Post by Deleted on Jan 21, 2017 21:35:10 GMT -6
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA
SANGUINE NIGHTCLUB
“EW-fuckin’-C.”Toni Gunn had been repeating that phrase over and over again, each time with a varying degree of either disbelief or irritation – neither one of the Kray Twins had quite figured out which yet – for the last half an hour. She half-stumbled half-waltzed around the VIP lounge, a room that was uncharacteristically empty. Much to the disdain of Toni, as well as the Kray Twins’ bank accounts, the room had been cleared out and reserved for an exclusive interview with one of EWC’s latest signings. The only reason Toni was staying put and not calling the absent reporter every name under the sun was due to the promise of alcohol, which she had accepted in generous amounts. She was currently on her fourth bottle of Yorkshire Lager, if the twins weren’t mistaken. And there were no signs of her slowing down.
“Can you believe the EWC signed me?” Toni asked as she circled Ricki and Rebecca Kray, both of whom were sat stoically around the central table of the VIP room. An empty seat sat between them, reserved for Toni, yet they doubted she would be taking it.
“The EWC signed me, Toni goddamn Gunn, to a contract. And a Rampage one at that.” She let out an uncontrolled laugh before throwing back her drink, downing the half that remained in one go.
“You know,” she continued, circling back in the other direction. As she passed Ricki, she held the empty bottle out in his vicinity, and he took it from her with a rehearsed precision. “I can believe it. I can believe that the EWC would want me. Who wouldn’t want me, right?”
She bent down beside Rebecca, coming eye-level with the blue-haired woman. The two stared for a moment, watching each other with familiar unpredictability. They held each other’s gaze for almost too long – both smirking, both unsure of the other. Then Toni laughed once more, though this time it was subdued, before standing back up and continuing her shark-like circle.
“The only people who don’t want me are the ones who don’t understand me.”
“We don’t understand you, not entirely,” Ricki interjected. There was silence as Toni regarded him, and the trio looked at one another as if it were a challenge – a showdown. Guns at sunset, only the twins were unarmed and Toni only had Rebecca’s glass of wine that she had stolen sometime during the lingering eternity they had stared at each other for. “You’re a mystery, even to us.”
The tension in the air fell. The airlocks were opened, and the pressure was relieved. Their guns were drawn and two fired blanks. Toni kept her bullets ready.
“Exactly,” Toni replied, voice dark and sharp, a prominent change from her usual thick Yorkshire accent. “You understand me.”
The VIP lounge door opened and all darkness was sucked from the room. A woman entered the room, and Toni’s gaze shifted from one of contempt to that of a predator. Though the reporter was dressed in an outfit that most would hope presented them in a professional light, all Toni saw was a blouse ready to be ripped off and a skirt that would look better rucked up around her the woman’s hips.
“Well, look who finally turned up.” Toni fell down onto one of the black leather couches, some of the red wine spilling out of her glass and leaving red smears down her hand. “I was ready to complain about you ruining my chances of getting laid, but I think those chances just improved.”
“There’s a seat for you there,” Ricki pointed out to the surprisingly indifferent reporter, gesturing to the chair opposite himself and his sister.
“Yeah, on my fa—“
“On the chair.” Ricki glanced back at Toni, who already had the biggest shit-eating grin on her face. “You will have to be patient with our client, she is not used to having her night disturbed.”
“It’s fine,” the reporter replied as she took her seat, fixing Toni with a pointed glance. “I’m Rachel Eaver from Sports Observer Online – apologies for the short notice, but this was an opportunity that couldn’t be passed up. Leave it too late and you have a hundred reporters asking for the ‘exclusive’ interview. I can only thank you for allowing me to speak with your client first.”
“And what about thanking me, huh?” The client in question asked from her dark corner. “I’m the one giving you the answers, the least you could do is show me some appreciation.”
Rachel only smiled. “Toni Gunn, isn’t it? ‘The Yorkshire Ripper’: two-time BCW Champion, two-time EvoPro World Champion, one-time E3 Blood and Steel Champion and now one of the newest members of Friday Night Rampage.”
“That’s me.”
“Quite the resume. What brings you to EWC, or more specifically, Friday Night Rampage?”
“Oh, let’s see.” Toni gave a few exaggerated ‘thinking’ expressions and gestures before continuing. “Well, there’s the money, of course. Being on EWC means being paid a lot of cash. And I get the chance to kick the crap out of some of the ‘finest talent’ there is today. I know you probably expected me to come up with some stereotypical BS answer, or you know, something about doing it for my dead parents or whatever the hell people get into wrestling for now, but that’s not the case. Let’s face it – everyone is doing it for the same reasons. They just don’t want to say it. I guess it’s not PC to say you want to beat the hell out of a bunch of self-righteous twats and get paid to do it.”
“Do you think your…strong personality and opinions will hold you back?”
“They better not. I know about pissing people off – I’ve done it a bunch of times before. And I know that when people are pissed off, they try to stand in your way and do whatever they can to see you fail. Do you know how many people have tried to stop me? When I returned, all they wanted to do was stop me. ‘Don’t let this crazy bitch get the title, don’t let her win.’ But look at me now. I always get my way, whether people like it or not. And hey, if I need support, I always have the Krays to back me up. Ricki’s a lawyer.”
Ricki gave a small, satisfied nod.
“So you better not write anything too bad about me in your exclusive. There was a reporter down in London who tried to do that a year or two back – before I had the twins. Didn’t go too well for him. I’d tell you to have a chat with him, but he doesn’t do much talking anymore.” A smug grin ripped across Toni’s face as she brought the glass of wine – which was now half-empty – up to her lips and drained it dry. Though Rachel tried to remain unfazed, there was a clear indication of unease in her gaze as it watched the so-called ‘Beast of Babylon’. The reporter couldn’t tell if Toni was drunk or in complete control, and it left her shaken.
“Thank you for your time, but I’ll be leaving now,” Rachel said as she began to leave her seat. The Kray Twins’ eyes followed her, whilst Toni’s head lolled back onto the couch, an exaggerated sigh escaping her.
“Is that it? You get all this time with me and that’s it?”
“There’s other new signees to catch up with, I’m afraid. I’ll call you if I ever want another exclusive.”
“No,” Ricki replied, his tone heavy. It prompted Rachel to freeze at the door, her gaze transfixed on the man. “We’ll call you.” He and Rebecca smirked almost in unison, and when the reporter looked over to Toni, she found one of Rampage’s newest stars staring back at her with a glint of unabashed evil in her eyes.
“Of course.” Rachel nodded before slipping out of the room, the door slamming shut behind her.
Toni looked to her managers, an amused laugh filling the VIP room with more life than it had ever experienced, even on good nights. “She’ll be back. They always return.”
“She will definitely come back. She’s our newest contact, after all.” Ricki spoke as if he knew something no one else did – Toni hated it, and responded in kind with an obvious snarl.
“When was that decided?”
“As soon as she walked out of the room.” There was a moment where the two stared at one another. However, Ricki glanced away first. An intelligent move, considering Toni still had that wine glass in hand.
“The stars are aligned,” Rebecca murmured, changing the subject as her gaze shifted up and then over to her client. “All that’s left is for you to rise.”
“That’s what I’m gonna do.” Toni spoke with the utmost confidence as she held her empty glass up in the air, toasting to some unknown cause. “Rise to the fuckin’ top.”
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