††† Parental and NSFW Advisory †††
††† Scenes will contain Violence of a graphic nature, Foul Language and Adult Content. †††
††† You've been warned. †††
6th August, 2018
19:56 PM
New Orleans, Louisiana
Exact Location: Twisted Steel Garage
Status: Off-Camera Sam wasn’t satisfied. The look on her face easily revealed that much to be the case. Even - or rather -
especially after returning from speaking with Salazar. Granted, she
was still damn happy to see Bullet chew him out.
But at the same time?
She was very much restless. And she wasn’t in the best of conditions to accompany her for the actual promo shoot. Not yet, anyway.
”Hermana? If I go to my room right quick and meet you back here, would you happen to know of anyone who can allow me to fire my pistol off legally? Because if I’m gonna be with you for the rest of the night … step one comes in blowing steam off so I can properly think.” “Sure, Saints’ Row Gun & Shooting Club. You go up the street here, first right, three lights, be the gravel parking lot on the right with a building that looks like a hunting lodge with a fence that’s too big for it. That’s 30-30’s place, he’ll let you pop off as many rounds as you want as late as you want. It’s roughly ten minutes to get there most days.” Directions easily translated into understanding Sam would go alone. Fair enough. Then again, compared to her? Alex probably already felt much better. And hell, the Titaness probably needed to do this by herself, anyway.
Her eyes close as she takes a deep exhale.
And without saying or hinting what’s on her mind, she moves forward … and wraps her arms around Bullet.
”All of you accepted me way faster than I expected. For that and so much more .. thank you. Truly. I shouldn’t be gone for too long.” Not needing any further encouragement, Sam literally runs off, going straight for her room. If she’s even a bit tired from the fast movements, she doesn’t make it easy to notice. What can be seen, however, is a slight imprint in the rear right pocket of her black jeans.
Almost immediately after getting back on the seat of her bike, Sam revs her engine up. She speeds off - though not before waving one last time to Bullet - and begins heading towards the nearby shooting range.
Sure enough, not much more than a ten minute ride does Sam arrive at the same place Bullet described. Pulling her visor off, the Titaness walks forward at a quicker pace than one would have thought. Normally, she’d be a bit more cautious. But at this point? She was ready - and hopeful - this was indeed the correct place.
Because God help her, she
needed to get her emotions in check. As she walks inside, she sees a small black woman around her age sitting behind the counter. The woman looks up and smiles.
“Well, hello there, you must be one of Miss Alex’s new friends. I’m Mama Clarisse, what can we do ya for?” Sam weakly grinned upon hearing the phrase ‘one of Miss Alex’s new’ friends’. Nodding her head, she suddenly found herself at a brief loss for words. Was it really this easy? Samantha had always just gone out in a forest and used a makeshift target. This was actually a first and new thing for her.
”Yes ma’am, you’d be right about that assumption. Bullet … Alex … recommended this place for using firearms to relieve stress? I umm .. definitely need that. I’ve honestly never been to a range, so I don’t know if I use my own even or what. But I have any and all papers to get rid of any doubts this was lawfully purchased and everything, so … “ If it hadn’t been obvious yet, poor Sam’s ramblings made it painfully obvious how foreign this was for her. And it therefore also revealed despite wearing a strong front, she was a bit nervous as well as still livid.
"Oh, a recommendation, I will have to get that girl somethin’ nice from one of them bake shops next time I go over there! As for the papers, Child, y’all ain’t never need those in here unless we’s all in trouble with Johnny Law. Now, would y’all like to use your own or would you like to have a look at the fine merchandise we have for demonstration? I’m sure if you ain’t brought it, 30-30 can find you somethin’ to your likin’." The offer definitely made Sam think on it. She hadn’t ever
needed to use her pistol. Not since her rivalry with Snakebite. But after learning her past in the form of three rapists were free and out and about, maybe that wouldn’t be such a bad idea. Besides, the twins were still trying to pinpoint them. So why not get several steps ahead?
Another not-so-common fact about the Titaness was she always took certain items with her. One was her wallet, which had a debit card.
”I think,” Sam slowly said, nodding to herself after deciding on her final verdict,
”I may do a bit of both. But I’ll start off with what I know and have, if you don’t mind.” Samantha proceeds to reach back, pulling her gun out from her rear pocket. She deactivates the safety, simply keeping the firearm firmly but carefully held in her right hand. Even pointed towards the floor as a precaution. Mama Clarisse nods.
"Will you be needin’ ammo for tonight in that model?” She reaches down and hits a button that sends a signal to the back.
“Thirty? We needs to put us on a show tonight for this tall drink of water out here right now. Miss Alex has sent her to us and we needs to show her New Orleans love!” A voice comes back over the intercom.
“Does she have any preferences I should know about?” The annoyed look - directed at herself, of course - easily reveals the very thing Sam forgot. In her haste, she hadn’t even
thought about grabbing some spare bullets. Despite her error, she manages to weakly chuckle at herself.
” … Hehe, yeah. I definitely am gonna need some ammo. Thanks.” And upon hearing the exchange between Mama Clarisse and what she could only guess to be the ‘30-30’ guy Alex hinted at, it took everything
not to bust out laughing. It was likely a code of some sort … but the choice of words greatly amused Sam.
”I don’t think so, but before I say that for sure … preferences? What of or for, exactly? I’m Sam, by the way. Samantha Hamilton.” It wouldn’t be fair to lash out at these people. Not when she almost forgot to introduce herself properly. Besides, if tonight went well enough, the Titaness could very easily envision coming here rather often.
30-30’s voice comes back over the intercom again.
“Do you wish to see pistols, shotguns, rifles or somethin’ more in the auto type range?” Sam only needed to think about her answer for perhaps ten seconds. But the man would definitely not have to wait very long to hear her preferences.
”Probably gonna check several of those out; namely the pistols, rifles, and automatics. I primarily use pistols, but a change in pace may not be too bad.” Mama Clarisse smiles, nodding sweetly.
“Y’all got that, 30-30?”A buzzer goes off and Mama Clarisse nods again.
“Door to your left, he’ll have the show table set up for ya when you get back there. Just go through the door and head to the back of the room.”Maybe it was because when Sam purchased her pistol, she’d just got it and left. There hadn’t really been many interactions. Hell, the background checks - lack of - were a shitty joke. But for some reason, Samantha was feeling nervous; to an incredibly stupid degree.
”Thank you,” she replied, taking a soft breath before walking forward and opening the door on her left.
Chill. You weren’t set up or anything. Besides, nothing wrong with what you’re doing … Sam would walk further inside, and only lean against a wall if one was available and safe to use. Otherwise, she stood in almost the dead center of the room. She stayed quiet for the time being; mainly in case 30-30 was still grabbing and organizing the various firearms.
“Miss Hamilton?”A minute later, a skinny, long haired man dressed in jeans and a red flannel shirt unbuttoned to show a white undershirt that somehow managed to make look almost rat-like in the face comes walking up. Despite his features, or maybe because of them, when he smiled, it actually managed to look somewhat genuinely sweet.
“Hi, my Christian name is George, but ain’t nobody called me nothin’ but 30-30 since I was small cause I used to run around with cowboy guns. Y’all come on back, I got the Deadshot Table all set up for ya.He leads her back to the actual range where three targets are already hanging with a table that is covered in pistols, a couple of rifles and even a couple of machine guns.
“Mama Clarisse seen Suicide Squad and smiled the whole time through that scene with the gun demonstration… reminded her of home. So, what would you like to play with first?” ”Yes sir. That’d be me.” The smile actually helped more than even Sam would have assumed. A sense of relief swam through her as her own small grin would appear on her face, her head bowing politely as she walked behind 30-30 and entered the display room, as it were.
”I’m afraid I only know of the movie by name. I heard a lot of people say it was overrated. An equal amount of individuals simply didn’t like the new changes. Especially to the Joker. So the scene in question is a bit lost. I digress. Hmm … “ A quick glance later and she nods down towards the rifles.
”Preferably any of those. Short range is all well and good, but may as well have all bases covered, which includes having mid or long-range as well.” 30-30 nods.
“Mama Clarisse only wanted to see it because Will Smith was in it anyway.”He proceeds to go over the benefits of four different long range rifles, including the differences in range, stopping power and reliability, then led her over and had her shoot all over them to see how they felt to her. When she finished with those, he led her through five pistols of varying sizes, having her squeeze off ten shots with each to allow her to familiarize herself with all of them.
“Now, I spose it’s time to settle the debate between AK-47 and AR-15 for ya… have yourself a go with them.” The Will Smith line made The Titaness chuckle softly. Finally, her muscles had visibly relaxed. And by the time she actually began firing some of the guns off? Whatever tension had lingered was almost fully gone.
”Debate, huh? I’m guessing this is one between you and Mama Clarisse?” Either way, Sam took hold of the Russian gun first, placing the end firmly against her shoulder. After double and triple checking it was secured and wouldn’t jerk wildly or risk hitting anyone else on accident, Samantha pulled back on the trigger, first testing the AK-47 out.
7th August, 2018
3:58 AM
New Orleans, Louisiana
Exact Location: Shieldmaiden Clubhouse
Status: On-Camera ” … You really just baffle the fuck outta me, you know? You know my record, yet don’t realize that most of my victories were won way before I even joined up with the Shieldmaidens. I can understand why you don’t know my overall record, including before I made a professional debut. But for someone who keeps up with my win-loss ratio, yet doesn’t piece something like that together? It’s beyond sad. Dear god, is it ever … “ Sam is sitting atop her bed. Beside her is Joseph, looking as confused as the Titaness sounds.
”Don’t worry your head about that. You can’t fix stupid like they say.” ”Sad but true,” Sam concurs, eliciting a disheartened sigh.
”I doubt you’ll pay much attention, but I do have answers for you. Granted, you should know, even if only through simple vocabulary and-slash-or using Google. Since her Highness is clearly too busy though, I’m fine doing option B for ya.” Sam moves off the bed and sits at a nearby desk, where her laptop is resting. After deactivating sleep mode, she pulls up two tabs. The first provides the following display.
”Biologically, no, you’re not a child. Mentally? Well .. that’s another story. And the Best Supporting Line goes to … this one.” The second window goes back to Ariana’s promo from before the Over-The-Top-Elimination match happened. In fact, the exact line included below is from her.
”You deserve my title because ...what? You were chosen by Rob? Because you’re a bratty princess who feels entitled to every-fucking-thing?” Her head shakes firmly from side to side as Sam’s eyes narrow.
”See, that is my problem with you. That’s nothing close to the mindset of a true champion. Titles are earned, not handed over. Not even to royalty, literal or self-proclaimed such as yourself. You’d just be another fake, like how Mosh pretended to give a fuck about me. If you think I’m letting you take my title away? Fuck that.” An amused smirk crosses her lips as she stays quiet for a few moments, speaking after allowing everything to be reviewed.
”So point A .. songs are never meant to be taken literally. It’s the concept, the message I was pointing out. But trust me when I say, I don’t have to resort to full-fledged murder. Sometimes, pain by itself can just feel that shitty. And that’s exactly what I intend to make you do; suffer. Feel so much agony, you’ll wish I’d gone on ahead and killed you. Just like the proverb says, there’s more than one way to skin a cat.
“Well then there’s definitely more than one way to skin anything else, including insufferable brats like you. Hell, there probably is for anything, let alone anyone.” Her eyes roll as Samantha proceeds on.
”Two … umm … no. I don’t toss furniture around, nor do I rip it apart. Maybe you do. I care not what you do or don’t do in your spare time. But no. I’m not that bad with my temper. In fact, you gave me a good chuckle at reading the words ‘bad person’. See, it may not seem that obvious. But that’s not who I am. Correction, it’s not the kind of woman I’m trying to be or act like.
“But when bitches like you come around and purposely wake a sleeping dragon because you’re that fucking stupid?” Sam sighs, shrugging lightly.
”I don’t know what you fucking expect. For real though, talk shit about me? I’ll return that favor one-hundred fold. Maybe even more so. And I guarantee, it’ll be much worse come Thursday. I didn’t need anymore incentives to beat you. The title defense is going to be more than enough. But no. You were foolish enough to speak up about my personal life.
“That … is where I draw the line.” Her arms cross over her chest.
”Never - and I do emphasize on never - have I dared to try to dictate to anyone how they should live, what they should or shouldn’t have done in their lives. God-fucking-damn, I honestly thought that was just a common courtesy. Stay out of my life … and I’ll return that favor. Really, where in that thick skull of yours did you even think it was a half-decent idea to try to chastise me on my life choices?” ”Easy. She didn’t. Just like Mosh failed to think when he tried to assume I have some ‘high and mighty’ attitude around me.” Sam snickers upon hearing this, tucking several strands of hair behind her ear.
”Ahh, assumptions. You also obviously haven’t heard that one. The reason you shouldn’t make them is they make an ass out of ‘u’ and out of ‘me’. As in the very word itself; spell it out. You’ll - hopefully - see what I mean. Either way, none of what you said makes me begin to change my mind. I literally have no reason to lose, let alone hand, my title over to you.
“Azurine can think this is a freebie, giveaway, whatever the fuck. But that’s never what this belt will ever be. If I wanted to even start with that, you would have won in the first place. I wouldn’t have bothered fighting, plain and simple. But that’s not how it all went down. Say what you will about my sisters-in-arms. The fact is … I still won. And even when you had me hanging onto the ropes, you lost. The problem with your argument is, yes, they were at ringside. Still … “Sam points to herself.
”I did all of the fighting. They just gave a distraction here and there. If either Bandit or Widow had yanked you over the top rope, maybe I could better understand your mindless bitching. As it is? You have nothing you can really whine about. Granted, you don’t have to agree with how it all went down. But it is what it is. You can’t change the past.” Sam goes quiet again, chuckling lowly to herself.
”If it weren’t for the fact your complaints are annoying, I’d almost consider it cute how you think you stand a fighting chance. As for whether anyone comes out this time around? That’s not my call. If they wanna join me, I’m not gonna stop them. What I can promise, however, is they’ll simply watch. Because one-on-one fights like we’re about to have? That is where I shine the brightest. No Disqualifications are always preferred, but … I’ve done more than fine enough in typical, Singles fights also. I don’t need a sledgehammer to bust you open, nor a knife or gun to make you bleed. Those are all just quicker ways to go about it. Me, myself, my fists, and I - those are the four things I need to beat your sorry ass and prove I wasn’t fucking around. I can, and will defend this title. Week in … and week out. I won’t just succeed in that endeavor, but I fully intend to keep holding onto the Throwdown Title even when Good Time rolls around, as well as afterwards.” Her smirk widens as she nods.
”Bold words. I know, don’t worry. But between the two of us? I know I can back them up quicker before you can. You already lost. Even in the worst case scenarios - if I lose it to someone else? That’s all more the reasons to know you’ll never get it back before I re-earn it. Almost everyone else here better understands everything here has to be earned; title shots, titles, literally, everything.
“You though? Nope, you proved in your earlier quote. No one simply gets titles because they’re picked for a match. No, no. You gotta earn it by proving you can win it against me in a fight. This self-entitled mindset you have really is fucking infuriating though. I wouldn’t be amazed if, eventually, you leave Mile High before this year ends … much like it seems Ian Black, the Rock and Roll God, and Lexi all have done. Two out of three were people who lost against me and, from what I can only guess, couldn’t handle defeat.
“That how you’re gonna be? Just gonna up and leave every time things don’t go your way? Time will tell, I suppose.” Sam looks as if she’s about to elaborate more on that, but opts against it. Instead, she waves her hand through the air, dismissing that matter.
”Put up or shut up time … it’s getting close again. You have my as-sincere-as-possible condolences, Princess. Thursday’s gonna be my Heaven … and your literal, living Hell. That’s not an idle threat; that’s a promise.” A quick nod later and the feed shuts off, ending the promo.