Don Jordan trains. He trains, and he trains, and he trains some more. Every part of his body. Every time of workout you can think of. Every agonizing rep. Sweat beads down his face as he pushes himself harder than he ever has before. He puts a stop to his workout for a moment to take a seat nearby, grabbing a water bottle and drenching himself with it in between taking drinks. He’s not So Fly. He’s something else. Determined. Focused. Nonstop.
“Ladies and gentlemen, the special word of the day is… Wait for it… Opportunity. Opportunity. A word that gets chewed up, spat out, swallowed, vomited out, or even shat out - time after time after time. It’s a word that’s been bounced around like a basketball with no intention of taking a shot with it. And that ball is worn. That ball is ripping apart and it’s been reduced to barely anything. Honestly it’s a miracle that it can still bounce at all. But here I am with it in my hands. And certain people that don’t have any room to judge or speak on my behalf will roll their eyes and say “Ay, ain’t he had opportunity before? Ain’t he been a Champion? Ain’t he had chances to get a shot at the big gold belt?” And I ain’t gonna lie, the only thing more satisfying than bouncing this ball of opportunity would be to take the heads of those people and bounce their heads off the paint as well. No, I’ve never had this in my hands before. Never. Not once. Oh yeah, no doubt, I’ve had a ball in my hands before. Shit, I put on a show with it. But that was in the minor leagues. That was on a level well below this one. That was a past that I had to escape from, not one that projected me into this one. Nah, I was trapped and fought my way out. And here I am with this… This ball in my hands. And you don’t know just how fuckin’ good it feels to just have it. To really have it in my hands for the first time. You get to dribbling and enjoying it so much that, like so many others, you forget to shoot it, let alone make the shot.”
Jordan finishes off the bottle of water in his hand and looks at it. Shit, that bitch empty. Useless now, ain’t it? Wait, that ain’t even a bottle anymore. Nah, in his hands, that’s a ball. That’s opportunity. What you gonna do, just drop it? Nah, Jordan ain’t about that. He tosses it over his shoulder and without a glance back, knows full well it went flying straight into a trashcan behind him. It didn’t get nothing out of him but a smirk.
“Well guess what, Jakey. Guess what, TJ. I’m not so many others. I’m not just another fool that forgot to take his shot. Oh you better believe I’m taking it. And you better believe that there’s not a Goddamn thing neither one of you can do to stop me. It ain’t even got anything to do with size and power. Size and power, that shit’s too easy. I could be a scrawny little 4’5’’ man that has no business on this court, and you still wouldn’t stop me. You would still get laid the fuck out trying to get in my way. You would still watch from flat on the ground, upside down just like your world just turned as you watch this little guy march his way up to the hoop, jump, and dunk it. Because it ain’t size or power or strength or fat or anything else moving me towards that hoop. It’s sheer determination. Nothing stops me. Nothing. Do you fools understand that? Do you understand what I’ve gone through to get here? Do you? Do you? No, of course you don’t. Shit, why would you? One of you is sitting pretty with that Championship and the other is a young boy that lucked his way to being here in the first place. I know the score. I know the odds ain’t in my favor. Shit, I’d have to be naive to think I’m not priority number one for the both of you the moment we step between those ropes and the bell rings. You’d have to be an idiot not to want to take me out of the equation before anything else. This is me against the both of you and you’ll do anything to make sure I’m not a problem for you. But that’s just it. Don’t you get it? You’ll still fail despite that, fool. It won’t matter. Wasted effort. Because this ain’t just focus. This is inevitability.”
Someone’s getting a little antsy. He can’t help it. Just talking about it gets him going. Jordan cracks his neck and tries to tough it out, but it ain’t easy. Opportunity is more than a ball in a guy’s hands. It’s a monster knocking at the door of your mind, and Jordan can feel that shit. He can hear it growling. He can feel its bloodlust. It’s hungry. He knows that if he opens that door, he could end up just another meal like the rest of ‘em. The spotlight burns like no other. Gold blinds, baby. And Jordan can’t help but get back up on his feet. He grabs onto a nearby piece of exercise equipment of the otherwise unoccupied gym.
“Striker… Bennett… I know this is hard to understand. I get it. But just listen to me. I need you to listen to me right now, because I mean every word of what I’m about to say… Don’t bother. Just don’t. Live to fight another day. Live to be a Champion again some other day in the future, Jake. Live to see another opportunity somewhere down the line, TJ. Because if you don’t heed that advice… If you don’t take it, and you come at me with everything you’ve got… I won’t be responsible for what I end up doing to you. You can feel it too, can’t you? That’s the floor coming out from under us. That’s the world shaking. That’s the sky opening up. That’s the end of DOMINION. My home. Our home. It was a beautifully crafted ship that gave a lot to so many people along the way of its voyage. But it’s a ship that’s damaged beyond repair. It’s a ship that’s slowly but surely sinking. And what comes out of people when they’re on a sinking ship? When it turns into a matter of life and death? What happens then? Panic starts to set in. Sadness and dismay, sure, shit, why not. Anger. Resentment. But more than all of that… What kicks in is desire. The desire to survive. That’s what we do. We survive. The ship is sinking. What do you do? Give up and die or fight for survival? I’ll tell you what happens if you try to stop me from fulfilling my destiny. My destiny! Mine! It’s been mine this whole fucking time! DOMINION has been the story of the rise of Don Jordan and this is the end of a Chapter in my book! A happy ending! But if you people get in my way… You won’t make it off of that sinking ship alive. I promise you. And it won’t be an unfortunate accident either. Your bodies will wash up eventually and the world will see you didn’t drown… You were drowned. By my hands. And they’ll see you weren’t just drowned… You were robbed. Robbed of your dignity. Robbed of your potential. And Jake… You were robbed of your gold. But people like me? I thrive. I survive. I get off the sinking ship with the gold and I move on to greener pastures. I move onto a new land. The new world. The new Wrestleworld. And I ain’t looking back. Because in the end, DOMINION was never my home… It was just a ship. Just a way to get here. A means to an end. I got what I wanted and I wanted what I got. The ball is in my hands. In my court. Do whatever you people want, just know it ain’t stopping me. I’m taking this shot and I will. Not. Fucking. Miss!”
He can’t take it anymore. That shit boils over inside him. He clutches the piece of equipment tightly and Jordan flips it onto its side as it crashes loudly to the ground of the empty gym. Jordan’s chest heaves. Sweat starts trickling down again. But he feels relieved. He’s satiated, but not for long. Nah, this was nothing but a snack. The real meal comes at Destino and he knows it. All or nothing. Do not throw away your shot, boy. Jordan gets back to work.
Sat Dec 03, 2022 4:36 pm by 
Subject: Time To Take A Shot 
