Family Meeting

At the meeting room of a local luxury hotel, we find Gabriel Tuck sitting all alone. He’s sitting in his black jeans, black leather jacket, and no shirt. He’s leaning back in a chair with his boots on the table while he’s smoking a cigarette. He checks his phone to see what time it is.

“Guess I could give it a few more minutes.”, he says, mostly to himself.

A few minutes later, there’s a light knock at the door. Gabriel shouts as he flicks ashes onto the floor. “Enter!”

Trelisa Perrault enters the room with a smirk. “You do realize a dark room isn’t an invitation, it’s a deterrent!” She flips a switch, and the room is filled with light. Gabriel shields his eyes for a moment.

“I was enjoying the darkness, but I get your point.”

Trelisa walks over and settles besides Gabriel, composed, inscrutable.

“About Fiona”, she begins. “Apologies, the timing was stubborn.”

“Couldn’t be helped.”, Gabriel laughs. “Besides, they didn’t win either. So we can try another day, maybe. Besides, we have you still! I’d say that was a win no matter how you look at it.”

“Do you mean zat?”, Trelisa manages. “You were so set on her, are you not devastated?"

“Like I said before.”, Gabriel explains. “If we win, great. If we don’t win, great. We have the tag team championship, the Lunar Rumble, and I have an Elite title match to look forward now. We can try again for Fiona later.”

Without making a huge deal, Gabriel takes one final puff of his cigarette, dropping it so that he can crush it out with his boot, bringing both of them back to the floor. He sets his SHOOT Project Empire State Championship on the table. “I earned us a little bit of momentum going into Lunar Warfare.”

Trelisa’s gaze seems impressed as she looks over the title belt and Gabriel Tuck in a new light. “You won zis? how convenient for everyone.” She coos with a sly smirk. “Tell me Mon Cher, how did you accomplish zis?”

Gabriel slaps the face of the title with a laugh. “I had to go through seven other people in an elimination battle royal to win the title. It was hard actually. Like the difficulty I will have going through nearly the same number of people in the Elite title match at Lunar Warfare, though I don’t believe that there will be eliminations then. Just a win.”

“Zen per’aps the crown should sit with you.”, Trelisa ventures. “We could do worse.”

“Yeah, about that,” Gabriel begins, his tone serious. “I think the best of us should maybe lead. That would be you, my dear.”

“How are you so sure I’m ze best?”, Trelisa blushes a little as she speaks.

“You are more self-reliant than the others.”, Gabriel explains. “You are strong and generally independent. Beautiful too. That can’t hurt in a good leader…”

She slides a palm to his jaw, drawing him close, smile small and private.

“Careful, I’ve warned you before, flattery is a master key. It opens…everywhere.”

The two seem to be leaning in for a kiss when the door is kicked in. They break apart as Madd Morales and the Peak of Freak walk into the room.

“I don’t know that this meeting required us to be so close!” Madd Morales laughs.

“They're indulging their inner freaks. Shame they have to hide,” the Peak of Freak adds.

Trelisa’s hand falls, the slight smile fading momentarily, while Gabriel looks insulted. “We were just talking!” he protests.

“Oh really?” Madd Morales jumps up to the table and walks across it until he gets over to by Gabriel Tuck, where he takes a seat on the table. “And what, pray tell, were you talking about?”

“We was discussing Fiona O’Connell.”, Gabriel Tuck says bluntly.

“Yeah? She thinks she’s something, doesn’t she?” Peak of Freak begins as he walks around the tables to sit in a chair nearby, causing it to creak. “I don’t know why you thought that she would have made a good leader for us.”

“Right?” Madd Morales snaps. “How did you think we would feel about you going outside of the group to get leadership when you recently just got your club badge? We know you ain’t a leader, you’re a suck up. You take what mommy and daddy grant you!”

“Have you no eye towards ze future?” Trelisa replies, her smile slipping back over her face, though there is some smugness in her gaze. “Essaie de ne pas etre des petites provinciales“

Madd Morales hops off the table and gets right into Trelisa Perrault’s face. “Si vous voulez dire de la merde, faites-le en anglais.Yeah, I took French as my elective in high school, betcha didn’t know that, did ya, so you if you got something to say, say it to me directly.”

Trelisa is about to answer, her eyes rolling as if she thinks she’s above this squabble, when the door opens again to let the Duchess Lana Windsor into the room.

Lana Windsor walks quickly to where the chaos is going on and looks at Madd Morales. “What is this nonsense? We don’t fight like this. We are a family!”

Madd Morales looks to Peak of Freak, who just grins. “We’re family until we’re not.” Peak of Freak says. “But we get the point. Fine.”

The Duchess nods with a smile and takes a seat. “Now. What it is that we are here to be talking about?”

“Well,” Madd Morales slides in with a toothy grin. “We were talking about since Fiona doesn’t want to lead us, whom we think should lead us going onward. Trelisa looks like she’s about to be waving flags for Gabriel Tuck. If you know what I mean.”

Trelisa sighs, leaning back, lazy as a cat. Gabriel holds out a restraining hand to her shoulder to keep her in her seat. When she gets control of her temper. “Well, who do you think should lead us?”

“I think it’s obvious.” Madd grins. “I should be the one in charge. I have the talent for it and I’ve held a title in the CWF that’s the highest that counts. Sorry, your Empire State title just doesn’t cut it.”

The door swings open again to let in Hehehe and Hahaha. They laugh as they plow through the tables on the opposite side of the room and take seats with them so that they can sit across from the others. They do their wet, ghastly giggle while drawing all eyes.

“We will tell you who -”

“We think should be leader.”

“We think that Gabriel -”

“Should be the one to lead.”

“It’s not like he hasn’t -”

“Been a leader before.”

Madd Morales rolls his eyes. Quickly and quietly he mutters “fuckinghatetheseclowns” then aloud he says, “If heading up a group of motorcycle ring freaks makes him a leader, then I am naturally born with all of the freaks Peak of Freak and I have collected as followers! I should be the leader!”

Despite her calm demeanor there her lazy posture has tensed looking as if she might pounce on Madd again when Gabriel gets in between the two. “How about this?”

Gabriel leans back in his chair and lights himself a cigarette. After his first drag is blown up into the air, he speaks. “The person who wins the Lunar Rumble or gets the closest to winning if we do not win the whole thing will be the new leader of the nKo. How does that sound?”

Madd looks to the Peak of Freak, who nods. “We like it," Madd admits.

Lana nods and the twins grin like mad.

“So we seem to be in agreement. The winner of last to be eliminated will be leader.” Madd Morales says. “We get to be tag team champions. Peak and I.”

“Do not forget Mon Ami, we are in zat tournament as well and we intend to win.” Trelisa says, her eyes cast down to her hand as if inspecting her manicured nails. “Do keep up.” She adds her bright blue eyes locked on Madd.

“Then I shall be Elite champion!”, Madd Laughs.

Gabriel cracks his knuckles with a laugh. “You’re not alone there either. Maybe the best people win in all three cases.”

Madd Morales gets up, motioning to Peak of Freak. “Oh, we will. Cause the best trick the devil ever pulled was convincing you that you could beat me.” he smirks as he leaves. “I love our family meetings!”

Trelisa watches them leave and shakes her head once. “We have to win.”

Gabriel just grins. “We will.”

Meeting over, the Duchess Lana Windsor exits the room as well with the Twins not far behind.

Trelisa places a hand on Gabriel’s knee and leans in to get close enough to borrow his breath. “Now…where were we?”

The scene fades to black.