White Rabbit- The First Sighting- Part Two

Matthews Tower
Chicago, Illinois
April 10th
2011

I look around the inside of the elevator, noticing the clean and shiny new steel plates. I never got why companies felt like it was such a big deal to have the inside of an elevator look shiny and new. Yeah, some places had wood on the inside of elevators…but for some reason, the high end companies always had steel or shiny silver walls or some such nonsense inside their elevators. Maybe they were going for a NASA space age kinda thing…

“Remember when you saw HIM in those walls?”

The question caught me off guard. I shake my head, trying to rid myself of the question

Corey Casey
There is no way that this is happening…again…

I shut my eyes tightly and rub them with my palms. I open my eyes and look at my reflection in the shiny steel walls. There were medium sized bags under my eyes and my pupils were a little blood shot. It had been hard trying to deal with the stress of this whole shit with The Insurgency, starting a new wrestling promotion, being a main eventer of said promotion, and making sure that I spent enough time at home to support a pregnant wife who was due to give birth within the next month…to twins no less. I hadn’t really been sleeping well recently…maybe that was it…

Corey Casey
I’m probably just over tired

I wait for some snappy response, some smart ass comment whispered from the back of my mind. After waiting in silence for a few moments, a small smile appears on my face. I breathe a sigh of relief.

Corey Casey
Just a one-time thing

Before I can dwell on the subject much longer, the elevator emits a loud “ding” and the doors slide open. I crack my neck and roll my shoulders a bit in an attempt to loosen up and relax. Dealing with Chuck required a certain level of mental and emotional control that I knew I had to mentally prepare for beforehand.

I walk out of the elevator and over to Chuck’s secretary’s desk. The small smile on my face spreads slowly as I realize that Chuck’s former secretary, Penelope Palmer, was no longer occupying her normal spot behind the receptionist’s desk. Instead, there was a blonde haired skinny woman with brown eyes answering telephone calls and dealing with e-mails. At first, Chuck’s secretary doesn’t even notice that I am standing in front of her desk. Instead, she is focused on dealing with a phone call and typing away on the computer in front of her

Secretary
Yes, this is Chuck Matthews’ personal secretary….i am looking at the files from HR right now…no…no I don’t see the requisite claim here…

I try to contain my laughter as I lean on the desk and stare directly at the secretary. She was definitely cute…then again, she was the personal secretary of Chuck “The Sex Icon” Matthews…so she was expected to be cute. Chuck had told me that I was supposed to get my own private secretary when I started this job. When I had told Jess that news Jess had instantly launched off into this nightmare situation where I would turn into Chuck and start fucking my secretaries and leave her alone in the cold cruel world to raise two children on her own. It had taken literally hours to calm her down after that one.

I clear my throat and smile warmly at the secretary

Corey Casey
Ahem

The secretary still doesn’t really notice me. I mean, it was clear that she knew that someone was leaning on the desk in front of her…she would have to be blind not to notice something like that. Instead of recognizing me though, she simply held up one finger, indicating that I should wait a moment until she was done with whatever conversation she was having with the apparently pissed off person on the other end of the phone call.

Secretary
Yes…yes, I will have Mr. Matthews take a look at those files and send them right along…yes…ok…have a nice day

The secretary finally hangs up the phone and then turns and looks up at me. She smiles at me…but it’s clearly evident that she is stressed out. The exasperated look on her face combined with her clearly flustered demeanor takes me chuckle. I knew exactly how she felt at the moment…only I bet she wasn’t hearing voices…

Corey Casey
Rough day at the office?

The secretary sighs and tucks a long strand of blonde hair behind her right ear. She was indeed very beautiful…

Secretary
Ugh…you have no idea

I restrain myself from rattling off everything that I had on my plate and then quoting Jason Hawk by saying “Beat That!” Instead, I shrug my shoulders and hold out my hand

Corey Casey
I can only imagine…I’m Corey Casey by the way…I’m the new head of ME Security

The secretary immediately jumps to her feet and a concerned look appears on her face as she takes my hand and shakes it

Secretary
Oh, Mr. Casey I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to keep you waiting! I’m Heidi…Heidi Beckett. Today is only my 3rd day and I didn’t recognize you and I’m still trying to…

I can’t hold it back anymore…I just start laughing. The poor girl was clearly at her wit’s end trying to handle all the phone calls and e-mails that a CEO of a major entertainment company like Chuck gets every single day. A confused look appears on Heidi’s face as I continue laughing

Heidi Beckett
Is there…something funny Mr. Casey?

I wipe a tear from my eye, a result of laughing too hard at this poor girl’s misfortune and overall demeanor

Corey Casey
I’m sorry…I didn’t mean to laugh at your current predicament. It’s just that you need to relax…I’m not going to like, freak out and start screaming at you for not recognizing me on your 3rd day here

Heidi smiles and the muscles in her face slowly relax as relief floods through her system. I could almost hear exactly what she was thinking:

“Thank God…”

I release her hand and nod towards the large double doors that I knew would lead into Chuck’s office

Corey Casey
Is the boss man in?

Heidi nods her head

Heidi Beckett
Yeah he is…hold on. I will let him know you’re here

Heidi smiles at me one more time before sitting down in her chair again and picking up the telephone. She punches a button and, after a moment of silence, speaks into the phone

Heidi Beckett
Excuse me, Mr. Matthews…

I smirk as I hear Chuck’s voice from the other end of the line

Chuck Matthews
I’ve told you Heidi…just call me Chuck

Heidi Beckett
Of course…Chuck…there is a Mr. Casey here to see you

Chuck Matthews
Please inform Mr. Casey that he is a douchebag

I laugh softly as I lean over the desk and scream at the phone

Corey Casey
You have 30 seconds to put your cock away and send Carmine out through the window

I can hear the annoyance in Chuck’s voice as Heidi holds the phone away from her ear

Chuck Matthews
THAT’S NOT FUCKING FUNNY!

I take the phone from Heidi’s hand and place it gently on the receiver. She looks at me questioningly

Heidi Beckett
What was that all about?

I smirk at her as I turn and walk towards the large double doors

Corey Casey
Chuck and I have known each other for far too long…

I reach out and push my way through one of the double doors and walk into Chuck’s office. I look around the office, noticing the subtle differences and things that had changed since the last time I had been sitting in this office. The last time I had set foot in this office had been to plan the attack on the Salvation Conversion Camps. It had been during the attack on the camps that Chuck had liberated his sister from a dark and dank cell in the heart of one of the Salvation Conversion camps…

It was a little strange to think that, had it not been for Chuck freeing Jess from that cell and then Chuck introducing me to Jess, my children wouldn’t exist and I wouldn’t be marrying Jess. In a way, I felt like I almost owed Chuck a sincere thank you…

Chuck looks up from his desk and shakes his head. A smirk appears on his face as he looks at me

Chuck Matthews
:Chuck: Hey asshole…how many times do I have to tell you…don’t bring that shit up in front of my secretaries!

Then again…maybe I didn’t owe good ole Chuckles a sincere thank you

Corey Casey
Haha…nice to see you too Chuck

I walk across the room and over to a set of black leather chairs that sit in front of Chuck’s desk. I always felt so damn awkward being in this office…mostly because of the furniture set up. I mean, the guy had other chairs in his office and he even had a leather couch. But lord knows what Chuck Matthews did in his office on that couch…the thing probably had more genetic material on it than a frat boy’s bed sheets. Which meant that I had to sit in one of the two chairs right in front of Chuck’s desk…which made me feel like a little kid who just got called down to the principal’s office.

Corey Casey
Speaking of your secretary…she’s cute

Chuck rolls his eyes and leans back in his chair

Chuck Matthews
Yeah she’s cute…but she can’t handle the work load of…

I hold up my hand, motioning for Chuck to just stop talking

Corey Casey
Dude…if this turns into a sex joke…

Chuck smirks slightly. It was funny, Chuck was one of those people who only needed to give you one or two facial expressions to let you know EXACTLY what he was thinking. But still…that little fact didn’t stop him from launching into a full on explanation of whatever it was that happened to be running through his mind at that particular moment. He was like a bad guy in one of the old school Batman or Spider Man cartoons. The bad guy would capture Batman or Spider Man and tie the hero up…and then the hero would demand to know what the bad guy’s evil plan was…and then the bad guy would acquiesce and launch into a 20 minute, extremely detailed explanation that included not only what his plan was but how it could be easily stopped.

Chuck Matthews
Well, I wasn’t going to turn it into a sex joke, but since you’ve set me up oh so nicely for one…

I chuckle and flip Chuck off. It was weird…the two of us had hated each other for almost all of my professional career and a hefty majority of Chuck’s career…and yet, here we were, laughing and joking like two old friends. It was all because I managed to finally banish the darker side of me...

Corey Casey
So, what’s the story here boss?

Chuck Matthews
What do you mean?

I take out my ME Chief of Security ID and hold it up so Chuck can see it

Corey Casey
I mean, what does this little badge get me?

Chuck reaches out and shuffles through some manila folders that were currently cluttering his desk. After a moment of searching he grabs two folders and sets them down in front of me

Chuck Matthews
Here’s the deal…

I grab a random folder and open it up. Inside are a number of sheets of paper consisting of written rules and obligations that I was required to follow as a member of ME Security, blah blah blah. I sigh and roll my eyes

Corey Casey
Great….rules…

Chuck Matthews
Yeah…you definitely picked the wrong folder as far as “fun” material goes. Inside that folder you will find the ME Code of Ethics and Morals…

I smirk slightly

Corey Casey
All of which don’t apply to the CEO I’m assuming?

Chuck Matthews
You’re just a riot today aren’t you?

I immediately close the folder and push it back towards Chuck

Corey Casey
You can keep that one

Chuck slides it back towards me

Chuck Matthews
Keep it…you never know when you might run out of toilet paper and find yourself stranded with nothing nearby but this folder

I chuckle at the joke and set the folder aside. I then reach out and grab the second folder and open it up

Corey Casey
What have we here?

Inside the folder were a number of profiles along with pictures and backgrounds. I begin to rifle through the profile, skimming the names and military history of each of the men profiled

Chuck Matthews
Now that’s the fun folder. Enclosed, you will find the profiles and backgrounds of fifteen of the world’s best and brightest military experts. These guys are the cream of the crop when it comes to military maneuvers and tactics. They are members of SEAL Team 6. British SAS, Israeli Mossad, etc.

Chuck smiles at me as his eyes dart down to the folder open in front of me. I can see the mischief brewing in his eyes as his gaze darts from the profiles up to me and back again. This was going to be good…

Chuck Matthews
Casey…how would you like to travel the world?

It was easy to determine exactly what Chuck was thinking. As soon as he told me what the folder contained I was 99.99% sure I knew where Chuck was going with this

Corey Casey
I’d love to…but my pregnant wife isn’t in a condition to travel at the moment

Chuck laughs softly

Chuck Matthews
You leave Jess to me. I want you to pick nine of the guys in that folder and recruit them for ME to be members of the new and improved ME Security Force

I nod my head

Corey Casey
Sounds good

Chuck’s clever smile widens slightly…thee was obviously a catch to be had here…

Corey Casey
Alright…what’s the catch?

Chuck Matthews
The catch is…the respective governments these men represent aren’t aware that I am sending someone over to recruit for ME…which means you might need to do a bit of…convincing…

I sigh. There was always a catch when it came to working for Chuck Matthews. Some little extra add on he didn’t tell you about or that you didn’t find out about until you were already half way across the ocean. Hey…at least this time he had the good sense to tell me what the catch was instead of just letting me figure it out for myself.

Corey Casey
I will see what I can do

I grab both manila folders and stand up. I turn around and begin walking towards the double doors leading out of Chuck’s office when, suddenly, Chuck’s voice calls out from behind me

Chuck Matthews
Corey…there is one other thing I should mention…

I could hear the stress and tension in his voice. Clearly Chuck was nervous or unsure about telling me whatever it was that he was about to say next. I turn around slowly and stare at Chuck skeptically

Corey Casey
I’m listening…

Chuck’s face contorts slightly as an unsure look appears on his face. I had never really seen Chuck this indecisive…this unsure about a decision…ever.

I should’ve known that there was no way in hell that this was going to end well for me

Chuck Matthews
Fuck it…I don’t know how to say this without pissing you off…so I’m just going to say it

Chuck takes a deep breath and exhales slowly

Chuck Matthews
I hired Nick Ridicule

Nick Ridicule

The name hit me like a ton of bricks. Just the mere mentioning of his name caused a tempest of hatred and rage to suddenly begin roaring inside of me. But Chuck wasn’t done yet…

Chuck Matthews
I also hired Nick’s personal ring announcer…Tommy Cornell…and Nick’s manager…Brenton Cyrus

I had to stop myself from sprinting across the office, leaping over the desk, and strangling the life out of Chuck’s miserable, backstabbing body. I just stare at Chuck coldly, trying desperately to keep the seemingly bottomless well of hatred and anger from rushing out of me and consuming me whole. I hadn’t felt anger…pure, unadulterated, poisonous anger…like this in a long long time…since the days when HE controlled me. Since the days when HE and I were one. Chuck tries to smile reassuringly

Chuck Matthews
Corey…don’t look at me like that man. Nick and BC and Tommy…they are good for the industry…they are good for business. They put asses in the seat man. Not only that…but Nick isn’t in power anymore. So that means he can’t pull the same shit he did in NLWF. This is a win-win situation for everyone man

I whisper to myself

“Just keep breathing…control your anger…control the hatred…”

I begin breathing heavily, in through my nose and out through my mouth, in a desperate attempt to calm the monster that I could feel stirring deep within me

“Calm down…don’t awaken HIM…”

I sneer at Chuck and resist the urge to spit at him

Corey Casey
I have to go

Before Chuck can say anything I turn and storm out of his office. I reach out and grab both sets of double doors and throw them open as hard as I can. The double doors crash into the walls outside of Chuck’s office like a gunshot. I knew for sure that one, if not both of them, must’ve collided with the wall so damn hard that it put a hole in the wall and fell off its hinges.

But I didn’t care. Chuck Matthews had stabbed me in the back…again. That treacherous swine had done what he always did…created something good and then perverted it, twisted his creation to fit his own selfish goals. I ignore Heidi’s terrified whimper and walk towards the stairwell. I couldn’t stay caged up in an elevator right now. I needed to walk…I needed to work off some of this anger and try to control myself.

I push my way through the door marked “stairwell” and begin jogging down the steps two at a time. Fucking Chuck! I should’ve seen this shit coming…I really should’ve. I contemplate calling Jess and venting some of this anger to her but I, as soon as I pull out my cell phone, I realize that I have no service in this shitty stairwell

Corey Casey
Smooth move Corey

I continue jogging down the stairs two at a time. Chuck…what an ass hole. That fucking backstabber…that fucking betrayer…he betrayed me…he betrayed IWF…he betrayed the fans like Judas betrayed The Lo…

Before I can finish my thought I suddenly stop on a landing. I stare down the short flight of stairs at a small white object that was sitting on the next landing. The small white thing was calmly just sitting there, staring at me. After a moment of staring at the white object, I finally realize what it is…

Corey Casey
What the hell…is that a…a…rabbit?

I slowly walk down the stairs toward the rabbit. It made no sense. Why the hell would a small, white rabbit be sitting, all alone, on a stairwell in the middle of Matthews Tower? As far as I knew there were no research facilities located in this particular tower…so there wouldn’t have been any chance that a random test rabbit had escaped from one of the labs. But sure enough…here was this medium sized white rabbit, staring me in the face.

As I begin to creep closer to the rabbit, I can see that this was no ordinary rabbit. There were two things that separated this white rabbit from every other rabbit I had ever seen.

The fur around his paws was pinkish red
And his eyes were, except for a few bloodshot lines, completely white

I climb another step down the stairs towards the rabbit. Suddenly, the rabbit takes off, hopping unusually fast for a rabbit his size

Corey Casey
Wait…come back

I begin the chase the white rabbit all the way down the winding staircase. I can feel my heart pounding in my chest and I feel myself breathing heavily and sweating profusely from all the effort I was exerting. But I had to catch that rabbit…something inside of me kept pulling me towards that rabbit. Something inside of me kept whispering

“Come on…just run a little bit faster. You almost have him…just a little bit faster…”

I smirk as I notice that the rabbit and I were nearing the bottom of the stairs. I leap down the last flight of stairs, making sure to steady myself by holding onto the railing as I jumped down the last flight of steps at the bottom of the massive staircase.

Corey Casey
Gotcha!

The white rabbit doesn’t even flinch or slow down. Instead, he pauses briefly at the door at the bottom of the stairs, and looks up at me. Then, suddenly, the door opens and the rabbit quickly bolts through the open door as a random person walks through the door and into the staircase. The random guy doesn’t seem to notice the white rabbit that bolts out of the stairwell and right in between his legs. Instead, the guy just sees me, covered in sweat and breathing heavily as I leap through the air in an attempt to catch the white rabbit

Random guy
What the hell?

I manage to stop myself before I collide with the random guy. The guy holds out his arms, dropping his arm load of papers and folders in an attempt to stop me from colliding with him

Random guy
Hey man take it easy…

I don’t even bothering slowing down or stopping to help the guy pick up his shit. The pulling sensation I felt inside of me was growing stronger with each heartbeat. All I knew was that I had to catch that white rabbit

Corey Casey
Sorry!

I bolt past the guy and run through the lobby. I quickly sprint through the lobby ignoring the irritated and surprised calls from the crowds of people I was shoving my way through. All I knew was that I had to catch that rascally rabbit…

I suddenly burst through the front doors of the lobby and a smirk appears on my face. I stop running for a moment and bend over, breathing heavily and laughing. I shake my head and run my fingers through my hair

Corey Casey
“Rascally rabbit?” Who am i…Elmer Fudd?

A familiar voice suddenly calls out from the sidewalk below

Driver
Are you alright sir?

I pull myself up from my bent over position and my eyes dart this way and that, searching for any sign of the white rabbit…but he was gone. I shrug my shoulders and, surprisingly, a feel of happiness washes over me

Corey Casey
I’ll get you wabbit

My limo driver shrugs his shoulders and opens the back door of the limo. I straighten my jacket and calmly walk down the stairs and climb into my limo…

I knew that this wasn’t going to be the last time that I would see that white rabbit…

TO BE CONTINUED…

+
+
+The Match+
+
+
+A druggy and a black guy walk into a bar…+
+
+

Well…the joke appears to be growing rather thin at the moment. I mean, what else can you say about a drugged out disgrace and a stereotypical black guy? Oh, except for the fact that neither speak coherent English and both seem to be homosexual. Now, the reason why I saw that both James Shark and Brandon Macdonald are gay is because both of these men continuously use the term “butthurt.”

Show of hands, who else besides gay men and Alison Williams know what the term “butthurt” means?

Exactly. Normal sane people don’t even know what the fuck you two are talking about “dawgs.” Maybe I speak like an uneducated INGRATE, you two will be able to understand what the hell I am saying. Yes Brandon, congratulations…you “beat” me at Bloody Sunday. And by “beat me” I mean “you got extremely lucky that your cracked out, malnourished ass was able to pick me up at all.” Never mind the fact that you also didn’t Purify me and, instead, hit some sort of an abortion of a move that the seemingly doped up ref counted as a Purifier…

I’m getting off topic here

Brandon, the way I see it is like this: We each have one victory a piece. I beat you (convincingly I might add) at Demolition Day…you beat* me at Bloody Sunday…which means that the fans are owed a rubber match.

*= well…I’ve already been over your “victory” at Bloody Sunday now haven’t i?

It means that I am owed a rubber match. You had better fucking believe that I will be getting that rubber match Brandon. You can count on that. Just like we can count on you to continue to make an ass out of yourself as you continue to do your best Charlie Sheen impression. The only difference between Brandon Macdonald and Charlie Sheen is that Charlie Sheen is still “WINNING” while Brandon Macdonald is just continuing to make an ass out of himself and, by association, IWF.

Brandon, you’re a fucking disgrace to this company…hell…you are a disgrace to this INDUSTRY. Your personal life is your personal life Brandon…you’re right. What you choose to do in the shady back alleyways and crack houses in The Bronx with your little DMX wanna be friend James Shark is none of my business. But see, it becomes my business when you show up to IWF’S live events high as a kite…it becomes my business when you are chopping up lines of coke and blowing them off of Anna’s ass in the middle of a public restroom…it becomes my business when YOU’RE STATE OF MIND INTERFERES WITH IWF’S GOOD NAME!

YOU FUCKING HEARING ME YET?!

Yes Brandon…you can relate to the unwashed masses…you can relate to the mindless sheep that hate their lives so bad that they turn to drugs or alcohol to escape the horrible tragedy that has become their lives. I am glad that you are pandering to the key demographic of unemployed drug addicts and high school drop outs who suck dick for coke. You know, IWF needs more people like you Brandon. More wrestlers who can identify with the drug abusing fans who mindlessly pump their bodies full of more chemicals than a port a potty.

You are just a shining beacon of hope and righteousness aren’t you Brandon? Thank god that IWF has you…

You make me sick

Let’s move on shall we? Let’s discuss the token black man in this match…hell, not just in this match…James Shark is the token black man of this entire industry. You know Sharky, each and every week you come out here and your run your mouth to the point where you aren’t even using coherent English words anymore dude. Instead, you just decide to start saying unintelligible things and hope that the audience decides that “OH BRRRAAPPP BRAAAAP! JAMES MO’EFFIN SHARK JUST SCOOBADEDOOBAHED THAT MO’FUCKAH! DUNKO CHHYYOOOOO!”

Between you and Brandon you guys are attracting every single fan that IWF DOESN’T want. Brandon is making sure to attract the unwashed addicts of the world…while James Shark is making sure to attract illiterate and the brain dead. Seriously, the fans you guys must bring in probably have to be shipped out of the gutters in short busses. Sharky, I got no personal problems with you. As big of a moron as you are, you honestly aren’t that bad of a performer. But let’s get one thing straight here…

YOU
ARE
WAY
OUT
OF
YOUR
FUCKING
LEAGUE

You and Brandon are about to be beaten to a bloody pulp by “Destiny’s Chosen One” Corey Casey and the future of this business…the man who will, with my guidance, become a future IWF Champion…Vincent Van Rose. You can’t stop your impending doom gentlemen…just like…

YOU
CAN’T
STOP
FATE!