Threaded Mode | Linear Mode

Steve_Justice · (09-13-2019)

September 12th. It was a hot Atlanta afternoon. Steve Justice stood at the pick up pool scanning the drivers for his Uber ride. He was carrying two small suitcases and wearing dark sunglasses; a black shirt with Charles Manson’s face on it; green camouflage cargo shorts and green Converse Chuck Taylors. He spotted the new model Chrysler 300 driven by Abdul and walked over. The driver helped him put his bags in the trunk and he took his place in the back seat. As Steve checked his phone, they pulled away from the curb and into traffic.

“How are you doing today sir? Did you have a good flight?”

“Let’s just say I’ve had better weeks. At least I had a window seat on the plane.”

“Are you in town on business?”

“As a matter of fact, I am. You see I’m a pro wrestler and I’m going to be working the State Farm Arena Saturday night.”

“Oh yes, I’ve seen the ads on TV for that. The XWF?”

Steve smiled.

“That’s us. I’m taking part in a title match with my partner.”

“That’s very nice that you and your partner work so close together. You must have a very strong relationship.”

“Whoa, whoa. Not THAT kind of partner. Just a business associate.”

“Oh sorry, my mistake.”

After a few minutes of awkward silence, Abdul cleared his throat.

“Sir, if you don’t mind me saying so, you seem a little preoccupied with something.”

Steve stretched his neck and clenched his hands.

“Please, Abdul, call me Steve. Abdul, let me ask you: Have you ever owed money to an evil organization that threatened your friends and family if you didn’t accede to their demands?

Abdul thought about it for a moment.

“No, sir, I can’t say I have. Although the interest rate on this car is highway robbery.”

“Well, Abdul, there are people threatening me and they pretty much have me over a barrel. If I don’t do everything they say, they’ll gut my best friend and toss his body in the harbour followed shortly by me. So you can see the sort of quandary I find myself in. The sort of predicament that isn’t easily solved with reason. Unless you’re secretly a millionaire and have 30 grand sitting around to spare?”

“Sorry Steve, I am just a humble Uber driver. Like I said, between this car; my family and my house payment I’m barely making ends meet!”

Steve sat up and pointed a finger at Abdul.

“Abdul, you know what you are? You are a victim of the Capitalist wheel that grinds the working man down. They set the prices of housing and basic consumer goods as high as possible while keeping wages as low as they possibly can. And why do they do this? So the elite can increase their share of the profits and grant themselves a healthy bonus. Your corporate masters are gorging themselves at the trough of Capitalism and tossing the scraps to you to content yourself with!”

Abdul absorbs this information soberly.

“Steve, surely things are not that bad!”

“No, you’re right. They’re actually worse. How are you going to pay for university? For your retirement? You said it yourself, you barely make ends meet now. Do you think your bosses are worried about anything like that? Of course not, they have fat 401ks and company stock options. They have golden parachutes; while you? You’re just an expendable unit on the ledger sheet. To be used up, discarded and replaced with another person as soon as they are done with you. Without an education, your children will end up doing the same thing for a living you are. And that’s exactly how they want it. While the children of the elite will go to Ivy League institutions; snort cocaine off the asses of sorority girls and have all their sins covered up with hush money, your children will work at Burger King earning inhumane wages because they can’t afford university tuition. And the whole cycle will continue all over again. Meanwhile, they anesthetize you with social media and reality TV programming to keep you stupid and docile. You’re like a good little dog but you don’t even see the invisible leash. And that, Abdul, is your life.

Abdul stares blankly ahead at the highway trembling with rage.

“How do I escape Steve? What do I do to get out of the system?”

Steve removes his glasses and leans forward. He places a gentle hand on Abdul's shoulder and whispers in his ear conspiratorially.

“If I were you? Burn this car. Report it stolen. Collect the insurance. Then, you’re going to study hydroponic farming. You’re going to start growing weed and selling the medicine to the people who need it. This filthy state doesn’t want you selling the sacred herb but they don’t need to know. Become your own boss and break the chains of the Capitalist wheel, Abdul!”

The car comes to a stop at a downtown Hotel. Steve and Abdul get out and Abdul helps Steve get his bags to the curb. Steve smiles and shakes Abdul’s hand.

“I’ll leave some tickets at the arena box office for your family, Abdul. Good luck.”

Abdul grabs Steve in an awkward hug which Steve is clearly not into.

“Thank you, Steve. Thank you for opening my eyes. Good luck and God bless you!”

“Sure. Take care of yourself alright?”

“I will. Goodbye!”

Steve smiled as he entered into the hotel lobby. Another blow had been struck for the cause, another mind turned to the greater good. Like a stone thrown into a pond, the ripple of positivity would grow until it was an overwhelming tidal wave that crushed the capitalist machine.

Later that day…

Steve had arranged for a crew to meet him at the Atlanta Aquarium. The impressive installation boasted seven permanent galleries with animals living in 10 million gallons of fresh and marine water. Some of their attraction species included beluga whales, dolphins and bull sharks. Steve was standing in front of the bull shark tank wearing the same clothes as earlier in the day. The crew set up the camera to frame him looking at the sharks circling around as he placed his hand on the glass.

[Image: deCHOEt.jpg]

“You know, this aquarium is really something. Out of all the cool exhibits though, these sharks remind me the most of people in the wrestling business. We’re always moving from place to place; we’re always looking for blood in the water and we’ll feed on anything. Even our own. This Saturday night, there will be blood in the water at Saturday Night Savage. You see, just like in the animal kingdom, when you show any sign of weakness, you risk being brought down by the bigger and stronger predators on the food chain. And you Apex guys are pretty much hemorrhaging everywhere. You failed to protect your buddy Bob Main’s title like the good little underlings you’re supposed to be. Hell, you couldn’t handle Peter Gilmour! And he’s 3-12 this year! Let that math sink in for a minute guys.”

“It seems like there is a lot of chaos surrounding Apex right now and one hand doesn’t seem to know what the other is doing. Maybe you guys should sit down in some group therapy sessions like Metallica did and try to get back the old magic you guys used to have. Yeah, maybe you guys are right. I have been dragging my heels a lot lately and I haven’t been contributing to the team. But that was last week. This week I’m coming in with my head on straight and my focus firmly set on prying those Tag Team titles from out of your reach. Yeah, maybe we don’t have as many tag outings as you guys but you’ve gotta admit, in our first two matches we’ve emerged the winners. So I don’t think you ought to just write us off as just some mongrel pairing who haven’t had any success at all. Or, hey, write us off like Bill Blakk and MDK did. Ask The Disintegrators how that plan went for them.

Steve turns and removes his sunglasses and tucks them in a pocket.

Drew Archyle? You’re a hanger-on and a lackey. Bob Main says jump, you say how high? Without somebody else’s coattails to ride, you would be at the bottom of the roster where you belong. You’re comic relief and why Bob Main lets your failure genes near his sister is one of the great mysteries of the universe. You’re one of those guys who’s all heart but you just don’t have the tools to back up that fighting spirit. So you get knocked down and you keep getting up. Again and again and again. Drew since nobody around you cares enough to tell you, I’m going to tell you what you need to hear: Stay. Down. You don’t have to prove you’re a tough guy anymore. You proved that when you got your head smashed in and still managed to come back. I don’t want to be the guy who ends your career because something terrible happened to you. Do yourself a favour and don’t show up on Saturday. Go be happy with Main’s sister and raise a bunch of mediocre children.

Now that brings me to your partner. James Raven, I might not like you but I at least have the sense to respect everything you’ve accomplished in your long and illustrious career. I mean, a 3 time Universal Champion? Wow, that’s an impressive feat. I can see why they call you the people’s goat. Here’s the thing though: as somebody else pointed out to me recently, it’s not 2010 anymore. It’s 2019 and you might just have lost a step or two along the way. Of course, I might be wrong. But then again, that’s what makes these matches great, right? We all have questions that we’d like to see answered in a fight. Like if Steve Justice, one of the greatest Catch Wrestlers and submission grapplers of the current era, is quicker on the draw then the legendary James Raven. I’ve got to admit, I’m very interested in finding out the answer to that.

Steve cracks his knuckles and smirks.

Now maybe you don’t know just what Catch Wrestling is James. So let me tell you. You see they call BJJ the gentle art. Well Catch Wrestling is the violent art. It’s designed to grind your opponent down by making him as uncomfortable as possible as painfully as possible. And when you’re uncomfortable, you make mistakes. And that’s when I will strike. You see James, I’m not some failed experiment as you called me. I’m a future legend in the making. You’ve never encountered someone with the blend of skills I possess. You might think I’m just blowing smoke but I promise you, when you have to actually get in the ring with me on Saturday night, when I grab a hold of you and you feel the strength of my grip, you’re going to think, "holy s#%t, I’m in way over my head here". I believe in my skills and I believe that I can out-wrestle, out-strike and just plain beat you at any sort of contest inside that ring.

Like I said before, Apex Prophecy used to be exciting. The fans used to be behind them and cheered them on. But now you guys have just become a stale act of mediocrity. You guys became a dynasty. You became the New York Yankees of the XWF. Everything has its time and its place. Right now is not your time anymore. It’s the time of Hanari Carnes and Steve Justice. And whether either of you like it or whether you don’t like it, Justice always prevails.

Fade Out

No sooner than Steve was finished his promo then he felt a vibration in his pocket. He walked away from the crew and slipped the burner phone out of his pocket and flipped it open:

Kreiger owns u

“What do you want?”

“Relax. I’m just checking in. I wanted to make sure you understood the leash that’s around your neck. It makes me very happy that you answer so quickly.”

“Look, I’m in Atlanta right now so I can’t run any errands for you.”

“I know, I have a copy of the XWF touring schedule so I can keep tabs on you. But when you come back to town, I do have a little job for you to do for me.”

“Ugh, what is it you want me to do?”

“Relax, champ. You have a big match ahead of you. I’ll give you the details later when we’re in the same time zone again. Good luck and goodbye for now.”

Steve closed the phone and stuffed it in his pants pocket. He muttered a curse under his breath. He knew where he could get some money quickly but he was going to have to do some more dirty work. He hoped in the end that he would be able to look at himself in the mirror.

***Fin***

Threaded Mode \| Linear Mode See Steve Rant
Author	Message