Post by Christian Kane on May 24, 2015 7:54:32 GMT -6
KANE VICE: HEROES
•••
░ WHAT IF I'M THE ONLY HERO LEFT,
YOU BETTER FIRE OFF YOUR GUN,
YOU BETTER FIRE OFF YOUR GUN,
ONCE AND FOREVER ░
•••
A day in April,
Location Unknown,
Time Unknown
“I never really wanted it to come down to this.” James McKinely rubbed his chin as he looked down at me, my hands tied behind the chair I was seated on. “You think that was a smart move? Being an accomplice to a murder?” I looked off to my right, away from McKinely before being slapped in the face. “ANSWER ME!” He bellowed.
With a grimace I turned to the government agent. “What does it matter to you?”
“He was working for us.” He held up two fingers. “Two major informants. Double the information. Much easier to take someone like Valentina down. But you went and you FUCKED IT UP!”
“I didn’t do a goddamn thing.” And I didn’t. Fuck, Valentina wanted me to do it, but I’ll happily admit that I was too scared to. To take another man’s life? That wasn’t me. I’m not a killer...I’m just a wrestler. I don’t know how I got caught in this mess. I could feel my cheek burning from the slap as I spoke again. “Like I told you, I went with her. I didn’t kill him, McKinely. It was her. She gave me one of her guns and I...I-”
“You’re a fucking pussy, that’s what you are.”
He had that smug fucking smirk on his face, I stared at him for a few moments, wishing he was the one begging for his life. “I guess.”
McKinely seemed satisfied with that admittance, chuckling to himself before he began to stroll around the chair. “I assume you’re still fucking her.”
I sighed heavily. “No, I’m not.”
“...You’re not?”
“Not after what happened with Ceahna.”
He was standing behind me but I could feel his eyes. There was almost silence for a moment, the only sound being a faucet dripping in the corner of the room. It sounded like the drips were counting the seconds. There were 13 before he spoke again.
“So you finally got close to her...and then you decide not to?”
“You used this situation to push away the one girl who finally got me, McKinely. The one girl who was everything to me. You pissed it all down the motherfucking drain and for what!?”
“For what?” He laughed. “Oh, I thought it was very clear. As long as Valentina Rodríguez walks free, I own you. You’re lucky I’m out there letting you earn with that wrestling bullshit. The situation you’re in? You’re lucky. Don’t forget that. You think I was gonna let your life be a fairytale? Where you got the girl and lived happily ever after? You never deserved her. You’re the one who got caught trying to sell coke. I had to show you who was in charge here, and that’s why I made you do what you did. This is all on you, and how do you think those people will react if I revealed it all? I’d calm the hell down, because if I was you, I’d wanna keep this whole thing quiet.”
He was right. I did want to keep it quiet. The people have finally come around, they finally love me. And I’ve embraced them back. But...ah shit. I don’t know. It was too much to deal with, sometimes. The whole going back and forth to Miami deal was taking it’s toll on me, the stress, the worrying...it was just too much - and it wasn’t something I could just walk away from. McKinely did own me...and I could do nothing about it. I knew that of course, McKinely would never reveal what I’ve been doing over the past few months, he was indeed bluffing - but I didn’t want to challenge him on it. I shifted uncomfortably in the chair.
“You’re right.” I muttered, swallowing my guilt. “I’m sorry.”
I saw him crack a smile out the corner of my eye. “About time I heard that. I don’t want to have to be rough with you, Christian. You’re a piece of shit, but you’re one that I’m glad is on our side. Just remember who you’re working for, and why you’re working for them. I don’t want to have to be the one to lock you away for good.”
I stayed silent, but I laughed to myself in my mind. It’s become clear to me that if the circumstances were any different he’d be happy to put me in prison. Fuck this guy, but if I wanted to be rid of this perpetual headache I’d have to do his bidding and help to put Valentina behind bars, where she rightfully belongs.
Satisfied with what he had to say, McKinely made his way up the stairs and out of the room, ordering to men standing near him to uncuff me before he disappeared. I rubbed my wrists as I was escorted out of the building, left on the side of the road watching as the black SUV sped away into the horizon. Reaching into my pocket I pulled out my cell phone, but it got no reception. With a pout I shoved the phone back into my pocket, resigned to walking until I found somewhere...something.
Cursing my position all the way, I finally found a gas station. Relatively empty, but what I was truly looking for was bolted against the faded yellow concrete wall.
A payphone.
Tapping the keys, I rested a palm against the wall whilst the phone rang, the black handset pressed against my ear.
“Valentina. It’s me. We need to talk.”
•••
░ WE ARE THE HEROES OF OUR TIME,
BUT WE'RE DANCING WITH THE DEMONS IN OUR MINDS ░
•••
░ WE ARE THE HEROES OF OUR TIME,
BUT WE'RE DANCING WITH THE DEMONS IN OUR MINDS ░
•••
Zack Lifer, I never really wanted it to come down to this.
I’ve been a wrestler for just under 11 years, and at times the passion I had waned, but not for long. I love this business and I love the decision I made all those years ago. As a wrestler though, you’ll have to understand that sometimes I have to do what I have to do. And if I have to beat a...
...uh, how can I put this diplomatically?
If I have to beat a...mentally challenged wrestler, then so be it. You’re not the sharpest knife in the drawer, that’s for sure, but I’m big on accountability. If you do something wrong, you gotta hold up your hands and admit your mistakes. Now I’ll know you’ll make a bunch of claims to the contrary, that you’re unstable, that you’re doing no wrong in your own mind, that you have Chuck Matthews whispering in your ear...but that just doesn’t cut it. Not here.
You attacked Nicholas Gray.
You put Anastasia Starling in a coma.
You’re making noise, Lifer, and for once it’s not about which Pokémon you caught or how far along your wife was before you gave her the Zack Lifer Special.
You need to be shut up.
And I, The New Hope, am just the man to do it.
Now in the past few months I have personally and professionally gone through a lot of changes. I dealt with my demons and I came out the other side a better man for it, and with that, my career flourished because of it. Don’t call it a comeback, but this past year I have been resurgent. I’ve beaten everyone that’s been put in front of me, and your name is on that list Lifer. Not only that, but I’ve turned it all around - before I returned my name prompted sad stories of a wrestler with demons who loomed too large for any real potential to be fulfilled. But I changed. I get that people don’t forget, and it wasn’t easy, I won’t pretend it was...but damn it, I changed.
Yet, you still don’t seem to think that I have. Of course when I’ve inquired as to your reasons behind your statements you’ve jumbled your words and have generally given me shit. And do you know why? Because you know I have changed, but you just don’t like me. And that’s fine, Zack. I get it, because I wouldn’t like you either, no matter what you did. But for you to try to proclaim that I haven’t changed doesn’t just insult me, it insults you too. It shows us all just how truly ignorant, blind and lost you are.
So what do you do? You lend Chuck Matthews your ear. If you were wondering, Zack, yes - I beat him too. Superkicked him right on the jaw and down he went. You’d think a mastermind would think to...move out of the way, but alas. Maybe he’s learned his lesson, maybe he’ll tell you to move out of the way. That would be clever, but if you remember back to that four-way match last year, how did I beat you Zack? I curb stomped your face into the bottom turnbuckle. I’m a bag of tricks. And make no mistake, Lifer, I’m going to beat you.
But then I find myself overthinking things, I feel my emotions beginning to get in the way of our match. The last time that happened I got a railroad spike to the face. Ouch, right? And as much as you’d like to replicate ol’ Strike, as much as I hate to say it, you can’t hold a candle to him. So please, leave your weapons at home, they’ll only be used against you at one point or another.
Being honest with you, anyway, I wasn’t all too pleased when I saw that I was going to be sharing the ring with you this week, Zack. I’d say it’s nothing personal, but it is. It’s too personal. I don’t like you. You try much too hard and you still fail, it’s pretty telling of your ability. Because for all of your unpredictability, you’re incredibly easy to figure out. For someone who people tell me is so mentally unstable it’s far too easy to tap into your brain and poke at your weak spots until you snap, and that’s exactly how to beat you. Poke. Poke. Poke.
I mean, let’s face it. Aside from a forgettable International Title reign the only thing you’ve done in this company is be brutalised by Andreas Lasiewicz. Now I can see why you’d say the same thing back to me, citing Chris Strike, but I feel like the tables will be more than turned once I take his title from him at The War Isn’t Over Yet.
As I continue to evolve I’ve begun to understand what’s important - this company and all the great fans who support it. Being a company man, being beloved by fans...it was always something that I had shied away from. I never felt like it was me. I had this deep rooted hate within me that made it impossible for me to care about anything, but now things are different. Because before I probably wouldn’t have taken such an issue with you beyond poking fun at you, but now I feel like I must deal with you. And why?
Because I am the New Hope - and the people need something, someone to believe in. The last man they did, Chris Strike? He turned his back on them, no matter what he’ll try to tell you. But I, Christian Kane, never will. It was about time that someone stepped up to the plate, and doing so means that I can’t let actions like yours slide, Lifer. I’m not only this company’s poster boy, but I am their defender, come whatever may.
If that means defending this company from the likes of you, then so be it. Maybe it wasn’t a fight I’d place myself in in the past, but this time things are different, and I can’t help but feel like yet again we are on different paths, heading to different places. I will become the EXODUS Pro World Champion, whilst you will linger down below as you always do. And that, I don’t fear, is how it will always be.
You are not good enough to be the World Champion, and why? Because you’re delusional. You need a certain sense, a certain dose of realism to make it at the top. You’re shooting for the stars but your closed mind keeps you grounded like cinder blocks chained around your ankles. Yes, Zack, your closed mind. The same mind which never made you a hero. Not even once. Nobody wanted to believe in you, because how could they believe in someone who flipped and flopped? Happily discussing video games one minute to acting like a psychopath the next? You never had what it takes to be a hero, it’s just not in your makeup, so how could you despise them for not taking you into their hearts? It isn’t something that you can decide, and it’s certainly not something that you can make happen. It’s organic and it’s wonderful. You need to understand that.
Your bitterness towards me I could probably understand, but that won’t get you too far either. I haven’t been able to put a string of wins together, Venus and Revolution to blame separately for that. But as my World Championship match draws nearer and nearer, I have the guile to know that I need to build momentum, because Chris Strike isn’t going to slow down, and neither can I.
So come down to the ring on the 25th, Lifer - I’m going to show you how a real hero should act. A man of the people.
The New Hope...
...#STUDLIFE
