Post by Jack Hammond on Apr 24, 2009 14:11:24 GMT -6
A mild Ohio morning is just breaking on the outskirts of Cleveland, our camera set to the side of a small road running alongside Lake Erie. Nothing stirs except the breeze blowing through the boughs of the trees that line this road, weak morning sunlight breaking through the swaying branches. This tranquility is broken only by the voice of Jack Hammond, speaking in confident, even tones to reflect this peaceful setting.
"Every man at one point in his life tries to his own semblance of peace. A state of being in which we allow ourselves to let our guards down and empty our minds of any troubles or worries. A way in which we can just escape, even for a little while. Some men can find this in simply sitting outside to admire the view and daydream. Others can find it in their family or their friends. Some choose to play a sport like golf, and lose themselves in constantly seeking perfection, some choose to play a musical instrument. Some are unlucky enough to find it only for the first time when they lie in their final moments on this earth."
There's a pause, the camera slowly panning around to take in the peaceful spring morning. Jack continues quietly.
"Me? I prefer something a little...less subtle."
The peaceful scene is suddenly shattered by the animalistic bark of an exhaust pipe and the sight of Hammond's matte black Porsche 911 coming into view around a corner at what could be described a 'reckless' speed, blasting past the camera as it tries to pan around, and then disappearing with a screech of tortured rubber around another corner.
The scene quickly cuts to the inside of the 911 and Hammond's ginning face as he fights the wheel, shifting down to take another corner. He finally speaks, having to raise his voice over the bark of the engine, howling out the exhaust behind him. He pauses every now and again to wrestle with the wheel as he takes a tricky corner, the scenery flashing by too quickly to focus upon.
"Now many of you may be wondering, how on earth I could find some semblance of peace in driving like I've just sat on an angry wasp. Truth is, I don't truly know myself. It's dangerous, reckless, wild and quite certainly not legal...but in here I feel like I can't be touched."
His grin only grows a little wider as he presses a little bit more on the throttle, the scenery flashing past the windows even faster. But eventually he relents, bringing the car to a more civilized crawl before stopping. He lets out a satisfied sigh before looking at the camera.
"That sense of freedom. The ability to travel anywhere I feel I want to go and do it with enough speed to get there in a heartbeat. No matter what comes up ahead, I'm confident that I'll get through it."
Jack shrugs to himself before smirking.
"Of course, there are those out there who are perfectly willing to try and stop me having fun."
His grin grows before he shrugs shamelessly.
"Okay, that may have been one of the weakest links I’ve ever tried to make, but quite frankly it’s a bit difficult to come up with stuff to stay when you’re facing a man like Xavier Williams in yet another title match."
Jack pauses for a second, turning to stare out the windscreen wistfully.
"That said, it seems he wanted to send a statement this past Sunday, interfering in my match against JFK. My first no-contest in a long time, and I’ll admit, I was blindsided. Perhaps the statement he was trying to make is that he’s not afraid of me. Perhaps he wants to get into my tiny little skull, (and trust me it is), that he is going to be no pushover."
Jack arches an eyebrow, his grin fading slightly.
"I could go so far as to further try to analyze his reasons for coming down to distract me and then trying to blast me across the skull with the X Division title and say that he wanted to try to take me out and put me at a distinct disadvantage coming into this match on Sunday."
He lets out a humorless laugh before scratching his head with a drawn out sigh passing his lips.
"Now forgive me for being a little paranoid, but perhaps he’s thinking that he needs that advantage for some reason that without it, he can’t beat me. I’ll admit we have yet to have a satisfying end between the pair of us, one-on-one, but despite his words of honor and wanting to ‘find out who the winner is’, he has to take a swing like that."
He taps the top of his steering wheel for a few moments before looking directly at the camera.
"Quite frankly, if you wanted me to be a little more explicit about it, then I could say that Xavier Williams is getting scared he’s going to lose, having to stoop that low."
Jack shakes his head before frowning and cracking a cheeky grin.
"But this is just giving me a headache quite frankly. I’m not the kind to really get all this mindgame malarkey quite frankly and you know I’m like around stuff that doesn’t involve me getting drunk or making fun of someone every few seconds."
Jack sighs before smiling broadly at the camera.
"But whatever that ‘attack’ was about Xavier, I don’t care quite frankly. I’ve faced guys who want a straight up fight, I’ve had to deal with others who hide behind feeble threats of physical violence or cliched promises, I’ve even dealt with Mike Honcho."
He grins cheekily once more, a twinkle in his eye.
"And despite all of the crap they sling around, they know what to expect from me. A few jokes at their expense, a little trademarked Hamster depreciation and then a ride off into the sunset...and then one hell of a fight in the ring. Because that’s what you want, Xavier, as far as I can tell that’s what you’re asking of me. You really think I’m the kind to disappoint?"
Jack’s grin only grows wider as he continues.
"So you’ll get me again this Sunday, X. The two ‘big boy’s clubs’ off to see who gets to sit in the clubhouse from now on and so there’ll be nobody to bother us. You’ll get every inch of me once again, because maybe it burns at you too, but that question of ‘which one of us is better?’ burns away at me every. Single. Day. And this Sunday we can finally find out."
He nods respectfully, but can’t seem to wipe that smirk off his face.
"So let’s try to get people saying the ‘Xavier vs Jack Hammond match will own’ again. It’s not about stepping stones or underdogs, old or new...it’s about two men trying to prove they’re better. Two men who will rip the roof that arena this Sunday. Two men who finally get to settle the score."
Jack starts up his Porsche again, revving the engine before the camera cuts to outside the car as it screams away in a cloud of tyre smoke and a roar of exhaust as the scene begins to fade out.
The scene suddenly cuts back showing that Hammond appears to have been pulled over by the police, the camera on the dashboard angled to see the officer standing by the window as Hammond stammers nervously.
"Well, y’see I didn’t think you were real policemen for a moment there."
The scene fades out to black this time as Jack continues to plead his case.
"Every man at one point in his life tries to his own semblance of peace. A state of being in which we allow ourselves to let our guards down and empty our minds of any troubles or worries. A way in which we can just escape, even for a little while. Some men can find this in simply sitting outside to admire the view and daydream. Others can find it in their family or their friends. Some choose to play a sport like golf, and lose themselves in constantly seeking perfection, some choose to play a musical instrument. Some are unlucky enough to find it only for the first time when they lie in their final moments on this earth."
There's a pause, the camera slowly panning around to take in the peaceful spring morning. Jack continues quietly.
"Me? I prefer something a little...less subtle."
The peaceful scene is suddenly shattered by the animalistic bark of an exhaust pipe and the sight of Hammond's matte black Porsche 911 coming into view around a corner at what could be described a 'reckless' speed, blasting past the camera as it tries to pan around, and then disappearing with a screech of tortured rubber around another corner.
The scene quickly cuts to the inside of the 911 and Hammond's ginning face as he fights the wheel, shifting down to take another corner. He finally speaks, having to raise his voice over the bark of the engine, howling out the exhaust behind him. He pauses every now and again to wrestle with the wheel as he takes a tricky corner, the scenery flashing by too quickly to focus upon.
"Now many of you may be wondering, how on earth I could find some semblance of peace in driving like I've just sat on an angry wasp. Truth is, I don't truly know myself. It's dangerous, reckless, wild and quite certainly not legal...but in here I feel like I can't be touched."
His grin only grows a little wider as he presses a little bit more on the throttle, the scenery flashing past the windows even faster. But eventually he relents, bringing the car to a more civilized crawl before stopping. He lets out a satisfied sigh before looking at the camera.
"That sense of freedom. The ability to travel anywhere I feel I want to go and do it with enough speed to get there in a heartbeat. No matter what comes up ahead, I'm confident that I'll get through it."
Jack shrugs to himself before smirking.
"Of course, there are those out there who are perfectly willing to try and stop me having fun."
His grin grows before he shrugs shamelessly.
"Okay, that may have been one of the weakest links I’ve ever tried to make, but quite frankly it’s a bit difficult to come up with stuff to stay when you’re facing a man like Xavier Williams in yet another title match."
Jack pauses for a second, turning to stare out the windscreen wistfully.
"That said, it seems he wanted to send a statement this past Sunday, interfering in my match against JFK. My first no-contest in a long time, and I’ll admit, I was blindsided. Perhaps the statement he was trying to make is that he’s not afraid of me. Perhaps he wants to get into my tiny little skull, (and trust me it is), that he is going to be no pushover."
Jack arches an eyebrow, his grin fading slightly.
"I could go so far as to further try to analyze his reasons for coming down to distract me and then trying to blast me across the skull with the X Division title and say that he wanted to try to take me out and put me at a distinct disadvantage coming into this match on Sunday."
He lets out a humorless laugh before scratching his head with a drawn out sigh passing his lips.
"Now forgive me for being a little paranoid, but perhaps he’s thinking that he needs that advantage for some reason that without it, he can’t beat me. I’ll admit we have yet to have a satisfying end between the pair of us, one-on-one, but despite his words of honor and wanting to ‘find out who the winner is’, he has to take a swing like that."
He taps the top of his steering wheel for a few moments before looking directly at the camera.
"Quite frankly, if you wanted me to be a little more explicit about it, then I could say that Xavier Williams is getting scared he’s going to lose, having to stoop that low."
Jack shakes his head before frowning and cracking a cheeky grin.
"But this is just giving me a headache quite frankly. I’m not the kind to really get all this mindgame malarkey quite frankly and you know I’m like around stuff that doesn’t involve me getting drunk or making fun of someone every few seconds."
Jack sighs before smiling broadly at the camera.
"But whatever that ‘attack’ was about Xavier, I don’t care quite frankly. I’ve faced guys who want a straight up fight, I’ve had to deal with others who hide behind feeble threats of physical violence or cliched promises, I’ve even dealt with Mike Honcho."
He grins cheekily once more, a twinkle in his eye.
"And despite all of the crap they sling around, they know what to expect from me. A few jokes at their expense, a little trademarked Hamster depreciation and then a ride off into the sunset...and then one hell of a fight in the ring. Because that’s what you want, Xavier, as far as I can tell that’s what you’re asking of me. You really think I’m the kind to disappoint?"
Jack’s grin only grows wider as he continues.
"So you’ll get me again this Sunday, X. The two ‘big boy’s clubs’ off to see who gets to sit in the clubhouse from now on and so there’ll be nobody to bother us. You’ll get every inch of me once again, because maybe it burns at you too, but that question of ‘which one of us is better?’ burns away at me every. Single. Day. And this Sunday we can finally find out."
He nods respectfully, but can’t seem to wipe that smirk off his face.
"So let’s try to get people saying the ‘Xavier vs Jack Hammond match will own’ again. It’s not about stepping stones or underdogs, old or new...it’s about two men trying to prove they’re better. Two men who will rip the roof that arena this Sunday. Two men who finally get to settle the score."
Jack starts up his Porsche again, revving the engine before the camera cuts to outside the car as it screams away in a cloud of tyre smoke and a roar of exhaust as the scene begins to fade out.
The scene suddenly cuts back showing that Hammond appears to have been pulled over by the police, the camera on the dashboard angled to see the officer standing by the window as Hammond stammers nervously.
"Well, y’see I didn’t think you were real policemen for a moment there."
The scene fades out to black this time as Jack continues to plead his case.