PROMO: Questions

[Guest Longdogger_Pete]

(Apologies to Erek for not sending this to him in advance, I wrote this late and really wanted to get it posted tonight. Hopefully I didn't botch his character too badly, since I seem to have a habit of doing that with people.)

 

* * * * *

 

"Look, I don't want to talk about that right now." Pete disconnects his cellular phone and shuts it off as he enters the new X Force 9 locker room, in Seattle, Washington, where SWF Ground Zero would be taking place. Not the old locker room back at Halifax, the one that was destroyed when a car containing one unconscious Ash Ketchum had sped into it. And speaking of the car, it had been Pete's car, too, one that had cost him a lot of money to replace. Pete, considering himself something of an "old school" wrestler, preferred to drive from venue to venue, with obvious exceptions such as overseas tours.

 

Come to think of it, Pete never did get on that Japanese tour. If he had, things would have been much simpler. Perhaps none of this would have happened. But then, there wouldn't have been a new X Force 9, either.

 

Pete looks around the locker room, but the only one currently inhabiting the room is Erek Taylor, listening to music as his Intercontinental Television title belt sits at a coffee table less than three feet away, never far from Erek's reach. "Hey, Pete," says Erek.

 

Pete tosses his cell phone aside, where it lands softly on the couch. "Damned reporters and their stupid questions."

 

"Press giving you a hard time?" Erek asks.

 

"It's not the questioning, Erek," Pete replies. "I'm used to that by now; the media blitz that comes with being in the spotlight. It's the boneheadedness that the reporters have when choosing their questions. Seems all they care about is Ground Zero. 'What do you have in mind for your tag match?' 'Who's Jay Dawg's opponent going to be?' Not one of them asked about Ash's condition. Do you know how much that burns me?"

 

Erek simply nods. "How is Ash, by the way?"

 

Pete shakes his head. "He still hasn't regained consciousness. The doctors say he should recover, but it could take some time. Misty's staying with him up in Halifax until his condition improves."

 

"We still don't know who did this to him," Erek points out.

 

"No, we don't," Pete confirms. "But I'm sure Ash does. Here's hoping he comes around soon to tell us so we can exact a little punishment of our own."

 

"Sounds good to me," Erek answers. "And in case you were wondering, I don't care who you choose for Jay Dawg's opponent. I trust your judgment. Unless, of course, it's me." He taps his title belt for emphasis. "I'm going to be pretty busy there already. I don't need that extra hassle."

 

"I'll keep that in mind," notes Pete. "You know, Erek, I've got a whole new attitude about this promotion and the people in it. Tod said it was time to get serious, and by God, that's what we're going to do."

 

"That's all well and good, Pete," says Erek. "But let me ask you something. Just how serious are we going to get? All of us signed on to XF9 because we all share certain principles to live by. Will we have to bend against those principles now? How far are you going to ask us to go, Pete?"

 

For once, Pete didn't have a readily available answer.

[Guest BA_Baracus]

PROMO (Stubby P. McWeed);

"WHO WILL FACE JAY DAWG?! WHAT'S NEXT FOR XF9?!

 

Tune is this Sunday for the low, low price of 34.95 to find out!

 

Mothernature says, it'll be an extravaganza to remember!"

[Guest Edwin MacPhisto]

Lo, there is aggression.

 

Man, we're just all gettin' tough these days. Good little hype job, Pete.