The private jet landed at Midway Airport after a surprisingly easy flight. Before he knew it Death Merchant was in his Candy Apple Red 1969 Dodge Charger. The 426 Hemi under the hood screamed like a virgin losing her cherry. He hit the Dan Ryan Expressway and headed north. He felt better after getting out of Cook County. The cops there didn't give a $h!t about using X-Treme measures on anyone they decided to make an example out of. With the new Governor in Rahm Emanuel it was like back in the days when the gangsters were in control. No one was safe. Lake County was so much better. They were more lenient and laid back. It helped when he was burying the speedometer and A Hundred and Twenty.


He made it to Fox Lake in record time and headed straight for Route Twelve. He took the familiar side road and pulled into the long driveway. The huge metal gates swung open as he approached them and a security officer waved at him as he passed. he pulled up to the White, Two story Mansion and got out of his car at the front door. A valet gently pulled his car around to the parking area after a stern warning from Death Merchant. Another security man padded him down inside the front door and then took him into another room where the Den was located.


When he entered the room Night Rider was sitting behind a huge desk in front of a huge window that looked out over the lake. A Private Dock could be seen with a huge boat and 2 Jet Skis nearby. The room was made of Oak Wooden Panels and had wrestling photos everywhere you looked. Such Greats as Dirty Dick Murdoch and Dirty Dusty Rhodes back in the good days when you could really hurt someone and get away with it. Photos of Black Jack Lanza and Black Jack Mulligan. the father of Barry Windham. Some of the dirtiest of all. Then there was Death Merchants favorite Bruiser Brody. The man who would stop at nothing to inflict as much pain as he could on whoever he was facing. A man who gave his life doing what he loved to do.


Night Rider stood up and walked over to Death Merchant. He held out his hand and the two men shook. Night Rider was the only man that really frightened him. The guy had done some things that just blew his mind. He was considered one of the most sadistic wrestlers around. He once set an opponent on fire because he said his promos weren't hot enough. He was one guy no one wanted to mess with. He stood 6'9" and weighed 375 pounds of solid muscle. The guy had such a dark aura about him when he walked into a room it felt as if the devil himself had entered.


Death Merchant
Night Rider, My Brother. It is so good to see you again! How have things been going?


Night Rider
As you can see I have done very well for myself. I retired as the ESW World Heavyweight Champion and I still get a nice little pension. I invested what I made well and let it work for me instead of me working for it. You know what I mean?


Death Merchant
I hear you man. Your still young enough that you could wrestle if you wanted to. Ever think about coming back?


Night Rider
Not a day goes by that I don't think about it. When ESW shut down with me the Champion I just didn't look for another spot. I've done everything I set out to do. It's nice being able to go out on the lake anytime you want to and just relax. I still get the itch though and who knows what the future holds. The doctor cleared me and said I was mentally stable once again. They gave me some new trial medicine to control the monster inside of me. It got to the point where I couldn't control it.


Death Merchant
I see you still have the old photos of you with the AoD.


Night Rider
Of course, I never represented anything else. I was an Angel of Death right to the end. I see you still fly the same flag.


Death Merchant
Just like you, I'm AoD 4-Life! For better or worse it doesn't matter. I will never change and I will never stop doing what I am doing. As long as I am physically possible to step into that ring and do what I have to do. I am going to be here. There is nothing else i would rather do. Hell, I would go stir crazy sitting up here all the time. I love the action too much. Even when I'm taking a beating and I keep coming back it gives me such a rush you wouldn't believe!


Night Rider
That's because your my twin. The only difference is you are able to control the monster inside of you. Mine was allowed to become too strong and engulfed my entire being. If it wasn't for the medicine I would be doing unspeakable things right now. Things that would make your skin crawl.


Death Merchant could see the longing in his brothers eyes. He knew him too well to know that he wasn't as happy here as he pretended to be. He was never one to stay in one place very long. He like the traveling he could do on the wrestling circuit and made a good living at it. He looked across the room and saw the glass case sitting on it's stand. The Extreme Superstar Wrestling heavyweight championship belt with Night Rider engraved on it. A federation that died in despair after trying and trying yet no one was able to end the streak of terror that swept through everyone they tried to throw against him. Before long they all stopped trying. There was nothing they could do to match the destruction that Night Rider was capable of. If he were to learn to control his monster inside he would be unbeatable even now.


Death Merchant
I have something I want to talk to you about. It's why I came here. I want you to come back out of retirement and back with the Angels of Death. You know your not happy here and I have a sweet gig with the XWF. The place is one of the best I've ever seen. Every member there is top of the line. I have the AoD there and we have some pretty talented forces aligned with us. One of our members there, Alexandra Calaway is going to be an opponent of mine in our next match. I'll be teaming with Matt Ward, Who is in a relationship with Christine Nash, Our other opponent. Talk about Days of our lives. This $h!t is going to be a blast because whoever wins will become the number one contender for the Tag Team Championship. Matt ward is an Angel of Death at heart because he has that same fire driving him deep inside. either way one of the Angels of Death will be going against the current Champions, Another AoD member Mystica's Split personality and Elisha, His partner. They are both pretty tough but they can be beaten. The competition level is that high!


Night Rider
Man, That is so very tempting. Lets shoot some pool and have a few drinks while we discuss it. They are going to have to know that there are things I will do that they aren't going to like. I'm just like you Death. Only my demon is a little further on the dark side. I won't be responsible for what happens.


Death Merchant
Fine, Lets go down to the sub basement and just spend some time being brothers.


The two headed downstairs into a soundproof room. Night Rider flipped on a switch and the lights came on. Strobe lights of red and white danced through the room as 'Orion' by Metallica began playing.







Death Merchant looked around the room. The walls were covered with different photos of Night Rider in action. There was even a photo of him and Kamala that was signed by both. Night Rider had wrestled Kamala on the indy circuit and was the only man to hold him to a draw. Neither man could get the upper hand in their match. By the end both were so covered in blood the ref declared it a no contest and stopped it. They were both so pissed about what happened they beat the hell out of the ref and a dozen security people before they walked back to the dressing room with a mutual respect for each other.


The two had a few glasses of Jack and Coke and talked about old times. By the time he was driving back to Midway Airport Night Rider was right there beside him and all his equipment was in the trunk. Night Rider had agreed to be more of a bodyguard until he was ready to get back to action. Death Merchant couldn't wait to see the look on everyones face when they tried to figure out which one was which. They used to fool a lot of people back in the day. He couldn't count the number of girls they had fooled back in high school. It was a good thing they didn't take chances and were always prepared. If not they wouldn't be where they are at now.


The flight back to California wasn't as nice as the last one. Turbulence gave them a couple of jolts that shook the plane like an earthquake had hit it. When they finally landed they couldn't have been happier to get their feet on solid ground. Still they had made good time and the sun was just setting. They still had time to go out and celebrate after Night Rider was registered in his own room. Death Merchant felt so good having his brother there with him. He was the only family that he had. They didn't even know about each other until their freshman year of high school when Night Rider was released from the St. Charles School for boys. He was sent to a group home in Chicago and it just happened to be in the same school district as Death Merchant and they had a class together. People couldn't tell them apart they looked so much like each other. Their mother had given birth to twins and only kept one of them. The other she sold to a family that did nothing but mistreat him until the age of eleven when he left on his own for the streets and had to struggle just for his next meal. He grew up hard and learned at an early age how to use his size to his advantage. He was one crazy SOB.


When they exited the Hotel and made their way to the rental car they had delivered Liz Weinberg yelled out to them.


Liz Weinberg
Death Merchant, Oh my..............What in the hell? There are two of you? Okay, Come on. Whats going on here?


Death Merchant
Liz, I want you to meet my twin brother, Night Rider. Your going to hear a lot about him in the coming weeks. When the word gets out he is here authorities from all over are going to be calling. They are going to warn you about this guy right here!


Liz Weinberg
Night Rider, It is a pleasure to meet you. Let me be the first to welcome you to the XWF. I can't wait to see what you bring to the table. Death Merchant, I wanted to get a word with you concerning your upcoming match. Can you spare a few moments?


Death Merchant
For you, Liz. I don't mind at all. You are one of the interviewers here that actually knows what their talking about. Steve Sayors is so damn stupid if he had a bird brain he'd fly backwards. The guy is such a loser. Sure, Whenever your ready. Check this out Night Rider.


Liz Weinberg
Hello out there XWF fans this is Liz Weinberg on location with a major announcement. What you are seeing in the camera isn't a split shot and it isn't a trick with mirrors. Death Merchant, Do you want to break the bad news to them?


Death Merchant
What you see standing next to me is my Twin Brother, Night Rider! He will be my bodyguard until he is back in competitive condition. He will watch My Partner Matt Ward and my back in case someone wants to take advantage of all of us in the ring taking on each other.


Liz Weinberg
Sounds like a good move with some of the characters around here. What are your thoughts on the match? I mean, Everyone is calling this a battle of the sexes. A lot of people feel that women are so much more vulnerable than men. To a woman being Vulnerable is Fully opening up one's self emotionally to another. To a male it's Playing any sport without a "cup." How do you feel about that.


Death Merchant
You know what Liz, I look at it like this. Alexandra Callaway and Christine Nash will be just two wrestlers standing across from us. It will be just as if we were facing anyone else. Matt and myself are in this thing to win and go after those Tag Team Championships and nothing is going to stand in our way. After the match is over we'll all shake hands and everything can go back to normal. If our opponents were somehow able to get the best of us I would still be right there celebrating with Alexandra and backing her one hundred percent. That's just how I roll. The same when either of us is facing Mystica, It's just another match and afterwards we still have each others back!



Death Merchant
Okay, Straight from the hip. Let's keep it real. Both of our opponents are tremendous athletes and on any given night either of us could win. Christine Nash is one of the most talented wrestlers I have seen in a long time. She can hang with the best technical wrestlers around and go toe to toe with the toughest. Alexandra has so much untapped evil inside of her that if she were to ever lose control she could seriously do some damage. Matt Ward, My Partner. Let me tell you a little something about this guy. He has more heart than half the guys on the roster. This guy isn't afraid to take a beating to dish out punishment on others. The one thing that bothers me is his love for Christine. I would hate for him to do something he will regret later. That woman and that little child mean the world to that guy. Still he goes out there every week and gives it everything he has. Does that sound familiar? Just like I do. I will do whatever it takes. If I have to bend the rules a little in my favor to gain an advantage I'm going to do it.


Liz Weinberg
Are you saying that you would break the rules even against Christine and Alexandra?


Death Merchant
If that's what it takes to win the match I'll do it! Just as I would expect any of the others to do. Wrestling is fighting and to me, There are no rules in fighting. What it comes down to is who is the last man standing and who will have their arms raised in victory. Alexandra has some awesome moves and her finisher the 'Malicious Intent' Is one hell of a Crucifix Power Bomb that it would be wise to stay away from. She can do some serious damage with that. Christine has the Seeing Stars move that is a Handstand into a neckscissors followed by a heel kick that is hard to spot and tough to defend. It could give her a temporary advantage. The trick is to be able to take the shot and roll with it. I have a way of blocking out the pain as I regain my strength. My conditioning has allowed me to do just that. I can take one hell of a beating and get right back in your face like your worst nightmare.


Liz Weinberg
All I can say is it promises to be one hell of a night! I can't wait to see this one. It could easily be the best match on the card.


At that moment Matt Ward walked up with a blank look on his face as he turned first to Death Merchant and then to Night Rider. He turned back to Death Merchant and began to speak.


Matt Ward
There's TWO of you? I'm not even going to ask. You see Merchant, Our opponents are going to make sure to put up a damn fight in that ring. Alexandra went through hell and back on Shove It on Saturday, so we will see if she will be a hundred percent come Warfare. Now Christines inner demon will be focused on tearing me to shreds in the ring. That can play to our advantage when she tags in and out of the match. Lets see if she can stay as focused as she will need to be!


Death Merchant looks at Matt Ward as he continues to speak.


Matt Ward
You see Christine and I both know when we step inside that ring for our match, That this is just business for the company. So after the match who ever wins it wouldn't matter outside of the ring because we know it was for the good of the company. You make statements about regret Christine? The only regrets I had in my life where choices that I made outside of the ring. Not once did I have a regret for what I have done inside of the ring.


Matt starts to blink as his eyes suddenly change to an eerie red color as his inner demon begins to speak.


Matt Ward
The Hardcore Queen and Twisted Angel, We go into battle on the front lines of the squared circle. We are going to put our bodies on the line in this match. Tonight blood will flow like a sacred river of destruction and chaos, But in the end of the match the Angel of Death and The Second City Demon will be the one standing tall with victory in our hands while we march forward to face the XWF Tag Team Champions.


Death Merchant looks at him with a look of respect that comes from knowing the inner turmoil he must be going through. Death Merchant looks at Liz Weinberg and smiles.


Death Merchant
Well, What do you know Liz. You got yourself a two for one special there. Those Tag Team belts are in our sights and when we step into that ring against Christine Nash and Alexandra Calaway all hell is going to break loose. We are going to become the number one contenders and then Mystica and Elisha will be put on notice that we are coming for them!


With that Death Merchant, Night Rider and Matt Ward make their way to the local bar for a few celebratory drinks.............