What is Hazard: Pt 2 Checkmate!
Aug 16, 2019 9:19:46 GMT -6
Jesse Styles, Hazard, and 2 more like this
Post by Roger Wright on Aug 16, 2019 9:19:46 GMT -6
AUGUST 15TH
Throughout the house, Shane searches, the coffee pot is half full on the counter, steam still rising from it. “Hello?” He calls out while still moving though out the house, from the rear window he can see down to the stables, where Marie is engaged in her riding lessons. “Roger?” Shane hollers into the emptiness of the house, still searching. He moves to the master bedroom door, ‘please be dressed’ he mutters under his breath as he pushes the door open to find Roger face down on the bed completely naked.
“Stinks like sex and Vanilla in here.” Shane said as he shook his head before moving to the curtains and drawing them back plunging the room into full sunlight. “What a glorious day it is!” He announces with a smile on his face, the lump of flesh in the bed stirring, pulling the covers over itself.
“Why?” Came the tired and annoyed voice of Roger.
“Because it 10:00 in the morning and you are still asleep, there is work to be done.” Came the reply of Shane as he moved to the door of the room. “Now get out of bed, and get going.” He watched as Roger sat up in the bed, the scratches on his back coming into view in the light. As he stood up, there was a clear and evident bite mark on his ass. “Jesus, what the hell have you gotten yourself into?” Shane asked, as Roger walked to the bathroom.
“Well earned battle wound.” Glancing over his shoulder, Roger gave Shane a wink and closed the bathroom door behind him.
“And to think, I thought Blair was going to kill him.” Shane says as he shakes his head and moves out of the room.
20 minutes pass before Roger emerges from the bedroom, boots and jeans, no shirt. He moves to the coffee pot and pours a cup, and proceeds to take a seat in his favorite chair, next to the couch that Shane is occupying with tablet in hand. “Might want to wear a shirt, Marie might worry if she sees the scratches on your back. Besides not sure she is ready for another woman in her life, especially after what Blair did.” Shane says as he sets the tablet down.
“Doesn’t know yet.” Came Roger’s reply before taking a sip of the coffee.
“You are going to have to tell her Roger.” Shane casually responded back.
“How do you tell a five year old that her mother chose a modeling agency, money, fame over her?” Roger asked as he sank down into the chair, taking another sip of his coffee. “I know she is a strong girl, but that fees like the kind of thing that can break her heart.”
“I think you overestimate her care for Blair.” Shane quipped back. “She normally would go back to Blair tonight, so you don’t have too much time to figure it out.”
“I know.” He takes another sip of the coffee and set the cup down, his hands moving to his temples and rubbing them. “Step into the ring with Hazard, no problem. Tell my daughter that her mother is a raging fucking psycho who cares more about money and fame than her, and I am scared.” A small chuckle escapes him, his hands dropping to the arms of the chair.
“I get it, maybe this will set your mind at ease a little; the video package for Hazard is in.” Shane turned the TV on, and grabbed the tablet, activating the chrome cast and a video starting on the screen.
Tree limbs crunch under foot as he walks through the forest, his boots snapping the twigs of bushes and crushing leaves that rest on the ground. Waves of his hand clear the underbrush before him, as the path becomes more and more clear. Before him is a fence, a sign with the universal symbol for Hazard hung upon it. Below the sign the fence is cut, a hole big enough for a man to get through, and he slides through it with ease. A mere five steps beyond the fence stands two giant signs with words in both Russian and English.
The Hazmat suit pushes forward beyond the signs, his steps deliberate, crushing more leaves and reaching another forest before him. Once more he pushes through the trees and bushes, hands swiping the limbs away, feet crushing the limbs and twigs below them. Finally he emerges beyond the tree line, and before him are buildings with broken windows, doors off the hinges, children’s toys strewn about, all being reclaimed by the forest and surrounding nature.
Our man reaches up with both hands, grasping either side of the hazmat suits head covering and removes it. Slowly he turns to the camera, Roger Wright wearing a giant smile on his face. “Did you think this was going to be dangerous, that you were brought here for some amazing tale of what a Hazard can do to the world? Then you were wrong, but don’t worry, you were not the only one that was mistaken here today.” Roger unzipped the front of the Hazmat suit as a group of men come into view behind him, cleaning up the small town.
The homes are seen being pulled down, as if nothing more than cutouts from cardboard, and within minutes, the town is gone, the toys are gone, and Roger is standing in his all too familiar attire. “Things in this life are hardly what they ever seem to be. There are evils in this world, things that cannot be controlled, and things that seek for belief of that thought. See all of you watched, waited with bated breath as we moved ever closer, wondering just what would Roger Wright do, what could he possibly have on his mind, all the while you missed the real trick, missed what was right in front of you this whole time.”
With his right hand Roger motioned to the background, the lack of anything now behind him. He motioned beyond the camera as it panned, to see even the trees he had walked through were now gone, all that remained a field, vast and green. “Confused yet? Minutes, mere minutes, and yet, the landscape has changed, the reality you sought, believed has been removed. Replaced with an even more true, even more damning reality, you never saw the truth. It was in front of you, staring you hard in the eyes, but you couldn’t see it.”
Passing in front of the camera, Roger moves through the field. “This is where that forest was, the fake trees, fake bushes, so easily manipulated by a simple hand, never biting the attire that I wore, but you didn’t notice that did you? No your eyes saw what I wanted them to see, saw an image played upon the screen that you had no choice but to believe, and this wasn’t the first time.” He continued to stride through the field stopping and squatting down, his hands rubbing the grass, their blades bending to the left and the right.
“There were signs here, not five minutes ago, but now, they are gone. Signs that were made of cardboard, but you didn’t see the waves in it; you didn’t catch the glimpse of the air holes on the sides as we passed by. No you were too busy looking at me, too busy seeing what you wanted to see, believing what you needed to believe.” Standing up from the squatted position, Roger moves further through the field.
“For years you cultivated a belief around the world that you were great at mind games. Yet you missed this one, it was right there the whole time, right there threatening to jump at you and bite you, and still you didn’t see it.” Reaching down in a quick and smooth motion Roger snatched up a snake from the field. “Dare I say, if it were a snake it would have bitten you!” Casually he tosses the snake to his left, the animal landing and slithering away.
“Ask yourself, why did you watch the press conference? Was it because you truly cared about the N.E.W.? No, something told you too, something beckoned to you; it called your name in the night, pushed you to it. So you watched it, you became engrossed in it, and my words pulled you from that slumber of tepid feelings for N.E.W. But you didn’t see the messages, around the podium, the two men who sublimely mimed words for you, and the two men who told you to come for Roger, who inspired you to give me your mask.” A sudden stop and Roger turned to the camera with a smile.
“Oh, maybe now you are realizing the truth, the truth that you were never in control, that when you thought you were in my head, it was me behind the wheel controlling you the whole time. Or do you need more proof?” A small chuckle escapes Roger’s lips. “Then why don’t we continue?” Left foot first, Roger again starts his walk across the field.
“How did that reaction to the mask make you feel Hazard? Did it bother you, get under your skin just a little bit? We all know the truth, you told us as much on Ignite, this last week, you felt I made a mistake when I didn’t see the warning you were giving me. But did it ever cross your mind that I did exactly what was needed to get you even more upset, that my actions were intended to control you?” Another stop and turn to the camera. “No, you were too busy thinking this was your plan, that this is what you wanted, so busy that you didn’t see the truth.”
A smirk crosses his face, his feet beginning the walk again as he turns away. “So what did you do? The very thing that anyone with half a brain thought you would, you showed up the next week and tried to cost me a match, tried to impose your will on me, to scare me. Yet again you were given what you needed, you needed to feel like you were in control and so I played upon your expectations, seeming engrossed with your arrival, so engrossed that it nearly cost me the match. But alas, you didn’t see the feigned shock upon my face, no you saw what you needed to see.”
Reaching a wood post and barbed wire livestock fence, Roger comes to as top. “With that implanted anger, frustration, and sense of control you did what you were pushed to do, guided to do. You attempted to kidnap my daughter, or had Spaz attempt to, but even that wasn’t your own idea was it?” A sick smile crossed Roger’s face. “You think it was though, and that was the point. Yet everywhere you turned you saw my daughter, saw images of kidnapped children, and you put it together subconsciously, making you believe it was always your own idea.” A wink followed.
“That brings us here.” As he points beyond the camera, it turns to a barn that is sitting just a few feet away, a barn that was kept off screen the whole time. “Do you know what is in there Hazard, what that barn is hiding from the world, what I didn’t want them to see?” A wide grin crosses Roger’s face as he moves forward and passes by the camera, moving towards the Barn. He reaches up, pulls the doors open, the camera moving inside to see the wonder that is held within, three tiers of torment.
Reaching into his pocket, Roger removes a photograph and holds it up before the camera. It is a picture of him, with a newspaper, and date stamp of 07/15/2019, words highlighted on the paper read. ‘You were played from the beginning!’
“Everything for you has been a lie Hazard, you were nothing but a victim of social engineering, and you are about to step into this monster before you, with a man who has been in control of you since the very beginning. You can try and convince yourself what you need, tell the world what you must, but in the end there is nothing that you can do to change your reality. You were played by a man you underestimated, controlled by a man you thought you could control, and at Ascension you will lose to a man that is just plane and simply put; better than you.” Another wink escaped Roger. “See you in just a few short days, when you arrive precisely where I want you too.”
“Is that what you have to fight in daddy?” Marie asked, both men turning their attention having not realized Marie entered the house, Shane pausing the video package out of instinct, the last image frozen on the screen that of the Three tiers of torment. “I don’t want you too daddy.” Marie said.
Standing up, Roger came to Marie he hugged her. “Sweetie, my little peanut, daddy will be ok. I promise you peanut, daddy would not get into that ring, into that match if he didn’t know he was going to come out of it ok.” Roger kissed her forehead.
“Blair’s slave will be here soon daddy, I need to get ready.” Marie started to walk away.
Reaching into his pocket Roger removed his phone and saw the last text he received from Ani. 'Ani likes Marie, she is strong girl, tell her about Blair she will be ok.'
Roger smiled at the message and looked up to Marie who was about to go up the first step. “Peanut, come here sweetie.” He slipped the phone back into his pocket.
Marie stopped and turned, walking slowly over to Roger, her head down. “Yes daddy?” She said, standing in front of Roger who knelt down to her, putting a hand on her shoulder.
“What if you didn’t have to go to Blair’s?” He asked, Maries head and eyes shooting up to meet his.
“Really?” She asked, full of excitement as she did. “I can stay and ride horses, and have fun, and I can have breakfasts with Anicka when she comes over?”
“Yes, you never have to go back, never have to see Blair again.” Roger said, Marie lept forward and tackled him to the ground with a giant hug.
“Thank you daddy, thank you.” She kissed his cheeks and jumped up smiling. “Did you hear that Uncle Shane? I don’t have to go back to see Blair!” Marie jumped up and down with excitement.
“We can get your stuff from Blair’s next week peanut.” Roger said.
“No, I don’t need it, everything I care about is here daddy.” Marie continued to jump up and down with excitement. “I’m going to go play daddy.” Marie rushed up the stairs, a mere few moments later, her feet could be heard throughout the house as she jumped up and down in her room with even more excitement.
“I told you.” Shane said with a smile on his face.
“You were right.” Roger replied. He removed his phone and sent a message to Ani. 'Thank you.'
AUGUST 16TH
Sitting at the bar, plate before him, Roger scooped some eggs onto his fork and stuffed them in his mouth. Next to him his cup of coffee steamed from the heat. Behind him the sounds of the news program Shane watched threatened to interrupt his morning meal. News of a possible terrorist bombing outside of a hotel somewhere in Wisconsin. Two confirmed dead, black SUV seen leaving the scene. Two more bits and Roger finished the eggs, he deposited the plate in the sink, gave it a cursory rinse and moved to the living area where Shane was sitting, cup of coffee in hand as he stood behind the couch.
“Our guys say it was him.” Came Shane’s words. “Meant for them, but then, well as we have seen lately Hazard isn’t on his A game.”
“We know who was in the car?” Roger asked as he took a sip.
“No clue, but authorities seem to be quite excited about it.” Came the reply. “You think he knows yet, think he’s seen the video package we put out yesterday?”
“No, he’s a stubborn mule, probably deeply engrained in this belief that he is in control.” Roger took another sip of the coffee. “We got the info on the SUV?”
“You know it.” Shane shot back with excitement in his voice. “Phones, everything, we have access to everything he has with him.”
“Good, broadcast it, let’s make him see it.” Roger said with a smirk. “We all know he thinks this is chess and that he is some grandmaster, but he needs to realize, needs to be shown he’s playing checkers.” A small chuckle escaped his lips.
“Done.” Shane sat back looked over his shoulder and could see that look in Roger’s eyes. He pulled out the phone and started recording.
Raising the cup to his lips Roger took another swig. “So much drama around, Hazard is blowing things up, trying to tell the world how great he is, trying to play mind games. Yet here I stand, cup of coffee in hand, a master plan all coming together, and a big smile on my face.” A wide smile crosses his face before another sip of coffee. “I find it odd that a man in so much control would be on the run, trying to escape from something, fearful of someone keeping an eye on him. But then, what would I know, other than the truth of what stands before you.”
Roger sipped the coffee again and let a small grin cross his face. “In the past Hazard has talked of people being nothing more than pawns in this great big game of chess, his game of chess. Well, it would appear the master has become the pawn, an unwittingly sad reversal of power. It’s never fun losing that much control, never feels good, in fact we fight it with every ounce and fiber of our being, refusing to see it even though it is right in front of us. We lash out with violence, scream into our pillows at night, and try desperately to grasp for anything that will make us feel like we haven’t lost it. I know this from my own personal experience, and I know how the narrative plays out. Every word, every action will be to prove that it isn’t true, a sad desperate attempt to save face, but reality is a bitch, and there is going to be no changing it.” Another sip of his coffee before continuing.
“I would like to think you knew the truth Hazard, but then you are still clearly stuck in the denial stage, still hung up on the idea that it can’t be true. The great and almighty Hazard can’t have possibly lost control, no he has to be the one calling the shots, writing the narrative. But things have changed, you are no longer in control. You can talk about Snakes, that was just a hook, you can talk about your need to want to maim me, that was the line, but thinking it was all your idea, that is the sinker.” Tilting up the cup, he finishes off the coffee.
“Always be the smartest man in the room. Words I want you to remember when you are being carted out of Ascension, because that is the real name of the game. At no point where you ever in control, at no point where you ever anywhere I didn’t want you to be Hazard, I pulled you out of retirement, I made you want this match, and I have controlled your every step and you didn’t even know what was taking place. So tell me, how does it feel to be the hunted, how does it feel to be the pawn? Because at Ascension the King is coming, and for you, it’s Checkmate!” Roger winked, turned on his heel and moved for back patio.
“Video package delivered, and I tacked that onto the end of it.” Now standing, Shane set his phone down on the table with a smile.
“He thinks this was about the title, that it matters. This was and has always been about beating him, beating him at his own game, in his own match.” Roger just laughed as he slid the patio door open and stepped out onto it. Across the field he could see Marie on her horse being led around by the trainer, she waved at him, and Roger waved back. “I think it’s time for that ride with my daughter.” He pulled the door to the patio shut and started walking down to the stables.
Throughout the house, Shane searches, the coffee pot is half full on the counter, steam still rising from it. “Hello?” He calls out while still moving though out the house, from the rear window he can see down to the stables, where Marie is engaged in her riding lessons. “Roger?” Shane hollers into the emptiness of the house, still searching. He moves to the master bedroom door, ‘please be dressed’ he mutters under his breath as he pushes the door open to find Roger face down on the bed completely naked.
“Stinks like sex and Vanilla in here.” Shane said as he shook his head before moving to the curtains and drawing them back plunging the room into full sunlight. “What a glorious day it is!” He announces with a smile on his face, the lump of flesh in the bed stirring, pulling the covers over itself.
“Why?” Came the tired and annoyed voice of Roger.
“Because it 10:00 in the morning and you are still asleep, there is work to be done.” Came the reply of Shane as he moved to the door of the room. “Now get out of bed, and get going.” He watched as Roger sat up in the bed, the scratches on his back coming into view in the light. As he stood up, there was a clear and evident bite mark on his ass. “Jesus, what the hell have you gotten yourself into?” Shane asked, as Roger walked to the bathroom.
“Well earned battle wound.” Glancing over his shoulder, Roger gave Shane a wink and closed the bathroom door behind him.
“And to think, I thought Blair was going to kill him.” Shane says as he shakes his head and moves out of the room.
20 minutes pass before Roger emerges from the bedroom, boots and jeans, no shirt. He moves to the coffee pot and pours a cup, and proceeds to take a seat in his favorite chair, next to the couch that Shane is occupying with tablet in hand. “Might want to wear a shirt, Marie might worry if she sees the scratches on your back. Besides not sure she is ready for another woman in her life, especially after what Blair did.” Shane says as he sets the tablet down.
“Doesn’t know yet.” Came Roger’s reply before taking a sip of the coffee.
“You are going to have to tell her Roger.” Shane casually responded back.
“How do you tell a five year old that her mother chose a modeling agency, money, fame over her?” Roger asked as he sank down into the chair, taking another sip of his coffee. “I know she is a strong girl, but that fees like the kind of thing that can break her heart.”
“I think you overestimate her care for Blair.” Shane quipped back. “She normally would go back to Blair tonight, so you don’t have too much time to figure it out.”
“I know.” He takes another sip of the coffee and set the cup down, his hands moving to his temples and rubbing them. “Step into the ring with Hazard, no problem. Tell my daughter that her mother is a raging fucking psycho who cares more about money and fame than her, and I am scared.” A small chuckle escapes him, his hands dropping to the arms of the chair.
“I get it, maybe this will set your mind at ease a little; the video package for Hazard is in.” Shane turned the TV on, and grabbed the tablet, activating the chrome cast and a video starting on the screen.
Tree limbs crunch under foot as he walks through the forest, his boots snapping the twigs of bushes and crushing leaves that rest on the ground. Waves of his hand clear the underbrush before him, as the path becomes more and more clear. Before him is a fence, a sign with the universal symbol for Hazard hung upon it. Below the sign the fence is cut, a hole big enough for a man to get through, and he slides through it with ease. A mere five steps beyond the fence stands two giant signs with words in both Russian and English.
CARE!
Radiation effected area
Chernobyl zone restricted territory
BANNED:
Trespassers incur
administrative penalty and
criminal responsibility
pertinent to the
laws of Ukraine
Radiation effected area
Chernobyl zone restricted territory
BANNED:
Trespassers incur
administrative penalty and
criminal responsibility
pertinent to the
laws of Ukraine
The Hazmat suit pushes forward beyond the signs, his steps deliberate, crushing more leaves and reaching another forest before him. Once more he pushes through the trees and bushes, hands swiping the limbs away, feet crushing the limbs and twigs below them. Finally he emerges beyond the tree line, and before him are buildings with broken windows, doors off the hinges, children’s toys strewn about, all being reclaimed by the forest and surrounding nature.
Our man reaches up with both hands, grasping either side of the hazmat suits head covering and removes it. Slowly he turns to the camera, Roger Wright wearing a giant smile on his face. “Did you think this was going to be dangerous, that you were brought here for some amazing tale of what a Hazard can do to the world? Then you were wrong, but don’t worry, you were not the only one that was mistaken here today.” Roger unzipped the front of the Hazmat suit as a group of men come into view behind him, cleaning up the small town.
The homes are seen being pulled down, as if nothing more than cutouts from cardboard, and within minutes, the town is gone, the toys are gone, and Roger is standing in his all too familiar attire. “Things in this life are hardly what they ever seem to be. There are evils in this world, things that cannot be controlled, and things that seek for belief of that thought. See all of you watched, waited with bated breath as we moved ever closer, wondering just what would Roger Wright do, what could he possibly have on his mind, all the while you missed the real trick, missed what was right in front of you this whole time.”
With his right hand Roger motioned to the background, the lack of anything now behind him. He motioned beyond the camera as it panned, to see even the trees he had walked through were now gone, all that remained a field, vast and green. “Confused yet? Minutes, mere minutes, and yet, the landscape has changed, the reality you sought, believed has been removed. Replaced with an even more true, even more damning reality, you never saw the truth. It was in front of you, staring you hard in the eyes, but you couldn’t see it.”
Passing in front of the camera, Roger moves through the field. “This is where that forest was, the fake trees, fake bushes, so easily manipulated by a simple hand, never biting the attire that I wore, but you didn’t notice that did you? No your eyes saw what I wanted them to see, saw an image played upon the screen that you had no choice but to believe, and this wasn’t the first time.” He continued to stride through the field stopping and squatting down, his hands rubbing the grass, their blades bending to the left and the right.
“There were signs here, not five minutes ago, but now, they are gone. Signs that were made of cardboard, but you didn’t see the waves in it; you didn’t catch the glimpse of the air holes on the sides as we passed by. No you were too busy looking at me, too busy seeing what you wanted to see, believing what you needed to believe.” Standing up from the squatted position, Roger moves further through the field.
“For years you cultivated a belief around the world that you were great at mind games. Yet you missed this one, it was right there the whole time, right there threatening to jump at you and bite you, and still you didn’t see it.” Reaching down in a quick and smooth motion Roger snatched up a snake from the field. “Dare I say, if it were a snake it would have bitten you!” Casually he tosses the snake to his left, the animal landing and slithering away.
“Ask yourself, why did you watch the press conference? Was it because you truly cared about the N.E.W.? No, something told you too, something beckoned to you; it called your name in the night, pushed you to it. So you watched it, you became engrossed in it, and my words pulled you from that slumber of tepid feelings for N.E.W. But you didn’t see the messages, around the podium, the two men who sublimely mimed words for you, and the two men who told you to come for Roger, who inspired you to give me your mask.” A sudden stop and Roger turned to the camera with a smile.
“Oh, maybe now you are realizing the truth, the truth that you were never in control, that when you thought you were in my head, it was me behind the wheel controlling you the whole time. Or do you need more proof?” A small chuckle escapes Roger’s lips. “Then why don’t we continue?” Left foot first, Roger again starts his walk across the field.
“How did that reaction to the mask make you feel Hazard? Did it bother you, get under your skin just a little bit? We all know the truth, you told us as much on Ignite, this last week, you felt I made a mistake when I didn’t see the warning you were giving me. But did it ever cross your mind that I did exactly what was needed to get you even more upset, that my actions were intended to control you?” Another stop and turn to the camera. “No, you were too busy thinking this was your plan, that this is what you wanted, so busy that you didn’t see the truth.”
A smirk crosses his face, his feet beginning the walk again as he turns away. “So what did you do? The very thing that anyone with half a brain thought you would, you showed up the next week and tried to cost me a match, tried to impose your will on me, to scare me. Yet again you were given what you needed, you needed to feel like you were in control and so I played upon your expectations, seeming engrossed with your arrival, so engrossed that it nearly cost me the match. But alas, you didn’t see the feigned shock upon my face, no you saw what you needed to see.”
Reaching a wood post and barbed wire livestock fence, Roger comes to as top. “With that implanted anger, frustration, and sense of control you did what you were pushed to do, guided to do. You attempted to kidnap my daughter, or had Spaz attempt to, but even that wasn’t your own idea was it?” A sick smile crossed Roger’s face. “You think it was though, and that was the point. Yet everywhere you turned you saw my daughter, saw images of kidnapped children, and you put it together subconsciously, making you believe it was always your own idea.” A wink followed.
“That brings us here.” As he points beyond the camera, it turns to a barn that is sitting just a few feet away, a barn that was kept off screen the whole time. “Do you know what is in there Hazard, what that barn is hiding from the world, what I didn’t want them to see?” A wide grin crosses Roger’s face as he moves forward and passes by the camera, moving towards the Barn. He reaches up, pulls the doors open, the camera moving inside to see the wonder that is held within, three tiers of torment.
Reaching into his pocket, Roger removes a photograph and holds it up before the camera. It is a picture of him, with a newspaper, and date stamp of 07/15/2019, words highlighted on the paper read. ‘You were played from the beginning!’
“Everything for you has been a lie Hazard, you were nothing but a victim of social engineering, and you are about to step into this monster before you, with a man who has been in control of you since the very beginning. You can try and convince yourself what you need, tell the world what you must, but in the end there is nothing that you can do to change your reality. You were played by a man you underestimated, controlled by a man you thought you could control, and at Ascension you will lose to a man that is just plane and simply put; better than you.” Another wink escaped Roger. “See you in just a few short days, when you arrive precisely where I want you too.”
“Is that what you have to fight in daddy?” Marie asked, both men turning their attention having not realized Marie entered the house, Shane pausing the video package out of instinct, the last image frozen on the screen that of the Three tiers of torment. “I don’t want you too daddy.” Marie said.
Standing up, Roger came to Marie he hugged her. “Sweetie, my little peanut, daddy will be ok. I promise you peanut, daddy would not get into that ring, into that match if he didn’t know he was going to come out of it ok.” Roger kissed her forehead.
“Blair’s slave will be here soon daddy, I need to get ready.” Marie started to walk away.
Reaching into his pocket Roger removed his phone and saw the last text he received from Ani. 'Ani likes Marie, she is strong girl, tell her about Blair she will be ok.'
Roger smiled at the message and looked up to Marie who was about to go up the first step. “Peanut, come here sweetie.” He slipped the phone back into his pocket.
Marie stopped and turned, walking slowly over to Roger, her head down. “Yes daddy?” She said, standing in front of Roger who knelt down to her, putting a hand on her shoulder.
“What if you didn’t have to go to Blair’s?” He asked, Maries head and eyes shooting up to meet his.
“Really?” She asked, full of excitement as she did. “I can stay and ride horses, and have fun, and I can have breakfasts with Anicka when she comes over?”
“Yes, you never have to go back, never have to see Blair again.” Roger said, Marie lept forward and tackled him to the ground with a giant hug.
“Thank you daddy, thank you.” She kissed his cheeks and jumped up smiling. “Did you hear that Uncle Shane? I don’t have to go back to see Blair!” Marie jumped up and down with excitement.
“We can get your stuff from Blair’s next week peanut.” Roger said.
“No, I don’t need it, everything I care about is here daddy.” Marie continued to jump up and down with excitement. “I’m going to go play daddy.” Marie rushed up the stairs, a mere few moments later, her feet could be heard throughout the house as she jumped up and down in her room with even more excitement.
“I told you.” Shane said with a smile on his face.
“You were right.” Roger replied. He removed his phone and sent a message to Ani. 'Thank you.'
AUGUST 16TH
Sitting at the bar, plate before him, Roger scooped some eggs onto his fork and stuffed them in his mouth. Next to him his cup of coffee steamed from the heat. Behind him the sounds of the news program Shane watched threatened to interrupt his morning meal. News of a possible terrorist bombing outside of a hotel somewhere in Wisconsin. Two confirmed dead, black SUV seen leaving the scene. Two more bits and Roger finished the eggs, he deposited the plate in the sink, gave it a cursory rinse and moved to the living area where Shane was sitting, cup of coffee in hand as he stood behind the couch.
“Our guys say it was him.” Came Shane’s words. “Meant for them, but then, well as we have seen lately Hazard isn’t on his A game.”
“We know who was in the car?” Roger asked as he took a sip.
“No clue, but authorities seem to be quite excited about it.” Came the reply. “You think he knows yet, think he’s seen the video package we put out yesterday?”
“No, he’s a stubborn mule, probably deeply engrained in this belief that he is in control.” Roger took another sip of the coffee. “We got the info on the SUV?”
“You know it.” Shane shot back with excitement in his voice. “Phones, everything, we have access to everything he has with him.”
“Good, broadcast it, let’s make him see it.” Roger said with a smirk. “We all know he thinks this is chess and that he is some grandmaster, but he needs to realize, needs to be shown he’s playing checkers.” A small chuckle escaped his lips.
“Done.” Shane sat back looked over his shoulder and could see that look in Roger’s eyes. He pulled out the phone and started recording.
Raising the cup to his lips Roger took another swig. “So much drama around, Hazard is blowing things up, trying to tell the world how great he is, trying to play mind games. Yet here I stand, cup of coffee in hand, a master plan all coming together, and a big smile on my face.” A wide smile crosses his face before another sip of coffee. “I find it odd that a man in so much control would be on the run, trying to escape from something, fearful of someone keeping an eye on him. But then, what would I know, other than the truth of what stands before you.”
Roger sipped the coffee again and let a small grin cross his face. “In the past Hazard has talked of people being nothing more than pawns in this great big game of chess, his game of chess. Well, it would appear the master has become the pawn, an unwittingly sad reversal of power. It’s never fun losing that much control, never feels good, in fact we fight it with every ounce and fiber of our being, refusing to see it even though it is right in front of us. We lash out with violence, scream into our pillows at night, and try desperately to grasp for anything that will make us feel like we haven’t lost it. I know this from my own personal experience, and I know how the narrative plays out. Every word, every action will be to prove that it isn’t true, a sad desperate attempt to save face, but reality is a bitch, and there is going to be no changing it.” Another sip of his coffee before continuing.
“I would like to think you knew the truth Hazard, but then you are still clearly stuck in the denial stage, still hung up on the idea that it can’t be true. The great and almighty Hazard can’t have possibly lost control, no he has to be the one calling the shots, writing the narrative. But things have changed, you are no longer in control. You can talk about Snakes, that was just a hook, you can talk about your need to want to maim me, that was the line, but thinking it was all your idea, that is the sinker.” Tilting up the cup, he finishes off the coffee.
“Always be the smartest man in the room. Words I want you to remember when you are being carted out of Ascension, because that is the real name of the game. At no point where you ever in control, at no point where you ever anywhere I didn’t want you to be Hazard, I pulled you out of retirement, I made you want this match, and I have controlled your every step and you didn’t even know what was taking place. So tell me, how does it feel to be the hunted, how does it feel to be the pawn? Because at Ascension the King is coming, and for you, it’s Checkmate!” Roger winked, turned on his heel and moved for back patio.
“Video package delivered, and I tacked that onto the end of it.” Now standing, Shane set his phone down on the table with a smile.
“He thinks this was about the title, that it matters. This was and has always been about beating him, beating him at his own game, in his own match.” Roger just laughed as he slid the patio door open and stepped out onto it. Across the field he could see Marie on her horse being led around by the trainer, she waved at him, and Roger waved back. “I think it’s time for that ride with my daughter.” He pulled the door to the patio shut and started walking down to the stables.