Post by English/Corpse on Sept 3, 2014 22:01:11 GMT -6
VOW Presents
A Casanova English Original
Who are you? Who? Who?
I take a long tiff gulp off my Rye and
7. The table top of the bar was just sanded and freshly stained. The
top was still slightly sticky, but I didn't care. This place is the
only place I can manage to be a repeat customer. My own little dark
corner of Minnesota. People don't judge me here, people don't even
know me here. They are too wrapped up in their addictions, or
supplying someone those addictions. As long as you keep feeding
yourself drink and avoid eye contact you can avoid any awkward
conversation here, because everyone you meet has a secret just a
little darker. I smile looking around at the crowd of big bikers,
skinny junkies. . . the clear dirty cop rubbing up on some red light
district pussy. I take a drink clearing my throat. Standing up I turn
toward the table I told him I would meet him at. I am sure he's not
too impressed with the location.
This war with Star has gone too far,
and it is time I crack this wide open. It is time I open the eyes of
the sheep, of the people that wander faithfully into the ever
glimmering beacon of hope that just doesn’t exist. It's . . . sad.
I pull a chair out from the wooden table and set my booze down, I
pull my leather coat off slowly and drape it over the back of the
chair. I made quite a few connections my time as a journalist. I was
renowned for getting the story at all costs, whether it was black
mail I had to utilize or not. It was usually for the good. It made me
a lot of dangerous enemies, and a lot of powerful allies. Allies. . .
not friends. Friends don't owe you anything.
“Jones. . .”
A voice says behind me before pulling a
chair out on the other side of the table. He didn't take his long
coat off. It was summertime, but night had a chill to it. . . and
well he had a stereotype to maintain. What is a private investigator
without a long coat?
“English I prefer these days Ronald.”
Ronald Chandler, he was a detective for
the NYPD before he moved to Canada to work homicide in Toronto. He
was a good cop, a good cop with bad habits lets say. He did an
amazing job of hiding his cocaine habit upon leaving the NYPD before
they officially began an internal investigation. . . this bit of
information is what keeps him my friend. I hold in my hand the shred
of dignity he has left. If he had not of replaced his coke addiction
with whores he probably would still have a job in Toronto. They
nabbed him in a huge prostitution sting with a few other members of
the force. Now he his stuck down here in the US, traveling taking
whatever cases he can get his hands on. He has a long brown beard now
to hide the age of a man approaching his 50's. A man who had the
potential to be a hero cop, to lead a force, if not for a few vices.
“Ah, right. That is your wrestling
alias is it? Must be nice living in the spotlight.”
“It has it's ups and it's downs I
guess. Really it is all about spreading my message.”
He lets out a chuckle as I wave to the
bartender to send a waitress over with a drink for my “friend.”
“You never stopped fighting the man I
see. You always liked to expose the flaws in our justice system, and
our political one for that matter. The only thing that set me off was
that you were the best one at manipulating both those systems. Your a
person who hates the man so much, that you are the man. That is what
you want to become.”
I take a sip of my rye, as the slim
waitress places one down in front of Ronald. He rolls his eyes and
takes a long drink of his free beverage.
“I didn't ask you to come here to
talk my philosophies. I don't have all day to try and crack that
thick skull of yours. I brought you here because I need a job done.”
“Beautiful choice of venue I might
add. Half of these people I helped pick up on fucking bonds in the
past four months. Are you trying to get me killed?”
I glare at Roland for a moment before
cracking a smile and saying. . .
“If I wanted you dead Ronald I could
of killed everything you were a ling time ago. You just killed
yourself instead. I mean I had that loaded gun, that loaded gun that
could of annihilated your entire family, your entire job. . . but I
didn't fire.”
I don't know why I am getting so mad. I
just need to find out the true identity of Star, and well the woman
that keeps following me. I need to find out who she is, what she
wants. I need. . . human connection. I need to build an army.
“Yeah, so what do I owe you for that?
I mean all I am is a shitty P.I. now. What can I help you with?”
“Well have you been watching VOW
lately?”
“I don't have time to watch
wrestling. I have caught it a few times I guess.”
“Well I have been engaged in a little
bit of a war with a muscle bound space freak. His name is
Starrkadian. Well that is what he is going by anyway. I can't find
anything on him since before he became a wrestler. He says he crashed
here to try and prevent an intergalactic evil. He is from a planet
that humans apparently can't even pronounce.”
Ronald lets out a laugh and takes a
snap of his rye and 7.
“He sounds more bat shit then you
have gotten as of late. Look, I don't even know where to start. . .”
“Well he is six feet tall and two
hundred and sixty pounds, he thinks he is an alien, he is obviously a
wrestling fan. . . so. . .”
“Mental institutions?”
Ronald says throwing his hands up. I
raise my eyebrows in surprise.
“Yeah, actually that seems like a
good place to start. See if you can find anyone that fits the build
that has escaped in the past few months.”
“Yeah, well a fella that big. If he
got out they would know. . .”
He stops to take another sip of his
drink.
“So is that the only reason you got
me to meet you down here?”
“Well there is one more person I need
help finding. I don't have a lot of information on this one. This
girl has been following me everywhere I go. She even got backstage at
the last Breakthrough. She wears a Guy Faux mask, and a black dress
most times. . .”
“Are you sure this one isn't in your
head?”
“No. . . I honestly think it could be
my ex, Kim.”
“Ah, the crazy stalker type. Well
this seems a lot like old times. Me and you chatting in an old run
down bar. Me sitting here wondering if you are going to pay me now
that your knowledge holds less bearing. . . I mean I did get fired
already.”
I hold my drink out smirking, he hits
his glass off mine and we gulp down the drinks. I pull out a wad of
cash and place the amount of my tab down. Look at Ronald I like my
fingers and began to count bills. . . I give him half.
“Nah, she isn't the stalker type, but
she hired her own fella a few weeks ago to check me out. Half now
for the job. . . and half when it is done. I always hear that in the
movies anyway.”
I stand up and pull my leather coat
back over my shoulders. I pluck a white stick from the red package it
gently rested in. Placing a cigarette in my lips I walk away slowly
leaving former detective Ronald Chandler at the table of that broken
down old car, amongst men he used to fight to put away. If this was 5
years ago he'd have to watch his back, everyone would know his name.
Eventually the weights our names carry vanish. I think that gets to
him, his fading importance. I'll give him a reason to live another
day. Ronald reminded me a lot of McCann. This road you walk for
revenge, this battles you fight for lost brothers, broken families. .
. all that doesn’t really matter. At the end of the day your have
to fight for yourself, your vision, YOUR HAPPINESS! If you don't well.
. . then some asshole is giving you cash in a bar to do a job your
too good at to get paid that little. People need to learn to fight
for themselves. Selfishness is not weakness, it's just fucking
business.
I know that Ronald will probably come
up dry in his search for the girl. To be honest she should be an
after thought, but I can't help but think of the possibilities of Kim
being so determined to follow me. How could I decline her request
now? It seems she is understanding The Revolution. Then again. . . it
might not be her. It might be a new pupil, a runway, someone trying
to find a new place to call home. Regardless my nights involve me
pacing my apartment thinking on my next plan to destroy Star, and
bring down the entire VOW, only to build it around MY VISION! I can't
help myself from taking a few minutes to stand by that window. . .
sometimes I see her. . . in the rain. . . in the sun. Like a shadow I
feel her follow me, I feel her pushing me further and further to
enlightenment. Maybe she is waiting for me to destroy Star. Maybe she
needs me to shatter the illusion so she can to come from behind her
mask. She can stop pretending to be something she is not, and she can
embrace The Revolution.
I have high hopes, high expectations
for my next student They are not going to blow themselves up to try
and prove a point. Now they will be cunning, strategic, smart. . .
they will be just like me. It is a crime to keep this knowledge
contained. It is a crime not to cement the longevity of my mission. I
see potential in all these people, I can rip it out of them, break
them down and leave them with the purest version of themselves. This
is how the world will remember my name.
+++++++
I stood in the park, a spotlight at my
back. I set the camera up perfectly on the edge of the coffee table.
This is where you can hear the wildlife breath in the city, yeah some
foxes. . . but usually gorse disgusting morbid pigs that pass
themselves off as human beings. I clear my throat and spit to the
ground below. I step back flicking on the camera so most of my body
can be seen in the shot. I'm dressed in my signature leather coat. I
look at the camera with that sneer, that glare that burns a hole in
my opponent every week.
"I have been in this position before.
The odds stacked in favor of others. It seems all I do here in VOW is
make enemies. See there is a motto I live by I would rather be
hatefully remembered, then forgotten. I will never be forgotten.
Little Stefan wants to book me in a cage match against a muscle bound
lunatic. . . that's fine. . . he wants to put me up against this
undefeated Lucas McCann. I like the pressure. I like the attention.
I'm not scared to be in the sights of a sniper zeroing in on taking
me out. . See. . . I was born with a shotgun to my head."
I pull the red package of cigarettes
from the pocket of my leather jacket. I slide a white stick out,
bring it to my lips and bring it to life.
"I haven't met anyone man enough to take
the shot yet"
I take a long haul and tap the ash off
pulling the cigarette from my lips.
"See now we have the big boss involved
it all becomes clear. They are getting terrified that I am becoming
the voice of this company. I am becoming the defining symbol. You see
smoke and you think Casanova English don't you? See Star at Armed and
Dangerous I can't wait to step in that cage with you. I can't wait to
push your raw flesh into the mesh with my boot as I look Laura in her
eyes licking my lips"
I lick my lips slowly and let out a
maniacal laugh. I take another haul blowing a stream of smoke
directly towards the camera.
"We are approaching my finest work and
then all of the sudden management decides to put me up against a very
formidable opponent. . . I will give him that. Lucas McCann is
undefeated here in VOW. He has put away my nemesis. That gives me a
little added determination to stop this little hot streak before it
goes to your fucking head. Now I know you have been around the block
Lucas. I am not dumb enough to think you are some rookie coming in
this looking to make a name for himself. Nah, you are one of those
people that already has a sizzling hot career, or is it did have a
sizzling hot career? I'm not quite sure what the status is. The point
is you think you can waltz right in here and become the vocal point
of this federation. Well buddy, the position is already taken. Like
it or NOT. . . I am VOW. I am the fucking ratings. Don't make the
mistake of thinking that this is my chance to put away a top tier
competitor, nah. . . this is your audition to the main event of VOW.
Let's see if you can hack it. Let's see if I am as easy to put away
as the bums you have already. See Lucas at first I saw a guy I could
relate to, someone who is determined. Now I will use your success,
everything you worked for as a way to push myself even further in
this company."
"I have discovered Lucas we come for a
different mindset. See you think that a man accepts defeat. I think
you are dead wrong. A man never ever accept defeat, a man tolerates
defeat. A man tolerates loss, but he doesn't let it distract him from
the big picture. He tolerates, but he never forgets. I think you are
lying to yourself Lucas. You are telling me that if I pin you that
you will be able to just accept that defeat. You know how I fight,
don't pretend that you don't. I will scratch, claw, bite, I will do
whatever it takes to win. You think that you go out and leave it all
on the line. . . if you honestly think you give it all you have. . .
then you know for a fact that accepting defeat doesn't make a
champion. You have never experienced defeat here in VOW. You never
tasted that bitter lack of breath, this place is only positive
reinforcement in your little mind. You want to embrace the dark half,
you want to be enlightened. You want to embrace the darkness you came
to the right place, you made a date with the right person. Lucas when
I am the man that stopped your revelation. . . then when you loose
everything only then will you become the perfection you wish to
become. I see it in your eyes. . . the hunt. . . the desire to be the
best. I just think it's funny you think that it is unique. It's
arrogant. Your not the only wolf hungry here. . . let me be the first
to make that crystal clear."
I spin the cigarette around in my hand
before landing it back between my lips and take a long drag. I blow a
billow of smoke into the air like the stack of a factory. This is it,
this is my chance to actually stuff out a really reputable name in
the industry. If I can strip Lucas. . . these people will recolonize
me as a legitimate athlete. They will no longer deny my greatness.
"The word on the street is that you
cat-fished your old pal Shane Sparx as his beloved LaWonda. See Lucas
you want to come across as the strong one in your relationship with
Shane, a relationship that is broken. One that you are scared people
judge you by. You will do anything to not have the blame of the
broken friendship on your shoulders. The truth is. . . you need
Shane. Your starting to realize you can't go it alone. Now you have
no family, and well depression is setting in. You need Shane around
so you stop blaming yourself. That's the weakness in you Lucas. Your
a fucking contradiction. Your humble, yet arrogant. A lone wolf, yet
need support. You accept defeat, but you do everything in your power
to prevent it. You pretend to be noble. You act like you are
wrestling saving grace interacting with the fans, but I see the
contradiction you are. I see a man that is driven by revenge. A man
that couldn't let Shane Sparx shine here in VOW without taking a
portion of his spotlight once again. You are in this for self
satisfaction not that lost brother sob story bullshit. You are no man
of honor. . ."
"I haven't noticed any huge holes in
your game, but mark my words I will find one. I have seen how
distracted you can get. If you let your guard down for a second with
me I will make it count. No matter how sound, how technical you are.
. . I just need one little opening. Your good Lucas, but you are far
from perfect. You can try and do the same. . . I have seen how well
you pick up on this slight miscalculation of others. Well Superman
let me expose you to the krypton. You seem to like to hide pats of
your past. You hide your weaknesses well. .. Oh well, I will find
out all I need to about you at Breakthrough. As sound as you are
technically won't matter, look at the heart of Reya Serra look at how
close she had me. . . and I broke her in half to make the pin. Your
not the only one who “won't ever give up.” Fuck I get tired of
hearing that line. . . It's everyone famous last words"
"I love the people like you in this
game. The white knights with a dark past. In the transition of either
blowing their head off or creating a masterpiece in that ring.
Regardless which one I help you toward Lucas I will be happy. After
you give me all you have. After you attempt to win at all cost. After
you put every breath in your body into this match. I want to see you
bleed, I want to see you kick out as long as blood is pumping through
those veins. Don't disappoint me kid. After you throw all you have at
me, and I keep coming back for more, hungrier. . . I live for this
Lucas. See after you pour your heart and soul out and it still it
isn't enough. . . the day after Breakthrough will be the best day of
Lucas McCann's life. You will be broken, you will be born again. I
will break down everything you think you are"
"I have embraced my darkness, allow me
to lead you to yours Lucas McCann. Take my hand and walk to me into
the black for I am. . ."
The Modern Day Messiah
I blow a final cloud of smoke toward
the camera, tossing the end of the burning cancer stick with it. I
snap the camera off just in time for a vibration to be sent up my
leg. I pull my phone from my pocket and slide open the screen. I
didn't notice the number, but I already knew who it was. . . he was
quick. . . he was resourceful. . .
“Hey English. . . it's Ronald. I have
a line on one of your people.”
“Let me guess. . .”
I say walking through the stone pathway
in the park. . .
“Star. . .”
I didn't have to look behind me to know
that she followed close. . . I can hear her footsteps.