RANKED 1st BY VOTERS IN CHARACTER CREATION CONTEST #74!
| Date | Paulette & Chaffin: | View | Read the... |
|---|---|---|---|
| 06/26/18 | The Death of Sun Tzu, Part 3 | (Blog) (Forum) | Disclaimer |
| Rating | Rating Explanation | Last Issue: |
|---|---|---|
| T | Murder. Mild cursing. Nothing gory. | Part 2 |
“So, are you guys really enemies off camera?”
“So, are you guys really enemies off camera?” Chaffin asked, indicating The Doc.
“Nah, it’s mostly scripted,” answered Bone Cold. “We have to fight each other, so sometimes real tempers flare, just like any job. We have to trust each other not to do any permanent damage though, so we’re actually pretty close.”
“Yeah, I noticed when you were talking to him earlier. How close?” asked Chaffin, just being nosey at this point.
“Don’t be disrespectful, son,” Fraustin said. “Wrestlers can’t have compassion? Wayne just killed a guy. He’s going to have to carry that for the rest of his life... and his career. It’s going to haunt his storyline for a long time.”
“Yeah,” said Chaffin. “You’re right. Hard to separate the fan from the detective here. It’s almost like you guys aren’t real.”
“And we break... one way or another.”
“We’re real,” said Bone Cold, patting the brace on his elbow. “And we break... one way or another.”
Chaffin said nothing. He just nodded.
***
“That-that’s all you need, Detective?” asked The Doc.
“Yes, Mister Ronson, I think that’ll do it,” answered Mary.
“So... so what’s going to happen now?” he asked nervously.
“It seems pretty clear that this was an accidental death,” she said with a shrug.
“Th-that’s it?” he asked, almost crying.
“They’re not all murders.”
“They’re not all murders,” she said. Handing him a card, she added, “In case you need to reach me. We have some paperwork to file with the D.A., but this should all be cleared up in a couple of weeks.”
Shutting his eyes, The Doc answered, “If only.”
Mary tapped her pen on top of her pad a couple of times before sliding it into the spiral binding. “Yeah. I wish you well with that,” she said quietly. They made eye contact, Mary nodded, and then started up the aisle. She’d only taken a few steps when she turned and called out, “Chaffin! Let’s go.”
***
“Right behind you, partner!” Chaffin called back as Dayton Thyme walked up to him and Bone Cold.
“Detective,” said Thyme, “here’s my card. I know I gave one to your partner already, but they’re easy to lose.”
“Yeah,” said Chaffin, reaching into his pocket for the one his partner had given him. “And it’ll be my fault if it gets lost too,” he chuckled. “Thanks.” He shook the assistant’s hand, then the wrestler’s, and said, “It was great meeting you, despite the circumstances.”
“You bet, Detective,” answered Bone Cold.
Chaffin jogged up the aisle to catch up to his partner.
“Dotty’s already on damage control.”
“Dotty’s already on damage control,” said Dayton as he and Fraustin watched the detectives go. “The script guys are going to be busy tomorrow, and The Doc’s going to be out for awhile. What a night.” Looking at the wrestler, he asked, “Are you okay, Cleve?”
Apparently lost in thought looking at his phone, he didn’t answer for a couple of seconds. Then, he turned his head, and said, “Hm? Oh, yeah. Yeah, I’m fine.” As he sauntered away with a smile, Bone Cold added, “I’m going to be the champ the rest of the season.”
“Damn. That really was bone cold, Cleveland,” said Thyme. “Sun Tzu died tonight,” he added angrily.
Cleve spun on one heel and came back growling, thrusting a finger in the assistant’s face. “Yeah! And why is that, Dayton?”
Taking a couple steps back from the finger, Dayton stuttered, “Wh-what do you mean?”
“Kung knew his stuff! He sure as hell knew all our moves! He had to! So why the hell does he get up when Wayne’s giving him the Take Two Stomp?”
“It-it was an ac-accident,” said Dayton with confusion.
“Like hell,” Cleve hissed. “You wrote this match. You told him that was the start of the comeback, didn’t you? That The Doc would be using my Kayo Kick, and then they’d get into the new moves! But you didn’t tell Wayne, did you?”
“Is that true, Dayton?”
“Is that true, Dayton?” Dotty asked from behind him.
Dayton spun to face his boss, momentarily at a loss for words. “I... it was an accident... I just forgot. I...”
“You son of a bitch!” snarled Bone Cold. He grabbed Dayton’s shoulder, spun him around, and broke his nose with a punch that sent him to the floor. “I’ll--”
“Fraustin!” called Mary from the other side of the ring. “That’s enough!”
Cleve backed off as the detective and her partner made their way around the ring.
“Did you get it?” Chaffin asked Fraustin.
Pulling his cell phone out of his jacket pocket, Fraustin hit play on a recording. “I... it was an accident... I just forgot. I...”
“Dayton Thyme, you’re under arrest,” stated Detective Paulette.
“But I didn’t kill him!” protested the assistant.
“Sun Tzu died through your negligence,” she answered as she cuffed him. She read him his rights, and they started up the aisle.
“Sometimes it is murder, but it wasn’t you.”
Guiding Thyme by the elbow, Mary stopped next to The Doc, looked at him and said, “Sometimes it is murder, but it wasn’t you.”
Dayton and Wayne looked at each other for a long few seconds, and Wayne finally said, “You bastard.”
Thyme said nothing. He only looked away.
“Come on, let’s go,” said Chaffin, taking Thyme’s other elbow.
***
Watching the detectives leave for real this time, Dotty said, “This needs to go away, Cleve. You’re not going to be champ the rest of the season. We’re going to have to come up with something else.”
“Oh, yes I am,” Cleve said as he walked away, “and you’re going to make sure of it, Dotty.”
“And why’s that?” she called after him.
"Because I’m ready to get out of this circus act, and this will let me go out on a high note..."
Fraustin turned to face Dotty, but didn’t walk back to her. With his hands in his jacket pockets, he said, “Because Sun Tzu is dead, The Doc is out, and the fans are mad. They’re gonna need someone to hate, and since I ‘stole’ the title away from Sun, let ‘em hate me for the rest of the season. Because I’m ready to get out of this circus act, and this will let me go out on a high note- champ for my last season.” Turning away again, he called over his shoulder, “And if that’s not enough, because Bone Cold said so!” he called back.
Watching him walk away, Dotty considered the wrestler’s words carefully. Then she muttered to herself, “Damn that cocky bastard. He’d make a great manager. It’s not going to be easy though, Cleve. This is going to be a long season for you, champ.” She nodded to herself as she said it.
| Please let me know what you think, and thanks! -cb | Originally Presented In: CCC #74. |
Story and characters owned by Chris Bishop, copyright 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022.
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