Post by Joey "The Handyman" Handy on Nov 23, 2018 9:23:26 GMT -5
After the excitement of Trauma 242 had died down and everyone had gone home, save for a smattering of the backstage crew, Joey "The Handyman" Handy made his way through the virtually abandoned hallways. Every crew member he encountered along the way looked both concerned and elated that he made the challenge he had to Alexa Black. They applauded him as he passed. They gave him high fives. They hugged him, or clapped him on the back. Then they proceeded to make a betting pool on how long he'd last and in what shape he'd be in after Collision Course.
"Handyman!"
The voice coming over his walkie-talkie was very familiar, and sounded quite displeased; it was Loki. Joey cringed, recognizing the voice as it repeated its page over the device. He plucked it from his belt, inhaling deeply as he pressed the talk button.
"Go for Handyman. What's up Loki?"
"Don't give me that shit, Handy. You know damned well what's up. Get your ass to my office. Pronto."
"Check. Be there in a bit."
A stress headache began to overtake his concentration, as it usually did whenever he put himself in trouble's path. Instinctively, he holstered the walkie and produced a small pill box filled with various over-the-counter pain pills. He chose a couple of Excedrin Migraines, swallowing them dry with a grimace. He knew they wouldn't help in time for what was about to happen, but they would kick in for the aftermath.
He opened the office door to the General Manager, peeking meekly in like a child sent to the principal's office. The chair had its back to the door, making the hackles on his neck stand for a second time tonight.
"Come in," commanded the male voice in the chair. "Sit down."
Joey no sooner snapped the door shut before the chair spun on him and Loki sprung to his feet, leaning over the desk. His face was beet red, his eyes a confusing mixture of concern and rage.
"I should simply fire you for your own damned good! What the hell were you thinking? Picking a fight with Alexa Black? I should cancel your damned life insurance! Maybe that will teach you to not step in front of a moving bus like Black!"
Joey wasn't surprised by the reaction, so he allowed his boss to empty his rage, listening intently, as he slowly sat down on the opposite side of the cherry stained mahogany desk. A man of his experience has also had his fair share of "ass chewings" in his life. He'd learned to roll with the punches when they were deserved, and he knew that this time, they very much were.
"Well?" screamed Loki. "What have you got to say for yourself?"
"Look, Boss," started Joey, "first off, I didn't start this fi..."
"DO NOT ARGUE WITH ME!"
Joey's anger flashed as he bolted upright, leaning in over the desk to where he was almost nose-to-nose with his supervisor. He spoke in a severe, yet deliberate tone.
"Calm your ass down and let me finish! I've had enough stress tonight, and I'm really not in the mood to take your shit on top of all of it!"
"I couldn't care less about what you're in the mood for!" Loki growled through gnashed teeth. The insubordination alone was enough to drive him over the edge, much less the reason for this discussion.
Both men glared at each other for a few seconds, never once breaking eye contact. The silent tension was like a rubber band stretched to its limit. Would it hold until things had improved, or snap completely?
Finally, Loki's eyes softened a bit as he took a few deep breaths. Both men backed away, still not breaking their gaze. Simultaneously, they pulled into their chairs. Loki broke his gaze, examining a set of papers on his desk while he calmed himself. Joey leaned back in his chair, looking up at the ceiling and the florescent tubes above. Two were functioning, but the other two flickered in a spiral pattern.
"Bad ballast," he muttered.
"Excuse me?" Loki wondered.
"Sorry. Force of habit. You have a bad ballast. I'll get that replaced."
"Later. We need to address the elephant in the room, so to speak." Loki shook his head in disbelief at the topic-at-hand. "Just tell me why. Tell me why you had to go and piss off the most dangerous woman to ever be on the PCW roster."
"How's Glen?"
"He's stable. Greenville Hospital ICU, but stable. Small heart attack, but he'll survive, thanks to you. Don't change the subject."
Joey breathed a sigh of relief. "Good to hear." He took another deep breath. "She was bullying me."
"'Bullying' you? What are you? Twelve?" Loki arched an eyebrow at him, almost mockingly. "It's what she does. Do you need a safe space or a coloring book?"
Joey held up a hand to halt the direction of the conversation. "I know. I can take it, as long as she was keeping it to just me. When she involved Glen was when I knew she wouldn't let up until she got what she wanted."
Loki let out an exasperated sigh. He stood back up and turned away, his hands clasped behind his back. A few seconds passed before he spoke. "Why a match though? Why not just take your lumps and be done with it?"
"Because in the ring, she can be kept reasonably contained and regulated."
Loki scoffed. "You really don't know her that well, do you?"
"Actually, I do," retorted Handy. "Outside the ring, she'd make sure she could do as much damage to my body as possible. Between the ropes, she does tend to follow some of the rules, unless it's an Underground match. I actually stand a better chance of survival that way."
"You're not a wrestler. You know that, right?"
Joey nodded solemnly. "Yeah." Joey shifted his eyes to the papers on the desk. They were facing Loki's side, so he couldn't quite make all of it out, but he did recognize the scrawl on the left side of the bottom of the page. It was Alexa Black's. Reality shuddered down his spine as his eyes traced the haunting, sharp signature. "So does that make it official then?" He indicated the contract on the desk.
Loki turned his head to the paper and then to Handy, nodding slowly. "It does." He returned his attention to the man across from him. "I really want to talk you out of this, Handyman. It's suicide."
"If she's fighting with me, then she's leaving others alone. Did you include that in the contract? The 'hands off' clause?"
"It's all in there," Loki responded. "How are you going to defend yourself?"
Joey smirked like the cat that ate the canary. "Oh, I've picked up on a few basic moves before we tore things down after the shows. Plus, I was a junior heavyweight boxer as a kid. Even won a couple of belts. I still train a bit at that to keep the old 'dad bod' in shape."
Loki exhaled deeply. "This really goes against my better judgment." He shifted the papers around so that Joey could easily read them under the malfunctioning light. "Sign right there." Loki handed Joey a pen and pointed to a line on the right hand side.
Joey started to scrawl his name, but then paused before the pen even touched the parchment. He glanced up at Loki, a hint of doubt in his eyes. "Will my wife and kids be taken care of, you know, if things go south?"
Again, Loki concurred. "They will. It's built-in. There will be a nice paycheck in it for you, too, if the fans enjoy it."
Joey paused, nodding to himself as he read the entire contract. Years of business law taught him to comb through things like this very carefully, but he trusted PCW's legal team. Everything was there that he'd wanted; the life insurance policy, the medical for afterwards, but it was the division of the purse that caught his attention the most. He hadn't seen that many zeroes in quite a while. His family could use it, even on the losing side. He held back his excitement, his apprehension had melted away with the figure he witnessed.
"Wow," he exclaimed. "I have been in the wrong end of this business."
"Don't get used to it. This is a one-time deal. After this, you're back to being behind the scenes. If you survive."
"That's the plan." Joey scribbled his name across the line, cementing his fate, but the paycheck was just too good to pass up. It was a matter of pride. It was a matter of principle. And now it was a matter of necessity for his family. He spun the paper so that it was facing his boss once more.
Loki extended his hand and Joey took it, shaking it wholeheartedly. "Congratulations. You have a match at Collision Course. I hope your will is in order."
Joey laughed as they broke their handshake. He gave a light wave goodbye as he exited the office, pulling the door to. He leaned against the jamb as the reality of what he just done sank into his core. "Me too, boss. Me too."
"Handyman!"
The voice coming over his walkie-talkie was very familiar, and sounded quite displeased; it was Loki. Joey cringed, recognizing the voice as it repeated its page over the device. He plucked it from his belt, inhaling deeply as he pressed the talk button.
"Go for Handyman. What's up Loki?"
"Don't give me that shit, Handy. You know damned well what's up. Get your ass to my office. Pronto."
"Check. Be there in a bit."
A stress headache began to overtake his concentration, as it usually did whenever he put himself in trouble's path. Instinctively, he holstered the walkie and produced a small pill box filled with various over-the-counter pain pills. He chose a couple of Excedrin Migraines, swallowing them dry with a grimace. He knew they wouldn't help in time for what was about to happen, but they would kick in for the aftermath.
He opened the office door to the General Manager, peeking meekly in like a child sent to the principal's office. The chair had its back to the door, making the hackles on his neck stand for a second time tonight.
"Come in," commanded the male voice in the chair. "Sit down."
Joey no sooner snapped the door shut before the chair spun on him and Loki sprung to his feet, leaning over the desk. His face was beet red, his eyes a confusing mixture of concern and rage.
"I should simply fire you for your own damned good! What the hell were you thinking? Picking a fight with Alexa Black? I should cancel your damned life insurance! Maybe that will teach you to not step in front of a moving bus like Black!"
Joey wasn't surprised by the reaction, so he allowed his boss to empty his rage, listening intently, as he slowly sat down on the opposite side of the cherry stained mahogany desk. A man of his experience has also had his fair share of "ass chewings" in his life. He'd learned to roll with the punches when they were deserved, and he knew that this time, they very much were.
"Well?" screamed Loki. "What have you got to say for yourself?"
"Look, Boss," started Joey, "first off, I didn't start this fi..."
"DO NOT ARGUE WITH ME!"
Joey's anger flashed as he bolted upright, leaning in over the desk to where he was almost nose-to-nose with his supervisor. He spoke in a severe, yet deliberate tone.
"Calm your ass down and let me finish! I've had enough stress tonight, and I'm really not in the mood to take your shit on top of all of it!"
"I couldn't care less about what you're in the mood for!" Loki growled through gnashed teeth. The insubordination alone was enough to drive him over the edge, much less the reason for this discussion.
Both men glared at each other for a few seconds, never once breaking eye contact. The silent tension was like a rubber band stretched to its limit. Would it hold until things had improved, or snap completely?
Finally, Loki's eyes softened a bit as he took a few deep breaths. Both men backed away, still not breaking their gaze. Simultaneously, they pulled into their chairs. Loki broke his gaze, examining a set of papers on his desk while he calmed himself. Joey leaned back in his chair, looking up at the ceiling and the florescent tubes above. Two were functioning, but the other two flickered in a spiral pattern.
"Bad ballast," he muttered.
"Excuse me?" Loki wondered.
"Sorry. Force of habit. You have a bad ballast. I'll get that replaced."
"Later. We need to address the elephant in the room, so to speak." Loki shook his head in disbelief at the topic-at-hand. "Just tell me why. Tell me why you had to go and piss off the most dangerous woman to ever be on the PCW roster."
"How's Glen?"
"He's stable. Greenville Hospital ICU, but stable. Small heart attack, but he'll survive, thanks to you. Don't change the subject."
Joey breathed a sigh of relief. "Good to hear." He took another deep breath. "She was bullying me."
"'Bullying' you? What are you? Twelve?" Loki arched an eyebrow at him, almost mockingly. "It's what she does. Do you need a safe space or a coloring book?"
Joey held up a hand to halt the direction of the conversation. "I know. I can take it, as long as she was keeping it to just me. When she involved Glen was when I knew she wouldn't let up until she got what she wanted."
Loki let out an exasperated sigh. He stood back up and turned away, his hands clasped behind his back. A few seconds passed before he spoke. "Why a match though? Why not just take your lumps and be done with it?"
"Because in the ring, she can be kept reasonably contained and regulated."
Loki scoffed. "You really don't know her that well, do you?"
"Actually, I do," retorted Handy. "Outside the ring, she'd make sure she could do as much damage to my body as possible. Between the ropes, she does tend to follow some of the rules, unless it's an Underground match. I actually stand a better chance of survival that way."
"You're not a wrestler. You know that, right?"
Joey nodded solemnly. "Yeah." Joey shifted his eyes to the papers on the desk. They were facing Loki's side, so he couldn't quite make all of it out, but he did recognize the scrawl on the left side of the bottom of the page. It was Alexa Black's. Reality shuddered down his spine as his eyes traced the haunting, sharp signature. "So does that make it official then?" He indicated the contract on the desk.
Loki turned his head to the paper and then to Handy, nodding slowly. "It does." He returned his attention to the man across from him. "I really want to talk you out of this, Handyman. It's suicide."
"If she's fighting with me, then she's leaving others alone. Did you include that in the contract? The 'hands off' clause?"
"It's all in there," Loki responded. "How are you going to defend yourself?"
Joey smirked like the cat that ate the canary. "Oh, I've picked up on a few basic moves before we tore things down after the shows. Plus, I was a junior heavyweight boxer as a kid. Even won a couple of belts. I still train a bit at that to keep the old 'dad bod' in shape."
Loki exhaled deeply. "This really goes against my better judgment." He shifted the papers around so that Joey could easily read them under the malfunctioning light. "Sign right there." Loki handed Joey a pen and pointed to a line on the right hand side.
Joey started to scrawl his name, but then paused before the pen even touched the parchment. He glanced up at Loki, a hint of doubt in his eyes. "Will my wife and kids be taken care of, you know, if things go south?"
Again, Loki concurred. "They will. It's built-in. There will be a nice paycheck in it for you, too, if the fans enjoy it."
Joey paused, nodding to himself as he read the entire contract. Years of business law taught him to comb through things like this very carefully, but he trusted PCW's legal team. Everything was there that he'd wanted; the life insurance policy, the medical for afterwards, but it was the division of the purse that caught his attention the most. He hadn't seen that many zeroes in quite a while. His family could use it, even on the losing side. He held back his excitement, his apprehension had melted away with the figure he witnessed.
"Wow," he exclaimed. "I have been in the wrong end of this business."
"Don't get used to it. This is a one-time deal. After this, you're back to being behind the scenes. If you survive."
"That's the plan." Joey scribbled his name across the line, cementing his fate, but the paycheck was just too good to pass up. It was a matter of pride. It was a matter of principle. And now it was a matter of necessity for his family. He spun the paper so that it was facing his boss once more.
Loki extended his hand and Joey took it, shaking it wholeheartedly. "Congratulations. You have a match at Collision Course. I hope your will is in order."
Joey laughed as they broke their handshake. He gave a light wave goodbye as he exited the office, pulling the door to. He leaned against the jamb as the reality of what he just done sank into his core. "Me too, boss. Me too."
