There’s a shrug of the shoulders from the cajun. “Honestly? No. If people didn’t try and save the world - or at least try to improve it in some way where would we be? I don’t think it would hurt to have a little more faith in people though. They might be self-centered now, while things are good...but when a threat rises up they might realise they’re interests are tied to the greater good. A lot of them are good at heart, they’ll step up to the plate.”
“I hope so.” Wendy said, checking her jeans pockets. “I’m getting hungry… you want something to eat? My treat.”
~~ Three Hours Later ~~
“I spy...with my little eye…” Scarlett lets out a sigh. “Errrr...Something beginning with...an..umm….” She looks around her surroundings. “We might have playing this game a little bit too long.” Finally she spots something that she doesn’t believe they’ve already had and spurts it out. “D!”
“Hrm… door?” Wendy said, before popping another potato chip in her mouth.
“Damn. You’re good at this game. Guess it comes from driving all over the country with a young child.” The red head shakes her head. “Should be some sort of handicapping system to this, like in golf.”
“Okay, I got one.” Wendy said, smiling slightly. “I spy something that begins with… S”
“S?” Scarlett asks of her tag partner while scanning around quickly, eyes darting around. “Soda. Sandwich. Shop. Sleepless In Seattle? The poster is over there” The girl explains quickly as she continues to rattle off guesses. “Stormdrain??? Sidewalk? Steak?”
“Nope…” Wendy answered quietly, trying her best to hide a smirk. “You’re never going to get it…”
“Staff? Serving Staff? Sony? Sportscar? Silver Mercedes Benz? Seventeen year olds...if you’re a good judge of age maybe? Urgh…” She lets out a little scream of frustration. “If it’s Scarlett, it’s cheating….”
“No…” Wendy asked, almost bursting out laughing. “Theresa used herself once. Took me ages.”
“Really? I’ll remember that if I ever play with her.” Scarlett shakes her head. “I’m not going to get it am I? You’re going to have to tell me.”
Wendy opened her mouth, then turned her head sharply out the window as something caught her eye. “Seth Star?!”
“WHAT?!?!?! Where???!???!!” Scarlett exclaimed, leaning forward and craning to look around Wendy. “What the hell is he doing here?!?” She watches him as he heads towards the Post Office. “You don’t think he’s….no...he can’t be….that would be….no. But it can’t. How much do you believe in coincidences, Wendy?”
“Trust me, weird things happen to me all the time that turn out to be just one big misunderstanding,” Wendy muttered, although she didn’t look convinced. Grabbing the binoculars, she aimed them at the post office. “Shoot. I can’t see inside. How are we going to know what he’s doing?”
“We won’t.” Scarlett looks grim. “Not until he comes out anyway. If it’s him doing what I think he’s doing, if this isn’t just a random occurrence of chance…” Another deep breath. “He’s going to be walking out the door with a hot pink envelope - and unless he wanted an 8x10 signed publicity shot of Destiny Loveheart, he’s not going to be happy.”
“I didn’t know Destiny Loveheart HAD publicity photos.” Wendy said, tuning the focus on the binoculars a bit. “I think he’s coming back out. He’s holding something! It’s… pi-” she paused, and looked down at the binoculars to make sure the filter hasn’t been turned on again. “Yeah, it’s pink.”
“...And he’s the proud owner of a rarely distributed Destiny Loveheart photo...Not exactly what he was expecting.” Scarlett slips into silence, thinking deeply. “It’s certainly an interesting development. Seth...Natalie...I don’t...This can’t be anything at all good. Not in any way at all.”
“Seth… I don’t know what he’s up to.” Wendy whispered. She turned around to look at Scarlett. “Pollaski told me that he was the one who set Jessika on Kinsey…” she said. “At least that’s what she told him. I have no proof. But if he did… I don’t know his game… but it could be a very dangerous one.”
The Baton Rouge native nods. “I’m not exactly his favourite person either. I guess there’s only way to find out what he’s up to…” Turning to Wendy, she grins broadly as she opens the car door. “Go ask him.”
“He’s gone.” Wendy noted, pointing to the luxury car that had pulled away from the post office. “I don’t think we’re going to get to follow him in this traffic, either…”
Slamming the car door shut, Scarlett lets out a sigh. “Damnit. No doubt I’ll hear from him...or Natalie...again soon. No point hanging around here now.” The girl shrugs her shoulders. “Just wait. Might as well get out of here…”
Wendy looked to where the car had driven off, and gave a sigh of disappointment. “Yeah. I’m sorry, Scarlett. All this time hoping to get some answers, and all we got were more questions.”
Scarlett nods in silent agreement. A morning wasted, a morning that had yielded no answers, only questions, plunging her into a deepening mystery and a growing feeling of trepidation engulfing her. Seth Star was involved in her life again and that could only spell disaster.
“No look here. Nope, not at all.” Scarlett smirked as she re-read the top of the box. “I’m just not sure this erm...operation is ready for the errr...’Fairy Princess Spy Kit’. It might be a little advanced, if any of it actually does what it says on the box. Still, I guess it’s got Theresa’s seal of approval right?”
“I don’t know,” Wendy said finally getting the case open and pulling out a child-size pair of pink binoculars. “Terrence got it for her birthday last year, she played with it for three hours, and then never touched it again.” She held the binoculars up to her eyes, and looked out the window of the car across the street, receiving a very blurry vision of the post office they were supposed to be monitoring. Frowning, she fingered the top of the binoculars, looking for the focus dial, and frowned in annoyance when a colored lens slid into place, so that now she was looking at a very blurry PINK post office. “Kidding me?” she sighed.
Reaching across Scarlett takes the binoculars and holds them up to her eyes. “Well...this is...different.” Repeating Wendy’s actions, Scarlett rolls the dial back the other way, taking off the pink lens, leaving it merely blurry. “Three whole hours you say? Did she then spend the rest of the day complaining about a migraine?” She lowers the binoculars. “You think they’d put more care into making these wouldn’t you? I mean...a child is going to play with these after all.”
“I think that other dial there is probably the focus,” Wendy said, digging into the box again, and pulling out two magic wands. “These are our… ah, magic… communication… devices… should we get separated.” She handed one to Scarlett and stared at the wand. “I should have gone to Pollaski…”
“You both know that if you’d gone to Pollaski we’d be sat in the back of a drafty old van, he’d be calling it his ‘Command Center’ and claiming he’d hacked into an NSA satellite when he was just dragging up Google Maps on his laptop.” The FFW Champion shakes her head. “No, if you’d gone to him this would have turned into a ‘scheme’ and become over complicated. He might even have brought Scarborough Fair along.” A shudder goes down her spine. “Then we’d either end up babysitting or posting bail for somebody.” She looks at the magic wand. “I think our cell phones might be better.”
“I don’t even think we’ll need them,” Wendy said, peering at the post office unaided. “I mean, the plan’s pretty simple, right? We wait until Natalie shows up, follow her inside, and inform her that her blackmailing days are over, at least where the Kincaid family’s concerned, right?”
Scarlett nods her head in agreement. “Pretty much. We’ve got a pretty good view of the entrance from here…so we should definitely see her go in no matter which direction she comes from.” Using her head she nods towards the row of shops nearest to them. “And if it turns into a long day we’ve got a sandwich shop right there for food, drink and….facilities. Hopefully it would come to that and she’s pretty desperate for the money but...you never know.”
“This is kind of exciting.” Wendy said, turning her attention back to the post office. “I don’t think I’ve ever coerced anyone before. I mean… not to the point that I actually had faith they’d listen, at least…”
This brings a smile to the other occupant of the car. “Coercion really doesn’t seem to be your style. Maybe - and I don’t mean any offence by this - but you maybe come across as being a little bit more...preachy perhaps? I don’t mean in the fire and brimstone sort of way. Sometimes, some people just aren’t receptive to that, in fact sometimes they are simply allergic to it altogether. Just a thought.” Scarlett lapses into silence for a very short moment. “In fact it can be a good thing. Maybe. Sometimes it seems like you talk to people the way a mom would - or at least the way my Grandmother would from time to time.”
Wendy sighed. “I know. And I’m working on that, honestly. But I see things… and its like so OBVIOUS and I want to smack people over the head…” she sighed. “If I actually smacked everyone I felt like… I’d probably be worse than Mileena Savage. So I kinda just… give unsolicited advice instead, so at least I feel like I did SOMETHING.”
“I know. You pretty much said you wanted to smack me over the head last year. Maybe you should have done it.” Scarlett looks a little embarrassed as she looks out of the window for a moment. “Who knows what effect it might have had.” She shakes her head. “Besides, it’s not always a bad thing, sounding like a mother, especially not given how some of the people we have to deal with act like children. Perhaps that’s the best way to approach it? Treat the vast majority like teenagers until they can prove they’re more mature.”
“Well, I’ve been trying for three years, and…” Wendy gestured out. “Honestly, Scarlett… I kind of worry about the future. There’s exceptions of course… but as a whole, wrestlers seem to be getting either more sadistic or more self-centered, or both. And I know I can’t stop it… I can’t save the world… even the wrestling world. But that doesn’t mean I should give up, right?”
There’s a shrug of the shoulders from the cajun. “Honestly? No. If people didn’t try and save the world - or at least try to improve it in some way where would we be? I don’t think it would hurt to have a little more faith in people though. They might be self-centered now, while things are good...but when a threat rises up they might realise they’re interests are tied to the greater good. A lot of them are good at heart, they’ll step up to the plate.”
“I hope so.” Wendy said, checking her jeans pockets. “I’m getting hungry… you want something to eat? My treat.”
~~ Three Hours Later ~~
“I spy...with my little eye…” Scarlett lets out a sigh. “Errrr...Something beginning with...an..umm….” She looks around her surroundings. “We might have playing this game a little bit too long.” Finally she spots something that she doesn’t believe they’ve already had and spurts it out. “D!”
“Hrm… door?” Wendy said, before popping another potato chip in her mouth.
“Damn. You’re good at this game. Guess it comes from driving all over the country with a young child.” The red head shakes her head. “Should be some sort of handicapping system to this, like in golf.”
“Okay, I got one.” Wendy said, smiling slightly. “I spy something that begins with… S”
“S?” Scarlett asks of her tag partner while scanning around quickly, eyes darting around. “Soda. Sandwich. Shop. Sleepless In Seattle? The poster is over there” The girl explains quickly as she continues to rattle off guesses. “Stormdrain??? Sidewalk? Steak?”
“Nope…” Wendy answered quietly, trying her best to hide a smirk. “You’re never going to get it…”
“Staff? Serving Staff? Sony? Sportscar? Silver Mercedes Benz? Seventeen year olds...if you’re a good judge of age maybe? Urgh…” She lets out a little scream of frustration. “If it’s Scarlett, it’s cheating….”
“No…” Wendy asked, almost bursting out laughing. “Theresa used herself once. Took me ages.”
“Really? I’ll remember that if I ever play with her.” Scarlett shakes her head. “I’m not going to get it am I? You’re going to have to tell me.”
Wendy opened her mouth, then turned her head sharply out the window as something caught her eye. “Seth Star?!”
“WHAT?!?!?! Where???!???!!” Scarlett exclaimed, leaning forward and craning to look around Wendy. “What the hell is he doing here?!?” She watches him as he heads towards the Post Office. “You don’t think he’s….no...he can’t be….that would be….no. But it can’t. How much do you believe in coincidences, Wendy?”
“Trust me, weird things happen to me all the time that turn out to be just one big misunderstanding,” Wendy muttered, although she didn’t look convinced. Grabbing the binoculars, she aimed them at the post office. “Shoot. I can’t see inside. How are we going to know what he’s doing?”
“We won’t.” Scarlett looks grim. “Not until he comes out anyway. If it’s him doing what I think he’s doing, if this isn’t just a random occurrence of chance…” Another deep breath. “He’s going to be walking out the door with a hot pink envelope - and unless he wanted an 8x10 signed publicity shot of Destiny Loveheart, he’s not going to be happy.”
“I didn’t know Destiny Loveheart HAD publicity photos.” Wendy said, tuning the focus on the binoculars a bit. “I think he’s coming back out. He’s holding something! It’s… pi-” she paused, and looked down at the binoculars to make sure the filter hasn’t been turned on again. “Yeah, it’s pink.”
“...And he’s the proud owner of a rarely distributed Destiny Loveheart photo...Not exactly what he was expecting.” Scarlett slips into silence, thinking deeply. “It’s certainly an interesting development. Seth...Natalie...I don’t...This can’t be anything at all good. Not in any way at all.”
“Seth… I don’t know what he’s up to.” Wendy whispered. She turned around to look at Scarlett. “Pollaski told me that he was the one who set Jessika on Kinsey…” she said. “At least that’s what she told him. I have no proof. But if he did… I don’t know his game… but it could be a very dangerous one.”
The Baton Rouge native nods. “I’m not exactly his favourite person either. I guess there’s only way to find out what he’s up to…” Turning to Wendy, she grins broadly as she opens the car door. “Go ask him.”
“He’s gone.” Wendy noted, pointing to the luxury car that had pulled away from the post office. “I don’t think we’re going to get to follow him in this traffic, either…”
Slamming the car door shut, Scarlett lets out a sigh. “Damnit. No doubt I’ll hear from him...or Natalie...again soon. No point hanging around here now.” The girl shrugs her shoulders. “Just wait. Might as well get out of here…”
Wendy looked to where the car had driven off, and gave a sigh of disappointment. “Yeah. I’m sorry, Scarlett. All this time hoping to get some answers, and all we got were more questions.”
Scarlett nods in silent agreement. A morning wasted, a morning that had yielded no answers, only questions, plunging her into a deepening mystery and a growing feeling of trepidation engulfing her. Seth Star was involved in her life again and that could only spell disaster.
EPISODE 242: Ladies Lunch (w/ Scarlett Kincaid)
Scarlett looked down at the leaves that comprised her salad, poking at them and shuffling them around the bowl. She was making a half hearted effort to eat them at best. Looking up, she gave a small smile to her companion, the woman who had invited her to lunch, Wendy Briese. At first Kincaid had put slight resistance to the idea - not because she didn’t like Wendy, more because she would’ve preferred to be alone but Wendy was persistent in her attempts to persuade, talking about the benefits it would have for teamwork and cohesion and Scarlett’s defenses had crumbled quickly. So here she was, sat opposite the woman she was due to team with against Mika and Camilla at Velocity, having already exhausted all her usual small talk and chasing lettuce leaves around the crockery with her cutlery.
“-bigger than both of us, so I don’t think taking her head on is a good idea. But you know that spear she does? She puts a lot of momentum behind her when she does that, and we could use it to our advantage.” Wendy had been droning on for the last five minutes about the match, although Scarlett had only caught bits and pieces of her strategizing. “I mean, I could trip her and lock her in the Banshee… but your Kimura… could you get it on from her attempt on the spear? It’d be a tough counter so… Scarlett? “
“Huh? Oh….yeah….the Kimura. I’m pretty good at getting locked in pretty quickly. Might be something I could use as a counter to Camilla’s spear perhaps, do you think? It’s going to be tough given how she comes in. Or maybe try the Scarlett Fever. Either way it’s like a seeing a rhino bearing down on you isn’t it?” Scarlett shrugs her shoulders. “Plenty of options though I guess. Just preferable to keep Mika in than Camilla. We shouldn’t take her on head first.” Still looking lost in her own thoughts, the red head spears the smallest piece of lettuce she can, stopping it halfway to her mouth. “Think Mika and Camilla will even be able to work together? Given what those two have done in recent months?”
“Why not? We can, and you took the FFW Championship from me, and we’re eating lunch together” Wendy said with a small smile. “The truth is, Camilla’s frustrated, and apparently I’m her scapegoat for that. If she’s willing to screw Valerie over, she’s willing to team with a woman who defeated her twice. I have no doubts about that.”
Scarlett seems to have not heard the answer. “I guess we can. You did invite me to lunch, even though I took the FFW Championship from you. And you did try to reform Isabella. Maybe anything could happen.” Placing her fork down on the side of her salad, Scarlett lapses into silence as she holds her glass of water to her lips, the level barely falling as she takes the longest, smallest sip possible. “Wendy. Have you ever….? No. forget it, it’s not important.” She places the glass back on the table with a little shake of her head. “So Mika and Camilla. We can definitely take them.”
“Everything okay?” Wendy asked, raising her eyebrows at the aborted question. “You’ve barely touched your salad, and… you seem to be zoning out a little…”
The cajun nods her head. “Yeah...it’s a personal thing you know? One of those things that’s nothing really but just sometimes distracts you; eats away at you. Forget I mentioned anything. It’s not important.” As if to emphasize the point, Scarlett taks a mouthful of salad and fixes a smile on her face.
“Well… okay…” Wendy said uneasily. Shoving her own finished salad away, she sighs. “If you need my help with anything, just let me know, alright?”
“You’re going to turn this into one of those things aren’t you?” Scarlett’s look turns a touch accusatory. “One of those things where you start raising alarm bells with people like Cody and Kelly and Christian and...Asking them if they noticed anything...’off’....about me right? Done with the best intentions and because you’re worried but…” The young woman sighs. “And you can’t okay? Cody can’t find out.”
Wendy grimaced for a while. Obviously the promise that she’d have to keep something from her boss wasn’t settling well with her, but finally she nodded in acquiesence. “That’s fine.” she said. “You have my guarantee of discretion.”
“Natalie.” Scarlett looks pained as she utters the name.
“Oh GOD!” Wendy hissed, revolted. “Scarlett, you cannot SERIOUSLY be thinking about joining those Blondetourage idiots again. I mean.. it’s bad enough that Kate-”
“NO! Oh God No. No. Just...NO.” Scarlett shakes her head at her lunch partner, a look of disgust evident. “I’m not crazy. I’ve not been dropped on my head that many times. Not yet anyway.” The disgust starts to fade. “I’m talking about my mother-in-law. She’s not a nice person, Wendy. Not at all. Pretty much within thirty seconds of meeting me she’d decided that I was a gold digging trailer trash whor----” Scarlett caught herself as she remembered who she was talking to. “Who wasn’t good enough for her son. Now she’s blackmailing me. And I can’t tell Cody. I just can’t.”
“Why not?” Wendy asked bluntly. “It’s his mother, after all.”
Scarlett shakes her head. “Mother in name and genetics only. There’s no love lost between them. And the information she’s got, that she’s using to blackmail me with, affects Cody. And Christian. And Cory.” She shrugs her shoulders. “It’s my family so, I can’t risk it getting out and hurting them.”
Wendy looked around, as if suddenly worried there might be someone around to overhear. Then she leaned forward, and lowered her voice. “Do you know what it is?”
Scarlett nods, leaning forward over the table and lowering her voice. “Let’s just say one of them isn’t everything he seems. Natalie knows and is using it to keep herself in a certain lifestyle.” The woman leans back in her chair and crosses her arms before shrugging her shoulders. “That’s the long and short of it.”
“That’s pretty sick, holding her sons hostage like that. A mother should nurture her children, not exploit them.” Wendy sighed. “Are you sure you shouldn’t tell Cody?”
“Could you tell Terrence something that would destroy your family?” Scarlett shakes her head. “Natalie is...smart.” She takes out a deep breath and lets it out with a long sigh. “Not that it matters. It’s a large sum of money and it’s only a matter of time before Cody starts asking questions and I’ve not got a clue what to tell him right now to explain it away.”
“The truth?” Wendy said firmly. “Look, these things, as nasty as they are, they tend to get out whether you want them to or not. And when they do… would you rather Cody hear it from you… or Natalie?”
Scarlett shakes her head. “I’d rather he not hear it at all. It’s not the type of secret that weasels it’s way out. Not many people, two, maybe three living people know this information and Natalie’s kept it secret for a long time - Hell she only told me so that she could get the money. Plus it’s not in her interests for it to come out. She has twenty thousand reasons a month to try and make sure it doesn’t come out as a matter of fact.””
Wendy sighed, slightly frustrated at Scarlett’s vagueness and her own discomfort of the situation. Finally, she took a deep breath, and looked her in the eye. “Did I ever tell you about the night Terrence and I returned to wrestling?”
Scarlett shakes her head as she seems to relax slightly. “Nope.”
“It was Pollaski’s idea. A rogue company had stolen the Alliance’s World Tag Team Championships, and they challenged the rightful champions to come get them. When they refused, they held an open challenge, and the idea was for us to go in as a surprise, win them, and then give them back to the real champions in return for a title shot.”
“Well… we weren’t the only ones. Three other teams showed up that night, so a giant brawl erupted. And then the trap shut, and before I knew it, I was surrounded by eight other people, pinned down, and having stupid Heidi Christensen threatening to… well, violate me.”
“And then Victor Mandrake showed up. He cleaned house, destroyed Heidi, threw me on top of her, and declared us the new tag champions.”
“But you have to understand… I hated Mandrake. Still do, really. That man… such as he is… threw me in his basement for two weeks to get back at a friend of mine. He’s completely Machiavellian in nature. Think Aimee Easter, honestly. Except seven feet tall and over four hundred pounds.”
“Terrence obviously was a bit surprised by all of it. But I wasn’t, because Mandrake had contacted me a month or so prior. Mandrake had somehow found out where we had lived, and contacted me, blaming me for a friend’s death. He always had some twisted fascination with me… trying to corrupt me. I burned the note, didn’t tell Terrence, because I was afraid he’d do something to get himself hurt. So when Terrence found out that I knew all along that Mandrake was back in our lives… he wasn’t happy. It was a pretty ugly night.”
Wendy paused, sighing. “What I remember most… after Terrence had regained his temper and calmed down, that he told me the worst thing about all of it was that I didn’t have enough faith in him to do the right thing. That I let him get caught completely off guard in a dangerous situation because I was too afraid to speak the truth.”
She looked up at Scarlett. “The truth can be an infection sometimes. The best thing to do is to bring it out immediately and scour it, so that the healing can begin. If you cover it up… it can fester, spread. Turn into something REALLY ugly. You’re already sacrificing twenty thousand dollars a month to hide the truth, Scar. How much more are you willing to give up?”
Scarlett seems to get lost in thought for a moment regarding Wendy carefully. “Scour it. Bring it out. Yeah. Maybe you’re right...but...but there’s got to be a way of doing that without letting Cody and Christian and Cory know. Without destroying the family. Without destroying my family. I mean...if there was a way to nip it in the bud early, before it has a chance to fester and spread and turn into something ugly, they wouldn’t need to know. We could pretend it all never happened right? I can take the secret to my grave.” The cajun fixes Wendy with a pleading stare. “I can’t be the one who rips apart the brothers. Imagine what Cody would think then. There’s got to be another way. Got to be.”
“First of all… it won’t be you who does it. Natalie’s the one who’s put you into this situation. So whatever happens, the blame falls on her. You can only be held acccountable for YOUR actions after all. Other than that… I don’t know. I suppose asking her nicely wouldn’t help.”
“Unlikely. She’s more the sort of woman who would laugh if you were to ‘ask her nicely’ to do anything. More the sort of woman who only responds to direct commands, if you tell her you’re NOT doing something.” Scarlett rubs her eyes with her thumbs and forefingers, letting out another sigh before letting out a small laugh. “Maybe that’s just what we should do. Go see her, tell her I’m NOT sending her any more money.”
“Well, I’m sure if there’s anything that would make her shut up, its two of the best wrestlers in the world telling her to,” Wendy said with a grim smile. “I think between you and I, we’d have a way to make her listen. How far away is she?”
The girl looks a little hesitant. “Well…..that’s...that’s the thing. I don’t know exactly.” Nervously the Baton Rouge native licks her lips. “She has me send a money order to a Post Office Box. Once a month. That’s the only way I have to contact her.”
Wendy looked thoguhtful. “Well… you could always go to the PO Box and wait for her to pick it up.”
Scarlett weighs it up for a moment. “I am supposed to send her the next instalment in a couple of days. If you’re up for it, then, I guess we can go and see how willing she is to listen to a persuasive argument?”
Wendy smiled, looking up as the waiter was bringing their entrees. “You can ask Terrence and Daniel. I can be VERY persuasive when I want to be.”
“Awesome.” The news seems to perk Scarlett up greatly. “We’ll rent a car, pick her up at the PO Box and have a little chat. Once we’ve dealt with Natalie, we’ll deal with Mika and Camilla too.”
“-bigger than both of us, so I don’t think taking her head on is a good idea. But you know that spear she does? She puts a lot of momentum behind her when she does that, and we could use it to our advantage.” Wendy had been droning on for the last five minutes about the match, although Scarlett had only caught bits and pieces of her strategizing. “I mean, I could trip her and lock her in the Banshee… but your Kimura… could you get it on from her attempt on the spear? It’d be a tough counter so… Scarlett? “
“Huh? Oh….yeah….the Kimura. I’m pretty good at getting locked in pretty quickly. Might be something I could use as a counter to Camilla’s spear perhaps, do you think? It’s going to be tough given how she comes in. Or maybe try the Scarlett Fever. Either way it’s like a seeing a rhino bearing down on you isn’t it?” Scarlett shrugs her shoulders. “Plenty of options though I guess. Just preferable to keep Mika in than Camilla. We shouldn’t take her on head first.” Still looking lost in her own thoughts, the red head spears the smallest piece of lettuce she can, stopping it halfway to her mouth. “Think Mika and Camilla will even be able to work together? Given what those two have done in recent months?”
“Why not? We can, and you took the FFW Championship from me, and we’re eating lunch together” Wendy said with a small smile. “The truth is, Camilla’s frustrated, and apparently I’m her scapegoat for that. If she’s willing to screw Valerie over, she’s willing to team with a woman who defeated her twice. I have no doubts about that.”
Scarlett seems to have not heard the answer. “I guess we can. You did invite me to lunch, even though I took the FFW Championship from you. And you did try to reform Isabella. Maybe anything could happen.” Placing her fork down on the side of her salad, Scarlett lapses into silence as she holds her glass of water to her lips, the level barely falling as she takes the longest, smallest sip possible. “Wendy. Have you ever….? No. forget it, it’s not important.” She places the glass back on the table with a little shake of her head. “So Mika and Camilla. We can definitely take them.”
“Everything okay?” Wendy asked, raising her eyebrows at the aborted question. “You’ve barely touched your salad, and… you seem to be zoning out a little…”
The cajun nods her head. “Yeah...it’s a personal thing you know? One of those things that’s nothing really but just sometimes distracts you; eats away at you. Forget I mentioned anything. It’s not important.” As if to emphasize the point, Scarlett taks a mouthful of salad and fixes a smile on her face.
“Well… okay…” Wendy said uneasily. Shoving her own finished salad away, she sighs. “If you need my help with anything, just let me know, alright?”
“You’re going to turn this into one of those things aren’t you?” Scarlett’s look turns a touch accusatory. “One of those things where you start raising alarm bells with people like Cody and Kelly and Christian and...Asking them if they noticed anything...’off’....about me right? Done with the best intentions and because you’re worried but…” The young woman sighs. “And you can’t okay? Cody can’t find out.”
Wendy grimaced for a while. Obviously the promise that she’d have to keep something from her boss wasn’t settling well with her, but finally she nodded in acquiesence. “That’s fine.” she said. “You have my guarantee of discretion.”
“Natalie.” Scarlett looks pained as she utters the name.
“Oh GOD!” Wendy hissed, revolted. “Scarlett, you cannot SERIOUSLY be thinking about joining those Blondetourage idiots again. I mean.. it’s bad enough that Kate-”
“NO! Oh God No. No. Just...NO.” Scarlett shakes her head at her lunch partner, a look of disgust evident. “I’m not crazy. I’ve not been dropped on my head that many times. Not yet anyway.” The disgust starts to fade. “I’m talking about my mother-in-law. She’s not a nice person, Wendy. Not at all. Pretty much within thirty seconds of meeting me she’d decided that I was a gold digging trailer trash whor----” Scarlett caught herself as she remembered who she was talking to. “Who wasn’t good enough for her son. Now she’s blackmailing me. And I can’t tell Cody. I just can’t.”
“Why not?” Wendy asked bluntly. “It’s his mother, after all.”
Scarlett shakes her head. “Mother in name and genetics only. There’s no love lost between them. And the information she’s got, that she’s using to blackmail me with, affects Cody. And Christian. And Cory.” She shrugs her shoulders. “It’s my family so, I can’t risk it getting out and hurting them.”
Wendy looked around, as if suddenly worried there might be someone around to overhear. Then she leaned forward, and lowered her voice. “Do you know what it is?”
Scarlett nods, leaning forward over the table and lowering her voice. “Let’s just say one of them isn’t everything he seems. Natalie knows and is using it to keep herself in a certain lifestyle.” The woman leans back in her chair and crosses her arms before shrugging her shoulders. “That’s the long and short of it.”
“That’s pretty sick, holding her sons hostage like that. A mother should nurture her children, not exploit them.” Wendy sighed. “Are you sure you shouldn’t tell Cody?”
“Could you tell Terrence something that would destroy your family?” Scarlett shakes her head. “Natalie is...smart.” She takes out a deep breath and lets it out with a long sigh. “Not that it matters. It’s a large sum of money and it’s only a matter of time before Cody starts asking questions and I’ve not got a clue what to tell him right now to explain it away.”
“The truth?” Wendy said firmly. “Look, these things, as nasty as they are, they tend to get out whether you want them to or not. And when they do… would you rather Cody hear it from you… or Natalie?”
Scarlett shakes her head. “I’d rather he not hear it at all. It’s not the type of secret that weasels it’s way out. Not many people, two, maybe three living people know this information and Natalie’s kept it secret for a long time - Hell she only told me so that she could get the money. Plus it’s not in her interests for it to come out. She has twenty thousand reasons a month to try and make sure it doesn’t come out as a matter of fact.””
Wendy sighed, slightly frustrated at Scarlett’s vagueness and her own discomfort of the situation. Finally, she took a deep breath, and looked her in the eye. “Did I ever tell you about the night Terrence and I returned to wrestling?”
Scarlett shakes her head as she seems to relax slightly. “Nope.”
“It was Pollaski’s idea. A rogue company had stolen the Alliance’s World Tag Team Championships, and they challenged the rightful champions to come get them. When they refused, they held an open challenge, and the idea was for us to go in as a surprise, win them, and then give them back to the real champions in return for a title shot.”
“Well… we weren’t the only ones. Three other teams showed up that night, so a giant brawl erupted. And then the trap shut, and before I knew it, I was surrounded by eight other people, pinned down, and having stupid Heidi Christensen threatening to… well, violate me.”
“And then Victor Mandrake showed up. He cleaned house, destroyed Heidi, threw me on top of her, and declared us the new tag champions.”
“But you have to understand… I hated Mandrake. Still do, really. That man… such as he is… threw me in his basement for two weeks to get back at a friend of mine. He’s completely Machiavellian in nature. Think Aimee Easter, honestly. Except seven feet tall and over four hundred pounds.”
“Terrence obviously was a bit surprised by all of it. But I wasn’t, because Mandrake had contacted me a month or so prior. Mandrake had somehow found out where we had lived, and contacted me, blaming me for a friend’s death. He always had some twisted fascination with me… trying to corrupt me. I burned the note, didn’t tell Terrence, because I was afraid he’d do something to get himself hurt. So when Terrence found out that I knew all along that Mandrake was back in our lives… he wasn’t happy. It was a pretty ugly night.”
Wendy paused, sighing. “What I remember most… after Terrence had regained his temper and calmed down, that he told me the worst thing about all of it was that I didn’t have enough faith in him to do the right thing. That I let him get caught completely off guard in a dangerous situation because I was too afraid to speak the truth.”
She looked up at Scarlett. “The truth can be an infection sometimes. The best thing to do is to bring it out immediately and scour it, so that the healing can begin. If you cover it up… it can fester, spread. Turn into something REALLY ugly. You’re already sacrificing twenty thousand dollars a month to hide the truth, Scar. How much more are you willing to give up?”
Scarlett seems to get lost in thought for a moment regarding Wendy carefully. “Scour it. Bring it out. Yeah. Maybe you’re right...but...but there’s got to be a way of doing that without letting Cody and Christian and Cory know. Without destroying the family. Without destroying my family. I mean...if there was a way to nip it in the bud early, before it has a chance to fester and spread and turn into something ugly, they wouldn’t need to know. We could pretend it all never happened right? I can take the secret to my grave.” The cajun fixes Wendy with a pleading stare. “I can’t be the one who rips apart the brothers. Imagine what Cody would think then. There’s got to be another way. Got to be.”
“First of all… it won’t be you who does it. Natalie’s the one who’s put you into this situation. So whatever happens, the blame falls on her. You can only be held acccountable for YOUR actions after all. Other than that… I don’t know. I suppose asking her nicely wouldn’t help.”
“Unlikely. She’s more the sort of woman who would laugh if you were to ‘ask her nicely’ to do anything. More the sort of woman who only responds to direct commands, if you tell her you’re NOT doing something.” Scarlett rubs her eyes with her thumbs and forefingers, letting out another sigh before letting out a small laugh. “Maybe that’s just what we should do. Go see her, tell her I’m NOT sending her any more money.”
“Well, I’m sure if there’s anything that would make her shut up, its two of the best wrestlers in the world telling her to,” Wendy said with a grim smile. “I think between you and I, we’d have a way to make her listen. How far away is she?”
The girl looks a little hesitant. “Well…..that’s...that’s the thing. I don’t know exactly.” Nervously the Baton Rouge native licks her lips. “She has me send a money order to a Post Office Box. Once a month. That’s the only way I have to contact her.”
Wendy looked thoguhtful. “Well… you could always go to the PO Box and wait for her to pick it up.”
Scarlett weighs it up for a moment. “I am supposed to send her the next instalment in a couple of days. If you’re up for it, then, I guess we can go and see how willing she is to listen to a persuasive argument?”
Wendy smiled, looking up as the waiter was bringing their entrees. “You can ask Terrence and Daniel. I can be VERY persuasive when I want to be.”
“Awesome.” The news seems to perk Scarlett up greatly. “We’ll rent a car, pick her up at the PO Box and have a little chat. Once we’ve dealt with Natalie, we’ll deal with Mika and Camilla too.”
EPISODE 241: All Rights Reserved
Wednesday February 12, 2014
11:48 AM Local Time
The scene opens with a closeup on Daniel Pollaski’s face. Pollaski’s dressed up for winter, in a ski hat, and shown pulling goggles down over his face. As he does, the iconic intro to the theme from “Chariots of Fire” begins to play in the background.
The shot then cuts to Terrence Thompson, wearing his race helmet (with the FFW logo splayed across the top). He’s pulling down his visor, and raising his ski poles, looking over to the side, where Pollaski is, intensity in his eyes.
Then to Theresa Thompson, looking adorable in a white beanie with the Olympic rings on it. She snaps a pair of swimming goggles into place. As the piano intro begins, she begins to jam her ski poles down in a cross-country fashion, propelling herself forward.
Back to Pollaski and Terrence, both who are also cross-country skiing, breathing heavily, clear rivalry between the two men as the camera alternates between the two. From behind them walks up Wendy Briese, somehow easily catching the skiiers. She’s not wearing anything wintery- instead, she’s in a T-shirt, covered by an open windbreaker, and a pair of jeans. She stares at the men, puzzled, as the camera pulls back, showing all three are skiing on the beach, and for all their effort, no one’s gone more than three feet from the starting line.
Wendy: “Do I even dare ask what you three are doing?”
Terrence and Pollaski look over at her, and Pollaski pauses just enough to reach into his spandex (yes, spandex), pull out a phone, and shut the music off.
Terrence: “What’s it look like we’re doing? We’re skiing.”
Wendy: “You’re skiing. On sand. You know they normally do this on snow, right?”
Pollaski: “Of course we know they normally do this on snow. That’s for sissy Eastern Europeans.”
Terrence: “Yeah, this is way harder. And everyone knows the harder it is… the more manly it is to do it.”
Wendy: “...right. For being such a ‘manly’ sport, you guys are getting your butts handed to you by a seven year old girl.”
She gestures over at Theresa, who has managed about a three foot lead on the adults.
Pollaski: “That’s because she’s lighter!”
Terrence: “Yeah, she doesn’t sink as heavily into the sand.
Theresa: “Oh, quit whining and take this beating like men, losers.”
Wendy looks a bit disturbed at her daughter’s brazen attitude, but ultimately turns her attention back to the adults.
Wendy: “Well, it’s good to see you guys getting into the Olympic spirit, but-”
*BWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA*
Wendy nearly jumps a mile as an airhorn blows, and into the scene walks a tall, lean, lanky man with a shaved head. He frowns as he looks at Wendy, shaking his head. When he speaks, it’s with a Belgian accent.
Man: “‘Allo. My name is Jean Claude Van Helsing. You owe me a hundred dollars.”
Blink.
Wendy: “Wait...what?”
Pollaski: “Are you mugging us, dude? Cause that’s a really bad idea.”
Jean Claude shakes his head, and flashes a badge of some sort at the Birdz, all of whom look surprised
Jean Claude: “No. No mugging. I am with the IOC, and you have used a copyrighted name in promotional material. That will cost you one hundred dollars.”
He looks down at Theresa, and rips her beanie off her head, gesturing to the Olympic logo stitched on it.
Jean Claude: “Make that two-hundred dollars.”
The quartet all exchange dubious glances. Wendy’s the first to find her voice.
Wendy: “Wait… if you’re with the Olympics-”
*BWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!*
Jean Claude: “Three hundred dollars.”
Wendy: “The IOC-”
*BWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!*
Jean Claude: “Four hundred dollars.”
Wendy: “OH COME ON!”
Frustrated, Wendy looks over at her husband and manager, hoping for an answer.
Pollaski: “I think what she’s trying to say is that shouldn’t you be in Sochi? 2014 Games and all?”
*BWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!*
Jean Claude: “Sochi 2014 is copyrighted. Five hundred dollars.”
Pollaski: “IT WAS TWO SEPARATE SCENTENCES!!!!”
Jean Claude: “You can appeal it if you want.”
Pollaski: “Yeah, I want to appeal it!”
Jean Claude: “Here is our documented appeals process.”
Jean Claude hand Pollaski a piece of paper. Pollaski takes one look at it, and goes berserk.
Pollaski: “This just says “YOU LOSE” on it, and has a coupon for a free apple pie at McDonalds!”
Jean Claude: “I’m sorry, but after reviewing your case, the IOC has declined your appeal. Now, as to why I’m here… this is the time when copyright infringement is most common. The IOC has agents all over the world to make sure our trademarks are kept safe and sovereign.”
Wendy: “Right… but we’re doing a fundraiser for the SPECIAL OLYMPICS. Kind of defeats hte purpose if we’re not allowed to say the name.”
She pauses, realizing that there’s no airhorn blaring, and recognition lights up her face. She’s not the only one.
Terrence: “Oh, I see. So we can say SPECIAL Olympics.”
Jean Claude nods.
Terrence: “But we can’t just say Olympics.”
*BWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA*
Jean Claude: “Six Hundred Dollars.”
Terrence: “OH THAT’S BULLSHIT!”
Wendy goes bug-eyed at the profanity, seeing that Theresa is standing well within earshot, but the little girl seems more preoccupied with getting her Beanie back. She frowns, looking over at Jean Claude.
Wendy: “I dunno… this seems a bit, like a money grab, don’t you think?”
Jean Claude: “No money grab. But some people use charity as guise to inflict copyright infringement. We have to stamp it out, or else we’ll end up like the music industry. Infringement everywhere. But good luck with your little fundraiser. Cross Country Skiing is actually a Special Olympic event, you know.”
Pollaski nods, apparently glad to move the conversation away from the topic of copyright infringement.
Pollaski: “Yup. One of eight winter sports the Special Olympics offers, in addition to the 24 summer sports. They also do alpine skiing, snowboarding, heck, even figure skating.”
Wendy: “Didn’t they just do a Winter Special Olympics last year?”
Pollaski nods.
Pollaski: “Yeah. In freaking PyeongChang, South Korea. And if that’s familiar to anyone, that’s going to be where THOSE guys are headed in four years.”
Pollaski gestures over to Jean Claude, who nods, accepting Pollaski’s aversion of the copyright.
Terrence: “Not to mention that the 2015 Summer Special Olympics are going to be in Los Angeles, while the 2011 ones were in Athens. Both major world cities with rich histories of tradition. Heck, both have hosted the Olympics TWICE.”
*BWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!*
Terrence bows his head, silently muttering “of course.”
Jean Claude: “Seven hundered dollars.”
Annoyed, Pollaski, Terrence, and Wendy exchange glances.
Pollaski: “You know what, dude? Why don’t you just keep a SILENT running total over there, and tell us afterwards how much we owe. Okay?”
Jean Claude thinks about it for a second, then finally nods.
Pollaski: “Thank. You.”
Wendy: “Well, it’s understandable that you’d have major venues for the Special Olympics games. They need a pretty big place to keep the over seven thousand athletes they’re expecting in Los Angeles… not to mention family, friends, coaches, and the like. Pretty impressive the size, considering that it all started as a day camp in Maryland back in 1962.”
Pollaski: “And seven thousand is less than a quarter of one percent of more than four MILLION athletes who compete in their local Special Olympics in more than 170 different countries. It’s because the Special Olympics are one of the best ways for a person with an intellectual disability to be physically active. And it’s important for EVERYONE to keep a healthy and active lifestyle.”
Terrence: “Yeah, otherwise you’ll end up looking like Pollaski.”
Pollaski’s eyes narrow, and he glares over at Terrence.
Pollaski: “At least I’m in a REAL sport, Mr. Sits His Butt In A Car Every Weekend”
Terrence guffaws good naturedly, and even Wendy smiles.
Wendy: “It’s even more than just making sure people are physically healthy through activity. It helps people be mentally healthy as well, by giving them stimulation and tasks that they are capable of understanding. Many Special Olympians are individuals that will never be able to live on their own without assistance. By participating in sports, it can help their self-esteem, confidence, and even social skills by letting them enjoy the spirit of competition.”
Terrence: “And you know the best part? There’s a place in the Special Olympics for everyone. It doesn’t matter if you’re the fastest runner or the slowest, or if you can shoot a basketball like LeBron James or Betty White… there’s a division for you, because everyone should be allowed to participate and have fun. Heck, there’s even now Unified Sports, which team those who are not intellectually disadvantaged with those who are, to broaden the both the scope of participation, and the scope of perception by creating a camraderie.
Pollaski: “Not to mention it helps create a culture of patience and understanding. Which, I’ll admit, are the two things I’m rather lacking from my own impressive personality.”
Theresa, Terrence, and Wendy all scoff, mostly because Pollaski’s both so very right and yet so very wrong. The little seven year old pipes up.
Theresa: “Actually, I thought the best part of the Special Olympics is that it was FREE!”
Wendy smiles at her daughter.
Wendy: “That’s right, Theresa. Athletes don’t have to pay anything to participate in the Olympics, which helps it broaden the scope of participation even further. The games are supported through both corporate sponsorships and the generous donations of individuals. Games of this magnitude can’t be cheap to put on, especially when you take into account the logistical aspect of such an event. And it’s not just the big international events like Los Angeles or PyeongChang, either. There are thousands of national, regional, and even local events as well that need to be funded, not to mention the year round training that many participate in. Add in Healthy Athletes, activities for children too young to participate in the Special Olympics proper, and health screenings-”
Terrence: “-not to mention their work in activism, advocacy, and awareness. Such as a worldwide campaign to convince people to stop using ‘the r-word’...
Pollaski: “-or their efforts in Africa, where the intellectually disadvantaged can often be considered social pariah’s, and even regarded with fear and hatred by a community ignorant of the true nature of their condition. Like, way worse than what you’d see in the Western world.”
Wendy: “There’s a lot of things the Special Olympics do, and that’s why when an event like tonight happens, it’s important that we take advantage of it. Giving a little bit to help a great organization continue to do great things, and getting a great wrestling show out of it. You can’t do much better than that!”
Terrence: “Right. Even though tonight, for the first time, Byte This is free of charge on ESPN, we still encourage you to pick up the phone or go to the FFW website and donate. Tonight’s a night to give back, to help out a worthy cause. I know we’ll be donating… provided Captain Froggie here doesn’t take all our money…
A dark glare over at Jean Claude.
Jean Claude: “I’m Belgian. Not French.”
Terrence: “Whatever dude. In fact, most FFW stars will be donating to tonight’s cause. Heck, I can even assure you that FFW Racing and Diamond Motorsports will be making a donation. Heck, even Pollaski’s going to be donating, and that guy NEVER does charity.”
Wendy: “Unless it’s FOR him.”
A dark glare at Pollaski, who simply begins whistling and looking out at the Gulf of Mexico. Wendy sighs, shakes her head, and continues.
Wendy: “So tonight, a little bit of generosity goes a long way. Because while the Special Olympics is ostensibly about helping the disadvantaged, it’s really about helping all of us, regardless of who we are. After all, the Special Olympics athletes’ oath is ‘Let me win, but if I cannot win, let me be brave in the attempt.’ That’s a philosophy that should apply to ANYONE in a competition. Not just the Special Olympics.”
Pollaski turns back around from his mock display of ignorance, and turns to face his client.
Pollaski: “So, will Sophie win? Or will she simply be brave in the attempt?”
Wendy’s smile fades into a grimace, and she shakes her head.
Wendy: “I’m honestly quite disappointed in Sophie, to be honest. Here you have a young woman who came into FFW like a rocket. She won the Television Championship in dang near record time. She dominated that title picture for nearly a year, finally lost her second reign to Summer, and was tipped to move up, and possibly be contending for the FFW Championship before the year was out and then… everything ground to a halt. She challenged for the Evolution Championship in a couple of ladder matches, and then… just more or less disappeared. In the two years since Chaos Theory and her loss to Summer, she’s had all of seven matches.”
“So with all that in mind, how lucky was she to be the one drawn out of that tumbler? Completely dead in the water, we hadn’t seen her since last years Unstoppable. Suddenly facing the FFW Champion… or at least I was, when her name was drawn. The absolute, bonafide chance of a lifetime. An opportunity to do exactly what Mika did- and push yourself to the top of the card, the top of the company, right smack dab into FFW Championship contention with one single match. Those aren’t handed out like candy in this company, so you’d think she’d be excited.
“Except where is the excitement? Where is the ecstatic reception to the chance of a CAREER? Where do we see her eagerness to grasp this opportunity and make the most of it? She just so happened to be there the night she was drawn. She gave us a fairly standard interview, and then… nothing. Not a peep from her on the matter, and it’s been two months since. Two months to build up the main event of Byte This, and she’s said NOTHING. No tweets. No appearances. No video packages. NOTHING.”
Wendy shakes her head, frustration clearly etched on her features.
Wendy: “I’d to think this is a big deal. I’d like to think that even though I’m no longer the FFW Champion, that facing me in the main event of a televised special… especially when you’ve done pretty much NOTHING for nearly two years, is EXACTLY the spark someone needs to get their career back on track. That’s the POINT of this entire match!”
“And it really makes me sad when I look at some of the OTHER women in this company who could have benefitted from a match like this. Sophie’s not the only woman who’s seen her career stall in FFW waters. Nicole Knight comes to mind. Allison Sullivan. Heck, even Christelle Gillet. It’s got to make a few of them SICK to be on the sideline like that, see opportunities like this past them by, and then see the beneficiery not exploit it to the fullest amount.”
“And you know the saddest thing of all? Sophie clearly still has it. We saw it at One Night Stand. She out-hustled Nathan McFarlane- that’s a feat in and of itself, and made her longtime rival Payton St. Pierre tap. She showed every bit the talent she did when she was Television Champion. I have no illusions that she’s dangerous, and that she may be able to beat me tonight. And that honestly makes me want to keep it from happening all the more.”
Wendy takes a deep breath. She actually looks angry, as the camera zooms in a bit on her, excluding the others on the beach.
Wendy: “I’ve said before that I’m well aware that there are narratives driving matches. Sometimes it’s about me, sometimes it’s not, and tonight is one of the latter. Tonight is supposed to be about Sophie Richards, and the hump she’s trying to get over. At least it WAS, until she decided that the moment really wasn’t worth seizing and maximizing. Now it’s about… I’m not really sure. I’m sure it will be more clear in hindsight.
“But I’m sure of one thing- I take my roles seriously. And if my role is to play gatekeeper tonight, and to turn away the unworthy, than theat’s EXACTLY what I’m going to do. Because like I told Aimee… it’s not supposed to be easy to get up here. And just like you don’t get to glide to the top by clocking people over the head with a briefcase and not have to answer for it, you don’t get to just show up for work once every three months on average, make absolutely no effort to promote ANYTHING, and shoot up to main event status because you won a lottery. And that’s not happening. Not on my watch.”
“Sophie’s great at ruining people’s careers. She did it to Desirae. She did it to Payton. You could even argue that she did it to Arianna, and she CERTAINLY did it to herself. I’m not letting her do it to me. I’m not going to let her so much as tarnish ANYTHING I’ve spent the better part of the last year building up. And if you’re not sure what I’m talking about… let me clue you in.”
Wendy leans forward, intensity in her emerald eyes as she glares into the camera.
Wendy: “Since coming back to FFW, I haven’t been pinned or submitted to lose a match yet. Val got me to tap in that two out of three falls match, and I was outside a decision on my other losses. We’re coming up on almost a full year since my return to the company, and I still have that intact. I’m proud of that. I’m VERY proud of that. I think it’s a big deal… and when I lose it… I want it to be a big deal. And if you want to have ANY idea of how important it is to me that losing something I’ve held on to for a very long time be a big deal.. you can ask my husband.”
A small, weird smile from Wendy, followed by a choking sound from Terrence off camera.
Wendy: “Sophie, I hope to God that you’ve taken these last seven months wisely, and have trained your butt off, because tonight you are going to try and climb the a ladder straight to the top, in an opportunity NO ONE has gotten before- not to the stakes these are. And I’ve played gatekeeper before- I did it to Aimee…. I did it to Jo, and I did it to Whitley Mercer, and honestly, right now you seem more like Mercer than Jo or Aimee with the apathy you’ve shown so far.”
“But I know you can change all that, you’re three seconds from changing all that. So what’s it going to be, Sophie? Are you going to win, deserved or not, and push yourself out of the pit you’ve allowed yourself to sit in for the better part of the two years? Are you going to be brave in the attempt, and at least leave Texas with more than you came with? Or are you going to fizzle completely, just like you’ve allowed yourself to so many times before? The choice is yours.”
Wendy pauses, glaring at the camera for another few seconds, before relaxing, and looking over at Jean Claude.
Wendy: “Thank you for your patience. How much do we owe you again?”
Jean Claude: “After that wonderful speech on the human spirit and the will of competition, I am so moved, I will drop all infringement fees.”
Wendy brightens, and she smiles.
Wendy: “Wow… really? I inspired you that much?”
Jean Claude: “No. Not really You owe me a thousand dollars.”
Wendy sighs, and pats her pockets.
Wendy: “.... I’ll go get the checkbook.”
Wendy sulks away out of the camera shot, while Jean Claude follows, leaving Pollaski, Terrence, and a still beanieless Theresa standing there. Pollaski reaches back into his spandex, and pulls out his phone, and once again Chariots of Fire is playing, the three immediately getting back to their race. Their extremely.... slow... moving...race
And with that, the scene fades.
11:48 AM Local Time
The scene opens with a closeup on Daniel Pollaski’s face. Pollaski’s dressed up for winter, in a ski hat, and shown pulling goggles down over his face. As he does, the iconic intro to the theme from “Chariots of Fire” begins to play in the background.
The shot then cuts to Terrence Thompson, wearing his race helmet (with the FFW logo splayed across the top). He’s pulling down his visor, and raising his ski poles, looking over to the side, where Pollaski is, intensity in his eyes.
Then to Theresa Thompson, looking adorable in a white beanie with the Olympic rings on it. She snaps a pair of swimming goggles into place. As the piano intro begins, she begins to jam her ski poles down in a cross-country fashion, propelling herself forward.
Back to Pollaski and Terrence, both who are also cross-country skiing, breathing heavily, clear rivalry between the two men as the camera alternates between the two. From behind them walks up Wendy Briese, somehow easily catching the skiiers. She’s not wearing anything wintery- instead, she’s in a T-shirt, covered by an open windbreaker, and a pair of jeans. She stares at the men, puzzled, as the camera pulls back, showing all three are skiing on the beach, and for all their effort, no one’s gone more than three feet from the starting line.
Wendy: “Do I even dare ask what you three are doing?”
Terrence and Pollaski look over at her, and Pollaski pauses just enough to reach into his spandex (yes, spandex), pull out a phone, and shut the music off.
Terrence: “What’s it look like we’re doing? We’re skiing.”
Wendy: “You’re skiing. On sand. You know they normally do this on snow, right?”
Pollaski: “Of course we know they normally do this on snow. That’s for sissy Eastern Europeans.”
Terrence: “Yeah, this is way harder. And everyone knows the harder it is… the more manly it is to do it.”
Wendy: “...right. For being such a ‘manly’ sport, you guys are getting your butts handed to you by a seven year old girl.”
She gestures over at Theresa, who has managed about a three foot lead on the adults.
Pollaski: “That’s because she’s lighter!”
Terrence: “Yeah, she doesn’t sink as heavily into the sand.
Theresa: “Oh, quit whining and take this beating like men, losers.”
Wendy looks a bit disturbed at her daughter’s brazen attitude, but ultimately turns her attention back to the adults.
Wendy: “Well, it’s good to see you guys getting into the Olympic spirit, but-”
*BWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA*
Wendy nearly jumps a mile as an airhorn blows, and into the scene walks a tall, lean, lanky man with a shaved head. He frowns as he looks at Wendy, shaking his head. When he speaks, it’s with a Belgian accent.
Man: “‘Allo. My name is Jean Claude Van Helsing. You owe me a hundred dollars.”
Blink.
Wendy: “Wait...what?”
Pollaski: “Are you mugging us, dude? Cause that’s a really bad idea.”
Jean Claude shakes his head, and flashes a badge of some sort at the Birdz, all of whom look surprised
Jean Claude: “No. No mugging. I am with the IOC, and you have used a copyrighted name in promotional material. That will cost you one hundred dollars.”
He looks down at Theresa, and rips her beanie off her head, gesturing to the Olympic logo stitched on it.
Jean Claude: “Make that two-hundred dollars.”
The quartet all exchange dubious glances. Wendy’s the first to find her voice.
Wendy: “Wait… if you’re with the Olympics-”
*BWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!*
Jean Claude: “Three hundred dollars.”
Wendy: “The IOC-”
*BWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!*
Jean Claude: “Four hundred dollars.”
Wendy: “OH COME ON!”
Frustrated, Wendy looks over at her husband and manager, hoping for an answer.
Pollaski: “I think what she’s trying to say is that shouldn’t you be in Sochi? 2014 Games and all?”
*BWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!*
Jean Claude: “Sochi 2014 is copyrighted. Five hundred dollars.”
Pollaski: “IT WAS TWO SEPARATE SCENTENCES!!!!”
Jean Claude: “You can appeal it if you want.”
Pollaski: “Yeah, I want to appeal it!”
Jean Claude: “Here is our documented appeals process.”
Jean Claude hand Pollaski a piece of paper. Pollaski takes one look at it, and goes berserk.
Pollaski: “This just says “YOU LOSE” on it, and has a coupon for a free apple pie at McDonalds!”
Jean Claude: “I’m sorry, but after reviewing your case, the IOC has declined your appeal. Now, as to why I’m here… this is the time when copyright infringement is most common. The IOC has agents all over the world to make sure our trademarks are kept safe and sovereign.”
Wendy: “Right… but we’re doing a fundraiser for the SPECIAL OLYMPICS. Kind of defeats hte purpose if we’re not allowed to say the name.”
She pauses, realizing that there’s no airhorn blaring, and recognition lights up her face. She’s not the only one.
Terrence: “Oh, I see. So we can say SPECIAL Olympics.”
Jean Claude nods.
Terrence: “But we can’t just say Olympics.”
*BWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA*
Jean Claude: “Six Hundred Dollars.”
Terrence: “OH THAT’S BULLSHIT!”
Wendy goes bug-eyed at the profanity, seeing that Theresa is standing well within earshot, but the little girl seems more preoccupied with getting her Beanie back. She frowns, looking over at Jean Claude.
Wendy: “I dunno… this seems a bit, like a money grab, don’t you think?”
Jean Claude: “No money grab. But some people use charity as guise to inflict copyright infringement. We have to stamp it out, or else we’ll end up like the music industry. Infringement everywhere. But good luck with your little fundraiser. Cross Country Skiing is actually a Special Olympic event, you know.”
Pollaski nods, apparently glad to move the conversation away from the topic of copyright infringement.
Pollaski: “Yup. One of eight winter sports the Special Olympics offers, in addition to the 24 summer sports. They also do alpine skiing, snowboarding, heck, even figure skating.”
Wendy: “Didn’t they just do a Winter Special Olympics last year?”
Pollaski nods.
Pollaski: “Yeah. In freaking PyeongChang, South Korea. And if that’s familiar to anyone, that’s going to be where THOSE guys are headed in four years.”
Pollaski gestures over to Jean Claude, who nods, accepting Pollaski’s aversion of the copyright.
Terrence: “Not to mention that the 2015 Summer Special Olympics are going to be in Los Angeles, while the 2011 ones were in Athens. Both major world cities with rich histories of tradition. Heck, both have hosted the Olympics TWICE.”
*BWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!*
Terrence bows his head, silently muttering “of course.”
Jean Claude: “Seven hundered dollars.”
Annoyed, Pollaski, Terrence, and Wendy exchange glances.
Pollaski: “You know what, dude? Why don’t you just keep a SILENT running total over there, and tell us afterwards how much we owe. Okay?”
Jean Claude thinks about it for a second, then finally nods.
Pollaski: “Thank. You.”
Wendy: “Well, it’s understandable that you’d have major venues for the Special Olympics games. They need a pretty big place to keep the over seven thousand athletes they’re expecting in Los Angeles… not to mention family, friends, coaches, and the like. Pretty impressive the size, considering that it all started as a day camp in Maryland back in 1962.”
Pollaski: “And seven thousand is less than a quarter of one percent of more than four MILLION athletes who compete in their local Special Olympics in more than 170 different countries. It’s because the Special Olympics are one of the best ways for a person with an intellectual disability to be physically active. And it’s important for EVERYONE to keep a healthy and active lifestyle.”
Terrence: “Yeah, otherwise you’ll end up looking like Pollaski.”
Pollaski’s eyes narrow, and he glares over at Terrence.
Pollaski: “At least I’m in a REAL sport, Mr. Sits His Butt In A Car Every Weekend”
Terrence guffaws good naturedly, and even Wendy smiles.
Wendy: “It’s even more than just making sure people are physically healthy through activity. It helps people be mentally healthy as well, by giving them stimulation and tasks that they are capable of understanding. Many Special Olympians are individuals that will never be able to live on their own without assistance. By participating in sports, it can help their self-esteem, confidence, and even social skills by letting them enjoy the spirit of competition.”
Terrence: “And you know the best part? There’s a place in the Special Olympics for everyone. It doesn’t matter if you’re the fastest runner or the slowest, or if you can shoot a basketball like LeBron James or Betty White… there’s a division for you, because everyone should be allowed to participate and have fun. Heck, there’s even now Unified Sports, which team those who are not intellectually disadvantaged with those who are, to broaden the both the scope of participation, and the scope of perception by creating a camraderie.
Pollaski: “Not to mention it helps create a culture of patience and understanding. Which, I’ll admit, are the two things I’m rather lacking from my own impressive personality.”
Theresa, Terrence, and Wendy all scoff, mostly because Pollaski’s both so very right and yet so very wrong. The little seven year old pipes up.
Theresa: “Actually, I thought the best part of the Special Olympics is that it was FREE!”
Wendy smiles at her daughter.
Wendy: “That’s right, Theresa. Athletes don’t have to pay anything to participate in the Olympics, which helps it broaden the scope of participation even further. The games are supported through both corporate sponsorships and the generous donations of individuals. Games of this magnitude can’t be cheap to put on, especially when you take into account the logistical aspect of such an event. And it’s not just the big international events like Los Angeles or PyeongChang, either. There are thousands of national, regional, and even local events as well that need to be funded, not to mention the year round training that many participate in. Add in Healthy Athletes, activities for children too young to participate in the Special Olympics proper, and health screenings-”
Terrence: “-not to mention their work in activism, advocacy, and awareness. Such as a worldwide campaign to convince people to stop using ‘the r-word’...
Pollaski: “-or their efforts in Africa, where the intellectually disadvantaged can often be considered social pariah’s, and even regarded with fear and hatred by a community ignorant of the true nature of their condition. Like, way worse than what you’d see in the Western world.”
Wendy: “There’s a lot of things the Special Olympics do, and that’s why when an event like tonight happens, it’s important that we take advantage of it. Giving a little bit to help a great organization continue to do great things, and getting a great wrestling show out of it. You can’t do much better than that!”
Terrence: “Right. Even though tonight, for the first time, Byte This is free of charge on ESPN, we still encourage you to pick up the phone or go to the FFW website and donate. Tonight’s a night to give back, to help out a worthy cause. I know we’ll be donating… provided Captain Froggie here doesn’t take all our money…
A dark glare over at Jean Claude.
Jean Claude: “I’m Belgian. Not French.”
Terrence: “Whatever dude. In fact, most FFW stars will be donating to tonight’s cause. Heck, I can even assure you that FFW Racing and Diamond Motorsports will be making a donation. Heck, even Pollaski’s going to be donating, and that guy NEVER does charity.”
Wendy: “Unless it’s FOR him.”
A dark glare at Pollaski, who simply begins whistling and looking out at the Gulf of Mexico. Wendy sighs, shakes her head, and continues.
Wendy: “So tonight, a little bit of generosity goes a long way. Because while the Special Olympics is ostensibly about helping the disadvantaged, it’s really about helping all of us, regardless of who we are. After all, the Special Olympics athletes’ oath is ‘Let me win, but if I cannot win, let me be brave in the attempt.’ That’s a philosophy that should apply to ANYONE in a competition. Not just the Special Olympics.”
Pollaski turns back around from his mock display of ignorance, and turns to face his client.
Pollaski: “So, will Sophie win? Or will she simply be brave in the attempt?”
Wendy’s smile fades into a grimace, and she shakes her head.
Wendy: “I’m honestly quite disappointed in Sophie, to be honest. Here you have a young woman who came into FFW like a rocket. She won the Television Championship in dang near record time. She dominated that title picture for nearly a year, finally lost her second reign to Summer, and was tipped to move up, and possibly be contending for the FFW Championship before the year was out and then… everything ground to a halt. She challenged for the Evolution Championship in a couple of ladder matches, and then… just more or less disappeared. In the two years since Chaos Theory and her loss to Summer, she’s had all of seven matches.”
“So with all that in mind, how lucky was she to be the one drawn out of that tumbler? Completely dead in the water, we hadn’t seen her since last years Unstoppable. Suddenly facing the FFW Champion… or at least I was, when her name was drawn. The absolute, bonafide chance of a lifetime. An opportunity to do exactly what Mika did- and push yourself to the top of the card, the top of the company, right smack dab into FFW Championship contention with one single match. Those aren’t handed out like candy in this company, so you’d think she’d be excited.
“Except where is the excitement? Where is the ecstatic reception to the chance of a CAREER? Where do we see her eagerness to grasp this opportunity and make the most of it? She just so happened to be there the night she was drawn. She gave us a fairly standard interview, and then… nothing. Not a peep from her on the matter, and it’s been two months since. Two months to build up the main event of Byte This, and she’s said NOTHING. No tweets. No appearances. No video packages. NOTHING.”
Wendy shakes her head, frustration clearly etched on her features.
Wendy: “I’d to think this is a big deal. I’d like to think that even though I’m no longer the FFW Champion, that facing me in the main event of a televised special… especially when you’ve done pretty much NOTHING for nearly two years, is EXACTLY the spark someone needs to get their career back on track. That’s the POINT of this entire match!”
“And it really makes me sad when I look at some of the OTHER women in this company who could have benefitted from a match like this. Sophie’s not the only woman who’s seen her career stall in FFW waters. Nicole Knight comes to mind. Allison Sullivan. Heck, even Christelle Gillet. It’s got to make a few of them SICK to be on the sideline like that, see opportunities like this past them by, and then see the beneficiery not exploit it to the fullest amount.”
“And you know the saddest thing of all? Sophie clearly still has it. We saw it at One Night Stand. She out-hustled Nathan McFarlane- that’s a feat in and of itself, and made her longtime rival Payton St. Pierre tap. She showed every bit the talent she did when she was Television Champion. I have no illusions that she’s dangerous, and that she may be able to beat me tonight. And that honestly makes me want to keep it from happening all the more.”
Wendy takes a deep breath. She actually looks angry, as the camera zooms in a bit on her, excluding the others on the beach.
Wendy: “I’ve said before that I’m well aware that there are narratives driving matches. Sometimes it’s about me, sometimes it’s not, and tonight is one of the latter. Tonight is supposed to be about Sophie Richards, and the hump she’s trying to get over. At least it WAS, until she decided that the moment really wasn’t worth seizing and maximizing. Now it’s about… I’m not really sure. I’m sure it will be more clear in hindsight.
“But I’m sure of one thing- I take my roles seriously. And if my role is to play gatekeeper tonight, and to turn away the unworthy, than theat’s EXACTLY what I’m going to do. Because like I told Aimee… it’s not supposed to be easy to get up here. And just like you don’t get to glide to the top by clocking people over the head with a briefcase and not have to answer for it, you don’t get to just show up for work once every three months on average, make absolutely no effort to promote ANYTHING, and shoot up to main event status because you won a lottery. And that’s not happening. Not on my watch.”
“Sophie’s great at ruining people’s careers. She did it to Desirae. She did it to Payton. You could even argue that she did it to Arianna, and she CERTAINLY did it to herself. I’m not letting her do it to me. I’m not going to let her so much as tarnish ANYTHING I’ve spent the better part of the last year building up. And if you’re not sure what I’m talking about… let me clue you in.”
Wendy leans forward, intensity in her emerald eyes as she glares into the camera.
Wendy: “Since coming back to FFW, I haven’t been pinned or submitted to lose a match yet. Val got me to tap in that two out of three falls match, and I was outside a decision on my other losses. We’re coming up on almost a full year since my return to the company, and I still have that intact. I’m proud of that. I’m VERY proud of that. I think it’s a big deal… and when I lose it… I want it to be a big deal. And if you want to have ANY idea of how important it is to me that losing something I’ve held on to for a very long time be a big deal.. you can ask my husband.”
A small, weird smile from Wendy, followed by a choking sound from Terrence off camera.
Wendy: “Sophie, I hope to God that you’ve taken these last seven months wisely, and have trained your butt off, because tonight you are going to try and climb the a ladder straight to the top, in an opportunity NO ONE has gotten before- not to the stakes these are. And I’ve played gatekeeper before- I did it to Aimee…. I did it to Jo, and I did it to Whitley Mercer, and honestly, right now you seem more like Mercer than Jo or Aimee with the apathy you’ve shown so far.”
“But I know you can change all that, you’re three seconds from changing all that. So what’s it going to be, Sophie? Are you going to win, deserved or not, and push yourself out of the pit you’ve allowed yourself to sit in for the better part of the two years? Are you going to be brave in the attempt, and at least leave Texas with more than you came with? Or are you going to fizzle completely, just like you’ve allowed yourself to so many times before? The choice is yours.”
Wendy pauses, glaring at the camera for another few seconds, before relaxing, and looking over at Jean Claude.
Wendy: “Thank you for your patience. How much do we owe you again?”
Jean Claude: “After that wonderful speech on the human spirit and the will of competition, I am so moved, I will drop all infringement fees.”
Wendy brightens, and she smiles.
Wendy: “Wow… really? I inspired you that much?”
Jean Claude: “No. Not really You owe me a thousand dollars.”
Wendy sighs, and pats her pockets.
Wendy: “.... I’ll go get the checkbook.”
Wendy sulks away out of the camera shot, while Jean Claude follows, leaving Pollaski, Terrence, and a still beanieless Theresa standing there. Pollaski reaches back into his spandex, and pulls out his phone, and once again Chariots of Fire is playing, the three immediately getting back to their race. Their extremely.... slow... moving...race
And with that, the scene fades.
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