Koda arrived at the back entrance of the theatre, finding the truck already backed up, and a bunch of the other trainees already beginning to unload it. He saw one of the guys struggling with one of the corner posts.
"Great, you're here." The trainee said with a distinct note of relief in his voice. The corner post was a large, steel pipe essentially and easily weighed a couple of hundred pounds. Koda came over, and effortlessly lifted it onto his shoulder.
"Where you want it?" Koda asked. The stunned trainee just pointed in the door.
"Carl will show you where they're setting up." He said in a barely audible voice. Koda smiled and headed inside, while the other trainees just stared at him.
"WOW!" One of them remarked. "That was..."
"I'm really glad all of this is a work." Another trainee said. "I wouldn't like to think what it'd be like if he was actually trying to hurt someone."
Koda carried the corner post in, finding others setting up the ring in the middle of the theatre. Although he had been to a show in this theatre once already, he couldn't help taking a look around. Somehow it all looked so different from down here. It seemed so much larger from down here. He could almost imagine what it would be like once the seats started to fill up. Just thinking of being here, with all those people watching him, he couldn't help smiling.
"Hey Koda, over here!" Carl called over. He was directing his trainees as they started to construct the ring for the show. Right now, there were only a few steel beams and some posts. Koda could see Carl holding up the end of a beam, while another held up another. "Bring the corner post, right here!"
Koda went over, setting the corner post down gently and turned it bringing the brackets to the inside, allowing Carl and the others to attach the beams.
"Alright guys, the first one's in!" He announced. "Good to see you Koda!"
"Where the others?" Koda asked him, noting a lot of the usual familiar faces weren't there. Carl just smiled.
"A couple of the locals are in the changing rooms in the back already." He informed Koda. "Some of the Indy guys aren't here yet. Jack...well, God knows where he is, he usually only arrives about 20 minutes before the curtain."
"CARL!" He heard a voice roaring from the back. He just sighed and started shaking his head. Koda just looked a little confused. It was Carl's show; he was the booker, the boss. While Koda had seen a couple of screaming matches between Shelby and Kendall, in general things like that didn't happen. Kendall ran the museum, she was the leader of that tribe, and as such she commanded a certain level of respect. There was a certain way that was considered appropriate to talk to her. It surprised Koda to think that anyone would speak to Carl any differently on his show.
"It's fine Koda." Carl assured him. "Our 'Superstar' seems to be upset about something."
Just then, they turned in time to see a couple of guys coming towards them. One of them was wearing a suit, and had a bald head and glasses. The other towered over both Koda and Carl, and was thickly muscled. He was wearing a long, black trench coat and denims, and had his hair dyed green. Given the look on his face, Koda could guess it was probably the larger man who had been yelling.
"Eddie, what seems to be the problem?" Carl asked him.
"Are you kidding me? Are you seriously kidding me?" He roared. The smaller guy gestured to Eddie to back it down, and looked to Carl.
"Look, the thing is, my client just met with his opponent and he has some...reservations." He told him. Carl just shrugged.
"I don't know what the problem is; El Jaguar is one of our finest regulars." He told him.
"She's a chick!" Eddie snapped. "And have you seen the size of her? I've eaten chicken wings with more meat on them!"
"She's made a huge name for herself; she's one of the best Luchadors I've seen." He assured him.
"Are you kidding? No one wants to see that flippy-dippy shit!" Eddie protested. Carl just looked to him sceptically.
"Really?" He asked. "So that would be why Rey Mysterio, Juventud Guerrera and Psichosis were some of the biggest names in the business?"
"I don't care if she's flavour of the month down here." Eddie stated angrily. "I am NOT doing the job for some chick that looks like I could snap her in half!"
"Well in that case, I'll be more than happy for you to give me back your appearance fee and wish you well on your way." Carl said sternly. This seemed to make Eddie back up.
"Whoa, hold on a minute there." Eddie's manager said, trying to calm his client down. "We had a deal..."
"We HAD a deal for both of your clients to take part in a tag team match!" Carl reminded him. "It's not my fault Vinnie got arrested at the border! I only had one regular who was up to putting on a match with Eddie tonight. If you're not happy with that, you can feel free to leave, but there is no way in HELL you're getting paid if you don't perform!"
"Do you have any idea how much it cost to fly down to this shit hole?" Eddie asked.
"You're already in breach of contract; I don't owe you a cent!" Carl told him. "Now, you can either put on your big boy pants and wrestle the match with one of our biggest stars, or you can get the hell out!"
Eddie was about to say something, but looking to his manager, he saw his expression and confirmed that Carl was right. He had no way to make Carl pay him if he didn't perform. He just turned and stormed back into the changing rooms. Carl just sighed.
"Sorry you had to see that Koda." He replied. Koda just looked confused.
"He angry because he lose to El Jaguar?" Koda asked. "But...not really lose, it a work."
"That doesn't matter to some guys." Carl told him. "Some of them start to get a little bit of fame and it all goes to their heads. Next thing they start refusing to work with people they don't consider to be big enough stars. Anyway, let's get this ring set up."
Koda just nodded and went back to helping Carl and the others setting up for the show ahead.
In another part of the city, a train pulled into the station. Two men stepped off, onto the platform. One of them looked around.
"So, this is Amber Beach huh?" He asked. "I suppose it beats having to fly all the way out to Zandar."
"Don't worry, all going well we won't be staying long." The other replied. "Come on, let's find a motel."
As they were heading out of the station, one of them bumped into a couple heading down the street.
"Oh, sorry." He said.
"No problem." Matt replied as he straightened himself out. He looked to Kendall as they headed down the street. "OK, so where exactly are we going tonight?"
"There's a place down here that does THE best Chinese." She informed him. "After the day I've had, I have had a major craving for sweet and sour pork."
"Chinese food eh?" He asked. "Let me guess, you were on a dig out there once."
"Actually, no." She told him. "But one of my college roommates was from Hong Kong. Trust me; nobody went hungry in that residential block."
"Sweet and Sour Pork huh?" Matt asked her, putting his arm around her. "That sounds interesting. How exactly can it be both sweet AND sour?"
Back at the theatre, the show had begun, and the fans were getting warmed up by the opening bouts. Koda was wearing a promotional T-shirt, and wandering around the edge of the ring. His main task was to keep an eye on the crowd and make sure no one got overly excited and tried to get in the ring themselves. While it wasn't common, it wasn't unknown for fans to get a little too involved in the show. So far, it was all running smoothly.
"Ladies and gentlemen, our final match before the intermission is a singles match and it is scheduled for one fall! Coming to the ring first, from Detroit Michigan, weighing in at 230 pounds, one half of the Killer Koallition, Chainsaw Eddie!"
Eddie came out of the curtain and started making his way towards the ring, whipping up the crowd with rude and arrogant gestures. Koda could see that he was still in a mood about being made to take part in the match, under threat of not being paid. He stepped through the ropes, pulling off his trench coat and leaning into the corner. The ring announcer waited for the crowd to subside a little, and began the next announcement.
"And his opponent, from Mexico City, Mexico, weighing in at 97 pounds, El Jaguar!"
El Jaguar came out of the back to a huge ovation. Her distinctive mask, a call back to her heritage in Mexico had quickly become a fan favourite and one of the highest selling pieces of merchandise in the area. She ran into the ring, sliding under the bottom rope before flicking to her feet. She started to pace, waiting for the referee to call them to the centre of the ring. Once they had both set up, they went for a collar-and-elbow tie up. El Jaguar shifted, like she was trying to transition into a move, but Eddie didn't move. Instead, using his superior strength, he grabbed his smaller opponent and threw her almost three quarters of the way across the ring, where she hit the corner hard. Koda looked on. It wasn't a clean hit either, like it would have been if she had expected to hit the corner. She slumped down, grabbing the back of her neck and stared up at Eddie. He just beckoned her to get up.
El Jaguar got to her feet and ran for him, once again looking to link up, but this time he responded with a hard forearm right to the side of her face, knocking her to the mat, again not a clean bump as it should have been. Koda growled as he saw this. Carl had warned him about this, sometimes performers would take things too far, especially if they thought they could get away with it. Eddie, still unhappy about being scheduled to lose to a smaller opponent was taking liberties with her. He was working far too stiff, and he wasn't co-operating with the moves to make her look weak.
As Eddie grabbed her, El Jaguar caught him across the ribs with a hard kick, winding him, and followed up, elbowing him in the face. She'd been in the business long enough to know that sometimes, when her safety was in danger because another was taking liberties, the only way to respond was to defend herself and earn respect that way. As she tried to hip-toss him, he didn't jump and assist the throw as he should, a trick known as "sandbagging" because it made it much harder, and sometimes almost impossible to pick an opponent up by going limp and forcing them to lift a dead weight. El Jaguar was forced to use sheer power to bring him over, something that was clear in how messy the landing looked, and how much it seemed to take out of her from the effort. Koda looked around for Carl to see if he was going to do anything to stop the match, but he couldn't see any sign of him. He struggled to know what to do. Despite knowing that Eddie was behaving in a reckless and dangerous way, the fans had paid good money for the show. He couldn't break up the match unless there was no other choice. He reluctantly hung back, hoping that El Jaguar was able to defend herself.
In the Chinese restaurant, Kendall and Matt were just sitting down to their first course. Matt was more than pleased with the portion of ribs he'd been served up, while Kendall had opted for Won Ton soup. Matt picked up the first rib and took a bite, before letting out a satisfied moan.
"Oh man, this sauce is amazing." He commented. "I thought my mom's sauce was good...uh...just...don't tell her I said anyone else's sauce was better though."
"Don't worry; your secret is safe with me." She teased him as she took a mouthful of the soup. Matt just looked to her.
"What are those pasta things?" He asked. "I mean, I've had pasta in soup before..."
"They're Won Tons, little pasta pouches filled with minced prawn." Kendall told him. "It's really good; would you like to try...?"
"Maybe another time." Matt answered, finishing up his rib. "I have to say, I'm really looking forward to this thing tomorrow."
"Fossil Fun Day?" Kendall asked him. "Yeah, it should be good."
"Wow, you sounded really enthusiastic about that." Matt replied with a small laugh.
"I don't know, it just...it sounds like a whole lot of hassle for nothing." Kendall told him. "You were there when we made up all those bones. I've basically lost two days of work."
"And that's a bad thing because...?" Matt asked her. Kendall just sighed and shrugged.
"I don't know, I guess I just...I guess I just kind of like things to be organised, to have an order to them you know?" She asked him. "Instead, I'm going to be a glorified kindergarten teacher for the day."
Matt saw a noticeable shudder from her as she said this. He looked to her curiously.
"You do like kids don't you?" He asked her.
"Sure I like kids." Kendall told him, somewhat less than convincingly. "In small doses...and in controlled environments and..."
"Controlled environments?" Matt chuckled. "You really don't know much about kids do you?"
Kendall just glared at him. Matt smiled and sat back, staring at her for a while.
"What now?" She asked him.
"I'm just trying to imagine what you were like as a kid." He replied. "I'll bet you weren't the puppies and kittens kind of girl."
"Really?" She asked him.
"I'm thinking...braces, maybe some pig tails..."
"That soup was good." Kendall said as she pushed her bowl away. "I wonder where the waiter is to order up the next course."
"I guess we could do that." Matt answered with a wry grin. "But don't think I've forgotten about this. I'll bet you were a super cute kid."
Kendall just gestured over the waiter, all the while trying to hide her smile from him.
Back at the theatre, the match was well underway. It seemed that El Jaguar had made a point, because somewhere in the proceedings, he had started to co-operate as he was meant to.
He picked her up, slamming her to the floor, before heading to the corner, and starting to climb the ropes. Just as he was nearing the top, El Jaguar was on her feet, and leapt up, drop-kicking him to stun him. She climbed up, positioning herself under his arm, and grabbing him around the neck. This was the set-up for one of her finishers, the Spanish Fly. It was a spectacular move when performed properly, but it was also highly dangerous. As she prepared for the move though, Eddie grabbed the top rope and refused to go, anchoring them to the top. He hit her, trying to knock her out of the ring, something that was bound to cause an injury. Jaguar hit him in the face with her elbow, before going for the move again. She launched into a back-flip, but Eddie didn't flip forwards as he was meant to, instead being dragged by her weight. She had to let go and abandon the move halfway through to twist herself, although she still landed awkwardly on her right arm and shoulder, crying out as she hit the mat. Eddie wasn't so lucky though, landing on his head. She could see he had stopped moving and covered him as delicately as she could, taking the three count and ending the match.
She rolled out the ring, clutching her arm to herself and landed right by Koda. The Blue Ranger signalled to the back for assistance, while he helped her backstage.
"Where is she?" Carl asked, coming into the changing room. Koda gestured him over, and let him start to take a look at her. He started moving her arm, feeling around for any signs of a break or a dislocation.
"Carl, what the hell was that?" Eddie's manager yelled as he came in.
"Look Steve, we've called an ambulance..."
"He landed on his HEAD! This dumb bitch could have broken his neck!" He yelled.
"It was an accident! They happen in this game!" Carl protested.
"Yeah, they happen when you hire some half-assed clumsy illegal!" He spat in his disgust. He grabbed El Jaguar's mask, pulling it off, revealing that it was Alessandra underneath. "Look at her; she's barely more than a kid!"
"Back off Steve!" Carl told him. "She's one of the best..."
"Trust me, you'll be hearing from our lawyers about this!" Steve answered. Koda looked to Alessandra, who just sat, not answering. It was like she was still too shaken up from the match to answer him back. Koda interjected, shoving Steve back.
"Eddie's fault!" Koda protested. Steve just stared at him. "Steve stiff her. He sandbag her all match. He sandbag her on last move. His fault he get hurt."
"You wonder why shit like this happens?" Steve asked. "Your staff can't even speak..."
"He might not speak the best English, but he's right, and the footage proves it!" Carl replied, finally losing his patience. "Take your payment and go. Don't expect a call to come back, and if you try to file a lawsuit, I'll take you AND your clients to the cleaners!"
Steve just turned and left as Eddie was stretchered out of the arena. Carl looked to Alessandra, seeing the look of pain on her face.
"Right, I don't THINK anything's broken, I think it's just a sprain, but we should get you to the hospital to get checked out properly." He told her. "Koda, would you stay with her while I get someone to drive her?" Koda just nodded.
As Carl left, Koda looked back to her. He smiled at her.
"Not listen to mean man." He told her. "You good wrestler. Eddie very bad man."
"You...you stand up for me." She replied, causing Koda to look at her a little surprised. It was the first time he had ever heard her say anything. She looked to him with wide eyes.
"You talk to me?" He asked her. Alessandra suddenly looked very self-conscious. She looked away from him. He put a hand on her shoulder and stroked it gently. "Why you not talk before?"
"I not speak very good." She replied in a very broken way. She looked to him, her eyes betraying her nerves. "My English not good."
"My English not so good either." Koda assured her. Alessandra smiled a little hearing this. Carl came in.
"Rob's got a car; he said he can take you to the hospital." He told her. Alessandra looked to Carl.
"Koda come too?" She asked. Carl looked almost as surprised as Koda. Although he had known her a lot longer, she rarely spoke. She had a good understanding of what people were saying to her, but she still struggled, having to think of the words when she was trying to speak. It got to her when she couldn't think of what she was trying to say.
"Well, what do you say Koda?" He asked. Koda just looked to Alessandra and nodded.
"I go with you." He replied, helping her out of her chair as they headed for the car.
