The camera pans around the sumptuous interior, bringing Vanessa Lang into view; currently lying fast asleep on one of the reclining seats under a dark blue blanket, clashing vividly with her vibrant red hair.
As the camera continues to pan across, Hans von Richtoven comes into view, quietly sitting on the seat across from Vanessa, engrossed in a Kindle ebook reader grasped in his left hand, the right one occasionally tapping the screen to move the ‘pages’. After a few moments of this, he lowers it down, and looks over at Vanessa, smiling as he lays eyes on her.
He flicks a button on top of the Kindle, and sets it down, before getting to his feet and moving down the length of the cabin, towards another leather seat, and the air-phone set next to it.
Settling himself down onto the seat, he picks up the phone, and after a moments pause to recall the numbers, taps them in and places it to his ear. A few seconds later…
(Hans): Morning Heinrich.
The sound of his brother's voice filters out of the speaker clearly.
(Heinrich): Ah, morning Hans. Or evening… whatever it is in your part of the world…
Hans chuckles lightly, reclining himself back into his seat.
(Hans): I'm not interrupting anything, am I?
(Heinrich): Hardly! I'm on holiday, no matches to prepare for, so my days have become filled with family snowball fights, playing my PS3 and stuffing my face with mutti's cooking. Nothing that can't wait while I'm on the phone to you!
A smile tugs at the corner's of his mouth as he hears the last part of his brother's words.
(Hans): You can tear yourself away from mutti's cooking to talk to me? Really?
(Heinrich): *Sighs* Ok, so I told a little lie. Will you forgive me?
(Hans): I'm sure I could find it in me.
The two trail off into laughter, Hans having to muffle it for fear of waking Vanessa.
(Heinrich): So how was Christmas with the Lang’s then? Did you win them over?
(Hans): I’d like to think I did…
(Heinrich): What kind of a response is that? You either did, or you didn’t.
Hans rolls his eyes at his brother’s response.
(Hans): Well I got on just fine with her vater; we went fishing quite a few times actually, but I took a bit of getting used to her mutti. She was…
He searches for the right word.
(Hans): … difficult I suppose.
(Heinrich): They’re supposed to be that way Hans.
(Hans): I know, but Vanessa had her hackles up at times, so…
(Heinrich): Ah, don’t worry about it. You didn’t choke to death at any meal times or get smothered in your sleep, you’re on the phone to me now , ergo, you must have made at some sort of positive impression.
(Hans): I guess.
He chuckles with amusement.
(Heinrich): So are you risking flying back to New York then?
(Hans): With the weather like it is? No chance.
(Heinrich): Did you ask Jorg?
Mirth fills his voice.
(Heinrich): I'm sure he'd have risked it if you'd asked nicely.
(Hans): You may enjoy winding him up from time to time, but you also learned how to fly this jet.
He glances up the length of the cabin towards the cockpit as he says this.
(Hans): I never did…
(Heinrich): So where are you headed then? The show's like five minutes from where you live afterall!
(Hans): Santa Barbara.
(Heinrich): Oh you're not seriously…
Hans cuts across his brother's words.
(Hans): If not now, then when?
(Heinrich): ………
A conciliatory tone creeps into Hans' voice.
(Hans): Look, I owe a lot to Butch, for the way he forgave me, and it's time I start repaying that as best I can. I'm also going to be relying on him when 'Fatality' comes around, and just because we happen to have had a few tag matches together over the years doesn't mean that we're going to slip back into the old routine like it was yesterday. The sooner we can start blowing off the cobwebs, the better. Also, he didn't have to come down at the end of Havoc, and you know it.
(Heinrich): And how does Vanessa feel about this?
(Hans): Concerned, to say the least.
(Heinrich): She phoned me, you know? Letting me know about that letter Butch sent her, wanting another set of ears.
(Hans): Did she?
(Heinrich): Yeah, so I'd like to think that whatever my brother has planned, he's thinking of his other half, and not just himself.
(Hans): And I am, have some faith. I gave him the benefit of a doubt, I didn't denounce him like everyone else; yourself included I might add, but he did things to you and Vanessa that I can't just put under the carpet. I'm not going to walk up to him thinking that it'll be water under the bridge, and everything will be right as rain…
Heinrich cuts across his brother's words.
(Heinrich): Like Talon and Eddie.
(Hans): … yeah, like Talon and Eddie.
He runs a hand through his hair, a low sigh filtering through his pursed lips.
(Hans): Look, I'm not going there to hash out everything. I'm there to see if we can work as a team in-ring, and I'll be satisfied with just that. Once that's out the way… if that's ever out the way…
He trails off mumbling, before wiping the palm of his hand down from his forehead to his chin, before exhaling loudly as he slumps down into his seat.
(Hans): Look, I'm going to take it one step at a time, Vanessa's made it clear what she thinks of Butch and his actions, and I'm not going to try to force her to change that because I feel duty bound to give him a chance to come back into my life. But it is my choice.
He glances down the cabin at the sleeping Vanessa.
(Hans): I just hope it’s the right one…
The scene fades to black.
Message Thread
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