02/14/2019
Jason Dillinger is a man of modest means. He didn’t grow up with a silver spoon in his mouth, he needed to earn everything he got by sheer force of will. Taking a trip to Miami to spend time with Peyton Rice is no big deal to him, he wasn’t going to allow the meager earnings of making development money slow him down from spending time with the woman he loves. He took her to Ocean Side in South Beach. They had a long overdue conversation about his decision to sell out what he has been trying to stand for by possibly being one of the four wrestlers responsible for keeping Dexter Schmidt in power. Dexter is a creep, who before he took over the reigns, criticized Peyton relentlessly. Made Jason sick. His desire to teach Willow a lesson was enough for Jason to make an emotional decision to compromise the man he wants to be. Peyton was disappointed in him; being the compassionate person she is, didn’t allow that to put a damper on their Valentine's Day plans.
After dinner, Jason dropped Peyton back at her hotel. He went back to his on an emotional high that rivaled by no other. Opening the door to his room, he was looking forward to winding down for the rest of the evening. Judging by the annoyed look on his face, business is about to pick up.
Jason: “For Chrissakes dude, how the hell did you get in here?
Jason walks in on Alistair Taylor sitting down on a chair. Clad in a light grey double breasted suit, Ali’s legs are crossed. His arms folded into his chest. With a smarmy smile written across his face, he responds to Jason.
Alistair: “Being a career criminal has its perks, mate. Money doesn’t hurt either when you pay off the right people.”
Jason: “Go before I call the police.”
Alistair: “And tell them what, mate? That your good chum Alistair Taylor is trespassing? They ain’t gonna accept that for an answer. They’ll ask why is Alistair paying you a visit; I wouldn’t mind spilling the beans.”
Jason: “You’d be in deeper hole.”
Alistair: “So would you. The press would eat up how deep our relationship actually goes. Gotta choice, mate. Calm down, take a seat, or we can both take our chances with the law. Don’t mind taking you down with me. Your call.”
Jason sighs. Naturally, he doesn’t want to risk explaining the precise circumstances of why him and Alistair share a connection he wished they didn’t. Jason walks over, grabs a chair, takes a seat directly in front of Alistair.
Jason: “I am not going to pay you anymore, what part of our arrangement is done don’t you understand.”
Alistair: “This isn’t a business meeting, mate, don’t need your money now. Found a new client, actually. Coincidence they happen to be here in Miami.”
Dillenger scoffs.
Jason: “Bull.”
Alistair: “A good hitman never lies. Take that back, we have to lie to a certain degree. You’re right, I’m bluffing. The real reason I opted to stop by mate; you need a friend. We were friends once, remember. Kinda liked it.”
Sadly for Jason, he does remember there was a time when him and Alistair were friends first, business partners second. Started around the time Jason was in True Star Wrestling. Alistair and his partner in crime at the time, Charlotte Holiday, needed a place to stay. Jason was kind enough to let both of them take up residence in his small apartment. There friendship hasn’t always been this complicated. Add money into the equation, all bets are off. Jason sighs.
Jason: “Friends don’t run to Peyton to tell her that I tried to sabotage her relationship with Ricky. I was gonna confess. You knew that. Decided to beat me to the punch.”
Alistair: “When exactly is this grand confession gonna happen? I told her the truth, she’s still hanging with ya, my guestimation, you didn’t confirm our partnership, shame, thought you were more of a man then that.”
Jason glares at Alistair.
Jason “You’re the last person to question what a man is.”
Alistair shrugs.
Alistair: “Don’t you know what a real man is anymore than you claim I don’t. We can argue all day, mate. Or, you can hear your good buddy Alistair out. For all time sakes.”
Jason: “Make it quick, I can’t run the risk of anyone knowing you’re here.”
Alistair: “In times like this, Charlotte (Holiday) kept me straight. She was the best thing that ever happened to me. What did I do? Squandered it because I was a tad obsessed with Kat Kelly. Street women. Eh, that’s not the point.”
Alistair pauses to regain his composure.
Alistair: Charlotte told me when we were younger we are the grand total of the five people we hang around most. Look at your girlfriend for instance. Kelcey Wallace. Chris Cannon. Her father. On the main roster she has Owen Cruze and the rest of the clan. She is surrounded by good stock. It’ll kept her straight. Who have you really hung around. Peyton, sure. We’ve been roommates. The psycho chick who was obsessed with yah. Peyton is your only light,.the rest of your friends? Not of good stock. I’m used to hanging around criminals. I’m proud to be one. You mate, I’m the only friend ya got. The whole muscles routine doesn’t bring all the people to the yard.”
Jason takes a moment to process what Alistair told him.
Jason: “I don’t need a lot of friends. What’s wrong with that? I bonded with my teammates in college. We didn’t hang out a lot after games. I have gym buddies, that is all they are, gym buddies. The only person I cared to hang out with was Peyton in EMERGE...”
With sadness overcoming Jason, he frowns.
Jason: I’m lost without her, no one talks to me.Tough walking into the Emerge arena with the people refusing the see the man behind The Man of the Century. I’ll live Alistair.”
Alistair: “Yet, I am the closest to a mate you have outside of wrestling. We are alike. Point blank. t takes a special type of guy to pay me to drive a wedge between Ricky and another dame.”
Jason shoots out of his seat. He is done listening to Alistair trying to make them to be birds of a feather.
Jason: “Stop! You want me to confess? Is that what it’ll take for you to leave me alone.”
Alistair rises to his feet, slowly. He rest a hand on Jason’s shoulder.
Alistair: “On the contrary, I have no interest in our dirty little secret spreading like wildfire.”
Shocked by this revelation, Jason’s eyes widen.
Jason: “You don’t?”
Alistair shakes his head.
Alistair: “Nope, I have aspirations. Those aspirations might be complicated if our business dealings spread like the plague. Between us, there is a young lady I have my eye on. A bit young. I get it. Now I understand the appeal Peyton has to you. The woman I’m keeping an eye on, maybe she’ll make me a better man.”
Jason can’t stop himself from laughing.
Jason: “There is no cure for being a sociopath, Alistair.”
Alistair: “Aww, that would hurt my feelings, if I had feelings. Right, that is something a sociopath would say. Sorry. Anyways, don’t get any bright ideas. Keep the secret. We can both get what we want.”
Jason: “Not a chance; Peyton needs to know.”
Alistair: “What are you waiting for mate? Go ahead; tell her. Right, you’re not going to, proves my point.
Alistair smirks.
Alistair: Think of it this way, mate. When that masked freak barricaded you in your locker room, preventing ya from saving your beloved, what did ya do? Nearly killed the blok. Dexter told ya the only way you get Willow in a one on one match was to help him become the full time General Manager of Emerge. Dex manipulated ya, you fell for it. All because you wanted to teach Willow the ultimate lesson. No judgement. I appreciate it. The man you are is the type of blok who will do whatever is necessary to get the job done, own it, embrace it. Flowers like Peyton will never be able to relate to our way of thinking, the minute you accept that we are the heroes the world truly needs, the choice with be Peyton’s whether she wants to spend the rest of her life with you or not.”
Jason swipes Alistairs hand from his shoulder. He points to the door.
Jason: “Get out of here.”
Alistair: “Suit yourself, One last thing. Your match with Willow; she doesn’t quite share your newfound moral code. Don’t answer me now; the only way you stand a chance against a neon demon like that is to fight a little dirty. I can help. I can rough up Willow a bit, make the path to winning a lot easier. Come on mate, you can’t truly believe you can beat Willow straight up. Fight on our level. Forget this beacon of light crap, winning is all that matters. Clocks ticking, mate. Catch ya later.”
Alistair nonchalantly walks past Jason. He doesn’t bother to turn around to ask Alistair.
Jason: “Who is the girl?”
Alistair: “You’ll find out when the rest of the world does.”
With that, Jason hears the door open. Alistair closes the door behind him on the way out. Jason picks up the chair, tosses it into the wall breaking it. He doesn’t care that he needs to pay the hotel for the damage, all he cares about was cooling down.
~~
02/16/2019.
Jason had two days to think about what Alistair said. Should he or should he not confess. The prospect of confessing is tempting. He would release this great burden from his shoulder. The risky part of the unloading of his soul is running the risk of losing Peyton Rice, forever. The one thing Jason knew for absolute certain, he wasn’t going to confess now. Peyton is competing in her first Trios Tournament, no way was he going to be a distraction. Or maybe he was telling himself that to give him a suitable excuse to expose his soul.
In any event, this is the reason he is here, to support Peyton, time to get himself in position so he can support his girl. He had a feeling Peyton was in the locker room with Chris discussing strategy. Jason paced around backstage, waiting nervously. He turns around, one of the last people he was expecting to see stood there, stoically, without a care in the world.
Christy: “Just the man I wanted to see...”
Christy Hightower, a known supporter of Peyton Rice; extends her hand. Jason knew of Christy due to the epic matches that she had with Peyton back when UWA was one of the hottest promotions in wrestling, before scandal brought it down. Jason shakes Christy’s hand. He greets her with a smile.
Jason: “Peyton is busy. When I see her, I’ll tell her--”
Christy: “You misunderstood. I’m not here to see Peyton, not now at least. I’m here to see you.”
Jason: “Oh. Ok. What is this about?”
Christy: “Peyton is the only thing we share in common. Do the math.”
Jason: “Let me guess, you are going to tell me I am not good enough for her?”
Jason rolls his eyes.
Jason: “Jesus, is everyone against me?!”
Christy shrugs.
Christy: “None of my business. Anyway, follow me. We have much to discuss. By we... I mean you, me... and Blake Mason.”
Jason: “Really? Blake Mason wants to see me.”
Christy: “As a favor to me, yes. He didn’t want to get involved. I value Peyton’s friendship. He values mine. I value his. It’s what friends do. Blake can offer a unique perspective into your situation. Reminds him of himself; Kelcey and Chris.”
Jason: “No offense--”
Christy: “Save the denial, Jason. Blake and I have been around along time, seen practically everything..You’d benefit from listening to his insight. If you want the best for Peyton, come with me. Nothing beats watching Peyton win a Trios contract from the best seats in the house, right?”
Jason locks eyes with Christy. He had a choice to make. His life for the past couple years has come down to choice, after choice, after choice, not knowing if the choice he makes is the right one, feeling like every choice leads him down a rabbit hole of virtually no return.
The choice now. Talk to Blake. Not to talk to Blake.
That is the question...
To Be Continued...
~~
Promo Time
~~
“To all the EMERGE fans listening to this, there is only one thing I can say.”
“Yes; I sold out. I was not the man EMERGE needed me to be.”
“Peyton was a gift EMERGE didn’t deserve. If she was in the same position I found myself in; Peyton would not have wavered. She would not have given into Dexter’s proposal. And there is a reason for that, Peyton is a better human being then all of us, her ability to do the right thing is second to none. EMERGE was chaotic in Season One. A lot of us made the wrong choices. Couldn’t resist crossing lines. I stepped over a few, especially with Zero.”
“Peyton was the one true light EMERGE had. I wanted to step up. I wanted to fill her shoes. I wanted to be the beacon of hope EMERGE needs in light of the threat that Willows poses. Less than three weeks ago I made a choice that flies in the face of everything Peyton stands for. Not only did I dishonor her legacy, I could be responsible for ensuring that Dexter Schmidt burns Vanilla Skyy’s legacy to the ground.”
“And for that, I’m sorry. I am sorry for playing a role in a possible Team Dexter victory at Emerge #19.”
“Originally, I did want to give Dexter Schmidt a chance. I don’t like the guy. Probably never will. I am a professional. And professionals come to work, they do their job, I am not like Ryan Singer who went out of his way to antagonize a man he holds no real leverage over. As the weeks have passed, Dexter has shown beyond a shadow of a doubt what type of General Manager he’ll be. Getting into Twitter spats with talent, the way he tried to sacrifice Kelsai to Sundown to show Jennifer who is in charge. Dexter has the potential to be a tyrant. If I am responsible for putting him in power, for good, it will be my fault.”
“Only one question falls on me, can I live with that?”
“I’m gonna have to find a way to.”
“I made a choice. The wrong choice. A choice I am going to have to deal with.”
“I can ask for your forgiveness. Some will give it to me, others won’t, I am gonna have to forgive myself should Team Dexter walks away from this Elimination match, victorious.”
“I can promise the fans one thing, you may or may not like this. Despite the choice I made, I am going to give it one hundred percent. College football. Ante Up Academy. True Star Wrestling. Motor City Wrestling. I have never given less than one hundred percent, I am not in a position to. I gave myself the nickname, Man of the Century. That carries a heavy price tag. I may not possess the type of character the name ‘Man of the Century’ warrants. Inside that ring? No matter how much Gavin tries to convince you otherwise, there is only one TOP GUY in Emerge right now.”
“You are looking at him.”
“There is not one man who can do what I do. I am the total package. Size. Strength. Agility. A certified workhorse. I am the man, period, there isn’t a discussion to the contrary. If I half ass my contribution just because I don’t like the man I am representing, what kind of man am I?”
“Life is a series of choices. I made mine. Only choice I have is to live with it, the best way I know how.”
“See you Monday.”
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