It is a late afternoon in the city, the sun not quite setting but deepening to a reddish hue. A medium sized arena has just let out from the latest WZCW house show in Cleveland, Ohio. Fans are streaming out, buzzing about the great show theyd just seen. Threading his way through the crowd is Leon Kensworth, trying to enter the arena. He was there to grab a few post show interviews. He keeps his head down as he overhears the chatter of the crowd.
Mommy, when I grow up, I want to be just like Drake Callahan!
Um, no, sweetie, you dont.
Daddy, can we buy the magic juice that Drake has?
Uh, well
Mommy, why does Drake stumble and fall down so much?
Hes, erm, hes very tired, honey
Leon shakes his head as he hears the talk. The crowd breaks apart and he looks up at the entrance of the arena, clearing away of fans. He climbs the steps and enters the arena. There are a few stragglers about, but mostly the halls are populated by trash and employees cleaning up. Suddenly, a roar erupts from a small group of fans that had remained behind. Drake Callahan has entered the hallway from a small side door. He blinks at the roar and looks confused for a moment as a group of fans surround him.
Uhh, no hablo ingles?
The crowd laughs and Drake chuckles along nervously. They begin to hold papers and pens out at him, faces alight with anticipation.
Seriously, no hablo ingles here
uhhh
Leon!
Leon had walked by the scene, hoping to avoid it. He had other interviews to get to and he wasnt keen on returning to interviewing Drake again.
Can I help you, Drake?
These people, uh, these good fans, they, er, seem to want something from me
Leon rolls his eyes.
Autographs, Drake, they want autographs.
Drakes face lights up in sudden realization.
Oh! Right, right, fans like those, dont they? Sorry folks, its been awhile.
The crowd only laughs again, taking it all in stride.
Okay, uh, who can I make this out to?
Jason, please, sir.
Drake scribbles something vaguely resembling a J on the paper, followed by his attempt at his own name, which looks something like a kindergarteners handwriting.
Well, there you go, have a good one. Whos next?
Drake continues signing autographs for the small crowd.
Whos this one for?
Um, just make it out to eBay.
Ha, thats a funny name. Your parents called you eBay?
Um, sure?
Drake snorts as he holds back laughter.
Sorry, there you go.
The crowd clears off and Drake brushes his hands off on his pants and sighs deeply.
Well, thatd be the last of them
Excuse me, sir?
A young, blonde woman that had stood apart from the crowd takes a nervous step toward Drake. She looks intently at his face. Drake looks back at her and gives his sloppiest grin.
Well, hello, little lady. Can I help you?
She keeps staring intently for a moment, before realizing what shes doing and hurriedly going to her purse.
Um, an auto, sorry, an autograph, please?
Drake keeps smiling as he takes her pen and paper.
Course.
While hes signing, she returns to staring deeply and intently at his face, biting her lip a little.
H
.a
.n
.and done. There you go, miss!
It takes her a moment to take the proffered autograph. She stuffs it away, barely looking at it.
Um, thank you.
She takes a few steps backward and Drake turns aside. She keep staring at him, but Drake has his back turned now. Leon, however, sees her watching. She makes eye contact with Leon and rapidly breaks off, scurrying out of the arena. Leon takes a look at Drake, who, oblivious, has stepped up to a concession stand.
One of your finest ales, good innkeep.
The young concession stand worker looks at him dully.
We, uh, stopped serving anything an hour and a half ago
Right, right, to everyone else, but come on, Im Drake Callahan. You can give me a beer, right?
The worker gives an uncomfortable glance at the floor before answering.
No, er, I really cant. Sorry.
Drake is about to say something else, but the worker hurries off. Leon has watched the scene with a kind of tired resignation. Well, he had to interview Drake anyway.
Drake, hey, are you up for an interview?
Drake meanwhile, has been frantically running his hands through his hair.
No beer, no beer, what am I going to do
Drake?
Leon! Theres no time. We have to get back to...uh
youll see.
Drake grabs Leon by the arm and charges toward the entrance.
Drake! Whats the meaning of this?
No time, Leon, no time!
Just as he reaches the exit, Drake suddenly exclaims out and turns around, smacking Leon headfirst into the side of the door.
Drake!
Leon! We havent got time for your silliness!
Leon groans and resigns himself to his fate. Soon, Drake has marched them back to the merchandise stand, where a worker is closing up.
Hi!
The worker looks up at them, Drake grinning maniacally while holding a breathless Leon at his side. He raises an eyebrow a little.
Hi
I need belts.
Theres a Mens Warehouse on East 5th
No, no, championship belts. Big, gold things.
Oh, weve got those. Whatre you after?
One Mayhem, one Eurasian, please.
Thatll be
.$550, sir.
Drake raises a hand and opens his mouth, but stalls there. He gives a quick look to Leon.
No way, Jose. What happened to your winners purse from Ascension?
Drake gives him an incredulous look.
What do you think happened?
Stupid question. How much have you got?
$40
but I was hoping to eat tonight.
The clerk clears his throat.
I, uh, have got these micro toy foam belts
theyre ten apiece.
Drake lights up.
Great! One Mayhem, one Eurasian, please.
They quickly complete the transaction and Drake takes his new belts. He moves to grab Leon again, but Leon shrugs him off hard and they walk back to the exit together.
What do you need the belts for?
Youll see.
Leon rolls his eyes again.
Where are we going, Drake?
Shh, youll see!
They quickly reach the street, backed up with traffic. Drake looks for a cab and rapidly enters a car.
Driver! To West 9th, stat!
Drake looks out the window at the arena and drums his fingers happily on the sill. He sees Leon approaching again, quickly.
Good, hes catching up
whys he look so freaked out?
Leon reaches the car and starts hammering on the window, but hes inaudible to Drake.
Hmm, Ill have to let him in.
He tries to slide over, but encounters resistance. He looks down and sees an eight year old little girl looking back at him, wide eyed.
Oh, hi.
Hi.
Could you move over?
Um.
Hey, whoa, are those pony action figures?
Yes
Drake gives a furtive glance around the backseat.
Fluttershy is my favorite, but dont tell anyone.
O...k
The door rips open and Leon grabs Drake, red faced and panting.
Drake! This isnt a cab!
Wha?!
Drake looks around and sees that he is, in fact, inside a small grey sedan with a terrified young woman in the front seat.
Please leave my car.
Are you sure youre not a cab driver?
Yes, please leave.
Drake sighs glumly.
Darn it. This always happens to me.
He exits and waves goodbye to the little girl. He shuts the door and the car speeds off as fast as possible.
I knew she didnt smell very Turkish
Drake!
Leon, hey, we need a cab.
Leon looks as if hes about to start ripping his hair out.
Drake, you are going to get arrested one of these days.
Drake beams.
Already was! Got off scot free. Pretty sure that makes me invincible in the future.
That is so far from an accurate depiction of the legal system, I couldnt even begin to explain it.
Drake, however, has happily drifted back to the sidewalk looking for another cab. Leon angrily goes to him.
Look, Ill get the cab this time, okay? Just, please, settle down.
Can I have juice?
I havent got any juice.
Drake pouts.
I never get any juice
Leon rubs his temples. How had his day gone so wrong, so fast? He hails a real cab and the two step inside. Drake inhales deeply.
Ah! Now thats Turkish.
Er, Drake, where to?
West 9th, please.
The cab takes off. Drake starts humming to himself. Leon breaks the silence.
Drake, mind if we get some material on the way?
Shoot.
How do you feel about the win last week?
Good, I guess.
You sound uncertain.
Drake shrugs.
I wanted a title match. Its part of the Great Drake Retri
wait, I cant tell you about that. Not here. Wait.
Alright
are you confident about facing Phoenix again this week?
Well, I beat him once. Pretty easy to do it again.
Do you think you should be more cautious about underestimating your opponent?
I dont really think these things through, Leon. I just, you know, give a little bit of the one-two, a suplex here and there, and hopefully things come together. Maybe sometimes I try to think about what my opponents are like, but Phoenix is kind of like 'Whoa, who's that guy, man'. So, Im mostly going for the strategy of beat him up until he stops getting up.
Truly, you are a wise master.
Thanks, old buddy.
Leon suppresses his groan this time. The cab pulls up to the street. Drake rapidly exits the cab, leaving Leon to pay the fare. He grumbles about it a little and shoots an angry glare at Drake when theyre both on the street. Drake responds with an innocent grin.
Come on, Leon, I have something to show you.
Drake enters a small apartment building on the street and ascends to the third floor.
This is a place Im renting in the city. Come on.
He unlocks the door and steps inside. The apartment inside is small but relatively well kept. A small living room is dominated by a table too large for the room, on which is a great poster board.
What is
Shhh, Leon, first things first.
Drake enters the kitchen and returns with two beers.
Drake, I cant drink on the job.
Oh, I know, these are for me.
He cracks open the first and downs it so fast that Leon has to blink to make sure his eyes arent deceiving him. He puts back about half of the second one and then smacks his lips.
Oh, yeah. Thats the good stuff. What are you just standing there for, Leon, we have things to do!
Leon shoots a baffled look at Drakes back as he goes to the table. Leon joins him and examines the poster. Drake sets down his title belts in two certain locations on the poster, then steps back to admire it.
What is this, Drake?
Do you like it? Its the Great Drake Retribution Project for the Restoration of Glory to Inebriated Gentlemen! Or the GDRPRGIG, for short.
I, uh
I dont know what to say, Drake.
Thats okay, I was pretty awestruck when I thought it up myself. It Is pretty impressive, I know. Here, let me show you.
He points at the top of the poster.
See, the first step I have to take to retribution is remembering the past. Ive pieced it together, up there. The title belts are supposed to be reminders of the belts I held, back in the day. See, the first thing up there, the Sprint for the Spot
then the tag team with whats his name, Chock-a-holic, or something
then I wrestled for the Elite X Championship, remember? But then it gets good
see, there I win the Mayhem belt, then the Eurasian
then
Drake has come to the end of his past section.
Then you get destroyed by Showtime and carted off by Reider.
Drake drinks deeply while staring at the board. Yeah, he says, melancholy in his voice.
Leon sees the sadness come over Drake, so he tries to encourage him.
So, uh, whats next, there?
Drake perks up a little.
Okay, so, this is the present section now, right? So you can see there is me returning, and then I beat Phoenix. And now
now my match this week, this is really important Leon. Because, you know, when I got taken out last time, I was on my way to the Lethal Lottery. And now were headed back there. Somehow, Leon, I know
I know that if I had just made it to that show, Id have beaten Showtime, Id have kept my title, and I would have gone places
but I lost it all, and I never got there. But I know that if I can get back there this time, I will, Leon, I will find the success I left there...
So you need to beat Phoenix this week, to get into the Lethal Lottery. Then, you get to the show, and you channel the success you would have had two years ago
to win.
Drake grins widely.
Youre so smart, Leon! Thats the plan, yep. So you see here, I win the Lethal Lottery, and then I go on to Kingdom Come
and there, I become
He pulls aside a small cloth that Leon hadnt noticed before, unveiling, in the bottom right corner of the poster, a nearly perfect replica of the WZCW World Heavyweight Championship belt.
This is, um, where most of my purse went to.
So thats what youre after, then?
Its the only thing Im here for, Leon. I need it. I need to be champion, because thats what I was destined for then. Im on my way back now. I need to prove that I can fulfill my destiny. That just because I lost it once, doesnt mean its lost forever.
Leon nods.
I understand, Drake. I wish you the best of luck.
He offers his hand.
Drake spits in his and shakes Leons hand with deadly seriousness. Leon grimaces and recoils as soon as his hand is free.
Drake, uh, one more question. Off the record.
Sure.
That girl from the arena today
did you know her? She seemed very interested in you.
What girl?
The blonde, you signed an autograph for? The last one?
Drake screws up his face.
Nope. No idea.
Leon shrugs. Just a thought. Never mind. Ill leave you to your planning, then.
Drake has already returned to his board, pencil in hand, making revisions here and there while muttering to himself. He waves vaguely to Leon as he shows himself out. On the landing, Leon takes one more look at the door, and walks away. The only thought he cant get out of his head is this:
Who was that girl?