The Evil That Men Do

The Evil That Men Do

“Pull someone’s fingernails out and they’re wanting Mommy so badly that they fall into the arms of the very monster who did it to them.”

― John Manchester, Never Speak

{Port Arthur, Texas - The day after Act of Defiance}

Off-camera

I hated the dentist office, the smells, the crying of children who were terrified, it really grated on my nerves. Yet here I was making sure that the damage done by Amber was looked at. I’m pretty sure I’ve been hit and kicked harder before but I can’t remember when. That woman was something else. Taking shots at me on twitter, I felt like I gave as good as I got in those exchanges. It was fun and funny in spots. I sat patiently as the doctor finished up the exam. “Mac, did you get kicked by a horse?”, he asked, trying to make it funny I guess. “No, but she’s strong willed like one.”, I replied smiling at him. “I’m not even going to ask.”, he said and then laughed. “You’re in good shape Mac, no structural damage or chips of any kind. It’s always amazed me that you’ve never lost any of your teeth, doing what you do.” Now it was my turn to chuckle, “Good DNA I suppose.”. He nodded accepting that, “Well, the girls will take care of the billing up front. Try not to get kicked in the head, I’d hate to see the structural integrity of your DNA tested again.”. He raised the chair back into its original position, allowing me to make my escape from the dreaded dentist chair once again.

I walked toward the front and stopped at the billing window, the receptionist slash billing specialist Sarah smiled and greeted me. “Mr. Bane, how was everything today?”. I smiled at the attempt at small talk and customer service, had to give her credit, she tried very hard to do a good job. “Just lovely Sarah, and I didn’t even have to have gas this time.”, she laughed at my smart assery and showed me the bill. “That’s progress for sure.”, I handed her the cash for the bill and waited patiently as she counted out my change. That being done, I pushed the door open and wandered through the waiting room. Several nervous children sat there with their parent or parents as the case may have been. I smiled and tipped my hat to them, they smiled and nodded. “Such brave little men and women”, I say as I push the door open to go back out where my truck was parked.

The drive home was uneventful, peaceful even, all I could think about was my match against Amber. She would get her shot at Jack and reclaim something she never lost. My match hadn’t been announced yet, but if Joe gave me the match I asked for, it would give me an opportunity to get a lot out of my system. “You’ve received a text message from Boss Joe”, my chevy informed me. I smiled and pressed the button to listen to the message. “I think your nuts Mac, but you have the match you asked for. Good luck, I think you’re gonna fucking need it against that bastard.”. I barked a laugh and dismissed the notification. I turned the radio back up as the local country station was playing oldies today, “Lonesome, ornery and mean”, by Waylong Jennings begins to play. “You think?!”, I respond to a radio station that obviously can’t hear what I’m saying. I grab the flash drive and put that into the USB connector. The autoplay kicks in and “Cowboys from Hell” by Pantera begins to play. I smile as my foot on the accelerator becomes heavier.

I arrive at the ranch a short time later feeling much better about my day. I pull into my usual spot and see my daughter Jules’ jeep parked in front of the house. She wasn’t supposed to be here until this afternoon, good thing I decorated last night and didn’t wait until after my dentist appointment. A banner that I hung last night is still in place, it reads “Happy 18th birthday Jules, I smile because you’re my daughter, I laugh because there’s nothing you can do about it.”. She stepped out onto the porch as I pulled in, and stood there shaking her finger at me. I killed the ignition after putting the truck in neutral. I’m still laughing when I get out of the truck and wrap her in a bear hug. “Happy birthday princess.”, she hugs me back, “Thanks Daddy.”. “I had no idea you would go to this much trouble for my birthday. By the way, that banner...that’s funny as hell.”.

I release my hold on her a bit, keeping my arm across her shoulder. “Well, I thought it might strike you as funny, even if it is true.”, I say to her as we begin walking into the house. She slaps me in the gut for saying it, reminding me what she’s always said, “That’s not true and you know it. I’ve always been proud of the man that my father is.”. She leans in on me and I rest my cheek to the top of her head, “You’ve always been such a sweet girl, and I couldn’t be more proud of you for what you’ve accomplished.”. We enter the house and make our way into the living room. I stop for a moment, “Maybe it’s time for new furniture, whatcha think kiddo?”. She looks at me for a moment, “You’re finally ready aren’t you?.” At that moment, I catch my breath and hold it. I think to myself, “Am I? I’m not really certain, but if I don’t take that next step I won’t know for sure.”, I nod my head, “I think I am, it’s been almost two years. I have to move forward at some point.”. She hugs my neck, “I think mom would be glad if you do.”. Then the tears from both of us began.

After a moment, the tear ducts dry up and we’re able to talk again. “Since we’re already crying, I have something for you.”. She arches an eyebrow at me as I make my way to my desk. I pulled out a package that had been wrapped, probably three years ago by her mother, Melissa. I handed it to her, along with the handmade card that went with it. We sat down on the faded leather couch together. I absentmindedly rubbed at the stains on the arm of it. Meanwhile she stared down at the package I had handed her. “When your mother and I had found out she had cancer, we sat down and made a list of all of the things that needed to be done. In case…”. The emotion almost overwhelms me but I fight it back. “In case she didn’t make it. This is one of those things. Take your time Jules, there’s no rush.”. She looks at me, almost beaming with a smile that could light up a skyline. She reminded me so much of her mom at that moment. I smiled back at her and kissed her forehead. I stood up, but she put her hand on my shoulder. “What’s up?”, I ask her. “Two things Daddy, first we should talk about your twitter feed.”. I can’t keep the smile off my face and it blooms into laughter from me. Her look never changes, stern and unforgiving, “What?!”. That’s when she starts laughing.

“Role reversal eh?”, I look at her, “I thought we agreed that you wouldn’t follow my twitter feed?”. She smiles, it’s the lawyer in her, like her mother. “We did, and I haven’t, but Jimmy follows you on twitter. “That brat. He’s been ratting me out has he?”. She smirks, “No, he just sucks at securing his phone and his laptop.”. That’s when it hit me, she had hacked her brothers accounts. She had been spying on me, so, I set my jaw. “Daddy.”, she says with a little edge to her voice, “relax your jaw, it’s not that bad”. So I do and she rolls her eyes. “You have some stunning women who comment and react to your posts, why haven’t you pursued any of them?”, she waits patiently and amused as she sees the shock on my face. It’s all she can do to stifle the laughter. “What was part two to your question?”, I finally managed to stammer out. This time she does giggle. I turn red, I can feel the heat in my face from being embarrassed by this line of questioning from my eighteen year old daughter.

“I...uhm….it feels…..”, she cuts me off, “Awkward?”. I nod, releasing the breath I didn’t realize that I had been holding. “That, so much that.”, I finally say. She smiles, “I get it Daddy, you and mom married right out of highschool, you haven’t had to be in a social situation without her. It’s really bothering you right now isn’t it?”. I smirk, “Not as much as this line of questioning is, but no one ever expects the Spanish Inquisition.”. She nudges me with her elbow, “Lame Daddy, you know I hate that movie.”. I feign my shock, “You cannot be serious right now, how dare you?!”. Then we both laughed some more. “I’m friends with some of them, like Lucy, she’s Joe’s girl. Her sister Kyra, is engaged to the champ.”. She smirks, “That mustache is hideous.”. I won’t lie, she gave me a proud papa moment right there. “It is, but I’m glad he doesn’t shave it off, it just gives me one more thing to give him crap about.”.

“What about this Amber? The one that tried to kick your teeth down your throat? You two have been behaving like a couple of elementary kids on twitter.”. I’m a bit taken back at first, not because she caught onto it but that I had been obvious about it. “That’s kind of a complex scenario kiddo.” She smiles, “Because you’re in the same company or because you two are so much alike?”. I look at her with that stern fatherly glare, which for the record has never worked on this child and it pisses me off. “We are not...a...like….”, I stop, “Fuck”. “Maybe we are, hell I don’t know princess, I know we respect each other.” She pats my knee, “You always told me that was the key to a successful relationship, respect and friendship is where it starts.” I lean back on the couch, “That would explain a few things lately, anyway, what’s item number two you wanted to talk to me about?”. She steels herself, “I’ve been accepted to Harvard.”. I can’t keep the shit eating grin off my face, “That’s amazing kid! You’re going to be such a rock star in this world!”. It was almost like me getting a present on her birthday.

She sits up a little straighter, and steels herself again. She slowly opens the card that her mother had made for her, and the water works begin to flow again. Then she gets to the actual package. She unwraps it slowly, making sure to preserve the bow. I had grown accustomed to this activity. She always saved the bows. She continues to unwrap the package, inside is a diary. Her mother’s diary. She opens to the place marked with the ribbon and finds this message…

Fade

{Audio fades in…}

“Amber Ryan, I tip my hat to you. You already had my respect, that easily doubled after the beating we gave each other last night. You damn sure earned your shot at Jack. I wouldn’t think this was even possible but that match will eclipse what we just went through. It ticks off so many of the boxes for the wrestling fan that still lives inside of me. You are one hell of an athlete to for the record I don’t think I’ve ever been kicked that hard before. You know all too well about being kicked when your down though. When you’ve been a champion and have had that title ripped from your grasp for an injury. No physical pain can ever rival that feeling. I know that feeling well, it sucks more than almost anything I’ve been through. You’re a fighter and a survivor, and I know, just as the legion knows. You’re going to take back what you never lost in a match. How do I know this? I saw it in your eyes when our match was done. You and I took each other's best shots and you came out on top. At the end of the night, that’s all that matters. That’s how I know.

Something else I know a great deal about is men with vile intentions. I asked for this match with “The Empty”. Every person has the right to voice their opinion, these are outlined in the constitution of this country. There is something to that though, something that’s not outlined in the constitution. The consequences one faces for the things they say. I had told Amber that I would save enough for her to spit on. At this moment I do not believe I can keep that promise. I know she’s okay with it, judging by her twitter response anyway. It’s just going to have to be. You call yourself “The Reason” and he is “The Empty”. That makes sense to me. You are the reason he’s empty of anything but hate. The only thing he feels is anger and the need to hurt others.

Why do you suppose that is? Just a guess, but it’s the only thing you’ve shown him. He’s likely been with you his entire life. You’ve filled his mind with your theocratic bull shit. Your hate is the only thing he’s ever known. I can’t change that, really and truly the only thing I can do is put him out of his misery. Not kill him literally, but incapacitate him so the real problem can be dealt with. The real problem is you, playing the mouthpiece for a monster is not new. It’s not original, hell it’s not even creative in the purest sense of the word. People like you, you’re evil to your core. You use others to achieve what you cannot achieve for yourself. You want power, money and fame. None of that you are physically capable of achieving by yourself. Maybe I’m wrong about that, maybe it’s more about controlling the life of another person that you get off on. More the reason to put you down like the dog you are. You run your mouth on twitter and have your creature there to try and back up your words. It’s all just sticks and stones though right? You being the mouth peice or manager if you will, you have a certain amount of protection in Carnage.

That and five dollars will get you a cup of coffee at starbucks. You stick your nose in my business again and you’ll find out how much I give a shit about what your contract with Carnage says. You don’t get to shit on my beliefs on social media or in person. Not without paying a price for that. So, you just keep flexing your amendment rights and voicing your opinion and I’ll keep doing what I do best. I’ll be there every step of the way to block any momentum you have any hope of gaining. I’ll make you feel what your creature feels every single day. Being stifled, frustration for not having the freedom to do as you please. I’ll make even your most basic of decisions physically painful. I’ll shadow you until the day you leave Carnage, I find your presence here offensive. It’s an affront to this company and to the decent people who work here and come here to be entertained. I’ve decided, you can’t stay. I’m going to impose my will upon you like you have done to him.”

{Audio fades out…}

{Baltimore City Department of Housing & Community Development - The day before Chaos}

Off-camera

I had come downtown, in order to get a permit to do some painting. The clerk smiled at me as he handed me my permit. “Now Mr. Bane, you’ll only be painting at the Carnage Arena, is that correct?” I returned his smile, “Yes sir, there’s some minor renovation that the company would like to do.”. “That’s great, that old building is amazing but it’s starting to feel and look a little run down.”. “Exactly!”, I exclaim enthusiastically, “That’s the same thing I talked to Joe about just this morning.”. He looks at me, “Joe as in JC?”. I wink at him in a conspiratorial manner, “The one and only.”. He smiles, “He’s been my favorite for a long time man, I’d love to meet him.”. I asked in a hushed tone, “When was the last time you saw a show at the arena?”. He blushed, “It’s been several years actually. The city cut back on our hours a few years ago and it’s just hard to make ends meet sometimes.”. I pat the poor fella on the shoulder.

“Now, don’t you worry about that. Ol Mac is gonna hook you up.”, I say as I give him tickets to Chaos 88. “Front row?!”, he stammers, “Are you frikin kidding me?”. I smile at him, “No sir, not at all. Enjoy the show.”. With that I take my permit and make my exit from the Baltimore City Department of Housing & Community Development in lovely downtown Baltimore. My next stop would be, where else but walmart. I needed supplies for the show.

Fade

{The Carnage Arena - The day of the show}

I sat on the padded guard rail watching as the ring crew were tightening things up and getting everything ready for the show. We would be on the air in a matter of hours, so they were hustling to get things done.

“The Empty and The Reason'', I don’t have any idea why he calls you “The Empty”, personally I think you’re both full of shit. The Reason? Are you fucking kidding me? The only reason we have around here is the boss, JC, it’s called gimmick infringement ya fucking douche canoe. I hope you got his permission to use that.

Probably not, you don’t seem the type to ask and knowing the man as I do, I doubt he would allow someone like you to use it anyway. You’ve been coming at myself and Amber Ryan on social media. It was kind of funny at first, and now you’re just annoying the piss out of the both of us. You’ve made your threats and had your fun but now you have to actually step between those ropes with me. Now you have to prove that your worth the attention your clamoring for.

That’s all this really is, you’re an attention whore. You’re brand spanking fucking new here and so you start running your mouth on twitter at two of the biggest stars in this company. Why? Because that’s what little men with little minds do. We’ve all seen it a thousand times, the little bitty dumbass whose drunk, walks into a bar and picks a fight with the biggest bastard he can find. If he wins, then the spotlight is firmly on him. If he gets the shit kicked out of him by someone like me, then that makes him stupid and me a bully. I know what you’re thinking right now, my guy is huge, no one would call you a bully. You’d be surprised at the number of guys who are six foot eight and bigger, some of the biggest pussies I’ve ever known.

Now, we come to the true crux of the matter.

My undivided attention.

Lucky You! You have it now.

See, this is when things get real in a hurry. The threats, the posturing, the acting out at the pay per view. You showing up after Raab’s match was over so that he would know there’s a new monster in town. You’re a games-man, you’re going for shock value against someone who’s been doing this for nearly two decades. What is it that you think you can come up with that would shock me? You should really do some research on me to find out what my history really is like. So you know what kind of person you are stepping into the ring with. Do you know what it means to be part of forward operations during an incursion as a member of a construction battalion? I’ve seen things that would curdle your blood son. You don’t scare me or anyone else here, you have the intimidation factor of a gnat, and the emotional depth of a thimble.

That’s okay boys, don’t trouble yourself too much about it. All the things will become clear in a short period of time. Some people would tell you that I’m past my prime and the game has passed me by. I’m forty four years old, some would call me an old man. Thing is, old wrestlers become that way for a reason. You should think about that. So, “The Reason” as you like to call yourself. Bring your one trick pony to Carnage, the glue factory is open for business.