<center>Jude vs Atomic Welfare</center>

Time spent at Valerie Stern's temporary corporate offices was generally, not a positive experience (except for the other 51 weeks of the year, when they would revert to janitor Juan Bolivar's make out spot). Today however, Atomic Welfare wasn't in the line to give Valerie a ‘Piece of his mind', today Atomic Welfare had been particularly interested in getting the fixtures.

After the Majestic Cup and what would be referred to as ‘The Banana Juice incident' at every autograph signing, wrestling convention, and dinner table for the rest of his career and possibly beyond it; Atomic Welfare was in need of some good news, and more importantly a good win. Being in a country where waving the British and American flags down to ringside did not get the usual reaction had probably not helped any with his focus at Friction, but he‘d settled in a little. Admittedly he'd been fairly confident of a return to form anyway, but a rookie... Oh there's very little a man who's been around the block prefers to tussling with a rookie.

Touring the Indy circuits, you take a lot of crap. You take a lot of crap but it puts you right, it's what this business is based on, and Atomic Welfare had no problem getting a little Hardcore Holly.

Away from the States, away from BioCare - maybe this could be what joining TCW was supposed to be all about. Maybe this could be a good old fashioned wrestling match.


*********************


Jude: "...and so this week at Havoc I will oppose any move that will tie welfare spending to atomic energy research or profits!"

Jude grinned, he still had it...

Unfortunately his triumphant body language had not conveyed to the group of vendors and stadium employees seated in the front row, that Jude had completed his promo. He gestured a small bow...

...Aaaaand, yes. Yes, they got it this time and gave a lazy applause, Jude was happy to indulge their commendation, indicating his thanks with a full, swooping bow.

Jude: "Thank you all, we'll meet again tomorrow... and I want feedback and notes, so think about it tonight. "

The crowd sat, rather unamused, and seemingly still unaware that Jude was done with whatever the hell he had been trying to show them.

Jude "Ok... Go,"

Jude indicated to the exits.

Jude: "And another $20 for you all tomorrow!"

Jude indicated 20, first flashing 10 fingers twice, then paused. Perhaps too confusing?

He then contemplated flashing two fingers, indicating a multiplication sign and then ten... Or maybe two and then a zero. While the dilemma continued the Stadium Staff who were rather happy with their last 20 minutes of employment had already begun to shuffle off, and by the time Jude decided to draw the figure in the air, they all had their backs to him, walking up the isles to go back to the preparations for the show.

Jude: "Bollocks..."

Jude indicated up to the sky boxes hurriedly, wanting to get his exit in before his focus group left. He was rather tickled as the soft chords of ‘Moon River' got a few of his apathetic attendees heads turning back to the ring and Jude strolled out of the ring, raising his hand and rotating it in a rather poncy wave.

His first promo... It wouldn't go down as official but Jude was very happy with it, and after a little feedback, he might be able to persuade someone to give it a primetime airing. The powers that be might not like the message of arms reduction and the decentralisation of state power while ensuring the democratic distribution of welfare funds, but you can always count on the entertainment business to place a ratings winner above a political hot potato. As Jude wriggled his way through a deceptively difficult curtain, he almost bumped into a rather large and already flummoxed man, made even more so by the twisting figure who had his way out of a stage curtain just in front of him while on his way back to the hotel from Valerie Stern‘s office.

Jude bit his lip, a little embarrassed, and took a step back from the man. A lesson Jude had already learned long ago was to not stand eyes-to-pectorals with another man - it made one‘s physical inferiority rather obvious. Jude brushed his hands down along his brown waist coat, apparently smoothing away the embarrassment.

Jude: "So emmmm... Nice to meet you! I'm new!"

Jude immediately stepped forward again, forgetting himself and eagerly extending a hand. Perhaps this was a chance for some feedback? This positively freakish specimen must be a comrade in the upcoming performance.

The response was full of confusion.

Atomic Welfare: "Hi. Are you aloud to be here? Were you playing Moon River? I'm not really sure who told you that you could, but If Stern asks I'm telling her tha-"

Jude: "Oh, sorry, I should've before.... Em, I'm a wrestler here, and correct, I was trying out my theme and such-"

Atomic Welfare caught the thought ‘You're a wrestler...?' before it made it into the real world, and decided to be more diplomatic - albeit slightly so.

Atomic Welfare: "Your entrance music is ‘Moon River'...?"

Jude: "Ha-Ha! Rip roaring tune isn't it. Gets me across nice and quick to the audience"

Atomic Welfare: "Gets what across?"

Jude: "Ohhh that I'm a tad sentimental, a bit of a romantic, empathetic to lost causes and wish I had the chance to marry Audrey Hepburn and take her far away from all her worries and Hannibal's horrible acting... How I hate it when his plans come together."

Atomic Welfare: "I'm sorry, whose plans?"

Jude: "Hannibals. But the important thing is, I think it's about time to make Jude a name, and good theme music goes along way with people-"

Atomic Welfare: "You're Jude?!"

Jude stopped, rather surprised. But very happy, and perhaps a little smug as his grin returned... his star had begun to rise, perhaps this youngster wanted an autograph.

Atomic Welfare: "Uhhh, I don't know what to tell you, but I'm Atomic Welfare."

Atomic Welfare wasn't afraid to tell the rather spindly Jude they would be opponents in a few days, but given his experience of TCW encounters, he half expected Jude to pull out a chair shot and a couple of suplexes, but Jude wasn't the average wrestler - he was barely even a wrestler.

Jude: "I love it. ‘I am Atomic Welfare'... perfect."

Jude looked him up and down, spotting the British and American tattoos, made visible by the wife beater Atomic Welfare was wearing.

Jude: "The overblown, buff Anglo-American power structure. ‘I am Atomic Welfare'... brilliant, can I use you in my promo? Oh! you must have heard it! Did you like it?"

Atomic Welfare: "I have no idea what you're talking about... What I am talking about is that my name, is Atomic Welfare. I am a person who wrestles under that name."

Jude paused as his entire focus group results evaporated, and he reassessed his position.

Jude: "So we're...?"

Atomic Welfare: "Yes..."

Jude: "Oh..."

Atomic Welfare: "Did you think you were fighting a concept...?"

Jude: "See! This is the kind of thinking I need! Do you think you could give me some tips? Look, I'll buy you a drink - it's all on me, I just need some help."

Atomic Welfare: "You want to drink?"

Jude: "And talk!"

Atomic Welfare: "Not cripple me before the match?"

Jude: "...Is that something I‘m supposed to do?"

Atomic Welfare considered it. The guy seemed fairly odd, so it wasn't out of the realm of possibility he wanted some advice. Plus, it wasn't like he couldn't take the guy if he tried something.

Atomic Welfare: "Ok, look if you‘re buying - I‘ll give you an hour or so."

Jude was thrilled, and they began to walk off to find a place. Jude momentarily considering putting his arm around his husky new friend as they went, but after looking at his face again... he decided against it.

Atomic Welfare: "First things first... This theme song..."

Jude: "What about it? Come hell or high water, we're not ditching my Audrey."

Atomic Welfare: "It's just that... when they say theme music is supposed to express your persona... they don't really mean personal issues with rejection or your favourite films..."

Jude: "Tell me more..."

As they walked off through the fire exit Atomic Welfare thought, maybe... just maybe this would be civil, and maybe... just maybe he could still turn this into a good old fashioned wrestling match.

Finding a decent bar in Venezuela for two men with no prior Spanish speaking abilities was tough. However, walking through the winding streets of a Socialist Country with a man who sounded like a pure intellectual, ditzy and unfocused was a surreal and, above all a thoroughly relaxing experience for Atomic Welfare. The more Anthony hard about from Jude, the more he liked about him. The messy hair, the 70's style brown jacket and smart suede shoes was smart if a little outdated. In fact, the skinny, enthusiastic Jude clashed completely with the Giant Atomic Welfare with his short haircut and his training outfit which exposed his bulging biceps, who was far more grounded then his future opponent. As they searched, ever deeper into the city, the conversation drifted too, away from the subject of Jude's entrance music (Anthony's suggestion that Hey Jude by The Beatles should be used was shot down due to the lack of Audrey Hepburn)...

"So why exactly did you pick the ring name Atomic Welfare?" inquired Jude,

"Well..." began Anthony, although admittedly he himself wasn't too sure why he had picked the name. "I suppose it matches my Initials. A.W Smith..."

"Hmm, maybe so but it is a confusing name. You're not not a Nuclear reactor, just a normal Human being"

You'd be surprised thought Anthony, careful not to convey this to his new acquaintance.

"If you want to keep the Nuclear Motif, why not use the name Adam Bomb?" suggested Jude,

"He was a WWE wrestler in the mid 90s" replied Atomic Welfare, slightly annoyed by his deep knowledge of Professional Wrestling.

"Oh, What about a name which fits your amazing physique. It's incredible." Wheels turned in Jude's head as he thought about an incredible name, "I know, How about Justin Credible!"

" He was a ECW World Champion."

"Well then. What about a name which represents your heroic instincts, and your dominance. Like Alexander The Great."

Anthony began to wince...

"I know, Alexander Dragonslayer!" declared a beaming Jude.

"Taken. I've wrestled an Alex Dragonslayer in the past" replied Anthony bluntly.

"OK, I have one last idea. It conveys your toughness. I think you'll like it"

"Go on then", sighed Atomic Welfare

"The Rock"...


* * *

The Bar the two men finally chose to stay was a cramped, dusty and smoky place. Packed with large man grasping at their dirty glasses filed with unnatural concoctions sporting several fluorescent colours. Even in the dark room, the two Americans stood out like a sore thumb. Men gave them nasty glances and whispered amongst themselves with the smartly dressed Jude and the buff, patriotic Atomic Welfare walked through the door. No-one stood up to them though, possibly because they noted Anthony's ample frame. Jude pushed to the bar. It was crafted with worn wood, and decorated with rings of stains and dirt. There was the occasional burn were customers stabbed the wood to put out their cigarettes. After ordering, two cocktails (to the disbelief of the barman), Jude ushered a slightly disappointed Atomic Welfare to a small table in the corner of the bar.

Welfare stared miserably at his glass, while Jude span the glass in his hands. He didn't seem to notice Atomic's dismay at a lack of Beer on the table. Instead he tried to press on about Atomic's past:

"So how was Iraq?"

Atomic Welfare paused and carefully thought of a polite return.

"It was alright, I guess..."

"Alright?! Fighting insurgents in an unjust war for oil money, at the whim for a government so focused on policing the globe that I neglects its own domestic issues?"

"I'd rather not talk about to be honest. Last time I did, I was sent to therapy."

Jude was almost ready to unleash a rant about the incumbent government, but one look at Atomic Welfare's worn face showed that it wasn't a lie. However, the two men were spared from a silence as a group of 5 men approached them from all sides...

Despite Jude's enthusiastic consumption of his Singapore sling - his right hand pulling the pineapple garnish off the side of the glass ready to munch down on it once he'd finished - Jude had not failed to recognise the men closing in around them. Atomic Welfare seemed rather horrified as Jude monstered the dainty cocktail without restraint or consideration of their surroundings. But you don't get away with naively continuing to order blue lagoons and tropical sunsets in biker clubs and punk dives unless you could smell sweat, and hear the clinking of genital piercing at 10 paces.

Jude, was in actual fact just trying to finish before they were set upon.

He could see it all play out. If their intentions were in fact, as they seemed to be; to pummel them, Jude was confident he could dissect their vulnerabilities. He had once incurred a ruckus with a group of men who had claimed to be Angels from Hell, perhaps these similar looking men also shared their weakness - A swift foot to the scrotum.

As Jude up ended his glass, hoping against hope that he would have time to crush the ice cubes into those desirable tingly little flakes, he suddenly panicked... Sure, he could fire away some crotch shots, but Smitty (as he had just decided to call Atomic Welfare), was completely unaware. He would be forced to hopelessly strike every part of their attackers anatomies before finally finding their weaknesses!

Jude was on the verge of despair, ‘how to warn him?', ‘How to get the message across without betraying their advantage?'

Jude: *Wink* "Nevermind the..." *Wink* "This is the Sex pistols" *Wink*

Right, Atomic Welfare thought to himself, surrounded in a foreign bar, with a pansy who couldn't keep bollocks off the mind... And now he couldn't get them off his. Why in the hell was he thinking about that? Why in the hell did it require being discreet!? Bollocks!

Jude of course mistook this confusion for a lack of understanding.

Jude: "The target area is a small exhaust port... bellow the main port..."

Yes Jude, Atomic silently but sarcastically quipped, if I hadn't gotten the first reference, that would have been MUCH more helpful.

Posse Member 1: "Hola..."

Jude: "Oh thank god! They're just talking"

Atomic Welfare winced, for now they are, he thought. But Jude seemed uninterested in minimising the potential for conflict.

Posse Member 1: "We don't like jour type around here..."

Jude suddenly felt uneasy, perhaps they had heard Smitty embarrassingly let go that he had talked about a traumatic event, perhaps they were some kind of dogmatic ideologues hell bent on the eradication of psycho-analysis and therapy in favour of psychiatry and drug based treatments.

Atomic Welfare or ‘Smitty', was just hoping this wasn't some controversy about the whole ‘Iraq thing', that this wasn't some opposition group getting all in a huff about Jude's generalised and... very loud comments. He was hoping, it was instead the far more likely motivation that they thought Jude (and he had to concede he himself) were queers with ridiculous drinking tastes.

Posse Member 2: "Hey, we're talking to jou, you bitch drinking maricone!"

AW: "Oh thank god!"

Jude cocked an eyebrow in surprise.

AW: "Look boys, I'd be happy to have a Beer"

Atomic Welfare's faint smile faded as soon as he saw Jude's disappointment... He had been so sure he'd like his drink. Who doesn't like a Singapore Sling?

Atomic's embarrassment was quickly relieved by good news as the posse of assailants laughed, inexplicably easy to please.

Posse member 1: "Get our companeros a real drink!"

Jude: "No thanks..."

...He hadn't been relieved for long. Even though he felt bad, he half wanted to say ‘Just get a beer!', for a man who thanked god at the chance of not having to fight, Jude wasn't exactly helping things.

Posse member 2: "Look man, jou get a beer if you in Elano's!"

Jude innocently took a big bite of his pineapple garnish, having had it sitting in his hand for the last minute. The thugs didn't take it so innocently. They saw it as a provocation, an attack on all they held sacred.

If Jude's stubbornness hadn't got Atomic Welfare already anticipating a fight, the cool click of a switch blade behind him certainly did. Damn it...

Atomic gritted his teeth, when a fight's coming you hardly want to be sitting with your back turned. God he hated making the first move...

He quickly stood up and turned around letting the chair clatter to the ground. Seeing the hulking behemoth in front of him, the weasel with the switch freaked and a fight was on.

As three of the five sought to take down Atomic, Jude stood and came face to face with the remaining two, blindly throwing haymakers. Jude's tall and slender figure kept avoiding them like Mr. Fantastic.

Jude: "You really place a lot of importance on drink preference huh?"

Posse member 1: "Don't belittle our struggle. You don't understand; understand the daily struggle we go through. What my father went through to champion the brewing techniques that have spread across all of Venezuela, constantly competing with rich foreigners and their liqueurs and mixers. When he died I couldn't let his legacy die, fathers have that effect you know... Clarence Budington Kelland once said ‘He didn't tell me how to live; he lived, and let me watch him do it', and I really feel that these days. When I see you foreigners come in here, drinking your drinks in the bar he built... It hurts, you know?"

Jude was amazed at the honesty and openess exhibited by a seemingly two dimensional villain.

Posse member 1: "So now I'm going to cut jou!"

A flash of a dagger to Jude's gut was narrowly avoided.

Jude: "I'm feeling supersonic, give me gin and tonic. That'd be alright wouldn‘t it? That's not too fruity."

The second assailant grunted with anger and charged at him, Jude spun around, leaving him to career into the whirlwind of pain Atomic Welfare was Dishing out. Jude now completed the turn to be facing the leader of the pack, totally unaware of the carnage being dished out behind him.

Jude: "How bout I shout you all a beer, I'll sit in a corner all alone."

Jude reached into his vest pocket, pulling out notes, and counting them out as he ducked under a swipe to the neck, popping back up with the bills thrust forward into his adversary's face.

The man in front of Jude smiled nervously, dropping the knife and accepting the bills. Jude smiled back, anywhere in the world a bit of generosity and respect can take you far, he only wished the whole world shared these values, that hospitality and generosity were boundless.

Jude was of course oblivious to the sight the leader of the Posse had just witnessed over Jude's shoulder. His comrades bloody and sprawled over the shards of wooden furniture now littering the bar, the venerable Atomic Welfare now glaring towards him over Jude's shoulders. He actually, hadn't even payed attention to a word Jude had said.

Posse member 1: "Uh, yeah. Sure man."

He nodded nervously, and then girlishly ran into the back office of the bar, locking the door behind him.

Without turning Jude yelled behind him to Atomic Welfare.

Jude: "Don't worry Smitty, it's sorted"

He preceded to blissfully walk out of the smashed up bar, remaining conveniently oblivious to the mayhem. Leaving a puzzled Atomic Welfare in his wake.

AW: "Smitty!?"

****************************

Jude: "Did you see me back there? Wow..."

Atomic Welfare felt like he had to say it, more than anything he just didn't want to see this guy go down the wrong track. To be honest, it was frustrating him a little as well.

AW: "Don't get me wrong, you seem decent."

Jude: "Shucks, I like you to Smitty"

Atomic shook it off and persisted.

AW: "Why did you become a wrestler Jude?"

Jude opened his mouth but found it disturbingly vacant. Eventually finding something to fill it, he began.

Jude: "A whim?"

AW: "You became a wrestler on a whim?"

Jude: "Yeah."

AW: "Jude, I became a wrestler to wrestle."

Atomic had his bold statement greeted by only confusion on Jude's face, almost as if he'd never considered it; even considered the link between being a wrestler and enjoying, knowing or having the ability to wrestle.

Jude: "...So what am I supposed to do?"

Jude's chin pressed hard against the wooden table, he stared miserably ahead. Atomic Welfare raised an eyebrow and made his way to his feet.

"Come on" He said gruffly.

"Where are we going?" Asked Jude.

"Simple" He said, avoiding the wish to smile. "I'm going to train you"

***

The gym the two men had found was as dark and dusty as the bar. It was completely empty (It's amazing how rich Atomic Welfare was relative to the rest of the gym) and an old AAA ring was placed it the middle. Atomic Welfare rolled into the ring, quickly followed by an over eager Jude.

"Ok Jude, I'm going to tech you some simple moves for the time being, I don't want you killing yourself trying a Hurracarana or anything"

"Hurracawhat?" replied the puzzled Jude

"Never mind. I'm going to show you a clothesline, It's when you extend your arm to knock down an opponent. Understand?"

"Maybe, you should show me"

Atomic Welfare nods and bounces off the rings ropes and nails a powerful clothesline on the cut out of El Bastardo Gigante. The move is so strong that it removed the cut out's head. Jude jumped up with glee.

"Wow, what a move!"

"Yeh, I don't know my own strength" replied a slightly embarrassed Atomic Welfare, pulling another lucha cut out from under the ring. "Your turn"

(Survivors "Eye of the Tiger" plays. Yes I knows it cliche)

Jude limbers up to the cut out arrogantly, turns and bounces off the ropes, but he trips halfway between the ropes and the cutout! Atomic Welfare pauses the song and puts his face into his hands.

"Lets try again, shall we"

The song is played once again, and Jude bounces off the ropes, he nails a clothesline, but the cutout somehow bounces back and smacks Jude in the face!

"This is going to take some work" muttered a frustrated Atomic Welfare.