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Steve_Justice · (09-03-2019)

The roar of the Atlantic Ocean. The rumble of the surf crashing over the rocky shore. This wasn’t the tranquil, turquoise surf of the Pacific coast. This was the deep, fathomless blue of the east coast. It was cold; it was dark and it would pull you under for good given half the chance. Standing on the rocky shoreline was Steve Justice. He was wearing Black Ray-Ban Wayfarer sunglasses; a black t-shirt with the infamous Dead Kennedys logo on it; a red flannel shirt; black, ratty looking jeans and his Oxblood Doc Martens. He stared off at the horizon as the setting sun lit the clouds in hues of orange, purple and blood red. Maybe the places we live leave a mark on us. Steve had grown up swimming in that cold, dark abyss. He was as tough as the rocky, gravel shore and as cold as the salt water that surrounded his hometown. He picked up a flat stone and sent it skipping across the waves.

He had a grand plan when he made his long awaited return to wrestling. First, a long reign with the Xtreme Championship to capture the Xtreme Briefcase then onto the Universal title scene. It was elegantly simple yet effective. But like that hack and professional bullet-catcher, John Lennon, said, “Life is what happens to you when you’re making plans.” His glorious title reign was cut short by a ghoul from the depths of hell before it could even start. His ticket to the top cancelled before the train even left the station. This is the sort of thing that would break most men’s will. Make them fold up and quit. Maybe make them take up a career serving fries at the local burger shack. But Steve Justice wasn’t that type of man. His resolve was legendary. His iron will as hard as the waves that broke on the Atlantic’s shore. He would regroup; he would get back on his feet and come up with another master plan.

Steve gazed at the setting sun thoughtfully as the roar of the surf filled his head. He fished his Samsung Galaxy phone out of his pocket and opened the camera app and hit record. He gazed into the camera. The breeze from the water ruffled his mohawk as he slowly licked his lips and gazed at the ground. The orange light bathed him in an eerie glow.

It feels like an eternity since I last spoke to the XWF fans. I’ve taken a short sabbatical to gather my thoughts on all the things that have happened in the past few weeks. This has been a chaotic time for me as well as for the XWF. I never thought I would see the day when Mr. bigshot Apex man himself, Robert Main, would not be Universal Champion. The guy was a machine who held onto his title with an iron grip. Much respect. I can sympathize with Robert since the same guy who lifted his Universal Title also took my Xtreme title from me. So you’ll have to excuse me if I seem a little distracted this week.

He picks up a stone and tosses it into the waves.

So it looks like I’m back to square one: taking part in a triple threat match with Finn Kuhn and Miss Michelle. First, let me start off by apologizing for my performance. Not because it’s going to be bad, it’s just going to be ugly. You see, there isn’t going to be a lot of fancy armlocks and mat wrestling from me at Warfare. What you’re going to see will be an absolute mugging; a complete beatdown of the two people that have been thrown in the ring with me. I should be in the main event of this show defending my Xtreme title but that plan was derailed when my title was unjustly taken from me. So you see, I have a bit of a chip on my shoulder this month. I don’t mind so much the loss of my Xtreme Title. What does make my blood boil though is that the XWF seems to think that this is the end of Steve Justice or something. Like I’ve been cast to the bottom of the heap and I’m just going to stay there. Clearly, these people don’t know how I operate. I’m going to come back from this stronger than ever and I’m going to continue piling up wins like the machine I am. There seems to be a wave of nostalgia going around for all these veterans coming out of the woodwork and nobody seems to want to get on board the Steve Justice train anymore. Well that’s fine. I will grab the powers that be by the throat and I will make them take notice of me and what I can do. Because at the end of the day, Steve Justice puts asses in seats and opponents in the hospital and there is nobody who can deny that. Which is unfortunate for the two idiots who are in my way. Finn Kuhn? You haven’t done anything noteworthy for me to even shit on you. You’re German and you call yourself the Kaiser. Brilliant, you named yourself after a fucking roll. Good job, let me know how that works out for you when I run my knee through your face.

Then we have have Miss Michelle. You may have an ass that’s built like the space shuttle but that isn’t going to save you in the ring against me. You see, I’ve been doing some soul searching since I came back. I’ve been thinking about my life; the people who are in it and the people who have come and gone through it. I thought I would come back and just step in the ring for a little friendly competition and to hear the fans cheer my name and I would be content with that. But when I kept winning, when I finally had that title in my grasp, I realized that just stepping in the ring for fun wasn’t enough for me. I needed to be at the top again. I needed to face the very best competition that I possibly could. You see, I’m not just addicted to gambling, I’m addicted to competition!

Miss Michelle, you have a husband and kids waiting for you at home. I have a bachelor’s apartment and a fridge full of expired food because I’m always on the road. I am good at one particular thing and that’s pro wrestling. I need to win like a plant needs sun. I’m always all-in because I don’t know any other way to live. And you think you’re just going to step over me to bigger and better things?

Steve’s face is a mask of contempt as he shakes his head. He removes his sunglasses slowly revealing the fire in his light green eyes.

I’m afraid not. I’m an unstoppable freight train and you’re on the tracks. I will take your best shot and eat it for breakfast. And once you do realize the depths of the shit you’ve found yourself in, I will pick you up on my shoulders and spike your head into the mat like a football. There is no version of this match where you win; losing doesn’t even enter the realm of possibility for me. I will beat you and that Euro-trash clown; I’ll pile your carcasses and use them to continue my climb to where I deserve to be: at the very top of the XWF. We agree about one thing and that’s that the XWF is a dog eat dog company. And I’m the biggest, meanest pitbull in the yard. So at Wednesday Night Warfare, you had better be prepared for the fight of your life against me. There will be no stopping me from throwing you both around the ring and why is that? Because Justice always prevails!

Steve panned the camera out to the horizon again before cutting the video. After watching it back and nodding carefully, he sent it to be posted on the XWF website. He was about to stick his phone back in his pocket when it began to vibrate. He looked at the display:

Unknown Caller.

Intrigued, he pushed talk and put the phone to his ear.

“Hello?”

“Hello Mr. Justice. How are you doing?”

“Who is this? How did you get this number?”

“We have our ways of getting things done. We’d like to talk to you about your debts. You owe our organization some money. I’ll get in touch with you about directions on where we will meet. Is that okay with you?”

The colour slowly drained from Steve’s face. He had a dark time in his past where his gambling addiction was completely off the charts. He would get a handsome payday and then he would just as quickly blow it on a poker game or in shady sports books. He had managed to turn himself around only after he had faced getting his kneecaps broken by an organized crime group from Quebec. But he had paid all of his debts off slowly over a number of years. All except for one person that is. Because he had been sitting in jail.

“Krieger”, Steve said

“You do remember me after all,” he said with a chuckle. “I’m looking forward to catching up. I’ll be seeing you very soon.”

He abruptly hung up and Steve took the phone from his ear.

“Fuck…”

Fade out.

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