CAWS & Effect

[OrochiGeese]

We fade into a large conference room on the premises of the Peter Venkman Memorial Arena. Arthur Wingate walks in with Luke Kisiera.*

[Arthur:] "Quite impressive, Luke. Thank you for upgrading our facilities. It is also satisfying to finally have a place for meetings of the more contentious sort."

[Luke:] "You can only have Furis threaten to destroy your office so many times, right?"

*Arthur smiles and looks around the room at the start of the art features. Luke ushers him to the head of the table.*

[Luke:] "There is an audio-visual panel on the desk with a variety of options."

*Arthur studies the panel and furrows his brow at one as he points to it.*

[Arthur:] "Nina?"

*Arthur presses the button. Suddenly a ceiling panel falls and Mr. Clyde drops down while unfurling his katana.  A second after surveilling the situation, his shoulders slump and he looks at Luke.*

[Clyde:] "You didn't fix the typo yet, did you?"

[Luke:] "Sorry. Arthur, that is supposed to say ninja. We'll get that cleaned up for you before the meeting starts."

*As Clyde leaps up into the ceiling and Luke helps him re-affix the panel, a number of people walk into the room. We are joined by Drake Yoshida, Thunder Strike, Geese Walker, Kyle Walker, Robin Walker, and Jean Carter.  Jean Carter helps re-cuff Luke's "dungarees" (her words, not mine) as he's up on the table, eliciting a laugh from Robin. They all take seats at the table and talk amongst themselves, with Luke joining them as well once Clyde is fully out of sight.

Ten minutes later, they are joined by Devin Kunn and Agent 0. Without making eye contact with anyone, Kunn immediately sits down and starts setting his files up on the desk. Agent 0 looks carefully around the room, eyeing the "Nina" "Ninja" tile with a few seconds of additional surveillance. Finally, he sits down next to Devin and then recoils when he sees some of the participants of the meeting. He immediately points to Geese and raises his voice.*

[Agent 0:] "The last time we spoke, I forbid you from sharing information with Kisiera, Carter, and the Walker wonder twins. So what possessed you to bring them all to an actual meeting of ours?!"

*The rest of the room looks tense except for Geese and Robin who are laughing.*

[Geese:] "What possessed me?"

[Robin:] "Jinkies, Geese! Is he asking if you were taken over by a g-g-g-ghost?"

[Jean:] "Ghost goats in the building, I knew it!"

[Agent 0:] "Shut up!! You are completely unqualified to be here! This is exactly the kind of tomfoolery-"

*Geese stands up as quickly as his expression changes. The room falls to silence.*

[Geese:] "Luke, how much is this conference table worth?"

[Luke:] "About $10,000."

[Geese:] "I will reimburse you for it's value and sanitation costs if the Agent decides to disrespect my family again."

*Jean looks incredibly grateful at this remark but also nervous at the tension she caused.*

[Kunn:] "Spare us the posturing of the typical pro wrestling table destruction threats."

[Geese:] "Posturing? What would you know about threats?"

[Robin:] "Now Geese, I bet he's responsible for some nasty paper cuts."

[Kyle:] "If he needs any help with a stapler-"

*The meeting goes quiet as Robin gets Geese to sit down and places a hand on Kyle's shoulder.*

[Arthur:] "Ahem, this meeting is off to a rather inauspicious start. I suggest everyone cool themselves down, *looks at the Walkers* remember their thresholds, and *looks at Agent and Devin* stick to their reasons for requesting this meeting in the first place."

[Luke:] "Arthur, press the "Agua" button."

*Arthur reluctantly presses it and suddenly Agua the Wet Samoan walks into the room. He's dressed as a waiter and starts pouring water into everyone's glasses. Then he walks to the corner of the room and stays there. Devin Kunn is visibly uncomfortable with his presence.*

[Devin:] "Didn't the Council of American Wrestling Standards ban comedy wrestlers?"

[Agent 0:]" I have a better question. Where is the other one?"

[Luke:] "The other comedy wrestler? There are a lot. We can get Ferguson in here but we'll have to place an order for take out first. Arthur, press the button that says fried meats-"

[Agent 0:] "No! I mean the other wrestler that I demanded attend this meeting."

*We hear a voice from outside.*

"Demanded? If I knew you demanded that I come here, you could have saved me the trip."

*THRASH Ogawa saunters in with a smile on his face and his Universal Circuit Title belt draped over his shoulder. The demeanor of some in the room change, most notably Kyle and Geese who tense up. THRASH, seemingly noticing their reaction, or just being legitimately happy to see them, nods at them. He then takes a seat next to Devin Kunn who looks agitated and inches his chair away.*

[Devin:] "Mind your distance."

*THRASH grins and throws his feet up on the desk.*

[Luke:] "Geese, the table is about $9,900 now."

[Devin:] "Stop wasting our time!"

[THRASH:] "Hey bud, are you the voice that fines people for cursing in Demolition Man?"

*Luke lets out an audible laugh at this despite trying to suppress it.*

[Agent 0:]"Our patience is gone. You have made a mockery out of our time and efforts."

[Geese:] "If you wish to leave a meeting that you called before you actually did anything, then maybe you work for the government after all. I was wrong to doubt you."

*Robin laughs and then lightly elbows Kyle in the ribs, turning to him.*

[Robin:] "Wow, these non-meetings are pretty fun. I'm pissed I wasn't invited to all of them."

*Agent Zero has had it and springs to his feet yelling "ENOUGH!"

[THRASH:] "Then state your business or get off the pot."

[Agent 0:] "Thunder Strike - you will now step down as head of security for UBL as we agreed."

[THRASH:] "Whoa there cowpoke, what's all this we're hearing now?"

[Agent 0:] "In August of 2020, Thunder Strike and I made a gentleman's agreement, witnessed by at least five people currently in the room. The terms of our deal was that once our combined forces eliminated Jarec and neutered Gauntlet, Thunder would immediately step down as head of security."

[Geese:] "That is unfortunate."

[Agent 0:] "I wouldn't expect you to say that, but it certainly is for him."

[THRASH:] "No, he clearly means it's unfortunate for you."

[Agent 0:] "I want him to step down."

[THRASH:] "And I want to be placed in a never-ending kumite with the greatest warrior of every dimension. But I'm stuck sitting next to Mr. Smithers *Points to Devin* hearing you spit absolute bullsh*t out of your mouth. So we can't all get what we want now, can we?"

[Agent 0:] "Is Jarec not eliminated?"

[THRASH:] "That wasn't the deal I heard before. You said that Thunder and you had to be the one to do it. But I got news for ya, Rambo, you're looking at one of the reasons Jarec is gone. It wasn't you, it wasn't Thunder. Hell, against all expectations, it wasn't even a Walker."

[Geese:] "Yes, it was THRASH and his band of merry men. Quite astute."

[THRASH:] "I've never been merry in my life, Geese."

[Geese:] "In any case, Agent, THRASH is correct. You and Thunder had nothing to do with it. Therefore, you did not fulfill the terms of your agreement and the result can not be honored."

[Agent 0:] "That wasn't the only term."

[Geese:] "You did not fulfill the terms of your agreement. Either of them."

[Agent 0:] "Gauntlet is neutered."

[Geese:] "They are not. And if they were, it was a direct result of the Horde of Ogawa."

[THRASH:] "Much better name, chief, thanks."

[Agent 0:] "Good, get used to speaking. In fact, I suggest you strive to be your most honest self."

[THRASH:] "You won't find any lies on this side of the table, soldier."

[Agent 0:] "As opposed to the Prince of Propaganda sitting over there?"

[THRASH:] "Ha, no, as opposed to whatever you got going for you. So what's your question?"

[Agent 0:] "Did you or did you not have this meeting with Thunder Strike?"

*Agent 0 hands a flash drive to Arthur who plugs it into the multimedia panel. A large digital monitor slowly comes down from the ceiling. After the footage is loaded, Arthur presses play. We see footage of the May 6 backstage encounter between THRASH and Thunder Strike that Geese and Thunder Strike watched here. The room sits in silence watching the footage as the tension grows. You can see Kyle Walker getting ready to jump out of his skin. Arthur's finger gets closer to the "Ninja" button. When the footage ends, Arthur immediately stands up.*

[Arthur:] "The first person to resort to violence gets terminated and a career ban from this arena."

[Robin:] "Geese..."

[Geese:] "Old news, I told you about this already."

[Robin:] "Yeah, but not to him, Look-"

*Robin points to Kyle whose face is turning red.*

[Kyle:] "A killer, huh?"

*Kyle stands up and walks out of the room. Robin quickly follows him.*

[Geese:] "Well, Agent, it seems you have succeeded in throwing a rake at a bees nest. Would you be interested in poking a sleeping bear if I could have one flown in? An old friend owes me a favor."

[Agent 0:] "I don't give one sh*t about Kyle Walker. I brought this footage to prove that Thunder Strike was responsible for eliminating Jarec. He was the mastermind and THRASH was his weapon. Then they arranged it so they were 'caught' on this footage discussing it in a way that gave Thunder just enough plausible deniability to feign a lack of involvement. At most, he had constructive notice. Someone in his position, with his history. should have seen coming what THRASH did. But I won't rest on that assumption alone. I refuse to believe that footage was the only conversation the two ever had on this topic. That is why I called THRASH in here."

[THRASH:] "Ok, how you want to do this? Pentothal? Polygraph?"

[Agent 0:] "You'd submit to both?"

[Luke:] "Whoa - this is my arena, I have to make sure everything is legal. Thunder, what's happening?"

[Thunder:] "If THRASH accepts a truth telling serum and then submits to a lie detector test, then Agent Zero would be forced to abandon his claim that I had anything to do with Jarec's elimination. I would be able to keep my job. The polygraph and truth telling serum are fine if properly consented to."

[THRASH:] "And I do consent but I'm not doing this for you, Thunder. We have no issue, but I want everyone to be clear on who deserves credit for taking out Gauntlet and why. It was my generation that eliminated Jarec and Gauntlet. We didn't do it because of some war you two had on Skull Island with Jarec or because Geese is the chosen one to fight Destiny and bestow us all with the o-nemuri touch of the forbidden threshold. We did it because we are professional wrestlers who want to wrestle in a promotion where professional wrestling happens more than once a year. That's our war. So go ahead, Agent, plug me in. My truth will set us all free."

[Thunder:] "I'm going to ask everyone to leave the room except THRASH, Zero, and Arthur."

[Geese:] "I agree. Jean, I'm sorry but you're not going to want to watch this. I'll stay with you and Luke."

*With Thunder Strike's supervision, Agent 0 starts preparing THRASH for the test. Devin, Drake, Geese, Jean, and Luke step outside as the door closes. Devin and Drake stay outside the room The latter three roam the halls and look for Kyle and Robin. They find them standing outside Jean's office in the OG-Joshi wing of the building. Robin has succeeded in calming him down at least a little bit.*

[Geese:] "Everything all right here?"

[Robin:] "Yeah, it's okay. So uh, what's shaking with the Agent?"

[Jean:] "Yeah, it sounded like THRASH is a polymath and is going to take menthol."

[Robin:] "What?""

[Geese:] "THRASH has submitted to truth serum and will be taking a lie detector test for Agent Zero to determine whether Thunder Strike directed THRASH to eliminate Gauntlet."

[Robin:] "Wow, did they borrow their sneakers from that new surfer on the Basic Training roster?"

[Geese:] "No, why?"

[Robin:] "Cause that is some righteous shark jumping for ubble."

*Geese face palms as Luke looks nervous.*

[Jean:] "Is that all safe for THRASH?"

[Geese:] "I am certain Thunder will see that it is. They are probably using his, not Agent Zero's."

[Jean:] "Thunder Strike just walks around with truth telling serum?"

[Robin:] "Probably just for dates with Alicia."

*This gets a small grin from Geese but Robin looks annoyed no one else reacted.*

[Kyle:] "Why does THRASH even want to fight me?"

[Geese:] "He respects you, that's why. He admires your persistence and invincible spirit."

[Kyle:] "Then why doesn't he want to fight you?"

[Geese:] "We have a difference in opinion as to the mindset one should carry into a fight to honor it. I don't take it personally."

[Jean:] "You do seem edgy around him though, Geese."

[Geese:] "Certainly, but not because of that."

*We hear footsteps and see Drake turning the corner.*

[Drake:]: "The results are in."

*They head back to the conference room where THRASH is getting a bandage on his arm. He notices Kyle Walker walking into the room. Kyle slowly nods at him, causing THRASH to smile back and flex the bicep with the bandage on it. Everyone takes their seats and then Arthur stands up.*

[Arthur:] "THRASH Ogawa is telling the truth. Thunder Strike played no role in the pincer attack on Gauntlet. Although it was Thunder Strike who brought Jarec and his inner circle to the authorities, they had already been completely annihilated by THRASH and his peers. Therefore, Agent Zero, the terms of your deal have not been met and Thunder Strike is under no obligation to step down."

*Jean and Luke looks really happy as just about everyone else nods."

[Agent 0:] "I won't deny facts. I concede that Thunder didn't talk to THRASH ahead of time or have any active involvement. However, Gauntlet's defeat occurred on Thunder's watch. He was the head of security during the event where the head of the snake was cut off: causing the body to fail."

[Geese:] "Incorrect."

[Agent 0:] "You dispute they are defeated as an entity"

[Geese:] "I dispute it with ever fiber of my being. If they were defeated, we would be joined in this conversation by Celes and Figaro. They are not here, therefore, you are incorrect."

[Agent 0:] "I need further information, Geese. That isn't enough to go on."

[Geese:] "You will get nothing further."

*Agent signs then points to Thunder Strike with frustration in his voice.*

[Agent 0:] "You know what? That does it. Now I'm fully convinced. It's not just Ogawa's truth I believe, it's the fact I can no longer even imagine you being able to eliminate Jarec with the weakness you show. The old Thunder Strike would have stopped at nothing to gain information from an asset that you knew possessed it. Yet, you sit here content to just let Geese hold onto critical information without pushing him. Of all people too, Geese. The one who literally poisoned your mind. But because he lost his pals during an ill conceived raid on Destiny headquarters, you won't push for any further information, Thunder."

[Geese:] "You will get nothing further."

[Agent 0:] "So either Gauntlet is defeated, Geese is more delusional and paranoid than ever, and our business is done - or they are still out there and our partnership remains on the table?"

[Arthur:] "Regardless of the first question, I believe the answer to the second question is now abundantly clear. It is time to sever our arrangement that you thrust on us from the start with no warning or consent. You will, immediately, disband your Council of American Wrestling Standards or else we will go to the actual government with your fraud and misdeeds. You will no longer return to our promotion-"

[Luke:] "Or this arena-"

[Arthur:] "Exactly. Your presence and services, and those of Mr. Kunn, are no longer welcomed here."

*Kunn packs up his papers and immediately leaves the room. Agent Zero starts to grin.*

[Agent 0:]"Then I have no further responsibility to you."

[Thunder:] "Agreed."

[Agent 0:] "So if I had information about threats to UBL, you don't expect to hear them from me. I am under no obligation to tell you anything, regardless of our previous arrangement."

[Geese:] "Threats from you? If you wish to make them, we'd certainly entertain and respond accordingly."

[Agent 0:] "Cute, but I mean threats from outside this room. I offer you one final deal."

[THRASH:] "You leave before you get your ass kicked? Sure, I'll even sign with my blood."

*THRASH points to his bandage and smiles.*

[Agent 0:] "I have recently acquired footage that suggests you have a mole in your locker room."

*Agent Zero hands over another flash drive to Arthur.*

[Agent 0:] "The video from the hacked surveillance feed that I am giving you is intentionally blocked out in places. If you agree to my condition, I will provide you with the full video."

[Thunder:] "And the condition is for me to step down?"

[Agent 0:] "Yes, and this time the terms of our deal are quite clear and simple."

[Thunder:] "Arthur, there's no harm in seeing the sample he is giving us."

[Arthur:] "I do not wish to entertain his deal."

[Geese:] "I don't either, but let's see the footage. We may be able to figure it out anyway."

[Agent 0:] "Doubtful, unless Encyclopedia Brown and Nancy Drew over there try their hardest."

*Agent Zero points to Luke Kisiera and Jean Carter. To his shock and disgust, Luke pulls out two detective hats and magnifying glasses and hands one of each to Jean.*

[Robin:] "Hey Zero, are you just frustrated cause Carmen Sandiego won't go 'around the world' with you?"

*Agent O grunts angrily and points to the screen*

[Agent 0:] "Just show the damn footage already!"

*Arthur beep-boops the AV panel and a video appears on the big screen. The timestamp says 5pm on Friday, October 16, 2020. There is no audio but we see Jarec in the backstage area of the locker room. He is talking to someone but their identity is hidden by a black box edited onto the footage. Jarec pulls out what looks to be a business card. On the back of it, he writes a phone number and hands it to the person then leaves.*

[Robin:] "Riveting. The Academy can no longer snub Agent Zero's brilliance."

[Agent 0:]"If Thunder steps down right now, you'll get the raw video and the audio."

[Drake:]: "And how do we know it's not a Gauntlet member he's speaking to?"

[Agent 0:]"It's not. He's speaking to a member of your roster. If I'm lying about that, then Thunder does not have to step down. I'll be happy to agree to that condition to the deal."

[Thunder:] "We'll consider it."

[Geese:] "No, we absolutely won't. Arthur?"

[Arthur:] "Agreed. That offer is not on the table. Our business is concluded, Agent."

[Agent 0:] "The offer is still on the table and will not be taken away. If I am correct, the results of that conversation will yield great pain and suffering to the people in these two promotions. Once you realize that I am the key to stopping the bleeding, I will gladly offer this footage at the original price I just mentioned. However, if you wait too long, the price will go up. It won't just be Thunder Strike's career on the line and you won't have any leverage to resist."

[THRASH:] "We'll have our fists and that was good enough last time. Gauntlet's B team won't fare any better."

[Agent 0:] "You think the number on that card was for Gauntlet? It's going to be fun watching this. Oh, and you can keep the sample footage. Knowing you won't be able to crack it is entertaining enough."

*Agent Zero laughs and walks out of the room. He and Devin then leave the arena. The mood inside the conference room is hard to decipher. Some are relieved but some are anxious.*

[Robin:] "I know breakups can be sad but why is everyone so upset about this? He's bluffing."

[THRASH:] "Even if he isn't, we got this. Who is Jarec going to recommend that is more dangerous then him? If there actually was someone, why wouldn't he have called him in already to help them?"

[Thunder:] "Geese, if you know something."

[Geese:] "I will tell you this - none of the information that I have acquired or derived has anything to do with what Jarec just said. I received no holy knowledge of a mystery Gauntlet rolodex. And if this is related to Destiny, perhaps someone can ask Moreno, though I do not think she would be privy to this."

[Jean:] "Can't we just zoom in real close on that phone number and figure it out?"

[Thunder:] "We can and will but I imagine that was a single use phone number for a burner phone. Even if we knew the exact digits, the number is almost definitely out of use now."

[Luke:] "It may help to have that information for a future puzzle...errr, yeah, I'll say it, puzzle."

[Jean:] "Good job sticking to your guns, Luke! You are wearing a detective's hat, after all!"

[Thunder:] "THRASH, I know you didn't do any of that for me, but I appreciate your role in protecting my job."

[Arthur:] "And I appreciate your role in protecting our promotions, Thunder."

[THRASH:] "Well, I'm just going to say it. These promotions only matter if we get to wrestle. Are we going to get to do that again regularly with those two out of the way?"

[Arthur:] "Yes. It's back to business now that we are done relying on their subterfuge."

[THRASH:] "Good. Kyle, I'm sick of beating around the bush. I don't care when it happens or what motivates you to make it happen, but I want you in the ring by the end of this year. I'll do it in a sporting goods or office supply store if you feel more comfortable there. But we're doing it."

*THRASH picks up his Circuit Title and leaves the room. Thunder leaves shortly after with the flash drive that Agent Zero gave Arthur. Drake and Arthur stay behind to talk with Luke and Jean while Geese, Robin, and Kyle leave the arena as the scene finally fades.*