Post by jamesmueller on Oct 21, 2018 18:00:19 GMT -5
We open up in the early early morning to the downtown of a middle sized mid-westeren city. Concrete roads surrounded by brick sidewalks, evenly spaced trees, and local businesses. A female jogger makes her way down the sidewalk, past the only two cars parked on the street near a local coffee shop. She passes by the coffee shop window and inside stands James Mueller, at the back of a small line, looking briefly outside. As the person in front of him gets their order in, James turns to the barista behind the counter. His demeaner speaks lack of sleep, his eyes have a hint of bloodshot red and his beard is slighlty unkempt. James makes his order.
Uh, yeah, I'll take a large cold brew and a plain bagel with cream cheese.
James reaches into his jeans pocket and pulls out a wad of single bills to pay for the light breakfast. He throws a couple of dollars into the tip jar as well before taking his drink and bagel. James makes his way to a secluded spot of the coffee shop, away from the majority of people, and he makes sure he sits with his back against the wall with a full view of the rest of the establishment.
James takes a bite of his bagel before washing it down with the coldbrewed coffee. He sucks down half of his coffee almost immediately before reaching into his other pocket and pulling out his cell phone and placing it on the table in front of him. It sits there, powered off with a blackscreen. James eyes his phone. He looks around the establishment and then directs his attention on the phone. He turns it on. The screen lights up with his mobile provider's logo, his phone's logo, and then finally comes to rest on his home page. The phone vibrates as it collects notifications from since he turned it off last. James sighs as he opens up his messages.
A text from Mongo:
"Hey, keep up the good work. You and Venom are do-"
James replies without reading the rest:
"Eat shit."
A text from Magnus:
"MY FUCKING ARM! THAT BEAR ATE MY FUCKING ARM!"
James deletes it.
A text from Goldbear II:
"ibndsifnjnasdpfnasdasd asdfoinasd[fn [A[SDFNAS[DOFN[dkndlnk"
James responds:
"Thank you Goldbear II, very cool!"
James opens up a series of texts from Venom, spanning over several days:
"James, where are you?"
"Hey where are you? You going to make it to EOD?"
"James, if this is about Goldbear, you can't be worried about him man. He's probably dying in the woods, he's still just a guy remember? He just thinks he's a bear..."
James presses the reply button:
"Venom, I..."
James stops... and then deletes the text he was going to send. He puts the phone back down at the table and drinks some more of his coldbrew. A barista turns the TV above the coffee bar from baseball highlights to the XHF Network, right in the middle of a promo from Jack Diamond and Bobby Barret. They are talking as they standing in front of a cardboard cut out of the GUNS inside of a general store. James immediately looks irked.
James texts his lawyer:
"Sue the General Store featured in Diamond and Barret's vignette."
Lawyer responds with:
"Kk, done."
James turns back to the tv, as Jack Diamond attempts to rip into the GUNs. James gets an itch as he watches, eyes squinting as he takes in information from their promo. He takes another sip of coffee just as Jack Diamond says "...the two of them sipping on coffee and regurgitating the same sentiment...". James looks at his coffee, looks at Jack's face in the video, and then shrugs as he continues to finish off his coffee. As the promo continues, James starts mumbling to himself...
This is pure ignorance on their part... And it's the lack of respect for this sports history why nobody gives the GUNS a run for their money in the ring...
A young male barista is wiping down a table near Mueller. He raises an eyebrow out of curiousity and James notices.
Listen kid... You want to get to the top someday?
Like... as in the owner?
No, no... Nobody wants to be that useless.
Oh, like the manager? Yeah, I guess so.
You know how you do that kid?
Hard work, determination...
No, no. That's dumb. Shut up. I mean... It helps, but you see you got to understand your situation, kid. You know anything about your manager? You know his past?
No, not really. I know he's a proud father of like, five children...
Ok, that's... That's not relevant. Well, unless you want to use his kids against him...
Excuse me?
Or maybe set-up an Oldboy situation for him...
Is this... What are you doing?
Look, kid... You want to take his spot at the top of the foodchain? You want to become the new World Tag Team Manager of CoffeExpress?
...wha?
You need to know his history, you need to respect where he comes from. You'll be like Jack Diamond and Bobby Barret! When you go in for the kill, you're just going to under estimate him. You won't respect that he may be an XHF Grandslam Champion. VERY few people have accomplished that feat... You may not recognize that he's a former XHF World Heavyweight Champion... You may not be aware that they put themselves through hell time and time again... They've scarred their bodies, they've burned their own flesh, they've sewn their own wounds, they've swallowed their blood... And if you underestimate the hell that your manager has gone through to get where he's at, then you will definitely underestimate how desperate... how dirty he will play to keep his Championship.. I mean his managerial...ship..
........What?
ANYONE!
James starts shouting, giving the whole coffee shop something to listen to...
ANYONE can claim to be an Icon these days... but the real Icons are the ones that mold and shape this business. The REAL Icons are the ones that have fought and clawed and bled for the respect they've rightfully earned. The real Icons are future hall of famers, if Mongo ever gets his head out of his fat ass.
Who?
The REAL Icons are the CURRENT XHF Tag Team Champions... We've established the tag team division, we gave it a purpose, we gave it meaning, and we gave the tag team titles as a reason to be respected... And if these two pricks-
James points at the TV where Jack Diamond and Bobby Barrett are still talking about them.
-can't respect us for what we've done for the tag team division... Hell, for what we've done for this entire industry, since DAY ONE... They won't have a shot in hell. It takes a lot more than being self-described successful singles competitors. The reason the GUNS have been so successful, for so long, isn't because Venom and I are both world-class singles competitors... It's because of in-ring chemistry, it's because we've worked more hours in that ring together than Jack and Bobby have worked in their entire careers.... They want to under estimate the GUNS, that's fine... We've cut down mountains much bigger than these two creeps. Those space freaks might prove to be tougher competition than Jack and Bobby...
Space freaks? What does this have to do with my manager?
What I'm trying to say is, kid... You want to be manager some day? Then learn you shit. Anyone can be disrespectful, anyone can say they're the Icons of this industry, anyone can talk shit... But facts are facts, kid. The true nature of this business, the real beautiful part about wrestling, is that the best always come out on top. They don't call us potentially the best tag champs of all time just because we have the titles... You see, the championships don't define us.. They mean nothing without us. The truth is, the GUNS define the Tag Team Championships and the rest of the Tag Team division. We're champions because we've earned it. We're legends because we've earned it... And if Jack Diamond and Bobby Barret want to take our titles, then they just simply have to be better than us. Just like you, kid. You just need to be better than your manager... But Jack and Bobby are going to fail... They will literally need to bring a gun to stop us.
Are you saying... I need to shoot my manager?
James stalls... grabs the last of his bagel and gets up.
I know I ramble, kid... but if that's what you're taking away from this... Fuck it, sure.
James glances over to the kid's manager... but also see's Goldbear standing in the kitchen behind him, wearing an apron and a chef's hat.
The fuck...
James rubs his eyes. Goldbear's gone and is replaced by just a fat guy. James takes a big deep breath... Walks over to the counter and orders another coffee to go. The barista that was cleaning the table walks up to James before he leaves.
I'm going to do it.. I'm going to take out my manager. Thank you, James.
James, kind of ignoring as he's thinking paranoidly about Goldbear, shrugs him off and makes his way out.
Yeah sure, whatever kid...
James exits the coffee shop and makes his way down the sidewalk. James spots his truck and climbs into the driver side. The music in his truck starts playing, some rock song about destroying politicians or some shit. About 40 yards behind him, muffled by his music, a flash of light can be seen coming from the coffee shops. A few people come running and (again, muffled) screaming out of the coffee shop and down the sidewalk past him. A cop car lights up even further away before parking in front of the coffee shop, and a cop runs out of his car and into the shop. James doesn't notice and begins to pull out into the street and on his way as more flashes of light from the coffee shop illuminate briefly and the cop is flung through the window, holding his chest as blood sprays periodically.
James pulls out his phone to text Venom back.
"lol magnus lost an arm. omw to our gym right now"
Uh, yeah, I'll take a large cold brew and a plain bagel with cream cheese.
James reaches into his jeans pocket and pulls out a wad of single bills to pay for the light breakfast. He throws a couple of dollars into the tip jar as well before taking his drink and bagel. James makes his way to a secluded spot of the coffee shop, away from the majority of people, and he makes sure he sits with his back against the wall with a full view of the rest of the establishment.
James takes a bite of his bagel before washing it down with the coldbrewed coffee. He sucks down half of his coffee almost immediately before reaching into his other pocket and pulling out his cell phone and placing it on the table in front of him. It sits there, powered off with a blackscreen. James eyes his phone. He looks around the establishment and then directs his attention on the phone. He turns it on. The screen lights up with his mobile provider's logo, his phone's logo, and then finally comes to rest on his home page. The phone vibrates as it collects notifications from since he turned it off last. James sighs as he opens up his messages.
A text from Mongo:
"Hey, keep up the good work. You and Venom are do-"
James replies without reading the rest:
"Eat shit."
A text from Magnus:
"MY FUCKING ARM! THAT BEAR ATE MY FUCKING ARM!"
James deletes it.
A text from Goldbear II:
"ibndsifnjnasdpfnasdasd asdfoinasd[fn [A[SDFNAS[DOFN[dkndlnk"
James responds:
"Thank you Goldbear II, very cool!"
James opens up a series of texts from Venom, spanning over several days:
"James, where are you?"
"Hey where are you? You going to make it to EOD?"
"James, if this is about Goldbear, you can't be worried about him man. He's probably dying in the woods, he's still just a guy remember? He just thinks he's a bear..."
James presses the reply button:
"Venom, I..."
James stops... and then deletes the text he was going to send. He puts the phone back down at the table and drinks some more of his coldbrew. A barista turns the TV above the coffee bar from baseball highlights to the XHF Network, right in the middle of a promo from Jack Diamond and Bobby Barret. They are talking as they standing in front of a cardboard cut out of the GUNS inside of a general store. James immediately looks irked.
James texts his lawyer:
"Sue the General Store featured in Diamond and Barret's vignette."
Lawyer responds with:
"Kk, done."
James turns back to the tv, as Jack Diamond attempts to rip into the GUNs. James gets an itch as he watches, eyes squinting as he takes in information from their promo. He takes another sip of coffee just as Jack Diamond says "...the two of them sipping on coffee and regurgitating the same sentiment...". James looks at his coffee, looks at Jack's face in the video, and then shrugs as he continues to finish off his coffee. As the promo continues, James starts mumbling to himself...
This is pure ignorance on their part... And it's the lack of respect for this sports history why nobody gives the GUNS a run for their money in the ring...
A young male barista is wiping down a table near Mueller. He raises an eyebrow out of curiousity and James notices.
Listen kid... You want to get to the top someday?
Like... as in the owner?
No, no... Nobody wants to be that useless.
Oh, like the manager? Yeah, I guess so.
You know how you do that kid?
Hard work, determination...
No, no. That's dumb. Shut up. I mean... It helps, but you see you got to understand your situation, kid. You know anything about your manager? You know his past?
No, not really. I know he's a proud father of like, five children...
Ok, that's... That's not relevant. Well, unless you want to use his kids against him...
Excuse me?
Or maybe set-up an Oldboy situation for him...
Is this... What are you doing?
Look, kid... You want to take his spot at the top of the foodchain? You want to become the new World Tag Team Manager of CoffeExpress?
...wha?
You need to know his history, you need to respect where he comes from. You'll be like Jack Diamond and Bobby Barret! When you go in for the kill, you're just going to under estimate him. You won't respect that he may be an XHF Grandslam Champion. VERY few people have accomplished that feat... You may not recognize that he's a former XHF World Heavyweight Champion... You may not be aware that they put themselves through hell time and time again... They've scarred their bodies, they've burned their own flesh, they've sewn their own wounds, they've swallowed their blood... And if you underestimate the hell that your manager has gone through to get where he's at, then you will definitely underestimate how desperate... how dirty he will play to keep his Championship.. I mean his managerial...ship..
........What?
ANYONE!
James starts shouting, giving the whole coffee shop something to listen to...
ANYONE can claim to be an Icon these days... but the real Icons are the ones that mold and shape this business. The REAL Icons are the ones that have fought and clawed and bled for the respect they've rightfully earned. The real Icons are future hall of famers, if Mongo ever gets his head out of his fat ass.
Who?
The REAL Icons are the CURRENT XHF Tag Team Champions... We've established the tag team division, we gave it a purpose, we gave it meaning, and we gave the tag team titles as a reason to be respected... And if these two pricks-
James points at the TV where Jack Diamond and Bobby Barrett are still talking about them.
-can't respect us for what we've done for the tag team division... Hell, for what we've done for this entire industry, since DAY ONE... They won't have a shot in hell. It takes a lot more than being self-described successful singles competitors. The reason the GUNS have been so successful, for so long, isn't because Venom and I are both world-class singles competitors... It's because of in-ring chemistry, it's because we've worked more hours in that ring together than Jack and Bobby have worked in their entire careers.... They want to under estimate the GUNS, that's fine... We've cut down mountains much bigger than these two creeps. Those space freaks might prove to be tougher competition than Jack and Bobby...
Space freaks? What does this have to do with my manager?
What I'm trying to say is, kid... You want to be manager some day? Then learn you shit. Anyone can be disrespectful, anyone can say they're the Icons of this industry, anyone can talk shit... But facts are facts, kid. The true nature of this business, the real beautiful part about wrestling, is that the best always come out on top. They don't call us potentially the best tag champs of all time just because we have the titles... You see, the championships don't define us.. They mean nothing without us. The truth is, the GUNS define the Tag Team Championships and the rest of the Tag Team division. We're champions because we've earned it. We're legends because we've earned it... And if Jack Diamond and Bobby Barret want to take our titles, then they just simply have to be better than us. Just like you, kid. You just need to be better than your manager... But Jack and Bobby are going to fail... They will literally need to bring a gun to stop us.
Are you saying... I need to shoot my manager?
James stalls... grabs the last of his bagel and gets up.
I know I ramble, kid... but if that's what you're taking away from this... Fuck it, sure.
James glances over to the kid's manager... but also see's Goldbear standing in the kitchen behind him, wearing an apron and a chef's hat.
The fuck...
James rubs his eyes. Goldbear's gone and is replaced by just a fat guy. James takes a big deep breath... Walks over to the counter and orders another coffee to go. The barista that was cleaning the table walks up to James before he leaves.
I'm going to do it.. I'm going to take out my manager. Thank you, James.
James, kind of ignoring as he's thinking paranoidly about Goldbear, shrugs him off and makes his way out.
Yeah sure, whatever kid...
James exits the coffee shop and makes his way down the sidewalk. James spots his truck and climbs into the driver side. The music in his truck starts playing, some rock song about destroying politicians or some shit. About 40 yards behind him, muffled by his music, a flash of light can be seen coming from the coffee shops. A few people come running and (again, muffled) screaming out of the coffee shop and down the sidewalk past him. A cop car lights up even further away before parking in front of the coffee shop, and a cop runs out of his car and into the shop. James doesn't notice and begins to pull out into the street and on his way as more flashes of light from the coffee shop illuminate briefly and the cop is flung through the window, holding his chest as blood sprays periodically.
James pulls out his phone to text Venom back.
"lol magnus lost an arm. omw to our gym right now"
