Surgery.
FADE IN.
(The screen fills with the living room of Larry Tact's lavish penthouse Manhattan suite. The camera is set on a surface, unmoving. It is level with Tact, who sits wearing deep-blue loose-fitting jeans and a black polo shirt. The camera focuses on the neutral-green-colored plush sofa he sits on, and little in the periphery other than the wall the sofa is set against. In the background, a recording of Gustav Mahler's "Symphony No. 5" plays.)
LARRY TACT: "No cameraman this time. I felt like going it solo tonight. I think the scene may have been distracting you both from the very simple and clear message I have been sending. Let me set the record straight, right now."
"First of all, I may take some risks, but I wouldn't be caught dead owning a house at this time. The banks are messed up enough, and I've already been screwed out of millions of dollars once in my lifetime. I don't need to go through it again."
"In other words, Impulse, I don't intend to get into a house 'at any cost'-- if you mean cheating or using unsavory means to take your title. I'm not sure what it is about you and not hearing what I say, as I say it. Perhaps Copycat isn't the only one who has paranoia issues around here."
"There was no lead pipe, with a chair, or any other object in my hands in my metaphor. I don't need to play that game with you, Impulse. Remember what you said about shortcuts, not too long ago? It was good to hear you say that, because I won't be needing shortcuts. I'm coming with what I was born with, Impulse. You are far from the only one in the world, much less the only wrestler in the world, who can win a match with their natural talent."
"At a different time, I may have been disappointed that you thought I would trend towards the dastardly... but the truth is, I don't mind whether you do or don't; it won't change my plans. I've said all along, I have no reason to disrespect you, Impulse, but this isn't a friendship contest. In the end, I am in this match to walk out a winner. There's no personal stake between us, other than one of us three will walk out with what is currently in your possession-- the EPW Intercontinental Championship. All that we have to say now is just a precursor, a juicy appetizer, for the match that will see who gets to put the punctuation at the end."
"I have to say, though, you sound so convinced talking about how I 'challenged' you to define me. Tell me, Impulse, when was it that I challenged you? Was it in the tone of my voice, or that look in my great, big eyes? Did it just scream, "CHALLENGE TO IMPULSE!" when you took a good look."
(He chuckles.)
"I think it would be more accurate to say you looked a little too deep, actually."
"See, the thing about 'challenging' people is that it's actually a form of request. Some would call it strong-arming, or forceful, but a challenge is something you can turn down. A challenge was what you offered Dan Ryan to take up on in his office, when you suggested the triple threat match."
"I wasn't challenging you, Randall. I was TELLING YOU to define me."
"And you seem reluctant to comply. Pity. What's stopping you?"
"Let me get this straight. All this time, you've been telling the world how I'm trying to rationalize, and break down the opposition. In reality, you and your overanalyzing are trying to examine all the words that come out of my mouth. You can't help yourself, you need to find some hidden, alternative meaning to what I say. And, when you can't, you tack on some things that I never said, to make it seem suspicious or devious."
"Again, I don't mind so much. I've said and done things in this industry that most would consider unsavory. But this time, you're doing it to yourself. Just like Copycat's actions will bring down the pain he has coming to him, you are only helping my cause."
"Remember, I told you I'd find a way in. And if you want to wait, I can wait. I'm not the one with a title at stake, I'm just the challenger. And at this rate, I won't need to find another way in. It looks like you may just open the door of opportunity for me to take your gold."
"But hey, in that case, maybe you can say I didn't win so much as you lost..."
"Why don't you check your code and let us know if that's allowed?"
(He claps his hands together and holds them close to his chin.)
"Aaron, Aaron, Aaron Jones! Don't be sad, AJ. I hear your gasps for attention; see you suffocating over there in a corner, lonely and wanting a hug."
"Don't worry, I have something to ask you, too, Aaron. Do you really want people to take YOU seriously?"
"Answer the question."
"Because I don't know that you do. I mean, really do want that. 'Your thoughts betray you.'"
(He smirks.)
"Here's the thing with you. Maybe you do want us to take you seriously. But you can't even assure us what you say are the actual thoughts of Copycat. You can't make that statement with assurance."
"You really do remind me of a lamb for the slaughter, Aaron. Someone standing on the front lines, saying Copycat hasn't spoken to you. You haven't heard his thoughts after a certain point. You're giving us every reason to believe Copycat is distracted."
"So then, the simple question is: what is Copycat doing?"
"I have no doubt Copycat isn't sitting back and waiting for this match. But he isn't just preparing physically, either. He's called the "Smartest Player In the Game" for a reason, I know that is not just bravado and hype surrounding him."
"Impulse may be fooled, but I don't buy the distracted bit. In fact, I'm more likely to believe Aaron Jones has always been the distraction, for weeks, maybe months. Copycat, meanwhile, is free to move around, scheming away."
"Is it any coincidence he has dropped off the radar as it concerns Anarky? You know, the EPW World Heavyweight Champion. The thing Copycat was a second away, in some cases less, from claiming."
"And Aaron, to set YOU straight... I said from the start what I felt about Copycat. I'm not going to go back-and-forth rehashing with you about whether or not my actions passed yours or Copycat's judgment. so what if it doesn't? What are you going to do about it, other than bore me to death telling me over-and-over about how I betrayed Copycat? The reality is, you aren't going to do a damn thing about it, because it's over."
"Copycat tried to do something before, but it backfired. Instead of keeping me out, he woke me up."
"While I was out after Aggression 61, I realized that I had been falling back into a pattern. I allowed myself to be taken advantage of by Copycat, Litterbombed to the floor, much like I went along with Anthology when it was clear that things were diverting away from our original goals. I could have stepped in and taken more charge then. Instead, I tried to maintain the peace even as I saw the water filling the ship."
"No longer, though. I am determined to prove that I won't allow myself to be used and abused for the sake of keeping things stable. Instead, I'm going to keep the peace by solving the problem. And Copycat has been a serious problem in Empire Pro Wrestling. In that ring, I'm going to solve him."
"The reality is also that the only people who have complained about my appearance at Wrestleverse were Aaron Jones and, by extension, Copycat. In other words, no one who affects my status here. So you would be wise to do two things, Aaron. First, STFU about Wrestleverse, it's done. And second, make sure Copycat is ready to let his wrestling do the talking at Russian Roulette. Because that's the only salvation he will have left to cling to. And I'm going to enjoy taking that away, too."
(He shrugs.)
"There's little point in talking to you, though, Aaron. Not because you're a mouthpiece, that's all well and good. But you don't get it. You don't understand Larry Tact... and, really, you don't understand Copycat."
"I've heard a lot of people throw around words like coward, fraud, and pathetic, lately. I probably wouldn't be wrong describing Copycat attacking me from behind with similar words. I won't, though."
"I'm not going to throw out petty insults, and threaten that Copycat will face, 'my most vicious wrath' at Russian Roulette. Sorry, Aaron, but I'm not lowering myself to that place. I've heard those lines so many times that it is just too hollow. Go back to Monkey Island, maybe they still work there."
"Copycat knows full well that he doesn't need to tell me a damn thing. The Litterbomb at Aggression did all the talking for him. I understand Copycat will show up at Russian Roulette with a purpose-- at least part of that purpose will be focused directly on me."
"So Aaron Jones, your bi***ing and moaning about how people are looking over Copycat is a clear sign of how very little you know. To be honest, everything you've learned from Copycat is likely only what Copycat wanted you to learn. In other words, you've been allowed to lick at the tip of the iceberg that is Copycat's knowledge of this industry. Enough to pump you up full, though, so you could do all the talking for Copycat these past few months."
"And likewise, I still believe that, somewhere in there, Copycat understands me. He knows I'm not neglecting him. I never had to say two words to Copycat before this match, and he would have gotten it. Because he knows exactly what that Litterbomb did. He knows he's now a marked man, and I'm going to make him pay. No cheap insults or empty threats needed. That is just the reality of the situation."
"What you seem to misunderstand, Aaron, and even Impulse, is... we are both confident veterans of the ring. Wrestling has always been our passion. Between those ropes, our blood runs feverishly and like nowhere else. And no matter what anyone says now, no one is going to back down."
"It's not about talking, or posturing, or threatening. It's going to be brutal, unbridled aggression. The three of us will unload on each other with physical blows and mental moves, countermoves. And at some point, there will be a turning point. Because this isn't just a match where there will be only one winner. With the way the three of us are, it's a match where only one will be left... standing.."
(He leans forward, resting his hands on his knees.)
"And Impulse, maybe you need to reevaluate who you THINK you're talking to."
"Because sometimes it doesn't sound like you're talking so much to your opponents, as it is some projection of yourself. I won't go psychoanalyzing, not my point. Just know we aren't students back at your old wrestling school, preparing to try to give each other lessons."
"You are in the middle of something, but you aren't the third wheel here."
"You have something that makes you relevant, regardless of whether you deserve it or not. I don't care if you do or don't, either. You have the title, hold the strap, therefore you are the Intercontinental Champion. After Russian Roulette, we'll see if you still deserve it."
"And let's clear the air on this, too: I never said I was NOT going to define you, Randall. In fact, I said out of the gate that I had watched your matches in the Empire. You make it sound like that would be a bad thing. I don't see it; don't understand why you shy away from my open invitation to do the same. Are you not human? Do you not have human thoughts and parameters? Is that really what you think is best?"
"I will admit, this isn't as much about defining you, Randall, or Impulse. What I'm really defining is the current standard of the EPW Intercontinental Championship."
"I have to, I'm a challenger for that title. And whether you want to hear it or not, Impulse, there is a way to defeat you... that is, by surpassing the current standard."
"That is how you dethrone a Champion."
"Beating a Champion for their title is like surgery-- an amputation. It's a delicate procedure, to separate a Champion from the title they hold. And they will never believe it until it's over with, after the shock passes and the reality sets in. What they once had, is no longer there. It's no longer theirs. It was forcibly removed."
"And like many surgeries, our match at Russian Roulette is now inevitable. It must happen, and my purpose is to meet the opposition, and claim that title for my own."
"The fact Impulse won't let it happen without giving his last... the fact Copycat and I will be out for each other's blood... the fact that I will have plenty to drive me over the top, and little to lose...."
"These are all reasons I'll only be party to one theft at Russian Roulette, along with Impulse and Copycat..."
"Stealing the show."
FADE OUT.