Post by Johnny Rebel on Sept 18, 2013 16:18:29 GMT -4
"Plans in Motion"
APW Locker Room, Immediately Following Overdrive
September 12th, 2013
Athens, Greece
“You failed, miserably!”
The camera peers through a small crack in the barely opened door, catching a glimpse of Johnny Rebel verbally undressing someone on the other side of the room. It’s not clear who is sitting in front of him.
“I can’t believe that we entrusted a group of thick-skulled inbreds with such an important task!”
Rebel paced back and forth in the locker room, cutting in-and-out of the picture, the camera trying desperately to keep pace.
“Seriously, one job. You had *one* job. You were supposed to come down to that ring and convince Level-One and his side-piece that you were a credible threat. I would have jumped in to save the day and…presto! The Sindicate returns in all of its glory. The three of you couldn’t even slobber over yourselves correctly!”
The obviously flustered Rebel kicked over a trashcan and punches the locker with significant force, causing it to fall over and crash on the bathroom floor.
“You’re going to pay for this!” Rebel shouted. “You’re going to fix this problem…all three of you! I don’t care what it takes. The Sindicate will be together again. I don’t care if the three of you have to hide outside of Lester’s house in trash cans…you’ll make this right!”
“Enough,” the voice of the Sindicate’s head honcho reverberates across the locker room. “They may be useless…but they are family.”
A frazzled Mr. DeLorean stands up out of a crouch from the corner and snaps his fingers, immediately met by an associate who slides on Felipe’s wrinkled jacket over his curved shoulders. It’s unusual to see Felipe in such a disheveled state but given the events of the evening, it wasn’t planned.
“You aren’t going to punish them?” asked Rebel. “These fools destroyed everything! They should be thrown in a fiery furnace like in biblical times. Burn these useless meatheads at the stake! This isn’t fair!”
Felipe snickered at Rebel’s whining – something he’d become used to on a daily basis.
“You know as well as I do that sometimes life isn’t fair,” Felipe commented. “You didn’t have any complains taking my money and spending it like it was going out of style. There isn’t any need to punish anyone…things didn’t go as planned. That’s to be expected.”
Rebel couldn’t argue with Felipe’s claims. Things were starting to trend upward and it wasn’t because Rebel had stumbled upon good luck. Felipe reached down in to the mire and gave Rebel a second chance at life…like a phoenix who rose out of the ashes.
“And just so there isn’t any confusion on who’s calling the shots…as long as you’re on my payroll, you’ll do as I say.”
Rebel sighed deeply, conceding to Felipe’s demands.
“Failing isn’t ever an option with the Sindicate…we get what we want. The good news is that we didn’t exactly get set back by Level-One’s decision tonight. The way I see it – he made our decision for us. We had several options walking in to Overdrive and by process of elimination, we’re down to one. We told him that there was only one choice…dump that concubine that’s attached themselves to him or he’d face the consequences of his actions. It’s time that we make good on our promises.”
“I’ve heard this song and dance before. You make big grand speeches about how you’re going to crush the head of the serpent and you always swing and miss. These promises you keep speaking about are about as solid as the chances Kaylyn James Evans isn’t carrying at least three diseases.”
“You’re right,” Felipe huffed. “You know – the thing about the two of us is that we haven’t always seen eye-to-eye. We’ve had some communication breakdowns that have kept us from accomplishing our purposes. I shoulder half of the responsibility for allowing you and Lester to go your separate ways to begin with.”
“Half?” Rebel raises his eyebrows in contention. “I’d say it’s something more like 95.6 percent your fault.”
It wasn’t a secret that Rebel lived for pushing the buttons of those around him to garner a reaction and Felipe was prime candidate number one. Johnny Rebel lived in a fantasy world and there wasn’t a spaceship that could land on the planet where “Simply Put” pitched his tent. It wasn’t worth the fight.
“I agree that I’m the one to blame. It’s my fault that Level-One didn’t accept our more than generous offer to reform the Sindicate. If it wasn’t for me, we wouldn’t have to be having this conversation and we’d be perched on the top of the APW. Please allow me to make amends for such a grave error.”
Rebel scratched underneath his chin, pondering Felipe’s proposal, which forced a slight tilt in his shoulders.
“Now that we’ve established who’s to blame…what did you have in mind?”
“It’s time to take off the kid gloves,” the twinkle in Felipe’s eyes as he rubbed his hands together caught Rebel’s attention. “If Lester isn’t going to willingly accept our offer and put together the Sindicate…then we’re going to force him!”
“We tried that,” Rebel seemed deflated, hoping for something more concrete. “You saw what happened out there tonight. He isn’t afraid of us.”
“Oh, there isn’t anybody on this roster that knows Lester like I do,” Felipe reassured Rebel, giving him slight hope once more. “We have traveled through every country in the world together. He’s as stubborn as a mule. He won’t give without a fight. He’ll keep the things he loves the most tucked away under his nose…”
“We’re running in circles,” Rebel huffed. “Level-One isn’t rejoining the Sindicate…we can put that debate to bed. It doesn’t matter what we take from him – he’ll only look out for number one, Level-One.”
“And what does Level-One love more than himself?”
“Money?”
“Not quite,” Felipe answered.
“Fame and fortune?”
“No.”
“Patricia?”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” Felipe responded. “Level-One would stick anything with a hole…”
“Where can we hit him where it hurts?”
“The APW World Heavyweight Championship. It’s the only thing he loves more than himself. Nothing means more to him than that championship belt…”
Before Felipe could finish his thought, Rebel interjected.
“And we’re going to steal it! I’ll get my ski-mask ready…we certainly can’t send in these idiots again! They’ll trip over themselves at the front door and wind up playing leapfrog on the Synndicate’s front lawn.”
“That won’t be necessary, Johnny,” Felipe held up the palm of his hand. “You won’t be needing any masks…we’re going to do this in the light of day. We’re going to beat Level-One at his own game. How does ‘Johnny Rebel – World Heavyweight Champion’ sound to you?”
Rebel’s eyes nearly popped of out his head like a dog hanging outside of a moving vehicle. The top prize was something that eluded him since entering the APW…he certainly wasn’t going to say no to an offer like that. Rebel wanted that belt around his waist more than any other APW megastar on the roster. Now, Felipe wanted to hit Level-One where it hurt…and Felipe always got what he wanted.
“President Jeff isn’t going to go for that,” Rebel waved his hand in Felipe’s direction. “A few main event appearances on Overdrive isn’t going to erase a year of me being absentee from the roster. It’s going to surely take more than bashing in Evan’s head to get hotshotted in to the championship picture.”
“You let me take care of the details,” Felipe reassured Rebel. “I’ve made Jeff an offer that he can’t refuse. In the meantime, it’s time to pull out the nuclear option.”
“The nuclear option?”
“You need to understand that once we head down that path, the Sindicate as it was once known is going to be dead and gone…Level-One must be destroyed.”
A smile comes over the face of Johnny Rebel for the first time since the two began their dialogue. Rebel had been waiting patiently to get his hands on the World Heavyweight Champion but always had been waved off by Felipe on numerous occasions. The time was now to put an end to Lester Only.
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Stockholm Brewery
September 15th, 2013
Stockholm, Sweden
“It’s been a little weird with Felipe hanging around again,” Michael Andrews spurts out between sips from a bottle. “I didn’t think I’d ever see the day when you two were working on the same page again.”
Andrews felt guilty, knowing he was the one behind making the initial phone calls to Felipe DeLorean and begging the Sindicate leader to help Rebel find the straight path again. He’d never confess to Rebel but the weight was slowly burying him.
“I didn’t think I’d ever live to see a day where I’d be sitting here with this bottle in my hands not smashing it over your head, Mike,” Rebel raises his bottle in the air, clanking it against Andrews, who returned the favor. “But, alas, it’s a new day.”
If he was being honest, he was thrilled. Things were beginning to make a turn for the better…Rebel *finally* had something to live for and last week’s episode of Overdrive was only the beginning.
“The only thing standing in our way from world domination?” Rebel told Andrews, “Kaylyn James Evans.”
Rebel didn’t know much about Evans, except for the fact at any given time, you’d find her with Level-One, wagging her tail, and foaming at the mouth.
“I know what you’re thinking,” Andrews said, causing Rebel to poke his head up. “You think you have the advantage.”
“You know me so well,” Rebel responded with a coy grin that peaked out of the side of his mouth.
“I’m not going to try and talk you down because I know it would probably just be wasted breath,” Andrews argued - and he was probably right. Rebel was as stubborn as they came but out-of-respect to Andrews, he tuned in anyway. “Just don’t come crawling back to me when your little plan backfires an Evans kicks in your teeth.”
“Psh,” Rebel said, the fluttering of his lips causing spit to fly everywhere. “Level-One has her so twisted around his finger, she won’t know when to say boo! The dangerous KJE died the day Level-One batted an eye at her and made her his floozy.”
“That’s what makes her even more of a threat,” Andrews cautions, “Evans may be nothing more than an accessory to tug along on Level-One’s arm…but a focused Lester Only means bad things. Evans is the kryptonite to his superman…if you want to be successful against the champ, you’re going to have to play Lex Luther.”
“That’s asinine,” Rebel said, pondering Andrews’ analogy. How could the world’s most well known bachelor be reigned in by someone like her? Rebel didn’t buy it, “She wouldn’t know what to do with kryptonite if it bit her in the rear.”
The two share a laugh together.
“To tell you the truth, I’m not sure we’re going to see a very motivated Evans,” Rebel argued. “You know how these things go. I wonder how much money Lester had to pad Jeff’s pockets with to lure Evans in the ring with me. He’s just using her to soften me up. He knows that with me at a hundred percent there isn’t a snowballs chance in Hades that he’d walk out with his belt. I’ve told you before – he’d cut off his own leg if it meant holding on to that championship. He won’t have any qualms sacrificing Evans along the way.”
“Shouldn’t that be your strategy, Johnny?” Andrews adds. “You aren’t exactly a spring chicken…and for somebody who hasn’t been in the ring for awhile, you’d probably be best served to spend as much time on the sideline as possible. I’ve seen Kaylyn Evans do some serious damage…”
“She hasn’t been through the ringer that I have. She’s had everything handed to her on a silver platter…she doesn’t know the meaning of hard work.”
“Well, can you blame her? With that behind….”
“You could bounce a quarter off of it, I know,” Rebel flicked two fingers together in the air. “But being associated with Level-One has already propelled her to new heights. Before she was his personal ringrat, she’d never even sniff the main event…now she’s seeing her name in lights for the first time. At least she’s getting something for being his chew toy.”
“That doesn’t solve the problem that little issue of age…you’re going on eighty,” Andrews quipped. “She’s going to have the stamina to go for awhile.”
“Where do you think she’s getting that conditioning? It sure isn’t with Lester! He’s a quickdraw…” huffed Rebel, nearly falling out of his chair at his own joke. “This isn’t my first rodeo. A few warm-up bouts aren’t going to slow me down.”
Andrews didn’t mince his words – he knew Rebel wasn’t going to back down but he had started to privately worry about the long-term effects of Rebel battling in the ring week-after-week. Evans wasn’t a warm-up. She was the real deal.
“You’re going to drop dead one day – and nobody is going to bat an eye,” Andrews said drawing a slight smile from Rebel.
“Look around the APW, Andrews,” Rebel motioned with his arm outstretched. “Who’s left for Level-One to beat? I’m the only one left that he hasn’t been able to conquer. We’ve been on opposite sides of that ring once…and I put down his harlequin while he was trying to figure which way was up. They want me so desperately as a trophy to hang on their wall…but they’ll never get it! Evans certainly doesn’t have the type of tunnel-vision that’s going to be required to put me in check. I’m one step ahead of them, always, and it’s going to be their undoing.”
“Just because Evans *hasn’t* defeated you…doesn’t mean that she isn’t capable,” Andrews was circling backwards, trying to talk Rebel down from the pedestal he’d placed himself on. “You may think you’re heading in to this match one-on-one, but you know that you’re going to have to keep one eye on Level-One at all times.”
“Evans is just a deterrent…her sole purpose is to keep my focus off of Lester for one night,” Rebel’s arrogance shines through. “I’ve got twenty bucks that says she’ll wilt under the first sign of pressure. As soon as those lights start to get a little too bright, she’ll bend over like Lester just walked in the room…it’s a natural reaction for her.”
Rebel had the upper hand – he’d been through the ringer and came out alive. This was Evans first taste of the big time. He was banking on the fact that she’d crumple under the weight of stepping out of Level-One’s shadow. If she didn’t, Rebel was in for a battle.
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Face it, ladies and gentlemen, name after name has fallen before me. You think I could amass the best win column in the history of Action Packed Wrestling without cannon fodder like Kaylyn James Evans picking up the slack?
Kaylyn is about as relevant as a trapper keeper and a twelve-pack of Surge on the first day of Junior High. You’re the nerdy kid that showed up to class, with knee-high socks pulled up and pigtails dancing on your shoulder. You know you’re going to catch all kinds of hell, but you refuse to do anything about it, until that one fateful day when you finally defend yourself. The whole room runs out of breath waiting to see if I’m going to pound in your face or have pity on you for being such a dork. You are going to have to cash those checks that you didn’t mean to write because they are going to pay for your headstone!
I’d be willing to bet everything you have, which I’m assuming isn’t much, considering you’ve loaded up on rear implants and Rebel replica action figures, that Level-One wasn’t going to volunteer this match, leaving you, Evans, to take his place. He didn’t want any part of Johnny Rebel, even after I selflessly fended off the mercenaries that wanted to remove all of our heads last week. It’s cute that you wanted to step up and take his place but you’re fighting a battle that you just can’t win.
This match on Overdrive is all about pride, which is something I know you couldn’t care less about. You’re only focus is to protect sweetcheeks from losing his ability to give you a celebratory spanking after the night is over! I’m man enough to admit that there isn’t anything for me to gain by actually beating you. This is strictly for maintenance! It’s maintaining what I have built for myself in the APW…and adding you to that list of the fallen does absolutely nothing but waste another sheet of paper. But we all know that it’s going to crush you. It’s going to break your spirit. It’s going to humiliate you as the whole world watches you crawling all over the mat trying to find what’s left of your teeth!
I can only imagine the visions of grandeur that are circling in your head. You’ll promise this…and promise that. I’ll be waiting in hopes that you’re finally the woman that can back up all the massive amounts of trash talk and broken promises! It’s always the same story with people like you – the vain philosophies and fairy tales of the underdog coming full circle and dethroning the champion! You all no-talent, curtain jerkers have read the same book on how to be a predictable hack because it seems the same cycle of degenerates like you always finds themselves waiting to be knocked down to reality!
I know you can’t stand me…but I’m going to be all over you like a tornado in a trailer park! I’m the alarm that goes off in the morning after a long weekend and you have to go back to work! The beeping will be so persistent that the ringing will remain drumming in your ears for weeks to come! You won’t be able to bury yourself deep enough in your blankets. Every time you try and close your eyes, you can’t drift back off in to sleep, because the thought of Johnny Rebel will haunt your dreams!
You’ve proven several times to APW that you are weak mentally and physically. It’s only a matter of time before I expose you for the fraud that you are! Getting to my level requires a number of different skills that you don’t have laying around in your toolbox. You have to be able to handle all the challenges that come your way and not run away when things start to look bleak. It hasn’t taken much effort from me to get underneath your skin already and push the right buttons! In fact in your little game of chess I am always one move ahead of you knowing where you’ll be and how I can get the upper hand. I’m sure after the match is over it won’t take you long to start crying foul! “He cheated!” or “He hurt my feelings!” Blah, blah, blah! I don’t want to hear any whining and moaning when I wipe the mat with you…well, scratch that, if you want to do a little whining and moaning at the hands of a real man, I’d be glad to show you the ropes. You’re always welcome at the Sindicate post…as long as you’re willing to wear that little maid outfit!
I would be remiss though if I didn’t provide you with the same option that I’ve provided the rest of these clowns since I’ve stepped foot in to APW. There is a way out of all this mess that you have found yourself in this week. I’d be willing to take the easy win if you are willing to just lie down and accept defeat! I’m not a proud man and I have no problem if we have just a simple exchange and nobody has to get injured. This isn’t an offer that you can afford to pass up! However, if you prove brave enough to walk down to that ring on Thursday evening, I can’t be held responsible to what I might do to you. Walk away, Evans! I don’t have any problem taking out the sickly and if you are standing in my way this week, I’m going to do my best to knock you down!
#SIMPLY
#F’N
#PUT!
