Post by Preecha Kamon on Oct 24, 2017 21:40:27 GMT -6
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Armand intertwined his fingers and cracked his knuckles.
Armand De La Fontaine
Now, don’t think I left Corey Bull and Oblivion out of my praise series because I think they are jokes. Quite the opposite. They are much like Preecha in the fact that they have yet to win the World Heavyweight Title, not due to lack of talent but lack of opportunity. And you best believe now that they have the chance, they are going to do everything in their ability to get it. Hell, we’re in their backyard in a way of thinking about it. Look, you have two giant monsters who are in no way afraid to hurt people. It is why they are such successes in UCI. One who is not plagued by the morality of humanity will be the first to do what needs to be done. Whether it is a good or bad thing doesn’t matter. In competition, you have to take it anyway you can get it and these two men are experts of such tactics.
Preecha faced Corey Bull last week in one hell of a grueling match up. Sure, Preecha was able to get the victory, but that was more to a slip up through Shadowlove than any failure by Corey Bull. And even afterwards, Mr. Bull showed how truly ferocious he is when he decided to take his revenge out on the ref! I was biting my nails all through the match and now the thought of having to watch Preecha go up against him again tears my heart apart, truly. And this time it will be with weapons and barbed wire. How Preecha doesn’t flinch when he thinks about it is beyond me. If there is anyone who would truly earn the nickname ‘Relentless’ in this match, I am almost positive it would be him. Might as well call the match ‘Corey Bull’s toy pit of fun!’
Armand shook his head to get rid of the images that flashed into his head.
Armand De La Fontaine
I don’t know what any of the people who had input into this card were thinking when they put this man into the match. This cage is already a liability for UCI and now they basically signed multiple death warrants by introducing him into the mix. If no one ends up hospitalized at the end of this match, it could only be a miracle.
_______
I didn’t expect to see the carnage that I did when I asked Preecha to let me come along. He insisted I stayed back but I just wouldn’t take no for an answer. Had I known what I would see...maybe I would have listened. And it wasn’t just the bodies, even though the sight was indeed horrendous...Have you ever seen a dead body before? It has a chilling effect to it. You don’t just see the physical matter of their person but you also can feel the lifelessness inside of it as it grows pale. Now, add the fact that moments ago, you saw it alive and moving around...It really makes you think about your own mortality.
But, beyond all that, there was something else that sunk my heart deeper than even the death of living human beings, and that was the sight of the man who was taking their lives. I have known Preecha for a long time but I never could have imagined that the man from those days long ago could be the man who was standing in front of me now. His eyes were fire and his mouth was an eternal sneer with teeth that seemed to sharpen with every kill. What I saw wasn’t the cold, stoic, fighter who I had trusted myself around so often. It was a demon who came upon the Earth to disperse vengeance and bring evil back down to hell with him.
The moment we arrived and he had busted through the door, it had been nothing but chaos. Who would think that an old concert hall could be so life threatening. Hiding behind a wall, I felt more useless than I have ever felt in my life. I was frozen with fear. But, Preecha, he moved through the blaze without hesitation. Why did I want to come along? It felt like my duty, my purpose...What was I thinking then…
It was still noon when Preecha arrived at the warehouse I had held myself up in for the last year. I watched from the window as his motorcycle roared into view. My heart seemed to beat in an odd manner, almost off rhythm as I saw him get closer. There were heavy thumps but also a deep dread. It had been so long since we had last seen each other and I felt so bad the whole time I was helping him and Armand but couldn’t let them know it was me or where I was. It was too much of a risk for all of us...But now that doesn’t matter. The Russians had Armand and they weren’t kidding around this time. We have to sacrifice those barriers if we wanted to get him back.
When I finally opened the door and saw him face to face, a thousand different things came to mind but I could only bring myself to say one thing…
Trinity Hayashi
Hello Preecha…
He stared at me in disbelief and astonishment. He probably thought I was dead for the longest time. It was time to explain myself…
I brought him into the warehouse which remained fairly empty with the exception of the random crates and wild strands of wires that led to the center where there was an impressive row of servers. It was a system of block boxes blinking with red and green lights with a chaotic arrangement of knobs and switches. Beyond that, there were stairs that led to a second floor where the computers and other such electronics were held. This wasn’t even everything available to me. Some of the crates were filled with stolen hardware, software, and tactical weapons, things not meant for public consumption.
I took a seat on a small crate near the entrance. I saw that Preecha was still a little aloof from the one realization he hadn’t been expecting. I was a little rusty in my sign language but I tried to manage the best I could.
[You probably thought I was dead…]
He nodded.
[I’m sorry…]
It was before I could finish my signing, before I could register what he was doing, that he wrapped his arms tight around me. A moment of silence passed before I brought myself to do the same…
Preecha Kamon
I mizz-d yew, zo mush…
Another heavy thump from my heart...It was a moment before we parted and I continued my explanation. It became difficult at one point to explain the more detailed parts in sign language. I had to leave the rest to him reading my lips further into the conversation…
Trinity Hayashi
...So, it was my uncle who was able to get me out of Texas. I hadn’t heard from him in years and suddenly he came in out of nowhere through the madness. It turns out that he had been a resistance fighter for a long time and all this equipment is his. If him and his allies hadn’t come to save me, I would have been swallowed up by the chaos. It wasn’t right away that we came here, though. We had been slowly travelling the country, trying to gather others to join the cause and help defend ourselves against The Wave. It was only after reading a paper in Indiana, detailing the exploits of someone the locals of Chicago called “Ānjìng” that I had a sneaking suspicion that you two had survived as well. Convincing my Uncle what powerful allies you would be, we aimed to take root in Illinois...For many different reasons, including accruing some enemies ourselves, we weren’t able to contact you for a long time until recently. And even then, I couldn’t risk reaching out to you outright. I had to do it in very round about ways. In the meantime, my Uncle has been slowly teaching me how to use all of this. I’m not perfect at it, but with my Uncle’s help, I’ve been able to do what I can to help you guys...Until...It didn’t work.
I thought back to how it happened and I was still in disbelief about everything. Not only about The Wave but how everything unfolded and how we were together once again...None of it felt real...But beyond that, I also couldn’t quite believe how I failed…failed both Preecha and Armand.
Trinity Hayashi
Preecha...My skills weren’t enough to protect you and Armand. The access to the Russian servers I was able to give to Armand is the reason you are here right now and why Armand isn’t with you. I tried to put a ‘governor’ of sorts on his ability to use the server but he must have found a way around it. That is what alerted the Russians to Armand and helped them locate your base. If only Armand could have listened for once and not been so damn stubborn...But, then he wouldn’t be Armand, I guess.
_______
Armand De La Fontaine
But Corey Bull isn’t the only one who can thrive in this match. Next to him, you have the legendary psycho himself, Oblivion...There is a lot to talk about with this beast of carnage. A long history of ended careers, murder and rape, and a healthy amount of achievements just like everyone else in this match. Obsessed with blood, guts, and brains, IT should feel right at home. In fact, he should flourish and be the one true threat for the World title in my humble opinion...But he fucked up and did the one thing that will hurt his chances to leave that ring with the title and that was ambushing us when him and Preecha were slated to fight. I know I have gone on ad-nauseum about this but that is because there is a very good reason.
When you attacked us, Oblivion, you flipped a switch inside of Preecha. It had shifted him so deeply that what seemed like a downward spiral turned in a passionate run for the top of the mountain. If you hadn’t attacked us and the match had played out like scheduled, everything would probably had been different. Preecha wouldn’t have had the motivation he did to make it through the qualifier match so he could meet you in the ring. He wouldn’t be so motivated to become the top dog and etch his name in UCI history. In fact, he probably would have gotten bored and moved on from UCI. But what you did when you attacked him and opened up his head was insult him.
See, you didn’t treat him like an opponent. You didn’t treat him like an equal, you treated him like a toy. You treated him like one of your helpless victims. And if there is anything Preecha is not, it is either of those things. You lit a fire under his ass! All of a sudden, he realized he was not being taken seriously. People thought they could walk all over him. That was not how his Mother raised him…
Preecha might not seem like it with his silent demeaning and his stoic gaze, but he is a very proud person. I know better than anyone that he doesn’t take criticism, let alone an insult, very well. He is stubborn and protective of a lot of things. And one of those things is his ability to fight because when he fights, it isn’t just about him. It isn’t just about his skill. It is also about the history he carries along with it. Being that he is the only Muay Thai Kickboxer in UCI, he incidentally carries a whole culture, maybe even a whole country of people. He pretends he is just fighting for himself but if he was, he wouldn’t be nearly as driven.
So, when you decided he was going to be the target of one of your outbursts, you didn’t just spit on him and rub dirt in the wounds, you insulted his heritage, his people, and most of all his Grandpa who is the very person who taught him how to fight…
Now, let me paint a picture here for you. The last time I even tried to question him about his Grandfather, he nearly kicked my head off. He doesn’t say much about his family but he is very protective of their memory. It might seem like a stretch to say you insulted his family when you attacked him, but this is a man who spends more time fighting and training than he spends being rational. If it was up to me, I’d just get someone else to take care of you. But, Preecha insists on taking you on himself. He didn’t care how it would happen or where. All he wanted was you in the ring with him with no way of getting out of it. And that is exactly what he got with Killing Floor. He isn’t going to forget about the bigger picture with the eight other competitors but that isn’t going to serve as a distraction from what he plans on doing to you…
_______
The strategy we ended up coming up with wasn’t much of a plan but it was the best we could do. Since my own computer was connected to the same servers as Armand’s, I was able to trace the line to the Russians back to a defunct venue named ‘The Vault’. It was kind of funny to me how every single one of us had to hide like rats in our own corners. A church, a warehouse, and a music hall...sounds like the beginning of a bad joke...It was a bad joke indeed…
After waiting for nightfall, we arrived in a unsurprisingly Russian heavy section of Chicago and found ourselves at the front doors of a taped off building. Preecha was in full body armor with a gym bag over his shoulder. I pulled out a small device in the shape of a cylinder which had a blocky switch at the top. I nodded to Preecha as he was standing next to the door. Taking a few steps back, he lunged toward the door with a kick and knocked it wide open before quickly stepping to the side. I flipped the switch and tossed what was an EMP grenade into the building.
There was a hollow bang and within the following seconds, the lights flickered out - and hopefully all the possible electronics inside as well. Preecha dropped the bag his was carrying and unzipped it to pull out his goggles. The inside of the bag was lined with lead as to lower the risk of his goggles being affected by the EMP waves from the grenade.
Pulling his Desert Eagle out of his holster, he charged into the dark lobby without hesitation. I attempted to follow right behind but almost instantaneously bullets started flying and I had to dive for the closest cover I could find. Russian shouting could be heard from all angles. I peeked around the corner but the darkness from the complete blackout made it difficult to see what was going on. It was only in the light of the firing and sparks that I caught glimpses of what was going on and what I caught was Preecha turning into that creature from deep inside of him. I felt my legs shake. Then I heard the bangs which were distinctly different from the weapons the Russians were using. The bassy blast of a Desert Eagle. One bang!...Two bangs!...Three bangs!...Four, five, six bangs! Then silence…
I peered around again, letting myself slip from my cover. I heard Preecha’s heavy breathing and guided myself through until my eyes were used to the darkness. As they began to see with the little-to-no light they were given, that is when I saw the bodies. I was able to spy them from the sparks that would appear here and there through the firing but only as seconds, like single frames in a movie, before disappearing into the darkness. But, now I saw them clearly as the bleeding corpses they had become.
I saw Preecha up ahead and slowly approached from behind. I placed my hand on his shoulder which caused him to jolt around in alarm until he saw that it was just me, causing him to sigh. There was a moment to relax as we both looked around...But, in this short reprieve from violence, over his shoulder, I spied a man coming out from behind the bathroom door with his gun raised. Preecha must have noticed my panic, because within the second, he spun around with his Desert Eagle raised high and fired.
Almost as if it was in slow motion, the bullet busted through the man’s arm, sending blood splattering against the wall. With a scream of pain, the Russian dropped his gun and gripped the hole in his arm. Preecha took a running start at the man and launched up, audibly hitting him with a knee to the face knocking the Russian back against the wall. Slowly, blood dripped down from his nose and mouth. Preecha raised his gun and asked him one question…
Preecha Kamon
Wh-air...ez...Armand…!?
Valentin Konov
How did you think this was going to end?
Preecha let out a guttural scream and was moments from pulling the trigger. But before he let his anger cloud his judgement, I ran up with all my might and grabbed his arm. He turned to face me with fire still in his eyes.
Trinity Hayashi
Preecha, we can’t kill him until we know where Armand is…
Valentin Konov
Oh, and who is this little angel?
A feeling of disgust swept over me. To think, in his last hour, he would refer to me in such a jovial way. I slowly stepped in front of Preecha and stared at the man who had orchestrated the kidnapping of Armand De La Fontaine...I could feel my legs shake a little.
Trinity Hayashi
This little angel is the one who managed to hack your network…
Valentin Konov
Oh, so, I imagine that was your EMP device that left my men handicapped. Haha...beautifully played...But, I guess being that you are the one who successfully hacked our network, as you know now did not go unnoticed, then wouldn’t you consider it partly your fault that we were able to locate Armand?...
My muscles tensed up. I had to bite my lower lip to keep from letting myself waver. I had thought about it a lot. It was something slowly eating away at me. I didn’t want to think about it like that, but I couldn’t keep the thought away. I just wanted to help them. I thought I could keep them protected but in my naivety, I brought them into harm’s way...Just then I felt a hand on my shoulder. Preecha pulled me back behind him and raised his Desert Eagle once again...this time the question was implied.
Valentin Konov
Ah, the deaf one...Do you read lips?
Preecha nodded.
Valentin Konov
Okay...I will be honest, you have me at a defeat. I am man enough to admit that. And I don’t expect you will be willing to spare my life.
Preecha shook his head.
Valentin Konov
Fair enough. Well, if it Armand you want...It is Armand you will get. I will show you where he is.
_______
Armand De La Fontaine
Don’t think I forgot about you, Z-Mac. Of all the competitors, you are the one everyone is looking at. And for good reason. As I have always believed. The current champ is always the champ for a reason. Because he is at the top of his game and feels the spirit of the fighter flowing through him. If there was anyone who deserves the most respect in this match, it’s you. Just because you aren’t recognized as a monster like the other two, doesn’t mean you aren’t one sick son of a bitch!
I’ve seen many degenerates and assholes in my time but, believe you me, you take the fucking cake. There is a reason you and your son have held that belt. Now, some may invoke the idea and claims of mysticism but the truth is, magic or not, you are just that damn good. There are very few men I’ve seen in my time who manage to back up the mounds and mounds of trash they talk like you can. If some people are described as having tongues like knives, you have the tongue like a goddamn hammer and the fists to match. In my personal opinion, you are the only other warrior in this match besides Preecha.
You don’t fear a fucking thing about this match even though you are giving the biggest sacrifice of all. This is your title to keep and it is your to lose. But what you have to gain from defending it is greater than what any of us have driving us. Because if you enter this match as The World Heavyweight Champion, which already means you hold the title as best in the company, but also leave Killing Floor still the champion, then you become a legend! Even if you were to lose it the following week, that wouldn’t even come close to tarnishing your unbelievable victory in one of the most overkill matches the UCI has to offer. You would make it known that no one in the company can even come close to the caliber which you bring to the title. Forever, no matter how long down the line it gets, that title will have the stench of McMorris all over it…
Armand chuckled.
Armand De La Fontaine
Too bad that isn’t what’s going to happen. I’ll tell you what is exactly going to happen. I’m going to tell you ALL what is going to happen. Not a godforsaken one of you are going to walk out with that title! Because not one of you have sacrificed what Preecha has to get where he is and it is high time he was recognized for that effort. The man, eat, sleeps, and breathes combat! The only thing he looks forward to is finding a tougher opponent than the last. I am not saying this to size him up against the rest of you, The honest truth is that this is an infuriating trait to me.
I am a man who believes in working smart, not hard. I believe the road to all things worthwhile are through intellect. Politicking, organizing, manipulating are the skills I have wrapped my life around. But Preecha is so much different than me. He is one who thinks that the only job worth doing is the one that requires you break yourself while doing it. It means he is thick headed. It means he is irrational. It means that he has to disregard so much and throw so much away just to be satisfied. And if he fails, he isn’t wasting his time making excuses for himself, he isn’t pointing the blame to someone else. He takes the full weight of his failure for himself even if it isn’t his fault.
He reproaches himself until he gets better and overcomes what knocked him down last time. He trains until he blazes past his former limits. This is a man who does not accept that his human body can only go so far. And, the part that really pisses me off is that one day it will get him killed. But, he doesn’t care. Because if he didn’t put everything on the line, then he feels like he doesn’t deserve to be where he is. If there is anything in him that feels like it could have given more, then he will punish that very thing until it gives him one-hundred and ten percent.
You all might be wrestling geniuses or sadistic madmen. But, you have one hell of a fight ahead of you because you are about to face someone who doesn’t know how to quit. You can break his arms, smash his legs, blind him, and paralyze him but he will keep coming after you. And in Killing Floor, the only thing he can do is leave it all on the table. By putting him in a cell with some of the most dangerous men and women of our time, you’ve forced his hand.
So, whether you are a former champion, a rising star, a merciless monster, or the baddest mother fucker to ever wrestle, you are only a faint glimmer compared to the shining light of Preecha Kamon, the only man who I feel is worthy to walk out of Killing Floor the UCI World Heavyweight Champion. And I am not saying that with some sort of obligation to Preecha. This comes from years of watching the man work. Seeing him never back down even when the odds are not in his favor. The image that will always stick with me and I have said it before, is when Wade had him hanging over the ropes, ready to take his life away from him. The ref had to stop the match because he refused to. And it wasn’t because he was after the title, it wasn’t because he feared having another loss on his record. It was his refusal to give Wade the satisfaction of making him give up.
That is only one of the many examples of the feats of will that Preecha has shown over his career. And no doubt, even after this match, he will continue to show even more. Even if you beat him, you can’t defeat him. His integrity, his will, and his drive are unlike any other. Though, you don’t have to take my word for it. You can go into this match thinking I’m just talking a big game and Preecha is just like any other dude. That is the risk you can take and I wouldn’t blame you. It sounds pretty unbelievable. But all I am saying is that the man has saved my ass on more than one occasion when it looked like we had finally met our match. I don’t know how he does it, but he manages to pull out something extraordinary when his back is against the wall.
_______
Valentin was now leading us down a hall in the back of the venue. Everything was still dark but Preecha had him at gunpoint. I was relieved that we were going to be able to grab Armand and get out of here but all the while I couldn’t shake off this feeling that something was off. I couldn’t think of any particular reason but at the moment, nothing was adding up…
Valentin Konov
It is right down the end of the hall here. The room on the left.
It was just a few more steps and we found ourselves at the end of the hall. Maybe Preecha had the same feeling because instead of barging into the room, he nudged Valentin and made him the first to enter in case there was traps or an ambush waiting for us. Valentin grabbed and turned the handle, slowly entering in ahead of us. We pushed through, having no patience for his pace. But the sight we entered into was one I wish I could get out of my head. The moonlight shone through the window and bounced off his pale face, he was tied to a wooden chair with his hands behind his back...There was a hole where is heart should be and blood spilled down his sky-blue dress shirt. His head was hanging back and his lifeless eyes stared up to the ceiling...Armand was dead.
Valentin Konov
He said one last thing to me before he died. He said ‘tell Preecha when he comes to massacre you potato-wine loving bastards...that he won’t have to worry about the Russians anymore.’...Hehe, the bastard was right. Before we could trace him down, he managed to fry our whole server system. I don’t know how he did it. It started out with a simple virus but before we knew it, it had replicated itself a hundredfold and was corrupting server after server, overpowering their processors and overwriting files. It was all we could do just to pinpoint him at the church…
Preecha slowly approached his old friend with his eyes wide with disbelief. He reached out his hand and lifted the back of Armand’s head. But all it did was cause Armands head to fall forward, strands of hair hanging over his face, leaving Preecha’s fist shaking. There was a subtle groan from Preecha as his gut twisted violently.
Valentin Konov
Though that is not all he said...Hahaha...I can’t even believe that these were his last words...hahaha...It made me laugh so hard when I heard them…Even in death...
Preecha turned around to face the despicable Russian. He once again raised his Desert Eagle to eye level.
Valentin Konov
He said ‘Be sure to win Killing Floor...for me…’
A bang filled the small room and before I could even realize it, a giant portion Valentin’s head was blown away and splattered against the wall. At first he dropped to his knees and then fell onto his side.
Preecha stood there in silence with his gun still held in the air. A moment later it dropped out of his grip and Preecha fell to his knees with his hands to his face. Audible sobs erupted from the quiet, stoic fighter and tears fell through his fingers. For me, everything felt so unreal. I felt disconnect from the very reality I was standing in. It all felt like a movie and I managed to escape into the screen. It was a feeling of horror as it slowly creeped into my mind that this was indeed not a movie. This was reality and there was no rewinding it to a point where Armand is still alive. Looked to the deaf fighter and saw as he continued to collapse further to the ground. Slowly I stepped towards him and dropped to my knees. I gently placed my arms around him. He continued to sob for a while before he was able to stand again.
It had finally occurred to me at some point that Armand knew this was going to happen. He knew that the limitations I put on his access was never going to get the job done and that he would need to find away to work around it. But, not even in a hundred years did I think he would have figured out how to disable it...He had to have gotten help from outside. But, beyond that, he knew that doing such would be putting his life in danger...but also that it was the only way to deal with the Russian mafia. It was only a part of the crime syndicate, but downing the cyber unit of the Russian crime force would be a huge blow to the whole thing and it would take them years to recover. Armand knew he had to do the only thing that would bring the Russians down. He had to risk his life to protect everyone that he loved…
...Armand was a hero…
_______
Armand De La Fontaine
And lastly, I must say...I’m sorry Preecha. I won’t be there to watch you win. It is a kind of regret that darkens my soul. But it is one I will have to take with me. Over our years working together, I have watched something I haven’t believed existed since I was a little child. That thing was a hero. That is actually what you are, Preecha. Whether you believe it or not, you are a hero. Not only to the people of your country, not only to the many here in Little China, but to me. I might have been your boss, I might have treated you like shit at times, and I might be much older than you...But I looked up to you. You never became cynical about hard work even if you became cynical about society. Even when no one was watching, you still felt a good job was still worth doing and you have no idea how much that resonated with me. Because, despite what I would like to believe, I am a coward. Most of my life I thought I was doing the right things and leaving it all on the line but looking back, I became weak. I sacrificed my integrity for security and that isn’t the kind of sacrifice you are supposed to make. It is only in your example that I am able to do now what I know I must do in order to my wrongs to be righted…
It has been a long road, my friend, but it is one where I have met my destination. The fateful day has arrived and I can only hope that I have made the best decisions that I could. I can only hope that the sacrifice I give to you will be the right one. I thought it would be obvious when the opportunity arose but even now, as I stand before you all today, I am not sure. All that I am sure about is that there has been no greater friend to me in all the world than this man, Preecha Kamon. And even if he doesn’t end up winning Killing Floor, I will always consider him one of the greatest to step foot in that ring...And one of the greatest to step foot on this Earth. So, it is with a heavy heart that I now must say goodbye. Au Revoir, Preecha Kamon. Au Revoir, UCI
Seconds later there is an explosion that knocked Armand out of view and knocked the camera to the floor.
[ ] Stop
_______
There is something I remember. It was before The Wave, back when we all still lived in Texas. Armand and I were fighting, over what I can’t remember anymore. We used to fight so often back then but yet, despite how many times I said it, I never really hated you, Armand…
Our fight led us up to the roof of the Masters and Margaritas. The day was bright and beautiful. The sky was a clear blue and I remember a light breeze travelling through high above the ground. I don’t remember noticing all of that back then but now it is as clear as can be. He was the first to come out through the door, trying to escape my berating. I wasn’t far behind as I refused to let him get off the hook for whatever it was that he did.
Trinity Hayashi
You manipulative, pathetic man! I can’t believe you would go and do something like that!
Armand De La Fontaine
Hey hey! It is my business! Keep your nose out of it! No one asked you to come and invade my work place!
Trinity Hayashi
Yes they did! That is why I am here! What part of that don’t you get about that!?
Armand De La Fontaine
The part where I have to have some bitch breathing down my neck all the time and judging everything I do!
That is when I slapped him. I think I slapped him three times since we met and that one had to be my hardest. If I had known that would have been the last slap...I would have slapped him even harder. But for a moment there was no sound besides the wind. Then he chuckled. The oaf chuckled as the side of his face went red with the imprint of my hand.
Armand De La Fontaine
That’s fine, Ms. Hayashi...That is all fine. With a strike like that, you are missing out on being a fighter.
Trinity Hayashi
And be managed by you? I’ll pass.
I said that, but I can’t lie, I was slightly flattered at the time. He then pulled out a pack of cigarettes and tore away the cellophane. He flicked the bottom and pulled out the one that stuck out the farthest. But before he had the chance to put it back in upside down, I took it out of his hands...How was I supposed to know that was supposed to be your lucky cigarette. But you didn’t fuss, you just chuckled again and pulled out another one. After you lit yours, you offered to light mine. I gave you a glare but conceded. You then walked over to the edge of the roof and leaned against the railing.
Armand De La Fontaine
I’m an old man getting older Ms. Hayashi…
Trinity Hayashi
Exactly how old, Mr. La Fontaine?
Armand De La Fontaine
What a rude question to ask…
He took a deep drag as I only managed a shallow inhale in comparison. I thought at the time that his throat must have been blacker than his heart.
Armand De La Fontaine
But truly, even if I have a good while before I would die from old age, I have too many enemies who would let me do just that and my speed and reflexes aren’t what they used to be. One of these days they are going to catch up to me and do me in.
Trinity Hayashi
Not before I do…
Armand De La Fontaine
...Hahaha, I could only hope so, dear. But, I mean it. I am not the go lucky little child I used to be. Not even the driven, naive young man that first landed in this country. It is a short fuse we already lived with and I haven’t done much to keep it from shortening.
At this point I was wondering what he was on about. This was an oddly courteous and solemn Armand. I was more used to his boisterous nature and unrelenting tactlessness.
Armand De La Fontaine
I guess what I am saying is, when they fateful day comes when I am removed from this Earth, I want you to do something for me…
Trinity Hayashi
Hm?
Armand turned and stared out into the deep horizon of Austin, Texas.
Armand De La Fontaine
I want you to look after Preecha. I have a lot of people under my employment but he is the only one worth a damn. And sometimes I think he likes you more than he likes me, but you never know with the mute...But, it isn’t like he needs a caretaker...What the man needs a purpose. If he were to be out in the world on his own with no one to anchor him down, he would either lead himself to be swallowed up by the Earth or become a dangerous tool for someone else. If I go, I want you to be there for him, so he has someone to protect, someone to believe in. The man pretends he doesn’t need a home or a family but the only thing he wants in this world is that very thing. It doesn’t seem like it but that bastard might actually end up missing me when I’m gone.
I took a drag and let out a tiny puff of smoke. I shrugged it off. It was uncomfortable to talk about. The thought that Armand wouldn’t be out there making someone’s life hell. I guess I just blew the topic off because I wanted to believe he would always be there.
Trinity Hayashi
Don’t talk like that. Even if you find yourself in a pickle, you’ll be able to find a way out. That’s what you’re good at…
Armand De La Fontaine
Hehe, maybe you’re right. Maybe I am just being a sentimental fool...
Armand intertwined his fingers and cracked his knuckles.
Armand De La Fontaine
Now, don’t think I left Corey Bull and Oblivion out of my praise series because I think they are jokes. Quite the opposite. They are much like Preecha in the fact that they have yet to win the World Heavyweight Title, not due to lack of talent but lack of opportunity. And you best believe now that they have the chance, they are going to do everything in their ability to get it. Hell, we’re in their backyard in a way of thinking about it. Look, you have two giant monsters who are in no way afraid to hurt people. It is why they are such successes in UCI. One who is not plagued by the morality of humanity will be the first to do what needs to be done. Whether it is a good or bad thing doesn’t matter. In competition, you have to take it anyway you can get it and these two men are experts of such tactics.
Preecha faced Corey Bull last week in one hell of a grueling match up. Sure, Preecha was able to get the victory, but that was more to a slip up through Shadowlove than any failure by Corey Bull. And even afterwards, Mr. Bull showed how truly ferocious he is when he decided to take his revenge out on the ref! I was biting my nails all through the match and now the thought of having to watch Preecha go up against him again tears my heart apart, truly. And this time it will be with weapons and barbed wire. How Preecha doesn’t flinch when he thinks about it is beyond me. If there is anyone who would truly earn the nickname ‘Relentless’ in this match, I am almost positive it would be him. Might as well call the match ‘Corey Bull’s toy pit of fun!’
Armand shook his head to get rid of the images that flashed into his head.
Armand De La Fontaine
I don’t know what any of the people who had input into this card were thinking when they put this man into the match. This cage is already a liability for UCI and now they basically signed multiple death warrants by introducing him into the mix. If no one ends up hospitalized at the end of this match, it could only be a miracle.
_______
I didn’t expect to see the carnage that I did when I asked Preecha to let me come along. He insisted I stayed back but I just wouldn’t take no for an answer. Had I known what I would see...maybe I would have listened. And it wasn’t just the bodies, even though the sight was indeed horrendous...Have you ever seen a dead body before? It has a chilling effect to it. You don’t just see the physical matter of their person but you also can feel the lifelessness inside of it as it grows pale. Now, add the fact that moments ago, you saw it alive and moving around...It really makes you think about your own mortality.
But, beyond all that, there was something else that sunk my heart deeper than even the death of living human beings, and that was the sight of the man who was taking their lives. I have known Preecha for a long time but I never could have imagined that the man from those days long ago could be the man who was standing in front of me now. His eyes were fire and his mouth was an eternal sneer with teeth that seemed to sharpen with every kill. What I saw wasn’t the cold, stoic, fighter who I had trusted myself around so often. It was a demon who came upon the Earth to disperse vengeance and bring evil back down to hell with him.
The moment we arrived and he had busted through the door, it had been nothing but chaos. Who would think that an old concert hall could be so life threatening. Hiding behind a wall, I felt more useless than I have ever felt in my life. I was frozen with fear. But, Preecha, he moved through the blaze without hesitation. Why did I want to come along? It felt like my duty, my purpose...What was I thinking then…
It was still noon when Preecha arrived at the warehouse I had held myself up in for the last year. I watched from the window as his motorcycle roared into view. My heart seemed to beat in an odd manner, almost off rhythm as I saw him get closer. There were heavy thumps but also a deep dread. It had been so long since we had last seen each other and I felt so bad the whole time I was helping him and Armand but couldn’t let them know it was me or where I was. It was too much of a risk for all of us...But now that doesn’t matter. The Russians had Armand and they weren’t kidding around this time. We have to sacrifice those barriers if we wanted to get him back.
When I finally opened the door and saw him face to face, a thousand different things came to mind but I could only bring myself to say one thing…
Trinity Hayashi
Hello Preecha…
He stared at me in disbelief and astonishment. He probably thought I was dead for the longest time. It was time to explain myself…
I brought him into the warehouse which remained fairly empty with the exception of the random crates and wild strands of wires that led to the center where there was an impressive row of servers. It was a system of block boxes blinking with red and green lights with a chaotic arrangement of knobs and switches. Beyond that, there were stairs that led to a second floor where the computers and other such electronics were held. This wasn’t even everything available to me. Some of the crates were filled with stolen hardware, software, and tactical weapons, things not meant for public consumption.
I took a seat on a small crate near the entrance. I saw that Preecha was still a little aloof from the one realization he hadn’t been expecting. I was a little rusty in my sign language but I tried to manage the best I could.
[You probably thought I was dead…]
He nodded.
[I’m sorry…]
It was before I could finish my signing, before I could register what he was doing, that he wrapped his arms tight around me. A moment of silence passed before I brought myself to do the same…
Preecha Kamon
I mizz-d yew, zo mush…
Another heavy thump from my heart...It was a moment before we parted and I continued my explanation. It became difficult at one point to explain the more detailed parts in sign language. I had to leave the rest to him reading my lips further into the conversation…
Trinity Hayashi
...So, it was my uncle who was able to get me out of Texas. I hadn’t heard from him in years and suddenly he came in out of nowhere through the madness. It turns out that he had been a resistance fighter for a long time and all this equipment is his. If him and his allies hadn’t come to save me, I would have been swallowed up by the chaos. It wasn’t right away that we came here, though. We had been slowly travelling the country, trying to gather others to join the cause and help defend ourselves against The Wave. It was only after reading a paper in Indiana, detailing the exploits of someone the locals of Chicago called “Ānjìng” that I had a sneaking suspicion that you two had survived as well. Convincing my Uncle what powerful allies you would be, we aimed to take root in Illinois...For many different reasons, including accruing some enemies ourselves, we weren’t able to contact you for a long time until recently. And even then, I couldn’t risk reaching out to you outright. I had to do it in very round about ways. In the meantime, my Uncle has been slowly teaching me how to use all of this. I’m not perfect at it, but with my Uncle’s help, I’ve been able to do what I can to help you guys...Until...It didn’t work.
I thought back to how it happened and I was still in disbelief about everything. Not only about The Wave but how everything unfolded and how we were together once again...None of it felt real...But beyond that, I also couldn’t quite believe how I failed…failed both Preecha and Armand.
Trinity Hayashi
Preecha...My skills weren’t enough to protect you and Armand. The access to the Russian servers I was able to give to Armand is the reason you are here right now and why Armand isn’t with you. I tried to put a ‘governor’ of sorts on his ability to use the server but he must have found a way around it. That is what alerted the Russians to Armand and helped them locate your base. If only Armand could have listened for once and not been so damn stubborn...But, then he wouldn’t be Armand, I guess.
_______
Armand De La Fontaine
But Corey Bull isn’t the only one who can thrive in this match. Next to him, you have the legendary psycho himself, Oblivion...There is a lot to talk about with this beast of carnage. A long history of ended careers, murder and rape, and a healthy amount of achievements just like everyone else in this match. Obsessed with blood, guts, and brains, IT should feel right at home. In fact, he should flourish and be the one true threat for the World title in my humble opinion...But he fucked up and did the one thing that will hurt his chances to leave that ring with the title and that was ambushing us when him and Preecha were slated to fight. I know I have gone on ad-nauseum about this but that is because there is a very good reason.
When you attacked us, Oblivion, you flipped a switch inside of Preecha. It had shifted him so deeply that what seemed like a downward spiral turned in a passionate run for the top of the mountain. If you hadn’t attacked us and the match had played out like scheduled, everything would probably had been different. Preecha wouldn’t have had the motivation he did to make it through the qualifier match so he could meet you in the ring. He wouldn’t be so motivated to become the top dog and etch his name in UCI history. In fact, he probably would have gotten bored and moved on from UCI. But what you did when you attacked him and opened up his head was insult him.
See, you didn’t treat him like an opponent. You didn’t treat him like an equal, you treated him like a toy. You treated him like one of your helpless victims. And if there is anything Preecha is not, it is either of those things. You lit a fire under his ass! All of a sudden, he realized he was not being taken seriously. People thought they could walk all over him. That was not how his Mother raised him…
Preecha might not seem like it with his silent demeaning and his stoic gaze, but he is a very proud person. I know better than anyone that he doesn’t take criticism, let alone an insult, very well. He is stubborn and protective of a lot of things. And one of those things is his ability to fight because when he fights, it isn’t just about him. It isn’t just about his skill. It is also about the history he carries along with it. Being that he is the only Muay Thai Kickboxer in UCI, he incidentally carries a whole culture, maybe even a whole country of people. He pretends he is just fighting for himself but if he was, he wouldn’t be nearly as driven.
So, when you decided he was going to be the target of one of your outbursts, you didn’t just spit on him and rub dirt in the wounds, you insulted his heritage, his people, and most of all his Grandpa who is the very person who taught him how to fight…
Now, let me paint a picture here for you. The last time I even tried to question him about his Grandfather, he nearly kicked my head off. He doesn’t say much about his family but he is very protective of their memory. It might seem like a stretch to say you insulted his family when you attacked him, but this is a man who spends more time fighting and training than he spends being rational. If it was up to me, I’d just get someone else to take care of you. But, Preecha insists on taking you on himself. He didn’t care how it would happen or where. All he wanted was you in the ring with him with no way of getting out of it. And that is exactly what he got with Killing Floor. He isn’t going to forget about the bigger picture with the eight other competitors but that isn’t going to serve as a distraction from what he plans on doing to you…
_______
The strategy we ended up coming up with wasn’t much of a plan but it was the best we could do. Since my own computer was connected to the same servers as Armand’s, I was able to trace the line to the Russians back to a defunct venue named ‘The Vault’. It was kind of funny to me how every single one of us had to hide like rats in our own corners. A church, a warehouse, and a music hall...sounds like the beginning of a bad joke...It was a bad joke indeed…
After waiting for nightfall, we arrived in a unsurprisingly Russian heavy section of Chicago and found ourselves at the front doors of a taped off building. Preecha was in full body armor with a gym bag over his shoulder. I pulled out a small device in the shape of a cylinder which had a blocky switch at the top. I nodded to Preecha as he was standing next to the door. Taking a few steps back, he lunged toward the door with a kick and knocked it wide open before quickly stepping to the side. I flipped the switch and tossed what was an EMP grenade into the building.
There was a hollow bang and within the following seconds, the lights flickered out - and hopefully all the possible electronics inside as well. Preecha dropped the bag his was carrying and unzipped it to pull out his goggles. The inside of the bag was lined with lead as to lower the risk of his goggles being affected by the EMP waves from the grenade.
Pulling his Desert Eagle out of his holster, he charged into the dark lobby without hesitation. I attempted to follow right behind but almost instantaneously bullets started flying and I had to dive for the closest cover I could find. Russian shouting could be heard from all angles. I peeked around the corner but the darkness from the complete blackout made it difficult to see what was going on. It was only in the light of the firing and sparks that I caught glimpses of what was going on and what I caught was Preecha turning into that creature from deep inside of him. I felt my legs shake. Then I heard the bangs which were distinctly different from the weapons the Russians were using. The bassy blast of a Desert Eagle. One bang!...Two bangs!...Three bangs!...Four, five, six bangs! Then silence…
I peered around again, letting myself slip from my cover. I heard Preecha’s heavy breathing and guided myself through until my eyes were used to the darkness. As they began to see with the little-to-no light they were given, that is when I saw the bodies. I was able to spy them from the sparks that would appear here and there through the firing but only as seconds, like single frames in a movie, before disappearing into the darkness. But, now I saw them clearly as the bleeding corpses they had become.
I saw Preecha up ahead and slowly approached from behind. I placed my hand on his shoulder which caused him to jolt around in alarm until he saw that it was just me, causing him to sigh. There was a moment to relax as we both looked around...But, in this short reprieve from violence, over his shoulder, I spied a man coming out from behind the bathroom door with his gun raised. Preecha must have noticed my panic, because within the second, he spun around with his Desert Eagle raised high and fired.
Almost as if it was in slow motion, the bullet busted through the man’s arm, sending blood splattering against the wall. With a scream of pain, the Russian dropped his gun and gripped the hole in his arm. Preecha took a running start at the man and launched up, audibly hitting him with a knee to the face knocking the Russian back against the wall. Slowly, blood dripped down from his nose and mouth. Preecha raised his gun and asked him one question…
Preecha Kamon
Wh-air...ez...Armand…!?
Valentin Konov
How did you think this was going to end?
Preecha let out a guttural scream and was moments from pulling the trigger. But before he let his anger cloud his judgement, I ran up with all my might and grabbed his arm. He turned to face me with fire still in his eyes.
Trinity Hayashi
Preecha, we can’t kill him until we know where Armand is…
Valentin Konov
Oh, and who is this little angel?
A feeling of disgust swept over me. To think, in his last hour, he would refer to me in such a jovial way. I slowly stepped in front of Preecha and stared at the man who had orchestrated the kidnapping of Armand De La Fontaine...I could feel my legs shake a little.
Trinity Hayashi
This little angel is the one who managed to hack your network…
Valentin Konov
Oh, so, I imagine that was your EMP device that left my men handicapped. Haha...beautifully played...But, I guess being that you are the one who successfully hacked our network, as you know now did not go unnoticed, then wouldn’t you consider it partly your fault that we were able to locate Armand?...
My muscles tensed up. I had to bite my lower lip to keep from letting myself waver. I had thought about it a lot. It was something slowly eating away at me. I didn’t want to think about it like that, but I couldn’t keep the thought away. I just wanted to help them. I thought I could keep them protected but in my naivety, I brought them into harm’s way...Just then I felt a hand on my shoulder. Preecha pulled me back behind him and raised his Desert Eagle once again...this time the question was implied.
Valentin Konov
Ah, the deaf one...Do you read lips?
Preecha nodded.
Valentin Konov
Okay...I will be honest, you have me at a defeat. I am man enough to admit that. And I don’t expect you will be willing to spare my life.
Preecha shook his head.
Valentin Konov
Fair enough. Well, if it Armand you want...It is Armand you will get. I will show you where he is.
_______
Armand De La Fontaine
Don’t think I forgot about you, Z-Mac. Of all the competitors, you are the one everyone is looking at. And for good reason. As I have always believed. The current champ is always the champ for a reason. Because he is at the top of his game and feels the spirit of the fighter flowing through him. If there was anyone who deserves the most respect in this match, it’s you. Just because you aren’t recognized as a monster like the other two, doesn’t mean you aren’t one sick son of a bitch!
I’ve seen many degenerates and assholes in my time but, believe you me, you take the fucking cake. There is a reason you and your son have held that belt. Now, some may invoke the idea and claims of mysticism but the truth is, magic or not, you are just that damn good. There are very few men I’ve seen in my time who manage to back up the mounds and mounds of trash they talk like you can. If some people are described as having tongues like knives, you have the tongue like a goddamn hammer and the fists to match. In my personal opinion, you are the only other warrior in this match besides Preecha.
You don’t fear a fucking thing about this match even though you are giving the biggest sacrifice of all. This is your title to keep and it is your to lose. But what you have to gain from defending it is greater than what any of us have driving us. Because if you enter this match as The World Heavyweight Champion, which already means you hold the title as best in the company, but also leave Killing Floor still the champion, then you become a legend! Even if you were to lose it the following week, that wouldn’t even come close to tarnishing your unbelievable victory in one of the most overkill matches the UCI has to offer. You would make it known that no one in the company can even come close to the caliber which you bring to the title. Forever, no matter how long down the line it gets, that title will have the stench of McMorris all over it…
Armand chuckled.
Armand De La Fontaine
Too bad that isn’t what’s going to happen. I’ll tell you what is exactly going to happen. I’m going to tell you ALL what is going to happen. Not a godforsaken one of you are going to walk out with that title! Because not one of you have sacrificed what Preecha has to get where he is and it is high time he was recognized for that effort. The man, eat, sleeps, and breathes combat! The only thing he looks forward to is finding a tougher opponent than the last. I am not saying this to size him up against the rest of you, The honest truth is that this is an infuriating trait to me.
I am a man who believes in working smart, not hard. I believe the road to all things worthwhile are through intellect. Politicking, organizing, manipulating are the skills I have wrapped my life around. But Preecha is so much different than me. He is one who thinks that the only job worth doing is the one that requires you break yourself while doing it. It means he is thick headed. It means he is irrational. It means that he has to disregard so much and throw so much away just to be satisfied. And if he fails, he isn’t wasting his time making excuses for himself, he isn’t pointing the blame to someone else. He takes the full weight of his failure for himself even if it isn’t his fault.
He reproaches himself until he gets better and overcomes what knocked him down last time. He trains until he blazes past his former limits. This is a man who does not accept that his human body can only go so far. And, the part that really pisses me off is that one day it will get him killed. But, he doesn’t care. Because if he didn’t put everything on the line, then he feels like he doesn’t deserve to be where he is. If there is anything in him that feels like it could have given more, then he will punish that very thing until it gives him one-hundred and ten percent.
You all might be wrestling geniuses or sadistic madmen. But, you have one hell of a fight ahead of you because you are about to face someone who doesn’t know how to quit. You can break his arms, smash his legs, blind him, and paralyze him but he will keep coming after you. And in Killing Floor, the only thing he can do is leave it all on the table. By putting him in a cell with some of the most dangerous men and women of our time, you’ve forced his hand.
So, whether you are a former champion, a rising star, a merciless monster, or the baddest mother fucker to ever wrestle, you are only a faint glimmer compared to the shining light of Preecha Kamon, the only man who I feel is worthy to walk out of Killing Floor the UCI World Heavyweight Champion. And I am not saying that with some sort of obligation to Preecha. This comes from years of watching the man work. Seeing him never back down even when the odds are not in his favor. The image that will always stick with me and I have said it before, is when Wade had him hanging over the ropes, ready to take his life away from him. The ref had to stop the match because he refused to. And it wasn’t because he was after the title, it wasn’t because he feared having another loss on his record. It was his refusal to give Wade the satisfaction of making him give up.
That is only one of the many examples of the feats of will that Preecha has shown over his career. And no doubt, even after this match, he will continue to show even more. Even if you beat him, you can’t defeat him. His integrity, his will, and his drive are unlike any other. Though, you don’t have to take my word for it. You can go into this match thinking I’m just talking a big game and Preecha is just like any other dude. That is the risk you can take and I wouldn’t blame you. It sounds pretty unbelievable. But all I am saying is that the man has saved my ass on more than one occasion when it looked like we had finally met our match. I don’t know how he does it, but he manages to pull out something extraordinary when his back is against the wall.
_______
Valentin was now leading us down a hall in the back of the venue. Everything was still dark but Preecha had him at gunpoint. I was relieved that we were going to be able to grab Armand and get out of here but all the while I couldn’t shake off this feeling that something was off. I couldn’t think of any particular reason but at the moment, nothing was adding up…
Valentin Konov
It is right down the end of the hall here. The room on the left.
It was just a few more steps and we found ourselves at the end of the hall. Maybe Preecha had the same feeling because instead of barging into the room, he nudged Valentin and made him the first to enter in case there was traps or an ambush waiting for us. Valentin grabbed and turned the handle, slowly entering in ahead of us. We pushed through, having no patience for his pace. But the sight we entered into was one I wish I could get out of my head. The moonlight shone through the window and bounced off his pale face, he was tied to a wooden chair with his hands behind his back...There was a hole where is heart should be and blood spilled down his sky-blue dress shirt. His head was hanging back and his lifeless eyes stared up to the ceiling...Armand was dead.
Valentin Konov
He said one last thing to me before he died. He said ‘tell Preecha when he comes to massacre you potato-wine loving bastards...that he won’t have to worry about the Russians anymore.’...Hehe, the bastard was right. Before we could trace him down, he managed to fry our whole server system. I don’t know how he did it. It started out with a simple virus but before we knew it, it had replicated itself a hundredfold and was corrupting server after server, overpowering their processors and overwriting files. It was all we could do just to pinpoint him at the church…
Preecha slowly approached his old friend with his eyes wide with disbelief. He reached out his hand and lifted the back of Armand’s head. But all it did was cause Armands head to fall forward, strands of hair hanging over his face, leaving Preecha’s fist shaking. There was a subtle groan from Preecha as his gut twisted violently.
Valentin Konov
Though that is not all he said...Hahaha...I can’t even believe that these were his last words...hahaha...It made me laugh so hard when I heard them…Even in death...
Preecha turned around to face the despicable Russian. He once again raised his Desert Eagle to eye level.
Valentin Konov
He said ‘Be sure to win Killing Floor...for me…’
A bang filled the small room and before I could even realize it, a giant portion Valentin’s head was blown away and splattered against the wall. At first he dropped to his knees and then fell onto his side.
Preecha stood there in silence with his gun still held in the air. A moment later it dropped out of his grip and Preecha fell to his knees with his hands to his face. Audible sobs erupted from the quiet, stoic fighter and tears fell through his fingers. For me, everything felt so unreal. I felt disconnect from the very reality I was standing in. It all felt like a movie and I managed to escape into the screen. It was a feeling of horror as it slowly creeped into my mind that this was indeed not a movie. This was reality and there was no rewinding it to a point where Armand is still alive. Looked to the deaf fighter and saw as he continued to collapse further to the ground. Slowly I stepped towards him and dropped to my knees. I gently placed my arms around him. He continued to sob for a while before he was able to stand again.
It had finally occurred to me at some point that Armand knew this was going to happen. He knew that the limitations I put on his access was never going to get the job done and that he would need to find away to work around it. But, not even in a hundred years did I think he would have figured out how to disable it...He had to have gotten help from outside. But, beyond that, he knew that doing such would be putting his life in danger...but also that it was the only way to deal with the Russian mafia. It was only a part of the crime syndicate, but downing the cyber unit of the Russian crime force would be a huge blow to the whole thing and it would take them years to recover. Armand knew he had to do the only thing that would bring the Russians down. He had to risk his life to protect everyone that he loved…
...Armand was a hero…
_______
Armand De La Fontaine
And lastly, I must say...I’m sorry Preecha. I won’t be there to watch you win. It is a kind of regret that darkens my soul. But it is one I will have to take with me. Over our years working together, I have watched something I haven’t believed existed since I was a little child. That thing was a hero. That is actually what you are, Preecha. Whether you believe it or not, you are a hero. Not only to the people of your country, not only to the many here in Little China, but to me. I might have been your boss, I might have treated you like shit at times, and I might be much older than you...But I looked up to you. You never became cynical about hard work even if you became cynical about society. Even when no one was watching, you still felt a good job was still worth doing and you have no idea how much that resonated with me. Because, despite what I would like to believe, I am a coward. Most of my life I thought I was doing the right things and leaving it all on the line but looking back, I became weak. I sacrificed my integrity for security and that isn’t the kind of sacrifice you are supposed to make. It is only in your example that I am able to do now what I know I must do in order to my wrongs to be righted…
It has been a long road, my friend, but it is one where I have met my destination. The fateful day has arrived and I can only hope that I have made the best decisions that I could. I can only hope that the sacrifice I give to you will be the right one. I thought it would be obvious when the opportunity arose but even now, as I stand before you all today, I am not sure. All that I am sure about is that there has been no greater friend to me in all the world than this man, Preecha Kamon. And even if he doesn’t end up winning Killing Floor, I will always consider him one of the greatest to step foot in that ring...And one of the greatest to step foot on this Earth. So, it is with a heavy heart that I now must say goodbye. Au Revoir, Preecha Kamon. Au Revoir, UCI
Seconds later there is an explosion that knocked Armand out of view and knocked the camera to the floor.
[ ] Stop
_______
There is something I remember. It was before The Wave, back when we all still lived in Texas. Armand and I were fighting, over what I can’t remember anymore. We used to fight so often back then but yet, despite how many times I said it, I never really hated you, Armand…
Our fight led us up to the roof of the Masters and Margaritas. The day was bright and beautiful. The sky was a clear blue and I remember a light breeze travelling through high above the ground. I don’t remember noticing all of that back then but now it is as clear as can be. He was the first to come out through the door, trying to escape my berating. I wasn’t far behind as I refused to let him get off the hook for whatever it was that he did.
Trinity Hayashi
You manipulative, pathetic man! I can’t believe you would go and do something like that!
Armand De La Fontaine
Hey hey! It is my business! Keep your nose out of it! No one asked you to come and invade my work place!
Trinity Hayashi
Yes they did! That is why I am here! What part of that don’t you get about that!?
Armand De La Fontaine
The part where I have to have some bitch breathing down my neck all the time and judging everything I do!
That is when I slapped him. I think I slapped him three times since we met and that one had to be my hardest. If I had known that would have been the last slap...I would have slapped him even harder. But for a moment there was no sound besides the wind. Then he chuckled. The oaf chuckled as the side of his face went red with the imprint of my hand.
Armand De La Fontaine
That’s fine, Ms. Hayashi...That is all fine. With a strike like that, you are missing out on being a fighter.
Trinity Hayashi
And be managed by you? I’ll pass.
I said that, but I can’t lie, I was slightly flattered at the time. He then pulled out a pack of cigarettes and tore away the cellophane. He flicked the bottom and pulled out the one that stuck out the farthest. But before he had the chance to put it back in upside down, I took it out of his hands...How was I supposed to know that was supposed to be your lucky cigarette. But you didn’t fuss, you just chuckled again and pulled out another one. After you lit yours, you offered to light mine. I gave you a glare but conceded. You then walked over to the edge of the roof and leaned against the railing.
Armand De La Fontaine
I’m an old man getting older Ms. Hayashi…
Trinity Hayashi
Exactly how old, Mr. La Fontaine?
Armand De La Fontaine
What a rude question to ask…
He took a deep drag as I only managed a shallow inhale in comparison. I thought at the time that his throat must have been blacker than his heart.
Armand De La Fontaine
But truly, even if I have a good while before I would die from old age, I have too many enemies who would let me do just that and my speed and reflexes aren’t what they used to be. One of these days they are going to catch up to me and do me in.
Trinity Hayashi
Not before I do…
Armand De La Fontaine
...Hahaha, I could only hope so, dear. But, I mean it. I am not the go lucky little child I used to be. Not even the driven, naive young man that first landed in this country. It is a short fuse we already lived with and I haven’t done much to keep it from shortening.
At this point I was wondering what he was on about. This was an oddly courteous and solemn Armand. I was more used to his boisterous nature and unrelenting tactlessness.
Armand De La Fontaine
I guess what I am saying is, when they fateful day comes when I am removed from this Earth, I want you to do something for me…
Trinity Hayashi
Hm?
Armand turned and stared out into the deep horizon of Austin, Texas.
Armand De La Fontaine
I want you to look after Preecha. I have a lot of people under my employment but he is the only one worth a damn. And sometimes I think he likes you more than he likes me, but you never know with the mute...But, it isn’t like he needs a caretaker...What the man needs a purpose. If he were to be out in the world on his own with no one to anchor him down, he would either lead himself to be swallowed up by the Earth or become a dangerous tool for someone else. If I go, I want you to be there for him, so he has someone to protect, someone to believe in. The man pretends he doesn’t need a home or a family but the only thing he wants in this world is that very thing. It doesn’t seem like it but that bastard might actually end up missing me when I’m gone.
I took a drag and let out a tiny puff of smoke. I shrugged it off. It was uncomfortable to talk about. The thought that Armand wouldn’t be out there making someone’s life hell. I guess I just blew the topic off because I wanted to believe he would always be there.
Trinity Hayashi
Don’t talk like that. Even if you find yourself in a pickle, you’ll be able to find a way out. That’s what you’re good at…
Armand De La Fontaine
Hehe, maybe you’re right. Maybe I am just being a sentimental fool...