Post by Damon Graves on Mar 26, 2017 20:39:10 GMT -5
Blue Bird Liquor
Hawthorne, California
Sunday, September 5, 1993
Bob: Hey there, Ted! It’s Sunday; the Super Lotto rush was last night. What brings you in here today?
Ted: You know my daughter Anna?
Bob: The one that married that Graves boy with the greasy hair?
Ted: Sofia and I only had the one kid, Bob. Anyway, she just gave birth to a handsome baby boy this morning. Figured I’d do a little something different.
Bob: Oh?
Ted: I know it’s not a sure thing, but I’m doing this on the off chance that I might actually win the big one. I’m thinking that by doing it today of all days, Lady Luck might just smile on me.
Bob: An interesting way to look at it. So, if you do win big... what do you plan on doing with the money?
Ted: Gonna go for the whole lump sum, then put every dime away for my grandson.
Bob: Wow... that’s... amazing!
Ted: Well, I'm certainly not counting on my son-in-law to do what's best for Anna and the baby….
Bob: Don’t care for the guy, I take it.
Ted: Everything about the guy screams “loser”, but Anna inherited a stubborn streak from her mother, so what can I do?
Bob: You could….
Ted: I know what you're thinking, but he isn’t worth the bullet…
Both men laugh.
Bob: So, does the little one have a name yet?
Ted: He does… Damon Marius.
Bob: Marius? That’s an interesting middle name. Where’d Anna dig that one up?
Ted: Some book about vampires. I don’t know.
Bob: Well, Anna never was one for being conventional, was she?
Both men share another laugh as Bob prints out the ticket. He hands the little slip of orange paper over to Ted, who stares at the five rows of numbers printed on one side.
Ted: In all seriousness, I just want to be sure that the boy will be taken care of, one way or another. I’m not stupid, though; I don’t plan on relying on just luck. I’ve already got a college fund started. If this ticket pays off, it’ll go into a separate account that he can have when he comes of age.
Bob: Well, then… good luck with that….
Ted: Thanks, old friend!
Ted holds up his ticket, smiling before he puts it away and heads out of the liquor store.
Wells Fargo Bank
Inglewood, California
Friday, March 24, 2017
Damon and Aurora Graves enter the lobby and head straight for the teller in charge of the bank’s safety deposit boxes. Once the teller looks up from her paperwork, she takes one look at the tattooed couple and her eyes widen.
Teller: May I help you?
Damon: Yes, my wife and I are here to inspect the contents of the deposit box I’ve inherited from my grandfather.
Aurora pulls a sheaf of papers out of her purse and hands them over to the teller.
Aurora: Here are the notarized papers transferring ownership to my husband…
The expression on the teller’s face indicates that she obviously does not believe the couple, but accepts the papers anyway.
Teller: May I see your identification, please?
Damon pulls out his wallet and produces his driver’s license, which he hands over.
Teller: I’ll need to verify this. Please have a seat.
She gestures over to a pair of chairs a few feet away. The Graves’ head over and have a seat. After a few moments, Aurora leans over to Damon.
Aurora: Is it just me, or is that guard over there staring at us?
Damon: Oh no, I noticed it, too. Teller must’ve signalled him or something.
Aurora: She must think we’re some sorta criminals…
Damon: Figured something like this would happen….
Damon pulls out his phone and taps out a text message.
Aurora: Saybrooke?
Damon: Yup. Now let’s see what their tune sounds like….
A few minutes later, an older lady in a smart-looking business suit walks up to the Graves’, who rise to greet her.
Woman: Good morning, my name is Marianna Delrosario, the branch manager. I just received a phone call from your attorney letting me know your situation….
Aurora: That your teller has that guard over there watching us like a hawk?
Marianna turns and gestures to the guard, who nods and goes back to monitoring the rest of the bank.
Marianna: I assure you that this incident will not happen again.
Damon: Of course. But according to my grandfather’s will, he transferred ownership of a safety deposit box to me, but did not disclose what it actually contained.
Marianna: Follow me, please.
Damon and Aurora follow her as she opens the door leading into the back of the bank. Once they reach the area where the boxes are kept, Damon hands over his key to the manager, who unlocks the corresponding hatch and pulls out the box once belonging to Damon’s grandfather. When they open it, the manager pulls out a rather hefty stack of papers. The manager sifts through the pile, revealing a massive stash of savings bonds issued by the US Treasury.
Marianna: It’s going to take me a few minutes to calculate what the current value of these bonds will be, all together.
Damon: Take your time...
The manager leads Damon and Aurora back out to the lobby, where they resume waiting, occasionally looking at the teller that they dealt with earlier. Whenever she meets their gaze, she immediately looks away.
Aurora: Somebody's going to get a royal ass chewing later….
Damon: Well, she shouldn't have jumped to conclusions simply based on how we look.
A few minutes later, the manager returns with some documents.
Marianna: Thank you for your patience, folks. Here are the documents you provided, and this document shows the current value of these bonds.
Damon and Aurora pore over the numbers, and Aurora's eyes light up.
Aurora: I can't even imagine what we're going to do with this…
Damon: We're going to consult with Alicia before we spend a single penny of it.
Aurora: True.
Damon: Thank you for taking the time to see us, Ms Delrosario. We're going to talk with our financial planner before we decide how to proceed.
Marianna: That’s a very wise decision, Mr Graves. Hopefully we will see you again soon.
Damon and Aurora stand up and shake the manager's hand before gathering their documents and leaving.
Inglewood Park Cemetery
Inglewood, California
Saturday, March 25, 2017
Damon is sitting on a patch of grass near a gravestone which reads:
Theodore J Adams
CPO
US Navy
Vietnam
Jan 18 1946
Mar 14 2017
Loving Husband
Father And
Grandfather
In one hand, has a 20 ounce bottle of A&W Root Beer, while he holds what appears from behind as a Polaroid photograph.
Damon: Blair Laroux and Joseph Setala, Burlesque Duplicity…. Now THIS is the kind of competition that Aurora and I have been looking forward to facing ever since we started with Redemption Wrestling, and all we had to do was win the Tag Team belts… twice. Good going, Scott; took you long enough.
Your reputation precedes you, but I have to tell you, reputation only takes you so far. It's what happens inside the ring that ultimately determines whether the hype is true or false.
Damon swallows a mouthful of his beverage.
Damon: You've been on a roll lately, if you can call two matches a “roll”. Kudos on winning the Tag Team Turmoil a few weeks ago, but beating the Young Cubs? While I don't have a problem with either Alechs or Honey, they're not on the same level as Rebel Ink. But a win's a win, and that catapults you straight past other people that have been in Redemption Wrestling longer than you, right? Who cares about working your way up the rankings?
But it's all good.
Just as quickly as you leapfrogged over the rest of the tag team division to get this shot at Rebel Ink, you'll find yourself back at the end of the line. That's not me being a dick, it's a simple fact. Aurora and me have worked too fucking hard to let a couple of glory hounds just waltz in and take our titles.
He stops to gaze at the photo in his hand for a few fleeting moments before propping it up at the base of the gravestone.
Damon: Oh, did the whole “glory hound” thing sting a little bit? Sometimes the truth hurts. From the very first day that you came to this promotion, you stuck your noses in Rebel Ink’s business. But it got you noticed. Now ask yourself this question:
Was pissing off the number one tag team in the business worth it?
If being defeated by Rebel Ink was your goal, then you’d probably answer “yes”. If the idea that you're going to walk away from Glory with the Tag Team titles is rattling around inside your heads, then pack a lunch, kids, because you're in for a hell of a long night.
Damon stands up and brushes the loose grass from his pants.
Damon: Aurora and me, we didn’t get where we are by being pushovers; no, we clawed our way to the apex of tag team wrestling. Four title reigns in three separate companies, all in less than a year; how many teams can make that claim?
Certainly not you….
You two have been tagging for who knows how long and what do you have to show for it? Not a damned thing. And after Glory, nothing is going to change. You can continue to hype yourselves to the moon, but there isn't going to be a bullet point on your CV showing that you beat me and my wife for the Redemption Wrestling Tag Team Championship.
Laroux, Setala, at Glory, you’re going to find out the hard way that trying to buck the system doesn’t always pan out the way you want it to. And all of the teams that you sidestepped to get to the top of the ladder are going to have a field day with your asses on the way back down…
He polishes off the rest of his drink and begins to walk away. In the distance, we can see his wife Aurora leaning up against the car they drove in with.The camera zooms in on the photo that Damon left behind. It depicts what appears to be a very young Damon Graves and an older gentleman holding up glass bottles of A&W Root Beer.
Fade to black.
