Post by Damon Graves on Oct 23, 2016 4:15:02 GMT -5
Long Beach Police Department
Long Beach, California
October 20, 2016
Once again, we find Redemption Wrestling competitor Damon Graves sitting in the office of the lead investor’s office of the department’s Arson Task Force. There’s no mistaking the look on his face… he does NOT want to be here. Drumming his fingers against the armrest of his chair, his impatience growing by the second, he gives a small sigh as Inspector Johnson finally enters the room.
Inspector: Thank you for taking the time out of your schedule to come in, Mr. Graves….
Damon: Didn’t really have much of a choice, Inspector. Once I got word that he’d been picked up, I had to come…. Tell me, where did you pick him up?
Inspector: We caught him at LAX trying to flee the country. Luckily, airport security recognized him and detained him.
Damon: So, have you questioned him yet?
Inspector: As soon as we finished booking him. To be honest, questioning took less than an hour….
Damon: So, did he confess?
Inspector: Yes, he did. He seemed… proud of himself, almost.
Damon: I want to see him….
Inspector: I thought as much. We can get the video conference set up right away…
Damon: Video conference?
Inspector: Standard procedure. Besides, I believe that this would be the best course of action. Having the two of you in close proximity isn’t a good idea.
Damon: (grumbling) Better than nothing….
Inspector Johnson picks up his phone, dials a number and waits for an answer.
Inspector:Yeah, Johnson here. Get the suspect in the Graves arson case ready. He has a visitor…. Yeah, we’ll be down in a few….
He hangs up the phone.
Inspector: All right, Mr. Graves, whenever you’re ready, we can go down to the video conferencing center.
Damon stands.
Damon: Let’s get this over with…
Both men exit the room. We transition to the room where visitors can “visit” inmates via remote conferencing.The door opens and Damon enters, while Inspector Johnson remains in the doorway..
Inspector: Cubicle number 3 is ready for you. You only have 15 minutes, so use your time wisely.
Damon walks over to a nearby cubicle and has a seat. In front of him is the monitor, which Damon will use to talk with the man who burned down the Rebel Ink Tattoo Shop months ago. As the screen comes to life, Damon sees a familiar face, and his blood immediately starts to boil...
His father, Martin Graves.
Martin: So, when are you going to bail me out of here?
Damon: You’re kidding, right? You burned down my business! It was damn lucky that the shop was empty, otherwise, you’d be changed with murder as well as arson. No, your ass is going to fucking rot in jail….
Martin: Then why the hell are you here?
Damon: I want to know why…. Why would you destroy everything Aurora and I had worked so hard for?
Martin laughs.
Martin: Why should I tell you?
Damon: Because you fucking owe me an explanation!
Martin: I owe you? Kid. I don’t owe you jack shit! If anything, you owe me… I’m the one that brought you into the world….
Damon: Don’t EVEN try and pull that bullshit! For 14 years, you gave me nothing but shit… the only time you even said a word to me was when you were yelling at me!
Martin: I yelled at you because you fucked up! What was I supposed to do every time I had to pull you out of juvie? Take your ass to Chuck E. Cheese?
Damon: You still haven’t answered my question, Martin. Why did you burn down my shop?
Martin: Payback, pure and simple.
Damon: Payback for what?
Martin: For all of the aggravation and embarrassment you've ever caused me....
Damon: Sorry, but what you did to me… to Aurora… was FAR beyond the pale. Frankly, you should be glad for two things.
Martin: Oh?
Damon: One, that this is a video conference. And two… that I came to confront you alone. If I had brought Aurora with me… well, I’d be bailing ONE of you out of jail, and it sure as HELL wouldn’t be you!
You know what? Fuck this… I got what I expected to get out of you. I know now that you’ll always be the same dickhead that you’ve been for as long as I’ve been alive. I’d tell you to have a nice life, but considering where you’re going to be staying for the next couple of years…
Martin: I’ll be out sooner than you think, Damon.
Damon: No… you lost the right to speak my name the day you tossed that molotov cocktail into my tattoo shop. As far as I’m concerned, you’re dead to me! I hope you fucking ROT in that cell!
Damon stands, turns his back to the monitor, and storms out of the room.
Inspector: Did you get what you needed?
Damon: Yeah… do whatever you want with him; I don’t give a fuck anymore. Far as I’m concerned, I have no father.
Without saying another word to the inspector, Damon leaves the police station, a disgusted sneer on his face as he rushes out the front door.
McCarran Executive Field
Las Vegas, Nevada
October 22, 2016 - 10 am
Scene fades in on Damon, who is waiting inside the small terminal set aside for private aircraft. He looks out of place, being one of the few moving throughout the terminal that ISN’T dressed in a suit, sitting with his hand draped over the back of a black leather couch. From time to time, he checks his watch and glowers.
Damon: So, Devlin Scott needs to determine new number one contenders for the Redemption Wrestling Tag team champions, huh? What a crock of shit! He already HAS a perfectly good team ready to defeat that farce of a team holding the belts right now. Aurora Knight and I have already proven that Chaos Love has no right calling themselves champions after we defeated them two weeks ago. They can claim that they made a successful title defense, since they still have the belts, but they sure as fuck can't be proud, especially since we left them laying on the arena floor.
Meanwhile, Aurora and I get shafted so that Mother Tucker and Wilted Rose can rest up. Both of the "champs" get singles matches, while Rebel Ink faces off against Radicalliance '85. I guess it’s just as well, because I highly doubt that Chaos Love wants to get shown up two weeks in a row by the premiere tag team in the business. So, folks, once you finish facing your spoon-fed meal of rookies and scrubs, we invite you to sit back and watch how the grown-ups take care of business.
Checking his watch again, he shakes his head. He looks around the terminal, as if he is expecting someone to show up.
Damon: Damn it… where is she?
Radicalliance '85, I will give you some respect. After all, we can both claim victories over that pair of paper titleholders. But don't get me wrong.... Just because I respect you doesn't mean I like you. I can count the number of people I actually like on both hands and still have enough fingers to do this...
Damon flashes a sly smile as he flips up both middle fingers at the camera.
Damon: Oh, I'm sorry. That was rude of me...
Damon shakes his head from side to side before mouthing the words "not sorry," his earlier smile spreading from ear to ear.
Damon: Blazer, North, right now, you're in a rather... precarious situation. You've been placed in between Rebel Ink and the Redemption Wrestling Tag Team titles. Not an enviable position, boys.
The smile quickly fades as his nostrils flare and his lip curls up into a snarl.
Damon: You see, the more time that passes between now and the next time Aurora and I step in the ring with Chaos Love, the angrier we get. And the angrier we get, the more violent we get. Sorta like the Hulk, but better looking and with wittier dialogue. So, you need to get any silly ideas of you walking out of this match with anything except another loss on your record out of your heads right now. But if you wanna persist with the pipe dreams, that's ok too, because we'd be more than happy to knock them loose...
Damon smiles, relishing the thought.
Damon: No, you need to focus on things the things that you're good at: For you, Goldstein, that would be the rec center you have a stake in, while your partner North can continue to play Butt Lord, King of the Glory Hole.
He scoffs.
Damon: Gee… I really hope he doesn’t come across someone with braces. OUCH! Meanwhile, Aurora and I will continue to do what we’re good at… kicking the shit out of anyone stupid enough to get in our way.
Before he can continue, a pair of feminine hands cover his eyes. On the left hand, a very familiar looking ruby ring rests on the ring finger.
Voice: Guess who?
He purses his lips for a moment, scratching his chin.
Damon: Hmmm, Scarlett Johannsen?
The hands drop from his face as he turns to face his fiancée and tag team partner, Aurora Knight. She punches his arm playfully as he stands up to greet her with a warm embrace.
Aurora: You’re such an ass…
Damon: Well, you ARE both talented and drop dead gorgeous….
Aurora: Uh-huh… I guess we can add “bullshit artist” to your growing list of talents, eh, Puddin?
Damon: Yeah, Harley, that’s me…. An artiste with ink, watercolors, oil paints, and bullshit…
Aurora giggles, then grabs hold of Damon’s face to give him a kiss.
Damon: So… did you miss me?
Aurora: That’s a pretty silly question. Of course I did! But I’m working on improving my aim…
The joke elicits a light chuckle out of Damon, who holds onto Aurora even tighter.
Aurora: So, how did things go in Long Beach?
Damon’s smile fades from his face as he shakes his head.
Damon: As well as expected. Hopefully, that fucker won't see daylight for a long time…. But I don’t want to talk about that right now. Now that you’re here, I'd much rather talk about more pleasant things.
Aurora: Like the wedding?
Damon nods his head, waggling his eyebrow as he smiles.
Damon: Like the wedding. But right now, we have a plane to catch. Once we’re on board, I can fill you in on the gory details.
The pair grab their bags and exit the terminal as the scene fades to black.
