Post by K.I.S.S. on May 15, 2015 20:26:19 GMT -6
This was going to be an interesting job to say the least. Bethany couldn’t remember the last time they’d worked one with anybody other than her little sister Ashley and Jeszika Gautier but that was out of the question at the moment. Thus, alternate arrangements had been made and the Dead Men had been called. Now, with everybody at a bar in New Orleans called “AJ’s,” Nikki Peltier leads them all outside to where her special van was waiting, jet black and sort of weather beaten on the outside, she opens the side door to show off the veritable electronic command center inside.
Nikki Peltier: [/color] “I was gonna put a red stripe on it, but the spoiler sort of made it stand out too much.”
The Dead Men mostly look on from the outside, but Rory steps into it with Nikki, letting out a low whistle as he gets an eyeful of the interior. It’s taking everything he has not to start fiddling with things out of sheer, child-like curiosity.
Rory McCall:[/color] ”It’s like sex in vehicle form…”
Bethany can’t help but laugh.
Bethany Kenyon: “You should see my sister’s Knight Rider car...”
Rory lifts a brow and, in the background, Sentinel’s hand goes to his face. The rest of the Dead Men react similarly save for Rory, who is a stiff breeze away from falling over at the sound of that.
Rory McCall: ”Yeah, I think I need to change my shorts.”
Sentinel: ”You’re an idiot. Let’s get our minds back on business, shall we?”
Nikki nods and starts reaching around under a particular shelf in the van.
Nikki Peltier: [/color] “You guys use ear pieces? These have little mics in them. We can all hear and talk to each other and the mics are sensitive enough to be able to hear you breathing even if all you’re doing is gigging frogs in the creek over yonder. Decent range too, usually a good city block or so.”
Shawn Crowe: ”Yeah, we’ve used them before.”
Each person present accepts and affixes the offered devices in place, including Sentinel. Once they’re outfitted, Shawn turns to the assembled group as a whole.
Shawn Crowe: ”All right. Bethany, Frederick, you guys are in charge of blowing open whatever needs it, be it safes or doors or whatever. Darius, you’re on security detail. If there’s any systems that we need to get through, it’s on you to deal with them.”
In response, the large black fellow retrieves from his nearby bike a customized laptop which he opens up on the seat and, after a moment, gives Shawn a thumbs-up from.
Darius Edwards: ”All set, boss-man. Once we’re close I’ll know what we’re up against.”
Nodding, Shawn turns back to the rest.
Shawn Crowe: ”Nikki, I assume you’ll be working on something similar?”
Nikki Peltier: [/color] “I’ve got an infrared scanner in here that’ll probably come in handy on this one, assuming it doesn’t just turn into an old shooter video game.”
Bethany exhales heavily, looking at Sentinel with unease in her eyes.
Bethany Kenyon: “Are you sure about this?”
Meeting her stare, Sentinel nods without reservation.
Sentinel: ”I’ll move in the front once you have it open with Shawn and Antonio. Rory, you’re on dust-off duty. Anything we don’t need in our way comes calling, you either deal with it or get on the horn and let us know. We might be coming out with the hounds on our ass so be prepared for that.”
Despite the utter nerdgasm he was within a few minutes ago, Rory’s back on the clock again...barely.
Rory McCall: ”Nothing’s going in or out that we don’t want to.”
Nikki Peltier: [/color] “Come on, Bethy, get in the van and let’s go.”
Bethany nods and does as bidden. Meanwhile, the Dead Men mount their bikes and follow the Blade van to their destination on the outskirts of New Orleans. The place is quiet for the time being but the group is on the clock, knowing that that’s due to change. Parking at the side of the building, Darius joins Nikki in the back of the van while Rory heads across the lot to a vantage point on top of a supply shed. Frederick joins Bethany near the entry point with a heavy satchel over his shoulder presumably holding his gear. Meanwhile, Shawn, Sentinel and Antonio are gathering weaponry from their side compartments. Antonio has his Benelli M3 while Shawn packs his SP-2009-9-BMS and Sentinel holsters his Browning HP-SFS. So armed, they head over to the doors and wait on them to be ‘unlocked’.
Nikki Peltier: [/color] “Whatcha think, Bethy?”
Bethany Kenyon: “Hmm…gum?”
Nikki smiles.
Nikki Peltier: [/color] “You love that stuff, don’t you?”
Bethany simply shrugs, slipping what looks like a stick of gum into the lock on the door.
Bethany Kenyon: “Bigger bang for your buck...”
She rubs it in and then puts a tiny square device on it.
Bethany Kenyon: “Bar’s open, Boys. Bottom’s Up!”
She presses a button in her hand and the door suddenly blows open. The Dead Men take a moment to look impressed, then file in with Antonio taking the lead, shotgun brought to bear. Frederick claps Bethany gently on the shoulder.
Frederick Vance: ”Later, you gotta show me how you do that. Sneaky is good when it comes to making a big-ass hole.”
He grins slightly, then follows in the wake of Shawn and Sentinel. The explosion draws some attention in the form of armed guards who at first are taken off-guard by Antonio’s Benelli firing over their heads. The left-hand guard goes for his pistol and Sentinel calmly shoots him in the hand. The other, locked on by Shawn, thinks better of that idea and instead takes the butt of the gun to the temple. Dragging them out of the way, Antonio motions for Frederick and Bethany to move on ahead while they’re covered.
They get through to one of the inner offices before more guards start flowing in...five to start with. The Dead Men find some cover between the guards and the doors with Shawn calling over his shoulder to Bethany and Frederick.
Shawn Crowe: ”Floor’s yours, kids. Work fast.”
Bethany scans the door and nods.
Bethany Kenyon: “If we drill there at the top and then again down here, pop in some magic, we can take this thing clean off it’s hinges without making too much of a mess.”
Frederick Vance: ”Wait a second…”
Examining the locking mechanism, Frederick shakes his head slightly. Gunshots are going off outside in greater frequency as the seconds tick by.
Frederick Vance: ”No, that’s a magnetic lock. Give me a second here...”
Digging into his bag, the scarred Dead Man takes out a wired battery and what looks to be a pair of modified TENS pads. He affixes some near the hinges and where the latch is located, then takes a small remote out of the bag and connects it to the battery. A few adjustments and the press of a button causes the safe’s magnetic locks to pop and sizzle, bringing a bit of nasty smoke and a satisfying click.
Frederick Vance: ”There we go. Now work your magic.”
Bethany nods and somehow produces a tiny drill from her sleeve. Within a few seconds she’s drilled a couple of holes and filled them back in with what looks like putty. A couple of small devices implanted later, and she moves Frederick away.
Bethany Kenyon: “If I did this right...”
She presses the button and two puffs of smoke come off as the door falls open.
Bethany Kenyon: “Yahtzee!”
Frederick Vance: ”Nicely done! Now let’s see…”
They’re already filling up the satchel when the gunfire gets a little more heated and Rory’s voice cuts in over the microphones.
Rory McCall: ”Incoming, boys and girl! Looks like they’re here for the shipment switch! Darius, can you an’ Nikki slow ‘em down somehow?! Hack the systems or somethin’?!”
Darius Edwards: ”I’m gonna hit the lights once they’re in! Shawn, you got anything in your bag of tricks?!”
Shawn Crowe: ”A pair of modified flashbangs. Won’t do much good if we don’t know where the hell they are though!”
Darius Edwards: ”Nikki already got a lock on their cell phones. I can give you at least a general position. Work with it. Rory’s taking out who he can from out here but there’s a bunch rollin’ in!”
Sentinel unloads his clip and changes out, turning to the door.
Sentinel: ”Time to move, you two! We’re goin’ outta here hot! Come on now while there’s only a couple in our faces!”
Bethany nods.
Bethany Kenyon: “We go the stuff and if we need ‘em, I’ve got a couple of cans in my pocket that might liven up their day, assuming you guys don’t mind things that spray shrapnel some.”
Nikki Peltier: [/color] “Finally made your ball bearing grenades?”
Bethany Kenyon: “It’s birdshot but yeah...”
Shawn Crowe: ”Flashbang first. Then you can tear holes in ‘em all you want. Sentinel, you’re up. Make some noise.”
What the hell that meant, Shawn didn’t elaborate on. But once Frederick and Bethany were out and flanked by Antonio and the president, Sentinel took point and led the way forward, Shawn passing him something on the way.
Shawn Crowe: ”Be careful with that damn thing.”
The only response is a snort of laughter as Sentinel puts a new clip into the Browning. A half-dozen guards flow in just as they’re making it through the office area into the main room of the warehouse and Sentinel, bolt upright in the middle of it all, squeezes off a few rounds...and each one pops on impact explosively, tearing into the guards. They don’t all go down, but the ones that are upright are sure as hell diving for cover. Shawn puts his back to a crate, drawing a flashbang and looking for an opening.
Shawn Crowe: ”Frederick’s own spin on Black Talon rounds. Smaller shrapnel but more of it and a slightly bigger boom when they land. Frankly I’m surprised they work.”
Frederick Vance: ”Don’t hate.”
Sentinel, now behind cover himself, nods to Shawn who nods to Bethany before tossing one of the flashbangs into the new crowd. The light is searing and the noise is sharp. Now it’s on Bethany to try her new toy.
Bethany Kenyon: “I meant to make this like a Claymore but, let’s see if I can’t make it rain.”
She pulls what looks like a pair of soup cans from her pocket and presses a spot on the tops. She counts to three and then throws them as hard as she can. The explosions rock the doorway, causing the ones standing there to start screaming in apparent agony.
Bethany Kenyon: “Try not to touch the stuff on the way out, it’s covered in pepper spray and tabasco.”
Frederick Vance: ”You should add some cayenne or ghost pepper to that if you get the chance. Just lay it on thick and make ‘em regret it more.”
The five burst out with Antonio again in the lead. They cover Bethany to allow her to get back to the van, during which Frederick and Antonio are helping with the shooting duty. By now, most of the reinforcements are dealt with thanks to another dual flashbang/soup bomb combo. The Blade van is ready to go and the Dead Men reach their bikes just as more trucks are seen in the distance. Except these are just transports...and they’re about to arrive with nothing to pick up.
Sentinel: ”Back at the bar, then?”
Nikki Peltier: [/color] “See y’all there.”
About an hour and a half later, once the crew has been at the bar a bit and some drinks have gone around, Sentinel is sitting back watching the goings-on and, for the moment, looking calm as he nurses a beer. Shawn sits next to him. Bethany and Nikki sit down next to them and nod gratefully
Bethany Kenyon: “That went better than it had any right to.”
Nikki Peltier: [/color] “Oh, you’re just waiting for them to ask about that party trick you mentioned at the start.”
Bethany’s head droops.
Bethany Kenyon: “You’re trying to get those couple of guys going again, aren’t you, Nik?”
Nikki shrugs.
Nikki Peltier: [/color] “How often do we get to be the fun ones?”
Rory McCall: ”What she said. If I ain’t seeing that car tonight, I wanna see what you got up your sleeve.”
Frederick Vance: ”Got my attention, too. Might as well out with it, miss.”
Shawn and Sentinel exchange glances. These two had gotten the boys’ attention and there was really no getting away from it now. Bethany sees the looks on their faces and sighs.
Bethany Kenyon: “This is gonna happen regardless now, isn’t it?”
Sentinel:[/color] ”Indulge them. They have the attention span of children, at least Rory does. Fred, I think, just wants to try it out himself.”
Nikki Peltier: [/color] “You guys would laugh if you found out where she got the idea.”
Bethany shrugs.
Bethany Kenyon: “You mean everybody didn’t watch Transformers and give it a shot?”
Frederick Vance: ”Not a big movie guy.”
Bethany shakes her head.
Bethany Kenyon: “No, the movies only gave my sister and Jezzy car shopping ideas. I was talking about the old cartoon.”
Frederick Vance: ”Probably before my time. You’re keepin’ me in suspense, though.”
She certainly had his full attention. Rory was likewise intent on seeing what was what, thought he car shopping comment had him pondering...not a good thing. Bethany nods and wanders around the bar for a few minutes, coming back with a can, some charcoal and a couple of what look like pills. She nods to them and leads them outside where she puts the stuff into the can and then scrapes up some bird shit off a nearby car. She mixes the stuff in the can and then adds a wick.
Bethany Kenyon: “Any of y’all got a light?”
Shawn tosses her a lighter and stands back with the rest. She nods, lights the wick and runs back towards them. Just as she gets to them, the can explodes, leaving a small crater in the dirt she’d shoved it in.
Bethany Kenyon: “I really need to start giving myself longer fuses on those...”
Frederick Vance: ”Simple, yet effective.”
The rest head back in, but as Bethany moves to do so, Sentinel stops her with a hand on her arm. The two stare at each other for a moment, both in a state of unease, before the big man finally speaks.
Sentinel: ”I apologize for what went down at Mayhem.”
Bethany smiles, touched.
Bethany Kenyon: “Thank you.”
He nods slightly in response, appearing to be under less pressure now. They head back inside where, already, it seems like things are getting rowdy.
***
Twenty four hours later, Bethany Kenyon rolls up to the bar in her old two-tone Ford Explorer, parking at the same bar she’d worked a job out of the previous day and nods at the sight of the bike sitting there waiting. She turns off the engine and then crosses herself.
Bethany Kenyon: “Well, here goes nothin’.”
Stepping out of the vehicle, she looks at the bike and a million thoughts start screeching through her head all at once. Would this work? Would he just shoot her for even mentioning the name? Would SHE shoot her for suggesting this? Bethany sets those aside, or tries anyway, and walks inside the bar where she finds Sentinel sitting in almost the exact same place she’d seen him last.
Bethany Kenyon: “Hi.”
Sentinel: ”Hey.”
He has his own reservations about the whole thing but is willing to at least try despite them.
Bethany Kenyon: “Thanks for coming and giving this a shot.”
Sentinel: ”Don’t expect much. She doesn’t seem the type to let things go..”
Bethany nods, shrugging slightly.
Bethany Kenyon: “Sometimes, she can be more like my sister than either of them like to admit.”
Just then a familiar silver head walks into the bar and looks around, she sees Bethany and offers a smile before walking over, she doesn't notice who’s she’s sitting with though and takes a seat next to Bethany.
Jeszika Gautier: Hey, B, how’s it going?
Bethany nods to her, smiling slightly like she expects all hell to break loose any second now.
Bethany Kenyon: [/color] “I figured we needed to talk, all of us.”
Jeszika frowns.
Jeszika Gautier: All Of us….
She trails off before her eyes fall onto the man sitting next to Bethany and her eyes narrow in anger.
Jeszika Gautier: You!
She snarls and Bethany stands up quickly between them.
Bethany Kenyon: “Jezzy, just calm down and give him a shot...”
Jeszika stands up.
Jeszika Gautier: and why exactly should I do that? This man has stalked us for months! He took you out last week, for no reason might I add so tell me why I don’t just either leave this bar right now or give this bastard what he deserves!
Bethany Kenyon: “Because he had my and Nik’s backs last night when we got Nat’s stuff back from that Frenzel asshole that ripped her clinic off. He didn’t have to, but he did and contrary to what Ashley keeps saying, I don’t think he’s really been the guy stalking you but even if he was, we need him on Monday.”
Jeszika looks shocked.
Jeszika Gautier: You worked a job? With him? Why wasn’t I invited to this little party?
KNowing this was probably coming, Bethany exhales forcefully.
Bethany Kenyon: “Because we didn’t want you guys trying to shoot each other before we ever made it to the van.”
Jeszika Gautier: And what’s to stop me from doing it right now, huh? Why here? Why now? You must have a reason for bringing us here, cause I know you’re not that stupid, B...
Sentinel: ”...are you done?”
He sets down his empty bottle with a soft thump and turns just enough to stare at Jeszika standing on the other side of Bethany.
Jeszika Gautier: We’re so far from done, you’re so lucky I’m not jumping past Bethany here and giving you what for! Give me one reason why I shouldn’t, one I’ll believe. None of this, “It wasn’t me,” bull crap.
Bethany sighs.
Bethany Kenyon: “Jezzy, please...”
Sentinel: ”First of all, there’s nothing stopping you from doing that if you really want to. Secondly…”
He signals for another drink, and takes a sip of it before continuing.
Sentinel: ”...I haven’t done anything to earn your distrust. You’re letting your paranoia own you. What the hell makes you think I’d stalk either of you anyway?”
Bethany looks her friend dead in the eyes.
Bethany Kenyon: “Jezzy, I know you’re not gonna believe him if he tells you it wasn’t him, but I’m telling you the same thing. I don’t think it was him either. It’s not his style. The way he was mad at the deception involved yesterday, no way would he be doing that himself.”
Sentinel: ”I appreciate what you’re trying to do, Bethany, but she’s made up her mind.”
He sounds more resigned than angry, but there’s an edge in his voice.
Bethany Kenyon: “Please, Jezzy?”
Jeszika narrows her eyes.
Jeszika Gautier: I’m a woman of proof and until I see proof of your innocence… I’ve got my eye on you. but I’ll play nice...
Sentinel: ”Swell.”
Jeszika Gautier: ”But if I find out it IS you who's been stalking me… A bullet between the eyes is all you’ll get from me, got it?”
Sentinel: ”Threaten me again, little girl, and...”
He doesn’t finish his thought. Instead, he finishes the beer, leaves his money on the bar and walks out without another word.
Jeszika watches him leave, wanting to follow him and give him another piece of her mind, but she doesn’t, she simply watches.
Jeszika Gautier: ”What were you thinking, B? bringing him and me here together?”
Bethany slumps onto the stool behind her and shrugs.
Bethany Kenyon: “I was hoping maybe we could just talk things out y’know? Go in against Krown, Murphy and Lacey at least acting we could function as a unit.”
Jeszika Gautier: “We are a unit, B. You are I can do just fine without him.”
Bethany Kenyon: “Against three champions? We need him, Jez.”
Jeszika Gautier: ”Fine, whatever...”
Bethany Kenyon: “I just hope, if when the world goes to hell, you guys don’t start smashing each other instead of them.”
Jeszika Gautier: We’ll see, B. We’ll see...
Bethany Kenyon: “Ok.”
The next day, Bethany Kenyon sits in front of a camera, shaking her head as worry, fear, sadness and many other emotions all at once. She checks her phone again, shaking her head when whatever she’s looking for is apparently not there.
Bethany Kenyon: “I hate situations like this. ”
Her gaze moves up from the floor to the camera.
Bethany Kenyon: “This match SHOULD be huge. It’s the go-home before a pay-per-view and it’s got almost every champion in the company in it including the ones who have been begging and pleading for a chance to show they’re the greatest thing since…”
Trailing off, she ponders this for a second before shrugging when she really can’t think of any other possible answer.
Bethany Kenyon: “Well, them. ”
She sighs heavily, the weight of the world seemingly crushing down on her shoulders.
Bethany Kenyon: “On one side you’ve got three legit main eventers in myself, my best friend in the world and the man who wants, more than anything else, to prove he’s the best. On the other, you have the Television Champion and the Tag Team Champions, both of which have complained about a lot of things, but still, they’re all champions. You’d think Connor Murphy and Gabriel Krown would LOVE this match because it’s exactly what they’ve been complaining they don’t get. Here they are, booked for the second straight show against championship-level competition with a chance to prove everybody wrong and yet, to listen to them, you’d think they were booked against three people who were straight out of a gym, never had a match before and were just strippers at the Pleasure Dome yesterday with nothing to offer them but a cheap padding of a number on their stat sheet. ”
She sighs, shaking her head more with sadness and disappointment than anger and disgust as her chin falls towards her chest.
Bethany Kenyon: “You know, it’s really sad because you guys could be so much better than you are if you would just stop focusing on what you don’t have, on what you can’t do, on who you’re not…”
Pausing, she takes a deep breath, letting it out slowly before looking back up into the camera.
Bethany Kenyon: “I know what it’s like to try and follow somebody into a business, I followed my mother into one the same way you two followed your families into wrestling and I never had to wonder if I could do what she did because she and I had vastly different areas of expertise. You guys can’t seem to decide if you wanna be clones or opposites and you sort of fail at being both, and you could do fine if you’d just stop whining all the time especially when it comes to matches like this. For fuck sake, you’re in there with the best and even that isn’t good enough for you...”
She shakes her head, shocked at what she’s about to say.
Bethany Kenyon: “When you whine so much that Kyle Travis has to come out and tell you to just shut up, you know you’ve hit a new low on that one but if you really wanna know why you seem to get no respect, you just showed why. You respect no one and you just went out of your way to piss all over your own partner for no reason other than you think it’s entertaining to be the biggest jackasses you could possibly be. Time after time, you guys get handed the chance to prove to people you aren’t everything they say you are and all you ever seem to do with it is tell us you deserve another chance while you make excuses for why you blew the last one. Hell, like Sentinel said, you guys blew a match off recently and then came back and demanded to know why nobody asked you to come in and work more. I almost feel sorry for Lacey because here she is, the UWA Television Champion, and her own fellow champions and tag team partners just said they didn’t wanna be near her… ”
She grits her teeth a little bit as anger finds its way in.
Bethany Kenyon: “The funniest part to me was when you presented argument for why anybody thinking Sentinel could possibly be Jeszika’s stalker had to be stupid by presenting evidence that the two of you must be stalkers in your own right since you seem to know who is at my house all the time and I know you’ve never actually been inside it and there are no big ass camera crews there twenty-four/seven, so how would you know who has or has not been spending large amounts of time at my house if you aren’t doing the very thing you were talking about with Sentinel? ”
She looks to the ceiling and falls back into her couch, shaking her head.
Bethany Kenyon: “Jeszika thinks Sentinel did it because she’s on edge and hasn’t ruled anybody out that presents as a male, not because he really fits the mold. Hell, she kind of admitted she didn’t think it was him a while ago but then she saw some of his friends and noticed they were the right size and a couple of them had the right accent to be the guy. I know it’s not him but the whole situation has Jeszika just a little frazzled and honestly, if that were me, I don’t know that I wouldn’t be just a little on edge myself. God knows Sentinel is too what with whatever happened to Talon and everything that happens with the Dead Men and Jeszika and then the world title thrown on top. The whole world seems to be on edge again just like when the Children were at their peak and we saw what happened to both Aerynn and Jeszika when that happened.”
Sitting forward, Bethany ponders this and then takes a deep breath again. She stands up, nodding ever so slightly as she reaches her feet.
Bethany Kenyon: “Well that won’t be me. I’m not crumbling under the pressure and I will be damned if i let my partners go down again, not again, NEVER again! The three of us just need to pull our shit together walk down to that ring and show all three of you, yeah, you’re good but we’re the ones in the main event for a reason! Jeszika and I went toe to toe for the UWA World Championship and pretty soon, Sentinel and I are gonna do the same and if the three of you ever wanna join us in that rarefied air, you better pull your heads out of your asses, quit your bitching and just throw down instead of trying to explain away why it wasn’t fair that we didn’t just roll over and hand you what you think you were born deserving! Second generation or not, unless you can walk down to that ring on Monday and say you laid it all on the line with us and not just half ass and bitch later, you don’t deserve a goddamn thing! We weren’t born better than you, but so far we have been and if you wanna prove otherwise it’s gonna take more than telling the world shit they already know about Oliver! My name is Bethany Kenyon and I am the UWA World Champion and if you don’t like it, you can kiss off!”
Nikki Peltier: [/color] “I was gonna put a red stripe on it, but the spoiler sort of made it stand out too much.”
The Dead Men mostly look on from the outside, but Rory steps into it with Nikki, letting out a low whistle as he gets an eyeful of the interior. It’s taking everything he has not to start fiddling with things out of sheer, child-like curiosity.
Rory McCall:[/color] ”It’s like sex in vehicle form…”
Bethany can’t help but laugh.
Bethany Kenyon: “You should see my sister’s Knight Rider car...”
Rory lifts a brow and, in the background, Sentinel’s hand goes to his face. The rest of the Dead Men react similarly save for Rory, who is a stiff breeze away from falling over at the sound of that.
Rory McCall: ”Yeah, I think I need to change my shorts.”
Sentinel: ”You’re an idiot. Let’s get our minds back on business, shall we?”
Nikki nods and starts reaching around under a particular shelf in the van.
Nikki Peltier: [/color] “You guys use ear pieces? These have little mics in them. We can all hear and talk to each other and the mics are sensitive enough to be able to hear you breathing even if all you’re doing is gigging frogs in the creek over yonder. Decent range too, usually a good city block or so.”
Shawn Crowe: ”Yeah, we’ve used them before.”
Each person present accepts and affixes the offered devices in place, including Sentinel. Once they’re outfitted, Shawn turns to the assembled group as a whole.
Shawn Crowe: ”All right. Bethany, Frederick, you guys are in charge of blowing open whatever needs it, be it safes or doors or whatever. Darius, you’re on security detail. If there’s any systems that we need to get through, it’s on you to deal with them.”
In response, the large black fellow retrieves from his nearby bike a customized laptop which he opens up on the seat and, after a moment, gives Shawn a thumbs-up from.
Darius Edwards: ”All set, boss-man. Once we’re close I’ll know what we’re up against.”
Nodding, Shawn turns back to the rest.
Shawn Crowe: ”Nikki, I assume you’ll be working on something similar?”
Nikki Peltier: [/color] “I’ve got an infrared scanner in here that’ll probably come in handy on this one, assuming it doesn’t just turn into an old shooter video game.”
Bethany exhales heavily, looking at Sentinel with unease in her eyes.
Bethany Kenyon: “Are you sure about this?”
Meeting her stare, Sentinel nods without reservation.
Sentinel: ”I’ll move in the front once you have it open with Shawn and Antonio. Rory, you’re on dust-off duty. Anything we don’t need in our way comes calling, you either deal with it or get on the horn and let us know. We might be coming out with the hounds on our ass so be prepared for that.”
Despite the utter nerdgasm he was within a few minutes ago, Rory’s back on the clock again...barely.
Rory McCall: ”Nothing’s going in or out that we don’t want to.”
Nikki Peltier: [/color] “Come on, Bethy, get in the van and let’s go.”
Bethany nods and does as bidden. Meanwhile, the Dead Men mount their bikes and follow the Blade van to their destination on the outskirts of New Orleans. The place is quiet for the time being but the group is on the clock, knowing that that’s due to change. Parking at the side of the building, Darius joins Nikki in the back of the van while Rory heads across the lot to a vantage point on top of a supply shed. Frederick joins Bethany near the entry point with a heavy satchel over his shoulder presumably holding his gear. Meanwhile, Shawn, Sentinel and Antonio are gathering weaponry from their side compartments. Antonio has his Benelli M3 while Shawn packs his SP-2009-9-BMS and Sentinel holsters his Browning HP-SFS. So armed, they head over to the doors and wait on them to be ‘unlocked’.
Nikki Peltier: [/color] “Whatcha think, Bethy?”
Bethany Kenyon: “Hmm…gum?”
Nikki smiles.
Nikki Peltier: [/color] “You love that stuff, don’t you?”
Bethany simply shrugs, slipping what looks like a stick of gum into the lock on the door.
Bethany Kenyon: “Bigger bang for your buck...”
She rubs it in and then puts a tiny square device on it.
Bethany Kenyon: “Bar’s open, Boys. Bottom’s Up!”
She presses a button in her hand and the door suddenly blows open. The Dead Men take a moment to look impressed, then file in with Antonio taking the lead, shotgun brought to bear. Frederick claps Bethany gently on the shoulder.
Frederick Vance: ”Later, you gotta show me how you do that. Sneaky is good when it comes to making a big-ass hole.”
He grins slightly, then follows in the wake of Shawn and Sentinel. The explosion draws some attention in the form of armed guards who at first are taken off-guard by Antonio’s Benelli firing over their heads. The left-hand guard goes for his pistol and Sentinel calmly shoots him in the hand. The other, locked on by Shawn, thinks better of that idea and instead takes the butt of the gun to the temple. Dragging them out of the way, Antonio motions for Frederick and Bethany to move on ahead while they’re covered.
They get through to one of the inner offices before more guards start flowing in...five to start with. The Dead Men find some cover between the guards and the doors with Shawn calling over his shoulder to Bethany and Frederick.
Shawn Crowe: ”Floor’s yours, kids. Work fast.”
Bethany scans the door and nods.
Bethany Kenyon: “If we drill there at the top and then again down here, pop in some magic, we can take this thing clean off it’s hinges without making too much of a mess.”
Frederick Vance: ”Wait a second…”
Examining the locking mechanism, Frederick shakes his head slightly. Gunshots are going off outside in greater frequency as the seconds tick by.
Frederick Vance: ”No, that’s a magnetic lock. Give me a second here...”
Digging into his bag, the scarred Dead Man takes out a wired battery and what looks to be a pair of modified TENS pads. He affixes some near the hinges and where the latch is located, then takes a small remote out of the bag and connects it to the battery. A few adjustments and the press of a button causes the safe’s magnetic locks to pop and sizzle, bringing a bit of nasty smoke and a satisfying click.
Frederick Vance: ”There we go. Now work your magic.”
Bethany nods and somehow produces a tiny drill from her sleeve. Within a few seconds she’s drilled a couple of holes and filled them back in with what looks like putty. A couple of small devices implanted later, and she moves Frederick away.
Bethany Kenyon: “If I did this right...”
She presses the button and two puffs of smoke come off as the door falls open.
Bethany Kenyon: “Yahtzee!”
Frederick Vance: ”Nicely done! Now let’s see…”
They’re already filling up the satchel when the gunfire gets a little more heated and Rory’s voice cuts in over the microphones.
Rory McCall: ”Incoming, boys and girl! Looks like they’re here for the shipment switch! Darius, can you an’ Nikki slow ‘em down somehow?! Hack the systems or somethin’?!”
Darius Edwards: ”I’m gonna hit the lights once they’re in! Shawn, you got anything in your bag of tricks?!”
Shawn Crowe: ”A pair of modified flashbangs. Won’t do much good if we don’t know where the hell they are though!”
Darius Edwards: ”Nikki already got a lock on their cell phones. I can give you at least a general position. Work with it. Rory’s taking out who he can from out here but there’s a bunch rollin’ in!”
Sentinel unloads his clip and changes out, turning to the door.
Sentinel: ”Time to move, you two! We’re goin’ outta here hot! Come on now while there’s only a couple in our faces!”
Bethany nods.
Bethany Kenyon: “We go the stuff and if we need ‘em, I’ve got a couple of cans in my pocket that might liven up their day, assuming you guys don’t mind things that spray shrapnel some.”
Nikki Peltier: [/color] “Finally made your ball bearing grenades?”
Bethany Kenyon: “It’s birdshot but yeah...”
Shawn Crowe: ”Flashbang first. Then you can tear holes in ‘em all you want. Sentinel, you’re up. Make some noise.”
What the hell that meant, Shawn didn’t elaborate on. But once Frederick and Bethany were out and flanked by Antonio and the president, Sentinel took point and led the way forward, Shawn passing him something on the way.
Shawn Crowe: ”Be careful with that damn thing.”
The only response is a snort of laughter as Sentinel puts a new clip into the Browning. A half-dozen guards flow in just as they’re making it through the office area into the main room of the warehouse and Sentinel, bolt upright in the middle of it all, squeezes off a few rounds...and each one pops on impact explosively, tearing into the guards. They don’t all go down, but the ones that are upright are sure as hell diving for cover. Shawn puts his back to a crate, drawing a flashbang and looking for an opening.
Shawn Crowe: ”Frederick’s own spin on Black Talon rounds. Smaller shrapnel but more of it and a slightly bigger boom when they land. Frankly I’m surprised they work.”
Frederick Vance: ”Don’t hate.”
Sentinel, now behind cover himself, nods to Shawn who nods to Bethany before tossing one of the flashbangs into the new crowd. The light is searing and the noise is sharp. Now it’s on Bethany to try her new toy.
Bethany Kenyon: “I meant to make this like a Claymore but, let’s see if I can’t make it rain.”
She pulls what looks like a pair of soup cans from her pocket and presses a spot on the tops. She counts to three and then throws them as hard as she can. The explosions rock the doorway, causing the ones standing there to start screaming in apparent agony.
Bethany Kenyon: “Try not to touch the stuff on the way out, it’s covered in pepper spray and tabasco.”
Frederick Vance: ”You should add some cayenne or ghost pepper to that if you get the chance. Just lay it on thick and make ‘em regret it more.”
The five burst out with Antonio again in the lead. They cover Bethany to allow her to get back to the van, during which Frederick and Antonio are helping with the shooting duty. By now, most of the reinforcements are dealt with thanks to another dual flashbang/soup bomb combo. The Blade van is ready to go and the Dead Men reach their bikes just as more trucks are seen in the distance. Except these are just transports...and they’re about to arrive with nothing to pick up.
Sentinel: ”Back at the bar, then?”
Nikki Peltier: [/color] “See y’all there.”
About an hour and a half later, once the crew has been at the bar a bit and some drinks have gone around, Sentinel is sitting back watching the goings-on and, for the moment, looking calm as he nurses a beer. Shawn sits next to him. Bethany and Nikki sit down next to them and nod gratefully
Bethany Kenyon: “That went better than it had any right to.”
Nikki Peltier: [/color] “Oh, you’re just waiting for them to ask about that party trick you mentioned at the start.”
Bethany’s head droops.
Bethany Kenyon: “You’re trying to get those couple of guys going again, aren’t you, Nik?”
Nikki shrugs.
Nikki Peltier: [/color] “How often do we get to be the fun ones?”
Rory McCall: ”What she said. If I ain’t seeing that car tonight, I wanna see what you got up your sleeve.”
Frederick Vance: ”Got my attention, too. Might as well out with it, miss.”
Shawn and Sentinel exchange glances. These two had gotten the boys’ attention and there was really no getting away from it now. Bethany sees the looks on their faces and sighs.
Bethany Kenyon: “This is gonna happen regardless now, isn’t it?”
Sentinel:[/color] ”Indulge them. They have the attention span of children, at least Rory does. Fred, I think, just wants to try it out himself.”
Nikki Peltier: [/color] “You guys would laugh if you found out where she got the idea.”
Bethany shrugs.
Bethany Kenyon: “You mean everybody didn’t watch Transformers and give it a shot?”
Frederick Vance: ”Not a big movie guy.”
Bethany shakes her head.
Bethany Kenyon: “No, the movies only gave my sister and Jezzy car shopping ideas. I was talking about the old cartoon.”
Frederick Vance: ”Probably before my time. You’re keepin’ me in suspense, though.”
She certainly had his full attention. Rory was likewise intent on seeing what was what, thought he car shopping comment had him pondering...not a good thing. Bethany nods and wanders around the bar for a few minutes, coming back with a can, some charcoal and a couple of what look like pills. She nods to them and leads them outside where she puts the stuff into the can and then scrapes up some bird shit off a nearby car. She mixes the stuff in the can and then adds a wick.
Bethany Kenyon: “Any of y’all got a light?”
Shawn tosses her a lighter and stands back with the rest. She nods, lights the wick and runs back towards them. Just as she gets to them, the can explodes, leaving a small crater in the dirt she’d shoved it in.
Bethany Kenyon: “I really need to start giving myself longer fuses on those...”
Frederick Vance: ”Simple, yet effective.”
The rest head back in, but as Bethany moves to do so, Sentinel stops her with a hand on her arm. The two stare at each other for a moment, both in a state of unease, before the big man finally speaks.
Sentinel: ”I apologize for what went down at Mayhem.”
Bethany smiles, touched.
Bethany Kenyon: “Thank you.”
He nods slightly in response, appearing to be under less pressure now. They head back inside where, already, it seems like things are getting rowdy.
***
Twenty four hours later, Bethany Kenyon rolls up to the bar in her old two-tone Ford Explorer, parking at the same bar she’d worked a job out of the previous day and nods at the sight of the bike sitting there waiting. She turns off the engine and then crosses herself.
Bethany Kenyon: “Well, here goes nothin’.”
Stepping out of the vehicle, she looks at the bike and a million thoughts start screeching through her head all at once. Would this work? Would he just shoot her for even mentioning the name? Would SHE shoot her for suggesting this? Bethany sets those aside, or tries anyway, and walks inside the bar where she finds Sentinel sitting in almost the exact same place she’d seen him last.
Bethany Kenyon: “Hi.”
Sentinel: ”Hey.”
He has his own reservations about the whole thing but is willing to at least try despite them.
Bethany Kenyon: “Thanks for coming and giving this a shot.”
Sentinel: ”Don’t expect much. She doesn’t seem the type to let things go..”
Bethany nods, shrugging slightly.
Bethany Kenyon: “Sometimes, she can be more like my sister than either of them like to admit.”
Just then a familiar silver head walks into the bar and looks around, she sees Bethany and offers a smile before walking over, she doesn't notice who’s she’s sitting with though and takes a seat next to Bethany.
Jeszika Gautier: Hey, B, how’s it going?
Bethany nods to her, smiling slightly like she expects all hell to break loose any second now.
Bethany Kenyon: [/color] “I figured we needed to talk, all of us.”
Jeszika frowns.
Jeszika Gautier: All Of us….
She trails off before her eyes fall onto the man sitting next to Bethany and her eyes narrow in anger.
Jeszika Gautier: You!
She snarls and Bethany stands up quickly between them.
Bethany Kenyon: “Jezzy, just calm down and give him a shot...”
Jeszika stands up.
Jeszika Gautier: and why exactly should I do that? This man has stalked us for months! He took you out last week, for no reason might I add so tell me why I don’t just either leave this bar right now or give this bastard what he deserves!
Bethany Kenyon: “Because he had my and Nik’s backs last night when we got Nat’s stuff back from that Frenzel asshole that ripped her clinic off. He didn’t have to, but he did and contrary to what Ashley keeps saying, I don’t think he’s really been the guy stalking you but even if he was, we need him on Monday.”
Jeszika looks shocked.
Jeszika Gautier: You worked a job? With him? Why wasn’t I invited to this little party?
KNowing this was probably coming, Bethany exhales forcefully.
Bethany Kenyon: “Because we didn’t want you guys trying to shoot each other before we ever made it to the van.”
Jeszika Gautier: And what’s to stop me from doing it right now, huh? Why here? Why now? You must have a reason for bringing us here, cause I know you’re not that stupid, B...
Sentinel: ”...are you done?”
He sets down his empty bottle with a soft thump and turns just enough to stare at Jeszika standing on the other side of Bethany.
Jeszika Gautier: We’re so far from done, you’re so lucky I’m not jumping past Bethany here and giving you what for! Give me one reason why I shouldn’t, one I’ll believe. None of this, “It wasn’t me,” bull crap.
Bethany sighs.
Bethany Kenyon: “Jezzy, please...”
Sentinel: ”First of all, there’s nothing stopping you from doing that if you really want to. Secondly…”
He signals for another drink, and takes a sip of it before continuing.
Sentinel: ”...I haven’t done anything to earn your distrust. You’re letting your paranoia own you. What the hell makes you think I’d stalk either of you anyway?”
Bethany looks her friend dead in the eyes.
Bethany Kenyon: “Jezzy, I know you’re not gonna believe him if he tells you it wasn’t him, but I’m telling you the same thing. I don’t think it was him either. It’s not his style. The way he was mad at the deception involved yesterday, no way would he be doing that himself.”
Sentinel: ”I appreciate what you’re trying to do, Bethany, but she’s made up her mind.”
He sounds more resigned than angry, but there’s an edge in his voice.
Bethany Kenyon: “Please, Jezzy?”
Jeszika narrows her eyes.
Jeszika Gautier: I’m a woman of proof and until I see proof of your innocence… I’ve got my eye on you. but I’ll play nice...
Sentinel: ”Swell.”
Jeszika Gautier: ”But if I find out it IS you who's been stalking me… A bullet between the eyes is all you’ll get from me, got it?”
Sentinel: ”Threaten me again, little girl, and...”
He doesn’t finish his thought. Instead, he finishes the beer, leaves his money on the bar and walks out without another word.
Jeszika watches him leave, wanting to follow him and give him another piece of her mind, but she doesn’t, she simply watches.
Jeszika Gautier: ”What were you thinking, B? bringing him and me here together?”
Bethany slumps onto the stool behind her and shrugs.
Bethany Kenyon: “I was hoping maybe we could just talk things out y’know? Go in against Krown, Murphy and Lacey at least acting we could function as a unit.”
Jeszika Gautier: “We are a unit, B. You are I can do just fine without him.”
Bethany Kenyon: “Against three champions? We need him, Jez.”
Jeszika Gautier: ”Fine, whatever...”
Bethany Kenyon: “I just hope, if when the world goes to hell, you guys don’t start smashing each other instead of them.”
Jeszika Gautier: We’ll see, B. We’ll see...
Bethany Kenyon: “Ok.”
The next day, Bethany Kenyon sits in front of a camera, shaking her head as worry, fear, sadness and many other emotions all at once. She checks her phone again, shaking her head when whatever she’s looking for is apparently not there.
Bethany Kenyon: “I hate situations like this. ”
Her gaze moves up from the floor to the camera.
Bethany Kenyon: “This match SHOULD be huge. It’s the go-home before a pay-per-view and it’s got almost every champion in the company in it including the ones who have been begging and pleading for a chance to show they’re the greatest thing since…”
Trailing off, she ponders this for a second before shrugging when she really can’t think of any other possible answer.
Bethany Kenyon: “Well, them. ”
She sighs heavily, the weight of the world seemingly crushing down on her shoulders.
Bethany Kenyon: “On one side you’ve got three legit main eventers in myself, my best friend in the world and the man who wants, more than anything else, to prove he’s the best. On the other, you have the Television Champion and the Tag Team Champions, both of which have complained about a lot of things, but still, they’re all champions. You’d think Connor Murphy and Gabriel Krown would LOVE this match because it’s exactly what they’ve been complaining they don’t get. Here they are, booked for the second straight show against championship-level competition with a chance to prove everybody wrong and yet, to listen to them, you’d think they were booked against three people who were straight out of a gym, never had a match before and were just strippers at the Pleasure Dome yesterday with nothing to offer them but a cheap padding of a number on their stat sheet. ”
She sighs, shaking her head more with sadness and disappointment than anger and disgust as her chin falls towards her chest.
Bethany Kenyon: “You know, it’s really sad because you guys could be so much better than you are if you would just stop focusing on what you don’t have, on what you can’t do, on who you’re not…”
Pausing, she takes a deep breath, letting it out slowly before looking back up into the camera.
Bethany Kenyon: “I know what it’s like to try and follow somebody into a business, I followed my mother into one the same way you two followed your families into wrestling and I never had to wonder if I could do what she did because she and I had vastly different areas of expertise. You guys can’t seem to decide if you wanna be clones or opposites and you sort of fail at being both, and you could do fine if you’d just stop whining all the time especially when it comes to matches like this. For fuck sake, you’re in there with the best and even that isn’t good enough for you...”
She shakes her head, shocked at what she’s about to say.
Bethany Kenyon: “When you whine so much that Kyle Travis has to come out and tell you to just shut up, you know you’ve hit a new low on that one but if you really wanna know why you seem to get no respect, you just showed why. You respect no one and you just went out of your way to piss all over your own partner for no reason other than you think it’s entertaining to be the biggest jackasses you could possibly be. Time after time, you guys get handed the chance to prove to people you aren’t everything they say you are and all you ever seem to do with it is tell us you deserve another chance while you make excuses for why you blew the last one. Hell, like Sentinel said, you guys blew a match off recently and then came back and demanded to know why nobody asked you to come in and work more. I almost feel sorry for Lacey because here she is, the UWA Television Champion, and her own fellow champions and tag team partners just said they didn’t wanna be near her… ”
She grits her teeth a little bit as anger finds its way in.
Bethany Kenyon: “The funniest part to me was when you presented argument for why anybody thinking Sentinel could possibly be Jeszika’s stalker had to be stupid by presenting evidence that the two of you must be stalkers in your own right since you seem to know who is at my house all the time and I know you’ve never actually been inside it and there are no big ass camera crews there twenty-four/seven, so how would you know who has or has not been spending large amounts of time at my house if you aren’t doing the very thing you were talking about with Sentinel? ”
She looks to the ceiling and falls back into her couch, shaking her head.
Bethany Kenyon: “Jeszika thinks Sentinel did it because she’s on edge and hasn’t ruled anybody out that presents as a male, not because he really fits the mold. Hell, she kind of admitted she didn’t think it was him a while ago but then she saw some of his friends and noticed they were the right size and a couple of them had the right accent to be the guy. I know it’s not him but the whole situation has Jeszika just a little frazzled and honestly, if that were me, I don’t know that I wouldn’t be just a little on edge myself. God knows Sentinel is too what with whatever happened to Talon and everything that happens with the Dead Men and Jeszika and then the world title thrown on top. The whole world seems to be on edge again just like when the Children were at their peak and we saw what happened to both Aerynn and Jeszika when that happened.”
Sitting forward, Bethany ponders this and then takes a deep breath again. She stands up, nodding ever so slightly as she reaches her feet.
Bethany Kenyon: “Well that won’t be me. I’m not crumbling under the pressure and I will be damned if i let my partners go down again, not again, NEVER again! The three of us just need to pull our shit together walk down to that ring and show all three of you, yeah, you’re good but we’re the ones in the main event for a reason! Jeszika and I went toe to toe for the UWA World Championship and pretty soon, Sentinel and I are gonna do the same and if the three of you ever wanna join us in that rarefied air, you better pull your heads out of your asses, quit your bitching and just throw down instead of trying to explain away why it wasn’t fair that we didn’t just roll over and hand you what you think you were born deserving! Second generation or not, unless you can walk down to that ring on Monday and say you laid it all on the line with us and not just half ass and bitch later, you don’t deserve a goddamn thing! We weren’t born better than you, but so far we have been and if you wanna prove otherwise it’s gonna take more than telling the world shit they already know about Oliver! My name is Bethany Kenyon and I am the UWA World Champion and if you don’t like it, you can kiss off!”
