Post by High Tide on Sept 25, 2017 21:12:43 GMT -5
I had a lot on my mind recently. Ranging from “Was I truly the washed up wrestler I had heard whispers about,” to “How in the Seven Seas was I going to win this tournament?” Yet none of them were so important, not right now. My match against Crazy Boy was just that, another match against Crazy Boy. It was far from our first go about, and it wouldn't be our last, no doubt, either. Right now I had more important things on my mind.
I was being laughed at in the underworld. Trying to split my time between a life of dominance in the shady shadows that I thrived in, and being a laughingstock in the PCW was taking a toll on me. It was one thing to not be on top in the underworld, I had started from the bottom and now I was here. I could rise again, that was not the issue. The issue was the little jabs, the little smart ass comments that those above me threw my way at every single fucking opportunity. “Hey why do they call you High Tide anyways, when you're in the middle of a career LOW. They should call you Low Tide.” or the famous “How the hell are you going to hack it out here when you can't even take on half the men in single combat at your day job.” You know, I drank a hell of a lot, and I was certainly resillient but more and more I could feel their comments hurting me. Their little jabs slowly wearing down my defenses, until the doubt began to seep in like arrows finding their way through the rings of chainmail.
Doubt had planted a seed in me that only I could choose how to grow it. In fact that was why I was at home now waiting for my phone to ring. I wasn't used to that. I was High Tide, the pirate who didn't have people get things done for him. I was the man who went out and did what needed to be done and got it done hell or high water. Maybe not in the PCW ring, but when it came to the underworld, I was known for doing my own dirty work. Yet the doubt was there, and I questioned my mental state for the first time. Would I be able to get the job done? Would I falter in the moment of decisiveness, the moment of action that all things in the underworld ultimately boiled down too? I couldn't answer that question with a resounding no, and so I had taken myself off the job for the first time that I could ever remember doing such, and I outsourced it.
Things hadn't been progressing as quickly as I liked in the underworld either. No, being a pirate was a hell of a lot of work, and the progression was just not there. I was stuck, as though I had reached my peak but I knew in my heart and from past experience that I was not at my peak. I had climbed much higher before and I was going to be damned if I didn't get back to the top. That meant some risky decisions and I was ready to take them, even if I wasn't going to partake in them myself. I had called up and old contact of mine, I guess you could even call him an acquaintance. Known only as “Carlos”, though that was certainly not his real name, he wasn't that stupid, he was the most efficient smuggler I had ever met. There wasn't a damn thing that man couldn't get into and out of anywhere he damn well pleased. We had done business a couple times, but I had never truly gotten the most out of his services. Well not until now anyways.
If all went well, the phone would ring in a couple of minutes. I had, for the first time, taken the inevitable step in the underworld of stepping into the drug world. I was as far as I knew the only one who had reached the top before without doing such, but this time it was different. I had never lost momentum before like I had now, and so, when the times changed, the people who wanted to progress had to change too. So here I was, changing and I'd be damned if I didn't go for a full out change. I didn't even know what the hell I was getting, or selling for that matter. I had called up Carlos one evening and said “Listen Carlos, my old friend. I've got a deal for you, a deal of a lifetime. I'm going to give you a hundred thousand dollars my friend, and you're going to get my name out there in the drug world. I don't care what you buy, I don't even want to KNOW what you buy. I just want you to take that hundred thousand and get my name out there while making the most profit possible. Here's why it's the deal of a lifetime. I'm going to cut you in on TWENTY FIVE PERCENT of the profit. No I am not fucking with you. No I am not on drugs Carlos. I don't want to do any of the work, and I don't want to know what's going on. I just want to see the numbers and make the money. Yes. I'm serious. Okay I'll wire it over. Thanks old pal.” He couldn't believe it. Not only the huge percentage I was willing to cut him in on, but the full control I had given him. I was notoriously known for my wanting to be a part of all steps of every operation. Like I said, I figured if change was due, I might as well go all the way.
A sharp ringing cut through my thoughts and drew me out of my head. Carlos. It must be. No one else had this number. I answered the call, “Hello? Who is this?” Just to be safe, if everything hadn't gone well, the authorities might have seized his phone.
“Mister Tide you know it is me, Carlos. Everything has gone according to plan. We made it through with minimum bribes and zero hassle. Give me two weeks to distribute and I'll have my accountant send your people the numbers. I thank you again for your trust in me, even though we are not thick as thieves, I think we can come to a greater partnership when all is said and done. You have the name, I have the means. Mister Tide this is going to be good for all of us, I will not fuck you over. I'll send the numbers over to prove that when I've moved the product. Thank you for this opportunity and I think you will be most satisfied by the outcome,” the voice on the other end on the phone spoke quickly and I recognized that it was indeed Carlos. He didn't sound forced, nor had he given any of the code words for operation failure. It had to be a legit call.
“I see the same potential you do my friend. Don't let me down, and don't call me until it is all out in the world unless there is an emergency. I don't want to be in the know. Thanks for calling tonight though, I appreciate that. Show me I made the right choice in choosing you Carlos, and I will prove to you just how much better it gets from here on in. Have a good night,” I hung up the phone quickly. One of my faults, I just had to have the last word.
Well there it was. Carlos had managed to use his extraordinary influence to smuggle something once again and I was about to be the recipient of it. Carlos was going to make the easiest money of his entire life. It was a win-win for everyone involved.
I couldn't say the same about my upcoming match against Crazy Boy though. If time had told me anything was that the match was liable to go one way or the other, and it was never the same way every time. I could beat Crazy Boy, but history had shown that Crazy Boy could beat me as well. The only guarantee was every time we stepped into the ring together we put on a hell of a match and the fans got more than their ticket's worth of entertainment. Especially when the stakes were as high as these were.
I was being laughed at in the underworld. Trying to split my time between a life of dominance in the shady shadows that I thrived in, and being a laughingstock in the PCW was taking a toll on me. It was one thing to not be on top in the underworld, I had started from the bottom and now I was here. I could rise again, that was not the issue. The issue was the little jabs, the little smart ass comments that those above me threw my way at every single fucking opportunity. “Hey why do they call you High Tide anyways, when you're in the middle of a career LOW. They should call you Low Tide.” or the famous “How the hell are you going to hack it out here when you can't even take on half the men in single combat at your day job.” You know, I drank a hell of a lot, and I was certainly resillient but more and more I could feel their comments hurting me. Their little jabs slowly wearing down my defenses, until the doubt began to seep in like arrows finding their way through the rings of chainmail.
Doubt had planted a seed in me that only I could choose how to grow it. In fact that was why I was at home now waiting for my phone to ring. I wasn't used to that. I was High Tide, the pirate who didn't have people get things done for him. I was the man who went out and did what needed to be done and got it done hell or high water. Maybe not in the PCW ring, but when it came to the underworld, I was known for doing my own dirty work. Yet the doubt was there, and I questioned my mental state for the first time. Would I be able to get the job done? Would I falter in the moment of decisiveness, the moment of action that all things in the underworld ultimately boiled down too? I couldn't answer that question with a resounding no, and so I had taken myself off the job for the first time that I could ever remember doing such, and I outsourced it.
Things hadn't been progressing as quickly as I liked in the underworld either. No, being a pirate was a hell of a lot of work, and the progression was just not there. I was stuck, as though I had reached my peak but I knew in my heart and from past experience that I was not at my peak. I had climbed much higher before and I was going to be damned if I didn't get back to the top. That meant some risky decisions and I was ready to take them, even if I wasn't going to partake in them myself. I had called up and old contact of mine, I guess you could even call him an acquaintance. Known only as “Carlos”, though that was certainly not his real name, he wasn't that stupid, he was the most efficient smuggler I had ever met. There wasn't a damn thing that man couldn't get into and out of anywhere he damn well pleased. We had done business a couple times, but I had never truly gotten the most out of his services. Well not until now anyways.
If all went well, the phone would ring in a couple of minutes. I had, for the first time, taken the inevitable step in the underworld of stepping into the drug world. I was as far as I knew the only one who had reached the top before without doing such, but this time it was different. I had never lost momentum before like I had now, and so, when the times changed, the people who wanted to progress had to change too. So here I was, changing and I'd be damned if I didn't go for a full out change. I didn't even know what the hell I was getting, or selling for that matter. I had called up Carlos one evening and said “Listen Carlos, my old friend. I've got a deal for you, a deal of a lifetime. I'm going to give you a hundred thousand dollars my friend, and you're going to get my name out there in the drug world. I don't care what you buy, I don't even want to KNOW what you buy. I just want you to take that hundred thousand and get my name out there while making the most profit possible. Here's why it's the deal of a lifetime. I'm going to cut you in on TWENTY FIVE PERCENT of the profit. No I am not fucking with you. No I am not on drugs Carlos. I don't want to do any of the work, and I don't want to know what's going on. I just want to see the numbers and make the money. Yes. I'm serious. Okay I'll wire it over. Thanks old pal.” He couldn't believe it. Not only the huge percentage I was willing to cut him in on, but the full control I had given him. I was notoriously known for my wanting to be a part of all steps of every operation. Like I said, I figured if change was due, I might as well go all the way.
A sharp ringing cut through my thoughts and drew me out of my head. Carlos. It must be. No one else had this number. I answered the call, “Hello? Who is this?” Just to be safe, if everything hadn't gone well, the authorities might have seized his phone.
“Mister Tide you know it is me, Carlos. Everything has gone according to plan. We made it through with minimum bribes and zero hassle. Give me two weeks to distribute and I'll have my accountant send your people the numbers. I thank you again for your trust in me, even though we are not thick as thieves, I think we can come to a greater partnership when all is said and done. You have the name, I have the means. Mister Tide this is going to be good for all of us, I will not fuck you over. I'll send the numbers over to prove that when I've moved the product. Thank you for this opportunity and I think you will be most satisfied by the outcome,” the voice on the other end on the phone spoke quickly and I recognized that it was indeed Carlos. He didn't sound forced, nor had he given any of the code words for operation failure. It had to be a legit call.
“I see the same potential you do my friend. Don't let me down, and don't call me until it is all out in the world unless there is an emergency. I don't want to be in the know. Thanks for calling tonight though, I appreciate that. Show me I made the right choice in choosing you Carlos, and I will prove to you just how much better it gets from here on in. Have a good night,” I hung up the phone quickly. One of my faults, I just had to have the last word.
Well there it was. Carlos had managed to use his extraordinary influence to smuggle something once again and I was about to be the recipient of it. Carlos was going to make the easiest money of his entire life. It was a win-win for everyone involved.
I couldn't say the same about my upcoming match against Crazy Boy though. If time had told me anything was that the match was liable to go one way or the other, and it was never the same way every time. I could beat Crazy Boy, but history had shown that Crazy Boy could beat me as well. The only guarantee was every time we stepped into the ring together we put on a hell of a match and the fans got more than their ticket's worth of entertainment. Especially when the stakes were as high as these were.
