††† Parental and NSFW Advisory †††
††† Scenes will contain Violence of a graphic nature, Foul Language and Adult Content. †††
††† You've been warned. †††
8th September, 2018
06:06 AM
New Orleans, Louisiana
Exact Location: Shieldmaiden Clubhouse (Sam & Joseph’s Room)
Status: Off-Camera It was by no means perfect. Nowhere close, in fact. But finally, the nerves in Sam’s body, especially her right arm, had gotten to a point where they weren’t bothering her nearly as much. That had likely cost her in the Fatal Four Way. It had been one of the things that made her lose, anyway.
It wasn’t losing that made her frustrated, believe it or not.
It was being pinned by Solomon that irritated her.
The sounds of drawers opening finally caused Sam to slowly open her eyes, head turning to find Joseph had been in the midst of gathering some clothes .. and then looks puzzled on whether he needs to even bother doing that or not.
The sight causes Sam to chuckle which, in turn, makes Joseph jump slightly.
”Oh ... morning, Sam.””Morning. You’re not trying to sneak away from me, are you?”Joseph scoffs playfully at the thought, shaking his head.
”You should know the answer to that. Of course not.”Sam nods, raising an eyebrow in curiosity.
”So what are you doing? Because it isn’t ‘nothing’. That much is obvious.””No, no. I wasn’t gonna use that cop-out of an answer.”He pauses, finally turning and looking over at Sam with a serious look.
”Bandit asked me to do another protection run for her. It’s far enough away that I’ll need to take a plane. I don’t think I’ll be gone long enough, however, to need extra clothes. But I thought I might and … hehe.”He gestures to the dresser behind him, which has several doors open and some clothes hanging out haphazardly.
”That’s what you caught me doing; trying to figure out if I even need to worry about packing or not.” Sam looks right back at Joseph as he explains himself. Her eyebrow stays raised, and it’s easy to figure she’s hesitant on his explanation. When she does finally react, it’s first getting out of bed and giving Joseph a hug, not caring she had next to nothing on.
”You’ve been doing damn well, Joseph. I’m amazed you took to being a Chrome Dragon so easily.””Honestly? I kinda am too. This is definitely not something I imagined myself doing; but I suppose my life has been going in a very unpredicted direction, because there has been quite a bit that’s happened but I never thought would occur.”Sam grins, pressing a few light kisses on Joseph’s lips before stepping back.
”If it’s just a protection run, I doubt you’ll need much. But if you think you need anything, then pack really light. Now hurry up before I make you late for whatever flight you may have.” After flashing a sly smirk at her quip, Joseph pulls a dufflebag beside him and begins putting one to two days’ worth of clothing inside. All the while, Sam forces herself to simply watch; yet does so rather proudly.
8th September, 2018
20:18 PM
New Orleans, Louisiana
Exact Location: Twisted Steel Garage → Salazar’s Residence
Status: Off-Camera Thankfully, Sam had been able to figure ways to kill time out even after Joseph left. Most of it had involved training, especially with anything involving her right arm. She needed to be
damn sure her muscles and nerves functioned properly to help Bandit keep the Tag Titles in their possession this coming week.
And then, when dinner rolled around, Bullet had come up and hinted she would need her to ride out again. Preferably before 20:30.
Given the current time, now seemed as good of a time as any.
A quick walk out of the clubhouse and to the usual suspect location on where to find her sister revealed Bullet was indeed in the garage.
”So, where do we need to go tonight?” “Salazar called.”She pauses, looking like this something she’d really rather not do.
“I know he annoys, but, I will need others to help keep his baser instincts at bay.” Even Sam can’t hide a grimace upon hearing Salazar’s name. Still, she manages a smile and shrugs as Bullet finishes explaining what’s needed.
”That seems to be one purpose for family, I’ve found; to annoy the ever-living fuck outta us. And they tend to succeed more often than not. It’s cool. Definitely gives me something to do. I can’t complain too much.”If anything, she felt more glad she’d tucked her pistol away; a precaution she had taken since Bullet hinted they’d need to ride out tonight. Still only a last resort use, yes. But it was something to - hopefully - keep things from getting too crazy.
Offering Bullet a reassuring nod, she walks over to her bike, placing her visor on and turning the engine on.
”Any chance he hinted what he wants? Or is that what we’re about to find out?” “Same as ever. He wishes to talk, makes a caremonda of himself and then laughs as he hangs up.”Bullet shakes her head as she fires her own bike up.
“I think we can count on two things. One, he will make eyes at you. Two, he will be annoyed with me on some level.”The Titaness smirks, grinning slyly as Bullet lists what to expect off.
”Tough shit. He should know by now that if anything does end up going his way, it ain’t gonna be connecting with me. It’ll be an actual business request.” Within the span of fifteen to twenty minutes, the two arrive in the same run-down looking area where Salazar lives.
Sam takes a slight breath to help steel herself as she places her visor on the right handlebar and begins walking alongside Bullet towards the front door. The door opens and they are ushered into an inner room where they find Salazar Mejia seemingly dressed down for him, a pair of cut-off jeans and white tank top make him strangely almost redneck in appearance. As they enter, a smirk crosses his face that suddenly makes him look way more normal to them.
“Always nice to see such beauty walk in the door.”Ugh. It seemed her attempts to keep him mad at her had only lasted from their previous encounter. It was somewhat of a shame. But hey, this was another thing to work on. Not necessarily the smartest, no. Ultimately, it’d depend on him and if he could stay professional enough or not.
Keeping a more stoic expression rather than having it change, Sam clicks her tongue in annoyance, shaking her head at the attempt to flatter her and Bullet.
”Charla comercial ahora, por favor. Si no te importa.”Salazar nods, amused.
“Siempre disfruto cuando traes la estatua, Aleja. Ella es exquisita.”Bullet visibly stiffens.
“Do NOT call me that!”The amusement visible on Salazar’s face only seems to increase with his cousin’s anger.
“Touchy…”Samantha clears her throat.
”You wanna keep dreaming and uttering sweet nothings that literally mean exactly that, fine. But onward. And if you don’t respect Bullet’s wishes?”Sam allows the rhetorical inquiry to trail off, remaining unfinished.
”Stay. On. Topic. My patience has never been my best virtue to begin with. Let’s not tempt it. Free advice for the night. So … what’d you want? I really don’t see you as the kind of man to just want company over, though if that is the case …”The Titaness shakes her head again.
”That’s what escorts are for, more likely than not. And we’re definitely not those kind of women, so … go on.” Salazar can’t seem to help himself.
“Pity…”Bullet’s eyes flash fire for a second before she catches herself.
“If this is about Gino…”“Gino was just saying hello, Aleja. You passed that test well, I have heard. I wonder…He pauses to nod to Sam.
“Do they know you were tested?”Sam’s head tilts as she looks confused now.
”Tested?”She looks between Bullet, back over to Salazar, and then keeps her gaze on Bullet again.
”The only test I can even immediately guess about is before RJ gave me my cut when we had our ladder match, so … what’s he going on about?” Salazar smirks cruelly.
“So you did not tell them… delicious.”Bullet glares at her cousin.
“Malparido…” Salazar snickers.
“Now, now, Aleja… such language…”Bullet glares through him.
“He is talking about his associate, Gino Leija. Salazar had Gino pay a visit while Jack, Angel and I were in Vegas and he offered me cocaine behind their backs. He wanted to go ask them if they wanted some but I apparently gave the correct answer so he left them alone. And now Salazar is enjoying a moment to gloat about it because he thinks it gives him power to do so.”Sam elicits a deep sigh, her eyes rolling slightly.
”Sounds like I was still in Japan while this went on.”Her head turns as she looks back over to Salazar, eyes narrowing.
”Fine. Good for you. There goes your fifteen seconds of fame and boasting. You done? You got anything else worth us remaining here? Because I’m ready to assume otherwise and storm out with Bullet. Worse than anyone wasting my patience is my time. Tick-tock, tick-tock, boy. Get to the point … preferably sooner or shut the hell up and allow us to leave. What. The. Fuck. Do. You. Want?!” “I wished to see if Aleja was being a woman of her word…”He pauses to nod in Sam’s direction.
“And, of course, to enjoy your company and visage. I wonder…”Pausing again, the smirk turns slightly less playful.
“Have you heard from your friends in Asheville today. I expect they will be getting a visit soon, since the Irish one is having a match now. You know what that usually means, don’t you, Aleja?”Bullet grits her teeth.
“¡Hijueputa!””Indeed,” Sam mutters in agreement, finally striding forward, stopping when mere paces separate her from Salazar. Without giving any warning, she clenches her right hand into a fist, pulls it back, and slams it hard into Salazar’s gut.
”SHE TOLD YOU NOT TO CALL HER THAT, YOU ASSHOLE!”Sam starts shaking in anger, staying firmly planted in front of Salazar as she glares up into his eyes.
”You can hit me back if you feel so inclined. But know the moment you do, I’ll keep going. And I won’t stop. Make no mistake, no matter how long it takes, I’ll make sure to beat you bad enough to allow us both to leave and never bother us for at least a week, if not longer. The choice is yours … but I very, very highly recommend you actually shut up and think carefully before you act.” Bullet rushes over and pulls Sam back as Salazar laughs on his knees.
“I’ll remember that, but I do not think she was speaking about me.Bullet shoots her cousin a dirty look and then nods to Sam.
“¡Tenemos que irnos!Bullet can feel Samantha’s body tense as she’s pulled away from Salazar. In the end, she allows her to do so for the same reason she kept herself mostly in check last time. Wanting to avoid trouble. Legal trouble, especially. Sam nods firmly, pivoting on her feet - all while resisting the urge to spit on Salazar’s floor.
”I’m starting to think he should begin coming to you,” she muttered while putting her helmet on.
”Either way, that was a fucking waste …” Sam knew perfectly well she’d very likely fucked up. But that was fine. Honestly, when hadn’t she in her life thus far?
More importantly, she knew she could handle it … whatever ‘it’ would translate into later on. Or ‘whom’, should it be people.
Her head temporarily bows as Sam takes a few moments to calm herself. Slowly, she looks over to Bullet with an apologetic glimpse in her eyes.
”Lo siento.” Bullet shakes her head.
“You have nothing to be sorry for, Sam.”She nods back to the door.
“He will actually thank me for that later, but, thank you for that. I do hate it when he calls me that. As for this being a waste, that’s why we need to go. It was not a total waste. He just told us where Marchand is going next.”She pauses and nods to the bikes.
“He is going to visit Saoirse.””No problem.”A sly smirk of her own appears on Sam’s face.
”Not how I was originally gonna test my arm, but hey, that worked out well enough.”When Marchand is brought up, the grin is almost immediately replaced with a frown.
”Hmmm …”Getting onto her bike and putting her visor back on, Sam quietly mulls on the same thing she’s noticed thus far; the officer in question has yet to see her. This is either a really good thing or a bad one. And the feeling in the pit of her stomach is seeming to favor the latter.
For now though, those thoughts are kept to herself as Sam rides back with Bullet to the clubhouse.
10th September, 2018
12:22 PM
New Orleans, Louisiana
Exact Location: Shieldmaiden Clubhouse (Living Room)
Status: On-Camera ”No. I suppose I never have been great with knowing when to shut up. I’ll admit that … Katrina. But hey, I’m at least not the only one who’s guilty of that. You’re not much better, either.” The camera pans in on Sam sitting on one of the many couches. Her arms are resting on her lap as she looks something in between amused and wearing a ghost of a sadistic smile. But if one pays close enough attention, they can definitely see the secondary look in her eyes and face.
”You know, while we’re on the topic of people who can’t seem to speak to me face-to-face, let’s get that shit outta the way, shall we? Abi - don’t think I didn’t hear you. But I promise you, before you can serve me any sorta ‘humble pie’, I’ll give you something first. Another beating. Also, who do you think you are to talk about being ‘humble’ when you were so cocky about being able to easily earn your second win, hmmm?”Her head shakes as she scoffs.
”You may have had a great debut, but that doesn’t mean you’re anywhere near ready to go against me, let alone the other Shieldmaidens. Definitely not me though. Do yourself a favor and wait. I’ll make it worthwhile for when we do meet in the ring, though. Promise.” Her feet tap a few times on the floor before stopping as Sam shifts whom her words are directed at once again.
”Any other bitches like Abi who have a problem with me can say it to my goddamn face. I don’t care if I’m in the ring, locker room, backstage, or whatever. But stop hiding behind a mic or whatever and come find me.”Another brief pause before Sam resumes.
"Is what we saw last week your ‘true colors’ then, Katrina?”Sam raises her arms, now crossing them over her chest.
”Hate to break it to you, but you will not silence us. There is absolutely nothing in our contracts that say we have to abandon our rights to the First Amendment, so fuck that. Don’t start something you can’t finish. I promise, any sort of war - physical or verbal - against us is a very dumb idea. And it’s been hinted time and time again firing us would do more harm than good for this company. So you, Katrina, are going to stop trying to boss us around when it comes down to us voicing our complaints and concerns.” She points her thumb towards herself.
”I won’t speak for all of the other Maidens, but yes, I am a bit self-entitled, which thus includes some synonyms for that term. Arrogant, cocky, all that jazz. But you know what? It’s all justified. So excuse me if I don’t feel guilty or ashamed or asking for a chance I was well overdue for. And now that that’s over?”She pauses, chuckling softly before continuing.
”Well … I’m not gonna deny I’m upset about how things went. But, unlike what Abi wishes to believe, I can - and will - move on. Plus, unlike Tyke, I’m not empty-handed.”She pats her Tag Title, which is draped over her shoulder.
”I would include Solomon, but I can’t. Not yet. Only if he fucks his own second chance up and doesn’t walk out of Sin City with the gold. Then, yes, he will also have effectively come out of that Fatal Four Way empty-handed. Until that fight arrives though? I can only say for sure Tyke left that fray with nothing. Regardless, knowing Bullet was right - that we could leave with our respective belts - made the loss much easier to cope with.” Her grin widens more.
”And, while it was unexpected, Joseph busting Solomon open was a nice bonus. But I’ll let them handle that in their own promos and shit. So, Katrina, here’s my golden question for you. We - finally - have other tag teams in this company. Actual, official ones for that matter. So why did you put us again versus Mosh and Ripley?” Samantha laughs softly.
”I mean, sure. It is true that history doesn’t always repeat. But with them? You bet it will. We’re not about to disappoint our fans and audience by going against two men who currently have a very, very rocky relationship. Hell, are they even gonna be able to function together?” Sam raises an eyebrow, seeming to try to answer her own question before shrugging.
”I honestly doubt it. Especially considering Ripley refused to kiss and make up with Mosh. And the worst part about his decision to turn his back on the Party Boy? It was the right move to make.”Reaching up and behind herself, Sam pulls her ponytail tighter.
”It’s a bit of a shame, Ripley. I honestly think you’d have more luck in a handicap match versus us than being with Mosh. You’re right; he is the weak link. He’s gonna weigh you down once again. And you’ll drown with him.”Her head slowly moves from side to side.
”Hell, you probably wouldn’t be half bad of a Chrome Dragon. Alas, that isn’t my call to make, nor even Joseph’s. You’d have to get in touch with Forge. Point is … you do have potential. But the longer you linger with Mosh, the more you do continue to waste it. I almost pity you. Almost.”She rests her hands atop the Tag Team Title.
”Unfortunately, it’s not close enough to make me show mercy so you and Chris can walk out with these. You already had your chance to prove you could keep these. You failed. Just like Ariana did when she got her immediate rematch to try to get the Throwdown Championship. This week … will be exactly the same as when our very own California Brat tried to take my title from me. I will make history repeat, and force the wannabe team to leave with nothing but another dose of shame and disgust hovering over them.” Sam elicits another sigh before proceeding with her speech.
”Mosh .. what haven’t I said yet to you? Not much, really. You’re not weak? You sure about that? So why were you the one pinned by Bandit? Remember how long that fight lasted? I do. Three minutes, five seconds. That is - as of now - the fastest match I have ever had anywhere. Let that sink in, boy.” Her head shakes as The Titaness’ grin widens even further; something that likely didn’t look very possible.
”You just … you guys have the ferocity of two kittens. Translation, none at all. Meanwhile, you’re about to go once more against two women who have both bark and bite. Aren’t you two getting sick of tasting defeat over and over again? One of you mentioned Groundhog Day and, actually, I agree with that analogy. But frankly, it applies more so to you guys than us.”Sam tucks a few bangs behind her ears before shrugging after seeming to quietly contemplate.
”Whatever happens this Thursday is all on your shoulders, Katrina. You could have given us anyone else. Even Skrabz’s homies would have been far more interesting. And while I doubt they would have had much better of a chance, the Barf Sisterz would at least be new, as far as opponents go. But no. You’re trying to … I guess … prove a point? Try to tempt our fates. Is that it? See how long we can keep our belts?
“Well sweetie, I promise you this much; me and Bandit will walk into Sin City with our gold still over our shoulders. Bullet, likewise, will have her Phoenix Championship. And you damn well better believe we intend to leave with our titles still over our shoulders. Because unlike Mosh and Ripley, we make everything count. We look out for one another, and I’m certainly not the only Maiden who turns failures into successes, when needed. The others can and will also.
“Why? Because it’s exactly as you said.” Sam pats her Shieldmaiden cut.
”This .. is not simply a label, nor a fancy vest. It is who we are. We are indeed fighters! Warriors! And despite the obstacles that have tried to stop or slow us down, we have prevailed! That’s just how it’s gonna be! This week will not be any different! We will walk out still owning the Tag Team Titles. And we will help prove that Katrina wasn’t wrong in acknowledging our strength.” Before Sam can say anymore, a chime echoes from her phone. An eyebrow raises as she picks it up … and smirks upon seeing a certain notification.
”No matter how I may or may not feel about this match, I’ll see you both soon. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a flight of my own to catch. But don’t worry; I’ll be back in time to give the two of you my full and undivided attention. Promise.” ”Hmm? Where to?”Sam quickly pulls her thumb over her throat, signaling to first end the promo and, effectively, keep the answer to Joseph’s question hidden from the public viewers. Seconds after the cue is given, the feed comes to an abrupt end, making The Titaness and everything around her vanish.
