"... On the counts of Trespassing, Breaking and Entering, Grand Theft Auto, Recklessly Endangering Another Person, Unlawful Restraint, False Imprisonment, and Kidnapping…"

The judge looks down from the bench.

"How do you plead?"

Calypso, in his finest purple pinstripe suit, sits in the defense chair next to an attorney.  He stands up to answer the judge:

"NOT GUILTY, YOUR HONOR!"

He yells very clearly across the room.  The judge stares at him before looking through a few papers in front of her.

"Well…  Mr….  Cal-yp-so?  Looking over the evidence already presented and the testimonies of the victim and several witnesses, I see no real reason to drag this out any longer than it needs to."

The judge grabs her gavel and twirls it around like a drumstick.

"Unless you have some compelling evidence yourself that hasn't presented itself I have no choice but—"

"Yes, ma'am!"

Calypso holds up an index finger.

"I DO have compelling evidence to prove my innocence!"

He gets up and begins walking around the desk.

"SIT down, sir!"

"Oh!  May I approach the bench?"

"NO!  Sit down!"

Before the judge could finish, Calypso had scurried back to his seat.

"This better not be a waste of my time, sir.  What could you possibly have to change…  any of this?"

"How about…  MY side of the story?"

3 days earlier…

Calypso was driving through city traffic, sipping on a bottle of YooHoo, and listening to the drawing for the March Madness Tournament.

"Wow!  Those are some great match-ups!" 

The earpiece wiggled itself free and nearly fell from Calypso's ear.  He caught it and while jiggling it back in, it fell out and got stuck beside his seat.

"Oh, bother."

He placed his drink between his legs and steered with his left so he could reach down for the lost earpiece.  Barely reaching it with the tips of his fingers, he managed to pull it out.  Right after celebrating with a verbal, "AH-HA!", he had to quickly slam down on the brake pedal as traffic ahead of him came to a sudden halt.

Everything stayed intact and he was able to stop about 3 inches before a tragedy.  He wheezed and squealed harmoniously with the screeching tires, but let out a sigh of relief before feeling some wetness around his crotch.

"You gotta be kidding!"

He then realized it was just a little bit of YooHoo that spilled out from the bottle and onto his pants and he did NOT piss his pants.

BACK IN THE COURTROOM: "Mr. Calypso, it is neither relevant or of any importance to this courtroom to clarify that you did not urinate yourself in your car." "Understood, Your Honor."

He continued on in traffic as if nothing ever happened.  Shoving the earpiece back in, he was just in time to hear his name called.

"Here we go!"

"And in Round One of the March Madness Tournament….  Calypso will be facing……"

"Who's it gonna be?!"

He took a long swig from the YooHoo….

"PETER VAUGHN!"

… then spit and sprayed the chocolatey drink all over the windshield.

"What?!  …… Oh shit!  Shit!  SHIT!  SHIT!"

He hits the wipers which do nothing and not a second later a pair of brake lights barely show through the windshield!

*SLAM!!!!*

About an hour later…

Calypso woke up feeling groggy and alone in a hospital room unable to remember everything that happened.  He remembered the crash, but it was very vague.  He didn't have a scratch on him and he didn't feel injured, but was still hooked up to an IV and what not.

BACK IN THE COURTROOM: "So you're also telling me that you were responsible for a traffic collision prior to the incidents you're here for today?" "Uhhh…" *SIGH*  "Proceed…"

Calypso hit the "HELP" button on the remote attached to his bed and 30 seconds later a nurse walked in.  She didn't say anything, just went to work.  She undid the IV and all the heart monitor stuff and went to leave before Calypso stopped her.

"Uh, hey."

She turned around and still said nothing.

"Is there something wrong with me or anything?"

"No, you can go whenever you want."

"Why did I wake up here and why did I feel like crap?"

"You were in a minor collision.  When first responders arrived you were acting delirious, so you were sedated and brought here to recover."

"So I'm cool?"

"We recommend you wait 20 to 30 minutes before leaving after waking up to make sure you don't have any trauma after the crash, but that's up to you."

"Sweet, I think I'll chill for a bit."

The nurse said nothing and left the room.

"Hella hospitality…"

Calypso tried to relax and recall everything.  He remembered listening to the draft and had to verify his opponent and see it for himself.  Could it be true that he and Peter Vaughn will battle once more?  His belongings sat next to him, he grabbed his cellphone and looked it up to know for sure.

It was true.

How exciting was this and what were the odds?  They've battled in the past and Vaughn barely got the victory then.  With the XWF crown at stake, what a better time for Calypso to exact his revenge and get one over his old nemesis.  If he was going to do so, however, he would have to change something up, shuffle the cards, and get inside Vaughn's head.

Even after their extensive feud, Calypso still didn't know everything to know about Vaughn.  He knew of Vaughn's history outside of the XWF and, of course, his history within it, and also his involvement with the Custodial Coalition.  That's when it hit him.  He would infiltrate the organization and find something, anything, to give him the one-up he needs to take down Peter.  Maybe some info on the ancient form of Custodial Arts.  Anything would be better than nothing, he supposed.  But how?  He would need a plan.

Calypso set his phone down and closed his eyes.  He pondered over it all and when his eyes opened, someone was standing across the room staring at him, which scared him half to death.

"Holy crap!  Where did you come from?!"

He couldn't make out who it was, they were just a silhouette standing alone by the window.

"My bad.  They said you'd be gone."

A man stepped forward into the light, revealing himself to be a janitor.

"Just came in to clean the room is all.  I can come back later."

"Hold up a sec, bruh!"

The janitor turned around and shuffled back over.

"What's your name?"

"Ricky the Janitor."



"Calypso, at your service–  Wait.  Your name is 'Ricky… THE Janitor'?"

"Well, it's kind of a nickname here at work.  S'what everyone calls me and refers to me."

"Listen bruh…  I think maybe you could help me."

"Me?"

"What can you tell me about the Custodial Coalition?"

Ricky's eyes and posture went from relaxed to super tense.  He lost eye contact and stared at the floor and his words tumbled worse than before.

"I–  I don't know nothing about that.  Coalition what?"

"Look, bruh,  I'm no enemy.  I respect what ya'll do man, for realzy.  But I have a score to settle with your leader, Peter Vaughn."

"What are you gonna do?  What's your beef with the Coalition?"

"There is no beef!  I don't hold grudges, dude.  I'm at the point now where I just owe him one, and what greater place than Round 1 of one of the most important showdowns of the year in all of sports?"

Calypso took a deep breath and noticed Ricky the Janitor was at least invested in what he was saying now.

"I know you must look up to him like a leader, but the guy has never shown me a single leadership quality in all his time in the XWF.  Not to play the same old worn out fiddle, but the invasion?  Blah.  The tag match with me?  Bleh.  When the going got tough for Peter, the tough always stayed and HE got going.  He lives a lie by going out into the rest of the world, winning and decorating himself with outside glory like he does.  I know, it's none of my business what he does outside of here, but don't bring that stuff up when you have a Universal Title match around the corner.  Don't talk like you would have been adding the Universal Title to some kind of collection because that title holds a super way higher prestige in the universe than anything else you're weighed down with.  Ya know what I'm saying?"

Ricky the Janitor just kind of lookrf around the room, but remained silent.

"I mean, even the Supercon looked better than coming out here like 1994 WCW Ultimo Dragon.  No one gave a crap where all of those belts came from then and no one gives a crap now.  This will be Peter's shortest stint in the XWF to date and get everyone to stop talking about his failed attempts to take over.  He'll reach his ultimate low by getting bitchslapped out of the tournament in the very first round by the very person everyone doubts to go anywhere.  I've seen the bets.  I've heard the doubters.  But I'm going to overcome those odds and I'm going to be better than before.  I will silence the haters, bruh!  Cause that's what this game is all about, isn't it?"

Ricky the Janitor kicked his feet around and finally noticed a small place to speak.

"I can't help ya, friend…  I don't know no Peter Vaughn or anything about any Custodial Coalition."

"Come on, man!  I'm not planning on doing anything underhanded or sinister before our match or anything.  That's not my style.  This is for intel purposes only!"

"RICKY!  THERE YOU ARE!"

Some ugly ass nurse walked through the door and screamed at Ricky immediately after seeing him.

"You're needed down the hall, please!  You've been talked to about pestering the patients, haven't you?"

"I have to go…"

The nurse noticed Calypso sitting on the bed as she ushered Rick the Janitor out of the room.

"Excuse me, sir?  Aren't you supposed to be gone by now?"

SEVERAL HOURS LATER…

"Don't get me wrong, I used to not so much worship, but respect A LOT the ground the guy mopped over…"

Calypso was outside of the hospital now talking with one of the nurses who were on their break having a quick smoke.

"I stuck my neck on the line to say he was one of the greats and believed in him.  It was just a series of certain events that has now made me believe Peter isn't as good as the papers say."

She didn't seem very interested in the conversation, barely looking up from her phone and acknowledging him as he spoke.

"I've fought him and I know I can beat him. It's time to prove to myself and everyone else doubting me that I have what it takes. He can have all of the success he wants outside of the XWF, but I feel it's like 'Any Given Sunday' when it comes to us now. I was close enough last time that everyone knows I'm a threat and more than capable of getting it done. I just have to teeter totter a little bit more my way and take one for the good guys! This isn't going to be like the other times I've gone one on one with Peter. He's not worthy of the XWF crown and if he's looking to feel important again this is not the time or the place for that.  The honor of King of the XWF belongs to Calypso this year and no one is going to be prepared for it."

The nurse put out her cigarette, gave Calypso a quick smile, and ran back inside.  As she entered, Ricky the Janitor was holding the door.