Post by Xavier Cross on Sept 4, 2013 7:44:42 GMT
Xavier Cross, dressed in a suit, Doug is going over the last minute adjustments. Xavier sits in a wooden chair, surrounded by a various amount of faces. A small, older lady steps to a microphone, placed on a podium.
“Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen of the media. This will be a simple question and answer, session. Xavier Cross has decided to address the state of matters, concerning CrossRoads foundation…”
The lady steps away, Cross slaps his knees, picking himself up he steps to the podium. Giving a bright smile, he turns and looks out to the audience.
“Hello. Hello, thank you all for attending to this meeting. I’ve opened the floor for discussions about the CrossRoads charity. So please...ask away.”
Cross opens his hands, gesturing, his smile still etched on as bright as possible. Looking into the crowd, various hands hang high in the air, waiting to be called on, but one face shimmers through it all. Dianna.
Dianna was the mother of Drew, and widowed wife of a famous indy wrestler, who tragically died performing a spot in one of his bigger matches. Unbeknownst to any of the three, the same match was a trial match for a spot in NCW, at the same time, Xavier Cross was also auditioning for the very same spot. The death of Dianna’s husband, was the ‘big break’ in Xavier’s career.
Cross blushes a bit, as the two make eye contact, before he snaps himself out of it, calling on a reporter. The voice cuts the tension, a chill cuts up Xavier’s spine, it’s Dwayne.
“Ah yes, Mister…..Cross...Theodore Andles, with the Atlanta Daily Press, I wanted to ask you is it true that this is all a front for drug trafficking through these children?”
“Excuse me?”
“Sources say, that you’re using this ahem..charity..is just a breed ground for gangs, given your past ties to the Five Point Bloods…”
Xavier shoots a look at Dwayne, before shaking his head.
“Sir you might want to check your sources before making such an outrageous claim…”
Cross sighs a bit, leaning into the microphone.
“I joined a gang when I was a kid, ran away from home, all that tragic bologna, I got in with the wrong people. I made mistakes, mistakes I’m trying to stop these kids from making. Now you can sling around accusations all you want, but the CrossRoads charity is a stand up organization. You’re welcome to take the tour of the facilities, as anyone else is, bring your cameras, hang around 24/7. The fact of the situation is...Dwayne, no matter how you, or your boss at the Atlanta Daily Press, or should I say owner, who just happens to be the same man campaigning not only for the shutting down of CrossRoads, but also for presidency…”
The entire crowd has a gasp in awe, Cross steps back shaking his head.
“I have the tapes, you think this place isn’t wired up Dwayne? You think I don’t know what you and your snake partner have been up to. Here is the declaration. This place is to help people, not for the rich to become more powerful, not to boost my ego, not to do a goddamn thing for you. I’m here to prevent these kids to turn into any kind of scum you are…”
Cross shakes his head.
“I’d like to wish you all a good day. If any of you want a follow up, on my comments on Senator Dick, please, feel free to stop by my assistance office, he’ll be glad to provide you all with your own personal video. I'd stay with more I'd love to stay and answer more questions, but this rat over here has made me a little nervous about a public interview, if you have any questions, please leave them with my assistant, and I'll gladly get back to you.”
Dwayne is enraged, as he goes to step towards the stage, but security cuts him off. Xavier looks off into the crowd, noticing Dianna is gone, his heart sinks, and his stomach folds up. A sense of sadness rushes across his face, as he exits back into the building.
Jaqwan Cross is sitting on a couch, his eye still black from his previous encounter with his formerly believed to be deceased, elder brother, Dwayne. Cross opens the door, kicking the desk, sending a few things flying. Jaqwan quietly looks up, as Cross is fuming.
“What fucking balls. Balls I tell you, to come here, to question me like that.”
“Calm down.”
“Don’t tell me to calm down, this is bullshit. They tried to make a mockery of me….”
“Yeah, but you turned it around, you finally took a shot at the Senator, and it may be a KO hit.”
“It doesn’t matter Jay. It doesn’t. They’re gonna keep playing dirty. The Senator tried to ruin my dreams, I may have ruined his life, his career. A man with nothing to lose is dangerous.”
“But so is a man with everything to lose.”
The feminine voice carries over, the sweet smell of perfume enters the room, as the door lays open, there is a Dianna, leaning against the doorway.
“That was the same man...the one who tried to hurt my son…”
Xavier leans against his desk, nodding, looking up towards Dianna nodding, she bites down on her finger, nervousness obviously showing. Jaqwan looks up, first at Dianna, next at Xavier, before realizing the situation was growing more awkward with him standing there.
“Jay, before you leave…”
Cross mentions, as Jaqwan is on his feet, about to exit.
“I’d like to offer you a job...head of security…”
“Wh-What?”
“Think about it...please..”
Jaqwan nods, before exiting the room, Dianna rubs his arm, looking down at the floor. Xavier looks at her, just smiling.
“Drew...he’s coming along well, definitely coming along…”
“Really?”
“Yeah...he’s doing great stuff, I mean, I want him to explore mat wrestling when he goes back to school...but…”
“We’re moving at Atlanta…”
“Wait..what really?”
Xavier's jaw drops, he eyes Dianna for a moment, wondering, she didn't have much of a life, Drew was most of her life. She must be really committed to seeing him happy.
“He wants to be closer to you. He hasn’t had a male role model in a long time Xavier...he looks up to you…Not to mention...I was able to get him into a nice private school...”
“But...er…”
“Please, I know this is a lot to swallow at once but...he needs you.”
Cross folds his arms, having three young kids of his own was difficult, he would be seeing the twins off to kindergarten soon. He had his wrestling career, he had his charity to deal with, now this woman, this woman he barely knew, this beautiful brilliant amazing woman.
“Sure.”
Dianna tilts her head.
“...Are you sure?”
Cross takes a moment, to relish where has life has taken him.
He is a pro-wrestler.
But now it was time, to ascend more past the career, instead of using that ring, that stage to make himself a promoting machine, getting movie deal, commercial deals, shoe deals.
It was time to give back, this was that moment, where he realized all he had worked for, with CrossRoads, with the IWF family. This was that moment where everything was finally coming to ahead, and yet all he could think about was this woman, standing right in front of him.
The one weakness of a man.
“Yeah. I’ll do it, but...he’ll have to keep up his grades in order to train with me. I won’t be easy on him, like any kind of sport, you can only do this for so long, and having a good head on your shoulders works wonders. Tell him to also look into theatre, and public speaking, need to shake the nerves early.”
She gives him a warm smile, as she steps forward, the two embrace in a hug. Tears rolling down her face. Cross begins to realize, just what effect he’s having on this one family. His thoughts turn to his failures, not being able to protect DeMarcus from his father. He wasn’t going to fail Drew, he wasn’t going to let Dianna down. He had done that enough in his life.
That’s when Cross did it, he leaned his head down, touching her cheek gently. She looked up, her eyes still watery. Their lips met, right there, for a moment, and for a moment she kissed him back. For that brief, wonderful moment, it was just them, and the world stopped turning.
But she pulled back, holding her face, refusing to look up at him. She exited the room as quickly as she entered, and Xavier stood there, staring at the open door. But Doug, quickly fills that void, out of breath, he points at the TV.
“Turn...Turn it on!”
Cross’s eyes get big, the tone of Doug’s voice terrifies him.
His hands are shaking, the remote falls out of his hand. Xavier Cross staggers, grabbing onto the desk to keep himself up. The fading smile on the television is The Senator, looking right through the cameras, his eyes locked on Xavier. Fourth Wall my ass.
“...Doug…”
The Senator had just gone on the local news, to explain that.
“Cross might be losing his grip, that the footage clearly showed Xavier getting jumped by thugs, but the simple fact remains that whatever Mr. Cross thinks I have to do with this, he is sadly mistaken. However, since he wants to play with fire, I would like to bring up the simple that that Xavier Cross is running a fighting studio, a dojo, or a gym, whatever you call it. Unlicensed. Simple fact remains, this violation could easily shut CrossRoads down, permanently.”
“...Doug…”
Xavier is spinning, whirled with anger, shock, and a dash of fear.
“Well then, now you understand the gravity of the situation…”
Xavier looks up, seeing Dianna, but she’s not there on her own free will, Dwayne has his arm around her throat.
“You think I would make false accusations? Ha, damn right I would. Knowing you’d jump the gun with your little plan to ruin the Senator…”
Cross’s hands are now shaking, not with fear, but fury.
“But how do you think we found out about the video...huh...how do you think we had been two steps ahead, this entire time..”
“It was me….I was tired of playing second fiddle to you Xavier, I was tired of always having to do your dirty work. You have no idea what it takes to run this place, I’ve ran it since day one. I’ve dealt with everything. Now I’m sick if you getting your ego kick off this…”
Xavier turns around, to see Doug, shaking his head, speaking in a soft, but yet unnerving tone. Xavier grabs Doug by the collar, throwing him across the table. Rearing his fist back, Xavier is about to throw the punch, before he hears a metal, and a scream.
“Don’t even imagine it…”
Xavier turns to see Dianna holding herself still, as Dwayne holds a knife out.
“Enough...what the hell do you guys want...all of this is illegal…”
“Your credibility is shot, thanks to us. It doesn’t matter what you say about what is happening in this office. So just sign these.”
Doug throws a series of papers down on the table, wanting Xavier to sign over the rights of CrossRoads directly to Doug. But the scuffle of footsteps, as Dianna falls forward, into Xavier’s arms. We see Jaqwan tackling Dwayne to the ground, the knife falls on the floor. Xavier makes sure Dianna is okay, as Doug scrambles to escape. Cross trips his former assistant, watching Doug tumble to the hallway.
Jaqwan is on top of Dwayne, sending a hard right across his older brother’s face.
“JAY!”
We hear Dwayne laughing underneath Jaqwan, who is holding his throat. Cross goes to help Jaqwan, as Dwayne kicks him back at Xavier, before Dwayne himself gets up running away. Jaqwan holds his face, his lip bleeding. Cross stands there for a moment, trying to take it all in. He turns back towards his office, seeing Dianna, standing there, holding her throat. She is fine, but it seems that everything around him is crumbling.
Dianna runs to Xavier, he immediately wraps his arm around her, trying to provide some form of comfort. Jaqwan goes to take off, wanting to chase Dwayne down. Xavier puts his other hand on his shoulder, stopping him. Jaqwan looks back, furious, Cross manages to calm himself down, shaking his head as his little brother.
"We'll figure this out...are you okay?"
He looks down at Dianna, she gives him a weak smile, still shaking. Xavier moves, kissing her forehead, before she buries her head into his shirt. Jaqwan punches the wall, still furious.
"At least...you had a good job audition..."
Jaqwan gives him a frown, before having a mocking laugh. Cross takes a look, down the hallway. Life was about to get a lot harder. Both in and outside the ring.
“Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen of the media. This will be a simple question and answer, session. Xavier Cross has decided to address the state of matters, concerning CrossRoads foundation…”
The lady steps away, Cross slaps his knees, picking himself up he steps to the podium. Giving a bright smile, he turns and looks out to the audience.
“Hello. Hello, thank you all for attending to this meeting. I’ve opened the floor for discussions about the CrossRoads charity. So please...ask away.”
Cross opens his hands, gesturing, his smile still etched on as bright as possible. Looking into the crowd, various hands hang high in the air, waiting to be called on, but one face shimmers through it all. Dianna.
Dianna was the mother of Drew, and widowed wife of a famous indy wrestler, who tragically died performing a spot in one of his bigger matches. Unbeknownst to any of the three, the same match was a trial match for a spot in NCW, at the same time, Xavier Cross was also auditioning for the very same spot. The death of Dianna’s husband, was the ‘big break’ in Xavier’s career.
Cross blushes a bit, as the two make eye contact, before he snaps himself out of it, calling on a reporter. The voice cuts the tension, a chill cuts up Xavier’s spine, it’s Dwayne.
“Ah yes, Mister…..Cross...Theodore Andles, with the Atlanta Daily Press, I wanted to ask you is it true that this is all a front for drug trafficking through these children?”
“Excuse me?”
“Sources say, that you’re using this ahem..charity..is just a breed ground for gangs, given your past ties to the Five Point Bloods…”
Xavier shoots a look at Dwayne, before shaking his head.
“Sir you might want to check your sources before making such an outrageous claim…”
Cross sighs a bit, leaning into the microphone.
“I joined a gang when I was a kid, ran away from home, all that tragic bologna, I got in with the wrong people. I made mistakes, mistakes I’m trying to stop these kids from making. Now you can sling around accusations all you want, but the CrossRoads charity is a stand up organization. You’re welcome to take the tour of the facilities, as anyone else is, bring your cameras, hang around 24/7. The fact of the situation is...Dwayne, no matter how you, or your boss at the Atlanta Daily Press, or should I say owner, who just happens to be the same man campaigning not only for the shutting down of CrossRoads, but also for presidency…”
The entire crowd has a gasp in awe, Cross steps back shaking his head.
“I have the tapes, you think this place isn’t wired up Dwayne? You think I don’t know what you and your snake partner have been up to. Here is the declaration. This place is to help people, not for the rich to become more powerful, not to boost my ego, not to do a goddamn thing for you. I’m here to prevent these kids to turn into any kind of scum you are…”
Cross shakes his head.
“I’d like to wish you all a good day. If any of you want a follow up, on my comments on Senator Dick, please, feel free to stop by my assistance office, he’ll be glad to provide you all with your own personal video. I'd stay with more I'd love to stay and answer more questions, but this rat over here has made me a little nervous about a public interview, if you have any questions, please leave them with my assistant, and I'll gladly get back to you.”
Dwayne is enraged, as he goes to step towards the stage, but security cuts him off. Xavier looks off into the crowd, noticing Dianna is gone, his heart sinks, and his stomach folds up. A sense of sadness rushes across his face, as he exits back into the building.
******
Oh sweet mercy, here we go again. Mike freakin Laszlo. I’ve heard of the man of a thousand holds, and there was a little myth about the man of a thousand drop kicks. But the man of a thousand chances. How is Laszlo even competing with talent anymore, I figured he’d drop off into obscurity, or jobber status.
But Xavier, I beat Ryan Blade!
Oh big freaking deal.
Check it Laszlo, I held high hopes for you since the day I laid eyes on you. But I’m quickly realizing you’re just a chameleon. You don’t adapt to situation, you try to mold them to benefit you. I mean, has there been anyone like you, ever, who I can count his wins in this business on two hands. Two hands, it’s been what, four months since IWF started. You haven’t done shit.
But Xavier, I ended the streak!
Fluke. It happens, even the dumbest backwoods idiot can win the lottery. You’re just happened to be the dumb backwood idiot that night. Something is off with Blade, I can’t put my finger on it just yet, but my little protege, my mentee, something is wrong. But I know he’ll be focused coming into this week. Because you beat him. Your biggest fucking accomplishment in this entire federation has been pissing off Spike Kane, beating a rusty Trent Helms, and taking advantage of a unfocused Ryan Blade.
Yet, you get handed shot, after shot, after shot.
It’s like Simon is granting a wishes to the terminally ill.
Because when we meet again, I take no pity on you, I take no hope in what you’ve done, or what you can do. Laszlo, you’re just another man to be pushed aside.
You’re absolutely nothing to me.
I’m what, 3-0 against you?
You don’t have shit on me son.
I’m gonna show the world why you don’t deserve everything that’s been handed to you on a silver fucking platter.
Because trust me, you know what’s not keeping me up at night, a former NCW honour champion.
woooo
*****
Jaqwan Cross is sitting on a couch, his eye still black from his previous encounter with his formerly believed to be deceased, elder brother, Dwayne. Cross opens the door, kicking the desk, sending a few things flying. Jaqwan quietly looks up, as Cross is fuming.
“What fucking balls. Balls I tell you, to come here, to question me like that.”
“Calm down.”
“Don’t tell me to calm down, this is bullshit. They tried to make a mockery of me….”
“Yeah, but you turned it around, you finally took a shot at the Senator, and it may be a KO hit.”
“It doesn’t matter Jay. It doesn’t. They’re gonna keep playing dirty. The Senator tried to ruin my dreams, I may have ruined his life, his career. A man with nothing to lose is dangerous.”
“But so is a man with everything to lose.”
The feminine voice carries over, the sweet smell of perfume enters the room, as the door lays open, there is a Dianna, leaning against the doorway.
“That was the same man...the one who tried to hurt my son…”
Xavier leans against his desk, nodding, looking up towards Dianna nodding, she bites down on her finger, nervousness obviously showing. Jaqwan looks up, first at Dianna, next at Xavier, before realizing the situation was growing more awkward with him standing there.
“Jay, before you leave…”
Cross mentions, as Jaqwan is on his feet, about to exit.
“I’d like to offer you a job...head of security…”
“Wh-What?”
“Think about it...please..”
Jaqwan nods, before exiting the room, Dianna rubs his arm, looking down at the floor. Xavier looks at her, just smiling.
“Drew...he’s coming along well, definitely coming along…”
“Really?”
“Yeah...he’s doing great stuff, I mean, I want him to explore mat wrestling when he goes back to school...but…”
“We’re moving at Atlanta…”
“Wait..what really?”
Xavier's jaw drops, he eyes Dianna for a moment, wondering, she didn't have much of a life, Drew was most of her life. She must be really committed to seeing him happy.
“He wants to be closer to you. He hasn’t had a male role model in a long time Xavier...he looks up to you…Not to mention...I was able to get him into a nice private school...”
“But...er…”
“Please, I know this is a lot to swallow at once but...he needs you.”
Cross folds his arms, having three young kids of his own was difficult, he would be seeing the twins off to kindergarten soon. He had his wrestling career, he had his charity to deal with, now this woman, this woman he barely knew, this beautiful brilliant amazing woman.
“Sure.”
Dianna tilts her head.
“...Are you sure?”
Cross takes a moment, to relish where has life has taken him.
He is a pro-wrestler.
But now it was time, to ascend more past the career, instead of using that ring, that stage to make himself a promoting machine, getting movie deal, commercial deals, shoe deals.
It was time to give back, this was that moment, where he realized all he had worked for, with CrossRoads, with the IWF family. This was that moment where everything was finally coming to ahead, and yet all he could think about was this woman, standing right in front of him.
The one weakness of a man.
“Yeah. I’ll do it, but...he’ll have to keep up his grades in order to train with me. I won’t be easy on him, like any kind of sport, you can only do this for so long, and having a good head on your shoulders works wonders. Tell him to also look into theatre, and public speaking, need to shake the nerves early.”
She gives him a warm smile, as she steps forward, the two embrace in a hug. Tears rolling down her face. Cross begins to realize, just what effect he’s having on this one family. His thoughts turn to his failures, not being able to protect DeMarcus from his father. He wasn’t going to fail Drew, he wasn’t going to let Dianna down. He had done that enough in his life.
That’s when Cross did it, he leaned his head down, touching her cheek gently. She looked up, her eyes still watery. Their lips met, right there, for a moment, and for a moment she kissed him back. For that brief, wonderful moment, it was just them, and the world stopped turning.
But she pulled back, holding her face, refusing to look up at him. She exited the room as quickly as she entered, and Xavier stood there, staring at the open door. But Doug, quickly fills that void, out of breath, he points at the TV.
“Turn...Turn it on!”
Cross’s eyes get big, the tone of Doug’s voice terrifies him.
*****
Loaded elbows all day?
Nah. I just don’t get it, one of the more talented guys on the roster, Jake Keeton, finds some sort of sick pleasure getting over on his opponents with a loaded freaking elbow? That’s kind of weak, I’m sitting here thinking to myself, Jake has the talent to be at the top, yet he keeps fumbling around, blowing his big shots.
In this business, I’ve burnt down a lot of bridges, but something I’ve learned in the last few months, is a rebuilding process can be done, nothing is ever permanent. After seeing what you’ve done to Alex Jones, it makes me sick. Though how can I say anything, I screwed the man out of everyone’s dream.
To go out on top.
I spit on Alex Jones, I pissed of his entire NCW career in a matter of moments. And yet, here I am standing here, reprimanding you for your actions against him.
Because the Alex I screwed over, lets face it, was the alpha and omega of douche bags. I had no problem at the time, doing what I had to do, to make my lover happy. Big freaking deal right?
But Alex is taking a risk, he’s trying to do the right thing. He’s trying to stick to the honor, to a fair fight. Something that more people need to learn from. Something I’m coming to respect him for Keeton, and you took him out.
You injured Alex Jones, and I’m not gonna lie. That kind of pisses me off.
I am the kind of man who believes in redemption, I’m trying to redeem myself now, and I will never stop trying to better myself for tomorrow. I’ve watched you Keeton, and I’ve been impressed by what I’ve seen from you. But this little mean streak, this whole elbow thing.
It will come back to bite you.
Maybe my adult-themed lecture won’t do any good, well screw it. I gave you a chance, and when that bell sounds, there will be no more chances.
Because come Sacrifice, I’ll be fighting for Alex, and what he believes in. I’ll be fighting to show my protege Blade, you don’t have to cheat, you don’t have to be a scumbag to get what you want. That there is still the ability to do it, the right way.
*****
“...Doug…”
The Senator had just gone on the local news, to explain that.
“Cross might be losing his grip, that the footage clearly showed Xavier getting jumped by thugs, but the simple fact remains that whatever Mr. Cross thinks I have to do with this, he is sadly mistaken. However, since he wants to play with fire, I would like to bring up the simple that that Xavier Cross is running a fighting studio, a dojo, or a gym, whatever you call it. Unlicensed. Simple fact remains, this violation could easily shut CrossRoads down, permanently.”
“...Doug…”
Xavier is spinning, whirled with anger, shock, and a dash of fear.
“Well then, now you understand the gravity of the situation…”
Xavier looks up, seeing Dianna, but she’s not there on her own free will, Dwayne has his arm around her throat.
“You think I would make false accusations? Ha, damn right I would. Knowing you’d jump the gun with your little plan to ruin the Senator…”
Cross’s hands are now shaking, not with fear, but fury.
“But how do you think we found out about the video...huh...how do you think we had been two steps ahead, this entire time..”
“It was me….I was tired of playing second fiddle to you Xavier, I was tired of always having to do your dirty work. You have no idea what it takes to run this place, I’ve ran it since day one. I’ve dealt with everything. Now I’m sick if you getting your ego kick off this…”
Xavier turns around, to see Doug, shaking his head, speaking in a soft, but yet unnerving tone. Xavier grabs Doug by the collar, throwing him across the table. Rearing his fist back, Xavier is about to throw the punch, before he hears a metal, and a scream.
“Don’t even imagine it…”
Xavier turns to see Dianna holding herself still, as Dwayne holds a knife out.
“Enough...what the hell do you guys want...all of this is illegal…”
“Your credibility is shot, thanks to us. It doesn’t matter what you say about what is happening in this office. So just sign these.”
Doug throws a series of papers down on the table, wanting Xavier to sign over the rights of CrossRoads directly to Doug. But the scuffle of footsteps, as Dianna falls forward, into Xavier’s arms. We see Jaqwan tackling Dwayne to the ground, the knife falls on the floor. Xavier makes sure Dianna is okay, as Doug scrambles to escape. Cross trips his former assistant, watching Doug tumble to the hallway.
Jaqwan is on top of Dwayne, sending a hard right across his older brother’s face.
“JAY!”
We hear Dwayne laughing underneath Jaqwan, who is holding his throat. Cross goes to help Jaqwan, as Dwayne kicks him back at Xavier, before Dwayne himself gets up running away. Jaqwan holds his face, his lip bleeding. Cross stands there for a moment, trying to take it all in. He turns back towards his office, seeing Dianna, standing there, holding her throat. She is fine, but it seems that everything around him is crumbling.
Dianna runs to Xavier, he immediately wraps his arm around her, trying to provide some form of comfort. Jaqwan goes to take off, wanting to chase Dwayne down. Xavier puts his other hand on his shoulder, stopping him. Jaqwan looks back, furious, Cross manages to calm himself down, shaking his head as his little brother.
"We'll figure this out...are you okay?"
He looks down at Dianna, she gives him a weak smile, still shaking. Xavier moves, kissing her forehead, before she buries her head into his shirt. Jaqwan punches the wall, still furious.
"At least...you had a good job audition..."
Jaqwan gives him a frown, before having a mocking laugh. Cross takes a look, down the hallway. Life was about to get a lot harder. Both in and outside the ring.
To Be Continued
Well howdy there pardner.