There were people in the streets, and they were going about life as normal
It had been so long since they had smiled.
---You couldn't see their smiles, because they were hidden by masks and bandannas---
Hanari walked down the streets of his hometown, and everything looked so different. It looked like a post-apocolyptic wasteland. It looked like a scene from 28 Days later. People who were normally some of the happiest, friendliest and most outgoing on the planet, were now walking around with their heads down, their faces covered, and their emotions in their eyes.
COVID-19 was no joke. Just because they were on an island did not make them exempt from contracting thos horrible virus, though their numbers were exponentially smaller than other places.
It wasn't the virus, it was the fear.
People frighten easily. It doesn't take much to get them into a panic. It doesn't take much to convince them that the world is ending, if that is your agenda. The news has been feeding these people fear for over a month now. Not everyone, but most, felt the need to cover their faces in public. They stood a good distance from each other, and nobody spoke. Streets that were normally bustling, loud, vibrant, were now quiet enough to hear a pin drop.........
Except for the occasional sneeze or cough
...........and it made Hanari sad. These people needed a hero. They needed something to take their mind off this pandemic. They needed something, someone, to root for. Something to be happy about.
Winning the Universal Title would be something that would lift the spirits of these people, would give them a reason to want to smile again. He wouldn't just be the hero of the XWF, but the hero of his entire nation.
As he walked past many of his favorite spots, bars, restaurants, cigar shops, breweries, they were all closed. How were these businesses possibly going to survive this?
How were these people going to survive this?
He had to be the beacon of hope. He had to be the reason. Like when he was determined to climb to the top of Pico Duarte all those years ago......he needed to be the motivation to do something crazy. To throw a party. To rebel against the establishment that has let them down until this point.
He stood outside his favorite bar, La Resistencia, and looked in the now dusty window. The bottles sat on the shelves in the exact spot they had been when shut down. Unused, untouched, unloved. Some glasses even sat on the bar, as if the patrons drinking out of them were suddenly ushered out.
The sign on the door read"ESTAMOS CERRADOS HASTA AVISO ADICIONAL DEBIDO A LAS REGULACIONES DE COVID-19" (WE ARE CLOSED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE DUE TO COVID-19 REGULATIONS).He ran his hand over the sign, his fingers running against the smooth lamination the sign sat inside.
A grin curled over his lips.
He flipped the sign over. There were 5 numbers.
13221
He flipped the sign back around and walked around the back, through the brick-walled back alley, and down a flight of steps. There was a door there, a big, thick, metal door.
Walking up to the door, he listened to hear if anyone was inside. It was silent, but the door was super thick. He remembered the numbers and said them outloud to himself.
13221
He brought his hand to the door
*Knock*
*Knock Knock Knock*
*Knock Knock*
*Knock Knock*
*Knock*
He stood there for what felt like an eternity before the sound of a large metal lock could be heard. Then another. Then another. The door opened and a well-dressed man, wearing sunglasses even though he was inside, greeted him.
Looking him over for a moment or two, he stepped aside. Hanari nodded, thanking the man silently. What he saw blew his mind.
True to their name, La Resistencia, this bar had transformed into the largest speak-easy in the entire Dominican Republic.
Good people will always find a way during hard times.
Walking over to the bar area, he took a seat on the stool.
He was amazed. It must have been millions to build a full, well lit, even more well stocked, exact replica of the upstairs. People from all over town sat in there. People he recognized. People he didn't. Nobody had on a mask, nobody seemed down. They were together, they were happy. People need people.
There was a large fish tank in the corner, filled with salt water and some of the Caribbean's most popular, and beauty, community fish.
He tapped twice on the bar and the bartender nodded. He returned soon after with a shot of tequila.
"¿Puedo fumar aquí?" (Can I smoke in here?)
The bartender nodded and Hanari pulled out a cigar.
Even though these were his kind of people, they weren't the one's he was doing it for. Saturday Night was for someone else.
He knew he couldn't stay long. He had seen what he needed to see. He slid a $20 over the bar for a $7 shot, and and waved to keep the change. The cigar between his teeth he walked out the door and up the stairs, nodding to the bouncer on his way out.
When the heavy door shut behind him, he knew he was back into reality. Anyone could see those numbers, all they had to do was be a little curious. Anyone could find the speakeasy, all they had to do was be a little adventurous. But they don't.
Why?
Because people often need direction. People need someone to tell them what to do, they need a leader. The wrong leader and it can all go to hell. Someone who only cares about themselves, and it can all go to hell.
Men like Shawn Warstein want to run a campaign based on fear. He wants everyone to fear him, never rise up, never rise to the occasion, never have the confidence to know they can succeed.
Success Is The Best Revenge.
As he passed a group of people, they appeared to be a family, they all had masks covering their faces. All of them looked at the ground.
These people needed a hero.
He was going to be the hero his country needed.
As he continued to walk through the desolate streets that seemed frozen in time, his cell phone rang.
"Mamma! ¿Cómo estás? (how are you?).
Sí, sí, voy a cenar. Tuve que hacer una parada en el centro rápido. Llego en un momento. ¡Espero que hayas hecho ese plato de empenada que amo! (Yes, yes, I am coming to dinner. had to make a stop in downtown quick. I'll be right over. I hope you made that empanada dish I love!)
His mother said something on the other line. Her tone sounded cheerful. A lot more cheerful than the barren nothingness in front of him.
"¡Bien, traeré el vino! ¡Felices Pascuas! ¡Te veré pronto!" (Okay, I'll bring the wine! Happy Easter! I'll see you soon!)
He hung up the phone with a sigh. His home city had turned into the XWF. A boring, uneventful abyss with bad leadership. The XWF needed a hero.......
He was going to be the hero they deserved.
PRESENT DAY:
"My entire life I have had to fight for everything I got. Nothing has ever been handed to me. Nada. Cero. Dis will be no different. I don't want anyone to think dat I am taking Shawn Warstein lightly. I know how good hermano es....I no like him, I think he is a spineless coward....but I know what he can do in de ring. Nobody can take that away.....but I am poised. I am ready. Dis is my moment. I also feel like dis means more to me than it does to him. For him, dis es a title to help to put de pieces of his fragile self-image back together. For me, dis is a chance to put my culture, mi familia, mi gente on de map. A chance to be a living, walking, icon. A chance to show de world that dis business isn't as top heavy as dey think, and sometimes de little guy does have a chance here.
De land of opportunity.
Shawn Warstein needs dis belt. I want it. I want to shatter his perceptions of reality, I want to bring him back down to earth. I want to take that big head he wears and crumble it like an egg cracking over a frying pan. I am just de man to do it. Chu see, I have an uncanny ability to make people submit. An ability to make people scream and beg. An ability to make people..........quit.
Pinning Warstein would be too good for him. When de chips are down, I want to force him to make dat decision. He has been so adamant about his claims of "forcing de hand" of de administration......so why not force his? Give him dat decision. Tap out, or spent months on de shelf with ya arm in a sling. Just ask Mastermind which decision to choose.
Shawn, chu will feel pain. Chu think dis is going to be easy, be a walk in de park. I am going to make sure dis is de longest walk of chor life, holmes. Chu have no idea what es coming on Saturday night. A choice will need to be made. An internal choice. Is chor belt as important to chu as your arm staying intact? Chu are going to have to reach deep down inside and ask yourself dat question. But at the end of the day......the question has already been answered for ya.
Chu. Will. Tap. Out.
I may not be an inner circle guy. I am no Centurion, I am not Robert Main, I am no Robbie Bourbon or Chris Page. What I am es a guy who has no quit, no fear, and no remorse. I wanted to just take the title, Shawn, but now I want to take the title and I wanna hurt chu. I wanna humble chu. I wanna bring chu down to de level chu think I currently sit at. I want to watch chu squirm. Beg. Bleed. Suffer.
Chu talked about Grif and I being led to slaughter? They no care about us. Well, Shawn, if dat were de case, it would just be Griffin. Title shots are not just given out around here, der es a reason behind everything. Dey are testing chu, vato. Dey want to see if chu truly measure up. Why else am I in dis match? If dey were just leading sheep into slaughter dey would have thrown someone like Tommy Wish or Barney Green. Gluttons for punishment....playthings for chu to destroy.
No.
Dey wanna see if chu has what it takes to face a man who es making waves around here. A man who is in prime position at dis point in his short career to beat chu. Dey wanna see if their investment paid off.
Imagine de disappointment in de back off when they find out it doesn't?
Der es no "Shawn Warstein" era. It es de Era of Hanari Carnes. De era of de new blood. Chor title reign has only been a short week and already it es as stale as expired milk. Everyone es already over Shawn Warstein.
What happens next? Chu lose dis match and chu go back to being Fuzz and claim chu are "re-branding" chorself again? Chico dat ship has sailed. After chu lose dis match chu es going to be one of de employee's holding the tiki torches at the fiesta I hold at de next Savage. Maybe even be de guy who gets me an extra straw to sip my rum out of de coconut. Maybe de guy who has to sweep up de confetti.
Long story short, chu es not gonna matter anymore.
So go ahead, do another three shoots in a row. Call me every name in de book. Tell de world I suck. Nobody takes chu seriously anymore. At dis point everyone sees chu as a campeón on his heels, leaning against de ropes, waiting for Hanari Carnes to make a mistake.
Hermano, I am air-tight.
I am de hero dis roster needs. I am de one to lead them out of the vacuum dey are currently in. I am de one to lead dem in War Games with the pride of de entire roster on my shoulder. I am a natural born leader. Chu has proven that chu es nothing but a natural born snake. It es gonna look weird, isn't it? Tuning in to XWF, or going to de web site, and seeing de name Hanari Carnes listed under Campeón Universal. It es gonna be a shock to de system, everyone es gonna do a double take. But den they will watch our match and know that Hanari es de best dis company has to offer right now.
I look de part. Dis suit costs more than chor life insurance policy. De shoes, the hair....de smile......."
"....I got it all holmes. All I need now is de gold to go with it, and chu all have de hero chu can look up to. A hero chu can model chorselves after. A hero dat stopped Germany BEFORE occupation.........the man who spit in de face of everything that es currently wrong with de XWF. I never thought in a million years I'd be here right now. I knew it would happen, but not dis quick. I am truly blessed to be de one chosen to make things right, and truly blessed to be de one chosen to take chu out.
I have never been to Pittsburgh. I es excited. Excited es an understatement. Estoy extático! In de crazy time we are living in, de world needs someone dey can rely on. Dat man es me.
Many people on dis roster probably don't think so. Dey think I am too young, too green, too whatever. It doesn't matter because I will earn their respect in time. Dey may not want me at de top, but my goal es to raise dem up with me. Chu wanna keep everyone down and go about chor campaign of being de head honcho. I want XWF to be better. I want to elevate de competition, I want everyone to be equal in time. I will be a fighting campeón and I will take on all comers.
I don't need to give permission to fight someone, that's bitch made shit.
Anyone, everyone is welcome to do de salsa with Hanari Carnes. If dey beat me, more power to dem. They will have beaten de best.
I am so anxious to see what excuses chu come up with next holmes. What corner chu back yaself into. What new vision of grandeur chu have. What new name chu have for yaself.
Before I get too ahead of myself......let me just say dat there es a very fine line between cockiness and confidence, vato. Chu don't just walk it, chu stomp on it. Chu are overboard, mang. Chu are de type to kill ants with a sledgehammer. I get being confident but chico chu mouth es writing a check that it can no cash. Chu may call me cocky.....
Oh no, holmes, I am not.
As chu stated so elegantly, I have no reason to be cocky. I have every reason in the world, however, to be confident. Confident I am.....
So I will leave ya with some wise words of wisdom, Shawn. De same words I said to Thunder Knuckles before I nearly ripped his arm from its socket..........
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