Post by Cassius on Jun 13, 2017 22:37:39 GMT
?: “One strawberry, one chocolate and vanilla swirl, and a couple of cokes.”The Texan sun is relentless as it shines down on the promenade of South Padre Island. Mere feet away, the golden sands of the barrier island start to run into the clear blue waters. Even midweek, the beach is busy, a mix of young and old enjoying the resort town’s beautiful surroundings. At the ice cream cart, the tall, somewhat imposing figure of the Reverend Lucius Reed stands, a short sleeved black shirt completed by his ever present clerical collar. In deference to the heat, he is at least wearing shorts, although these too are black. As Lucius slips both cokes into his back pocket, he pulls out his wallet, eliciting a quick response from the young latino man working the cart.
ICE CREAM MAN: “Please, Father, no charge.”
LUCIUS REED: “No, I couldn’t let you do that. Please...”
ICE CREAM MAN: “Gracias Padre, but my mother would never forgive me for charging a man of God. Please.”
Not willing to argue with the young man, Lucius takes his proffered cones with a slight nod and a smile.
LUCIUS REED: “Well, thank you.”
With a smile and a nod, Lucius turns, and moves onto the beach. Sitting a short way down, cross legged on a beach towel, is Cassius Reed. The Iron King of Phoenix Wrestling is merely sporting a pair of boardshorts and shades, and gratefully takes the swirl cone as his cousin offers it. Silently, the two Reeds share a moment in the sun, eyes cast over the ocean. It’s Cassius who deems fit as to break the silence.
CASSIUS REED: “I still can’t believe you’re still wearing that get up.”
Lucius takes another lick of his ice cream, accompanied by a shrug.
LUCIUS REED: “It’s more than a uniform, Cassius. It’s not just a job. I am a priest… at all times…”
He lightly, almost subconsciously fingers the collar about his neck.
LUCIUS REED: “It helps to remind me… who I am… what I am…”
The two Reeds let the words hand in the air a moment, before Cassius shrugs.
CASSIUS REED: “Well somebody’s feeling deep.”
LUCIUS REED: “Some things are, Cass. That’s just life.”
CASSIUS REED: “Look, I didn’t pay for you to join me down here so you could be some kinda downer.”
LUCIUS REED: “Oh, good. We can get back to that. Perhaps that means you’re actually ready to tell me what this is all about?”
CASSIUS REED: “You work too hard. It does you good to get out the office some.”
LUCIUS REED: “My church isn’t an office, Cassius. And I enjoy my work. It fulfils me.”
CASSIUS REED: “Well maybe there’s more to life than work, Lucius. More to life than the roles we find ourselves in. For a big ass family like ours… we sure spend a lot of our time apart. Some for work. Some…”
He can’t resist looking up at Lucius.
CASSIUS REED: “Some by choice… Our Dads… they were hardly the closest of people. And now it seems like we’re the same.”
LUCIUS REED: “... What are you talking about?”
Another shrug of the shoulders, as he finishes off his ice cream, and hops up to his feet.
CASSIUS REED: “It doesn’t matter. Come on, I wanna get some time in the hotel gym before dinner, and-”
LUCIUS REED: “Nuh uh. I ain’t letting you fade out on me again. What the hell has brought all this on? Since when did you care about the Family, Cass? I walked away from them… but you? I’ve seen you actually pushing them away from you. So what’s with this sudden interest?”
Silence.
LUCIUS REED: “As long as I’ve known you… you’ve been driven… fuck knows by what. You’ve always wanted something, then not stopped until you’ve achieved it. You did it with your boxing. I heard you talking about you doing it with the wrestling. You did it with this Iron King deal… And you ain’t never looked back. One thing Cassius Reed has always done spectacularly is look out for Cassius Reed… and I ain’t judging that, that ain’t my place. So what the fuck has changed? Why you dragging my ass over the world when you’re wrestling? For real? You think I ain’t got better things to be doing than humoring you? You think it’s easy for me to arrange priests to take over my duties on your whims? No. But do you know why I do it Cassius? Because there’s something you’re begging to get off your chest… And I know you. You need to get it out there, but you’ll look for any excuse not to. So I’m going to ask you one last time, Cassius, or I swear I’m just going back to Santa Fe and I’m done. What’s brought all this on… what’s got you actually considering other people for a change?”
Silence.
LUCIUS REED: “Fuck this, I-
CASSIUS REED: “Melody finally... she finally told me she loves me...”
-----
? ?: “You’re welcome.”The camera fades up, revealing Phoenix’s Rebirth Champion, the Iron King Cassius Reed, wearing the now classic Chocolate & Vanilla Swirl t-shirt. He stands on a hotel balcony, overlooking a beautiful swimming pool, and with an unimpaired view of South Padre Island’s coastline. He looks over his shoulder, bathing a little in the quality of the view, before snapping his head back round to the camera, smile firmly plastered across his face.
CASSIUS REED: “Because listen up, you lucky, lucky people. It’s that time where your Iron King takes time out durin’ his busy schedule of Kingin’ and other assorted royal activities, and delivers unto you his King’s Speech. A State of the Nation address for the good people of Phoenix Wrestling, and let King Cassius tell you all now… business is good.”
Cassius hops up onto the balcony rail, perching on it whilst continuing to address the camera.
CASSIUS REED: “Suckas gettin’ their asses royally handed to them is now up 100%, now that Cassius is reppin’ the Iron Kingdom over with Union Battleground. That’s twice the scheduled ass kickin’, for the foreseeable. See? Cassius told you all he was a benevolent and altruistic ruler. He knows what the people want: you want more Cassius. And frankly, who could blame you. King Cassius is amazin’, after all.”
Without the remotest hint of modesty, Cassius brushes an imaginary speck of dirt from his shoulder, before turning back to the camera.
CASSIUS REED: “Cassius so generous, he’s even out this week on a mission of charity, helpin’ lift the less fortunate up, to help them stand, with pride, and let them be able to say, for 10 brief minutes, they mattered. To say that their body was the wax upon which Cassius laid down some of his funkiest of tunes. Cassius refers, of course, to his opponent this week. That guy.”
He looks over to someone offscreen. He nods his head, their words unheard, before seemingly cutting them off.
CASSIUS REED: “Oh, Cassius knows the sucka’s name. He is just choosin’ not to use it. Cassius is already doin’ this sucka enough favors by just turnin’ up and knockin’ his lights out, he ain’t doin’ his publicity work for him too. This chump already tried ridin’ Cassius’ regal coat tails to get his name up there, beggin’ for a title shot because he thinks just because he gets set up against the Big C, he’s somehow earned it. Sucka please. Do you know what Cassius went through for that title? The people he faced, and beat? This sucka ain’t even fit to give a reach around to whatever sucka ties their laces.”
CASSIUS REED: “Cassius means… look at this carny lookin’ mammajamma, lookin’ like he’s wrestlin’ matches in between breaks on the corndog stand. The ghost of wrestling past, balding suckas more interested in comin’ across as some kind of amoral badass sucka than ACTUALLY showin’ some skill or flair in the ring… because heaven knows it’d be a sin to go out and ENTERTAIN the people payin’ to see your inbred lookin’ ass get handed to you.”
Another shrug.
CASSIUS REED: “Let’s ask the big question… what does this match mean to Cassius? When Cassius wins, that’s just another sucka beat, another three count provin’, just like every other time, that King Cassius has EARNED his damn crown. But if this sucka pulls off the impossible, and somehow manages to get the victory over the King? That’s a huge upset over the champ! That’s just the kind of thing to get a young career up and on the rise. A huge push, just the kind of thing a sucka could use to advance their aims…”
A wicked smile comes over Cassius’ face.
CASSIUS REED: ”But King Cassius is not in a givin’ mood. He’s already doin’ a great work of charity by even lettin’ this sucka get some recognition off of Cassius’ name, he ain’t feelin’ inclined to help his porn shop owner lookin’ ass any further than that. And if this sucka tries to TAKE a win from Cassius? Sucka that’s plain theft. Which, in turn, is treason. And in the Iron Kingdom that shit carries the Death Penalty.”
The camera zooms in, as Cassius leans forward, looking into the lens.
CASSIUS REED: “And guess who’s the executioner?”
A brief glimmer of a smile, as Cassius gives a cheeky wink, before his face becomes all business.
CASSIUS REED: “So get your asses ready Texas, as on the 20th, a King slays a Tyrant. Five minutes of fame for one sucka, and a footnote in the history of the Iron King. Come see it live. Catch it on Dailymotion. Find the one sucka in Texas who still owns a VHS, find some way for him to tape it, then steal the tape off of him, because trust Cassius, you’re gonna wanna watch this one. And oh yeah… one more thing.”
Cassius’ trademark smile breaks out over his face.
CASSIUS REED: “Long Live The King.”