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I had fallen asleep. Had my head down on the kitchen table. That was fucked up. Dozing off, even for two seconds, could’ve sent me to the Big sleep. I stretched, bounced up and down, splashed water on my face. Took me a moment to remember I was eighty miles from London. A vintage military jeep was pulling up out front. The engine shut off. My breathing shortened. Heart rate increased tenfold. My palms were wet as rain. I took a few deep breaths. He was here. Sergeant was home. It was time for the dance to begin. I took another hard breath and wondered which way this was going to go. Peaceful. Or with a hellified row I wanted him to see me when he came in. Wasn’t going to hide. A key was put in the door. My heart crept up my chest and stopped in my throat. The door opened. He came inside. Dressed in military fatigues, Rough face looked like Sergeant Rock. He paused when he saw me sitting at his table, Stars and Stripes newspaper in my hand. He frowned for a moment. A long, hot moment. He spoke right above a whisper. ”Carmine” Sergeant He looked like a sixty-year-old Sergeant Rock and sounded like Johnny Cash. I kept my hands where he could see them. Sorry to sneak up on you like this. This a social call? Arizona asked me to stop by. H nodded said, The slant-eyed bitch raised the stakes and sent Car-fucking-mine. Guess you could say that. She tell what it was about? I nodded. FEMA scam. That’s all she said. Don’t need the details. Why didn’t the bitch bring her narrow ass up to horse-and-grass her damn self? Probably the same reason you sent the guys from Holland to talk to her Guess that didn’t deter her. He almost smiled Of all people, she sent Carmine I nodded Well, Carmine, so far as the boys from Holland, those weren’t my men. Arizona has her own problems in Holland. She knows who sent those boys over here. Don’t let her fool you. Does that matter? His frown deepened. I should’ve sent some military boys down. Never should’ve let her send Dutch boys. Who is the mysterious her that hired the Dutch boys? Arizona knows. Oh, she knows. I should’ve handled that problem myself You should’ve. But you didn’t. And now I’m up here trying to smooth it out. The Dutch boys hurt her any? Not at all Too Bad Sorry to disappoint you. Too fucking bad that slant-eyed cunt didn’t get any justice. The Dutch boys will be crippled for life. If that makes you feel any better I didn’t need this in my home. Don’t want this battle on my territory I understand. Your being military and all. Could be hard to explain to the higher-ups Is that right? How do you see this Carmine? How do you see this playing out? News of a military man’s investment in a FEMA scam ever hit the paper…can’t even imagine what that would do to the country, Or to a man’s career. No matter how much paper he has stacked. Family shamed, All because of a little Filipina girl. Wouldn’t look good at all. Your advice? So I don’t end up falling on my sword, your advice? Cut your losses. Pay your bills, Walk away clean. With money in the bank. Money in the Bank I’m not the only one, but you know Arizona will send somebody So I’d best make a call to my moneyman and rectify this little problem That would be my suggestion Is that a threat? Only a suggestion His hands were trembling, shaking worse than mine. I was scared, he was scared. That meant everything was normal Some Reverend was massacred, back in the states. Saw it on CNN Really? Some rick Reverend. Heard it was a mess Didn’t hear about it Last time you been up north in the states Never been, at least not recent. I like the south a little better. When you get here? Few hours ago You been to visit a WAG since you got here? They just found one floating in the river Wasn’t me He took out a cigarette, popped it in his mouth, used his lighter to fire up the cancer. He asked Do you mind? I shrugged Your house I take it that if I don’t make a call, we will have a problem There is already a problem, you know that He said, You know that Arizona bitch, you can’t trust her. Didn’t care for her when she was Scamz’s bitch. Don’t care for her now. Scamz was a fair man. She’s stolen Scamz name. That evil bitch, nobody can afford to work with her, not and make a profit. Everybody hates her. She’ll double –cross you, do you know that? She’d double=cross her own mother to turn a profit. I didn’t say anything He inhaled, spoke when he exhaled. Never should have gotten in bed with that cunt. He looked at me, put his cigarette out, and dialed a number. He was put on hold; while he waited, he stood up, never took his grimace off me. I didn’t move an inch. He asked You fucking her? Maybe I should be asking you that question Don’t let pussy come between men. Pussy starts wars and good men die What about Iraq? George W. Bush is a pussy And Blair must have been his twin Ill remember that one, Twin pussies. The boys’ll get a good laugh out of that one. He said some things to whoever was on the phone, nodded, cursed, hung up the phone, then he sat down. He wasn’t happy Sergeant said, Be careful. Men get fooled by sex. All men do I nodded We waited I took my eyes off him for a second, long enough to open my backpack. In the blink of an eye, he made an M&P .40 appear, Smith and Wesson’s military gun Everything slowed down I asked, You going to shoot me? What’s in the bag? Show me. Use one hand, your left hand. Move slow I showed him that, except for the pint of Jack, the backpack was empty Somebody called one of my friends this morning, Looking for a Desert Eagle Wasn’t me Wasn’t you? Nah. I’m a nine guy. Beretta time to time, A SIG, maybe a .22 nothing that big My friend didn’t know who the guy was. Told him he would have to look elsewhere. You’re here in London and somebody happens to call up looking for a large-caliber, gas-operated semi-automatic pistol manufactured in Israel. Hope you’re smarter than that, Carmine. For your own sake. Piece like that is too easy to follow back to the source. Hope that wasn’t you. You know I’m not a show-off Whoever it is, watch it, bet they trace the gun to find him…arms dealer selling off a .50-caliber gun dressed in titanium. That’s over-the-top. That’s six-o’clock news if ever I heard it Titanium? He nodded That bitch will be easy to find. A Big ass-loaded gun. Whoever he is has to be a loose cannon. A man who has to have the bigger dick that screams the loudest orgasm. No insecurities over here. Just looking out for you. I have always been partial to you, Carmine. As a friend I nodded back at him, keeping my hands where he could see them at all times. If that was you buying the Eagle, take my advice, throw it in the river and walk away. He kept his eyes on mine Too easy to trace, too showy, too loud Wasn’t me He put his S&W on his lap. His piece smiled at me He said, Pardon the lack of trust. Somebody calls up for an Eagle, then you show up… I showed up after you sent a hurt squad after Arizona Like I said, what a coincidence You say we’re friends an you still have that barrel aimed at my gut If I didn’t like you, you’d be on that floor with tow in your chest and one in your head Make sure we exchange Christmas cards this year. Since we’re friends You got a weapon on you? Just a pint of Jack Sure about that? You can search me Don’t need to be that close to you. So I’ll take your word on that I’m just the messenger So the slant-eyed bitch just wants to play it like this. Who does that cunt think she is? Queen Scamz My phone vibrated, he jumped for his gun again. Then he relaxed, wiped his forehead with the back of his free hand. The money he owned Arizona had been transferred I said, See how easy that was? Tell the bitch to suck my dick. You can quote me on that. And tell her to lick my balls while she’s at it. Quote my ass on that too. Jacking me for my goddamn retirement money. My phone vibrated again. The money Arizona owed me had been transferred as well. He stood across the room from me. Again he asked, You aint fucking her, are you? Lets keep this business. You know you aint the only one she fucking. Get you a regular girl if you have to have a steady one. A girl like Arizona will be the death of you. Regular girl might break your heart and take your money, might even take your house, but they leave you breathing in the end. I remained across the room from him, kept my hands where he could see them He asked, You fucking her? And that is a damn business question, if you must know I shook my head Two hundred, I’ll give you two hundred to put a bullet in her head. Pounds? US dollars. She isn’t worth half what I’m offering you and you know that He was talking two hundred thousand. In this business a nickel was five thousand and a dime was ten I thought you’d spent your retirement money He gave me a one-sided grin. FEMA supplemented my never-rising income. You know the exchange rate is killing us over here. Can’t afford to buy shit off base, Not a damn thing. I sat down. He did the same, his gun at his side, finger on the trigger. My hands were damp, throat dry, heart maintained a steady gallop. Two hundred is a lot of money. You must have a nice wad stashed away. Don’t worry about what I got. He nodded. You want the contract or not? I said, Let’s take a drink and talk about that. I took the bottle of whiskey out of my backpack. Jack Daniel’s. The brand we drank. I sat the bottle down. Coke? He went to the small refrigerator How you like living over here in England? Either cold as hell or hot as hell. Gets hot as hell and ain’t no air conditioners in England. No dryers, so when it’s cold as hell, you can’t hang your clothes out to dry. In the summertime you have to hang clothes on the back porch to dry. I was here once in the summer. Never came up here and went on base On base, black women have light-skinned babies with curly hair. White women have brown-skinned babies with curly hair. Black is fucking white and white is fucking black. This is about as Kum-ba-yah as it gets. Just like it is down in London. Same all over Europe, America is the most advance county and still refuses to acknowledge the natural course of evolution. He put a liter of Coca-Cola down. This is the real thing. From home. Not that NutraSweet shit from London I said, Glasses or straight from the bottle like winos in an alley? He went back to the cabinet, never taking his eyes off me, gun barrel aimed at the floor. London Kills me with that eat-in/takeaway bullshit. They add a surcharge to your meal if you eat at McDonald’s or Pizza Hut or anywhere. All those mayonnaise-eating bastards, they put Mayo on everything. I got some mustard here if you want some. You won’t be able to find mustard in London. Hot sauce either. Got a few bottles if you need some. Thanks He sat in front of me. I poured him a shot of Jack. He thanked me then asked, You drinking? Probably shouldn’t. I’m on a motorcycle. Streets are damp. Not a good idea Have a word with Jack before what I’m holding has two or three words with you He stared at his glass. Smiling, Waiting, and Trembling. His fear controlled You think I put a little something extra in Jack? Talk to Jack, not to me. Better hurry up, ‘cause my trigger finger is getting twitchy I eased the bottle up to my lips, took a hit. A minute went by. Sip a little more, for good measure I did, another minute went by. He relaxed, but he never moved his hand away from his gun For two hundred, if you’re serious, I’ll celebrate and drink the whole bottle So you’ll take the contract on that slant-eyed bitch? I’d kill that slant-eyes bitch and my favorite whore for two hundred Your favorite whore. He chuckled How is Joyellen? Had no idea You aint been in touch with her? I shook my head He shook his head Damn shame It is what it is Look her up, if you go visit her, tell her Sergeant Skyler said hello. When I make it back down to Central London, tell her I’ll visit her. Would love to buy her a drink and talk old times. For a moment I smelled that whore’s perfume on his skin Let’s talk contract, Have to hit the road. Almost a hundred miles to London SOP That meant Standard Operating Procedures. Where’s that cunt Arizona hiding? She’s in London Sending someone after me, she has a lot of nerve, you know that? He drank his shot. He looked around his modest life. Looked at all the flags, trophies and commendations, Looked at the sum of his military career in a single glance He took another shot, rubbed his eyes, Blinked a few times. I took a small hit of the Jack, Did the same as it burned my throat. This is some good shit. Jack has a nice kick. Top shelf I sipped a little more Only the best He poured himself another shot. Tossed it back. I smiled at him as I watched him throw back another shot. He rubbed his eyes again, coughed a smiled. He refilled. My bottle clinked his glass, another toast. I want a bullet in that slant-eyed cunt’s head Were talking about Arizona now Damn right However you want it done, it’s done Always running her hand through her goddamn hair. And cut her damn hair off. Make gook-looking bitch bald. He rubbed his eyes. They were out of focus. But don’t cut it until after she’s apologized and transferred my damn money back to my…not until she’s sent every last dime of my money back…back…back…my money…my…money…back Then his smile turned upside down. Panic lines grew in his forehead. His vision was blurring, his breathing shutting down at a rapid pace. Thanks for a good time, and for making me a champion Son of a…you son of a… Sorry, this is business, just business. I hate it, but this is how it is. Eyes wide, he looked at his glass, maybe saw the film inside, and frowned at me. His gun went off. Shot where my stomach would’ve been if I hadn’t moved. The gun came up over the table, followed me. The next bullet exploded where my chest had been two seconds before. The third shot hit where I was a half second before that. By the fourth explosion, I was across the room. I was nervous, scared, alert. No way a man could dodge bullets and not feel his own death dancing in the room. Agony seized him. He dropped the Smith & Wesson and grabbed his throat. Death was charging his way. I kicked the gun out of his reach, Skyler convulsed, wet his pants, a river of fear ran from between his legs. I didn’t poison the Jack. That would’ve been expected. I’d laced his drinking glasses with the tasteless, odorless venom. No matter which glass he’d picked up, it was poisoned. I’d sipped from the untainted bottle. Face red, he tried to get up, but crashed to the floor face first, eyes wide open. His legs kicked, twitched, finally stopped moving. His bowels released, stanched the air I couldn’t let him live. Not after he said he’d kill Arizona. He had sent men to cripple and rape her. My heart thumped inside my chest. But I didn’t have time to wait for it to slow. I put on rubber gloves and picked up his glass. Grabbed the one I didn’t use, Picked up the bottle of Jack too. I washed his glasses out, washed them all to prevent collateral damage. I dried the glasses, put them back in the cabinet, stood over the sink, waiting for that nauseous feeling to go away. I was sweating and numb. I was living in my own darkness. Had to remain on task In a couple of hours the poison in his system wouldn’t be detectable. Netural causes. It would look like death by natural causes. I wiped down the bottle of Jack, then put the bottle on the table, let it turn over and spill. Jack rained to the floor, wanted it to look like he had knocked it over, wouldn’t make sense to empty the bottle, no need to toss it. I left his weapon where he had dropped it. Had to, bullet holes were everywhere. I’d let the police explain the bullet holes. Maybe they’d think he’d gotten drunk, gone mad, started shooting, had a heart attack. I didn’t give a shit. Better him than Arizona laid up in a hospital, raped and beaten. I couldn’t allow that to happen. Five minutes later I was on A11 doing seventy, horses at my side, sadness in my heart. The sadness went away when the anger returned… I was the new top dog, I taken out the champion and now I was the champion - - - [ * * * ] - - - I woke up this morning living a dream…I woke up with the NLCW Undisputed Championship looking back at me. I told everyone, didn’t I? I told you, the bitch on your left, the fat ass on your right, and the old ass fucker behind you I would defeat Bucky Skyler Twice in two weeks to become the new Undisputed champion. I told Bucky that his time at the top needed to come to an end, told him he wasn’t the feared champion anymore, and what did he do? Put in his walking papers! Looks as though I was correct, again. All in all, I’ve been here for a little over five months and I’ve managed to become the North American Champion and currently the Undisputed Champion, If I’m not mistaken I am the fastest rising star on the NLCW roster to day. and it’s all because of me. Thanks Carmine for being so awesome. Now I have one person to topple before I pave my way into a future spot inside the NLCW hall of fame. Dom But that’s for a different day, this week Mask of William is up to bat. Mask, lets clear the air here, before you get on that high horse, before you slap on that mask of yours I want you to remember this simple fact, there is a reason people are always talking about me. It’s because I’m a threat. It’s because after all the bullshit I’ve been through, I emerge on top. I emerge victorious and the only thing people have to do is hand their head in shame. Shame from being beaten by the best. It’s reality. There is no other way around Mask, I have to be the best, Every week I do my best to beat myself, to do better than me! Now not only do I have to outdo my in ring performance, I have to outdo my entire show! I have to make myself and Avulsion better week after week! The scary part about it, is I’m confident that I can do it! I truly believe that I can handle the work load every single week! Things have changed in the NLCW, I have lead the Revival to the promise land already, now we just have to stay here. I am Like no Other, I am the Entity, and I will motivate the Roster, that motivates me. I have become better then Bucky and the former Saints, turning the old lost prophets into exiles! I am eliminating the old and propelling the new to heights never before seen. NLCW’s Salvation is here, here to Save the NLCW from its coma, here to save NLCW from the several cancerous diseases that are latched on, here to save all of you. Listen to my voice, look into my eyes, watch me and you know it’s the truth, you feel it, like an aura when you accept that I am the champion of a dying promotion, why is the NLCW dying? Because of the focus on the old dogs. The old dogs that are no longer active still get grave reviews while the new guys, like me get over looked. I worked damn hard to get this here championship; I worked damn hard to get notice. I worked damn hard to shin the light on guys like Drew, Kolby and the rest of the new blood. This is our time to shine. Now man the fuck up. It’s a measure of invincibility, a feeling like no other; it gives you the courage to do whatever you want. When you accept that we are the life line of NLCW into your life you aren’t doing anything for me, you are only helping your own stock grow, spreading the word to the weak and the powerless and in return making them part of something special. I have pushed this companies ratings through the roof. I have pushed the envelope of what can and can’t be done, what should and should not be done. Mask of William can you honestly compete with me, can you honestly compare yourself to me? You are rated PG-13, and I am TV-MA, Rated R, uncensored! You are a watered down hipster, still attempting to find the glory of the olden days. You are attempting to find some sort of spark to stop you from sinking lower down the ladder of curtain puller, while I am only growing to be better and better. I have a very long career to look forward to, while your career is days away from its final chapter. Just like Bucky, Mask your time is rapidly approaching. William, you’ve taken a match you can’t possibly win. How can you when no one knows who the fuck you are. Who are you? Are you Me? Are you the Champion of No Limit? No? Thought so. In time, you’ll come to a realization on why I’m the champion. In time you’ll understand than the reason you’re even wrestling is because of me. I paved the way for people like you and you think I’m gonna hold the door open for you to waltz by me? You’ve got to be kidding. Mask of William, you might not believe it but I’m the reason you’re here. You’re not here to be in the mid card forever. You’re here for what I have. So look at this as a crash course. Then maybe then you’ll stop trying. Maybe when I’ll kill you in the ring I’ll throw you out to sea and you can wash up on shore for someone to remember you by. It’s all you’ll be after Avulsion… -- That’s a Wrap! -- |