Taking Care of Business Part I

March 8th 2011 - Massachussets, New England

The three men stood around in nervous silence in the billiard room of the large mansion. The three knew each other very well, and the conversation should have been flowing easily, but not on this day. They were awaiting the arrival of Lord Blackwing, who had summoned them to his mansion in New England. They had all been in the United States for some days now, and it was taking some getting used to, no longer being home in old Brittania. This was the first time since they had arrived that they had met together, as Lord Blackwing had been busy working on his plan in secret.

None of them knew what it entailed. Not even Sir Ian, Blackwing's own son, knew what was going through his father's head. Each man was nervous, because they were worried that the plan might require any one of them to sacrifice himself for the greater good at some point. Their fears weren't entirely unfounded. Blackwing had a reputation for ruthlessness, and was not beyond putting others in harms way to achieve his goals.

Sir Ian: Shall we play a game of billiards whilst we wait for my father?

Duke Reginald fishes in his waistcoat pocket and produces a polished silver pocketwatch. He flips it open and examines it, his worried look turning to one of consternation.

Duke Reginald: I'm afraid their won't be time, old horse. He's due to arrive any second.

As if on cue the silence is broken by the faint tip-tapping of a cane on the marble floor of the hall outside the room. All three men turn their heads to watch the door as the sound grows louder until finally reaching a crescendo with the creaking of the door as it is pushed open by the butler, Cockfoster. Lord Blackwing strides in, straight past his butler and up to the three men.

Lord Blackwing: Ah, gentlemen. Glad you could make it. Please do take a seat.

The three all select a seat around a nearby table, as Lord Blackwing begins to remove his overcoat and gloves.

Lord Blackwing: I trust you are all settling in well in America?

There are murmurs of agreement from all three as Blackwing joins them at the table. Moments later Cockfoster returns to the room carrying a silver tray in his hand, upon which is several folders of documents. He places it down on the table infront of Blackwing.

Cockfoster: The documents you requested, my lord.

Lord Blackwing: Thank you, Cockfoster.

Cockfoster stands there, as if waiting further instruction.

Lord Blackwing: THANK YOU, Cockfoster.

Cockfoster: Very good, my lord.

He turns on his heels and exits the room. Four pairs of eyes watch him leave. As the door shuts behind him, Blackwing turns back to the assembled group. He pulls a decanter towards himself, and lifts it up, pouring himself a glass of Scotch.

Lord Blackwing: Do help yourselves, won't you?

The three men, still nervous, all took various decanters and glasses and poured themselves drinks. They all needed a stiff one, to calm them down. None of them understood why Blackwing was being so formal and delaying getting to the point. It didn't help their worrying one bit. Only Sir Ian realised that this was probably the point. Lord Blackwing ruled with fear, and commanded with an iron fist. Due to his age he preferred to use the former, but Sir Ian knew very well that he wasn't averse to using the latter if the situation required it. Sir Ian had been on the wrong end of his father's fiery temperament and iron blow many a time in the past. When he was away at boarding school, he had always joked to his friends that his father was nicknamed the Kaiser, because whereas Otto von Bismarck, the famous German Chancellor who unified the country in the 1870s, ruled his lands with coal and iron, not blood and iron, his father preferred the other method.

Lord Blackwing: Gentlement, I am sure you are all aware of why I have gathered you here today?

Three nods, and then silence.

Lord Blackwing: ...well?

Darlington and Sir Ian glance at each other nervously, but it is Duke Reginald who is first to pipe up.

Duke Reginald: Err...to, erm, disucss the plan for the domination of the Insurgency Wrestling Federation?

Lord Blackwing: Bravo! Good show, that man.

Blackwing picks up the folders of documents in front of him one by one and throws them across the table to each of the other three men, leaving one for himself. He flips the remaining folder open.

Lord Blackwing: If you'll turn to the first page.

They all do.

Lord Blackwing: We have a brief summary of IWF operations as they currently stand. The company is owned by three individuals, each having an equal say in the running of affairs. Matters are decided using a simple majority system. If 2/3rds of the owners are agreed on a motion, then it will pass. If 2/3rds are against, then it will fail. Simple.

Sir Ian: Ah, a fine system, based on our very own House of Commons.

Lord Blackwing: Quite. This system is in place to ensure that no one man can gain too much power in the company, to prevent a repeat of what occurred at the last ghastly place all these peasants competed in. Apparently these imbeciles don't appreciate the need for a good Monarchy. Even a constitutional Monarchy would be better than this current tripe system they use.

William Darlington: Agreed. How can we change it?

Lord Blackwing: Patience, my lad, and you will be rewarded. There are some very interesting theories floating around the political sphere right now about anti-system parties and how they use the system to achieve their goals.

Duke Reginald: Not sure I follow, old fruit.

Lord Blackwing: Then allow me to furnish you with an example, Reggie. Take the National Socialist German Workers Party, more commonly known as the Nazi Party. Hitler and his cronies didn't want a democratic system in process. He wanted to rule absolutely with little or no input from the people. If the Nazi Party was against the democratic system, they were an anti-system party. However, in order to achieve their goals of destroying the system, they had to use the system's own mechanisms to gain power. They couldn't very well just waltz in to the Reichstag and say "You there, do run along, we're running the show now." They would have been hanged to a man for revolution.

Duke Reginald: Fascinating, do go on.

Lord Blackwing: They had to use the very system they were so eager to destroy, to destroy it. It's ingenious really. Hitler may have been many awful things, but he certainly wasn't lacking in smarts.

Sir Ian considered at this point, that for Lord Blackwing to consider someone to have a number of awful qualities must make them a very, very bad person indeed.

Lord Blackwing: The plan is as follows. We infiltrate this three man system, and use its own mechanisms to overthrow it, and bring a proper system of leadership back to this fledgling democracy. The first step on the ladder to showing these ungrateful American upstarts that the only true head of state is a monarch.

Sir Ian: How will we infiltrate this three man system? We'll need to get two of the votes on there in order to be able to control.

Lord Blackwing: If you will all turn to the second page of your folders, I will begin to explain.

There is a ruffling of paper as all four men flip the page.

Sir Ian: I say, who on earth is that ruffian there?

Duke Reginald: He looks like a felonious commoner and no mistake.

Darlington sits up in his seat and clears his throat.

William Darlington: That is Brandon Macdonald.

Lord Blackwing: Correct. Would you care to explain to the others who Brandon Macdonald is?

William Darlington: Very well. Brandon Macdonald was essentially the top competitor in the old No Limit Wrestling Federation, as well as being undefeated in the barbaric Ultimate Fighting Championship. For a while he held all the major titles and was considered by many to be the best in the world. He had to leave the No Limit Wrestling Federation a month or so before it closed down, although for the devil of me I can't recall why.

Lord Blackwing: It turned out that he was part of a United States special forces unit that was deployed to the Middle East.

William Darlington: I thought the blighter was Canadian.

Lord Blackwing: He is. It's all explained in the press release on page 3. It turns out he ran away to the States as a youth and was recruited then.

Duke Reginald: This is all very well, but I don't understand what he has to do with anything. Why would a Canadian former US Special Operations soldier want to help us out?

Lord Blackwing: There is a chance that he won't. However, if you continue to read you will notice that after he departed for the Middle East, an attempt was made on the life of Anna Macdonald, his wife, by none other than his former friend and partner, Nicholas Ridicule. Mr Ridicule unsuccessfully attempted to crucify and burn her. Quite how she got out of there alive is anyone's guess. A Swedish chap from Malmo...

Duke Reginald: Beautiful city...

Lord Blackwing: ...indeed. A Swedish man from Malmo, named Gunther, apparently protected her with his moustache.

Sir Ian: Extraordinary.

Lord Blackwing: I am led to believe that Mr Macdonald feels understandably aggrieved that his attempts to fight for a country that, by all rights, he should want nothing to do with, are met with such wanton disrespect. I imagine that he could rather easily be convinced that an uprising against the ignorant American pigs could be beneficial to all concerned.

William Darlington: And if he says no?

Lord Blackwing: William, I have been proffesionally trained by Her Majesty's Diplomatic Corps. People do not say no to me. I can be very persuasive

Duke Reginald: Well you got me to leave England to come out to this godforesaken country, so your silver tongued reputation is not unjustified.

There is a small ripple of polite laughter.

Lord Blackwing: Very droll, Reggie, very droll indeed.

Sir Ian: This plan to snare Macdonald is all very well, but what about the other two? Who are they?

Lord Blackwing: Page five. The other two men in charge are Corey Casey, a Bostonian, and Chuck Matthews, a native of Chicago.

Duke Reginald: Blasted Bostonian villain! The tea party shall be avenged!

Blackwing refills his scotch before continuing.

Lord Blackwing: Indeed it shall. Unfortunately, as both of these men are American, they can not be so easily swayed to our cause. In addition, it was these two gentlemen who formed the spearhead of the insurgency against Nicholas Ridicule. Mr Macdonald joined with them at a later date, some time after the uprising began. Despite having a long and storied rivalvry, not to mention a rather intense dislike of each other, these two seem to have placed aside their differences and formed something of a cabal, and could potentially work together in a voting bloc to get their ideas through.

Sir Ian: So how will we break this alliance? It seems that as long as they are together that we will be unable to change anything.

Lord Blackwing: Sir Ian, you are a keen student of history, are you not?

Sir Ian: Of course, father.

Lord Blackwing: Then you are familiar with how the balance of power operated in Europe in the 19th Century?

Sir Ian: Well, yes. If one European power got too big for its boots, some or all of the other major powers would defeat them in a war and restore the balance.

Blackwing sighs.

Lord Blackwing: Very simplistically put, but yes, that is essentially the way in which it operated. We cannot hope to wrest power from them as a group, but we can easily defeat one. Incapacitate him, that he is unable to cast a vote and requires a replacement, or else convince him that voting against us would be unwise.

William Darlington: Then whom do we target?

Lord Blackwing: It seems that the man Casey has no heart. He appears to be almost as evil and wicked as I. He claims to love the sister of Chuck Matthews, though I do not see how this is possible.

Sir Ian: So, we target the sister?

Lord Blackwing: No, she has connections to both men. We only need one. Trying to take on both would be akin to Hitler's decision to declare war on the Soviet Union in 1942 whilst continuing to fight in the West and Africa. A foolish overstretching of resources. Even with Brandon Macdonald on our side we will be but five, and I doubt that even my body will allow me to compete for very long at the top level.

Sir Ian: So then what do we do?

Lord Blackwing: I do not believe it is possible to hurt Corey Casey without also doing so to Chuck Matthews. However, Chuck Matthews was recently shot, and is in a diminished physical state, so should the attack route present itself, it will be a viable option. In addition, I believe we could target his brother, an active competitor. Finally, Chuck is the guardian of a young boy named Zachary. Kidnapping him might be our best chance. This, however, is phase two of the operation. First we must recruit Brandon Macdonald. Are we all agreed?

Sir Ian: Indubitably.

Duke Reginald: Hear, hear.

William Darlington: Without question.

Lord Blackwing: Wonderful. The final page of each of your dossiers contains individual instructions for each of you to carry out in order to futher this plan. We shall reconvene here at noon on Friday. Before we know it I shall be the leader of that pustulant place, and then we shall ring the changes.

Duke Reginald: Do not forget, my lord, that power courrpts.

William Darlington: And absolute power corrupts absolutely.

A wicked smile plays across the face of Lord Blackwing.

Lord Blackwing: Very wise words, for two so young, but you are forgetting, gentlemen, that it is impossible to corrupt further, that which is already corrupted...