HWA Message Board: Ghosts of the Past

HWA Headquarters and Academy – Santa Monica, CA

On the floors below, the Academy bustled with the usual sounds of activity. With Red Dragon temporarily gone Alexis stepped up taking on more in-ring training assignments, and the Academy trainees got a major surprise when HWA Hall of Famer David Hollis popped in and gave a master class on ring psychology and agreed to come back regularly.

Upstairs, it was business as usual through the various offices. While in the conference room Butch and Wisdom were meeting with their lead legal counsel on a few issues specifically the termination of Erica Martinez and Starlight Kid contracts. We enter their conversation in progress…

(Wisdom): Are you kidding me? Seriously?

(HWA Counsel): We have every right to fight it, but given the circumstances…

(Wisdom): I know….I know. She plays the victim all too well. There has to be something we can use…even Glora Allred wouldn’t take her case.

(HWA Counsel): She’s got a documented mental disorder from verified and credible medical professionals. That alone gives her some ADA protection, but most moves on her at this point could be perceived as retaliatory and grounds for a lawsuit. We’d likely reach some sort of plea deal but this could drag in the courts longer than any of would like.

Wisdom throws her hands up in frustration and looks at Butch with a huff. He sits in his chair, visible bags under his eyes. His week had been a whirlwind going back and forth to Texas for Sean while trying to be a father as the end of the school year came on top of his responsibilities as Co-Owner of HWA.

(Wisdom): Fine! We won’t fire her, but that doesn’t mean we have to parade her out there on live television. She can help setup the ring, or fold t-shirts or something.

(HWA Counsel): She is a contracted talent, any adjustment to her regular duties, I’ll say again…could be perceived as disparate treatment. I suggest maintaining a status quo.

(Wisdom): Whatever, we’ll figure something out to keep her on a tight leash. What about Azami?

(HWA Counsel): Another delicate situation. We met with the folks over at Stardom and NJPW. Needless to say they are keen on maintaining the working relationship with HWA. We have to remember that we came to them. Matthew enlisted their help in acquiring Starlight Kid. They would certainly see it as an insult to suddenly refuse their partnership. Politeness, is an integral part of their business culture.

(Wisdom): Oh for fuk sakes, we’re not refusing their partnership or trying to get out of the agreement. We just want to send the bitch back, they can send us someone else if they want to.

Butch is still quiet up until this point. His mind no doubt all over the place. There’s a knock at the door and Wisdom’s assistant peeks her head in.

(Assistant): Mrs. Parker, Mr. Parker, sorry to interrupt…there’s just been an announcement you’ll both want to know about.

(Wisdom): What announcement?

(Assistant): It’s ummm……it’s Netflix.

Wisdom’s head whips around and she looks at Butch, then back to Jerry. The assistant ducks back out of the room quietly.

(Wisdom): I think you can take it from here Jerry. Can you give us the room please?

Jerry nods, gathering his papers back into their respective folders, then into his laptop bag. He nods at Butch and Wisdom then quietly leaving the room. Wisdom walks over to the windows looking out on the street below and the ocean view across from it. She sighs as she turns to her husband. It’s a look Butch has seen more than his fair share of in their years together.

(Butch): I’m ready for this week to be over. Can we get some good news for once? I don’t know if I have the energy to see…. whatever this announcement is…

Wisdom grabs her phone and Google’s “Netflix.” A chill runs down her spine and she looks back at Butch.

(Wisdom): It’s “him”….they have a new trailer and a premier date.

She slams the phone down on the desk, not hard but enough to be noticed.

(Wisdom): We knew it was only a matter of time. George will be calling any time now with his damn “I didn’t knows!”

She gestures her hands up in the air to emphasize the expected innocence. She looks back over at Butch then goes and sits next to him putting her hand on his knee. When they first got word of the this docuseries at the end of Havoc weeks back, he hadn’t reacted well. She remained concerned for his health, but wasn’t overbearing as he’d been doing well lately.

(Wisdom): Listen to me…this changes nothing. It’s business as usual. We can be assured of a media shitstorm wanting our reaction and we’ll simply say “No Comment.” We’ve got a million other things to worry about right now besides ghosts from the past.

(Butch): Yeah, just the giant one from Sean’s past.

Butch places his massive hand over Wisdom’s resting on his knee, giving it a gentle squeeze.

(Butch): I need speak to Evie about school. Her Spanish teacher said she needed to speak to us about her last test scores. David keeps asking when he can see Sean. We haven’t even talked to them about the wedding. And there’s this whole thing with Wolfy, DreamMaster and Maniac that I don’t even want to get my head around let alone have to.

Wisdom looks at Butch, a mixture of doubt and frustration in her eyes.

(Wisdom): What are we doing babe? Are we just sticking our heads in the sand while things around us collapse? How the hell do we put that “thing” in a match? It’s not Wolfy! Maniac isn’t doing shit but running in circles, and we’re probably stuck with Erica and her new bitch of a gal pal Azami. Stu-E abandoned ship, Sean’s down for the count, and Jeremy’s been driven to near insanity. What kind of cluster-fuk are we dealing with here?

She snuggles closer and leans her head into his chest inhaling his scent. They’d brought this company back from obscurity but now she can’t seem to figure out when things began to fall apart.

(Wisdom): We thought some new faces in the mix would revitalize things, but Travis Levitt flopped. Rumor has it he fell back into old habits. Ace Sky flopped. And I didn’t even want to mention it to you while you were away, but Rob Sharpe no-showed Havoc so who knows what’s going on there, he’s probably in the chopping. We’ve wasted thousands on them, marketing materials and merchandise. Hell, we can’t even have special guests without something happening. Tommy Dreamer and Hans would have been an amazing match-up, but that got ruined. At least the Adam thing worked out…I give Stu-E credit for that one. He was about one of the few people who could have handled that main event so having him there was a blessing.

She sighs, and nestles her head into his chest.

(Wisdom): Maybe we just need some family time. I have a feeling I know what Evina’s teacher wants, but there’s a week left of school…what does she expect us to do? We shielded David, but Evina’s older…the kids at school talk babe. She knows about Sean and I had to have a talk with her about it. She was very upset, you should have seen. I expressly told her not to but I’m sure she’s seen what happened at the ppv. Some kid and school probably showed it to her or she looked on her own.

And little David…he just misses his Uncle. He keeps talking about going to Disneyland with him. I guess Sean promised him a soft pretzel or something. God, if he knew what happened…if he saw that footage…he’d have nightmares for years. You know he idolizes the two of you, he’d be a mess. If Sean is well enough, we might arrange a brief visit this weekend…keep David satiated a bit longer. And the wedding….

She signs again with a mild scoff.

(Wisdom): It’s hard to even think about Sean and Michelle’s wedding. I want to support them in any way they want us to, but I don’t even know if they’re thinking about it right now. This whole Azami thing may have derailed their whole train of thought.

(Butch): I don’t even know how to process this thing with Azami let alone how they must be feeling. You should’ve seen her as a little kid, Wis. She was this shy little girl with these black pig tails and blue ribbons on her hair. She could barely look me in the eye without hiding behind Matthew’s leg. To see what she’s become… the lengths she took to hurt Sean like that, to hurt Matthew… I can’t…

Butch shakes his head, letting his own sentence trail off.

(Butch): We need damage control. We need to get our feet back under the table, because right now, it feels like everything’s getting away from us. Too many people on our payroll think they’re above and beyond what they’re paid to. Stu thinks he can just come and go whenever he pleases and decide when it suits him to take an unauthorised leave of absence but he was happy to turn a blind eye when he had the world title around his waist and asking to be on every podcast and talk show he could, claiming it was right for the company, but the minute we need the cool head of a veteran, where is he?

Again, Butch shakes his head, a look of derision and disappointment on his face.

(Butch): Maniac and Lunatik still seem to think they’re stuck in the 2000s thinking this is ECW… the only ones actively doing anything worthwhile are the Draconis’.

(Wisdom): Have you heard from Matthew yet? He’ll have been in Japan by now. I can’t even imagine what he’s thinking, what he’s feeling. How did this little girl you all seemed so fond of turn into a vindictive little ####, just because she got her teenage heart broken? She’s like a goddamn modern day Miss Havisham…stuck in the past. I won’t let her hurt our family. I’ll break that bitch myself if I have to and apologize to Matthew after.

Wisdom looks at Butch for some reaction but he gives none. His stare is straight ahead at the wall as if he’s trying to look past all their worries, some light up ahead of this dark tunnel.

(Wisdom): As for the Draconis family….I guess we still owe William one, I think we both know what he wants. I don’t know what would have happened at Fatality without his support, but we can’t go into this blind. He’s clearly making a power move. The last thing we need is an entire faction running around here out of control along with everyone else. Still, he will get his title shot. And Stu-E…

Wisdom stands and rubs her hands through her hair. She walks over to the conference table and grabs a bottle of water taking a sip.

(Wisdom): You know he’s always marched to his own beat, we can’t expect him to change now as frustrating as it is. Still…we’ve made every accommodation to safeguard Laney from day one. We stood by him with the media and folks backstage who questioned his parenting letting a little girl not even in double digits be in this environment, and you’re right…suddenly it’s too much and he bows out. But… he came through for us at Havoc with his connection. I just don’t know where his head is for the future.

Speaking of…I think it’s about time you talk with Hans. I know you’ve had your mind elsewhere, but I really think he needs your friendship right now. Between the baby, Vanessa still wanting him to leave, him wanting to stay the course, this bond he’s developed with Jeremy, DreamMaster…I can’t help him in the same way you can.

(Butch): Hans… I don’t even know where his head is at, let alone mine. Maybe we should have him and V over for dinner? Bring Kai along? Lord knows all of us could do with the distraction. Maybe speak to Michelle, see if Sean feels like some dinner? Just us and our closest friends? Forget about all this craziness and I can speak to Hans. What do you think?

(Wisdom): I think it’s a wonderful idea, some normalcy…just friends and family getting together for a nice meal. It certainly gives us something to look forward to.

Wisdom grabs her phone again to look at her calendar.

(Wisdom): Let’s just pick a date, I don’t care what’s going on we’ll just have to do it. Reschedule anything…nothing is more important than this right now. We need this.

Wisdom looks back over at Butch. She walks to him and straddles his lap facing him, wrapping her arms around his neck.

(Wisdom): You know what else we need?

She grins before she leans in and kisses him. She feels his hands go to her waist and pecks him on the tip of the nose, his cheek and lips again.

(Wisdom): We need some “us” time as well.

Their kiss is passionate, she grips the back of his head pulling him into her. She wants him then and there, on the floor, on conference room table, but the noise they’d make would rouse the whole building so she settles for this tease, this preview of what’s to come. It took all of Butch’s energy not take his wife right there on the table. God knows he was exhausted and hadn’t slept properly since Fatality after everything and Wisdom was right, they hadn’t had any “them” time for a while which wasn’t like them. Even with everything, all the craziness that was going on in and out of HWA, he and Wisdom were always a constant. He teasingly runs his hands along Wisdom’s inner thigh.

(Butch): I know exactly what you mean.

(Wisdom): Wisdom gets up with a smirk.

(Wisdom): I’ll see you tonight then Mr. Parker.

She winks at him as he stands. He pulls her close to him, gripping her waist again as his hands grip her ass.

(Butch): Tonight then.

He smiled. It was the first smile she’d seen from him in a week. They both have a busy day of HWA affairs ahead of them and kissed once more before parting as the scene fades to black.