[We open to a black screen. After a few moments, text appears in white on the screen.]
Grudge
[gruhj]
n: A feeling of ill will or resentment
adj: Done or arranged in order to settle a grudge
[The screen begins to fade into static. Soon after, the static gives way to the image of
Stacey Madison, dressed to kill in a black low cut draped neck halter dress with a matching bikini top underneath, exiting a limo followed by a camera man. The area around is a bit of an industrial wasteland surrounding a lively nightclub. This is clearly the poor part of town. The sign on the front of the two story building says "The Sludge Pit" in bright red neon letters. There are small groups of people standing out front smoking cigarettes. Each of them looks grungy, with a variety of unnatural hair colors between them.
Stacey ignores most of them as she opens the door. Inside,
Stacey finds herself standing to the side of a bar counter which follows along the side of the wall. To her right are booths and stairs leading up. Towards the back there is an open area in front of a small stage. To the left and right of the stage, along the back walls, are more booths. The bar is crowded with folk similar to the ones smoking out front. As
Stacey works her way towards the back looking for someone, a tall psychobilly type with a pompadour and dressed in a black t-shirt and tight blue jeans with the collars rolled up approaches her opening up his arms.]
Psychobilly Creep: Hey there, baby doll, how about I...
[
Stacey doesn't break a stride as she raises her right arm, catches his face with her palm and fingers, and effortlessly turns him aside. He stumbles and knocks a drink out of the hands someone standing nearby. Those who witness this make a few cat calls and such, but also give
Stacey her room respectfully. As she continues towards the back, she finds
Gordito sitting in a booth towards the right hand side of the stage. He is alone, and dressed in a black button up shirt with a red tie, his ratty red feathered robe, and shiny black boots. His mohawk is up. He is enjoying his drink, but catches
Stacey approaching him.]
Gordito: Well, well, well, you made it. WZCW's own Stacey Madison graces me and this fine establishment...
[
Gordito raises both his arms, with his drink still in his right hand, as he says this.]
With her presence.
[
Gordito lowers his arms and places his drink on the table as he stands up to greet
Stacey.
Stacey, however, ignores his gesture and takes a seat opposite him at the round booth.]
Stacey: Please, spare me Gordito. I'm hoping I don't have to be here very long. I swear, I saw, like, a syringe on the floor or something.
Yeah, this place is kind of the skids, I'm not gonna lie. That's why I'm here. I think I might wanna clean this place up a little.
[
Stacey's face sours a little.]
A little? This place needs to be burned down or something.
Nonsense. It just needs some affection, baby. I've been talking with the owners, and I think I might buy the place. Change it up a bit, expand the stage...this place could be pretty damn awesome.
[
Stacey looks uninterested.]
That's great. Anyway, why did you ask me here? I mean, I get that you want to put out a message, and that you wanted someone to help you get that message out to the WZCW Universe, but why me?
Because Leon was too polite to just tell me he was too afraid to come here, Becky had other plans, unfortunately, and Klamor wants nothing to do with me, apparently. Thanks for coming, by the way.
Well, whatever, because I have some questions for you anyway.
Go ahead and shoot, baby.
[
Stacey cringes a bit each time he says "baby".]
First of all, how does it feel to look like a colossal fool after discovering that Kurtesy wasn't the one with the Mayhem belt?
[
Stacey smirks thinking she's got
Gordito in a hard spot with this one.]
Well, Stacey, I think it's hardly the first time I've looked a little foolish. It probably won't be the last either. But I'm not entirely sold yet that things are what they seem. Kurtesy still has some questions to answer. As long as that belt is missing, he is still a suspect in my book. So we saw some chick drop the belt off into a car. That wasn't total proof that Kurtesy wasn't involved somehow.
Whatever! The car licese plate was clearly labelled "JON3S". You know, as in Chris Jones, the saviour Chris Jones, someone you're quite familiar with already, if I remember.
Don't get me wrong; Jones is already on my crap list, and this doesn't improve his standing with me. But this is how I see it right now: Jones was in that match. He was there, baby. If he had some back up, and could kill the lights, why wouldn't he have just set himself up to win the belt then and there, instead of this nonsense? And if there's one thing I know about Jones, he usually does things alone.
You're seriously defending a rival? Are you sure you aren't just being too stubborn to admit that you were wrong?
All I'm saying is that Chris Jones wanted to win that belt. He wants to come out and wear it and rub it in my damn face. He wants to be able to gloat to you and I and the WZCW Universe that he saved the Mayhem Division. Kurtesy, though...Kurtesy couldn't care less about Mayhem. He seems like he has more motivation to get rid of the belt. I thought he was trying to make and impact, after the failure he's had in the tag division this year. But, after seeing what he had to say last week, I'm convinced he knows more than he's telling.
But you admit that you might not know what you're doing? That you might be wrong? That maybe you are acting before you know what's going on?
Rushing in head first is kind of my style...
And that's why Doug Crashin is out of competition this week! Your reckless campaign to defend the Mayhem Division led to Doug getting put violently through a table, by you. What's next?
Whoa, whoa, whoa there, baby. Let's get one thing straight: missing belt or no missing belt, when you put me in that ring I will take every inch the rules, the general managers, and my opponents give me. It was a no disqualification match! And, wasn't that sweet sweet Meteor of War dropped only after Crashin put Baez into a trash can with a powerbomb? Which, by the way, was pretty damn sweet looking, to be honest. Hope that doesn't upset Baez, but man...that's the Crashin I want to see more often.
Well, you aren't seeing him anytime soon!
I know, I know, and I'm not a monster. I sent the guy a get well soon card with a nice bottle of whiskey. But the point is that he would have done the same. And that's what I want out of my opponents, every time we get into that ring, baby.
Again, spare me. I don't get that about you; how are you both hedonistic and disgustingly wholesome? I just...ew.
I'm one of a kind, Stacey, one of a kind.
I certainly hope so. So what is it you want to say? What is your message that you had to drag me out here to this hole...
Pit. Sludge Pit.
Whatever.
It's Kurtesy, what else? I've said some things about him, he's said something about me, the asshole probably still knows what's going on and isn't telling, and I put his buddy threw a table. This has pretty quickly become a thing; a grudge, if you will. You know, I love a good rivalry and all but really, I just want to find out what the hell is going on around here. Next week, on Ascension, I get Kurtesy, one on one. No weapons, no ladders, but I can still bring the Mayhem. I want to get this all out at once. He's a mind doctor or something, isn't he? He knows it's better to work these kind of things out than to bottle them up over time. You gotta let these kind of things out, baby. I know he's sitting there, at his desk, with the lights off, fuming over his ill will and resentment for me. I'd hate me too, if I were him.
So, what, you think you're just going to beat some non-existent answers out of him? What more are you going to do to the guy?
Give him what he wants. Last week we had my kind of match, this weeks it's his. I get the chance to get some answers out of him, and he gets the chance to teach that lesson in respect he was saying he wanted to give me. It's a win-win situation, baby.
[
Stacey looks at her cell phone to check the time.]
So, is there anything else you wanted to say?
The Dirty Train is moving ahead at full speed, Stacey. And there's not going to be any slowing down until things are set back to right around WZCW. Change, baby. Change is sweeping through WZCW. Can't you feel it? From top to bottom, everything's being shaken up. And The Dirty One is not one to rest and watch change happen. I prefer to get in there, get my hands dirty, and make my place in the new order of things. It's gonna make me some friends, and it's going to make me some enemies, but I wouldn't have it any other way.
If you say so. I think that's about it then.
I don't suppose I can talk you into to hanging out a bit?
[
Stacey laughs out loud at this.]
In your dreams, grunge boy. I'm out of here.
[
Gordito starts to wave goodbye to
Stacey as she gathers her things and leaves.]
Give my best to Crashin and Klamor, Stacey!
[
Gordito watches her leave, and then flags the bartender for another round. As a pink-haired waitress in very short torn jean shorts and a fishnet top over a black bra brings him his drink, the camera fades to static.]
