by Laurie

Chapter 11: The Long and Winding Road

A ' * ' denotes a persons's thoughts.

Dressed in a royal blue wind-breaker atop a white t-shirt and blue jeans, he slowly pulled into the warehouse parking lot.

Meanwhile, at ringside:
Matt, Jeff, Bull and Val were looking on, as Amy and Ivory circled each other in the ring. Amy grabbed her by the hair, lifted her up and did a back-breaker on her. Bull tried to get into the ring, but the referee held him back. Matt kept a close eye on Bull and Val. *He knew at one point they would successfully, illegally get into the match-and when they did, he and Jeff would be there!* Ivory tossed Amy into the ropes and clothes-lined her. Ivory went for the pin, but Amy kicked out.
"I’m not that easy!" Amy grunted.
"Yes you are!" Ivory retorted. In anger, Amy grabbed her arm and twisted it behind her.
"Say Uncle," Amy demanded, a slight smile on her face. Ivory shook her head. "Alright then, your arm is going to be really sore." Amy knew she would have to let go because the moves could only be held for so long. She released her arm, only to have Ivory whirl around and viciously backhand her. Ivory drew blood. Surprised, Amy slowly wiped the blood off her lip. The metallic taste in her mouth almost made her sick. Angrily, Matt attempted to get into the ring, but Jeff held him back.
Matt looked at him in surprise, "What are you doing!"
"She can handle herself Matt, this is her fight," he said matter-of-factly.
"You’re right," Matt said softly.
It was Jeff’s turn to be surprised. Usually, Matt would think things through, then act on it later, but with Amy that was never the case, until now.
Amy delivered a drop kick to Ivory, then climbed onto the top turnbuckle.
"Here it comes," Steven Richards said from backstage, as he watched the tv screen. Amy did a leg drop on Ivory. Getting on top of her crosswise, the ref. started the count. "What!" Steven turned to Trish ferociously. "I thought that she was going to do the flying head scissors on her!" he practically screamed.
Trish backed away in fear. "I, I thought that was what she was going to do. Tha, that was they told me," she said nervously.
"Well, they told you wrong!" he said angrily. He stormed out towards the ring, followed by the Goodfather.
"Uh, oh," Jeff said leaning in towards Matt, "We’ve got trouble." He gestured towards Steven and the Goodfather making there way towards the ring.
"Amy watch out!" Matt warned. Amy looked up just in time to see Bull looming over her. She rolled out of the way and sucker punched him in the stomach. He doubled over in pain. She reached out to tag Matt but Bull had recovered and delivered a swift, sharp kick to Amy’s ribs. She staggered, then slapped Matt’s hand. Instantly, he got in the ring and started pounding away on Bull.
"You okay Amy?" Jeff asked in concern. He put his hand on her back as she took a couple of deep breaths. Amy straightened up, her hand still wrapped around her ribs.
"Yeah, I’m okay." Jeff would have argued with her on that, but they didn’t have time right now. The good-father slid into the ring, only to be stopped by Jeff. Jeff jumped off the ledge, grabbed his feet and drug him out of the ring. Steven raced around the corner towards Jeff and the Good-father. Amy saw him coming and jumped off the ledge and onto Steven, knocking him out cold.
"Thanks Amy," Jeff said as he put the Good-father in a choke hold. Out of breath, Amy just smiled and slowly made her way back to the ring. Knowing Matt needed her help, Amy stepped into the ring. While Amy and Jeff had been fighting Steven and the Good-father, Val had snuck into the ring and now both Val and Bull were attacking Matt. Amy delivered a kick to the back of both Val and Bull’s knees, giving Matt the break he needed to sock em one. He punched them both in the stomach and knocked their heads together. Just then Amy felt a yank on her hair. Ivory started pulling her to the corner of the ring.
"Ow!" Amy yelled. Distracted, Matt looked up from an attempted pin on Bull. Amy elbowed Ivory in the stomach, forcing Ivory to let go of her. Amy headed towards the center of the ring, dragging Ivory behind her by the hair. After knocking the Good-father out with a sleeper hold Jeff slid into the ring too.
"Vertical suplex," Jeff said knowingly. Matt and Amy nodded in agreement. Amy lifted up Ivory, while Matt lifted up Bull and Jeff lifted up Val. "Let’s do it!" Jeff commanded. Simultaneously, Matt, Jeff and Amy slammed the RTC members onto their backs. Amy covered Ivory for the pin, and the referee counted to three. It was all over. Amy grabbed Matt and Jeff’s hands and raised them up. The crowd roared.
Just then, "No Chance" blasted through the speakers and Vince McMahon stepped out onto the platform. He watched as Steven and Ivory slowly started to get up.
Vince said casually, "Oh, and Steven, just in case you didn’t know, this match was for the belts." "Woo hoo! We did it!" Matt whooped. Matt hugged Amy and grabbed Jeff in bear hug.
"We did it bro!" Jeff said enthusiastically.
"Together," Amy said solemnly. Amy took the belt from a speechless Ivory, while the audience got to see Steven have a temper tantrum. Exhausted, Amy collapsed against Matt. Matt wrapped his arm around her in concern.
"Amy, are you okay? What’s wrong?"
"No, she’s not," Jeff said matter-of -factly. "Bull kicked her in the ribs, she hasn’t felt right since then."
"Amy, why didn’t you say something?" Matt asked her gently.
"The match was most important. If I could just hold on until then," her voice trailed off.
"Amy, stay with me," Matt said urgently. As gently as he could, Matt picked her up and carried her out of the ring. "Jeff, which side was she kicked on?"
"The side furthest away from you."
Matt breathed a sigh of relief, "Good."

Meanwhile:
Nora heard footsteps coming towards the steel door. Frantically, she worked at the knots around her hands. *Almost got it!* The last knot slipped off. She took a deep breath, "Jess, do you have a cell phone on you?"
"Yes," she said uncertainly. "It’s in my front pants pocket. You were able to get free?" she asked excitedly.
"Yes, now what’s Jeff’s cell phone number?"
As the Hardys passed by their lockers, Jeff heard a beeping sound come from his locker. "Take her out to the car Matt. I’ll be right there."
"You're going to check the cell phone at a time like this?" he questioned.
"Matt, only a handful of people know our cell number: Dad, our Grandparents, the Irvines.." Jeff stopped mid sentence. Both he and Matt’s eyes locked. Quickly, he hit the green telephone button on his phone. "Jessica?" Jeff said hesitantly.
"Jeff, it’s Nora. Jessica and I have been kidnapped and we’re in an old abandoned warehouse, I’d say somewhere on the outskirts of New Orleans. The kidnapper claims to be my half sis.."
"Uh, uh, uh, it isn’t nice to tattle," Jeff heard a female voice in the background say.
"Nora!" Jeff yelled into the phone. He heard a click as the phone went dead. Jeff’s heart sank. "Nora and Jessica are in serious trouble. Matt, do you know of any abandoned warehouses outside of New Orleans?"
"There is one on Deleon Street, about 5 miles outside of New Orleans," a voice said weakly.
"Amy!" Matt exclaimed with a relieved smile.
"What, like you think I was going to miss out on all the fun," she retorted.
"Matt, take her to the hospital. I’m going to find Nora and Jessica."
"Jeff, do you really think you will be able to find the warehouse without me?" Amy questioned. Jeff looked at her doubtfully. "That’s what I thought. Look, guys I’ll be fine. When this is all over I promise you can take me to the hospital, okay," she said pleadingly. Matt and Jeff looked at each other and sighed. They both knew no matter what their answer she would come anyway. Matt gently sat her down in a chair. She took a deep breath, in an attempt to get the room to stop spinning. "I, I don’t think anything is broken," she said uncertainly. The brothers looked at each other.
"Are you able to walk?" Jeff asked in concern.
Amy nodded absent-mindedly. "Hey, guys, where is Chris? Come to think of it, I haven’t seen him since this afternoon."
Jeff shrugged, "I don’t know. He has been very quiet today. Even more so right after Jessica was kidnapped," he said thoughtfully. Amy looked at Jeff and Matt thoughtfully, then narrowed her eyes.
"You don’t think Chris went to find Jessica on his own do you?" she asked slowly. Matt’s eyes widened as the realization dawned on him.
"Yes, yes I do," Matt said firmly. He and Jeff raced for the door!

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