Part 26:

“Hi,” said Lissy, coming into the room and sitting on the opposite side of the table, “how are you doing?”
“What do you want from me bitch!”
“First of all, my name is…”
“Lissy Carlson. I know who you are bitch.”
“If you know my name, stop calling me a bitch then.”
“Please. Bitch is what you are, and that’s what I’ll call you.”
“What makes me a bitch then? The fact that I always manage to get in your way?”
“Pretty much yeah!”
“Funny, to me, it’s seems much more like you’re coming out as an idiot than I am as a bitch.”
“…”
“Nothing to say? Fine, let me throw a couple of ideas your way. You have a friend in the WWF, someone who’s close to Paul, someone who’s in on his plans, someone he considers a friend.”
“Who the fuck do you think you are? One of those cops from Law & Order? You don’t even come close.”
“I wouldn’t try. They’re all guys.”
“Oh then, you’re probably trying to be that chick from Profiler.”
“You watch a lot of TV.”
“Yeah, but I always tune in for RAW and SMACKDOWN, Mysteria.”
“So you know my ring persona. Not many people do.”
“Well, you have brown hair, she has brown hair. She’s got a good body, you have an okay body. She sticks to HHH like glue. You stick to Paul Levesque like glue. Yeah, you’re Mysteria all right.”
“So your contact works for the WWF.”
“I don’t have a contact.”
“My ass!”
“Is a fine ass.”
Lissy sat back in her chair in front of the table and stared him down. He was a good-looking boy. Too short to be anything in the WWF than Kurt Angle’s tag team partner and that didn’t say much.
“Did you want to be a wrestler when you were a kid?”
“Please.”
“I mean, you’ve got the body for it. Did you ever try out one of the training camps?”
“Don’t try to analyze me! You’re nothing but a nosy little bitch!”

Jim’s eyes were on the screen, observing the interview when Shane, Mike and Paul walked into the office.
“What the fuck are you guys doing here? Lissy gave strict orders for you to stay at the Waldorf. Where are my guys?”
“We’re here Jim,” said one of the bodyguards, coming in the office, an apologetic look on his face.
“What the fuck is he doing here? Can’t you guys sit on a wrestler for a few hours?”
“He threatened to bang his head through a window.”
“Paul, goddamn it! Do you think this is a game or something?”
“No, it ain’t a game, that’s why I brought Shane and Mike along.”
“Oh great!”
“Where’s Lissy?” asked Mike.
“In with the perp.”
“Why isn’t he in jail?”
“Lissy had a few questions for him.”

“What’s your name?” asked Lissy.
“Fuck my name!”
“Fine. You realize that whoever put you up to this is going to let you go to jail.”
“So you think.”
“So I know. Do you think they’re going to risk any kind of association with the idiot who tried to kill a WWF superstar in a room full of WWF superstars? Please. As soon as we drop you off with the cops and get a positive ID on you, the gig is up.”
“So you think!”
“So I know.”
“I’m smarter than you think!”
“No you’re not. Your contact is smart, you’re just a dumb ass who follows orders.”
The guy leaped at Lissy, his hands going for her slender neck but she dove out of his way and before he could get back to his feet, the chair she had been siting on was straddling his body, one of the bars cutting off his circulation.
“Ever see the movie Tango & Cash with Sylvester Stallone and Kurt Russell? Not a great movie, some would say but you got to love some of their interrogation methods. Give me a name!”
“No,” he wheezed out.
“The name of your contact!”
Lissy pressed the chair down, the bar digging into the man’s windpipe. He stared back at her and she saw something there. He was never going to give up his contact. There was a mix of loyalty and fear there. The fear she had expected and the loyalty she could use. She eased off the chair and got the perp back to his feet. She dragged him to his feet and opened the door, throwing the man into the arms of two of Jim’s guys.
“Call the cops,” she ordered them. “I’m done with him.”
When she walked into the office and saw Shane, Mike, and Paul standing around her desk, she shook her head.
“I could get mad at you for being here,” she said, “but I won’t. There’s no point. Jim, we have a problem on our hands.”
“I know. It’s an inside job.”
“An inside job?” asked Shane.” So you mean someone in the WWF is going after Paul? Someone we work with?”
“Yes.”
“That’s impossible.”
“No, it’s not. We have to establish a list of suspects. People who might have a grudge, something against you Paul.”
Lissy took Jim’s place in front of the computer and got a list of WWF superstars off the net. With Shane, Mike and Paul’s input, they got a preliminary list to work with. Lissy thought the list wasn’t doing much good but she went along with them anyway. They were going for the easy motives, greed and envy. But she had a feeling there was much more to it than that.

That night when they got back to the hotel, Lissy grabbed one of Paul’s PJs’ and went to the bathroom, locking the door behind her. As per Debbie’s orders, she used the bidet to soothe her irritated insides and changed. When Paul saw her come out, the sleeves and legs of his PJs hanging past her hands and feet, he smiled at her. She went into his arms willingly and laid a gentle kiss on his lips.
“When I saw that guy up there, about to drop that spotlight on you, my heart almost stopped. I couldn’t stand the thought of losing you.”
“Please, when I saw you on top of that railing and then you fell. Lissy, please don’t risk your life to save mine. Not ever again.”
“It’s my job Paul. It’s what I do.”
“But I’m asking you. If you died trying to save me, I swear to God, I would die.”
“And if you died because I didn’t do everything I could to save you, I would die. Paul, please, I do my very best to protect myself. I love life Paul.”
“And I love you.”
“Oh…”
Paul picked her up in his arms and brought her to the bed, gently laying her down on the coverlet. He started to rub her body through the silk of his PJs, making her gasp in pleasure. He brought his soft mouth to hers and she ran her fingers to his soft hair. She had so much fun brushing through those soft curls a few hours before while he got ready for the ball. When his fingers finally made their way down to her nest of curls, Lissy stiffened in Paul’s arms.
“No,” she gasped in pain.
“What’s wrong?”
“That kind of hurts,” she explained, “when I fell off the railing, I kind of landed hard there.”
“Well, I know one way of making you feel better.”
“That’s very tempting sweetheart,” she smiled, “but I don’t think that would be a great idea. It hurts a lot.”
“Okay.”
Paul gathered Lissy in his arms and made up his mind. He would get to his stalker before Lissy got hurt anymore.

Part 27:

It was December 31st, 1999. Lissy and Paul were just arriving at Michael Hickenbottom’s Connecticut house for his Millennium party. At first, the party was only supposed to be for a few close friends but that had quickly degenerated into having a good portion of the WWF roster and even a few predictable WCW stars thrown into the mix. There was food and booze aplenty and the party stretched its wings on all three floors, not to mention the backyard and its heated pool. Within a few minutes, Lissy found herself sitting at a table with Paul, Mike, Kevin Nash and Scott Hall as they reminisced over a couple of virgin Margaritas. They were all incredibly careful about drinking in front of Scott, which Lissy found incredibly sweet.
“Anyways,” guffawed Kevin, slapping Mike so hard on his back that his Sexy Boy face almost kissed the table top, “Mike stood there arguing with this woman who didn’t understand a word of English.”
“Yeah, but what Kev isn’t saying,” said Mike, “is that he kept on making signs with his hands. Just like that.”
Lissy turned to Kevin and saw him making big circles, or something like that, with his hands. She chuckled and turned to Scott who had finally put down his toothpick.
“So the chick flashes us! She thought Mike a sex-deprived little man who’d forgotten what breasts looked like, so she showed us hers.”
“For real!”
“And they were nice too,” said Kevin, “all perky and stuff. And she had the cutest little ni-”
“Hey, hey,” protested Paul, “this is my girlfriend you’re talking to here.”
“Exactly. She has to know about how your eyes almost fell right out of your head.”
“Are these idiots boring you with their trip to Amsterdam where they got flashed by this chick with the nice breasts,” asked Joanie as she stepped into the kitchen.
“Joanie baby doll,” said Kevin, wrapping Joanie in a bear hug, “how have you been?”
“Pretty good, and you?”
“Missing you, as always. So, now that you’re no longer hanging on Junior’s coat tails, how about jumping ship and joining me? We’d scare the hell out of Asya.”
“I might mind that,” said Chris Irvine, a.k.a. Y2J, coming into the kitchen.
“You? You’re a pimple,” scoffed Scott.
“Yeah, but I’m her pimple,” said Chris, wrapping his arms around Joanie’s waist and pulling her out of Scott’s embrace.
“I thought that was just a nasty rumor.”
“I think they’re great together,” said Paul.
Everyone turned to him in a mix of shock and surprise. He chuckled and picked up his glass and sipped his Margarita.
“What? We broke up. It doesn’t mean we have to be bitter.”
“Right,” said Joanie with a warm smile to her ex. “We don’t have to be bitter.”
“But he’s a pimple,” said Kevin, sitting back down as Joanie and Chris left the kitchen.
“He’s her pimple,” said Lissy. “And I think they’re well-suited.”
“The two of you are fucked,” said Scott.
“Watch your mouth,” cautioned Paul.
“Now sweet thing,” said Kevin, turning his attention to Lissy, “what do I have to do to get you to stay as close to my body as you stay to Paul’s?”
“Well, I hate to be the one to tell you this, but you’re a bit too tall for my taste. And your nose, well, it’s not quite big enough, you know.”
As everyone laughed, Kevin reached his big arms out and literally plucked Lissy right out of Paul’s arms and settled her onto his lap.
“You look after him, do you hear me?” he said in all seriousness, “Junior might be a bit hotheaded sometimes but we’re his buds and we care.”
“Since when did I become Junior?” asked Paul petulantly, “I taught that was Sean’s title.”
“I’m the Kid,” explained Sean, coming for a couple of beers, “you’re Junior.”
“Now, back to you Miss Lissy. You make sure he stays in one piece all right?”
Lissy looked at Paul who smiled at her and she turned back to Kevin.
“Don’t worry about it, I’m keeping my eye on him.”
“Come on,” said Paul, taking Lissy’s hand, “let’s check out the rest of this party.”
Lissy followed in Paul’s wake as they wove their way out of the kitchen to the dining room where food was being wolfed down as quickly as the caterers were putting it out. Finally, they made their way to the living room where Michael Cole was playing DJ. Paul whispered something in his ear and soon, Al Green’s Let’s Stay Together started to play. Lissy went into her boyfriend’s arms willingly, laughing gaily when he attempted to dip her.
“Excuse me,” said Mike, tapping Paul on his shoulder, “but do the two of you kids mind if I cut in?”
“Mike, I’ll dance with you later,” answered Paul with a private smile to Lissy, “but this is our song.”
“Your song?”
“Our song,” confirmed Lissy, losing herself in the velvety depths of Paul’s eyes.
There were a lot of couple crowding the small area for dancing. Among them, Andrew and Stephanie, the heiress of the McMahon clan lost in her husband’s arms, whereas he looked like he wanted to be anywhere but where he was right now. Andrew knew that Stephanie was halfway in love with him but he felt none of the passion she felt for him. As far as he was concerned, she was a nice kid, but he didn’t love her and she couldn’t make him love her.
As soon as the song ended, Lissy drew Paul to the den, which DX had claimed as its own. They all sat there, talking and laughing, Lissy’s friends sitting next to them, basking in the attention of their new boyfriends. Paul squeezed himself in between Brian and Kip, dragging Lissy onto his lap. She immediately launched herself into a long discussion with Debbie about the purchase of Rets.
“You guys are serious about buying Rets?” asked Frankie.
“Yeah. We have more than enough money for it. And besides, it would be so much fun.”
“Yeah, but it’s a lot of work,” said Kip. “It’s not going to be easy.”
“Oh, we know that. But Lissy and I never shied away from hard work. I learned a lot about the business working in a strip club for five years. And I know I’m more than ready for the challenge.”
“What about you?” asked Paul, squeezing Lissy’s waist.
“I can’t wait. I’ve been working on my own for seven years now. It’d been nice to work with a partner, especially if she is my best friend. And what better excuse to go out clubbing every single night?”
About five minutes before the stroke of midnight, Paul pulled Lissy away from the throng of people and started climbing the stairs to the now-deserted top floor. He dragged her to a bedroom and slammed the door shut behind them.
“What are we doing here?” she asked, “we’re five minutes away from the millennium. Don’t you want to be downstairs to celebrate with your friends?”
“No. I want to be here. With you.”
Paul cupped the side of her face and slanted his mouth across hers, his tongue making a quick foray into the depths of her warm mouth. Lissy was a bit surprised at first but soon got into the mood of things. As the people downstairs started to countdown the last minute of the millennium, Lissy spotted some movement outside. She maneuvered Paul so that she had her back to the window and could see the exterior from the vanity mirror. As she got to the last ten seconds of 1999, Lissy moved her mouth away from Paul’s.
“Duck, I think someone’s out--,” she whispered. She didn’t have the time to say anything else as a mighty shout erupted from the house to welcome in the year 2001. At the very same time, a shooter with a peculiar sense of timing took a shot at Paul’s head.

Part 28:

As the bullet erupted from the gun, Lissy shoved Paul out of the way and turned to the window. She barely had time to catch her breath when the bullet struck her in the shoulder. She fell back on top of Paul’s body.
“Lissy,” he cried, cradling her body in his arms, “LISSY! Somebody help! Please! Lissy’s been shot!”
No one heard Paul through the good cheers that filled Mike’s house. It was only about ten minutes later that Debbie, looking for her best friend to share with her in this joyous event, started to worry.
“You know where Paul and Lissy are?” she asked Kip.
“Probably doing something fun. Wanna join them?”
“No. I just have a bad feeling, that’s all.”
“Come on, they’re both adults, I’m sure they’re fine on their own. Now, come here.”
Annoyed by Kip’s apparent lack of concern, Debbie shook his arm off her shoulders and stalked off. She found Mike and Frankie in the stairs leading up to the third floor, their tongues doing what dentists usually did.
“Did you guys see Paul and Lissy?” she asked.
“Last time I saw them,” answered Mike, “Paul was dragging Lissy to the third floor. He probably wanted to show her the view.”
“I’m going to check.”
“You might not want to do that,” cautioned the WWF commissioner, “Paul hates to be disturbed.”
Debbie scoffed at the warning and quickly made her way to the third floor. With every empty room she entered, her sense of dread increased until she came to a door where she heard some moans. She smiled at her silly instincts and started to turn around when she distinctly heard a softly muttered cry for help. Debbie opened the door without any hesitation.
“Lissy! Paul!”
“Debbie!”
Paul’s head appeared from the other side of the bed. Debbie hit the lights and made her way around the bed. She sized up the situation quickly and went into action.
“Find a bathroom,” she said, “and get me some towels.”
“Someone took a shot at me,” babbled Paul, wringing his hands, “and she got.”
“Paul! Get me those towels!”
At Debbie’s sharp tone, Paul hurried to the bathroom. Debbie looked down at her friend’s pale’s skin and swore under her breath.
“How many times do I have to tell you I hate this job of yours? But no, you have to go and save the world. Well, this proves to me that you’re not always as careful as you should be! Damn you Lissy! I’m supposed to be in Kip’s arms right now, enjoying one of his kisses, not wiping up your blood.”
Paul came back into the room at the moment, his arms laden with towels. “Can you help her?” he asked.
“Of course I can. Help me get her into bed.”
With more care than he’d ever used with his friends’ babies, Paul picked Lissy up and laid her down on the bed, shoving hair out of her face.
“Go get Mike,” said Debbie. “I’m going to need some things and what with this being his house and all.”
“I’ll be right back.”
While Paul was gone, Debbie checked the wound and let out a sigh of relief when she realized that the bullet had gone straight through. That was a good sign. So much for small miracles. She took a pair of towels, placed them at the entry and exit of the bullet and pressed tightly, to staunch the flow of blood. That’s when Lissy came to.
“Paul,” she whispered, “get.”
“It’s okay,” said Debbie quickly, “Paul is safe.”
“The shooter.”
“Don’t worry about that right now. You’re the one who got shot.”
“I…” Lissy turned around and saw Debbie’s bloody fingers pressing against her shoulder. She let out a little yell and proceeded to faint right away.
Just then, Paul came back, with way too many people in tow. DX was there, along with Nash, Hall, Joanie, her new boyfriend and all of Lissy’s friends.
“Is she okay,” they all asked at once.
“Okay, I am not doing this,” snapped Debbie. “The only people I want in here are Paul, Mike and Erica. Everybody else, get out!”
“Debbie,” protested Kip, “Lissy’s our friend too.”
“I know,” said Debbie, much more softly, “and I’ll let you know how she is. For now, please leave.”
Mike closed the door on all his friends and his eyes finally fell on Lissy. He’d never seen her like this. It tore at his heart.
“What can I do for you?”
“First off, I need scissors. And a first aid kit, if you have one.”
“Yeah.”
“Go get them. Erica, keep your hands right here,” she said, showing her friend where to place her hands, “and press hard. We have to stop that blood.”
“Sure.”
Debbie went to the bathroom to wash her hands and looked in the mirror. She quickly tied her hair back with the scrunchy around her wrist and went back to the room just as Mike came back.
“Let me see what you have here.”
“It’s brand new. I never used it.”
“That’s good. Open it for me and lay it out for me next to Lissy.”
“Okay.”
While Mike took care of the packaging, Debbie started to cut away at Lissy’s top. There wasn’t much of it but it all had to go. She snipped away at the fine lace bra as well and covered her friend’s torso with a sheet.
“Mike,” she said, “you have an alcohol in that kit?”
“Yeah.”
“All right,” said Debbie with a big sigh, “this is where it gets hard. Erica, I want you to stand by with all the gauze in that first aid kit, okay?”
“Yeah.”
“Mike, give me your belt.”
Debbie took Mike’s fine leather belt and folded it and slid it in Lissy’s mouth.
“Mike, get on the bed and straddle her, hold on to her free arm too.”
“What are you going to do?”
“I have to disinfect the wound and it’s going to hurt like a bitch.”
“But you have to do it, right?”
“Yeah. Wait a second.”
Debbie took a look at Paul who sat in a chair, staring at her with cold eyes. The look in his eyes scared her. So she went to the door and called Kevin.
“What can I do?” asked the big man, his eyes straying to Paul and Lissy.
“Sit on Paul.”
“What?”
“Lissy’s going to scream. She’s going to be in pain. And he’s going to panic.”
“I get it.”
Nash went to stand into of his friend, letting him look at Lissy, but ready to stop him if there was a need. Debbie took position in front of Lissy’s injured shoulder and started to pour the alcohol. Lissy came to with a bloodcurdling yell that had everyone in the hall jump right out of their skins. Paul didn’t wait, he just lunged but Kevin was there to stop him. As the two men struggled, Debbie kept on pouring the alcohol until Lissy’s body went limp again. Behind her Kevin pushed a struggling Paul against the wall.
The man known as Triple H tripped the entertainer formerly known as Diesel, making him stumble back. Paul then pinned Kevin with a spear. As Erica handed her the pads of gauze, Debbie screamed for Kip and ordered him to get Paul out of the room. Paul fought like a man possessed but finally Glen came into the room and literally sat on top of him as he whispered Lissy’s name over and over. Debbie worked on the bandage as quickly as she could and finally finished it.
“I’m done,” she whispered to Mike, wiping the back of her bloody hand on her forehead. “For now, she needs peace and quiet.”
Mike eased himself off Lissy and went to Frankie who stood there, her arms open to him. Debbie went to the bathroom and washed her hands. When she came back, Erica had pulled the blankets up under Lissy’s chin. And Glen was still sitting on top of a muttering Paul.
“Glen,” snapped Debbie, “get off him! It’s okay now.”
“Sorry. I don’t want him to hurt anyone.”
“It’s okay now,” whispered Debbie as Paul flew to Lissy’s side. “But thank you.”
Shane burst into the room, all decked out in his tuxedo, Jim following closely behind.
“Lissy was shot?” he asked.
“Yeah, but it’s okay now,” said Debbie. “She’s going to be out for a few days, no more.”
“Thank God!”
Paul didn’t pay any attention to what was going on in the room. He lay down next to Lissy and held her hand, promising himself to watch over her.

Lissy came to because of the searing pain at her shoulder. She gasped at the stab of pain and she remembered. She remembered standing in front of the window looking down at the backyard. She also remembered seeing blond hair. She stirred, trying to sit up when Paul moved next to her.
“Honey,” said Paul, “are you okay?”
“I’m fine. My shoulder hurts like crazy, but I think I will be okay.”
Lissy looked at the room and smothered a smile. She could see all the members of DX slouched around the room, their girls in their arms. Joanie was there too, sitting on top of Chris in a chair. As for Kevin and Scott, the two of them were sitting against a wall, lightly snoring.
“What time is it?” she asked.
“Seven in the morning. Welcome to the new millennium,” he said with a smile.
“I like to celebrate with a big bang.”
“How can you kid like that? You could have died.”
“I didn’t.”
“But you could have.”
“Paul, I was shot a few hours ago. Do you think I’m in the mood for this argument? I didn’t die. Be happy for that. Okay?”
“Fine.”
“Happy New Year honey,” she said with a smile. “Aren’t you going to kiss me?”
“Yeah man,” said Nash from the wall, “kiss her already so the rest of us can go back to sleep!”
Lissy let out a chuckle and groaned in pain. Paul quickly set her back in bed and pressed his lips to hers.
“Happy New Year,” he said with a sad smile.

Part 29:

It was noon on January 4th of the year 2001 when Lissy decided she’d had enough, that she couldn’t stand it anymore. Kip had just walked into her assigned bedroom in Mike’s home, carrying her lunch on a tray and Brian was right behind him, asking if she would enjoy a foot rub.
“Where’s Paul?” she asked gruffly.
“Out with Mike and Jim. They’ve gone to check something out.”
“What?”
“I don’t know,” said Kip, shrugging with a smile.
“Sean? Where is he?”
“He went to drive the girls home. Debbie’s just going to drop by her place to pick up a few things though.”
“So, it’s just the three of us, right?” asked Lissy with a smile.
“Yup,” said Brian, “and we have strict orders to pamper you.”
“Cool. Brian, no foot rub, please. And Kip, I think I can handle eating on my own.”
“Are you sure?”
“Quite.”
The second the boys left her room, Lissy was out of bed and into the bathroom, quickly washing herself. She then proceeded to get dressed and stuffed all of her things back into her duffel bag. She slung it on her shoulder and started to make her way down the stairs. She made her way downstairs just in time to catch the boys watching a game show and laughing their heads off. She was quietly making her way to the door when Kip turned around and saw her.
“Lissy? Where the hell do you think you’re going?”
“I’m getting out of here.”
“I don’t think so.”
“Yeah, I don’t think so either,” said Brian, “Kip, we rush her?”
“Guys, please. Don’t make me hurt you.”
“Oh please,” scoffed Brian, “as if you.”
Brian’s words died in his throat as Lissy leveled a gun at him.
“Whoa! Lissy, that’s a gun.”
“You think? Boys, all I want is to get out of here. No one has to be hurt.”
“Paul’s going to get mad at us.”
“That’ll be your problem, not mine.”
“That’s cold Lissy, really cold.”
“What can I say? I’m a bitch.”
Keeping the gun leveled at them, Lissy opened the front door and ran to her SUV. She opened the door, threw her bag in the passenger seat and got her spare keys from the secret compartment under the driver’s seat. She saw Kip and Brian rushing to the car and locked the doors. They banged on the windows but Lissy refused to obey their orders to open the doors. She unhooked her injured arm from the sling and started the car. She threw it into reverse and peeled out of the driveway, making Brian slip and fall on a patch of ice.
“Sorry Brian,” she yelled before driving away.

When Lissy walked into her office, she was shocked to see her mother sitting behind her desk.
“Mom!”
“Hello daughter.”
“Happy New Year,” said Lissy, rushing into her mother’s arms, “did you have fun with Aunt Colette?”
“Yeah. We went to a party at her lodge and it was. all right I guess.”
“Did you meet anyone special?”
“There were several attractive gentlemen there, yes. What about you?”
“I had fun. But what are you doing here anyway? I thought I told you to stay home and enjoy yourself.”
“I was bored. What about you? I thought you were on a job?”
“I am. I just had a few things to check, that’s all. Well, since you’re here, I might as well use you. Could you get in touch with Barry?”
“Your Cleveland contact Barry?”
“That’s the one. Once you have him on the line, patch it through to me, all right?”
“Sure.”
Lissy went into the office and dialed Jim’s cell phone.
“Hi Jim, it’s Lissy. Listen, I need you to come to my office, alone, as soon as possible.”
“Shouldn’t you be…”
“Don’t worry about where I should be or what I should be doing. Just get here as quickly as you can, okay?”
“Sure.”
Lissy hung up the phone and plopped down in her chair, wincing at the pain that rushed along her shoulder down to her arm.
“Lissy,” called her mother from the other room. “I have Barry on line one.”
“Thanks. Barry, how are you. Happy New Year! Thank you. Barry, what kind of workload do you have right now. pretty light. good, good. why? I wanted to let you in a gig I’m working right now. You interested?”
When Jim walked into Lissy’s office, it was somewhere around five o’clock in the afternoon. Her mother was sitting behind her desk, rapidly typing and when she saw him, she just waved him into Lissy’s office. The private investigator was sitting in front of her desk, reading something off her computer screen while she stretched her recently injured shoulder.
“Paul’s having a fit, you know,” he said calmly.
“That’s not why I called you here. Jim, I’m changing this investigation. My position in it mainly. I’m bringing this guy, Barry. He’s good. I worked with him before. He’s going to be shadowing Paul. Taking over my position.”
“What about you? What will you do?”
“I’ll be investigating this whole thing from the outside. I have… there are several leads I want to work and protecting Paul the way I’ve been doing lately, it’s been clouding my judgment.”
“He’s going to hate this.”
“I’m willing to live with that. We have to get this stalker. He or she is getting too close for comfort.”
“Who’s going to tell Paul?”
“You, Shane, Mike. I don’t really care. Do you have the files on the guy I caught at the ball with you?”
“Yeah.”
“Can I have a copy?”
“I only have the copy the cops gave me.”
“No problem. Mom,” called Lissy from her intercom, “could you come in here for a sec?”
“Sure.”
Lissy’s mother came in to her office, bringing two mugs of coffee. She smiled coyly at Jim and gave her daughter a look that told volumes about how much she would enjoy having him as a son-in-law.
“Mom,” said Lissy, “you remember Jim, don’t you?”
“Yes, he’s that nice young man for the WWF, right?”
“Yes. Jim, why don’t you show Mom a picture of your fiancée?”
While Jim showed off pictures of his Canadian fiancée, Lissy took the files into the copy room and made the necessary copies.
“There you go,” she said, handing the files back to Jim. “I’ll send Barry to Stamford as soon as he gets in from Cleveland. In the meantime, I’m counting on you to be Paul’s shadow, okay?”
“Sure. Lissy,” said Jim as soon as Mrs. Carlson left the room, “why are you doing this? Why are you getting away from Paul?”
Somewhere deep in her heart, Lissy wished she could tell Jim about the guilt she felt, but she couldn’t. How could she explain something she couldn’t understand herself? All she knew was that she had to get away from Paul for the time being.
“I have to, okay? Jim, please, I’ll find the stalker and then… then, I’ll see.”
“You’re in love with him, so why get away from him?”
“Because I wasn’t hired to fall in love with him.”
“I don’t think Shane or Vince mind.”
“I know that, but I mind.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know. I just do.”
Jim shook his head and walked out of the office, closing the door. Lissy sat in front of the copies she’d just made but she saw nothing. The tears rolled down her cheeks freely as she started to mourn her love for Paul. She still loved him but she knew she couldn’t. Not until this was solved. She had to be a private investigator first and then, maybe, she might be able to start thinking about being a lover.

Part 30:

Lissy couldn’t see straight anymore. She rubbed her eyes but it didn’t improve anything. Information, important information, scrolled down her computer screen but she couldn’t make anything out of it. She slid out of her chair and stalked off to the tiny bathroom off to one side of her office. She looked at her reflection in the mirror, desperately trying to ignore the saggy bags under her eyes and the despair she saw staring back at her. Lissy bent over the sink and opened the tap. She threw cold water on her face until she started to feel somewhat human.
Lissy smoothed her hair back into her braid and slowly made her way back to her office. What awaited her brought the tears she’d been holding back all day straight to her eyes. Paul sat in front of her desk, his hair in disarray, rubbing the stubble on his cheek. For a moment, she imagined that he felt as torn as she did. But then she realized he couldn’t feel what she felt. He hadn’t disregarded his duties for a chance at love, he’d done what came naturally.
“Lissy,” he said breathlessly as he saw her.
“Paul. Where’s Jim?”
“Who cares? Why did you leave? Why didn’t you stay at the house?”
“There’s work to be done.”
“You got shot.”
“And I survived. Paul, please.” she whispered, moving out of reach of his arms.
“Why won’t you even let me touch you?”
“Because. Paul, please, I was hired to find your stalker and once I do, then.”
“Then what?”
“Then, life will go on.”
“With you beside me?”
“As it should go on.”
“What does that mean?”
“I don’t know. Not yet.”
“Tell me you don’t want this,” said Paul, reaching across the desk and plucking Lissy right out of her chair. Lissy fought him every step of the way, sending papers flying all over the office as Paul pulled her into his arms. His kiss was violent, brutal and full of lust and Lissy couldn’t help but give in. Her fingers sunk into his long locks and increased the kiss’s intensity as she rubbed her body against his. Paul propped her up against the edge of the desk, digging his fingers under her skirt and into the soft flesh of her thighs.
Lissy opened the top buttons of his shirt, exposing his skin and digging her teeth into it as he buried his mouth in her hair. Before either one of them knew it, Lissy’s panties were hanging off her ankle and Paul was making his way into her moist and excessively hot sheath. He moved in and out of her quickly, as if he was trying to assuage a need he’d never been able to satisfy ever before.
That’s the sight Mike, Shane and Jim walked in on their search for Paul.
“Hey Paul,” said Mike, “we disturbing you here?”
“Get the fuck out!”
Lissy pushed Paul out of her and rolled back to the other side of her desk, her eyes flaming as Mike slammed the door shut.
“I can’t believe I just allowed that to happen,” she whispered, sliding her panties up her legs.
“What do you mean? You wanted this just as much as I did.”
“No, I didn’t.”
“Lissy, you can’t mean.”
“I can mean it Paul. Now, do me a favor and get out. Please.”
“Get out? Lissy, you can’t keep on pushing me out of your life this way. We’re in love.”
“I can’t afford love right now. I have to find the stalker,” she said, not looking at Paul, focusing on tucking her shirt into her skirt.
“Screw the stalker! I want you in my life. Every day, all the time.”
“No!”
Paul went around the desk to Lissy and put his hands on her shoulders, his eyes blazing into hers.
“Get your hands off me Paul!”
“Not until you admit we’re in love!”
“Get your hands off me!”
“Lissy!”
Their raised voices attracted Jim, Shane and Mike into the office, just in time to see Lissy slap the side of Paul’s face and step away from him.
“I’m walking out of here,” she said softly, her eyes on Jim, “and I’m going home. The door’s easy to lock and you don’t have to worry about the alarm. I just don’t want to see Paul again until I am ready for him, okay?”
“Lissy,” said Mike, “please. It’s just that.”
“Don’t try to explain that kind of behavior to me Mike. Don’t even try.”
Lissy walked out of the office down to her car and started to sob. Her heart was screaming at her to run back up the stairs to her office and to Paul. But her mind told her otherwise. She had to find the stalker.

The next morning when Lissy walked into her office, her mother had gotten there first.
“What happened here last night?” she asked, her eyes intent on her daughter.
“I don’t want to talk about it Mom.”
“You don’t want to talk about it? Lissy, there were papers all over the floor, and the alarm wasn’t set.” “Is anything missing?”
“No.”
“Then I don’t want to talk about it. Okay?”
“Not okay. Baby, what’s wrong,” asked Mrs. Carlson, going up to her daughter when she saw the tears in her eyes.
“It’s personal. And I’m not sure I’m ready to talk about it just yet.”
“Does it have anything to do with that damn WWF case of yours?”
“Yeah. Mom, please.”
“Fine, I won’t pry. I put the papers back on your desk, you can put them back in order yourself.”
“Okay. Anything else?”
“Yeah. Barry called. I followed your instructions and I sent him to Stamford, Connecticut.”
“Good.”
“Lissy,” said her mother before her daughter disappeared into her office. “When you feel like talking about what happened, I’ll be there.”
“Thanks Mom.”
Lissy went to the papers her mother had stacked on her desk and grabbed them, starting to read through the file on Chad Johnson, the man who’d attacked Paul twice. There wasn’t much information on his criminal file, he’s been arrested twice for shoplifting but there was nothing more to it. But he did have a sealed juvie file. Lissy reached over to her phone and called her contact at children’s services.
“Hey Sandra, what’s up? You know me, always working. What about you? Oh, you got engaged? That’s great. Listen, Sandra, I have a favor to ask… well, I could have lied and pretended I was just calling you to shoot the breeze but I always believed we had an honest relationship… two tickets to a Knicks game? I can’t promise anything but I’ll see what I can do… no, no, I won’t get you anything in nosebleeds either. I told you, last time was a mistake… all right, I have a guy here, he’s recently been charged with attempted murder and aggravated assault. He’s got a sealed juvie file I would love to get a look at… Sandra, please… the case I’m working on, he’s not going at it alone and I need to have a look at his juvie file… thanks… yeah, send it to the usual address. His name is Chad Johnson and I have his social security number. It’s 111222333. Thanks a lot Sandra.”
Lissy hung up the phone and logged on to the Internet to check an e-mail address she only used for special cases like this. It was as close as she could get to an untraceable email account and she could get information without getting her informants in trouble. By the time she logged on to the address, the file Sandra had transferred to her was already there. She opened it and printed out the information. And that’s when she found something that would go a long way to solving this case. As it so happened Chad Johnson did have a tie to someone in the WWF. Now, she simply had to find out how strong that tie actually was.

Part 31:

Mrs. X----- was just done cleaning up her living room when the doorbell rang. She smiled, smoothed a hand over her red sweater and quickly made her way to the door.
“Good morning,” she said softly.
“Mrs. X-----? Hi, my name is Alexis Jensen. I’m with the GLAMOUR magazine. I believe I spoke to you earlier?”
“Ms. Jensen, yes, please come in. Let me take your jacket.”
As Alexis took off her jacket, Lissy looked at herself in the mirror, knowing her mother would be the only person who’d recognize her in this getup since she had helped her get into disguise. With the red wig cut into a classic bob, the dark blue contact lenses and the prosthesis, which raised her cheekbones and completely changed the shape of her face, Lissy was literally unrecognizable. The cut of her clothes was also very different from her usual form fitting jeans and tops. She was wearing a boxy baby blue suit, laden with golden braids. She was a walking fashion victim. She was perfect.
“Now,” said Mrs. X----- after offering Alexis a cup of tea and cookies, “tell me more about this article you want to write.”
“Well, we’re working on a series on foster families. Now, since you have welcomed over one hundred kids in your home over twenty years and that your own child is now a WWF superstar, we thought we’d take a closer look at what makes a good foster home.”
“Well, if you want to talk about the WWF, you should get in touch with.”
“No, no, no, this article is about you, about your family and your experience with foster kids, not about your superstar child.”
“All right. Now, what do you want to know?”
Alexis had come prepared with several questions, which encouraged Mrs. X----- to talk and to finally draw out her numerous family albums. Lissy looked over the pictures of all the children, looking for a familiar face, looking for Chad Johnson. She found him. He was about age 13 on the picture. He seemed sullen and stood apart from the smiling children.
“He doesn’t look too happy to be there,” she said, pointing at the little boy.
“Oh, that was Chad. When he came to us, he’d been in trouble with the law quite a few times, kicked out of several foster homes in fact.”
“I see. How long did he stay with you?”
“Chad? Almost four years.”
“I’m guessing he learned how to smile by then.”
“Oh yes. These two,” said Mrs. X----- pointing to a picture of Chad and of someone Lissy had worked with when she’d been Paul’s shadow, “became inseparable, almost like Batman and Robin. They all but turned the basement into their Batcave.”
“Oh my…”
“I think it was that friendship that brought Chad out of that melancholy. It made him smile. He changed so many things around. His grades improved, his attitude changed. He became a normal boy.”
“That’s a success story if there ever was one,” smiled Alexis, rapidly taking notes down on her pad.
“Oh, it didn’t end all that well,” whispered Mrs. X-----. “Six months before he turned 18, we caught him smoking pot. They gave him a light sentence but Chad spent his last six months as a juvenile in a detention center. None of us ever heard from him again.”
“Oh, how disappointing. Tell me, did you ever think of Chad as your own, as one of your children?”
“All the children I look after, I all considered them to be my children in my own way. However, Chad was special. He was like a son to me, to my husband and a brother to our child.”
As Mrs. X----- talked on and on, Alexis took the picture Mrs. X----- had been pointing to earlier and slipped it into her purse. She stayed with Mrs. X----- for another hour and finally left, telling her she would fax her a copy of the article as soon as she was done with it. She felt a twinge of guilt about using the poor woman’s gullibility but she was on a job, a job she had to end as soon as possible. Her sanity depended on it, not to mention her heart.

When there was the knock on his door at six in the morning, Paul opened the door quickly, expecting to see Lissy there. Mike had told him about her decision to attack the investigation from another viewpoint but Paul hadn’t swallowed it. She was avoiding him. And she’d sent this guy Barry in her place. Barry looked ridiculous, especially considering he was supposed to protect Paul. He was five feet and ten inches at the most, weighed no more than a hundred and seventy pounds and looked like he would have no problem fading into a crowd. Paul thought that in case of danger, he’d either throw Barry at his attacker or use him as a shield. Paul’s face fell when he saw Barry standing there, in those ridiculously large track pants, munching on a Danish.
“Ready to go?” he asked, his mouth full.
“Lead the way.”
A lot of the wrestlers were already in the gym, working out when Paul got there. He went over to his friends of DX and got started on a few stretches.
“Who are you?” asked Sean, eyeing Barry suspiciously.
“I’m Barry, Paul’s new bodyguard.”
“You’re his bodyguard,” scoffed Sean. “Hell, I could take you on, little man.”
“Fine,” said Barry, nodding to Jim, who’d just come into the gym. “Try me.”
Everyone stood back, making a circle around Sean and Barry. The wrestler jumped up and down, talking trash like a little boy in a playground while Barry stood back, waiting for Sean to make the first move, his arms casually crossed over his chest. Sean came out quickly and in style, using the high-flying martial arts kicks that always impressed his fellow wrestlers. But since Barry was a black belt in tae-kwon-doe and in kung fu, he sidestepped the smallest member of DX, and stood back as Sean fell on his bearded face. Jim made his way to Paul, who was watching the fight from the sidelines.
“What’s going on?” he asked.
“Sean thought he’d challenge my bodyguard.”
“He’s going to get his ass whipped.”
“Come on, the kid’s not that bad.”
“Yeah, well Lissy wouldn’t have a chump covering your ass. Trust me, Sean’s going to get his ass whipped.”
At the mention of Lissy’s name, Paul tensed and focused on the fight. It was hard to do, considering that it could have been Lissy responding to Sean’s challenge. Paul briefly wondered how she would have done against the man known as X-Pac and realized she would have probably kicked his ass all over the gym. Which Barry was in the process of doing, very methodically, with incredible precision.
“Okay, okay,” said Jim, breaking up the fight and offering Sean a hand up. “I think Barry proved his valor, no?”
“You’re good man,” said Sean, shaking Barry’s hand. “Sorry I doubted you.”
“No problem,” said Barry with a complacent smile.
“I should have known better,” chuckled Sean, “as if Lissy would send any chump to do her job. She knows.”
Sean’s words died in his throat as Paul turned around and stared him down.
Then, the leader of the DX proceeded to smile tightly, “You guys shouldn’t walk on egg shells around me,” he said, looking at his friends, “I had a good time with Lissy. And now, it’s over. I miss her, sure. but I’ll survive.”
Just then, Barry’s cell phone rang. He picked it up. When he heard who was on the other end of the line, he walked to the gym entrance, keeping his eyes on Paul.
“Hello Lissy.”
“Barry. How are things on your end?”
“Good. Yours?”
“Very interesting. I think I know who our contact is on the inside.”
“That’s great.”
“Well, we’ll see. I still have to confirm. It’s only half the work. Listen, I want you and Jim to schedule the roster for interviews with me. I need to speak to everybody.”
“Everybody?”
“I need to speak with the big names. Shane, Mike, Paul, Jim and I worked on a list when I was in New York, after the attack at the Waldorf. I’ll email it to you.”
“Cool. When do you want to see them?”
“The second you guys get to Philadelphia. Have Jim set up an office for me at the Marriott. I’ll do the interviews from there.”
“I’m sure we can get you one of those suite deals with an office.”
“I’m not planning on staying at the Marriott, just doing the interviews there.”
“Why not?”
“Barry, I just broke up with him. This is hard enough as it is.”
“Tell me something Lissy. You in love with the boy?”
Lissy pressed the end button on her cell phone and looked out of the Super 8 Motel she was currently calling home. She ran her fingers down the foggy window, whispering her answer to no one in particular.
“Yes.”

Part 32:

Mike sat across the desk from Lissy and looked at her carefully. Her eyes looked sunken in. There were big bags under them. Her skin was pale and she had lost weight, way too much weight, way too quickly.
“You’re not eating right,” he said slowly.
“Mike, please.”
“No, you please Lissy! You’ve lost weight, you’re pale and you’re jittery.”
“I am not.”
Mike shoved a piece of paper in her hand and held her hand above the desk. The sheet shook so much that Lissy dropped it to her desk.
“This doesn’t prove anything,” she defended herself. “I just had too much coffee.”
“This swill,” said Mike, plucking the Starbucks paper cup right out of her hand.
He sniffed it, made a face and dumped it into the garbage pail.
“That’s an awfully big cup of coffee.”
“Well, it’s been an awfully long day.”
“Well, I know for a fact that this is your sixth cup of coffee of the day. No day is that long. Specially not when it’s not even noon yet.”
“Mine is. Now, let’s get on with this interview.
“I’m not answering any of your questions.”
“Mike, don’t do this to me.”
“I’m doing this for you darling. The only way I’m answering any of your questions is if you allow me to take you to lunch.”
“Mike!”
“No answers to any questions,” he said stubbornly.
“Fine!”
Mike led an exhausted Lissy to his car and then drove them to a fancy Italian restaurant. He ordered for her, way too much food for her taste, but she didn’t say anything.
“Now,” he said when the waiter scurried away, “tell me: what the fuck are you doing?”
“Investigating Paul’s stalker,” she smiled.
“I’m talking about your personal life here darling. What the fuck are you doing?”
“Mike, being with Paul, it clouded my judgment about my job, about the task at hand. I need to be focused.”
“You needed to break his heart?”
“I did not,” she screamed, suddenly becoming aware of how loud she was and of the patrons staring at her. “Break his heart,” she continued, much more quietly.
“You say that because you haven’t seen him since that night you walked out of your office. Lissy, he’s a broken man.”
“According to reports,” she said bitterly, “he’s back with Joanie.”
“Where do you get your information?”
“On the Internet.”
“Please. That’s for story line purposes. They’re friends again, true, but that’s all.”
Lissy let out a sigh of relief and as Mike watched, she crumbled to tears in front of him. As she dabbed at her tears with her napkin, Mike waved away the waiter and wrapped his arm around her.
“I feel like such an idiot,” she sobbed, “I was so mad at him for bouncing from Joanie to me and then back to Joanie. I didn’t think about asking anybody if it was true. I just believed it.”
“You are so much in love with him,” realized Mike, watching his friend’s tears.
“Yeah. I am. Sad, ain’t I?”
“No, not really. I mean, you’re in love. Wow!”
“Wow? Mike, come on. I’m not sure it’s a good thing.”
“Why wouldn’t it be?”
“I don’t know. It’s just a gut feeling that I have.”
“Well, get rid of it or something. It’s wrong.”
“How do you know for sure?”
“Because I heard you admit that you were in love with Paul. And I know Paul’s in love with you. And I know that it’s wrong for the two of you to be apart when a simple word could put you two back together again.”
“It seems simple to you. Mike, imagine, if you will, what would happen if one night, while I was too busy admiring the man I love, someone took a shot at him and killed him?”
“Lissy, don’t.”
“I can’t not think about that possibility Mike. I would hate myself too much if it came true.”
“But it won’t.”
“Because I changed the way I’m running this investigation.”
“Fine, I’ll agree with you on that point. But I do have a question for you.”
“Shoot.”
“Why aren’t you taking care of yourself? Lissy, when I first met you, one of the things I first noticed about you was how important it was for you to look good. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think you’re vain, but you do care about your appearance. At least you did.”
“What is that supposed to mean?”
“Your hair is limp, you have pimples, your nails are chipped and bitten down to the quick. There are spots on your jeans and your boots look like they’ve been to a war and then some.”
Lissy brought a hand up to her mouth and ran to the bathroom. When she saw her reflection in the mirror, she swore loudly. Mike, that idiot, was right. She usually took much better care of her appearance. But lately, ever since she’d ended things with Paul, those things hadn’t seemed that important. But to have Mike point these things out to her, that hurt. It stung. When she finally made her way back to the table, her hair was pulled into a tight bun, she’d cleaned the spots on her jeans, summarily cleaned her boots with toilet paper and she’d given herself a quick manicure.
“Do I meet with your approval?” she asked, twirling around in front of Mike.
“Well, you certainly seem more human.”
“Thanks.”
Lunch went well. Lissy would never admit it to anyone but, in those few days, she’d missed eating with friends. Since that night in her office, all of her meals had been fifteen minutes affairs on the run and eating a Big Mac next to a bunch of kids celebrating a birthday didn’t count as a dinner with friends. She’d missed laughing and Mike made her laugh. When he dropped her off at her office at the arena, she hugged him briefly.
“Thanks,” she said, hugging him. “I needed that.”
“Well, it was my pleasure. Just promise me you’ll take care of yourself now.”
“I promise.”
Mike pecked her cheek one last time and he went off to do whatever it was that he did in the WWF. When Lissy opened the door to her temporary office, she was surprised to find Joanie there.
“Hey Joanie,” she said, putting her bag down on the desk, “how are you doing?”
“Not bad. You?”
“I’ve been better.”
“Lissy, I’m not going to pretend to understand whatever happened between you and Paul, but you have to do something for me.”
“Not you too.”
“Me too?”
“Mike just read me the riot act. As did most of the people I interviewed this morning. I have my reasons for doing what I’m doing.”
“I’m not talking about you and Paul. I’m talking about the stalker. You have to find him.”
“Why? Did something happen?”
“No, but I’m scared for Paul. That bullet you took was meant for him. The next time, they might not miss.”
“I’m doing my best to make sure there is no next time.”
“Good. I’m counting on you.”
As Joanie exited, Lissy sat behind the desk, cradling her head in her hands. Another person was counting on her, relying on her. Who did she have to rely on?

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