Assessing the Options [CROSS RUMBLE #2]
Apr 7, 2023 9:19:20 GMT -5
Mongo the Destroyer, Dave D-Flipz, and 4 more like this
Post by Cross Recoba on Apr 7, 2023 9:19:20 GMT -5
Cross once more sits inside his study, the bourbon replaced with coffee.
“The Rumble is a favorite for fans and wrestlers alike, I can understand that. Where else does everyone get a chance to win the X*Crown title? How often can you settle interpromotional scores from months or years ago? And, I should know this, what better way to make a name for yourself on the Network?”
Cross considers his words.
“Wildcat, we both know you’re in that last category and there’s no shame in that. What you’ve done in just over a year in wrestling is impressive, but you’ve never been in a match larger than a six-man tag in Tap Out, you’ve never had to treat the ring as an enemy in GUNS Fight Club, but both of those things are going to be tested at the Patriots Stadium. But just focus on making people at home and in attendance remember you, you’ve got time on your side, the Rumble win’ll come in time, just not my time.”
A sip on his coffee, this time for Wildcat’s benefit to consider.
“Use those skills you honed on the streets of Lexington to make a statement. You might have finished last in GFC but you’ve got a chance now to hurt people like Dylan Black and Steve Awesome in the worst way. Not being X*Crown Champion is their biggest fear, you can use revenge to make it come true. Or you could make a statement and show Merric who the real leader of your team is for the next show”
A smile breaks out on Recoba’s face.
“Prove a point to the other Tap Out execs in attendance. Surely you’ve got designs on the Openweight title? What happens if you take out Diamond? How could we not give you a title shot? These are all far better ways to spend your time than some people in the Rumble. Trekker’s hoping Magnus brings the Borgs, that’s all they’ve got going for them.”
Who cares about streaming wars? Star Trek doesn’t even bring in as many advertising dollars as Yellowstone.
“I’m trying to look out for you, Capone, like I intend to do for all those competing under the Tap Out banner, the rest is down to you.”
[ 1st April 2023]
[Pinedale, WY]
The footsteps bounding down the stairs screamed ‘elephant’ even if Esme Butler knew they belonged to a nine-year old.
“Casey! Don’t forget your water bottle.”
Decked out in a full soccer kit, Casey grabbed the water bottle and snatched an energy bar from the basket next to it.
“DAD! I’m going to be late to practice.”
In the laundry room, Bob grabbed the kit bag and packed a stuffed envelope into the side of it.
“Be right there, Sport! Just checking if your boots are clean!”
Moving the camera slightly, the HCW Diamond title into view.
“Then there are those who are entering the match without realizing just how out of their depth they are…Yuki Sakaraba, for example. Sure, you can be the First Lady of AWF but when people think of female fighters from Ascension Wrestling they don’t think of you, Yuki. They think of Dakota Jennings or Betsy Granger or Erin Gordon. You might have been the first but the stakes were so much lower back then when only Ohio was your audience and it’s a shame because I’ve looked at your work and there’s some highlights.”
We’ll skip over where Jack Diamond cost you against Bobby Barratt. Will that score get settled or is it time for Yuki/Awesome Part 7?
“Your scalp list of Subject #42, Hyperion, Brad Swann, and Anthony Caffrey tells me you’re talented but that’s only half the story isn’t it? Because in isolation you can pull off an upset but when there’s a Global title on the line? You always come up short. You did it when you got your shot at the X*Crown and you did it last year at Night of Champions against Top of the Class. I know you can wrestle but I don’t fear you because you lack that killer instinct to push you over the top.”
The Supernova fades into nothingness.
“It’s what keeps Copycat from being anything more than a curiosity. I saw first-hand the abuse, the torture, and the torment that Terry Bradshaw puts him through. How his dignity was for sale for the smallest amount of praise. Most galling of all… as unbelievable as it sounds, he won more titles than I did in Ascension.”
But then again, having your name on a title that was once held by Tiny Fur or Eddie Walker sounds more of a punishment than a reward.
“And now you’ve somehow made yourself relevant in 2023. Being on the right side of the draw at Battle for Hegemony, taking out The Sheik…I’d congratulate you but unfortunately I hate you as much as Donzig presumably hates himself.”
You’ve seen his work, you can figure out the intensity of that last statement.
“Outside of a fluke, Copycat, you’ve got nothing that’ll take you to victory. You were an afterthought in the Supremacy main-event, the very definition of happy to be there making up the numbers. Merric’s probably got the wall mount ready to place your head at the Rumble!”
[ 1st April 2023]
[Las Vegas, NV]
“Get creative” The ambiguous advice given to him by Costello on how the expansion to the Lansky Ballroom could happen.
Sadly, all good plans started with the very uncreative area of logic and so Recoba found himself going through the Casino Customer Database.
Every transaction, cash-out, and rebuy logged. Every room booking, concierge call, and dietary requirement noted. But, for today at least, Cross only needed to worry about one thing: negative Markers.
For the uninitiated, markers were zero-interest loans that The Sands would give out where trust had been established. The debt was typically paid back in thirty days but it wasn’t uncommon for more favored patrons to be offered longer settlement terms. Cross wasn’t concerned with those within their markers, that was outside the spirit of the agreement.
With two clicks he’d gotten the list he wanted, the one list in Vegas you didn’t want to find yourself on.
Cross’ facial expression changes. The smile is gone.
“As I mentioned Donzig, where do you start? Perhaps with the pretentious quotes he ends promotional material with? The Doors, Rob Zombie, it’s like playing Hot Topic bingo. The whole aesthetic as if a corporation were using AI to make a gothic stereotype, the attempts at humor created by a room of writers all wishing they could finish for the holidays. He’s a fedora hat away from being the topic of a Neckbeard post and yet still no-one has the heart to tell him the truth that he’s a Wish version of Natasha.”
I guess it falls on me.
“You’re nothing but a magpie on the Network, if it shines then you go for it. You’ll sign up for any company in some vain attempt to become ‘the guy’ but you’re just not good enough no matter the company. NPW? Couldn’t get past ‘D’. SWAT? Couldn’t even make the KGB Call to Arms team that year. REIGN? Steve Awesome and EVK eclipsed you. Now, Wrestle: UK where you can’t even shine above The Bastards…I should be offended that you didn’t try and join Tap Out but it just saved me having to write the rejection email.”
You boasted about a loss to Bloodied Fox proving how much of a talent you were for God’s sake.
“But, despite having a Global Events losing record that’d make the Houston Texans feel better, you’ll be back like a shit Terminator to embarrass yourself again. Donzig, you’re not a big fish in this match, you’re barely even a fish. You can argue to the contrary but consider this question: where’s your credibility? Remember that exclusive deal you inked with Northern Pro in September 2021? How long did that last for you? You came crawling back to darken the Network in about eight weeks. So when you say that it’s your time, when you decide that you’ve got something on Black or Awesome and others that have actually done something, do you even believe it yourself?”
Of course you do, you probably believe the Two Kingdoms title is better than the belt Wesley Crane holds in Wrestle: UK
[ 1st April 2023]
[Pinedale, WY]
“Shuttle runs, tomorrow’s game isn’t going to be won in the first-half!” The coach corralled the soccer players to the start of the cones and divided them into three teams.
On the sidelines the parents had congregated into groups. One was discussing the downfall of a microblogging site after a buy-out, another group exchanging tips to get the right schools, the last group though still had their minds on sports.
“You’re going to take the Magic over the Wizards? I’ve not got many choosing that game here.” Jordan was as honest as a bookie could ever be.
Given the choice, Bob wouldn’t be placing bets with this guy or at his son’s practice but this was where he found himself.
“Bob, come in with me on the Nets over the Hawks. Plenty of play on that one.” The words said it was an invitation, the man’s appearance suggested otherwise.
Tom Lehane was infamous amongst the Soccer parents for being banned from several matches for threatening language towards the referees, the opposing fans, and the players.
“How much are you putting on?”
“Only a few hundred.” Tom stated, Bob read that as Marines not making as much financially as he thought.
“I’ll go in for a grand.” It wasn’t going to solve his problems if it came in but it would win him some political capital with Lehane.
“Back in a minute, need to get the cash from my car.” Tom left Bob with Jordan.
“So, Bob, you never said how much you were in for on the Magic…” Jordan was almost hesitant to hear the answer.
Butler reached into the kit-bag and passed him the envelope.
“Take out the grand for the Nets and the rest is for Orlando…ONE LAST SPRINT, CASEY!!”
Running a finger over the money, Jordan’s eyebrows rose.
“I’m going to need to see if I can find you a bigger bookie than me, Bob.”
“That’s fine, think you can do it in time?” Against his will a note of desperation escaped.
“Leave it with me, I know a guy.”
“What I do hope is that I get to see some drama play out before I enter. Do you think Magnus and Beef thought it through when they messed with the Buckeye Bruiser? Magnus especially, such a bold move for someone to make if they wrestle full-time but at your age? It’s suicide. How much wrestling have you really taken in since GUNS began? A couple of matches in the ring at best. Ring announcing, commentating, refereeing, I wouldn’t be surprised to turn up to a GUNS show and see you hawking peanuts.”
Still wouldn’t make GUNS any more watchable though.
“You’re probably relying on your bodyguard, Beef, to help you through it but at his size? He’s nothing but a target for the rest of the entrants and he might be hard to physically lift over the ropes but an Icon Kick, a Disasterpiece knee, or a Bloody Rain strike is all the momentum needed to get him on his way. One of those hits and if it doesn’t get him over the ropes, it’ll knock him off-balance.”
And he’s hardly set Season 4 alight , has he?
“But you two have bigger problems. If Fury doesn’t recover then it might take you out of one person’s firing line but it still leaves you two people gunning for you in Zoran and Tinto. Does a three-hundred-and-twenty pound man still bleed? Let’s find out, Beef. Can he reach down to take on the Orphan Odd Job of the Rumble?"
Finally, something useful came from being two generations of consoles behind growing up.
“Any plans you had for success are going to be undone because Marty Donovan holds the XHF Phoenix title. You won that battle but the Rumble is the war you’re not winning and you both seem to be the last to realize. Once Beef falls, Magnus, you’re without your shield and unfortunately, owner-to-owner, you’ve been involved with GUNS for a long time, how many axes are being sharpened with your name on it?”
I’ll admit, I almost lost count of the gate receipts at the last Tap Out show wondering if CJ Walker might make an appearance.
“But what of the other side of the coin? I’ll come back for Zoran but Tinto? I’ll give him his credit, how long will his record as the Youngest Sippy Cup Winner last?”
Especially as Tiny Fur aged out of it.
“Now I know that you’ll be cheering me on against Marty at Palm Springs Punishment and it means a lot but if I were you? I’d get my revenge against Marty and Beef and then get the hell out of there. I’ll even make a deal with you, eliminate yourself and I’ll make sure a Meta Quest 2 is in your dressing room. I’ll even sweeten the offer and have Resident Evil 4 and Walking Dead: Saints and Sinners installed on it. That way you can win brownie points with Ollie the Magic Haired Lady and leave your favorite Disney Princess, Zoran, to do what he does best. Which at the moment is stabbing people but we’re weeks away from the Rumble and at his age? He might have progressed to shitting himself and casual racism by then…”
Zoran in Wrestle: UK, stranger things have happened.
“I’m not even trying to be a responsible adult, Tinto, I don’t care if you take my offer and advice or not. But the sponsors would rather you knew your ABCs than your CTEs, Ollie would rather you keep all of your teeth for the Tooth Fairy and you’re a smart kid, any time spent with you is time she can’t spend with Marty…”
Just ask the Disney execs how they plan to do it when he’s no longer HKW World Champion.
“Don’t think that I’m trying to talk all of you down though, I’m just saving you the effort and heartbreak of letting you get your hopes up. I showed the world in 2020 what I could do in the XHF Rumble and now, three years later, I’m here to break the endless monotony of the Triple-time club!”
[ 1st April 2023]
[Las Vegas, NV]
Nearly a hundred people owed the Sands money from markers. The number astounded Cross but the figure that mattered was the total and of the ninety-odd debtors, eighty percent of the debt from half a dozen people. Recoba began to narrow that list down to a more manageable number.
Daichi Hoshino topped the list. Largest marker outstanding and one to cover the whole project easily. But he was protected, the casino using him to expand their footprint in Asia.
Two others were crossed off for being knowingly insolvent, The Sands would deal with them but if Cross got involved? That’s when Mongo starts to talk.
Another disqualified for reducing the debt regularly. One big win gave him false hope but now he was pulling himself out, you can’t punish that.
Two names remained. Both had tried to gamble their way out of the hole only to find themselves deeper than when they’d started.
Cross picked up his phone and dialled.
“Libby Mathis, please….tell her it’s Cross Recoba…she’ll know what it’s regarding.”
Waiting for the call to transfer, Recoba ran the numbers over once more to ingrain them further.
“Libby Mathis.”
“Hi, Libby…Cross Recoba at The Sands. Someone flagged your account to me…”
“Cross, it’s been sort-”
“It’s been five months, Libby…the last time you tried to fix the problem you only made it worse….you’ve got some good faith, we’ve still got money in your hedge fund but you’re going to have to throw us a bone to buy you more time.”
Only a deep inward breath let Cross know the line wasn’t dead.
“What do you have in mind?” the voice resigned.
“We need an expansion for the Lansky Ballroom that Tap Out Wrestling uses.”
“I can’t cover that.”
“The Fund could, easily and as it takes our capacity from a thousand capacity to five thousand plus Corporate Hospitality options, I’ll pay out the fund at 5% of revenue. That’s fifty-grand a month. That’s two years to see a profit at the most conservative estimate.”
“And my markers?”
“You’re still going to have to pay them off but we do our homework, we know you’re good for it…especially if we extend your terms to cover those two years…”
Again the line went dead.
“I’ll need to put a proposal past the rest but I’ll bring it up at our End of Month meeting?”
That was too late but they’d started now, the money could fund some other project for Tap Out.
“The Rumble is a favorite for fans and wrestlers alike, I can understand that. Where else does everyone get a chance to win the X*Crown title? How often can you settle interpromotional scores from months or years ago? And, I should know this, what better way to make a name for yourself on the Network?”
Cross considers his words.
“Wildcat, we both know you’re in that last category and there’s no shame in that. What you’ve done in just over a year in wrestling is impressive, but you’ve never been in a match larger than a six-man tag in Tap Out, you’ve never had to treat the ring as an enemy in GUNS Fight Club, but both of those things are going to be tested at the Patriots Stadium. But just focus on making people at home and in attendance remember you, you’ve got time on your side, the Rumble win’ll come in time, just not my time.”
A sip on his coffee, this time for Wildcat’s benefit to consider.
“Use those skills you honed on the streets of Lexington to make a statement. You might have finished last in GFC but you’ve got a chance now to hurt people like Dylan Black and Steve Awesome in the worst way. Not being X*Crown Champion is their biggest fear, you can use revenge to make it come true. Or you could make a statement and show Merric who the real leader of your team is for the next show”
A smile breaks out on Recoba’s face.
“Prove a point to the other Tap Out execs in attendance. Surely you’ve got designs on the Openweight title? What happens if you take out Diamond? How could we not give you a title shot? These are all far better ways to spend your time than some people in the Rumble. Trekker’s hoping Magnus brings the Borgs, that’s all they’ve got going for them.”
Who cares about streaming wars? Star Trek doesn’t even bring in as many advertising dollars as Yellowstone.
“I’m trying to look out for you, Capone, like I intend to do for all those competing under the Tap Out banner, the rest is down to you.”
******
[Pinedale, WY]
The footsteps bounding down the stairs screamed ‘elephant’ even if Esme Butler knew they belonged to a nine-year old.
“Casey! Don’t forget your water bottle.”
Decked out in a full soccer kit, Casey grabbed the water bottle and snatched an energy bar from the basket next to it.
“DAD! I’m going to be late to practice.”
In the laundry room, Bob grabbed the kit bag and packed a stuffed envelope into the side of it.
“Be right there, Sport! Just checking if your boots are clean!”
*****
“Then there are those who are entering the match without realizing just how out of their depth they are…Yuki Sakaraba, for example. Sure, you can be the First Lady of AWF but when people think of female fighters from Ascension Wrestling they don’t think of you, Yuki. They think of Dakota Jennings or Betsy Granger or Erin Gordon. You might have been the first but the stakes were so much lower back then when only Ohio was your audience and it’s a shame because I’ve looked at your work and there’s some highlights.”
We’ll skip over where Jack Diamond cost you against Bobby Barratt. Will that score get settled or is it time for Yuki/Awesome Part 7?
“Your scalp list of Subject #42, Hyperion, Brad Swann, and Anthony Caffrey tells me you’re talented but that’s only half the story isn’t it? Because in isolation you can pull off an upset but when there’s a Global title on the line? You always come up short. You did it when you got your shot at the X*Crown and you did it last year at Night of Champions against Top of the Class. I know you can wrestle but I don’t fear you because you lack that killer instinct to push you over the top.”
The Supernova fades into nothingness.
“It’s what keeps Copycat from being anything more than a curiosity. I saw first-hand the abuse, the torture, and the torment that Terry Bradshaw puts him through. How his dignity was for sale for the smallest amount of praise. Most galling of all… as unbelievable as it sounds, he won more titles than I did in Ascension.”
But then again, having your name on a title that was once held by Tiny Fur or Eddie Walker sounds more of a punishment than a reward.
“And now you’ve somehow made yourself relevant in 2023. Being on the right side of the draw at Battle for Hegemony, taking out The Sheik…I’d congratulate you but unfortunately I hate you as much as Donzig presumably hates himself.”
You’ve seen his work, you can figure out the intensity of that last statement.
“Outside of a fluke, Copycat, you’ve got nothing that’ll take you to victory. You were an afterthought in the Supremacy main-event, the very definition of happy to be there making up the numbers. Merric’s probably got the wall mount ready to place your head at the Rumble!”
*****
[ 1st April 2023]
[Las Vegas, NV]
“Get creative” The ambiguous advice given to him by Costello on how the expansion to the Lansky Ballroom could happen.
Sadly, all good plans started with the very uncreative area of logic and so Recoba found himself going through the Casino Customer Database.
Every transaction, cash-out, and rebuy logged. Every room booking, concierge call, and dietary requirement noted. But, for today at least, Cross only needed to worry about one thing: negative Markers.
For the uninitiated, markers were zero-interest loans that The Sands would give out where trust had been established. The debt was typically paid back in thirty days but it wasn’t uncommon for more favored patrons to be offered longer settlement terms. Cross wasn’t concerned with those within their markers, that was outside the spirit of the agreement.
With two clicks he’d gotten the list he wanted, the one list in Vegas you didn’t want to find yourself on.
*****
“As I mentioned Donzig, where do you start? Perhaps with the pretentious quotes he ends promotional material with? The Doors, Rob Zombie, it’s like playing Hot Topic bingo. The whole aesthetic as if a corporation were using AI to make a gothic stereotype, the attempts at humor created by a room of writers all wishing they could finish for the holidays. He’s a fedora hat away from being the topic of a Neckbeard post and yet still no-one has the heart to tell him the truth that he’s a Wish version of Natasha.”
I guess it falls on me.
“You’re nothing but a magpie on the Network, if it shines then you go for it. You’ll sign up for any company in some vain attempt to become ‘the guy’ but you’re just not good enough no matter the company. NPW? Couldn’t get past ‘D’. SWAT? Couldn’t even make the KGB Call to Arms team that year. REIGN? Steve Awesome and EVK eclipsed you. Now, Wrestle: UK where you can’t even shine above The Bastards…I should be offended that you didn’t try and join Tap Out but it just saved me having to write the rejection email.”
You boasted about a loss to Bloodied Fox proving how much of a talent you were for God’s sake.
“But, despite having a Global Events losing record that’d make the Houston Texans feel better, you’ll be back like a shit Terminator to embarrass yourself again. Donzig, you’re not a big fish in this match, you’re barely even a fish. You can argue to the contrary but consider this question: where’s your credibility? Remember that exclusive deal you inked with Northern Pro in September 2021? How long did that last for you? You came crawling back to darken the Network in about eight weeks. So when you say that it’s your time, when you decide that you’ve got something on Black or Awesome and others that have actually done something, do you even believe it yourself?”
Of course you do, you probably believe the Two Kingdoms title is better than the belt Wesley Crane holds in Wrestle: UK
*****
[Pinedale, WY]
“Shuttle runs, tomorrow’s game isn’t going to be won in the first-half!” The coach corralled the soccer players to the start of the cones and divided them into three teams.
On the sidelines the parents had congregated into groups. One was discussing the downfall of a microblogging site after a buy-out, another group exchanging tips to get the right schools, the last group though still had their minds on sports.
“You’re going to take the Magic over the Wizards? I’ve not got many choosing that game here.” Jordan was as honest as a bookie could ever be.
Given the choice, Bob wouldn’t be placing bets with this guy or at his son’s practice but this was where he found himself.
“Bob, come in with me on the Nets over the Hawks. Plenty of play on that one.” The words said it was an invitation, the man’s appearance suggested otherwise.
Tom Lehane was infamous amongst the Soccer parents for being banned from several matches for threatening language towards the referees, the opposing fans, and the players.
“How much are you putting on?”
“Only a few hundred.” Tom stated, Bob read that as Marines not making as much financially as he thought.
“I’ll go in for a grand.” It wasn’t going to solve his problems if it came in but it would win him some political capital with Lehane.
“Back in a minute, need to get the cash from my car.” Tom left Bob with Jordan.
“So, Bob, you never said how much you were in for on the Magic…” Jordan was almost hesitant to hear the answer.
Butler reached into the kit-bag and passed him the envelope.
“Take out the grand for the Nets and the rest is for Orlando…ONE LAST SPRINT, CASEY!!”
Running a finger over the money, Jordan’s eyebrows rose.
“I’m going to need to see if I can find you a bigger bookie than me, Bob.”
“That’s fine, think you can do it in time?” Against his will a note of desperation escaped.
“Leave it with me, I know a guy.”
******
The Donzig issue addressed, the smile returns.“What I do hope is that I get to see some drama play out before I enter. Do you think Magnus and Beef thought it through when they messed with the Buckeye Bruiser? Magnus especially, such a bold move for someone to make if they wrestle full-time but at your age? It’s suicide. How much wrestling have you really taken in since GUNS began? A couple of matches in the ring at best. Ring announcing, commentating, refereeing, I wouldn’t be surprised to turn up to a GUNS show and see you hawking peanuts.”
Still wouldn’t make GUNS any more watchable though.
“You’re probably relying on your bodyguard, Beef, to help you through it but at his size? He’s nothing but a target for the rest of the entrants and he might be hard to physically lift over the ropes but an Icon Kick, a Disasterpiece knee, or a Bloody Rain strike is all the momentum needed to get him on his way. One of those hits and if it doesn’t get him over the ropes, it’ll knock him off-balance.”
And he’s hardly set Season 4 alight , has he?
“But you two have bigger problems. If Fury doesn’t recover then it might take you out of one person’s firing line but it still leaves you two people gunning for you in Zoran and Tinto. Does a three-hundred-and-twenty pound man still bleed? Let’s find out, Beef. Can he reach down to take on the Orphan Odd Job of the Rumble?"
Finally, something useful came from being two generations of consoles behind growing up.
“Any plans you had for success are going to be undone because Marty Donovan holds the XHF Phoenix title. You won that battle but the Rumble is the war you’re not winning and you both seem to be the last to realize. Once Beef falls, Magnus, you’re without your shield and unfortunately, owner-to-owner, you’ve been involved with GUNS for a long time, how many axes are being sharpened with your name on it?”
I’ll admit, I almost lost count of the gate receipts at the last Tap Out show wondering if CJ Walker might make an appearance.
“But what of the other side of the coin? I’ll come back for Zoran but Tinto? I’ll give him his credit, how long will his record as the Youngest Sippy Cup Winner last?”
Especially as Tiny Fur aged out of it.
“Now I know that you’ll be cheering me on against Marty at Palm Springs Punishment and it means a lot but if I were you? I’d get my revenge against Marty and Beef and then get the hell out of there. I’ll even make a deal with you, eliminate yourself and I’ll make sure a Meta Quest 2 is in your dressing room. I’ll even sweeten the offer and have Resident Evil 4 and Walking Dead: Saints and Sinners installed on it. That way you can win brownie points with Ollie the Magic Haired Lady and leave your favorite Disney Princess, Zoran, to do what he does best. Which at the moment is stabbing people but we’re weeks away from the Rumble and at his age? He might have progressed to shitting himself and casual racism by then…”
Zoran in Wrestle: UK, stranger things have happened.
“I’m not even trying to be a responsible adult, Tinto, I don’t care if you take my offer and advice or not. But the sponsors would rather you knew your ABCs than your CTEs, Ollie would rather you keep all of your teeth for the Tooth Fairy and you’re a smart kid, any time spent with you is time she can’t spend with Marty…”
Just ask the Disney execs how they plan to do it when he’s no longer HKW World Champion.
“Don’t think that I’m trying to talk all of you down though, I’m just saving you the effort and heartbreak of letting you get your hopes up. I showed the world in 2020 what I could do in the XHF Rumble and now, three years later, I’m here to break the endless monotony of the Triple-time club!”
*****
[ 1st April 2023]
[Las Vegas, NV]
Nearly a hundred people owed the Sands money from markers. The number astounded Cross but the figure that mattered was the total and of the ninety-odd debtors, eighty percent of the debt from half a dozen people. Recoba began to narrow that list down to a more manageable number.
Daichi Hoshino topped the list. Largest marker outstanding and one to cover the whole project easily. But he was protected, the casino using him to expand their footprint in Asia.
Two others were crossed off for being knowingly insolvent, The Sands would deal with them but if Cross got involved? That’s when Mongo starts to talk.
Another disqualified for reducing the debt regularly. One big win gave him false hope but now he was pulling himself out, you can’t punish that.
Two names remained. Both had tried to gamble their way out of the hole only to find themselves deeper than when they’d started.
Cross picked up his phone and dialled.
“Libby Mathis, please….tell her it’s Cross Recoba…she’ll know what it’s regarding.”
Waiting for the call to transfer, Recoba ran the numbers over once more to ingrain them further.
“Libby Mathis.”
“Hi, Libby…Cross Recoba at The Sands. Someone flagged your account to me…”
“Cross, it’s been sort-”
“It’s been five months, Libby…the last time you tried to fix the problem you only made it worse….you’ve got some good faith, we’ve still got money in your hedge fund but you’re going to have to throw us a bone to buy you more time.”
Only a deep inward breath let Cross know the line wasn’t dead.
“What do you have in mind?” the voice resigned.
“We need an expansion for the Lansky Ballroom that Tap Out Wrestling uses.”
“I can’t cover that.”
“The Fund could, easily and as it takes our capacity from a thousand capacity to five thousand plus Corporate Hospitality options, I’ll pay out the fund at 5% of revenue. That’s fifty-grand a month. That’s two years to see a profit at the most conservative estimate.”
“And my markers?”
“You’re still going to have to pay them off but we do our homework, we know you’re good for it…especially if we extend your terms to cover those two years…”
Again the line went dead.
“I’ll need to put a proposal past the rest but I’ll bring it up at our End of Month meeting?”
That was too late but they’d started now, the money could fund some other project for Tap Out.
*****
