Isadora Redclaw hated tardiness with a passion. She loathed it and despised its very existence and continuous recurrence in her life. A constant and dreadfully consistent faux pas shared by many in this day and age; despite the abundant growth of devices that could be used in order to divert such a mishap from ever occurring, Isadora found herself wistful and longing for the days when this electronic era was nothing more than a myth from a science fiction novel. Back then, people were never late. Punctuality was a sign of respect, an act encouraged and a common trait shared. It was a key component in a set of standards one lived and abided by. Nowadays, no one adhered to any sort of standard or code, this age lived and died for nothing. Getting far more than it deserved or even dished out in return, the insufferable bastards grew in numbers everyday and would one day be the source of their own demise. Yes, there will come a time when a call for action is needed, a day when a good strong caliber of character would be vital for this world's survival but sadly, that call won't be answered. Not by anyone alive on this planet. Nope, it'll be missed and all will be lost. It's inevitable, based on the gradual decay in the quality of living, the lie of advancement and a widespread plague of stupidity generously shared amongst humans. The end is most definitely nigh. However, there's no use in sobbing over spilt milk.



Or the lack of milk spilt into a cup of tea when it was clearly ordered to be done. Ms. Redclaw never allowed these thoughts to weigh in on her demeanor. Always cool, calm and collected, she was reserved in the face of her inner discontent. Especially, when her tardy party was a prospective new client. Isadora sipped her tea and raised an eyebrow as she watched her overdue guest step into the foyer. Tall with intense eyes and dramatic features, he wore mostly black and carried himself like an internal shape-shifter, a person highly adapt at charming themselves through any situation. Isadora was intrigued, she made the right call in arranging this meeting and by the time it was over, Dillinger D'Marco would be her new client. She was certain of it. A feeling that reaffirmed itself when he finally met her gaze and she graciously waved him over to her table. Yes, this would be a very productive meeting indeed.

Dillinger strode across the open patio of The Cheshire Cat, an outdoor cafe that he was directed to when a woman by the name of Isadora Redclaw, phoned him earlier with intentions of meeting in person. An agent seeking business, ordinarily this sort of thing wouldn't have resulted the same, there would have been an excuse delivered or maybe even a nice firm push of the ol' cell phone's end button; however, this time was different. Ms. Redclaw seemed determined, eager and ready to do business as most agents would but then... there was something more, something he couldn't quite put his finger on or describe. As she spoke there was something compellingly insistent about her tone or maybe it was the impact of her words, to be honest Dillinger wasn't really sure what it was but before he knew it, he was agreeing to meet with her. The strangest part of it all was how natural it went, she asked, he accepted, the call ended and then he was left wondering why? Why did he accept that invite, what made him go along with Ms. Redclaw's plan and how could he get out of this bullshit, now that he made the stupid commitment? Failing to find answers, he decided to "grin and bear it' through a meeting, he'd promptly deny her offer to be his agent because he sure as fuck didn't need one of those and that would be the end of it. No harm, no foul but maybe cake. With the coffee he planned on ordering during the pointless meeting. One that he was determined would go as planned and possibly end with murder, if Ms. Redclaw was particularly annoying after he refused her services.

"Ms. Redclaw?"

Dillinger asked reluctantly. The woman had waved him over to her table but the icy, unflinching stare she greeted him with when he arrived, arose a slight uncertainty within him. A gaze she kept on him for several moments before she finally lifted her tea cup and took a sip. Taking her sweet time as she did this, she then rested the dainty cup back on its saucer and resumed the stare.

"You are Isadora Redclaw, aren't you?"

"I am."

"Well then, why didn't you say so to begin with, what's with the frosty stare and silence?"

"You're late. I was merely trying to determine why."

"There was traffic."

"A shame you've never encountered such a thing before so you could map your journey more accordingly."

"Excuse me."

"Ignorant and hard of hearing, that's perfect. Throw in a bum leg and you'll have the trifecta."

This was Isadora playing nice, she could be much worse if she wished.

"Hey, you called me and requested this sit down... remember, I was nice and accepted, I didn't have to but I did. So from this point and onward, I'd put the ice bitch attitude on hold if I were you. It's better for your health, I hear it promotes a longer life."

"Or what? You'll kill me. Ha! If I could be so lucky, I'd gladly walk into your awaiting blade but sadly, that just isn't in the cards. There isn't room for death on my schedule, not yet anyway and even if there was a place saved for it, it won't be delivered by you. You're cute and all, but you don't really have what it takes, if you know what I mean."

"What?"

"Did I stutter? Take a seat. You might be slow today... I hope only today, but we still need to discuss business."

Dillinger pulled a chair from the table and took a weary glance at its seat.

"Come, come... sit. You can even order a slice of cake if you wish."

Things were definitely going off-kilter here. Dillinger quickly slid into his seat and steadied himself with a deep breath.

"A slice of cake?"

"With a cup of coffee, of course. Then you can relax, tell me about yourself and what you hope to accomplish within life and the XWF, I can give you my proposal and you can promptly turn me down. Does that sound about right?"

"I don't know what to say."

"Of course you don't, I pegged you for everything you anticipated on doing. Too be fair, it was rather obvious given that you were late, silly. Now then, let me guess the real reason for that. You were trying to wrap your mind around the concept of why you agreed to meet with me in the first place. Don't bother. You'll wind up with a headache. If you need a reason, chalk it up to a good judgement of character on your part and knowing what's best for your own well-being, so much so that you did it without even realizing. Out of habit most likely. You have that in common with your grandfather."

"My grandfather? I don't have grandparents, much less a grandfather."

"Of course you have grandparents, how else were your parents born."

"Yeah, I get how that works but both my parents are dead, they died when I was still a kid. Now, I'm no expert here but usually when that kinda stuff goes down, a relative steps up to take custody. Except, that didn't happen. Which means, I must not have grandparents, capisce?"

"Well, you do... or rather, you did. From your father's side of the family anyway. Remorsefully, they're both passed on now. Your grandma died before you were born and your grandfather perished shortly after you joined the XWF. I can't speak on the behalf of anyone from your mother's side but you're right in assuming if they were alive, they'd make themselves known to you."

"You knew my grandparents, my father's parents and how exactly did you know them? You're an agent for professional wrestlers, correct?"

"That's one of the fields I dabble in, yes. However, in the case of your grandfather, I was more of an adviser. A confidant and someone to aid with making decisions, should the need arise."

"Let me get this straight, I have a grandfather... sorry, had a grandfather and you were his right hand woman in decision making but neither of you could figure out what to do when my parents died. Their deaths orphaned me. I was... you know what, it's not important cause this is bullshit. Look, whatever scam you're running, you definitely get an A in effort for that shit but I gotta get going. My tolerance for you is way past its limit."

"Wait! Just listen. Please."

"I'm listening, I don't know why I'm still listening but I'm listening."

"You have to understand, your parents were never in close contact with your grandfather. They kept him at a distance, for whatever reason and he respected that. Even well after their deaths. Though to be honest, after the tragedy, your grandfather was already well into his later years, he wouldn't have been able to provide the care that you needed or deserved. He also had no patience for children. However, he was well aware of the nature of the crime and based on that, felt it was necessary to watch as you grew and developed, from afar. There wasn't a moment where you were lost on his thoughts, even in his final days when you joined the XWF and debuted against another newcomer; a man by the name of Marvelous Keith, he remained vigilant in observing you. In fact, it was his last request that I seek you out, he wanted to make sure you found the right path and stuck to it."

"I think he may have misjudged when to send you off on this adventure, if that's your primary objective."

"Or maybe you don't know which 'right' path I'm referring to."

"Touche."

"Look, at the very least, I can show you your grandfather's estate. I can give you the tour, fill you in on some things and then leave you with the keys."

"The keys?"

"Yes, he left you the property, everything is already in your name, you merely have to claim it. Did I not mention that?"

"No."

"I probably also failed to state that my services have been paid for in full, all you need to do is agree to be my client and I'm your agent."

"Yeah, you left that part out too."

"See what happens when you're late to a meeting, it throws everything helter-skelter and makes people forget even the most important topics of discussion. No need to fret though. We can talk more about these things on the way to your grandfather's abode."

This was not how Dillinger imagined things going...

---

"This coming Savage Saturday Night, I'm scheduled to face "The Future" Jose Gomez and Mr. 'Meme Machine' himself, Mike Green. Second time's a charm, ain't that right Mike? You've got this fight in the bag. You weren't ready before but now, you're prepared. You won't fall flat on your ass this time. No sir. No matter how easy that option is, considering your size and weight, you won't fall on that ass and take a loss, will you? Nah, the blubber that fills your insides and thickly cushions your posterior, won't feel the impact of failure again! No matter what, you're going to prevail. Even if your knees are weak, your heart is bad, you lose your breath from simply walking to the ring and are in desperate need of an oxygen machine by the time you enter it, this is your moment to shine. Right, Mike? Come on, agree with me, I'm rooting for you, myself. You can do this, you walking tub of lard! Forget the fact that when you climb into the ring, the ropes separate to the point of breaking. I thought they were going to snap to be honest with ya, but you made it through and they were only a little stretched out. I'm sure those things just spring right back into place... eventually. No one notices that it takes you five minutes to straighten upright after you've completely cleared the ropes either. Those entire five minutes of you stuck in a bent over position while somehow still stumbling forward with your hands outstretched as you desperately claw at the air for something to grasp onto in order to catch your balance and pull yourself up to a proper standing position, goes by in an instant. Sure you look like you're doing an impression of a plane trying to take flight, but that's okay because... you've got this! Right?"

"Of course you do! I'm being completely honest and sincere too!"

"As for Jose, you're new here and I don't know much about you but I can already tell you'll bring a better fight than 'Gloppy the Molasses Monster' ever will. Kudos to you for that. You're the one bright spot in this otherwise bleak match. Don't fucking disappoint me."