RP #8- "A Matter of Trust"

[Promo - The Undeniable Words #8, 4/14/08]

All things considered, I figured it was only a matter of time before I was staring down the barrel of a match like this.

With Dishonorable Discharge as close as it is, with my previous close contests with Julian Dark and Joseph St. John still fresh on a lot of people's minds, with their scuffle over the Platinum Championship and with the oh-so-obvious fact that The Tank is looming in closer and closer to his shot at the Bloodshed Championship, it really shouldn't come as too much of a surprise for the four of us to be thrown into the mix in a match-up. And let's face it, if there was a time for it to happen, it was almost certainly going to be the Disclosure before the PPV.

And thus, it's happening. Champions and contenders on each side. The Tank and myself on one side, Julian Dark and Joseph St. John on the other. Definitely an... interesting final main event before the PPV, I'll say that. I'd say all four of us are pretty fired up, all four of us are aiming to make a major statement before the PPV, and all four of us have something to prove- some of us to more than one person it would seem. Hell, even Tank might have something to prove to Julian and/or Joseph, I don't know that for sure yet. And with time running out, this is the last chance we have to prove it.

If there's one thing people are going to be arguing about, it's probably going to be which team co-operates the worst. Let's face it... when you've got two champions tagging with two of the key contenders to their belts, it's not exactly the most conducive environment to a tag team setting. The champions are going to be eyeing the contenders with caution, and the contenders are going to be salivating at the bit to get one up over the champions. Neither wants to be seen as being weaker than the other so close in to the match, and that itself is a danger. After all, if you've got the match won, and all of a sudden your partner won't let you win cause it makes him look bad... well, yeah.

An important factor is going to be which team suffers the most from that. That might determine who wins this thing.

But the thing is, I have to say, at least while Tank and I are obviously opposed to each other right now, we have yet to exhibit the... toxic hatred that Julian Dark and Joseph St. John have for each other. Hell, at least my issues with Tank begin and end with the fact he's coming after my title. But hell, Joseph and Julian have far worse than that to worry about. Do I really need to get into the whole tangled mess of hostility between Kindred, Carliee and Julian on one side, and the St. Johns on the other? Do I need to once again bring up that Joseph put his hands on Carliee? Sure, it sounds like I'm stirring up trouble here, but hell, it's something those two need to seriously start thinking about if they're gonna stand a chance.

Question is, are you two going to be able to bury that hatred long enough to get the job done? You're both pissed at each other and it's started to get uber-personal and it's got your friends tied in. I know for a fact it will seethe inside both of you. Cause I dare say you two probably want to take each other down more than you want to take me down. Sure, the argument could be made that all you have to do is wait until a three-count and a bell and then you can start to beat the tar out of each other, but I'm not even sure you two can wait that long. I could be wrong, of course- and you two probably need to bank on the fact I am. Cause let's face it- if this weren't a tag match, if this were just some random brawl on the street and I was kicking one of you around on the ground, I'd bet the other one of you would either watch and laugh or ask me if I wanted a hand. Something to think about.

With that said, it's time to discuss my opponents independently. Joseph, you're up.

Seeing as you're the first man to speak, Joseph, I figured you'd be the one to deal with first. Have to say, I was interested to hear exactly what you had to say, as it's been quite some time since our last confrontation, and I hadn't had the chance to truly hear everything you had to say on the matter now that you've actually fought me and seen what I'm all about. First and foremost- you haven't got to worry about me casting out slurs and insulting you. I didn't do it before we fought, and I won't do it after you've proven your mettle. I don't do that unless I'm provoked. Will I cut into what you say? Absolutely. Will I point out flaws in your logic should you have them? Totally. But that's a different kettle of fish.

There's something I probably need to make clear right here, right now. Your issues with Kindred London, Carliee and Julian Dark. Obviously, I know all about them and I know what's going on. And a lot of people are probably going to be curious as to what I have to say as I actually get on alright with Kindred and Carliee, and Julian... well, I did show the man the respect he earned after the effort he put on against me. What you're probably wondering is, am I going to jump into this war and take a side?

It's not my place to. That simple, really. Whatever the hell's going on with you six is for you to work out. It's no business of mine, and about the only real interest it has for me in this match is that it could influence the outcome of it- for better or worse. Whatever issues you guys have, it's for you lot to sort out. You put your hands on Carliee, and odds are Julian and Kindred are going to want to cut you up with rusty razors for that, but I'm gonna leave them to do that. I won't take a side unless I'm forced to, and I'd like to think I won't be forced into that position.

With that said, perhaps you'd end up wishing I had taken a side, because then maybe I'd be angry enough to make mistakes you could capitalise on. Let's face it, we both knew a second match involving the two of us was inevitable. We both worked out as much before our last match. Is it the one on one we really need to have some day? No, but it'll do. Let's face it, while technically I picked up the win and you picked up the loss, I didn't put the hold on and you didn't tap out. You and I were contributors to a match I didn't win for my team and you didn't lose for yours. We're in limbo, and I reckon we still have a few things to prove because of that. One of us, after all, still has to pin the other or make the other tap out. Looks like we get a second chance at doing that.

[MAIN STORY]

DATE/TIME: 2:30AM, Sunday April 13, 2008
LOCATION: Rooftop, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Steve Jason hated mystery call-outs. Particularly in the middle of the night.

Then again, Steve should have expected it. Saturday evening had been relatively quiet. In some senses, a little too quiet. Nobody had really been calling around the apartment, Dougy and the crew had their hands busy at The Shack, Diablo seemed to be leaving Steve out of his beef with Dougy, and his opponents for the upcoming tag team match- and his own partner, to boot- had been rather quiet for Saturday, which meant that Steve hadn't had an awful lot to do other than train. He'd even racked up an early night, falling into bed at 10PM and expecting quite a long sleep.

Of course, one SMS in the middle of the night immediately changed that. Steve wasn't usually the kind to bother with any text message sent at 1AM, but wording like 'meet me @ this address ASAP - you really need to get up here, Steve Jason' kind of screamed that something was going down. Of course, it could just as easily been a waste of his time, but Steve figured anyone who actually bothered to use proper English in a text message had to be playing it pretty serious. And thus it was that Steve had hared it through the streets of Philadelphia in the middle of the night until he had finally come to the place he was looking for- a relatively decent-sized building in the CBD, which, last time he'd checked before entering, a helicopter had been seen approaching, along with a number of bright searchlights reflecting from.

Now Steve stood in the elevator of the building, trying to ignore the pressure building in his ears as he rapidly ascended the heights. A simple black jacket, dark denim jeans, white t-shirt and black t-shirt were all that protected him from the outside world as he simply stood, hands in his pockets, waiting for the elevator to finally take him to his destination.

Finally, with an abrupt and rather stereotypical *ding*, the elevator doors slid open and a sudden blast of air ruffled Steve's jacket and rushed around his hair as the exposed, wide-open rooftop of the building came into view. Steve instinctively took a couple of steps out of the elevator, then looked around.

It was bright up there- far brighter than Steve had expected in the dead of night. The four searchlights which he'd seen from the ground were on each corner of the rooftop, to the point where Steve found it hard to look at the beams swinging around over the night sky. Nevertheless, he could still see the twinkling blue, white and red lights of the other buildings all around him- and he could even make out some of the light-illuminated Delaware river below. The rooftop itself was huge- it would have taken a fair run to get from the far end to the other. On the far end of the roof, satellite dishes, antennae, and all sorts of electrical equipment and constructs were set up. The middle of the rooftop was what was more important to Steve right now- there was a raised, octagonal-shaped helipad set up there. Mounted on top of it was the helicopter Steve had seen coming in from the ground- easily capable of fitting four people, bright white with a blue stripe along the side. Its rotors had stopped cycling, but the door of the helicopter was open, and it was obviously still occupied.

Other than Steve, and other than whoever was in the chopper, there was only one man out on the rooftop. Steve knew him, of course- and odds were it was none other than he who had sent out the text message. He was dressed like he usually was- black woolly watch cap over his head, clean-shaven face, a black coat drawn around his white turtleneck, dark jeans and thick black boots. What he was doing here was anybody's guess, given that the last time the two had met was under very tense circumstances.

"The hell's going on, Sergei?" Steve demanded, stepping out to confront one of Jim Diablo's closest associated.

"Friendly as ever, I see..." Sergei replied with a sly smirk, "Suppose I don't blame you."

"Whatever. Didn't I tell you to rack off and stay out of my business from here on out the last time we met?"

"Actually, I believe you told me to tell Jim Diablo that..." Sergei chuckled, shaking his head slightly, "We are two different people. In fact, that's what I'm here to talk to you about. I understand that Diablo's been causing a problem for your friend Douglas recently."

"That's right. Dougy told him to get lost. As I understand it, that's still the answer, so if I were you I wouldn't waste your..."

"Will you hear me out, please?" Sergei's voice had a faint flicker of annoyance in it, "Diablo knows it's pointless to try to convince either of you any other way. That's not why I'm here. On the contrary, I'm here to... defect."

"Oh yeah, and I haven't heard that one before..." Steve cast his eyes skywards, "How dumb do you think I am?"

"What do you need to believe me?" Sergei shrugged.

"A reason would be good. Better yet, give me something that actually proves that you're done with him."

"Alright, then. I tell you what. I'll tell you the whole story behind why Diablo's causing problems for Dougy. Would that help?"

"It's a start."

"Alright then." Sergei shifted suddenly, sitting down on the edge of the helipad as if to get comfortable, "It's very simple, really. You're familiar with the property that Dougy bought off the market, right?"

"That's right. The Shack. Apparently he swiped it out right from under Diablo's nose, and Diablo got his tampon fuse lit about it."

"It's a little more complex than that. Diablo can deal with losing a particular property, even if he was virtually cheated out of it like Dougy did. The problem is that Diablo had serious plans for that property. The Shack is placed in an ideal part of town to expand his business empire. He's got everywhere else pretty well covered, and he needed somewhere in that part of town to extend his enterprise further. Put yourself in Diablo's shoes. Not only is your plan ruined, but it's ruined literally at the last second of bidding by a halfwit who's turning it into his own virtual clubhouse."

"That is more or less what Dougy's doing..." Steve admitted, "Don't really agree with the halfwit bit, though."

"It's angered him. Jim Diablo is not a violent man, but he sees someone like Dougy as one of the 'little people'. Men like you he sees as powerful, but potential pawns. He thinks that if he can put enough pressure on Dougy- not necessarily do anything, but just intimidate him a bit- he might be able to freak Dougy into selling it, leaving Diablo to continue his enterprise. Of course, he has two problems. The first is that Dougy's quite stubborn and clinging to his 'dream'- and let's face it, he's obnoxious as they come."

"The second?"

"The second is you, Steve. Diablo can only hope to psychologically intimidate Dougy, because to harm Dougy, he'd have to get through you. Diablo knows he can't touch you, and he might not have an enforcer up to the task. Who's he going to send, Chanah? You already beat her in a fight rather soundly. So he's waiting. He's trying to figure out something else he can use to pressure Dougy. Something that can get around the problem of you."

"Alright then. Well, I'll admit, telling me that much about Diablo's plans and risking his wrath tells me that you might be serious about this. But..." Steve's brow narrowed suddenly, "How do I know you're not lying?"

"I thought that might be a question you'd ask..." Sergei admitted, "So I thought I'd bring a couple of the people who got through to me, and who convinced me that what Diablo was doing to Dougy was wrong." As that was said, Sergei raised a hand up in plain view of the helicopter and spun a finger around, signalling for them to come forward. As Steve peered up at the helicopter, sure enough two figures were visible emerging. The first man was tall- taller even than Steve's six-three. At least four inches taller. His build was somewhat average- not rail-thin and lanky, but not overloaded with bulk or excess muscle either. His hair was dark and clipped short around his head, and was encircled by a thin white sweatband around his forehead and head- a white that matched the sweater enclosing his form above the blue jeans and sneakers. His eyes were the exact same green as his brother's, and while his expression was somewhat more calm than his more excitable brother's, there was something about him that screamed... Dougy.

"You've gotta be kidding me..." Steve blinked.

"S-Freakin'-J!" Marcus 'Stretch' McNamara boomed suddenly in a deep voice much rivalling the squeaky crack of his younger brother Dougy, striding forward and reaching out a hand which Steve quickly seized in a firm handshake, "My God, look at you, mate! How are you?"

"Good, good! Man, I haven't seen you since I left."

"I know. Twelve long years, mate. Twelve years since you left the Coast and sought out bigger and better things. Look at the freakin' size of you! Hell, is that stubble on your face? Never thought you had it in you."

"Heh. Miracles never cease, I guess." Steve grinned, "Come to bail your little brother out of trouble, eh?"

"Like always, mate. Like always. Anyway, you haven't seen who's with us yet. She's gonna shock your brain, mate!"

"She, eh?" Steve smirked, rubbing his chin slightly, "Which of the Sunset Crew chicks did you con into coming all this way? One of Dougy's old exes, no doubt?"

"Believe it or not, no- although she might have certain significance for you. Hey, KH! Come on out here and say hi!"

KH? Those initials didn't ring a bell, and Steve had committed the names of most of the Sunset Crew to memory. He blinked, focusing his eyes on the helicopter and on the last person departing from it. Unlike the hulking figure of Stretch, this one was small and lithe, and quite obviously feminine. About five-four or so, if Steve were to guess. She was dressed in similar colour-scheme to Stretch, a snowy white off-the-shoulder sweater covering her slender upper-body, and blue denim jeans closing off her lower. The facial features, however, were what caught Steve. She was young, no doubt- maybe early to mid twenties- but that wasn't it. There was something about long brown hair hanging down over her shoulders and the soft facial features that definitely struck something in Steve's memory. The eyes were darker... but other than that, the familiarities were definitely there...

"You may notice she looks a little similar to somebody you used to know very well..." Stretch grinned knowingly.

She did look familiar. Almost hauntingly so.

"She looks like Felicia..." Steve answered slowly.

"Bingo. You never actually met this little lady, cause as we all know that unfortunate incident involving Mr. Hawking and his secretary in 1993 meant that she and Felicia went with different parents after the breakup, and you never met her when you knew Felicia. Steve, I have the pleasure of introducing one Felicia Hawking's younger sister, Miss Kate Hawking."

"Wow. This is kinda over my head right now..." Steve chuckled, holding a hand out, "Uh... it's a pleasure to meet my former high school sweetheart's long-lost sister."

"Shocking, I know..." Hell, even the voice was slightly familiar, although her voice was a fair bit lighter than Felicia's, "I came over to the Coast a few years after you left. I know all these guys really well. Even knew Dougy pretty well, which is why I'm here. Sergei came over asking about Dougy, and kind of slipped up and let on that he was here for Diablo. Sergei was already pretty upset about some of the... things Diablo was asking him to do, and after we really spoke to him, he decided he didn't want any part of crushing or intimidating Dougy. But we figured it was pretty much you and Dougy all alone out there, so we figured you needed some help."

"I'd decided I was going, of course. Dougy was my brother and I had the right..." Stretch explained, "The others... well, the others had their own lives they had to take care of here. Kate just got out of university though, and she figured she could start her life anywhere she wanted. Add that to the fact that Dougy had helped her out a lot in the past, and she jumped. So we figured..." He punctuated his point with a bright smirk, "...might be time to take the Sunset Crew to the US."

"I hope that's evidence enough for you that I'm on your side, Steve..." Sergei finally intervened, rising up from his seated spot to face Steve, "I think it's fair to say that I would not have brought your friends here were I not legitimate- and they would not have vouched for me if they hadn't known I was on the level. Add that to the fact that I told you about Diablo's plans, and I think it's pretty obvious that I'm on your side here. The bottom line is, I can help you."

"If my best friend's brother and Felicia Hawking's sister vouch for you, then that's good enough for me, Sergei. But I'm not the only one you've gotta convince. Dougy's on the list too."

"I know. Nevertheless, I'll try." Sergei turned to regard the three of them, then shrugged, "As it is, you three obviously need to catch up, and I have things to do, so I'll leave you be. I'll be in touch."

Steve nodded in affirmation, leaving Sergei to work his own way back towards the elevator doors on the far end of the building. As the faint ding could be heard once again, Steve turned to face the two of them, offering a slight chuckle.

"Well... that's it. Welcome to Philly, guys. Not a bad little town, I must say."

"It is quite pretty from up here..." Kate admitted, dark eyes gazing out over the sparkling lights of the buildings around them. "Don't know an awful lot about the place, to be honest. I didn't look before I leapt- just heard Dougy was in trouble and decided to jump in."

"It's worth the move." Steve grinned, "Dougy's about to start some booming empire, and I'm doing pretty good for myself."

"I bet you would at that. PDW, eh? How's that working out for you? I still can't believe you actually did the wrestling thing, given how many people back home thought you couldn't when you left."

"It's working out good. Hairy few weeks coming up, though. I've gotta fight two pretty impressive newcomers at the PPV, and I've got to team with one this week. I'm not sure how I feel about that, to be honest. He might take this one chance to get one up on me, and damned if I trust him, but I guess I haven't got much of a choice but to do it."

"Still, that must suck..." Kate remarked, "Having to work with someone you don't like..."

"Oh, I don't actually care one way or the other about him, to be honest. I'm not his friend, but I don't really have an issue with him other than the fact he wants my title. As long as he plays along and does the damn job, then I'm happy. If he decides to do anything stupid... heh, well, that's when things might get interesting."

"Is that really what you've decided to do here, then?" she asked curiously, "Stay here in Philadelphia? I heard you first did this out of a 'what the hell' sort of thing."

"Sometimes I wondered the question myself..." Steve answered, cupping a hand to his chin as the wind blew around him, "Sometimes I wondered, would this be a temporary move, would I be like Jem and so many others who just dropped on by before moving on to somewhere new- or back to California. But the place has grown on me a bit. Still don't know a lot of people, but I know enough, and life's good here. I feel like I belong... and part of that's made me proud to be the champion I am. I feel like it actually means something, you know? Yes, I think this is what I'm doing. I think I'll be here for quite some time yet."

"Awesome. I have to admit, I'm going to take some serious time to get a feel for the city myself..." Stretch conceded, "I want to see the operation Dougy's running. He wanted a surf shop running, and hell... who better to help him than a Sunset Crew original?"

"You're serious, then? About hanging as the Sunset Crew again? With Dougy?"

"With more than just Dougy..." Stretch grinned, "What do you think, SJ? You up to renewing your membership after all these years?"

"Renewing my membership? Dude..." Steve laughed suddenly, regarding Stretch with a mixture of amusement and surprise at the offer. Stretch merely watched in interest, while Kate had a certain look of anticipation on her face, as if she wasn't exactly sure of the answer. Steve drew it out deliberately, holding it for the longest period before finally reaching out to seize Stretch's hand, shaking it firmly as he made his final statement.

"...I never left."

[CONTINUED: Promo - The Undeniable Words #8, 4/14/08]

As it is... I have to respect the fact that you acknowledge that while my team was the better, you're taking another crack. Too many times I've encountered people who either claim that I won through a fluke I had nothing to do with, or they've given up hope and figured it's not even worth trying next time. To have the drive and the willingness to take another shot, yet to have the brains to learn from your mistakes and try not to make them again... well, that says to me that you may still give me one of the challenges I've been looking for.

That said, don't expect me to make it easy. I don't think I have to tell you that again, but just as you want to prove yourself by one-upping me, I'm in a fairly formidable position myself. Let's face it, I got by the Prodigy Champ once- if I get by his number one contender, who do you think's going to have virtual carte blanche to call in a shot in the future- against either you or Julian? I'm not done with the Bloodshed Championship yet, but the the will come where it's necessary to move up a notch- and to do that, I need to prove myself over you.

You're absolutely right in one thing you said, Joseph- you are still here. You are still coming, and odds are you will keep coming at me for time and time to come. But you're assuming it's going to be a case of me at the top of the pyramid, sitting and waiting for you to come running up at me, twiddling my thumbs until it's too late. That's not quite how it works. I'm not complacent and I'm not just going to sit there while you come up at me. You can come running up those steps, but I'm going to be running straight back down at you. Sometimes I'll knock you off. Sometimes you'll throw me down. But I tell you something, I'll run straight back up and pull you back down. That's the nature of the game- just know that every time you keep coming, I'll be waiting and it won't just be a panicked defence. It will be the perfect balance of defence and offence that'll bring you to your knees. If I have it my way, such will be the way in this match.

And that brings me to Julian Dark. Now, a lot of people are probably asking- what the hell went on with our last match? And I'm not talking about Aurora Snow turning it into a no-DQ match, or the now-priceless moment of Julian being forced to come down to the ring in his boxers- although both of those were rather 'what-the?' moments in and of themselves. What a lot of people are probably scratching their heads about was the aftermath of the match. Most of the time, you do one of two things after a match like that- you either go to the turnbuckle and celebrate, or you get out of dodge before someone decides to get vengeance. I chose a different option. I chose to offer the olive branch and shake the man's hand. I've had a lot of people ask me just what does that mean- am I the next big wheel in the Londons-Dark alliance? What was it about?

Pretty simple, really. Out of everyone I've faced, Julian Dark came the closest to finishing me off. You saw what we had to put in for that match. I had to exhaust everything I possibly had to put Julian down and finish him off. This man almost beat me. One on one. If he'd done it, I wouldn't have had any excuses, I couldn't have claimed it was a bad day, I couldn't have said it was a fluke, I couldn't have said a damn thing. That deserves recognition. The man brought me within a hair of defeat, to the point where people are going to have a hard time calling this match because of it. I gave credit where it was due.

With that said, that gesture means nothing going into this match. Neither he nor I can afford it to mean anything. There is a very large chance that Julian and I will end up in that same position again- in the same ring at the same time- and I simply cannot afford for there to be any mercy. Not when he came as close as he did. What can I say, Julian? I... er... I do hope you have a better choice of wardrobe for this contest... hah, sorry, I couldn't resist. You know what I'm all about now. You know I'm for real and you know what I'm capable of doing. You know just what any win in this match means- whoever scores the victory doesn't just send a message to his opponents, but also to his partner. You beat me, then you prove something major to Joseph St. John. I beat you, and I show The Tank just who he's dealing with and how hard it's going to be for him to come out a victor. Once again, we've both kinda got something to prove. And I guess once again, it might just come down to the wire if it's us two determining it. But I think you know by now that I'll stop at nothing.

Just... heh... don't piss off Aurora and Dayshia again. I don't want to see you coming out there in a G-string on Tuesday, you hear?

Suppose that brings me to you, Tank. Come on, you didn't think I'd go to all the trouble of discussing people in this match without dragging you up, right?

At Dishonorable Discharge, you and I aren't just going to fight- we're probably going to tear each other into bloody pieces, and we're going to use every trick in the book to do it. I say that now with absolutely no mercy in my voice. But before we get there, we have to go through this. Do I trust you? God no, not for a second. Fact of the matter is, I don't know what you're gonna do. Could you throw this match just to soften me up before the big show? I don't know, you might. But it's a situation I'm more or less stuck with, so I'm going to at least hold up my end of the bargain. Whether you do or not is up to you.

But consider this. You are getting a very rare chance, one that very few opponents of mine actually get before facing me. You actually get to be in the ring with me without actually having to fight me first. You've got advance warning. I don't consider that giving too much away, as I will essentially have those same advantages myself, but it's nevertheless something to consider.

One way or the other, this is happening. Regardless of your intentions, I'm marching down there, I'm facing off against Joseph St. John and Julian Dark, and I'm going to bring it.

Just make damn sure you can keep up with me.

And that... IS UNDENIABLE!