"Hell is empty and all the devils are here."
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- William Shakespeare
JC had a lot to be bitter about. He lost his career in Carnage Wrestling. He lost his war over what he felt the wrestling business should be. His own girlfriend screwed him over. He was involuntarily checked into an institution due to his psychosis.
And yet, months later, he had learned to let all of that go. It was amazing how quickly his anger seemed to dissipate when he finally had his demons under control. Big, nasty demons that still resided somewhere in the recesses of his mind, but were nonetheless quieted by the best medication a pharmacist could provide.
He was now, somehow in charge of Carnage, to shape the future as he saw fit. He ultimately won the war, even if he gave up a lot to do so. More importantly, as soon as he announced he was seeking bookings, UGWC rushed to re-sign him. So now, he was headed back to the ring after four months of inactivity.
UGWC management always appreciated him, even if he never quite fit in there. But now he was back and he had no complaints. A very 'healthy' contract, his ability to pick and choose his dates based on his schedule and the proverbial red carpet rolled out to him. Considering he hadn't really made much of a dent in this promotion, he found that surprising. But he wouldn't look that particular gift horse in the mouth.
As for now, he had a third role. Nurse. Caretaker. His girlfriend, and former UGWC World Champion Lucy Wylde, had been brutalized in her last Carnage outing. So when he wasn't training, running Carnage or generally being an asshole on Twitter, he was taking care of her. It was, after all, the least he could do.
Not that she would let him.
"Damn it, Joe. I told you I'm fine."
She said this while wincing because she stepped wrong and caused lingering injuries to flare up. She had been planning to return soon and was putting up a tough front. One that Joe, of all people, saw right through.
"Sure you are. And I'm perfectly sane."
She frowned.
"Too soon?"
"Much too soon. I don't think it will ever not be too soon."
He walked over and gingerly traced his fingers along her back. She didn't flinch. Not anymore. Only a couple of months ago his touch made her skin crawl, to his despair and her surprise. He really was a monster when he didn't take his medication. And she had to stab him in the back just to get him back to a sense of normalcy.
So they didn't talk about his condition much. They knew he was bipolar. They knew he had psychotic tendencies. And they knew that he had to take his medication with the fervor of a holy man praying to his God. But they didn't talk about it.
He had his inner demons and they had one that lived with them. Or perhaps more of a ghost. And it was one that could be exorcised at a later time. They were focused on rebuilding their relationship right now, then they could fight everything else together.
"Listen..."
"Don't start. I said I'm fine."
"Hey, I believe you. But maybe for my sake you keep taking it easy until it's time for you to be back."
She shrugged and sits back down. She didn't like doing nothing any more than he did. Of course she also seemed to avoid fights at all lately, for fear of drudging up old issues. Things were far from okay for them, even though both were committed to fixing things. After all, love wasn't just a feeling you had that went away on a whim. It was something you worked on. It was something you chose to do. It was permanent, and if it wasn't, perhaps you didn't love that person to begin with.
And JC was definitely sure of one thing in this life, and it was that he loved Lucy. More than he loved his previous two wives, if he was being honest about it. Lucy only came second to his daughter.
He sat down next to her and after a few moments of comfortable quiet, she spoke up again.
"We really need to leave New York."
"You said this before."
"Yeah and I mean it. We're not even here anymore and let's face it...you're about to start dividing your time between Baltimore and wherever UGWC decides to air on a given week...."
"I feel like there's a 'but' coming."
"But most of all...this place has too many bad memories."
He gave the place a look around himself and agreed. They hadn't been here long. Only a couple of years. And he reached his worst point, hiding the fact he wasn't taking his pills and generally becoming a nightmare to deal with...here. Too many bad memories indeed. The ghost that haunted them.
"You're probably right."
"I really...I don't want to be here anymore Joe. I know..."
She put a hand on his, as if to drive the point home.
"I know you're better now. I'm getting better. But...every time I look at this place I'm reminded of what you turned into. And I don't want to see you that way. And the only way I can think of to fix it is to get the hell out of here. Does that make sense?"
He felt great shame at the monster he let himself become. But he knew her heart was in the right place. He nodded.
"Then let's get out. You're right. No reason to stick around here any more than we need to. Home is...well, you're home."
She smiled at that and leaned into him a little.
The gap between where they were in the past and where they were at this point in time was narrowing, and he hoped that one day they would be back to normal. Sometimes he wondered if he sacrificed too much last year. Sometimes he wondered if he still had sacrifices to make.
They sat there for a while, not talking, simply enjoying one another's company.
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I should be angry. I should be angry that UGWC brought me back just to put me against someone like Maria Salvatore.
If I were the person I used to be, perhaps I would be. I'm a real person. I'm not some gimmick. I don't pretend to have mob ties to get my foot in the door of the business. Of course, even if Maria is John Gotti reincarnated, it doesn't make much of a difference to me. You'll learn that I'm scarier than anyone in the organized crime world. Those types fear me. Of course this might not apply to you, I just know what I read from your bio.
But I'll get to Maria later. I think a very important question has to be answered. Why UGWC? Why did I come back here?
My win loss record isn't very great here. My biggest accomplishment is being punched in the face a lot by Sarah Lacklan in the WrestleStock Open until I couldn't be punched in the face anymore. It seemed like in spite of all my successes, I just couldn't get it done here.
You might say UGWC is my white whale.
I've been a champion everywhere I've wrestled...except here. I've dominated every company I've worked for...except here. UGWC is the puzzle I can't quite solve yet, so I'm here until I get it right or die trying. Everybody dies eventually, and the only way you're getting me out of here is on a gurney to the morgue.
I don't care who's on top. I don't care who's still on the roster. I don't care who I have to go through. I'm 44 years old but my boot still feels like I'm wearing concrete shoes. When you're the size of a man like me, age hardly matters. I can still hit harder than people half my age.
What does this mean for you, Maria Salvatore? Oh ye of Italian-American appropriation and viewer of too many bad mob movies? It means you're dead.
Everybody dies, Maria, and we're starting with you.
I'm coming to Synergy to win a match and make the mark here I should have made years ago. What are you coming here for? Are you really telling me I'm going to 'sleep with the fishes' in this, the year of our lord 2020? Do you realize how big of a cliche you are?
I'll counter with this. I'll make you an offer you can't refuse.
Come to Synergy, show me that you're actually worth the paper your contract was printed on, and I'll try to make it quick. Because I'm not a nice man and if you fuck with me, you're going to get hurt. You may be trying to make a name for yourself at my expense, but I'm going to use your battered body as the warning shot that I am not here to play games. Take your Sopranos bullshit somewhere else.
You're about to step into Hell and I'm about to do the Devil's work.
