Post by Crash Rodriguez on Sept 19, 2021 14:56:52 GMT -5
A glass of clear liquor flows into the mouth of Louis Pohl, he winces slightly as it travels down the esophagus.
"Anything else I can get for you, Mr. Pohl?"
Lou quickly recomposes himself, setting down the glass. He looks at the flight attendant.
"Please, call me Lou. But I tell ya what, I think this will do."
She gives the man the classic "work smile", the kind of smile you'd get from a waitress at Hooters, before walking to the cockpit. The former attorney reaches over to the seat next to him and picks up his briefcase laying it on the table. He cracks it open, revealing the Paradigm Championship. He thinks about how they've finally made it. They're holding a prestigious title. Sure Crash isn't "officially" champion, but they may as well be. Lou's smirk grows into a full blown smile as he gazes upon the belt, mesmerized by the craftsmanship. He ogles over every detail, before finally breaking from his trance and putting it away. Lou looks at his watch, about 15 minutes until he's in Kansas City, Missouri. He sighs anxiously before leaning back and closing his eyes.
Lou sits in his car, head resting on the leather cover on his steering wheel. He looks up through the windshield and shakes his head, trying to cope with the news. Disbarred. Despite his years of shady business dealings, including forgery, bribery and general unethical practices, he never expected this. Hell, so many of his colleagues have done the same as him, if not more, but here he is banned from practicing law. Without a job or a way to scrape by for a living. Soon shock is replaced by a smidge of resentment towards Crash. After all, it was his fault. It was Crash who beat up those kids at the karate dojo and left Lou to pick up the shattered pieces and make everything ok, like always. He pulls out his phone and scrolls through his contacts, ready to give the Crooked Man a piece of his mind. The phone rings thrice, before being answered.
"What do you want, Lou? I'm a bit busy."
"Oh you're busy? Oh I'm so sorry, but I don't give a fuck! You've cost me everything, kid! Everytime you come to me, asking me to save your ass, and now look where it's gotten me! You've fucked me ov-"
"Lou…"
Crash's voice is stern, yet calm, snapping the former lawyer out of his rant. A shiver runs up his spine, as he realizes that he's just berated a monster. Lou gulps down his saliva.
"You did this to yourself. Don't act like I twisted your arm. You bribed those people. You stole from your clients. You're a scumbag lawyer and it was only a matter of time that people saw it too."
Lou sits silently, he knows Crash is right.
"Whatever the case may be, it seems you've got no use for me now. Bye."
Lou hangs up the phone, a sense of bitterness washing over him. Not too long after he gets a text from Crash, he quickly opens the message, a request to come see Crash in person and with it, an address . He puts it into the GPS and drives off to the location.
"Mr. Pohl, we've reached Kansas City."
The flight assistant's voice wakes Lou from his nap. He wipes the sand from his eyes as he grabs the briefcase and rises to his feet. He nods to the woman as he exits the plane and heads to the rental car awaiting him in the parking lot. Before too long he is heading to Dan Flynn's Meat Den. As he pulls into a parking space he sees Crash standing by the front door. Lou waves to his client, who just stares back at him, waiting for the ex-attorney to get out of the vehicle. Lou slams the car door behind him.
"What took you so long?"
"Took a nap. It's a lot of work lugging around this beauty."
Lou lifts the briefcase, as the two of them head through the front door of the butcher shop. Lou follows Crash into the back, walking past the dead cows hanging on hooks. The smell of
"These seem awfully fresh. Didn't realize you were gonna reopen your uncle's old store. Seems fitting, Crash 'The Butcher' Rodrig-"
"No small talk."
Pohl quiets down, making a mental note to remember the nickname. With a little work it could go somewhere. The two finally approach the very back of the building, where Crash holds the door open for his representation. A shiver runs up Lou's spine, this is only the second time he's been in this room and the first time wasn't pretty. Crash walks over and sits at his desk. He nods at Lou, gesturing to take a seat.
"Alright, let's get down to business."
"I'm already on it. I've been spending all my time just conspiring on ways to get back at them. Who do they think they are, trying to make an idiot out of you? It's horse shit, but I think I finally have concocted a way to right their wrongs."
The Crooked Man's face morphs into a puzzled expression before realizing who Lou is referencing.
"I didn't bring you here to talk about the Golden Age, Lou."
Lou seems surprised, he was sure that his client would want some form of vengeance.
"They just did what they felt they had to. They have their goals, and we have ours. No, this is about Lux."
"Xavier Lux? What's the problem?"
"What do you mean? Maybe you forgot because you've been too busy prancing about with that championship, but he's what is standing in the way of you continuing to do so."
"Well, you heard Welsh, the man probably won't even show. He's all banged up in a hospital bed. Laying there, as useless as roadkill."
"So you're willing to believe Marcus? You are under the impression that Lux is just gonna lay in bed and do nothing? You must be a bigger fool than I realized if you're really buying that shit."
"Ok so he shows up. Big whoop. You'll just put him back in that hospital bed."
"I'm not worried about losing, Lou. I want to make an example of him. I want everybody watching to leave that arena, worried if the man is still breathing."
Lou takes a second to digest his client's lecture. It makes sense, the man wants everybody to know what will happen if you're standing between him and his goal.
"So then what's the plan?"
"The plan is simple. I'm going to go visit a good friend. In the meantime you're going to watch over the store. Just make sure the employees show up and work, and keep your phone charged in case I need any more work done."
Crash stands up and leaves Lou dumbfounded in the office alone. Friends? What is he planning? What work could he possibly need? Lou's eyes wander to a dent in the wall, remembering how it got there.
Lou arrives at the location. A butcher shop named "Dan Flynn's Meat Den". Of course, how fitting for Crash to request meeting at such a place. Lou walks through the front door, and notices the Crooked Man waiting by a door behind the counter. Crash Rodriguez nods his head towards the door, requesting Lou to go follow Crash into the back office. Before Lou even realizes what's happening Crash has smashed his head into the wall and holds him against the wall, lifting him from his feet.
"I want you to really process what I'm telling you. You are the sole reason you got disbarred. You, your vices and your lack of morals. You can't practice law because of you. Not me. You."
Lou stares at Crash, fear filling his eyes. Lou gets the feeling this is where he'll die. Just as Lou makes peace with his God, Crash let's go of his throat, letting the man crumple to the floor. As Lou coughs and chokes, he looks up at the Crooked Man.
"Well… go on… kill me already."
"Lou, if I wanted you dead, you'd be hanging from one of those hooks already."
Lou rises to his feet, undoing the top button of his collar.
"Then what's this about? Just rough me up and scare me? For what? Why?"
"Lou, you may not be a lawyer anymore, but you could still be useful. So I'm offering you a job."
Louis Pohl stands up and fixes his suit as he begins to head out of the empty butchershop. Just as he rounds the front corner his cell phone starts vibrating. Lou struggles with removing the phone from his pocket, but he manages to wrestle the phone free in time to see it's his client and answer.
"Hey kid. Wha-"
"I've done some thinking. I need you to do something for me."
Lou looks back at the office behind him, remembering the dented wall. He swallows deeply, as he realizes he may not have a choice.
"Anything. What's the deal?"
Lou sits waiting for any kind of response. A few seconds drift by, but they feel like hours to the conniving schemester. As the question linger perhaps too long, Lou starts to ask again only to be given an answer.
"It involves the Golden Age."
"Anything else I can get for you, Mr. Pohl?"
Lou quickly recomposes himself, setting down the glass. He looks at the flight attendant.
"Please, call me Lou. But I tell ya what, I think this will do."
She gives the man the classic "work smile", the kind of smile you'd get from a waitress at Hooters, before walking to the cockpit. The former attorney reaches over to the seat next to him and picks up his briefcase laying it on the table. He cracks it open, revealing the Paradigm Championship. He thinks about how they've finally made it. They're holding a prestigious title. Sure Crash isn't "officially" champion, but they may as well be. Lou's smirk grows into a full blown smile as he gazes upon the belt, mesmerized by the craftsmanship. He ogles over every detail, before finally breaking from his trance and putting it away. Lou looks at his watch, about 15 minutes until he's in Kansas City, Missouri. He sighs anxiously before leaning back and closing his eyes.
January 15th, 2021
"What do you want, Lou? I'm a bit busy."
"Oh you're busy? Oh I'm so sorry, but I don't give a fuck! You've cost me everything, kid! Everytime you come to me, asking me to save your ass, and now look where it's gotten me! You've fucked me ov-"
"Lou…"
Crash's voice is stern, yet calm, snapping the former lawyer out of his rant. A shiver runs up his spine, as he realizes that he's just berated a monster. Lou gulps down his saliva.
"You did this to yourself. Don't act like I twisted your arm. You bribed those people. You stole from your clients. You're a scumbag lawyer and it was only a matter of time that people saw it too."
Lou sits silently, he knows Crash is right.
"Whatever the case may be, it seems you've got no use for me now. Bye."
Lou hangs up the phone, a sense of bitterness washing over him. Not too long after he gets a text from Crash, he quickly opens the message, a request to come see Crash in person and with it, an address . He puts it into the GPS and drives off to the location.
Present Day
The flight assistant's voice wakes Lou from his nap. He wipes the sand from his eyes as he grabs the briefcase and rises to his feet. He nods to the woman as he exits the plane and heads to the rental car awaiting him in the parking lot. Before too long he is heading to Dan Flynn's Meat Den. As he pulls into a parking space he sees Crash standing by the front door. Lou waves to his client, who just stares back at him, waiting for the ex-attorney to get out of the vehicle. Lou slams the car door behind him.
"What took you so long?"
"Took a nap. It's a lot of work lugging around this beauty."
Lou lifts the briefcase, as the two of them head through the front door of the butcher shop. Lou follows Crash into the back, walking past the dead cows hanging on hooks. The smell of
"These seem awfully fresh. Didn't realize you were gonna reopen your uncle's old store. Seems fitting, Crash 'The Butcher' Rodrig-"
"No small talk."
Pohl quiets down, making a mental note to remember the nickname. With a little work it could go somewhere. The two finally approach the very back of the building, where Crash holds the door open for his representation. A shiver runs up Lou's spine, this is only the second time he's been in this room and the first time wasn't pretty. Crash walks over and sits at his desk. He nods at Lou, gesturing to take a seat.
"Alright, let's get down to business."
"I'm already on it. I've been spending all my time just conspiring on ways to get back at them. Who do they think they are, trying to make an idiot out of you? It's horse shit, but I think I finally have concocted a way to right their wrongs."
The Crooked Man's face morphs into a puzzled expression before realizing who Lou is referencing.
"I didn't bring you here to talk about the Golden Age, Lou."
Lou seems surprised, he was sure that his client would want some form of vengeance.
"They just did what they felt they had to. They have their goals, and we have ours. No, this is about Lux."
"Xavier Lux? What's the problem?"
"What do you mean? Maybe you forgot because you've been too busy prancing about with that championship, but he's what is standing in the way of you continuing to do so."
"Well, you heard Welsh, the man probably won't even show. He's all banged up in a hospital bed. Laying there, as useless as roadkill."
"So you're willing to believe Marcus? You are under the impression that Lux is just gonna lay in bed and do nothing? You must be a bigger fool than I realized if you're really buying that shit."
"Ok so he shows up. Big whoop. You'll just put him back in that hospital bed."
"I'm not worried about losing, Lou. I want to make an example of him. I want everybody watching to leave that arena, worried if the man is still breathing."
Lou takes a second to digest his client's lecture. It makes sense, the man wants everybody to know what will happen if you're standing between him and his goal.
"So then what's the plan?"
"The plan is simple. I'm going to go visit a good friend. In the meantime you're going to watch over the store. Just make sure the employees show up and work, and keep your phone charged in case I need any more work done."
Crash stands up and leaves Lou dumbfounded in the office alone. Friends? What is he planning? What work could he possibly need? Lou's eyes wander to a dent in the wall, remembering how it got there.
January 15th, 2021
"I want you to really process what I'm telling you. You are the sole reason you got disbarred. You, your vices and your lack of morals. You can't practice law because of you. Not me. You."
Lou stares at Crash, fear filling his eyes. Lou gets the feeling this is where he'll die. Just as Lou makes peace with his God, Crash let's go of his throat, letting the man crumple to the floor. As Lou coughs and chokes, he looks up at the Crooked Man.
"Well… go on… kill me already."
"Lou, if I wanted you dead, you'd be hanging from one of those hooks already."
Lou rises to his feet, undoing the top button of his collar.
"Then what's this about? Just rough me up and scare me? For what? Why?"
"Lou, you may not be a lawyer anymore, but you could still be useful. So I'm offering you a job."
Present Day
"Hey kid. Wha-"
"I've done some thinking. I need you to do something for me."
Lou looks back at the office behind him, remembering the dented wall. He swallows deeply, as he realizes he may not have a choice.
"Anything. What's the deal?"
Lou sits waiting for any kind of response. A few seconds drift by, but they feel like hours to the conniving schemester. As the question linger perhaps too long, Lou starts to ask again only to be given an answer.
"It involves the Golden Age."