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Thaddeus Duke · (09-21-2021)

PROLOGUE – Several Weeks Ago

Training Compound || Old Saybrook, Connecticut || 9:11 AM

Standing high atop one of the old guard towers surrounding the perimeter of the Compound and holding a pair of binoculars to my eyes, I look out over the grounds. From this vantage point, I can see everything I need to see. The training grounds, the barracks, and even my ships out on the sea running through exercises.

I warned that this was coming.

Even the General McGovern himself I warned.

Yet my enemies still look at me as all bark... and no bite.

This lion has been beaten, battered and bruised for years so is it really any surprise that when I finally bite back that it might be a kill shot? I have the men, I have the planes, I have the ships… and I have the WarHammer. What’s about to happen to the Ares Project is a devastating, crippling blow and if it doesn’t wipe them all out this time, I’m gonna stay on them and hunt each and every last one of them down until there’s no one left to fight me.

Why?

Because I have to.

I have no other choice and as much as sometimes I wish I did have a choice, I’m not sure I’d change a god damn thing. Winning the war against my fathers forces put this life front and center. I won it… and now I have to defend it. To my dying breath, I will defend it.

Descending the steps to the ground, once I reach the open, I run into James, my dying best friend. I have no idea how much time he has left and what makes matters worse is all these months later, he’s still never found the balls to tell me that he’s dying.

”Things are about in order mate,” he says with his raspy voice as we walk the grounds toward the throne room. ”We ought to be able to set sail here in a few weeks.”

”Good,” I reply to him coldly. Most of the time, I don’t even think about his pending demise. When a battle is near, like today, I think about it a lot. To be honest, when I’m angry, he’s the only one that can get me to listen to reason. When I’m angry, I lash out. I fear his death. I fear his death not because I’ll miss him. I will miss him. I love him dearly. I fear it though, because it’s gonna kill me inside. My body will ache when he goes and I will take all of that hurt, all of that pain, and I will unleash it on my enemies.

”Godzilla looks mean,” he says in reference to the prized ship in our fleet.

”Yeah I kinda can’t wait to see that bitch in action,” I agree as we round the corner of the throne room and stop by the door. ”Jim, I think we need to talk.”

”Thad… mate listen,” he begins before a deep cough. ”I’m not upset you had me replaced. I’m still on your side. Always.

“I’m like Nationwide.”

”It’s not that,” I say as I barely crack a smile.

”Then talk,” he concedes.

”Not here,” I say with a shake of my head. ”In private.”

He nods in agreement and we both retreat inside the throne room hallway. I’ve tried really hard not to be an ass to him. When I first found out, I performed horribly at that mission. For months, if it wasn’t war related, I didn’t speak to him at all. Even then, I was cold, angry. Stubborn.

My father.

PRESENT DAY

Standing on deck in my flight suit with my helmet in hand, it’s the crack of dawn aboard the aircraft carrier ‘Vengeance.’ Sailing south now for a little more than a day, we’re currently off the coast of Florida nearing the intended kill zone. Part of me, maybe even a big part of me, would like to turn all my guns toward that god forsaken swamp and wipe it off the map, but somehow I fight that urge.

Another time, maybe.

As of this moment, the Ares Project is doing everything we predicted they would. While killing their men under a flag of peace seems heartless and cold, and probably even criminal, and it was, it also served an intended purpose: piss off General McGovern. By now, I’m sure everyone on the planet has seen or at least heard of the Hunt For Red October. While my lone submarine isn’t silent like the Red October, ‘Leviathan’ is quick. It’ll outrun any surface warship in existence and as intended, we’ve been using it as bait.

The Ares Project has been operating off the coast of Africa so we sent ‘Leviathan’ out by its lonesome to antagonize McGovern and his fleet. His fleet were performing some training exercises and Leviathan surfaced before launching a single torpedo.

It missed.

Intentionally.

What it did, was grab their attention and with any luck, make them piss themselves. For days now it’s been a game of cat and mouse with Leviathan outrunning them by miles then sitting silently, waiting for them to catch up. They’d slow down in order to start sending pings to find the submarine only for Leviathan to ping back as soon as they were right on top of her before she’d race off in another direction. Several days and thousands of nautical miles later, Leviathan is leading the persistent yet unwise Ares Project into my desired kill zone: the Bermuda Triangle.

That area has a notorious history of causing equipment failures so when his fleet enters the zone, my fleet will be heading them off and they won’t see us coming until it’s too late.

”Mate?” Jim says, appearing virtually out of nowhere. ”I think it’s about time.”

”I’m really glad you’re here man,” I tell him while simultaneously resisting the urge to throw my arms around him.

”You kidding?” he asks with a smile. ”I wouldn’t miss this for anything in the world.”

Looking at him a moment, I just shoot him a smile. Together, he and I walk the deck toward the tower. Scaling the steps, we make our way past dozens and dozens of my warriors as they make their final preparations.

Inside the secure command center, Jim stays behind in the hallway as I meet with my ministers and my chief of staff, the aptly named Dick Small. When I enter, as is the custom, they rise to their feet.

”Take your seats gentlemen,” I say quickly. ”We’re at war nearing the kill zone so I don’t see the need for all the formalities.

“Dick, where we at?” I ask while taking my seat at the head of the table.

”We’re about two miles out of the Triangle,” he begins while displaying a digital map on the ‘table’ in front of us. Touching the map, our precise location pops up with gold colored blips. ”Leviathan is here,” he touches the map again and another gold blip pops up. ”Just about a mile from the Triangle’s border.”

Nodding my understanding, I turn my attention to my High Admiral. ”Admiral, how long until the fleet is inside?” I ask him, referring to the kill zone.

”Less than five minutes sir,” he replies quickly.

”Order all ships to full stop as soon as we’re in,” I command and he turns away to make that call. ”Dick, where is the Ares Project fleet?”

”That’s the problem,” he replies with a little concern on his face. ”They’re idiots but not stupid, if that makes sense. They know they’re about to enter the Bermuda Triangle so they’ve ordered their ships to stop.

“The Captain of the Leviathan is waiting for instruction.”

”Did the Captain send a ping?” I ask of him.

”He did sir,” he replies quickly. ”It seems they think they’re being lured into a trap.”

”Took ‘em six days to figure that out,” I say with a little bit of a laugh as I can feel the ship beneath us suddenly start to slow. Considering my options for a moment, I sit quietly while stroking the non-existent hair on my chin.

”What if we just steam ahead full?” I ask my chief of staff. ”Hope we catch ‘em napping.”

”I think that’s our last resort,” he answers. ”By just bull rushing them with everything we’ve got while they’re still outside the zone and still have use of their radar and sonar, then it pretty much renders the last week entirely pointless.”

”Admiral, link us up with the Leviathan,” I instruct him and he works quickly.

”Captain, you’re on line with King Thaddeus,” he tells him.

”Captain how was your trip?”

”Fun Your Grace, but we only got to fire one torpedo,” he replies jokingly. ”And we had to miss.”

”I could only imagine being in your position Captain,” I reply to him. ”I’m not sure all of your men combined could have convinced me not to clear the tubes on those mother fuckers.”

”You had bigger plans sir,” he says with a chuckle.

”Are you at periscope depth?”

”I’ve been staring at this Destroyer for the last twenty minutes sir,” he replies quickly.

”Is she broadside?”

”That’s affirmative sir.”

”Is she in range?”

”Affirmative.”

Pausing again, it starts to get real. As soon as I relay my order, there is no turning back.

”How good are your sailors, Captain?” I ask him as I continue to debate in my head whether or not to take this risk.

”Your Grace?” he replies, obviously unclear on what I’m getting at.

”Do they work quickly without mistakes?” I expand a little further.

”We’ve had a dozen enemy ships zigzagging across the Atlantic trying to hunt us down,” he begins his answer. ”If they weren’t, we wouldn’t be here talking to you.”

”Captain, the reason I’m asking is because when you do what I tell you to do,” I begin to explain and suddenly feel like there’s a frog in my throat. ”You’re gonna have to surface so they can see you. They’ll chase you right into the kill zone, but there’s no way to guarantee they won’t get to you before we get to them.”

Several Weeks Ago

”What’s up?” he asks from inside the throne room as we near the steps to the big chair above, but I don’t answer him. Instead, I gather my thoughts. While I do so, I find it hard to swallow the emotion coursing through me.

”Thad… mate, what’s going on?”

Again, I don’t answer him. Instead, I pace tracks in the floor as the dam begins to break.

”What is it?” he asks again while grabbing my arm, spinning me to face him.

”I’ve known for seven months Jim,” I begin with a tear rolling down my cheek. ”In seven fucking months you couldn’t find five fuckin’ seconds to say ‘hey Thad just to let you know, I’m fuckin’ dying.’”

He stands quietly, gulping a little air. ”How did you find out?”

”Lincoln,” I reply quickly. ”You were in my office and coughed blood into a tissue. I wasn’t sure what was wrong with you but I was fairly convinced it wasn’t just a lung infection, so I had him hack your medical records.”

”You have a lot goin’ on mate,” Jim says in defense of himself. ”Frankie’s adoption, Elizabeth leaving and coming back, the twins… not to mention the war. Wrestling, acting, all of it...

“I didn’t want to burden you with my problems.”

”Your problems are my problems,” I say to him. ”How much time you got left?”

”I don’t know,” he answers with a shrug. ”I haven’t seen my oncologist in about six months.”

”Were you ever gonna tell me? Or were you just gonna leave me with no explanation?”

”I wanted to tell you several times,” he begins to explain. ”Early on, you cut me out and wouldn’t give me the time of day. Then it seemed like a domino effect of terrible things and the timing was just never right.”

”Is there ever a good time to tell someone that loves you that you’re dying?” I question as the tears steadily roll down my cheeks.

”I suppose not,” he replies honestly.

”What’ll happen?” I ask him and he just looks at me. ”I mean as it takes over.”

”The cough will get worse,” he begins. ”The bleeding too. Both of those have already started. It’s already getting harder for me to breathe and before long, a ventilator will be required to keep me from suffocating.

“Not long after that, I’ll likely slip into a coma for a couple weeks before I...” his voice trails off.

”Will there be pain?” I ask him foolishly. A disease is slowly killing you, of course there’s gonna be pain.

He nods after some hesitation.

”Is there pain now?”

”A lit’tle,” he answers with a nod.

”Honesty,” I insist of my closest confidant.

He takes a gulp of air again before answering. ”It won’t be too long now Thaddeus.”

Nodding my understanding, he and I stand silently staring at each other for what seems like an eternity. A lot of thoughts race through my mind. I can only imagine what runs through his. For a long time we were inseparable. He was with me the first time I was arrested. He stood by my side and helped me orchestrate the coup against my father after he bombed out that school in Iraq. Through heartache and heartbreak, he’s been with me.

I’ve only known him going on eight years, but it may as well have been my entire life. When I was younger and less mature and continually running away from my life and my responsibilities, it was Jim who kept my world from falling apart in my absence. He’s been a crutch to lean on and a rock to hold me up since I was fifteen years old. He was the first person I ever told when I discovered my sexuality. Through Garrett, I knew about the horrors and the angst surrounding coming out and I wasn’t really sure what to expect when I told him.

His response: ”Soooooo… should I like, set you up a Grindr profile?” Thinking of it now, causes me to smile inside.

There’s the Corey Smith’s, the Jim Caedus’ and the Dolly Waters’ of the world… but then there’s James Edwards. Not a soul on the planet has been there for me the way he has been.

”What the hell am I gonna do without you?” I ask him before pulling him into maybe my tightest hug ever.

”You’ll be alright Thad,” he attempts to reassure me. ”You have Frankie and the twins. You have Adi. Your head is about as right as its ever been. The Illuminatus will survive… despite your best efforts,” he concludes with a joke, causing me to laugh.

”Are you well enough to even go to sea?” I asks after finally releasing my hug. He shrugs. ”One more for the road then,” I say with a pat on his shoulder as we finally exit the throne room.

PRESENT DAY

Silence for a long moment. ”Understood sir.”

”Order the fleet full ahead. Godzilla as the spearhead,” I tell the High Admiral before returning my attention to the captain of the Leviathan. ”Captain, once you surface, we’ll need you to lead them toward us.”

”We’ll lead the bastards anywhere you want,” he replies with confidence.

”Once launched, how long until impact?”

”Forty five seconds from this range,” he answers quickly.

”Sir, if you fire torpedoes at that ship, we’re too far away,” Dick reminds me by whispering in my ear. ”There’s no hope of the fleet intercepting Leviathan in time. They’ll sink her.”

”We could put the birds in the air Sir,” my Air Force General chimes in. ”The planes will get their a lot faster than the fleet. Send out six fighters and two bombers. Intercept the Ares Project fleet and bomb the shit out of them.

“They’ll have no choice but to abandon their pursuit of Leviathan in order to protect themselves.”

”This is a ‘GO’ order General,” I say while rushing to my feet.

”He didn’t mean you,” Dick reminds me on my way through the room.

”It’s been nearly a year Dick,” I say to him as I reach the door. ”I’ve been dying to get back in my plane and I’mma lead my men like I always have.

“Keep the Captain on the line and patch him into my plane,” I say before hastily exiting the room.

Still in the hallway, Jim rushes to catch up to me.

”So what’s the plan?” he asks as we rush down the stairs.

”It’s time to go to war Jim,” I tell him as we reach the flight deck. The selected pilots are already geared up and entering their birds. ”I’ll see ya when I get back brother,” I tell him before rushing across the deck.

Climbing the ladder and stepping into my jet, I pull down the canopy as the crew releases the wheel chocks. After securing my helmet and face mask, I initiate the starting sequence. Like riding a bike, you never really forget. The jet engine winds up quickly and I’m given the all clear sign.

”Captain this Leo-Cor, do you read me?”

”Loud and clear sir,” he replies quickly.

After a thumbs up to the crew, my jet is launched at breakneck speed off the deck of the INS Vengeance. One by one, my men join me in the air.

”Captain, clear your tubes. Send that son of a bitch to the bottom.”

”Music to my ears Sir,” he replies and I await his confirmation. ”Torpedoes in the water.”

”Count me down,” I instruct him as I lead the planes higher and higher into the sky. Looking at the meters and gauges, some of them are functional, some of them are going haywire.

”35 seconds,” he begins counting down. ”30, reloaded.

“25, torpedoes in the water.”

”How many torpedoes is that?”

”Four Sir, 20.”

”How many will it take to send her down?”

”Reloaded, 15.

“Six to eight Sir.

“Launched and reloading.

“10 seconds to impact.”

”Come on!” I plead to myself, but audibly.

”5… 4… 3… 2… 1…” I can hear the explosion over the radio that has begun to crackle in and out. ”Second impact Sir, she’s already listing.”

”Surface, Captain.”

”Third impact… she’s about to capsize. We’ve breached the surface.”

”And the target?”

”She’ll be at the bottom of the Atlantic within an hour,” he advises. ”Third impact… she’s on her side and the bow is submerged. Incoming cannon fire.”

”Get the hell out of there,” I order him. ”Good work Leviathan.”

”Thank you Sir,” he replies before cutting communication.

To be continued.

The question I’ve started asking myself is why the fuck do I work as hard as I do? Out of the goodness of my heart… and maybe a little vanity on my part because I just have to have the best damn match every fucking night… the fact is, I have spent a good portion of this title reign making those that don’t deserve it… look good despite themselves. And the underlying fact of the matter is that that is what separates the pretty good ones from the fucking great ones.

Rel Dixon?

I made her look like a star when I should have beat her in under two minutes because that’s what she deserved.

Morbid Angel?

I made him look like a credible threat to me when by rights, I should have walked into my adopted hometown of New Thad City and made quick work of the overgrown blowhard.

Reggie Estrada?

He never deserved a god damn thing from me, but still, I made it look like he had a real fucking shot at achieving the damn near unachievable.

So, things started to change. Y’all can see it’s me that changed but the reality of the situation is that it’s you that have changed and I’m the same me I’ve always been. Just now they boo instead of cheer because… I don’t know… I guess maybe being the living breathing example of something they can never be finally woke them up and decided I was to be hated and insulted instead of loved and adored.

It’s rough, being a one man dynasty.

Enter Ciela Luiz.

For more than a month she hit my twitter with drive by tweets claiming she wanted some of the Lionheart. At first, I denied her and turned her away. The little shit thought it was fear… scoff… get real. The last time I lost a match it took a two on one advantage from the current Universal Champion and my former best friend in order to take me down and keep me down for three seconds.

Maybe it sounds like bragging, but is it really braggadocios if it’s the truth?

Yes. I was so, so scared of a five foot nothing one hundred pound sack of shit with dyed green hair.

I denied her because she isn’t in my league, but Luiz being the annoying little cunt that she is came around again, once more demanding to get me in the ring. I warned her again, but this time, I stepped out of the way and let Vinnie Lane make the match.

Like Estrada, I promised to make her look like a million bucks but what I didn’t tell her, what I didn’t tell anyone, was that after I was through making her look like the second coming of wrestling Jesus, I made her feel like a buck and a half.

She deserved to be made a fool and I did it simply because I could and can’t no one stop me from doin’ it.

Let what happened to her be a lesson to everyone else that thinks they want to test me. If you’re gonna test me, don’t waste my time because I’m a busy man with a very full dinner plate and I don’t much like my dinner getting cold.

From now on, waste my time and you’ll pay for it.

Relentless is upon us now and I’d be remiss if I didn’t congratulate Mark Flynn on his own rise through the ranks since his return to the XWF… at my insistence. Be that as it may, he’s beaten a veritable who ain’t in his first two months back here. Beating Ciela Luiz… that’s a big fucking deal if you ask her. But beating Dolly Waters and who the fuck ever that Mexican bitch is in a tag match? That’d be a big deal too because unlike Luiz, Dolly actually is formidable opponent. The only problem is she was stuck with a halfwit tag team partner and in tag team wrestling, you’re literally only as good as your weakest link which is a great fucking segue to his claims of War Games victory.

He can and has pointed to getting a win over DisContinuum at War Games as something he done good… or something like that.

Except…

Can he really though?

Yes Team Fuck Thad won the match but I’m very certain I was there. I’m fairly certain Mark was there too, so I guess we’re on the right train but the facts muddy the whole damn thing and threaten to derail such bold, yet easily disprovable baseless claims. Mark Flynn was nowhere near the finish. Mark Flynn got bumped out long before the closing bell.

DisContinuum might have lost to Fuck Thad… but Mark Flynn lost long before that.

Fast forwarding a little here to the second most hated man in the XWF’s first televised promo… yep… that’s the one. The one where he said I was distracted. I spent ten seconds talking shit to the Universe and he bitches and moans that I was distracted and I giving him my undivided attention.

First and foremost it’s seems a bit sketchy at the very least to accuse a guy that dedicated two months to challenging him to get back in the ring without uttering a single word in response, of not giving him my undivided attention.

Secondly, this is just how I operate. With a full plate of in-ring as well as outside the ring happenings, literally nothing is a distraction. I do exactly what I want precisely when I want but when the bell rings, my attention returns where it belongs and that’s on dissecting my opponents.

See Mark, I’m not Ciela Luiz, I actually do know how to wrestle and I know how to cut a promo. I’m not Dolly Waters trying to make myself sound sooper dooper smart by filling my promos with big words that most people have to fucking google in order to know what they mean while simultaneously filling valuable air time with childish insults. I’m not the Wizard…

Thank God.

If I was, I might have to put my gun to my own head and pull the trigger.

It’s nice you’ve had this little run to get yourself dusted off. I don’t care who you faced seen years ago. I don’t care who you beat then or who you beat now because not a single one of them were or are in my league.

None.

I’ve been rewriting the text books in how this shit is done Mark, so you better be ready for this because you damn well know that I am. I’m always ready.

Even in defeat, this match will be your greatest accomplishment because for one night only, you get to stand in the ring and go step for step with the very best wrestler in the business. You’ll find out Mark, why I always seem to have a million different things going on. You’ll find out why I say I’m the best. You’ll find out first hand Marko, that nothing I say is an act.

When the closing bell rings after sixty minutes Mark, it will be my hand raised in victory and unlike what you’ve done in the past, let’s hope you stick around just a little while longer and not take your ball and go home.

Pushing me to my limit before failing to beat me Mark, can do wonders for your restarted career.

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