Post by Mac Bane on Nov 10, 2012 11:42:24 GMT -4
The Climb Part 2
{Arkansas – Veteran’s Day}
Old man winter has come for a visit to The Gooch Farm, a thin layer of frost covers everything in sight. The sun is just beginning to rise giving the fields the appearance of electricity as they shimmer in the morning light. Bane has arrived early and sits in his truck with a cup of coffee in his left hand and a red dot scope in his right. He takes a sip of his coffee and sets the cup in the console cup holder. He leans his head back and exhales slowly watching his breath give away the temperature of the morning. He thinks about all the good work he and Buck have done this week, especially yesterday. He was able to push Buck while they were repairing the barbed wire fence, he continued to push harder and harder fighting through the pain of being cut by barbed wire and the screaming of his muscles. That was a good sign for them as a team.
“Doesn’t that belong on a deer rifle?”
Bane looks up at his friend Buck as he arrives and stands by the driver’s side door.
Mac – it does at that…..
Something catches his eye and Bane raises the red dot scope up to look through it as a lone figure approaches the freshly repaired barbed wire fence. Mac smiles a vicious smile.
Mac – Well it appears your vandal has returned. Now we will see if I hid the surprises well enough.
Bane continues watch through the scope as the vandal creeps closer to the fence line. The vandal looks around closely eyeing everything, he spots one of the surprises that they had left for him the previous day stepping to the left to avoid it. The pain he felt when the real trap was sprung must have been immense as he goes down immediately clutching at his ankle where the small varmint trap has sprung!
Mac – gotcha!
Bane watches as the vandal tries to get the varmint trap back open but is in too much pain to pry it open. The young man then tries to drag himself back toward his own property but finds the trap is secured to the fence post. Mac puts the scope down as Buck makes the call to the local police.
Scene fades….
**********
The sun has now reached its zenith and the frost from the previous night all but gone with a few traces of moisture left behind as the frost evaporated. Bane sits on his tailgate while Buck has lunch with his family thinking quietly to himself.
“Famouri is kind of like that kid they arrested this morning. Just like he fell into a well thought out trap so did you Irv. You see, Buck and I are not ignorant, not by a long shot. Buck is quite the fisherman though and he hooked you with great ease and reeled you right in. It’s funny that a young man with so much education could be made to look a fool by someone with so very little. But ignorance shows itself in many forms doesn’t it; too bad you wear yours like a badge of honor. Your blatant hatred for all things American shows yours in living color. While you skulk around in the dark looking for items that hold no more power than the man looking for them, we do what we do in the day light. Does it make us better than you as human beings? No, probably not but I don’t need the cover of darkness to accomplish my goals. You make many assumptions chief, and the idea that Buck is just a simple country boy or redneck was your first mistake. Sure he never went to college, he stayed here and took over the family farm and raised a family of his own on it. Now, that is something to hang your hat on slick. A clean and honest life, he is a proud man, proud of his family and his ability. Of course you’ll find out much like Deruty and Warner did when they took him to be a weak link on this team. It’s a painful truth but its truth none the less. There is one major difference between you and that kid they arrested this morning though. The trap I set for him was a small one, usually used for raccoons or coyotes, the edges when it slams shut are dull meant to trap and only injure slightly. The trap that waits for you has teeth that are meant for a much less humane ending.
Now then onto people and things that are relevant….Johnny Knuckles. How you doin son? That’s quite the schedule your keeping this week isn’t it? Hope you are up to the task of having two matches this week. It would be a shame if you showed up and had to depend on Doctor Strange to carry your team. Because I think we both know he’s not capable of doing that especially against us. None of this is really meant as disrespect Johnny, just here pointing a few things out that you may have missed. I have been on that hot streak and then all of a sudden everything dries up, it doesn’t matter what you try to do, everything goes to hell. As professionals big man, we have all been there, it sucks and what sucks more is you have a guy as your partner that you cannot depend on. He doesn’t give a crap about the titles or this tournament, he just wants it all to be over so he can go back to hunting for figments of his imagination. So it would appear that a tag team match just turned into a handicap match. Doesn’t sound like your luck is getting much better.”
Scene fades…
****
The afternoon sun warms the interior of the truck as they travel towards Little Rock, Arkansas National Airport. The flag of this great country fly everywhere they look on this day to celebrate and remember the men and women who have served and sacrificed all defending this great nation. Things like this always fill Bane with a sense of pride. Buck looks over at his friend and smiles knowing that things like this are important to Bane, knowing he is a very patriotic man.
Buck – makes you proud doesn’t it?
Bane glances over at his friend and flashes a quick smile.
Mac – It does at that, but it also makes me a little sad. Veterans were not always celebrated the way they are today my friend.
A sigh escapes the lips of Buck as he remembers the stories of how their uncles were treated when they returned from Vietnam.
Buck – I was never in the military, but I know about sacrifice and hard work.
Mac – It’s hard to explain to someone that was never in the service. Bonds are formed very early on and many times those friendships last a lifetime. The men and women that you serve with become like an extension of your own family and you part of theirs. Out there, all you have to depend on is them and the training you have received. It’s very much a different world, and no one else could possibly understand what they mean to you unless they were in a similar situation. It’s like night and day compared to this business, you might break into the business with someone who you think has your back but when you look back to see who stabbed you, they are the one holding the knife. I know I don’t have to worry about that, you and I have been friends since childhood. It’s the people in that locker room that believe that because they knew and were allied with someone in a different company that they have their back. That is a very naïve way of thinking.
Buck studies Mac for a long while before he speaks again.
Buck – sounds like the voice of experience speaking.
Mac – I’ve been in this business for a long while Buck, sure I’ve been burned by people that I trusted. That is how some of my greatest battles came to be. I’ve fought men and women both, never giving them any quarter and never expecting any to be given. This is a business but we are all human and so emotion can never be completely eliminated from the equation. You and I are like brothers of different mothers and so it’s different, you have my complete trust and I know you would never turn your back on me.
They continue on in silence for a while and finally arrive at the airport and enter the terminal. A throng of people are in the main entrance to the airport bottle necking it as the agents of the various airlines try to keep them moving along at a steady pace. When they finally reach the ticket counter for their flight a thought occurs to Bane.
Mac – ever flown first class Buck?
Buck scratches his chin trying to remember.
Buck – no, I don’t think I have….
Bane looks at the ticket agent with a grin on his face.
Mac – upgrade both our tickets to first class please.
The look on the agent’s face is priceless as she stares at the pair of them. Buck in his bib overalls, scruffy beard and a serious yet comical expression on his face. While Bane dressed to the nines as he normally is when he travels wearing his black Stetson, blue button down, black jeans and boots. They must have appeared as the new version of the odd couple to this poor woman.
Agent – yes sir, and how will you be paying today Mr. Bane?
Bane flips his wallet open and hands her a black amex which she scans through quickly and the purchase has been made. As they walk away from the counter upgraded tickets in hand Bane slaps Buck on the back.
Mac – you’ll like this big fella.
As they walk along Bane notices that Gooch has a disturbed look on his face and stops.
Mac – whats wrong Buck?
Buck – you paid for my upgrade like it was nothing….
Bane smiles at his longtime friend and lays a hand on his shoulder.
Mac – Look Buck, I know that money is tight for you right now. I’m not throwing money around for the sake of it or to embarrass you, you ought to know better than that by now. I wanted to do something nice for my brother, you can look at this as an early birthday present or you can pay me back when you get your farm business squared away. It wasn’t meant to hurt your feelings big boy.
Buck shakes his head and sighs.
Buck – I know brotherman, it just caught me off guard, that’s all.
Bane watches as Gooch pulls out a small pocket sized notepad and scribbles something down in it. They continue to walk through the busy airport toward their gate.
Scene fades….
{Arkansas – Veteran’s Day}
Old man winter has come for a visit to The Gooch Farm, a thin layer of frost covers everything in sight. The sun is just beginning to rise giving the fields the appearance of electricity as they shimmer in the morning light. Bane has arrived early and sits in his truck with a cup of coffee in his left hand and a red dot scope in his right. He takes a sip of his coffee and sets the cup in the console cup holder. He leans his head back and exhales slowly watching his breath give away the temperature of the morning. He thinks about all the good work he and Buck have done this week, especially yesterday. He was able to push Buck while they were repairing the barbed wire fence, he continued to push harder and harder fighting through the pain of being cut by barbed wire and the screaming of his muscles. That was a good sign for them as a team.
“Doesn’t that belong on a deer rifle?”
Bane looks up at his friend Buck as he arrives and stands by the driver’s side door.
Mac – it does at that…..
Something catches his eye and Bane raises the red dot scope up to look through it as a lone figure approaches the freshly repaired barbed wire fence. Mac smiles a vicious smile.
Mac – Well it appears your vandal has returned. Now we will see if I hid the surprises well enough.
Bane continues watch through the scope as the vandal creeps closer to the fence line. The vandal looks around closely eyeing everything, he spots one of the surprises that they had left for him the previous day stepping to the left to avoid it. The pain he felt when the real trap was sprung must have been immense as he goes down immediately clutching at his ankle where the small varmint trap has sprung!
Mac – gotcha!
Bane watches as the vandal tries to get the varmint trap back open but is in too much pain to pry it open. The young man then tries to drag himself back toward his own property but finds the trap is secured to the fence post. Mac puts the scope down as Buck makes the call to the local police.
Scene fades….
**********
The sun has now reached its zenith and the frost from the previous night all but gone with a few traces of moisture left behind as the frost evaporated. Bane sits on his tailgate while Buck has lunch with his family thinking quietly to himself.
“Famouri is kind of like that kid they arrested this morning. Just like he fell into a well thought out trap so did you Irv. You see, Buck and I are not ignorant, not by a long shot. Buck is quite the fisherman though and he hooked you with great ease and reeled you right in. It’s funny that a young man with so much education could be made to look a fool by someone with so very little. But ignorance shows itself in many forms doesn’t it; too bad you wear yours like a badge of honor. Your blatant hatred for all things American shows yours in living color. While you skulk around in the dark looking for items that hold no more power than the man looking for them, we do what we do in the day light. Does it make us better than you as human beings? No, probably not but I don’t need the cover of darkness to accomplish my goals. You make many assumptions chief, and the idea that Buck is just a simple country boy or redneck was your first mistake. Sure he never went to college, he stayed here and took over the family farm and raised a family of his own on it. Now, that is something to hang your hat on slick. A clean and honest life, he is a proud man, proud of his family and his ability. Of course you’ll find out much like Deruty and Warner did when they took him to be a weak link on this team. It’s a painful truth but its truth none the less. There is one major difference between you and that kid they arrested this morning though. The trap I set for him was a small one, usually used for raccoons or coyotes, the edges when it slams shut are dull meant to trap and only injure slightly. The trap that waits for you has teeth that are meant for a much less humane ending.
Now then onto people and things that are relevant….Johnny Knuckles. How you doin son? That’s quite the schedule your keeping this week isn’t it? Hope you are up to the task of having two matches this week. It would be a shame if you showed up and had to depend on Doctor Strange to carry your team. Because I think we both know he’s not capable of doing that especially against us. None of this is really meant as disrespect Johnny, just here pointing a few things out that you may have missed. I have been on that hot streak and then all of a sudden everything dries up, it doesn’t matter what you try to do, everything goes to hell. As professionals big man, we have all been there, it sucks and what sucks more is you have a guy as your partner that you cannot depend on. He doesn’t give a crap about the titles or this tournament, he just wants it all to be over so he can go back to hunting for figments of his imagination. So it would appear that a tag team match just turned into a handicap match. Doesn’t sound like your luck is getting much better.”
Scene fades…
****
The afternoon sun warms the interior of the truck as they travel towards Little Rock, Arkansas National Airport. The flag of this great country fly everywhere they look on this day to celebrate and remember the men and women who have served and sacrificed all defending this great nation. Things like this always fill Bane with a sense of pride. Buck looks over at his friend and smiles knowing that things like this are important to Bane, knowing he is a very patriotic man.
Buck – makes you proud doesn’t it?
Bane glances over at his friend and flashes a quick smile.
Mac – It does at that, but it also makes me a little sad. Veterans were not always celebrated the way they are today my friend.
A sigh escapes the lips of Buck as he remembers the stories of how their uncles were treated when they returned from Vietnam.
Buck – I was never in the military, but I know about sacrifice and hard work.
Mac – It’s hard to explain to someone that was never in the service. Bonds are formed very early on and many times those friendships last a lifetime. The men and women that you serve with become like an extension of your own family and you part of theirs. Out there, all you have to depend on is them and the training you have received. It’s very much a different world, and no one else could possibly understand what they mean to you unless they were in a similar situation. It’s like night and day compared to this business, you might break into the business with someone who you think has your back but when you look back to see who stabbed you, they are the one holding the knife. I know I don’t have to worry about that, you and I have been friends since childhood. It’s the people in that locker room that believe that because they knew and were allied with someone in a different company that they have their back. That is a very naïve way of thinking.
Buck studies Mac for a long while before he speaks again.
Buck – sounds like the voice of experience speaking.
Mac – I’ve been in this business for a long while Buck, sure I’ve been burned by people that I trusted. That is how some of my greatest battles came to be. I’ve fought men and women both, never giving them any quarter and never expecting any to be given. This is a business but we are all human and so emotion can never be completely eliminated from the equation. You and I are like brothers of different mothers and so it’s different, you have my complete trust and I know you would never turn your back on me.
They continue on in silence for a while and finally arrive at the airport and enter the terminal. A throng of people are in the main entrance to the airport bottle necking it as the agents of the various airlines try to keep them moving along at a steady pace. When they finally reach the ticket counter for their flight a thought occurs to Bane.
Mac – ever flown first class Buck?
Buck scratches his chin trying to remember.
Buck – no, I don’t think I have….
Bane looks at the ticket agent with a grin on his face.
Mac – upgrade both our tickets to first class please.
The look on the agent’s face is priceless as she stares at the pair of them. Buck in his bib overalls, scruffy beard and a serious yet comical expression on his face. While Bane dressed to the nines as he normally is when he travels wearing his black Stetson, blue button down, black jeans and boots. They must have appeared as the new version of the odd couple to this poor woman.
Agent – yes sir, and how will you be paying today Mr. Bane?
Bane flips his wallet open and hands her a black amex which she scans through quickly and the purchase has been made. As they walk away from the counter upgraded tickets in hand Bane slaps Buck on the back.
Mac – you’ll like this big fella.
As they walk along Bane notices that Gooch has a disturbed look on his face and stops.
Mac – whats wrong Buck?
Buck – you paid for my upgrade like it was nothing….
Bane smiles at his longtime friend and lays a hand on his shoulder.
Mac – Look Buck, I know that money is tight for you right now. I’m not throwing money around for the sake of it or to embarrass you, you ought to know better than that by now. I wanted to do something nice for my brother, you can look at this as an early birthday present or you can pay me back when you get your farm business squared away. It wasn’t meant to hurt your feelings big boy.
Buck shakes his head and sighs.
Buck – I know brotherman, it just caught me off guard, that’s all.
Bane watches as Gooch pulls out a small pocket sized notepad and scribbles something down in it. They continue to walk through the busy airport toward their gate.
Scene fades….
