STEVIE HARRIS versus TAPANGA BRITT

Nothing can be seen except the face of Stevie Harris. Busted up and bruised, it sits atop his shoulders before a black background. Shadows partially cover his face indicating that it could be night time or that he’s just locked himself in a room and turned most of the lights out. A length of rope extends around his neck, one end trails out of the cameras view while the other end appears to be tied in a knot of some description at the bottom. It’s possible that this is the very same rope he bought out against Genesis at Wicked 2. It’s also possible that this man has many a length of ropes.



“Some of you may be confused about this and quite frankly, I do not blame you one bit. You see, I want to fight. I want to inflict pain and I want someone to take that beating. I don’t want no Genesis Hendrix types, talking about their supposed badass history and how they’re going to give it their all then only barely putting up a fight. No more 80% opponents, I want the people who have something to lose. I want to fight the people who see losing as not an option. I want to fight the people who see the upcoming loss against me a career killing moment, a match where anything less than 110% is unacceptable. People like Tapanga Britt.”



A sound clip of Tapanga Britt plays.








“GREED. Tapanga, greed is a wonderful thing. It makes us do things we shouldn’t to gain things we don’t need. It makes a self-centred creature like yourself feel entitled to a prize that you don’t deserve. You fucking need it? I dare you to fucking prove it. On the first show, I hung a noose around my boys neck. On the second show, a woman with twice the tenacity you appear to have nearly came to the same fate until the god damn fence hopper thug they pay to act as security rode out to be the white night. Do you think your fate lies any different to them? Genesis was too worried about defending claims that she slept her way into the company. She’s too busy bragging about how sadistic she in the ring before our match, then quickly changing her tune after the show when she found out what the word sadistic actually meant. She was way too worried that I was making stuff up about her while at the same time spreading vicious lies about myself hating women. Hell, to prove I don’t hate women and that I’m an equal opportunity kind of guy, I barged into Xayachacks office and told him I want to face another woman in the opening round of the tournament. See? Who’s more equal opportunity than Stevie Harris?”



A smile spreads across his face. The ear to ear smile reserved for children on Christmas morning when they hit the bottom of the stairs and make a hard right into the family room, taking in the sight of so many presents. Stevie, for whatever reason, was given the gift that he wanted.



“Tapanga Britt, this ain’t New York darling. You’re in the south now and not the kind with cowboys and deserts as far as the eye can see. No, this is the real south. The south where you’ll spend all morning straightening that pretty hair of yours but the moment you step outside you’ll feel the full force of rebellion. You’re going to feel it baby, mark my words.”



“People want to know how far I’m willing to go” Stevie grips onto rope that’s been hanging around his neck. “Well to use an analogy that my Pa was quite fond of, how long’s a piece of rope?”

The scene fades out but the audio continues. Harris’s evil, cackling laughter takes centre stage as whoever edited this slowly fades that out too.



****



We’re taken now to a quaint Snug Harbour Jazz Bistro, fondly referred to as Snug Harbour by the locals who frequent the entertainment district in search of upbeat, modern jazz. It’s a busy, bustling Saturday night. People are out having fun, drinking, laughing, listening and dancing along to the sounds of the Johnny Sansone Blues Party as they kick into full swing. Well almost everyone. Down the end of the bar sits the tall, dark and handsome Jack Sarrow, drowning his sorrows. It’s been an evening of Jack Daniels shots being chased down by the local favourite, Crescent City Pilsner. The original plan was to settle in for a couple of drinks, cruise the bar and find a find a young impressionable girl who’d be swayed by his charm, good looks and the AMEX Platinum card he’d pull out to buy their daiquiri’s. This had been his usual routine for years now, his heart broken at 16 by his first love, Anna, he’s made it a habit to use women as a tool to satisfy his own needs since, keeping what emotions he could muster at arm’s length. They knew what was going on anyway, these women. Wooed and charmed by a handsome man who had a suite at the Marriott and claimed to be working in finance, only in town for a few days. No one expected more than what that got. Everyone had fun, no one got hurt.



Tonight though, someone was hurt. Jack kept pounding shots, letting the voices creep into his head. His father telling him he’s a disappointment, his mother’s disapproving looks at her unwanted son, Stevie Harris acting like a mentor only to assault him. It’s capped off by the hauntingly fresh memory of his attempt to save the girl Stevie had tied up. He kept replaying the moment over and over, the way she lunged at him, shouting out that her name was Bliss like someone who had snapped. Is that what would have happened to him, he keeps wondering. The thought frightens him to the core.



“I’ll have a house red thanks” says the short dark haired girl who Jack hadn’t noticed was standing next to him at the bar. Their eyes briefly meet and she flashes a shy smile before looking down at the bar. “Say, you’re not Danny are you?” She asks, hesitantly. Her eyes are an emerald green which capture Sarrow’s attention forcefully. “I usually go by Jack but I could be Danny for a night.” He adjusts himself on the stool, allowing his body language to be more open towards her. “Oh damn, well I’m supposed to be meeting this guy Danny here tonight. One of those Tinder things where none of the pictures were one hundred percent clear so I’m not quite sure what he looks like exactly.” “Well I’ll tell… What’s your name?” “Lola” "Well I’ll tell you what, Lola, how about I keep you company while you wait for this guy. Danny doesn’t show up and we’ve got our self an evening. Danny does show up and you’ve made a new friend… or perhaps Danny does show up and you forgot to message him to say you were feeling ill while we slip out to another bar.”



Lola looks him up and down, a cheeky grin beginning to form. She reaches into her purse and pulls out an AMEX Platinum card and hands it to the bartender who just finished pouring the drink. “I think we’ll start a tab.”



****



At the Sarrow residence, the young beautiful Bliss paces back and forth. All the doors are locked, the windows have been boarded up and she can’t help but feel the lost and trapped feelings running through her. What if Stevie never came back? There’s a lot of food here but that’ll run out eventually. Would anyone find her before then? Would anyone care? Having been abducted by Stevie had its silver linings. It’s been nearly two months since she took any drugs of any description and now she was starting to see things more clearly, her body felt better and the urgency of desire had waned down to a mere stubble. She felt more in control of her life than ever before.



Her ears pricked when she heard the noise. Stevie was home from the wrestling and he’d either be in a good mood or a bad mood and she desperately hoped for a good mood.



“BLISS. WHERE ARE YOU?” She ran from the kitchen to the foyer and there was no sign of him. She wondered to the living room where she found him bent over and poking at the ashes in the fireplace. “Do you know how to start a fire without a match, Bliss? It’s an important life skill. My Pa showed me how to do it as a youngster and it’s saved my life over the years.” He’s still facing the fireplace. She’s worried, why would he not look at her?



Then it becomes clear. Stevie stands and turns, revealing the battle wounds that he’s been on the receiving end of. The blood flow has mostly stopped but Stevie looks like a man who refused medical attention at the end of a hellacious battle. Open wounds on his forehead, dried blood streams coming from both his nose and through his hair. Bliss gasps, both hands rushing to cover her mouth as she wants to appear polite.



“I’m away on business tomorrow, some stuff to take care of in Indianapolis. You’ve got food to last you the week and you’re not going to sleep until you learn how to start a fire.” She nods, understanding him. “I’ll do it once, you’ll remain silent. I’ll do it a second time and you’ll do it along with me. The third time you’ll do it and you can ask me for pointers. The fourth time… you’ll be on your own and I’ll be upstairs washing this whores blood off of me.” And with that, Stevie grabs the required firewood nestled next to the fireplace to prepare his lesson.
She slowly walks over to him, hovering just to his left nervously.

"Okay Stevie"




****


By the time they finish up it’s 3am. Lola reaches over Jack and grabs for her purse that’s thrown on the ground, sweat glistening off of her naked skin in the hotel suites limited light. Pulling out a cigarette, she sparks up, offering Jack a drag as she rolls back off him to her side.



“You’re wild Jack. He wasn’t lying.”


There’s a lingering silence that fills the room now, broken by the sound of Sarrow exhaling a cloud of smoke. She takes the lit cigarette out of his hand now, silently inhaling as the moment draws out.



“He?”



“Stevie. He told me some about you, I just couldn’t wait to meet you.”

Darkness, again. The light shines poorly on Stevie Harris’s face. The bruises are heeling and the cuts starting to scab over. If he touches them he can still vividly remember Genesis’s attempts to humble him. She nearly had but sometimes it takes more than what you’re willing to lose to slay the dragon.



“Tapanga, oh my sweet angel Tapanga how you have gone and deluded yourself once again. I understand that being as you are, the blood flow to your brain is not as good as it could be but let’s make one thing clear. Do not brag about your past accomplishments if you’re going to dismiss the carnage I’ve caused over the last two shows. It just shows the world that you’re reacting to words I’ve said, not thinking on the best course of action to sell yourself. That’s where a lot of people go wrong, they don’t plan ahead and reveal to the world that there is no conviction behind their words. I can help you Tapanga, I see the spark that you need to go from just another pretty face to a world killer. You’ll have the confidence in no time to believe the words that spew from your mouth like bile and with that will come the dangerous spree of victories that will get you to where you desire. For now, you’re just a little girl with no clue of the nightmare she has just stepped foot into.”



The grin appears, showing off the teeth that are almost too perfect for a man who’s been punched in the mouth as many times as he has.



“I’ve been walking this earth for nearly 45 years now and made my first appearance in the ring when I was 15, so when I say that you’re just a little girl then you better damn well believe it. I’ve got over ten years of life on you and I’m guessing the same goes for in the ring so don’t be thinking you’re some hot shot veteran with the knowhow to out sleaze and out work me. If you’d done your research rather than focusing on your own pretty little voice then you’d know that about me.”



“I’ve won championships in the past. I’ve lost championships. I’m not here to win championships or lose… anything. I’m here to fight, I’m here to stamp my legacy as the most sadistic man to ever step foot in that ring. I said it before and Tapanga, I’ll say it again real slow so you understand me this time, I’m here for the challenge of inflicting pain. If that means working my way through the masses to the top of the mountain so the best of the best come willingly at me, instead of cowering away, then so be it. You’ll understand what I mean soon enough.”



“And if you’re ever interested in finding out a bit more about being choked out with a noose, in the bedroom or out of it, I’m a more than willing participant. It requires letting go of control and being free. Having trust in the other person who holds your precious life in their hands and understanding that one wrong move could be your demise. The line between pleasure and pain, life and death, it’s blurrier than you think. I don’t know if you’re quite ready for that yet, Tapanga. The fear still lives deep inside you.”








The sounds of a door unlocking prick her ears up. Bliss is sitting on the floor of the living room, watching the flames in the fireplace crackle. It went out overnight and she was so afraid that Stevie would come home and see the fire out that she ended up spending a long time trying to get it going again, after which she bought her blanket and pillows downstairs so she could watch the flames as she drifted off to sleep. It was 10am now and the fire was still going. It had been nearly a week since Stevie had left and she felt proud having kept it going like she promised him. Bliss turned when she heard the footsteps coming, a smile quickly formed on her face but it evaporated quickly when a short, dark haired woman stepped through the door. Her emerald green dress matched her eyes perfectly. Her hair was tied up messily, she’d left wherever she’d been in a hurry.



“Who… who are you?” Bliss asks, unsure of what to think. “You've kept the fire going, Stevie's going to be so proud of you Bliss. You’re doing just as well as he thought you would.” The raven haired beauty looks around the room, her large sunglasses perched atop her head and Louis Vuitton handbag dangling carelessly over the inside of her left elbow.



“Umm, have you been sleeping down here sweetie?” Bliss nods her head, still unsure of what to think but if this woman knows Stevie then she must be on the level, right? “Come with me, let’s get you cleaned up. You look like you haven’t bathed in a while. I’m a friend of Stevies, you can call me Lola.”



With that, Lola helps the young lady to her feet. She drapes an arm around her shoulders as she escorts her out of the room. They head down towards the bathroom where Lola turns the bath taps on. “We’re all really glad with the progress you've made, I can’t begin to tell you how excited we are to have a new sister in the fold.” “There’s more people out there?” Lola spins Bliss around, lifting her shirt up quite forcibly. “There’s a few of us. The lucky ones to have been picked and blessed by Stevie. He usually gets me to scout his wrestling opponents for him but he’s been getting me to do other jobs for him lately. I have a feeling he might hope you take over my job soon as I undertake some other work.” She spins Bliss around again as she said that, this time to face her. Lola *boops* Bliss on the nose with a finger along with a scrunched up smile, as you would a child. “Now I trust you know how hot you like your baths so I’ll leave you be.” And with that, Lola leans in and gently touches her lips to Bliss’s left cheek, leaving a feint mark of her dark lipstick behind as evidence before she confidently glides out of the bathroom.



A long time after the water had gone cold, Bliss emerged from the tub feeling like a new woman. Freshly invigorated, she grabbed the towel that was nearby and wrapped it around herself gently before exiting the room. She heads down the hallway to her bedroom, along the way noticing one of the bedroom doors are open slightly with a low noise coming from inside. She takes a peak and sees Lola from behind in a silk robe, her hips swaying to the sounds of Barry Manilow as she slow dances with a large poster of Tapanga Britt. One hand holding the poster up, the other, well, let’s assume it’s behind the poster, we can’t actually see. Bliss tries to back away silently but the creaky floorboards give her away. Lola spins around fast, noticing the crack in the doorway being occupied by a shadow. “I'm just, just getting the presentation ready. So we can study Stevie's opponent.” She holds the poster behind her back now, her ass not nearly fat enough to hide Tapanga’s face. “Now go, run off. Get changed and knock before you go peeping on people girl.”




Bliss bounces down the steps and into the kitchen then through towards the sitting room where the fireplace is located. Lola is standing in front of the fireplace, prodding it with the iron fire poker. To her side is a large canvas leaning against the wall, facing away from them. “You took your time. We've got important work to do, this Tapanga girl. She's cute but she wants to hurt our Stevie.” Bliss looks a little confused. “But he does the wrestling so he can hurt people doesn't he?



“Yes, among other reasons - but every so often he’ll get one that doesn't know their place. The way she’s spoken about him on camera and on social media. She just doesn’t get it. The same with that Genesis. She didn't get it but she learnt. She found out alright and now she knows. Soon Tapanga will know too.” Lola’s voice had started to speed up as she talked. Words moving from thought to mouth quicker than they were being thought. She begins to swing her arms as she talks, not paying attention to what she’s nearly hitting with the fire poker. “You see it Bliss. I see it. But Tapanga can’t see it. No Tapanga can’t see it coming. She won’t see it coming.” And with that she turns the large canvas around…







Lola slams the fire poker through the neck of one of the Tapanga images on the canvas with a wicked smile of satisfaction forming across her face.

“Stevie's going to make her pay.”