Second Chances

Subject: Second Chances Fri Jun 17, 2016 3:43 pm

Jack Colter tightens his grip on the duffle bag slung over his shoulder as he stands outside of a large set of 8-panel doors. He takes a deep breath and then opens the door on the left. It creaks ominously as it opens into a large courtroom. It's early morning so the courthouse is nearly devoid of activity and the morning sun shines brightly through the eastern window.

Colter squints as he stands in the doorway, taking it all in before slowly stepping down the aisleway between the pews in the gallery. The soles of his boots clack on the hardwood floor and echo back to him in the unoccupied room. Jack approaches the bar then pushes the gate open and steps through.

Sunlight shines in from the window, highlighting the defendant's table. Colter averts his gaze from the table, turning left and running his hand across the oak railing on the bar with his scornful eyes trained on the prosecutor table.

After a moment of reflection, Jack turns around, running his right hand across the rail. He stares at the defendant's table, taking a wide circle around it before settling in the middle of the room, between the table and the witness stand.

Jack Colter: "This is it."

Jack steps into the center of the room and sets his duffle bag on the floor.

Jack Colter: "The last time I was in this courtroom, I suffered the worst defeat of my life. I have to say that I expected that stepping through those doors would be a bit unnerving."

Jack runs his fingers through his hair as he spins 360 degrees to look around the room.

Jack Colter: "But I'm done running from my past. I've finally risen above it. I'm more in control of my fate than I've ever been before. And as I head into the biggest fight of my professional career, I can honestly say that this room no longer intimidates me."

Colter turns directly toward the camera now. The contempt in his eyes has never been more clear.

Jack Colter: "Suffice to say, you do not intimidate me either, Amis Shelton. See, you are no longer facing a man whose greatest fear is being overlooked by the critics. Oh, no, no, no. I am much more dangerous than that. You're facing a man who is fighting for his very survival in the business. You're facing a man who knows what it's like to be at rock bottom and doesn't want to go back. Desperation changes a man, Amis. I've seen it change you."

Jack steps up to the defendant's table, lifting the placard from the table and tracing the words written on it with his fingers.

Jack Colter: "We are very different men, you and I. But inside that ring, I'm beginning to see that we're not so different."

Colter places the placard back down on the table and looks into the camera once more.

Jack Colter: "Don't get it twisted. Marcus Sharpe may have placed you on a pedestal but your fingernails are just as dirty as mine, Amis. A blindside attack at Brutality 10, a run-in on Brutality 11... That's two consecutive shows where you've assaulted me. It's like you've grown to become the man you hate. You've joined the infamous Black Jack Colter in the muck and the mire. But a champion's desperation just can't compare to an ex-con's."

A smug grin overcomes Jack.

Jack Colter: "Do you know what true desperation feels like, Amis? Do you understand the pressure of having twelve jurors staring you down and waiting for you to crumble? Do you know what it's like to be blacklisted and have your livelihood stripped from you? Do you know what it's like to be buried by a whispering campaign?"

Jack's smile departs as quickly as it came.

Jack Colter: "You don't know and you aren't anywhere near ready to face a man who does. Christ, look at the uproar you created over your wife getting hospitalized. You don't know what true loss feels like. Your wife is alive and well, but apparently the entire world is up in arms over the fact that I dared to wrestle her. Well, there's a few things I'd like to get off my chest about this incident. Allana..."

Jack spins the podium around and then reaches down and rifles through his backpack. Shortly afterward, he stands upright holding a string tied to a red balloon which reads "Get Well Soon". The solemn look on Jack's face contrasts the smiley face printed on the balloon.

Jack Colter: "I'm struggling to find the words to express how I truly feel about all this. Bear with me here."

Colter bites his lip, as he appears to be flipping through his mental Rolodex of Hallmark greeting card platitudes.

Jack Colter: "Oh, how's this? Play stupid games, win stupid prizes."

The balloon pops loudly as Jack pricks it with a needle. Colter drops the needle nonchalantly to the hardwood floor.

Jack Colter: "Allana, in the future, spare yourself any trauma and don't call yourself a wrestler if you are unwilling to face the consequences. Don't step into my ring if you're not fit to compete. To think, all of this shit could have been avoided if you just hadn't run your mouth and then slapped Mr. Adler. What the fuck did you expect to happen after you assaulted the boss? You just couldn't help yourself, could you? Just like your husband Amis, you think the world is owed to you, and the minute something doesn't swing in your favor, you stomp your feet and you throw a hissy fit. The second something goes wrong, you scramble for excuses and scapegoats for your failures. That's fine. Blame me. I'm used to it."

Jack paces the room, glancing over to at the judge's bench before approaching the jury box. He turns around and points at the prosecutor's table.

Jack Colter: "In this courtroom, I was condemned by people like you. The kind of people who will judge you based on your reputation instead of verified evidence. Not only do you breed a cycle of ignorance, you're fucking proud of it. Do you remember the first thing you said about me before our encounter at New Year's Massacre, Amis? You attempted to diminish me to a simple drug addict."

Jack tilts his head and stares intently into the camera.

Jack Colter: "Are you proud of yourself, Amis? Are you proud of that hatchet job?"

Colter shakes his head in disgust.

Jack Colter: "You were grasping at straws then just as you are now. I'm no drug addict, Amis Shelton. I admit that I've had my fair share of demons but that is not one of them."

Jack pulls his sobriety token from his pocket and kisses it before returning it to his pocket.

Jack Colter: "What I am is the poster boy for second chances. It's amazing what a guy can accomplish when society removes its foot from his throat. Mr. Adler is the first to my potential, but he won't be the last. Redemption will be an incredibly apt stage for my professional resurgence.

I'm sure the FN Worldwide spin team is already crafting an excuse in the event of a loss, using the same type of backward logic that would call my number one contendership match was a sham. No, the real sham was that I had to even compete in a match like that at all. I defeated you cleanly, Amis. I had nothing to prove to you or anyone else in that regard.

But seeing as you are a man who apparently got an automatic rematch for the title on the merits of 'not being involved in the decision' in the triple threat at Steel City, I'm not sure what I really expected from you. You're right - you weren't involved in the decision; you were merely knocked the fuck out while the call was happening. What you deserved was a participant's badge, not an automatic rematch. Truth be told, I never expected you to admit the validity of my claim, but Marcus Sharpe... He does this kind of thing for a living, right? He's supposed to at least fake some sort of impartiality."

Jack looks around the courtroom with wide-eyed intensity.

Jack Colter: "Alas, I've forgotten where I am. Justice is an illusion. But trust me, my fate at Redemption will not be left in the hands of the judge and jury."

Colter steps back over to the podium and lifts up his bag.

Jack Colter: "You don't know what it's like to lose, Amis. I'm gonna help you find out."

Jack slips his arm through the duffle bag's strap and shrugs it over his shoulder. Instead of opening the gate, he jumps over the bar and walks between the pews. The scene fades out after the courtroom door creaks open and Jack exits the room.