PROMO: "In Shades of Grey"

[Guest Kibagami]

PROMO: “In Shades Of Grey”

 

“Buildings burn. People die. But love is forever.”

 

-The Crow.

 

“Silent! Silent! Can you tell us why you opted not to show up for your match against Ced Ordonez?”

 

The Silent One looks over the bridge of his glasses at a huffing, puffing Ben Hardy.

 

“No, Ben. I’m afraid I can’t do that.”

 

“But don’t you owe the fans an explan-“

 

Ben Hardy’s question is abruptly cut off by the upward swing of a steel-tipped cane. Blood, spittle, and a tooth or two spray outwards as Hardy collapses into a whimpering lump. Silent kneels next to the quivering commentator, a fire burning somewhere in the back of his ice-blue eyes.

 

“Listen to me, Ben Hardy. I…owe nothing…to anyone.”

 

“Besides, I was paying my respects…”

 

TWO DAYS AGO

=====================================================

 

He stands over the grave of Jessica Matheson, holding a single white lily against his cane. His coat blows slightly backwards in the evening breeze. The sun sets on the outskirts of Phoenix, and a man pays tribute to a love seven months dead.

 

Silent. The Clansman. Second-in-command of the largest cult in the entire world. Known internationally for his cunning, his cruelty, and his capriousness. He has crippled several men over the years on little more than a whim, and the skeletons he has in his closet would turn most men’s hearts to ice.

 

But tonight, he is Damien Phillips.

 

He is just a man.

 

He is paying his respects…on what should have been his wedding day.

 

 

Afterwards, the doctors told him it was an aneurysm. The sort of thing that no one can predict, or protect against. She had died without pain, in her sleep.

 

They offered their condolences. He didn’t want them.

 

That month had been the happiest he’d ever known. Jessica was three months pregnant- neither one of them had known until the week before he left the IGNJL. Her dress had been ordered, the invitations sent out. Not that there were many of those. For his part, he had evaded his “business associates” for a while. Nothing they weren’t used to. He was forgetting about Phoenix, about the last five years, about the scars that would never fade and the man who made them. For the first time in almost a decade, Damien Phillips was beginning to heal.

 

One morning, he woke up, rolled over. Jessica was dead.

 

For seven months, he lived alone. Thinking, writing, meditating. Training. Wishing with all his heart that his lover was still alive. She was his only way out of the labyrinth of darkness he had built for himself. That was gone now.

 

All that was left to him was vengeance.

 

He left the glasses behind. He knew the scar would make him known. Whether or not he was recognized wasn’t important. Betrayed by his friend, his love stolen by fate, what did he care?

 

When he returned, a lot had changed. Thoth had made deals, blackmailed here and there, and broken a few bones, and he was back. He’d learned much from Nekura. That was good. It would serve him well in the fight to come.

 

When Ben Hardy wakes up, Silent has gone. Holding his jaw, wincing as he gets to his feet, he hurries to the payphone down the hall. He dials…

 

“Yes, it’s Ben. He said he was paying his respects…no, he didn’t…yes, I’ll let you know. Look, he almost broke my jaw when I asked, can’t you…no?...fine, then. I’ll call. Bye.”

 

Hardy hangs up the phone, more than a bit confused. He’s never had a problem with his boss before, but why the sudden interest in Silent? What the hell could the two of them possibly have in common? It was possible they knew each other from somewhere, he supposed. Maybe this was some sort of Clan thing, or maybe they just didn’t like each other. Maybe Silent did something horrible to his boss years ago, and payback was come around due.

 

Hell, it could even be the other way around.

 

After all…everybody is hiding from something.

 

END PROMO

[Guest 5_moves_of_doom]

...well now I'm all depressed...and just when I was feeling happy!

 

Seriously, awesomly [is that a word?] written promo Silent.

[Guest Edwin MacPhisto]

Totally sweet, yo.

 

De-toothing Ben Hardy gets bonus points in my book, no doubt. Now, let's show up for the match against Cutthroat. There are only so many funerals, after all. Mwa ha.

[Guest midnight_burn]

Promo-tastic, me like it lots.

 

Another top notch promo.