Death Valley || Mojave Desert – California || 0700
Considering its Death Valley, the weather has been nice the last few days. Highs in the 60’s and 70’s and a bit cold at night. I like it cold when I sleep. Though to be honest, I haven’t slept much. The final battle with the Ares Project looms over our heads like a black cloud. It’s been hanging there for years and I wish I could’ve shaken it sooner, but I couldn’t. For the first half of this war the Ares Project had our backs against the wall with little or no options in which to fight them. After all, they initially were backed by the United States government. As such, it rendered my usual tactics virtually useless.
The tide turned with Joe Biden. His rise to the White House saw him undoing, or trying to, a lot of the Trumpist policies. One of which was the Ares Project. After months and months of talks, the United States officially deemed them a terrorist organization, finally breaking the chains holding me back. It’s really not unheard of. The United States is not a stranger to arming and training groups of zealots, only to turn on them later. Al-Qaeda anyone? Nevertheless, the Ares Project has been beaten at every turn since. They’ve been on the run ever since. What none of us expected was for them to regroup and hole up on Illuminatus property.
What many probably don’t know and certainly don’t remember, is that we have an underground facility deep in the heart of Death Valley. Once upon a time it belonged to my uncle Theo. He turned around and sold it, and everything in it to my father for pennies on the dollar. The contents of the facility were more than 100,000 highly trained, highly skilled military operatives. Humvees, fighter jets, tanks, arms, munitions. Essentially, it’s where the Illuminatus military truly began.
Days Ago – Woolworth Tower – New York City
The house is quiet. It’s nearing 11 PM and everyone is asleep but me. And probably Lauren. Standing here in the bathroom and staring into the mirror, I wonder if I admire the man staring back at me. A lot of people judge me for the things I do. They shout from the pulpits that I’m a bad man that does bad things, but am I really? Everything I have done as it relates to the war was done to protect the people that count on me for their survival. There’s no words that I can say that can really put that into perspective so that people understand what it is that I’m up against. There’s nothing I can say that can force people to understand what it means to have the weight of a quarter million people – and their lives that hang in the balance – squarely on your shoulders. Have I made mistakes? Have I done some things that in hindsight I wish I’d maybe done differently? I’d be lying if I said no.
Just because I regret some of the things I’ve done, or that I felt I’ve had to do, does not mean I wouldn’t do them all over again. Outside of the fatigues, outside of the war room, outside of the ring, I am a very kind and loving person. Put a gun to the head of someone I love and the lion will roar. I will protect those that count on me. I will protect the ones I love by any means necessary and if those of you watching this say you wouldn’t, then I urge you to find yourself in a situation similar to mine before you judge me. I would absolutely kill every man, woman and child on this planet if that’s what it took to protect those I love. Absolutely nothing is off the table.
The moment I put on my fatigues, I am not the Thaddeus Duke you see on XWF television. The moment I put them on, that Thaddeus Duke is dead and all that remains is a ruthless war machine hellbent on ensuring a bright future for my family and my people. You don’t win three wars as a teenager by being nice.
I’m crazy about my hair. It sounds stupid and vain and I know it does. The curls atop my head have landed me sooooo much fun that no one ever sees, and believe me you shouldn’t. Aside from that, it’s a prominent feature, it’s a major asset to my marketability as a star in wrestling and on television in general. Grabbing the Wahl clippers from the bathroom counter, I switch them on and take a deep breath. I look like an entirely different person with short hair. I very much like the way I look now.
Even still… I make the first pass and my former luscious locks rain down my shoulders and my back.
Hours Ago – Woolworth Tower – New York City
Berta, the twins, Frankie, Lauren and I all file into the home theater as we prepare ourselves to give Stranger Things a watch through. Mostly for Frankie’s benefit. Partially, just to spend some quality time with the family.
”Greeaaaat, now let’s watch 27 hours of average television,” Lauren says sarcastically as we take our seats.
”Stop that,” I say to her. ”You don’t have to like it, but let Frankie enjoy it.”
”I’m just...”
”You don’t like Stranger Things!?” Frankie yells out, all ‘in your face’ like, causing me to chuckle as I switch on the projector.
”It’s not that I don’t li...”
”Here I thought you were really trying to convince people you weren’t stupid,” he says with a neck snap.
”UGGGH!” she about gasps.
”Frankie!” I admonish him, albeit in jest. ”She’s entitled to her opinion.”
”Yeah,” he says as he gets comfortable. ”But she can just sit there in her wrongness and be wrong. She’s as good at that at least.”
”Frankie, be good,” I say to him, trying hard and also failing not to laugh.
Dimming the lights, I hit play.
No sooner do we get through the first scene at Hawkins Laboratory, and the lights in the theater come up.
”Hey what the hell!?” Frankie shouts.
Looking over my shoulder, I see Dick and Lincoln standing in the door way. Both men with serious looks on their faces.
”I’ll be right back,” I say quietly to Lauren as I dim the lights then make my way to two of my chiefs. ”What’s up?”
”What you’ve been waiting for,” Dick says and I stare at him quietly for a long moment before I realize what he’s referring to.
Turning toward my family, Lauren is right up in my grill and I about jump out of my skin.
”Why you so jumpy baby?” she asks. ”Are we needed?”
”Ugggh,” I hesitate and look at Lincoln as he nods his head. ”Let’s go.”
Leaving the family behind us, hand in hand, Lauren and I follow Dick and Lincoln to the situation room. It’s interesting to me. For years, I was in this alone. I didn’t have anyone I could truly lean on when its time to make the difficult decision to put my men and women into the line of fire. I almost never show my audience, but Lauren has learned a lot over the last few months. She’s in no way shape or form ready to lead, but at the same time, I’m at least somewhat convinced that she could manage to make a few thought out decisions if called upon to do so.
”What’s the scoop?” I ask as the door closes gently behind us.
”You know how they say when you can’t find something, it always turns up in the last place you’d think to look?” he asks of me. I nod. ”Check this out.”
Working the controls, Dick brings up satellite feed from orbit, then zooms in on the southwestern United States. He zooms in further still until only parts of California, Nevada and Arizona are visible. Zooming in even further still, it settles over the Mojave Desert.
”Seem familiar?” he asks. I scratch my head and take a step forward. ”Because it should. The underground facility, long abandoned by the Illuminatus State, is now home to the Ares Project.”
”Son of a bitch,” I say with a disgusted shake of my head.
”What’s that mean?” Lauren asks.
”It means my worst enemies have been hiding in my own house,” I say as Dick zooms in to see a close up of the surface. Ares Project operatives building fortifications around the facility in Death Valley.
”Our house,” she corrects me.
”Babydoll, I don’t have time or the patience for the semantics,” I say to her alottabit more coldly than I intended. ”How soon can we move?”
”Ever since the operation in the south and southwest over a year ago,” he begins. ”And since my arrival as your Chief of Staff, I’ve had all of the equipment moved to the former Ares Project base in the Arizona desert.
“Further, the military chiefs have kept preparedness at the ready for the last six months.”
”Good.”
”About a days drive north by northwest.”
”So this time tomorrow, it’s conceivable that the final battle has begun?” I ask him.
”Yes sir,” he says quietly.
”Move ‘em out,” I say to him while starting for the door.
”Where are you going?” Lauren asks as she grabs my arm.
”I need to go get ready,” I answer her quickly. ”I wanna be wheels up by midnight.”
”No no no no, wait!” she begins her protest. ”You don’t need to go.”
”Of course I do,” I argue back, but calmly. ”I’ve never missed a single battle and I’m damn sure not missing this one.”
”We have people for that,” she insists firmly. ”You have a wife, you have three kids that would...”
”I’m not fight with you about it Lauren. Dick tell her...”
”Well um...” he begins with obvious hesitation. ”I think she’s right.”
I turn and stare at him.
”Thank you!” she shouts out triumphantly.
”There’s two hundred thousand of them and only one of you,” he begins to explain. ”Let them do what you pay them to do while you stay here and guide them from the situation room.”
”That’s weakness,” I protest to my Chief of Staff. ”I’m not a weak man.”
”It isn’t weakness, it’s intelligence...” his voice trails off as Lauren cuts in.
”You pay these men who knows ho much money to fight alongside you,” she pleads. ”Guide them with your fighting man brain and watch them fulfill your goal of eliminating the Iris Project.”
”Ares,” I correct her. ”Anyway, neither of you get it. Neither of you understand what it’s like to have to sit and hear the news every few months of another Ares Project attack on your people. Neither of you know what it’s like...” my voice trails off as I start to feel the blood boiling beneath my skin.
”You don’t know what it’s like to have to live with the guilt of knowing you couldn’t protect anyone because the fucking Americans were trying to play both sides of the fucking fence! Neither of you know what it’s like to have your plane hijacked with your scared out of his fucking mind 10 year old son on board.
“Neither of you know what’s it like to know that you’re alive today because that same ten year old boy shot a man in the back of the head because if he didn’t, you were both as good as dead. And believe me when I tell you, neither of you know what it’s like to be attacked in your fucking home with bombs and missiles when that same ten year old boy is asleep down the hall!
“So if you’ll both excuse me, whether either of you like it or not, I’m going… and I’m going to see this through and it will be me staring down General McGovern when this is all over.”
Starting for the door again and with my wrist still in Lauren’s grasp, I yank it free.
”Dick, get my plane ready to go and get me a ride to the airport,” I instruct him. ”Like I said, wheels up by midnight.”
”Yes sir,” he says defeatedly as I exit the room.
Hours Later
After the argument in the situation room, I retreated to the theater to wrap up Stranger Things and see the kids off to bed. Once I saw that through, I went and cut off all my hair and took a shower before packing up some things for my flight out of New York. Once I was through with that, I sat in front of my computer intent on recording a message for my wife, my kids, my friends and my attorney.
You know…
Just in case.
Sitting here in front of the screen, I draw a blank. The threat has always been real but, I think for the first time, it’s hitting me a little bit different than any time before. In prior wars, I was alone. Back then, I didn’t have a wife or children that would miss me if I didn’t make it.
Everything has changed.
It’s all different now.
Never before have I truly worried whether or not I’d come back home. I’d miss out on so much. Talon and Caty aren’t even a year old. They’re not even talking yet aside from baby gibberish. I’d miss their first words and their first steps. I’d miss lecturing Frankie on dating and how he treats his girlfriends (or boyfriends.)
So much, really.
They’re probably right. Maybe I shouldn’t go. But I’ve never, not even once in my life backed down from a challenge and I’m not starting when the end is in sight. I will crush the Ares Project once and for all… or die trying.
”My name is Thaddeus Leander Duke the second and this is my last will and testament,” I begin. ”In the event of my passing in this war with the Ares Project, I bequeath two hundred fifty million dollars each to my three children, Francis Robert, Caitlyn Olivia and Talon James, in separate trusts. They’re not to have access to those trusts until they’ve reached twenty-five years of age or have graduated college. Whichever comes first.
“To Frankie, I bequeath the Safe Haven mansion in Newport, Rhode Island. We picked that out together and I’d want you to have it.
“To Ricky and Jennie Rodriguez, I bequeath to you one hundred million dollars.
“The castle in Scotland is bequeathed to Talon and Caty Duke. Live there, sell it, use it for vacation. Whatever you want.
“To Elizabeth Tate, the mother of my children, I leave you one hundred million dollars for putting up with my bullshit and mostly for giving me the greatest gift a woman can give a man.
“To Dolly Waters, my sister from another mister, I leave you my super yacht Tranquility. You’ve always marched to the beat of your own drum and drifted in the wind. I thought maybe you’d like to drift on the sea for a change.
“To Corey Smi...” my voice trails off as I choke up a little. ”To my brother from another mother… You don’t need money. You don’t need anything possession I have. Frankie asked a long time ago and I never said yes.
“Now I am. In the event of my death, I give full parental of my three children to Corey Smith. There’s no one on this planet I’d trust with my children more than I would you.
“To my faithful servant, friend, and confidant Roberta Williams… I leave you two hundred million dollars.
“To Brandon Small… I’m sorry I couldn’t ever be what you wanted me to be. You’re a great person and any man would be lucky to have you. To you I leave fifty million and my Audi Spyder. Make new memories with someone else… just remember the hood is a little flimsy,” I say with a fond remembering smile.
“To Sebastian Everett-Bryce and Sloane Taylor. Two of my absolute favorite people on this entire planet. First and foremost I leave you Mufasa. No one would take care of him quite like you Sloane. To the both of you, I leave you one hundred million and one of my planes.
“Last but certainly not least. To my wife Lauren...” I pause for a beat as I dry my eyes. ”No one really gets us. But these last few months, despite us butting heads every now and again, have been the most completely fulfilling few months of my entire life. I love you more than I’ve ever loved anyone and know that if I don’t make it back… I was happy. I felt loved, truly loved, for the first time in my life.
“I regret nothing, when it comes to you. To you Lauren, my wife, my life, my love… I give you...” I stop a moment as I quickly do the math in my head. ”Everything else. The money is roughly three billion and I don’t have the slightest clues what all the stocks are worth. Probably double it, I don’t know.”
Hearing a sniffle from behind me, I nearly jump out of my skin. Closing the laptop and spinning around, I didn’t know Brandon was in here. He had to have been here the whole time.
”What are you doing in here?” I ask him as I stand up.
”I was waiting to talk to you,” he answers. ”I wanted to say bye before you left, but you started on that before I got the courage to speak. I couldn’t interrupt.”
”I wasn’t done,” I say to him. ”I wanted to record some messages for the kids.”
”Well get to it, I’ll leave you alone,” he says quietly as he stands and tries to exit. Reacting quickly, I grab his hand and stop him.
”You were here the whole time?” I ask as he hesitantly turns to face me. He nods confirmation. ”Brandon, I really am sorry I couldn’t...”
”I know,” he interrupts. ”It’s okay we’re friends.”
”I really am sorry,” I repeat to him.
”You were a lot cuter with the hair,” he says with a smile causing me to laugh and blush for just a moment before one of the babies start crying.
”Duty calls,” I say to him before reluctantly making my exit. For what it’s worth, I’d have done him right there.
After making my way to the nursery, I flip on the light and see Talon standing in his crib with the aid of the side rail. Seeing me, his little legs pump up and down with excitement and he stops crying.
”Talon,” I say as I make my way toward him. ”What you want buddy?”
Lifting him out of the crib and holding him to my chest, he tosses his little sippy cup.
”Starting pitcher for the Rays, my boy!” I joke to my little mini me. He laughs and coos for a moment before taking his hand and smashing it against my mouth. Doing the fatherly thing I nibble and grr at him causing him to laugh almost uncontrollably.
God.
What I’d miss.
”Why you always want daddy, huh?” I ask of him. ”T.J., you’re soaked,” I say to him as I feel the dampness against my arm. Taking him to the changing table, I clean him up and change his diaper before lifting him up again.
”His shit is horrible you know?” Lauren says from the doorway.
”I do know,” I reply to her.
”The things we do for love,” she replies as she makes her way toward us.
”You sound like a Lannister,” I joke.
”What’s a Lannister?”
”Not important.”
”I have a really important question to ask you,” she begins as I wrestle clean pajamas onto my youngest boy. ”Where the fuck is all your hair?”
”On the floor in our bathroom,” I answer with a chuckle.
”Look like Lex Luthor,” she says as she wraps her arms around my waist and leans her head against my back.
”Wrong universe,” I joke.
”Daahhhh,” says Talon and I’m just frozen in place for a second, not really believing he said what I think he said.
”Did he just...”
”I think but...”
”Daaahhhhhh,” he draws it again all dramatic like. Like father like son, I guess.
”Oh my God… baby...” Elated and overjoyed that Talon tried to say ‘dad’, I’m just about over the moon with happiness. "Eat your heart out Liz, you bitch," I say aloud facetiously. With my eyes full of tears and gigantic smile across my face, I hold my youngest son tight and tickle and raspberry him until he’s laughing uncontrollably. Soon though, a knock behind us. Turning to see Dick Small standing at the door, I sigh deeply.
”I hate the break up this moment but… the car’s downstairs,” he informs me.
”I’ll be out in a minute, thank you,” I say to him. For the first time in any of these wars the thought crosses my mind that maybe I really don’t want to go. Maybe I should just hunker down in the situation room for a few days and direct my combat troops, my tank squadrons, my fly boys, and just watch them mercilessly and relentlessly destroy what’s left of the Ares Project.
But as they say, if you ant something done right, you have to do it yourself.
”I get it,” Lauren says, cutting into my thought processing. ”I mean, not really. But I understand why you think you need to do it.
“Looking at him,” she says, referring to Talon. ”He’s you but 22 years ago.”
Well… sort of.
”If I was you and he was mine, if someone put a price on his little head… Baby, I’d murder everything and everyone just to protect him.”
As she was talking, Talon laid his head on my shoulder and I patted his back, causing him to fall back to sleep.
”It’s their last stand,” I say quietly as I lay him back in his crib. ”When it’s over, it’s over. One way or another. Either McGovern is dead or I am.
“Either way,” I say as I turn to her and take her in my arms. ”While I’m gone I have a huge task for you.”
”I’m listening,” she says with her head against my chest.
”I want you to draw up papers ordering the dissolution of the Illuminatus State.”
She pauses for a moment, then peels her head off of me and stares me in the eyes.
”Whether I come back or not, when this battle is over… The Illuminatus State is no more.”
”It’s your entire life’s work,” she says. She isn’t protesting so much as trying to process what it is that I’m telling her.
”It is,” I agree with her as I crane my neck to look back at my sleeping twins. ”But I have a way more important life’s work now. And as long as the Illuminatus State exists, they’ll always be targets.”
”You’re sure?”
”Yeah,” I nod confirmation. ”Kill the cause, kill the threat.”
”Consider it done.”
After exiting the nursery and making our way to the family room, we spend a few minutes saying our goodbyes. Our goodbyes… they’re not your typical goodbyes and I can’t rightly show that on XWF television. That said, when all is said and done, I make the trip to the airport and at a minute before midnight, Illuminatus One is wheels up and southwest bound for the Mojave Desert.
Right on schedule.
83-31-1
1x XWF Universal Champion || 3x XWF Xtreme Champion || 1x XWF Supercontinental Champion (First)
1x XWF Hart Champion (Last) || 2x XWF Television Champion || 1x XWF Tag Team Champion
1x OCW Savage Champion || 1x IIW Tag Team Champion || 1x AAW United States Champion
2x SOTM (9/20, 7/21) || 2021 Male Wrestler of the Year || XWF Hall of Legends
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