Post by High Tide on Sept 18, 2015 21:19:44 GMT -5
And so it had played out exactly as he had forseen it, a pity but a required one nonetheless. It was dark where High Tide hid out, the most precise term that could be given for what he was doing. The local authorities (and some of the not so good guys) had heard the rumors of High Tide's rise to power and this most secret location was known to only a few select people. Lit by only a single bulb, hanging from the ceiling and looking most fragile, it caused the room, if you could call it that, for it was really a small underground cellar, to give off an eerie vibe. A small table sat in the center of the small space, with two chairs, both currently occupied. A couple of small shelves made use of the space efficiently, storing liquor, food, cigarettes, and other necessities he thought he would need to survive at least the week. The only other notable features, were a small cot, and if you were to venture deeper back, you would find a door, that led a crude but useable washroom.
“My friend I thought you would have forgotten this place by now. It's been what? Five years? Ten years? I've lost count. Last I heard you wanted to kill me, yet you come here unarmed, in fact, you come here seemingly defenseless. I could have struck at you, but you took the chance,” High Tide spoke softly, seeming confused. It wasn't from the liquor binge he'd been on lately, it was from the way the events were shaping up. True, he had put the feelers out there, expecting it to take time, and lots of his hard earned money, to pull together his street and sea network, as he liked to call it. Yet here he sat, the man, when it truly came down to it, mattered most, after himself he mentally added.
“Why am I here? High Tide, you've known me since you were young and green, without me you would have failed utterly and completely, no, you probably would have died. You made rash, uncalculated risks, and never assessed whether they were even worth the reward in the first place. If I hadn't pulled you off that small dingy you fantasized was a ship of worth, you would have left this world, burning the whole way out. I do not make social calls, I only come around for business. I heard the rumors long before anyone else did, your feelers are still excellent in their skill set, but I decided that I would wait until it got hot, and then I would know exactly where you were hiding. I like this little place of yours, offers secrecy unparallel to any other. I commend you on that,” the older man spoke, his voice a deep toned, straight to business voice.
He was The Money Man.
“Well Money Man, you haven't said exactly what your business is. Things are going faster than I expected, but it's in the early stages still. I don't know what you would be able to offer, or why you would want to, when there is not much gain for you yet,” Tide spoke quickly, wanting to figure things out before the man outsmarted him completely. He hated it, but after all, everything the man said was truth. Without The Money Man, High Tide would not be here today, would not be wrestling against Tha UnHoly Alliance, would not be alive. He was shocked however, and his normally unresponsive facial muscles showed this, when The Money Man began to laugh right in his face!
“You fool, this is why you need me. What I am prepared to do is put in the men, the money, whatever you need to get this shitshow off the ground and doing what it does best, into your hands with no expecation of repayment, in monetary terms. A month or two maximum, and then you will be earning a lot of money, a lot of information, a lot of everything. However, what you need to do is get your act together in the ring. Your public face is what I need, I need the power of somebody well known that I can direct, from behind the scenes of course. If I were ever outed, I would rot away in prison for the rest of my life. It's not a long time, but I got a whole hell of a lot of this world to squeeze dry still, this world is my lemon High Tide, you are my lemon tree. You get to keep producing the lemons, with my assistance. I will water your operation and it will grow and produce the fruits of your labor. I will squeeze some, but you will be the grand tree they all want to see. Then with you as the face, I can start my takeover into the mainstream world. No longer will I be restrained to the shadows. Think about this, because I do not want a rushed answer. You have until after your next match, which you better put up a good showing in, for I am not stupid enough to expect you to win. Look at yourself, drunk and hiding, a shell of your former self. Clean the fuck up, and put up a fight in the ring. I'll find you next week and I'll have your answer, or your head,” and with that The Money Man stood up and turned his back on High Tide. With incredible ease for his old age, he climbed the ladder and was gone in a flash.
High Tide could only sit there, stunned, shocked, and a lot of other adjectives he couldn't come up with. Then, for clarity of course, he drained the rest of his flask's contents. Well what choice did he have? He'd have to man up and put on a good show in that ring. Maybe he wouldn't win, but all he needed was time. The enterprise would spread, it would dominate, he would dominate.
Would he dominate, or would it all really just be under the looming gaze of The Money Man?
“My friend I thought you would have forgotten this place by now. It's been what? Five years? Ten years? I've lost count. Last I heard you wanted to kill me, yet you come here unarmed, in fact, you come here seemingly defenseless. I could have struck at you, but you took the chance,” High Tide spoke softly, seeming confused. It wasn't from the liquor binge he'd been on lately, it was from the way the events were shaping up. True, he had put the feelers out there, expecting it to take time, and lots of his hard earned money, to pull together his street and sea network, as he liked to call it. Yet here he sat, the man, when it truly came down to it, mattered most, after himself he mentally added.
“Why am I here? High Tide, you've known me since you were young and green, without me you would have failed utterly and completely, no, you probably would have died. You made rash, uncalculated risks, and never assessed whether they were even worth the reward in the first place. If I hadn't pulled you off that small dingy you fantasized was a ship of worth, you would have left this world, burning the whole way out. I do not make social calls, I only come around for business. I heard the rumors long before anyone else did, your feelers are still excellent in their skill set, but I decided that I would wait until it got hot, and then I would know exactly where you were hiding. I like this little place of yours, offers secrecy unparallel to any other. I commend you on that,” the older man spoke, his voice a deep toned, straight to business voice.
He was The Money Man.
“Well Money Man, you haven't said exactly what your business is. Things are going faster than I expected, but it's in the early stages still. I don't know what you would be able to offer, or why you would want to, when there is not much gain for you yet,” Tide spoke quickly, wanting to figure things out before the man outsmarted him completely. He hated it, but after all, everything the man said was truth. Without The Money Man, High Tide would not be here today, would not be wrestling against Tha UnHoly Alliance, would not be alive. He was shocked however, and his normally unresponsive facial muscles showed this, when The Money Man began to laugh right in his face!
“You fool, this is why you need me. What I am prepared to do is put in the men, the money, whatever you need to get this shitshow off the ground and doing what it does best, into your hands with no expecation of repayment, in monetary terms. A month or two maximum, and then you will be earning a lot of money, a lot of information, a lot of everything. However, what you need to do is get your act together in the ring. Your public face is what I need, I need the power of somebody well known that I can direct, from behind the scenes of course. If I were ever outed, I would rot away in prison for the rest of my life. It's not a long time, but I got a whole hell of a lot of this world to squeeze dry still, this world is my lemon High Tide, you are my lemon tree. You get to keep producing the lemons, with my assistance. I will water your operation and it will grow and produce the fruits of your labor. I will squeeze some, but you will be the grand tree they all want to see. Then with you as the face, I can start my takeover into the mainstream world. No longer will I be restrained to the shadows. Think about this, because I do not want a rushed answer. You have until after your next match, which you better put up a good showing in, for I am not stupid enough to expect you to win. Look at yourself, drunk and hiding, a shell of your former self. Clean the fuck up, and put up a fight in the ring. I'll find you next week and I'll have your answer, or your head,” and with that The Money Man stood up and turned his back on High Tide. With incredible ease for his old age, he climbed the ladder and was gone in a flash.
High Tide could only sit there, stunned, shocked, and a lot of other adjectives he couldn't come up with. Then, for clarity of course, he drained the rest of his flask's contents. Well what choice did he have? He'd have to man up and put on a good show in that ring. Maybe he wouldn't win, but all he needed was time. The enterprise would spread, it would dominate, he would dominate.
Would he dominate, or would it all really just be under the looming gaze of The Money Man?
