Post by Will Washington on Nov 18, 2009 21:08:42 GMT -6
The first visual we get is one of complete and utter darkness. After a moment of quiet, the voice of Will Washington is heard, breaking the eerie silence.
“I remember it all. Like you could imagine, it‘s something that would never leave your mind. The day when you experience ground-breaking emotion. Whether it be fear, hatred or joy, you‘ll remember it forever. During my time in the military, I experience many days like that, but one in particular is so vivid that it plays back like a home movie. The fury….the undeniable fury. You can only try and contain it for so long, eventually, it overcomes you.”
When Will stops speaking, we get more silence when suddenly noise can be heard again. Gunfire echoes throughout the black, and grown men’s agony is an indescribable sensation.
“S***!”
The thud of a body smacking against the ground is as loud and disheartening as the clack of shells and the pop of explosives.
We finally get a visual of the action taking place. A younger Will Washington dressed in a familiar outfit….his battle gear. For such an intense battle, the only protection and covering he has are his uniform and the gun fire of the men flanking him to each side. They stand on the outside of a large palace like building and step over the bodies of fallen enemies….and friends. As the troops prepare to storm the figurative gates, a hand reaches up and grabs his left leg.
“Don’t let me die.”
Upon hearing this, Will looks down at the bloodied and broken down soul who is hanging onto life with his last bit of strength. Upon bending down, he holds the soldier’s head up with a hand. With a look of anger….almost disdain….Will says.
“You’re no use to us now. We’ll carry on your will.”
With no remorse he removes his hand as the young, dying man’s head goes back to the pavement and his breathing finally stops and Will turns his attention back to the mission at hand. Bullets fly through windows at the infantry, as Will ducks down and during a break in the shooting, he quickly rises back up and guns down a man in the midst of reloading a gun. Another Iraqi comes out of nowhere and fires his AK at Washington, who ducks back out of the way. He looks over at a higher ranking officer who is giving direction.
“We’ve gotta make our move. Intel says there are at least forty guys in there. We need to be smart and stick to the plan. Sigma, take the left wing entrance. Omega, wait here and watch the entrance and make sure we don’t get ambushed. Alpha…let’s get in there and promote democracy…..through ass kicking. On three. One…..Two…..”
Suddenly Will gets to his feet and kicks down the door, rushing inside a corridor-like area.
“What are you doing private?!?”
Will doesn’t respond to orders as he ambushes, and promptly guns down the AK-47 wielding Iraqi. He turns a corner and looks down a hall way where he sees a pair of insurgents guarding a set of double doors. As he devises a plan of attack, he doesn’t notice an attacker blindsiding him with the butt of a gun. Will hits the floor, holding his face as the attacker stands above him pointing his own AK at the soldier’s face. Out of nowhere a single bullet flies through the air, striking the gunman in the arm, causing him to drop his weapon. Will sweeps the leg of the man causing him to crash to the floor. He grabs the weapon and slams it down hard across the face. The blunt force trauma instantly kills him, but Washington smashes him more times as the guards have approached from the sound of the gun shot. They fire their weapons to scare off the intruders, but a fellow soldier saves Will’s a** once again by taking out the two Iraqi guards. Will looks over as his commanding officer walks towards him in a furor.
“God d*** it Private Washington. You will obey my orders or you will leave. You’re jeopardizing this mission.”
“I’m serving my country.”
With that Will charges full speed ahead and busts through the double doors with his shoulder. To his chagrin, the bodies of several of the Sigma battalion and insurgents lay motionless on the tiled floor. Washington has little reaction to this besides surprise. He stares at the lifelessness of the others and shakes his head. The others come through and see the wreckage that has been left. His fellow soldiers go to their knees and try to revive the fallen, as Washington looks at a staircase. While everyone else is indisposed, he bounds up the long and winding stairwell. He pauses before slamming his shoulder into the door. It doesn’t budge. He tries again and still nothing happens. Frustrated, he takes grabs a grenade from his arsenal and pulls the pin, before running back down some of the stairs. After what seemed like an eternity, a huge blast finally echoes throughout the building. Will runs back up and carefully proceeds into the room. He checks around the corner and sees no one is in the room, but he notices a huge open glass door. He goes out and sees a helicopter being boarded by the targeted individuals. A terrorist runs over to combat Will, but he’s no match for the American, as he tastes the high speed steel. The man piloting the helicopter desperately tries to get it going as Will runs over and jumps on board. He rips grabs the pilot by the throat and looks in the back seat, a high ranking Iraqi official, sits terrified with his wife and son.
“You thought you could outrun justice?”
He throws the pilot out of the copter and onto the heli-pad.
“Get off. Now!”
The woman clings tightly to her son as they get out and stand tentatively next to the other two men. Will walks up to the official and gets in his face.
“Where are Izzat ad-Douri and his men?”
The man doesn’t respond.
“WHERE IS AD-DOURI?!?”
He still doesn’t respond. This infuriates Will, who punches him, sending him falling to the ground. Will points his gun at the downed Iraqi as he gives orders to the other three.
“Get on that helicopter and get the hell out of here. You hesitate….and he dies.”
The trapped man, looks up with sadness and despair. He speaks to the pilot.
“ÇáÍÕæá Úáì ÒæÌÊí æØÝáí ÇáÎÑæÌ ãä åäÇ. ÓÃßæä ÈÎíÑ.” (Get my wife and child out of here. I’ll be fine.
The pilot leads the crying woman and son onto the helicopter, as they know they will never see their father again. While the copter blades turn in preparation for take-off, Will approaches and removes something from his uniform. It’s revealed to be a bomb as Washington pushes a series of buttons, entering a code. A timer starts counting down from three minutes. He straps it to the bottom of the plane, before turning back and lifting up the official and holding him under the neck. As the helicopter lifts off, he sees the bomb and yells out, but Will covers his mouth and heads back inside and down the steps and into the room where the Sigma soldiers were massacred. His fellow Alpha soldiers are now carrying the bodies out of the building, carefully, so their dignity is not diminished. As Will is seen by his commander, he throws the captive Iraqi down. He smirks as the Iraqi holds his shoulder and says a prayer in Arabic.
“I got him Sarge. I got the b******. He’s not giving up any information though. When we get him back to base, I‘d appreciate it if you let me interrogate him.”
Will kicks the man in the ribs and looks back at his leader for approval.
“Washington! Your tactics are unacceptable. You’re not acting like a soldier, you’re acting like a common criminal. We were supposed to stick together in here. You could have been killed or captured and tortured to give up information. You could have screwed over every single one of us. One more stunt like that. ONE MORE……and you’re getting shipped out for good.”
Sergeant Lee lifts up the captured Iraqi official and leads him outside. Will stands there with anger in his eyes as a hand is placed on his shoulder and it turns him around. He is suddenly standing face to face with Private Tyler Adams, his best friend in the military.
“We need to talk.”
“Don’t you give me crap too. I made a decision. I captured the target, and I did a lot of killing along the way.”
“What are you talking about man? You get joy out of killing?”
“Some people read. Some people knit. I kill. It’s my job.”
Ty has a somewhat shocked look on his face. He pushes Washington in the chest and emotes his words with a flurry of hand movement.
“This is not a game Will. This is real life. We’re doing this now to protect those people over there in the states that we care about. Yeah they gave us a bull**** reason to come over here, and Bush just wants us to fight his daddy’s war, but that’s all out the window now. If we give up now, America is left vulnerable to other attacks, and we need to make sure that doesn’t happen. I know you don’t feel good about this war right now, but you can’t let that s*** get to you. If you go home and you still have this bloodlust, this thirst for killing…..what will happen to you? You’ll get thrown into prison and you’ll be branded a criminal. Serving your country and being a hero will have turned you into a bad human being, and you’ll be looked down upon. I don’t want that to happen to you Will. You’re my boy, and you’re a hero.”
Will turns his back on his friend.
“I’m not a hero. This is not a hero’s job. You say we’re protecting people. How? By killing others? That’s what they want me to do, so that’s what I’m doing. Maybe killing that family was a little harsh. But you know what? Once I got in that mode, I couldn’t be stopped. This isn’t who I want to be, but it’s who I am. I went in there, and I got the job done.”
“You killed his family? What is your problem bro? All the rest of us are here doing the same thing you are, but you’re taking it to another level. You don’t think that we could have still accomplished the mission without your little one man wrecking crew show?”
“If I hadn’t taken the initiative, they would have gotten away.”
“So what? Then we would have had to have tried again to find him. That’s not a big deal. Is it really worth what this is doing to you? To your mind?”
“I don’t know. Just do me a favor. If I go all Rambo again….shoot me.”
Ty laughs and puts his arm around Will as they walk.
“Alright man. Let’s get going. We can talk about wrestling on the ride back to base. You watch CPW? You ever hear of Xavier Cross?”
“Yeah. He kinda seems like a p****.”
Ty chuckles as the scene fades out into a new one.
____________________________________________________
A faraway camera shot reveals Will Washington sitting alone at a small table with two chairs across from each other. As we slowly get a closer shot, we get a clearer image of what is taking place. He sits there with his hand holding up his head as he looks down at a picture of himself and Ty, smiling at the camera in front of a tank.
“It’s going to happen again. I can feel myself slowly drifting back into darkness. This who situation with Cross…..it’s controlling my life. I want to end this now. I know I’m going to hurt him, and when I do…..I don’t know if I’ll be able to stop. I’ve got that vicious urge running through my veins again. I know you warned me about it, but it’s almost insatiable. Things are so intense right now, and I feel like the only way to settle this is for one of us to stop breathing. To cease existence. I sit here thinking about all the things you told me about what I was becoming and how I could change it. I hear those things running through my head, and it hurts me to say that none of it seems to matter. Horrible thoughts keep intruding and blocking out the morality that exists inside of me. This fury, this intense fury. It’s driving me and it scares me.”
Will looks up and sees Ty Adams sitting across from him now, wearing his military uniform with a distressed look on his face.
“I understand what you’re saying, but you don’t need to revert to that old person you used to be. It’s been almost four years since we experienced the horrors of war. There’s no getting over that, but you have to try.”
Will slaps his hands on the table and stands up out of his chair.
“Where do you get off telling me to get over it? You NEVER got over it. You killed yourself to escape the pain. I have to live with this every day. Those killings, looking back it was a disgusting and criminal thing to do, but at the time I thought it was necessary. I regret nothing. I wake up in the morning and that’s the first thing I think about. The blood of mankind will stain my hands until the day I die, and it doesn’t bother me. It’s a burden I carry. It’s a part of me that I carry, but hope never takes over. But like a virus I feel it eating away at me every time Xavier Cross opens his mouth. Every insult, every underestimation. He doesn’t understand who I am. He doesn’t know what he’s up against. He says the things he says, not realizing it’s sealing his own fate. I need to shut him up once and for all, and that one part of me tells me the only way to do it is by making speech impossible.”
The camera shifts back to Ty.
“You do what you have to do, but just realize this. You kill Cross, and there will be repercussions. This isn’t a war. It may seem like it, and all your opponents claim it is, but it’s not. You and I both know what war is. This is wrestling, win or loss you’re still gonna be there tomorrow. There are no guns or deadly weapons to combat. It’s man versus man, not army versus army. You do anything too extreme to him, and you’ll be put in jail and forever be remembered as a killer. In reality you are a killer and so am I, but it was different. You killed for a cause, for your country. If you try anything like that now, you’re doing it for your own selfish reasons. I know you deep down, and you’re a good person. No matter how much Cross talks , and no matter what claims he makes, you need to go out there and prove him wrong. When you step into that ring, you live our dreams. All you ever really wanted to be is a wrestler….so wrestle. Don’t do it for your family and don’t do it for America. Do it because it’s what you want to do.”
We shift back to Will Washington who returns to his seated position.
“I’m going to win this match, and I’m gonna dedicate it to you. Because I know no matter what I do in life, and where I go, you’ll always have my back.”
He picks up the picture of himself and Tyler and stares at it once again.
“It would just be easier if you were here.”
As we pan back out, Tyler fades away and is replaced by a man in a black suit sitting there with his hands folded and a thoughtful look on his face. He looks strikingly similar to the actor Steve Carrell. As he sees Will look up from the picture, he begins to speak.
“You’ve made some big strides today Will. I have a really clear vision of what we need to do in the future to get you a clear conscience, and a cleansed soul.”
“Tell me.”
“It’s obvious to me, and you’ve stated so yourself, that you don’t feel any emotion when it comes to all of the terrible things you took part in a few years ago. You’ve been on one side of the pain. You’ve tortured and maimed and murdered. That resides with you in a small part of your cerebrum and occasionally you’ll feel this urges. Until you can feel some of the effective of what you’ve done, that part of you will always lie dormant until it decides to full on attack you. That’s why I’m proposing something drastic, and revolutionary.”
“What are you getting at?”
“What I’m thinking is…..we bring one of your finishing moves to life. The one called Interrogation Tactics….”
Will looks shocked and confused.
“You want to torture me? What are we talking about here? Waterboarding, playing annoying music, stuff like that?”
“Among other things.”
“You honestly think that’s a good idea?”
“I think it’s a bit extreme, but you’re an extreme case.”
Will nods his head and looks defeated.
“Alright Doctor Scott. I trust you. Unlike that Carl Steinowitz, I actually believe you know what you’re talking about.”
Will stands up and extends his hand.
“That guy is a quack. Seeing you beat him down was a thrill for me.”
Dr. Scott shakes Will’s hand.
“We’ll get started on that as soon as possible. I’ll get Emily to pencil you in for the earliest available appointment.”
“Sounds like a heck of a time. I’ll see you then.”
Dr. Scott and Will both walk out of the room and down a hallway. Upon entering a lobby, Will walks by a the secretary’s desk and winks at Emily who blushes before Dr. Scott taps her on the shoulder and gives her instructions. As Will opens the door to walk out. Dr. Scott yells out.
“Friday at two o’clock.”
Will turns back.
“I’ll be there.”
As he walks outside an nCw cameraman runs up to Will and points his camera at him.
“Will, can you say a few words about your match with Xavier Cross this Sunday?”
Washington approves and adjusts his tie. He motions for the cameraman to start filming.
“Xavier….I saw your training video. I can’t say as though seeing you get hit by a jump rope was very intimidating. If you playing with a child’s toy is supposed to scare me, then you better find some better tricks in your bag. The shrill shriek you made while getting shot by a water gun was disturbingly expected. If you can’t handle getting shot by a water gun, how are you going to survive a match with me? I wouldn’t trade being shot by bullets for your water gun fun at any point. Those bullets are an experience that shaped me. Getting shot by some water isn’t going to make you more of a man. And that’s what you need. You need to be a man. Step into my shoes and enter the battlefield. While I was over in Iraqi fighting for your freedoms and liberties, you were here living the dream of being a wrestler. Would I switch place with you there? Not a chance. You might be a grizzled wrestling veteran and you’re older than I am, but imagine the life experience I gained that you don’t have. You say that our match is a war and that I need tanks, planes, and all sorts of artillery, but all I truly need is my knowledge and skill, things I obtained.”
As the wind begins to pick up Will walks throughout the parking lot and stands in front of his Escalade.
“Not really a Daewoo Lanos is it?”
He unlocks the door but let’s go of the handle to continue speaking.
“In the short time that I’ve been here, I’ve made a huge impact. People consider us on an equal level now, which I feel is an insult to me, but I’m not the only one insulted by that. It’s got to kill you to see how quickly I’m moving through this company. I’ve been a professional wrestler for less than three years, and I’ve been here since September, and I’m already passing you by. According to what I’ve been told, you’ve been a pro wrestler since you were nineteen years old. You’ve been around for ten years and this is the highest you’ve ever risen. Your career in New Championship Wrestling started over a year ago, and you’ve never had a number one contendership match for the World Title. In contrast, I’ve been here for almost three months, only two of which were active, and this is my second number one contendership match. Of course I wouldn’t need this one if you hadn’t screwed me out of the first, but we’ve been over that already, so I digress. But how does it make you feel to see the world passing you by? You know in the pit of your stomach that you’ll always only be known as a middle of the road talent who could never get it done. As new guys keep coming, and beating you, you’ll begin to wonder if it’s all worth it. If this pain and suffering you’re putting yourself through on a daily basis is paying off and advancing your career. The simple answer I’ll give you Cross…. is no. It hasn’t been worth it for you. When your family was sitting at home without their husband and father, do you think they were telling themselves that they’d be happy if you won the title? No. They were wondering when you were going to be home to love them. You could have been ‘Bad Luck’ Chuck and they would have still loved you….as long as you were there. Instead you were off ignoring them to chase your dream, the unreachable dream of being the Champion. Did it pay off? Nope. You never did anything worthwhile in your career, and your wife realized that wrestling was more important to you than they were. So she made the decision to go outside of her marriage to get some attention. That’s where I come in. Now you’ve got a shattered family, and I have the career you wish you did. And the ironic thing about all this is that no matter what you did, you would have never reached the pinnacle, because you’re not good enough. You didn’t realize that, and you should have. After about year seven, you should have seen that and quit. Became and accountant or something, a job where you would be able to see your wife. I’m surprised you were there long enough for the ten seconds you put in to conceive your children. You hung on to that shred of a hope that you have to one day become someone that somebody would respect, and unfortunately your dreams will never come to fruition. When you’re lacing up your boots on Sunday night, getting ready to face your ultimate demise, you should take a second thought and ask yourself if it will be worth it. Again, the answer will be no, but that won’t deter you. You’ll come into the ring and stare death in the face, under the realization that if you don’t make it this time, you probably never will. You’ll be put through hell once again for that one shot and it will be the most tragic story the wrestling business has ever known. And as you stand there and your stomach does backflips, you’re mind will play a trick on you. It will tell you that you can do it, that you can beat the unbeatable. Then I will proceed to beat those thoughts right out of you. As the crowd roars with approval, I’ll look at you and tell you something that your heart has been telling you for many, many years. It’s over Xavier. It’s over. And with one final blow I will end this crazy little demented dream of your’s and I will live mine. I’ll bask in the glow of the approval of the world, and your brain won’t be able to lie to you anymore. The sinking feeling in the pit of your soul will rise up and overcome those ridiculous thoughts. I’ll move on to face the nCw Champion, and you’ll return to your best friend…..mediocrity.”
He opens the door to his car and pauses.
“So my only suggestion to you is this: after you leave that hospital on Monday morning: call up Leonard Fox and retire once and for all. Because you’ve got no hopes left. The dreams will be dead and all that will remain is a neglectful father and a horrible human being. Then go home and tell Cari you’re sorry. Tell your twins that you’ll make it all up to them. Spend time being a father, and less time being the stone that gets stepped over when someone ascends to greatness. Find a god, pray to him, and find a new calling, because as long as I’m around, you can forget being World Champion. The fans don’t want another emo as champion, they’ve already got Falcon. They want a savior, someone they can get behind. They want a revolution. They want Will Washington.”
He gets inside of his expensive automobile and starts it up. He rolls down the window and gives a final statement.
“Put down the jump rope and the water guns, and bust out the holy bible, because only god can save you now. I’ve got a new associate, his name is Steve Scott. On Friday, the day before Mind Games, I will undergo some training of a different kind. My soul will be cleared and my mind will be one hundred percent focused on your destruction.”
As Will Washington pulls out of his parking spot, he heads into the road and drives away. The cameraman tilts up the camera and focuses on an American flag blowing majestically in the harsh conditions of the wind. Despite the intensity of the wind, the flag does not rip, tear, or get wrapped up. It withstands the pressure and stands tall.
The scene fades out into complete darkness.
“I remember it all. Like you could imagine, it‘s something that would never leave your mind. The day when you experience ground-breaking emotion. Whether it be fear, hatred or joy, you‘ll remember it forever. During my time in the military, I experience many days like that, but one in particular is so vivid that it plays back like a home movie. The fury….the undeniable fury. You can only try and contain it for so long, eventually, it overcomes you.”
When Will stops speaking, we get more silence when suddenly noise can be heard again. Gunfire echoes throughout the black, and grown men’s agony is an indescribable sensation.
“S***!”
The thud of a body smacking against the ground is as loud and disheartening as the clack of shells and the pop of explosives.
We finally get a visual of the action taking place. A younger Will Washington dressed in a familiar outfit….his battle gear. For such an intense battle, the only protection and covering he has are his uniform and the gun fire of the men flanking him to each side. They stand on the outside of a large palace like building and step over the bodies of fallen enemies….and friends. As the troops prepare to storm the figurative gates, a hand reaches up and grabs his left leg.
“Don’t let me die.”
Upon hearing this, Will looks down at the bloodied and broken down soul who is hanging onto life with his last bit of strength. Upon bending down, he holds the soldier’s head up with a hand. With a look of anger….almost disdain….Will says.
“You’re no use to us now. We’ll carry on your will.”
With no remorse he removes his hand as the young, dying man’s head goes back to the pavement and his breathing finally stops and Will turns his attention back to the mission at hand. Bullets fly through windows at the infantry, as Will ducks down and during a break in the shooting, he quickly rises back up and guns down a man in the midst of reloading a gun. Another Iraqi comes out of nowhere and fires his AK at Washington, who ducks back out of the way. He looks over at a higher ranking officer who is giving direction.
“We’ve gotta make our move. Intel says there are at least forty guys in there. We need to be smart and stick to the plan. Sigma, take the left wing entrance. Omega, wait here and watch the entrance and make sure we don’t get ambushed. Alpha…let’s get in there and promote democracy…..through ass kicking. On three. One…..Two…..”
Suddenly Will gets to his feet and kicks down the door, rushing inside a corridor-like area.
“What are you doing private?!?”
Will doesn’t respond to orders as he ambushes, and promptly guns down the AK-47 wielding Iraqi. He turns a corner and looks down a hall way where he sees a pair of insurgents guarding a set of double doors. As he devises a plan of attack, he doesn’t notice an attacker blindsiding him with the butt of a gun. Will hits the floor, holding his face as the attacker stands above him pointing his own AK at the soldier’s face. Out of nowhere a single bullet flies through the air, striking the gunman in the arm, causing him to drop his weapon. Will sweeps the leg of the man causing him to crash to the floor. He grabs the weapon and slams it down hard across the face. The blunt force trauma instantly kills him, but Washington smashes him more times as the guards have approached from the sound of the gun shot. They fire their weapons to scare off the intruders, but a fellow soldier saves Will’s a** once again by taking out the two Iraqi guards. Will looks over as his commanding officer walks towards him in a furor.
“God d*** it Private Washington. You will obey my orders or you will leave. You’re jeopardizing this mission.”
“I’m serving my country.”
With that Will charges full speed ahead and busts through the double doors with his shoulder. To his chagrin, the bodies of several of the Sigma battalion and insurgents lay motionless on the tiled floor. Washington has little reaction to this besides surprise. He stares at the lifelessness of the others and shakes his head. The others come through and see the wreckage that has been left. His fellow soldiers go to their knees and try to revive the fallen, as Washington looks at a staircase. While everyone else is indisposed, he bounds up the long and winding stairwell. He pauses before slamming his shoulder into the door. It doesn’t budge. He tries again and still nothing happens. Frustrated, he takes grabs a grenade from his arsenal and pulls the pin, before running back down some of the stairs. After what seemed like an eternity, a huge blast finally echoes throughout the building. Will runs back up and carefully proceeds into the room. He checks around the corner and sees no one is in the room, but he notices a huge open glass door. He goes out and sees a helicopter being boarded by the targeted individuals. A terrorist runs over to combat Will, but he’s no match for the American, as he tastes the high speed steel. The man piloting the helicopter desperately tries to get it going as Will runs over and jumps on board. He rips grabs the pilot by the throat and looks in the back seat, a high ranking Iraqi official, sits terrified with his wife and son.
“You thought you could outrun justice?”
He throws the pilot out of the copter and onto the heli-pad.
“Get off. Now!”
The woman clings tightly to her son as they get out and stand tentatively next to the other two men. Will walks up to the official and gets in his face.
“Where are Izzat ad-Douri and his men?”
The man doesn’t respond.
“WHERE IS AD-DOURI?!?”
He still doesn’t respond. This infuriates Will, who punches him, sending him falling to the ground. Will points his gun at the downed Iraqi as he gives orders to the other three.
“Get on that helicopter and get the hell out of here. You hesitate….and he dies.”
The trapped man, looks up with sadness and despair. He speaks to the pilot.
“ÇáÍÕæá Úáì ÒæÌÊí æØÝáí ÇáÎÑæÌ ãä åäÇ. ÓÃßæä ÈÎíÑ.” (Get my wife and child out of here. I’ll be fine.
The pilot leads the crying woman and son onto the helicopter, as they know they will never see their father again. While the copter blades turn in preparation for take-off, Will approaches and removes something from his uniform. It’s revealed to be a bomb as Washington pushes a series of buttons, entering a code. A timer starts counting down from three minutes. He straps it to the bottom of the plane, before turning back and lifting up the official and holding him under the neck. As the helicopter lifts off, he sees the bomb and yells out, but Will covers his mouth and heads back inside and down the steps and into the room where the Sigma soldiers were massacred. His fellow Alpha soldiers are now carrying the bodies out of the building, carefully, so their dignity is not diminished. As Will is seen by his commander, he throws the captive Iraqi down. He smirks as the Iraqi holds his shoulder and says a prayer in Arabic.
“I got him Sarge. I got the b******. He’s not giving up any information though. When we get him back to base, I‘d appreciate it if you let me interrogate him.”
Will kicks the man in the ribs and looks back at his leader for approval.
“Washington! Your tactics are unacceptable. You’re not acting like a soldier, you’re acting like a common criminal. We were supposed to stick together in here. You could have been killed or captured and tortured to give up information. You could have screwed over every single one of us. One more stunt like that. ONE MORE……and you’re getting shipped out for good.”
Sergeant Lee lifts up the captured Iraqi official and leads him outside. Will stands there with anger in his eyes as a hand is placed on his shoulder and it turns him around. He is suddenly standing face to face with Private Tyler Adams, his best friend in the military.
“We need to talk.”
“Don’t you give me crap too. I made a decision. I captured the target, and I did a lot of killing along the way.”
“What are you talking about man? You get joy out of killing?”
“Some people read. Some people knit. I kill. It’s my job.”
Ty has a somewhat shocked look on his face. He pushes Washington in the chest and emotes his words with a flurry of hand movement.
“This is not a game Will. This is real life. We’re doing this now to protect those people over there in the states that we care about. Yeah they gave us a bull**** reason to come over here, and Bush just wants us to fight his daddy’s war, but that’s all out the window now. If we give up now, America is left vulnerable to other attacks, and we need to make sure that doesn’t happen. I know you don’t feel good about this war right now, but you can’t let that s*** get to you. If you go home and you still have this bloodlust, this thirst for killing…..what will happen to you? You’ll get thrown into prison and you’ll be branded a criminal. Serving your country and being a hero will have turned you into a bad human being, and you’ll be looked down upon. I don’t want that to happen to you Will. You’re my boy, and you’re a hero.”
Will turns his back on his friend.
“I’m not a hero. This is not a hero’s job. You say we’re protecting people. How? By killing others? That’s what they want me to do, so that’s what I’m doing. Maybe killing that family was a little harsh. But you know what? Once I got in that mode, I couldn’t be stopped. This isn’t who I want to be, but it’s who I am. I went in there, and I got the job done.”
“You killed his family? What is your problem bro? All the rest of us are here doing the same thing you are, but you’re taking it to another level. You don’t think that we could have still accomplished the mission without your little one man wrecking crew show?”
“If I hadn’t taken the initiative, they would have gotten away.”
“So what? Then we would have had to have tried again to find him. That’s not a big deal. Is it really worth what this is doing to you? To your mind?”
“I don’t know. Just do me a favor. If I go all Rambo again….shoot me.”
Ty laughs and puts his arm around Will as they walk.
“Alright man. Let’s get going. We can talk about wrestling on the ride back to base. You watch CPW? You ever hear of Xavier Cross?”
“Yeah. He kinda seems like a p****.”
Ty chuckles as the scene fades out into a new one.
____________________________________________________
A faraway camera shot reveals Will Washington sitting alone at a small table with two chairs across from each other. As we slowly get a closer shot, we get a clearer image of what is taking place. He sits there with his hand holding up his head as he looks down at a picture of himself and Ty, smiling at the camera in front of a tank.
“It’s going to happen again. I can feel myself slowly drifting back into darkness. This who situation with Cross…..it’s controlling my life. I want to end this now. I know I’m going to hurt him, and when I do…..I don’t know if I’ll be able to stop. I’ve got that vicious urge running through my veins again. I know you warned me about it, but it’s almost insatiable. Things are so intense right now, and I feel like the only way to settle this is for one of us to stop breathing. To cease existence. I sit here thinking about all the things you told me about what I was becoming and how I could change it. I hear those things running through my head, and it hurts me to say that none of it seems to matter. Horrible thoughts keep intruding and blocking out the morality that exists inside of me. This fury, this intense fury. It’s driving me and it scares me.”
Will looks up and sees Ty Adams sitting across from him now, wearing his military uniform with a distressed look on his face.
“I understand what you’re saying, but you don’t need to revert to that old person you used to be. It’s been almost four years since we experienced the horrors of war. There’s no getting over that, but you have to try.”
Will slaps his hands on the table and stands up out of his chair.
“Where do you get off telling me to get over it? You NEVER got over it. You killed yourself to escape the pain. I have to live with this every day. Those killings, looking back it was a disgusting and criminal thing to do, but at the time I thought it was necessary. I regret nothing. I wake up in the morning and that’s the first thing I think about. The blood of mankind will stain my hands until the day I die, and it doesn’t bother me. It’s a burden I carry. It’s a part of me that I carry, but hope never takes over. But like a virus I feel it eating away at me every time Xavier Cross opens his mouth. Every insult, every underestimation. He doesn’t understand who I am. He doesn’t know what he’s up against. He says the things he says, not realizing it’s sealing his own fate. I need to shut him up once and for all, and that one part of me tells me the only way to do it is by making speech impossible.”
The camera shifts back to Ty.
“You do what you have to do, but just realize this. You kill Cross, and there will be repercussions. This isn’t a war. It may seem like it, and all your opponents claim it is, but it’s not. You and I both know what war is. This is wrestling, win or loss you’re still gonna be there tomorrow. There are no guns or deadly weapons to combat. It’s man versus man, not army versus army. You do anything too extreme to him, and you’ll be put in jail and forever be remembered as a killer. In reality you are a killer and so am I, but it was different. You killed for a cause, for your country. If you try anything like that now, you’re doing it for your own selfish reasons. I know you deep down, and you’re a good person. No matter how much Cross talks , and no matter what claims he makes, you need to go out there and prove him wrong. When you step into that ring, you live our dreams. All you ever really wanted to be is a wrestler….so wrestle. Don’t do it for your family and don’t do it for America. Do it because it’s what you want to do.”
We shift back to Will Washington who returns to his seated position.
“I’m going to win this match, and I’m gonna dedicate it to you. Because I know no matter what I do in life, and where I go, you’ll always have my back.”
He picks up the picture of himself and Tyler and stares at it once again.
“It would just be easier if you were here.”
As we pan back out, Tyler fades away and is replaced by a man in a black suit sitting there with his hands folded and a thoughtful look on his face. He looks strikingly similar to the actor Steve Carrell. As he sees Will look up from the picture, he begins to speak.
“You’ve made some big strides today Will. I have a really clear vision of what we need to do in the future to get you a clear conscience, and a cleansed soul.”
“Tell me.”
“It’s obvious to me, and you’ve stated so yourself, that you don’t feel any emotion when it comes to all of the terrible things you took part in a few years ago. You’ve been on one side of the pain. You’ve tortured and maimed and murdered. That resides with you in a small part of your cerebrum and occasionally you’ll feel this urges. Until you can feel some of the effective of what you’ve done, that part of you will always lie dormant until it decides to full on attack you. That’s why I’m proposing something drastic, and revolutionary.”
“What are you getting at?”
“What I’m thinking is…..we bring one of your finishing moves to life. The one called Interrogation Tactics….”
Will looks shocked and confused.
“You want to torture me? What are we talking about here? Waterboarding, playing annoying music, stuff like that?”
“Among other things.”
“You honestly think that’s a good idea?”
“I think it’s a bit extreme, but you’re an extreme case.”
Will nods his head and looks defeated.
“Alright Doctor Scott. I trust you. Unlike that Carl Steinowitz, I actually believe you know what you’re talking about.”
Will stands up and extends his hand.
“That guy is a quack. Seeing you beat him down was a thrill for me.”
Dr. Scott shakes Will’s hand.
“We’ll get started on that as soon as possible. I’ll get Emily to pencil you in for the earliest available appointment.”
“Sounds like a heck of a time. I’ll see you then.”
Dr. Scott and Will both walk out of the room and down a hallway. Upon entering a lobby, Will walks by a the secretary’s desk and winks at Emily who blushes before Dr. Scott taps her on the shoulder and gives her instructions. As Will opens the door to walk out. Dr. Scott yells out.
“Friday at two o’clock.”
Will turns back.
“I’ll be there.”
As he walks outside an nCw cameraman runs up to Will and points his camera at him.
“Will, can you say a few words about your match with Xavier Cross this Sunday?”
Washington approves and adjusts his tie. He motions for the cameraman to start filming.
“Xavier….I saw your training video. I can’t say as though seeing you get hit by a jump rope was very intimidating. If you playing with a child’s toy is supposed to scare me, then you better find some better tricks in your bag. The shrill shriek you made while getting shot by a water gun was disturbingly expected. If you can’t handle getting shot by a water gun, how are you going to survive a match with me? I wouldn’t trade being shot by bullets for your water gun fun at any point. Those bullets are an experience that shaped me. Getting shot by some water isn’t going to make you more of a man. And that’s what you need. You need to be a man. Step into my shoes and enter the battlefield. While I was over in Iraqi fighting for your freedoms and liberties, you were here living the dream of being a wrestler. Would I switch place with you there? Not a chance. You might be a grizzled wrestling veteran and you’re older than I am, but imagine the life experience I gained that you don’t have. You say that our match is a war and that I need tanks, planes, and all sorts of artillery, but all I truly need is my knowledge and skill, things I obtained.”
As the wind begins to pick up Will walks throughout the parking lot and stands in front of his Escalade.
“Not really a Daewoo Lanos is it?”
He unlocks the door but let’s go of the handle to continue speaking.
“In the short time that I’ve been here, I’ve made a huge impact. People consider us on an equal level now, which I feel is an insult to me, but I’m not the only one insulted by that. It’s got to kill you to see how quickly I’m moving through this company. I’ve been a professional wrestler for less than three years, and I’ve been here since September, and I’m already passing you by. According to what I’ve been told, you’ve been a pro wrestler since you were nineteen years old. You’ve been around for ten years and this is the highest you’ve ever risen. Your career in New Championship Wrestling started over a year ago, and you’ve never had a number one contendership match for the World Title. In contrast, I’ve been here for almost three months, only two of which were active, and this is my second number one contendership match. Of course I wouldn’t need this one if you hadn’t screwed me out of the first, but we’ve been over that already, so I digress. But how does it make you feel to see the world passing you by? You know in the pit of your stomach that you’ll always only be known as a middle of the road talent who could never get it done. As new guys keep coming, and beating you, you’ll begin to wonder if it’s all worth it. If this pain and suffering you’re putting yourself through on a daily basis is paying off and advancing your career. The simple answer I’ll give you Cross…. is no. It hasn’t been worth it for you. When your family was sitting at home without their husband and father, do you think they were telling themselves that they’d be happy if you won the title? No. They were wondering when you were going to be home to love them. You could have been ‘Bad Luck’ Chuck and they would have still loved you….as long as you were there. Instead you were off ignoring them to chase your dream, the unreachable dream of being the Champion. Did it pay off? Nope. You never did anything worthwhile in your career, and your wife realized that wrestling was more important to you than they were. So she made the decision to go outside of her marriage to get some attention. That’s where I come in. Now you’ve got a shattered family, and I have the career you wish you did. And the ironic thing about all this is that no matter what you did, you would have never reached the pinnacle, because you’re not good enough. You didn’t realize that, and you should have. After about year seven, you should have seen that and quit. Became and accountant or something, a job where you would be able to see your wife. I’m surprised you were there long enough for the ten seconds you put in to conceive your children. You hung on to that shred of a hope that you have to one day become someone that somebody would respect, and unfortunately your dreams will never come to fruition. When you’re lacing up your boots on Sunday night, getting ready to face your ultimate demise, you should take a second thought and ask yourself if it will be worth it. Again, the answer will be no, but that won’t deter you. You’ll come into the ring and stare death in the face, under the realization that if you don’t make it this time, you probably never will. You’ll be put through hell once again for that one shot and it will be the most tragic story the wrestling business has ever known. And as you stand there and your stomach does backflips, you’re mind will play a trick on you. It will tell you that you can do it, that you can beat the unbeatable. Then I will proceed to beat those thoughts right out of you. As the crowd roars with approval, I’ll look at you and tell you something that your heart has been telling you for many, many years. It’s over Xavier. It’s over. And with one final blow I will end this crazy little demented dream of your’s and I will live mine. I’ll bask in the glow of the approval of the world, and your brain won’t be able to lie to you anymore. The sinking feeling in the pit of your soul will rise up and overcome those ridiculous thoughts. I’ll move on to face the nCw Champion, and you’ll return to your best friend…..mediocrity.”
He opens the door to his car and pauses.
“So my only suggestion to you is this: after you leave that hospital on Monday morning: call up Leonard Fox and retire once and for all. Because you’ve got no hopes left. The dreams will be dead and all that will remain is a neglectful father and a horrible human being. Then go home and tell Cari you’re sorry. Tell your twins that you’ll make it all up to them. Spend time being a father, and less time being the stone that gets stepped over when someone ascends to greatness. Find a god, pray to him, and find a new calling, because as long as I’m around, you can forget being World Champion. The fans don’t want another emo as champion, they’ve already got Falcon. They want a savior, someone they can get behind. They want a revolution. They want Will Washington.”
He gets inside of his expensive automobile and starts it up. He rolls down the window and gives a final statement.
“Put down the jump rope and the water guns, and bust out the holy bible, because only god can save you now. I’ve got a new associate, his name is Steve Scott. On Friday, the day before Mind Games, I will undergo some training of a different kind. My soul will be cleared and my mind will be one hundred percent focused on your destruction.”
As Will Washington pulls out of his parking spot, he heads into the road and drives away. The cameraman tilts up the camera and focuses on an American flag blowing majestically in the harsh conditions of the wind. Despite the intensity of the wind, the flag does not rip, tear, or get wrapped up. It withstands the pressure and stands tall.
The scene fades out into complete darkness.
