Back in the Saddle

“How are you feeling, Charlie?”

Chuck stretches himself out, rolling his shoulders and arching his back. He glances over his shoulder, at the hospital behind him, and smirks.

“Never better.”

Jessica hugs him tight.

“It’s good to have you back.”

Chuck smiles at Jess, patting her gently on the back.

“Good to be back.”

For the better part of the last couple months, Chuck had been recovering in the hospital. He had been shot, an assassination attempt as he gave a speech as his company’s expo, back in December. It was a long, winding story, one that had not only nearly killed my brother, but myself as well, and had almost resulted in the kidnapping of my sister and nephew.

It was all thanks to The Insurgency. It was a terrorist organization, one that operated in the United States. They fought to bring the government into some new era, where the power was held by the many, instead of the wealthy. I didn’t realize they were behind it until that fateful day in December. The police had learned of the Insurgency’s involvement, and the case fell under federal jurisdiction. On my way to speak with federal agent Clifton, my bike was sabotaged, the brake cord broken, and I was pitched head-first down a hill towards the frozen Fox River. That day, I would later learn, marked the Insurgency’s next phase of the plan. With Chuck incapacitated and me presumably dead, they moved in to kidnap Jessica and Zack. I had managed to get home in time to save them, dispatching the four would-be kidnappers…right as the police conveniently arrived. Their investigation revealed that the Insurgency was, in fact, involved. Fortunately, they had a guy on the inside. I met with him to discuss further action.

It was with this informer that I learned what was really going on. The Insurgency had been offered a million dollars to take out the Matthews family. That wasn’t the frightening part. The thing that scared me the most? That slip of paper found in one of the Insurgent’s offices, telling about the successful money transfer….from Matthews Enterprises.

Someone working for ME had ordered a hit on Chuck Matthews.

And so began my investigation. I questioned anyone who I thought could be a suspect, only to get absolutely nowhere…that is, until that day in the hospital, when we finally spoke to Chuck about what was going on…

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Room 616, DuPage Hospital
Chicago, Illinois
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
3:27 PM

I slowly open the door, slowly poking my head inside. Charlie lays in his bed, reading a magazine. He glances up when the door opens.

“You can come in.”

I open the door fully, stepping in, Jessica close behind.

“Well I’ll be damned, my family hasn’t forgotten about me after all!”

“Oh, shut up.”

Jessica smiles at Charlie, who smirks.

“How are you guys?”

“Not too bad, Chuck, you?”

Charlie shrugs, patting the machine sitting at his bedside.

“Pretty good, actually. Recovering, slowly but surely.”

“No problems, yet?”

“Nope.”

“You’re feeling okay? Eating properly?”

“Jess, the hospital’s got its own doctors to watch after me, I don’t need another one.”

Jessica nods, and leans over the bed to hug Chuck.

“Sorry…I just don’t want to see anything happen.”

That was how Jessica was. She was a caregiver at heart. That’s why she had become a doctor, I think. She wanted to help as many people as she could, and for Charlie, she would drop everything. The two were close, that was for sure.

“Little too late now, Jessie. All we can do is wait and see what happens.”

Jessica smiles weakly, running her hand across the massive machine, pumping air in and out of Charlie’s lungs. There’s a long silence in the room.

“Charlie, we need to talk.”

Chuck looks at me, raising his eyebrow.

“What’s on your mind?”

“Did you hire a hit on yourself?”

I bury my face in my hand. Of all the things that I didn’t want her to say, and she had said it. I knew Charlie fairly well by now. He was a brilliant young man, smarter than anyone I had ever met…but I knew how his mind worked. He once had a gimmick as “NLWF’s Riddler.” That wasn’t an act. He enjoyed puzzling people, making them work to get the answer. By asking him flat out if he had done it, it almost guaranteed he wouldn’t give a straight answer. It would now take that much more poking and prying to get him to reveal the truth.

“What are you talking about?”

I took a deep breath. Here we go…

“Look, Chuck…we found your bank statement.”

“Alright, and?”

“You withdrew almost six thousand dollars from your account.”

“Yeah, to finish paying off my life insurance.”

“And you funneled a million into a private account?”

“Fuck.”

“Charlie…”

Jessica stares at Chuck, but closes her mouth, shaking her head.

“What are you guys trying to say?”

“Chuck, we know someone put a million dollar bounty on your head.”

Chuck smirks.

“Only a million? I figured I’d be worth at least two or three.”

“This isn’t a joke, Charlie!”

Jessica seemed to have regained her confidence, and stared at Chuck. It was clear she was fighting back tears. Jessica truly believed Chuck had done this, and she wasn’t going to give up until he had confessed.

“Jess, I don’t see what the problem is. I’m here, I’m safe, and I’m recovering.”

“Charlie, Jessica and Zack were nearly kidnapped, and my bike was sabotaged. All by the same guys that shot you. All because someone paid for them to do it.”

Chuck looks from me to Jessica, and back.

“You guys honestly thought I did this?”

“The evidence is certainly speaking volumes.”

“What evidence?”

“We know if you die, Jessica gets eight million dollars.”

Chuck turns slightly red.

“Big deal, is it a crime to support my sister in the event of my death?”

“We also know that you channeled a million to a private account.”

Chuck shakes his head.

“It’s a simple misunderstanding.”

“Start explaining.”

“It’s all part of my own personal project. I was hoping nobody would notice the money was gone until I replaced it, but I couldn’t just steal so much money from you two without anyone getting suspicious, you know? My plan was to get my pay checks and use those to repay the massive amount I had taken from ME. I’m sorry.”

“That doesn’t explain why you channeled a million of Matthews Enterprises’ funds to a private account.”

“Is this really such a big deal?”

“I’d like some answers, yes.”

Chuck frowns, looking at Jessica and me. Finally, he shakes his head.

“Alright, you win. I needed the money to buy something. Not to try and get us all killed.”

I stare at Charlie for a moment.

“To buy something?”

Chuck nods.

“What could you possibly need to buy that costs so much money?”

Chuck sighs, turning her attention to Jessica.

“It’s a personal investment, alright? Don’t ask questions.”

“I‘m going to ask questions, because-”

“Jess…”

Jessica falls silent. It was clear that Charlie wasn’t going to tell us what he had done. But for the time being, it looked like he hadn’t used it to get himself killed…which was comforting, in a sense.

“So…”

“We’re back to square one.”

Chuck smirks.

“Maybe you should let the police handle it, Chris.”

Jessica and I look at him.

“You know he won’t do that.”

“They targeted all of us. And I don’t trust that Clifton guy. Something’s up with him.”

“You’re starting to sound like Jess.”

Jessica shoots Charlie an angry glare.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Means you’re crazy fucking paranoid, that’s what.”

Jessica opens her mouth to argue, but shuts it.

“Whatever.”

“I don’t get it.”

“What’s not to get? She’s got some thing going on in her head that makes her afraid of-”

“Not Jessica. This whole assassination thing. I can’t think of anyone who may have done it. I don’t know who possibly could have accessed your company’s bank accounts that would want you dead.”

“I think you’re focusing too much on the solution.”

I stare at Chuck. Typical Charlie. He always had that feeling about him, whenever you spoke to him. That little glint in his eyes. You could almost see the gears turning in his head, thinking up some brilliant idea or scheme of his. And then, that feeling he would give you. That nagging voice that told you he knew more than he was letting on. And here it was again. Did Chuck know something I didn’t? Was I missing something here that he had somehow already discovered?

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, you have all this evidence that points to one conclusion. Maybe it’s not the conclusion that’s wrong, maybe it’s the evidence.”

“You think maybe someone hacked the account or something?”

“Unlikely, but conceivable. There are a number of things that could be wrong.”

I slump back in my chair. I was so sure I had figured it all out. What was I missing? Where was that piece of the puzzle I didn’t have? Was it possible I had been on a wild goose chase all this time?

“I thought I had thought of everyone who might’ve done it. Talked to Handerson…I thought he was the guy. No alibi. He wanted your job-”

“He’s a total slime ball.”

I look slowly at Jess, who immediately turns a faint shade of red, and remains quiet.

“Talked to Penelope. Figured she had the motive, with you and her sister and all-”

“But we have no issues. No hard feelings between Miss Palmer and myself.”

“So I learned. Then there was Conrad, but he said he doesn’t have access to ME bank accounts-”

“What?”

I look at Chuck, who looks confused.

“What do you mean, what?”

“I mean what? He said he doesn’t have access?”

“Yeah.”

“He does. His contract doesn’t allow him access to them, but he was constantly asking me for funds for equipment for his security, so eventually I gave him a limited account. Let him withdraw as much as he needed, but cut him off at a certain point.”

“But he could have taken a million out and channeled it into a private account, and you would have no record of it?”

“It’s entirely possible, yeah. I mean, I’d get the statement saying it was withdrawn…but we spend so much money every month, I probably wouldn’t notice.”

I sit upright in my chair.

“What are you doing Chris?”

“We’re going to talk to Mr. Conrad.”

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And that was it. We busted into Conrad’s office later that day. Found him just getting out of the showers…and saw the lightning bolt tattoos across his back. He admit to being a member of the Insurgency’s family, codenamed Hunter, and that he had, in fact, paid to have the Matthews family murdered. He refused to explain his reasons…but he was arrested, and sentenced to death. Now, here we were. Chuck had fully recovered from two broken ribs, some muscle tearing, and a punctured lung. For the first time since December, we stood together, the three remaining Matthews children.

“What are the doctors saying?”

Chuck sighs.

“Wrestling career is shot.”

“No pun intended, right?”

Chuck laughs.

“I’m not sure what I’ll do, actually. ME stuff, most likely. Maybe do all those little things I never got around to doing, you know?”

“Please. What could you possibly want to do with your life that you haven’t already done?”

“Plenty. I’ve always wanted to try my hand at an acting career. Travel the world, maybe. Learn some sort of art or something. Maybe Ashley can teach me to draw. Who knows?”

I laugh. That was Charlie for you. My little brother was quite possibly the most restless young man I had ever met. He was in his mid-twenties now, four years younger than me, and one year younger than Jess…but he still had the heart of a child, and the energy to match.

Chuck was always sort of a…he was a bright kid. He had his problems, just like everyone else. As the baby of the family, he had…I guess that natural need for attention. He grew up the youngest of four. Between myself, Paul, and Jessica, I can’t say he was often the center of the spotlight. He left the house when he was 17, chasing some dream of his. Dad was very supportive. He usually was. Mom, not so much. The thought of her youngest son leaving so early frightened her, I think. I was long gone by then, stationed in Colorado. Jessica was preparing to head to California, where she was going to study to become a doctor. Paul was the only one still at home. But Charlie…he had dreams. He was always sort of the dreamer of the family. Brilliant kid…but often, we wondered if he had his head screwed on straight. Once he had something in his head, he wouldn’t let it go, no matter how devastating it could prove to be. It’s just how he functioned. He was going to make it big, he said. So, he left. Packed his bags and walked out. We didn’t hear from him again until a few years later. Sometimes, we had high hopes. Dreamt of one day seeing little Charlie walking up the driveway, pursued by paparazzi, reporters, the works, ready to show us what he had made of himself. Other times, it was frightening. We feared the worst. Maybe things never worked out. Maybe something happened to him. Maybe he was dying, out on the streets, struggling to survive. Then, finally, we saw him. He was on TV, competing for some wrestling promotion, making a name for himself.

I guess he did it after all.

These days, Charlie had it all. He was a retired wrestler. He was still young. He had the look of a movie star. Now, he was the CEO of his own company, which was getting bigger all the time.

Charlie and I always considered ourselves the brains of the family, though neither really had the credentials. Chuck was a high school dropout. He, like the rest of the Matthews kids, attended Prometheus Heights Academy, the private school in the town we grew up in. I had graduated from high school as one of six valedictorians. I was offered a place in almost any university of my choosing. I chose the military. I studied as an active member of the United States Marines for five years. When I was twenty-three, I was discharged, thanks to…actually, I’d rather not get into that.

So began my travels.

I suppose it was because of the Matthews Curse. The Matthews kids never really got on too well with their parents. Apparently, it ran in the family. Dad often told me how he never got along with his parents, and how his parents never got along with theirs either. Call it the Matthews curse, I suppose. We grew up in a caring environment, don‘t get me wrong. It was a pleasant place to grow up…it was just that things were constantly a competition. I don’t even think they meant to be. Dad had high expectations for all his kids. It’s just how he did things, I guess. So things were a constant battle. We needed to beat his expectations for us, just as he had to beat his father’s expectations for him. So while growing up in the Matthews household was all well and good…generally, we were all to happy to leave it behind.

I was the oldest of four. Well…pretty much. I was technically born first, ten minutes before my twin brother, Paul. Paul was the athlete. I suppose both of us were. Paul was the one who pursued it though. He had the natural build, and he got this thrill out of physical activity. I preferred pursuits of the mind. Paul received a football scholarship, and attended the University of Tennessee. He was a sophomore the year they won the championship. He graduated with a degree in business administration. He passed away almost five years ago.

Jessica was the next child, three years younger than Paul and me. She was…she had her issues. While Paul and I were charismatic and confident, Jessica was always on the shy side. She was extremely paranoid at times, the result of some traumatic experience that she refused to share with anyone. For years, she had trouble keeping a steady relationship, often only lasting a month at the most before her insecurities led her to leave, or frightened the would-be suitor away…that is, until she met Corey. I feel a bit honored that Corey Casey and my sister met at my nightclub. It’s a bit romantic, really. An interesting story to hear.

She attended school at UCLA, though on the weekends and over breaks, she worked as a flight attendant to make ends meet. It was there she met Brenton Cyrus…who would later kidnap her under false pretenses and almost have her killed. After that, she stayed with me in our hometown of Tennessee. That’s when she met Corey. It was an amusing relationship to say the least. The two were almost polar opposites. Jessica had always been very disturbed by violence. Wrestling, fighting…she hated it. Yet, here she was, dating the man who claimed to be the most violent man on the planet. I guess we all knew she’d fall for the bad boy type. And so she did. She was completely infatuated with him at first…and was depressed, thinking she was doomed to fuck it up. At the time, the thing that terrified her the most is that Corey would walk away from her, get fed up with her insecurities, her unwillingness to open up to others. The cruel part of it all was that she was aware of her own flaws, and felt incapable of changing them.

She changed for him.

I never realized it until she announced, only a few months later, that she was pregnant with Corey’s child…and the two were engaged to be married. It wasn’t until that moment that I truly realized just how much Jessica had changed. The girl I knew would have dated him for years, waited ages and ages, biding her time and slowly letting them in closer. For Corey, she had done it in a few months. And she seemed happy. Happier than I had ever seen her. How could I look down on that?

Finally…there was Charlie. The youngest of the Matthews children, four years my junior, one year younger than Jessie. Charlie was brash, he was arrogant, he was crude…and he was quick as a whip. Like Jessica, there was some event that I couldn’t quite trace. Some thing that had changed him drastically as years went on. As a child, Charlie was not so unlike Jessica. A bookworm, for lack of a better term. He was the runt of the litter. A skinny, timid young man who kept mostly to himself. Yet…he returned to us, almost seven years after he left the house. He was tall, muscular, and he had completely lost his shy nature n exchange for some newfound ego.

Yet, it seemed to fit him. It seemed natural to him, standing in front of a crowd, speaking to the masses, swaying them to see things his way. He had certainly made a name for himself.

“How are things at home?”

The sound of Charlie’s voice brings me out of my pleasant train of thoughts and childhood recollections, jerking me back into reality.

“Fine, mostly.”

“Mostly?”

“You know. Taking care of Zack, keeping the house in order, trying to train Roger not to dig out by the fence…same old, really.”

“How’s my buddy doing?”

Zack and Chuck got along great. Zack had never really known his real parents, since both had died when he was at a very early age. For a while, he shifted through the different members of the Matthews family, staying with them for a few months at a time before Jessica finally stepped forward and offered to take care of him herself. And so she did, acting as a single mother, attending the university and trying to make ends meet, all while taking care of young Zachary Matthews. I’ll never know how she managed it. But the kid had turned out alright. Of course, when Charlie returned home, and Zack met him for the first time…he was thrilled. Charlie was the stereotypical “easy parent” type. Zack was a big fan of his Uncle Chuck’s, and when both were home, Zack and Chuck could usually be found in the living room, playing video games together. Sometimes it didn’t seem like they were uncle and nephew. More like two old friends, playing games, laughing, making jokes, and having a good time.

So it didn’t surprise me that Zack took it particularly hard when Chuck was shot. It was surreal to him, I think. All that time, he had gotten to know his uncle, and seen him compete on TV, taking superhuman levels of punishment. Sometimes he won, sometimes he lost…but Zack knew Uncle Chuck would always come home smiling. A bit beat up maybe…but smiling nonetheless. When Chuck was shot though…it seemed to completely shake Zack to his core. He had suddenly come to that brutal realization that his uncle was only human, just like the rest of us. It was difficult for Zack to accept that it was possible Charlie might not be coming back. He might be gone…for good. Zack was devastated. That was when I came to realize just how important Charlie was to him. Though they were his aunt and uncle, Jessica and Chuck had somehow taken on the roles of Zack’s parents. Jessica was the most prominent female figure in his life, and raised him for most of his childhood. And Chuck…Chuck was the first male figure to show any interest in the kid. He was the only one who didn’t push Zack to some other family member…and they had grown attached. Perhaps Chuck’s getting shot brought on the sting of a lost father. The sting that Zack had never felt when he was a baby.

“Zack’s fine. He’ll be thrilled to see you’re home.”

Charlie smiles.

“And Ashley? Have either of you heard from her?”

Ashley was Charlie’s adopted daughter. Their relationship was long and storied…but most of their problems stemmed from Chuck’s ever changing relationship with Ashley’s boyfriend. Nick Ridicule. Ashley and Nick believed they were meant for each other. Perhaps they were. They certainly had that love. But Charlie and Nick…it was a known fact that Chuck had been one of the guys to train Nick to become a wrestler…though their relationship was rocky, at best. At one point, the two had been good friends. Ashley and Nick had even gotten married. Then, things went to hell in a hand basket. The marriage ended, Ashley became very bitter towards both men…and then, almost out of the blue, she made up with them. Unfortunately, the same could not be said for Charlie and Nick, who were at each other’s throats. Ashley was caught in the crossfire, left to choose between her adoptive father, and the love of her life. In the end, she chose Nick. She and Charlie still got along, and they still talked. But Ashley was no longer around, preferring to live her days out with Nick.

“I haven’t talked to her in a while, no.”

Charlie’s face falls slightly.

“Oh…”

Jessica smiles weakly, and pats Chuck’s shoulder.

“Give her time. She’s a big girl, she knows what she’s doing.”

“Yeah…”

There’s a long silence for a few minutes.

“Shall we go?”

“Yeah, let’s get home.”

I smile, and Jessica guides Charlie to the car. Chuck was told to use crutches for the first few weeks, as a precaution, though Chuck had complained about how he didn’t see the point of it. Still, he used them, and followed Jessica as they slowly made their way towards her van.

“You’re still driving this thing?”

“Quiet, you.”

Jessie slaps Chuck’s arm, and helps him into the passenger seat. I toss Jess the keys, and slide into the back seat, slapping Charlie’s shoulder as I pass behind him.

“Alright there, little C?”

Little C was always my nickname for him when we were kids. As children, he liked it. Big C and Little C. Chris and Charlie. Now that he was twenty-five years old though, he had made it known that he hated the nickname. And being over 200 pounds, “little” was hardly a word that could accurately describe him.

“Fine, thanks.”

There’s some resentment in his voice. Jessica pulls out of the parking lot, heading towards Charlie’s mansion, just outside the city.

“I don’t suppose my house has been cleaned up yet?”

“Oops.”

We had told Chuck about the incident with the kidnappers, which had successfully trashed his house and broken the railing of the balcony overlooking the foyer. We still hadn’t fixed it yet.

“Damn it, Chris.”

“Thanks for letting us stay there, Charlie.”

It was clear by her tone that Jessica was doing what she could to avoid any sort of altercation. At least, with Charlie fresh out of the hospital and all.

“Anytime, Jess…besides, it’s not like you’d ever visit me if I didn’t, right?”

“We would too have!”

Chuck smirks, reclining in his seat, and closing his eyes.

“Whatever you say, Jess.”

Jessica shakes her head. There’s silence in the car as we drive through the Chicago streets.

“Can I talk to you guys about something?”

I jump slightly. I thought Charlie had fallen asleep. He hadn’t moved or spoken in five minutes until that point.

“Of course. Anything.”

“What’s on your mind, bud?”

Chuck doesn’t open his eyes to look at us. If it weren’t for the sharpness of his voice, I would think he was simply talking in his sleep. He takes a deep breath.

“While I was in the hospital, I had a weird dream…”

“A dream?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean…it was so real, you know? Like, I don’t remember ever falling asleep to have it, and I don’t remember waking up from it either…it was too real, you know?”

“Alright…”

“I don’t know. Forget I said anything.”

“Well, what was it about?”

Chuck doesn’t say anything.

“Charlie?”

“The future.”

I catch Jessica’s eyes looking at me through the rear view mirror. I give her a nervous look. What was Charlie so spooked about? It was just a dream, right?

“The future?”

“It felt so real, you know? I think that’s why it’s been on my mind…just the fact that I don’t ever remember sleeping or anything-”

“Maybe it was the medication they had you on.”

“I thought the same thing…but it was like…it started in the hospital. The dream, that is. I was laying in that bed…and things start shaking and shit, you know?”

“Okay…”

“The lights are flickering and stuff, things are rattling and falling, and I thought it was some sort of earthquake or whatever…then it stops. And the door opens, and this…guy walks in. Some dude, dressed all in black…but like, his feet were missing.”

“His feet were missing?”

It’s almost amusing to hear Jessica talk. It doesn’t seem like she’s taking this seriously at all, which I suppose I wasn’t either. She spoke in a sweet, almost cooing voice, as if she was talking to a child reading a bedtime story instead of a full grown man.

“He just sort of disintegrated, I guess…like the grim reaper or something…and he took his hood off…and I recognized him.”

“Who was it?”

“That’s just it! I don’t know. I’d never met the guy before in my life…but I felt like I knew him somehow. Like I’d seen him before…and he showed me the future. He took me through the years. Told me things that were going to happen. And then he told me who he was…he was my son.”

“You don’t have a son.”

“No…but I will. Or, that’s what he says. And that’s the other thing that freaks me out. Like, maybe that’s why I recognized him. Like, I can recognize my own blood…even though he hadn’t been born yet.”

Jessica shakes her head.

“Alright Charlie. I think it was the medication.”

“Whatever.”

“What were some of the things that you saw Charlie? What happened?”

Charlie sighed.

“Well…Jess is pregnant with twins.”

Jess’s face immediately changes from one of amusement to one of surprise. She steals a glance at Charlie, the looks to her own stomach. She still hadn’t gotten her ultrasound. She didn’t want to do it unless Corey was with her to see it too. She wasn’t sure if the baby was a boy or girl…could she possibly be holding twins? She gingerly runs her hand over her stomach, rubbing her belly.

“You alright Jess?”

Jess shakes her head, snapping herself out of her trance.

“Yeah, fine, just…thinking about something Corey told me…”

There’s silence for a moment.

“What else did you see, Charlie?”

She suddenly seems much more interested in what he had to say. Chuck smiles.

“It was crazy.”

And so it began…

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There are quite a few people I need to thank here, are there not?

I suppose I’ll start it off simply. Chuck Matthews and Corey Casey. Very nicely done.

I look at these two men, and it’s almost laughable. Knowing their history. Knowing the two men, how they behave, how they function. These are the men behind the Insurgency Wrestling Federation? These are the guys that took out NLWF, knocked Ridicule off his pedestal, and led the people into the promise land?

Stranger things have happened, I suppose.

So, I guess I should give them a big thank you. And I will. Both of these men have done something great. They’ve broken free of their chains, destroyed the NLWF, ended the reign of Ridicule, and brought us IWF. Both of these men should be applauded, and both are people I am honored to say are members of my family.

I look back at my time in NLWF, and there was a lot of stuff that…well, to put things simply, it wasn’t what it seemed. Every week, things were spiraling further and further into chaos, but Ridicule had mastered the art of hiding the evidence, of altering the truth, and where things were actually falling apart, he assured us they were as solid as ever.

One of the many lies force fed to us by our pals in NLWF management.

I’m not really here to bitch about things. I’m not really in a position to. I never felt I was handed anything. I started at the bottom, and powered my way to the top. In fact, I sometimes wonder if my path to the top was hindered, merely by the fact that I was a Matthews…sharing the name with the man Nick chose as a scapegoat for anything that ever went wrong.

It’s something I will never understand, but it’s the reason I hold my younger brother in such high regard. I think…people were often under the false assumption that Charlie had a lot of power. He had been in NLWF for years. Besides Death-Angel, Chuck was the only other NLWF original. I suppose people expected that he had some sort of seniority. That he had some say in how things were run, simply because he had been there a while.

Those people would be sadly mistaken.

Oftentimes, Chuck was used as a scapegoat. It seemed in the end, everything that was wrong with the company was somehow his fault, and NLWF was getting increasingly efficient at twisting the facts and misinterpreting information to make it seem like that was truly the case. The saddest part of it all? Charlie sat there and took it. He even embraced it, taking on the title of “Satan in the Flesh.” Looking at it now…I wonder how he put up with it. He spent years, falsely accused of being the ultimate villain. People booing him, no matter where he went, regardless of what he did to prove otherwise. People constantly trying to take him out, to punish him for things he never did.

Only once did he ever try and sway people’s opinions…and so began Bad Company. Charlie’s way to show that contrary to popular belief, he was not the real bad guy. He was just like everyone else.

A man, trying to get through life, with his own personal agenda. Just like the other wrestelrs. Just like the fans. Just like Ridicule.

Of course, we remember how that turned out. Nick got his ass kicked for a couple months, only to reveal at the very end, after his most brutal loss, that it was all some scheme to create a new company, and end the reign of Bad Company.

Yeah…that went over well. FTW and Revo competed for one week, marking the retirement of my brother, and the first shutdown of NLWF…and who was blamed for it?

Of course, NLWF shutting down was a Nick Ridicule wet dream. With them gone, he could screw over FTW, bring NLWF back, and reclaim his seat on top of the throne. He was feuding with Brandon Macdonald at the time…and losing. It was exactly as it had been in NLWF under Bad Company. Nick was losing. And of course, Nick Ridicule doesn’t lose. No, if Nick was losing, it must be because the powers that be were screwing him over. When Bad Company ran NLWF, Nick lost. Must have been Chuck’s fault. When Nick lost in FTW, it must have been the doing of Anna Macdonald. Nick would have to rely on dirty tactics and shifting blame to save face outside the ring.

Cue Battle Behind Bars. FTW vs. NLWF, everything at stake. And Nick was finally beaten at his own game. Brandon left, selling his shares of the company to Gunther, and leaving Gunther to suffer the wrath of Ridicule.

I suppose that calls for an apology then. I heard what Brandon had to say. And while I stick by what I said before, that serving in the armed forces is an honor, not an excuse…I will apologize for my statements against him for other things. I do not blame Brandon for the death of wrestling. Fact is, Brandon did in fact, go through everyone in his way during his time with NLWF, as did I. Like myself…his competition was narrow. Sure, we won every match thrown at us…but you were beating up Ruben, Ashley and Nick, week in and week out. I had my rivalry with Jason Hawk. I beat Corey Casey. Other than that? I didn’t face anyone truly noteworthy. You beat a few guys in the Seven Sins Match…I won the battle royal on Revolution. Fact is, when NLWF finally closed its doors…Brandon and Chris were the top dogs in the business.

Which brings me right back to Ridicule. Following Battle Behind Bars, Nick found himself happy as a clam. He owned the entire NLWF. He ran the show. He ran the entire company, and the only person with any other shares was the man’s girlfriend…and even she didn’t have much of a say in any decisions being made. To sweeten the deal, the only two men that stood in Nick’s way before…Chuck Matthews and Brandon Macdonald, that is, were long gone. Chuck had retired, and Brandon was off fighting at war. Surely, this was the beginning of an era that would never end? The only men who could truly defeat Nick were gone. And while he would try and take all the credit, tell everyone that would listen that it was FTW that forced Chuck’s retirement, that it was the fear of Nick’s fury that scared Brandon away…people eventually saw the truth.

Charlie retired because he had accomplished everything he could. He had taken over a company, he had proven himself one of the best, and he was willing to accept that his career was in decline. It was time to quit while he was ahead.

Brandon was called out to service, his duty to the country. He was forced to leave for reasons beyond his control.

The sad fact was, those two were NOT in fact, the only rivals to Nick’s power. Nick was hellbent on being the best. And as the owner of the company, he could manipulate things to make it seem like that truly was the case. Nevermind Chuck and his plan beating him at every turn for a number of months. Nevermind Brandon beating him in the ring, taking FTW from him. If Nick said he was the best, nothing else mattered. Anything that proved him wrong was false information. Corey and Chuck’s title reign at the destruction of Nick was removed from the record books. Nick even began moving into other mediums, attempting to undermine those very things that gave his rivals power, in his desperate attempt to prove he was still on top. He entered the UFC, his way to try and prove himself a better fighter than Brandon, his way to prove he was greater than Macdonald.

He failed.

He had even started WE, an attempt to weasel power out of Chuck’s control, to take Charlie’s brilliant idea and try and do it better.

Once again, he failed.

Fact of the matter is, the only thing that Nick had was his music. Crude Ambiguity was his greatest success out of the ring, and even then, he had managed to fuck it up by getting his bandmates angry with him. In the ring, he had been surpassed by the premier talent. By Chuck Matthews. By Corey Casey. By Brandon Macdonald. By Chris Matthews.

Which is why, even after retaking the company, Nick still found himself in second place…second to yours truly, who up to that point, had been every bit as dominant as Macdonald had been.

Who killed wrestling?

I hear it asked all the time.

“Bad Company killed wrestling!” Nick used to say. And those who were against Bad Company agreed. Then Corey was kicked out, and Chuck led the new Bad Company to a greater good.

“Chuck Matthews killed wrestling!” Nick said. And people believed him, because that was how things always were. Chuck had embraced his role as the bad guy, as the root of all eviil…even if it was unjustifiably given. Then, FTW began, NLWF closed shortly…and FTW fell fast.

“Brandon Macdonald killed wrestling!” Nick said. Did anyone else see the pattern? Every accusation got progressively more far-fetched. Got increasingly harder to believe. Got harder to justify…but he tried. He tried to turn the roster against anyone who proved to be better than him.

The sickest part of it all? He was guilty of exactly what he had accused Bad Company of. What he accused Chuck of, and later, Brandon. He was trying to destroy anyone who was better than him, even if it was by dirty tactics, or sneak-attacking someone after a match…or crucifying them.

Nick Ridicule killed wrestling.

“Everyone is against you. I’ve shown everyone the light. Shown them who the real villain is.”

Not true. Looking back in retrospect, there were only a few people who were truly enlightened. Only a few who did not fall for the Ridicule hype. Corey Casey was one of the few. Charlie was another. Then, there was Brandon and myself. Corey, who may have fallen victim to the FTW hype…but never for Nick Ridicule’s shameless self-promotion. Chuck was never one to follow a crowd…a blessing and a curse, as he could never be rightfully accused of being a sheep…but at the eventual cost of his career. Me? I had made it known from the beginning that I was strongly against FTW. Shit, I made a career out of calling myself “NLWF’s Last Best Hope.” I may have agreed that Nick was a top notch competitor…but I wasn’t a fan. Finally, there was Brandon. Brandon who, like Corey, was one of the first on the FTW bandwagons…but, also like Corey, never fell victim to Nick Ridicule’s scare tactics.

That’s essentially what it all was, looking back at it. People were scared. To this day, I often wonder if people truly did believe what he said. Did people truly believe Chuck was the mastermind behind everything bad that had happened? Or were people simply afraid of losing their jobs if they dared to disagree with Nick? Did people really think Brandon a coward? Or did they fear the deaths of their loved ones if they disagreed.

Looking back at things, I’m beginning to suspect the latter. Prime example, Death-Angel. I’ve spoken to Death-Angel, and I’ve seen how he behaved on screen. Death-Angel is a big clumsy brute…but the guy can fight. He’s powerful. And he’s intelligent.

Believe it or not, yes, I called Death-Angel intelligent.

The man has philosophies on life. While I may not always agree with them, they are in fact, well thought out opinions. But when the cameras were rolling, and Revolution was under way…he acted like a complete idiot. Dancing like some retarded six year old…because if he didn’t, he might get fired.

Finally, we have the end of the era. NLWF is gone…and what amuses me the most, is in the past, we always assumed it would spell disaster. The end of NLWF was a scary thought. Nobody was ready for it. Nobody wanted to see it end. We were ready for the worst.

Then, when the time finally came…it was okay. Everything was fine. Those fears that we had for so long dissipated, just as quickly as they had come. And, as I said, I believe we have two men to thank for that.

So here we are. The Insurgency Wrestling Federation. The Phoenix Federation, rising from the ashes of NLWF. The culmination of two years, coming to a screeching halt. And for some, Corey and Chuck are to be shunned. Exiled. They have destroyed what we’ve come to love. I prefer to see them as saviors. As men who should be revered. For finally doing what nobody dared to do before.

Stand up to Nick Ridicule.

Yes, NLWF is gone. Yes, Corey and Chuck were the guys that pressured it to finally close it’s doors. But is that so bad? They showed us what we were so blind to. They offered us what NLWF no longer could.

Security. Freedom. Peace of mind.

No more fearing the loss of your loved ones. No more fearing for your life if you piss off the wrong people. NLWF, it was fight to survive. That’s sick, and I believe that’s what my brother always set out to change. He wanted a place to entertain people, to fight for their amusement. Corey and Chuck together have offered us exactly that. They offered us a place where we didn’t have to worry about when the next paycheck would come, if at all. They offered us a place where we didn’t have to worry about whether we would be hunted and killed before our next match.

They lead us to the promised land. IWF.

It’s true what they say. You never know what your world is like until you see it from the outside. We all believe we did what was right. We believed what Nick told us, we believed what he offered was good. And it’s not until we find ourselves in IWF, in some new land that we can look back and see it for what it really was. A wasteland. It wasn’t until IWF that we could look back at NLWF and realize “Wow…THAT’S the shithole we’ve been stuck in all this time?”

I applaud Corey Casey. I applaud Chuck Matthews. Thank you both for the Insurgency Wrestling Federation.

And now, onto the real issue at hand. Gone are the days of Revolution. Now, we find ourselves competing on Battle Grounds. And what a battle it should be.

Brandon Macdonald. It’s poetic, really, that you be the first man I fight. We had quite the history in NLWF. Ironically, a history where we had never met as opponents…except for one instance.

You’ll recall, I’m sure, that when NLWF closed it’s doors…you and I were in similar boats. You had left as a world champion. You left with the FTW Tag title slung over your shoulder. You left with an undefeated streak in your name.

So did I.

I left the final show, Ultimate Glory, with the Undisputed Championship around my waist. My first taste of a world title, in my entire career. Like you, I lost that belt when I left the company. Like you, my tag belt was stripped when my partner left the company. Like you, I dominated any and all competitors who stood in my way. And like you, I watched NLWF fall…without a single blemish on my record.

But as similar as our careers were, we had our differences. Different styles of fighting. Different reasons for doing so. And, of course, our companies. We both believed in the same thing. Entertainment. We fought not to survive, but to give the audience a good time. For you, FTW encompassed that. For me, it was the original NLWF, things run under my brother.

It’s ironic, really. Both companies were one in the same…and both fell thanks to the selfishness and over inflated ego of the same man. Chuck Matthews, Anna Macdonald…both perfectly capable general managers. Both perfectly capable owners. Both had a promising product. But in the end…we know what happened. But between us? If things were up to you, FTW would have gone on for years. Me? I fought in the name of the NLWF I knew. Before the bullshit. But that’s all in the past. Fact is, regardless of our motives, regardless of who we fought for, or why, we won matches.

That doesn’t change that one simple fact though. We were both, during our respective careers, the number one ranked wrestler in the world. At the time you left, I was ranked second, but we never fought. After that, I moved to number one, and remained there until NLWF closed. Two weeks…uncontested.

I said a lot of things against you. I will never deny that. Some, I’ll apologize for. Some, I won’t. You’re right, it was unjustified for me to call you a coward. You’re right, I had fallen for Nick Ridicule’s tricks. However, the fact that you did, and continue to try and play the patriot card is arrogant and rude. As I’ve said in the past. Defending this nation is an honor, and a privilege. It’s not an excuse as to why you left NLWF, nor is it something people HAVE to respect you for. Respect is earned, my friend. Something I figured you would know better than anyone else.

And of course…I said that I would dismantle everything that was left of your legacy. That I would leave FTW in a shallow grave. Would I have done it? I like to think so. Does it matter now? Not really.

The way I see it, Brandon, you, me, and everyone else are on equal footing once more. Yeah, we see a lot of familiar faces. Soon, I have no doubt we’ll see some new ones. Let’s be honest here, Brandon. You might be the UFC star turned wrestler…you might be the former NLWF champion of everything…but this is IWF, my friend. New house, new rules.

And to be perfectly honest? While your past accomplishments are impressive…I don’t think anyone will really care how many belts you held in the old company. I know I don’t. Fact of the matter is, Brandon…those belts don’t mean anything anymore. The company tanked. Those title reigns are worth about as much as the paper they were recorded on.

You and I have really gone toe to toe once. In the TLC open. You remember that? I think back to that one instance…that one real brawl…and as much as it pains me to say it, I have to admit.

Neither of us had the edge.

We fought, throwing what we could at each other…with neither man taking an advantage. And looking back at it, I realize that we truly were to hold the tag belts that night. Neither of us could take the other out…clearly, neither of us was meant to lose. Clearly, both of us were on top of our game that night…and so, both of us walked out as the winners.

Now, there can only be one winner…and I’m prepared. I go in to fight. I go in to entertain. And I will do whatever is necessary to win this match. If there’s anything I’ve proved in my entire career….

It’s that I don’t lose easily.

It’s the one thing I can’t do well. I fight, and I fight, and I keep going until I can’t go on anymore.

Unfortunately for my opponents…they’ve yet to see that breaking point. It’s the same thing I told Corey. Until you see a man lose, you will never know where that breaking point is.

I’ve seen you lose. Can you say the same?

It seems this week, on the very first episode of Battle Grounds, one the first show in IWF history…we will finally answer that long unresolved question. Finally provide a solution to the unsolvable riddle.

Brandon Macdonald vs. Chris Matthews…who would win?

Honestly? I think it’ll be me.