'tis the season

[Rook Black]

ROOK: “We have got ...”


(FADE IN: ROOK BLACK, his upper body a mess of countless cuts glossy with the shine of liquid bandage applied to them, his face with butterfly strips, his jawline, forehead, across the bridge of his nose.)


ROOK: “... to do this kind of thing more often.”


(ROOK inhales deeply, his eyes are bright and shining, either side of his mouth has a strange upward pull that might possibly be his face relearning to smile genuinely after so long.”


ROOK: “Because that kind of thing, is what I call fun. Pulling out the stops, getting down to chaos and conflict, getting long overdue pieces of a retaliation. Pushing for everything at every moment. In an otherwise dull and meaningless existence, for a brief window of time, you get the pleasure of feeling like you are alive for once.”


ROOK: “Pain, abrasions, lacerations, these are fucking illusionary. Y’all might get me to go gnostic or something should this keep up.”


(ROOK shivers.)


ROOK: “Congratulations are due to Impulse of course. I had honestly thought I’d had it locked, but you made the right move at the right time, and you came out ahead. Don’t mistake this respectful acknowledgement as an offer of friendship or something silly like that though. I much prefer being your enemy to the friend you forget about. Likewise, don’t be too upset if fits my particular set of goals and plans for yet another Castor victory over you, so I’ll be pulling for that guy. But just the same, good luck.”


ROOK: “And Eric!”


(ROOK clasps his hands together.)


ROOK: “I have new respect for you! You are a hard motherfucker to get a piece of when you’re ducking and diving! But I otherwise basically haven’t changed my opinion. I’m far from satisfied with the small taste of causing you harm I fought so hard for the other night. So, yeah, that.”


ROOK: “Legion. Thank you for being you.”


ROOK: “Now, in the midst of my endorphin driven zone of all-is-right-with-the-world at Reloaded, I got to watch the formation … or perhaps merely the revelation of existence of the Hellfire Club.”


ROOK: “An interesting coup d’etat, I’d been curious about when Troy and J.J. would have their big betrayal. And there it was. Now Dorchester remarks that you’re coming for every belt?”


ROOK: “Where’s the downside?”


ROOK: “A group of motivated backstabbing bastards driven to win at all costs?”


(ROOK side eye.)


ROOK: “This is the big threat? Giving everybody, fans and talent and management, exactly what they want? Energized threatening competition for all?”


ROOK: “What you have given us here, is this:”


ROOK: “A motherfucking early Christmas.”

 

[GreggG]

(CUT TO: The Hellfire Club insignia which dissolves into a shot of JJ DeVille pensively staring outside of his Arlington, VA townhouse overlooking the Washington DC skyline. JJ slowly turns and has a face that shows he has eaten many a canary.)

JJ: "Rook Black, I'm so, so, so glad we've managed to find some time to chat. You're one of the few guys on the roster, Rook, who was smart. You stayed clear of me and The Windham Clan's business. You kept your mouth shut and I never had you double initial the food vendor requisition paperwork orders dating from May 2010 to April 2011. You did your business and I did mine. I applaud you for that."

(JJ offers a smug slow clap.)

JJ: "Rook, allow me to also applaud you for have the balls to be the first person to address The Hellfire Club publicly. I mean no offense by this Rook, but you're not viewed as one of the faces of NFW. The people everyone associates with New Frontier Wrestling -- the Eddie Mayfields, Castor Stryfes and Jack Bryants -- haven't uttered one word. That's because our coup d'etat was so shocking and so stunning that it has rendered this roster PARALYZED. So, Rook, again -- a sarcastic clap for you."

(JJ offers another sarcastic slow clap.)

JJ: "Rook, you're a cold and logical man. You heard what Dorchester had to say. Title belts are currency in professional wrestling. Holding a title belt means you command respect. And, more importantly, it also gives you power. It gives you leverage. There is no one who understands what power and leverage mean in this business than yours truly. I went from being a relic of yesteryear, an in-joke laughed at and dismissed, to the most wildly detested man in professional wrestling today all because I understood the benefits of gaining power."

(JJ stares.)

JJ: "Rook Black, I don't need to spell this out for you. I need to spell it out for all of the wretched refuse watching at home and all of the knuckle-draggers who dot locker rooms across the world. You have the Triple Crown Championship belt. The Hellfire Club wants all of the NFW's titles. Ergo, we are coming for your title."

(JJ purses his lips.)

JJ: "Allow me to make this more specific for you. *I* am coming for your championship belt. Why me, you ask? After all, I am the leading villain in these parts. I and my co-horts engineered the biggest power play in wrestling history. I shunted aside my own mentor and hero to claim his spot. Before that, I humiliated Jack Bryant for months at a time. I shut down a show in South Carolina and an entire European tour. I made the entire roster get on a Katrina bus for a deposition for a lawsuit I filed -- and quickly withdrew, once I proved my point. I pinned Castor V. Stryfe, the only man to do so over the past oh-so many year. I frustrated Eddie Mayfield at every turn in the paperwork game to the point where he nearly quit. I caused Impulse's rat to have a miscarriage and also pinned him in the middle of the ring, exposing him as the mass-marketed overhyped little runt that we both knew he was ahead of time. I dug up Dan Ryan's daughters bones and he left NFW with his tail tucked between his legs."

(JJ looks out the window.)

JJ: "My resume speaks for itself. I am the man who stirs the drink in these parts. Impulse it the number one contender and I didn't just dispose of him, but I sullied his name and reputation forever. Castor Stryfe is the champion and I am the last man to pin his shoulders to the mat. Why, then, am I not going for the NFW World Title? Logic dictates, and you'll understand this, that's the most sought after prize in professional wrestling."

(JJ smirks.)

JJ: "Well, Rook, it's simple. I have long prided myself on being a true leader of men. Leaders such as myself set examples. And this is why I am stepping away from the grand prize and coming after yours. I don't need to prove a thing to my fellow Hellfire Club members. I certainly don't need to prove a damn thing to any of this league's roster members or the slopeheaded mongrels watching at home. But you are seeing three men and one woman unite behind a common bond for dominance and destruction. By going after the low-hanging fruit, I am proving to you all what we say we are -- a unit without ego, forged in order to destroy all in its wake. There has never been anything like this in professional wrestling and there never will again."

(JJ purses his lips.)

JJ: "I'm pretty awesome, Rook. I've had a two year period that is untouchable in terms of rising the ranks. My plot to take Troy Windham's spot is now complete. Now, Rook, I'm here to take yours. You think this is going to be like Christmas? Well, if that's the case, I have a whole box of old Target gift cards to hand over to you after I -- WE -- take your title and crush your will to ever wrestle again. I'm coming for that belt, Rook. Do what thou wilt."

(JJ holds up The Hellfire Club hand gesture. FTB.)