Ashes to Ashes

.... It's not every day that you turn on your bedside lamp and see yourself staring back at you. Well, in this case, a guy I used to be. Just minutes ago, I had flicked my lamp on to see who would be talking to me standing over my bed to find Christian Coldwater staring back at me. Christian is the alias I used as a part of the elitle armed forces squad Unit 8. Unit 8 was a top secret squad put together for missions no one else had the balls to take care of. I, as Christian, was commissioned to be the sniper/assassin for this little group and I went by the code name Ghost. Funny enough Ghost and Coldwater are just a file now in my office back in Raccoon Hollow. I dropped that background when Eagle's Nest sent us into the wind and adopted the name Vincent Van Rose and started the life I have now. Christian cleared his throat, bringing me back to the here and now....

Vinnie: Well, well, look what the cat dragged in....If it ain't my boy Christian. What brings ya into my less than stellar digs. Did I mention the door was locked....

Christian: It's like this Vinnie, Corey expects a lot of you in this new role in ME Security and I don't think you have the cajones to pull it off alone. I will make ya a deal....

Vinnie: Now just hold your britches there a minute son, you are nothing but a file folder back home in the Holler...I left you behind when I locked that drawer. The family i had and everything that went with ya are gone....

Christian: I am a part of you Vin, I am not here sittin in this chair per se. I am up here....

...He put his boots up on the table and leaned back pointing to his head...

Vinnie: So you are trying to tell me you will share head space with me and help me along with Casey and his big plans if I do something for you.....

Christian: There ya go, you finally get what I am puttin down....I need ya to go check on Abbey and Justin for me. I know you miss em deep down. Hell you still got that picture in your billfold of the last time you all got to spend time together before I was "killed".

...He was right I still carried a picture of Abbey and Justin when Justin was about two....That would make him like 14 now....

Vinnie: So what is it you want me to do and what do I get out of it??

Christian: I want you to do some recon, basically. Just scope 'em out and make sure they are doing all right. I will leave their address right here on this pad. Tommorrow, just head over there and check up on 'em. They don't even have to know you were there. It has just been killing me I missed my boy grow up....

I knew how he felt, I think deep down I always wondered what kind of man Justin was turning into without me around. What was Abbey doing?? Were they happy???

Christian: If you do that for me I will turn on, so to speak your ruthless side. For you to succeed at ME and in the IWF you need to be the dirtiest most vile dude there is and right now you are far from it, but if you let your inner Coldwater out to play all these fuckers will respect you, hell most of them will piss themselves when you walk by. The Lord may be the most evil guy in the halls of IWF, but his lutenient will be damn close if you let me come out to play...So what do you say....

...Christian had a point....When he was in charge I was a ruthless, heartless killing machine that could do down right evil things just to reach a goal. I needed that back again if I was ever gonna beat the likes of Shark, Hawk, and Brandon. Isolation showed me that the best Vinnie had to offer would come up short every time. Christian would give me that edge that I was sorely missing....I reached out my hand and Christian took it a firm grip...

Vinnie: You got a deal son, but why is it I feel like I am signing my soul over to Satan....

Christian: you never can tell Vin.....

...With a start I woke up with the sun streaming through the cheap hotel curtains....Damn I thought that shit was real. That is the last time I ever mix pain killers, street tacos and Maker's. All of the sudden I was slapped sideways by a voice in my head....

"That was as real as it gets Vin, now let me ease on in here....I am running things from now on...."

I shook my head trying to clear the cobwebs, everything went blurry for a second as I felt pushed to the background....My shared body walked over to the table picked up the notepad, with the address of a local neighborhood on it, that in all reality should not be there, and then we both, in one body, hopped into my Camaro and took off....Christian looked into the rearview with my eyes and began talking to me inside "our" head....

"This is what you agreed to Vin, I take over for awhile, get done what needs to be done, and then maybe I will fade into the background and let you reap the rewards....By the way you have gone a lil soft bro, I kept this body a temple..."

Vinnie: Well, I treated it more like an amusement park, I didn't think you would be back to claim it any time soon....

I could feel my body getting harder, more muscled, taller even and my eyes were slowly changing color, lightening up a bit....WHOA!!

"It's part of me taking over, the change makes this body as close to what it was when I had it as I can get. I suggest keeping this way, those cigars and Maker's will kill ya someday pal..."

... We pulled up near a school playground where a bunch of kids were playing a pick up game of basketball. I would peg the tallest white guy for Justin, he looked a lot like I did at that age....Tall and gangly...Christian just sat watching the boys play a smile growing across "our" lips.....

"He is pretty good, alot better than I was at that age....He has way more patience than "we" did huh?

....I had to agree, but before I could voice my opinion blue and red lights flashed through the back window.... A uniformed police officer tapped lightly on the window, startling me....

"Howdy, officer, what can I do for ya this fine evening...."

Officer: Sir, you are gonna have to step out of the car and come with me down to the station, we have gotten a few reports that you are watching these boys, and we don't tolerate pedos in these parts....

" Pedos?? Oh I get it you think I am wanting to do bad things to....No that ain't what I am here fro at all. Ya see that tall white guy over there is my boy, and I haven't seen him in over ten years....I was just checking in on him...."

Officer: And my name is Barney Fife....Get out of the car bucko....

...I was roughly put in the back of a police car through loud, obnoxious protest...But to no avail. We made it down tot he station lickety split where I ws put into an interrigation room and grilled for twenty minutes by a stereotypical detective, complete with two day scruff and tobacco stained teeth. Damn, now I can understand why Christian wants me to quit....

Detective: So let me get this straight, you used to be married to that kid's mom but because you were in an elite Armed Forces Squad, you had to fake your death and take up a new identity....And ten plus years later you just pop in to do surviellance on your old lady and kid. Who by the way are living a pretty good life without ya....

"So you finally believe me after almost a half hour of repeating myself...."

...Damn Christian can be sarcastic....

Detective: ....yeah buddy and monkeys will fly out of my ass any second....We got the kids mom on the horn and she should be down any minute, that should sort this out huh???

"What you do on your own time with monkeys ain't my business detective. I am sure Abbey will clear all this up"

....One problem, I look like Vinnie Van Rose....Christian was over 7 ft and over 300 lbs and oh did I forget to mention, a long haired blonde. We were so screwed.....I looked up from hanging my head in desperation and there was Abbey as beautiful as always....She would know who it was through the new face, I just knew it....She stormed into the room, walked right up to me and....

SLAP!!!

TO BE CONTINUED IN ....Dust To Dust....


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It's time to induct one hell of a man into the IWF Hall of Fame. Congrats to ya Death Angel my man, you deserve it all. That being said there is also this little match that night between me and IWF's resident leprechuan Sean O'Rourke. Much like the lil guys he reminds us of he scampers around, getting into all sorts of shit and not making very much sense at all....How he gets a shot to be number one contender to Connor's High Impact Title I don't know. If any one else does, please drop me a line....

Anywho, I have this huge match with Sean for a shot at a Title I kinda belittled before Iso. It has not been defended as regularly as the Full Throttle Title and therefore isn't as "special" in my eyes. That being said when Connor and I go at it for the strap it will finally get the recognition it deserves. I was screwed out of the Full Throttle Title at Isolation because of some lil fairy Hawkman bullshit, I won't let another flipping high flyin, worm dancing fairy take what is mine EVER AGAIN!!! This is putting you on notice O'Rourke, The Insurgency is dead my friend and Lord Casey and the CHOSEN have risen from it's ashes....You and I have no ties anymore and the results of our last meeting will be no where near the annhilation you experience this week. I plan on ripping off your head and shitting down your neck. In a way I feel sorry for you, I am going to break you in half just to show the boys in the back Vinnie ain't fucking around no more! YOU HEAR ME BOYS!!! THIS IS YOUR FINAL NOTICE.....THE SOUTHERN SLEDGEHAMMER IS HERE FOR GOOD!!!