Charlotte, North Carolina at a local gymnasium with a wrestling ring,
“Firestorm” Johnathan Mills drops to his hands and knees, spitting blood onto the mat. Gabriel Tuck stands over him with a laugh as clowns stand around the ring and honk their noses. Gabriel flicks his wrist, shedding blood from his brass knuckles that read pie in bold letters. Yes, it’s a joke pair of brass knuckles to hit someone with a pie to the face.
GABRIEL TUCK: We can do this shit all fucking night, Johnny boy. Where is Thomas Mills?
Johnathan tries to get to his feet, but Gabriel kicks him back down to the mat with a laugh.
GABRIEL TUCK: Do you not get how this plays out? You give up the location of your father, I give you a quick death. You don’t give me the location of your father and I take what’s left of you to Armand and he will get the location from you. You’ll die a slow and agonizing death.
The night had begun so nicely in that Johnathan Mills had left the hotel he was staying at and went to the gymnasium to prepare for his match against Brain Kennedy. He has worked out heavily, relaxed in a hot tub, and then picked things back up in the ring. There he ran about the ring to bounce off the ropes and the turnbuckles at top speed to try to increase his reflexes for such things for Brian Kennedy was no easy opponent.
Gabriel Tuck and his clowns burst into the gym, taking down anyone who decided to stand in their way. There wasn’t many. They surrounded the ring while keeping weapons trained on Johnathan in the ring while Gabriel rolls into the ring.
GABRIEL TUCK: Working hard to make something of yourself I see. Did you think you could go back to a normal life after stealing something of value from Armand von Krauss?
Johnathan looks warily to the giggling and honking clowns at ringside with guns and knives at the ready to storm the ring.
JOHNATHAN MILLS: We won a bet fair and square, Gabriel. Of course I expected to go back to a normal life.
Gabriel nods as he slides on his PIE brass knuckles.
GABRIEL TUCK: Where is he?
JOHNTHAN MILLS: Where is who? Armand? I don’t keep track of the mega bad guy.
Gabriel steps up to Johnathan and decks him with the brass knuckles. He grabs Johnathan by the back of the neck with his free hand and hits a few body punch before throwing Johnathan to the mat.
Johnathan jumps back to his feet, ready to strike back, but a number of clicks from outside of the ring stops him. It was pretty clear that if he attacked Gabriel, he would be dead before he struck.
JOHNATHAN MILLS: I am not my father’s keeper. Why would I know where he is?
GABRIEL TUCK: Oh, Johnny boy. Your father is of ill health and probably needs being looked after. You are readying for an SCW match. Thomas is likely with people who will help him. Maybe with Parsons and Anderson. Where is your father, Johnathan?
JOHNATHAN MILLS: Go fuck yourself.
GABRIEL TUCK: Is that any way to talk to your superior? Tell me-
JOHNATHAN MILLS: Go fuck your momma!
Gabriel drills Johnathan with the brass knuckles several more times before letting him fall down to the mat to bring us back to the beginning. Johnathan lays on the mat, bleeding from his various wounds while Gabriel stands over him with bloody brass knuckles.
JOHNATHAN MILLS: Coward…
GABRIEL TUCK: What was that? Whatever it was, it didn’t sound like a location. Let’s try this again. Where is Thomas Mills?
Johnathan rises to his knees, blood dipping from the bottom of his chin like rain.
JOHNAHAN MILLS: I said you are a cow-
Another shot with the brass knuckles sends Johnathan back to the mat where his face impacts the canvas with a bloody splatter.
GABRIEL TUCK: You think you can just call me names, Johnny boy? What makes you think I am a coward?
JOHNATHAN MILLS: When I was looking for my father, we squared off in an XCW ring. I defeated you in the ring to discover his location. Did I hide behind clowns with guns? Did I use a weapon? No.
Gabriel looks around the ring at the clowns that are starting to lower their weapons as if they were agreeing with Johnathan’s words. Gabriel smiles as he lets the brass knuckles drop to the canvas.
GABRIEL TUCK: I’m no coward. I’m just looking for the most direct path to getting the job done. Armand tasked me with finding Thomas. That’s what I aim to do.
Johnathan rises to his feet, spitting blood onto the canvas.
JOHNATHAN MILLS: Then face me like a man instead of a coward. Face me like Brian Kennedy will and be defeated like he will.
GABRIEL TUCK: Fine, but understand that you will still lose. I won’t be-
Johnathan rushes across the ring, grabs Gabriel by the leather jacket, and spits blood and a bit of a tooth straight into Gariel’s eyes. Gabriel backs away with a curse and Johnathan dives over the top rope to take down a clown with a huracanrana. Johnathan jumps to his feet and rushes out through the door of the gym as the clowns watch on in stunned silence.
Gabriel clears his eyes, seeking where Johnathan has fled to.
GABRIEL TUCK: After him, you fools!
Outside of. the gym, Johnathan hops on a motorcycle at the end of a row. He starts it up, kicks over the next motorcycle to start a domino effect, and races off as the clowns begin streaming out of the gym. Gunshots ring out as the clowns attempt to stop Johnathan Mills, but a stray shot strikes one of the downed motorcycles in a vital area and the whole downed line goes up in an explosion that shreds a few clowns who were too close to the explosion. Gabriel Tuck walks outside, seeing the carnage at hand.
GABRIEL TUCK: Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck!
Already nearly a mile away, Johnathan stops to look at his phone for directions to a local hospital. Gabriel wasn’t going to catch him today. Nor was he going to stop him from facing Brian Kennedy in the Mega Cup match. He might have to look out for Gabriel after the match though, but that was something for another day.