Hatfields & McCoys: Part 3

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September 18th, 2019

Washington DC

Off Camera

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Backstage at the Capital One Arena in Washington DC, “The British Bombshell” Glory Braddock is pacing like a caged lion while her husband, Kurt Logan, can only look on from afar.  He is helpless to stop her.  He has tried everything he can think of to calm his beautiful wife down but has come up short.  Braddock is definitely upset but she isn’t necessarily worked up or upset about the upcoming Breakdown event tonight.  She isn’t even scheduled to compete here this evening and thus technically doesn’t have to even be here.  Yet she wouldn’t miss this particular Breakdown for anything in the world.  And it isn’t just because of the presence of Abigail Lindsey, Glory’s opponent for Apocalypse.  Though that most definitely plays a major role.  Abigail Lindsey is a threat, one that Glory will have to deal with at Apocalypse.  Tonight Lindsey faces Alistaire Allocco, the SCW World Champion, in a non-title match. That is a match Braddock wishes she had.  Nevertheless, she will be here to scout her opponent and make sure Abigail doesn’t try anything between now and Apocalypse.

Still, Abigail Lindsey is a small reason why Braddock wants to be here this evening.  The British Bombshell was assured by her daughter, Melinda Braddock, that Henry Van Stanton would be in the area.  Braddock has thus contacted Dr. Van Stanton and arranged for a meeting early this evening before the show starts.

Van Stanton is running late.

Dr. Henry Van Stanton and Glory Braddock have had a long history beyond the same shared histories of their families.  Braddock, against the wishes of her father, hired Henry to be President of Global Championship Wrestling.  When Braddock was ousted as owner by the Board of Directors, Henry was there to take over as the new owner.  When Braddock needed help desperately it was Henry who organized a way to help her out of her crisis.  Circumstances led to Braddock wanting her company back but Henry refused to sell.  This set up a match, Henry’s ownership of the company against Glory’s career.  To say that their relationship has been a roller coaster would be an understatement.

Now Henry’s son, Archie Van Stanton, is dating Glory’s daughter, Melinda Braddock.  This is just the latest wrinkle in their confusing and convoluted relationship.  Still, she recalls her daughter’s words from this past Saturday.  Should Archie truly be judged based on the actions of his father?  Probably not.  So Glory is willing to give the boy a chance, but first she wants to have a word with Henry himself.

“Where the bloody hell is he?” Braddock asks angrily.

“He probably got held up, babe.” Kurt answers.  Glory stops dead in her tracks and turns to face Kurt.

“That bloody tart Henry is a lot of things, but late has never been one of them.”

“There’s a first time for everything.”

“Not for him.” Braddock shakes her head before resuming her caged-lion like pacing. “He’s standing me up, for some no good reason I’m sure.”

“Do you always have to think the worst of him?” Kurt asks inquisitively.  Braddock stops again and immediately nods her head.

“Yes!”

“Ok Glory, I really think you need to stop, take a few deep breaths, and calm down.  You are overreacting just a little.  Your own daughter sees it.”

“I’m overreacting?” Braddock snaps quickly at him. “You shouldn’t even be here, Kurt.  I wanted to deal with Henry alone.”

Braddock stares intensely at her husband, refusing to back down. Kurt finally sighs and shakes his head. “Ok, I’m sorry.  Maybe I went too far in questioning you.  You do know this Van Stanton family better than me.  I just want what’s best for you, Glory, because I am worried about you and right now…”

There is a brief pause as Kurt considers his words “...right now you’re not acting like yourself.”

Braddock and her husband Kurt stare tensely at one another for several moments before Glory finally breaks the ice. “Maybe you’re right?  Maybe I’m not acting like myself?  But consider who I am dealing with.  This is Henry Van Stanton, the man who recently went out of his way to try and end my career much in the same way as his father DID end my father’s career.  So I think I’m entitled to a little bit of an emotional reaction, don’t you think?”

“That’s fair enough.” Kurt answers, nodding his head. “But come on, Glory, let’s be fair.  I remember you telling this story before.”

“What story?” Glory asks, arching a brow out of curiosity.

“The story of how your father’s career was ended.  You’ve told it different ways to different people.  I’m honestly curious to know, did Van Stanton really mean to end your father’s career or was it an accident?”

Braddock turns away from Kurt.  But this doesn’t stop him as he slowly approaches his wife.  When he gets close enough to hear that she is sobbing quietly, Kurt embraces her in a comforting but tight hug.  Upon releasing the embrace, Kurt reaches over and wipes tears from his wife’s eyes.

“You can talk to me, babe.  If you want to…”

“The truth is…” Braddock shrugs her shoulders “...I don’t really know.  Thomas Van Stanton, that’s the bloke who injured dad, he insisted that he had no idea where he was on the mat and thus had no idea his throw would send my father back first onto exposed concrete.  But the referee kept shouting warnings, three of them to be exact, to bring the fight back to the center or else.  Surely he would have heard?  Surely he would have known?”

“You would think.” Kurt says, agreeing with his lovely wife.

“But I guess I can’t know for sure.  I only know what I saw with my two eyes and I saw him throw dad onto exposed concrete.”

“This day and age a belly to belly overhead wouldn’t be enough to end anyone’s career, even if it was onto exposed concrete.” Kurt states matter-of-factly.  Glory nods her head in agreement.

“You’re right but dad had been competing for so long and had taken so much abuse throughout the years.  Hell, he was probably the oldest competitor in the tournament that night.” Braddock shuts her eyes as a light laugh escapes her lips. “Mum was right after all…”

“Huh?” Kurt asks, sounding somewhat confused.

“Mum kept ranting about how he was getting too old, he had taken too much abuse, and needed to retire.  She kept saying that he didn’t know when to quit.  I thought she was exaggerating but she wasn’t.” Bradock sighs. “She was right after all.”

“So regardless of whether Thomas Van Stanton meant to injure your father or not, your father put himself into a deadly situation; is that what you’re suggesting?” Kurt asks.  Glory nods her head.

“Yes, pretty much.”

“Does that change how you feel about Henry in any way?”

“Not a chance.” Glory shakes her head vehemently. “He still tried to end my career.  He tried to keep my company from me.  I cannot bring myself to trust him, Kurt.  Not yet.”

“That’s a shame.” That voice isn’t Kurt but it is familiar.  Braddock and Kurt both turn to find Henry Van Stanton not too far away and slowly approaching them.   He is clad in a navy blue suit pants and coat with a white button up silk shirt underneath.  He sports a bow tie rather nicely.  A stoic gaze is etched across his face as he slowly makes his cautious approach.  He realizes that he is not the most welcome of individuals right now, especially not in the presence of this woman, whose career he did indeed try to end a few months ago.  Braddock pushes herself away from the comforting grip of her husband Kurt.  She realizes that she needs to do this on her own. She slowly approaches Henry.

“You’re late.” This is the only thing that comes from Glory’s mouth.  Henry sighs and shrugs his shoulders.

“Apologies.  But I wanted to do this alone, I knew I had to do this alone, and talking my wife out of coming along for moral support was a beast of a chore, let me tell you.”

“Where’s Archie?” Glory asks curiously.

“He’s with his uncle.”

“You still trust that bloke?” Braddock scoffs. “That’s one strike against you already, Henry.”

“Mason is my brother and I know better than anyone else how crooked he is, but even he wouldn’t do anything to harm his own flesh and blood.”

“You never know about people, Henry.”

“Glory, Henry, let’s try to be civil.” Kurt chimes in as he chooses to step in between his wife and Henry Van Stanton. “I think we all can agree that we need to have this discussion.  Especially you, Glory.  Talking to Henry was your idea.”

“And that’s all I want,” Henry insists “I just want an opportunity to talk.”

“Glory?” Kurt asks, looking over to his wife.  Braddock still is unsure about this whole situation and yet Kurt is right; this was all her idea.  And if she is to be ok with her daughter dating Henry’s son, she will have to have this conversation eventually.

“Fine.” Glory says reluctantly. “Let’s talk.”

“Good, excellent.” Henry says, motioning to a nearby bench. “Shall we all sit down?  A lovely bench is nearby and…”

“I’d rather stand.” Glory states bluntly.  Henry sighs and nods his head.

“Ok, we can stand.”

“Look Henry,” Braddock points a finger in his face “you can play all the games you like, you can pretend you’ve changed, but I don’t buy it.  I do not buy into this lie for one second.  You pulled the wool over everyone’s eyes, mine included, once too often.  I will not be fooled by you again.”

“So what was the purpose of all of this then?” Henry asks curiously.

“What are you blabbing about, mate?”

“You wanted to meet.” Henry points at Glory. “After finding out that my son was dating your daughter it was YOUR idea for the two of us to meet and try and bury the hatchet so to speak, try and end this awkward little feud.  But if you’re stubborn and intent on continuing it, then what was the purpose of this meeting?”

“Are you suggesting that you’ve changed?  That you ARE different?” Braddock puts her hands on her hips, staring in disbelief at Henry. “Because like I said, I don’t believe it.”

“I never said that I had changed.” Henry counters.  “I never said I was a different person.  But Glory, and I want you to listen closely to this next part, because the person you hate is HENRY Van Stanton.  The person you hate is MASON Van Stanton.  You don’t even know my son Archie.  And to be perfectly honest with you, it isn’t fair for the son to be punished for the sins of the father.”

Braddock stares deep into Henry’s eyes.  These are similar words uttered by her own daughter a few days ago.  The British Bombshell is convicted and sighs, nodding her head in agreement.

“Fair enough, mate, but you have to admit that our two families have been at war for a very long time.  Ever since your father ended my father’s wrestling career with that back injury seventeen years ago.”

“I recall.” Henry nods his head. “And I thought we had already moved past that.  I thought you and I had already buried the hatchet in this petty feud when you hired me to work as president of your wrestling company.”

“You’re right, we had ended the rivalry.” She pokes him in the chest. “But then you let the power go to your head.  You got on a power trip.”

“I went on a power trip?!” Henry exclaims.  Braddock nods her head.

“Damn right you did, mate.”

“Let me hit with you some hard truth, Glory.  You hired me to do a job and I always did what I thought I had to for the best of GCW.  Who was there when Camelot rose to prominence and tried to take over GCW?  Me!  You do remember Camelot, don’t you?”

Braddock backs up slightly.  Henry’s words startle her as the memories come flooding back. But Henry doesn’t relent.  “Allow me to remind you if you have forgotten, because that woman you’re facing at Apocalypse, Abigail Lindsey, it was her COUSIN who ran Camelot and damn near took over your company.  It was her cousin who freaking brainwashed you!  And it was ME who saved you and the entire company from that!  You’re welcome!”

There is a tense pause as Glory Braddock isn’t quite sure what to say.  Kurt sense that his wife is having difficulties, so he places a comforting hand on her shoulder.  Finally The British Bombshell speaks up.

“Yeah...I remember…”

“It’s good that you remember, because that’s what makes this Lindsey so dangerous to you.  You may not realize it, but she is dangerous and that’s why.  But that’s also why you lost control of the company.  The Board of Directors no longer felt they could trust you with power.  So they gave it all to me.  And as always I did what I thought was best for the company.  Chantelle Chambers became World Champion, Aubrianna Powers became Global Champion, in one night members of Monarchy held your company’s two world titles.  I saw the writing on the walls; a Monarchy uprising!  Now tell me, was my fear justified?”

The British Bombshell doesn’t want to admit it but he was right.  It wasn’t long after he left GCW that a variation of Monarchy did indeed come into fruition and start to flex its muscle.  Glory nods her head in agreement, but doesn’t say a word.  Henry continues.

“You’re right, my fear WAS justified, and I was willing to do anything to stop it, just as I was willing to do anything to stop Camelot.  But you didn’t believe me.  You didn’t think there was any real threat.  Or hell, maybe you were in league with them all along?”

Braddock furrows her brow. “What are you implying?”

“Oh come off it, Glory.  You’re friendly with the Street family.  You may have been in on this the entire time.”

“Listen and listen to me good, Henry; I would never do anything to hurt my company.” Braddock says angrily through gritted teeth.  Henry doesn’t back down, staring her right back in the eyes.

“Yet you think I would hurt the company I grew to love?” Braddock doesn’t answer this.  There is a tense pause until Henry speaks up again. “Glory, we damn near buried the hatchet once before in this ridiculous feud of ours. I’m willing to admit that both of us made some mistakes.  I’m willing to try if you are.”

He holds out a hand. “Let me buy you and Kurt a drink.”

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September 18th, 2019

Washington DC

Off Camera

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Breakdown happened and then came to an end.  Kurt Logan and his wife Glory agreed to go out and have a drink with Henry Van Stanton but Glory insisted that it would happen only after Breakdown came to its conclusion. The British Bombshell didn’t want anything distracting her from her professional task at hand.

Off The Record is a subterranean level bar in the Hay-Adams Hotel where Glory and Kurt are staying during their duration in Washington DC for Breakdown.  This is where they insisted Henry take them for some post-show drinks.  Braddock, Henry, and Kurt are sitting around a table.  Henry has just a glass of water while Kurt and Glory each have a glass of white wine. The British Bombshell is still somewhat shaken by Henry’s words from earlier but she also isn’t fully ready to trust him yet.  True, he has done some good for her in the past, but they have also been bitter rivals as well.  It’s hard to let any of that go.

“Just water?” Glory asks. Henry nods his head.

“Yes, water will be fine.”

 “Suit yourself.” Braddock takes a wip of her wine.

“I am truly glad that you are at least taking this opportunity to hear me out.” Henry states. “You and I have obviously had our differences in the past but I would hate for any of that to come in between the relationship your daughter has with my son.”

“On that I agree.” Braddock states, placing her wine glass down. “And to be perfectly honest, I would love to meet Archie and really get to know him.  Because you’re right, I shouldn’t judge him based upon the past actions of his father.  He is his own man and should be treated as such.”

“So blank slate?” Henry asks.  Glory nods her head.

“For Archie, yes.  He gets a blank slate.  But you,” Braddock shakes her head “I can’t say the same for you.  We’ve been through too much, Henry, good times and bad.  I don’t really know what to think of you.”

“You don’t know what to think of me?” Henry asks as he takes a sip of his water.  Glory nods her head.

“Sorry, but I just don’t…”

“That’s fair.  I admit that I have done made some questionable decisions in the past.  I can see why you would doubt me.  But all you need to know about me is that everything I have done, I did with the best of intentions.  I only did what I thought was right.”

“Is that all?” Braddock asks skeptically. Henry nods his head.

“Yes.”

“Then let me ask you this.  Do you admit that you may have been wrong?”

“That’s a fair question.” He nods his head. “Yes, I may have been wrong.”

“You were definitely wrong to trust your brother.” Braddock snaps back at him. “He’s scum and you knew it and you trusted him anyway.”

“I know.” Henry remarks. “I made a mistake and maybe there is no way for me to earn your forgiveness for that mistake.  But Archie is my son and that wasn’t his mistake.  Like you said,  he is his own person.  All I ask is for you to give him a chance.”

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On Camera

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We open on a bright and sunny day in front of the Royal Farms Arena in Baltimore, Maryland.  The British Bombshell steps into view from stage right; she is wearing a little purple dress that hugs her every curve and matching purple high heeled patent leather pumps.  A confident grin is etched across her lovely face as she stares into the camera.

“So here we are, SCW Apocalypse, and believe me when I say that I know a thing or two about Apocalypse.  Do you blokes know what Apocalypse actually means?  It is an ancient Greek word which means simply a revealing or a revelation.  And what will we reveal Sunday night here in Baltimore, Maryland?”

The British Bombshell chuckles lightly. “I fully intend to reveal at Apocalypse that Abigail Lindsey is nothing more than a petulant child.”

“That’s right, Abi.  You are nothing but a petulant child.  Every action is that of a child throwing a temper tantrum because she didn’t get what she wanted.  You didn’t get what you wanted at Rise To Greatness and now you’re throwing a tantrum.  You’re acting like a child, Abigail.  That’s all you’re doing.  You think you’re darker and more evil just because of the things you say and the fact that you call yourself Serenity now.  Call yourself Beelzebub for all I care, mate, the reality is that while your little childish mind games may work on some people, they will not work on me.  In case you have forgotten, my name is Glory Braddock and I have fought the embodiment of evil and I came out victorious.”

“So you?” She points a finger at the camera as if pointing at Abigail herself. “You’re not doing anything that I haven’t had to fight before.  You’re not throwing anything at me that I haven’t experienced before.  I cannot be intimidated by Abigail, Serenity, or whoever the hell you decide to be Sunday night when Apocalypse rolls around.”

Braddock smirks knowingly. “That’s just one revelation but there’s more.  Another revelation is that you are a very poor decision maker.  You chose poorly when you decided to become best buddies with Infamous.  And why did you do that, Abi?  Some sick obsession with Ravyn, am I right?  You want to play footsie with her or chess with her or something that makes no sense to anyone except you.  There’s an old saying, Abi, that you lie down with dogs you wake up with fleas.  You chose to lie down with the biggest bitches in SCW and now you’re full of their fleas.  And really, Abi, think about it, what does being one of the Infamous besties get you anyway?”

“Just ask Christy.  She’s been losing again and again and again; one of which was when she got her ass choked out by me.  And now take a look in the mirror, Abi.  Look at your own career and realize that ever since casting your lot with those brassers you’ve been nothing but their cannon fodder.  Funny thing is, you WANTED to be their cannon fodder.  I can sense that Christy Matthews at least wants something more for herself but can’t some to break free from those tarts but you?  You WANT to be their personal mat they walk all over and use.  Seriously, do you have any sense of pride?  Do you not give a damn about yourself at all?”

The British Bombshell shakes her head. “No, no you don’t.  You just want to be used and abused by those wankers.  You have NO self respect at all whatsoever.  You are happy to be used by them in whatever way imaginable as long as you make your little pals happy.  I mean, they’ll never return the favor, they don’t give a damn about you, they only care about what you can do for them, but it doesn’t matter to you, does it?  So long as you get your sick and twisted obsession satisfied by getting close to them.  And all you have to do is protect their sorry asses…”

Braddock sighs deeply.  A look of disappointment crosses her face.  “And at Rise To Greatness you couldn’t even do that right.  You allowed Jordan to pick up the win over Infamous and you failed to save Syren’s fake ass from losing the SCW World Championship.”

Braddock holds up three fingers. “Which now brings me to revelation number three; because this isn’t going to be one of those burials that I all too often see in this business.  I know how good you are.  I know about the potential you have to be one of the best in the world.  Once upon a time you WERE the best in the world because I watched when you won the IWC World Championship.  You have all of the talent and the ability in the world to be great and it makes me sad to see that greatness go waste when you either become cannon fodder for Infamous or you go on a bloody temper tantrum shouting like a damn mad woman all because you failed to get your way at Rise To Greatness, all because of your bloody insane obsession with that brasser Ravyn.  Thus revelation number three is that I pity you, Abigail.  I pity what you’ve become because I know you have it in you to be better than that.”

“So I’ll tell you what, you bring that darkness, you bring that evil, and I’ll still tap you out or choke the life out of you.  There isn’t anyone in this industry who can intimidate me because I have seen it all, I have battled it all, and I have won.  And if you bring Serenity out to play at Apocalypse then I will choke the Serenity out of you, mate.  Do you hear me?!”

She points at the camera again. “I will choke the Serenity right out of you!  And you only have yourself to blame, Abi.  You only have yourself to blame.  I told you to back off, I warned you that you didn’t want me as an enemy.  But you had to throw your temper tantrum.  Just like a child you had to throw a fit because you failed at Rise To Greatness.  Now it falls to me to put an end to your tantruming, after all, I cannot allow you to run roughshod over SCW.  I cannot allow you to destroy simply because you couldn’t get the job done.  I cannot stand by and let you spread darkness and evil.  Once again it falls to me to take down the tyrant, only the tyrant now is you.”

“I’m going to kick your bloody ass all over Baltimore, sunshine, and there’s nothing you can do about it!  Your darkness, your tantruming, your comic book movie quotes, all of it and more, you can bring it but it won’t save you from the ass whipping I’m prepared to deliver.  And maybe, just maybe, I’ll beat some sense back into your crazy skull.  Regardless, you will only have two choices at Apocalypse; you can tap out or you can get choked out.  The choice is yours.”

Braddock shuts her eyes.  “Sic Semper Tyrannis…”

The scene fades to black.