04-25-2023, 09:55 PM
[Family. What does that word mean anyway? Tradition has us believing it’s a mother, father and two or three children who are always smiling and happy. But that’s not reality. Reality has families being single parents, children living with relatives, children in foster care, broken homes, broken dreams and shattered expectations. Sure, there are happy families out there. But for every happy family, there are at least three homes that aren’t occupied by a happy family. Our protagonist today is one of the many who didn’t have a happy home life. Who he is will be revealed in time, but for now let’s follow him around and see what he’s up to.]
April 23, 2023
Kansas City, Missouri
[The wind is howling, a typical blustery day in the Midwest. It blows up anything that’s small and light enough to be lifted, including sand and dirt. A particularly nasty gust of air blows a huge cloud of dirt toward the doorway of a cell phone store near the Ky-Vee Arena in Kansas City. It finally dies down in time to catch someone with the tail end of its brief spate of fury. He hacks and coughs before turning his head to spit in a conveniently placed garbage can.]
“Fucking wind. That’s what I get for coming to the Midwest, though.”
[He wipes his face with a fast food napkin he’d forgotten he had and puts it in the garbage can before looking at the business he’s in front of.]
“This looks like the place.”
[One final wipe with his fingers gets any dust the napkin may have missed and he goes inside. As is the custom with this kind of store, the lights are bright, there are cellular phones and accessories on display, the racks and shelves are full to bursting with products waiting to be sold... And three employees are busy at the tills making sales. The nearest employee is a pretty blonde with her hair pulled back in a large barrette. Once the sale is concluded, she sees the new arrival and smiles as she comes out from behind the till.]
“Hi there, can I help you?”
[He gives her his calmest and most polite smile to show he’s not a threat and his accent is barely noticeable at first.]
“I’m hoping you can...”
[He takes a picture out of his inside jacket pocket and opens it before showing her.]
“Does this man have a cell phone with your company?”
[She studies the picture before answering hesitantly.]
“I can’t tell you that.”
[He knows exactly why she hesitated and smiles again.]
“I’m not going to hurt him. He’s my brother and I haven’t spoken to him in a long time. I need to reach out to him and make sure he’s okay.”
[The store employee studies the customer for a long moment before looking at the picture again. There’s a name and a place of birth carefully printed on the bottom. She looks between him and the picture before finally making a decision.]
“I can’t give you his number, you understand, but I can look to see if he has a phone with us.”
[He knows why she’s being so careful but it doesn’t stop him from feeling a hot wave of emotion. He’s spent the last God only knows how long trying to find any way to contact his brother and all he’s been able to find is a place of work and possibly a lead on who he has a cell phone with. He looks away right when the manager comes out from the back. The manager sees something and approaches his employee.]
“What’s going on out here, Sherry?”
[Sherry is the pretty blonde employee.]
“He’s looking to see if someone has a phone with our parent company. He says he’s their brother...”
[The manager turns to the person in the store and speaks in a calm voice.]
“Who exactly are you looking to find information on?”
[The man in the store looks at the manager and holds out the picture. His voice is shaky and his Southern accent is very clear at this point.]
“This man is my brother and I haven’t spoken to him in fifteen years.”
[The manager sees the resemblance immediately and turns back to Sherry.]
“Give him everything you can find if the man he’s looking for has an account with us. He hasn’t spoken to his brother in fifteen years.”
[Sherry knows better than to question her manager. She looks back at the man standing in the store and sees what the manager did.]
“I’m sorry, sir, what did you say your brother’s name was?’
[The man looking at her smiles faintly before he responds.]
“Ace Marshall.”
[Sherry swallows her initial response to hearing his brother’s name and types it into the computer. There’s only one result for the name Ace Marshall. The digital reproduction of Ace’s driver’s license confirms that this is who the man in their store is looking for.]
“It looks like your brother does have a phone and account with us...”
[She taps a few keys and nods with a smile before writing down Ace’s current address and the number on file.]
“His account is in very good standing so it’s okay for me to give you his current home address. But please don’t give it out to anyone. If it gets out I gave you his address and something bad happens to him, I could lose my job.”
[She holds out the piece of paper with Ace’s information on it. The man in front of her takes it with a smile.]
“I promise not to give anyone his home address.”
[He holds up the now folded sheet of paper.]
“Thank you for giving me this. It means more than you know.”
[Then he salutes Sherry and the manager of the store before he turns to leave. The manager has to know one thing before he lets the stranger go.]
“Would it be possible to get your name, please?”
[The stranger pauses, then looks back with a smile that totally transforms his face.]
“Damian.”
[Then he’s gone. Damian tucks the paper and picture of Ace inside his jacket pocket before going to the rental car at the curb. He hadn’t been able to find a parking spot closer to the cell phone store, but that’s neither here nor there. He got what he was looking for.]
“It’s time to surprise that jet-setting brother of mine.”
[He gets behind the wheel with a grin and drives to the Ky-Vee Arena. The SCW is staging its Playing the Wildcard Pay Per View there this evening and he knows Ace is going to be there. Traffic is light, which means he gets a good parking spot. His rental car blends in with all the others and he grabs a brown leather duffel bag out of the back seat. The duffel bag has clearly seen better days... There are cracks and small blank patches in the leather, but the bag itself works like the day it was made.]
“And he thought he could hide from me forever.”
[He knows Ace hasn’t been hiding, he’s just being a smartass. The arena staff don’t think to stop him when he walks in with some of the SCW employees. Nobody thinks to question him when he asks where Ace Marshall’s dressing room is. They see the duffel bag and assume (correctly) that he’s one of the wrestlers employed by SCW. Damian has mastered the art of walking silently and does so until he can clearly see Ace in his dressing room. Nobody hears him when he chuckles under his breath and speaks quietly to himself.]
“Nobody knows the Wild Card better than me.”
[Then he digs out his phone and the paper with Ace’s number on it, creates a contact card for Ace in his directory and taps the message icon. The urge to be a smartass is strong and he can’t help himself. This is the message Ace receives...]
‘Roses are red
Violets are blue
Massengill’s a douche
And so are you’
[He’s the only one who ever called Ace a douche. Now it’s time to wait and see if Ace remembers that little tidbit.]
April 23, 2023
Kansas City, Missouri
[The wind is howling, a typical blustery day in the Midwest. It blows up anything that’s small and light enough to be lifted, including sand and dirt. A particularly nasty gust of air blows a huge cloud of dirt toward the doorway of a cell phone store near the Ky-Vee Arena in Kansas City. It finally dies down in time to catch someone with the tail end of its brief spate of fury. He hacks and coughs before turning his head to spit in a conveniently placed garbage can.]
“Fucking wind. That’s what I get for coming to the Midwest, though.”
[He wipes his face with a fast food napkin he’d forgotten he had and puts it in the garbage can before looking at the business he’s in front of.]
“This looks like the place.”
[One final wipe with his fingers gets any dust the napkin may have missed and he goes inside. As is the custom with this kind of store, the lights are bright, there are cellular phones and accessories on display, the racks and shelves are full to bursting with products waiting to be sold... And three employees are busy at the tills making sales. The nearest employee is a pretty blonde with her hair pulled back in a large barrette. Once the sale is concluded, she sees the new arrival and smiles as she comes out from behind the till.]
“Hi there, can I help you?”
[He gives her his calmest and most polite smile to show he’s not a threat and his accent is barely noticeable at first.]
“I’m hoping you can...”
[He takes a picture out of his inside jacket pocket and opens it before showing her.]
“Does this man have a cell phone with your company?”
[She studies the picture before answering hesitantly.]
“I can’t tell you that.”
[He knows exactly why she hesitated and smiles again.]
“I’m not going to hurt him. He’s my brother and I haven’t spoken to him in a long time. I need to reach out to him and make sure he’s okay.”
[The store employee studies the customer for a long moment before looking at the picture again. There’s a name and a place of birth carefully printed on the bottom. She looks between him and the picture before finally making a decision.]
“I can’t give you his number, you understand, but I can look to see if he has a phone with us.”
[He knows why she’s being so careful but it doesn’t stop him from feeling a hot wave of emotion. He’s spent the last God only knows how long trying to find any way to contact his brother and all he’s been able to find is a place of work and possibly a lead on who he has a cell phone with. He looks away right when the manager comes out from the back. The manager sees something and approaches his employee.]
“What’s going on out here, Sherry?”
[Sherry is the pretty blonde employee.]
“He’s looking to see if someone has a phone with our parent company. He says he’s their brother...”
[The manager turns to the person in the store and speaks in a calm voice.]
“Who exactly are you looking to find information on?”
[The man in the store looks at the manager and holds out the picture. His voice is shaky and his Southern accent is very clear at this point.]
“This man is my brother and I haven’t spoken to him in fifteen years.”
[The manager sees the resemblance immediately and turns back to Sherry.]
“Give him everything you can find if the man he’s looking for has an account with us. He hasn’t spoken to his brother in fifteen years.”
[Sherry knows better than to question her manager. She looks back at the man standing in the store and sees what the manager did.]
“I’m sorry, sir, what did you say your brother’s name was?’
[The man looking at her smiles faintly before he responds.]
“Ace Marshall.”
[Sherry swallows her initial response to hearing his brother’s name and types it into the computer. There’s only one result for the name Ace Marshall. The digital reproduction of Ace’s driver’s license confirms that this is who the man in their store is looking for.]
“It looks like your brother does have a phone and account with us...”
[She taps a few keys and nods with a smile before writing down Ace’s current address and the number on file.]
“His account is in very good standing so it’s okay for me to give you his current home address. But please don’t give it out to anyone. If it gets out I gave you his address and something bad happens to him, I could lose my job.”
[She holds out the piece of paper with Ace’s information on it. The man in front of her takes it with a smile.]
“I promise not to give anyone his home address.”
[He holds up the now folded sheet of paper.]
“Thank you for giving me this. It means more than you know.”
[Then he salutes Sherry and the manager of the store before he turns to leave. The manager has to know one thing before he lets the stranger go.]
“Would it be possible to get your name, please?”
[The stranger pauses, then looks back with a smile that totally transforms his face.]
“Damian.”
[Then he’s gone. Damian tucks the paper and picture of Ace inside his jacket pocket before going to the rental car at the curb. He hadn’t been able to find a parking spot closer to the cell phone store, but that’s neither here nor there. He got what he was looking for.]
“It’s time to surprise that jet-setting brother of mine.”
[He gets behind the wheel with a grin and drives to the Ky-Vee Arena. The SCW is staging its Playing the Wildcard Pay Per View there this evening and he knows Ace is going to be there. Traffic is light, which means he gets a good parking spot. His rental car blends in with all the others and he grabs a brown leather duffel bag out of the back seat. The duffel bag has clearly seen better days... There are cracks and small blank patches in the leather, but the bag itself works like the day it was made.]
“And he thought he could hide from me forever.”
[He knows Ace hasn’t been hiding, he’s just being a smartass. The arena staff don’t think to stop him when he walks in with some of the SCW employees. Nobody thinks to question him when he asks where Ace Marshall’s dressing room is. They see the duffel bag and assume (correctly) that he’s one of the wrestlers employed by SCW. Damian has mastered the art of walking silently and does so until he can clearly see Ace in his dressing room. Nobody hears him when he chuckles under his breath and speaks quietly to himself.]
“Nobody knows the Wild Card better than me.”
[Then he digs out his phone and the paper with Ace’s number on it, creates a contact card for Ace in his directory and taps the message icon. The urge to be a smartass is strong and he can’t help himself. This is the message Ace receives...]
‘Roses are red
Violets are blue
Massengill’s a douche
And so are you’
[He’s the only one who ever called Ace a douche. Now it’s time to wait and see if Ace remembers that little tidbit.]
![[Image: IctoXMp.png]](https://i.imgur.com/IctoXMp.png)