Post by thedemonsofdeath on Apr 19, 2014 15:55:28 GMT -5
“If everything seems to be under control, you’re not going fast enough.” – Mario Andretti
The Demons of Death are seen standing in front of the now in famous mansion, twilight glittering the background.
“Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to The Demons do Top Gear!”
Danny smirks, the cheesiest smile he could muster.
“Let me explain this a little better, we have decided to have a race down to Truth or Consequences. I didn’t fancy flying, but this guy has a bit of trouble being in cars for too long.”
“This I must say is true, due to having legs nearly three feet long, I do struggle to sit too long.”
“Yeah that’s about right. So, what we decided is that he would fly, and Jezz and I would race. I’ll be taking this beauty.”
Danny juts his thumb over his right shoulder, towards a black saloon car.
“A Two-thousand and Twelve Volvo C30. We’ll be doing the two thousand mile trip in this thing, whereas the big man will be taking a limo to the airport where he will be boarding a plane. He’ll fly to Grant Country where he is will get into another limo to the hotel we’ll be in.”
Anubis stands, his expression blank, next to him, Jednie is almost bouncing with excitement, evidently looking forward to this trip.
“Right, in three, two, one, GO!”
Danny and Jednie bolt in, and within a minute, the Volvo was racing down the gravel pathway in front of the mansion. Anubis decides not to move yet, watching the car disappear through the wrought iron gates and out of sight.
“I do believe they are slightly outnumbered here, a drive time of thirty-three hours is a lot in comparison. However, I shall indulge them this once.”
Anubis snaps his fingers, and thirty seconds later, a limousine pulls out from behind the mansion, crawling along the gravel, to park besides the master. A driver, dressed smartly in a purple suit with matching hat and tie walks round the car and opens the door for his employer.
“Thank you Mr. Kidd. There will be no need to race today.”
“Very good sir, a comfortable ride it is.”
“Thank you.”
Anubis steps into the car, the door closed behind him. Anubis listens as the gravel crunches and the driver’s door closes. A moment later the car gently comes to life, and soon starts its slow descent towards the iron gates. Anubis takes the bottle of champagne resting in the cooler besides him, and pours himself a flute-full.
“Might as well enjoy this ride.”
He takes a few gentle sips as they pull onto tarmac, and starts its journey east towards the airport.
“So, whilst I have an hour in here. I might as well answer the one question that has been asked the most of me. My name. It seems people read into this a little more than they need to, but we are in the wrestling industry and there are some rather nonsensical concepts out there. No, I do not, nor have ever claimed to be the ancient God of Passing, I am, as much as sometimes it appears to the contrary, a mortal man.
Now my size, strength and agility may have been gifted by the Gods, but that doesn’t stop me from being a man. No my name came from my from my interest in Egyptian mythology, and indeed with Anuppa himself. So to those who are in the belief that I consider myself immortal may wish to reconsider any tactic they may have that allows them to believe that they can take my foolishness and naivety as a weakness.”
Anubis looks out of the tinted windows as the car trundles along calmly. The threes and natural wildlife that make up his view start to thin as they reach the highway, and before long, his glass is empty, and as he watches the cars rush by, the sun still just about peaks over the horizon, leaving the light pinkish tone of the night, soon complete darkness will fall.
“There seems to be a slight amount of confusion as to my arrival in OCW. Some thinking that I am not fully aware of the standings here, as I have mentioned The Family as an enemy a number of times, others, namely Miss Knight and Miss Cassablancas that belief that my coming here was not orchestrated, and merely an advantage taken from an opportunity.
I shall begin by telling you that my entrance into this company was carefully thought out. I have been in this business a long time, and I have seen every which way every single action can go. Upon my first action, I came to deal with an issue that The Family was creating for themselves, and that was taking justice into their own hands. That very night they took away an opportunity for young Ripper and Miss Ryan to compete in the main event of Black Out 2.
Now, this was before I was ready to compete here in OCW. However, I appeared the following week to explain my actions. However, again, this was not my intention to compete yet, young Ripper was a little preoccupied with becoming one half of the tag team champions. So I bode my time, and waited. Now, the correct time has come.
As for The Family, I wish to re-iterate clearly that they are not my only targets, nor ones I wish to entertain. I understand that I have targeted the Family thus far, but I believe fully that Team Brianna can handle those fools at Total Demolition, and I am in great confidence that The Family will be no more after the next Pay Per View. No, they were the grandest target of all. My aim in this company is to rid the brand of fallacy and hatred, of cowardice and debauchery. I have no particular target here in the company. Much more of this will be explained as time goes on. Now, if you will excuse me I wish to relax before we reach the airport."
==================================================================================
The Volvo was thundering south, almost reaching the border with Pennsylvania. Jednie has lay down in the back of the big saloon, seemingly having gone to sleep. Danny looks down at the speedo, smiling slightly at the reading being at over one hundred.
“Well, I was never going to beat him going at the speed limit, even with the laidback approach I am sure he is taking there is no way I’d overcome thirty hours difference otherwise!
Still plenty of time to contemplate the upcoming match right?”
Darkness had fully overtaken the world outside the windows, as of this point, there was very little traffic on the highway Ripper was using, he could enjoy it before they would inevitably have to join the interstate somewhere, something he hated doing, but this was a race after all.
“I’ll tell ya something, those two really did choose one hell of a tag team partner for the War Games match, I really gotta hand it to them, Amber would have never been easy to convince, I would love to know how they did it. But, if anyone knows how could a tag team wrestler she is, it’s me. She’s beaten me more times than I would like to count with tag team gold on the line, I knew that when I asked her to be my partner in the lethal lottery, not that I imagined in a million years when I did that we would now be the champions.
So I hope those ladies know that her tag team partner has to be all the competitor she is. Makes sense after all right? If I were you though, I wouldn’t get comfy with the idea that you will be winnign the tag team championships any time soon, Amber may be one hell of a tag team competitor, but that doesn’t mean she likes people. She’ll do the job at Total Demolition, but the chances are that will be the last time she does something nice for you guys, and if you aren’t careful, she will be your worst enemy.”
The dreaded moment has arrived, Ripper turns one last corner to see the interstate, cars flooding it despite the late hour. Most were moving fast of course, no one wanting to stop to smell the roses, after all, that’s what highways are for right? He has no problem pulling into the road, and continues his path south, having to drop his speed to seventy, knowing that was going to cost him. He knew that he still had six states to cross, and even with Anubis having to wait two hours for his plane at the airport, due to some devious re-routing from Ripper, he should be boarding any time soon.
==================================================================================
Back at the Massena International Airport, the private jet was now touching down on the runway. It seems if you have enough money, you can even borrow a runway when you wanted to. The jet was unassuming, painted a glistening jet black, with no special markings on it at all, no one would believe that this plane belonged to someone immensely rich. Anubis had done his outright best to avoid any public interaction, even those who had no idea who he was, generally tend to stop and try and talk to a man of his size, the circus is always in town when Anubis is around. Twenty minutes later, he had walked along the ground at the terminal, and boarded his private plane. He sat in a rather large seat, and strapped himself in.
“Good evening Mr Anubis sir, I do apologize for the delay, my name is Angelos and I will be your captain today.”
A thick Greek accent poured over the tannoy, yet with unusually good English. Anubis relaxed into his seat as one of the three on board stewardesses explained to him the safety procedures. Even on a private plane this stuff still needed to be gone through it seemed. Although it could have something to do with the fact that he had to hire commercial workers at the last minute. For some reason his usual crew had the day off. The plane taxied into the runway, and Anubis continued to think out loud.
“I wonder who could have caused all these problems? Young Ripper is still as cunning as ever, I have to commend him for that. Although…”
Anubis looks towards the cabin door, where a large digital clock displayed the time as 22:13.
“… I have still only taken three hours in total. Even if they are to average seventy miles an hour, the journey will still take them twenty nine hours. I do believe I should have given them more of a head start.”
As he finishes that sentence, a loud crash is heard from beneath the steel. Anubis’ head dropped into his hands, fairly aware of what would happen next.
“I am sorry sir, but there seems to be an issue with some of the take-off mechanic on the plane, we are going to have to delay flight until we know what is happening.”
The plane began its jounrye back towards the terminal. Anubis rose his eyes to the sky, a smile seemingly had crept across his face.
“Every step of the way young Ripper, every step of the way.”
The big man is brought another champagne flute, and told that he needn’t disembark while they fixed the issue. Anubis decides to lay back and think again about his upcoming match.
“There are some that wonder where the demon name came from, specifically Miss Cassablancas during the week has stated that she doesn’t understand the name that Ripper and I have chosen. Allow me a moment to take you on a history trip, many years ago, I was part of a tag team with two gentlemen known as Mars and Hades, and before the question is poised, this was no the man that appears to be a running joke in OCW. We at the time were known as the Demon Deities. The nineties was not always the best time to leave direction to bookers. Soon after however, Mars was fired from the company, for a reason that I was never made aware of, and Hades and I made the logical transition to Deities of Death, after all, our namesakes had something to do with the afterlife, did they not? This was around the time that a young, spunky English boy came along, all the talent that a man could possess, but no direction. I took the young Danny B under my belt and I trained him, I transformed him. With his newfound force, Danny B was coined ‘The Ripper’ by I, and would begin a path of destruction, remorseless destruction. These acts, some of which are now to heinous to mention, would earn him the moniker of Demon from the announce desk. It stuck, and so now, we are The Demons of Death.
I would however, on a different note, be rather amused to see you perform a robot chicken dance in that outfit Miss Knight.”
Anubis’ chain of thought is cut off by the Greek heavy voice again.
“Good evening again sir, it seems as if the parts of the landing gear have detached themselves inside the cargo area. Unfortunately it is not safe to fly until this damage is fixed, you are welcome to stay aboard the plane, we should be able to go within the next two hours.”
Anubis rolls his eyes. His next woods thunder through the plane, not loud, just carrying.
“While we are stood here, please take the time to chaeck the fuel tank, you’re GP and the break line fluid.”
Apparently, the voice travelled perfectly fine through the steel cockpit door.
“As you so wish sir.”
==================================================================================
“You know, it’s been like twelve hours since I last had a smoke. That’s just not healthy!”
Danny pulls a packet from the glove box, and this seems to have an effect on his wife, as she suddenly sits up in the back seat.
“You say smoke, gimmie one then.”
Danny pulls one from the red and white packet himself, and throws the carton behind him. She catches it with surprising ease, and pulls one herself. She reaches into her bra strap and pulls out a green clipper lighter. Danny turns his head to the side, allowing her to light his too.
“Sleep well?”
“Course not, it’s the back of a fucking car.”
“Well, next time I’ll bring the fucking Lamborghini then, see how you sleep in that!”
“Alright bitch, thank you for choosing this one.”
“Eh, no biggie. You’re gonna have to drive soon you know, I’ve been at this most of the night.”
He was right, the sun was starting to creep up over the horizon, lining the beige seats in the car with a warm glow. Ripper rolled down the left hand windows of the car so the smoke could escape, and watched gleefully as the sign overhead read a very cheerful ‘Welcome to Illinois’.
“Wait, my geography is still shit. Does that mean we’re already leaving Indiana?”
“That it does my Queen.”
“Ok, another question, how the fuck did we get from the New York border to here in less than ten hours without getting arrested?”
“Sheer dumb luck and damn good driving.”
Danny suddenly leans out to turn the radio down, in the middle of a report about police officers in Ohio and Indiana that had been knocked unconscious after pulling over a man for speeding.
She leans back in her seat watching the countryside go by, nothing at all exciting except the cars dashing past them on the highway, people trying to get to work and school in a rush.
“So anyway, tell me about these two you’re facing this week.”
Danny smirks as he pulls off one road and onto another.
“Brianna and Alice, a hell of a two woman team. These two are the ones at the forefront of taking out The Family good and proper. And Right to ‘em I say. I respect the hell out of ‘em individually ya know. They are a great team and certainly good individuals, made all that more intriguing when you consider the fact that Brianna is the Central Champion.”
“Yeah you mentioned that at the mansion.”
“So I did, but she confuses me slightly, apart from the fact that she couldn’t be any more stereotypical English if she tried, she doesn’t seem to be all that good at the psychology thing, funny considering that was her profession before she came to OCW.”
“What makes you say that?”
Jednie reaches into the front to grab a bottle of coke that Ripper had picked up for her at a gas stop in Ohio. It was getting warm now, but fuck it, she was thirsty.
“Sorry about that, thought you would wake up sooner. The problem I see is that she classes Anubis and I under the same boat as Amber and I. Just because it’s been said that Anubis and I have been at war at one time or another she thinks that we can’t trust each other. She couldn’t be more wrong.
It’s true that after he took me under his wing I became a little too big for my boots, I was still a kid at the time and thought that it was time to step out on my own, and the best way to do that was to take him out, but you know how things go in this business, I was put back in my place by him, and yeah we haven’t always seen eye to eye, but we have been friends for nearly ten years, sometimes issues will crop up.”
She finishes the bottles in two gulps.
“I’ll grab us a coffee in a bit.”
“Have we really got time for that?”
“Yeah, Anubis only took off twenty minutes ago.”
“How the hell did you manage to delay him for ten hours?”
“Because I’m good that’s how.”
==================================================================================
The plane was now floating gently, having finally taken off. Apparently, a small bomb was placed inside one of the engines of the jet, and after three hours of waiting to sort that, when Anubis finally found a plane with enough space in Business class to accommodate him, it seems as if all of his credit cards had been cancelled. Long story short, once it was found that the bomb would only release a cloud of blue smoke, Anubis was allowed back on the plane and could finally make his way to New Mexico.
Anubis wasn’t rattled, he still knew that even with the delays he should arrive at the airport a full five hours before Ripper.
“And of course, that gives me time to contemplate Alice Knight as an opponent. I would like to clear up a point for you Miss Knight, as you seem confused. The open challenge was not issued as a team, but as an individual, however, with that said, I am pleased that the team challenege was taken on by yourself and Miss Cassablancas. As you very wisely said yourself, my first aim is to show that despite my age and rust, I am still a true force to be reckoned with in any competitive form, and a win over an established team that includes the Central Champion, that is quite the accolade, so I thank you whole heartedly for the opportunity.
However, Miss Knight, despite what seems to be an easily distracted mind, it cannot be overlooked that you are indeed a good competitor, you have some great victories under your belt thus far, and I wish to be the one to point out that while the two of you may be thinking about tag team gold, Miss Knight could well be the next in line for the Central Championship, friendships can be tested when the gold is on the line. “
Anubis is now presented with a roast dinner, beef, potatoes and vegetables adorn his plate in a warming manner.
“I do have to say Miss Knight, you are one endearing character, and I have to concur that a solid gold ant farm would be an impressive buy. But there is one thing I observed of your video trip to Vegas, a lot of luck. You did rather well on that complicated game that even I sae in all my years I have never come across anything of the like. But it was luck that carried you forward, you said yourself that you had no idea how you won that. However, my congratulations go out to you for your victory. I hope you enjoy it, it will not last.
As a unit, the two of you seem to be a great team. But this coming week young Ripper and I show everyone what a perfect team looks like. I wish you both the best of luck, this coming week and against the family.”
Anubis now tucks into his meal, seemingly enjoying every mouthful.
================================================================================
(The Next Day)
Jednie rolls the car into Truth or Consequences. From the look on her face, it is evident that she hasn’t slept since she woke up just before Illinois. But, they have made the town. It took them nearly twenty seven hours of solid driving, but they made it. She leans backwards, slapping her husband on the arm.
“We’re here, wake up!”
He rouses as she pulls the car towards an underground car park adjoined to their hotel. She slaps him again.
“C’mon, if everything you said earlier is true, he’ll be here any minute. C’mon!”
The memory of the race suddenly comes back to Danny, he jumps up, bangs his head on the ceiling of the car, and jumps outs of the crawling vehicle as she finds a space.
“Fuck, did we agree it would have to be both of us?”
She nods, before rolling up the car windows, hoping to make a quick dash upon finding a space. Ripper dashes towards the elevator, thinking he would check in and get the key, that should tell him whether he was there. They had only booked a single room for this purpose, the hotel was out of town, they knew they could find another one.
He jumps up and down waiting for it, it comes and Ripper goes to push a button, taking a minute to remember that ground floor doesn’t exist in America, and hammers the first floor button.
“Fucking Yanks!”
He dashes from the elevator and towards the reception desk.
“Hello, I would like to check in, the names Jackalanturn.”
Her idea, Halloween nut.
“Very Good sir, do you have any luggage?”
“Can I have the key?”
The attendant is taken aback but hands Danny the key to room 418 just as Jednie comes sprinting from the elevator door. She heads towards the one to take them to the room, Ripper however dashes the stairs, taking them three at a time. He reaches the fourth floor, fiddles with the key but gets in, he takes a look around. Empty. Jednie bursts through the door a second later, completely out of breath.
“We won!”
Unable to muster words, Jednie shakes her head, and points to the balcony doors, where Anubis now stands, another damn drink in his hand. He slides open the door.
“Do apologize, but I got here a touch earlier than expected so I stepped next door to have a word with the neighbour.”
“How did you..?”
“The trick would have worked if I had gone to Grant County, but El Paso seemed more enticing, further away, but I had a suspicion that the driver wouldn’t be waiting for me at my first choice, alas he was waiting at El Paso.”
Danny couldn’t help but smile.
“One day old man.”
“Indeed, you have never gotten closer to succeeding than this one, the smoke bomb was rather intuitive. But I hope this stands a lesson, we are of the same mind young Ripper and I, no matter what people believe. Now, have more to say on this matter, but this whole pretence took a lot more time to explain that I first thought. So I believe I should get this room, having been here first, we shall convene later this afternoon for lunch.”
“Alright. One day, I swear, one day.”
Danny takes his wives hand, and the two leave the room together. Leaving Anubis to turn back to the window.
“More in the same mind than anyone would know.”
The Demons of Death are seen standing in front of the now in famous mansion, twilight glittering the background.
“Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to The Demons do Top Gear!”
Danny smirks, the cheesiest smile he could muster.
“Let me explain this a little better, we have decided to have a race down to Truth or Consequences. I didn’t fancy flying, but this guy has a bit of trouble being in cars for too long.”
“This I must say is true, due to having legs nearly three feet long, I do struggle to sit too long.”
“Yeah that’s about right. So, what we decided is that he would fly, and Jezz and I would race. I’ll be taking this beauty.”
Danny juts his thumb over his right shoulder, towards a black saloon car.
“A Two-thousand and Twelve Volvo C30. We’ll be doing the two thousand mile trip in this thing, whereas the big man will be taking a limo to the airport where he will be boarding a plane. He’ll fly to Grant Country where he is will get into another limo to the hotel we’ll be in.”
Anubis stands, his expression blank, next to him, Jednie is almost bouncing with excitement, evidently looking forward to this trip.
“Right, in three, two, one, GO!”
Danny and Jednie bolt in, and within a minute, the Volvo was racing down the gravel pathway in front of the mansion. Anubis decides not to move yet, watching the car disappear through the wrought iron gates and out of sight.
“I do believe they are slightly outnumbered here, a drive time of thirty-three hours is a lot in comparison. However, I shall indulge them this once.”
Anubis snaps his fingers, and thirty seconds later, a limousine pulls out from behind the mansion, crawling along the gravel, to park besides the master. A driver, dressed smartly in a purple suit with matching hat and tie walks round the car and opens the door for his employer.
“Thank you Mr. Kidd. There will be no need to race today.”
“Very good sir, a comfortable ride it is.”
“Thank you.”
Anubis steps into the car, the door closed behind him. Anubis listens as the gravel crunches and the driver’s door closes. A moment later the car gently comes to life, and soon starts its slow descent towards the iron gates. Anubis takes the bottle of champagne resting in the cooler besides him, and pours himself a flute-full.
“Might as well enjoy this ride.”
He takes a few gentle sips as they pull onto tarmac, and starts its journey east towards the airport.
“So, whilst I have an hour in here. I might as well answer the one question that has been asked the most of me. My name. It seems people read into this a little more than they need to, but we are in the wrestling industry and there are some rather nonsensical concepts out there. No, I do not, nor have ever claimed to be the ancient God of Passing, I am, as much as sometimes it appears to the contrary, a mortal man.
Now my size, strength and agility may have been gifted by the Gods, but that doesn’t stop me from being a man. No my name came from my from my interest in Egyptian mythology, and indeed with Anuppa himself. So to those who are in the belief that I consider myself immortal may wish to reconsider any tactic they may have that allows them to believe that they can take my foolishness and naivety as a weakness.”
Anubis looks out of the tinted windows as the car trundles along calmly. The threes and natural wildlife that make up his view start to thin as they reach the highway, and before long, his glass is empty, and as he watches the cars rush by, the sun still just about peaks over the horizon, leaving the light pinkish tone of the night, soon complete darkness will fall.
“There seems to be a slight amount of confusion as to my arrival in OCW. Some thinking that I am not fully aware of the standings here, as I have mentioned The Family as an enemy a number of times, others, namely Miss Knight and Miss Cassablancas that belief that my coming here was not orchestrated, and merely an advantage taken from an opportunity.
I shall begin by telling you that my entrance into this company was carefully thought out. I have been in this business a long time, and I have seen every which way every single action can go. Upon my first action, I came to deal with an issue that The Family was creating for themselves, and that was taking justice into their own hands. That very night they took away an opportunity for young Ripper and Miss Ryan to compete in the main event of Black Out 2.
Now, this was before I was ready to compete here in OCW. However, I appeared the following week to explain my actions. However, again, this was not my intention to compete yet, young Ripper was a little preoccupied with becoming one half of the tag team champions. So I bode my time, and waited. Now, the correct time has come.
As for The Family, I wish to re-iterate clearly that they are not my only targets, nor ones I wish to entertain. I understand that I have targeted the Family thus far, but I believe fully that Team Brianna can handle those fools at Total Demolition, and I am in great confidence that The Family will be no more after the next Pay Per View. No, they were the grandest target of all. My aim in this company is to rid the brand of fallacy and hatred, of cowardice and debauchery. I have no particular target here in the company. Much more of this will be explained as time goes on. Now, if you will excuse me I wish to relax before we reach the airport."
==================================================================================
The Volvo was thundering south, almost reaching the border with Pennsylvania. Jednie has lay down in the back of the big saloon, seemingly having gone to sleep. Danny looks down at the speedo, smiling slightly at the reading being at over one hundred.
“Well, I was never going to beat him going at the speed limit, even with the laidback approach I am sure he is taking there is no way I’d overcome thirty hours difference otherwise!
Still plenty of time to contemplate the upcoming match right?”
Darkness had fully overtaken the world outside the windows, as of this point, there was very little traffic on the highway Ripper was using, he could enjoy it before they would inevitably have to join the interstate somewhere, something he hated doing, but this was a race after all.
“I’ll tell ya something, those two really did choose one hell of a tag team partner for the War Games match, I really gotta hand it to them, Amber would have never been easy to convince, I would love to know how they did it. But, if anyone knows how could a tag team wrestler she is, it’s me. She’s beaten me more times than I would like to count with tag team gold on the line, I knew that when I asked her to be my partner in the lethal lottery, not that I imagined in a million years when I did that we would now be the champions.
So I hope those ladies know that her tag team partner has to be all the competitor she is. Makes sense after all right? If I were you though, I wouldn’t get comfy with the idea that you will be winnign the tag team championships any time soon, Amber may be one hell of a tag team competitor, but that doesn’t mean she likes people. She’ll do the job at Total Demolition, but the chances are that will be the last time she does something nice for you guys, and if you aren’t careful, she will be your worst enemy.”
The dreaded moment has arrived, Ripper turns one last corner to see the interstate, cars flooding it despite the late hour. Most were moving fast of course, no one wanting to stop to smell the roses, after all, that’s what highways are for right? He has no problem pulling into the road, and continues his path south, having to drop his speed to seventy, knowing that was going to cost him. He knew that he still had six states to cross, and even with Anubis having to wait two hours for his plane at the airport, due to some devious re-routing from Ripper, he should be boarding any time soon.
==================================================================================
Back at the Massena International Airport, the private jet was now touching down on the runway. It seems if you have enough money, you can even borrow a runway when you wanted to. The jet was unassuming, painted a glistening jet black, with no special markings on it at all, no one would believe that this plane belonged to someone immensely rich. Anubis had done his outright best to avoid any public interaction, even those who had no idea who he was, generally tend to stop and try and talk to a man of his size, the circus is always in town when Anubis is around. Twenty minutes later, he had walked along the ground at the terminal, and boarded his private plane. He sat in a rather large seat, and strapped himself in.
“Good evening Mr Anubis sir, I do apologize for the delay, my name is Angelos and I will be your captain today.”
A thick Greek accent poured over the tannoy, yet with unusually good English. Anubis relaxed into his seat as one of the three on board stewardesses explained to him the safety procedures. Even on a private plane this stuff still needed to be gone through it seemed. Although it could have something to do with the fact that he had to hire commercial workers at the last minute. For some reason his usual crew had the day off. The plane taxied into the runway, and Anubis continued to think out loud.
“I wonder who could have caused all these problems? Young Ripper is still as cunning as ever, I have to commend him for that. Although…”
Anubis looks towards the cabin door, where a large digital clock displayed the time as 22:13.
“… I have still only taken three hours in total. Even if they are to average seventy miles an hour, the journey will still take them twenty nine hours. I do believe I should have given them more of a head start.”
As he finishes that sentence, a loud crash is heard from beneath the steel. Anubis’ head dropped into his hands, fairly aware of what would happen next.
“I am sorry sir, but there seems to be an issue with some of the take-off mechanic on the plane, we are going to have to delay flight until we know what is happening.”
The plane began its jounrye back towards the terminal. Anubis rose his eyes to the sky, a smile seemingly had crept across his face.
“Every step of the way young Ripper, every step of the way.”
The big man is brought another champagne flute, and told that he needn’t disembark while they fixed the issue. Anubis decides to lay back and think again about his upcoming match.
“There are some that wonder where the demon name came from, specifically Miss Cassablancas during the week has stated that she doesn’t understand the name that Ripper and I have chosen. Allow me a moment to take you on a history trip, many years ago, I was part of a tag team with two gentlemen known as Mars and Hades, and before the question is poised, this was no the man that appears to be a running joke in OCW. We at the time were known as the Demon Deities. The nineties was not always the best time to leave direction to bookers. Soon after however, Mars was fired from the company, for a reason that I was never made aware of, and Hades and I made the logical transition to Deities of Death, after all, our namesakes had something to do with the afterlife, did they not? This was around the time that a young, spunky English boy came along, all the talent that a man could possess, but no direction. I took the young Danny B under my belt and I trained him, I transformed him. With his newfound force, Danny B was coined ‘The Ripper’ by I, and would begin a path of destruction, remorseless destruction. These acts, some of which are now to heinous to mention, would earn him the moniker of Demon from the announce desk. It stuck, and so now, we are The Demons of Death.
I would however, on a different note, be rather amused to see you perform a robot chicken dance in that outfit Miss Knight.”
Anubis’ chain of thought is cut off by the Greek heavy voice again.
“Good evening again sir, it seems as if the parts of the landing gear have detached themselves inside the cargo area. Unfortunately it is not safe to fly until this damage is fixed, you are welcome to stay aboard the plane, we should be able to go within the next two hours.”
Anubis rolls his eyes. His next woods thunder through the plane, not loud, just carrying.
“While we are stood here, please take the time to chaeck the fuel tank, you’re GP and the break line fluid.”
Apparently, the voice travelled perfectly fine through the steel cockpit door.
“As you so wish sir.”
==================================================================================
“You know, it’s been like twelve hours since I last had a smoke. That’s just not healthy!”
Danny pulls a packet from the glove box, and this seems to have an effect on his wife, as she suddenly sits up in the back seat.
“You say smoke, gimmie one then.”
Danny pulls one from the red and white packet himself, and throws the carton behind him. She catches it with surprising ease, and pulls one herself. She reaches into her bra strap and pulls out a green clipper lighter. Danny turns his head to the side, allowing her to light his too.
“Sleep well?”
“Course not, it’s the back of a fucking car.”
“Well, next time I’ll bring the fucking Lamborghini then, see how you sleep in that!”
“Alright bitch, thank you for choosing this one.”
“Eh, no biggie. You’re gonna have to drive soon you know, I’ve been at this most of the night.”
He was right, the sun was starting to creep up over the horizon, lining the beige seats in the car with a warm glow. Ripper rolled down the left hand windows of the car so the smoke could escape, and watched gleefully as the sign overhead read a very cheerful ‘Welcome to Illinois’.
“Wait, my geography is still shit. Does that mean we’re already leaving Indiana?”
“That it does my Queen.”
“Ok, another question, how the fuck did we get from the New York border to here in less than ten hours without getting arrested?”
“Sheer dumb luck and damn good driving.”
Danny suddenly leans out to turn the radio down, in the middle of a report about police officers in Ohio and Indiana that had been knocked unconscious after pulling over a man for speeding.
She leans back in her seat watching the countryside go by, nothing at all exciting except the cars dashing past them on the highway, people trying to get to work and school in a rush.
“So anyway, tell me about these two you’re facing this week.”
Danny smirks as he pulls off one road and onto another.
“Brianna and Alice, a hell of a two woman team. These two are the ones at the forefront of taking out The Family good and proper. And Right to ‘em I say. I respect the hell out of ‘em individually ya know. They are a great team and certainly good individuals, made all that more intriguing when you consider the fact that Brianna is the Central Champion.”
“Yeah you mentioned that at the mansion.”
“So I did, but she confuses me slightly, apart from the fact that she couldn’t be any more stereotypical English if she tried, she doesn’t seem to be all that good at the psychology thing, funny considering that was her profession before she came to OCW.”
“What makes you say that?”
Jednie reaches into the front to grab a bottle of coke that Ripper had picked up for her at a gas stop in Ohio. It was getting warm now, but fuck it, she was thirsty.
“Sorry about that, thought you would wake up sooner. The problem I see is that she classes Anubis and I under the same boat as Amber and I. Just because it’s been said that Anubis and I have been at war at one time or another she thinks that we can’t trust each other. She couldn’t be more wrong.
It’s true that after he took me under his wing I became a little too big for my boots, I was still a kid at the time and thought that it was time to step out on my own, and the best way to do that was to take him out, but you know how things go in this business, I was put back in my place by him, and yeah we haven’t always seen eye to eye, but we have been friends for nearly ten years, sometimes issues will crop up.”
She finishes the bottles in two gulps.
“I’ll grab us a coffee in a bit.”
“Have we really got time for that?”
“Yeah, Anubis only took off twenty minutes ago.”
“How the hell did you manage to delay him for ten hours?”
“Because I’m good that’s how.”
==================================================================================
The plane was now floating gently, having finally taken off. Apparently, a small bomb was placed inside one of the engines of the jet, and after three hours of waiting to sort that, when Anubis finally found a plane with enough space in Business class to accommodate him, it seems as if all of his credit cards had been cancelled. Long story short, once it was found that the bomb would only release a cloud of blue smoke, Anubis was allowed back on the plane and could finally make his way to New Mexico.
Anubis wasn’t rattled, he still knew that even with the delays he should arrive at the airport a full five hours before Ripper.
“And of course, that gives me time to contemplate Alice Knight as an opponent. I would like to clear up a point for you Miss Knight, as you seem confused. The open challenge was not issued as a team, but as an individual, however, with that said, I am pleased that the team challenege was taken on by yourself and Miss Cassablancas. As you very wisely said yourself, my first aim is to show that despite my age and rust, I am still a true force to be reckoned with in any competitive form, and a win over an established team that includes the Central Champion, that is quite the accolade, so I thank you whole heartedly for the opportunity.
However, Miss Knight, despite what seems to be an easily distracted mind, it cannot be overlooked that you are indeed a good competitor, you have some great victories under your belt thus far, and I wish to be the one to point out that while the two of you may be thinking about tag team gold, Miss Knight could well be the next in line for the Central Championship, friendships can be tested when the gold is on the line. “
Anubis is now presented with a roast dinner, beef, potatoes and vegetables adorn his plate in a warming manner.
“I do have to say Miss Knight, you are one endearing character, and I have to concur that a solid gold ant farm would be an impressive buy. But there is one thing I observed of your video trip to Vegas, a lot of luck. You did rather well on that complicated game that even I sae in all my years I have never come across anything of the like. But it was luck that carried you forward, you said yourself that you had no idea how you won that. However, my congratulations go out to you for your victory. I hope you enjoy it, it will not last.
As a unit, the two of you seem to be a great team. But this coming week young Ripper and I show everyone what a perfect team looks like. I wish you both the best of luck, this coming week and against the family.”
Anubis now tucks into his meal, seemingly enjoying every mouthful.
================================================================================
(The Next Day)
Jednie rolls the car into Truth or Consequences. From the look on her face, it is evident that she hasn’t slept since she woke up just before Illinois. But, they have made the town. It took them nearly twenty seven hours of solid driving, but they made it. She leans backwards, slapping her husband on the arm.
“We’re here, wake up!”
He rouses as she pulls the car towards an underground car park adjoined to their hotel. She slaps him again.
“C’mon, if everything you said earlier is true, he’ll be here any minute. C’mon!”
The memory of the race suddenly comes back to Danny, he jumps up, bangs his head on the ceiling of the car, and jumps outs of the crawling vehicle as she finds a space.
“Fuck, did we agree it would have to be both of us?”
She nods, before rolling up the car windows, hoping to make a quick dash upon finding a space. Ripper dashes towards the elevator, thinking he would check in and get the key, that should tell him whether he was there. They had only booked a single room for this purpose, the hotel was out of town, they knew they could find another one.
He jumps up and down waiting for it, it comes and Ripper goes to push a button, taking a minute to remember that ground floor doesn’t exist in America, and hammers the first floor button.
“Fucking Yanks!”
He dashes from the elevator and towards the reception desk.
“Hello, I would like to check in, the names Jackalanturn.”
Her idea, Halloween nut.
“Very Good sir, do you have any luggage?”
“Can I have the key?”
The attendant is taken aback but hands Danny the key to room 418 just as Jednie comes sprinting from the elevator door. She heads towards the one to take them to the room, Ripper however dashes the stairs, taking them three at a time. He reaches the fourth floor, fiddles with the key but gets in, he takes a look around. Empty. Jednie bursts through the door a second later, completely out of breath.
“We won!”
Unable to muster words, Jednie shakes her head, and points to the balcony doors, where Anubis now stands, another damn drink in his hand. He slides open the door.
“Do apologize, but I got here a touch earlier than expected so I stepped next door to have a word with the neighbour.”
“How did you..?”
“The trick would have worked if I had gone to Grant County, but El Paso seemed more enticing, further away, but I had a suspicion that the driver wouldn’t be waiting for me at my first choice, alas he was waiting at El Paso.”
Danny couldn’t help but smile.
“One day old man.”
“Indeed, you have never gotten closer to succeeding than this one, the smoke bomb was rather intuitive. But I hope this stands a lesson, we are of the same mind young Ripper and I, no matter what people believe. Now, have more to say on this matter, but this whole pretence took a lot more time to explain that I first thought. So I believe I should get this room, having been here first, we shall convene later this afternoon for lunch.”
“Alright. One day, I swear, one day.”
Danny takes his wives hand, and the two leave the room together. Leaving Anubis to turn back to the window.
“More in the same mind than anyone would know.”