Post by Meatball-kun on Mar 8, 2014 15:14:36 GMT -6
One Year Ago
An Apartment
Atlanta, Georgia
William and Jackson continue to stare at each other. There was no mistaking it: This was Chuck Matthews. For a long while, neither of them said a word. William himself struggled with the situation. He debated whether he should refer to him as Chuck right then and there. It was evident that Matthews was lying to Sofia. She knew him as this Jackson character...hell, she'd taken his bullshit name. Sofia and William had been friends since childhood. Surely, William owed it to her to reveal Chuck's deception? But...assuming Sofia didn't know her husband's true identity...would a better friend not leave well enough alone? Sure he was lying to her, but was she really better off knowing? Was it so bad to let her continue to live, believing she'd married...whoever she believed Chuck to be?
Chuck breaks the silence. He smiles wide, extending his hand.
"Well, a pleasure to meet ya, son. I've heard a heck of a lot about you from Sofia here."
William eyes him suspiciously, but shakes his hand.
"Likewise. Sofia's mentioned you quite a bit."
"Good things, I hope?"
"Always. You're a lucky man to have her, Mr. Sincl-"
"Now, come on, there's no need to be so formal. Call me Jackson."
William had to give the man credit: His accent was flawless.
"Jack, I told Will here that he's welcome to stay with us for as long as he needs, until his issues back home blow over."
Jack nods.
"Yeah, I heard about that. Some legal problems across the pond, eh Bill?"
Jackson allows himself a small laugh.
"I know what that's like, always havin' the suits sniffin' around your business. Don't worry about a thing, son. You just do what ya gotta do, and until then, the guest room's yours."
William nods.
"I appreciate that. Thank you."
There's another awkward silence. This time, it's Sofia who breaks it.
"Jack, did you pick up those things for dinner tonight?"
"I did. Left 'em on the table."
Sofia kisses his cheek.
"Thank you. I'll tell you what, I'm going to go and get started on that. Why don't the two of you get to know each other?"
Jack nods, and Sofia smiles at him before leaving the room. Jack watches her turn the corner, out of sight and out of earshot. He turns to William.
"Darlington."
In a second, he had dropped the Jackson Sinclair bit. The southern accent was gone, and in it's place, the familiar, cold voice of Chuck Matthews. William nods.
"Matthews."
"You're friends with Sofia. I can't say I saw that coming."
"Small world, isn't it?"
Chuck says nothing, only staring coldly at William.
"I see you've cut your hair."
"Yeah. How about that?"
"The contacts are a nice touch."
"Never overlook the little details."
"Same bad attitude though, I see."
Chuck shrugs.
"So. Sofia thinks your name is Jacks-"
In an instant, Chuck is inches from William's face, staring down at him.
"I'm not going to dance around this, alright? You are in my house. Thanks to the kindness of my wife. I don't know what the fuck is happening back wherever you come from that you wound up here, but I swear to you, if you fuck this up, I will ship you back to England in several neatly labeled packages. You understand me?"
William smiles.
"Temper, Charles. No need to worry. I'm just staying here until my dear friend back home finishes up some legal work for me."
Chuck narrows his eyes.
"Just keep your mouth shut. We don't know each other."
He turns to leave the room, but Darlington interrupts.
"One question. Exactly how long have you been lying to her, Matthews?"
Chuck freezes. He turns back to William.
"Lying?"
"I mean, she thinks she's married to Jackson Sinclair...does she know who you really are? Does she even know you exist?"
William smiles.
"You've got a long history of manipulating people, Chuck. All of those master plans of yours...all the people you've hurt. What's the end game this time? What are you after?"
"Would you believe I'm completely innocent this time?"
"No."
"I'm hurt."
"Sofia has been a close family friend of mine for years. If you hurt her-"
"Spare me the threats. You leave me to my business, and focus on getting your shit together so you can get out of my house."
William stares long and hard at Chuck. Despite what he claimed, Chuck was up to something. He was always up to something. William and Chuck had never really seen eye to eye. The last time William was in the ring, he was a hot young talent, looking to take the business by storm. Chuck was the bitter vet, spending his days providing commentary for William's matches. And Chuck was not the sort of man that kept his opinions to himself. He had never approved of William's style, his tactics, or the people he associated with. Ironic that now, the same man was married to one of William's childhood friends.
Sofia interrupts the meeting, holding two cups in her hands.
"Tea is ready, William. Two sugar?"
William breaks his gaze with Chuck, and smiles at Sofia.
"You know me well."
"Jack? Tea?"
Chuck smiles, looking away from William.
"I'm alright, thank you, sweetheart."
The accent had returned. He was certainly careful about maintaining the act in front of his wife.
"I think I'm going to head to take a walk around the building. Get a bit of fresh air."
Sofia nods.
"Be back by dinner, won't you?"
"Wouldn't miss it."
He kisses her, making a point to shoot a warning stare at William as he breaks it. Without another word, he turns and walks off. In a moment, William hears the front door close.
"He seemed anxious."
"Oh, Jack's always up and about. I swear, if he stood still for just a second, I think it might kill him. Did you two have a nice chat?"
William looks at Sofia and smiles.
"It was certainly eye-opening. I think Jack and I will get along just fine."
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"So let's review, shall we?"
Darlington speaks through clenched teeth.
"Have at it."
"You walk into your debut match. A tag match. An opportunity, in a new company, to prove that you're not complete shit. You had the chance to go out and prove to EVERYONE exactly who you are. And you chose to walk out."
"Yeah."
There's silence for a moment.
"Why?"
Chuck's voice is calm, despite the evident irritation on his face.
"You're the one who always says not to get into a fight you can't win. So I avoided the fight altogether."
Chuck pauses. He stares at William, narrowing his eyes. Finally, he nods, slowly at first, before his face breaks out into a smirk.
"Well done."
"....You're serious?"
It wasn't often that Chuck handed William a compliment. Truth be told, William had expected a long argument over his actions in his debut match.
"I mean, I wouldn't have done it. And there are definitely some ramifications to your actions. But what's important is that you put some thought into it. You didn't rush, you didn't act rashly, you thought out a plan, you saw it through. Now the trick is to make sure you don't get burned in the aftermath."
"Aftermath?"
"You didn't think that was it, did you? Everybody tries to make these elaborate plans, but nobody really considers that vital aspect. There's always an aftermath. Every decision you make creates a ripple effect. The bigger the act, the bigger the splash, the bigger the waves. Most people assume that once you get what your after, the plan is over, but they seldom think about the long-lasting consequences of what you've done. Every time you lie to someone, people find you a little bit harder to trust in the future. Whenever you build someone up, you establish a connection, an instance you can point to later in order to gain allies. A good plan isn't just about staying three moves ahead. It's about staying three moves ahead in a game you haven't started playing yet."
"So what are the effects of walking out on this match?"
"Worst case scenario? You get fired. Best case? People don't really think anything of it."
"What are my odds of either of those?"
"Almost none. Most likely, you'll get a handful of people who think you ran away from the match. And, to be fair, they're right to an extent. You bailed because you knew you couldn't win it."
"I had a useless partner."
"I agree. I'm not saying you were wrong. I'm saying there's going to be backlash. Congrats, you thought of a plan to ensure you didn't have to fight a handicap. But there's going to be consequences to those actions. Are you prepared to deal with them?"
"I'm up against Justin Brooks."
"One of the guys you were slated against last week?"
"The very same."
"That works in your favor."
"How so?"
"Think about it this way: You walked out on a match. That means there are at least three people that think you're some bitch that ran instead of fought: The partner you left hanging, and the two guys who wound up taking the easy win. Now, Kandi Sinclair? Fuck her, you don't have to prove anything to her. If she really wants to pursue it, you take the match, you win it quickly, and you shut her up. No, it's the two guys you should have fought last time. That's who you need to be focused on. Right now, in everyone's mind, they're asking 'What if William didn't bail?' Now, there's a crowd that thinks it made no difference, that you walked out BECAUSE you couldn't beat them. But there IS another party. There's a group right now that believes that had you not walked out on the match, you would have won it."
"And those are the people I need to appeal to."
"Know your audience. See? You're learning."
"And the best way to appeal to them is to beat the guys I should have beat last match?"
"Exactly. You fight Justin Brooks this week. I can guarantee you he's going to call you a coward. He'll say you walked because you were afraid to fight him. If you beat him, you shut him up. You beat him, you prove that you didn't walk because you couldn't win."
"So what's the strategy against him?"
"Don't rush. Take your time. Calculate. Think out your moves before you do them. Guys like Justin Brooks are a dime a dozen. Big, brutish thug types. They spend most of their time in the gym and can't think of anything more complex than how much protein they should take today. The downside is he's probably stronger than you are. If he hits you, it's gonna hurt like a son of a mother. Be fast. Be smart. Know his moves before HE knows his moves. I can tell you right now, for as athletic as he is, he's not the sharpest tool in the shed. Stay a step ahead, and it'll be a quick win."
"I'll bear that in mind."
William looks at the camera set up to the side.
"So...you're not letting me film a straight promo, are you."
Chuck smirks.
"Like I said. You're learning."