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With John Madison laid up in an undisclosed location under the watchful-ish eye of Luca Arzegotti, The Kings must get back to work minus one of their founding members. The time has finally come for Theo Pryce to clue John Samuels in to why he needed him to leave Malaysia immediately. And now with King of The Ring only two days away a determined and focused Kings ™ will be marching into the PPV Champions and do what AX3, the XWF Resident Power Couple and The Mothefucker's could not, put down the Alliance once and for all.

in

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EPISODE V - From Russia With Love - The Empire Strikes Back

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One and a half weeks ago. Somewhere over the Pacific.

It's been about an hour and a half since Theo's private jet took off from Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Malaysia headed to Reno. After a couple drinks and a few minutes spent unwinding Theo started in on why exactly he tracked John down in Malaysia in the first place.


"So what's up? What is so important that you needed me? Why not Maddy or Doc or even that imbecile Cadryn?"

"Because honestly John. Doc seems a bit pissed with me and my plan right now so I figured him doing me a favor wasn't really in the cards."

"Do you have a plan?" Samuels asks as he takes a sip of his drink.

"Are you kidding me? Do I have a plan? How long have you known me and you're going to ask me that question? I thought I've made it pretty clear by now that I'm the guy that's ten moves ahead of the guy that's ten moves ahead of everyone else. So yeah I have a plan and it's all coming together very nicely. In fact Vincent Lane in his blinding hatred for me has played right into it and not even realized it."

"Ok ok I get it. You're the grand master of plans. So then what is it that you need from me?"

"Right. For the last two weeks I've been getting followed by someone. I don't know exactly who he is. I've been able to get a glimpse of him through various methods of trade craft."

"Trade what?"

"Trade craft. It's a spy thing."

"Right..."

"Anyway when we get back to Reno we are going straight to my office where I know he will be waiting."

"He'll be waiting at your office?"

"Not literally in my office but he will be somewhere near it and when I leave a few hours later he will follow me. So what we are going to do is, I'm going to walk out of the building on my phone. I'm going to stop right outside of it for a few minutes and give whoever is following me time to spot me and then start tailing me. Once I start moving I want you to wait 30 seconds and then come out of the building and start going down the route I will outline for you. At some point I will call you on my phone and describe for you what the guy looks like, what he is wearing and where he is. He will be so focused on following me that he won't even see you following him. Eventually I am going to lead him into an alley and confront him, at which point I want you to hit him with this." Theo reaches down into his brief case and pulls out a gun, but not just any gun..."It's a special type of stun gun, compact but powerful as shit. Pull the trigger and it will fire a bullet that will electrocute the unholy hell out of the victim to the point that they will be knocked out within 3 seconds."

"Yo this is like some spy shit. I can see why you couldn't trust Madison or Cadryn with this. So what happens once he's knocked out?"

"There will be a van parked at the end of the alley. Once the guy is knocked out we are going to take him to an undisclosed location where he will sit in a cell for about a week given only bread and water 3 times a day. He will not speak to anyone or see sunlight for that entire time. He will piss and shit into a toilet in the cell. After about a week, maybe a few days more I'll start interrogating him to find out who he is and why he's following me."

"And then?"

"Well that all depends on what he has to say."

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Now - Undisclosed Location

"Who sent you?" Theo Pryce asks a man bound to a metal chair. His face swollen and bloody.


The man does not respond and so Theo nods in the affirmative giving the man standing only a few feet away permission to strike again.


SOCK!!!


The man's head snaps backwards and then slumps forward, blood dripping from the various wounds on his face.


"Shall we try this one last time? Who sent you?" Theo asks again as the camera swings around revealing John Samuels to be the man laying waste to the bound man's face.


Again no verbal response. Instead the man spits about a tablespoon's worth of blood onto the floor in Theo's general direction.


"This isn't working." Samuels remarks as he walks over to the table, picks up a cloth and begins cleaning the blood off his right hand.

"No it's not."

"My friends, perhaps a session with the Good Doctor will provide the answers you seek?" Doctor Louis D'Ville says as he steps forward from the shadows, revealing himself to his fellow Kings™.

"Doc, I had no idea you were even here. I thought you had some things to take care of?" Theo asks as he approaches D'Ville.

"I did. They are taken care of and now I'm here. Can I be of assistance?" D'Ville asks as he removes his jacket, folding it once and then placing it over the back of a steel chair.

"It certainly can't hurt. Just please, make sure he's still alive at the end. We may need him. I...may need him."

"Telling the artist which brushes to paint with? How very uncouth." Doc replies as he begins rolling up his sleeves, starting with his left and then shifting to his right.

"I have a feeling that a brilliant artist such as yourself will find a way." Theo remarks as he pats D'Ville on the back with a smile. "Come on John. Let's go ice that hand and check on Madison."


Samuels walks over to an unmarked wooden box where laying atop it is his suit coat. Samuels grabs the coat and casually tosses it over his shoulder as he follows Theo out of the room, shutting the large wooden door behind them.


"How's the hand?" Pryce asks as he glances down towards John Samuel's right hand.

"It's seen better days but it'll be fine. Been a while since I had a workout like that." Samuels says as he grabs his right hand with his left and massages it gently. "What was that back there? I thought you said you knew how to interrogate people?"

"I do. I received extensive training on it during my brief time as a super spy."

"You weren't a super spy. Stop saying that."

"Yes I most certainly was."

"No you weren't.

"Stop. You know I was. They even made a movie about it."

"That's right they did. It was a box office disaster if I remember correctly."

Theo puts his head down in shame but then digs up courage to finally respond to John's low blow. "Yeah it was. I told them from the beginning the casting was all off and not believable at all. I mean how are you going to hire some British guy named Tom to play the part of an American Hero such as myself? Complete horseshit but they didn't wanna hear it. I bet they are regretting it now."

"American Hero might be a bit of an exaggeration."

"Maybe a bit. But regardless, that movie could have been the beginning of the next great movie franchise. The next Jason Bourne or James Bond instead it's a one and done."

"Yeah but you got paid at least. For the rights to your story and your likeness and shit."

"Yeah I did but that went right towards starting Decima so it's not like I really saw that money anyway."


The two men continue making their way through the dimly light hallways of the nondescript building that they are currently in. It takes a few more minutes and ascending a flight of stairs before Theo and Samuels reach their destination. A room with a makeshift hospital bed currently home to John Madison's recuperating body. Madison is currently laying in the bed with an IV bag hanging from a mangled coat hanger affixed to a nail on the wall. The IV is going directly into the top of Madison's right hand. Seated a table a few feet away from Madison is former Black Circle member and John Madison's current murse Luca Arzegotti.

As the men approach Luca they can see that the meme extraordinaire was clearly enjoying some extra curricular activities that involved rolled up dollar bills, a mirror and some white powder. Probably baking soda but who can really say for sure.............


"Luca I'm going to pretend like that's not what I think it is on the table."

"Ok Dad. Not like you didn't used to partake back in the day. Which was a Thursday by the way in case anybody ever asks." Luca says as he wipes away some white residue from under his nose.

"You know Luca I'm not mad at you, I'm just...disappointed."

"Geez John I..." Luca tries to respond but is cut off.

"Disappointed that you didn't ask me if I wanted any. I thought Madison raised you better than that."

"Raised him?" Madison mumbles while reaching forward with his IV'd up arm. "I raised him from a pup, he was a nothing before I found him wondering the streets like a...like a..." Madison tries hard to finish his sentence but is unable to. His arm falls back down to the bed and his eyes close again.

"How much of that stuff did you give him Luca?" Theo asks as he walks over to the IV bad hanging from the nail and taps it with the nail of his forefinger.

"Which stuff? This stuff?" Luca asks as he points to the white powder on the table. "Or that stuff?" He asks, pointing to the IV that Theo is standing next to.

"Wait a second, you gave him some of that? Why? Why in God's name would you do that?"

"He was in pain Theo. I was trying to be a good friend. Besides he's fine. Look at him. He's sleeping like a baby. Like a murderous, psychotic baby. Which by the way, how long are we keeping him here? I'm not set up for long term care."

"A few more days. Assuming everything goes well we can get him out of here on Friday. I am having a place set up for him that can provide some care for him for an extended period of time should he need it."

"Where?" Samuels asks as he removes a little white powder from the corner of his nose.

"Somewhere where I can keep an eye on him."


[Inaudible noises]


"Did you hear that?" Samuels asks as he walks over towards the bed where John Madison is laying asleep.

"Yes I did. It sounded like screams."

"I guess D'Ville be doing D'Ville things."

"It would appear that way." Theo remarks as he walks over towards Luca is seated. He looks down at the table and it's quickly dwindling pile of white powder and then towards Luca. "Luca walk with me for a minute I need to talk to you about something. Something important and time sensitive."

"Word."

"You mind watching him for a few minutes Samuels? Luca will be right back."

"I ain't got shit else to do so whatever."


Theo and Luca walk out of the makeshift hospital room and head back downstairs towards where Doctor D'Ville and the unknown prisoner are. The camera is too far away to hear exactly what is being said between the two men but it is clear from their hand gestures and facial expressions that the two men are in agreement over whatever it is that is being said.

The trip back towards the torture room as Doctor D'Ville would later refer to it takes only a few minutes and once it does Luca turns right back around and heads back upstairs while Theo walks into the room to see D'Ville standing a few feet away from the man who is still chained to the chair. There is a bit more blood coming from his hands and face but all of his fingers and toes are still intact. The man's head is tilted forward, his chin resting upon his chest.


"Is he still alive?"

"Very much so. Though if I had to opine I'd say he is probably wishing he wasn't."

"What did you find out?"

"His name is Yuri Kozlov and he works for the FSB, formerly known as the KGB."

"Yeah I figured he was Eastern Bloc. What does he want with me?"

"As I understand it his mission is to kill you." D'Ville says as he looks down to see some blood spatter had made it's way on to his shirt.

"Is that so?" Theo remarks as he walks over to the man bound to the chair and with his right hand slowly raises the man's head which quickly falls back down towards his chest. "That all he said? That he works for the FSB and he was sent to kill me? Did he happen to say who specifically sent him and why?"

"He did in fact. Right before he passed out from the pain. According to him he was sent by President Putin to eliminate you."

"Putin? What the fuck...why?"

"Apparently Mr. Putin doesn't take very kindly to people who escape from his prisons. Especially people who either have evidence or are connected to people who have evidence of him involved in things that might cause a scandal."

"Fucking Madison. If he wasn't upstairs recovering I'd kill him myself. It's one thing after another with him I swear to God."

"Indeed. Now that we know all of this what do you suggest we do with him?" D'Ville asks as he points to the man in the chair.

"First I make a phone call. And depending on how that call goes I'll have an answer for your question."


Theo pulls his cell phone out and swipes it to the left to activate it. He then presses the small orange contacts button and then scrolls down until he reaches the one man who can help him now.


To Be Concluded

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"You know it's funny, I can't help but sit back and laugh when someone, someone who everyone with an objective eye would call inferior to me thinks that it would be sound strategy to wax poetic about how I or how Doctor D'Ville have "earned" the accolades that we have, all the while never coming close to earning those same accolades themselves.

I was very serious the other day when out of the goodness of my heart and for purely altruistic reasons I told Scully that no one needs, wants or cares for a history lesson and so I won't betray my own words by offering up my own history here and now. What I will say however is simply this. There are very few people in this world and even less in the business of wrestling who can honestly try and compare resumes with me and feel like they are on equal footing. Guppy may be delusional enough to think that to a man he and I are, or he and Doc, or worse, he and Scully are on the same level as The Good Doctor and I but the truth is they aren't and 99.9% of people who are paying attention already know that.

Guppy may fancy himself a superhero by day and a wrestler by night but in reality he is nothing more than a dime store comic book fan cosplaying as a wrestler and you know what? That's perfectly acceptable. I applaud that type of drive and commitment and we should all be allowed to be whoever and whatever we want but unfortunately for Guppy he wants to be something that is going to result in him getting his head caved in. And I unfortunately have been forced into a position where I am going to have to do the caving. I am sorry to the fans and to Guppy and Scully for what is coming on Saturday I really am. You two guys. you're good guys, you really are. I'm a big fan of both of you but when the bell rings on Saturday none of that matters. All that matters is successfully defending the tag team titles again and that is exactly what Doctor D'Ville and I will do because winning is what we do. It's all we've ever done. And Team 2.0 or the prequel version Team 1.0 or even the futuristic version Team 69.5 won't stand in the way of that. We are The Kings™ of the XWF and that's not just a moniker it's a distinction and come Saturday Scully and Guppy will understand that first hand."

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-End Credits- John Madison John Samuels Doctor Louis D'Ville Luca Arzegotti Special Appearances by: Peter Stormare as The Russian Agent And Theo Pryce