An Hour or so Earlier…

Lucy sat, staring at her phone – typing something every now and again while Sebastian sat idly beside her, his phone in his hand, but he wasn’t looking at it at all. Instead, his eyes darted wildly around at the sparse crowd as they trickled through the front doors here at Top Golf on this dreary Friday afternoon.

Eventually there was a lull in foot traffic and in that moment, Seb sat back and let out an exasperated sigh, garnering a sideways glance from Lucy.

“What is wrong with–” Lucy began.

“SHHHHH!!!” Seb interrupted, nearly shoving his pointer finger into Lucy’s face to further his point. To that, Lucy simply shrugged her shoulders as if to ask him ‘what the fuck he was doing’.

Seb leaned in closer to Lucy, covering his mouth with his hand. “They might be listening….”

He motioned out towards a new crowd of people as they approached the front doors where they’d been waiting. Lucy laid her head back and laughed. Seb, however, smacked her on the shoulder – lightly – but enough to shut her up.

Instead of being upset, Lucy nodded her head and leaned in towards Seb, her own hand covering her mouth as the people got closer. “You’re right, any one of them could be an agent of Zane.”

As the people passed by, the pair only received a few curious looks – to which they did their best impressions of people who weren’t at all paranoid OR suspicious. It only took mere moments for them to be by themselves outside the front doors once more. Seb sat forward on the bench and looked around for any cameras that could have been watching the exterior of the building. He spotted one, but it was down the parking lot.

He pointed it out to Lucy.

She nodded.

“Do you think it’s possible for him to know where we decided to go today?” Asks Lucy, her eyes squinting as she stared down the parking lot at the security camera.

Seb shrugged. “I didn’t think he’d know what bar we were at either…”

Lucy’s body language stiffened up. “Is he having us followed?!”

“If he is… I’m an innocent victim here!” Exclaimed Seb, as he placed a hand on his chest and looked wounded. Completely wounded, like… utterly devastated at the very thought.

Lucy rolled her eyes. “The fuck you are! What if Tempest is helping him now, hmm?”

Seb closed his eyes. “Shit.”

“You never know anymore….” Lucy sighed and leaned forward, shaking her head and lowering her voice back down to a whisper. “I mean what are the chances that we’re in basically the same match this week as we were last week?”

“And what a coincidence that they gain Montague and we gain…” Seb stopped whispering as he spotted someone else walking up the parking lot towards them… flanked by two cameramen, lugging an obscene amount of equipment. Lucy caught Seb’s gaze and when she glanced out at the spectacle that was approaching, she groaned.

“You’ve gotta be shitting me…”

“SHHHHHH! I bet those things can pick up what we’re saying from a kilometer away!” Seb said, swatting at Lucy.

“So it just heard that.” Lucy said defiantly.

“And that!” Seb argued back.

“Just shut up then.” Lucy barked back, putting her hand up to Seb’s face.

“You first!” Seb hissed back, slapping her hand away. “You are absolutely impossible, you know that?”

Lucy shrugged and started hovering her finger around Seb’s face, without touching him. “For someone who wants ME to shut the hell up, you’re incapable of doing it yourself.”

Seb again slapped at Lucy’s hand, but missed. “UGH. Stop it!”

“I’m not touching you…”

“What are you five?” Quipped Seb, trying once again to slap Lucy’s finger away. He glanced up to see that the cameramen and their subject were definitely getting closer… albeit at a snail’s pace.

Lucy looked up as well, noticing the same thing and shook her head. “We’re gonna be here all day waiting on him.”

Seb shot Lucy a glare. “What part of ‘SHHHHHH’ don’t you understand!? I know you’re old and all but–”

Instead of continuing the argument, Lucy shot Seb a glare of her own and sat back – crossing her legs. After a few seconds, Seb sat back as well with a smug and triumphant look on his face.

And they waited.

 

Today, Now, New York City

“Why was this the establishment that was decided upon for today’s… ‘Team Building Exercise’?” Travis asked, turning away from the massive green as golf balls of all colors flew around behind him. He eyed up both Seb and then Lucy, neither of which were readily volunteering an answer to what he deemed to be a super simple question.

Travis leaned on his golf club, crossing one leg over the other – unwilling to turn back and actually partake in this activity before he received an answer.

Lucy and Seb looked at one another, and then turned to Travis. Seb pointed to Lucy and shrugged his shoulders. Lucy took exception to Seb’s accusation and pointed back at him. Seb raised his arms in the air and shook his head, pointing his accusatory finger back in Lucy’s face.

Travis cleared his throat, drawing his teammates attention again. “While this… Pantomime act is adorable… It doesn’t really give me any real information.”

Seb once more pointed in Lucy’s direction.

Lucy sighed and rolled her eyes.

“So, this was her idea?” Travis asked. Seb nodded his head and shrugged his shoulders in the most exaggerated way he possibly could. “And you don’t know why?”

Seb shook his head and casted a disappointed look in Lucy’s direction to which Lucy threw her arms up into the air and pointed at Seb and herself. She then pretended to putt, and hit herself in the forehead with her closed fist and mimed a lump growing where she’d struck herself.

Seb scoffed in return and pointed to Lucy’s lip, still healing from last week’s excursion. Lucy nodded her head and pointed towards the set up in front of them – the suite they’d rented for the afternoon.

“Lucy and Seb… Got hit in the head and… Lucy’s lips got in the way? That’s why we’re here? I must say, I’m not impressed.” Travis finally said, shaking his own head and turning back towards the green, casting an awkward glance at the golf club in his hand. “I don’t believe Rogan and Sloane would be too thrilled to know that information.”

Lucy and Seb both looked to the other in disbelief before engaging in the most childish of antics – Lucy pushed Seb towards the edge of his seat, but the Chaos Champ stopped himself and began pushing Lucy towards the edge of hers. And then it became a test of strength and determination. Lucy pushed Seb, and Seb pushed Lucy right back until a loud thud was heard and Travis turned around to see Lucy on the ground and Seb silently celebrating.

“What.. What in the world is going on here?”

Lucy grunted and pulled herself back up to her seat and crossed her arms over her chest. “What does it look like?”

Seb gasped. “It looks like you lost.”

Travis can’t even begin to figure out what is going on, let alone why, so he let out another sigh and began to tap his foot on the floor. “Oh, they speak! I mean, I’m as big a fan of ‘show, don’t tell’ as anyone, but this was getting ridiculous for a situation where I don’t have cameras filming. Honestly, coming here, I thought we were training for a Centurion hunt or something, and certainly THAT could probably squeeze out a dramatic moment or two. But I digress, can you please tell me why you two are acting like a couple of–”

“Assholes?” Lucy chimed in, staring directly at Seb.

“Losers?” Seb spat back in Lucy’s direction.

“Idiots. I was going to say Idiots, but both of those are good adjectives too.” Quipped Travis as he smirked at both Seb and Lucy. “Now that you’ve both seemingly cured yourselves of being mutes.. Why are we here?”

Lucy sighed. “I thought I’d made it pretty clear, but let me spell it out for you. Last week, Seb and I had a few… mishaps, so I figured that maybe if we came to a place like this, where there’s little way we can wind up looking like we were in a brawl… We could actually have a little bit of fun.”

“Enlightened.” Seb replied, shooting a displeased look in Lucy’s direction before he returned his gaze to Travis and the shooting range behind him. “But what is the point of this…”

“Well if Travis would just take a shot, you’d find out.”

“Take a shot…” Travis asked, looking around at the ground and moving his club around on the ground to drive the point home that there was indeed no ball for him to hit. “…Of what, exactly?”

“Oh for fucks sake…” Lucy got up from her seat and moved towards Travis and took the club out of his hand and stepped up towards the open edge of the suite and waved the club in front of a sensor.. And out popped a golf ball. “See? A golf ball… Amazing…”

She lined up her shot and…

“You missed!”

“How quaint.”

“Shut the fuck up… Both of you.” Lucy replied, shaking her head. She tried again and this time she managed to hit the ball out onto the field, but nowhere near any of the large holes that were numbered. Lucy watched for a few moments, before turning away and heading back to her seat where she motioned to a waitress and ordered herself a drink. “Do you want a drink?”

“I think I’m going to need one…” Replied Seb.

“A seltzer water, please.” Travis said, as he picked up the discarded club and moved towards the ball spitter outer.

 

Less than an Hour Earlier…

And they waited for what felt like an eternity before Travis Pierce was upon them, his two cameramen filming every horrendously boring moment. Lucy and Seb sat up to greet him, both of them eyeing up the cameras before waving at Travis.

“Good afternoon…” Travis said, looking at the camera to his left and smirking. “…Partners.”

Lucy gagged.

Seb rolled his eyes and stood, motioning towards the front door of the building.

Travis and Seb began walking towards the entrance, but Lucy caught Seb by the arm and pulled him back to her, much to the confusion of Pierce. He watched on as Lucy covered her mouth and whispered something in Seb’s ear. Seb nodded his head before Lucy stepped forward and pointed to Travis.

“Me? What about me? I came here as you requested… I–”

Then Lucy pointed at the two cameramen.

“My Cameramen? What about them?”

Travis looked between Lucy and Seb, and when his eyes settled on Seb, Seb shook his head.

“No? No, what?”

Lucy sighed and stepped forward, pointing at cameraman A and B and then pointed back down the parking lot and shook her head. Travis couldn’t have looked more appalled if he’d tried.

“You cannot be serious.” Travis said, but when he looked between his cooperative partners for the week, he realized all too quickly that they were indeed serious. Both of them proceeded to point down the parking lot until Travis finally groaned. “Fine… fine. But you’ll regret this… you people just piss away money sometimes. Boys, take your leave of us.”

Both cameramen looked flabbergasted, and a bit upset that they had to lug all of that equipment back down the parking lot – but they did as he said. And a few moments later, Travis was still standing atop the steps, staring at their backs longingly.

Lucy and Seb just watched him for a time, but finally Travis’ show of… whatever this was became sickening enough that Seb walked over and tapped him on the shoulder and motioned towards the entrance.

Travis nodded his head, taking one final look at his cameramen before the three of them stepped inside.

 

Today, Now, New York City

Travis took his first shot just as the drinks were delivered, and it went noticeably further than Lucy’s did. However, when he turned around to showboat just a bit – He was disappointed to find Seb and Lucy not paying a single shred of attention as they both downed their respective drinks in one fell swoop.

Lucy motioned to the waitress for another round, as Seb stood and took the club from Travis’ hand.

“Did you–”

“Still didn’t get it in the hole.” Seb said as he passed by, and began to set up his shot.

Lucy chuckled. “That’s what she said.”

Seb rolled his eyes and Travis took a seat in the seat furthest from Lucy. All eyes were on Seb as he lined up the golf club and took his shot, placing his hand over his eyes as if he were watching the ball go further than any ball possibly could – when in reality, the ball ended up stopping just short of one of the holes.

The Pillar of Societal Chaos deflated like a cheap balloon and sulked back to his seat, grabbing his new drink and taking a healthy gulp, motioning for Lucy to take her turn.

“So, are we going to sit here enjoying each other’s company, or are we going to actually talk about the challenge we are facing this week?” Travis asked, prompting Lucy to remain in her seat for the time being.

“What’s there to say?” Lucy replied, shrugging her shoulders.

Seb opened his mouth to say something, but stopped himself and began looking around the suite until he found a pen and a piece of paper – and he wrote something down and handed it to Lucy. She was confused at first, until she read what he’d written, that is.

She nodded her head and took his pen and wrote something down, handing it back to Seb moments later. Meanwhile, Travis watched… and couldn’t help but shake his head at these two.

“…Why?” He finally asked when Seb and Lucy had finally finished passing notes back and forth to one another.

Seb looked confused. “I don’t know what you mean, Trav! I don’t know about Lucy here, but I am looking forward to this match this week!”

“Why are you yelling now? Jeeze. But, honestly, how could you not? Maybe you’ll actually have a chance of winning this time.” Replied Travis, matter of factly. Seb, meanwhile, wasn’t a fan of what he’d said, but he didn’t say anything unbecoming.

Lucy shook her head and took another drink of her beverage.

“Actually, Travis. I think Seb is talking more about our opponents than he’d like to let on. Isn’t that right, Seb?” Said Lucy, at a much higher volume than needed to be as well.

“ABSOLUTELY!” Yelled Seb, drawing a few awkward glances from the people in the suites around them. Then Seb leaned forward, towards Travis and continued. “Who wouldn’t want to step into the ring with the GOD man, Zane Scott and his associates?!”

“He is basically AMAZING.” Lucy exclaimed, she herself leaning in towards Travis.

Travis now looked completely exasperated as he backed away from them, well at least as far as he could while sitting. One could tell by the look on his face, that he regretted everything about this afternoon. “Sure… We will go with that. Can we… Just continue with the game?”

He pointed at the green and Lucy stood up.

“Yeah, you’re right. We should get our money’s worth.”

Lucy took her next shot, and while it was better than her last… She still was nowhere near anything that resembled any of the numerous holes. Travis was up next after Lucy retreated and while he was failing to get himself any points – Behind him, Lucy and Seb were whispering amongst themselves.

 

Much Less than an Hour earlier…

“How do we know he’s not an agent of Zane?” Lucy whispered to Seb as Travis walked ahead of them on their way upstairs to the suite.

Seb squinted at Travis’ back and sighed. “We don’t.”

“Well what do we do?”

Seb didn’t have an answer for her, so they continued on in silence until Travis rounded the corner and disappeared out of sight. Before they could follow him in, Seb extended an arm and stopped Lucy.

“This might sound crazy, but hear me out.” Seb began, garnering a confused look from Lucy. He shook his head and turned to face his fellow champion, a somber look on his face.

“What is it, Seb?” Said Lucy, quietly – Her eyes darting about their surroundings suspiciously.

“Well… I say we…” He swallowed hard. “…Praise the absolute hell out of Zane Scott.”

Lucy’s eyes widened, but after thinking about it for a few seconds, she nodded her head. “Yes… Yes. But maybe we try to get through this without talking first?”

Seb reached out and placed a reassuring hand on Lucy’s shoulder. “I know this is going to be hard for you, but I think this is the only way to get through this.”

She closed her eyes and nodded her head. “Fine. But we’re gonna do it after we try complete silence for a while.”

Lucy didn’t give Seb a chance to retort as she walked away and rounded the corner and left Seb all by his lonesome. Seb let out a sigh and shook his head as he slowly followed.

“She is impossible.” He muttered to himself, as he stepped inside the suite to join his partners.

 

Today, Now, New York City

“And now, I prove myself to be the strongest link in this team…” Travis boasted as he lined up his next shot. Unbeknownst to him, Lucy was inching towards his position while Seb watched on with baited breath.

Just as Travis reeled back to take his shot, Lucy leaned into his ear, “Are you an Agent of Zane?”

“What?!” Travis continued on with the swing, and he did indeed send the ball flying out into the field of play… He also sent the club along with it. He turned around, coming face to face with Lucy – A look of utter disgust on his face. “What in the WORLD are you talking about, ‘an agent of Zane’?!”

“SHHHHH!!!”

Travis then glared down at Seb who was holding his finger to his own lips.

“Be quiet! Oh my GOD.” Lucy hissed as she moved around Travis and sat back down, grabbing her drink and finishing it. The waitress was already there, placing down another round. Fantastic timing. Lucy grabbed the glass and cradled it like an infant while she stared at Travis with suspicion in her eyes. “…Or are you working with his associates?”

“His associates?! Who?” Travis was beside himself at this point, his face was turning a bright shade of red. “Are you talking about Tempest and Monta–”

“SHHHHHHHHH!!!! Don’t you know what SHHHHH means?!” Seb scolded.

“IF I AM an ‘Agent of Zane’ or ‘Tempest’ or WHOEVER… Why would my being quiet change anything?!”

Seb opened his mouth to speak, but had nothing to say. Lucy continued to drink her drink as she thought about his question. Neither of them had thought of this scenario, and neither of them had a response to it.

“He makes a good point.” Seb whispered as he leaned towards Lucy.

Lucy sighed. “I mean yeah, if he’s wearing a wire then he’s surely already heard–”

Travis threw his hands up into the air. “You think I’m wearing a wire for Zane Scott? Seriously? What are you two on?”

“Although…” Seb leaned forward in his seat, eyeing up Travis’ demeanor like he’s trying to find the imaginary key that Sloane had hidden the previous week… Except not as… well, you know. “Wouldn’t he be saying this if he were…”

“And he just didn’t want us to find out? He wants us to shit talk about our lord and savior.. Zane Scott!”

“Wrestling Jesus.” Seb proclaimed.

“Exactly.” Lucy agreed, before she polished off her drink.

Travis looked unsure for a moment. Unsure and completely disgusted by everything Lucy and Seb were saying. But finally he sat back down and shook his head. “If…IF  I were to prove it to you… How would I go about doing that?”

Lucy and Seb huddled together, whispering for a few minutes while Travis grew more and more impatient with each ticking second. Finally, the huddle ended and Seb called the waitress over while Lucy sat back with a smirk.

“I think we have the perfect idea, Trav.”

 

About Twenty Five Minutes Later…

“Ladies and gentlemen… Can I have your attention please?” Said Travis as he stepped up on the table. He looked down at Seb and Lucy. “Can’t we just… Find somewhere quiet and get the cameras back in here?”

“No!” Declared Seb. “Don’t be ridiculous, they could be bugged!”

“Exactly!” said Lucy.

“But we’re filming this anyway!” explained Travis. “But rather than using 4K quality video with Dolby Surround audio, we’re using the power of Jenny’s iPhone XR and Ronald’s Doro!”

“What the hell is a Doro?” asked Lucy.

“Oh my God, Google it!” said Travis.

“We will. Just… You know…” Lucy said before waggling her fingers at him as it to say ‘continue’.

“I…” Travis closes his eyes and shakes his head in resignation. “Fine.”

He clears his throat.

“Ladies and Gentlemen, may I have your attention please?” he declared, ever the show man. “I need no introduction, but for those of you who have spent your lives with your heads buried in the sand, my name is Travis Pierce. I am, the Icon of Entertainment…”

He glanced down at Seb and Lucy.

“This is so much easier when Cartwright does my introduction.” Travis said.

“A-tah-tah.” Seb said, making ‘get on with it’ gestures. Travis shook his head.

“Last week, my colleagues teamed together to face Zane Scott and Tempest. Their performance was, I’ll just say it, an unmitigated disaster. Abject failure, humiliation, and ridicule were the sum total result of their combined efforts. A performance so utterly drab and lacklustre that it made a Konrad Raab promo look like the combined works of Shakespeare.”

“Rude.” said Seb, with his brow furrowed. He turned to Lucy and nudged her “I said… Rude.”

“Hmm? What?” said Lucy. “Oh, sorry, I was googling Doro. I think Rogan could do with one of these…”

“You’re hopeless.” said Seb, rolling his eyes.

“But not to fear, friends. Despite the misguided decision to once again force this car crash of a duo to team together, they have a genuine opportunity to change their fortunes this week. Yes, that’s right, they are not alone. Whilst Zane and Tempest are forced to run the gambit of teaming with a man who’s performances are up and I down more than Lucy’s underwear…”

“Hey! That IS rude!” said Lucy.

“You’re right about this Doro phone – my gramps would love it.” said Seb, looking down at his own phone screen. Lucy scowled at both of her partners.

“… The unfortunate duo that you see before you have the opportunity to stand side by side with me. I elevate everyone who stands by my side. I have made legends of competitors like Jet Somers, Phixus Deimos and yes, even Sebastian Everett-Bryce himself. And whilst I am always destined for greatness alone, I have a certain knack for raising the levels of those who team with me to latch my own.” said Pierce with a nod.

“Is he for real?” asked Lucy, her arms folded.

“Unfortunately, yes.” said Seb, tucking his phone away. “And this was your idea, so its entirely your fault.”

“I… Wait…” Lucy began, before Seb cast her a look. “Okay, fine.”

“And the Piercing Truth, ladies and gentlemen, is that our opponents have no advantage. The Astro Creeps are fractured and floundering, while Zane seems destined to live out his days making tinfoil hats in a basement somewhere. Perhaps he could enlist the skills of Dave Rydell – start a podcast on pro-wrestling conspiracies. I’d offer a slot on the Piercing Media Network, but that’s a turd I couldn’t even roll in glitter. And I’ve made money off Seb…” said Pierce. The other patrons laughed.

“What the fuck?” Seb said, casting a look at Lucy who snorted and then finally controlled herself. “You are dead to me, Lucy Wylde.”

“Oof.” said Lucy, before chuckling again.

“This week will not end the same way as last week. There will be no shocked faces in the crowd in the midst of a Wylde-Everett-Bryce failure. Because this week, the bar has been raised. The levels have increased and our opponents don’t have the stomach or the will to match us. I am the silver bullet that Pierces the hearts of the mediocrity that stands before us. And they can deny it all they want, but when that bell rings, they will all learn that the truth hurts.” said Travis with a smirk.

There is a pause, and then, as one… Everyone in the entire room provided Travis with a standing ovation.

“Oh what the fuck?” said Seb, looking around furiously.

“You have got to be fucking kidding me.” said Lucy, looking mutinous.

“That’s how it’s done.” said Travis, before I’m turning on the spot and taking in the adulation.

Because of course he fucking did.