Knock Knock Knockin' on Shepard's Door

“…and will defend his championship at WWG Shockwave, with the odds once again stacked against him. In the main event, WWG World Heavyweight Champion Marcus Collins faces an even tougher challenge…”

He drifted off. Pre-show discussions always ran on and on, and Kai found them needlessly dull. He always liked to hear what people were saying about him, but when his five minutes were over, his attention flew elsewhere. The hotel room he was staying it was largely free of distractions though, so Kai had to entertain himself. Two hours in the gym had left him exhausted, and smelling foul. A shower would be best, but he called room service and ordered a steak dinner before stripping off. Even if his body wanted to quit for the night, he needed to give it a boost for tomorrow.

The steam pressed against him hard, fogging the entire bathroom with it, and Kai’s mind floated aimlessly for longer than he anticipated. After a time, the exact amount he couldn’t say, he pulled himself out of his stupor and began drying off, just in time to hear a steady knocking on his door.

“Who is it?” he called.

“Room service,” came the reply.

“Just a sec,” Kai shouted, furiously drying as much as he could, and wrapping the towel around his waist.

He reached the door about a minute after the knocking has ceased, and opened it to find a frowning face. But it was no waiter, nor a hotel staff member, and they weren’t holding a tray of food.

“What, were you taking a **** or something?” Kai couldn’t muster a reply, he just stared back at the man with his mouth hanging over. “Hey man, shut that thing before you catch some flies. What kind of greeting is that? No ‘Jack! It’s great to see you, how you been’? Come on, bro.”

Jack Grayson was a small man, by most accounts. A couple inches shorter than Kai, but he pushed past him with ease, and launched himself on the bed.

“Shut the door, man, world doesn’t need to see your prick.”

Kai finally recovered his composure and shut the door, turning back into the room and looking at Jack, who had made himself at home, grabbing a can of soda out of the mini-bar and popping it open.

“This place is a circus, huh?”

“Jack, what the hell are you doing here? How did you even find me?”

Kai quickly dashed into the bathroom and discarded his towel, slipping into a pair of track pants instead.

“Well, there’s this thing called a television, and it plays these things called television shows, and you, my friend, are on this show called—“

“Not what I meant, smartass. The hotel. My room. They don’t just give that stuff out.”

“You’ll have to tell that to that charming young lady at the counter,” Jack smiled, as he reached over and opened a pack of peanuts, stuffing a handful in his mouth. “Don’t blame her. After all, who could resist this?” He gestured at his own body. Kai stifled a laugh.

“Oh man, I have missed you,” Kai said, smiling. “But I repeat; what are you doing here?” His smile faded. ”Did Hank send you?”

“What? **** no. Just because I’m the new golden child of SAC in your absence doesn’t mean I do that old guy’s bidding. Nah, bro, I saw that video you made last week. That one about Hank and him beating me, and it got me thinking about you. I’ve missed having you around. I just wanted to see my best friend, hang out a bit, and—“

“You want a job right? ****, Jack, I’ve only been with this company for like 2 months, I don’t have that kind of pull.”

“That’s not what I was gonna say Kai… but it couldn’t hurt to ask right? Hell if they wanted you, it must’ve just been because they couldn’t get me. But I’m declaring myself a free agent. What you’ve done has inspired me, bro. Make it big around the world. Maybe I’ll go to Japan for a bit.”

“Please, that strong style would kill you.”

“Probably. But… you’re not wrong about Hank. So I got out. Figured I could make a champion of myself elsewhere. Like you’ve done.”

“And I have a defence tomorrow. So how about you get out of my room and we catch up tomorrow night afterwards?”

“Planning a victory party already? Damn, Kai, I knew you were cocky. Who you against?”

“Rodney Trotter, who I took the title from and then defended against once already, and this crazy luchador Guano Loco.”

“A threeway? Piece of cake, bro!”

“Not necessarily. I don’t know much about Guano, and no matter how many people I ask, I can’t really get any information on him. He’s a bit of a mystery. Rodney, well, he’s just a straightforward scumbag. Tried to throw me off last time by saying if he lost he’d retire. Turns out it was all just head games. Don’t believe that fokker has an honest bone in his body, and he’s good, but I think I’ve proved I’m better.”

“He played you for a fool, dog. Maybe you should let out a little bit of that anger I can sense in you. Beat him to a pulp, like the good old days.”

“Those days are behind me, Jack.”

“Hey man, I’ve watched WWG, I know you don’t get anywhere unless you beat guys up. Just look at Jason King. He took you out now he’s got a shot at the big one.”

“That’s a correlation, not a causation. He’s earned it other ways. Jason’s a great competitor.”

“You know that’s dogshit, man. How many times you gonna let everyone pass over you just because you don’t want to take that next step? Tell you what, you cripple Guano Loco and this Rodney character, then you go out there and cripple whoever wins the next math, and so on, and then you get your shot at the big one. It’s foolproof.”

“Are you sure Hank didn’t send you? You’re starting to sound a lot like him.”

“You have to admit, he’s been doing something right for the last forty years.”

Kai was growing more annoyed, and his expression now showed it. “I think you should go. It’s good to see you, Jack, but not if you’re still Hank’s little ****.”

Jack sat up on the bed. He looked genuinely upset with Kai’s comment. “Alright, man, if you want to play goody-two-shoes, go right ahead, I ain’t gonna stop you, bro. But, look, Hank wasn’t the one who sent me to find you.”

A knock on the door caught Kai’s attention, but Jack hardly reacted, like he expected it. “What? Who sent you?” Kai asked, as the knock at the door grew louder and more impatient.

“I think that’s my cue to leave. I’ll look you up tomorrow night, we can celebrate your victory, or mourn your defeat, whatever the result.” Jack jumped off the bed and gave Kai a quick hug. “It is good to see you, bro.”

“Yeah, you too. Alright, let’s do drinks. See ya tomorrow.”

Jack made his way over to the door and opened it. Kai peeked around the corner but the dark hallway silhouetted the guest, as Jack shimmied his way around. The person in the door way stepped forward, into the light of Kai’s room, and Kai couldn’t help but smile as he recognised her face.

“Sarah.”

Twenty minutes later, one of the hotel’s staff members was entering the 14th floor of the hotel, carrying a slightly too-hot tray with the smell of a freshly cooked steak rising. He hadn’t eaten all shift, and was going into his eighth hour, the intoxicating smell teasing him as he made his way down the hallway.

He knocked on the door, but there was no answer. He waited a few seconds, then tried again, nothing. He pressed his ear to the door but could hear nothing inside. He tried knocking once, more, and called out to the guest, “Mr. Shepard, your room service order is here”. Mr. Shepard opened the door suddenly, drenched in sweat and covering himself with a sheet. He took the tray and slapped a small tip into the hands of the staff member, then returned to the room without a word, closing the door quickly and loudly.

The staff member did not wait around. He didn’t need to put his ear to the door again to know what was going on.

Kai awoke just after 9a.m., still feeling tired, but knowing he had to get up and make his final preparations. It was game day, after all, and he needed to be at his best if he was going to retain the Carnage Championship.

He rolled over and reached for Sarah, but found only emptiness instead. The space she had filled when he had finally passed out was cool to the touch. He sighed and then swore under his breath, before pulling himself into a sitting position.

Kai’s phone was blinking from the other side of the room, still plugged in to the charger. He got up, letting the sheet fall to the ground. One new voice message from a number he didn’t recognise, but sighing again, he resigned himself to listen to it, knowing only too well who it could be from. Opening his voicemail, Kai put the speaker phone on, and began cleaning up some of the mess they’d left behind.

“Kai, I’m… I’m sorry to love you and leave you again. I know we didn’t really get a chance to talk and I promise I’ll make that up to you, I’ve just got some things I really need to do, and then I’ll be there, tonight, to watch you do what you do best. Jack said something about drinks afterwards, so I’ll see you then. But last night, that was fantastic, and it’s just… I’ve missed you, okay? And I’m sorry I ran away. And then did it again. But, I promise you, I’m back now, I’m better, and I’ll be by your side, whatever you need. Just… I gotta go, I’ll see you tonight. Sorry.”

There was yet another knock on the door, and Kai found himself rolling his eyes and muttering under his breath. For ****’s sake, can’t I get a moment’s rest? He went over to answer it, and found Jack standing on the other side, grinning like a mad man.

“Mornin’, loverboy. Get a good workout last night.”

“You should’ve told me she was back.”

“Nah, bro, seeing that smile on your face was worth it. But come on, get dressed, I’ve got a few more surprises for you yet.”