"Found"

"Found."

FRIDAY, APRIL 8th, 2011
El Cinco Barrio -- San Juan, Puerto Rico

Ring ring…ring ring…ring ring.

She didn’t remember falling asleep, but she remembered wanting to. She remembered the burning tears streaming down her face, and the desire to be anywhere else but there.

Ring ring…ring ring…ring ring.

Her eyes opened with the sun, for a split second forgetting the horrors she had witnessed the night before. The unknown grassy hill had swaddled her to sleep in the dark, but in the daylight, the run was far from over.

Ring ring…ring ring…ring ring.

Without a phone of her own, she had walked for as long as she needed. Walked until she found a payphone, with only one person to call. Vincent Monaco was in his 20s when she met a teenage Beth, but the two were from two very different circles. She was from the barrios of San Juan, and he was simply on vacation with his rich, Italian parents. It started as fun, and stayed fun for a long time. She didn’t want to call him, but she knew nobody else who was willing to help. She put in some coins, dialed the long distance number, and waited. With every ring, her heart grew louder and louder. It hadn’t even occurred to her what time it might be in Italy, never even crossed her mind. She simply hoped he picked up.

“Ciao!”

His raspy tone was like music to her ears. She yearned to fall into the phone and disappear. What came next, she really couldn’t say. Rather, she said a lot. In one fell swoop, the entirety of the story of the previous night spilled from her mouth. Her words were slurred, tears came down her face, but her tone remained filled with rage. It all sounded like nonsense.

“Beth? What are you talking about? Slow down. Breathe.”

Luckily, through the mumbled jargon that had made it to his ears, he had managed to figure out who had called him. It was Beth alright, though more distraught than he had ever heard her before. In fact, it shocked him how distraught she was. She had always been strong, tough, unwavering in her emotions. For a few moments, he took deep breaths, urging her to copy him in his breaths. Slowly, she calmed enough to make sense, but she had second thoughts on explaining the whole story. The less people that knew the truth, the better.

“I just need to get out of here, Vincent. Off the island for good, where I can focus on my wrestling career and focus on us.”

She half-lied. Her wrestling career was something she did want to focus on, but that didn’t include a relationship of any sort with Vincent. He knew something wasn’t right, and as such, there was a long pause.

“Did something happen?”

He said into the receiver. Another pause, this time from her. She wanted to tell him, to relieve herself of this burden, to seek justice. To EARN justice. But she couldn’t involve anyone else, not fully. It was too dangerous. So she found herself saying nothing. She knew he wouldn’t help, not without an explanation. As she went to hang up the phone, he surprised her.

“I’ll get you a ticket on the next flight if that’s what you want.”

“You’d do that?”

Beth wasn’t used to selfless people. The nice ones were always chewed up and spit back onto the street, saved for a later date to be consumed again. She didn’t often receive help, because she knew better than to ask for it.

“Stay on the line, I’ll get you the information. Go directly to the airport, and I’ll meet you at the Venice Marco Polo Airport. I’ll find you there.”

FRIDAY, January 14th, 2022

City Park -- Denver, CO

We open on a single, bright yellow sunflower.

The shot is zoomed in upon the flower. Small blades of grass sprout below it but this single flower is shown to have grown high above the rest. It faces the sun, getting as much sunlight as it can and therefore, the yellow of the petals is shown more brightly than before. Without warning, a petal breaks off, slowly falling down below and off camera. We pan out, just enough to show Acid Beth with a magnifying glass, intently watching the same sunflower we’d been watching.

“There was never any doubt within my mind that La Andalucera was going to fight hard, but in the end, she underestimated my strength and determination. For the first time since coming to PWE, I can say that truly, I was put to the test. I can thank Anda for that. I know this saga between us is far from over, though I hope the next time we meet, she is fighting for herself and not for the Aylas. Next time we stare across the ring from one another, she’ll know what to expect.

I’d say that’s been the issue of each opponent I’ve gone up against. They take a look at me, and they think I couldn’t possibly have it together mentally, I couldn’t possibly know what I’m doing inside that ring. I understand, looks can be deceiving. However, this is the very reason I’ve learned to not judge others off first glances and original opinions. I’ve learned to expect the unexpected, because then you’ll never be surprised.

I remain undefeated in singles competition, because despite what others might believe when they first look at me, in a sea of driven individuals I’m the most focused competitor on the roster. I dislike coming off showy, but that fact can’t be denied.”

She reached down with her index finger extended, scooping up the petal that had broken away from the rest of the sunflower. She brought her finger up to the magnifying glass, taking a moment to inspect it further, before blowing it away with one breath. It carried onto the wind and out of sight. The side of her face that is usually painted is covered with her hair at this point.

“What I choose to do on my time, and how I choose to represent myself have nothing to say against my performance in that ring.

I understand you’ve had a tough time finding your groove here in PWE. Wins and losses seem to weigh pretty heavily around here on how others judge you, but try not to measure yourself to that imaginary line. Each week another competitor speaks on what they can infer from certain wins, specific losses, and make grandiose assumptions on the match they’re going to have. To your own credit Vinnie, you came in hot, you came in with something to prove and a name that would carry you damn near everywhere. I started at the bottom, I climbed, and that’s how I ended up where I am. On the other hand, this is where you started. Your first match you fell to Allen Chaney, and your second you fell to Tara Ayla, two mighty impressive competitors in their own right. Despite our two separate journeys, we still both ended up here. You deserve to be where you are Vinnie, near the top of the card. I would never be so daft as to count you out based on your previous matches here in PWE, but you’ll have to at least be at the level of Chaney and Ayla if you plan on defeating me on the 17.”

The magnifying glass is pocketed, as Beth gathers up handfuls of sunflowers. As we pan out even further, we see the basket that she’s tossing the sunflowers into. As she continues speaking, she crawls through the grass, feeling it through her fingertips, grabbing more handfuls of sunflowers into her basket.

“I’ve become something of a test for others, one that not many can look upon and face. I represent your inner fears, your inner turmoil, can you stare them in the eyes just yet?

I’ve seen you fight; I know you’re strong, you’re agile. You have the talent to make it to the top your own way, but you’re not going to do that unless you find your purpose in this place. You’re lost. You’re floating through the sea of competition, only trying to keep from drowning. You’re not going to drown, Vinnie, but you’re never going to stop treading water either unless you open your eyes and decide what it is you truly want out of this adventure in PWE.

You claim you’re here for the fight, but when I’ve seen you backstage, you’re checking your twitter followers, your merchandise sales, website traffic numbers, and the like. You seem to have two halves pulling at each other, running in opposite directions, and you’re unable to keep them from ripping you apart. One side wants to be here for the fight and the spirit of the battle, and the other wants to see his name rise in lights again, to be known. That’s not saying you can’t care for both, do both, but fame is a powerful drug. You either crave it, or you detest it, but both can not live within you.”

Grabbing her basket, now overflowing with sunflowers, Beth begins to walk along a stone path. She carries her basket with both arms interlocking, until she gets just around the corner from the sunflower patch. There’s more stones around, including a small set up of previously gathered sunflowers that Beth has done herself. Her handfuls of sunflowers began to make their way out of the basket and onto the stone in front of her.

“You need to look within yourself and see what you truly want out of this run, and what you hope to accomplish in Pro Wrestling Excellence. Until you have a purpose, and a drive to reach that goal, it doesn’t matter how fast or how strong you are, because my will and determination will outweigh it. There’s a war that’s started here in PWE, and I’ve done everything in my power to continue building myself up for those battles. That’s not to say that my fight is greater than yours, but I am saying that you don’t have a fight yet. At least not here in PWE. Find your fight, Vinnie, find yourself.

They always say it comes down to who wants it more, and I wonder what this win would mean for you in the grand scheme of things. I want it more because I have a reason to want it more. You and I will blow the roof off of the Ball Arena on the 17th, but at the end of the day, it’s me who needs my hand raised. I feel that your time is coming, I stand by that. You have the talent to be at the top, but not this week. Not at Victory VIII.”

All while talking, she had been working with the sunflowers just below the camera angle. She turned away, brushing her hair back from her face, fastening what looked to be a delicate half-mask of sunflowers in place of her usual face paint. Naturally, around her eyes had previously been colored black to contrast the color.

“Come with me on this journey, Vinnie, and I’ll do my best to teach you a thing or two. My hope is that you can be shown what you lack, and that you take this moment and grow from it. Let me be your spirit guide…”

Cut.

MONDAY, January 10th, 2022

Pete's Place Bar & Restaurant -- Denver, CO

She took a sip of her bottled beer. The type of beer, she did not know – brown bottle. She usually wasn’t a huge drinker, but today deserved its own beer. In truth, today deserved its own twelve pack but she wasn’t going to go that far based off nerves and speculation. For all she knew, their meeting would be a perfectly normal game of catching up with each other’s lives and they’d have a laugh together. She wanted to allow herself to think such things, but she was too much a realist for that. Instead, she sat there, taking swigs from her bottle at timed intervals, attempting to keep her mind as clear as possible.

She saw him first out of the corner of her eye. Although it had been years, she’d still be able to spot him out of a crowd. He was much older, but his face still held a youthful look, his dark curls as present as ever. He wore a dark, fitted suit, looking around the bar through his sunglasses. She always knew he’d end up a lawyer or businessman, or something of that nature. He scanned the room before finally taking off his sunglasses and walking up to her. His smile was the same as it always had been, and as such, he wore his emotions firmly upon it. Hidden, but still in plain sight.

“Wow, it’s been too long since we’ve seen each other in person, Beth.”

She got up off her stool, leaving her bottle, and giving him a hug. She had a way of feeling out the situation before you spoke a word. Yes, something was off.

“How have things in the industry been? I hear the Excellence Invitational is coming to an end.”

He took a seat next to her, waving the bartender over for one of whatever Beth was having. Beth could tell instantly that he was simply making small talk, trying to keep away from the true subject as long as possible. Some sort of formality he had learned during those years at lawyer school. Beth, for one, didn’t care for it much. She preferred people to be upfront and honest with her from the start, but she indulged him all the same.

“That’s true, PWE has been very open in efforts to establish working partnerships with different wrestling companies. That part is admirable. I don’t particularly enjoy the imagery of coliseum warriors battling for the amusement of the king, but we will have a victor at the end of Victory VIII. Personally, I hope it’s Chaney or Vodhka.”

She shrugged, unsure of how the whole situation would play out in the end. She wanted nothing more than to see the demon king dethroned, but if he would be replaced by someone much worse was an idea she didn’t like thinking about. The opportunity belonged to anyone with willpower enough to outlast the others and grab it for themselves.

“Why didn’t you enter when you had the chance?”

He tilted his head, and she couldn’t tell if he was honestly asking or still trying to ease into the true meaning of his appearance. The question did make her think though. She, of course, had mulled over the idea of entering the Invitational, finally settling on sticking to her own business. It wasn’t her time, after all. Next time, it could be a different story. We’ve come so far already in our journey.

“There are multiple facets to that answer. I’ve never been a multi-person match kind of gal, and I’d just come off the Annihilation in a Cell. At the time, I couldn’t see myself going it alone against either of the Aylas, just that I needed to fight back. In the weeks that followed, I’ve found a new strength within. Now, with the Olla-Rumble coming up at Magnificence, I know that winning it allows me to target either Damien OR Tara, if either walk out with a championship. Winning it, is the next step in my fight.”

“You did always wear your confidence well…”

He stared at her, thinking back to that day when he had felt like some sort of hero, and wanting to be that hero for her again. But things were different now, he couldn’t keep the truth forever.

“What’s this about, Vincent? I know you didn’t call this meetup to talk about my wrestling career.”

“I still follow your career, Beth…I always have. We hold a piece of each other.”

He looked at her, wondering if he needed permission to follow her career and watch her matches. But she knew better. He could watch her matches all he wanted, but that’s not why he called and that’s not why they were both here tonight. He knew that, she knew that, she just needed for him to be out with it already. She continued starring at him, until he turned back to his beer to take a long swig. He placed the bottle back down in front of him, sighing.

“The US government are going after him, Beth…”

He said the words, but when they hit her ears, they didn’t make much sense.

“After who?”

She questioned, not understanding. He sighed again, still staring straight ahead instead of looking at her.

“Chopper.”

A wave of instant dread rushed over her, mostly from shock. She hadn’t heard the name in years, for good reason, and she had tried her best to keep it that way. There was a silence as she processed exactly what this meant. She couldn’t figure out exactly what she was being told. She needed more.

“What does that have to do with me?”

Vincent kept his gaze strong, still refusing to look to her as she stared a hole through his neck.

“They’re trying to force charges on you, smuggling, you’ve been named by a witness.”

She was confused. Why? Why had someone come forward against HER after all these years and how did this have anything to do with Chopper being taken down. There were many people that had worked for him over the years, and multiple people that remain on the wrong side of the law. Meanwhile, it had been over ten years since her involvement with anything illegal. There was more silence as she processed this information, too. Then, it hit her like a ton of bricks. They didn’t care about her.

“They’re not trying to force charges on me, they’re trying to force my testimony against him.”

Finally, he turned to look at her, before downing his beer and placing it back onto the bar. On the other hand, she hadn’t even touched hers since he had started speaking. She could barely comprehend.

“We have a summons to court in two weeks.”

Shock. Horror. She couldn’t quite pinpoint her emotions when there were so many and changing so fast.

“I’ll see you then.”

Was all she could muster in the moment, before snagging her leather jacket from the back of the chair and gunning it for the exit. They both knew this was more than a simple case. If the government was summoning her, it meant Chopper wasn’t far behind. She could hear Vincent call after her, but she couldn’t bring herself to stop. He had to have known much prior to today, and he chose to keep it from her. Maybe he thought he could protect her, make it go away. But time had caught up with her.

She pushed the front door of the bar open, walking out into the night. The air was misty, a storm brewing in the near future. She made it across the street, trying to get as far away as possible. As she rounded the corner, she collapsed onto a bus stop bench. Just as she had so many years before, she went to cry out but no sound came from her lips. Not even tears this time. Nothing but the dampness from the incoming rain.

After all the time she’d spent running and hiding, she’d finally been found.