==========
September 6th, 2020
On Camera
==========
The future of Supreme Championship Wrestling is in
jeopardy. The very future of professional wrestling itself is in
jeopardy. Because, ladies and gentlemen, this company and this sport
itself, it is all at a crossroads. We can go proudly with our head held
high into the future, into greatness, or we can stay held back by some ancient,
old, beaten up, monolith.
And that’s what you are, Helms. You are a
monolith. You are this ancient thing that has been set up by SCW to be
worshipped and praised as their hero, their new standard bearer, and yet you
are not new. You are ancient. You are ancient as Uluru in Australia
or The Rock of Gibraltar. You have been the SCW standard bearer for a
very long time now, so long that you have become a monolith. Something
the people can look at see and associate with SCW. They look at you and
say “Yes, this is Supreme Championship Wrestling!”
But you know something else about monoliths?
They can never let go. They never know when to quit. Kelcey Wallace
doesn’t know when to quit, she’s still hanging around. Asher Hayes and
Cid Turner are back. And of course there’s you, David Helms. It was
only a matter of time before you found the SCW World Championship.
Because you and all of the other monoliths cannot help yourselves. You
have to be the center of attention in the SCW universe.
Monoliths truly are amazing, they are spectacular,
but one thing they are not is immortal. Monoliths can withstand a great
many things but one thing monoliths cannot withstand is time. Over time
erosion will expose the monolith for what it truly is. Over time the
erosion will slowly but surely destroy the greatness that was the
monolith. And you, Helms, while you may have gotten lucky at Taking Hold
of the Flame, and while you may have even gotten lucky yet again at Rise To
Greatness to become SCW World Champion, you are still vulnerable. You are
still this old, beaten up and beaten down monolith, slowly eroded over time.
Taking Hold of the Flame and Rise To Greatness just
helped to fool you into giving you some false sense of invulnerability.
But deep down inside you are just the same old monolith being eroded over
time. And that luck at Taking Hold of the Flame, that luck at Rise To
Greatness, is about to run out because you are about to run into a force even
greater than time itself.
You are about to run into the future.
You see, Helms, you have carried SCW in the past,
and you have carried it in the present, but you do not get to carry this
company into the future. Only powerful individuals like me get the right
to carry this company and this business into the future. Your monolithic
run since returning to Supreme Championship Wrestling is about to be eroded
into absolutely nothing. Your awe inspiring reign is about to come to an
end when you run smack into the reality that is the future, the reality that is
The Best in the World.
Your reign as SCW World Championship ends at
Apocalypse when you face me, when you face Glory Braddock.
==========
September 7th, 2020
Miami, Florida
Off Camera
==========
Author Joseph Heller once said, “Just because
you're paranoid doesn't mean they aren't after you.” Paranoia is a
crippling mental problem that can lead to far more severe issues regarding to
one’s social life, social identity, and even far more severe mental
issues. A common symptom of paranoia is the attribution bias. These individuals typically have a biased
perception of reality, often exhibiting more hostile beliefs. A paranoid person may view someone else’s accidental
behavior as though it is with intent or threatening.
In the case of “The British Bombshell” Glory
Braddock, paranoia isn’t just crippling, it isn’t just hindering her social
activity, it has become a trigger for her post traumatic stress syndrome.
It is an issue she has been dealing for a long time now. Ever since
Braddock regained control over her promotion she has felt the paranoia creep in
and corrupt her judgment. Part of her paranoia is justified; she once had the
power to run her company as she saw fit, she once had the trust and approval of
her company’s Board of Directors. Then things began to change; then she
had the power stripped away from her. It was all because they lost faith
in her mental capacity. She had been compromised by Aphrodite Noel.
Eventually Braddock would regain control of her
company but it wasn’t easy. Braddock had to fight long and hard legal
battles to get her power back but she did regain control of her company.
But regaining power in her company did not get rid of the paranoia. The
paranoia was still there. Glory still did not feel safe and comfortable
in her situation. The British Bombshell needed to assure herself that she
would never again lose the business she had grown to love so much.
Did she use some less than savory tactics to assure
her power remained steadfast? Some may call it that. Braddock just
called the tactics necessary. Braddock just thought the tactics she was
using were all part of the cutthroat corporate lifestyle. She thought it
was all part of the game that was played.
Now it seems that Glory finds herself wrapped up
into a world that she never intended to find herself in. Glory Braddock
was twice targeted by shooters aiming to take her life. The first time
they missed and hit her husband Kurt. The second time they hit her
mother, Mary Ford, instead. Twice there have been assassination attempts
on her life and twice instead of hitting Glory they hit members of her family
instead.
Paranoia isn’t the only thing Glory Braddock feels
right now. She also feels guilt, because she feels that it is her fault
that her family is being brought into this war that has been seemingly waged,
an all out war against The British Bombshell. Are these enemies
real? Are these just imagined foes from her paranoid mind? Had
there just been one random attack, maybe; but two times is not random.
Someone wants her out of the picture and if Glory’s associate, Meagan Collins,
is right, then the person who wants her out of the picture may be none other
than Matthew Alan…
...or at least someone connected to him. And
to Braddock’s paranoid mind it all makes sense. When Glory was ousted
from power years ago it was by a majority vote of the Board of Directors and
everyone who voted to oust her from power were all supporters of the former
owner and founder of the company, Matthew Alan. Matthew is currently on
trial from embezzlement, tax fraud, and other white collar crimes, but his
involvement in organized crime is suspected. Would Matthew’s associates
target Glory in order to get her out of the way, to pave the way for their
hostile takeover of the company?
Yes, yes they would. Glory is convinced that
this is the case and up until recently she has tried to shield her family from
this war she has been engaged in. Now it has become impossible and now,
after being confronted by the youngest Aurora Alan, sister of Jennifer and
Matthew Alan, Glory’s husband Kurt knows all about this as well. For
there has been what may be a retaliatory attack against the Alan family.
Gunmen shot at the home of Jennifer Alan. And in Aurora’s mind, Glory is
the prime suspect.
Would The British Bombshell engage in criminal
activity to maintain power? No. She would and has done many things
to maintain her power and status but criminal activity is not one of
them. Glory has an idea about who it may be…
...her business associate, Meagan Collins, another
woman who, like Matthew Alan, has contacts with organized crime. Ideally
Glory Braddock would be meeting with Meagan right now but that is not the case
on this day. Now that her husband knows about everything that has gone
on, Kurt is forcing Glory to attend a special session with her psychiatrist,
Dr. Fitzgerald.
The black cushioned chair Glory finds herself
sitting in is surprisingly comfortable. This waiting room is rather small
and cannot fit many people, thus she is thankful that she is the only person
here today. Dr. Fitzgerald gets few patients to begin with as it is a
very small local practice. This is what was most appealing about him to
Glory Braddock. The smaller the better. She wants to keep it a secret
that she needs psychiatric help. If anyone knew the truth it would damage
her reputation.
The floor of this waiting room is a navy blue
carpet. Braddock is wearing tight denim jeans, black flats, and a purple
blouse. Her long blonde hair hangs unrestrained to shoulder length.
Seated next to her is her husband, Kurt Logan. The frustration upon the
face of The British Bombshell is quite evident.
“I do not want to be here…”
“Yes but you need to be here.”
Kurt says, whispering back to Glory. His wife just rolls her eyes.
“I have a lot on my plate, Kurt. In the span
of one week I face Asher and then I challenge David Helms for SCW World
Championship at Apocalypse. I do not need this aggravation.”
“Yeah, you do have a busy schedule this week, but
don’t sit there and pretend that you’re concerned mostly over that. You
hid it from me very well for quite some time, Glory, but now I know damn well
what you’re really worried about.”
Braddock sighs deeply and nods her head. “Fine,
you’re right, I do have other things to figure out. I do need to meet
with Meagan Collins so I can get this whole shooting figured out, I need to
decide how to handle its fallout, so I can put all of my attention on my
championship match at Apocalypse. I cannot afford to be distracted by
anything.”
“No, you can’t afford to be distracted, but don’t
try and fool yourself. We have been attacked twice by armed gunmen.
Another set of gunmen attacked your corporate rival’s family and that could
potentially lead accusations back to you. And one meeting with Meagan
Collins will not settle that.”
There is a long tense pause as Glory Braddock
remains silent. The words of her husband ring harsh and yet true.
She is in this deep, very deep, and as much as she’d like to believe one
meeting with Meagan Collins will settle this she knows in the back of her mind
that it will take more than that to get her out of this situation. The
British Bombshell sighs and nods her head.
“Fine, you’re right...and I am sorry for keeping
you out of the loop, Kurt.”
“I have already forgiven you, Glory.”
He leans over and kisses her on the cheek. She turns and looks longingly
at Kurt.
“I just need answers, that’s all. I have this
horrible feeling that Meagan ordered that hit on Jennifer Alan and that she
ordered it in my name. I need to find out if that’s true.”
“And you will, you will find out in Portland before
Breakdown. But right now you need to get things right up here…”
Kurt taps her on the head.
“But…”
“No, do not argue with me. You know you need
this.”
“Ms. Braddock…” Glory
looks up to see Dr. Frederick Fitzgerald standing in the doorway leading back
to a hall. He motions for to her follow him. Glory smiles pleasantly as
she stands up and follows him through the door and down a short hall and then
almost immediately to the right into a room which serves as his office.
It is a small office with a light brown desk a comfortable black swivel chair
where Dr. Fitzgerald no doubt sits, and two gray chairs that look rather
uncomfortable. There is also a red comfortable cushioned sofa. As
predicted, Fitzgerald makes a beeline for the swivel chair at the desk and sits
down.
“Have a seat.” He
says. Glory opts for the comfort of the sofa instead of the chairs.
She sits down and crosses her legs. The British Bombshell can sense that
he is somewhat irritated, but how much so? And why? Glory then
remembers that it is Labor Day. With everything that is going on in her
life today she almost forgot that it was a holiday. Maybe he isn’t that
thrilled that Glory requested this special session? She can only assume he is
upset about that but how much so? She tries to get a read off of him but
his facial expression is stoic. All she can do is wait until he speaks…
“I see that you brought your husband along today.”
“Yes, we have to leave and catch a flight to
Portland, Oregon in time for Breakdown.”
“Ah yes, this is a rather big week for you, Ms.
Braddock; you are competing twice this week, one of those matches being for the
world championship. That and the fact that this is Labor Day, a holiday,
makes it seem rather odd that you would request this special session.”
“Yes, I know.” Glory
nods her head slowly. “Thank you for taking the time to see me, Dr.
Fitzgerald.”
“That isn’t the only thing I find strange about
this. We had begun to slow down our meetings, Ms. Braddock; this was done
because I saw legitimate progress within you.”
“Yes, I have worked very hard for that progress,
Dr. Fitzgerald.”
“I know, and I also know how much it pains you to
visit me in the first place. It is an issue of pride with you, Ms.
Braddock; you do not want to think that anyone can get to you mentally.
You do not want to think that you need help. Yet here you are, willingly
asking for my help on a day most people would be taking off. Needless to
say, I do find this strange.”
“I admit that it is strange, Dr. Fitzgerald.”
Glory says quietly. This conversation is not going as she would like.
“Is there something wrong that I should know
about?”
“My paranoia is back, Dr. Fitzgerald.” Glory
says quietly. “It is back with a vengeance.”
“I see. Your paranoia was a trigger and
symptom of your post traumatic stress disorder. Your paranoia returning
is quite concerning. I find it unusual that you seem to know it is
paranoia.”
“I just feel like everyone is out to get me.
Isn’t that what paranoia is? Everywhere I turn around I see new enemies,
some of them real and some imagined.”
“Did one of those real enemies recently strike?”
Braddock arches her brow. “How did you guess?”
“It just makes sense. Just because one is
paranoid does not mean that one has no real enemies. So when those real
enemies strike it could easily cause the imagined ones to creep back in as
well. So tell me, what happened?”
“I’ve been shot at twice now. Once gunmen
targeted me and my family outside of a hotel and my husband was hit.
Luckily it was a minor injury and he recovered quickly, but the second time I
wasn’t so lucky. The gunmen targeted us again and this time hit my
mother…” Glory reaches up and wipes tears that are forming
in her eyes “...now she is in a medically induced coma in a hospital.”
“Why were you targeted?”
“The Alan Family targeted me.”
Dr. Fitzgerald lowers his eyes and stares at Glory
curiously. “I asked why...not who…”
“That alone should tell you why I was targeted.”
“Not necessarily.”
“Are we really going to play this game, Dr.
Fitzgerald?”
“I do not like playing games, you know this.”
Dr. Fitzgerald remarks. He shakes his head. “Fine, I’ll play your
game. You seem convinced that it was the Matthew Alan family who targeted
you. How do you know it was the Alan family?”
“I cannot say…” Glory
answers quietly, her voice trailing off. Dr. Fitzgerald is growing more
and more frustrated by this and it shows by the look on his face.
“I cannot help you if you are not honest with me,
Ms. Braddock, and if you are not honest with me, then this is truly a waste of
my time.”
“It just makes sense, doctor. Like you said,
it just makes sense. All of it, every single bit of it, makes sense.”
“What do you mean?”
“There has been a third shooting.”
“Targeting you?” The
psychiatrist asks. Glory shakes her head.
“No, targeting Jennifer Alan, a member of the Alan
family.”
“I see. Did the authorities question
you? Are you a suspect?”
“No, but Jennifer’s sister Aurora seems to think I
did it as retaliation against the previous two hits.”
“Which she also denies being involved with.”
“Of course.” Glory
answers in the affirmative, nodding her head. Dr. Fitzgerald sighs.
“Let me just ask you point blank; did you order the
attack on Jennifer Alan?”
“No, I did not.”
Glory Braddock’s eyes never leave Dr. Fitzgerald’s
eyes. The British Bombshell just wonders whether or not this psychiatrist
suspects her of any wrongdoing. Finally, after several long and tense
moments, the psychiatrist just nods his head and speaks…
“I think you are right, this may be your paranoia
creeping up again. Perhaps we should have more frequent sessions in order
to deal with this.”
“I understand.”
“Let me ask you another question if I may; your
career, how important is it to you, Ms. Braddock?”
“Very important. I mean, look at me, I just
became SCW Adrenaline Champion. I am competing twice this week, once
against Asher Hayes and then against David Helms. If I can beat Helms I
will have won my fifteenth world championship.” An
ear to grin forms upon her face. It is a look of ecstasy. “Think about
it, a fifteen time world champion, powerful corporate businesswoman, head of a
prominent European wrestling school, I truly would be The Best in the World in
all aspects of professional wrestling.”
“I understand this, Ms. Braddock, but tell me; what
would you do to protect your career?”
“Anything.” Glory
answers definitively. The psychiatrist arches his brow curiously.
“Anything?”
“Yes, I would do anything to protect my career.”
==========
September 7th, 2020
Miami, Florida
Off Camera
==========
Glory Braddock and the psychiatrist remained in
locked in their heated session for another thirty minutes. It was an
excruciating thirty minutes for The British Bombshell because in her mind she
had given up too much information. She was convinced that Dr. Fitzgerald
was trying to get her to admit to the shooting at Jennifer Alan’s home but she
had nothing to do with it! Absolutely nothing!
Then again, paranoia is funny like that; it can
make you believe one thing when in reality it is the furthest thing from the
truth. In truth Dr. Fitzgerald was just getting the most out of this
time. He was working on a day he normally would have taken off so he
wanted to get as much out of his seemingly insecure and paranoid patient that
he could. Dr. Fitzgerald doesn’t think Glory has anything to do with the
shooting. She doesn’t strike him as the type to do such a thing and he is
just writing it off a paranoid delusion, created partially by her PTSD.
Still, you cannot convince Glory Braddock of
that. The British Bombshell is just happy to be out of there and on their
way back home with her husband Kurt to finish packing for their trip to
Portland. Glory Braddock must find a way to push all of these issues to
the back of her mind so that she can focus entirely on her task this
week. And her primary task is challenging David Helms for the SCW World
Championship.
This will be her second Trios Contract cash
in. The last one was last year when she inserted herself into the Rise To
Greatness main event for the SCW World Championship and she came very close to
winning. But close doesn’t count. It only counts when you get the
job done and even though Glory had tried fooling herself and others into
believing that she had gotten what she wanted with Syren losing the
championship, Glory secretly was enraged with what happened. She was
secretly enraged that she was robbed of her fifteenth career world
championship.
Now she cashes in for a second opportunity at the
SCW World Championship. This time the opponent is David Helms and this
time there will be no third party, no triple threat, and no excuses. It’s
just Glory vs. David one on one. And this time she refuses to let this
opportunity go to waste. She cannot let it go to waste.
It is this thought, the thought of her championship
match, that goes through her head as she rides in the passenger’s side of her
2020 Ford Fusion next to Kurt Logan. She is trying to push the thoughts
and memories of her corporate problems, especially the shootings, out of her
mind. She doesn’t want to think about that right now. And the first
mile or so has been very quiet. She wants it to stay that way. Kurt
then ends that silence rather abruptly…
“How did your talk with Dr. Fitzgerald go?”
“As well as can be expected, love.”
“What does the psychiatrist suggest?”
“Just more sessions. He wants to meet with me
more frequently.” The blonde sighs deeply with
frustration mixed with disappointment. “I was hoping it wouldn’t come to
that.”
“But babe, if you need help then you need
help. It is as simple as that.”
“I do not need any help!” Glory
exclaims loudly, her tone and attitude suddenly turn as she seems almost
crazed. It is rare that she yells at Kurt like this. Kurt notices
this.
“Listen to yourself! This isn’t like you!”
“And I assume you know me so well?”
“Yes, I do.” Kurt
answers, nodding his head. “The Glory I married was kind, loving, and
passionate. Yes, she was passionate about wrestling, but not the extent
you are. You have grown an unhealthy obsession with doing all of this on
your own. You want to be a world champion, you want to run a successful
company, you want to run a successful wrestling school, and you want to do it
all on your own with no help.”
“And I CAN do it all!”
“You’re being pulled in so many directions that
your own judgment is being clouded. There was a way to ensure you had
full control of your company and that was the right way, but instead you took
the shortcut. You got yourself involved with Meagan Collins.”
“And it worked.” Glory
counters. “Global Wrestling Enterprise is mine!”
“Yeah, it is, but at what cost? Your
involvement with Meagan Collins may have made you a target of organized
crime. And if you did order Meagan to do that hit…”
“I did not order that hit!”
Glory shouts angrily. “I already told you this!”
“Fine, Meagan may have misunderstood your
direction, but either way, if the federal government traces Meagan back to you,
then you are truly in deep trouble. Look at Matthew Alan right now.
He is on trial for federal crimes. Is that how you want your name, the
Braddock name, to be remembered? As a criminal? Because even if you
are charged but ultimately found not guilty, that mark and stain will be
forever left on your name.”
“I…” Glory
is shaken by Kurt’s words, which ring true in her mind. She isn’t sure
how to respond.
“Is that how you want to be remembered?”
Kurt asks rather demandingly a second time. Finally, after another long and
tense pause, Glory nods her head.
“I admit, these attacks have shaken me to my
core. They’ve rocked my spirit. And yes, they’ve increased my
paranoia. And that paranoia may have led to my PTSD resurfacing.”
“So you do need help.”
“Yeah, maybe I do.”
Glory nods her head.
“And you need to get away from Meagan Collins.”
“Not yet.” Braddock
shakes her head. “Not until I find out how she’s involved in this.”
“She is the one who set this up!”
Kurt exclaims. “She set you up!”
“We don’t know that.”
“How much more evidence do you need, Glory?”
Kurt demands angrily. “This was all on her. And if you want to keep your
name out of this, you need to push yourself away from her. You need…”
And suddenly before Kurt can say anything gun shots
can be heard. Kurt tries to keep his eyes on the road but Glory looks and
spots a car coming in quickly, screeching in next to them on the highway.
More gunshots can be heard as the bullets whiz in through the back windows,
busting them out. More gunshots ring out and this time they are not aimed
at the windows or the Kurt or Glory; instead their target are the tires.
Kurt immediately notices this as control over the vehicle is lost.
“Glory...I can’t drive this thing!”
“What the bloody hell is happening?!”
“Brace yourself!”
Kurt swerves off the road. Their attackers
speed away. Meanwhile Kurt’s vehicle slams into a power pole. The
airbag deployed and may have hurt Kurt’s ribs. He holds them in
pain. But he bears it as best as he can before turning to face his wife.
“Glory, you ok?”
“I’ll be fine. You?”
“My ribs hurt but I’ll be fine. What the hell
was that?”
“Retaliation.” Glory
answers quietly. “We were attacked twice by gunmen supposedly associated
with the Alan family. Is it a coincidence that we were attacked for a
third time after the Alan family targeted?”
“It could be a coincidence but…”
“No, it is no coincidence.”
Glory states defiantly. “Just because you’re paranoid doesn’t mean the world
isn’t out to get you.”
No comments:
Post a Comment