An hour. That was all the time he had to himself. Enough to gulp down a coffee, a quick bite to eat, perhaps. He looked around at the newly refurbished office, at the sledgehammer once again back in pride of place on the wall. The man let himself smile a little. He missed his ring days, it had to be said. He had a hope that one day perhaps he might have a final showdown, a final farewell. But there were a few years left in him yet, and that time was best served currently helping the future of the business be the best they could be. A knock at the door jolted him out of his reverie.
"Mr Levesque, Sir, your coffee." His secretary smiled at him and held out a black mug of black coffee.
"Thank you, Deborah." He said, taking the mug and setting it on his desk. "How was your day off yesterday? Your mom's birthday, wasn't it?"
"Yes, yes it was. We had a lovely time, went to dinner, then went to see a play...not my sort of thing, but Mom's birthday, Mom's rules." She smiled, her green eyes sparkling as the two shared a laugh.
"I know that one all too well."
"Anything else I can get you, Sir?" She asked, heading back towards the door.
"No, I think that's all. And for the thousandth time, Deborah, call me Hunter." He said as she opened the glass door.
"Not a chance in hell, Sir," She smiled, before leaving the office, and Hunter Levesque found himself smiling at her professional attitude. That was one of the many things he liked about Deborah, he decided, as he thought it was about time he checked in on the newer recruits at the Performance Centre.
Thanks to remote access, he could check in on the new talent any time he wanted and watch them work. He could view, as he sipped his coffee, all the hours of video footage from the Superstars and Diva's of the future as they worked in the ring, as the high fliers tried out various aerial moves in the safety ring. He could see them being put through their paces in the gym, and watch the footage of them trying out their persona's in the green room.
The green room was a room that had a camera set up at one end, in front of the camera was a green backdrop, the kind that movie producers used to project computer generated backgrounds etc on to it and the stars could act in front of it. The talent could practice and push their persona's in this room, straight in to the camera. Then they could watch back the footage, and along with help from Dusty Rhodes, forge their persona's on screen in to a believable, well oiled and well functioning part of themselves that was as good as their wrestling.
Hunter looked over the recorded time slots, curious as to who had been practicing lately, and saw one particular wrestler had been spending a lot of time in there. He clicked on the latest session, which was by far the longest, and began to watch, sipping his coffee now and then as he did so. The person was having great difficulty with the persona they had picked for them, that was clear, and he wondered what he could do to help. If he was right, and he was seldom wrong when it came to the new talent, this person had everything going for them, but there was no way they'd get TV experience while they struggled so badly with the persona. Quite vicious in the ring, all things considered, it was evident their style, despite their age, was akin to wrestlers that he had fought, that were from his heyday. He allowed himself a smile as in the background of the video, Dusty Rhodes told the person to take five, and that he would be back in an hour to give them time to work alone. A bottle of water was thrown to the figure, who nodded their thanks, and drank as he left the room. After a few moments, they began to work again. But this was a different persona, evidently one they had coined themselves. Hunter watched this second persona carefully, and watched as several things in his mind clicked in to place. Reaching across the desk, he pressed an intercom button.
"Deborah, i need you to book me a flight to Orlando, as soon as you can." He said.
"Would tomorrow evening suit you, Sir?" she asked, and Hunter could hear the tapping of keys on a keyboard.
"That will do fine. And could you call Dusty, tell him I'm on my way over? I need to speak to him about one of our new talent." He said, as the person on screen tried out this mysterious persona.
The Florida sun shone down on the Performance Centre, and in a courtyard, some of the latest talent were watching one of their number pull some tricks on a skateboard as they chatted.
"So, you finally finished it?" asked one. The skateboarder nodded as they ollied the board on to the bench and back off again.
"Finishing touches last week. The house is completely renovated, back to its former glory, with some improvements."
"So I take it the party is at Toril's house this week?" asked a second, lounging casually against the bench as he sat on the floor.
"Oh, yes, this Friday. Everyone is invited. I'm throwing a housewarming you won't forget, Corey. You up for a little guitar practice?" She smiled, as she tipped the board up to catch it. Her fingers gripped the nose and she tucked it under her arm.
"Course I am. You in, Adrian?" he asked, looking at the guy sat on the bench.
"Try and stop me." He grinned.
"Time for me to get back to the green room. Dusty said he wanted me in there all day today. This persona is killing me, it really is."
"Lady T isn't going to make an appearance any time soon then?" asked Adrian.
"Not if I can't get my act together." Toril sighed, brushing her black and purple hair from her face.
"What about you know who?" asked Corey, and Toril laughed as she headed towards the doors.
"I'd need a miracle for that to happen, Corey!" She called, walking through the doors, and in to the complex.
Her walk to the green room was short, and Toril tried to drag it out as much as she could. It was quickly becoming the bane of her life, that her persona just could not, or would not, work with her. Lady T, the Fighting Aristocrat, just was NOT working for her. Dusty had insisted just one more week of work on it, before they gave it the boot and went for something different.
She dawdled a little, knowing that Oliver Grey was working in the room before her, and she wanted to give him as much of his time slot as possible. He had a persona, he had story-lines…he had TV experience. The one thing Toril wanted above everything else. But till she could nail her own persona, there would be no TV time for her.
Reaching the door, she reached out a hand and took the handle, and was about to pull it down to enter when a voice called out to her.
"Toril, there you are!" It was Billy Gunn, and Toril turned to smile in greeting at him. "I've been looking for you everywhere."
"You have?" Toril was puzzled.
"Yes. Dusty wants to see you in his office. Right now." Billy said.
"Aww crap." Toril managed, shaking her head. "I'm gonna get let go aren't i?"
"Honestly…I don't know. He wouldn't tell me what it was about. We'd better go, I don't want to keep him waiting." Billy replied, before walking off, leading the way to Dusty's office.
Perhaps she could try with TNA instead, Toril thought as they walked. After all, if she made it all the way here, it couldn't be too hard to get in to TNA. Maybe they would be able to get her in to a persona that would work?
He'd been in Florida for two days. Those two days had been speaking to everyone who'd had some involvement with this person, what they were truly like, what the best way forwards would be. Now he'd settled on an approach, it was time to meet them.
"Are you sure about this, Hunter? I warn you know, once Toril has this bone, she will NOT let it drop." Dusty said as the COO of the WWE walked around his office.
"Dusty, I could not be more positive if I tried. It's all Steph's idea really, I just mentioned it to creative, next thing I know, two weeks later there's a whole persona, a vague storyline, all on my desk, waiting for my personal approval." Hunter turned to look at the man who's brow was creased in a frown behind the desk.
"If that's what you want, Hunter, I'll do everything in my power to make sure it happens. Toril's been fighting to get this far since she was a teenager, wrestling has been the only thing she's ever wanted to do. She's hungry, she wants it badly."
"All the more reason for her to be the next, hopefully, of a select breed of Diva." Hunter replied, as the door knocked.
"Come in!" Called Dusty. The door slowly opened, and in came Billy Gunn, followed by what Hunter now knew was Toril Blackheart. She entered nervously, and now Hunter got a good, up close look at her.
She was tall for a woman, which he knew would probably help. Well built, arms plastered in tattoos. Her black hair was streaked with purple, and it hung down past her shoulders, most of it swept away from her face by the purple bandanna around her head. Her eyes were blue, they darted this way and that way taking in the room. Hunter liked what he saw, and it only re-affirmed his decision.
"Take a seat, Toril," Dusty said. The girl sat down, leaning forwards a little on the seat, resting her arms on her knees.
"So, I take it you're letting me go? The whole "Lady V" thing isn't working, I get it, but...you gotta give me a chance...a different persona maybe?" Toril began, before Hunter interrupted.
"Relax, Toril, we aren't letting you go." He said, making her sigh with relief. "I'm here because I saw your "True Tomboy" persona. I want you to use it instead of Lady V."
"Really? Ok...sure I can do that, sure."
"Dusty will catch up with you later, and we'll get down everything you've thought about to do with your persona. But for this afternoon, I want you to have a one on one session with Billy." Hunter said. "Everything will become clear soon, I promise." He added, looking at the confusion on her face. "But for now, just do what I said. That will be all for now." Toril stood, puzzled, nodded and left the room. There was silence for a moment, before they hear her talking to someone a little way along the corridor.
"You've got an issue, haven't you?" asked Dusty.
"I need evidence of just how much the persona is actually her." Hunter said. "I know she can be the True Tomboy, but how much of it is actually already her?"
"Well, she's throwing a house party this Friday, Hunter, why don't you come along? She's just finished restoring her great grandmother's house, and is throwing a party to celebrate. It'd be a good way to do a bit of recon, and see what everyone thinks of her." Dusty suggested. Hunter smiled.
"That would be a great idea." He replied.
Friday came, and it found Hunter driving down a street in Orlando, looking for a street name he'd never heard before.
"lake Irma Point...Lake Irma Point...Oh for crying out loud, Dusty, you never said it was a private road, no wonder I couldn't find it," Hunter cursed as he finaly found it and turned in. He drove down looking for the last house on the left, just as Dusty had told him, and was pleased to find the man's car parked with several others outside. He checked himself in the mirror, and decided he was glad he was just in a t-shirt and jeans. Ok, here goes nothing, he said, reminding himself to go easy on any beer if he decided to drink. He stepped out the car and walked up to the door, clutching the bottle of wine he'd brought as a housewarming present, and knocked the door loudly.
"Don't worry Tor, I'll get it!" yelled a voice, and footsteps came running to the door. It opened and he came face to face with Justin Gabriel, red cup in hand, and had clearly had one or two to drink already.
"Mr Levesque, Sir...I...I didn't expect to see you here," He managed, his face ashen.
"Justin, great to see you, I was beginning to think I had the wrong house." Hunter replied. "Relax, I'm just here socially, nothing work related, I was in Orlando to sort some things out and I heard there was a party, so I thought I'd pop by."
"Well...come in, come in, I'm sure everyone is going to be pleased to see you," Justin said, opening the door wide and allowing Hunter in.
"I understand this is Toril's place? It's a housewarming?" Hunter asked as he set foot inside.
"Yeah, the main party is down in the basement. Tor's got the band together too."
"The Band?" He asked, as he spotted a BMX leaning against the wall just inside the door.
"Yeah. Adrian plays guitar, Corey plays lead guitar, I play bass and sing,"
"And Tor? I take it she is in the band?"
"She plays the drums," Justin said with a smile. "Help yourself to a drink or two, and head on down."
Hunter took a slow walk the way Justin had gone, through the living room with a beer in hand. He took in a section of the wall that was family photographs and then the next section of the wall, this time covered in photos with a difference. Isn't that Lita? Asked his mind, a closer look confirmed to him it was Toril and Lita, not long before Lita had retired. A glance at another picture showed Toril with Trish Stratus. A third was Toril with Jeff and Matt Hardy. A fourth, which brought a smile to his face was an autographed Polaroid of a very young Toril with the now deceased Mae Young. "Stay tough, Tomboy" it read, above her signature. God bless that woman he thought as he glanced at someone else. In fact, all the pictures on the wall were her and one or two wrestlers, their names written underneath each picture. He saw three empty frames at the top of the list, two below then one on its own above them all. Names were already on the wall, and he smiled as he read them. Himself, Shawn Michaels, and the single frame on its own, The Undertaker. That right there is the reason she is like people I used to face. Because she bases her outlook on them, she idolizes them he realized.
The noise level grew as he headed down to the basement, the sound of guitars being tuned and checked came to him as he reached the bottom of the stairs He hid at the back of the room, watching as staff and talent of NXT mingled, laughed and joked as the band readied themselves. As he was taking in the band posters on the walls, the tool bench in the corner that had, among some beer cups, a skateboard on its back, front wheels missing, Dusty spotted him loitering there, and came over with a smile.
"Hunter, there you are!" He clapped him on the back. "I was just talking to Billy about Toril. He's got quite a bit to discuss with you on Monday. But enough about that, it's great to see you out socializing with us again!" Dusty said, giving him a grin.
"You knew all along once I saw her place I'd be fixed on her, didn't you?" asked Hunter as Dusty lead him over to where Billy Gunn was stood watching the band get ready to play.
"Sort of...well ok yes, yes I did. But I also figured you might need to get out for a bit, to relax." He smiled, as Toril spoke in to the microphone.
"Ok, everyone hear me?" there was a loud "Yes!" in response. "Excellent. Well, firstly, I wanna thank you guys and girls for coming out tonight. You know how long it's taken me and Ricki, my brother, to get this place up to scratch and running happily. This place used to belong to my great grandmother, and had been deserted for over 50 years before I came here. So, now I think it's high time it was filled with music and laughter, the way it used to be. Let's get this party started!" She called, to cheers from the group, before heading back to sit behind the drum kit.
"Any requests? And no, we will not be doing any One flipping Direction." Justin said.
"Devour!" called Paige from the other side of the room.
"Yes Ma'am!" Justin called, before turning to see Toril nodding with a grin.
Hunter had to admit, he really was enjoying himself. No one was trying to schmooze him, and he was free in return to do as he wished. He'd been spotted by Toril, of course, and she'd welcomed him with a smile to the party, and as a result had "Hail to The King" by Avenged Sevenfold played for him. He was chatting with Leo Kruger about the football, when he spotted someone across the room that was vaguely familiar to him.
"Who's that, Leo?" he asked, gesturing to the guy being blatantly chatted up by Sasha Banks.
"That's Ricki Blackheart. Toril's brother."
"Does he play a sport? I'm sure I know him from somewhere," he said, sipping his cup.
"Play? Oh no, he's a rally driver, so Toril said." Leo said in reply as Ricki headed past them to get himself another drink from upstairs. "You know, if you wanted to find out more about her, he is the one to speak to."
"I think I'll do just that," Hunter smiled. He drained what was left of his cup, before heading upstairs to where Ricki was getting a refill. Here goes nothing, he thought, and began his task.
"You're Toril's brother, right? Ricki?" he asked as Ricki offered to fill Hunter's cup from the keg.
"That's me, Triple H." He smiled. "My big sis told me you were here, didn't believe her."
"Actually, I wanted to talk to you about your sister." He said as they meandered back to the living room.
"You got a few questions, I can see. Shoot, I'll do my best to answer."
"Is she really as much of a tomboy as we all see her to be? I don't mean it in a nasty way, of course, but she really comes across as quite a hardcore tomboy." Hunter was surprised to see Ricki laugh, and beckon him to a family photo on the wall. It was Toril, and five men surrounded her, one of them being Ricki. Toril held the title from her last wrestling promotion around her waist, it looked like she had just won it.
"We're a family of six. Toril is the only girl."He explained, before pointing out the various members of the family. "There's me, I'm an international rally driver. This is Martin," He pointed to the tallest of the men surrounding her, with the same pitch black hair as Toril, minus her purple streaks. "Martin is a super-bike racer. Patrick here is a boxer," He indicated the guy next to Martin. "Next to them is Damien, he races in the Moto GP. And the blonde guy on her other side is our youngest bro, Craig. He's a skateboarder and BMX rider. I guess it was kinda pre-determined Toril was going to be a sports woman, although I admit none of us saw her going for wrestling."
"I can see that," Hunter smiled. "She's definitely no girly girl, is she?"
"Oh hell no. Tor hates skirts, dresses, pink and baby blue, glitter and sequins. She only wears red, black or purple makeup, hardly ever has her nails done. She'd rather die than even touch it." Ricki explained. "She's always been this way, ever since we were kids. I mean once, when I was five, Mum came upstairs to find her with a pair of scissors cutting up all the skirts she'd been given." Ricki laughed. Hunter laughed with him, 100% certain now, she was exactly what he wanted.