"Taking Questions"

(returns to current character development story started in "Sowing Seeds of Success" on April 06, 2017 for Savage)







-Friday April 28 2017, 11:01 PM PST-

-Palm Springs, CA-



Three weeks and a day had passed since I'd set the new large scale legal grow in motion on Thursday the 6th of this month. I'd not set foot within the walls of the operation since then, confident in the ability of the men and women I'd personally interviewed and positioned and I'd received no calls of trouble as the days had progressed.

I revel in the warmth provided by the rental's heater as I glide down the late night streets of Palm Springs headed for the warehouse isolated on the outskirts of the city, enjoying the mesmerizing MC Chris track playing off my phone's playlist via auxiliary cord. As my near 2 hour drive concludes and I make my way from the vehicle to and through the front doors of the warehouse, I can see why I'd received no updates on the grow...in this case, no news was good news.

I enter to find the plants efficiently on the power bill overhead-sensitive PM light cycle schedule as I'd instructed. 300 gloriously gorgeous green girls, thick stems propelling them upwards five feet in their hydro trays, all perfectly pruned and devoid of nutrient deficiencies, stress and predation, now segregated for flowering cycle from the 300 2 week old vegetative females already themselves reaching to the stratosphere, promising this perpetual harvest house should indeed provide around $350,000 a month in profit-to-be . It's comforting knowing your knowledge and experience can pay off when you have trusted minds and hands to depend on in your absence. My silent partner and benefactor is gonna be as pleased with the outcome of this venture as I'd promised, the two of us are now looking at collecting an extra $2.1 million a year.

It feels as if I'm living a dream now, having so aggressively, at long last, taken the reigns of my life, veering my chariot down the road of not only recovery but complete turnaround. I haven't experienced such positive vibes since I was a child and had nothing at all to worry about...

I approach the door to my office, eyeing the nearest temperature gauge reading an even 75° with 60% humidity for the still vegging 300 plants. Perfect. I wave to a climate monitor and smile approvingly. She flinches, apparently shocked I'd deign to notice her, before allowing an ecstatic grin to creep across her full lips between blushing caucasian cheeks. Cute girl, I think to myself, reminds me of Nicole. I should look her up, it's been years.

I twist the handle of my office door and open-

-to find none other than XWF mainstay Steve Sayors sittin' in my faux-leather chair with his feet up on my mahogany desk.

"The fuck?"

"Jim!"

Steve, taken by surprise, frantically and clumsily swings his legs from the desktop, falling sideways in the chair and toppling my gifted XWF Television Title display belt from it's stand with his shoes in the process. It falls to the carpet.

"Fuck's goin' on, Steve? Awfully cozy in my office, aren'tcha? A bit suspicious finding you here at this hour, isn't it?"

Sayors picks himself up, straightening his tie.

"I'm sorry Jim, I mean no disre-"

"Pick up the belt," I interrupt, an unspoken threat in the eyes.

"Right, sorry." Steve plucks the title from the floor and repositions it on it's display rack at the east end of my desk.

"So?"

"So...what?" Steve leans with a single hand on the corner of the desktop. His body language reads as incredibly nervous. I'm losing patience.

"So _WHAT_ are you doing here!?" Sayors starts sharply on "_WHAT_", standing up straight. "Hell's the matter with you, goddammit? What's with the chattering chihuahua act?"

"Nothing, nothing. Just here for an interview, Jim, an interview. That's all." He swallows hard and fidgets.

"That's all..." I find myself stalking towards the man, my natural reaction to fear. Steve remains in place, incredibly uncomfortable, as I close in. "Why are you afraid of me, Steve? I ever do anything to you?" I hear him swallow hard a second time.

"There was that one time before a match with Thomas Nixon you threw me into Kip the grip and the lights-"

"Bag the slick, that was months ago and we've had peaceful interviews since then. Don't make me ask again, please." I level him with a dead gaze, mere centimeters from his face.

"Jim, you.. You haven't exactly been what I would call an 'approachable man' as of late. Sneak attacks with Ax3, numerous arguments with rostermates hinting at out-of-ring physical violence, your dubious actions taken to attain the Universal Ti-"

"_Dubious_. Is that what they're saying? 'Dubious'? Where's the crew? Get 'em in here."

Sayors presses a finger to his left ear and speaks into his lapel mic. Moments later the crew spill in, setting up swiftly while I glance at my hair in the reflection of the display Federweight strap glass casing on the wall, smoothing down any stray strands I see.

Before long we're ready to shoot and I take my mark. Sayors nods to the cameraman.

"Greetings XWF Universe, Steve Sayors standing by with the NEW XWF Universal Champion Jim Caedus. Now Jim, there've been a lot of questions surrounding your actions as of la-"

"If the actions you refer to include putting one over on "The Radical" Gabe Reno, Steve, I've got the answers you all seek." I switch my gaze from Sayors to the camera. "Following my winning of the 24/7 Briefcase at Lethal Lottery 4 I was approached backstage not long after by Reno. Seems he was finally interested in teaming with me. Now, to fill you all in, before I ever secured the briefcase I'd extended the man an invitation to join Ax3 which he declined. Soon as he snatched the Uni from Chaos, however, in light of my becoming Mr. 24/7 that very night, he recognized the threat I possessed and decided he'd take advantage of my well-known backstage friendly nature, put one over on me, have me turn on Ax3 and keep me as close to him as possible, knowing I'd not threaten the friendship by targeting his new title. Problem with that was, I'm not a fuckin' idiot. I know what people are up to. I took offense to the assumption I was either too gullible, too weak, or BOTH...to capitalize with a cash-in. Fuck that shit. All I did was return the favor to Reno and apparently, it was enough to send the prick packing. On that subject, I've seen the lists of talent some on the roster personally display on the official site for bragging rights, names they chased off the premises...well I've got one name and one name only on my list and it's a doozy: "The Radical" Gabe Reno, former XWF Universal Champion. How's that grab ya?" I dole out a derisive snort. "People like Doc think I'm finally showin' my true colors, so fuck it, right? If that's how they want me, they can have it that way. It ain't losin' me any fans, quite to the contrary, the more aggressive and ambitious I become the more they seem to feed into it." I turn to Sayors. "Did you hear that ovation when I took the Uni for my own? What's more, I hear talk they want me with a nickname..."Star Killer" Jim Caedus sounds about right. Whaddayou think, Steve?"

"Uhhh...it's good, Jim, I like it. I thought Cadryn's idea 'Big Dick Daddy' Caedus had a nice ring to it as wel-"

"Not arrogant enough. I like it too, but it doesn't convey my alleged level of ego. "Star Killer". That's a real asshole nickname right there. Next question."

"Ok, let's move on to Doctor Louis D'Ville and The Ki-"

"Fuck The Kings. They ain't shit. And before you ask, I attacked Doc because he has the audacity to defy my stable. If he thought I was afraid of him...if ANY of The CocksucKINGS believe I fear THEM...they've a rude awakening comin' in the near future. I fear no one nor their oh so frightening threats. Jesus...I'm gettin' incendiary with it, ain't I? I better watch my back now, oh Lordy, don't let those dusty ol' dickhead has-beens take me down, Steve. Shit...I'll kick each King in the undoubtedly plucked and bleached bunghole one by one or en masse if need be to get my point across. Not like Chaos and Graves won't be doin' the same come Saturday. Next question."

"You just said, YOUR stable, Jim. I thought it was revealed, by your own admission as well, that Chris Chaos runs the show?"

"Don't you start in with that shit like Doc's been doin'. Fuck what anyone has said, including my words meant to keep Ax3's enemies off-balance. The factual skinny on Ax3 is that we consider each other equals. No one is giving any orders. No one calls the shots. And don't bother delving into the subject of a former Uni champ with a rematch clause existing in the same stable with the current Uni champ. Like Chaos recently said, when we find ourselves fighting for my title we'll be walking out allies regardless of the outcome. As much as our detractors would love the truth to be a 'keeping your enemies closer' situation that just isn't the case...as convenient as it would be for them. Next question."

"Your impending match at Savage with Nate Hig-"

"Nate fuckin' Higgers. Right. The outspoken ass-snorklin' sunuvabitch who had so much to say and showcase in the Federweight Hall, tryin' his damndest to steal my thunder as the trash talk titan. The fading fuck-up who deluded himself into believing he actually one-upped me in said hallway then opted into that house show and got his nuts handed to 'im anyway. The worn-out wimp now realizing he has no business in an XWF ring, understanding I was correct with every apt accusation of his lack of character and drive. The jag-off joke thinkin' some virgin vignette of violently self-violating outside some sluts window with a no-credit edit ending up on the beach gettin' a foot to the face is gonna win him anything more than a cataclysmic ass kickin' by Caedus tomorrow. That Nate Higgers?"

"Uh-"

"Question's rhetorical, Steve. Shut the fuck up. What's happening here is Higgers is experiencing the Caedus Effect. Whether I throw an opponent off their game simply by sticking with my unique brand of offense or outlast those less likely to wither, everyone I've beaten has in one way or another discovered I'm a lot more than they originally assumed. Nate...Nate bit down with those pickled pig's feet chewin' chompers on a dick far beyond the dimensions he can handle, even as a raging and active . At this time the twat's gaggin' on my meat, unsure of whether he wants a pull out or to futiley fight through the fucking. Normally I'd predict the likelihood of an impending deadline bombing but this sack o' shit has done nothing other than be as inconsistent in his appearances as usual so what am I to think, Steve? Quite frankly, I don't give a good goddamn if he DOES deadline bomb me, he's proven, in my opinion, he DOES NOT have what it takes to compete with a real ring warrior like the "Star Killer" Jim Caedus. Period.

Entering into this match with me is the worst career mistake he's ever made. I'll be lookin' to land the limpdick loser in a wheelchair after breakin' 'is fuckin' legs, sawin' off 'is feet and crammin' 'em in 'is craw where they belong as a constant warning to those enemies suffering from foot-in-mouth disease. Roll the 'round the arenas, P.S.A. for uppity upstarts and overzealous vets seekin' to make a name for themselves at my expense. Higgers took aim to begin with believing I was losin' my edge, runnin' low on steam...now he knows that couldn't be further from the truth. I'm insatiable. Inexhaustible. I may have shown a modicum of 'tiring out' following Lethal Lottery 4 but that's to be expected. Heyman himself described the weeks long build up would strain the stamina of all involved in the tournament, especially those like me who mashed through to the end, and he was correct. Yet here I stand, the XWF Universal Champion, ready and willing to take on all-comers, guaranteed to amp up in the face of all opposition...gearin' up to make a statement to all those bitter butthurt bitches in the back pullin' for Nate to teach my new booty invadin' ass a lesson: prepare for an official pulverizing o' your pawn, pussies, The New Era of the XWF is upon you. Fall in line or face the same consequences as poor pathetic peckerwood nobody Nate Higgers shall soon enough. I'll leave what's left of 'im in a Ziploc outside XWF HQ.

Fuck the old school and the past, fuck the legends starving for the spotlight I and my Ax3 brothers now firmly control. Fuck my enemies and their delusions of ever cutting me down to size. Fuck Nate Higgers. I'm the "Star Killer" Jim Caedus. I worked my ass off for what I've accomplished in the XWF, to turn my life around, to wrestle control of my destiny outta the hands o' those seeking to see me stiff...forgotten. Ain't no one gonna forget me now and can't no one keep me down. My reign as Universal Champ has only just begun and if you're one o' those dumbfuck fools doubting that sentiment...you ain't been payin' attention. Nate, you're a dead man. Interview over."

"Thank you for your ti-"

"Done. See yourself out, Steve, I have business to attend to before catching the flight to Pittsburgh tomorrow morning."

Sayors gives the cameraman the cut-off signal across his throat.
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"That went pretty well I should say. No hard feelings Jim?"

"None whatsoever, now get the fuck out."

Sayors turns to the packing crew and nods. Within the next sixty seconds I'm thankfully left alone...