I wish i had the time i thought i had, this RP would have made Dillon cry harder than when he watched Punch the Monkey gif's for the hours.

THE YELLOW PAGES

“I have to say, I'm a little pissed off.”

Half a grin, half a scowl.

“It's not just hearing my name called alongside Max Kael and the grimy, coked out, cowboy hat wearing bastard that put my partner, Hessian, on the shelf.”

Alias title draped over his right shoulder.

“It was hearing it called as part of Cancer Jiles’ team.”

Jet black hair slicked back.

“Especially when I know Ivan picked before him.”

The top two buttons of his blood orange dress shirt were unfastened.

“And I know they released the names alphabetically so no one would get upset, but I have to tell you…”

He spit to his left.

“I still feel like I dropped the soap in a prison shower.”

Tony Gamble, ladies and gentlemen.

“After the way Youngblood and Tsonda were getting all chummy before the draft, there's no way Chandler was dropping to the second round.”

He shook his head, disgusted.

“That means mi gran capitan, Praporshchik Stanislav, had to have chosen the Viet Viper with that first pick.”

A beat.

“That hurts.”

Another beat, this one slightly longer than the first.

“I'm not going to stand here and pretend I've been a good little soldier, because I had a hard time putting my trust in someone that nearly put me on the shelf with a move that he never should have ever attempted.”

A HurricaRUSSIA! Tony could have died that night.

“Still, my partner felt he could trust Ivan enough to fight alongside him, and I trusted my partner, so we joined the Red Army just before it started to fall apart. I can see now why Dawkins decided to walk away, and why he may never walk again after his match with Ivan on night one.”

A quick shrug.

“Either way, Ivan chose his team and I wasn't part of it. Instead, I find myself alongside King Crumb – the man who just up and left Hessian and I without our Alfredo haired leader. Even without any confirmation, I know Cancer had a plan going into the draft and I was more than likely his second round pick. There's not a chance in hell Youngblood was going to pick me, so he probably felt comfortable letting me slide and snagging me before Ivan had the chance.”

The Grin took a step forward.

“Jiles is smart, and after War Games and Manhunt, he knows what I bring to the table and how valuable I can be to this team. I'm pretty sure he started doing mock drafts weeks before the actual draft, which more than likely explains the ‘Once a Bandit’ text he sent me the night before the draft.”

There on top of a table a few steps away – which he continued to take – were two brand new phone books.

“I seriously hope he doesn't think things are just going to go back to the way they were before his little disappearing act, but what's done is done and what's left of the band is getting back together for at least one night.”

A little white card was set atop the books, the words ‘ALWAYS A BANDIT’ written in yolk.

Ha!

=-=-=-=-=

“Who are you, and what the hell are you doing here?”

“You already asked me that twice since I showed up.”

I look over at the man who won't stay dead, wicked green eyes wider than the empty space between Brandon Youngblood's ears staring back at me.

“I'm Tony…”

The door to Max's left opens rather quickly, slamming against the wall behind it, as the missing piece of our group walks in looking like he slept in someone else's piss.

“Well, look who decided to show up.”

This piece of shit he recognizes.

“Shut the fuck up, Max.”

I almost didn't recognize the son of a bitch at first, walking in looking like Pony Boy from The Outsiders.

“What's with the hair?”

It looks ridiculous.

“Shut the fuck up, Tony.”

It took everything I had to keep from driving my fist down his damn throat, leaning against the wall like he doesn't give a damn about anything. It was the same lifeless stare he had after snapping Hessian's leg.

“We thought you weren't coming.”

Kael breaks the silence after a few seconds.

“You made that pretty clear.”

Crystal clear.

“Yeah, I did.”

Daytona's response made me chuckle out loud, and I couldn't help but shake my head. I couldn't believe the audacity he had, to walk in here like nothing after saying we could go fuck ourselves.

“Man disappears, ducks the calls, skips the meetings, then strolls in like nothing happened.”

And they call me an asshole.

“That's bold.”

He doesn't look at me, because he's looking at Jiles.

“Shut the fuck up, Tony. “

Cancer just stands there a few feet away from the three of us, hands folded as he stares at us from behind his T-Shades. It was made clear by his unmoved expression, that he didn't find any of this amusing.

“Gentlemen, we're not here to unpack feelings. We're here to win.”

Not here to unpack feelings…does he not realize how hard it is for me to keep these feelings in check? I haven't even started to unpack. I can tell by the way Max is staring at Daytona, that I'm not the only one that wished Daytona stayed true to his word.

“That so, because last I heard, he wasn't interested.”

Yeah, I don't think Max is thrilled to have Diamonds here.

“That was then.”

Daytona doesn't seem to care what we think.

“And now?”

Daytona shakes his head as he pushes himself off the wall, and I can't help but feel like we're kind of in the same boat. I didn't think there were any other options for me either. A half smirk creases my lips, well half of them, as Max says something I would never say out loud.

“Honest, at least.”

I don't want to agree, but it's hard not to. We didn't volunteer for this match, Cancer chose us because he wants to get his hands on a tarnished diamond not worth the lab that created it. We really are just puppets he plans to manipulate in order to accomplish his goals.

But if you can't beat them…

“So, what's the strategy, we got a plan?”

Daytona is the first one to chime in.

“No rules right?”

His grin is as wide as mine, and all I want to do is slap it the hell off of his face. Hessian told me not to though, even made me promise.

“My kinda rodeo.”

I think he said something about a tornado falling apart when the bell rings. I'm not really sure.

I hope there is not going to be a pop quiz.

=-=-=-=-=

Not one of them tried to catch him, they just watched as he leaned back and fell to the floor.

Tony wanted to laugh, and he assumed Max and Daytona did as well.

There was Jiles flat on his back, a recurring nightmare lately for sure. Only this time, he was looking up at his squad, and not Cecilworth Farthington.

Served him right for using Tony's brand new phone books for this little exercise in trust and faith.

Clearly not one man on this squad had any trust in any of the others, but at least Cancer took a chance to test the theory. Now he just laid there with a smile on his face, motionless, as his Pit of Snakes stared down at him with the same expression on their faces.

Well, Tony doesn't really have a say in the matter.

While two truths and a lie turned out to be a complete train wreck, they finally managed to do something together.

Smile.

Was that the outcome Cancer expected when he stepped up onto Tony's welcome back to the carton gift?

Probably not, but it was a start, and every good plan had to have a starting point.

A finish line, not so much, but that's a conversation for another time.

Still practicing for his next Universal title match, Cancer finally asked who was next.

There was a whole voice over and everything. You'll hear it in post, trust me.

Already, like a trio of Spidermen, each one pointed at the other, then the other.

Finally on his feet, Jiles did what a captain in charge of a squad should have done in the first place.

He made them draw straws. No, not the one in Vae Victis, but the ones you sip boba through.

One by one they grabbed a straw, but in the end –  despite it looking very large in his hand –  Tony's was the shortest.

Ha!

Story of his life.

Back to the story at hand, Max and Daytona hoisted Tony onto the top of the phone books. He glanced back and asked if they were going to catch him.

They nodded.

He leaned back.

They lied.

He definitely saw it coming, because if there's one thing that's been obvious through their team building exercise so far, it's that you can trust everything that comes out of their mouths is going to be a lie.

Cancer, clearly looking to mend broken fences, helped Tony to his feet. He brushed away some of the dirt from his back, then turned to where Daytona and Max were standing.

They weren't there anymore.

They didn't return for at least twenty minutes, but when they did things seemed to be different between them. It's crazy, but while they were gone, Tony and Cancer had a little conversation that squashed some of the tension that had grown wide enough to keep them from finding that happy medium.

You may see that, or you may not. Time will tell.

=-=-=-=-=

I wish I could say how much I despise Youngblood's singlet, or how sometimes I fantasize about sticking my index finger into Ria's nose ring and yanking it the hell out. Seriously, how do people not look at her and expect to see her in a Chic-Fil-A commercial screaming moo for two minutes?

And Hanlon's mustache, okay, I'll admit it's pretty damn cool, but a man cannot be successful because of facial hair alone. It's time someone shaved that caterpillar off his upper lip and steal Samson's strength. I'll have the clippers in my locker room, if anyone wants to collect a bounty.

Or Is Youngblood the only one allowed to go and put bounties on people?

I tell you what, I welcome any of you to come and try to collect.

I don't need anyone to pay me to do what I do on a regular basis, and when the bell rings on this trainwreck of a match we have coming up, I'm going to be right up front coming for your bald ass head.

Oh, and before you think I forgot about the cowboy I already proved can be beaten...I already made you stop laughing once, next time I'm going to make you smile.

Believe me when I tell you, it may have looked like a mess when Cancer put this team together, but he obviously knew what he was doing. It took some time, some pain, and a box of hair dye, but the bond that we have with one another now, won't be easily broken.

Not by the likes of you.

You can trust me on that.