:: Transgressions ::

THUD. THUD. THUD. The sounds of fists slamming into a heavy bag. Right, left, right, left, over and over Blane slams his fists into the heavy bag hanging from the ceiling in Tommy Romeo’s compound in Florence, Italy. Metal music can be heard playing loudly in the background as Evan continues to pummel the bag. The louder and heavier the music, the harder the strikes. Then it happens…… The memories of One Night Stand, standing toe to toe with his former best friend, Danny Starr. Evan’s emotions flood and he starts striking harder and harder. Blane starts adding kicks, high kicks, roundhouses, low kicks. Faster and faster, harder and harder until everything comes to a head in mind. Evan screams a loud as he can and just collapses. As Blane lays there all he can think about is how alone he feels inside, even though joining RMI and staying with his friend, he still feels hollow. The scenes play in his mind, Blane pulling his gaiter over his red face that was burning with rage, heading through the curtain to see the chaos all around the ring, smoke, and bodies all over. Even with everything going on, his gaze was locked on to Starr… his former best friend and the one who tried to kill him multiple times that night.

These memories forever etched into Blane’s memories and they always resurface when he was by
himself. Blane shakes the memories off after a while. Blane pulls himself off the ground and heads over
to the heavy bag on the ground. Blane starts working over the bag from the top position with hammer fists
and elbows. THUD, THUD, THUD, the sounds of heavy blows against the bag starts echoing again.

Blane transitions to a back mount on the bag and shifts his grip and with a grunt, Blane pulls the bag up off the ground and dumps it over his head in the form of a German suplex. From there Blane repositions to sideguard where he starts driving his knees and elbows in the bag again with heavy thuds. Blane looks down at his watch, he has been at this for 3 hours and he wasn’t feeling any better than before, still resentment burning in his chest for those who forgotten about him and for those who ignored him. Evan grabs a towel and heads back to the house.

As Evan walked the grounds heading back towards the house Evan began thinking about what lead him to Italy with Tommy and Shawn. Tommy said it would be good for him to get out there and “press the flesh” and get my name back out there. It has been 2 months now since Evan joined XWF and he was in no hurry to get involved since the last time he was in a ring; he was almost killed. Blane hears knocking at the door of the house. Blane looks through the peep hole to see a man in a suit standing looking around and checking his surroundings. Evan, who is completely puzzled by this opens the front door.

EB - Can I help you?...... oh shit uhhhhhhh…… wait…… posso aiutarla?

Unknown Male - Hello there, I’m looking for Tommy Romeo, I was told he was renting out this
compound and I was wondering if I could have a conversation with him.

EB - Oh, you speak English? Ok….. Well first, who the hell are you? and second, I am not telling
you anything until I get your name, man.”

The gentleman reaches into his jack and produces card and proceeds to hand it to Evan.

Unknown Male – Oliver Danielson. Listen is he here? I really would like to have a conversation
with him. We have a common interest in a man named Danny Starr.

Blane skin goes cold, his body tenses. Then, he has a flash back of sitting in Tommy’s office in New
Jersey talking to Tommy and Erin about something going on with Danny, but the last we knew he was
still in prison. Then he remembered the conversation about how Jonathon Keeper was killed in prison.
Did this person also feel that Danny was involved in that? Something didn’t sit well with Evan. Visibly
shaken, Evan responds.

EB – Sorry man when I woke up today Tommy was gone. I am not exactly sure where he was
heading. He could be out with Shawn doing promo stuff, or I remember him talking to Erin on the
phone. Maybe he headed back to New Jersey. Either way I haven’t seen him in a bit.

OD – Gotcha. Hey never got your name buddy…..

EB – Evan, Evan Blane.

OD – Evan huh.

Oliver pulls his sunglasses down towards the end of his nose as he eyes up Evan.

OD – As in Evan Blane from the HWA? The one involved in the One Night Stand event?

Blane looks back at Danielson, with a great uncertainty on how to answer him because it’s clear that this
man is looking for information and Evan wasn’t sure if he should be the one to give it.

EB – Uhhhhhhhh yes. That was me. Why? You a reporter? If you are, you’ll have to talk to my agent before I can say anything.

OD – Nope. CIA, but I will be speaking with Tommy about information on Daniel Starr.

Evan looks back at him slightly annoyed, and worried.

EB – Listen, I would love to chat you up some more, but I have a busy day of training. I have your card, and if I see Tommy before you find him, Ill pass it along. Thanks for dropping by Agent Danielson.

Oliver slides his sunglasses back over his eyes and cracks a half smile towards Blane.

OD– Ok then. You have a great day and I’m sure I’ll chat with you some other time. Blane hears a slight chuckle from Danielson as he walks back to his car. Blane closes the door and sits down on a chair, thinking hard on what just happened. All these questions start flooding his brain.

“Why is the CIA looking for Tommy? Does he know what’s going on in the prison? Where is Tommy?”

Blane looks around for a second and opens a cabinet and finds a bottle of Jack Daniels he keeps hidden in there for times like these. Blane opens the bottle and takes a long gulp of the whiskey. The familiar burning sensation in his chest from the whiskey numbs his aches in his body and slightly muffles the voices in his mind.

Blane heads to his room and locates his phone, and tries calling Tommy.

The phone rings, and rings and rings…….