The Spider to the Fly. GD RP2

[Bobby Barratt]

We open inside the Diamond Lounge. Lights and sounds of the casino floor flood the senses as people pitch their cash to try and win big. Some people look more desperate than others, eating into cash they probably don't have and feeding the machine more in the process. Bobby Barratt walks through the casino doors and staff instantly start moving people who are loitering in his path to the VIP area. Bobby waves them off. He isn't here to meet Jack and Maverick right now. He removes his sunglasses, his eyes look a little blood shot, likely from another night out with the boys.

Bobby: Well it seems like Roy Harlowe decided to crawl his arse out of the woodwork! Here was me about to go and round up the boys and go on a good old fashioned hunting trip and he goes and pops up! Roy, you almost disappointed me! 

Bobby walks past an onlooker, swiping the newly purchased burger from their plate. The person looks horrified as staff manage to usher them away, promising them a free meal. 

Bobby: One thing I have to say, Roy...Is boy can you cut a promo! You know what? Veteran to green as grass rookie...That's going to get you far! Being able to talk like that is going to put the arses in the seats and most importantly...get you paid! Your words were sharp, intense and pointed, you made your point and didn't linger. Good job, kid!

Bobby finishes another bite of the burger, tossing the remnants to the side before he continues talking. 

Bobby: But enough of the kudos, the back slapping and the words of praise. That's not what I'm here to address. What I'm here to address is a few points you made in said promo. Words that drew me to afford you a few more minutes of my time. That's something that being quite honest, is getting increasingly difficult nowadays. Media stuff, signings, you know....Champion shit....Oh wait...no you don't!

Bobby laughs to himself, exaggerating the whole motion, clutching his sides. You get the deal. 

Bobby: You pointed out about me having writers. People to pad out my promos for me, maybe write a little fluff skit every now and then. Well I'm pretty sure Danny Ray rumbled me on that one months back before I took the Prestige Championship from him. The guy leaked the script and he got his arse fired for it! So what of it if someone has a fun idea and I go through with it? The thing I learned is when you burn brightly as I do in this business, you need to have a lot of irons in the fire as your bump card gets punched pretty quickly. Again, it's something you may learn in years to come. You have to be smart in this game. If as you say I'm a "good actor" then I definitely have a promising future ahead of me! Thanks, buddy!

Bobby: But one thing that really struck a chord with me was how you're asking for the Bobby that took out Hyperion. That's the guy you want to see. Not the guy that took out Jackson Steele, not the guy that won the AWF Championship within 2 months of arriving here, not the guy that has toured the world beating the hell out of Jack Diamond. You specifically asked for the man that beat the God out of Hyperion. He beat Hyperion so bad, an other worldly entity left Hyperion's body, leaving him scared, confused and alone in the middle of the ring that night. Is that the fate you want? Do you want to come back to consciousness, not knowing who you are, where you are or what the hell just happened apart from having a sore head? You want the guy powered by glory, pain, passion and fucking fury? You know what? I can do that! I've been enjoying the time off, but quite frankly, amidst all the interviews, podcasts but deep down, deep in a corner of my mind somewhere....You know what? I've been missing kicking some skulls in. The bloodlust, the hunger, the desire to be the best. I wanted to come back to action and Fired Up seemed like the perfect opportunity, given that I'll have to defend the title, but you.... You went and hit the big red button, didn't you? You summoned the King...The Living Legend...The AWF Prestige Champion! Then you threaten to bend what makes me great over your knee?! Come on dude, you're supposed to be trying to get me to take you seriously and you're promising me a spanking like a naughty child?! Dude, if I wanted a spanking, I'd give Amber a call! 

Bobby chuckles to himself as he arrives at the door of the VIP area. The man employed to keep the area private steps aside, lifting the velvet rope and allowing Bobby into the room. The decor of the room is very much about celebrating the achievements of the Icons. The X*Crown Championships currently held by Jack Diamond adorn one wall. Replica AWF World and Prestige Class Championships adorn the opposite wall aswell as a few ICW titles from the past. Bobby heads to the far corner of the room as the camera follows him. He heads to the bar, having a bar keep pour him a glass of bourbon on ice. Taking a sip, Bobby looks back into the camera. 

Bobby: We really should get a wall cleared here for Mav, you know. He's rarely on time for anything, or if he is it's last minute! 

Bobby takes a seat on a leather sofa. His titles sit on the wall behind him, the expensive backlighting illuminating the main plates of each title. 

Bobby: You know, you should be privileged that I'm using you for my tune up match. As I've said before, I have a lot on my plate right now, being somewhat of a big deal and all...Me and Jack are calling out the Guns for a shot at those XHF Tag Team Championships over and over, only for them to pull a couple of ringers out of the bag and offer to fight them instead. We won't let that lie, I'll tell you right now. We definitely have something to say regarding that! Then onto Fired Up. The huge AWF show and the second defence of my Prestige Championship. I'll be sitting pretty watching who knows how many people fight it out for a shot at me. People from all over the XHF Network will be signing up, who knows...maybe an Icon will? Fair play to them! They all want the chance to stand across the ring from a Living Legend like myself. The man who right now is putting AWF on the map with his two closest friends in the business. That brings me to the point you made about being in the midcard because I'm "afraid" to give you a shot at the gold? Of course you'll say that. Of course you'll try to bait me into throwing the belt into the mix. It's basic psychology...I also know you're doing it not to get a shot at a title you won't win...But you're doing it to get yourself a bigger pay day for the beating you're about to take. Long story short though, you're not getting that! I'm happy to let the Icons take the spotlight through any means necessary. Be it me, Jack, Maverick or any combination of the three! I don't need the main event...I just need the spotlight, I crave the fame but what I really desire is to hold all the gold in the XHF. You might have those same wants, needs and desires...but you don't have the rep to back it up! You think everywhere I go, I don't get some indy kid telling me he could take me in a fight? Trying to make a name for himself? Shit, my Twitter feed is full of people trying to tag me for fifteen minutes of fame. Thing is for me, this isn't about 15 minutes of fame...I'm at around a year of fame since I arrived at AWF and I'm still going strong! Just ask yourself Roy...Do you really think you're the man to slow down the Icon Express? Do you really think you can slow down the man who has single handedly vanquished all the big forces that opposed him in AWF? Only time will tell...But I'd suggest throwing your name into that tournament for Fired Up...I hope you win...because your "superior athlete, dark arts practicing" arse will crawl to the ring after all that torture and I'll arrive in a damn chopper! We'll lock eyes across the ring and you'll know that just like in a few days time at Global Domination in the XHF arena, you're in for the beating of a life time! 

Just as Bobby says that, the lights to the casino die out. The sounds of the machines cut out and only the dim hue of the emergency lighting casts any light over things. Protests are heard from people as they start to make their way to the exits, but Bobby stays put. He finishes up his drink, looking around with a little panic in his eyes, but no surprise. 

Bobby: I've been expecting you....

Silence. The casino has long since cleared of any people, but Bobby stays put. The staff know better than to come in here to check. They'd lose their jobs in a heartbeat. Just then, a solitary lightbulb lights in the middle of the room, as if it was powered entirely independently. Bobby looks closely at it as it appears to flicker. On closer examination, the flickering is being caused by a few moths flying around the light as if it were a flame. 

Bobby: Right on time. I knew you'd never show yourself in person, Roy...You're smarter than that, especially in Icon Country. But the message did not arrive unexpectedly. But as you said... I see myself as the Spider. The man that waits for his prey to appear before getting the job done. I'll leave you with the words that the Spider famously said to the Fly...

Bobby: Step into my web....

With that, all the lights come back on, the Moths are nowhere to be seen and the casino area resumes business as usual. The feed cuts to black.