Land of Shadows (1.05) Shadow of the Resistance

[Stormm]

“Honestly, I kind of figured that’s why you were coming in today.” Brian said, much to Justin’s chagrin. “It’s in your nature to run headlong into shit like this, and Lindsay loves to watch you save the day, no matter how much danger you put yourself in.”

Pulling out the chair from his executive desk and sitting down, Justin laughed at his best friend. “I expected you to put up a fight, and not go along with it.”

Brian followed suit and sat down on the leather couch just inside the office door. “I expected you weeks ago, but given the stakes of everything else you’ve got going on, I can forgive you for that.”

The sun had begun to set on the Atlanta skyline, and from the top floor of Action headquarters, anyone else would have found it hard to ignore through the opened blinds of the massive corner office. But everyone else was not Justin Michaels or Brian McCallister. “So who, or what, is about to come through that door, then?” Justin asked with a smirk, knowing just as much about Brian as Brian knew about Justin. “You’ve proven to be more than prepared, so how are we going to do this?”

As if he had timed the whole thing, Brian sat in silence with a devious grin for a few moments, and as if it were on queue, a knock came to the door. “Justin.” Brian stood up and opened the office door. “I’d like for you to meet Madison.”

Not being one to greet someone while sitting down, Justin made it to his feet as a woman in a charcoal gray and orange blouse walked in, as if she had done her homework. Her brunette hair was highlighted with unashamed gray strands, and her hazel eyes were accented by the black framed glasses resting upon her face.

She extended her right hand with a smile, and Justin obliged, with little hesitation. “Nice to meet you Madison.” The two shook hands, and she surprised Justin with her strong grip. “So which of you is going to explain exactly why she is here?”

“It’s D’Angelo. Madison that is.” She took a deep breath to try and shake out the nerves that had resurfaced. “Madison D’Angelo, sorry.” The same hand that she had just given a strong handshake with, was now jittery as she rubbed her forehead and giggled. “This is not at all how I thought this was going to go.” Madison turned to Brian who was happy to take over.

“I assure you, the work she’s been doing here for the last couple of months has been anything but erratic.” Brian affirmed with a stern look at the new AWE Incorporated employee.

“Work?” Justin questioned as he looked at both with curiosity.

Brian had opened his mouth to respond, but Madison held up a finger to interject. Having gotten a grip on herself, she adjusted her suit jacket in a show of authority, and spoke for herself, this time without the frog in her throat. “I’m your new Chief Financial Officer.”

...Shadow of the Resistance...

So with all that Icemann Invitational stuff out of the way, as disappointing as it was, there was nothing for me to complain about. I made it to the final, and put up as good of a fight as I could have, Dominator just had my number. What was I going to do after that? Question everything that had gotten me that far? Pound my fists in anger and wonder why I even bothered? Maybe threaten to quit because there was nothing I could do to win in big matches?

Now, have you known your old man to ever be a spoiled cry baby and a sore loser?

No, a loss wasn’t the end of the world, it was just another shut door and an opportunity to find a new one to open… and trust me, there are a lot of opened doors we’re going to explore before this little story is all said and done. Both inside of the ring, and out.

“Extra, extra, read all about it!” It was as if Justin had stepped back in time as his shoes hit the sidewalk just outside of the parking garage. He had made an emergency trip to Atlanta to speak with longtime friend and business partner, Brian McCallister, about the Black Hand, and the decisions he and Lindsay had more recently made. That was until the distractions came. “Kyle Shane loses to Stormm in catastrophic proportions at Living a Legacy!”

Lining the sidewalk between the parking garage and the front entrance to Action Wrestling headquarters were a dozen or so ragamuffins dressed in 1920’s garb with stacks of newspapers piled next to them, each with their own headlines. The teenagers were trying to sell the extras for a nickel each, and to many, were very out of place. But to those that knew the industry, or more importantly, to those that knew about the Force of Nature, it was a treat.

Justin began the short trek to his office, which would normally take five minutes from parking garage to front doors, if the crosswalk was favorable, but it took him significantly longer that afternoon. Brian had obviously gone to all the trouble to set it up in the first place, while also somehow knowing Justin was making his way into the office, since he had not told him.

“Hey mister, did you hear about Kyle Shane going into hiding to lick his wounds after his loss at Living a Legacy?” The next vendor shoved a yellowed newspaper into Justin’s view, trying to get him to buy the extra. “They say he’s trying to come up with excuses on why he lost to Stormm, and hopefully to find new material to go on, and on, and on, and on about!” While the five cent price tag for each of the periodicals was not hard to come by, Justin didn’t have change on him, and instead was handing out twenties for each.

The first half dozen vendors were selling news from Living a Legacy that ranged from Stormm’s victory over the God of Game, fabricated actions that Kyle Shane took after said loss, and even the Force of Nature’s loss to Dominator in yet another pay-per-view match.

After crossing the street, however, each paper started to peek news around the upcoming match for the number one contender spot for the North American title.

“Extra! Kyle Shane and David Hunter pool allowances, pay off PCW executives to have Stormm put in match with them!” The young man slipped Justin the newspaper before he could even whip out another Jackson, and only asked for an autographed copy for himself as payment before going back into character. “Woe-is-Me Brothers don’t stand a chance, read all about it right here!”

With each step, the small stack of papers that Justin was carrying continued to grow while he and the street vendors continues to draw the attention of almost every passer-by. As much as he didn’t plan on stepping into wrestling-mode on his trip, it was a welcomed distraction. Basically every waking moment since his loss to Dominator over a week prior had been spent thinking of ways to get the Black Hand’s attention, and beginning to fight back.

Perhaps Brian was aware of Justin’s plight, and had set up the little charade to lighten the mood for him, as Justin making special trips to Atlanta were almost never for anything good.

As the front doors to the building formerly known as HavocHQ neared, there were still two more vendors left to get through, and they were putting on quite the spectacle while “selling” the last fake paper that Justin needed to acquire.

With one of the young men handing out the papers and taking payments, the other stood on a stack of them, calling out to everyone. “You can’t read about this anywhere else, folks! Pure Class Wrestling World Championship news exclusive!” Handing the quite teen his money, Justin picks up a paper to read the headline: “GRIMM FEARS STORMM!” Shaking his head, he laughs, but pauses to watch the performance. “PCW afraid of another lackluster World title reign, Icemann Invitational Final rigged, get your extras right here!” Calling out to and pointing at several other people walking by the building, either on their commute, or for those there to see the AWE building itself, a small crowd had gathered around the last vendor area. “Scandals, conspiracies, and more, right here, just a five piece away!

With a dozen or more vintage looking newspapers tucked underneath his left arm, Justin applauds all the kids that were hired for the occasion. A few of them wave, while others take a bow. But, with that, he realized he had distracted himself for long enough, and made his way to the entrance of his destination.

A match against Kyle and David wasn’t the end of the world, but it did seem like a step back given the outcome of Living a Legacy. It was so nice of Brian to throw that in my face when I had gone to him for more than just wrestling. I had gone for personal reasons, and for “business.” But if that little stunt taught me anything in the long run, it’s that no matter how serious you take something, you can take a step back, stop caring so much, and just have some fun too.

As soon as Justin entered the building, Brian was right there in the lobby waiting for him with a smile on his face. He was not going to miss seeing his friend’s reaction, as it was just as much fun for him to see as it was for Justin to experience. Despite the stack of paper under Justin’s arm, Brian still pulled him in for a hug, a little more affectionate than their friendship usually allowed for, but he seemed to be in a fantastic mood.

“I hope you’re not going to try and write all that off as company expense.” Justin joked, and jumped right into it.

Pushing him out of the hug, Brian was quick to his response. “I wouldn’t dream of it, besides I used your card to pay for it all, anyway.”

Justin sat his keepsake newspapers down on the front desk. “Can you hold these for me? I’ll get them on my way out later.” He asked one of the receptionists, and she nodded.

“So what did you think?” Brian asked.

“I think it killed you to see all that PCW talk going on outside our building, so that made it better.” Justin joked right back, knowing that Pure Class Wrestling could easily fall under the category of competitor to their business, despite their brand airing regularly on different nights, and traveling the states rather than having a home arena.

“If you’d just come wrestle here, there’d be nothing to say.” His attitude began to shift, as if it were an argument the two had before.

Shooting his best friend a look, one that Brian had definitely seen more than once, Justin did one of the things that annoyed him most, repeat himself. “Damn it Brian, how many times do I have to tell you that nobody, myself included, could take me seriously if I tried to wrestle for my own brand? As long as I have the desire to climb through the ropes, I’ll continue to do that somewhere else.”

“And what if while you’re out wrestling, we happen to buy PCW in the process?” The two began to walk towards the elevators, Brian reached out and pushed the up button.

Justin rolled his eyes. “It wouldn’t be that easy.”

“With Luis gone, it wouldn’t be hard, I’ve already looked into it.” Brian shot his friend a look as they stepped through the opened doors, and Justin pushed the button for the top floor. They stood in silence for a moment as the doors closed and the elevator made its way upward, and Brian laughed. “I’m just fuckin’ with you!” He followed it up with a punch to Justin’s shoulder, and the pleasantries had finally concluded.

“Okay, you got me, hah hah!” Justin fake laughed. “I guess I’m wound pretty tightly right now, so thanks for lightening things up, but really, we do need to talk.” He admitted.

Nodding his head, Brian agreed. “I figured as much, which is good, because I’ve got some news of my own I’ve been anxious to share with you.”

The rest of the ride up was finished in silence. The doors opened to the executive floor, and the two stepped out and headed straight for Justin’s old office. He exchanged some waves with others on the floor as he did every time he found himself back.

With the nature of his visit, Justin was not looking to divulge information to anyone but Brian, so he waited to get into it until they were in his office, and the door was shut. “So, here’s the deal, Lindsay and I have been talking, and that whole Black Hand nonsense?”

“Yeah?” Brian eagerly asked back.

“They can’t be allowed to run rampant with our company, and they are going to regret coming after me and my family.” Justin conceded with his heart in his throat. ”So we need to figure out a way to get to them before they come back after me, or start coming after you and everyone else!” Justin walked over to his desk while Brian stayed close to the office door.

“Honestly, I kind of figured that’s why you were coming in today.” Brian said, much to Justin’s surprise. “It’s in your nature to run headlong into shit like this, and Lindsay loves to watch you save the day, no matter how much danger you put yourself in.”

Pulling out the chair from his executive desk and sitting down, Justin laughed at his best friend. “I expected you to put up a fight, and not go along with it.”

Brian followed suit and sat down on the leather couch just inside the office door. “I expected you weeks ago, but given the stakes of everything else you’ve got going on, I can forgive you for that.”

The sun had begun to set on the Atlanta skyline, and from the top floor of Action headquarters, anyone else would have found it hard to ignore through the opened blinds of the massive corner office. But everyone else was not Justin Michaels or Brian McCallister. “So who, or what, is about to come through that door, then?” Justin asked with a smirk, knowing just as much about Brian as Brian knew about Justin. “You’ve proven to be more than prepared, so how are we going to do this?”

As if he had timed the whole thing, Brian sat in silence with a devious grin for a few moments, and as if it were on queue, a knock came to the door. “Justin.” Brian stood up and opened the office door. “I’d like for you to meet Madison.”

Not being one to greet someone while sitting down, Justin made it to his feet as a woman in a charcoal gray and orange blouse walked in, as if she had done her homework. Her brunette hair was highlighted with unashamed gray strands, and her hazel eyes were accented by the black framed glasses resting upon her face.

She extended her right hand with a smile, and Justin obliged, with little hesitation. “Nice to meet you Madison.” The two shook hands, and she surprised Justin with her strong grip. “So which of you is going to explain exactly why she is here?”

“It’s D’Angelo. Madison that is.” She took a deep breath to try and shake out the nerves that had resurfaced. “Madison D’Angelo, sorry.” The same hand that she had just given a strong handshake with, was now jittery as she rubbed her forehead and giggled. “This is not at all how I thought this was going to go.” Madison turned to Brian who was happy to take over.

“I assure you, the work she’s been doing here for the last couple of months has been anything but erratic.” Brian affirmed with a stern look at the new AWE Incorporated employee.

“Work?” Justin questioned as he looked at both with curiosity.

Brian had opened his mouth to respond, but Madison held up a finger to interject. Having gotten a grip on herself, she adjusted her suit jacket in a show of authority, and spoke for herself, this time without the frog in her throat. “I’m your new Chief Financial Officer.” She announced. “I’m going to keep AWE on the straight and narrow, but I’m also here to help you take down the Black Hand.”

“No!” Justin hastily shouted back. “Damn it, Brian, I didn’t want anyone else involved and put in danger, this is going to blow up in our faces the more people that get involved!” He began to pace.

“Calm down, man, let me explain.” Brian tried to get ahead of Justin’s concerns, with little affect, as he continued to pace. “Seriously, you need to hear us out before you jump to any conclusions, or assume the worst.”

The Force of Nature was not having any of it. “You need to get out before this gets any worse!” He pointed towards his office door, but neither the President nor the CFO budged an inch. “Did you hear me?” He rhetorically questioned. “I said get ou–”

“They killed my family!” Madison blurted with closed eyes, and the room fell silent. Brian hung his head, having hoped to not have to put her through the explanation, but knew it was the only thing that was going to get Justin’s attention, and it did. “I had a husband and a daughter, and was working in the finance department for a company up in Boston when they made their way into it like they’ve done here.” She continued to admit as the painful thoughts were forcing tears to well up. “When I turned down their offers to cook the books, and tried to stop them, they took all of us somewhere and made me watch as they killed Frank and Nina.”

As all of it began to process for Justin, he was brought back into the situation he had put himself and his family into, and uncontrollably responded. “Jesus!” The office fell silent again for a moment as Justin collected himself. “That’s… That’s terrible.”

“If I can help you get to them, or at least get their attention, and you can stop them.” She declared. “Working together is going to give us the best chance of preventing the same shit from happening to you or anyone else!”

That afternoon was rough, and listening to Madison tall about the family that was taken from her only made me realize more how much you and your mom meant to me. It put a lot of things into perspective real quick for me, and not a lot else mattered except for doing what I could to stop them. The wrestling? That was just going to be a distraction from the real battle.