Making Amends

[Thomas Uriel Bates]

Scene I “Rage”
Alexander James Pennsylvania Residence – Chester County, Pennsylvania

Thomas Uriel Bates: What the hell does he think he’s doing?!

The once cluttered desk was now clear, as the clutter found its way across the room, and in some cases embedded into the wall. Thomas Uriel Bates was not a happy man.

Thomas Uriel Bates: He’s trying to get me angry? At him? Where’s the strategy there?

Bates sat in the chair of the desk and leaned back. Impatient, he leaned forward and lightly slammed his hand on the oak desk.

Thomas Uriel Bates: He acts like he’s doing everything he can to drive a wedge between us, and then he says we can win, but only after I lose my temper? How is that supposed to unify us? How is that supposed to make sure that we’re a team going up against Night Rider and Freezer Burn?

Bates turns his head towards the mess he made in the room, and stares at a picture. The wood frame was now busted, and the glass shattered, but the image remained mostly intact. It was Alexander James, Andre Uriel Bates, George Murdock Junior, Mikey eXtreme, Danny Anderson, Thomas Uriel Bates, and Gemini Battle. All the men wore bright smiles on their faces, their DRG MC leather vests, and stood in front of their individual motorcycles, including the strange Gemini Battle special edition that Bates purchased for his friend.

Some friend. Bates was angry, but he could still hear. He heard as Gemini accused him of abandoning him. Gemini broke records at War, main evented One, and he wasn’t there to celebrate. Gonzo died, Gemini’s son died, and the great Thomas Uriel Bates was nowhere to be found. He was Gemini Battle’s only friend, and he wasn’t there.

No, Bates was off doing his own thing. He had to listen to everyone else; his campaign manager, his staff, the media consultants, the polls, everyone but those that truly mattered to him, everyone but his friends.

He could easily dismiss Gonzo’s death, as he was a person of a particular set of skills you did not want to find coming after you. It was easy to believe, or at least hope, that George Murdock’s death was fake, that he was out somewhere on some secret mission and that at any moment he could come through those doors with that cocky grin on his face, and a six pack in his hand to apologize.

That hasn’t happened yet. Mikey’s doing his own thing, teaming with Zombie McMorris of all people. Danny’s doing what Danny does, and Gemini, well Gemini was not happy. Gemini Battle was pissed.

Who could blame him? On year ago he was part of WCF history, becoming the first WCF Trios Champion alongside Gonzo and Bates. Shot to the top, all three men were expected to soon become World Champion. Gonzo had his shot, Bates had his shot, Gemini had his shot, Mikey had belts, Danny was gunning for a belt, the Dark Riders Gang MC WCF Chapter was riding high.

The election’s coming up. That fire that burned inside Bates, even now, burned brighter than ever before. That pull to stand up and do something, to serve the people, to become a Statesman, finally got the better of him. He put his name down for United States Senator from the Great and Sovereign State of Alabama.

Off he goes on his crusade. Fix what’s wrong with this country. Restore the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, enforcement of Article I, Section 8 and the Bill of Rights for Congress, enforcement of State Rights, abolishment of Social Security and Welfare programs, abolishment of the IRS, the ATF, the FBI, the FCC, the NSA, the EPA, and the long list of alphabet soup agencies that have wrapped America’s liberty in so much bureaucratic red tape that Lady Liberty was choking to death.

Off on his crusade, and away from the WCF, away from the DRG, away from his brothers, away from Gemini Battle. He missed it all, didn’t he? He then tried to come in like nothing happened, like he just got back from the grocery store with some drinks and lottery tickets.

Life doesn’t work that way though, does it? You can’t just abandon your friends and come back one day expecting everything to be the same, right? You can’t just expect everyone to think “hey, he just got back from a rough election, it’s all good”, right? You can’t simply come back, crack open a beer, turn on a movie, and hang out with your friends like nothing happened. Not now, not with as much as he missed.

Bates had a habit of coming in and making himself some big attraction. How could he not? He was damn near seven feet tall, and one of the strongest men in the world. He’s a man that can lift trees and boulders, pull firetrucks and ambulances, and make a man’s head explode with a simple kick. More than his physical strength, he was the type of guy that walks into a room and simply takes command. Not manage a room, not simply lead it, but command it. He lived by his Code, and expected everyone else around him to do the same, and he would lead them to that path. Thomas Uriel Bates was a big man, in more ways than one.

So when he makes himself a big part of someone’s life, and then takes off, what can he expect? He was there one day, even helped a man through a drug addiction and withdrawal, but can’t be there to help that same man put his own son in the ground? He can be there to put a damp cloth on an ill man, but can’t help him through burying his own son? Who the hell does he think he is?

Who the hell does Thomas Uriel Bates think he is?

With the picture in hand, his head bowed in disgrace, the man weeps.

Scene II “Cold Night”
Tangeray Tavern – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

His eyes always seem to show determination. It’s because he’s always determined to accomplish whatever goal he has set out to do. Be it taking out Seth Lerch’s corrupt Family, defending the WCF from a potentially hostile Stable War, earning a shot at the WCF World Championship, going toe to toe with WCF Champion Dune in the Ultimate Showdown. He was a determined man. The fire in his eyes, the intensity, it was rarely matched.

Today that determination was hitting the eight ball without striking two striped balls. He would need to hit at the exact right angle, and he was determined to do it. He lined up his shot, announced where he thought the ball was going to go, and drew back the cue. He pushed it forward, striking the white ball, and sending it flying across the table, barely nicking a striped ball. It was enough to alter the path, making Thomas Uriel Bates miss his shot.

He had become aware of the WCF Cameraman about the time he drew the cue back. He expected them to show, especially for comments regarding the WCF Tag Team Championship and Ultimate Showdown. It would have been nice if Bates had made the shot, but life doesn’t always work out that way.

Thomas Uriel Bates: I’m glad you could join me. I decided to have you meet me here because, well this is the kind of place we could expect people like me to be, right? After all, I am a biker. I have a motorcycle, I have a leather vest with a patch for my quote-unquote gang, and I am fighting against arrival motorcycle gang right now in the AoD, right?

No, that’s wrong. I do have a motorcycle, I do have the vest, and I am facing Night Rider and Freezer Burn, who also happen to be bikers. I however, am not associated with any outlaw club, nor am I in any way one of the one percent, nor have I ever pretended to be. I am not of the mold that everyone thinks a biker is, but my opponent seems to do everything he can to fit the stereotype.

This guy is going around trying to act like he’s Sons of Anarchy or Hells Angels, and it just feeds into the stereotype. People like him make it hard for non-outlaw bikers such as myself to be accepted as anything other than outlaw. My club doesn’t do anything an outlaw club does. We don’t run drugs, we don’t run guns, we don’t run prostitution, we obey the law, we cooperate with military and police, yet we still get associated with the outlaws simply because of people like the AoD who make it look like some kind of television show.

Now Night Rider is exactly what you would expect from a stereotypical biker. He thinks he’s tough. He thinks he’s strong. In reality, he’s weak. Not just physically, but mentally as well. Just listen to him talk, he can barely put together sentences, and those he does are riddled with curse words that serve more as a filler than as actual insults. This is because he can’t find anything else to say. He can’t explore the mind of his opponent, he can’t study them, all he can do is try to insult them and fail even at that. This is how he expects to win? This is how Night Rider expects to lead the AoD into prosperity? No wonder he fails.

Now Night Rider takes this kind of thinking straight to the ring. He doesn’t study his opponent, he’s already overconfident and completely underestimating his opponents. This is why the AoD has never been a dominant stable in the WCF, this is why Night Rider has never been a dominating force in that ring. He thinks it’s all about kicking ass and taking names, but only a fool rushes into battle without knowing his enemy.

So who is Night Rider’s enemy? I study my opponents, watching countless hours of their previous matches, promotional videos, any training session I can find; I take the time to know my opponents. I learn their moves, I learn their strategy, and Night Rider’s strategy is overconfidence. He thinks he’s strong, but I’m the strongest man in the WCF. He thinks he’s smart, I hold a Masters for studying the greatest tacticians of all time. Night Rider’s overconfidence is his downfall.

Am I being overconfident? No. I fully acknowledge that there is a chance that Night Rider could come out on top. The difference is that I’m taking measures to prevent that from happening. I’m looking for the ways Night Rider could come out, and I’m making sure that doesn’t happen. Gemini’s doing the same.

How about Night Rider’s partner? Fellow AoD member; Freezer Burn. A man who believes himself to be a god. A man that believes he cannot be matched. Such confidence, it is overabundant. A delusional mind ripped to shreds from thirty years of being in this business. Is he some talentless hack pretending to be the greatest? No, he has skill. He is a great wrestler, and he has sacrificed so much to this business. Never-mind his current status seems to make him a knockoff of a soberer Zombie McMorris.

Sure he can’t feel much pain anymore, or has gotten used to it, but he can still break. He can still be ripped to pieces even more. He can still require a few more stitches, a few more titanium rods in that more medal than bone skeleton of his. It might be hard to make him feel pain, but I like a challenge.

This is the AoD, the Angels of Death. A group that has desperately tried to establish dominance in a promotion that once had The Vapor Kings, The Poondock Saints, Pantheon, and the Dark Riders Gang. How can the AoD expect to thrive in the shadow of all of these other groups? Now that none of these stables are officially here anymore, the AoD rears its ugly head in a laughable attempt to claim dominance.

The Dark Riders Gang and the Angels of Death did have for a brief moment, a feud, if you call it that. The first time I faced Night Rider in the ring, he left the match. The second time, I took out him and the guy that pinned him with my Boot. It really was a bit of a funny ending, I suggest people look it up, the Slam right after last year’s Ultimate Showdown. Then there was finally the match, DRG versus AOD. AOD couldn’t manage a match and it quickly dissolved into nothing more than a mess. What’s so interesting to point out though, is that during this supposed feud with the AoD, it was really Denise D’Evil that tried to fight me, doing everything she could to get me to fight her. Not Night Rider, no it was Denise that tried to do the fighting. Night Rider couldn’t even get revenge at War, he didn’t even get a chance to face me.

There it is, that’s the run down on the history of the DRG and AOD feud. Not even deserving of being called a feud, but whatever floats people’s boat, right? Now Night Rider is trying again. He’s gathering his forces and wants to come after me in an attempt to claim dominance over the DRG. He’s got Freezer Burn of course, and he’s got Oblivion. I’m sure Denise will even show back up. Most likely act like she hates him, they get back together, make a video together, and thousands of teenagers around the world will gouge out their eyes.

What is the DRG response? Well, we don’t have one. It’s not that we can’t, it’s just that there is no need. The Dark Riders Gang MC is simply an MC. Mikey, Danny, Gemini, myself, all of us can do whatever we want, especially with Ultimate Showdown coming up. We’re not recruiting more members, in fact the one prospect we’ve had lately has been released. I’d put money down that Night Rider will come calling to him, but we’ll see. We’re not concerned with establishing faction dominance in the WCF, we are concerned with ensuring that the WCF has a tomorrow. That battle has moved from the battlefield to office meetings with Seth Lerch and his legal team, and a legal team representing the WCF locker room.

If the AoD wants to win some new WCF Stable War, I’m afraid they’ll discover they are the only quote-unquote stable in the WCF. Who knows? Maybe they can win then. However, it seems very likely that this Sunday, the AoD will lose in their very lonely War.

Bates smiles, nods, and turns back to the pool table, further ignoring the camera as it slowly withdraws from the bar.

Scene III “Making Amends”
Alexander James Pennsylvania Residence – Chester County, Pennsylvania

The Queen Anne style home of Alexander James was very lovely, and very historic. A home built in the late 19th century, and full of stories within the walls. It was only one of Alexander James’s many homes all across the world, and often served as a place of rest when in New England for the multi-billionaire uncle of WCF’s strongest man. More often than not lately, it seemed more like Bates’ home, due to Seth not moving very far from New England.

Most days that Bates stayed at this home, he could be seen working out in the gym, reading one of the countless books in the library, watching movies, television, or even old matches. Today however, Bates simply sat on the fancy antique couch with nothing in his hand, and a mind lost in thought.

His first run in WCF, the ups, the downs, the glory, and the fall. From crushing Mister Amazing to facing Bobby Cairo and later Dune for the WCF World Championship. Cutting through not just superstars on his way to the top of WCF, but legends as well. The rise of the Dark Riders Gang in the WCF, and how they demolished their foes such as Imperium, the feared combination of The Vapor Kings and the Poondock Saints. The loss of Brian Payne, and later George “Gonzo” Murdock. Pulling Gemini Battle through his drug addiction, and missing the death of his child simply because he was running for office.

Serve his State, serve his country, serve his people, but for some reason he couldn’t be there to serve his friend. Now his friend was angry, and rightly so. Now the bond that these two brothers shared, has been shattered. It’s time to fix the bond, it’s time to make amends.

The big man reaches into his pant pocket and draws out a cell phone. He pushes the touch screen a few times and waits for someone to answer. He seems not surprised when the call goes to the answering service. It doesn’t deter him from his goal.

Thomas Uriel Bates: Gemini, I just called to apologize. There’s nothing I can do now to make up for not being there for you. I can’t turn back time, believe me I would if I could. I should have been there for you. I should have done something; I should never have go…

Bates pauses briefly, as it appears his message was too long. He touches the screen again, and tries one more time.

Thomas Uriel Bates: Gemini, I’m sorry.

It’s just words, but Bates meant it, and would show that he will do whatever he can to try to make amends.