The End of Nowhere
April 27, 2008, 6:45 a.m.
He was awake just before the sun rose, as seemed to be his
custom. Quietly he stood up, making
certain not to disturb his guest sleeping on the hide-away bed folded out from
the south wall of his cabin, and walked out to the large rock he always sat on
when he needed to think through some things.
Sunrise...this was his
time, that one time of the day where he felt that all might be right with the
world. The start of a new day that could
lead to perhaps the dawn of a new hope...a new dream...a new legacy that would
stand the test of time. There were innumerable
opportunities that branched away from this moment; all it took was the drive
and the will to turn them from opportunity into reality.
Twice before, he had the chance to walk the golden road to
glory in NLW. Twice, he had been
defeated by someone who wanted it just as much and had a stronger will to
achieve it. There was an old expression,
the third time pays for all, which seemed quite apropos to the
situation. All he had to do was to make
it happen in Atlanta, in one week’s time.
That led to the roadblock he would have to navigate: Draco.
In these early morning hours, he could let his attention focus, before
his guest awoke and the fecal matter hit the rotating blades. Contrary to popular belief, he had heard the
comments made by the so-called “Hellacious One.” To a point, though...he had been right.
It took him a while to let that fact sink in, but he
eventually concluded that Draco was right.
Yes, some of the things he had thought in regards to Draco’s moral
character and personality were simply trite remarks...though in no means were
they wrong. It’s just that sometimes the
truth hurts, and Draco seemed little more than a child, wanting to throw a
hissy fit when someone tells him something he didn’t like. He could picture the image of a smaller Draco
with the same personality he had at the present (only magnified), and suddenly
felt sorry for whoever Draco’s parents were.
They did not deserve that sort of Hell-on-Earth punishment.
As for his remark about “Midcarder Terrace” or whatever
kind of rubbish he was spouting, only one prominent thought came to his
mind. If he was a midcarder (as Draco
claimed him to be), then what did that say for Draco, who was being made to
wrestle him? What did that tell Draco
about the management of NLW, who thought him only worthy enough to wrestle in
the mid-card ranks? It sounded to him
like the pot calling the kettle black, and it rang hollow in his ears.
Sure, he never claimed to be main-event material. Most people in this industry are far from
it. But he was reliable; he always
brought his best to the ring (which is far more than he could say for numerous
others who had left NLW). If that made
him a midcarder, then so be it. Better
to be a steady midcard worker than a main-event wannabe prima donna. He was beyond caring what his opponent
thought. By now nothing that Draco could
say would throw him off his game.
Sighing, he stared off in the distance as the sun
continued to rise. He knew he had to
enjoy these last few moments of peace while he could. In just a couple of hours’ time, there would
be retribution to dole out, as a meeting of the minds was scheduled to happen
inside his cabin. Erick Adams, the local
sheriff for Harford County, would be leading the operation. Chief John Lincoln would be with them as a
representative of the Portland Police Bureau, the home jurisdiction for this
case. Assisting them, at his request,
was Detective Elyssa Anderson from the Los Angeles Police—one of the few people
he trusted implicitly in his life.
In short, there were plenty of law enforcement officers on
hand to do the job right. But he needed
to see it happen, if only to finally close a chapter that should have been
closed years ago. He wanted nothing left
to chance this time. She would be the
first step in fixing all of the issues he had been made to endure since
returning to wrestling full-time in late January. From there, like proverbial dominoes, the
rest would fall, and all would make itself known.
Just like every journey, it was taking the first step that
would be the problem.
Sighing again, he stood up and stretched a bit, knowing
that Elyssa would be up soon and that the rest of the task force would be en
route to this location within fifteen minutes.
That gave him an hour to prepare for things. Walking back inside the cabin, he was greeted
by the sight of Elyssa rising from the bed, checking her tools to make certain
they were ready to go. He smiled as he
walked it and leaned against the wall.
“Mornin’.”
“Good morning, Will.
Ready for today?”
“As ready as I’ll ever be, which isn’t saying much. I just needed some time this morning to clear
some other thoughts out of my head.”
She simply nodded at this, understanding where he was
coming from. “Anything else you need to
do this morning?”
“Well...besides take a lap around the property, not
really. I’ll do that later on; it would
be rude to leave my guest alone.”
She chuckled at this, and stood up, gently taking his hand
as she closed in. “Soon, Will.”
Elyssa didn’t have to say another word. He nodded, squeezed the hand once and turned
to the door. “Come on. Let’s take a little bit of a stroll around
this bleak place. The walk will do our
legs some good and kill a little bit of time.”
Silently, the two of them walked around the End of Nowhere
for a while. He pointed out some of the
features to her during their travel, and at 8:00 they were within sight of the
house that Brandy had been staying in.
Looking off to the east, he could see a line of unmarked cars making
their way towards the access road to the End of Nowhere. A slight smile on his face, he nudged Elyssa
and pointed. She nodded slightly, and
without another word, the two of them made their way closer to the house. As they approached the trees surrounding the
house, she handed him a small digital voice recorder and walked back to the
entrance to lead the incoming police force to the house in question.
He was alone, as he wanted to be, as he walked up to the
house. Noise was coming from within, and
there was movement behind the curtains, so somebody was home. Steeling himself for the imminent confrontation,
he knocked on the door.
Five seconds turned into ten, and ten into twenty before
she opened the door, looking a bit weary and worse for wear. “Will, what are you doing here?”
“I came to ask you a couple of questions, Brandy.”
“Can’t this wait? I
have a flight I need to catch....”
“No. It cannot
wait. It’s something I should have asked
years ago. Why? Why string me along for so long, only to
leave me in the manner you did?”
“You want the truth?
You think you can handle the truth?”
“Try me.”
Brandy chuckled at this as she turned away from him,
allowing him entry. “It’s real simple,
Will. Money and power. When I got with you, you were becoming one of
the fastest rising stars in LWF, and I wanted a part of that. After they changed names, and then closed, I
knew that it would never happen. Face
it, Will--you're really just a one-hit wonder.
Your career is never going to be what it was in the old days. And worst of all, you’re too damn stubborn to
realize it. Welcome to reality,
Will. You are nothing more than a
glorified failure.”
“And James isn’t?”
That seemed to strike a nerve as she whirled around to
face him. “You leave him out of this!”
“No. You figure
that the brother of a wrestler is better than a wrestler himself? Brandy, with all due respect...what the fuck
were you thinking?”
“It’s simple. James
was supposed to be the one to come into NLW.
Ice was training him, making certain he was ready to compete, but Ice’s
greed got the best of him. James should
have gotten the Anarchy X title shot, and all of the accolades that Ice has
right now. If only those idiots in Portland would have pursued you like they were supposed
to, we would not be having this conversation now, and James would be wearing
the title belt he rightfully deserves!”
“So you were behind me getting hit in New
Orleans?”
“I am. I arranged
it to happen, and it worked. After all,
you didn’t win the title and got beat by some woman. That alone should prove something to you.”
Gotcha, Brandy.
“Oh, it does, Brandy.”
“Good! It’s about
time something got through that thick head of yours!”
“It proves that you’re guilty of conspiracy to commit
murder, conspiracy to abduct, and a whole slew of other things.”
She laughed derisively at this. “And how are you going to prove it, Will?”
“Oh, I’m not going to have anything to do with it. I just wanted to know the answers for
myself. It’s them you’re going to have
to deal with.”
“Them?”
At this, the back door of the house burst open and a swarm
of police officers streamed into the house, weapons drawn as they began to
search the place. Sheriff Adams made a
beeline towards him, with Chief Lincoln following immediately thereafter. Behind him was a third person, whom Will did
not recognize, and Elyssa brought up the rear of the small group.
Adams was first to
speak. “Will, it’s your call. Are you willing to prosecute?”
His face turned cold as he stared at Brandy, the woman he
had been willing to spend the rest of his life with at one point in time. “I say to let her ass rot in jail, Chief.”
“Will, you can’t do this to me!” She threw herself at him, hugging his knees
as she began to shed tears. “Please,
don’t do this to me!”
“Brandy, you gave up your right to have me treat you
decently when you told me you had slept with someone else right before our
marriage. I’ve tried to be civil since
then, but arranging to have me run over is too much. Now it’s your turn to live through the hell
I’ve had to deal with. Chief Lincoln,”
he continued, turning to face the head of the Portland Police Bureau, “is the
State of Oregon prepared to level additional
charges against this woman for the acts she has committed?”
Lincoln looked at him, a
countenance of surprise etched on his features.
“After everything else you’ve listened to, you’re asking me this?”
“I ask only as a law-abiding citizen. My personal feelings do not amount to
anything here. Will your District
Attorney press charges against Brandy Lynn McDonald?”
His curt nod had all the impact of an old-time executioner
giving the thumbs-down. “I’m certain
that one Ice Man will be more than willing to prosecute.”
“Save some for us, as well,” said the newcomer.
Will turned to her.
“And you are?”
“Lynn Dixon, Chief of Police, New Orleans Police
Department. Detective Anderson got in
touch with me in regards to this situation, and I think we can help with
putting this pitiful excuse for a woman away for a long, long time.”
A slow grin crossed Will’s face as he bent his head to
look at Brandy, who was still clinging to his knees. “Brandy, I think I’ll leave you in the
capable hands of these fine law enforcement officers. Allow me one final piece of advice,
unsolicited as it is. Don’t drop the
soap. Sheriff, Chiefs...take her away.”
Between the three of them, they finally pried Brandy off
of him and got the handcuffs on her. As
she was being dragged away, she was hurling obscenities at him, trying to
provoke him without success. The last
sight Will had of Brandy was of her being dragged away, hands cuffed behind her
back as she struggled to break free and escape the three heads of police.
Exhaling, he walked out back outside and leaned against
one of the trees in the yard. Elyssa
followed him, and sat down next to him, staring out into the barren land. “So, Will, what happens now?”
“Now, we relax for a couple of hours, and then it’s back
to work for me.”
“How so?”
“Simple. I still
have a Legacy title match to prepare for.
For the first time in a long while, I will be able to focus without
having other worries on my mind. You?”
“Well...I think I need a change of pace. L.A. is
getting too bad. I happen to have heard
that there are numerous vacancies in the Harford County Sheriff’s Office; I’m
thinking of transferring.”
That statement made him look up sharply. “You mean...?”
“Yes, Will. I will
be needing a place to stay real soon.
You don’t happen to know anyone with a room or something for rent, would
you?”
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