Blaire

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Off Camera

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It isn’t exactly the most upscale of places, but this tiny mom and pop style cafe is where the McBride sisters plan to do business on this day with William Mason.  The two brunettes find themselves in a booth situated next to a window as they await the arrival of their business partner.

“You really know how to pick out meeting places, Karen.”

“What is that supposed to mean?” Karen asks with a raised brow.

“Oh it’s nothing, it’s just this place, isn’t it a bit…”

“Low class?”

Blaire nods her head. “Yes.  Just a little.”

“Apologies, but it’s places like this where I like to do my important business.”

“But it’s so…”

“Small?  Secluded?” Karen smirks. “Yes, it is a great place to do business, Blaire, because no one ever bothers to come here except older folks who are more concerned with their medication, the VA, fishing, or the weather than any plan I might have concocted.”

Blaire ponders on this for a moment.  She finally nods her head. “I never thought about it like that before, Karen, but...you’re right...it is a perfect place to do business.”

“Right, because the mindset of the filthy rich is that they’d rather risk being exposed than to expose themselves to the ‘common’ folk.  No offense, but you know it’s true.”

“I guess…” she looks down at herself and her attire, a nice long sleeve blouse and knee length leather skirt “...I’m just glad I decided not to wear my nice dress today.”

Karen, who is wearing jeans, flip flips, and an IWC t-shirt with her hair pulled back into a ponytail, chuckles.

“You do look a little out of place for a quaint little restaurant like this.”

At this time a bell heralds the door opening and the arrival of a new customer.  The McBride sisters both turn to see William Mason approaching their booth. He is dressed down for the occasion, blue jeans, plain white t-shirt, a departure from his usual suit and tie ensemble. He joins The McBride sisters.

“Karen, always a pleasure.”

Mason’s attention shifts to Blair. He flashes his million dollar smile.

“And you must be, Blaire. Finally nice to meet you. Between SCW, the family business, other arrangements I’ve been busy. Better late than never, right?”

“Yes, better late than never.” Blaire extends a hand. “Nice to meet you.  I’ve heard a lot about you, and not just from my sister.  I’ve heard an awful lot about your family business.”

William shakes Blaire’s hand. “Good things I hope.”

She smiles politely. “Quite good.”

“Yes, McBride Industries has a great deal of business dealings, William, as you know, and Blaire here is more of the corporate type.”

Blaire nods. “Which is why I am offering my services to deal with the corporate, the legal aspect of your and my sister’s nuclear option while you deal with what goes on in IWC.”

William smiles. “I can’t say no to that. I’m not exactly the corporate type either. After my father died, he handed the business to me. I can’t be there twenty four seven, I trust the people at Mason Inc to handle the day to day management of the business. Your involvement in Karen’s plan will do wonders. Thanks. We appreciate it.”

A waitress approaches the table. A broad smile is written on her face. “Hi there Ms. Leonard!”

Karen nods. “Morning, Brittney.”

“Who are your friends?”

Karen motions to William and Blaire. “This is my good friend William and my sister Blaire.”

William reaches into his pocket and pulls out a hundred dollar bill. He hands the money to Britteny. She is taken aback by the monetary gesture.

“Have to reward good service.” Mason winks.

“Awww, thanks!” Brittney smiles sweetly.  “You are so generous!  Thank you!”

Karen nods. “William is someone special indeed.”

“No problem, Britteny. I bet you are a hard worker, the days around here can drag a little am I right? It’s nothing. I’ll make sure to stop by here more often if you don’t mind. I like brightening up peoples days. Seeing the smile on your face, priceless.”

“That’s sweet!” She takes out her pad and pen. “But I bet you three are hungry, so what can I get you for breakfast?”

Mason chimes in. “French toast, scrambled eggs, orange juice works for me.”

“Two eggs, scrambled, and hashbrowns” Karen remarks.

“The usual, eh?” Brittney says as she writes it down. “And you, Blaire?”

“Pancakes.  Coffee.”

Brittney finishes scribbling. “Alright, I’ll have that out for you as soon as I can!”

She quickly walks off to start her work.  Blaire immediately shoots a quizzical look at her sister.

“Karen Leonard?”

Karen nods. “Yes, it’s the name I was born with before your parents adopted me.”

“Why?”

“I told you, privacy is important when doing business here, Blaire.  Our family, the McBrides, are well known.  I’d rather them not know who I am, just another security precaution to keep our plans secret.”

Mason chuckles. “I wish I had the power to remain anonymous sometime, being TMZ fodder all those years wasn’t fun. It did feel nice Britteny didn’t know who I am.”

Blaire sighs. “Yeah, it was kind of nice wasn’t it?  There’s so much I can learn from you, Karen.  And to think, I treated you like garbage for so long.”

“It’s water under the bridge, Blaire.”

“Thanks, but there is still one thing I don’t understand…”

“Which is?”

“You and William have this nuclear option ready.  Why not use it now?  What is going on in IWC that makes you feel it is necessary to wait?”   

Before Karen can answer William holds up one finger indicating he wants to be the one to explain the situation. “Orlando Cruze. Desmond Drake is a troll, not in height, in the way he carries about business. We could have nuked him out the water by now. The second half of the equation is Orlando. Apparently he is going to make his final sacrifice this week. Once that plays out, the time is right. Then we play our hand. Let Orlando have his supposed moment, watch Desmond squirm for one more show, D-Day arrives.”

“And it couldn’t have come any sooner.” Karen remarks. “I haven’t been booked in ages then when I do get booked I’m used as filler in a ten man tag I have no personal involvement in, then I face Amanda Blaze, a throwaway match if I ever saw one, and now I team with Mya Denton?  Seriously?”

Karen rolls her eyes. “May as well be a two on one handicap match.”

William nods in agreement. “She’s enhancement talent, nothing more. A nut job who doesn’t deserve to breathe the same air as people like us, Karen.”    

“Cassidy Cage and Tina Valentina…” Karen sighs “...I can’t help but feel a connection to both of them, more so Cage than Valentina.”

“How so?” Blaire asks.

“They both have similar backgrounds as I do.  They have come from a similar place.”

“Realistically your only chance of winning is hoping those two destroy each other. Whose bright idea was it to pair those two together? Didn’t Tina help SIN out at NewAge? Now they are booking her with a woman she can’t stand?” William shrugs.

“Whoa, whoa, hold on…” Blaire, who looks more confused than ever, sighs “...who is SIN?”

William seethes. “Short version, the creeps Desmond Drake allowed to turn IWC into their own personal hell. Long version, I have history with Sinistry dating back to SCW. I hate them. I want to see their downfall more than anyone.”

The waitress returns, giving coffee to Karen and Blaire and then orange juice to William.

“There’s your drinks.  Your food should be out shortly.”

William smiles. “Thanks.”

Brittney walks away.  Karen smiles as she takes a sip of her coffee. “Well, things are going according to plan, yes?”

Blaire nods “It would appear so.  If you and William can handle yourselves in IWC, you let me handle the legal aspects of our nuclear option, and we’ll be all set to bring SIN down once and for all.”

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On Camera

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Sinistry has taken over and you have everyone promising to be a hero, everyone from Abigail Lindsey and Cassidy Cage to Taylor Chase and the list goes on and on and on…you even have Kloe Masters climbing out from whatever rock she’s been under to make threats against Sinistry and you have The Blacklist of all people wanting to be the heroes that side with Orlando Cruze against the evil Sinistry.  Everyone is jockeying for position, everyone is trying to be macho, grim and gritty…everyone is trying to be a power player…yet the real power players in this game have continued to go under the radar.

While Sinistry, Blacklist, The Good Movement, and a contingent of IWC heroes are all battling one another, yours truly and William Mason have formed Prestige, a group that everyone has been overlooking but soon, very soon, everyone will see that for all their confidence and smug attitudes, they really have no power and Prestige, me and Mason, are the ones with the real power in IWC.  Mason and I hold all the cards in this ultimate game of poker and no one realizes it.  No one except Desmond Drake.

I’m not the person you want to make angry, Desmond.  Especially not with what I know, especially not with the atomic bomb I have ready in waiting to drop upon this entire company.  This place, this SIN you helped build, I am ready to destroy it and in the process destroy you and yet you continue you taunt me with these pathetic matches…

A ten person tag team match?  I had no personal involvement with any of them.  Zero!  I was merely space filler for you little band of randomly thrown together wrestlers.  I could have walked away.  Many disgruntled employees would have but I didn’t.  I went into that match, I played my part, I competed even though it was not a match I particularly wanted.

Amanda Blaze?  At least it was one on one and I could rely on someone I know I could trust…that being me…and I defeated her.  I fought her and I defeated her.  But you had to try and send in your own personal assassin to take me out?

Oh but you still weren’t done, were you?  Instead of giving me the matches I rightfully deserve you instead make me team with your newest little maniac Mya Denton to face Cassidy Cage and her tag team partner…

…Tina Valentine.

Tina of all people hates Cage.  It doesn’t take a genius to see through your little game, Drake.

You are hoping this degenerates into a three on one assault against Cassidy, don’t you?

You think you know everything but you’re wrong.  You are so wrong.  For starters, I may not know Tina very well yet, but we are kindred spirits in that we each have our own past that has, in one way or the other, shaped us, and helped make us who we are today.  And for all her faults, and even though many in IWC may not like her, I am confident that at the end of the day Tina is a competitor and would rather win as opposed to sabotage Cage.  The truth is, you only have Mya Denton wrapped around your little finger reading your little script.  Cage isn’t, I don’t believe Tina will…

…and I sure as hell do not obey the script.  I do what I want.  And that’s really where your biggest mistake is, Drake.  You think you know how someone like me acts and reacts but you are way too shallow of a person to even comprehend that there just might be more to me than just the wealth and the privilege of Karen McBride.

I wasn’t born Karen McBride.  I was born Karen Leonard to a family that wasn’t living paycheck to paycheck…it worse than that.  Were it not for me and the sacrifices I made to get extra money, my mother and my brothers would have died.

So Orlando can talk his cue ball head off all damn day about his final sacrifice but he really has no clue about sacrifice.  I know what real sacrifice is and I know what it means to do whatever it takes to earn your place.  Karen McBride might take the easy road on occasion but Karen Leonard will never EVER take the easy road.  Karen Leonard will NEVER do your dirty work for you.

There is a time and a place for everything.  There are times when I need to use the corporate and legal knowledge I learned from growing up in the McBride family and then there are other times when I need the down and dirty Karen Leonard from the streets.

Take a wild guess who you’re dealing with right now?

I’m not a hero like all of the others in IWC but I’m definitely not your minion like Jessica Wilde or even poor Katelyn Buehler.  Originally, I was just going to use my nuclear option to make things better for me and for me alone.  But you’ve pushed the wrong buttons, Drake, and now that I’m really pissed off I’m beginning to see things their way…

…and by their way I mean people like Taylor Chase, Abigail Lindsey, and my opponent for Riot, Cassidy Cage.  I am seeing things their way.  I see why Cassidy wants to destroy Sinistry one by one.  And as much as I admire her gumption, she has to admit she cannot do it alone.  She has to know that the deck is stacked.

Hell, that’s the purpose of this match, isn’t it? For me and Mya to work with Tina to destroy her.  That’s your plan right?  As long as you have all the power, all Cassidy can do is fight in vain.

But things have changed now that you pissed me off.  Now the purpose of my nuclear option isn’t just to selfishly make things better for me…oh no…the McBride mindset is being put in the box temporarily and for now I’m not going to think like a McBride but instead think like Karen Leonard, the woman who uses the vast McBride wealth and power to help people, making McBride Incorporated one of the most giving companies in terms of charity in existence.

When I drop my nuclear bomb and reveal to the world my trump card, then it will be me, with William Mason by my side, making things right again in IWC.

So am I going to play your little game?  Am I going to participate in this farce of a tag team match that you booked with the clear intentions of hoping Tina will turn on Cage allowing me and Mya to work with her and triple team her?

It isn’t going to happen.  And I’m going to make damn sure it doesn’t happen, because in the event Tina Valentine DOES turn on Cassidy, then I turn on Mya.  Because Cassidy and I have a history.  She knows more about me than the rest of you on this roster, even more than what William knows.  I trust her to have my back if the shoe were on the other foot.

I play by my own rules.  Not yours.  You and everyone will figure that out come Riot.