"Next time, Dolph and his little wannabe double aren't getting off so easily," the Miz grumbled as he packed up his gear, Damien Sandow following suit. He continued grumbling about the lost Intercontinental Championship belt.
Without an audience or a camera nearby, Damien refrained from echoing the Miz's ranting. His own thoughts were too heavy to waste the mental effort. Memories of the recent months swirled around in his mind. The Miz's short title reign was the closest he'd come to a belt in some time.
"I just can't believe they'd do this to me!" The Miz was still going. "After all the money my face brings them! Am I right?"
It took a delayed second for the fact he'd been asked a question to make it's way past Damien's own thoughts. "Uh-" He blinked. "You are totally correct. How dare they?" He asked, mirroring the complaint the Miz had been obsessing over for the past few days. To add to the facade of acting like he'd been paying attention, he furrowed his brow and put his hands on his hips with a loud huff.
When the Miz turned back to his things, Damien relaxed.
"Hey, Mizdow," the Miz called as he slung his bag over his shoulder. He pointed his finger like a gun at the man. With a wink and a click of the tongue, he jerked his hand as if he had shot a gun. "Keep up the good work. You've been getting better."
Something between a smile and a smirk pulled at Damien's lips. He mimicked the Miz's finger gun and pointed back at him. "I'm learning from the best."
"Exactly," the Miz's agreed with a nod. "The Authority will see it and the Intercontinental Championship will be where it belongs."
A sarcastic bark of a laugh echoed in the back of Damien's mind. However, his expression didn't change. He waved his hand to the side. "You couldn't be more right."
With that, the Miz took his leave of the arena.
Damien's smile grew without anyone around to scold him.
The Miz was correct about one thing—the Intercontinental Championship would be where it belonged. It may take some time, but Damien was a patient man.
Patience is a virtue.