Vignette 26: Thwarted and loving it

From the security office, the head of the new federation watched the confrontation via closed circuit cameras and monitors and smiled. Heyman's presence meant that Vince was worried. And if Vince was that worried, Heyman wasn't the only WWFE spy on location.
"Tighten security," he told the head of his security contingent, "nothing gets through. And move all of the performers, in the in-ring attire from the arena to the hotels."
He chuckled as his head of security took care of business... being wicked and smart was paying off big!

Vignette 27: Getting close to the edge

"The ruling is coming in today. The World Wildlife Fund is taking over WWFE.com."
Vince looked at his son and felt like screaming. He felt old suddenly. Ratings were dropping, live show attendance was down and the Mystery Wrestlers were gaining in popularity.
"When?"
"Midnight tonight."
"Did you make a last offer?"
"Nothing doing."
"It's Turner. We've got nothing concrete but it's him, I know it."
"I know."
"He wants to get me back for the failure of WCW."
"When the only people to blame were Bischoff and Russo."
"Exactly. Shane, I can tell you this... as my son and the future of the WWFE... I can tell you that this... it isn't good. It could mean the end for us."
"It's not the end Dad. It's not. It can't be."
"But..."
"Dad... Mom and I have been talking... maybe you might want to trust me with a few more responsibilities... lighten your load if you will."
"You think I can't handle it? You think I can't handle Turner?"
"I didn't say that Dad. It's just..."
"Get out! Get out now!"
Grinding his teeth, Shane walked out, leaving his father to stare after him. Vince felt so angry... not at Shane per se because he knew his son had only said what he'd said in the hopes of helping his father. But in a way, he wondered if Shane wasn't right. He wondered if the time hadn't come for him to step aside and leave the WWF in his son's very capable hands. But then he thought of Turner and realized that stepping aside now would mean conceding victory and he simply would not do that... he couldn't let Turner think he'd beaten him... He simply couldn't.

Vignette 28: Lunch...

A TV deal... they had a TV deal. Feeling numb, Stephanie stumbled out of the conference room where JR and Heyman had dropped a bomb on her and the WWF board of directors. Without knowing how, she made it to her office and closed the door after her. She sighed and tried understanding how a group of virtual strangers had managed to get professional wrestling on TV with ESPN in the US and TSN in Canada.
"You all right sugar?" Debra asked, following Stephanie into the office.
"Deb... right, we're having lunch together, right?"
"Only if you're feeling up to it."
"I need a change of pace. Let's go," Steph said, grabbing her purse.

Thirty minutes later, after a few glasses of white wine, Stephanie let out a deep breath. Across the table from her, Debra worried about her friend, about the dark circles under her eyes, her eerily pale skin and her dramatic weight loss. Was Hunter responsible for all of this?
"Is it that bad hon?"
"Our family's livelihood is disappearing before our very eyes and we can't seem to fix any of it. So yes, I would say that it is that bad."
"I'm sorry sug... I wish I could do something."
"You can... make sure your husband doesn't join forces with the enemy."
"He won't... that's kind of why I came here... his neck's bothering him again."
Stephanie's mind went into overdrive as she realized that Steve's neck was going to keep him out of the ring for a long, long time, if he ever came back. And with Taker getting injured more and more frequently, things weren't looking good at all.
"I have to go," Stephanie said, grabbing her purse.
"Stephanie, no... stay, you need time away from the office."
"No... I have to go. The future of my family is at stake here and... I'll call you Debra."
Putting a few crisp bills on the linen tablecloth, Stephanie started weaving her way through the restaurant's tight arrangement of tables. She looked at the door and gasped, hurrying her step, suddenly feeling desperate to get out of there. She didn't make it and collapsed.

Vignette 29: Confrontation

"How bad is she?" Hunter asked Shawn Michaels as the two men sat in chairs watching Matt Hardy take on Brock Lesnar in the practice ring.
"She's exhausted and underfed. Seems like she's been spending too much time at her desk and not enough time being a young woman her age."
"But she's out of the hospital, right?"
"You think anyone could keep a McMahon anywhere against their will?"
Hunter sighed and leaned back into his chair.
"You're still in love with her?" Shawn asked him.
"I still care about her."
"Then why do this to her?"
"Truth?"
"Yeah."
"To see if I can."
"Idiot."
"Watch your mouth man!"
"Oh you're not the big man anymore... you can't snap your fingers and get rid of me... I'm not in this start up fed of yours... I can tell you whatever I want whenever I want," Michaels said cockily.
"What's your problem?"
"You... how you badmouthed me the last time I tried coming back on TV... afraid I was going to steal your thunder?"
"I already apologized for that man."
"That was just air man... air..."

Vignette 30: Excitement

NWW... New Worldwide Wrestling... As far as names went, the field was thinning but he liked this... it had character. And since everything was currently in the name of elusive millionaire Nick Billings, there was no way of tying him into it. He looked at the new deal he was signing with ESPN and grinned. Friday nights were going to belong to wrestling again. His federation, his vision, his world... all of it made him giddy with excitement. He had six more weeks to go.

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