Deadly Secrets

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Off Camera

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Angelica Jones is normally an upscale woman who likes the finer things in life.  So it may come as a surprise to find her in a run down, dirty dive of a bar like the one we find her in right now on the edge of Boston, Massachusetts, wearing a knee length black leather skirt, black high heeled pumps, and a long sleeved crimson sweater.  She sits at the bar with an empty shot glass of an unknown alcoholic beverage sitting in front of her.  The mind of this legendary woman is troubled and she needs the alcohol right now for what is to come.

Boston is the capital city, the seat of power for the state of Massachusetts.  It is the birthplace of the American Revolution, as both the Boston Tea Party and the Boston Massacre, events which led to the American uprising in the late 1700s, took place in this grand city.

For the Jones family, Boston is their own personal seat of power.  It’s where they lived, grew up, and feel the most comfortable.  For Angelica Jones, the matriarch of the Jones family, this great city is where she feels the most at ease.  It is here, in Boston, where she can go to clear her head and think things through when trouble arises or other difficulties come to fruition, difficulties that she must deal with.

If it’s difficulties we’re talking about, then needless to say, Angelica has plenty of them to deal with right now.  Her father, Bart Jones, was recently kidnapped and murdered by the Russian Mafia.  Their father is dead, their mother was murdered many years earlier when Angelica and Kayla were still teenagers.  This has left Angelica and her sister Kayla alone now as the leaders of the family.

Then there’s Angelica’s oldest daughter, Marie Annabelle Jones.  What should have been a reason to celebrate turned into a reason to be afraid as Marie freaked out in the middle of the ceremony, claiming she saw her father, the late Sean Williams.  And apparently, unbeknownst to Angelica, Marie has been seeing things for quite awhile now and has been keeping this a secret from her.  Angelica, a woman who spent time in a mental institution, has one great fear and that fear is that her insanity would get passed on to her children.  She does not want to think about the possibility that her oldest child Marie is losing her grip on reality.

But the death of her father does not bring her here to this bar tonight.  The possibility of her daughter going insane doesn’t bring her here either.  What brings Angelica to this bar tonight is a secret that she has held close to herself for so long, a secret she has kept for a very long time.

Secrets are funny things.  Some secrets should remain secret.  Some secrets should never see the light of day. And yet there are some secrets that, if they are revealed, they can and have destroyed entire civilizations.  Keeping a secret is, therefore, like handling a double edge sword.  One wrong move with it and you could kill yourself.  Angelica knew that regarding this particular secret and kept it anyway.  Now she realizes that she very well could be about to pay the price of secrecy.

Angelica pounds her fist on the bar to get the attention of the bartender, a rough looking bearded individual whose body is littered with tattoos, but otherwise is clothed in all black.  He approaches Jones and grunts.

“Whadddya want?”

Angelica slides the empty shot glass towards the bartender.

“More…”

The bartender looks down at the empty shot glass and snickers.

“This is your third…third of the strong stuff, no less….”

“Yeah, so?”

“Oh I don’t know, let’s just say a lady like yourself doesn’t look like she’d be the type to come here to a place like this and get wasted.”

“Is that so?  Well let’s just say that I need this right now.”

The bartender nods his head.

“So no more.”

The bartender takes the shot glass and turns his back to Angelica as he goes to his alcohol bottles to refill her drink.  Angelica sits there patiently waiting for a refill of the liquid courage that she feels she will need to confront her next great challenge.  The wait is not a long one.  In a short period of time the bartender turns around and places the shot glass, now full of the alcohol, back down in front of Angelica.

“Enjoy, ma’am.”

“Yeah…thanks…”

What exactly is troubling Angelica’s mind tonight?  What secret is Angelica keeping that makes her worry so much that she feels she must come out here and get loaded with the aforementioned liquid courage?  It’s a secret that involves a woman that has tried on numerous occasions to destroy the Jones family, and only recently has made peace with the Jones family, becoming close allies.  This secret involves a woman by the name of Kimberly Williams.

Sean Williams was Angelica’s first real love.  They ended up having a child together named Marie Annabelle Jones.  But Angelica, who at the time was going to be entering a convent, knew her pregnancy would be frowned upon by the convent.  So she gave up the child at birth, without even bothering to tell Sean.

Williams, who wanted to be a father, was enraged with Angelica.  This led to their break-up.  Angelica thought that was the end of it but it was only the beginning.  Angelica found Marie and regained custody of her, and years later Sean Williams would also track them down.  And he would try to gain custody of Marie as well.  Angelica’s insanity would take over and, in a murderous violent way of ensuring that Sean would not gain custody of Marie, she murdered Sean in cold blood with a bullet to the head.

Much later, when Marie was entering her adult years, Angelica and Marie would begin to be harassed and stalked by a stranger, a black haired female known as Kimberly.  Only later would they find out that Kimberly was another child of Sean Williams.  Mothered by another woman, Kimberly wanted revenge against the Jones family, for she blamed the Jones family for destroying her father.

That has been the story Angelica has stuck with for many years.  That has been the story Marie has been led to believe all of her life.  And now, here tonight, that story will be completely unraveled…

“Angelica!”

Jones can hear someone calling out her name.  She turns her head in the direction of the voice to find the aforementioned Kimberly Williams approaching, waving happily.  The normally black-haired Williams has her hair dyed red, making her a near identical twin of Marie.  Kimberly is wearing black denim jeans, black boots, and a black tank-top underneath a black leather jacket.

Years ago, a meeting like this would be unthinkable, as Kimberly had declared war on the Jones family and wanted to destroy them by any means necessary.  But Kimberly made peace with Marie Annabelle Jones and, later on, made peace with Angelica as well.  Now a meeting like this is possible.

The problem is, Angelica may not be ready for this meeting…

Kimberly hops up on a bar stool next to Angelica.  A wry grin is etched across her face.

“It isn’t every day the great Angelica Jones wants to see little ole me!”

“Drop it, Kim.  I’m Marie’s mother, you don’t have to be that way around me.”

Kimberly snickers as she slaps Angelica on the back.

“I know, I’m just messing with you!  But still, it is cool that we can meet and talk like this, huh?”

“Yeah, I guess…”

“Used to I’d drive an ice pick through your skull.  Now we’re best buddies!”

Kimberly Williams is a sociopath.  Angelica Jones knows this and knows to tread carefully when dealing with her.

“Still, I find your choice of bars unusual.  I mean, it’s just my kind of place but I would think you’d prefer something a bit more upscale.”

Angelica nods her head before quickly downing her shot glass full of alcohol.  Kimberly’s eyes grow wide.

“Wow…and you must be thirsty…”

“There’s a reason for all of this Kimberly.”

Angelica stares stoically at Kimberly.

“We really need to talk.”

“Yeah, I kind of figured that when you told me to meet you here to talk.”

Angelica shakes her head.

“It isn’t as simple as that.  What I have to tell you is rather complicated.  But first…”

She bangs her fist on the bar to get the bartender’s attention.  Once again the bartender approaches Jones.  Angelica motions to Kimberly.

“Get her the same drink I have.”

“The strong stuff?”

“Yeah, the strong stuff.”

The bartender grins knowingly.

“Coming up.”

The bartender goes to fill the order.  Kimberly is now speechless, which is odd for Williams, as she just watches.  It isn’t long before the bartender returns with a shot glass full of the same alcohol, this one for Kimberly.  Williams looks down at the glass and then back up at Angelica.

“What’s this for?”

“Trust me, you’ll need it.”

Kimberly shrugs her shoulders, not exactly sure what Angelica means by all of this.

“Ok, sure, sooooo care to get on with it?  I mean, you asked me here for a reason, you say it’s complicated, now you’re trying to get me drunk…”

She chuckles.

“…not that there’s a problem with it…but still, you got me real curious now.”

“Understandable.  And you have reason to be curious, this one has to do with someone you never really got know very well…”

“That doesn’t narrow it down a whole lot, Angelica.  My mom kept me sheltered most of my life.  I didn’t get to know anyone.”

Kimberly winks at Angelica who just sighs in response.

“Yeah, well, that’s exactly what I’m talking about.  This has to do with your father Sean Williams as well as Emma…”

Kimberly furrows her brow.

“Mom?”

“No…Emma.”

“Whoa, wait a minute.  You called Sean Williams my father, but Emma didn’t get that same treatment.”

“There’s a reason for that, Kim.”

Kimberly sighs out of frustration.

“Just tell me already what this is all about!  Damn, Angelica, I’m getting tired of the build up.”

“I...I’m….”

Angelica shakes her head.

“I’m not sure you can handle the truth, Kim.”

“Then why drag me out here at all?  Why hype it like this and make me curious?  Now you could let me remain in the dark but you know I’ll find out.  I’m sure you probably told Marie because she’s probably the one who made you come out here.”

Kimberly grins knowingly.

“You aren’t the type to do something like this willingly.  So if you don’t tell me, I can probably get Marie to tell me.”

Kimberly is right, of course.  Marie already knows everything and it was pressure from both Marie as well as Angelica’s own aunt Mary Ford that convinced her to come here and do this.  If Angelica doesn’t tell Kimberly now, then Kimberly will just find out from Marie herself.  Angelica sighs and nods her head.

“Fine…yes, Sean Williams is your father but Emma…”

Angelica shakes her head.

“…Emma is not your mother.”

Kimberly’s eyes grow wide with surprise and shock upon hearing this.

“Ok…then…um…who…”

“Who is your mother?”

Kimberly nods her head, unable to vocalize anything right now.

“Kimberly, listen to me…and try to be calm…”

She takes Kimberly’s hands.

“…I was extremely young when your father and I got together.  I ended up pregnant at thirteen with Marie.  I was about to enter the convent at the time and become a nun, and I knew the pregnancy would ruin that, but more importantly I knew I could not take care of the child at such a young age.  So I made up my mind to give her up.”

“Yeah, I remember this story.  Marie told it to me before.”

“Well, Emma, who was much older than me, offered to take the child.  She had the resources to take care of her.  I agreed to let her have the child.  Emma could raise her as her own and I agreed I would never reveal my true identity to the child.  I would let the child grow up believing Emma was her mother.  But when I gave birth something shocking happened.  I didn’t give birth to just one child…”

She holds up two fingers.

“…I gave birth to two.  I gave birth to twins.”

“You mean…”

Angelica nods her head.

“Yes, I’m your mother.”

“I…I don’t…I don’t know what…”

“Emma didn’t want to take both children.  While Emma was old enough to be able to take care of one child, she didn’t think she was old enough to take care of both.  So she just took one of them.  The other was handed over to a Catholic adoption agency.”

Kimberly jerks her hands away from Angelica.  She then buries her face in her hands and begins to cry.  Angelica has never seen Kimberly cry before but she can most certainly understand it.  Everything she thought she knew has been completely turned upside down.  Angelica attempts to comfort her with a pat on the back.

“Kimberly…it’s ok…”

The weeping from Kimberly suddenly turns into laughing.  Before Angelica can react Kimberly reaches out and snatches Angelica by the throat.

“Ha! Ha! Ha!”

“Kim!  Stop!”

“Why, mom?!  I mean, you kept this from me for soooooo long…you kept my true destiny and true family away from me for soooo long, why not make you pay?  Why not?!”

Kimberly squeezes even harder, causing Angelica to gasp in pain.

“WHY NOT?!”

The bartender rushes over to try and get involved but Kimberly relinquishes her grip on Angelica so that she can punch the bartender, causing him to stumble backward.  Kimberly then turns and snatches Angelica by the neck again.

“Tell me mom…why?!”

“Please, Kimberly…”

“Why shouldn’t I just hurt you now?!”

“Because…”

“I can’t hear you?!”

“…because then I can’t answer any of your questions!  And…”

“And what?!”

“…and besides, think of Marie!”

Kimberly blinks several times.

“Marie…”

Kimberly releases her grip on Angelica’s throat.

“I’m sorry, Kimberly.  I really am…but…you have to understand why I kept it a secret…”

“No…”

Kimberly shakes her head.

“I won’t understand, not now anyway.  I will understand on my own time and right now I need to get my head around this.”

Kimberly takes her shot glass full of alcohol, the one Angelica ordered for her earlier, and quickly downs it.  She slams the glass down on the table.

“Thanks for the drink…mom.  You were right, I did need it.”

Kimberly hops up off of the bar stool and starts to walk away.

“I’m leaving for now.  We’ll speak about this again.  But for now, do NOT follow me!”

Angelica watches as Kimberly walks away.  She sighs and shakes her head.

“That went well…”

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On Camera

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The SCW logo flashes upon the screen.  That is followed by an image of a red Dragon surrounded by flames.  This is a computer generated background, which is made obvious when Angelica Jones steps into the scene from stage left, wearing a traditional little black dress with a hemline that stops just below the knee.  She is perched atop black high heeled pumps.  Her long red hair hangs unrestrained to shoulder length.

“My sister and I have had one goal to accomplish…”

She holds up a single finger.

“….just one single goal.  We had damn near ruined our reputation with the way we acted, with the joke known as ‘free Botswana’, and we wanted to not only repair that reputation but also to prove that we are no joke and to earn the respect of the fans.”

Angelica nods her head.

“We reached out to Adrenaline Rush to prove ourselves.  Then we reached out to Gable Winchester and Autumn Valentine, the SCW World Tag Team Champions.  And we beat them.  We beat them fair and square in the center of the ring.  We did not break any rules, we did not play any games, we did it like we always used to do it.  We just went in and left it all in the center of the ring.  Now you would think that would be enough to earn some respect and repair that broken reputation.  At least I thought as much.  As far as I was concerned, mission accomplished.  The fans trusted us again, most of the SCW roster trusted us again.  That’s what I wanted.  Did Gable and Autumn trust us?”

Jones shakes her head.

“No, of course not.  But I didn’t care.  Their opinions don’t matter to me.  It mattered to Kayla what they thought about us but that was just Kayla.  They don’t matter to me.  The only thing about them that mattered to me was their SCW World Tag Team Championship.  And beating them gave us the tag title shot I knew we deserved.  So we went into Taking Hold of the Flame and once again Kayla and I left it all out there in the center of the ring and once again we did it by the books, not because we had anything to prove, at least in my eyes we had nothing to prove, but because it was the right thing to do.  And the result?”

The redhead sighs and shrugs.

“We lost.  But at least I can hold my head high knowing that heading into this match we told the truth, we did things the right way without ridiculing anyone or mocking anyone.  Unlike the current tag team champions, who seem to think it’s funny to mock and make fun of those who are legitimately trying to change.”

She scoffs.

“Some champions.”

Angelica smirks.

“Now they can maybe take pride knowing that they beat The Sisterhood in their last ever tag team outing in SCW.  I want to make sure that I emphasize that I am speaking only for myself when I say that I do not want anything to do with the tag team division so long as they are in it.  I am going to step aside from the tag team division and remind the rest of the wrestling world just what I can do on my own.”

She points a finger at the camera.

“It starts with you, Miller.”

Jones chuckles.

“It’s funny, really.  I have spent so much time in the tag team division and here, now, the very moment I leave tag team wrestling to once again pursue a singles career here in Supreme Championship Wrestling, I am immediately placed into a situation where I could compete for gold.  My very first match back as a pure singles wrestler is in a television title eliminator against you, Miller, with the winner facing either Mr. Gild or Ace Marshall.”

Angelica shakes her head.

“The SCW Television Championship is the least of my concerns.  Now don’t get me wrong, I am not falling back into my old ways.  I mean, the last time I wrestled anyone in one on one action was the Best of the Best Tournament and then I said that the tournament was the least of my concerns.  I even went so far as to say it was not worth my time…”

She pauses as she lets her words sink in and lets the memories of the past come back.  It isn’t long, though, before she starts once again.

“…but this is different.  What I have come to realize in my own personal quest for redemption over these past couple of months is that wrestling is about more than just winning as many championships as possible.  You can quite literally buy and sell championships without earning a damn thing.  This sport we are in is about competition and being recognized as one of the best in the world due to our actions inside of that ring.”

Jones pats herself on the chest.

“I am recognized in this sport as one of the best to ever lace up the boots.  I am recognized as a legitimate legend of our sport.  That’s not bragging, that’s fact; I’m just repeating what even SCW color commentators Sharper and Knots even have to admit, whether they like me or not.  So for me, this Television Title Eliminator is not about trying to add yet another championship to my resume…”

She grins knowingly.

“…although that would be great, I have to admit!”

Once again she shakes her head.

“But no, this is not about the possibility of a title…at least for me it isn’t.  For me, this match is about continuing to remind the world that I am the best.  That’s what wrestling always has been for me, a competition to prove who is the best and I truly do believe that I am the best inside of the ring and that no one can touch me and you don’t prove that just by winning gold belts every other day.  You prove that by winning matches.  You prove it by defeating anyone and everyone that is put in front of you…”

Again Angelica points at the camera, as if pointing at Miler himself.

“And you, Miller, just happen to be in front of me.  You happen to be in my way and I am going to knock you down.  I am going to knock you flat on your ass, plant you in the center of that ring with a Hot Shot, and pin your shoulders to the mat for the three count.”

She shrugs her shoulders.

“Or hell, maybe I break you in half with the Angel’s Arch?  That could be fun, too.  Either way, whether it’s a pin or a submission, it will be me announced as the winner and it will be my arm raised in victory when all is said and done.”

Another slight laugh escapes her lips.

“Now I know what you may be thinking, dear sweet Miller.  You’ve fought the Jones women before.  You fought my sister in Best of the Best and you were victorious.  I could argue that she wasn’t taking it serious but that would be a lie.  Fact is that she had re-focused herself, she was ready, and you did beat Kayla Jones when she was in tip-top condition.”

She shakes her head as she laughs.

“Heh…oh but therein lies the problem…I am NOT Kayla Jones…”

Angelica, with her right thumb, points to herself.

“…and the real question here isn’t who I am, it’s a matter of WHAT I am.  I am known as The Dragon and I am not some fraudulent Dragon who likes to use the name just because it sounds.  I earned this moniker due to how violent I am inside of that ring.  I earned this title because I am not afraid to shed blood…but not my own blood…”

She grins knowingly.

“…it sounds real nice to say that you aren’t afraid to shed your own blood, but the fact is that you don’t win matches by shedding your own blood.  You win wrestling matches by making the other poor dumb bastard shed his blood.  And that is what I do best because unlike my dear sister, I am a violent, sadistic monster.  I am The Dragon…”

Again Jones pauses to let her words settle in before she continues…

“…and unlike cartoonish dragons from other wrestling promotions, this Dragon right here from SCW is very real and the threat I pose to anyone who steps into the ring against me is to be taken deadly serious.  Those other dragons are fantasies but I am reality.  And you, Miller, are facing a very dangerous reality on Breakdown.  This reality that you are facing is the reality that you will not make it to the Television Championship match against Ace Marshall or Mr. Gild.”

Angelica cackles nastily.

“Even if you did manage to luck up and beat me, after the punishment I inflict upon you, you won’t have anything left to be much of a challenge for the title the following week.  You’d lose, get humiliated, and get knocked back to the back of the line, waiting and hoping for another chance.  But then again, you don’t have to worry about that, do you?  The Television Champion, whether it’s Ace Marshall or Mr. Gild, won’t be the one to humiliate you…”

She pats herself on the chest again.

“…that honor and privilege belongs to me.  It’s my job to defeat you.  In the words of the great Jimmy Buffett…”

Angelica clears her throat as she prepares to sing the next line…

“…It’s my job to be better than the rest and that makes the day for me!”

She takes a brief bow.

“Thank you!  I have a concert coming up in Charlotte a few weeks down the road.  Tickets on sale at Ticketmaster.”

She winks at the camera.

“In all seriousness, though, that’s why I go out to that ring.  That’s my purpose for being a wrestler.  It is my job to be better than the rest.  It is my job to be better than each and every human being to ever dare set foot inside of MY wrestling ring.  And when I do win, when I do defeat you at Breakdown to advance to the Television Championship match, that will make indeed make my day.”

Angelica’s face grows cold and serious once more.

“Now to Ace Marshall…I am going to be your biggest fan heading into Breakdown, because you are defending against Mr. Gild and the fact is, when I defeat Miller to become number one contender, I don’t want to have to defeat a piece of pathetic scum like Mr. Gild when I could defend against you.  Now most wouldn’t care who they won a championship from and wouldn’t care if it was against you or Gild but let’s face facts, you are not only the television champion but you are now the SCW World Champion and even though I believe in my heart of hearts that I am the best in the world, there are those in this sport who claim you are the best, because you hold two pieces of SCW gold.”

She shakes her head.

“Gold means nothing, but hey, if beating the reigning world champion will make an impact and open some eyes, then by God that’s what I want to do.  So make sure you win your match, Ace.   I will damn sure kick Miller’s ass up one end of that arena and down the other.  Don’t let me down.”

Once again she winks at the camera.

“I already said it once but I’ll say it again; The Dragon is back.  Miller will get the first taste of what that means exactly.  He will see that I am deadly serious when I said I was taking this sport seriously again.  He will find out that I meant every word, but it will be too late to save him from the wrath of The Dragon.  He will be the first to be consumed by The Dragon’s flame.”

The camera fades to black.