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Opposite directions; New Friday Night 17 part 2/2
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Topic Started: Jan 8 2012, 03:58 AM (177 Views)
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Tom Jackson
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Jan 8 2012, 03:58 AM
Post #1
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Unregistered
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NOTE: My posts will not generally be this long. I just kinda got carried away. Just hang with me. Hope you enjoy anyway. It's just hard to introduce a new guy with limited writing.
Parker looked at the clock as Tom Jackson walked into the gym. It was 3:15pm. He smiled to himself as he watched Tom head to the locker room. He was still wearing his security guard uniform. He followed his student in.
“How’s it goin, Rent-a-Cop?” he said. Tom chuckled a little bit as he unbuttoned his shirt and threw it on a hanger in his locker. “I’m liking this habit of you coming in early.”
Tom nodded at him. “A big part of me is too,” he said. He pulled off his undershirt and cringed as he raised his arm over the level of his head. Parker noticed bruises on Tom’s side, and a huge one right where his chest and shoulder met.
“You’re lookin pretty beat up, there,” said the coach.
“I’m feeling pretty beat up, here,” said the student. Tom reached in his bag and pulled out a roll of athletic tape and a wrap. “You mind?” he asked, holding it out for Parker.
Parker nodded and walked over. Tom sat as Parker began to wrap and tape up his ribs. “A few bumps and bruises the only thing ya got goin on, man?” asked the trainer.
Tom shook his head. “My girl isn’t too happy with me bein gone so much,” he started. “But she knows that this is what I want to do. I think she’ll come around.”
Parker tore a piece of tape and started to put another strip on. “Well I don’t want to cause any problems on the home front,” he said.
“Don’t sweat it, Coach. She’s the one being stubborn.”
“All the same, you let me know if there’s anything I can do for ya.” Parker tore off another strip and stood up. “That feel alright?”
Tom stood up and did a few stretches. He was obviously very stiff. “I think it’ll do, Coach. Thanks.” He reached in his bag and pulled out a pair of shorts as he loosened his belt and got out of his work pants. “So what are we going to be working on today?”
Parker let out a deep breath. “Actually, we’re trying to get John ready to be looked at by a scout.”
Tom raised an eyebrow. “Oh, really?”
Parker nodded. “Yeah. A representative for NEW is supposed to be coming in at the end of the week to check him out. I don’t mean to push off any of the other guys, and that includes you, but I’d appreciate it if you could help out with his training some today.”
Tom was tying the drawstring in his shorts as his coach said this. “Yeah, Coach,” he said. “I mean, he’s gonna have to deal with all of the ‘awesomeness’ I’ve been working on lately, but we’ll see if he can hang.” He smiled as he said this.
Parker laughed. “Yeah, yeah. Thanks. I’m gonna get out there and work on a couple of things. Hollar at me when you’re ready to get started. We’ll probably have the gym all to ourselves for a couple of hours. Unless someone else comes early.”
Tom laughed. It had been about a month since Parker had recommended he start coming in early and staying late. In that time, he’d had more private training than he’d ever had, and even though he was covered in bumps and bruises, he felt more like an athlete than he ever had. No one else ever came in early, and he was enjoying the attention and training.
At the same time, Parker was working the hell out of him. He knew now that he would be working with John, the Brahma Bull of the team, in just a couple of hours, but if his routine was like the usual that Parker put him through, Tom would be exhausted by the time that arrived.
= = = = =
Tom stood outside the ring with his hands on his hips. He wasn’t gasping for air, but there was no mistaking that he was exhausted. He watched as John toyed with a newcomer in the ring. Tom knew that his turn would be next.
BUZZ!! “Time!” yelled Parker. John stood up and looked down at the new kid and laughed. Tom knew how the kid must feel. He felt his blood run hot. He was tired of how John treated him and the other guys who weren’t on that elite level like he was. That was about to change.
“Jackson, get in here,” said Parker. Tom stepped through the ropes and into the ring. As he doubled over, he felt a sharp pain in his side. He felt sure that his ribs were bruised. But this was what he wanted.
“Come on, Coach,” started John, “I need a REAL work out if I’m gonna be workin in front of a scout. Not this.” He said this, partially being serious, but mostly as a mockery.
Parker didn’t say anything. He simply looked down at his watch. “Alright, get ready,” he said. BUZZ!! went the timer and the two squared off.
John went to work with a few jabs. Tom showed good head movement with most of them, and the ones that he couldn’t dodge outright he blocked pretty well. John then started trying to work a few low kicks, but Tom did a good job of checking them, then using his footwork to cut on an angle and hit John with a quick counter punch. John was getting frustrated, and Tom could tell.
Suddenly, John shot in for a takedown. But Tom saw it coming. He shot his legs back as he shifted his weight forward onto John’s back, just like he’d imagined and practiced so much for the last month. For the first time, John attempted a takedown on him, and it didn’t work out.
“Beautiful sprawl, Tom!” yelled out an excited Parker from the corner. Tom and John reset in the center of the ring and Tom could see the anger in John’s eyes. Tom was excited. More than excited. He was seeing his hard work paying off. He was actually hanging with the main man on the team. He was on top of the world.
A moment later, he was crumpled on the mat. As he had a mini-celebration in his head, John buried a hard knee into his ribs. Tom had let himself get caught up in the moment, and now he was lying on the mat, clutching at his side as John stood over him and began to rain down punches. Tom could hear Parker yelling in the corner, and at the same time he heard the round timer go off. John got in a few more cheap shots before Parker was in the ring stepping over Tom.
“That’s enough!!” yelled the Coach. “You wanted to be pushed! So why take cheap shots?!” John stared at his coach with unwavering eyes. “That’s not how we do things in this gym!” John stepped back and knelt down to check on Tom. He looked back to John. “Go hit a bag while we get him taken care of,” he said.
John didn’t say a word. He got out of the ring, anger still fuming. As Parker and a couple of other guys helped Tom to his feet, the sound of John’s fists hitting a bag nearby were explosive. After several minutes, Tom finally stepped out of the ring with a little aid. He sat down on a bench near the ring as Parker walked back over to John.
“Alright,” said the coach, “let’s get back to work.”
John blasted the bag with a few more power shots. He then turned his eyes on his coach. “Ya know, Coach,” he said, “I think I’ve had enough of your training for today.” If Parker thought anything interesting about how his pupil was talking to him, he didn’t show it with his stoic demeanor. “I’m gonna go catch a shower and call it a day.” John looked past Parker for a minute and stared at Tom, who was still clutching his side and sitting on the bench, looking at the ground.
Parker shook his head from side to side as he watched John head for the showers. He turned and came back to Tom, who was trying to stand up now. “Easy, buddy,” said Parker.
“I’m alright, Coach,” said Tom. “It just knocked the wind out of me more than anything.” He climbed back into the ring, albeit very slowly. “Alright,” he said after a minute, “let’s go.” He started dancing back and forth, very sluggishly.
“Tom,” said Parker, “John’s headed on to the showers. Workout is done for the night.”
Tom never stopped moving. He simply bounced up and down and looked over at Parker. “His might be. I’ve still got energy to burn.”
Parker laughed. He turned to walk into his office. Tom began doing drills in the ring for various maneuvers and techniques. One by one, everyone else began to file out of the gym for the night. It was now about 8pm.
Parker was sitting with his door open, but the light out in his office. Every few seconds he would hear a thud. He knew it was the sound of Tom sprawling. Suddenly, though, he heard a clapping sound from just outside his door. He got up and walked over and could see John, standing a few feet into the gym, clapping as he watched Tom in the ring.
“Magnificent,” said John, the sarcasm very thick in this one word. “I must say, you really have improved recently, Tom Jackson.” Tom stood up from a sprawl and walked over to the ropes. John continued clapping very slowly. “You all alone now?”
Tom could just see Parker’s silhouette in his office, but he was able to make out his coach bringing a finger to his lips. “Yeah,” he said after a minute. “Yeah, I’m just trying to get in a little more time.”
John clapped his hands together one more time, the smack echoing through the mostly dark gym. “You know, Tom, I don’t really like you,” he said as he stepped toward the ring. “I don’t really know why, though. At first it was because you sucked. It was an insult to me that Parker would even bother to put you in my ring. I felt like a dog that was being given scraps instead of the meat I craved.”
“Maybe that’s your problem,” said Tom.
John tilted his head slightly and took a few more steps toward the ring. “What’s that?”
Tom wiped some sweat from his forehead. “I said that may be your problem. You see, pedigree dogs eat a balanced diet. That don’t get scraps. They don’t get just meat. Their masters give them what they need.”
John laughed. “Are you trying to call Parker my ‘master’?”
“Not at all,” said Tom. “But, you may want to think about the gym you are a part of.” He pointed now to the ‘Kingdom Fighters’ banner. “Maybe there is another Master that is shaping both of our paths.”
John was now close enough to the ring to reach up and grab the ropes. He did, and he pulled himself up on the apron. Parker walked close to his door, risking exposing himself to John.
“I don’t care about any of that shit,” said John. “I care about me, and I’m gonna get mine.” As he said this, he put his finger right in Tom’s chest. “And you aren’t gonna get in the way of that.”
Tom, however, stepped forward. In a crowded gym, his words would have been drowned out. But here, in this silence, they resounded: “I have been put in your way, John. And I’m not going to lay down for you.”
John’s face was red. “This is my opportunity. Do you know what this contract would do for me?! I’ll be a star! I’ll have money, and fame, and everything I’ve ever wanted!” he growled.
“But you won’t appreciate it,” said Tom.
“And why do you say that?”
“Because you don’t even appreciate where you are now.”
John opened his mouth to say something else, but the words wouldn’t come. Parker watched as John stared into Tom’s eyes, and then watched as John backed down. There was apparently something in Tom’s eyes that had won the battle. As John turned to leave, Parker stepped back a few feet so as to not be seen. He heard the door open and close, and then he stepped out. Tom stared straight at him for a minute. The only sound to be heard was Tom’s breathing, still heavy from his workout. There were no words to be said between the teacher and the student. It was never said, but in that moment they both knew that something had just happened.
John may have been the better fighter, but Tom had just become the top dog. He had stood his ground, and John had come against a wall he apparently did not want to cross.
Tom stared at Parker, nodded, and then went down in a sprawl. Parker went back into his office, a number of things weighing on his mind.
= = = = =
When Tom walked through the door, he was surprised to find all of the lights out. He walked into the dining area and pulled out a chair and quietly took off his shoes. It had gotten so late, that he came home to shower rather than showering at the gym. He didn’t want to risk waking Stephanie, so he went straight to the bathroom first instead of opening and closing the bedroom door.
As he stood under the warm water, a number of things ran through his head. He didn’t want to be known as the guy who ruined John’s chance of making the big time. But he couldn’t just let John run over him in front of scouts so that he’d look good. If John was going to make it to the big leagues, he was going to earn it. And Tom felt like he could take him. A little more focus. That’s all he needed.
When Tom walked into his bedroom, he felt on top of the world. He felt the cool air kiss his still wet chest as he approached his bed. He felt the covers as he slid under them. For a brief moment he felt the warm skin of his wife as he got close to her before he laid his head down. And that’s when it hit him.
He didn’t feel any pillows. He sat up and began to look for them. At the same time his wife began to squirm away from him. “You awake, Steph?” he asked.
“Yes.” By the tone and crispness of her voice, she was very much awake.
“Where are my pillows?” Tom asked, still confused.
“On the couch.”
Tom sat straight up and reached over to turn the lamp on. His hand crossed the Bible as he felt for the switch near the base of the lamp. “Why are my pillows on the couch?”
Stephanie sat straight up now, too. “Because I figured you would sleep better on it with them! You sure as hell don’t care to come home and sleep with me!”
Tom couldn’t even find the words to say. He didn’t even know what emotion he was feeling. It wasn’t anger, but it wasn’t sadness or pain. He was dull. “But—but—“ he stammered, “but—what the hell?” It was all he could think to say.
“I have seen you for about fifty minutes this week! That is ALL!” screamed Stephanie. “All I’ve wanted is to see my husband. All week, that is all I’ve wanted. You leave early, and you come home late, and I don’t see you. Well tonight, I decided that if you didn’t want to see me, I’d show you how it felt!”
Love doesn’t work like this. That’s what Tom was thinking. If you love someone, you talk to them. You don’t intentionally hurt them the same way that they are hurting you. He knew this. He was even thinking this. But he didn’t say it. His mind couldn’t wrap itself around the words. So instead, he said exactly what most men would at this point. He said the exact opposite of what he knew he needed to say.
“You don’t want me here? FINE!” He jumped up and put on some clothes. Not sleep clothes, though. He grabbed a fitted T and a pair of jeans.
“Where are you going?” his wife asked, a sudden concern and fear growing over her face.
“I’ll be damned if I know!” said Tom. He reached over for the lamp to turn it back off. His eyes glanced at the Bible for a moment, and for a second he hesitated. He was forming a plan in his mind, and for a moment that plan began to fade. But he shook his head and closed his eyes. He turned the lamp off and walked out of the room, leaving his wife in the dark. He walked back into the bathroom where he had left his cell phone and his keys, and then he headed for the door. As he sat down to put his shoes back on, he thought for a moment that he could hear Stephanie crying. He quickly got up and walked outside.
As he got into his car, he pulled out his phone and found the name he was looking for in his contacts. He took a deep breath and pushed the green button. He pulled the phone to his ear and heard two rings, and then a voice. “Hey, Jenny,” he said. “You still up?”
= = = = =
Six in the morning sucks. Six in the morning sucks even more when you have to work at that time. And after the night Tom had just had, ‘sucks’ doesn’t do justice to what this morning did.
“You look like Hell,” said Laurie, one of his co-workers as he walked in.
“I feel even worse,” said Tom, looking at the coffee cup in Laurie’s hand. “I wish I drank that stuff on mornings like this.”
“I keep telling you that you need to start.”
Tom had been working for this company, American Security, for about a year now. The pay sucked, but it was a job at least. And it gave him the time he needed in the afternoons for training.
“Anything going on today?” he asked. Laurie was about to be going off duty.
“Chief is coming in at eight,” she said. “He said he had something to talk to you about.”
“Hmm? Wonder what that’s all about?”
= = = = =
“You’re FIRING me?!” Tom was standing up with a look of horror on his face.
“We aren’t firing you,” said the ‘Chief,’ trying to sound calm and reassuring. “We simply have lost too many of our contracts over the last year. We can’t afford to stay afloat without making a few cutbacks.” The words did little to console Tom. The Chief stood up and patted him on the back. “You will be the first one we call when we look to start hiring again.”
Tom knew that several other employees had probably heard that same line. Tom was allowed to work out the rest of the day. He thought about going home to his wife. But he couldn’t see her. “She wouldn’t understand.” He pulled out his phone and was headed for the ‘J’s when it began ringing and the name Parker popped up.
“Hello?”
“Hey, man,” said Parker. “You coming in early today?”
Tom thought this was kind of weird. He’d been coming in early for weeks, but Parker hadn’t called to confirm it. “…Yeah,” he said.
“Okay,” said Parker. “I just wanted to make sure. I’ll see you in a few.” The phone went silent. Tom looked at it for a moment, but he was too rattled to think too much about it.
He went on to the gym. As he pulled up, Parker’s car and a few others were there. He walked on in, but didn’t see anyone. He went on to the locker room and changed into his gym gear. He came out and began going through a few rounds of circuit training, alternating between pushing and pulling exercises and various cardiovascular exercises. It wasn’t until he got into the ring that he heard anyone else in the gym.
At that moment, the door to Parker’s office opened up and Parker and two men in suits stepped out. They watched as Tom continued to do some drills in the ring. As they looked on though, the sound of the front door opening could be heard. As Tom looked up, he saw John coming in.
“These must be my guys from NEW!” he said.
Parker and the two men turned to face John. “John, this is Spencer Riggs, and…I’m sorry, what was your name?” Parker felt suddenly very awkward. He looked on at the other agent, who said nothing.
“Just call him ‘K’,” said Riggs. “He’s a silent kind of guy,” he said with a smile.
“I’m John Stewart,” said John. “Well, when more people get here I’ll see if I can’t give you what you came to see.”
Spencer and K nodded their heads. “We’re looking forward to that.”
“Well, I guess I’ll go change,” said John. As he went off to change, Tom was already in a pretty good sweat and just starting to feel loose. More and more guys were coming in now. Pretty soon, faced that Tom had never seen were coming in. They weren’t dressed to work out. After several had come in, Tom began to notice something weird about them. It was their eyes. But what about them?
That was it. They had John’s eyes. John had called family in to watch his ‘Major League Tryout.” For a brief moment, Tom felt a little bit of doubt creep into his mind. But he forced it out. “He’s not going to take it with me lying down,” he said under his breath, and he shot for a takedown against an unseen opponent.
A few minutes later, John re-emerged. He began talking to his family and other guys. Every few moments he would shoot a glare in Tom’s direction. He would then do something to show off, like walk up behind a partner and pick him up effortlessly, or throw out a pose that showed his amazing physique. Riggs and K stood in a corner, talking to each other. Their attention seemed to be on nothing in particular. John could sense this.
“Alright,” he said suddenly, and in a voice loud enough that everyone looked at him. “Time to get this party jumpin.”
John jumped up on the apron and looked at Tom in the ring. A look, which he probably thought was charming and genuine, came across his face. “Take a break, Tom,” he said. “You’re working too hard.”
“Nah, stay put Tom,” said Coach Parker, who was climbing onto the apron. “Parker, go ahead and roll a good round with Tom,” he said. “He’s the only guy in here who’s warmed up.”
John looked on. “Fine,” he said, contempt clear in his voice. “I’ve crushed him a thousand times before. One more time will be fun.”
BUZZ!! John began to circle around to his left. Tom began to move to his right, cutting John off in the process. John threw a jab, but Tom easily used his head movement to slip it, catching John with a nice counter jab. John then moved in and began to press Tom against the ropes. He began to hit him with body shots and knees to the mid-section.He knew Tom was banged up pretty bad, and he wasn’t worried about being flashy. He just wanted to punish Tom. This was his moment.
Tom doubled over in pain after an amazing knee landed flush on the corner of his rib cage. John sense the end was near, and shot in for a takedown. Tom suddenly sprawled back, apparently having feigned pain, and as he and John reset he hooked him in a Thai clinch and began to work his own knees. John had no time to react, as he’d never seen this kind of offense from Tom before. Finally, he was able to break the clinch. He tried to deliver his own knee to Tom’s stomach again, but Tom caught it and tripped his other leg, getting his own takedown. Tom, still with the knee hooked, fell to his back and began looking for a leg lock. His feet were now in John’s face, though, and John quickly latched on and began looking for a heel hook. With both fighters looking for the submission, everyone outside the ring was on pins and needles.
BUZZ!! Both men let go of what they had an came back to their feet. Tom was still moving and was setting like he was ready for another round. John, however, clapped his hands. “Oh,” he said out loud with a huge smile on his face, “that’s why they call it ‘saved by the bell,’ Tom. You were this close to tapping.” Tom didn’t say anything, and though John didn’t notice, neither did anyone else. “Well, I think I’m gonna go hit the shower.”
John exited to the ring and passed by the two agents for NEW as he did. “Hope you guys saw all you needed,”
“We did,” said Spencer Riggs. John winked as he headed on to the back. Spencer and K looked at each other and nodded. They then turned their eyes to Parker and nodded a second time. Parker nodded back as if in some secret agreement.
“Tom,” said Parker, “come with me to my office.”
“Mind if I get in a few more rounds with some of the guys, Coach?”
Parker smiled. “I’ll try not to keep you long.” Tom exited the ring and went into the office with Parker. “Tom, we need to talk about what happened in the ring just now.”
Tom hung his head. “I know this was supposed to be John’s big shot,” he began to explain. “And I know I probably should have let him do a little bit more and been more of an exhibit for him. But I just couldn’t do it, Coach.” Tom looked up at Parker, trying to figure out why in the hell he was smiling.
“Tom, I swear you are dense.” Tom was now even more confused. The door opened behind Tom, and he turned to see the two men in suits come in. “Tom, these men are from NEW.”
Tom turned, confused, but just beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel. “I’m Spencer Riggs, Tom,” said the bigger of the men. “We’d heard about John for months now, and we’ve been keeping an eye on him for some time. But earlier this week, Mr. Parker called and told us that maybe we were looking at the wrong man.”
Tom turned and looked at Parker, who just shrugged. “Tom,” continued Riggs, “we aren’t looking for another mug seeking face time for his own benefit. We are looking for someone who is going to work that extra time and be a company man. Do you think you can do that?”
Tom said nothing, only felt his head nodding up and down, slowly. “Then,” said Spencer, “welcome to your NEW home.” Tom and Spencer shook hands. At that moment, the door exploded open again, and in an instant John was there. He was soaking wet, apparently having been alerted in the shower as to what was going on. He looked at what was clear as day, and without saying a word, turned and slammed the door back. A loud barrage of cursing followed as he left the gym, family and friends close behind. For a moment, Tom felt bad for what had just transpired.
“Well,” said Parker, bringing the focus back to the matter at hand, “let’s get down to business.”
= = = = =
Tom came home at about six-thirty that night. As he walked in, his wife looked at him like he was a zombie. “Hi, Honey. I’m home!” he said, a smile beaming from his face. He had both hands behind his back as he approached his wife.
“What’s going on?” she asked, confused and trying to hide an odd smile.
“Pick a hand.” Stephanie put both hands on her hips and gave him a look that a mother gives a child when he wants to play a silly game. “Oh, come on and humor me!” She let out a sigh and picked his right one. She could tell he swapped things from one hand to the other before he pulled his hand around. It was his NEW contract. He handed it to her and let her begin to try to read through all of the legal jargon.
“What is this?” she said after straining her mind for a few seconds too long. Tom flipped over a few pages to the dollar figures, which he’d highlighted.
“It’s my new job,” he said as her eyes grew huge.
“You got a contract with NEW!?” She said, her face beaming. “Baby, I am so proud of you!” It was the first time she’d smiled in ages it seemed. And then she hugged him. God, she smelled good. “What’s in your other hand?”
Tom pulled out a pink piece of paper. “My orders from American sayin I’ve been laid off, but that’s not important now,” he said with a smile.
“No, it’s not!” said Steph, shaking her head and laughing. “Baby, I’m sorry for not supporting you lately,” she said as she feel back into his arms again. “I promise I’ll try to do better.”
“Well, you will have to get used to me traveling. I gotta be in Seattle on January 6th for my first match.”
She laughed. “Oh, I think I can handle that.” She pulled back for a minute and they looked in each other’s eyes. For the first time in a month, they shared a passionate kiss. As they broke off, Tom felt a vibration in his pocket. He pulled out his phone as he resumed his hug. ‘Jenny’ was on the display. A twinge of guilt ran up his spine, but he hit the ‘ignore’ button and held his wife.
“God,” he thought, “I’m really gonna need you to hang out with me through this one.”
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