Post by matt on Dec 19, 2022 10:04:34 GMT -6
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December 25th, 2021
Charlotte, NC
Off Camera
==========
Christmas is supposed to be a joyous occasion, a happy time of celebration for family, friends, and loved ones. What society often forgets about is that not everyone in the world is lucky enough to have family, friends, and loved ones to celebrate the holidays with. Some are alone. Worse still, some have to endure the holiday season with the painful loss of their loved ones still lingering in their hearts and souls. Those memories are difficult to get rid of and very challenging to live with. It can make what is supposed to be a happy holiday into a very somber, sometimes downright sad occasion.
That is how you would describe the atmosphere in the Van Stanton household in Charlotte, North Carolina. A few months ago the future was looking so bright; Henry Van Stanton’s son, Archie, was engaged to be married to Melinda Braddock, the oldest daughter of Glory Braddock. It was a fairy tale type engagement considering the Van Stanton and Braddock families had been feuding for so very long. But with the news of the impending wedding of Melinda and Archie, it seemed as if finally their rivalry would be put to rest once and for all. But then Melinda and Archie were the victims of a home invasion. They were gunned down. Melinda Braddock survived but Archie Van Stanton lost his life.
If there is one small glimmer of hope that can be gained from the tragedy it is the fact that it brought Henry and his brother Mason Van Stanton closer together. For a long time they had a rivalry of their own, they could not trust one another. But this family tragedy at least made them realize how valuable family was; now Mason, for the first time in years, is spending Christmas Day with his brother Henry and Henry’s wife Autumn Van Stanton. Still, he doesn’t yet feel comfortable in these surroundings. He still doesn’t feel as if he belongs. Mason Van Stanton stands off in a far corner of the living room drinking vodka. Henry and Autumn are seated on the plush sofa listening to the quiet Christmas songs playing in the background. Autumn looks nervously at Mason. She is worried that he will drink himself into catastrophe. She looks back at her husband Henry.
“Go talk to him.”
“You really think now is the right time?” Henry asks. “He hasn’t spent time with the family in many years. I don’t want to push him. I don’t want to pressure him.”
“This year has been difficult on both of you.” Autumn insists. “And right now, especially right now with this being the first Christmas without Archie,” she reaches up and wipes tears from her eyes “you two need one another.”
“You’re right.” Henry kisses Autumn on her forehead. Henry rises up off of the sofa and makes his way towards his brother. What no one inside the living room realizes is that there is an unseen and unheard observer. The Van Stanton family is being watched, some might say stalked, by someone who is quite familiar to at least one member of their household. That individual stands a few feet away in the dark of the Christmas night. He is unseen due in large part to the all black attire he is wearing; black dress pants, black dress shoes, a black button up shirt, and a black leather jacket. A stoic, cold gaze is etched across his face as he stares in through the window at brothers Henry and Mason speaking on this Christmas night.
This individual watching on is none other than “The Assassin” Clyde Sutter. What brings Mr. Sutter to the Van Stanton household on this night? The more obvious answer would be Mason Van Stanton himself. It was Mason who used his contacts and influence within professional wrestling to get Sutter a contract, first with Supreme Championship Wrestling and later with Millennium Wrestling Enterprise. Their relationship was short lived and ended when Sutter found a new source of income and a fresh new contact; the Tiffany Lynn Page. Tiffany and her family pay him quite well. Tiffany and her family have even managed to negotiate Sutter a contract with Global Championship Wrestling, a place that at one time blackballed Sutter due to his bitter rivalry with owner Glory Braddock.
Is Sutter here for Mason? Or is there another reason he has decided to pay this family a visit? Sutter has a reputation for his fits of rage and uncontrollable anger. Is he here to get some revenge that he believes he is entitled to? The Assassin decides he has watched on for long enough. He makes his way away from the safety of the darkness and shadows and into the light of the Van Stanton front doorstep. Sutter rings the doorbell and waits patiently for an answer. A few moments later and the door opens. Sutter is greeted by the head of the household himself, Henry Van Stanton, who looks genuinely shocked to see his brother’s former charge at his doorstep.
“Sutter?”
“Henry.” Sutter says stoically. Henry does not look pleased to see The Assassin. He turns and looks back into the home.
“Mason! Your old friend is here. Get rid of him.” Sutter remains silent as he waits to be allowed entrance into the home but Henry refuses to budge. Eventually Henry is joined by his brother Mason. Mason’s eyes nearly bulge out of his head.
“Clyde?! What are you doing here?!”
“What happened to peace on earth and goodwill to men, Mason?” Sutter says, a grin finally forming on his formerly stoic face.
“It’s Christmas and I want to spend time with my family.”
“You and I were practically family. You brought me into professional wrestling. You gave me practically an unlimited pool of resources in order to achieve my career goals. So why wouldn’t I want to see my former agent?” Sutter asks. Mason sighs and turns to face Henry.
“I’ll handle this.”
“Just get rid of him.” Henry growls as he steps away. Mason steps outside and glares into Sutter’s eyes.
“You fired me a long time ago. What business do you have with me now?”
“You’re right, I did fire you; I fired you because I no longer needed you. Ms. Page and her sisters pay far better than you. They have a far greater pool of resources than you could ever hope to have.” A sinister grin forms on Sutter’s face. “Just think of the things I could learn with the wealth and resources at their disposal. Imagine what I may have already learned about, say…” he points a finger at Mason “...you.”
“What do you mean?”
“For the longest of times I believed that you only brought me into professional wrestling simply to spite your rival, Ms. Braddock.” He shakes his head. “I should have known better. No one is that much of a dick. I should have known that you had an underlying agenda. Now I know what it is.”
“You do?” Mason asks, gulping. His face turns white as a sheet as Sutter nods his head in confirmation.
“I do. Now I think you really should let me in. I am entitled to that much and you know it. Your brother and your sister-in-law are also entitled to know why you helped advance my career.”
“This really is the wrong time, Clyde.”
“Mason, my old friend, I am trying very hard to control my anger right now. It is Christmas, after all. All I request is time to speak to Henry and Autumn.” He reaches out and snatches Mason by the throat. “You owe me that much.” Mason sighs and nods his head as he pulls away from Sutter’s grip.
“Fine.” Mason steps back into the home and motions for Sutter to follow him. The Assassin follows Mason into the home and eventually into the living room. Autumn shoots up with surprise, as does Henry. Henry quickly approaches Mason and Sutter with anger written across his face. This is obviously not what he had wanted.
“I told you to get rid of him!” Henry says as he gets in Mason’s face.
“I can’t.” Mason says quietly in a defeated tone.
“The hell you can’t!” Henry shouts. “He’s your monster!”
“I do not blame you for not trusting me, Mr. Van Stanton. I have not exactly built the best of reputations for myself. Believe it or not, I have come in peace. And to prove it, I want to wish you condolences. Christmas must be especially difficult when one has lost a child.” Henry slaps Sutter across the face.
“Do not mention Archie again!” Henry points at Mason. “You are his problem! Not mine! Did you two plan this?! Is this some sick game of yours to play with me at this time, a very difficult time?!”
“Honestly, Henry, I had no idea he was coming.” Mason pleads. “He fired me!”
“I don’t believe you.” Henry growls.
“It is true, I did fire him. I fired the one man who used every bit of political capital he had, every ounce of pull and influence he had to get me contracts to wrestle for SCW and MWE. I fired the one man who threw every bit of his muscle and power behind me to try and make me a success. I fired the one and only man who went out of his way to help a reject, an outcast. Now why would I do that?”
“Don’t try and make my brother out to be a saint.” Henry rolls his eyes. “He only helped you because he knew how much it would piss off the Braddock family.”
“Ignorance is bliss.” Sutter says with a soft chuckle. Henry, however, is not laughing. Mason is squirming, growing more and more uncomfortable.
“Uh, Henry, you really should let me say something…” Mason is interrupted when Clyde speaks up.
“Let me tell him.” Sutter smirks as he gets up in Henry’s face. “You really don’t give your brother enough credit. He is capable of a good deed every now and then.”
“And you’re saying he did something good by helping you?” Henry suggests. Sutter nods his head. “You are a monster who cannot control his rage. You beat your former girlfriend, Melinda Braddock. And if Glory is right about you, then you may have done something far worse to her…”
“I did not hurt Melinda!” Sutter shouts angrily. He breaths heavily for a few moments to calm himself down. “Apologies for my outburst. I have been trying to control my rage. You see, Mr. Van Stanton, you are correct, I was at one time an uncontrollable rage fueled monster. As long as that rage was uncontrolled, then your brother was able to keep me in the dark.”
“In the dark about what?” Henry now looks towards Mason. “What didn’t you tell him?” Mason backs away sheepishly while Sutter continues talking.
“But when I fired him and began working for the Page family. Well they knew just how much more valuable I could be if I could control my rage. Ms. Page and her sisters paid for me to go to anger management. My mind became so clear once I finally learned to control my rage. It is then that I asked myself, does it really make sense Mason to risk his own career by helping me, even if it does mean pissing off Glory Braddock?” Sutter shrugs his shoulders. “Think about it, Mr. Van Stanton, if I lost control and permanently ended someone’s career in the ring, or if I ‘accidentally’ killed someone in the ring, what kind of liability would your brother be burdened with? Would he really take that kind of risk if the reward is only to piss someone off?”
Henry is now growing more and livid. He turns to his brother and pushes him against the wall. “What did you do?! What are you not telling us?!” Sutter just watches this unfold, refusing to get involved. Finally Autumn steps in and pushes her husband away.
“Stop!” She shouts. “Stop it, Henry!”
“Mason has put us in danger! He…”
“Clyde is my son!” Autumn finally shouts. Henry looks stunned. Mason is emotionless, mainly because he already knew this. Autumn sighs and nods her head. “Yes, Clyde is my son.” Sutter approaches Henry.
“With my mind finally clear and my anger contained, I determined that there must be some other reason Mason felt so strongly about helping me. On a hunch I got a DNA test. There was no match with Van Stanton DNA but there was a match with your wife’s. I was dropped off at an orphanage as an infant…by your wife, my mother.” Sutter turns to face Mason. “He helped me not just because of some spiteful anger towards Glory Braddock, but because he knew I was his nephew by marriage.”
“Autumn…” Henry’s voice trails off. He cannot believe what he just heard.
“Henry, it happened before I met you. I was very young. I was careless. I was…” she begins crying. Henry wraps an arm around her shoulder. “...I was raped. I couldn’t…I didn’t want to…” Autumn is now crying uncontrollably. Henry takes her to the side to console her. Mason then steps up to Clyde and throws a right hand.
“Why the hell did you do that?!”
“What do you mean? Tell the truth?”
“You could have waited! You could have done this any other day, any other night, but why tonight of all nights?! Their son just died and…” Mason is interrupted when Sutter punches him in the face, his punch knocks Mason out cold. Sutter looks down at him coldly.
“I am their son now, ‘uncle’. May as well rip the damn bandage off as opposed to letting it sit there, letting them bleed out while thinking ignorantly that everything is ok. The truth is known and now they can learn to deal with it.” With that, Sutter turns and makes his exit, just as quickly as he entered.
December 25th, 2021
Charlotte, NC
Off Camera
==========
Christmas is supposed to be a joyous occasion, a happy time of celebration for family, friends, and loved ones. What society often forgets about is that not everyone in the world is lucky enough to have family, friends, and loved ones to celebrate the holidays with. Some are alone. Worse still, some have to endure the holiday season with the painful loss of their loved ones still lingering in their hearts and souls. Those memories are difficult to get rid of and very challenging to live with. It can make what is supposed to be a happy holiday into a very somber, sometimes downright sad occasion.
That is how you would describe the atmosphere in the Van Stanton household in Charlotte, North Carolina. A few months ago the future was looking so bright; Henry Van Stanton’s son, Archie, was engaged to be married to Melinda Braddock, the oldest daughter of Glory Braddock. It was a fairy tale type engagement considering the Van Stanton and Braddock families had been feuding for so very long. But with the news of the impending wedding of Melinda and Archie, it seemed as if finally their rivalry would be put to rest once and for all. But then Melinda and Archie were the victims of a home invasion. They were gunned down. Melinda Braddock survived but Archie Van Stanton lost his life.
If there is one small glimmer of hope that can be gained from the tragedy it is the fact that it brought Henry and his brother Mason Van Stanton closer together. For a long time they had a rivalry of their own, they could not trust one another. But this family tragedy at least made them realize how valuable family was; now Mason, for the first time in years, is spending Christmas Day with his brother Henry and Henry’s wife Autumn Van Stanton. Still, he doesn’t yet feel comfortable in these surroundings. He still doesn’t feel as if he belongs. Mason Van Stanton stands off in a far corner of the living room drinking vodka. Henry and Autumn are seated on the plush sofa listening to the quiet Christmas songs playing in the background. Autumn looks nervously at Mason. She is worried that he will drink himself into catastrophe. She looks back at her husband Henry.
“Go talk to him.”
“You really think now is the right time?” Henry asks. “He hasn’t spent time with the family in many years. I don’t want to push him. I don’t want to pressure him.”
“This year has been difficult on both of you.” Autumn insists. “And right now, especially right now with this being the first Christmas without Archie,” she reaches up and wipes tears from her eyes “you two need one another.”
“You’re right.” Henry kisses Autumn on her forehead. Henry rises up off of the sofa and makes his way towards his brother. What no one inside the living room realizes is that there is an unseen and unheard observer. The Van Stanton family is being watched, some might say stalked, by someone who is quite familiar to at least one member of their household. That individual stands a few feet away in the dark of the Christmas night. He is unseen due in large part to the all black attire he is wearing; black dress pants, black dress shoes, a black button up shirt, and a black leather jacket. A stoic, cold gaze is etched across his face as he stares in through the window at brothers Henry and Mason speaking on this Christmas night.
This individual watching on is none other than “The Assassin” Clyde Sutter. What brings Mr. Sutter to the Van Stanton household on this night? The more obvious answer would be Mason Van Stanton himself. It was Mason who used his contacts and influence within professional wrestling to get Sutter a contract, first with Supreme Championship Wrestling and later with Millennium Wrestling Enterprise. Their relationship was short lived and ended when Sutter found a new source of income and a fresh new contact; the Tiffany Lynn Page. Tiffany and her family pay him quite well. Tiffany and her family have even managed to negotiate Sutter a contract with Global Championship Wrestling, a place that at one time blackballed Sutter due to his bitter rivalry with owner Glory Braddock.
Is Sutter here for Mason? Or is there another reason he has decided to pay this family a visit? Sutter has a reputation for his fits of rage and uncontrollable anger. Is he here to get some revenge that he believes he is entitled to? The Assassin decides he has watched on for long enough. He makes his way away from the safety of the darkness and shadows and into the light of the Van Stanton front doorstep. Sutter rings the doorbell and waits patiently for an answer. A few moments later and the door opens. Sutter is greeted by the head of the household himself, Henry Van Stanton, who looks genuinely shocked to see his brother’s former charge at his doorstep.
“Sutter?”
“Henry.” Sutter says stoically. Henry does not look pleased to see The Assassin. He turns and looks back into the home.
“Mason! Your old friend is here. Get rid of him.” Sutter remains silent as he waits to be allowed entrance into the home but Henry refuses to budge. Eventually Henry is joined by his brother Mason. Mason’s eyes nearly bulge out of his head.
“Clyde?! What are you doing here?!”
“What happened to peace on earth and goodwill to men, Mason?” Sutter says, a grin finally forming on his formerly stoic face.
“It’s Christmas and I want to spend time with my family.”
“You and I were practically family. You brought me into professional wrestling. You gave me practically an unlimited pool of resources in order to achieve my career goals. So why wouldn’t I want to see my former agent?” Sutter asks. Mason sighs and turns to face Henry.
“I’ll handle this.”
“Just get rid of him.” Henry growls as he steps away. Mason steps outside and glares into Sutter’s eyes.
“You fired me a long time ago. What business do you have with me now?”
“You’re right, I did fire you; I fired you because I no longer needed you. Ms. Page and her sisters pay far better than you. They have a far greater pool of resources than you could ever hope to have.” A sinister grin forms on Sutter’s face. “Just think of the things I could learn with the wealth and resources at their disposal. Imagine what I may have already learned about, say…” he points a finger at Mason “...you.”
“What do you mean?”
“For the longest of times I believed that you only brought me into professional wrestling simply to spite your rival, Ms. Braddock.” He shakes his head. “I should have known better. No one is that much of a dick. I should have known that you had an underlying agenda. Now I know what it is.”
“You do?” Mason asks, gulping. His face turns white as a sheet as Sutter nods his head in confirmation.
“I do. Now I think you really should let me in. I am entitled to that much and you know it. Your brother and your sister-in-law are also entitled to know why you helped advance my career.”
“This really is the wrong time, Clyde.”
“Mason, my old friend, I am trying very hard to control my anger right now. It is Christmas, after all. All I request is time to speak to Henry and Autumn.” He reaches out and snatches Mason by the throat. “You owe me that much.” Mason sighs and nods his head as he pulls away from Sutter’s grip.
“Fine.” Mason steps back into the home and motions for Sutter to follow him. The Assassin follows Mason into the home and eventually into the living room. Autumn shoots up with surprise, as does Henry. Henry quickly approaches Mason and Sutter with anger written across his face. This is obviously not what he had wanted.
“I told you to get rid of him!” Henry says as he gets in Mason’s face.
“I can’t.” Mason says quietly in a defeated tone.
“The hell you can’t!” Henry shouts. “He’s your monster!”
“I do not blame you for not trusting me, Mr. Van Stanton. I have not exactly built the best of reputations for myself. Believe it or not, I have come in peace. And to prove it, I want to wish you condolences. Christmas must be especially difficult when one has lost a child.” Henry slaps Sutter across the face.
“Do not mention Archie again!” Henry points at Mason. “You are his problem! Not mine! Did you two plan this?! Is this some sick game of yours to play with me at this time, a very difficult time?!”
“Honestly, Henry, I had no idea he was coming.” Mason pleads. “He fired me!”
“I don’t believe you.” Henry growls.
“It is true, I did fire him. I fired the one man who used every bit of political capital he had, every ounce of pull and influence he had to get me contracts to wrestle for SCW and MWE. I fired the one man who threw every bit of his muscle and power behind me to try and make me a success. I fired the one and only man who went out of his way to help a reject, an outcast. Now why would I do that?”
“Don’t try and make my brother out to be a saint.” Henry rolls his eyes. “He only helped you because he knew how much it would piss off the Braddock family.”
“Ignorance is bliss.” Sutter says with a soft chuckle. Henry, however, is not laughing. Mason is squirming, growing more and more uncomfortable.
“Uh, Henry, you really should let me say something…” Mason is interrupted when Clyde speaks up.
“Let me tell him.” Sutter smirks as he gets up in Henry’s face. “You really don’t give your brother enough credit. He is capable of a good deed every now and then.”
“And you’re saying he did something good by helping you?” Henry suggests. Sutter nods his head. “You are a monster who cannot control his rage. You beat your former girlfriend, Melinda Braddock. And if Glory is right about you, then you may have done something far worse to her…”
“I did not hurt Melinda!” Sutter shouts angrily. He breaths heavily for a few moments to calm himself down. “Apologies for my outburst. I have been trying to control my rage. You see, Mr. Van Stanton, you are correct, I was at one time an uncontrollable rage fueled monster. As long as that rage was uncontrolled, then your brother was able to keep me in the dark.”
“In the dark about what?” Henry now looks towards Mason. “What didn’t you tell him?” Mason backs away sheepishly while Sutter continues talking.
“But when I fired him and began working for the Page family. Well they knew just how much more valuable I could be if I could control my rage. Ms. Page and her sisters paid for me to go to anger management. My mind became so clear once I finally learned to control my rage. It is then that I asked myself, does it really make sense Mason to risk his own career by helping me, even if it does mean pissing off Glory Braddock?” Sutter shrugs his shoulders. “Think about it, Mr. Van Stanton, if I lost control and permanently ended someone’s career in the ring, or if I ‘accidentally’ killed someone in the ring, what kind of liability would your brother be burdened with? Would he really take that kind of risk if the reward is only to piss someone off?”
Henry is now growing more and livid. He turns to his brother and pushes him against the wall. “What did you do?! What are you not telling us?!” Sutter just watches this unfold, refusing to get involved. Finally Autumn steps in and pushes her husband away.
“Stop!” She shouts. “Stop it, Henry!”
“Mason has put us in danger! He…”
“Clyde is my son!” Autumn finally shouts. Henry looks stunned. Mason is emotionless, mainly because he already knew this. Autumn sighs and nods her head. “Yes, Clyde is my son.” Sutter approaches Henry.
“With my mind finally clear and my anger contained, I determined that there must be some other reason Mason felt so strongly about helping me. On a hunch I got a DNA test. There was no match with Van Stanton DNA but there was a match with your wife’s. I was dropped off at an orphanage as an infant…by your wife, my mother.” Sutter turns to face Mason. “He helped me not just because of some spiteful anger towards Glory Braddock, but because he knew I was his nephew by marriage.”
“Autumn…” Henry’s voice trails off. He cannot believe what he just heard.
“Henry, it happened before I met you. I was very young. I was careless. I was…” she begins crying. Henry wraps an arm around her shoulder. “...I was raped. I couldn’t…I didn’t want to…” Autumn is now crying uncontrollably. Henry takes her to the side to console her. Mason then steps up to Clyde and throws a right hand.
“Why the hell did you do that?!”
“What do you mean? Tell the truth?”
“You could have waited! You could have done this any other day, any other night, but why tonight of all nights?! Their son just died and…” Mason is interrupted when Sutter punches him in the face, his punch knocks Mason out cold. Sutter looks down at him coldly.
“I am their son now, ‘uncle’. May as well rip the damn bandage off as opposed to letting it sit there, letting them bleed out while thinking ignorantly that everything is ok. The truth is known and now they can learn to deal with it.” With that, Sutter turns and makes his exit, just as quickly as he entered.