EPISODE 85: Freefall

Wednesday March 9, 2011
Treasure Island Resort & Casino
Las Vegas, Nevada
1:51 AM Local Time

It had been one lousy night.

Despite Terrence’s protests, I called the police the moment we discovered the Satanic symbol off the back of the RV. Unsurprisingly, other than assuring us the blood that had been used to paint the symbol was not human’s (thank God!), and taking a bunch of pictures (three of which someone had the nerve to ask us to autograph), the police were hardly any help. Within an hour of their arrival, they were gone, back to Vegas to go work on more solvable crimes.

Obviously, we had no intention of staying in the same place, and it was just a few minutes before Terrence had the car hitched to the RV, and we were on the road back into town. Our plan was spend the night in one of the many parking lots that adjoined The Strip, the security of camping in a brightly lit area more than the worth of any extra costs we would incur.

Just as we neared the city, we got the phone call telling us that our manager was hanging from the mast of the Treasure Island pirate ship.

“How in the heck did they even get him up there?” my husband was asking, looking up at our dangling manager.

We were on the deck of the ship that was stationed in a small reflecting pool just outside the Treasure Island hotel & casino. It was a chilly night, so both Cassie and I had slipped on windbreakers, while Terrence had remained in a t-shirt and jeans for the sudden excursion.

It was tough to imagine Pollaski ever being in a less dignified position. His tuxedo had been ripped off, the shredded remnants thrown into the large reflecting pool that the ship sat in, where they still bobbed in the water. Pollaski hung from the highest rigging on the ship, by his underwear, with only ia plain white t-shirt and a pair of socks remaining on his back

“Forget getting him up there... how do we get him down?” Cassie asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

As Terrence reviewed Pollaski’s situation, I stood quietly by, my sleeping daughter grasped tightly in my arms. Even with the situation in front of me, my mind kept wandering to the events earlier in the night.

I had always figured that whoever kept Ariel Shadows was someone from either her, or Madman Szalinski’s past. Someone who was taking revenge for a wrong perpetrated by either one of those two so many years. Thus, while I was outraged by Ariel’s kidnapping, I figured that neither my family nor I were at risk.

Tonight had changed all that. The kidnappers actions tonight made me realize that I had been wrong all along. Whoever the kidnapper was, I at least was in part his target, something that alarmed and confused me to no end. Who in my past had I aggrieved so strongly that they were willing not just to attack my friends, but threaten my own four-year old daughter.

The worst part about the feeling was this overwhelming sensation that I should know who it was. I had wracked my mind through every suspect I could think of, but each seemed as unlikely as the next. It was an aggravating thought, to have the solution to this entire dilemma at hand, but not being able to see it.

“So, how was your date?” Terrence was asking Pollaski innocently as I tried to force myself to focus on the current crisis.

“Kinda sucked,” Pollaski replied in a strained voice- something I couldn’t blame him for, considering the situation. “It was fine right up until this, but....

There was a long pause as Terrence looked up at the mast, scratching his head. Suddenly, he broke into a grin, and started running for the ramp down from the boat.

“Where are you going?” I called

“I have an idea!” Terrence yelled as he slipped out of sight.

With Terrence gone, I turned back to Cassie, and smiled. “How you holding up, Cassie?

Cassie shrugged, then buttened her windbreaker up to combat the chilly desert night air. “It’s been tough’ she said quietly. “I can’t believe I was just feet away from...”

“I know.” I replied quickly, unable to keep myself from shuddering. “But oh God, Cassie. I’m so glad you and Theresa are alright.”

Cassie returned the smile, and started to say more, but at that moment, Terrence returned, with another man, who oddly enough had a bow and arrow on his arms.

“What are you doing?” Pollaski asked, and even with him up high, I could see him worried somewhat about his own situation.

“This is Sir Gwindiron, the world’s greatest archer!” Terrrence announced. “I picked him up over at Excalibur.”

“Actually, you can just call me Peter,” the archer said, looking embarassed. Terrence, for his part, laughed and clapped the poor man on the shoulder.

“Anyways, he’s going to get you down!” Terrence said, grinning ear-to ear.

Pollaski didn’t look so convinced. “Um, what?”

Terrence nodded to the archer, who took an arrow from his quiver, and nocked it, pointing the bow up at Pollaski, who immediately began to kick frantically.

“Whoah! What the hell are you doing?”

“Hold still Pollaski! This guy is good! He could even probably do this blindfolded!” Terrence replied, grinnning all the while. “But you gotta hold still!”

“No no no!” Pollaski howled back. “Keep that freak away from me!”

“Don’t worry, Dan!” Terrence implored. “He’ll have you down in no time!”

“Um,” I couldn’t keep quiet during this. “If he does get him down, wouldn’t Pollaski just free-fall twenty feet to the ships deck?”

Terrence paused at the realization that this might kill our manager, then shrugged. “So, Pollaski! When he shoots, try and aim it so you can hit water!”

“Dude!” Pollaski protested back. “I’m at least ten feet from the water! How the hell am I going to move ten feet laterally in a freefall?”

Terrence shrugged. “Flap your arms really fast?”

There was a long pause before Pollaski spoke. “You know, for someone who used to be an auto racer, you’re sure know shit about physics!”

Terrence rolled his eyes, and folded his arms over his chest. “You whine about everything, Pollaski! Just have faith this will work out!” He nodded at the archer, who raised his bow again. “Okay, ready?”

“NO!”

“One...”

I started to step forward. “Terrence, maybe we better slow down and-”

“Two...”

Behind me I could hear Cassie taking out her digital camera, and turning it on while she lazed expectantly at poor Pollaski, who by now was whimpering.

“Three!”

The archer released, and his aiim was true, snapping through the waistband of Pollaski’s dangling underwear. With a scream, Pollaski broke free of the mast, and fell.

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!”

*THUD*

For a long time, no one moved, least of all Pollaski, who had created a small crater on the deck of the ship. Terrence’s face showed a definite “oops” quality about it, while I was struck speechless in horror. Meanwhile, Cassie was already uploading the video on YouTube.

Finally, Terrence shook his head in disgust. “You didn’t flap your arms at ALL! That didn’t prove anything!”

Even in the condition he was in, Pollaski managed to raise his arm just enough to show my husband the middle finger.






======================
Saturday March 12, 2011
Beachfront
Santa Monica, California
2:18 PM Local Time

[We open up for a scene on the beach, the famous Santa Monica pier in the background. Wendy Briese is standing on the sand, wearing a short-sleeved pale yellow flower-print dress that extends just below her knees, and sandals. She’s looking out to sea as the camera begins to roll, her expression pensive as she turns her attention to a seagull floating idly overhead]

“You know, it almost feels like someone is playing a sick practical joke on me.”

[Wendy shakes her head, somewhat in sadness, but mostly in disgust, and she turns to walk up the beach, the camera beginning to follow her from the side.

“Obviously it isn’t. It can’t be- this has gone on long past the point where anyone in their right mind would ever think its funny. We’re coming up on four weeks- one whole month since Ariel Shadows was abducted from the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas. Can you imagine that? Ariel has now spent twenty-eight days bound at the hands of some monster, who is obviously using her as a pawn.”

[Wendy’s voice catches, and she looks back out to sea for a second, her face a mixture of despair and anger.]

“And now..”

[She pauses, and takes a couple seconds to compose herself]

“And now my own family has been targeted. This person, if you can even call them that, actually threw Ariel in a car, drove to our RV, where my daughter was staying, and vandalized it.”

[Another deep breath, and Wendy involuntarily shudders]

“Whoever is behind this, if you have a problem with me, you’d be better served coming out in the open and declaring your intent. I’m not that hard to find every single Tuesday night. You want me, come get me instead of hiding in the shadows like a coward, and terrorizing people who have nothing to do with the quarrel you apparently have with me.”

[Wendy’s voice is hard, and she has a fire in her emerald eyes, but her voice carries an element of weariness about it. As if she knows all her bravado is just that- bravado in the face of something she, to her frustration, has little control over]

“Every single move you make, whether you want to or not, you’re revealing a piece of the puzzle. Sooner or later, those pieces will be assembled, and the picture will become clear. And when that happens, you better pray that I’m not the one who finds you first, because I will make darn sure that the consequences fit the crime you committed.”

[Wendy pauses for a long while, her face a grimace, because she knows her words- at least until the mystery is solved- are but an empty threat. Another futile effort to scare the perpetrator out of hiding, the latest in a series of failures. Finally, Wendy sighs, and shakes her head sadly, realizing that she has to move on from the subject.]

“So now I’ve had two consecutive weeks without a match. Normally, I’d be practically foaming at the mouth over such a long layoff, but in truth, it’s been a huge help to me. I’d been admittedly pretty banged up after my match at Revelations, and then in facing Theresa the week immediately after.”

[A small shrug, Wendy relaxing just a bit now that the conversations steered from Ariel’s kidnapping to her match.]

“It’s a good thing I’ve managed to heal up, because things certainly aren’t going to be easy for me now that I’m back into competition. This week, I face Johnny Rotten in an exhibition cage match, which, according to the show preview, is the most ‘basic’ part of my defense at Fatal Attraction.”

[Wendy pauses in mid-stride, then turns directly to the camera, a trace of alarm evident on her face]

“You know... I really, really, REALLY do not like the sound of that.”

[Wendy swallows, although given the expression on her face, it almost seems like a gulp]

“I suppose I really don’t have a problem with cage matches. After all, the nice thing about a cage match is that being locked in a ring, surrounded by steel bars, tends to keep any outside forces from interfering in the match.”

[A small grim smile, although it vanishes just as quickly]

“But considering all the variations of a cage match that have been invented over the years, I have to cringe when I think of what sinister contraption I could be walking into next month. I know part of being the champion is having to defend your belt anywhere, anytime, in any situation, but that doesn’t mean I have to like it...”

[Wendy’s voice trails off, and she remains silent for a while, although she has again resumed walking.]

“Well, what happens then will happen. Until the day of Fatal Attraction arrives, I can do aught but focus on the challenge at hand, what, where, and whoever that maybe.”

[Short pause]

“This week in Anaheim, that challenge is Johnny Rotten, a veritable legend from the old days of CPW, returned to action after miraculously healing fom a ‘superinfection.’”

[Wendy’s voice carries some element of respect in it, for Rotten’s reputed ability, and his remarkable return from the ranks of the stricken.]

“Honestly, I almost don’t know who I should be cutting this promo against- Johnny Rotten, or his mouthpiece Mike Powers?”

[Wendy shrugs, and continues]

“Well, Mike hasn’t had any problems opening his mouth and letting the words come out, that’s for sure. For the record, I never expected Mike or Johnny to care about the issues I’ve had over the past couple weeks. It was obvious to me from the get-go that those two don’t care about anyone but themselves.”

[Wendy’s lips twitch into a flicker of a smile]

“No, my problems are my own, and I will deal with them in due time. But considering that I won the X3W World Championship while my husband lay in a hospital bed four hundred miles away, I think my ability to focus has already been well documented.”

[Wendy shakes her head, almost as if she’s surprised that someone would even question her.]

“Besides, even if I didn’t have that, being locked in a cage with a man a hundred pounds heavier than me would get me to focus real quick.”

[Another small flicker of a smile]

“One thing you gentlemen might be overlooking is the small fact that despite all that’s been going on around me, with Ariel and this kidnapper, I want to win this at least as badly as you do.”

[Wendy’s suddenly looks slightly annoyed]

“I can imagine how the two of you have to be absolutely salivating over the prospect of this match. After all, you’re getting Wendy Briese, the champion of Brydon Talinsdale’s company, alone in a steel cage. I’m sure you’re both just giddy over the ways you’re planning to humiliate both myself and my boss.”

[Wendy shakes her head in disgust, and looks directly at the camera]

“You best be rethinking your strategy, because you will not be humiliating Brydon Talinsdale at my expense.”

[A snort of derision]

“I haven’t agreed with everything Brydon Talinsdale has done. I thought firing Thatcher Rex was a mistake, and I can’t help but think that this situation with Ariel would have been resolved so much quicker if he had just allowed me to offer a title shot in exchange for her safe return.”

[Wendy again pauses for a while, and looks back out to sea]

“And I most certainly don’t approve of how Mr. Talinsdale has acted lately. I hope he can seek help, because it’s tragic to see such a good man unravel. And its equally as deplorable that you would find such a situation amusing.”

[Wendy shoots a disgusted glare at the camera]

“But I can’t forget what Mr. Talinsdale has done for me and my career. I’ve been in many companies, but not one, not ONE before this has given me a chance like X3W has. I’ve been in the main event of nearly half the shows held so far, and I’m adding another one this week. You all know this.. I’ve mentioned several times before how touched I’ve been about the faith Mr. Talinsdale has shown in me.”

[A short pause]

“So where would I be in your company, Mike? Would you have taken a chance on me, given me the ball? Or would you have done what so many other promoters have done, declared me too small and too nice to ever be credible, and stuck me as far away from the main-event scene as you possibly could?”

[A doubtful look from Wendy]

“I hope Mr. Talinsdale makes a return soon, and in a much better state of mind. But in the meantime, the least I can do for him is to defeat someone who is threatening the integrity of his company.”

[Another smile, although this one is a little warmer, and longer-lasting]

“Johnny, this is a traditional cage match- the only way to gain victory is by escape. I have to think that such a match would favor me. After all, I’m quicker and more agile on my feet, and I’m certain I’m a faster climber as well. Not to mention that I’m more than capable of holding my own in a fight.”

“But most importantly of all, once that cage door closes, there will be no one to help you, Rotten. Crazy KYD can’t run down and hit me. Theresa can’t launch another random attack. Even your friend Mike will be stuck on the outside. You will be truly, utterly alone in that cage with me, until one of us is able to claw our way out.”

[One last soft smile, and a direct glare into the camera]

“Johnny, you’re the type who lets your actions speak for you. I can respect that. But on Tuesday night at Shatterpoint, I’m going to deliver a message in a volume you will have no trouble understanding.”

[Fade]