We open to the sludge pit.
Gordito sits on the stage in the back, and the rest of the place is empty.
Gordito is alone, lost in thought talking to himself.
Gordito: "
If you need some fun, you have to go out and make it yourself."
Jack Ruin enters from the front door. The rays of sunlight entering with him tell us it is mid-morning. He closes the door behind him and heads to the office when he noticed
Gordito. He drops his things and walks slowly towards the stage.
Gordito doesn't notice him.
Gordito: "
Don't take any guff from the swine. Don't let the bastards get you down."
Jack approaches the stage and stands waiting to be seen, not wanting to disturb
Gordito. His face betrays his concern for his good friend. After a few moments, he speaks up.
Jack: "
Hey Jefe."
Nothing. Again, he speaks up, a little louder.
Jack: "
Hey. Gordito."
Nothing.
Jack: "
Juan!"
Now
Gordito springs to life. Confusion flashes in his eyes momentarily as he comes out of his trance. Once he notices
Jack, though, his familiar carefree attitude shines through his face.
Gordito: "
Jack. Whew, buddy. Must not have noticed you coming in."
Jack: "
That's what she said. What's going on buddy?"
Gordito: "
Oh, don't mind me"
Gordito stands up.
Gordito: "
Just going over Kingdom Come."
Jack: "
Bummer how that went for you. But from what I hear, many were impressed by you anyway."
Gordito: "
Honestly, I'm ok with it. I've never had much problems accepting a loss before."
Jack: "
So then what's with the zombie trance?"
Gordito hesitates before responding. He looks up to the ceiling with his eyes, pondering the question for a minute before he gives his answer.
Gordito: "
You know...really..."
Gordito stands up.
Gordito: "
I guess I'm just bothered that I didn't get a chance at Baez myself."
Jack: "
Lulz, really?"
Gordito: "
I think so. I think I really wanted to prove myself to him."
Jack: "
It's not like he did any better."
Gordito: "
That's not the point. Baez helped make me who I am now. If I can't get past him, I'm never going to get anywhere around here."
Jack: "
Whatever dude. Don't you get a chance at him this week."
Gordito: "
Kinda. It's another Baez and Blade tag team deal."
Jack: "
And who're you going to be partnered with? Austin again?"
Gordito: "
No. It's Beckford."
Jack: "
Oh, no worries then. He's as good if not better than Austin, right?"
Gordito jumps off the stage and lands on his feet next to Jack.
Gordito: "
Kinda. I mean, the guy is rock solid. But..."
They both turn and head towards the office.
Gordito: "
I think he's having a rough time of things right now. I heard his mother passed...and you, it's not like Blade is someone you'd want to be tangling with at a time like that."
Jack: "
Really? Damn. That's unfortunate."
Gordito: "
Tell me about it. I mean, he's not the biggest social butterfly around WZCW. Like Austin, there's almost always someone trying to give him a hard time. Usually he can handle it well, but now...I don't know. I'm kinda worried for the guy, I guess."
Jack: "
Sounds like he could use a friend."
Gordito: "
We don't have friends in this business, Jack. You know that."
Jack: "
I don't know about that. Ty certainly reached out to you in a way. Things change, people change. But I know you. Nothing makes you feel better about things, nothing helps you clear your own head more than cheering up others. Isn't that kinda why you're doing this thing in the first place? Isn't that why you opened up this place?"
They reach the office door and step in.
Gordito plops down into a leather chair in front of the desk in the room while
Jack starts a pot of coffee.
Gordito: "
You know, you're right. Still, how am I supposed to help him?"
Jack: "
Do what you do best. Be you. Talk with the guy. Shouldn't you be planning for your match anyway?"
Gordito: "
Yeah, I guess I've just been putting that off because of what I have going on in my own life."
Jack: "
Well, what you have right now in your life is a match to win and a score to settle. I say you meet up with the dude, bring him here even. They all seem to love this place anyway."
Gordito pulls out a cell phone from his pocket while
Jack is talking. He scrolls the contacts list until he reaches the entry "Chris Beckford". He stalls.
Jack: "
You know, maybe the guy needs a night out."
Gordito pushes the button marked "Call" next to
Beckford's name. The phone rings three times before a voice answers.
Beckford: "
Hello?"
Gordito: "
Chris?"
Beckford: "
Yes...?"
Gordito: "
Hey buddy. It's Gordito. Listen baby, I was thinking we should get together before our match next week. I mean, we haven't seen each other since...well, last year really. And I..."
Gordito stalls. He can tell
Beckford seems distant. He waits for a second before talking again.
Gordito: "
Look man, I don't want to simply bore you with shop talk. We have things to discuss for prep, but really....I mean...I know you've had a hard time recently. I know I sound like an ass being all un-macho like this. But like, if you wanna swing by here before Meltdown..."
Beckford: "
That's very thoughtful of you Gordito, but I don't know if I'm up for a wild night at The Sludge Pit. No offense."
Gordito: "
No, no, I understand. But that's not quite what I meant. Come by in the morning. We'll just put on a pot of coffee and chill. No party, no loud music...at least, not then. If you feel like sticking around for that, great. But really, we do need to get to know each other a bit if we're going to be teaming together. And more importantly, I hate to see a WZCW brother having a hard time, you know?"
Beckford is silent for a second.
Beckford: "
Ok, mate. Let me see what I can do, how does that sound?"
Gordito: "
Sounds perfect, baby. You know where to find me."
Beckford: "
I do. I'll be in touch...and thank you. You really are one of a kind, Gordito."
Gordito gets off the phone in time to see
Jack pouring two cups of coffee and handing one to him.
Jack: "
So, sounds like it went well."
Gordito takes his black coffee and sips at it.
Gordito: "
Yeah. Yeah, it did."
Jack: "
So what do you plan on talking about with him."
Gordito: "
I'm actually just gonna let him say what he wants. There's a trust issue between us boys. I don't want to seem like I'm prying. Whether he wants to open up or not is his choice. I just want to be available to the guy, you know?"
Jack: "
Fair enough. But eventually the topic of Blade and Baez is going to come up."
Gordito: "
I know..."
Jack: "
So what are your thoughts on that right now? The Eurasian Champion and the man who's made it his mission to bring you down...sounds like a handful."
Gordito: "
Blade...Blade has waited a long time to taste that gold. He finally broke through that barrier I'm pounding against myself. He's no laughing matter, not someone to take lightly. However, he's still a nut. He's more interested in looking cool and hardcore as opposed to actually being cool and hardcore. It took a lot for him to beat Beckford. It's going to take a lot more for him to beat both of us."
Jack: "
And Baez? Are you sure you can keep yourself together enough not to let him get under your skin again?"
Gordito: "
Baez? HA! Remember, those two aren't the best of friends or anything like it. I fully expect Baez to end up getting disqualified for doing something stupid. I fully expect him to make an ass out of himself as usual. Lest you forget, his ass was in and out of the match before I was. I'd like to see him try and spin that into anything but what it is: at the end of the day, The Dirty One is just too much for him to break."
Both men enjoy their coffees some more.
Jack: "
I'll tell you one thing, Jefe. I'd hate to be Baez if you ever got a clean shot at him. And I mean a clean shot. No easy outs. No technical wins via a disqualification or whatnot. A straight up street fight. You'd mop the floor with him."
A wicked grin crawls upon
Gordito's face.
Gordito: "
Street fight...now THERE'S an interesting idea, man."
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
We open again to The Sludge Pit interior. It's clearly morning.
Gordito sits at the bar, nursing a cup of coffee with the pot sitting in front of him along with an unused mug. His phone rings once, and he checks it. It's a text message. The screen reads "Chris Beckford: Getting out of cab now.".
Gordito takes another sip of coffee and stands up. He goes to the door, opens it, and stands waiting in the threshold. Out front,
Beckford is seen stepping out of a yellow cab with a few small bags after handing the driver a sum of cash. The cab pulls away as Beckford turns around to greet his host this morning.
Beckford: "
So this is the famous Sludge Pit, huh?"
Gordito steps forward with his right hand extended to
Beckford.
Gordito: "
This is where the magic happens, baby. Glad you made it out here on such short notice."
Beckford reaches to scratch the back of his head lightly. The look on his face is a strange mixture of emotions: exhaustion and skepticism but also a hint of relief.
Beckford: "
Ah, don't worry about it mate. I thought about what you said, and I agree that we're better off talking things over about our match this week."
Gordito offers to help out
Beckford with his things, but he declines.
Gordito leads him into The Sludge Pit.
Beckford drops his things by the bar where
Gordito has the coffee set up, and
Gordito leads him around the place a bit.
Gordito: "
It's not much to look at, but it's sanctuary. I'm not the type to stick around at home, you feel me?"
Beckford nods as he surveys his surroundings. Chairs sit atop their respective tables, and there's no sign of the usual mischief that occurs here nightly.
Gordito seems a little put off by Beckford's distant demeanor, but it doesn't stop him from being hospitable.
Gordito: "
Anyway, I've got a pot of coffee fresh for us, or I can get you some tea if you like."
Beckford: "
Coffee is fine with me, thank you."
They head towards the bar.
Beckford has a seat at a stool while
Gordito steps behind the bar to serve him his coffee. He then picks up his cup to refill it.
Gordito: "
Ok amigo, I'm just going to cut to the chase. First of all..."
He stops to think his words over a moment.
Gordito: "
I understand things have been really...rough...for you recently."
Beckford seems a little uncomfortable at the reference to his recent losses, both of his title and of his mother.
Gordito: "
But I didn't drag you out here just to throw you a pity party, you know? I suppose we could've just talked things over on the phone or something, but I thought you might need a brief change of scenery. The point is..."
Gordito pulls up the stool behind the bar to sit opposite
Beckford.
Gordito: "
...you are a respected veteran of WZCW. Guys like myself, Saxton, Wasabi...hell, even Kravinoff and Barbosa...we were drawn to this because of guys like you. So I don't want to go beating around in stuff that's really none of my business, but I do want you to know that there are guys who respect you, and look up to you, and believe in you."
For the first time since they've sat down,
Beckford makes eye contact with
Gordito.
Gordito notices this and continues.
Gordito: "
You and I, we're going to find ourselves on opposite sides of the ring again sometime or another, and we may or may not be getting along very well when that happens. But I can tell things have been weighing on you pretty heavily, man. And I guess I just wanted to tell you in person that as much as pretty words from an overweight Mexican-American can't fix everything, I believe you are capable of shrugging all of this off and becoming even stronger for it."
There is a moment of silence before
Beckford breaks it.
Beckford: "
I don't know what to tell you. I mean..."
He adjusts himself in his seat.
Beckford: "
It's pretty rare for any of the WZCW boys to do something like you are doing now. I apologize if I'm not really up to opening up like that to you right now. I just don't function that way. But it takes a lot of courage to attempt what you are trying to do, and it reflects well on the type of man many people find you to be."
Gordito chuckles briefly to lighten the mood.
Gordito: "
I'm just doing what I to, as usual. I guess that's how I function."
Beckford: "
Right. You keep that up. You've had a run that many people go their entire careers chasing, so don't you let bitter people like Baez ruin that for you."
Gordito: "
And don't you let Blade do the same to you, Becks."
Beckford winces lightly as
Gordito continues.
Gordito: "
People like that...they only exist to drain the energy of others. They are leeches, ticks...parasites of the worst type. They operate mainly on the fear and doubt that they can inspire. But if you are strong enough, if your will fuels the flame of your resolve powerfully enough, they can't get their little teeth in deep enough to do that."
Beckford looks through
Gordito momentarily. He thinks back to not long ago...to the note he received from Blade.
Beckford: "
You're right."
Gordito: "
So then, about those two. It's hard to call, really. We've got our work cut out for us."
Beckford nods as he sips at his coffee.
Gordito: "
I mean, it was raw deal last time I faced off against that pair of asses, what with Constantine sticking his big nose in to slight Reynolds. But they aren't BFF's by any measure, and that's still something we can work with."
Beckford: "
I don't know...Blade didn't really have a place in that match. He didn't seem to be interested much in anyone who was a part of it. Myself, on the other hand...he's made it his crusade to ruin my life and my career."
Gordito: "
All the more reason for their emotion balance to be totally out of wack. With Reynolds and I, it was just another day at the office. With you, it's much more personal. And a hyped up Blade is much more likely to end up at Baez's throat than a distant apathetic Blade."
Beckford: "
Good point."
Gordito: "
You just focus on giving this your best. Don't worry about Kingdom Come. Don't give him power when he tries flaunting that in front of you. That's your title. You WILL get it back from him if you will it to be so."
Beckford stares off at nothing again as both men sip their coffees.
Beckford: "
And Baez? I notice you've left him out of this."
Gordito:
"Baez is...I don't know how to properly explain what I feel about him right now. I mean, I miss kicking it with him. In a few different ways, he was a big part of me being where I am now. But I'm not losing sleep over it. He made his choice, and I respect that. I've made mine. I won't be bullied by him. I won't be shamed by him. I'm proud of what I've accomplished, baby, and I refuse to let him keep me from doing even more."
Beckford snaps out of his daze, as if inspired by
Gordito's thoughts.
Beckford: "
You know what Gordito? I think come Meltdown we're going to be just fine out in that ring."
Beckford raises his coffee towards
Gordito.
Beckford: "
Cheers, mate."
Gordito raises his mug to match
Beckford's gesture, speaking as they clink together.
Gordito: "
Amen to that, baby. To perseverance, determination, and much ass kicking."
For the first time in what may have been a long while,
Beckford genuinely smiles. Then
Gordito opens his mouth again.
Gordito: "
So, think you might be up to swinging by here tonight?"
Beckford: "
Uh...let me get back to you about that."
Gordito starts to talk up the night life of the Sludge Pit while
Beckford begins to wonder if coming out here was the greatest idea.
