10th February, 2020
Hollywood Hills, California.
It was a strange feeling for David Helms, to find himself waking up as a professional wrestler again for the first time in more than four years following his somewhat surprising return at Day of Infamy. Yes, there was the argument that he never truly stepped away from the business thanks to his involvement in both the training of future stars at AnteUp and his position as general manager and part-owner of the Uprising Wrestling Alliance, but for David there was a difference and it was as big as night and day in the mind of the New Jersey native! No matter how much he threw himself into the job of preparing the next generation of stars at AnteUp, no matter how hands on he had been during his tenure with the UWA before it’s closure, it just wasn’t the same feeling as he got from active competition, something he had missed for almost as long as he has been retired if he was honest. He’d expected that though, it wasn’t as if he went into retirement blind. And he’d done so for the best of reasons, fear of missing even more of little Jason’s life as he grew up to be the incredible kid he was proving to be… but as Jay got older - David couldn’t believe the kid was going to be ten in a few weeks, where the hell had time gone? - he realised that the little guy was already needing him less than he had, once upon a time. And in a lot of ways, that made things difficult for David, because he was having to accept that his kid was growing up… he knew that was selfish on him, that he shouldn’t want his boy to stay a little kid forever, and that he’d have to accept it as part of life, for Jay as his son and him as a father too. That was what left him longing for a return to the ring, the fact that while he was still needed obviously, his son growing up meant that their life was slowly changing. When he retired he did so to see his boy, be there for everything, always be on hand to help, guide, celebrate. But with the shared custody with Kathryn and Jason’s needs changing, he found he had more alone time than he had ever had since retirement, which left him able to dwell on things too.
All it had needed was the catalyst, which that first conversation with Lucas Knight had provided… and while he had to admit that the reason that first led to David suggesting they went for a drink was not a happy one, the death of Ricky Octavius breaking earlier in the day, it had been enough to bring the two former pros together and with the addition of alcohol and a lot of setting the world to rights, a plan was born. The Lucho Brothers were born, along with the beginning of Infamously Dangerous. Part cover story, part serious business venture that had actually proven to be pretty successful if sales figures to date were anything to go by. That conversation though, with everything that was going on within the industry that both men loved, no matter how much they may dislike it at times, was enough to drag them out of retirement under the masks of their fictitious counterparts. And that had all culminated so wonderfully at Day Of Infamy and David was never going to forget that day, the feelings it gave him, regardless of whether the return proved to be a success or failure!
And while it had gone unnoticed for six months, now that the world knew who the Lucho’s were, David could be open about waking up each morning as a professional wrestler again. Sure, maybe it caused a few awkward conversations with his wife at first, and maybe it was going to take some getting used to being on the toad again, but he was back! David Helms was back inside of a ring, the place he was born to be. That’s how he had always felt about it anyway; there weren’t any missed opportunities or wrong choices, David was made for this business and while it could infuriate him at times - something he was actually kind of thankful for in a way because that was in a lot of ways responsible for his return - he loved every minute of being in his chosen profession. And that roar from the fans when the mask came off, that had made it all worthwhile, every second of planning, the cover stories and cloak and dagger B.S… but with it, the hard work was going to begin, wasn’t it? Sure, it was time to celebrate, to enjoy the moment on Breakdown following the pay per view with the most fitting name, but David knew that the hard part was only just beginning, because while he was some masked guy nobody cared about, the expectations were low. But now it was David, Lucas and Jason, those expectations were so much higher, weren’t they? The fans expected a certain level from him, his brother and his friend, way more than they were expecting from them only a couple of weeks earlier… and thanks to Ace Marshall, Breakdown had only served to raise those stakes considerably!
Dave had not been expecting that whatsoever; to return to the ring and right off the bat get selected for someone’s Trio’s team had come as something of a shock even it perhaps it shouldn’t have. David wasn’t exactly ignorant to the fact he had been pretty successful over the course of his career, but at the same time he truly believed that there were better suited options out there than him so to get picked as he had been, it did come as something of a surprise to say the least… but he welcomed it too, an opportunity to throw himself in at the deep end right from the off. And he felt bad that Lucas hadn’t been picked sure, but he also knew that Lucas wouldn’t spend too long worrying about it if he had been picked and David hadn’t, and when he added the fact that Lucas was given a title shot while they were all still wearing the masks, Dave figured it was jut the universe balancing out. It didn’t work like that of course, but it made things easier to rationalise and that worked for him so to hell with it.
Rolling over in bed, Dave went to throw his arm over his wife, but found nothing but cold sheets and an empty pillow beside him, which forced him into consciousness fairly quickly. Had he overslept? He certainly hadn’t heard his alarm go off, but as he grabbed his phone from the night stand his first sight was that it was way later than he was usually up and about, almost 8:30 in fact! And normally, that would have started a panic because it would mean he was late getting Jason up to get him ready for school, but those fears were put to rest by the text message that also sat waiting for him on his unlock screen. “Turned your alarm off, figured I’d be nice and let you sleep. I’ve got Jason covered, don’t worry. Xx” Regan had told him, which was strange because he was still kind of in the dog house for keeping her out of the Lucho loop, but he didn’t ask too many questions. It this was her way of saying he was forgiven, he’d take it. He hit the lock button on his phone again, deciding not to text her back as she was probably driving, and instead dragged himself out of bed. Monday mornings were usually his own, as he didn’t go into AnteUp until the afternoon, an arrangement that stood for years now when Tommy reasoned that Dave was around almost every day of the week while Tommy was on the road, the least he could do was take a morning off when Tommy was in town. He may have given a half assed argument back, but it wasn’t with any conviction and it worked out well for all involved, though whether the deal would hold now that Dave was back on the road too was anyone’s guess. Matty could always hold the fort though, what else were they paying him for if he couldn’t?
Scoffing, Dave shuffled over to the doorway that led to his and Regan’s en-suite, rubbing the sleep from his eyes as he made for the shower. A nice hot shower and a cup of hotter coffee would start the day right, just as it usually did most mornings. Ten minutes later, wrapped in a towel, his hair still damp, he started making his way downstairs before pausing on the staircase; the smell of food hit him before he’d even got that far but in his sleepy state it took a couple more steps to register; was Regan back already?! If she was, she hadn’t called out to him! Or had she? Maybe he hadn’t heard while in the shower? “Regan?” he called out. “Babe, that you? I didn’t hear you come back,” he went on as he made his way down the staircase towards the kitchen.
“Well good morning, handsome!” an unexpected and unwelcome voice said as Dave stepped into the Kitchen-diner, expecting to see his wife or maybe Aaron at an outside chance, but definitely not Ace fucking Marshall! “Start the morning off with a good meal, that’s my motto. Breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and supper like a pauper… so we’re going all in, the works! You like your eggs sunny side up or no?” Ace asked with a broad grin plastered across his face, like it was the most normal thing in the world for him to be there, in David’s house, and worst of all, wearing nothing but a damn kitchen apron! Dave saw way more of the guy than he ever wanted to, that went without saying. He opened his mouth to try and speak but truthfully, he was speechless. He knew the words that he wanted to throw out but he couldn’t make his mouth work to say them! “Sit yourself down, come on. The coffee pots on, breakfast won’t be long; need you big and strong if we’re gonna win this tournament! Only the best for Team Helms!” Ace went on, more butter in his voice than on the stack of toast that was already on a plate next to where he stood.
“THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING IN MY HOUSE?!” David eventually yelled, the power of speech finally returning after eluding him for several seconds as he stood there in shock. “AND WHY ARE YOU NAKED?!”
Ace beamed at him. “I’m the naked chef!” He replied, as if it was the most obvious answer in the world. “You know, that annoying British guy that cooks food and acts all holier than thou? Of course you do, there’s probably a newsletter, huh? Come on, sit down already, it’s breakfast time!”
“Get the fuck out of here, dude!” David barked back at him, which flipped the smile on Ace’s face upside down instantly.
“Hey now, is that any way to talk to your tag partner, huh?” Ace asked, sounding not just offended but hurt, hamming up his reactions to the point that he would give any Days of Our Lives actor a run for their money. “Now gran some wood, bud! I hope you’re hungry, there’s plenty to work through!” he added, and Dave’s eyes scanned the kitchen.
It was chaos. Pancake batter dripped from the walls and, somehow, from the ceiling. Grease covered every surface, bacon fat making the floor sparkle in the light. Broken egg shells and even a couple of dropped eggs covered the kitchen sideboards. Ace had cooked enough for a battalion, not just for him. “How the hell did you even get in here?! Who the hell is gonna clean up this mess?!”
“Yeah, I was meaning to ask about that, you’ve got a cleaner, right?” Ace asked, his brows raised for emphasis. “Whatever, not the point. What I was actually wanting to ask is how come it was so easy to get in? I mean, shouldn’t this place be locked down tighter than Fort Knox?”
“It’s supposed to be, which is why I asked how the hell you got in!” David said in exasperation, shaking his head.
“Well, you know, for a small price I could always help you close up those gaps in the system!” Ace said helpfully as he placed a mountainous plate of breakfast onto the breakfast bar, before turning to the coffee pot. Helms turned away at the sight that was greeting him when Ace bent down to look in a cupboard. That Limp Bizkit album was the only chocolate starfish that David had any interest in.
“Will you just leave already?!” David asked, his eyes still looking away, so he didn’t see Ace straighten up again and find mugs in one of the upper cupboards.
“But how will you know how I got in here if you kick me out?” Ace reasoned, as if it was actually a discussion rather than an instruction. David groaned before sighing; he was just thankful that Regan wasn’t home for this bullshit, it would be an entirely different situation if she were. Welcome back to the business bro, did you miss it? “And I’m not asking for much either, I just want-”
“I’m not giving you money Ace,” David told him flatly, getting annoyed now. This wasn’t how he expected to start his day off, that was for sure.
“And I’m not looking for it either, partner!” Ace replied, cheerfully again. The fact that David knew he meant ‘tag partner’ didn’t stop him from sounding like a cowboy and despite the ridiculousness of the situation, David had to bite the inside of his lip to stop himself from laughing. “Seriously, don’t want money. Don’t need money either, it’s not always about financial incentive David.”
“Then what do you want?” The homeowner asked, wanting to know what he’d done to deserve this.
“Well, I’ve been thinking,” Ace began playfully, clearly dragging this out for his own amusement. He was evidently having fun tormenting David. “I saw the name of your new band of merry men, and it got me to thinking… handsome devils, well who’s more handsome than me in SCW… other than you obviously, don’t want to steal your thunder… but the answer there is nobody. So I’m thinking you let me join your little Handsome Devil’s Club. All world champions together! Well, and Jason of course. What you say?”
“You broke into my house to ask to join us?!” David asked in disbelief, reaching seething point now. This was ridiculous and Ace should know that.
“What? No!” Ace replied, shocked at the assumption. He really was hamming it up. “I broke in because we need to talk about Trio’s, I’m not that self-serving Dave, christ!” he added, as if his explanation was far more reasonable than Dave’s.
It wasn’t. “Okay, conversation over,” David said, his patience worn thin now as he walked over to Ace and grabbed him.
“Woah, wait, come on!” Ace protested as Helms marched him to the door that led outside from the kitchen. As he expected, it was unlocked. David didn’t want to even know how he got through it. “Dave, come on. Is this any way to treat a partner? A friend? Former stude-HEY!” he finished with a shout as Dave heaved him through the doorway and Ace had to grab hold of one of the lounge chairs to save his blushes completely. “This isn’t over partner!” he shouted through the glass as David locked the door behind him, aware that it may be pointless depending on how Ace got in there in the first place. Sighing, he walked straight out of the kitchen and went to get dressed.
It took him more than thirty minutes to clean the disaster zone that was his kitchen, fortunately finishing up and disposing of the evidence just before Regan came home, having called for coffee and croissants on her way back from dropping Jay off at school. David didn’t think it would be in his best interests to fill her in on any of the morning’s events. Not if he didn’t want her to go back to being furious about the whole in-ring return anyway. Fortunately, Ace had actually taken the hint and Dave didn’t have to explain why the fuck there was an almost-naked Ace Marshall on their deck either, because that wouldn’t have been an awkward conversation at all, and Dave didn’t even want to think about where the hell Ace’s clothes actually were... if they were somewhere in that house, that wouldn’t be an easy conversation either. But it was a risk he’d just have to take, because now he was back on the road, David had to think about his own training as well as his work at AnteUp. The problem with getting a morning off was that you had to fit things into that morning, so it wasn’t really like getting a break; around an hour after breakfast with his wife, he left Regan to her own devices while dressed in his sweats and a track jacket to hit the canyon for a run. The sun was shining brightly but the temperature wasn’t unbearable as he hit the trail closest to his house, music blasting through his airpods as he set off. This was a run he did every day at one point, but until recently it was a path he’d rarely trod. That was gonna have to change, because he quickly realised that it wasn’t as easy as it once was, but wasn’t that the point? He was in the process of getting his career back on track, and then meant getting his training back on track too. It was difficult while still using the Lucho gimmick to really put his all into training, because he didn’t want to make it seem like anything was off but now that the world knew the big secret, he could truly throw himself into his training… whenever time permitted anyway. He had made a promise, not only to himself but to Regan too, that he wouldn’t let anything take away from family time, which was his entire reason for retiring in the first place.
David knew not to push himself too far though, something that came from experience. At a steady pace, sweat already dripping from him, it wasn’t long before he was half way through his usual circuit, his usual rest spot before making the way back. All things considered, for a guy turning forty at the end of the year, he had to admit he was still in great shape, but nothing he couldn’t improve on with enough effort and patience. Years aren’t catching up just yet bro he thought to himself as he paused his music and removed his airpods from his ears.
“Was beginning to think you were never gonna fucking stop!” a voice said from a little further down the trail. A voice David had already heard way too much for one day, yet here it was again, just making everything so much more delightful, sarcasm very much intended. Closing his eyes and sighing, David turned to look at Ace Marshall, who was jogging towards him, and… well, at least he was wearing clothes this time, though the vision wasn’t much better. That much lycra wasn’t fucking healthy!
Ace came to a stop in front of Dave and adjusted the sweatband on his head. He looked like something out of an eighties workout video and Dave wasn’t sure how much better it was than what he’d been wearing earlier that morning. “Jesus christ bro, what the hell?”
“That’s kind of… an oxymoron isn’t it?” Ace asked, pausing with hands on hips as he looked at Dave. “You know, I’d have caught up with you if you didn’t have those dumb things in your ears, I mean I was yelling your name like a woman of negotiable affection that was promises a thousand dollar tip, how did you not hear me?!”
“You think that’s the most pressing issue right now?” Dave asked, glaring at him. “Because I’m gonna go ahead and say that the main point of discussion should be why you’re here. Again!” he said, making damn sure to add enough anger to the ‘again’ to let Ace know he wasn’t impressed. Like Ace didn’t know exactly what he was doing in that moment, did Dave not know him at all?
“It’s a public park Dave, I was just out enjoying a jog and happened to spot you,” Ace lied through his back teeth and then some. “But serendipity is a wonderful thing, now you can have company! I’m far more entertaining than whatever garbage you were listening to, no doubt!”
Dave rolled his eyes. “Look, don’t you think this is going a little far, bro? Like seriously, if you wanted to talk to me, all you had to do was pick up a damn phone. My cell’s in the company registry!”
“I always found phone calls to be severely lacking the warmth of face to face interaction,” Ace explained, waving away the comment. “As a society, we’ve let technology overtake our lives; we’d rather talk behind a screen than go out and be social… bunch of antisocial bastards when you think about it but that’s life. Conversations as warm and personal as a thrown knife.”
David didn’t even know what to say to that. “Okay…” was all he managed, before Ace filled the void again.
“But we’re partners now so we don’t need to hide behind a screen!” Ace told him with alarming exuberance and sincerity, it was alarming and kind of unsettling. “Now we can exercise and plan how we’re going to win. Two birds with one stone!”
Part of David almost agreed that maybe planning some strategy may be a good idea, but at the same time the way Ace had gone about it had hit a nerve. It wasn’t that many years ago this his privacy was invaded by another colleague breaking into his home, and that had ended much differently. Even if this situation was far removed from that Ravyn:TV episode, it still served as an unwanted reminder, regardless of Ace’s intent. David just wanted to get out of there, back home for another shower before getting ready to make the drive to AnteUp for his afternoon classes… and that was when it hit him. “How about we let fate decide…”
“What, decide whether we win?” Ace scoffed. “Why leave it to chance, when-”
“Nah bro, whether we have this conversation now or later,” David told him, cutting him off before he could go on another diatribe. “How’s this; beat me to North point lookout, and we can talk until the cows come home. I beat you, you give me a break and we can arrange to do this when I’ve actually got time!”
Ace’s face brightened almost immediately; Ace Marshall had never been a man to turn down a challenge and was particularly fond of wagers, if previous endeavors were anything to go by. “You’re on!” he said, grinning and he held his hand to his mouth and spat on it before holding it out to David.
Dave ignored it and put his airpods back it, tapping play on his phone to start his music again. “See you up there,” he told Ace, turning to set off again. He was barely putting the effort in, hoping what happened would happen; Ace passed him within three seconds, putting effort into running as quickly as possible. Dave let him lead, even putting effort in himself to make it seem competitive… but as soon as they reached the fork in the trail with a sign pointing to North Point Lookout, Dave let Ace get ahead and he casually turned, heading down the alternate route, taking the shortcut back to the road that would take him home. If he was lucky, Ace would make it all the way to the point before realising that David wasn’t anywhere near…
Maybe it had been mean of him to pull a shitty trick like that, but he really didn’t have the time for Ace’s games, not when he had classes to teach at AnteUp, which was a good ninety minute drive away, depending on traffic. Ninety may be optimistic if LA traffic was anything to go by. Back home, he showered quickly and threw on jeans, an old t-shirt and his sneakers before kissing Regan goodbye and heading out of the door. He jumped in the Audi and waited for his phone to connect to the radio before pulling off down the drive, slowing for the gate to roll back. The front of the car was less than three feet out of the driveway when he had to slam the brakes on hard to avoid becoming another statistic on insurance premiums. “JESUS FUCKING CHRIST!” Dave yelled as Ace slapped the hood of the car playfully and walked around to the passengers side door, holding a backpack in his other hand. And how in the hell had he changed clothes again?! Did he have a mobile fucking closet somewhere nearby? Oh fuck, David thought to himself, please don’t say he’s moved into the damn neighborhood!
Dave wasn’t quick enough to hit the central locking before Ace pulled the door open and jumped in. “Nice wheels,” he told David as he pulled the door shut behind him. “You got me by the way. Bit of a dick move, but you did get me.”
“Ace, come on,” Dave begged, genuinely tired of the game now. “I’m in a rush bro, I’ve got to get to the academy. I’m teaching this afternoon, and I don’t like letting the students down. Sets a pretty fucking shitty example if I don’t turn up on time at my own academy!”
“It’ll teach them to expect disappointment once they enter the business,” Ace countered smoothly. “A lesson they’ll really need to learn early on if they actually want to get anywhere. Look, is it really too much to ask you to give me just an hour? Thirty minutes even? I picked you as my fucking partner, didn’t I? Least you can do is give me that!”
And just like that, the bastard had him. He had to concede, it was a fair request. And Ace knew that too, he could see it in David’s face that he’s already won the discussion with the easiest of shots. “Fine, thirty minutes,” Dave told him, admitting defeat. “But I mean it bro, I really do have to get to the academy once we’re done. I’m not sacrificing the time of people paying to learn at AnteUp for my own career. Not more than I’ll already have to now I’m back.”
“Thirty minutes, scouts honour!” Ace told him as he buckled up. “I know just the place, we can get a drink and talk… soft drink if you want to be a little bitch because you’re driving!” he added, the charm offensive slipping slightly.
But what could David do? He had already agreed, and Ace was in the car, all buckled in. Not like he could run in the opposite direction this time, they were shut in there together. So he did what he had to, by following the directions Ace gave him. He was expecting a dive bar or maybe something slightly more up market like a wine bar or craft pub, but he sure as hell wasn’t expecting the place they ended up at. The restaurant they’d arrived at literally oozed wealth, just from the outside. If there was anything on the menu that cost under a hundred bucks Dave would donate double the price to charity, though he had a feeling from looking at the place that they’d be turned away at the door anyway. No way were they getting in wearing what they were wearing. “This is really your idea of just the place?” Dave asked as they pulled into the parking lot and he put the car into park. “Dunno if you’d noticed bro, but I’m more of a beer and bar snacks kind of guy…”
“Then you need to reassess your life David, because you’re living a rookie lifestyle on a legends paycheque,” Ace told him flatly before reaching for the door handle. He already hated it based entirely on first glance, but every fibre of his being told him they weren’t getting in anyway so he played along and figured he could always find somewhere more appropriate once they got turned away. You can only imagine his shock when Ace had a quiet word with the maitre d who showed them straight to a table! Had he bribed her? That had to be it! He’s been too busy looking around at the inside of the place to notice what was actually said, but money had to have changed hands because nobody in the whole place was wearing clothing that wouldn’t have cost more than an average monthly paycheque for the state of California, and many of the people there wouldn’t have looked out of place at a runway show put on by The Beauty Factory either. “Suitably impressed?” Ace asked as the matre d left them to consider the menus.
“You don’t know me at all, do you man?” Dave asked with a sigh as he grabbed the drinks menu to look through it. “I wasn’t kidding when I said I was more of a beer and bar snacks kind of guy…”
“I guess I figured you had better taste than you do then,” Ace told him flatly, and even though there was a grin on his face with it, David was sure that he meant every syllable of the insult. In fact, in all honesty, he probably assumed the worst to begin with. “But we’ll just have to make sure you enjoy yourself regardless. Sorry it’s not some dirty bar full of greasy haired assholes chugging beer… if it helps, I can always throw up on your shirt? Just say the word and I’ll stick my fingers down my th-”
“How about you just get to the point of whatever it was you wanted to talk about, bro?” David said, cutting straight over Ace before he could go any further. If he didn’t think this was a mistake when he agreed, he definitely did now they were sat in the restaurant, surrounded by people dressed far better than them, eating food worth more than most people’s food budgets for a month. It was making David feel more awkward by the second. “Because the clocks ticking and you’ve now got,” he added, pausing to check his watch before looking back up at Ace. “A little over twenty minutes. And that’s being generous thanks to the drive time, so…”
“Jesus, you take things real literal, huh?” Ace said, rolling his eyes before plastering the fake smile back across his face again. “Okay, but can I order drinks first? I want to know what a fifty five dollar cocktail tastes like and alcohol may just lighten you up too… garcon?!” he said, snapping his fingers in the air, coming across as a real pretentious jerk.
It worked though; a waiter was at their table in seconds to take their order, but Dave was quick to correct it almost as soon as he’d placed it, swapping his own drink for a light beer because there was no way he was drinking cocktails before driving. The waiter bowed his head, all smiles, and scuttled off to do his job, leaving Ace and David alone again. “So look… I meant to ask last week, even went looking for you backstage but you’d already disappeared so didn’t get the chance. Why?” David asked, and Ace cocked his head to one side, with his brow furrowed. “Why did you use your pick on me, instead of I dunno, Cassidy? Or someone you’ve worked with in the past?”
Ace shrugged. “I want to win. You’re a power play, a safe option. You’ve had a lot of success and that stuff breeds, so why not go big. I want us to breed, David!”
David refuses to bite with that one, but his facial features must have given away the fact he almost did, because Ace smirked, like he’d scored some sort of point. “Fair enough, I can buy that,” David told him, though he wasn’t sure that was really the reason. “But that means you have to stalk me like you have today? Seriously bro, I meant what I said in the canyon, all you had to do was ask and we could have arranged something, the whole breaking in thing was just weird, and repeatedly turning up only kicked the weird up a notch or six…”
“Could say I took it to the next level, huh?” Ace quipped and despite the fact he didn’t want to, Dave cracked a smile, giving a small chuckle. “Atta Boy David! Good job bud, a smile! We’re finally getting somewhere!” Ace said, obnoxiously starting to clap his hands as loudly as possible, the other patrons in the restaurant all turning to look at the pair of them.
David looked around before shrinking into his chair a little. “Would you cut that out?” He said through gritted teeth and Ace frowned at him.
“And then you ruin it!” He said, throwing his hands up in frustration. “You’re really gonna have to lighten up if we’re gonna be a team, you know that?”
“Well if you dialed it back a little, maybe I wouldn’t need to be this uptight,” David replied, shaking his head. “I get it okay? You wanna show some sort of cohesion, you wanna be a proper team and work together instead of against one another. I do get it. But come on man, am I really the issue here? We’re teaming with someone who thinks she’s wrestling Jesus, the saviour of wrestling kind! Glory is a hell of an athlete and a former winner, but how is the founding member of the Sienna fan club not the one you’re busting your ass to get to fall in line?!”
It was a fair point, even Ace had to concede that one if the micro expression that crossed his face was anything to go by. But it was gone in a flash and Ace of course had an answer. He always had an answer, he wouldn’t be Ace Marshall if he didn’t. “Because Glory is easy,” Ace told him with a shrug. “Not in the usual way either before you say anything. No idea if she’s easy in that way, I’m a married man now dammit. Got a ring and everything. But she is easy, I already know what levers to pull. Her ego. Flattery, fawning, praise… this is her team, we’re Team Glory, she can lead us to exactly that!”
David quirked a brow. “So you’re gonna pander to her and you think you’ll get her on side?”
“Of course! Works for most people that need constant ego rubs, why else do you think someone line Sienna surrounds herself with people instead of going it alone? Pandering!” Ace said with a shrug before his face brightened at the sight of the waiter returning with a tray bearing drinks. “About time. When you pay, you should only leave a small tip, the service around here isn’t as good as I’d expect, even if the views are exquisite…”
David just frowned at Ace as the waiter handed them their drinks and he took a sip of his beer before placing the bottle down on the table. Ace took a long sip of his own drink through the straw that came with it, and his face screwed up a little at the taste before he let out a small cough. “Okay,” he wheezed. “So that’s what a fifty five dollar cocktail tastes like. Zesty!” He said, stifling another small cough.
Despite himself, David gave a small laugh. You get what you pay for and his beer tasted just fine. “Okay, card’s on the table time,” Dave said, putting the bottle back down on the table. “If you’re worried about me playing ball, you don’t have to. You picked me for your team, you’re the team captain, I’m all okay? We don’t need to continue this awkward whatever the fuck it is with you jumping out behind every tree, parked car or building corner to ensure I’m gonna be a team player…”
“So you don’t like my company, huh?” Ace asked. How was that’s what he took from the words that came from Dave’s mouth?
“I never said that! I said-” Dave began to explain, going on the defensive before spotting the smirk on Ace’s face. “Go fuck yourself, bro…” he end his sentence, though he did have a sheepish grin on his face as he said it. “Seriously though, enough okay? You wanna talk tactics, figure out a game plan, even just shoot the shit while we’re a team, fine, call me, lemme know you wanna talk, we can figure something out for a time that works. Just stop with the stalking crap, okay? I’m already in, you don’t have to recruit me. Fair deal?”
“Works for me,” Ace said with a shrug.
“Good,” David replied, relief washing over him. “No more games. We’re gonna have to deal with plenty of those anyway, with some of the people in this thing. We don’t need to be playing games with each other…”
“Okay, no more games,” Ace said before looking up over David’s shoulder. “Or… well, maybe one more?” He asked, as he grabbed the backpack he’d brought into the restaurant with him. David looked on in confusion as Ace opened it up and pulled out, of all things, a set of Mickey Mouse ears and an umbrella.
“Bloody hell…” came a voice from slightly behind where David was sitting and David turned to see none other than Glory Braddock standing there, dressed to the nines and looking like she’d been slapped in the face with a fish. It was obvious that she was irritated, she glared at Ace the same way David had earlier in the day, so clearly her presence in the restaurant was another one of Ace’s little games… which explained the comment about ‘maybe one more’ at least, because that look on Glory’s face could only mean one thing. Ace had conned her to get her there. But while Dave had no idea where Glory lived so couldn’t say how far she’d had to travel for Ace’s little ruse, he couldn’t help but think that she had gotten away lightly if this was all he’d done to get at her. Considering what he had been through so far that day, being invited to an upscale restaurant under some sort of false pretences seemed pretty low on the fucking scale of reasoned to be annoyed with Ace Marshall, and he wouldn’t hear it if she tried to say he was wrong!
“Congratulations!” Ace said, leaping out of his chair in excitement as he brandished the ears and umbrella. With way more excitement than David could fathom, he placed the ears atop of Glory’s head and shoved the umbrella into her unresisting hand; she had a look of shell shock on her face, a look David had seen before when people dealt with Ace Marshall, but he had to give credit to her for not losing her shit then and there. “Happy Umbrella Day!”
Glory’s eyes drifted down to the umbrella in her hand then back up at Ace. She cast a sideways glance at Dave, who shrugged, before turning back to out. “Umbrella day?!” She asked incredulously. Welcome to the party, Glory, welcome to the wonderful and whimsical world of Ace Marshall and his antics that are enough to drive anyone crazy after more than five minutes with him…
“Yeah, it’s National Umbrella Day, didn’t ya know?” Ace asked, fawning shock at the mere idea of someone being unaware of what was clearly the most important national day in the whole calendar! “This is to thank you for everything you have done for umbrellas.”
Dave face palmed, literally face palmed at the remark. He didn’t want to know what Ace had done in order to get Glory there, he didn’t want to know what lies had been told or what games he’d played. Her face told him she was in shock and angry, which means she didn’t know why she was really there and her attire told him that she was expecting something far different to the absurd reality that was presenting itself to them both. This was the team. The golden team looking for the golden ticket. He just can’t help himself, that was the though that ran through David’s mind as he took another swig from his beer, wishing he wasn’t driving so he could have a few more to make the entire situation more bearable. But for better or for worse, these were his trios partners so he may as well accept it and try and make the best of the situation he suddenly found himself in. At least it couldn’t get any worse, right? He hoped so, anyway...
