05-21-2020, 04:50 AM
06-05-2020, 02:29 PM
Quote:** DISCLAIMER: This CD does get graphic. A little disturbing. It hit me while writing, considering what is currently going on, to be on the safe side of things, I am adding the disclaimer. Remember, you've been warned. **
May 19th, 2020
Hotel
Doncaster
It was an hour after EMERGE 39. The pull apart brawl between Melissa Killgraves and Annabelle Burchard was fresh on her mind as she sat at the head of the bed. No face paint required. The war paint was only for the shows. Would be awkward to walk among the general public with face paint. Not that she cared all that much these days about how she was perceived, though she was surprised she got a largely positive reaction from the crowd. She chalked that up to facing Sierra Swann and being engulfed in a never ending war of attrition with Melissa Killgraves.
Melissa drove her into the corner turnbuckle. Annabelle fought off the powerhouse. Earned a moment of reprieve by dropping kicking Melissa through the ropes. Annabelle shots through the middle rope, taking down Killgraves at the expense of her own well being. She smiles remembering how she tried to blast Killgraves with a wrench, it was a shame Killgraves thwarted a potential career ending predicament. Melissa slamming Annabelle into the apron wasn’t a pleasant experience, no pain no gain. She couldn’t let Melissa have the last laugh, whatever she was trying to accomplish dragging her up the ramp Annabelle managed to free herself connecting a stunner. Before Annabelle and Melissa knew it, security came out. Dani, the new GM, came out to announce a Four Corners Bullrope Match. All that consumed Annabelle in the moment was all the “pleasant” things she would be able to do to Killgraves knowing the bull rope could keep her and Melissa stuck with each other.
With Annabelle lost in the ecstasy of the evening's events, she didn’t notice Benjamin Flynn pacing the floor.
His relentless pacing finally snaps Annabelle out of the euphoric trance she was in.
“Ben… can you please stop?” Annabelle asked nicely.
Benjamin does as Annabelle requests. With a sheepish smile on his face he responds. “Sorry. I do my best thinking when pacing.”
Annabelle blinks twice. “Ok.”
“This might run contrary to what we spoke about earlier. Here me out. Just spitballing here. Feel free to say no.” Ben said.
Annabelle nods, giving Benjamin permission to speak his mind. She looks down at the floor.
Ben pushes through with his pitch. “We should consider the big picture here. Your bull rope match with Melissa is great and all. This is the statement match you need to put the entire EMERGE roster on notice. We can also use this contest as a means to a bigger end. Regardless of the actual result of this match, the Unforgiven will still be your enemy. It is only a matter of time Dani will place you in a situation where you are going to fight, Willow. Cindy has already asserted herself physically with Wasley. The mentality of a tribe will always be US against THEM, at least you accepted who you truly are. You, well, WE are still not one of them. We’ll always be targets. Doubt Ms. Todd forgot how I stood up to her as the Faux General Manager.”
Ben breathes a sigh of relief The Unforgiven didn’t lay a hand on him. Doubts luck will be on his side now that he’s back in a managerial role. “So, what I am proposing is this. Do what you need to do against Melissa. No holding back. But we should consider forming a partnership with Ms. Todd. Before you say anything, her trustworthiness could come into question. And the perception you would be seen as another pawn in her grand design. Wrestling has always been a game of tribalism and politics. What do you say?”
Annabelle didn’t raise her head the entire time Ben was speaking. She was lost in the confines of her own thoughts. The battle with Melissa kept replaying in her mind over and over again on loop. The more she replayed the earlier nights events along with punting Melissa in the head a month ago, the adrenaline surged through her body. She lifted her head. Stood up. Walked the short distance separating her and Ben. She grabbed his suit jacket. Pulling him closer…
Ben said. “Um Annabelle, what do you think of my pitch?”
The only response Benjamin received was Annabelle slowly kissing him. He didn’t react initially. She was too lost in her own thoughts to care. Annabelle kept on. Then Benjamin gave him. Started kissing her back. She guided him towards the bed. Pulling Ben on top of her they continued kissing. She wrapped her arms around his neck. Things were going well until… he pulled back.
“Anna! Did you hear a word I said?” Ben asked.
Annabelle shook her head. “No. Shut up and kiss me, Ben.”
“We can’t do this!” Ben said forcibly.
She lets him go.
Benjamin rose to his feet.
Annabelle sighs. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be.” Benjamin tries to say in the most reassuring voice possible. “Sounds cliché, but it’s not you. This is on me.”
Annabelle looks down at the floor again. “Leave. I fucked up. Sorry.”
“Can I explain? This time, listen to me, please?” Ben asks.
Annabelle looks up at him. “Alright.”
Ben sits down on the bed next to Annabelle. He places his hand on her knee. “I am what a psychologist would call a sexual sadist. My sexual arousal comes from the pain and humiliation of other people. If there was a way to shut off this quirk I would. Abigail [Lindsay] would tell you how far I used to go to satisfy my desire to feel any sexual gratification. I used to abduct women. Take them to an undisclosed location. Have my fun. Fortunately I never got caught. Being a public figure now I can’t go under the radar like that anymore.”
Annabelle tilts her head to the side. “Was your father the same way? Your mother?”
Ben shakes his head. “Mom? No. She was a saint. My father on the other hand--” Ben’s voice trails off. “Don’t know who he is. There is a likely possibility my father or someone on my father’s side was this way. Being speculative isn’t going to help. Long story short Annabelle, your attempt at seduction was admirable. Hot kissing, groping does not get me in the mood. See. Not you, Ana.”
Ben squeezes her knee. Annabelle smiles. Ben’s words healed her almost damaged pride.
Ben rose to his feet again. He walks towards the door. Confused, Annabelle calls out. “Wait!”
Ben stops. He turns around. “I’ll be back, promise. I need some fresh air.”
Annabelle breathes a sigh of relief. “Ok. See you later.”
She watches as Benjamin leaves her hotel room. Annabelle lays back.
What better time than now to get some sleep?
.
.
.
Annabelle’s eyes flutter open. She doesn’t know how long she has been out. The first thing she became aware of was a very distinct smell of perfume? Why would the scent of a woman’s perfume assault her senses. Turning to the left she was awakened to a white woman who appeared to be in her twenties laying next to her. Annabelle rolls out of bed. The unidentified woman is asleep. How? Why? Was this a dream? She couldn’t have left the hotel to pick up a random woman. Benjamin walked out the bathroom still wearing his khaki pants, minus the suit shirt-jacket-shoes and socks. She storms over to him.
Point at the unidentified woman she screams “What the hell?”
Ben rested his hand on Annabelle’s shoulder. “Calm down.”
“Why is there a woman laying next to me, Ben?” Annabelle demanded to know.
“I felt bad about turning you down earlier. Let me rephrase that. I noticed the disappointment on your face. Since we are partners in crime now, I figure it is the right thing to do to give you exactly what you require. So I went to a questionable part of Dorcaster. Found this lovely lady. And before you jump the gun I didn’t kidnap, Peaches. No foul play involved. I explained to her my situation. My specific quirks. For a handsome price she agreed to be of service.”
Annabelle looks at the woman. Then back at Ben. “She’s knocked out.”
“Only temporary. She’ll wake up soon, then the fun can begin. What is going to happen is I am going to torture her. I’ll be in the mood necessary for us to have relations. Win-win.” Benjamin smirks.
Annabelle raises her eyebrow in horror. One thing to listen to Benjamin talk about how depraved he is. To actually see him go to these lengths to give her what was denied? She turns her back to him. Walks over to the unconscious woman. Her heart sank. Annabelle looks at Benjamin. She shakes her head.
“No Ben! Not like this. I can’t let anyone else become collateral damage because of me.” Annabelle says firmly.
Ben looks confused. “She took the money already. Peaches agreed to the terms. No crime is being committed.”
“Other than solicitation?” Annabelle fired back.
“Is it solicitation if I don’t have sex with her?” Ben shrugs.
“Regardless Benjamin, not like this.” Annabelle stood firm in her assertion.
“I’m confused. I was under the assumption this is the life you wanted to live.”
Annabelle sighs. She walks over to Benjamin. She grabs his hand. Looking softly into his eyes. “Do I share some of the tendencies my father has? Yes. There is a difference between me and my Father. I need to have a set of rules in order not to become a complete monster. People like Melissa are fair game. This woman--” she points to Peaches. “is likely a lost soul. Her only crime is selling herself to the highest bidder. Not enough to torture her. Far as I’m concerned she’s innocent. That’s where I draw the line, no innocents. Her pain won’t be on my hands. However--” Annabelle grabs Benjamin’s belt. She unbuckles it. Removing the belt from his pants, she wraps the belt around her neck. “Punish me.”
Shocked by this, Benjamin tilts his head to the side. “Are you sure?
Annabelle nods. “Yes. Five years ago I made a promise to never don the face paint again. I swore never to become the monster my Father is. I may have certain rules, Ben. I am not going to be one of those people who believe only targeting innocents makes me better than those who choose to hurt those regardless of what crime they committed. I deserve to suffer for turning my back on the redemption path. Go ahead, Ben. Don’t deny yourself who you are. I’m giving you permission to be my executioner.”
Benjamin grabs hold of the belt. He tightens the grip around Annabelle’s neck lightly at first. She squirms.
He releases his grip around her neck. “We don’t have to--”
“Punish me!!” Annabelle hisses.
With free reign, Benjamin tightens the grip around Annabelle’s neck. He applies just enough pressure so she can at least breath enough to avoid passing out. Despite the reprieve, enough of her strength has been zapped. Her legs are getting weak. She can’t stand. Ben, recognizing this, gently guides her down so she is resting on her knees. Then Annabelle feels the back of his boot planted on her back. Closing her eyes she braces for the inevitable.
Oxygen is cut off.
Blood flow has stopped.
She is close to fading completely…
And then Benjamin lets go. Annabelle falls to the floor face first. She clutches her neck struggling to breath.
Benjamin positions Annabelle on her back.
She continues to struggle for breath.
Looking into Benjamin’s eyes did distract her from the pain she is feeling. In her short time knowing him, she had never seen him so animated. In a strange way that brought a smile to her face. Though she was more focused on her own struggle than anything else, bringing a smile to someones face does feel good. She didn’t feel the need to say anything to him. She had a feeling he knew what to do.
This is who he is.
This is who she is.
With one kiss from Ben, the world made sense to her for the first time in ages…
–
<< PROMO TIME >>
The scene cuts into a small room. The only lights within the small space are the candles that form a circle around Annabelle Burchard. Her legs are folded. Hands resting on her knees. On this day she is not wearing her face paint.
“Is Dani under the impression that forcing the two of us to be joined at the hip by a bull rope will settle this dispute between us once and for all?” Annabelle chuckles. “Our General Manager is deftly naive.”
“As long as The Unforgiven exist, there will never be an end. Not for me. I don’t stand on the side of The Resistance. I am not friendly with any of their contingent. None of them care about me. They are obsessed with their lives intertwined within the bubble they are so comfortable existing in.”
“I don’t wave the same flag as Willow, Cindy and Melissa either. Going out of my way to burn this company down to rebuild it in Ms. Todd’s image feels a bit extreme. In that respect, I will always be a target. Especially when I indulge in every dark fantasy I’ve had over the past three weeks. I plan on wrapping the bull rope Dani believes will solve matters around Melissa’s neck. Choking her out, hearing the sound of my sister gasping for every, single, precious… breath that she can. Music to my ears. I can’t imagine Ms. Todd being a fan of me sending Melissa back to her a far more broken woman than she was when you accepted Melissa into the family.”
“You see, I have a solution to all of this.”
Annabelle takes a deep breath before continuing. “Ms. Todd, here is the offer I am extending. Should I be the one to touch all four corners in my match against your chosen, you let me be. No retaliation. You send no one else from your vast amount of resources to bother me. If Dani schedules a match between me and Willow, so be it. Under no circumstance are you to actively send anyone to cause me disturbance. I wasn’t thinking about your Unforgiven when this first started. All I wanted to do was compete. Walk down my path of redemption. Simply exist. Thanks to you, Melissa, Aiken… I haven’t been able to enjoy a moment of peace. I want to earn my freedom, Ms. Todd. So, when I end this with Melissa, you forget I exist.”
“BUT--” Annabelle pauses. There is a slight hesitation before she extends her counter offer. “--if your chosen beats me, I’ll become your ally. Not your hired gun. Not a dog on a leash. I am not another Willow or Melissa or Sundown. My soul does not belong to you. Quite simple. I am only interested in punishing the guilty. Those who deserve to be hurt in the name of God’s Wrath. Being the embodiment of God’s Vengeance isn’t a cute moniker only found in a comic book, I am one hundred percent committed to my path, as you of yours. Doesn’t matter what side of the party line we are on, there is bound to be a guilty party, no one is pure. The benefit of having me on your side in all this? I look the other way when it comes to whatever The Unforgiven decides to do. That I am the lone judge, jury and executioner, If I don’t agree with who you believe is guilty, I have the power to say no.”
“You love power, don’t you? Willow was EMERGE champion without you. Like a lost little puppy she ran back. Melissa, my sister, is a former RUSH Champion. Accomplished that feat without you, questionable circumstances be damned. She still bent the knee. Sundown, a mountain of a man who could crush the entire roster if he chose, pledged his existence to your cause. For months since that fateful day you made an example out of Mrs. Sky, you have the rest of the roster scurrying, banding together, all in the hope of driving The Unforgiven out. Who needs the EMERGE Championship or any championship with the fear you inspire?”
“Have you ever taken into account what I want?”
“I doubt that.”
Annabelle sighs. “Allow me to spell this out for you, Ms. Todd. I want this to end. One way or another we reach our final impass. You let me be OR I become an ally. If you are so confident in Melissa’s abilities, if you believe in the monster you molded, accept my conditions.”
“You don’t strike me as a woman who fears anything. What do you have to lose?”
“You're on the clock, Ms. Todd. I patiently await your answer…”
Annabelle blows out the candles. Scene fades to darkness.
06-05-2020, 11:11 PM
Melissa didn’t want to be here.
If she had a choice in the matter, she’d be training with Cindy in preparation for her impending match with Annabelle Burchard.
Unfortunately, she didn’t have a choice if she wanted to avoid inviting a potential catastrophe back into her life.
That was the only reason why Melissa wasn’t in Paris right now with the rest of The Unforgiven or the Emerge roster as a whole, though she would be present in time for Invasion. All she wanted to do was focus on the Bullrope Match that sat before her as some vain hope from the new GM that it was going to be the end of the war between Melissa and Annabelle. And yet, even as she sat alone in this room, free to contemplate all the things she was going to do to make Annabelle pay for the defiance she had shown, the False Atoner was the last thing on her mind.
How could she focus on Emerge when the last man she ever wanted to see again was only separated from her by one measly wall?
Today was just another day in the ongoing trial of Sgt. Brett Killgraves over the blatant abuse of his police authority and the damage he’d caused because of it, and Melissa had been required to return home in order to testify against him as the central figure in the entire case. Because of the potential explosion that many feared would result if they saw each other again, it was decided to have her wait in a separate room from the trail in order for proceedings to run smoothly until she was needed. She couldn’t blame them for playing it safe… even if she wasn’t somewhat pacifying herself over the thought of what she did to YUYO that effectively forced Emerge to change plans regarding their Invasion main event as well as send a clear warning to Annabelle, she knew she and her father might get physical depending on how the chips fell, and the more damage they could contain the better. Today was the one day where she would, unfortunately, have to try and control some of her anger if she wanted to be done with the man who helped bring her into this world once and for all.
Her attention shifted to the lone door that led in and out of the room as it opened, a bailiff peeking in to motion that it was time for her to take the stand. Forcing herself to take a deep breath, Melissa slowly stood up and made the march out into the courtroom. As she was led to the stand, she glanced over to where the defense sat, and almost immediately she locked eyes with her father for the first time in roughly half a year. To say that he’d seen better days would be an understatement. Heavy dark circles were around his eyes, almost like he wanted her to know he hadn’t been sleeping well. He’d grown a bit of a beard, something that he would’ve never allowed himself to have even when he wasn’t adhering to strict military protocol. She could almost see a glimmer of guilt in the way he looked at her, but he was clearly trying hard to bury it beneath his firm belief of needing to be the one and only person with any control over her life because he was her father and had a reputation to maintain, even if said reputation was likely in shambles ten times over by now. As she took the stand, she decided to smooth out the wrinkles on the skirt she wore with this outfit Claire had gotten for her so she had something ‘proper’ to wear while having to put up with this, allowing it to distract her from the man she didn’t want to be in the same room as, even temporarily. When the bailiff walked back up to her with a bible and instructed her to place her hand on it, she simply glared at him, her frail emotional walls already beginning to show cracks.
“With all due respect, I refuse to swear on that book.”
“That book is one of the symbols of our faith and you know it, Melissa! You can’t just-”
“I don’t believe in a God who puts me in a situation where I don’t have the freedom to make my own decisions!”
Melissa’s small act of defiance over how her testimony was going to be considered true had already ignited a powder keg, as her father gave her no chance to continue and immediately jumped down her throat over her decision, causing her to lash out in response. The judge slammed his gavel and yelled for order as the elder Killghraves was restrained by both his attorney and another bailiff on hand in anticipation of this. It took several minutes for order to be restored, but once it was Melissa looked up at the judge and was allowed to finish this opening salvo her way.
“I refuse to swear an oath on a book that I no longer believe in. However, I solemnly and sincerely declare and affirm that the evidence I shall give will be the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.”
The judge accepted this before motioning for the prosecutor that they could begin questioning. Melissa glanced at her father, making sure he understood that she knew the law well enough to know how to make sure her voice still mattered today. She wanted it to feel like a small victory of using what he’d taught her against him, but seeing the bible presented at that moment just made her think of the woman who thought turning to God would suddenly fix all of her past actions. The reminder of what awaited on the horizon just made her angrier that she wasn’t dedicating her time towards that right now, but the sooner she got through this the more she could shift her focus back to a target that she didn’t have to force herself to be civil towards. She turned her attention to the man who approached her.
“Will you please state your name and occupation for the record?”
“I’m Melissa Killgraves, a wrestler for Emerge and daughter to the man on trial today.”
“Thank you. Miss Killgraves, how would you describe your relationship with your father?”
“If I could sum it up in one word? Hell.”
Members of the jury could be heard buzzing about this, but Melissa paid them no mind. Her focus went right back to her father, the two exchanging glares once again.
“Could you please elaborate?”
“Gladly. My father took a lot of pride in his military status… too much, if you ask me. It was to the point where he basically decided my future before I was old enough to even understand the world around me. He was insistent on having me follow in his footsteps and serving in the military just like he did, to the extent where, when I was physically able to do so, he began putting me through a boot camp he set up in our backyard every single day for as long as I can remember. He forced me to live my life by his code of honor… hell, the only reason I was allowed to go to a public school and even have any semblance of a normal social life was that I was too young for any military academy to legally enroll me.”
“Did you ever voice your concerns to him about any of this?”
“I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve told him I wanted to figure out what I wanted to do with my life for myself. It always fell on deaf ears with him.”
There was more murmuring from the jury as they took stock of this. Melissa noticed her father’s attorney looking through some of his notes, only to need to divert his attention to making sure his client stayed in his seat when he began to show signs of acting out of order again.
“Miss Killgraves, while I know you are not aware of this as your touring schedule and… obvious concerns that have been noted over the two of you being in the same room have limited your time with us, it was confirmed earlier in this trial that you are no longer living with your father, is that correct?”
“It is, and this was the case even before Emerge moved their operations out to Europe at the start of this year. And since I know you’re going to ask for the record, after I graduated from high school my dad tried to sign me up for the military on my behalf, which he cannot do without them having actual consent from me that I wish to serve. After I gave them my refusal, I literally packed up all my stuff and walked out, settling in an apartment a friend of mine helped me to get.”
“And how did your father respond to this?”
“It started with calls to my cell phone demanding that I return home until I blocked his number. Then, I’d get stopped at random by officers out on patrol or notice they were purposely parking near where I’d be like they were specifically keeping an eye on what I was doing for him. We had one face-to-face conversation where my trainer, and someone who served by my father’s side, managed to diffuse things before anything came of it. After that, he kind of left me alone… until…”
Melissa slowly trailed off there, her fists balling up tightly against the stand. While the incident she knew would have to come up in this conversation sooner or later was hardly anything she looked back on in regret, even she wasn’t so blinded by her emotions towards her old man to realize how this incident was perceived by the jury could make or break this entire ordeal. This was the origin point of her father’s charges, after all, and while she was let go on that day she wouldn’t doubt if some believed she deserved to be on trial just as much as he did for the fight she showed.
“Until the incident that brings us to why we are truly here today, correct?” Melissa silently nods in response. “Can you please share with the court what happened on that day?”
“I… I was working out in preparation for a big match I had coming up and talking with people I confided in about some things I’d been given to think about wrestling-wise. My father suddenly waltzed into the gym with a whole squad of officers to back him up, like they were ready to raid a warehouse for a drug sting or something. He tried to talk me into coming home one last time, and when I refused, he attempted to arrest me.”
A few people in the jury audibly gasped at this while the prosecutor simply nodded, looking over a few of his notes to make sure it lined up with other testimonies given thus far in the trial. Brett looked like he was on the verge of leaping from his seat and lunging at his daughter like some kind of feral animal, but Melissa had to give his attorney a lot of credit for doing his damndest to keep the veteran from doing anything that would ruin their chances.
“On what ground did he attempt to arrest you for, Miss Killgraves?”
“The only charge he gave initially was assault, using what I legally do inside a wrestling ring as my profession to justify it. I refused, knowing it was B.S. and would never hold up in court. It was just his way of trying to abuse his authority to force me to miss that upcoming show, and I think even the officers he brought with him knew that.”
“OBJECTION!”
Everyone’s attention turned to the table of the defense as not the attorney but the man on trial himself flew out of his seat and angrily made the statement, to which a bailiff immediately placed himself between Sgt. Killgraves and the stand to prevent any physical altercations. He certainly tried to make his way to being literally face-to-face with his daughter again, but his attorney desperately pleaded with him to sit back down as the judge violently slammed his gavel.
“Order! Order! Objection overruled, and one more outburst like that and I will have you removed from this courtroom, Mr. Killgraves!”
It took a few moments for things to settle back down that Melissa could continue, but the more she glared at her father the more she couldn’t ignore a troubling thought that was running through her head now: Brett Killgraves was a proud man, physically and emotionally stronger than most could ever hope to be. Even during times when he’d been captured and tortured while serving the country, he never cracked, preferring to take whatever information he was being tortured over to the grave. And yet, here he was, slowly growing more and more unhinged before her very eyes all because she rightfully opposed the idea of him having the final say on how her life should be. She was witnessing her father in a more vulnerable state than anyone had ever known, and in a twisted sort of the way, this image both amused and bothered her. Still, she was here to speak the truth, and once things had calmed down enough that she was given the OK to continue, she did just that.
“As I was saying, I shrugged off his admittedly weak justification for arresting me and tried to get back to my workout, but then he forcibly grabbed my arms and tried to cuff me. I resisted, as I felt I had the right to do knowing full well he was abusing his power, and he pulled me into an inadvertent shoulder check that allowed him to add ‘assaulting an officer’ to my charges, which he also used as an excuse to slam my face into the wall. It was at that point, in the face of what some would consider a show of unnecessary police brutality over nonexistent charges, I fought back to defend myself. After I… subdued my father, the other officers there allowed me to go while they dealt with him. That’s the last time I saw him, until today.”
“Thank you, Miss Killgraves. No further questions, your honor.”
The prosecutor proceeded back to his seat as Melissa took a deep breath, trying to stay focused on getting through the defense’s questions she knew were coming so she could be done with this and free to return her focus back to the woman who she owed an ass-kicking to. The attorney was clearly taking his time, partly because he kept glancing back at her father to make sure he’d stay put before he stared her down with a look that made it clear he was getting down to business.
“Miss Killgraves, in your profession you are currently associated with a rather violent group-”
“Objection, this has no relevance to the case, your honor.”
“It’s relevant to establish the character of the witness.”
“I’ll allow it, for the moment.”
“Thank you-”
“Yes, in Emerge I’m part of a group known as The Unforgiven. But even if you disagree with our actions, they pertain only to the wrestling business and have nothing to do with how my father treated me growing up.”
Melissa could hear the judge issue her a warning, but she barely registers it as she stares down the attorney, almost daring him to try and make the same hollow claims her father did back on that fateful day.
“Are you certain, Miss Killgraves? Prior testimonies indicate that there have been no physical altercations between you and your father prior to the date in question. I am aware this precedes your official joining of the group, but you did have contact with its leader.”
“If you’re implying that the only reason I fought back is because of someone whispering in my ear, then you might as well stop talking. If my father hadn’t kept pushing me, thinking he could just get away with anything because everyone practically worshipped the ground he walked on, then maybe we wouldn’t be here. I was within my rights to defend myself from his excessive and unnecessary force, and if he hadn’t resorted to it then I wouldn’t have touched him.”
“THAT’S BULLSHIT! YOU LET YOURSELF BE BRAINWASHED BY A MONSTER AND TURNED AGAINST ME!”
Sgt. Killgraves exploded out of his seat and charged the stand with this outburst, dodging the bailiff’s attempt to block his path and almost barreling over his own attorney before he got within arm’s reach of his daughter. Melissa steeled herself, but just when he started trying to wrap his arms around her, several officers were forcing him back and hauling him out of the courtroom at the insistence of the judge. As the attorney was helped to his feet, he could only sigh and shake his head before throwing in the towel on asking any further questions, and Melissa was given the OK to go.
It took a few minutes for this to register for her, though, and even as she finally left, she couldn’t help but stop once she was out of the room to ponder what just happened. No matter how heated things got between then, her father’s behavior today was no indication of how he would normally act in this setting. He had too much respect for the law to ever have such violent outbursts in the middle of court proceedings, even if they were his own. That last one in particular, though, is what shook her the most. When he’d tried to wrap his arms around her, it wasn’t to harm her or attempt to strangle her or anything truly malicious like that. It almost felt like he was trying to hug her… an act of affection he hadn’t shown her since she was still too young to start being molded into “daddy’s little soldier.”
While it certainly gave her a lot to ponder, she knew his actions today had all but destroyed any hope he had of not being sentenced in some capacity. Thankfully, she was able to latch onto a familiar emotion as her father’s confusing actions simply caused her blood to boil, both for her having to come out here to testify against him in the first place and for trying to throw her off before she had work to do. She’d figure out what he was actually getting at later… her focus right now was on one thing, and one thing only:
Going to Paris to show Annabelle why the God she entrusted her life to had never been there for her in the first place, just like he’d never been there for Melissa Killgraves when she needed Him most.
If she had a choice in the matter, she’d be training with Cindy in preparation for her impending match with Annabelle Burchard.
Unfortunately, she didn’t have a choice if she wanted to avoid inviting a potential catastrophe back into her life.
That was the only reason why Melissa wasn’t in Paris right now with the rest of The Unforgiven or the Emerge roster as a whole, though she would be present in time for Invasion. All she wanted to do was focus on the Bullrope Match that sat before her as some vain hope from the new GM that it was going to be the end of the war between Melissa and Annabelle. And yet, even as she sat alone in this room, free to contemplate all the things she was going to do to make Annabelle pay for the defiance she had shown, the False Atoner was the last thing on her mind.
How could she focus on Emerge when the last man she ever wanted to see again was only separated from her by one measly wall?
Today was just another day in the ongoing trial of Sgt. Brett Killgraves over the blatant abuse of his police authority and the damage he’d caused because of it, and Melissa had been required to return home in order to testify against him as the central figure in the entire case. Because of the potential explosion that many feared would result if they saw each other again, it was decided to have her wait in a separate room from the trail in order for proceedings to run smoothly until she was needed. She couldn’t blame them for playing it safe… even if she wasn’t somewhat pacifying herself over the thought of what she did to YUYO that effectively forced Emerge to change plans regarding their Invasion main event as well as send a clear warning to Annabelle, she knew she and her father might get physical depending on how the chips fell, and the more damage they could contain the better. Today was the one day where she would, unfortunately, have to try and control some of her anger if she wanted to be done with the man who helped bring her into this world once and for all.
Her attention shifted to the lone door that led in and out of the room as it opened, a bailiff peeking in to motion that it was time for her to take the stand. Forcing herself to take a deep breath, Melissa slowly stood up and made the march out into the courtroom. As she was led to the stand, she glanced over to where the defense sat, and almost immediately she locked eyes with her father for the first time in roughly half a year. To say that he’d seen better days would be an understatement. Heavy dark circles were around his eyes, almost like he wanted her to know he hadn’t been sleeping well. He’d grown a bit of a beard, something that he would’ve never allowed himself to have even when he wasn’t adhering to strict military protocol. She could almost see a glimmer of guilt in the way he looked at her, but he was clearly trying hard to bury it beneath his firm belief of needing to be the one and only person with any control over her life because he was her father and had a reputation to maintain, even if said reputation was likely in shambles ten times over by now. As she took the stand, she decided to smooth out the wrinkles on the skirt she wore with this outfit Claire had gotten for her so she had something ‘proper’ to wear while having to put up with this, allowing it to distract her from the man she didn’t want to be in the same room as, even temporarily. When the bailiff walked back up to her with a bible and instructed her to place her hand on it, she simply glared at him, her frail emotional walls already beginning to show cracks.
“With all due respect, I refuse to swear on that book.”
“That book is one of the symbols of our faith and you know it, Melissa! You can’t just-”
“I don’t believe in a God who puts me in a situation where I don’t have the freedom to make my own decisions!”
Melissa’s small act of defiance over how her testimony was going to be considered true had already ignited a powder keg, as her father gave her no chance to continue and immediately jumped down her throat over her decision, causing her to lash out in response. The judge slammed his gavel and yelled for order as the elder Killghraves was restrained by both his attorney and another bailiff on hand in anticipation of this. It took several minutes for order to be restored, but once it was Melissa looked up at the judge and was allowed to finish this opening salvo her way.
“I refuse to swear an oath on a book that I no longer believe in. However, I solemnly and sincerely declare and affirm that the evidence I shall give will be the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.”
The judge accepted this before motioning for the prosecutor that they could begin questioning. Melissa glanced at her father, making sure he understood that she knew the law well enough to know how to make sure her voice still mattered today. She wanted it to feel like a small victory of using what he’d taught her against him, but seeing the bible presented at that moment just made her think of the woman who thought turning to God would suddenly fix all of her past actions. The reminder of what awaited on the horizon just made her angrier that she wasn’t dedicating her time towards that right now, but the sooner she got through this the more she could shift her focus back to a target that she didn’t have to force herself to be civil towards. She turned her attention to the man who approached her.
“Will you please state your name and occupation for the record?”
“I’m Melissa Killgraves, a wrestler for Emerge and daughter to the man on trial today.”
“Thank you. Miss Killgraves, how would you describe your relationship with your father?”
“If I could sum it up in one word? Hell.”
Members of the jury could be heard buzzing about this, but Melissa paid them no mind. Her focus went right back to her father, the two exchanging glares once again.
“Could you please elaborate?”
“Gladly. My father took a lot of pride in his military status… too much, if you ask me. It was to the point where he basically decided my future before I was old enough to even understand the world around me. He was insistent on having me follow in his footsteps and serving in the military just like he did, to the extent where, when I was physically able to do so, he began putting me through a boot camp he set up in our backyard every single day for as long as I can remember. He forced me to live my life by his code of honor… hell, the only reason I was allowed to go to a public school and even have any semblance of a normal social life was that I was too young for any military academy to legally enroll me.”
“Did you ever voice your concerns to him about any of this?”
“I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve told him I wanted to figure out what I wanted to do with my life for myself. It always fell on deaf ears with him.”
There was more murmuring from the jury as they took stock of this. Melissa noticed her father’s attorney looking through some of his notes, only to need to divert his attention to making sure his client stayed in his seat when he began to show signs of acting out of order again.
“Miss Killgraves, while I know you are not aware of this as your touring schedule and… obvious concerns that have been noted over the two of you being in the same room have limited your time with us, it was confirmed earlier in this trial that you are no longer living with your father, is that correct?”
“It is, and this was the case even before Emerge moved their operations out to Europe at the start of this year. And since I know you’re going to ask for the record, after I graduated from high school my dad tried to sign me up for the military on my behalf, which he cannot do without them having actual consent from me that I wish to serve. After I gave them my refusal, I literally packed up all my stuff and walked out, settling in an apartment a friend of mine helped me to get.”
“And how did your father respond to this?”
“It started with calls to my cell phone demanding that I return home until I blocked his number. Then, I’d get stopped at random by officers out on patrol or notice they were purposely parking near where I’d be like they were specifically keeping an eye on what I was doing for him. We had one face-to-face conversation where my trainer, and someone who served by my father’s side, managed to diffuse things before anything came of it. After that, he kind of left me alone… until…”
Melissa slowly trailed off there, her fists balling up tightly against the stand. While the incident she knew would have to come up in this conversation sooner or later was hardly anything she looked back on in regret, even she wasn’t so blinded by her emotions towards her old man to realize how this incident was perceived by the jury could make or break this entire ordeal. This was the origin point of her father’s charges, after all, and while she was let go on that day she wouldn’t doubt if some believed she deserved to be on trial just as much as he did for the fight she showed.
“Until the incident that brings us to why we are truly here today, correct?” Melissa silently nods in response. “Can you please share with the court what happened on that day?”
“I… I was working out in preparation for a big match I had coming up and talking with people I confided in about some things I’d been given to think about wrestling-wise. My father suddenly waltzed into the gym with a whole squad of officers to back him up, like they were ready to raid a warehouse for a drug sting or something. He tried to talk me into coming home one last time, and when I refused, he attempted to arrest me.”
A few people in the jury audibly gasped at this while the prosecutor simply nodded, looking over a few of his notes to make sure it lined up with other testimonies given thus far in the trial. Brett looked like he was on the verge of leaping from his seat and lunging at his daughter like some kind of feral animal, but Melissa had to give his attorney a lot of credit for doing his damndest to keep the veteran from doing anything that would ruin their chances.
“On what ground did he attempt to arrest you for, Miss Killgraves?”
“The only charge he gave initially was assault, using what I legally do inside a wrestling ring as my profession to justify it. I refused, knowing it was B.S. and would never hold up in court. It was just his way of trying to abuse his authority to force me to miss that upcoming show, and I think even the officers he brought with him knew that.”
“OBJECTION!”
Everyone’s attention turned to the table of the defense as not the attorney but the man on trial himself flew out of his seat and angrily made the statement, to which a bailiff immediately placed himself between Sgt. Killgraves and the stand to prevent any physical altercations. He certainly tried to make his way to being literally face-to-face with his daughter again, but his attorney desperately pleaded with him to sit back down as the judge violently slammed his gavel.
“Order! Order! Objection overruled, and one more outburst like that and I will have you removed from this courtroom, Mr. Killgraves!”
It took a few moments for things to settle back down that Melissa could continue, but the more she glared at her father the more she couldn’t ignore a troubling thought that was running through her head now: Brett Killgraves was a proud man, physically and emotionally stronger than most could ever hope to be. Even during times when he’d been captured and tortured while serving the country, he never cracked, preferring to take whatever information he was being tortured over to the grave. And yet, here he was, slowly growing more and more unhinged before her very eyes all because she rightfully opposed the idea of him having the final say on how her life should be. She was witnessing her father in a more vulnerable state than anyone had ever known, and in a twisted sort of the way, this image both amused and bothered her. Still, she was here to speak the truth, and once things had calmed down enough that she was given the OK to continue, she did just that.
“As I was saying, I shrugged off his admittedly weak justification for arresting me and tried to get back to my workout, but then he forcibly grabbed my arms and tried to cuff me. I resisted, as I felt I had the right to do knowing full well he was abusing his power, and he pulled me into an inadvertent shoulder check that allowed him to add ‘assaulting an officer’ to my charges, which he also used as an excuse to slam my face into the wall. It was at that point, in the face of what some would consider a show of unnecessary police brutality over nonexistent charges, I fought back to defend myself. After I… subdued my father, the other officers there allowed me to go while they dealt with him. That’s the last time I saw him, until today.”
“Thank you, Miss Killgraves. No further questions, your honor.”
The prosecutor proceeded back to his seat as Melissa took a deep breath, trying to stay focused on getting through the defense’s questions she knew were coming so she could be done with this and free to return her focus back to the woman who she owed an ass-kicking to. The attorney was clearly taking his time, partly because he kept glancing back at her father to make sure he’d stay put before he stared her down with a look that made it clear he was getting down to business.
“Miss Killgraves, in your profession you are currently associated with a rather violent group-”
“Objection, this has no relevance to the case, your honor.”
“It’s relevant to establish the character of the witness.”
“I’ll allow it, for the moment.”
“Thank you-”
“Yes, in Emerge I’m part of a group known as The Unforgiven. But even if you disagree with our actions, they pertain only to the wrestling business and have nothing to do with how my father treated me growing up.”
Melissa could hear the judge issue her a warning, but she barely registers it as she stares down the attorney, almost daring him to try and make the same hollow claims her father did back on that fateful day.
“Are you certain, Miss Killgraves? Prior testimonies indicate that there have been no physical altercations between you and your father prior to the date in question. I am aware this precedes your official joining of the group, but you did have contact with its leader.”
“If you’re implying that the only reason I fought back is because of someone whispering in my ear, then you might as well stop talking. If my father hadn’t kept pushing me, thinking he could just get away with anything because everyone practically worshipped the ground he walked on, then maybe we wouldn’t be here. I was within my rights to defend myself from his excessive and unnecessary force, and if he hadn’t resorted to it then I wouldn’t have touched him.”
“THAT’S BULLSHIT! YOU LET YOURSELF BE BRAINWASHED BY A MONSTER AND TURNED AGAINST ME!”
Sgt. Killgraves exploded out of his seat and charged the stand with this outburst, dodging the bailiff’s attempt to block his path and almost barreling over his own attorney before he got within arm’s reach of his daughter. Melissa steeled herself, but just when he started trying to wrap his arms around her, several officers were forcing him back and hauling him out of the courtroom at the insistence of the judge. As the attorney was helped to his feet, he could only sigh and shake his head before throwing in the towel on asking any further questions, and Melissa was given the OK to go.
It took a few minutes for this to register for her, though, and even as she finally left, she couldn’t help but stop once she was out of the room to ponder what just happened. No matter how heated things got between then, her father’s behavior today was no indication of how he would normally act in this setting. He had too much respect for the law to ever have such violent outbursts in the middle of court proceedings, even if they were his own. That last one in particular, though, is what shook her the most. When he’d tried to wrap his arms around her, it wasn’t to harm her or attempt to strangle her or anything truly malicious like that. It almost felt like he was trying to hug her… an act of affection he hadn’t shown her since she was still too young to start being molded into “daddy’s little soldier.”
While it certainly gave her a lot to ponder, she knew his actions today had all but destroyed any hope he had of not being sentenced in some capacity. Thankfully, she was able to latch onto a familiar emotion as her father’s confusing actions simply caused her blood to boil, both for her having to come out here to testify against him in the first place and for trying to throw her off before she had work to do. She’d figure out what he was actually getting at later… her focus right now was on one thing, and one thing only:
Going to Paris to show Annabelle why the God she entrusted her life to had never been there for her in the first place, just like he’d never been there for Melissa Killgraves when she needed Him most.