Chapter One
The heels of his shoes landing onto the floor underfoot, the clicking echoes resounding against the cement walls of the cubical spaced hall, a sonar of footfalls. It was more tunnel then hallway, burrowing deep within the bowels of the arena. Blade Storm was more of a mole then human, digging deep within ESW and hiding, only poking his head from his hole to screw around with those who refused to kiss his ass.
Not Xavier, kissing the child-like, acne-covered ass of Blade Storm was something he refused to do. The prospect of what Shane has said about butting into his and Melissa's private life was too much to stomach. He had already proven he was not above such actions, threatening to call children's services to take Ben away from Shane after already cutting her paycheck in half along with fact that his interested in Kameron's activities for extra cash brought it too damn close to him personally. What was to prevent him from invoking some obscure moral decency clause of his contract, forcing him and Melissa to break things off or get fired?
It would never come to that, of that much he was sure, going through whatever legal processes in order to block any such actions. She was the only thing in his life that had remained stable, unlike Riley, she stayed true to him and herself. She did not run away when things looked rough, but stayed by his side through it all. For that, he owed her his life, his commitment to the relationship and love which they shared. For now however, he was going to at least remain civil to him, not wanting to come to blows with the dictator within the dead center of his Red Cell regime.
The palm of his hand enveloped the brass knob, a twist of her wrist to turn it to release the latch inside, allowing him to shoulder to door swinging open. Standing in the doorway of the office, the ESW New Breed title belt slung over his shoulder, he took in the scene before him. Thankfully, Blade sat alone in the dimly lit room. Xavier did not want to deal with a sparing of words between himself and anyone like Cable nor X-ecutioner. Such would be a waste of his time, meaningless talk with meaningless people. Blade could be categorized as such, but for the time being, civility was going to have to prevail and prevent outright hostilities between himself and Storm personally, keeping the confrontations to his cronies.
"Ah, Mr. Michaels," said Storm with a turn of his head, pretending he had only now taken notice of Xavier, "Close the door and come in. Come to talk about my proposal I assume." His nose sniffed, taking in the smell, the stench that was the self-righteousness that was Blade Storm and everything he said Red Cell stood for. Equal opportunities his ass. Reaching behind him, a couple fingers against he wooded make-up of the door, he gave it a slight push, enough momentum given to allow it close itself shut.
Confident strides carried him as he stepped towards the desk which Storm sat behind, smiling innocently as he leaned back against the leather upholstered chair. A foot or so from the desk, slight movement of Xavier's shoulder, enough to slip the title from its perch upon it. He reached out with it slightly, letting it drop in a heap into the empty void of Storm's desk, letting it lay before him. "Let's get one thing straight," Xavier told him seconds after the golden title belt clattered against the oak of the desk, "I don't like you. The whole reasoning behind this Red Cell thing is a load of shit if you ask me."
Blade looked down at the fallen ESW New Breed title, slipping both hands underneath it to lift it up, pulling it close to him and laying it down on his lap. A thumb tapped the face of it as he looked down at it for a long moment before he looked up to Xavier glaring down at him. "I don't think you realize the full scope of what I'm trying to do here, Xavier," he said to him, trying to reason with the man before him, "You of all people should be thanking me for seeing to it that Victor Von Doom is finally getting what he deserved. Justice is being served and Victor is now going to pay for just some of his crimes, the ones that can be prosecuted by law anyway. With him gone, ESW can become what it was meant to be since the days of Soren, a just place, a fair place."
"A fair place?," Xavier mocked, his tone reaching the tone of astonishment as he looked down at Storm as he walked to the side a bit, never taking his eyes from the man, "A fair place where your poster boy gets an immediate push for the title? Can't say I'm surprised though with the lack of major names around here now? Grant always likes to portray himself as this humble person that gets thrust into the spotlight, that and the role of the vengeful victim come back from the dead always seem to be his preferred roles. You of all people putting him into the main event for War Games the second you have an iota of authority, the ESW Board of Directors allowing you to make the match, just shows exactly where your priorities are at."
"Keanu's a great competitor," Storm told him, hesitating for a moment, considering whether or not he should finish the thought, "But I'm not building this company only around him. There are... others that I have in mind to give the spotlight to after he has his fifteen minutes of fame. Why is it you think I'm renaming the Global title the ESW championship? I want someone else besides one single person to feel like their on top of the mountain."
Xavier turned around, looking at Storm from the corner of his eye suspiciously, the inference Storm had made was not lost on him. "Stop trying to kiss my ass and wiggle your way into my good graces, Storm," said Xavier bluntly, ignoring any form of tact, "I'm not buying into it, and chugging your Jim Jones Kool-Aid. The very idea that you're suggesting even thinking of giving someone other then someone in Red Cell some time in the sun must really pissed off guys like Cable so I really doubt you have this tone in his presence. I saw how pissed he was when you did what you did with stripping him of the Global title. The only way you could pacify him was with giving the cushy desk job of General Manager. True, Kelly didn't do shit and should've been fired, but giving it to a borderline retard like Cable is even worse. What's he going to do? Replace the entrance ramp with a plastic slide that leads into a ball pit at ringside? ESW will be nothing more then a joke, the ring replaced with a sandbox with him running the day to day operations."
Storm let a chuckle escape his lips, laughing softly to himself at Xavier's bluntness. He stood up now, releasing himself from the chair's grasp on him, circling around the desk to a light switch to bring a renewed level of light to the office. Xavier blinked at the sudden change, adjusting to the adjustment to the illumination. "There's one thing I like about Cable, he's dedicated," said Storm, smiling at Xavier momentarily stunned at the lights turning on, "And that's what I want and need, dedication. Not to me, but ESW as a whole, commitment to make this the best wrestling promotion in history. And that's why I'm giving you the shot you deserve at the newly renamed ESW Championship, because if it had not been for what Victor did to you last year, you would have been with this company all the way through."
"So who am I going to be facing for this title at War Games?," asked Xavier, not letting down his guard, refusing to show the slightest weakness in his mental armor and giving Storm a hole worm his way through, "Someone from Red Cell I assume." "Well actually," answered Storm, rounding back around the desk, an attempt to create something of a barrier between the two, "Two people, Alexa and the person you were facing tonight, Rock Dyson in a handicap match."
"Two people?!," said an exasperated Xavier, not trying hide his shock and slight anger at such a match being made, "Why am I not surprised. You people just love stacking the deck don't you. Typical ESW bullshit, things just never change no matter who's in charge do they?" Storm raised a hand up, not in a show of aggression but appeasement, showing he was trying to reason with Xavier, not wanting to see him leave here hating him even more then before, "Don't think it of me stacking the deck. It's more like showing how committed you are to being the best, proving yourself worthy of better things."
Xavier grumbled to himself, turning his back on Storm and heading to the door, leaving the New Breed title there on the desk. He turned around to look at him, hand on the door knob, finally coming to a decision as to his course of action in the few moments of the trip to the door, "Just keep your Red Cell do-gooders away from the ring and I'll show you just how worthy I am."
Storm merely nodded, acknowledging that he had heard Xavier's words, his promise as well as a warning. "No one from Red Cell will get involved with me letting it happen, Xavier, I promise," he countered as Xavier opening the door and made to walk over the threshold, "Just as long as no one from The Breed shows up to make this lopsided." Xavier had not bothered answering, closing the door behind himself angrily, leaving Storm alone again, but with the vacated ESW New Breed title to keep him company now.
Chapter Two
Daybreak and Xavier's opened in a flash, bringing forth the light of the world with a stunning force. Another day, another headache, or so he had come to expect. The past year had taught him it was better to be pessimistic about his outlook for the day to come, rather then remain hopeful only to be disappointed by the realities and screw ups of life.
The skin on the heel of the back of her foot grazed his leg as she pulled her legs to a slight curl. The sensation of the brief contact caused the hairs on the leg to stand erect. This was why he bothered to wake up everyday and run the trails of life, for her. The past few months had been entirely for her, as would be the same for the years to come, for the rest of his life.
Turning over onto is side, he draped an arm to wrap around her. Palm resting on her waist as he slide closer, pressing his body to her back, her small ass curling into him. He could feel the muscles of her body tens for a brief moment followed closely by their relaxation. She was awake now, the brief tensing caused by awakening to find herself in the strong arms of a man, only calming herself with the realization it could of course be only one person to wake beside her.
Brushing a mass of hair aside, hooking it around behind her ear, his pursed lips met the side of her neck with a kiss. "Morning, beautiful," he whispered softly into her ear. He could sense the smile breaking across her small lips, a low humming moan from her chest, sending slight vibrations along her back. The warmth of her body drenched the cotton fabric of her pajamas, only making him want to hold her closer into him.
Upwards his hand wandered, fingers caressing the material hugging tightly to her skin, sliding up to her chest. The hand cupped itself around her breast, softly groping the small, rolling mounds on her chest. A humming laugh and her mouth smiling, the palm of her hand rested upon his. "Not, now," she told him absent-mindedly as she weakly pulled his hand away back down to her waist, "I have to go register for next semester." "This will be quick," he told her, his tone retaining its softened, quietness, "I promise."
Down his hand moved, sliding a thumb along the waist of her pants, slipping it under the elastic waistband. The other four fingers gripped the fabric from the other side and gently began to pull it down and away from her waist. Barely begging to pull the pants down, just the top of her panties exposed to the air underneath the covers, she quickly grabbed his hand attempting to undress her and pushed it away. "No you don't," she told him, her voice now fully alive and awake, "I told you I have to go."
The thin sheet that had covered their huddled bodies cast aside in a flurry, exposing even some of Xavier's chest in the hurried tearing off of them from her. The plain white fabric covering her body was a blur as she leapt up from the bed, giving him a quick look over her shoulder before pulling a pair of olive-green khaki pants and t-shirt from a set of drawers. It was so quick and hurried to him, it left him in something of a silence, stunned at the speed with which she used to escape the bed.
She made to peel her top from her body but stopped short, looking anxiously down at her waist and letting it drop back down to cover back up the skin she had shown. She looked around the room nervously for a moment, finally fixing her eyesight upon the bathroom door. Taking up the pants and shirt she had retrieved, her bare feet padded with rushed steps towards the door, closing it shut behind her leave Xavier laying in the bed silent and wondering what was going on with her.
"What the hell is going on with you?," he called after her through the door, "And why are you getting dressed in the bathroom? You're acting like you're getting fat and don't like how you look for Christ sake." He could only wonder what was wrong with her, if she was hiding something. The fact that she had not wanted to have sex for the past week only week was one hell of a sign, only deepening his suspicion.
He threw the sheet from on top of him, planting his feet upon the floor next to the bed. His toes tug into the carpeting slightly, his muscles tensing slightly while he barely shook his head, freeing himself from the final grips of slumber. Soft rustling and a bang from behind the door followed by her yelling a curse after probably hitting something. He could only laugh, serves her right for running for the privacy like a mad woman.
He stood up, completely avoided the door to the bathroom. Instead, heading towards the door leading to the second floor hall and the stairs leading to the bottom level. Quietly walking down the wooden steps, a slight chill slipping underneath the door, a slit of air breaking into the warm interior from the world outside. Forty fucking degrees outside, winter was quickly coming.
On the wooden desk in the main lobby area of the house, sat the plain white envelope he had left there yesterday. He wanted to put off opening it for as long as he could, fearing only bad news and disappointment were only laying in wait. His heart had leapt into his throat then dropped down into the pit of his stomach when he saw the embassy's address on the envelope.
So much hope and promise hung upon the words contained in the folds, inked onto the paper by an electronic printer with their names written into the template at the top, the only human touch on the whole thing. He could see it in his mind's eye already. "We thank you for your application, however, we are unable to process your request at this time." That was all that would be needed to squash their dream of striving towards being considered a normal couple. He wanted to put that heartbreak off as much as he could, not even bothering to tell her it had arrived because he knew she would only want to get it over with and see what they were going to do now. He, however, wanted to hold off because as long as he did, there was still hope.
Yet the temptation to do it and find out what their future holds proved too much, only realizing he had snatched up the envelope as he held it in his own hand. Before he could think about changing his mind and putting it away to where she would not find it, he tore the top open, taking the letter from within its glued folds. Unfolding it from its position, opening its face to him to read the words that held his and Melissa's future.
At least they had the common sense to put it in English for them, it seemed like it had been written by an actual person instead of some prepared generic printout. On it went about the complexity of the situation, that their courts had only in the last few years had made such a consummation legal. Various taxes and fees would have to be paid but whatever, none of that mattered to him, as long as the thing got moving forward if it would at all. But then, down towards the end, only sentences above the scrawling, illegible signature, stood the words he had so wanted to see. "Processing of your application has already begun and will continue for the next few weeks. If you have any questions on this matter, please feel free to contact me at the embassy offices at the extension provided."
He was ecstatic, near the point of jumping in the air like a lunatic but he did not care. It was as if he had just won the lottery, his and Melissa's dual citizenship paperwork was being processed, making any marriage between them legal and recognized. It was without a doubt, the happiest moment of his life.
Softened footfalls from the stairs above as Melissa rushed down looking at him strangely, he had apparently been laughing in a pitch she did not think was possible, staring at him as if he were a lunatic or bought something from Kameron. "What the hell is wrong with you?," she asked, the concern clear in her voice.
He rushed towards her still standing a few steps looking down on him, motioning to the letter in his hands and mouthing words that never came up from his throat. He extended it out to her with a shaking hand, trembling with excitement. He was almost to the point of breaking down to laugh hysterically, an out of control joy taking over.
An eyebrow raised, she took the letter from him to read what he was so happy about. A smile spawn on her lips, growing and maturing with every word as she read on. Finally tearing herself away from it, getting the message it was saying, she turned to him with the same sense of unbridled happiness. Only now did she know what he was acting the way he was, pushing aside her own fears about what she was hiding.
The letter dropped to the side, fluttering down as a feather, back and forth before finally resting on a stair. Before it landed, Melissa herself leapt from her perch above Xavier, grabbing hold of him. Her legs wrapped around his body, locking her ankles together behind his back, pulling her tight to her with her arms around his neck. Her hold tightened with every exhalation of air from his lungs, turning into a boa constrictor as she held onto him tightly and frantically kissing his unshaven cheek. "Umm, Mel," he said in a choke gasp, reaching around to her feet, grabbing at her ankles to try to pull them apart, "You're kind of choking me here."
Chapter Three
The odor of cigar smoke had by now evacuated the area after the activities and patronage of the past evening. Old men staring mindlessly at half-naked women dancing on stage, using a steel pole as a prop, loved their Cuban cigars and Scotch whiskey. Little did they know that Kameron was too cheap to supply such perks for his customers, keeping the cigars to be supplied from a sweat shop in Honduras, and the whiskey was a generic version of Jack Daniels. What did they know? As long as they were told it was the good shit, it was enough to satisfy their tastes. Fucking dirty old men, fooled and tricked out of their money while catering to their tastes, well done, Kameron.
His hand wrapped itself around the small shot glass, titled it up to his lips, sending the burning fluid along his tongue and down his throat. His head shook, showing a slight grimace at the bitterness which he had just taste. "Too much for you man?," asked Kameron as he slide next to him to sit on the stool at his side, "And I thought you were tougher then that." Xavier shook his head, shooting down even the suggestion that he could not hold his liquor, "No, it's perfect. Shit the way it's been, God knows I need something stiff."
Kameron gave him a sidelong glance, letting out a low humming laugh before Xavier caught his error in choosing his words. "Fuck you," he countered bluntly, "I'm not the one that downed a glass of jizz." Kameron did not respond, only looking away and shifting uncomfortably in the seat. "Hit a sore spot did I?," continued Xavier, refusing to let Kameron get away so easily, "Good for you and don't try to match wit with me. Growing up with Mel, you learn to be on your toes and bit back with smart ass remarks like that."
Kameron's eyes drifted upward, looking up at the ceiling, thinking he heard their footsteps in the floor above, housing the apartment he had let Shane and Ben use. She had brought Emma and Melissa up there for some unknown reason. "Girl talk," they had told them and rushed off to attend to their own little business upstairs. Screw it, no one ever came in the place in the early afternoon, keeping things to a stray bum that wandered in looking for a place to keep warm and panhandling for loose change. This was a strip club, not a charity and such were shortly thrown from the front door moments after they came sauntering in.
"How is she?," asked Kameron, finally snapping out of his moment of thinking of her to look back to Xavier. "I don't know what's going on with her," said Xavier with a shake of his head, "She's fucking happy as a pig in shit right now since she saw that letter from the embassy, but she's been acting weird all week. Frustrating as hell with her pushing me away every night, and it she refuses to drink anything with alcohol. I'm not shitting you, now she's even talking about caffeine being bad."
"Letter?," asked Kameron, confusion setting into his mind, wondering what would get her into such a happy mood. Xavier smiled and nodded with a look of satisfaction, "Yeah, from the German embassy saying our dual citizenship thing is going to go through. Soon as it does, we're on the first flight to make a marriage legal." "Germany huh?," Kameron laughed, "Those techno loving freaks actually have marriage between brother and sister legalized? Why am I not surprised?"
The front door swung open, Shane, Emma and Melissa walking in from the outside after spending the past hour upstairs. "Oh my God, Shane," said Melissa as she walked in behind the other two women, closing the door behind her, "That kid is too cute." "Try getting your ass pinched by him and saying that," Emma told her as the three of them walked through the barren floor.
Emma approached Kameron, leaning in close to him perched atop the stool. An arm wrapped around her, pulling her body close to him, as they kissed. At the same time, his eyes never tore from Melissa as she strode to a juke box leaning against the nearby wall.
Xavier had not noticed his interest in her himself, already spinning in the seat and sliding off to the floor. His hand laying on her shoulder had caused her to jump up and back into him, making him catch her into his chest to keep her from falling to the ground, wrapping his arms around her waist to secure her. "Hey, what's wrong?," he asked her, the concern in his voice clear. "Nothing," she told him innocently enough, breaking from his grip and casting a suspicious glance to Kameron before returning her attention to her brother, "You just scared me is all."
He thought he knew what was bothering her so much for the past week, taking a wild stab at it and letting his suspicions of what he believed was wrong, fear for his safety. "It's OK," he told her, laying a hand on the top of her head, stroking her hair softly, "I'm going to be OK and so are you. This whole thing with The Breed is a good thing. Getting Victor back in power will make things more stable will be good for both of us. Getting closer to the world title with this renamed Global title and away from Red Cell will only prove to him when he gets back that I'm on his side. Believe me, staying on his good side and not doing anything to piss him off will work for us. Unless it goes against him, he doesn't give a shit. We won't have to worry about Storm butting in and firing me because of us, we'll be normal."
She feigned a smile, not that what he said made her feel any easier about her dilemma but only to put his conscious at ease and take away from him the thought of anything being wrong. The wordless acknowledgement that what he said had rang true was enough to satisfy him, releasing the soft grip his palms had on her shoulders, sliding down her arms. Backing away from him to walk over to Shane at the bar preparing a line full of drinks.
Xavier shrugged, accepting that she was feeling fine now and all was well in the Michaels household. Glasses clinked together at the bar with Melissa at her side, Kameron wrapping an arm around Emma to hold her close while Xavier flipped through the selection, finally settling on one and pushing a series of buttons as The Freak, Fear and Phobia came into the strip club now.
"Come Together" by Soundgarden, a cover of the Beatles classic later also covered by Aerosmith, played, the sound waves bouncing around the inner walls of his ear canal as he turned back to walk towards the bar, taking his place behind Melissa, greeting the newly arrived rest of the team with a wave of his hand as they approached.
All of The Breed assembled now, with War Games on the horizon and when everything was expected to go completely perfect for them. The only hitch was the fact that X-ecutioner was the favorite in his match against Pluss to bring the ESW World Heavyweight title into the folds of Red Cell and into the scheming arms of the Devil himself, Blade Storm.
The Freak and Fear were the odds on favorite to get the win over the new tag team, Fire and Ice, crowning themselves as the first true ESW Tag Team champions in quite awhile, reminding him of ESW's old days when he held the tag belts with Emerald. Kameron had given him every assurance possible that he would decimate Thorn and return his recently vacated New Breed title back to The Breed, and while his own match was a handicap match, Xavier was positive he would become the first ESW Champion after Storm had renamed the former Global title as such.
The new trio stood before the bar, feet away from Kameron and Emma while Shane, Xavier and Melissa were on the other side of the counter. "Thanks for coming guys," Xavier told them, watching as Shane tipped a bottle to pour its contents into a row of small glasses, "I just wanted to make sure we were all on the same page. Halloween Spooktastrophe was big for us and War games looks to be even bigger, every one of us having a chance at gold. Blade Storm my have full power for now, but that's looking to be short lived. Soon, very soon, these bullshit charges keeping Victor in prison will be gone and ESW will be back to being stable again."
Shane pushed the glasses aside, moving them in clusters to sit in front of everyone, all of them taking up on except Melissa, waiting for Shane to fill a glass of water from the sink. "Oh no," said Kameron, feigning a look of fear, "You and a glass of water. No one else drink the water." Melissa only answered him with an erect middle finger inches from his face, Kameron only laughing it away.
"Still not drinking, I see," said Xavier with a grumble. The glass held to her lips, not looking behind her to him, fearing he would see it in her eyes, exchanging glances with both Emma and Shane. "I told you," she said, "I'm going dry for awhile." Emma reached out for the glass Kameron had neglected to pick up himself, attempting to take of drink of it herself but was stopped short as Kameron pried it from her hands. "No you don't," he told her sternly, holding the glass out a distance from her, "It's one thing for her to drink but you're still a minor. You have any idea what would happen to my business if I got caught giving alcohol to a minor? I'd lose my liquor license and this place would be bone dry."
Xavier ignored the bickering between them, holding his glass out into the center between them all. "To The Breed," he said, now hesitating, struggling with the words he was about to say, "And as much as I didn't think I'd ever say this, to bringing back Victor Von Doom."