SCENE ONE
September 29th, 2020
~APEX: Riot, Aftermath~
Backstage
"Hey, it's Lorne. I'm not able to take your call right now. But do Leave a message right after the beep."
*beep*
~Heather Haze~
"Loornee! Where the hell are you, dammit?! Call me this instant!!"
Heather barked into the phone as she stood there in her white caprice and baby blue top, tapping her foot impatiently while backstage staffs breezed past her in a hurry, avoiding to make any eye contact with her.
The show was ended well over an hour ago with Heather still fuming over the loss to that twerp, Jack Russow, all thanks to crooked officiating. Yes, that's what it exactly was, thought Heather! There was no mistaking it. Even her new bestie, Lexi, had shared much of her grievances and disdain over the final moments of that head scratching, clusterfuck of a tag match.
Clearly they had the match won right there. In Heather's mind, they were without a shadow of a doubt the better team. They were like a well oiled machine. Like PB & J with their flawless in-ring chemistry they both had.
So, where did it all go wrong tonight? Pondered Heather. Where?!
Surely they had managed to cut the ring in half and isolate the hairy inbred Caveman just enough to beat him senseless all throughout the entirety of the match. But, of course, injustice and corruption would find its way to favour the almighty Crown Prince of PWS APEX, who was no doubt out there celebrating and bragging off his fluke win at her expense.
The thought of that alone made Heather the more angrier and incensed as she dialed away the key pad on her phone and pressed it to her ear again.
"Hey, it's Lorne. I'm not able to take your call right now. But do Leave a message right after the beep."
Voicemail, again. That damned voicemail cursed Heather, gritting her teeth, as she listened to the annoying automated of Loren's nasally voice before the long drawn out beep chimed in.
*beep*
She then took a deep breath and spoke.
~Heather Haze~
"I have never, in my life, needed to call a man more than once for him to speak to me. I hope you know that. And I hope you know just how furious I am that you have me waiting here for you when I should be at my place taking a friggin bubble bath and getting my beauty nap! You better have an excuse for your tardiness or so help me god!!"
This was their usual post-show meeting. Lorne would wait for her in this very same exact spot and then drive her back to her rental condo in his beaten down Yellow crown-Vic whilst showering her with non-stop praises while she would voice to him the displeasure of people she hated with a grim passion. He'd do a bang up job of boosting her confidence. Assuring her that she was the star, destined to pull APEX PWS from the slums. It was the usual chit-chat between the two.
Heather didn't know how long she'd been sitting there. But as the lights were starting to turn down and the building was evacuated, she knew this was unusual of Lorne to keep her waiting like this, unless maybe he had a flat tire on the way. The last thing she wanted to do was jump to conclusions. And if that wasn't the bane to all her problems, then there was that Levi's damn insidious smug tweet of his to rub more salt on the wounds of her already bruised ego...
" ...You've both gotten away with a LOT of shit. So I'm gonna give you one little gift...because I know you can't beat him ANYWAY...you will be having just a regular match with @aidenreynoldsgc
...aside from that? I couldn't give a flying fiddlers fuck about your "demands".
--Levi Russow
Well, That's what she bloody well wanted! A Way out! Sweet Freedom from persecution and eternal torment. She should have been happy and content for NOT having to compete in another mindless, barbaric ultraviolent affair. She should have been pleased with just a 'regular match' with Captain Kangaroo himself who had picked up a 'win' over a half-assed Battle Royale match in which he came third place and had earned him a right to challenge her for it. She should have been SATISFIED heading into Dishonored without all that needless ultraviolent deathmatch crap that had taken several tolls on her delicate body that were riddled with scars.
But, NOOOO!!
...Her bruised pride and ego wouldn't allow it! She wouldn't give them that satisfaction.
NOT.BY. A. MILE.
She couldn't stand the thought alone that Levi along with the bitch boss and every RUSSOW/MADISON/O'NEAL/O'CONNELL clan members, friends, and associates out there were clamoring and salivating at the thought of their golden Kangaroo boy to be the one to FINALLY dethrone her of her crown in just a 'regular standard wrestling match'. Hell, it wasn't long that she went toe to toe with Mack F'N McKane TWICE. She thought of their bloody wars with them setting the bar high for ultraviolent matches and putting the Collateral Damage belt on the map. She could now imagine the look of disappointment on Mack's face over all the questionable actions and choices she has made lately. Surely The old Heather would never have backed down from a fight. Surely the old Heather would NEVER look for hand-outs let alone weasel her way out of high stake matches like this one.
It was of no surprise that Levi's smug tweet clearly had gotten under her skin as did Cameron's tongue lashing for the night, which sounded off in her head like a broken tape recorder on repeat.
'Diva'
She wasn't thinking straight with her blood-shot-eyes when she tweeted out her own smug reply, reinstating the stipulation. That would show them that she wasn't a cowardly champion that everyone made her out to be, she thought. That would show them that she was STILL ultraviolent to the bone! Who were they to think she was a 'diva' when she defended the belt for NINE long months putting her body through hell and back?!
And as she hit that tweet button, regret instantly overcame her. Deep inside, Her stomach churned like the wild sea as beads of sweat popped out of her forehead. Her hand flew over to her mouth at what she had done.
It was too late.
She took the bait and played right into their hands. Those sniveling manipulating BASTARDS, she cursed! They got to her and she fell for it. Hook, line, and sinker and all.
Heather would shut her eyes, muttering a curse under her breath.
It was too late now. The tweet was sent. There was no turning back.
Crap. Crap. Crap.
She nearly jumped out of her skin when the phone rang in her hand. She screened the call, showing that it was from a restricted number as she pressed the phone to her ear and spoke.
~Heather Haze~
"H-Hello?"
~Lorne~
"Hey Babygirl, It's me."
Finally! Lorne's voice, which bought her wave of relief!
~Heather Haze~
"Lorne, where the hell are you?? Why haven't you answered any of my calls?? Wait, where are you calling from??"
Lorne sighed, rubbing his temple.
~Lorne~
It's a long story, babygirl. I uh..I'm in jail."
~Heather Haze~
"For fuck sakes, Lorne! How the hell did that happen?"
~Lorne~
"Well, like I said it's a long story. I was doing an 80 on a 60 zone and then this dumb moose just came outta nowhere and crashed onto the windshield. Anyways the cops impounded the car, and had me do all kinds of sobriety test, which I had passed in flyin' colors, by the way, but then they found my private stash in the glove compartment. It's um not looking good for me, babygirl. I'm sorry for letting you down. It's just not my day."
Heather had to restrain herself from screaming as she took a few laboured breaths to talk herself down from ringing Lorne's neck.
~Heather Haze~
"You think you're having a bad day?? Do you have any idea what's going on in my mind right now?? DO YOU?? I just lost a friggin tag match tonight. I let Lexi down! Lord knows if she would want to be friends with me after this. And on top of that I agreed to defend my belt at Dishonored under hardcore rules."
~Heather Haze~
"Funny thing is Levi gave me a way out. He was willing to have me compete in just a regular wrestling match. I should have just kept my goddamn mouth shut. But I wasn't thinking straight. My anger got the best of me, and I ended up agreeing to defend MY belt with the ultraviolent rules in place. Do you know what that means??"
There was a long silence on the other end of the phone line until Lorne spoke.
~Lorne~
"You should have thought it through. Maybe you can talk to Levy and take that offer while it still stands."
~Heather Haze~
"OR MAYBE This would NEVER have happened if you were here and not in jail. Maybe you could have talked some sense into me. You BLEW IT."
~Lorne~
"It's gonna be okay, babygirl. You gonna get through this. Remember how you defended the belt at Destiny and won? Nobody believed that you would pull through, but you came through. What's another measly little deathmatch to you anyways? You're such a pro at it that'll it'll all be a breeze for you."
~Heather Haze~
"Yeah I will get through it alright. I'll get through it like I always do no thanks to you. Some agent you turned out to be. I should have known better than to trust a junkie like you to handle my career."
~Lorne~
"I know I screwed up and I promise I'll make it up to you. Please just give me a second chance. I need you to come down the station and post my bail. Please."
~Heather Haze~
"No. You can stay in jail for all I care. After Dishonored, I'm leaving this shitty town and YOU behind for good. We're done. Goodbye Lorne. You're fired!"
And with that Heather pressed the end call button and hanged up on him. Let him stay in jail she muttered while She scrolled through her phone and ordered her an UBER to take her to her place before storming down the hallway with her luggage in tow as the scene draws to a close.
------------
SCENE TWO
October 13, 2020
Dishonored Pre Show
~MGM Grand Hotel & Casino
Las Vegas, NV~
"I am not gonna miss Las Vegas. Not even a little bit."
Heather sighed, taking in the sight of the empty MGM arena surrounded with large flat plasma TV screens and cardboard cut outs of 'fans' in attendance. Everything in her expression showed disgust as she wore an oversized hoodie and blue leggings with high top sneakers, and her brown brunette hair pulled into a side ponytail braid.
~Heather Haze~
"Ironically This is gonna be the last show here before Levi and company ventures out to the bright city lights of the big apple. I wish I could say that I had the greatest time of my life living here for the last seven months. But, honestly. I don't. Why would I miss this hell hole anyway where clearly I am NEVER appreciated for what I brought to the table? It's like every other day I've got some idiots on social media or in those cheap seats - and make no mistake, they are all the cheap seats here. Fortunately, none of you numbnuts will be filling them anytime soon, thanks to Co-VID.
She snickered, and then shrugged her shoulder.
~Heather Haze~
"Anywho- there's always some asshat idiot in the back among this Island of clowns that make up the PWS APEX roster for some reason telling me what I'm doing wrong or how I'm not doing that correctly."
Her brown eyes rolled.
~Heather Haze~
"Couch critics and keyboard warriors alike all the same with their asinine opinions. Well, Your worthless opinions do not pay my bills, and this..."
She then unzips the navy blue hoodie, showing a pink tanktop underneath and more importantly, the shining PWS APEX Collateral Damage Championship that sat around her waist.
~Heather Haze~
"This right here? It tells me that I'm doing everything right. Maybe I'm not a people's champion and maybe I don't do things the conventional way, but I am THE COLLATERAL DAMAGE Champion and whether you like it or not, I know how to stay at the top of my game."
Her hand then rests gently on the goldplate which had her name inscribed on it. She gives it a squeeze while her fingers lovingly tap the raised accents in the gold. She then looked up from the belt with a grin.
~Heather Haze~
"So, now with this being the last show in this crummy city, I get to step into the ring with Aidan Reynolds. A man who actually gotten to this stage by getting his ass thrown over the top, and by default ended up being 'third place runner up' to a 'third tier belt'. Congrats."
Turning her head to the ground, she chuckled a bit while clapping her hands in a mocking way.
~Heather Haze~
"That's exactly what it is, Aidan. Not gonna lie or sugar coat round it, sweetie. My apologizes that It's not a Heavyweight belt. It's not even a Secondary belt like the one Bella is hogging. No, it's just a 'belt' that no one really gives a flying fuck about and the one that I have single handily taken to heights the likes it's never reached before, but easily gets ignored. And I didn't do it by 'just' beating my opponents senseless in to submission or by 'mat wrestling' or 'catch-on-catch wrestling'. No. I used wits, will power, and sharp pointy objects at my disposal to hurt and make people bleed like stuck pig."
Her lips curled into a grin; a wicked, and slightly frightening one at that.
~Heather Haze~
"Now, Did I enjoy hurting people? Did I get some kinda sick perverse pleasure from the people whom I have hurt and victimized along the way? Hell Yeah, I did. I'm not gonna lie. It's an indescribable feeling of euphoria that I cannot really explain. The rush. The thrill. So intoxicating. But mostly it all came down to the will of just SURVIVING. Pure and simple. What would you do in a situation where all you gotta do is resort to violence and weapons just to SURVIVE?! It's always been a flight or fight situation, with the latter being the objective. That's what I've been doing for nine excruciating, painful months with this belt, Aidan! I'm not just a pretty face hiding behind my mystique. Behind all the slutty clothes and heavy make ups, I do in fact have war scars to this very day. While you and Dickie were out there in the indys, wrestling in bingo halls and bouncing around like Kangaroos from one fed to the next. Mack and I were waging war HERE, as we did every sadistic, every vile, inhumane things the likes that nightmares are made of just to put APEX PWS on the map."
A scowl was planted onto her face as she gave some of her long, brown and black hair a toss behind her shoulder.
~Heather Haze~
"It's funny how you wanna sit there and patronize me and talk about your immense in-ring talents, about your raw power, your height, and speed you have as if that's an advantage when none of that REALLY matters in a match like this where anything to a barbwire to a fucking kitchen sink is all legal. I'm not gonna deny you of your talent. You might be great in-ring technician and all in the ring, but It's clear as day that you have your head soooo far up your ass that you have no idea the consequences of what exactly this belt entails and what becomes of the body, the mind, let along the soul from doing these violent deathmatches on a daily grind."
She makes a mildly distasteful face before waving a dismissive hand.
~Heather Haze~
"But seriously I get it, Aidan. I totally get the whole fixation of yours on becoming 'Aiden2belts'. I mean Dickie already has a world championship elsewhere and you feel left out with only one belt that you begrudgingly have co-share with Dickie, right? Now isn't that such a bummer."
She dragged a finger down her cheek, imitating a tear while a cruel grin stretched over her face.
~Heather Haze~
"Sure, you are all smiles and happy to your lil buddies' success...you put on a happy face around him, but I know deep down inside its eating at ya being stuck in Dickie's shadow. You feel like you're playing second fiddle in your lil' two man group because obviously Dickie is the star of the show while you're just a supporting act wherever he goes..Kinda like Laurel was to Hardy or Richie was to the Fonz. I get it. I can sense the jealousy, the desperation of breaking free and carving a name for yourself here in PWS APEX with this whole 'Aiden2belts' that is clouding your better judgement of what exactly you're getting into...
because I will show you, Aidan. Trust me, I will show you what it's really like to walk a mile in my shoes with this....
Unclipping the belt from behind her, she then hoists it high over her head and grins at it to a point of obsession.
~Heather Haze~
"See, This belt right here, this is my property as it is my cross which I have to bear. I LOVE IT AND I FUCKING HATE IT. God knows how much of my wrestling career has been scratched off, but I used this thing as a launching pad to get to where I am at. If I am throwing tantrums and being all prissy and such about competing in deathmatches then maybe I have a legit reasons as to why, because maybe I WANNA do this shit for another 5 to 6 years till I hang up my boots for good without being confined to a fucking wheelchair or ending up in a damn casket."
A snarky grin crawled across her face, giggling.
"But you know, what? Maybe it's time for this porn star to bow out. Maybe it's time for this porn star to move on to bigger and far better things than this. Let Levi and Laura have a prize pig in you to agree to do all these ultraviolent death matches so they can ruin that boyishly good looks of yours along with that 'amazing' six pack of yours until they bleed you dry like they did with me."
Her gaze turned back to the camera with that snide expression remaining affixed to her face.
"They'd all love that. Hell, maybe you'd love that as well. But make no mistake about it. I'm not gonna end up on my back and just willingly hand this belt over to you. I didn't wreck myself up for this belt for nothin', and I am not gonna depart from it that easy without a fight. And I can assure you will get a fight in me that you'll feel every time your balls ache from takin' a leak. I'll give you a taste of my world and you can see if it is to your liking. If you beat me. Swell. I'll personally invite you over to my show and throw a grand party in your name with a cake, champagnes, balloons, and confetti. The whole shebang."
She then blinked slowly, cocking her head sideways, looking sinister by the minute.
"But till then, to me, and the world you're just Aidan Reynolds, a really good tag team guy and pals and buddy to Dickie Watson. Not that there's anything wrong it that. But In a way it's a chance for you to shine on your own, to make your name not just something tied to Dickie's for all eternity. But it won't be at my expense, Aidan. I can assure you of that much. And personally... I'm actually looking to see if you can sink or swim on your own, little dingo."
"So what'll it be, hun? Flourish or Perish?"
"Your choice."
Bringing the belt down gently, she then gave it a loving hug, cuddling it like it was a baby as the scene fades.