Post by Corey Bull on Feb 18, 2018 23:04:29 GMT
OFF CAMERA
Bulls warehouse. Something he bought a long time ago to appease his nature. A quarter of it is an office of sorts, lined with old signage from wrestling shows past. Bull is the headliner in more then one of them. Trophies from multiple wrestling one time shows and copies of the titles he has won also sit here. A montage to Bull's ever growing legacy. A table with several comfortable looking chairs lining it takes up a portion of the room, coupled with the gallery of gold, and a bar with a refrigerator and drinks. Bull is pouring himself some Southern Comfort when Steve Serafino walks in and drops a think folder of paperwork on the bar. He sits down and without even thinking, takes the bottle from Bull's hand and takes a deep drag as Bull looks on with a raised eyebrow. Steve sets the bottle down and realizes what he just did and quickly slides the bottle back.
"Im....mmm..oh god...I'm really sorry."
Bull shakes his head and laughs.
"Is it really that bad?"
Steve lets out a deep, exasperated sigh.
"You don't know the half of it. I spent the last 72 hours playing peek a boo with sniffer programs and government anti-hackers to get some of this information."
"So its good then?"
Steve opens the folder and starts to slide paper after paper to him.
"I have Pryde's tax returns for the last five years. I have bills of sale from the last eight. Personal bank accounts since he was able to walk. Every dollar and dime that he has earned, on paper, I have. And it's like that old saying when you see a hot redhead. 'Do the curtains match the drapes?' Well in this case, they don't. There is so many inconsistencies, I'm surprised he isn't sitting in a federal prison for tax evasion or racketeering."
Bull starts to eye each paper over, keeping the ones that Steve placed together in small piles together.
"So what are we looking at here?"
"A cluster fuck of lies, shady business deals, and a personal account that does not match the man himself. Bull, someone is paying Pryde to run NBW. He owns it, at least on paper it seems, but someone is giving him a salary, one that is not being.....taxed."
Bull's eyebrow raises.
"Source?"
"Well that is a lot tougher a question to answer. Could be the mob, could be private investors that don't want their name associated with all this. Could even be the God-Machine. I can't honestly tell you Bull."
Bull nods, then slides another folder over.
"And the insurgency?"
"That is another mess all its own. No real bad news when it concerns Bonnie. Though she has had a few problems in the path, none of it screams God-Machine or anything else. She was a wild child, but we knew that. She has some sort of powers, but we knew that. Apparently, so does the government."
Bulls head swings sharply to Steve.
"That's the one hiccup with Bonnie. She is under surveillance. I traced it a long ways down the rabbit hole Bull. I think this is related to the God-Machine. Its a section of the government that is off the books, but you can tell its government. Lots of black book dealings, off shore accounts, the works. Sector Z is what it is being called. I think....and this is my opinion, she is targeted because of her power. Imagine what the God-machine could do if it turned Bonnie. You, Abaddon, would never have fallen from his grace, nor the rest of us. We would all still be pawns in its game."
Bull lets out a deep sigh and nods.
"L is just who she says she is and has been under surveillance for some time, both Sector Z and of course the normal under cover alien section the government says isn't there...but it is. Sector 51 is the group. Not very subtle. They are monitoring here in a more casual manner then the other. I don't think they are concerned by her presence, but don't have the balls to step forward and speak with her."
"L probably would sit down and just tell them anything they wanted."
"Yep, which is what makes it more amusing. It appears Sector Z is using Sector 51 to do all the hard work for them, using spy craft on Sector 51's surveillance. Everything they see, so does Z."
"Makes sense, why use more resources then you need to. Any idea what they plan to do?"
"No. That's the frightening part. Sector 51 seems complacent to study L from afar. But Z, well they are all up Bonnie and L:'s asses. Threat or asset, we can't allow them to be capture. No matter what."
Bull muses over the paperwork while he talks.
"And the other two?"
"Jenson is clean as a whistle. He is more nerd then anything. Seems like a good enough guy. But Kidsgrove, he might have some future problems."
"How so?"
"Well being an actor, he has been involved in quite a few things. It appears the hashtag me too wave might be about to wash over him. This is just rumblings that Benedict picked up from his lawyer friends. Seems some stylist from a few years ago might have had herself groped by him. She is talking to attorneys, though not to police or anyone else at this time. Where it is going...your guess is as good as mine. But something like that might take him out of the equation faster then your destructive ways."
Bull chuckles.
"Don't be so sure. Alright, this is a lot to process. Send Raven word we need her. Of all the fallen, she is the best qualified to look into these groups. We'll have her tail the people tailing L from Sector Z. You keep at the digging as well as you can. If you feel a sniffer on us, cut out as fast as you can, scrub the comps after you copy the info and destroy them. We will buy you new ones. Get a hold of Benedict, have him chum up to the lawyers that spilled this info about Kidsgrove and see what else he can dig up. And tell Montoya to call us too. We have a part in all this for him as well."
"I'm on it. But why you going through all this trouble with L and Bonnie?"
"Aside from the obvious fact that neither one should be grabbed by the God-Machine? They are enemies now, though they are diluted that we are working for Pryde. That piece of shit is just another stain in our way to be honest. His power is limited....Lucious is the real problem. But one thing at a time. We don't' want either one to fall to the hands of the God-Machine. And to be perfectly honest....one of them might be Anikwa."
Steve looks lost.
"How?!"
"We don't know. But we saw her...she touched us, the mask became a part of us. If Anikwa was truly gone, then that would be impossible. Only she had the power to manipulate the mask like she did. Even we didn't have that power, purposely built in the safety features. She though, she was the key. With that happening, and the fact that L and Bonnie both carry features of her, until we are sure, they need to be watched."
"But you just beat L savagely?"
"In the ring....well tha'ts one thing. Business in the federation has to be handled the way we handled things in the past. Deadly efficient and with aggression that would make a wolverine cringe. If she or Bonnie is Anikwa....then we will filter it out one way or another. We don't know how though. We might have to consult Abagail on this. She would have a way. Now, lets get more balls rolling."
Steve leaves and Bull muses over the paperwork.
"Trouble on all fronts. Anikwa....you better be here. Make this easier it would."
ONCAMERA
The following is a production paid for by the Harbingers and Dead Cell Inc
**The lights come up and everything is black and white. Bull sits on a chair, his forearms leaning on his knees and his body hunched over. Black covers one side of the screen, white the other. In this context, Bulls arm on the black side appears white, while his arm on the white side appears black. The same is said for his face, a line that slides down the middle. It isn't paint though.....how it is being done isn't really clear. Maybe a play with the graphics department...maybe it is more. In any case, the only real color that flows in the entire thing is red. Bulls eyes are red, more of an orange like fire. But on his pants: a bloody hand print....splatter marks....spray from what could be an artery.Bull stares straight forward, looking at the camera. He unfolds his hands and blood is there....dried like the blood on his pants**
"The answer is yes. Yes...there is blood on our hands. For more years then all of the Insurgency combined....we have done things that were...unspeakable. Some of it we enjoyed....some of it was not to our liking. But it was all needed. It was all required to move forward with the plans. And so it is true of the things we must do to the Insurgency."
**Bull rubs his hands together and the blood, dried and crusty, falls to the ground**
"The Insurgency has made mistakes. Mistakes that we shall exploit. It's your thought process you see. You all think this is about the NBW Corporation and Pryde. And it isn't. It goes beyond that....beyond this federation. It expands the entire wrestling world and to another degree....life as you all know it. But we don't want to bore you with the big picture details...so lets ignore that part. Lets focus on the wrestling aspect. What we as the Harbingers are doing...will effect more then New Blood. It will effect the entire wrestling world. When we pushed over the first domino...by joining forces.....we started a chain reaction that can not and will not stop. And to ensure it doesn't, we must remain the catalyst for it."
"But you want to get in the way. You want to assume so much and know so very little. You think you can step into the line of fire and come out of this unscathed? You are deadly wrong. As L. She was a victim....wrong place....wrong time....right statement. Had to be made....couldn't be avoided. And yet.....EVERYONE but the Insurgency got the fucking memo. The Harbingers are our own entity. We are a living...breathing....statement. And we do not bow to no man...no corporation...no group. We are here to make sure that there is a future in this business. And we are going to do it our own way."
**Bull stands and stares at the camera, his stare intensified by his eyes becoming a redder color**
"We haven't begun to bring the real fight to you Bonnie. You've only gotten Corey Bull. You haven't gotten the Hatebringer and you sure haven't gotten the other. But its coming. It has to, because we don't think you will understand what is at stake until we put you down....hard! And without Richards.....your still just Bonnie Blue...no matter who you tag with. L....and you...too much? How many people did it take Bonnie? How many got involved in that tag match to make it possible for you to get the win. We count four. Four people......four people to stop us. And now you have another member of the class tagging with you. And will the outcome be the same? Are you as in sync with him as you are with....say...Richards? No...your not. Same can be said about you and L. Thats why you needed.....support. And that is going to be something you will need Monday...because Bishop and us...we are on the same page. Not master and underling...but equals. We didn't get called by him...he didn't get called by us...we met...we talked...we agreed. End of story. Just like this one where the Insurgency continues to be a dominating, unstoppable force. That story is coming to an end."
**Bull cracks his neck**
"Now Kidsgrove...well to be honest we know almost nothing about you. Thats about how significant you have been to us. But don't worry....we have made sure to amend that situation. We spent the time studying the tapes. We understand your ring presence...your ability to fight.....and your huge egotistical nature. It seems to be something that oozes our of you...even when your friends and cohorts do not see it. But it is there...plain as the nose on your face. Just watch all your old matches. Thats why we find all this amusing...the strongest member of the Insurgency paired with its weak link. Guess which one you are Sam. Because Bonnie is nowhere near a weak link. An exploitable member of the group...but not its weak link. You on the other hand...well you will do all the work for us with little promting. Your own ego will be your downfall. You'll showboat....you'll want to be the victor....angry you git stuck in a crappy sci-fi slick of a promotion for this match. We boo frickin ho. You might want to worry about what is going to happen when you step between the ropes with us. And the title....that has nothing to do with this. No...you just need to worry about us....the Hatebringer....the Angel of Hate....the Bringer of Sorrow."
**Everything flashes and Bull stands in the color. But...his eyes are the same and the blood...the blood is still there**
"And we are pissed off! We are pissed off at the Insurgency's ignorance. What...we need to kill Pryde to make you see that we don't work for that pissant?! That...can be arrange. But it would ruin the overall plan....a plan that would make your heads spin and your bodies collapse within themselves. Except for maybe L. She could handle it. Maybe Bonnie...but thats pushing it. No matter what.....what is coming is the Harbingers...and when this is all done...we can focus on real threats. So we will see you on Monday and the crowd will see your blood!"
**Bull kicks the chair clear out of scene as everything fades**
OFFCAMERA
Bull standing in his warehouse office. In walks Raven Darkhawk, his sister, the assassin of the group.
"So what is it now?"
"We need you to track the government surveillance tracking Bonnie. We think it is the God-machine at work. If it gets its proverbial hands on her....we could be looking at some real problems."
"Done. I like that kind of work. Might even get to kill someone. Oh, and you know that job you had me on."
Bull raises an eyebrow.
"Yes?"
"I found him."
Bull turns sharply.
"You found Richards?!"
"Yes I did. Seems that whoever has him did a piss poor job. Well, piss poor compared to me. Tracked them to a warehouse complex in Chicago. Been there for years, lots of abandoned places."
Bull grins.
"So lets go and get him. Bring him to the complex in the Northwoods. See if we can't...change his mind."
Raven grins.
"That....is fucking evil. I'm on it. I'll get a team together and work out the details. I'll keep you in the loop.
Bull nods, the smile stuck to his face as Raven leaves.
"Rook takes Knight."
Bulls warehouse. Something he bought a long time ago to appease his nature. A quarter of it is an office of sorts, lined with old signage from wrestling shows past. Bull is the headliner in more then one of them. Trophies from multiple wrestling one time shows and copies of the titles he has won also sit here. A montage to Bull's ever growing legacy. A table with several comfortable looking chairs lining it takes up a portion of the room, coupled with the gallery of gold, and a bar with a refrigerator and drinks. Bull is pouring himself some Southern Comfort when Steve Serafino walks in and drops a think folder of paperwork on the bar. He sits down and without even thinking, takes the bottle from Bull's hand and takes a deep drag as Bull looks on with a raised eyebrow. Steve sets the bottle down and realizes what he just did and quickly slides the bottle back.
"Im....mmm..oh god...I'm really sorry."
Bull shakes his head and laughs.
"Is it really that bad?"
Steve lets out a deep, exasperated sigh.
"You don't know the half of it. I spent the last 72 hours playing peek a boo with sniffer programs and government anti-hackers to get some of this information."
"So its good then?"
Steve opens the folder and starts to slide paper after paper to him.
"I have Pryde's tax returns for the last five years. I have bills of sale from the last eight. Personal bank accounts since he was able to walk. Every dollar and dime that he has earned, on paper, I have. And it's like that old saying when you see a hot redhead. 'Do the curtains match the drapes?' Well in this case, they don't. There is so many inconsistencies, I'm surprised he isn't sitting in a federal prison for tax evasion or racketeering."
Bull starts to eye each paper over, keeping the ones that Steve placed together in small piles together.
"So what are we looking at here?"
"A cluster fuck of lies, shady business deals, and a personal account that does not match the man himself. Bull, someone is paying Pryde to run NBW. He owns it, at least on paper it seems, but someone is giving him a salary, one that is not being.....taxed."
Bull's eyebrow raises.
"Source?"
"Well that is a lot tougher a question to answer. Could be the mob, could be private investors that don't want their name associated with all this. Could even be the God-Machine. I can't honestly tell you Bull."
Bull nods, then slides another folder over.
"And the insurgency?"
"That is another mess all its own. No real bad news when it concerns Bonnie. Though she has had a few problems in the path, none of it screams God-Machine or anything else. She was a wild child, but we knew that. She has some sort of powers, but we knew that. Apparently, so does the government."
Bulls head swings sharply to Steve.
"That's the one hiccup with Bonnie. She is under surveillance. I traced it a long ways down the rabbit hole Bull. I think this is related to the God-Machine. Its a section of the government that is off the books, but you can tell its government. Lots of black book dealings, off shore accounts, the works. Sector Z is what it is being called. I think....and this is my opinion, she is targeted because of her power. Imagine what the God-machine could do if it turned Bonnie. You, Abaddon, would never have fallen from his grace, nor the rest of us. We would all still be pawns in its game."
Bull lets out a deep sigh and nods.
"L is just who she says she is and has been under surveillance for some time, both Sector Z and of course the normal under cover alien section the government says isn't there...but it is. Sector 51 is the group. Not very subtle. They are monitoring here in a more casual manner then the other. I don't think they are concerned by her presence, but don't have the balls to step forward and speak with her."
"L probably would sit down and just tell them anything they wanted."
"Yep, which is what makes it more amusing. It appears Sector Z is using Sector 51 to do all the hard work for them, using spy craft on Sector 51's surveillance. Everything they see, so does Z."
"Makes sense, why use more resources then you need to. Any idea what they plan to do?"
"No. That's the frightening part. Sector 51 seems complacent to study L from afar. But Z, well they are all up Bonnie and L:'s asses. Threat or asset, we can't allow them to be capture. No matter what."
Bull muses over the paperwork while he talks.
"And the other two?"
"Jenson is clean as a whistle. He is more nerd then anything. Seems like a good enough guy. But Kidsgrove, he might have some future problems."
"How so?"
"Well being an actor, he has been involved in quite a few things. It appears the hashtag me too wave might be about to wash over him. This is just rumblings that Benedict picked up from his lawyer friends. Seems some stylist from a few years ago might have had herself groped by him. She is talking to attorneys, though not to police or anyone else at this time. Where it is going...your guess is as good as mine. But something like that might take him out of the equation faster then your destructive ways."
Bull chuckles.
"Don't be so sure. Alright, this is a lot to process. Send Raven word we need her. Of all the fallen, she is the best qualified to look into these groups. We'll have her tail the people tailing L from Sector Z. You keep at the digging as well as you can. If you feel a sniffer on us, cut out as fast as you can, scrub the comps after you copy the info and destroy them. We will buy you new ones. Get a hold of Benedict, have him chum up to the lawyers that spilled this info about Kidsgrove and see what else he can dig up. And tell Montoya to call us too. We have a part in all this for him as well."
"I'm on it. But why you going through all this trouble with L and Bonnie?"
"Aside from the obvious fact that neither one should be grabbed by the God-Machine? They are enemies now, though they are diluted that we are working for Pryde. That piece of shit is just another stain in our way to be honest. His power is limited....Lucious is the real problem. But one thing at a time. We don't' want either one to fall to the hands of the God-Machine. And to be perfectly honest....one of them might be Anikwa."
Steve looks lost.
"How?!"
"We don't know. But we saw her...she touched us, the mask became a part of us. If Anikwa was truly gone, then that would be impossible. Only she had the power to manipulate the mask like she did. Even we didn't have that power, purposely built in the safety features. She though, she was the key. With that happening, and the fact that L and Bonnie both carry features of her, until we are sure, they need to be watched."
"But you just beat L savagely?"
"In the ring....well tha'ts one thing. Business in the federation has to be handled the way we handled things in the past. Deadly efficient and with aggression that would make a wolverine cringe. If she or Bonnie is Anikwa....then we will filter it out one way or another. We don't know how though. We might have to consult Abagail on this. She would have a way. Now, lets get more balls rolling."
Steve leaves and Bull muses over the paperwork.
"Trouble on all fronts. Anikwa....you better be here. Make this easier it would."
ONCAMERA
The following is a production paid for by the Harbingers and Dead Cell Inc
**The lights come up and everything is black and white. Bull sits on a chair, his forearms leaning on his knees and his body hunched over. Black covers one side of the screen, white the other. In this context, Bulls arm on the black side appears white, while his arm on the white side appears black. The same is said for his face, a line that slides down the middle. It isn't paint though.....how it is being done isn't really clear. Maybe a play with the graphics department...maybe it is more. In any case, the only real color that flows in the entire thing is red. Bulls eyes are red, more of an orange like fire. But on his pants: a bloody hand print....splatter marks....spray from what could be an artery.Bull stares straight forward, looking at the camera. He unfolds his hands and blood is there....dried like the blood on his pants**
"The answer is yes. Yes...there is blood on our hands. For more years then all of the Insurgency combined....we have done things that were...unspeakable. Some of it we enjoyed....some of it was not to our liking. But it was all needed. It was all required to move forward with the plans. And so it is true of the things we must do to the Insurgency."
**Bull rubs his hands together and the blood, dried and crusty, falls to the ground**
"The Insurgency has made mistakes. Mistakes that we shall exploit. It's your thought process you see. You all think this is about the NBW Corporation and Pryde. And it isn't. It goes beyond that....beyond this federation. It expands the entire wrestling world and to another degree....life as you all know it. But we don't want to bore you with the big picture details...so lets ignore that part. Lets focus on the wrestling aspect. What we as the Harbingers are doing...will effect more then New Blood. It will effect the entire wrestling world. When we pushed over the first domino...by joining forces.....we started a chain reaction that can not and will not stop. And to ensure it doesn't, we must remain the catalyst for it."
"But you want to get in the way. You want to assume so much and know so very little. You think you can step into the line of fire and come out of this unscathed? You are deadly wrong. As L. She was a victim....wrong place....wrong time....right statement. Had to be made....couldn't be avoided. And yet.....EVERYONE but the Insurgency got the fucking memo. The Harbingers are our own entity. We are a living...breathing....statement. And we do not bow to no man...no corporation...no group. We are here to make sure that there is a future in this business. And we are going to do it our own way."
**Bull stands and stares at the camera, his stare intensified by his eyes becoming a redder color**
"We haven't begun to bring the real fight to you Bonnie. You've only gotten Corey Bull. You haven't gotten the Hatebringer and you sure haven't gotten the other. But its coming. It has to, because we don't think you will understand what is at stake until we put you down....hard! And without Richards.....your still just Bonnie Blue...no matter who you tag with. L....and you...too much? How many people did it take Bonnie? How many got involved in that tag match to make it possible for you to get the win. We count four. Four people......four people to stop us. And now you have another member of the class tagging with you. And will the outcome be the same? Are you as in sync with him as you are with....say...Richards? No...your not. Same can be said about you and L. Thats why you needed.....support. And that is going to be something you will need Monday...because Bishop and us...we are on the same page. Not master and underling...but equals. We didn't get called by him...he didn't get called by us...we met...we talked...we agreed. End of story. Just like this one where the Insurgency continues to be a dominating, unstoppable force. That story is coming to an end."
**Bull cracks his neck**
"Now Kidsgrove...well to be honest we know almost nothing about you. Thats about how significant you have been to us. But don't worry....we have made sure to amend that situation. We spent the time studying the tapes. We understand your ring presence...your ability to fight.....and your huge egotistical nature. It seems to be something that oozes our of you...even when your friends and cohorts do not see it. But it is there...plain as the nose on your face. Just watch all your old matches. Thats why we find all this amusing...the strongest member of the Insurgency paired with its weak link. Guess which one you are Sam. Because Bonnie is nowhere near a weak link. An exploitable member of the group...but not its weak link. You on the other hand...well you will do all the work for us with little promting. Your own ego will be your downfall. You'll showboat....you'll want to be the victor....angry you git stuck in a crappy sci-fi slick of a promotion for this match. We boo frickin ho. You might want to worry about what is going to happen when you step between the ropes with us. And the title....that has nothing to do with this. No...you just need to worry about us....the Hatebringer....the Angel of Hate....the Bringer of Sorrow."
**Everything flashes and Bull stands in the color. But...his eyes are the same and the blood...the blood is still there**
"And we are pissed off! We are pissed off at the Insurgency's ignorance. What...we need to kill Pryde to make you see that we don't work for that pissant?! That...can be arrange. But it would ruin the overall plan....a plan that would make your heads spin and your bodies collapse within themselves. Except for maybe L. She could handle it. Maybe Bonnie...but thats pushing it. No matter what.....what is coming is the Harbingers...and when this is all done...we can focus on real threats. So we will see you on Monday and the crowd will see your blood!"
**Bull kicks the chair clear out of scene as everything fades**
OFFCAMERA
Bull standing in his warehouse office. In walks Raven Darkhawk, his sister, the assassin of the group.
"So what is it now?"
"We need you to track the government surveillance tracking Bonnie. We think it is the God-machine at work. If it gets its proverbial hands on her....we could be looking at some real problems."
"Done. I like that kind of work. Might even get to kill someone. Oh, and you know that job you had me on."
Bull raises an eyebrow.
"Yes?"
"I found him."
Bull turns sharply.
"You found Richards?!"
"Yes I did. Seems that whoever has him did a piss poor job. Well, piss poor compared to me. Tracked them to a warehouse complex in Chicago. Been there for years, lots of abandoned places."
Bull grins.
"So lets go and get him. Bring him to the complex in the Northwoods. See if we can't...change his mind."
Raven grins.
"That....is fucking evil. I'm on it. I'll get a team together and work out the details. I'll keep you in the loop.
Bull nods, the smile stuck to his face as Raven leaves.
"Rook takes Knight."