A two-story posh night club for the jaded in-crowd. There was an iceberg like sculpture in the center dining area, a ship themed dance floor and a polar decor. A tuxedoed jazz band played tunes on a moderate sized stage. Paul London could be found seated at a table in a corner of the establishment by his lonesome. He took a sip from his drink and lightly tapped his foot against the floor. He was dressed very well to fit in with his surroundings. A black top hat with red diamond designs upon it, a button up Victorian style vest with the same red and black diamond design, a long, black velvet tail coat, black pants and a pair of spotless white gloves. A figure could be seen slowly approaching him.
| Michael Cole | Paul, I'm sorry, but..-
| Paul London | Relax Michael.
Since the inception of "Elite" the group had refused to give interviews to anyone other than Dave Prazak who was the stable's handpicked announcer. But, on this occasion at least, things seemed to be different. Paul cordially waved Cole over as he took a seat across from him.
| Paul London | I'm really not a bad guy. You're free to sit and chat if you feel the need to do so.
| Michael Cole | But what about what you've helped to do to various EBWF superstars? Like Chris Jericho and AJ Styles. And just a week ago with Batista..
Cole was referring to the incident in which his Shooting Star Press, which saw his knee's land directly into Batista's cranium, saw him carried out on a stretcher. London only gave a smile to the accusations.
| Paul London | That happened inside of the ring. This is completely different. That was all business. I like to keep those two things strictly separated. And, in any event, I think the change in scenery will do Dave some good. The life of a wrestler can be very stressful.
Paul looked past Cole to a shapely blond who had been occasionally glancing over to their table. She somewhat resembled his ex Ashley Massaro. Just without all the pseudo punk rock accessories. He tipped his hat to her and she giggled a bit before looking away. Giving one of his gloves a light tug, he took the extra drink he had on his table and handed to a passing waiter.
| Paul London | Could you give this to her? Thanks so much.
As the waiter took care of the request, London turned his attention back to Michael Cole.
| Paul London | Now what exactly can I do for you?
| Michael Cole | You're going to take part in a triple threat match to determine a number one contender for the Path to Glory Title that also involves Chris Sabin and Shane Douglas.
| Paul London | I am, aren't I? Punk was very fond of that title so I'm going to assume he would like me to get it back into our possession. I aim to please. If others are happy than so am I.
| Michael Cole | Have you heard any of the comments Shane and Chris have made about you?
| Paul London | I have actually. And I've come to the conclusion that neither one of them know anything about me. It's fairly obvious. All they did was mention titles I've won in the past. Nothing really about me per say. Just past accomplishments. They've both underestimated me, I've been able to gather that much. But they both seem confident that they can beat me despite not really knowing what I'm about. Hey, they both won their last matches, didn't they? Great news! This calls for a toast! A toast to their success!
London raised his glass upwards to salute his future opponents.
| Michael Cole | You seem strangely relaxed about this entire thing. Especially when you consider that Shane Douglas has one of the longest tenure's in the wrestling business on this roster and Chris Sabin is a young man who hasn't even touched his full potential.
| Paul London | Why should I stress? Do you expect me to insult the both of them? I won't. They're both threats and amazing athletes. I'm not going to degrade two superstars like them even if they are on the wrong side of things. If either one of them was here I would buy them a drink. Either one of them could probably be Elite members. But I'm also supremely confident in my abilities. I've got no need to waste my breath and toss around empty words. I'm the better in-ring performer and I'll make that abundantly clear Monday night when I defeat them both en route to getting the PTG Title back from Ted Jr. Which I'm sure will be a match to remember and a real treat for honest to goodness wrestling fans.
Paul suddenly halted and held a single finger aloft.
| Paul London | Wait. I was wrong. I don't have anything to SAY about them. But I do think I can express myself in the form of song. If you will excuse me..
He pushed himself out of his chair and slid his way onto the stage after the band had finished their latest number. He motioned his head towards the piano on the right side of the stage.
| Paul London | Mind if I..?
The band seemed amused by this request but complied. Hey, he was something of a celebrity after all. He was on national television just about every week. London pushed his coattails aside and flexed his fingers before lightly tickling the ivories. He began to play and sing to the tune of B.O.B's "Nothin On You."
'Annoying wrestlers, all over the world..
'I could be stomping, but my time would be wasted..
They got nothing on me, baby..
Nothing on me, baby..
'Shane might say "Hi", and Chris might say "Hey"..
But you shouldn't worry about what they say..
Because I'm going to kick both of them so hard that they will see the curvature of the Earth..'
London finished off by feverishly pounding his fingers on the key's before springing to his feet. He gave the crowd a goofy smile as they applauded. Before returning back to his table he made his way past the blond he had been flirting with earlier and leaned closer to her.
| Paul London | Des le premier jour, ton parfum envira mon amour.
French. The language of love, no? London returned to his seat and Michael Cole wasn't sure to make of him just yet. He paled around with Brian Kendrick and had taken part in some awful things but he seemed almost charming right now.
| Michael Cole | This is all very interesting but do you think Chris Sabin and Shane Douglas are doing this to prepare? I mean, this is a title shot on the line.
| Paul London | No. Shane is hanging out in airport terminals and Chris is showing off his new car. I would like to think that I'm being a little more productive. They claim they want this victory more than I do. I beg to differ. As long as Chris continues to get a paycheck and groupies I'm sure he will be content. As for Shane..well..I don't think he's ever happy. But that sounds like a personal problem. But I don't have any problems. In fact..
London turns around completely in his chair and stares over at the woman he had been interacting with during the evening. The brim of his hat hangs in front of his eyes as he grins just a tad.
| Paul London | ..I think you could consider me problem free.
Cole realized that this was his time to go. He had at least gotten something from a member of Elite so he wasn't going to press his luck.
| Michael Cole | Thank you for your time, Paul.
| Paul London | Of course.
Paul and the lounge goer made eye contact with one another as this particular scene had reached it's end.
--------
The new scene was something entirely different. Paul's lady friend was spread out along a hotel bed and her green cocktail dress was barely still on her. Her motions were slow and her head slowly looked about the dimly lit room. Paul stood over her and removed his top hat and gloves.
| Lady | I feel weird..
| Paul London | Well you should. I did drug you and slip something into your drink.
| Lady | You..wh-whut?
| Paul London | That drink I had the waiter give you. I drugged it. Makes the mind a little more susceptible to commands.
He removed his jacket and shook his head down at the dull eyed woman.
| Paul London | I'm sorry. You won't be having sex with a wrestler tonight. But you will get something else.
Paul knelt down beside the bed and began to reach underneath of it for something. He stopped momentarily and lifted his head upwards.
| Paul London | I just really like to..control. Whether I'm in the ring or out of it. It works on both levels. It's these techniques that's going to make me a champion in the very near future. So you're actually helping me out right now. My match Monday is going to go a lot smoother because of you. This is practice. I'm going to break your mind down to it's most fundamental element. Easier to play with that way. Do you remember when I was making small talk and I casually asked you what you were most afraid of?
She didn't respond. This was not the situation she was hoping to get herself into tonight. London stood back up in held a jar in his hands. Inside of it was a rather large, brown furred rat. It clawed around in it's container and the woman's eyes grew wide with fright. She wanted so badly to scream but she couldn't. London drew closer to her with the rodent in tow. Paul's formerly jolly and smiling demeanor was now completely stoic. The pleasant and almost silly routine was all just a front.
| Paul London | This is helping. This is getting me in the right mind set for Warfare. Thank you. Oh and..
The lid was untwisted and the rat began to climb it's way out.
| Paul London | Boo.
Fade out.
