Jess stepped out of the house and realised she needed a jacket. It was getting frisky. But she couldn't bear to do so. Going back into that house would be like... well, she didn't know what it would be like, but she knew she didn't want to do it. She stomped off, burying her hands in the jean pockets.
Test got up right after Jess, only to find Mr. Warren standing in his way. Any ordinary man would have stopped dead in his tracks and would have backed down, but a six feet, seven inches tall, Viking-like giant was not about to get slowed down by an irate father.
"Excuse me Mr. Warren, but I need to speak to Jess."
"No, you don't. Can't you see? You're causing her more pain than good. She doesn't need you. If you leave now, she'll forget all about you and she won't be in pain. Why can't you do that for her," he pleaded.
"Mr. Warren, I understand you want what's best for your daughter, but having her running away from the truth isn't what's best. I have to explain this to her, I have to tell her the truth."
"We can do that for you. Just leave now. Don't hurt her anymore than she's already been hurt."
Test looked into Mr. Warren's eyes and stopped seeing a vindictive man. Instead, he saw a father who was desperately trying to protect his daughter from a world he knew to be harsh and unfair.
"I care about her," said Test slowly. "I want to be her friend. And I have to tell her the truth."
Mr. Warren looked at Test and finally saw the real measure of the young man standing in front of him. Although he was young, he was intelligent and seemed to care for Jess. Mr. Warren wasn't quite ready to trust him yet, but he might give him a chance.
"Fine," he muttered under his breath, stepping out of the way.
"Here," said Mrs. Warren, coming back from Jess's room with a black leather jacket, "it's getting cold out there."
Test took Jess's jacket and started to leave, grabbing his jacket on the way.
"Test," called Patty from the top of the stairs, "do you want me to go with you?"
"No, I think we'll be just fine."
Test finally caught up to Jess a few corners from the house. Before saying anything, he just draped the jacket over her shivering shoulders. She looked up at him, her eyes full of tears.
"I don't understand," she sobbed, beating at her chest. "I don't get it."
"What? What don't you understand?"
"What I felt. I swear to God, when I saw her kissing you, I felt like...I don't know, but it wasn't a good feeling... I didn't like it."
"I know. That's why I came out here to explain."
"Explain what?"
Test spotted a small park and nodded towards it. "Let's go have a seat in the park, I'll explain it to you."
They walked to the park in silence. There were no benches so they went for the swings. Jess sat down gingerly and got up immediately.
"I'm not sitting there," she said, "it's too cold."
"There, we'll work something out."
Test sat on the swing and pulled Jess into his lap. She sat sideways on his big thighs and still had to look up at him.
"God, you're big," she sighed.
"In other circumstances, a man loves to hear that."
"What circumstances," she asked innocently.
Test looked at her, amazed. For the second time today, he was totally amazed by her lack of knowledge when it came to sexual matters. Just as he'd known she hadn't known the effect of watching her lick her lips after kissing him, Test knew Jess didn't know how their position and her question had a potential to arouse him.
"What circumstances," she repeated.
"We'll talk about that later. Now, about what you just saw--"
"I saw you getting married."
"Yes... but it wasn't for real... I'm not really married to Stephanie. She's a friend, but no more, no less."
"What are you saying? That what I saw on TV was all fake?"
"Pretty much, yeah."
"So I got mad for no good reason?"
"Yes... I mean... yeah... you got mad for no good reason."
"Well, don't I feel like a fool."
"It's okay."
Test started to pump his legs under the swing, making Jess wrap her arms around his neck. He started swinging with more and more energy, just like a child trying to get the best thrill for the last minute of recess. He stopped only when Jess screamed to him that she was about to throw up. He slowed down and looked down on her face, making sure she was all right.
"I'm sorry," he apologized.
"It's okay. It felt so liberating... maybe this is what flying feels like."
"I think that's as close as we can get... Swings and seesaws... I loved those when I was a kid."
"Really?"
"Yeah. I would always swing as hard as possible. And on the seesaws," he explained, pointing to the metal constructions a few yards from them, "I would always give myself the biggest push so that it would feel like I was flying. I fell out of them a lot too, but it sure did feel good."
"The falling?"
"No. The almost flying. Which is why to this day, I love making those leaps from the third rope... that's incredible. But there's one jump I would have loved to do though."
"Which one?"
"At Summerslam 99, I was in this fight with Shane McMahon, Stephanie's brother? Anyways, I was down on the announcer's table, almost knocked out, and he made this jump from the third rope down to me. That must have been such a rush... that's what I want to do."
"Fly?"
"Like an eagle."
"That is so cool," she said quietly.
Jess buried her head in Test's shoulder, almost hiding her face in the thick wool of his jacket, closing her eyes, breathing in his distinctive aroma.
"What's wrong," he asked, stroking the side of her face.
"What's wrong? What's wrong? What's wrong is not knowing what's going on with my life... not remembering a damn thing. Can you believe that? I can't remember my last birthday, my graduation. Nothing. I can't even remember being a kid playing on the swings or the seesaws. Did I scream? Did I fall? Did I want to fly too?"
"Don't cry over that," said Test. "It's only been a week."
"You can say that, but I can't. What if, a year from today, I still don't remember a damn thing? What then? What will my life be?"
"Didn't you talk to the counsellors about that at the hospital," he asked, squirming around uncomfortably.
"Yeah, but it's not going to go away, this feeling of loss. One of them said I had to mourn my former life and embrace my new one."
"So go ahead," said Test, rubbing her back, "embrace your new life."
That was an invitation if there ever was one. Jess tightened her hold on Test's neck and kissed him once more. She pressed her lips against his, for the longest time, her eyes closed. She pulled away for a moment and kissed him again, plucking away at his lips, encouraging him to participate in the kiss. Finally, Test took part in the kiss as he cupped her head in his hand and kept it close to his.
"Open your mouth," he instructed.
"Why?"
"Trust me."
Delicately, as if he was licking ice cream from a cone of soft chocolate ice cream, Test started to lick Jess's mouth, her lips, her teeth, until her mouth hung down open, waiting to be ravaged. His tongue moved inside her mouth slowly, delicately and he pulled away from her, looking deep into her dark brown eyes.
"How do you like that," he asked with a smile.
"I like it a lot... I think."
Test chuckled and pressed his forehead against hers, lightly pressing his lips to hers.
"I don't think I should be kissing you so soon," he said.
"Why not?"
"... Jess... you... I shouldn't be doing this... after all that happ--.... no, it's like taking advantage of you.... no... it's wrong."
"How wrong is this?"
Jess slid her hand around Test's neck and brought his lips down on hers in a bruising kiss that left them both breathless. It wasn't a soft kiss or a discovery kiss... it was passion and lust... all wrapped up in a
delightful kiss... She pulled away from him, shakily, standing up on unsteady legs.
"Now," she said, "tell me that was wrong."
As Jess stood there shaking her finger at Test, she crumbled to the ground.
Test moved quickly and caught Jess before she hit the ground... He scanned her face and saw her smiling. He grinned along with her and pretended to drop her. She hung on to his shoulders in panic, staring up at him again.
"That's an awful trick," he said, straightening her up.
"So was that."
"Well, you had to be punished."
"I would have loved to see you explain that to my father. 'Sorry I dropped your daughter sir. But she kissed me and I had to punish her.' Oh yeah, that would go over really nice."
"Regardless," said Test with a more serious look on his face, "I can't go around kissing you whenever I feel like it."
"Right," she agreed. "I'll kiss you whenever I feel like it."
Test's eyes crossed as Jess pulled him down to her again for another kiss. At first reluctantly, then with much more enthusiasm, he kissed her back with a matching level of passion. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her up to his level. By the time their kiss ended, her legs were wrapped around his waist and the barrette holding back her long hair was stashed in the pocket of his jacket.
"Enough," he muttered against her lips, gently setting her back on the ground.
"I agree."
"Good."
Test's tone was so serious and decisive that Jess almost told him he sounded like her father.
"I wonder," he said, "if you're always this sexually aggressive."
"I wouldn't know, but I'll be sure to ask Patty when we get home."
"Forget it. No one should know about this... these..."
"Why shouldn't I tell her about kissing you? That's what girlfriends do, you know."
"I just don't want her to know. Not yet."
"It's stupid. I already told her about this morning's kiss."
"You did?"
"Of course."
"Why did you do that?"
"Because she's my friend. My very best friend."
"And what did she say?"
"Honestly, she thought we would have kissed before today."
"Why?"
"Apparently, we've been making googoo eyes at each other all week."
"Googoo eyes?"
"Her words, not mine."
"God!"
"What? What's so wrong about kissing me?"
"Nothing."
"Then why shouldn't I tell her?"
"Because."
"Because what?"
"Because... do you have any idea of how this makes me look?"
"No. How does this make you look?"
"Like a guy who's trying to score with a recent rape victim."
"I'm not 'just' a recent rape victim. I'm a woman."
"A woman who was raped."
"A woman who doesn't remember being raped," she corrected. "I know I was raped. I saw the bruising on my thighs and I felt the tenderness... in me. But I don't remember it. None of it."
"It doesn't matter. It's still wrong for me to kiss you."
"Listen. I don't know how things are for other women who get raped. All I know is this: when I saw you in the hospital on Monday morning, my heart flipped. I thought you had been a dream, that you wouldn't stick around. That you would disappear from my life as fast as you came into it. And you didn't. And it made me happy. And that being next to you, in the same room with you, that makes me happy."
"But you were raped."
Jess screamed and hit Test in the middle of the chest. She kept on hitting him until she couldn't do it anymore. He stood there, unmoving as she vented her anger on him.
"Damn it! I don't remember being raped! I don't feel raped. I feel normal. I'm not afraid of touching you... of feeling you next to me. I like it when you hold me tight, I like it when you kiss me and I don't feel threatened when you do."
"So it's okay?"
"With me, yes. As for the others, they'll have to understand. I have to learn my life all over and as I do that, I might remember more of it. For now, there are a few undeniable truths that I can trust myself with. My name is Jess Warren. I was raped. I lost my memory. My parents are Irene and Gerald Warren. My best friends are Patty Johnson and Andrew Martin. And then I see Andrew, my heart does a cartwheel."
Test laughed and picked her up in his arms, twirling her around until she wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her head in his massive shoulder.
Jess raised a feeble hand, trying to swat away the fingers plunging in her tube top. She wasn't strong enough and the hands continued their work, nails digging into her skin. She spat at her attacker and he responded with a hard slap that knocked the top of her head against a hard wall. Everything went pitch black.
Jess sat up in her bed, the same way Kane did halfway through his matches, pushing away the blankets and shaking away her sleepiness. She ran her hands over her heaving breasts, barely wincing as her palms skimmed the remnants of her attacker's violence. The bruises and scratches were still there, barely visible on her dark skin but they didn't hurt as they had during the first couple of days. Now they barely even throbbed when she turned over in her sleep. She was afraid, she slowly realised, staring at the reflection from her mirror on her vanity. She was scared out of her wits. Patty was sleeping over at her parents' house a few streets away but she didn't dare wake up the Johnsons at this late hour of... three o'clock in the morning. Talking to her mother was out of the question too. Irene had fallen asleep during a movie the Warrens had been watching together earlier that evening.
Jess picked up the phone and dialed the number she had memorized when Test had left almost five hours ago.
Test heard the ring from far away. When it didn't stop after five rings, he finally rolled over and picked up.
"Yeah?"
"Test?"
"This had better be good."
"I'm scared."
The voice on the other end of the line was tense, thin and frail. It didn't sound like the woman he knew at all.
"Jess?"
"Yeah," she answered through her tears.
"What's wrong," he asked, flicking on the light and sitting up.
"I had a bad dream."
"What happened?"
"I remembered."
"Remembered what?"
"The rape. I think it was the rape," she said slowly.
"Oh my God, are you okay?"
"I don't think so," she sobbed through tears.
"Do you want me to come over?"
"No. You have a flight in a few hours. Stay where you are. Just talk with me for a bit."
"Sure. Tell me about your nightmare."
"Well, it was dark... everything was dark... I couldn't see a thing...but I felt everything."
"You felt everything?"
"No, not really. I felt his hands on me, on my chest. It hurt... and I think I spat at him. And he slapped me. And I hit my head against a wall. Then everything went black."
"Jess, do you have a pen and paper nearby?"
"Why?"
"Write down everything you just told me," he instructed, "it could give the police clues about your rapist."
"That's a good idea. Wait a second."
Jess slid her legs down until her feet hit the ground and went over to her desk. She grabbed a pen from a pencil case and found a small notebook in one of the drawers. She picked up the phone again and wrote everything down with Test coaching her with a few questions. by the time she was done, Jess didn't feel scared anymore. She was much more secure, sure of herself. She wasn't just someone who didn't remember. She was taking an active part in what was going on with her life.
Test and Jess stayed on the phone talking about wrestling until five.
Then Test's alarm rang.
"I didn't realise it was so late," apologized Jess.
"It's okay."
"You're too nice to me," she said. "I might end up taking advantage of that."
"That's fine by me."
"Thank you. Anyways, I'll let you get on to better things, mainly get ready for your flight."
"All right. Well, I'll call you as soon as I get to Chicago."
"Good."
"I'll miss you, you know."
"I didn't. Know, that is. Good... that you'll miss me... God, I'm messing this up, aren't I?"
"No, you're doing just fine."
"Thanks. I'll miss you to," she said slowly.
"I'll be back soon."
"Not soon enough," she whispered.
"For me either."
When Test landed in the Windy City, he was exhausted. The plane ride had been bumpy and he hadn't been able to get a wink of sleep. As he made his way across the terminal, he looked for a sign with his name on it. That was the procedure when he was expected somewhere. He couldn't find it. Annoyed, he was about to reach into his bag for his cell phone but he was greeted by a friend.
"Test man," said Edge with his killer smile, "good to have you back."
"Good to be back man," lied Test.
"Come on, I got a limo to take us to the hotel."
"Cool."
Test followed his friend, handed his bags to the driver and settled himself comfortably. Edge got in after him, evidently waiting for some information.
"What?" asked Test with a smile, "do you want me to tell you?"
"Everything."
"Well, Jess is fine, out of the hospital and into her parents' house for a week. The cops still don't have a clue as to who her rapist might be but they're looking into it."
"What do I care? I wanna know what this girl could have done to make you stick around Montreal for a week."
"She didn't do anything. I was tired and I needed a week off."
"Truth man, this is me. What's up?"
"I like her," said Test with a yawn.
"You like her?"
"I do. Quite a bit. She's great."
"She was raped."
"That's the thing man. She also lost her memory, so in her mind, as far as she knows, she wasn't raped. She knows it happened, but she doesn't have all the hang ups that go along with being raped."
"And what happens when she does remember?"
"Then we start all over again. I think."
"God, Test! You sound like you might be a bit in love with her."
"In love? Naw, not yet... I like her though. Quite a bit."
"Well, that's good, 'cause I got news for you."
"Such as?"
"Your ex broke up with her boyfriend."
"Wow! What made that happen?"
"He got busy with Terri Runnels."
"That little whore? Come on, he could do so much better than her. Hell, he could have done better than my ex."
"You bet. Man, I still can't believe you broke up with her and managed to walk out of that relationship alive."
"You and me both."
By the time they got to the hotel, Test had managed to catch a little nap. Edge had noticed the bags under his friend's eyes and had shut up, letting him catch a few zzzs. When Test got into the lobby, his first move was to check in. He was waiting for the elevator with Edge chatting by his side when he felt a presence behind him. Edge just stopped talking and rolled his eyes heavenward.
Test turned around and faced her. His ex. The woman he could hardly stand anymore. Chyna.
"Hey Test," she said with that nasal voice of hers, "miss ya."
"Chyna."
"I suppose Blabblermouth already told you about me and HHH."
"Hey," said Edge with a teasing smile, "I'm no Blabbermouth."
"Shut up! So, what do you say?"
"To what?" asked Test, surprised by the turn of the conversation.
"You and me," she said, "we were good together."
"No, we weren't," said Test. "Listen, I don't know what's happening between you and HHH right now but you two belong together."
Chyna opened her mouth to respond but the elevator bell dinged and Test and Edge went in. As the doors closed, her hands flashed and stopped the doors. "I'm going up too."
In the spacious elevator, Chyna stood so close to Test, he felt her nipples through her tight sweater, his jacket and his shirt. And considering, he was leaning against the wall, he didn't have that much room to run.
"Listen Chyna," he said, pushing her away, "I'm really not in the mood for this."
"So later then," she asked hopefully.
"No. I've got someone in my life right now," he said, "I don't want or need you."
Chyna stepped back, looking as though she'd just been choke-slammed. Her face went pale and she blindly hit the elevator panel, going for the next floor. The elevator stopped smoothly, she got off and stood there with war in her eyes as the doors closed.
"What the hell," said Test.
"I don't know," joked Edge, "I guess some women find you charming."
"Yeah, but that was out of nowhere. Ever since we broke up..."
"You dumped her," corrected his friend.
"Yeah, ever since I dumped her, Chyna hasn't even looked at me, or talked to me. Now, I'm gone for a week and she makes a pass at me. No, something's not right here."
"Well, she's never been the most normal of women."
"True."
Test and Edge made their way to the suite they were going to share and Test headed to the bathroom for a long shower and to the bedroom for a long sleep. From what Edge had told him, all he really had to do today was to tape a five minute scene with Stephanie on their 'honeymoon.' It was going to be used to taunt Shane and the posse. Tomorrow, he would make a live appearance with Stephanie at the taping of RAW. They would appear on the Titantron from their 'undisclosed honeymoon.' He would inform Shane that he, with his mother-in-law's blessing, would be taking a few weeks off to enjoy his new wife. It wasn't strenuous work and he would be out of Chicago and back in Montreal by Tuesday morning. And he would go back to Jess.
Edge shook him awake at around four in the afternoon. Test had been summoned by the McMahons.
When Test knocked on the door of the conference room adjacent to the McMahon quarters, he ran his finger along the collar of his shirt and took a deep breath. He didn't have a good feeling about this. His bad feeling was substantiated when he saw that only the McMahon men were there. There weren't any good feelings between Test and the men of that particular clan. They didn't like him, they didn't like his friendship with Stephanie and they certainly didn't like his growing number of fans. But above all, they hated the fact that his popularity had picked up so much after he'd been kicked out of the Corporation. Oh no, there was no love lost there.
"Test," said Vince, "have a seat."
"Thanks."
"Coffee, juice," offered Shane.
"Some of that orange juice would be nice."
Shane tossed him a glass bottle which Test caught deftly, gently set down on the table and opened. He then looked up at Shane with a smile.
"Do you have a glass for this?"
If Shane's eyes could have shot venom at him, Test would have been dead. But instead, he smiled as Shane brought him a glass.
"Now," said Test, opting for bravado, and pouring the juice into his glass, "what can I do for you gentlemen?"
"Well," drawled on Vince, waiting for Shane to sit by his side, "we've been thinking about what happened last Sunday in Montreal. It was a sad event and you didn't come out quite on top."
"Are we talking about the fight, which I won, or the rape, for which I was exonerated?"
"It's the ensemble. It wasn't the kind of thing the WWF wished to be associated with."
"Nor was the WWF associated with any of this."
"For now, we weren't. But we can't control the fallout while we're out on the road. What if a nurse, an orderly came out and told the tabloids about how you brought in a rape victim who you'd hit with your car."
"Gentlemen, I was exonerated. I wasn't at fault. At all."
"Yes, but you know how things can look." Shane's words had a double meaning. It wasn't an explanation of what
could happen, it was an explanation of what they were going to make happen. Test's heart fell. He knew they wanted him out. But they were going too far.
"You can't do this. I have a contract."
"Test, you should have read the fine print," snickered Shane, pushing a manila folder his way.
"What is this?" asked Test, opening the folder to find a copy of the contract there with parts of it highlighted.
"We have grounds to fire you," said Vince, leaning back in his chair.
"Fire me?"
"Fire you."
"Fire me."
"Yes."
Vince leaned over the table, squinting his eyes until they were nothing but slits.
"I've wanted you out of our lives and out of the WWF for quite a while now," he said. "And every time I thought I had, you made a comeback like a weed that just won't die. First, I got rid of you in the Corporate Ministry, then I thought things wouldn't happen between you and Stephanie. But you just wouldn't give up, would you? Well, I'm giving up for you. You're out of here, Test. And this time, I got you at the root."
Test sat in the chair, defeated... there was nothing, absolutely nothing he could do. He skimmed over the information in his contract and knew it was right. They had grounds to fire him. There was a morality clause in his contract. It didn't stop him from sleeping around, but if he was prosecuted or convicted of any crime, he would also be out of the WWF. Forever.
Test ran his hand over his forehead and thought about Jess... God, how this would make her feel. That by her fault, he was losing his job. Well, not by her fault, he corrected himself, by her rapist's fault. If he could only get his hands on him right now...
"All right, Vince," said a tough feminine voice from behind him, "that's enough."
Test turned around and saw the McMahon women standing there with Stone Cold Steve Austin. Steve had a grin on his face that went from ear to ear. He walked into the room in front of the ladies and sat down beside Test, slapped him on the back and winked at him.
Stephanie sat on the other side of Test and gently squeezed his hand, giving him an encouraging smile before turning back to her brother and father. As for Mrs. McMahon, she just stood behind Test, bracing herself on his chair.
"Vince," she said, "I humiliated you and our son in public once. And I swear, if you try to go through with this idiotic plan of yours, I'll do it again."
"Linda, please, you don't understand..."
"Shut up. Vince, I've been in touch with the attorney we retained in Montreal for all of last week and this young man," she said, gesturing to Test, "is, as he said, completely innocent of any crime. Which means, the clause in his contract doesn't come into effect here. Which means your little plan to get rid of him just went up in smoke."
"Mom," said Shane, "we never know what might happen... we can't risk having the WWF being tainted by a possible rapist."
"Test is not a rapist," said Stephanie, speaking up for the first time, "he is a decent, honorable man who deserves our respect. Daddy, Shane, you should be ashamed of yourselves, of what you're trying to do."
"Hell yeah, Vince," chimed in Steve, "you snakes are trying to sneak a fast one past my little buddy here and I just ain't gonna let that happen."
"Shut up Steve," said Vince, dismissing him with a wave of the hand.
"Excuse me?" asked the Texan, leaning over the table and eyeballing McMahon senior.
"I don't understand what you're doing here," said Vince.
"Well, since Test here seems to have taken my first place spot of the McMahon Men Hit List, I just figured I would come along and give him a few tips on how to handle you snakes."
"Thanks Steve," said Test, "but I believe the McMahon women are pretty much all the help I need right now."
"Here's your new contract," said Linda, taking a document out of her jacket and giving it to Test, "the morality clause is gone and I just added a new clause."
"A new clause?" asked Shane.
"Linda, what have you done?"
"Well, Vince, Shane, what I did was simple. As of now, if you want to fire Test, you have to go through me. And as you both know, I don't get fooled easy."
"Linda, you've never taken part in the creative control of the WWF," whined Vince, "that's my domain."
"And I realised you've been running it as such. You've been pushing your favorites, letting the others struggle in the background. No more Vince. I'm the major shareholder, not you. I control this company, not you. There are going to be some changes around here and it starts today."
Linda spun around on her heel and walked away, her head held high. Test got up from his chair, pinned both Shane and Vince with a scary glare and followed his new boss out of the conference room.
"Dad, Shane, I am so disappointed in you," said Stephanie, getting up and leaving.
As for Steve Austin, he just sat there, grinning. First, he smiled, then he grinned, he chuckled and by the time he made it out of the room, he was laughing so hard his stomach hurt. He shut the door, giving Shane and Vince the time to slump their shoulders. Then, he reopened it, saw their half-surprised, half-defeated looks on their faces and flipped them the bird.
In the hallway, Stephanie held her mother's hand. Linda McMahon looked pale, almost as defeated as her son and husband.
"Mom, are you okay?"
"Stephanie, gentlemen, let's go down to the Grille."
The quartet took the elevator down to the floor where one of the Marriott's many restaurants was situated. The restaurant's managers were under strict orders to abide by any request of the WWF superstars and when Mrs. McMahon asked for a private dining room, she got it. It was only when she got there that she let down her facade and allowed the tears to flow from her eyes.
"It's one thing to face your father on RAW or during a PPV," said Linda, "but I hate having to go over his head when it comes to business. But this time, he went too far."
"I know Mom. I agree."
"And I thank you Mrs. McMahon. I didn't expect you to go to the mat for me."
"Don't be surprised. Stephanie speaks very highly of you and when your friend Edge told me you had been summoned, I figured things didn't bode very well for you."
"Well, my thanks to you and to Stephanie then. You guys saved my job."
"I put a lot at stake on you Test. Now, I don't want to be disappointed."
"And you won't be. I promise."
"Good. Now, you'll do the shoots with Stephanie, as planned and then you'll enjoy a full three week vacation. You'll reappear Smackdown three weeks from today. We'll call and let you know about the tapings."
"Sounds good."
"Wait. When you come back, I intend to work you to the bone. I have plans for you young man. But a lot of it involves hard work."
"Good. I love a challenge."
Test made his way out of the room and Stephanie followed him. As he closed the door, he saw Steve inch his chair even closer to Mrs. McMahon's.
"Stone Cold and your mother," he asked Stephanie.
"Well, ever since Debra walked out him for Jeff Jarrett, they have been getting closer."
"God, if your father ever finds out..."
"Oh, it'll be a cold cold day in hell."
As Stephanie and Test laughed their way out of the restaurant, they didn't see Bad Ass Billy Gunn's smile as he heard their conversation.
Now, that didn't bode well at all.
Billy didn't waste any time computing this information. Stone Cold was banging McMahon's old lady. If he wasn't in public he would have burst out laughing. This one was precious.
Billy hurried out of the restaurant and gave Test and Stephanie time to get on an elevator before getting on the next one. He urgently pressed the button for his floor and hurried to his room. Inside, everything was quiet. Which was strange considering that when he'd left HHH was getting busy with a little hussy he'd picked up the previous night.
Billy burst out laughing when he saw Hunter's current companion. Chyna was back in the picture and they were making out like a couple of teenagers.
"You two have a disease," said Billy, sitting on the other bed.
"Get out Billy," said Hunter, not even looking at him.
"Hey, it's my room too."
"You know what," said Chyna, "you take my room and I'll take yours."
"Aren't you bunking with Tori?"
"What's your point?"
"My point is that I've got some really important information which could really shape our future in the WWF."
"What are you talking about?"
"Y'all know about the 'marital' problems between the McMahons?"
"Who doesn't? Hell, she cut off his balls and handed them to him when she made Stone Cold president."
"Well, she made him president all right," chuckled Billy.
"What are you saying?" asked HHH, casually rolling off the bed and leaving Chyna there.
"I'm saying that ever since The Lady with the Puppies dumped our favorite Redneck, he's not been feeling all that lonely."
"Linda and Steve?" asked Chyna.
"But she's frigid!"
"Hunter," said Billy with a grin, "it ain't because the lady turned you down that she's frigid."
"Damn it," said Hunter, getting up and walking to a window, "this info could be useful."
"Could be? What do you mean?"
"Billy, think big... I see it already. The three of us with all the belts. Chyna, you get the women's championship from that little runt Ivory and that European belt from that fat slob Mark Henry."
"What about me?" asked Billy.
"You get the Hardcore championship. And the intercontinental one. And I keep my hands on the World Federation championship."
"Sounds good to me," said Chyna, coming up behind him, rubbing his butt.
"Hands off," he barked, "I'm thinking."
Fifteen minutes later, all three former members of Degeneration X welcomed the McMahon men in their rooms. Billy was lounging on a bed, while Chyna and HHH were sprawled on the two armchairs. Which forced Shane and Vince to sit together, side by side on a loveseat. They still hadn't recovered from the blow dealt to them by Linda and they'd been trying to find a loophole in Test's contract and in Stone Cold's. By the time HHH had called, they hadn't found a thing.
"What's up guys?" asked Shane, sensing something ominous was about to happen.
"Nothing much," answered Chyna. "Vince, how are you?"
"I've had better days."
"How's the family?"
"What is this about?" asked Vince, deftly avoiding the personal question.
"And how's your wife Linda," drawled Billy from the bed, "still frigid?"
"Bad Ass," sneered Shane, "I'm already not too fond of you, so I'd watch my mouth if I were you."
"But you ain't me. Asshole!"
Billy's word stung worse than any other word he could have used. Although it was a ploy he had created to make himself look like a heel, Shane hated to be called an asshole. It made him feel like Vince's little boy, like he couldn't do anything on his own.
"Shut up!"
"Billy, enough," barked HHH. "Let's keep this civilized."
"Fine," said Vince. "Now, just tell us what 'this' is all about."
"This is about your wife and her newfound friends."
"What are you talking about?"
"Vince, how close are Linda and Steve?"
Vince couldn't have looked more pale. During all the humiliation he'd suffered at Steve's hands, he'd never felt so utterly defeated. And suddenly, everything looked clear. The reason why Steve had been in the conference room today, why Linda dressed better, why she'd started singing in the shower, why she had refused to have Debra leave Jeff Jarrett and become Steve's valet.
"Are they sleeping together," he asked.
"Dad," interrupted Shane, "there is no way Mom could leave you for that redneck!"
"She's not leaving me Shane. Your mother's too smart for that. But ever since she found out about what we did to your sister during that whole Ministry of Darkness/Corporate Ministry debacle, she hasn't been all that happy with me."
"But as far as to go out with the redneck, come on."
"I don't think she's sleeping with him. They've just been getting closer."
"We can't have that happen Dad. It's wrong."
"Shane son, if you think I'm going to let you mess with my marriage, you've got another thing coming."
"God," said Chyna with a bored yawn, "who gives a damn! HHH has a proposition for you boys. Why don't you pay attention?"
"A proposition?" asked Shane and Vince together, looking at HHH.
"I want it all," said HHH very simply.
"You want it all?"
"Yup. All the gold the WWF has to offer. I want it. And I want to share it with my friends."
"Why?"
"Because you don't want people to find out about Linda and Steve through GTV."
"What do you know about GTV?"
"I am GTV," said Hunter.
Billy, Shane and Vince looked at Hunter, shocked. Only Chyna seemed comfortable with this knowledge. And she didn't seem to care.
"You're GTV?" asked Billy.
"Yeah."
"And you allowed me to humiliate myself so many times? The God thing with the Rock and those clips with the oil on my ass and the rash I got from it?"
"Billy, if I hadn't taken you down a peg or two with GTV, you would be trying to go after my championship belt right now."
"And Lord knows we can't have that happen," sneered Billy, "I might whip your ass!"
"Whatever. Now Vince, what do you say?"
"What do you want?" asked Vince, ready to do whatever it took to maintain what little dignity he still had.
"Dad, no, we can't give in to blackmail."
"What do you want," repeated Vince, quieting his son with a look.
HHH smiled and moved closer, outlining his plan.
Test and Stephanie's shoot was over very quickly. It was done in a TV studio that the WWF had rented for a few hours. By the time they were done, Steph had to rush to the United Center ASAP to look over the editing and the rest of the taping of RAW. Test took his sweet time, showering and changing in the plush dressing room which had been set aside for him. When he got out of the dressing room, his driver was gone. He went down to the lobby to ask about his whereabouts. Another driver was waiting for him.
"Mr. Martin," said the driver.
"Yes?"
"I'm going to be your driver for the evening. Your previous driver had a family emergency he had to take care of. I'm his replacement."
"Good."
Tony led him to the limo, which was unusual considering that the WWF usually had him being chauffeured in a normal sedan or that he usually drove himself. Test shrugged and opened the car, he was about to sit down comfortably when the driver gave him a hard shove in the back and slammed the door behind him.
"Hey," protested Test, trying to open the locked door.
"Don't bother son," said Steve Austin's familiar voice, "I already tried."
"What's going on?"
"I don't know son but I figure we're about to find out."
The small TV encased in the back of the driver's seat turned itself on and Vince McMahon's face appeared. He didn't look like a happy camper.
"Well, well, well," said Vince, "I gather the two of you are wondering what the hell is going on. You must have already figured we had something to do with your abduction. Good thinking. Now as to the why, it's very simple. You can only get so close to the wife and the daughter of the president of the WWF, gentlemen. Oh yeah, I know about you and my wife Steve. And I don't care if you, like Test, say it's only friendship. As far as I'm concerned, it's unacceptable. And the two of you will pay."
The camera zoomed out of Vince's face and took in a room full of people.
Shane, Chyna, HHH, Bad Ass, Undertaker, Big Show, Viscera, Mideon, the Acolytes and the Mean Street Posse.
"So tonight, the two of you will suffer the pain of a lumberjack match, with me as the referee. That's right, tonight I come back to the WWF. And trust me, both of you will wish you'd never crossed me."
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