==========
September 9th, 2020
Portland, Oregon
Off Camera
==========
The illusion of control is the tendency for people
to overestimate their ability to control events. This illusion occurs
when someone feels a sense of control over outcomes that they demonstrably do
not influence. It is thought to influence gambling behavior and belief in
the paranormal. In the case of Glory Braddock, the reality of her lack of
control over her own life is becoming all too apparent.
Her life has been out of control ever since The
British Bombshell decided to use strongarm tactics in order to gain control
over her company’s board of directors. Most notably, Braddock herself has
been twice targeted for assassination by drive-by gunmen, but both times they
missed their targets. The first time they hit her husband, Kurt
Logan. Luckily his injures were minor and he recovered in short
order. Glory’s mother wasn’t as lucky; Mary was gunned down in the second
attempt and she now is in a hospital in Miami, Florida where doctors are
fighting to save her life.
Organized crime is obviously involved. Only
organized crime could pull this off; but why? The answer is all about
Glory Braddock. It was her strongarm tactics to bully supporters of
Matthew Alan off of the board of directors of the company, it was her strongarm
tactics that tried to bully Matthew’s family out of involvement from the
company itself, that led to her being targeted. Matthew Alan, after all,
has ties to organized crime. Glory Braddock has suspected it all along
but never had any evidence to prove it, otherwise she would have leaked the
information to the press and got her enemy locked away for life. Now her
suspicions have all been confirmed; not only has she been attacked twice,
conveniently after strong arming Matthew Alan operatives, but also she heard it
right from the mouth of none other than Matthew’s own sister, Aurora Alan.
Now things have really begun to heat up for The
British Bombshell. Aurora and Matthew’s sister, Jennifer Alan, the middle
child of the Alan family, has been targeted. Her family home was targeted
by gunmen late Tuesday night. Luckily no one was home and thus no one was
hurt. Still, who would target Jennifer Alan? Who would want her
dead? Aurora Alan immediately believed that Glory Braddock was the woman
responsible for ordering this hit. Aurora’s logic was that Glory had
ordered it in retaliation for the two hits purportedly put out on her on behalf
of Matthew Alan.
Glory may be a great many things; The Best in the
World? Maybe. SCW Adrenaline Champion? Definitely. A
tyrant? An egomaniac? Maybe she has become twisted in the past
year. But one thing she is not is a mobster. She is not a
murderer. She may hate the Alan family but she would never kill
them. She would never stoop to those lows. But she has an idea
about who may have perpetrated this, or at least who ordered it…
...Glory’s assistant, Meagan Collins.
The hotel lobby is classy in the most unclassy way
possible. It has all the corporate taste for opulent items without the
slightest touch of personality - those little out of sync items that makes
decor "human." The deep brown floor shines as well any polished
glass. There are flowers, beautiful, the perfect shade of orange to compliment
the woody hues and creams. On closer inspection their stamens have been pulled
to prevent even the pollen disturbing the perfect sheen on the mahogany
pedestal tables. The floor was tiled in fine marble, which made every step
echo. A chandelier made rainbow colors dance across the luxurious lobby.
Embroidered silk sofas surrounded a large, flat-screen television. The twin
doors that led into the lobby were a pristine white with golden handles. The
desk was made of amber-colored wood and a green granite top. Exquisite
paintings hung from the rich, red walls. Even the door hinges were engraved
with swirls and elegant designs. The domed ceiling rose at least 100 feet high.
This is the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, a five star luxury hotel; luxury
because only the finest of establishments will do for The British Bombshell and
reigning SCW Adrenaline Champion Glory Braddock.
And it is here, in the lobby on a plush cream
colored sofa, where we find the beautiful blonde Braddock sitting down,
anxiously anticipating the arrival of her assistant. Meagan at first did
not want to come. Meagan claimed she was too busy handling other affairs,
but Glory insisted. She even paid for Meagan’s travel to Portland so that
they could hammer out these fine details and discuss this. The thing is,
Meagan has no idea what Glory wants to talk about. For Braddock, this is
all part of her strategy. Meagan is a cunning and ruthless businesswoman
and has her own ties to organized crime. She may hold some information
over Meagan’s head that gives her power over her but Glory realizes that she
has to always be at the top of her game when dealing with Meagan. So she
wants to take Meagan Collins off guard with the subject of the assassination
attempt on Jennifer Alan. She doesn’t want Meagan to have any time to
prepare a potential lie or cover story. The British Bombshell wants the
truth from Collins and she will do whatever it takes to get to the truth.
Glory impatiently keeps checking her watch.
Technically Meagan is late but only by two minutes. And Glory has been
waiting here in the lobby for a long time. She got here far earlier than
she needed to; but this is all because of the paranoia and nervousness that has
built up in Glory’s mind. She just wants Meagan to hurry up and get here so
that she can get the answers that she wants, that she demands…
“Glo!” That
jovial, almost crazed voice is unmistakable. Braddock turns and spots
Meagan Collins making her way through the automatic doors that lead into this
hotel lobby. The brunette is wearing denim shorts, flip flops, and a
black t-shirt with the word “Evil” embroidered on the front in hot pink
lettering. Meagan is eccentric but she is damn good at what she does and
what she does is oftentimes illegal. Is she the one responsible for the
attack on Jennifer Alan? This is what The British Bombshell wants to find
out.
Braddock stands up to greet Meagan.
Immediately Glory’s assistant outstretches her arms and embraces Glory in a
tight embrace, almost as if they were close friends. And it wasn’t but
just a few days ago Glory considered her a friend. Did she trust
her? No, she didn’t; still, she was a friend. It may not make sense
to people but it made sense in Glory’s mind. But now she isn’t sure if
she can even consider this woman her friend, especially if she has jeopardized
Glory’s livelihood in this assassination attempt on Jennifer Alan.
Glory gently pushes Meagan away, breaking the
embrace. “Hold off on the hugging, mate. You may not want to do
much hugging after we’re done here.”
“Am I trouble?” Meagan
asks, playfully pouting. It is almost as if she knows she is in trouble
for something but doesn’t really care. That would certainly be Meagan’s
M.O. Glory sighs and shakes her head.
“We need to talk.”
“Sure!”
Meagan sits down on the sofa. Glory looks at
her and frowns. “No, I don’t think talking in such a public place would be
advisable.”
“Why not?”
“Just follow me outside, Meagan.”
Glory is doing her best to maintain her
composure. The frustration and anger is building up again but she
realizes she cannot lose control. She knows that while she is doing her
best to control it, she still has a case of the post traumatic stress disorder
that can creep up at any time. It can take control of her and if it does
she knows she will go into a rage. She needs to control herself.
The British Bombshell waits for Meagan to stand
back up. Then Glory leads her assistant back through the lobby and out of
the automatic doors. Once Braddock and Collins find themselves outside,
they go to a dark corner nearby where they can talk without any listening ears.
“Seriously, babe, what’s this about? I mean,
I don’t mind travel and all, and I gotta admit I loved the first class shit
hotel and flight and dining you gave me to get me down here…”
“Yes, well I knew convincing you to come down here
with such short notice would be difficult. Hence I provided the
incentives.”
“And I appreciate them!”
Meagan says, beaming from ear to ear. “But c’mon, there’s gotta be a reason
you’re dragging me out here to this dump.”
“Portland is a dump?”
Glory asks curiously. Meagan nods her head.
“Yes, of course it is! Have you seen the
people here?!” Meagan playfully pats Glory on the
head, as if she were a puppy. “Sorry you have to compete here today.
Stupid Sasha D bringing you out here! She deserves a spanking…”
“A spanking…”
“Yeah a spanking…”
Meagan chuckles “...ok, yeah, I just realized how kinky that sounds!”
“Look, we’re getting off track.”
Braddock shakes her head as she continues to try and maintain her composure and
resist the urge to strangle Meagan. “I wanted you to come out here and I
wouldn’t have asked you to make this trip if it weren’t for a good reason.”
“Ok then, what is it? I’ve been trying to get
that out of you since I got here but you started yapping about wanting to spank
Sasha you naughty girl.” Meagan winks at Glory. The
British Bombshell sighs deeply.
“Jennifer Alan…”
“Who?”
“Don’t play dumb, Megs. You know damn well
who Jennifer Alan is.”
“No, seriously, I don’t.”
“You’re lying. You used to work for her,
Meagan. She used to run Global Division of Wrestling.”
“Oh THAT Jennifer Alan!” Meagan
exclaims. “I thought you meant that lady on the syrup bottle!”
“Just tell me what you know about Jennifer Alan.”
“Great hair! Horrible complexion, though…”
“I meant what have you heard about her lately?”
“Oh…” Meagan
shrugs her shoulders “...well nothing. I think she’s been trying to
lay low since her brother’s trial began. Though she may be called as a
witness by prosecutors. At least that’s what I’m hearing.”
“Funny you should say that, because I heard that Aurora
Alan may also be called as a witness in the trial.”
“Who told you that?” Meagan
asks curiously.
“Aurora Alan. She also told me about how some
gunmen shot at Jennifer’s home earlier this week. Now gee, I wonder how
that could have happened?”
“Oh well first you have to buy a gun. Then
you have to get a reliable car that can get you to where you need to go. Oh and
maybe a smart device with good GPS that can direct you to Jenn’s home.
And then get out of the car and shoot!”
Meagan is making an absolute joke out of all of
this. She has been making a joke out of this since her arrival.
Glory Braddock has done her best to contain her anger but she has finally
snapped. The British Bombshell reaches out and grabs Meagan by her throat.
Glory pushes her back against a nearby wall.
“All I have to do is squeeze…”
“And all I have to do is scream…”
Glory pauses momentarily to think about her
options. A part of her does want to choke the life out of Meagan right
then and there. But the logical part of her mind suddenly retakes
control. Glory releases her grip on Meagan.
“I’m sorry, Meagan. But you did provoke me…”
“Yeah, I tend to provoke a lot of people.
It’s just my personality.”
“I can tell. But what about the Jennifer Alan
shooting. What do you know about it?”
“Absolutely nothing.” Meagan
says, claiming innocence.
“Is that the truth?”
“Of course it is! What could I possibly know
about…” Meagan furrows her brow “...wait a sec, you
think I had something to do with it, don’t you?”
“Yes I do. And before you start with any
righteous indignation act, let me remind you why you are working for me in the
first place. We may be friendly with one another now but this
relationship didn’t begin out of friendship. It began because you have
dealings with organized crime and I have evidence to prove it. I have
evidence to put you away for a very long time. So don’t stand there and
act innocent. Don’t pretend that you are incapable of having someone like
Jennifer gunned down.”
“I did NOT shoot up Jennifer’s home. I even
have an alibi! I was with my husband Mikey all day long!”
“Nice attempt at a dodge but that’s not what I
asked. Did you order that hit? Did you tell someone else to kill
her?”
“What’s with these questions?!”
Meagan exclaims. “Seriously, does it really matter in the grand scheme of
things who shot at ol’ Jenn Jenn? We both know someone associated with
the Alan family tried to kill you...twice...and both times they ended up
injuring a member of your family.”
Meagan pokes Glory in the chest. “Look, if you
haven’t figured it out yet, someone is trying to kill you. Someone wants
you dead. I have no idea who shot at Jenn Jenn’s home, but maybe this’ll
send a message to them? Maybe this will make them stop?”
Braddock has to admit that Meagan raises a
good point. Still, she wants her answer one way or the other. Glory
puts her hands on her hips and stares a hole through Meagan. “You still
avoided the question. Did you or did you not order the hit?”
“I don’t think you want to know the answer to that
question, Glory. Plausible deniability is an awesome thing, y’know?”
“I don’t give a fucking shit anymore!”
Glory is in another angry rage. Meagan can see the incensed look in her
eyes and realizes that it may be best to just give Braddock the answer that she
wants.
“Fine. Yes, I sent the hitmen after
Jennifer.”
“Bloody hell!” Glory
exclaims. The beautiful blonde begins to pace back and forth,
exasperating as she breathes in and out deeply, trying to maintain her
composure.
“I’m sorry, Glory, but this is on you.”
“How the hell is it on me?!” Glory
demands angrily.
“I told you that someone with connections to the
Alan family tried to assassinate you. I told you that the same ones
behind the shooting that hurt your husband were also behind the shooting that
put your mother in the hospital. And you told me to take care of it.”
“Yeah, but I didn’t tell you to try and kill
anyone!”
“You weren’t very specific now were you?” Meagan
asks with a wry grin. “If I recall, I told you that you were too vague in
your request. I told you that you needed to be more specific. But
you told me you didn’t care how I handled it, you just wanted me to handle it
for you because you were too busy with the other things on your mind...your
precious company, your wrestling school, your family of course, and your little
wrestling career.” Meagan chuckles. “Hmmm I wonder what Sasha would
think about this…”
“You wouldn’t dare!”
Glory exclaims angrily, approaching Meagan in a threatening manner.
Meagan immediately backs off and shields herself with her hands.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa! I’m just kidding,
babe! Your hands are clean of all of this! I covered your tracks
completely and I did my best to cover mine. Even if authorities figure
this out they’ll find me out as the mastermind and you…”
Meagan looks at Glory and rolls her eyes “...little miss prim and proper
princess who can do no wrong. You’re just another unfortunate victim of
Meagan Collins. At least you will be in the mind of the authorities.”
“This is getting out of control.”
Glory shakes her head. “I didn’t intend for this to escalate. I didn’t
intend for you to do that!”
“Well you should have been more specific with your
instructions. Remember who you hired…” Meagan
smirks “...or rather, remember who you blackmailed. Like you said, I
deal in this kinda criminal stuff all the freaking time. And you gave me
carte blanche to deal with this problem however I wanted to; so I dealt with it
the best way I knew how.”
“I need to fix this. I need to do the right
thing. I need…”
“Stop right there, babe. Stop and take a deep
breath.” Glory does as she is told and takes a deep breath.
“Now look, Glory, you talk about right and wrong but really, isn’t right and
wrong just subjective?”
“No!” Glory
exclaims defiantly. “Not for everything! There are some things that
are just never ever right under any circumstances! Murder is never
right! And that’s what you tried to do in MY name!”
“Yes I did, but think about this; what do you want
more than anything else?”
“Where are you going with this Meagan?”
“I mean, why did you hire that stupid private
investigator to dig up the dirt you used to blackmail me with? Why did you
use my unique skill set to manipulate your way into total control over the
board of directors at your company? Why did you do all of that?”
“Because it is my company and I know what is best
for my company. I cannot deal with board of directors constantly trying
to undermine me or threaten me.”
“And why did you cheat to win SCW Adrenaline
Championship at Rise To Greatness? Why did you use Trios to put yourself
into the main event of Apocalypse against David Helms for the SCW World
Championship?”
“Because I know best how to lead this company into
the future.”
“And I’m not denying any of that. But Glory,
if you go and do something rash, you risk eradicating all of this progress
we’ve made.”
Glory shakes her head. “But Jennifer…”
“Do not worry about her, babe.” Meagan
wraps a comforting arm around Glory’s shoulder. “I’m sure that shooting
scared her enough to call off the dogs. But if there’s any retaliation
you just let me deal with it, ok?”
“That’s the thing!” Glory
exclaims wildly. “There’s already been retaliation!”
“What?!”
“Yes. Kurt and I were on our home from
my...ahem...psychiatric session…”
“Your loony bin talk.”
“Whatever.” Glory
sighs out of frustration. “We were on our way home and we were attacked by
more gunmen.”
“Where? Outside of his office or at home?”
“On the road! They shot at our windows and
finally the tires, causing Kurt to lose control. He hit a power pole.”
“Were either of you hurt?” Meagan
asks, sounding genuinely concerned. Glory nods her head.
“Kurt’s ribs are hurt. I was lucky and had
no real injuries; I was just shaken up by the whole ordeal.”
“If they wanted to kill you they would have.
This was done to send a message.”
“What message?!”
“Who knows? But I’ll talk to my people and
see what I can find out.”
“Look Meagan, I do not want to be involved in this
any longer!” Glory exclaims as she shakes her head
vehemently. “This is getting far too deep for my liking. I want
out...I want…”
“No, you do not want that.”
“I know damn well what I want and I want out of
this! I want this to stop! I want the violence to stop! I
just want…”
“Calm down…” Meagan
places a comforting hand on Glory’s shoulder.
“I just don’t want to be involved in this
anymore. I’m no criminal.”
“No, you’re not. So you leave it to me to
deal with this. Ok?”
“Yeah…ok…”
“You do want to keep your hands clean of this,
because you’re no criminal.”
“Right...I’m not a criminal…”
“Exactly.” Meagan
embraces Glory in a tight hug. “You are no criminal.”
“Thank you, Meagan. I don’t know what I would
do without you.”
==========
September 9th, 2020
Portland, Oregon
Off Camera
==========
Wealth and power bring with it many perks. Among
those perks are the ability to ride in style wherever you go. “The
British Bombshell” Glory Braddock did not grow up with these kind of
perks. She was the daughter of a wrestler, Glenn Braddock, who competed
primarily at the amateur and then European circuits. Was he
popular? Yes. Was his family popular? Yes. But they
were never what you’d consider rich. Glenn Braddock was famous for his
grit and toughness, not for his wealth.
His daughter took what her father gave her and
expanded upon it. She continued that wrestling school he started, she
became a household figure as a professional wrestler on a worldwide stage, and
now she is the owner of a wrestling promotion itself. Glory Braddock is
still famous for her grit and toughness but now she is also famous for the
wealth and power she has accumulated over her thirteen year career. This
career has brought with it the perks that she enjoys now, riding to the arena
in style in a limousine that she has rented for the duration of her stay in
Portland, Oregon for the Breakdown event. Tonight she faces Asher Hayes
one on one and she hopes to obtain a victory to build up momentum heading into
Apocalypse and her Trios cash in, a match against David Helms for the SCW World
Championship.
Yet as comfortable as this ride has been, the
reigning Adrenaline Champion cannot help but think of the downsides to her
notoriety and popularity. She cannot help but recall the newest lesson
that she has learned about power; power brings with it many enemies. Now
The British Bombshell finds herself embroiled in a war that she did not ask
for.
Twice she and her family were targeted for
assassination; carloads of gunmen tried taking them out but both times they
failed; that or they were just trying to send a message. Now her
associate, Meagan Collins, in an attempt to make things right had a retaliatory
attempt made on the life of Jennifer Alan, sister of Matthew Alan, the family
Meagan and Glory both suspect are behind the string of attacks.
Reluctantly Glory Braddock has allowed Meagan Collins to continue handling
these events for her, this is despite yet another retaliatory attack, this time
on Glory and Kurt a few days before making the trip to Portland.
“Glory?”
“Huh?” Glory
is startled out of her trancelike state. She turns and sees that it was
her husband, Kurt Logan, calling out to her from in the backseat of the
limousine.
“Are you ok?”
“I’m just distracted, that’s all.”
“You can’t afford to be distracted. You know
that.”
“I know, I have Asher tonight and then David on
Sunday.”
“Yeah, you do have a world championship to worry
about, but I didn’t mean that.”
“Oh…” Glory’s
voice trails off. She has been lectured by Kurt all day ever since he
found out that Glory yet again allowed Meagan to handle this situation for
her. Kurt prefers her to take this to the authorities, with all of the
evidence she has in her possession, before she herself becomes the
criminal. Glory still holds out hope that she can still have it all and
not give in. Glory Braddock was raised to be a fighter and not to ever
give in under any circumstances.
“I think you know damn well what your top priority
is.”
“Yes, my priority is the SCW World Championship,
that’s why I need to focus.”
“You won’t be able to enjoy being World Champion if
you lose everything else in your life, including your freedom. If you
don’t get off of this path you are on then that becomes a very viable
possibility.”
“Meagan…”
“Meagan is a problem.”
Kurt says point-blank, interrupting his wife before she can even get her
thought out. “You need to quit associating with her.”
“I agree.”
“Then why the hell are you still letting her handle
this business? This is criminal activity she is involved with and she is
doing it in your name.”
“No she’s not.” Glory
says, shaking her head.
“She claims she’s not but you know you cannot trust
her.”
“I have evidence against her. She will not
betray me.”
“Yeah? Well I’m sure if she’s smart she has
piled up a bunch of evidence against you too.”
“We’re finished talking about this right now.” Glory
remarks coldly. She says this partially because she does not want to talk
about this anymore, but also because she notices that the limo is pulling up
next to the Moda Center, the arena where Breakdown will be taking place.
The limousine slowly comes to a stop. Glory
and Kurt sit there in a cold, awkward silence as the driver exits the
vehicle. He walks around to the back passengers’ side and opens the door,
allowing Kurt to exit first followed by his wife, Glory Braddock. Kurt
has Glory’s bags in hand, carrying them with him as the couple approach the
arena. They do not get very far until they are approached by two men in
black suits.
“Ms. Braddock?”
“Yes.” Glory
has a bad feeling about this and it shows in the shakiness of her voice.
Her fears are confirmed momentarily.
“My name is Charles Lambert and this my partner,
Denzell Higgins. We are both with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and
we would like to ask you a few questions if you do not mind.”
“Uh, I am kind of busy. I am a wrestler, I am
competing tonight.”
“We know but this is rather urgent.”
The other man, Higgins, answers.
“Ok.” Glory
looks to her husband. “Find where I’ll be changing.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes. I’ll be fine. Just take my bags
inside.”
“Sure, no problem.”
Kurt kisses his wife on the cheek before taking her
bags and walking off towards the arena. Once Kurt is gone Glory looks
over at Charles Lambert and Denzell Higgins. “So how may I help you?”
“This is in regards to Matthew Alan. We know
you have heard of him, you currently own the company that he founded and once
owned.”
Glory has that sinking feeling in the pit of her
stomach. Not only are these FBI agents but they are asking about the
Matthew Alan family. Have they connected the dots regarding the shooting
at Jennifer Alan’s home back to her?
“Yes, I do. It was Global Championship
Wrestling when I bought it. I inherited my father’s wrestling school and
merged the two and renamed it Global Wrestling Enterprise.”
“What do you know of Mr. Alan’s current trial?”
“Not much, to be honest. I only know it has
something to do with some white collar crimes.” This
was a partial lie. Glory has been paying very close attention to this
trial. She hopes he gets indicted and sent away for the rest of his life.
“Another situation has arisen that we are currently
looking into. Apparently gunmen shot at the home of Mr. Alan’s sister,
Jennifer Alan. Luckily no one was home.”
Yes, they know all about the shooting too.
Glory is afraid to ask this next question but she has to know. “Do you have
any suspects?”
“We have suspicions, Ms. Braddock; namely, this has
a strange resemblance to the kind of hit used by organized crime. The
fact that your own family were recent victims as well was brought to our
attention by North Carolina state authorities.”
“So you think organized crime had something to do
with all of this?”
“Potentially. Ms. Alan is going to be called
on as a witness against her brother. Her younger sister, Aurora, who I
also believe you know, has already been put under protective watch to ensure her
safety in case someone tries to silence her.”
Glory feels relieved. These FBI agents are
close to the truth but still went off in a different direction. They
rightly suspect Matthew Alan’s involvement in organized crime but they believe
it all to be part of a plot to silence witnesses.
“Unfortunately these are all just suspicions right
now. We have no concrete leads. We were hoping you could point us
in some direction. Do you know of anyone within your company who may have
connections to organized crime, Ms. Braddock?”
Now is her chance. Glory knows what Meagan
would do. She knows what her “Mother” Aphrodite Noel had once taught her
about the corporate world; it is cutthroat, and it is about survival.
Glory can easily keep them away from her if she just throws someone else under
the bus.
“I never had any idea that anyone within our
company potentially had ties to organized crime, Agent Talbert, but I can tell
you of two of the most adamant supporters of Matthew Alan who remained on the
Board of Directors long after he was gone. One is Donald, Donald
Bost. And the other is Joshua Hernandez.”
“And you said they were fiercely loyal to Mr.
Alan?”
“Oh yes, very much so. The Board for a long
time was divided between those who were willing to give me a chance and those
who wanted the old owner, the former administration back. Joshua and
Donald were two of the most loyal supporters of my predecessor.”
“You got that, Higgins?”
Agent Talbert asks. Higgins nods his head.
“I got it, Chuck.”
“In that case we will not hold you up any longer,
Ms. Braddock.” Agent Talbert remarks. “This may very well be a wild goose
chase. Organized crime like the mafia is nowhere near as powerful as it
used to be, so the idea of Matthew Alan being a party to this is unlikely, but
the government wants us to look into it so we must do our jobs.”
“I understand.” Glory
answers, nodding her head.
With that, the detectives walk past Glory.
The British Bombshell smiles as she turns and walks towards the Moda Center.
Once again she feels in control. She feels safe and secure. But is
this just a false sense of security? Is it only a matter of time before
this all comes crumbling apart again?
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