-Open-
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New York City
The Lower East Side
1976
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We find ourselves on the busy streets of downtown New York City during the middle of the day. The style of clothing everybody is wearing is reeking of the 70's. Two men walk on by wearing button up shirts and bell bottom jeans. Walking in the opposite direction is a black guy wearing bell bottoms with black tee shirt and a huge afro that bounces slightly with every strut he takes. As he walks, he looks towards the storefronts just to see himself in the feint reflection of the glass. He's so self involved that he doesn't notice what's right in front of him, walking right into a young child in a baseball cap.
Whoa. Sorry little man.
The man feels bad for walking into the kid, but the child simply keeps walking in the opposite direction. The man shakes his head and continues on his way. He approaches a subway station and walks down the stairs. There is graffiti everywhere once you walk into the subterranean station. The stylish man walks up to the turnstile and reaches for his wallet where he keeps his subway tokens. He pats his back pocket, but feels nothing. Quickly, in a subdued panic, he pats all four of his pants pockets. Nothing. With his panic a little more obvious now, he looks around on the floor while feeling his pockets over once more. He looks back towards the stairs as the realization has just set in.
Shit!
The scene abruptly cuts to the little boy the man bumped into moments before. He walks into a project building and towards the elevator. Once the door closes behind him and he is alone, he reaches into his pocket and pulls out a wallet. It's brown leather, far too mature for a kid his age. He pulls out the cash, a couple of 20 dollar bills, just as the elevator doors open.
As he walks in, he purposefully drops the wallet in the crack between elevator and the floor. We can hear it drop to the floor below. He presses the button to go to the 10th floor. After a couple of moments, the doors open, and he gets out. He looks to his left down the hallway, but see's nothing. He looks to the right, and again nothing. Just then, the silence is broken by a soft but crisp noise.
Psst!
The kid turns back towards his left and sees an older man, around his mid thirties, sticking his head out of an apartment door. With his hand, he motions the kid to come over quickly. Without hesitation, the kid obliges and quietly jogs over to him.
Why'd you-
Shh!
The man cuts him off right away as he motions for him to get inside the apartment. As the kid walks in, he tries to ask another question.
Who's apar-
Shut up!
Again, he is cut off as he's hurried inside. The man closes the door and locks it. He then gently pushes the kid away from the door and further into the apartment. The man speaks up in a soft whisper.
Keep it down!
The child replies with a subdued volume as well.
Sorry! Who's apartment is this? What are we doing here?
Don't you worry about that. All you need to know is this: there is a safe in the bedroom that contains more jewelry than Mr. T owns. I found out the location and when the apartment would be empty. I picked the lock on the door no problem, but I told you to meet me here because I can't pick a safe like you can, son.
Somebody living in this crappy project building has a safe full of jewelry? This guy must be a drug dealer. You sure we should be getting involved with this type of person, dad?
He'll never know we were even here, son. Trust me. I even brought your tools. Come on.
The man, who we now know is this kid's father, walks to the bedroom. His son follows closely behind. The man opens up the closet and easily finds a small safe tucked away on the shelf above some clothes. He places the safe on the bed and hands the kid a small tool kit.
Make it quick, son. We don't have much time.
The kid eyes the safe, and flashes a sinister smile.
Child's play.
He walks over to the safe and begins getting to work. The father walks over towards the bedroom door with a suspicious look on his face.
Wait.
The kid stops, and looks up.
What?
His father holds his hands up, wanting his kid to stay quiet.
Do you hear something?
The kid listens.
No.
Just then, the silence is broken by the soft sound of keys jangling in the distance.
He's here!
The man closes the bedroom door quickly and quietly. We can hear the keys being inserted into the lock, and then, the lock turning. The man hurries over towards the bed. He grabs the small safe and tucks it under his arm, and then heads over towards the window. He opens it up, and looks over to his son.
We're gonna have to go down the fire escape, son. Let's go!
Without hesitation the child hops off the bed and gracefully leaps through the window feet first, landing quietly on the metal fire escape, below. His father steps out much less gracefully. As he steps out, he accidentally lets the window slam shut, making a loud noise. The father and son look at each other for a brief moment before they start quickly heading down the fire escape. The kid is first, with his father following closely behind. They make it down a couple of flights before they hear the window open violently. An angry looking man sticks his head out the window and looks down, spotting the father and son hightailing it down the fire escape.
Ayo! I'ma kill both of y'all!!!
He ducks back into his room, presumably preferring to take the elevator down instead of the fire escape. The man and child barely pay any attention to him, as they continue making their way to the bottom. They get to the last flight on the fire escape, but the ladder that is supposed to descend to the street below them is so rusty that it won't move.
We're gonna have to jump down!
The kid looks down.
That's a pretty far drop, pops! I don't think I can do it.
It's okay. I'll go first. I'll give you the safe, I jump down, then you drop the safe down to me, and then I'll catch you.
Are you sure?
Trust me.
The man hands the safe to his son and then climbs over the railing and tries to lower himself as much as possible before having to jump. He hangs on with just his hands, and then let's go. He falls all the way down to the concrete sidewalk below. He tries to land on his feet but the fall was just too high, and he tumbles down onto his side.
Argh!!
He gets up while grimacing in pain, and looks up towards his son. The kid tosses the safe down. The father lets the heavy safe hit the floor, but it barely even gets a scratch on it. He looks up to see his kid climbing over the fire escape railing. He hangs off the side of it. Just then, we can see the man they stole from appear on the sidewalk. The father reaches down for the safe and begins to run away in the opposite direction. The kid doesn't even realize this, and let's go. He falls all the way down to the concrete floor. His head smacks off the sidewalk. Blood can be seen flowing out from underneath his head. The screen then abruptly goes black.
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New York City
Vega's Penthouse
Present Day
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The familiar sight of Vega and Alexis sitting on the couch in their large living room greets us. In front of them on the coffee table is a luxurious looking decanter containing scotch. Next to it are two glasses, both with ice cubes in them and nothing else. Vega looks calm, his eyes fixated on the bottle of scotch. Meanwhile, Alexis has a more disturbed look on her face.
What happened next?
Vega shakes his head.
Don't know. I woke up in the hospital. I suffered a cracked skull and a broken wrist from that fall. He never visited me while I was in there. Nobody did. I was alone in that hospital for weeks.
What about your mother?
My mom wasn't in the picture much. At least, not at that point in my life... but she's a whole other story that I won't get into now.
Okay. So, did you ever see you father again?
Vega simply smiles.
Yeah...
Once.
Alexis remains silent, awaiting for him to continue. Instead, Vega reaches for the scotch, and opens it up. He pours some into his glass, and gently places the decadent decanter back on the table before placing the lid back on. Vega holds the glass of scotch on the rocks in his hand as he leans back, and enjoys the view of his drink. Only the noise of the ice moving around slightly in the cup is heard, before Vega breaks the silence himself.
You know what this is, Alexis?
Scotch...?
She answers, knowing that she is technically correct, yet feeling it is not the answer Vega was looking for. Vega smiles as he shakes his head.
To simply call this "scotch" would be a crime, Alexis.
Good thing we're criminals, then.
He cracks half a smirk before continuing.
Clever girl. Regardless, this is no regular bottle of scotch. One night, 3 years ago, I was sitting at home, alone, feeling rather restless. I went out for a drink, but I didn't really feel like going to a bar. Earlier that week I had read about this old real estate tycoon that placed the winning bid at a Sotheby's auction for the finest bottle of scotch ever made. It went for $460,000. Damn near half a million dollars. I decided that I wanted to see what a half a million dollar bottle of scotch tasted like.
Vega holds the glass up, as if he were giving a toast.
The Macallan 64 Year Old in Lalique... the most exquisite... most expensive scotch in the world.
After boasting about his scotch, Vega takes a healthy sized swig of his drink. He enjoys it with a smile as he looks back over to Alexis.
You stole a half million dollar bottle of scotch because you were thirsty?
Vega shrugs innocently as he enjoys another sip of his drink before leaning forward and placing his glass down on the table. He picks up the decanter, opens it up again, and pours scotch into the second glass. He adds a little more to his original glass, and places the bottle back on the table. Vega grabs both glasses, hands one to Alexis, and leans back into the sofa once again.
So, what's the occasion?
Vega looks down into his scotch on the rocks as if peering into a mirror. He brushes his hair back away from his face before speaking, all the while not looking up.
The last thing I remember my father telling me that day was... "Trust me."
He moves his glass around a little bit so that the scotch swirls around the ice.
Trust... it's a funny thing.
Strong... and fragile, at the same time. He was the last person I ever trusted. I a very young age I was taught, the hard way, that I could never trust anybody in this God forsaken world. If a father letting his own child fall to the concrete below to escape with stolen goods isn't the lowest education on trust, I don't know what is. I never trusted another human being in this world ever again...
Vega looks up from his glass and towards Alexis.
...and then I met you.
He holds up his glass towards Alexis. She responds by lifting her glass up towards his. The sound the the glasses clinking breaks the silence, and both take a sip of The Macallan 64.
You've never mentioned either of your parents to me, not once, in the almost two decades I've known you. Why now?
It's simple. I'm asking you to do something for me, and you're the only person I can ask to do this... the only person that makes sense. The last time I trusted somebody, it broke me. Not physically, but mentally. It effected my psyche for the rest of my life, to this day. But with you, it's different. I need you to understand how much it means that I trust you. This isn't us going out on some heist. This is different.
I understand the trust part, but what exactly is it that you want me to do?
Up until now, I've torn through WZCW on my own. By the time Meltdown airs, I will have gone undefeated for 6 months. Half a year. And, I did it alone. I'm asking you to start coming with me, to every show, to every Pay Per View, to every match. Be by my side every step of the way, because you're the only person I trust to watch by back.
So... you want me to be like... your manager or something?
Manager, valet, personal consultant, bodyguard, I don't care what people wanna call it... as long as you're by my side. You and me? We've been unstoppable for almost two decades. In the short time I've been in this company, I've been dominant. Imagine the type of mayhem you and I could unleash on these sorry wrestlers together?
A smile creeps up on Alexis' face.
I've been dying for you to ask me this! Hell yeah I'll do it. I can't wait to get my hands dirty. Do you realize, whenever you defend your Mayhem Title, I'll be able to interfere as much as I'd want to without the referee being able to do anything about it!? Oh my God this is gonna be so much fun! Yes! Yes!
Vega starts to smile as well, but he puts his hand up trying to calm Alexis down. She takes another sip of her drink, which helps her simmer down.
Relax. While that may be true, my next match isn't going to be contested under Mayhem Rules.
No worries. I've helped you get into the most high security locations in the world, I'm sure I'll be able to deal with a WZCW referee. Either way, I'm not worried about you this week. This Mick Overlast guy is a joke. He was supposed to have this great comeback, and he's done nothing but lose!
Yeah, I know. He's another one of these losers that has gotten more attention and more air time than me in the past. Now, he's put in my path. Another worthless object for me to steam roll over. These guys don't know what to do with me. Their afraid to put Vega in a match against their top names. They know what the outcome would be, so I'll just have to continue beating every single person they put in front of me as I slowly... but surely continue climbing that proverbial ladder of success.
You just watch. They tried to end my streak last time by partnering me up with a girl who hadn't wrestled in over two months due to a near career ending injury! So what did I do!? I took that match over and secured the victory myself! It's what I do, dammit. I wasn't going to let Isabel Stone ruin the strongest force currently going on in this company. See, it's funny... I hold the so-called least coveted Championship in this company, yet for two rounds in a row I've been named the number one wrestler in WZCW. It's about time somebody in company headquarters started realizing what I was doing. It only took 'em 6 months... but better late than never I suppose.
Slowly... but surely, I'm doing exactly what I said I'd do months ago when I won the Mayhem Championship. I said I'd make this title the hardest title to win in WZCW. I said it'd be damn near impossible for anybody to win the Mayhem Championship... and I've proven just that. It's time they start throwing some main event caliber players my way. Maybe they'll at least put up a decent fight. And now, with you by my side? It'll only make my reign of Mayhem even more dangerous for the rest of the roster.
Well, if you're this New King of Mayhem... then I guess that makes me the new Queen of Mayhem.
Vega and Alexis both smile.
I like it.
They both take another sip of their scotch, toasting to their new endeavor together. Alexis looks off the the side for a moment, thinking about something as Vega just leans back enjoying his drink. She looks over to him...
You said you saw you're father once after that time. When was that?
The look on Vega's face changes instantly. He has a more serious demeanor now as he leans forward looking down once again.
The last time I saw him...
was when I killed him.
-To Be Continued...-
