Post by jamesradford on Jan 2, 2017 22:00:18 GMT -5
Taft Coliseum
Columbus, Ohio
1/2/2017
“So how do you feel about your upcoming match with Dominic ‘The Law’ Lawson?”
The question hung in the air between James Radford and AWE Correspondent Sam Young. They sat across from one another in velvet comfortable looking chairs, with a lit up AWE sign in the background between them. James shifted in his seat, resting one boot across his knee and looking off camera, while Sam leaned forward in his seat holding a host of index cards full of questions.
Sam’s left eyebrow arched at the long silence that preceded his question, and cleared his throat.
“James…”
Radford turned away from whatever had his attention, and looked at the interviewer with a level gaze, silently sizing him up.
Sam Young shifted in his seat before speaking again.
“Dominic Lawson? The next round of the Alpha Cup?”
Radford’s lip twitched into a half smile before shrugging.
“What would you like me to say?”
Sam’s eyebrow raised again.
“So you don’t have any thoughts on your upcoming opponent?”
James sighed, looking down at his boot as he picked at a piece of fringe at the cuff of his jeans.
“Sure, I’ve got thoughts, but what does it really matter. At the end of the day he and I will go toe to toe, and one of us will advance, and the other won’t. I used to be able to give more comprehensive answers to questions like these, but considering my last bout, it all seems up in the air.”
Sam nodded in understanding.
“You must be referencing your manager, Bobby Benson, interfering in your match despite you voicing that wasn’t something you wanted. You have to admit though, if he hadn’t got involved you probably wouldn’t be where you are right now.”
James’ eyes shot up to regard the reporter with a dangerous glance.
“Maybe so, maybe not. Now we’ll never know how that would have played out, but I’m sure we’ll get another shot at it in the future. After all, this has created some drama, and that’s what sells the tickets, or so I’m told.”
James rolls his eyes.
“Call me old fashioned, but I believe things are dramatic enough inside of that ring without causing a whole mess of controversy after the fact. But as you said, Bobby Benson is my manager, and he’s going to do what he thinks is going to get me ahead, right or wrong, and I’m going to have to live with the consequences whether I want to or not.”
Young’s reporter instincts perked up at the pessimistic response, and he leans even further out of his seat.
“And what exactly does that mean?”
James regarded the reporter with a halfhearted smile, and tipped his Stetson hat back onto the crown of his head.
“That, Mr. Young, means that I’m going to have to redouble my efforts inside the squared circle to make sure that Mr. Benson doesn’t have any cause to get involved in my matches.”
Young fell back, not really getting the juicy spiel he had been hoping for.
“I don’t know, Mr. Radford, it sounds to me like you’re unhappy with Mr. Benson’s direction for you.”
James smirked, an uncharacteristic glint in his eye.
“I don’t have to be happy with it, but I do have to work around it. Bobby and I have an agreement, and James Radford doesn’t cut out on his responsibilities.”
Sam nodded, shuffling his notes in his hands.
“Speaking of responsibilities, that brings me back to Dominic Lawson. How do you combat him?”
James shook his head, his nose wrinkling as if he just smelled something unpleasant.
“You know, if that’s what you want, fine. First thing you need to understand is that Dominic Lawson and I have alot in common. I mean, he’s a city slicker and I’m a country boy, so it’s probably hard to see at just a glance, but if you dig deeper it’s there.”
Sam leaned on the arm of his chair, intrigued.
“How so?”
James shifted, putting his boot back on the ground, and leaned forward himself, his hat shifting back down onto his head with the movement.
“Well, you see, we both know what it’s like to lose everything. Dominic Lawson’s tale is one that mirrors mine in a lot of ways. He has a skill set that separates himself from a lot of other competitors, yet that didn’t protect him from getting taken advantage of. Happens all the time in this business. You got to work with someone, find some measure of success, and so you get comfortable. Somehow, you work it out in your mind that it’s always going to be that good, and then just like that, the whole world falls away. The promoter you’re working for picks up and leaves town owing you a boat load of money. The foreman at the meat packing plant where you work hands you a cheap watch and your walking papers. The sure things and certainties in your life just dry up right in front of you, and there’s nothing you can do about it. Hell, sometimes you don’t just lose the means, you lose people. They get up and walk out on you at the worst possible times, and sometimes…well…. sometimes they die.”
James smirks, but it almost seems like a flinch, and pain reaches his eyes when he lifts his head to look Sam Young in the eyes.
“So you go out in the world, stripped down like a newborn baby, and you fight. At first your mission is clear, your reasons justified. You fight against the pain. You fight against the hopelessness. You fight against the misery and the grief. Eventually, you come to realize that you’re not just fighting your emotions, but you’re fighting the world. The very one that stepped in and took these things from you, and you’re so God Damn angry that there just isn’t enough conflict the world can provide to ever sate it.”
James mouth drew up into a thin line, jaws taught.
“So you see, Sam, Dominic Lawson and I are almost kindred spirits. We’ve both lost things. Important things. And now, we’re on a collision course to beat the hell out of one another so we can get one step closer to achieving our goals.”
Sam was quiet for a moment as James came to a finish, regarding the man with a thoughtful expression. Finally, he broke the silence.
“And what goals are those, James?”
James chuckled, the glimmers of his charming smile returning to his features.
“Well Hell, Sam, that’s easy. Ole’ Dominic and I are looking to take everything back, and then some.”
Sam nodded.
“I can’t help but notice that you haven’t commented on Lawson’s unorthodox style, or his bending of the rules.”
James’ smile beamed.
“Maybe I don’t feel like I have the right to that anymore considering all that happened with Kimitsu, or maybe I know if Dominic Lawson tries anything like that with me that everyone will finally get to see that fabled North and South conflict that some of my critics like to comment about become a reality. Make no mistake, I don’t like cheating, but I won’t hesitate to answer underhandedness with some tricks of my own. Maybe you folks haven’t ever seen me perform the Dirty South, but that’s only cause no one as of yet has given me cause to do so. Maybe Dominic will be the one to give me that reason. We’ll just have to see.”
Sam seemed satisfied with the answer, and looked down at the last of his que cars.
“So, do you have any parting words for the AWE universe or your opponent before we wrap this up?”
James looked directly at the camera now, his expression serious.
“Dominic Lawson, come Sunday, you and I are going to have an opportunity to do something special. Hell, we could even steal the show, but that will ultimately depend on you. I hate the idea of taking anything else away from you after you’ve lost so much, but I don’t hate it so bad that I’m not going to try. So I want you to feel that same hunger I feel way down in my soul, and come at me with everything you got, cause that’s exactly what I plan on doing to you. And when we collide in that ring, just remember, whatever short cuts you decide to take, well, I’ll return them in kind, so why not just let this be a contest between men rather than hero and villain. I’ll see you Sunday.”
James shifted to get out of his seat, and then came to a stop, something obviously coming to mind as he eased back down into the chair to address the camera again.
“Also, let me apologize now for my manager, Bobby Benson. I can’t say for sure what he’s going to do, but I guarantee it probably won’t be good.”
James laughed a bit, shaking his head.
“You wouldn’t think it, but that wiry bastards pretty hard to control once he gets something in his head, so apologize ahead of time. Hopefully it won’t come to that.”
James winks at the camera, and then hauls himself up out of the seat and disappears off screen before the AWE Logo flashes, and the screen fades to black.
Bobby Benson leaned against the concrete wall as James passed out into the hallway and walked right past him. Bobby’s expression was sour as he came off the wall, and fell into step behind his client.
“Don’t go making apologies for me. You should be the one apologizing for that travesty you just pulled! Where were your catchphrases, and your charm? Hell, you looked like a mopey dope in there, and that doesn’t sell tickets.”
James whirled on his heel, and Bobby bumped into him, causing the wiry man to fall back onto his bottom. James, looming over him, shook his head in disgust before giving him the only warning he was willing to give.
“Shut the fuck up, and leave me be.”
With that, he turned on his heel and continued towards the door and out into the parking lot beyond. Bobby just sat there, stunned, before a dark visage filled his entire face. He pushed off the floor disgruntled, pulling his jacket tight by yanking it from the front, and then adjusting his tie. He nodded viciously as he turned to walk in the opposite direction.
He reached into his pocket, and pulled out his phone, hitting a few buttons, and then raising the ringing tech up to his ear.
“Yeah…it’s me. What we talked about, I want it done. Don’t hurt him too bad…just make sure he gets the message. Yeah. A thousand, yeah, that’s fine. You’ll have it by the start of the show. Alright. Bye.”
With that being done, Bobby hit end, and shoved the phone back into his pocket. His determined walk would have almost been threatening if it hadn’t been so comical, but there was no doubting that the phone call he just made wouldn’t be funny. Not funny at all.