05-16-2020, 04:33 PM
05-19-2020, 11:32 PM
OOC: This is a Joint RP for Peyton and Ali, had fun with this cute RP.
Anything with the “REC” on it is Viewable to the Public.
The Views Expressed By Peyton Rice Do Not Reflect Those of the Publisher. VIEWER DISCRETION IS ADVISED.
Anything with the “REC” on it is Viewable to the Public.
The Views Expressed By Peyton Rice Do Not Reflect Those of the Publisher. VIEWER DISCRETION IS ADVISED.
![[Image: PeytonricePromo2m6wxte_zpsyecveks0.jpg]](https://s90.photobucket.com/user/ogbuddha/media/PeytonricePromo2m6wxte_zpsyecveks0.jpg.html)
(Click Title)
05-19-2020, 11:37 PM
<Anything between these signs is considered to be spoken in Spanish and translated into English for the benefit of the viewer>
February 29, 2020
Vencejo: Well, I'll say this: Rattlesnake wasn't kidding when he said this guy was unremarkable.
Valeria could only roll her eyes from the hotel room she was situated in a few blocks away, even if she would have to agree with her partner based on what she could see. After meeting with their informant just a few days prior, they had made their way up to Toronto to pursue their next target based on the information they'd received from him. Despite the typical calm demeanor she was trying to display, Valeria was silently looking to get this done as fast as possible.
Rattlesnake: I don't think I'd need to say this if you are who I think you are, but tread lightly if that is the case.
Rattlesnake's warning continued to echo through her mind, and it made her all the more anxious to try and put an end to this before it really began. Granted, knowing that Ivan Telebor was interested in SCW hadn't been helping matters, but if Rattlesnake was right and her efforts competing there had drawn his attention, this was a matter that needed to be cut off at the knees ASAP. Denying him the financial gain from getting a piece of the SCW pie was one thing, especially now that she knew there appeared to be a sign of vulnerability with his rare failures from the past starting to come back to haunt him, but making sure she never fell into his clutches ever again was the more important thing on her mind.
Garcia: You're never getting your 'little diamond in the rough' back, you faen.
Vencejo: I'm going to assume you picked up some things in his native tongue while you were going through... whatever happened between you two.
Valeria let out a sigh, and Maria lightly chuckled even if she knew her partner didn't appreciate her efforts to try and lighten the mood. It was all the cat burglar could do as she hid away on the roof of the building opposite of the apartment where their target resided, spying on him with her binoculars as she waited for a moment where he would leave so she could take care of business. The fact that he was in an apartment in the middle of the city was going to make this task much more challenging, but unless he did anything at night that they weren't aware of, he was more likely to leave during the day for a bit so they could do what needed to be done. Thankfully, this wasn't the first time Maria's sought to break into an apartment suite or had to do her work in the middle of the day, but in addition to being their best time to strike it would also lend more to their hope that the aftermath of this little endeavor would pin the blame on any of Ivan's enemies in the area and keep any potential suspicion away from them, even if there was barely any to begin with as Maria preferred to look at it.
Vencejo: I assume you're still thinking about what Rattlesnake told you?
Garcia: Kind of hard not to. I... I know I've still found it difficult to explain what there actually was between us, and my brain still refuses to let me even think about any of that, but... you don't know him like I did Maria. If there's even the slightest chance I'm on his radar again, I need to get off of it immediately.
Vencejo: Hey, I know all I need to know about the guy just from the stories thrown around by the low-lifes south of the U.S. border. I'd never doubt anything about him no matter what you can or can't tell me. Right now, I'd just wish this guy would leave already so I can do what I need to do. I've been sitting up here for about an hour now watching him pretty much do nothing.
Back at the hotel, Valeria could tell her partner was getting impatient. It was hard not to, considering that they'd picked a day where this guy apparently was taking the day off from the firm he would normally be working in right now. She couldn't tell if he simply would've had the day off anyway because it was a Saturday or if he took it off for some other reason, but it had made this task more of a waiting game then they had anticipated. Still, Valeria felt there was no need to worry. With what they knew about him from their intel, he would have to leave for some reason sooner or later. Valeria already had her makeshift network established and had essentially hijacked the entire building's security system as well as this guy's computer directly, but was staying quiet to not tip him off while she monitored his work. For the most part, aside from browsing a few miscellaneous websites, she'd seen him basically doing the same kind of work he'd normally be doing from his workplace, though considering some of the questionable natures of these transactions and investments along with the obvious fake names being used in the process, he was probably making moves as a proxy on behalf of others who weren't going to do it directly for whatever reason.
Garcia: I wouldn't exactly call it 'nothing' Maria. Playing out before me on screen right now is exactly what Rattlesnake told us: he's pretty good at what he does with all these under-the-table efforts, so whatever mistakes he makes doing this for real have to be a way to cover his tracks. I haven't seen anything relating to SCW pop up yet though.
Vencejo: Could he have already taken care of it?
Garcia: Not yet. When he stepped away briefly to use the bathroom a little bit ago, I did some quick checking and found nothing on that yet. Either he's hit some kind of snag or Ivan hasn't quite pulled the trigger yet for some reason.
Maria started to ponder why the latter could be the case, though trying to decipher the mind of a Norwegian billionaire who knew how to play the game of life as though he were a grand master at a chessboard was a job better left to Valeria and she knew it. There would be little explanation she could think of as to why he wouldn't have proceeded forward yet beyond her partner's own guesses. Thankfully, she wouldn't have to wait long to shift her focus, as something she saw through her binoculars piqued her interest.
Vencejo: Hey chica, does his computer have a webcam?
Garcia: Yeah... why?
Vencejo: Any chance you could take it over, assuming it gives you sound? He just started a phone conversation, and from how panicked and animated he's looking, maybe it could be something important to us.
Valeria was skeptical of this, but figured it wouldn't hurt. After all, the security cameras of the building only covered the hallways and not the suites themselves, hence Maria being her eyes at the moment. With a few keystrokes she was able to seize control of their target's webcam, giving her full view of everything resting in front of his computer screen. Thankfully, he was too tied up with his phone conversation to really notice it was now on, and after making sure the audio feed from this was being relayed to Maria as well over their communication setup, they both began to take a very vested interest in what they were hearing.
Target: Look, I've had a few other clients I've needed to settle with first. I'm sure you know this in your line of work, but I have a lot I need to stay on top of and nobody ever has the time for that anymore. … With all due respect, Mr. Herre, I'm not afraid of your threats if you're practically barred from the country.
As the man paused to hear something lengthy from the other end, Maria perked up at the sound of Valeria's palms hitting the desk her main laptop was set up at back in their hotel room.
Garcia: He's talking with Ivan!
Vencejo: Are you sure? We both heard him say Mr. Herre-
Garcia: 'Herre' is how you say 'master' or 'gentleman' in Norwegian. It's one of the many narcissistic pseudonyms I remember Ivan coming up with over the years in case someone's eavesdropping on his calls or dealings, and his personal favorite.
This spiked Maria's interest in the call they were trying to listen in on, both that valuable piece of information and Valeria's disgusted reaction to it, but she remained quiet on the matter as the guy began responding to whatever was laid out before him over the phone.
Target: Look, there's not much I can actually do until I receive payment. I need something to actually work with after all. I don't know what else to- … Oh, you have someone ready to meet with me? Really? … OK, OK, I get it. I'll go meet with him now. No need to give him orders to harm me while I'm cooperating, eh?
There was nothing of further interest to gain from the conversation as it lasted for maybe another minute before the call ended, and Valeria immediately killed her stolen webcam feed so he wouldn't get suspicious that someone might have been listening in. She watched as he closed down all the programs he had open before trying to put his computer to sleep, followed by Maria watching as he quickly threw on a coat and left his suite. After about a minute where he could have turned around, Maria decided it was time.
Vencejo: I'm moving in chica.
Garcia: Heard. I'll start taking some of whatever he's got stored on here. Wait until I give the word before you target his computer.
Vencejo: ¡Se entiende!
With that, Maria headed back through the door that led her up to the roof in the first place and descended back down to the first floor as quickly as she could. As she exited the building, she could see from across the street that their target was just coming through the doors to the apartment building and quickly making his way down the sidewalk. She watched him for a moment to make sure he wasn't staying too close to the place before she crossed the street and made her way inside, taking the stairs up to the floor she needed. Being clad in plain clothes, anybody she happened to pass didn't bother questioning her presence, assuming she was probably here to visit a friend or something. Soon she found herself standing before the door of their target's suite, and after confirmation from Valeria that the coast was clear, she quickly picked the lock and slipped inside. From there, it was a simple task of rooting around for anything worth stealing that she could slip into the small backpack she had and using a pocket knife to destroy anything else to make it look like some thugs had broken in and ransacked the place without making any noise. Quite a bit of money was stashed into the bag as it wasn't hard to guess the guy wasn't going to store anything in a bank account that was going to raise questions with law enforcement, but she felt as though there had to be more and she was simply taking what he hadn't gotten around to figuring out an answer for yet.
Valeria, meanwhile, had forced his computer back online and was busy making copies of everything she could find that would land this guy in hot water not just with Ivan but also anyone else he was working for, including some hacking to make a mess of whatever work he'd been doing beforehand to effectively cost several shady clients thousands of dollars and then some. She couldn't find anything that went against what they'd heard to indicate this guy had yet to start setting anything up for Ivan, but the damage she was causing was going to keep it that way. She paused in her efforts for a moment as she let a few heftier files be copied over to the external hard drive she was stashing it all on before she wiped them from this guy's systems, allowing herself to lean back in her chair and relax for a moment. There was no sign of anything on the security cameras that was going to raise any alarms, and she'd already frozen the feed to that floor and begun the process of overwriting it with some footage she'd found and modified so that if it was examined later, anyone watching would believe a bunch of burly thugs simply forced their way into the suite.
Telebor: Well, look at you, my beautiful little gem.
Valeria immediately snapped back to attention, eyes quickly darting around the hotel room but finding her only company to be the tangled mess of computers that made tracing her activities back to here virtually impossible.
Telebor: Still taking such a vested interest in what I do, huh? Can't say that I blame you... I know, deep down, how much you miss me...
Valeria began to hyperventilate, the voice of the man she was trying to take down ringing through her ears. All her memories, the nightmares... it all came flooding back to her in one instant, like a sledgehammer making contact with a wall. No matter how hard she searched, she couldn't see him, only hear his voice. She tried to say something in response, but her voice wouldn't come to her.
Telebor: There's a much easier way to do this, you know. Just come back to me. There's no need to fight... you know you will always have a place at my side, my precious little diamond-
Vencejo: Valeria? Hey, chica, cam you hear me? Valeria!
Valeria hadn't even realized she'd fallen from her chair and curled up into a fetal position on the floor until she heard Maria shouting for her over the earpiece. After taking a moment to compose herself and catch her breath, she slowly crawled back up into her chair and noticed that her work copying all the files was done, leaving only their destruction remaining, which she initiated immediately.
Garcia: I'm here... what is it?
Vencejo: You don't sound too good, and I'm not just talking about the noises I heard over the past minute or two while wrapping up my vandalizing spree and taking anything valuable. You alright?
Garcia: I'm... I'm fine... it's nothing... we can talk about it later...
Maria raised an eyebrow and made her concern very clear from the other end of the active webcam so her partner could take notice of it. Valeria repeated a few more lines of reassurance to her to try and put her at ease.
Vencejo: Alright, if you're sure... am I good to bust up this computer yet?
Garcia: Go for it.
Saying that in time with the final deletion of the files she'd copied and a few other digital damages she caused, just in case he was somehow able to recover any data into a new computer after this, Valeria cut her access to the device so Maria could begin tearing the thing apart. After a few minutes, there was nothing but a broken screen and various pieces of circuitry scattered all along the floor, and after Valeria confirmed the coast was clear she slipped out of the suite and made sure the door was re-locked before heading out. By chance she happened to pass by their target on the stairs, but by that point she was close enough to the first floor that it was impossible to truly tell where she was coming from or why she was here. The guy certainly paid her no mind as they passed, and once she was out the door she made her way back to the hotel as Valeria disconnected herself, knowing they were done with this job.
Still, she couldn't shake the feeling of what she'd heard, almost like Ivan had established some sort of telepathic link and was taunting her, trying to convince her to come back to him. She was smart enough to know such ideas were a load of bullshit, but the fact that she was still haunted by the mere thought of him along with the fair warning she'd gotten from their informant...
Was she truly making the right move in doing all of this? Or was she unknowingly walking right back into his control and deluding herself into believing otherwise?
We open up on a nighttime shot of one of the many beaches in San Jose, well enough into the night that the sands are completely devoid of any life. The moon is high in the sky and giving us beautiful lighting of the scene as the waves calmly splash against the sandy shore before receding. Contrary to what you may believe, however, this beach is not completely vacant right now. After panning along for a bit, we eventually come across a small campfire providing a little more light, which allows us to easily take note of the two women sitting in the sand and clad in red and black bikinis. Once we get a good look at the hair and faces, it becomes clear quite quickly that we've stumbled upon Las Bandidas de Gata Negra, and while we don't know for sure if they're supposed to be on the beach this late into the night, they clearly don't seem to care so long as they get to relax and speak their minds in peace.
Vencejo: <Are you sure there's no ulterior motive to us doing this?>
Garcia: <When you're on a beach, a bikini is appropriate attire for a female. It's not like I'm trying to steal a good little boy away from his perceived love of his life... that would be Scarlet's top priority.>
The two do chuckle at their Spanish exchange, though the mention of Scarlet does seem to sour Maria a tiny bit. Valeria glances at her and knows what's on her mind, knowing that would be something she'd need to look into soon now that she was as aware of the situation as she could be. Still, there were other things to take care of first, which is why Valeria was easily able to turn her attention to the camera with a familiar knowing smirk.
Garcia: I feel like I should be apologizing, but for what reason would I have to do so? As much as I'm sure several people are upset for one reason or another, you can't deny the results when they're written out for you to see, clear as day. Ever since we came back from the little hiatus we took, Maria and I have simply been unstoppable. Any tag team placed in front of us has fallen, and while no title opportunities came our way, we can both sit here and rightfully make the claim that our fatal fortunes were very much in our favor. Separated and forced to team with other partners, and yet we still prevailed at the end of it all. Sure, you can throw around claims that we might have cheated to get some of those tag wins together, or we took advantage of certain scenarios to win our respective fatal fortunes draws, but a win's a win at the end of the day, isn't it?
Vencejo: Valeria, you know as well as I do that there's a lot of people in SCW and sitting out among the fans who will scream until they're blue in the face that we don't deserve anything. They can cry up and down all day long about the hows, but it doesn't change the fact that all anyone truly cares about is the end result. When are you ever going to see little details like that attached to that in the record books? Never, last I checked. All that matters is that we've been on a roll, and it's going to stay that way. After all, we weren't exactly lying when we point blank admitted upon our return that this time we were simply going to take what we wanted, so it's hardly our faults if you guys really expected us to do anything that wasn't going to accomplish just that. Sure, Selena could lament the fact that she and I won because an opponent of ours got a little too aggressive, or Peyton could show she's far too naive by showing remorse for her and Valeria beating a team that had one person walk out on the other, but at the end of the day, is anybody really going to care about how we did it? Or are they going to care more about the fact that we have new tag champions and when you combine our recent unbeaten ways with the fact that my partner over here technically beat one half of the former champions, it's pretty clear who should be front and center after Kandis and Tommy are indulged with their little rematch?
Garcia: Of course, before we get too far ahead of ourselves, a certain someone can try to insert their name into that little argument, which is the whole reason why I assume we have the challenge before us on the next Breakdown. Isn't that right, Peyton?
Valeria chuckles a bit as she traces her finger through the sand, knowing full well Peyton was probably going to have a lot to say about their brief time teaming together as well as the end result of her fatal fortunes run. It made the most sense as to why this match was happening, after all, considering the two women had worked together with each other well enough to get through their one-and-done partnership successfully.
Garcia: While I can sit here and probably lead Tommy into an angry meltdown with the fact that I did technically beat him while he was still a tag team champion, you could easily counter with the fact that you defeated both him and Kandis in the same night. I suppose on that merit alone, you deserve to immediately find yourself knocking on the door for a tag title shot, right? Fair is fair, after all. Except... you didn't exactly beat both of them in separate tag matches, now did you? Nor have you proven anything yet on a consistent basis to really warrant such an argument, which begs the question: how much do you truly stick to those values you and your friends like to preach whenever it best suits you? I'm sure you're going to tell me all about how this is your attempt to truly earn your keep and everything else I've heard several times over by now, but can you honestly tell me that you mean every single word of it? This match is clearly your attempt to prove you have a sudden interest in trying to become a tag team champion, and considering your good friend Owen already stole one-half of that prize, it'd be so easy to claim that one win over us and all of a sudden you get to leapfrog us to challenge your friend.
Vencejo: Please Pey, do us a favor and spare us all that preachy nonsense about honor and being good people and all of that. We see straight through why this match is happening, especially with that convenient little option of just asking Owen for a match for the belts and he'll say yes because it's 'exactly what the tag division and this business needs.' Seriously, how does your little group keep lying to yourselves all the time about being what you clearly aren't? You and mi amiga over here took advantage of a man being betrayed by his partner, you took advantage of a legal tactic you'd still frown upon when an old friend of Valeria's used a foreign object to practically hand you a successful title defense... even Owen can't exactly be clean and upfront about being a champion now when someone else kicked open the door for him to drag Blake along to victory. But we know you're still going to stand there and be the good little girl deriding us for the way we conduct business because that's all you know how to do. Or... maybe it's just because you're trying to make your boy toy feel more comfortable.
There is a noticeable shift in Maria's tone of voice when she mentions the 'old friend' we all know to be Scarlet Grey, making it clear there's still a lingering issue that needs to be dealt with in the wake of whatever happened in Maria's own tag match during fatal fortunes. Valeria does shoot her a look as she finishes up, as though she was trying to make it clear that was a subject that needed to be dropped for the time being. Still, the shift to Peyton's partner for this match allowed Maria to comfortably shift gears as she rose to a stand and blatantly turned around to brush some sand from her behind, causing Valeria to roll her eyes at her partner as she let a giggle slip from her lips. Maria remained standing as she turned back around, leaning down to allow for a rather nice view of what she had as she continued on.
Vencejo: Sorry if this is bothering you Ali, but I know what usually sets off good little religious boys like yourself. I used to see it all the time back home, how devout and strict a lot of them turned out because they wanted to live the best life possible. And yet, you still openly flaunt a friendship and even a relationship with someone who has no problem posting racy images of herself for the whole world to see on social media. Almost has me wondering exactly how much you value all that you like to preach yourself... or perhaps you're simply too distracted by the fact that you're the only person in your little inner circle that walked away from fatal fortunes with absolutely nothing? I mean, Peyton got two wins and kept her title, despite showing the sin of greed in looking to hold a second piece of gold, Owen's a champion now, and I believe Aaron ended up technically beating you to get a world title shot, didn't he? Funny when the one guy who couldn't succeed to save his life out of the four of you is able to take something away from those two nights and you're the one falling short. Maybe that's why you're so willing to indulge Peyton in this sudden desire to become a double champion? Or it could just as easily be the idea of seeing her only covered in championship gold and nothing else so long as you can hide from the public that you aren't as pure as you say you are.
Garcia: I'm not going to disagree with anything Maria's said, but I am going to approach you a little differently Alistaire. After all, this isn't the first time we've crossed paths, and I'm sure you view me with such holy disdain as you did back when I still bore a different name. Of course, there's a big difference between claiming you will make me pay for the actions of an old acquaintance of mine because you were so easily manipulated and trying to team for the first time with someone who means something to you against myself and a partner I'm experienced with. This is new territory for you against a team that has been hellbent on claiming one thing and one thing alone this entire time. I'm sure you know that so many things can go wrong if you're not careful, including having to watch your partner's back just as much as your own. Of course, the real question is how well you can actually do just that. After all, trying to win this match isn't the only thing on your mind, now is it? Even if we ignore whatever's going through your head about your friends all succeeding without you, how much of this match is actually about trying to beat us and not trying to prove something to your new 'friend' Matt Hodges? I'm sure you'd love nothing more than to make one of us tap out to make some sort of statement to him that you're just as good as he is when it comes to pure talent.
Vencejo: With someone else having to lend a hand as you do so. Doesn't that invalidate the whole point of that message then?
Maria reaches down and helps Valeria to her feet as the two bikini clad ladies stand over their fire, gazing into the camera with confident expressions. Maria's is definitely a lot more smug while Valeria is more subdued, but it's clearly there.
Garcia: Look, we get everything this probably means to the two of you, especially with such an easy in sitting at the top of the tag team mountain right now, but if anybody deserves to show just how fragile Owen and Blake's bond is as a championship team, it's the two of us.
Vencejo: You wanted to dive headfirst into the deep end to prove yourselves as a duo, and you're going to find out why you can only go so far to save one another when you're both in over your heads against a team that is hungrier than any tandem on this entire roster.
Garcia: Welcome to our world... <hope the trip was worth it.>
The camera slowly fades to black as Valeria's grin slowly fades, replaced by her usual icy cold demeanor as Maria continues to radiate confidence. It's a stark contrast, but it works with these two ladies who have been through enough together to know what they have going for them going in to this match, and how much it's going to cause Pey and Ali to regret the decisions they've made.
February 29, 2020
Vencejo: Well, I'll say this: Rattlesnake wasn't kidding when he said this guy was unremarkable.
Valeria could only roll her eyes from the hotel room she was situated in a few blocks away, even if she would have to agree with her partner based on what she could see. After meeting with their informant just a few days prior, they had made their way up to Toronto to pursue their next target based on the information they'd received from him. Despite the typical calm demeanor she was trying to display, Valeria was silently looking to get this done as fast as possible.
Rattlesnake: I don't think I'd need to say this if you are who I think you are, but tread lightly if that is the case.
Rattlesnake's warning continued to echo through her mind, and it made her all the more anxious to try and put an end to this before it really began. Granted, knowing that Ivan Telebor was interested in SCW hadn't been helping matters, but if Rattlesnake was right and her efforts competing there had drawn his attention, this was a matter that needed to be cut off at the knees ASAP. Denying him the financial gain from getting a piece of the SCW pie was one thing, especially now that she knew there appeared to be a sign of vulnerability with his rare failures from the past starting to come back to haunt him, but making sure she never fell into his clutches ever again was the more important thing on her mind.
Garcia: You're never getting your 'little diamond in the rough' back, you faen.
Vencejo: I'm going to assume you picked up some things in his native tongue while you were going through... whatever happened between you two.
Valeria let out a sigh, and Maria lightly chuckled even if she knew her partner didn't appreciate her efforts to try and lighten the mood. It was all the cat burglar could do as she hid away on the roof of the building opposite of the apartment where their target resided, spying on him with her binoculars as she waited for a moment where he would leave so she could take care of business. The fact that he was in an apartment in the middle of the city was going to make this task much more challenging, but unless he did anything at night that they weren't aware of, he was more likely to leave during the day for a bit so they could do what needed to be done. Thankfully, this wasn't the first time Maria's sought to break into an apartment suite or had to do her work in the middle of the day, but in addition to being their best time to strike it would also lend more to their hope that the aftermath of this little endeavor would pin the blame on any of Ivan's enemies in the area and keep any potential suspicion away from them, even if there was barely any to begin with as Maria preferred to look at it.
Vencejo: I assume you're still thinking about what Rattlesnake told you?
Garcia: Kind of hard not to. I... I know I've still found it difficult to explain what there actually was between us, and my brain still refuses to let me even think about any of that, but... you don't know him like I did Maria. If there's even the slightest chance I'm on his radar again, I need to get off of it immediately.
Vencejo: Hey, I know all I need to know about the guy just from the stories thrown around by the low-lifes south of the U.S. border. I'd never doubt anything about him no matter what you can or can't tell me. Right now, I'd just wish this guy would leave already so I can do what I need to do. I've been sitting up here for about an hour now watching him pretty much do nothing.
Back at the hotel, Valeria could tell her partner was getting impatient. It was hard not to, considering that they'd picked a day where this guy apparently was taking the day off from the firm he would normally be working in right now. She couldn't tell if he simply would've had the day off anyway because it was a Saturday or if he took it off for some other reason, but it had made this task more of a waiting game then they had anticipated. Still, Valeria felt there was no need to worry. With what they knew about him from their intel, he would have to leave for some reason sooner or later. Valeria already had her makeshift network established and had essentially hijacked the entire building's security system as well as this guy's computer directly, but was staying quiet to not tip him off while she monitored his work. For the most part, aside from browsing a few miscellaneous websites, she'd seen him basically doing the same kind of work he'd normally be doing from his workplace, though considering some of the questionable natures of these transactions and investments along with the obvious fake names being used in the process, he was probably making moves as a proxy on behalf of others who weren't going to do it directly for whatever reason.
Garcia: I wouldn't exactly call it 'nothing' Maria. Playing out before me on screen right now is exactly what Rattlesnake told us: he's pretty good at what he does with all these under-the-table efforts, so whatever mistakes he makes doing this for real have to be a way to cover his tracks. I haven't seen anything relating to SCW pop up yet though.
Vencejo: Could he have already taken care of it?
Garcia: Not yet. When he stepped away briefly to use the bathroom a little bit ago, I did some quick checking and found nothing on that yet. Either he's hit some kind of snag or Ivan hasn't quite pulled the trigger yet for some reason.
Maria started to ponder why the latter could be the case, though trying to decipher the mind of a Norwegian billionaire who knew how to play the game of life as though he were a grand master at a chessboard was a job better left to Valeria and she knew it. There would be little explanation she could think of as to why he wouldn't have proceeded forward yet beyond her partner's own guesses. Thankfully, she wouldn't have to wait long to shift her focus, as something she saw through her binoculars piqued her interest.
Vencejo: Hey chica, does his computer have a webcam?
Garcia: Yeah... why?
Vencejo: Any chance you could take it over, assuming it gives you sound? He just started a phone conversation, and from how panicked and animated he's looking, maybe it could be something important to us.
Valeria was skeptical of this, but figured it wouldn't hurt. After all, the security cameras of the building only covered the hallways and not the suites themselves, hence Maria being her eyes at the moment. With a few keystrokes she was able to seize control of their target's webcam, giving her full view of everything resting in front of his computer screen. Thankfully, he was too tied up with his phone conversation to really notice it was now on, and after making sure the audio feed from this was being relayed to Maria as well over their communication setup, they both began to take a very vested interest in what they were hearing.
Target: Look, I've had a few other clients I've needed to settle with first. I'm sure you know this in your line of work, but I have a lot I need to stay on top of and nobody ever has the time for that anymore. … With all due respect, Mr. Herre, I'm not afraid of your threats if you're practically barred from the country.
As the man paused to hear something lengthy from the other end, Maria perked up at the sound of Valeria's palms hitting the desk her main laptop was set up at back in their hotel room.
Garcia: He's talking with Ivan!
Vencejo: Are you sure? We both heard him say Mr. Herre-
Garcia: 'Herre' is how you say 'master' or 'gentleman' in Norwegian. It's one of the many narcissistic pseudonyms I remember Ivan coming up with over the years in case someone's eavesdropping on his calls or dealings, and his personal favorite.
This spiked Maria's interest in the call they were trying to listen in on, both that valuable piece of information and Valeria's disgusted reaction to it, but she remained quiet on the matter as the guy began responding to whatever was laid out before him over the phone.
Target: Look, there's not much I can actually do until I receive payment. I need something to actually work with after all. I don't know what else to- … Oh, you have someone ready to meet with me? Really? … OK, OK, I get it. I'll go meet with him now. No need to give him orders to harm me while I'm cooperating, eh?
There was nothing of further interest to gain from the conversation as it lasted for maybe another minute before the call ended, and Valeria immediately killed her stolen webcam feed so he wouldn't get suspicious that someone might have been listening in. She watched as he closed down all the programs he had open before trying to put his computer to sleep, followed by Maria watching as he quickly threw on a coat and left his suite. After about a minute where he could have turned around, Maria decided it was time.
Vencejo: I'm moving in chica.
Garcia: Heard. I'll start taking some of whatever he's got stored on here. Wait until I give the word before you target his computer.
Vencejo: ¡Se entiende!
With that, Maria headed back through the door that led her up to the roof in the first place and descended back down to the first floor as quickly as she could. As she exited the building, she could see from across the street that their target was just coming through the doors to the apartment building and quickly making his way down the sidewalk. She watched him for a moment to make sure he wasn't staying too close to the place before she crossed the street and made her way inside, taking the stairs up to the floor she needed. Being clad in plain clothes, anybody she happened to pass didn't bother questioning her presence, assuming she was probably here to visit a friend or something. Soon she found herself standing before the door of their target's suite, and after confirmation from Valeria that the coast was clear, she quickly picked the lock and slipped inside. From there, it was a simple task of rooting around for anything worth stealing that she could slip into the small backpack she had and using a pocket knife to destroy anything else to make it look like some thugs had broken in and ransacked the place without making any noise. Quite a bit of money was stashed into the bag as it wasn't hard to guess the guy wasn't going to store anything in a bank account that was going to raise questions with law enforcement, but she felt as though there had to be more and she was simply taking what he hadn't gotten around to figuring out an answer for yet.
Valeria, meanwhile, had forced his computer back online and was busy making copies of everything she could find that would land this guy in hot water not just with Ivan but also anyone else he was working for, including some hacking to make a mess of whatever work he'd been doing beforehand to effectively cost several shady clients thousands of dollars and then some. She couldn't find anything that went against what they'd heard to indicate this guy had yet to start setting anything up for Ivan, but the damage she was causing was going to keep it that way. She paused in her efforts for a moment as she let a few heftier files be copied over to the external hard drive she was stashing it all on before she wiped them from this guy's systems, allowing herself to lean back in her chair and relax for a moment. There was no sign of anything on the security cameras that was going to raise any alarms, and she'd already frozen the feed to that floor and begun the process of overwriting it with some footage she'd found and modified so that if it was examined later, anyone watching would believe a bunch of burly thugs simply forced their way into the suite.
Telebor: Well, look at you, my beautiful little gem.
Valeria immediately snapped back to attention, eyes quickly darting around the hotel room but finding her only company to be the tangled mess of computers that made tracing her activities back to here virtually impossible.
Telebor: Still taking such a vested interest in what I do, huh? Can't say that I blame you... I know, deep down, how much you miss me...
Valeria began to hyperventilate, the voice of the man she was trying to take down ringing through her ears. All her memories, the nightmares... it all came flooding back to her in one instant, like a sledgehammer making contact with a wall. No matter how hard she searched, she couldn't see him, only hear his voice. She tried to say something in response, but her voice wouldn't come to her.
Telebor: There's a much easier way to do this, you know. Just come back to me. There's no need to fight... you know you will always have a place at my side, my precious little diamond-
Vencejo: Valeria? Hey, chica, cam you hear me? Valeria!
Valeria hadn't even realized she'd fallen from her chair and curled up into a fetal position on the floor until she heard Maria shouting for her over the earpiece. After taking a moment to compose herself and catch her breath, she slowly crawled back up into her chair and noticed that her work copying all the files was done, leaving only their destruction remaining, which she initiated immediately.
Garcia: I'm here... what is it?
Vencejo: You don't sound too good, and I'm not just talking about the noises I heard over the past minute or two while wrapping up my vandalizing spree and taking anything valuable. You alright?
Garcia: I'm... I'm fine... it's nothing... we can talk about it later...
Maria raised an eyebrow and made her concern very clear from the other end of the active webcam so her partner could take notice of it. Valeria repeated a few more lines of reassurance to her to try and put her at ease.
Vencejo: Alright, if you're sure... am I good to bust up this computer yet?
Garcia: Go for it.
Saying that in time with the final deletion of the files she'd copied and a few other digital damages she caused, just in case he was somehow able to recover any data into a new computer after this, Valeria cut her access to the device so Maria could begin tearing the thing apart. After a few minutes, there was nothing but a broken screen and various pieces of circuitry scattered all along the floor, and after Valeria confirmed the coast was clear she slipped out of the suite and made sure the door was re-locked before heading out. By chance she happened to pass by their target on the stairs, but by that point she was close enough to the first floor that it was impossible to truly tell where she was coming from or why she was here. The guy certainly paid her no mind as they passed, and once she was out the door she made her way back to the hotel as Valeria disconnected herself, knowing they were done with this job.
Still, she couldn't shake the feeling of what she'd heard, almost like Ivan had established some sort of telepathic link and was taunting her, trying to convince her to come back to him. She was smart enough to know such ideas were a load of bullshit, but the fact that she was still haunted by the mere thought of him along with the fair warning she'd gotten from their informant...
Was she truly making the right move in doing all of this? Or was she unknowingly walking right back into his control and deluding herself into believing otherwise?
*****
We open up on a nighttime shot of one of the many beaches in San Jose, well enough into the night that the sands are completely devoid of any life. The moon is high in the sky and giving us beautiful lighting of the scene as the waves calmly splash against the sandy shore before receding. Contrary to what you may believe, however, this beach is not completely vacant right now. After panning along for a bit, we eventually come across a small campfire providing a little more light, which allows us to easily take note of the two women sitting in the sand and clad in red and black bikinis. Once we get a good look at the hair and faces, it becomes clear quite quickly that we've stumbled upon Las Bandidas de Gata Negra, and while we don't know for sure if they're supposed to be on the beach this late into the night, they clearly don't seem to care so long as they get to relax and speak their minds in peace.
Vencejo: <Are you sure there's no ulterior motive to us doing this?>
Garcia: <When you're on a beach, a bikini is appropriate attire for a female. It's not like I'm trying to steal a good little boy away from his perceived love of his life... that would be Scarlet's top priority.>
The two do chuckle at their Spanish exchange, though the mention of Scarlet does seem to sour Maria a tiny bit. Valeria glances at her and knows what's on her mind, knowing that would be something she'd need to look into soon now that she was as aware of the situation as she could be. Still, there were other things to take care of first, which is why Valeria was easily able to turn her attention to the camera with a familiar knowing smirk.
Garcia: I feel like I should be apologizing, but for what reason would I have to do so? As much as I'm sure several people are upset for one reason or another, you can't deny the results when they're written out for you to see, clear as day. Ever since we came back from the little hiatus we took, Maria and I have simply been unstoppable. Any tag team placed in front of us has fallen, and while no title opportunities came our way, we can both sit here and rightfully make the claim that our fatal fortunes were very much in our favor. Separated and forced to team with other partners, and yet we still prevailed at the end of it all. Sure, you can throw around claims that we might have cheated to get some of those tag wins together, or we took advantage of certain scenarios to win our respective fatal fortunes draws, but a win's a win at the end of the day, isn't it?
Vencejo: Valeria, you know as well as I do that there's a lot of people in SCW and sitting out among the fans who will scream until they're blue in the face that we don't deserve anything. They can cry up and down all day long about the hows, but it doesn't change the fact that all anyone truly cares about is the end result. When are you ever going to see little details like that attached to that in the record books? Never, last I checked. All that matters is that we've been on a roll, and it's going to stay that way. After all, we weren't exactly lying when we point blank admitted upon our return that this time we were simply going to take what we wanted, so it's hardly our faults if you guys really expected us to do anything that wasn't going to accomplish just that. Sure, Selena could lament the fact that she and I won because an opponent of ours got a little too aggressive, or Peyton could show she's far too naive by showing remorse for her and Valeria beating a team that had one person walk out on the other, but at the end of the day, is anybody really going to care about how we did it? Or are they going to care more about the fact that we have new tag champions and when you combine our recent unbeaten ways with the fact that my partner over here technically beat one half of the former champions, it's pretty clear who should be front and center after Kandis and Tommy are indulged with their little rematch?
Garcia: Of course, before we get too far ahead of ourselves, a certain someone can try to insert their name into that little argument, which is the whole reason why I assume we have the challenge before us on the next Breakdown. Isn't that right, Peyton?
Valeria chuckles a bit as she traces her finger through the sand, knowing full well Peyton was probably going to have a lot to say about their brief time teaming together as well as the end result of her fatal fortunes run. It made the most sense as to why this match was happening, after all, considering the two women had worked together with each other well enough to get through their one-and-done partnership successfully.
Garcia: While I can sit here and probably lead Tommy into an angry meltdown with the fact that I did technically beat him while he was still a tag team champion, you could easily counter with the fact that you defeated both him and Kandis in the same night. I suppose on that merit alone, you deserve to immediately find yourself knocking on the door for a tag title shot, right? Fair is fair, after all. Except... you didn't exactly beat both of them in separate tag matches, now did you? Nor have you proven anything yet on a consistent basis to really warrant such an argument, which begs the question: how much do you truly stick to those values you and your friends like to preach whenever it best suits you? I'm sure you're going to tell me all about how this is your attempt to truly earn your keep and everything else I've heard several times over by now, but can you honestly tell me that you mean every single word of it? This match is clearly your attempt to prove you have a sudden interest in trying to become a tag team champion, and considering your good friend Owen already stole one-half of that prize, it'd be so easy to claim that one win over us and all of a sudden you get to leapfrog us to challenge your friend.
Vencejo: Please Pey, do us a favor and spare us all that preachy nonsense about honor and being good people and all of that. We see straight through why this match is happening, especially with that convenient little option of just asking Owen for a match for the belts and he'll say yes because it's 'exactly what the tag division and this business needs.' Seriously, how does your little group keep lying to yourselves all the time about being what you clearly aren't? You and mi amiga over here took advantage of a man being betrayed by his partner, you took advantage of a legal tactic you'd still frown upon when an old friend of Valeria's used a foreign object to practically hand you a successful title defense... even Owen can't exactly be clean and upfront about being a champion now when someone else kicked open the door for him to drag Blake along to victory. But we know you're still going to stand there and be the good little girl deriding us for the way we conduct business because that's all you know how to do. Or... maybe it's just because you're trying to make your boy toy feel more comfortable.
There is a noticeable shift in Maria's tone of voice when she mentions the 'old friend' we all know to be Scarlet Grey, making it clear there's still a lingering issue that needs to be dealt with in the wake of whatever happened in Maria's own tag match during fatal fortunes. Valeria does shoot her a look as she finishes up, as though she was trying to make it clear that was a subject that needed to be dropped for the time being. Still, the shift to Peyton's partner for this match allowed Maria to comfortably shift gears as she rose to a stand and blatantly turned around to brush some sand from her behind, causing Valeria to roll her eyes at her partner as she let a giggle slip from her lips. Maria remained standing as she turned back around, leaning down to allow for a rather nice view of what she had as she continued on.
Vencejo: Sorry if this is bothering you Ali, but I know what usually sets off good little religious boys like yourself. I used to see it all the time back home, how devout and strict a lot of them turned out because they wanted to live the best life possible. And yet, you still openly flaunt a friendship and even a relationship with someone who has no problem posting racy images of herself for the whole world to see on social media. Almost has me wondering exactly how much you value all that you like to preach yourself... or perhaps you're simply too distracted by the fact that you're the only person in your little inner circle that walked away from fatal fortunes with absolutely nothing? I mean, Peyton got two wins and kept her title, despite showing the sin of greed in looking to hold a second piece of gold, Owen's a champion now, and I believe Aaron ended up technically beating you to get a world title shot, didn't he? Funny when the one guy who couldn't succeed to save his life out of the four of you is able to take something away from those two nights and you're the one falling short. Maybe that's why you're so willing to indulge Peyton in this sudden desire to become a double champion? Or it could just as easily be the idea of seeing her only covered in championship gold and nothing else so long as you can hide from the public that you aren't as pure as you say you are.
Garcia: I'm not going to disagree with anything Maria's said, but I am going to approach you a little differently Alistaire. After all, this isn't the first time we've crossed paths, and I'm sure you view me with such holy disdain as you did back when I still bore a different name. Of course, there's a big difference between claiming you will make me pay for the actions of an old acquaintance of mine because you were so easily manipulated and trying to team for the first time with someone who means something to you against myself and a partner I'm experienced with. This is new territory for you against a team that has been hellbent on claiming one thing and one thing alone this entire time. I'm sure you know that so many things can go wrong if you're not careful, including having to watch your partner's back just as much as your own. Of course, the real question is how well you can actually do just that. After all, trying to win this match isn't the only thing on your mind, now is it? Even if we ignore whatever's going through your head about your friends all succeeding without you, how much of this match is actually about trying to beat us and not trying to prove something to your new 'friend' Matt Hodges? I'm sure you'd love nothing more than to make one of us tap out to make some sort of statement to him that you're just as good as he is when it comes to pure talent.
Vencejo: With someone else having to lend a hand as you do so. Doesn't that invalidate the whole point of that message then?
Maria reaches down and helps Valeria to her feet as the two bikini clad ladies stand over their fire, gazing into the camera with confident expressions. Maria's is definitely a lot more smug while Valeria is more subdued, but it's clearly there.
Garcia: Look, we get everything this probably means to the two of you, especially with such an easy in sitting at the top of the tag team mountain right now, but if anybody deserves to show just how fragile Owen and Blake's bond is as a championship team, it's the two of us.
Vencejo: You wanted to dive headfirst into the deep end to prove yourselves as a duo, and you're going to find out why you can only go so far to save one another when you're both in over your heads against a team that is hungrier than any tandem on this entire roster.
Garcia: Welcome to our world... <hope the trip was worth it.>
The camera slowly fades to black as Valeria's grin slowly fades, replaced by her usual icy cold demeanor as Maria continues to radiate confidence. It's a stark contrast, but it works with these two ladies who have been through enough together to know what they have going for them going in to this match, and how much it's going to cause Pey and Ali to regret the decisions they've made.